Today's Top Scoops - 22 May 2008
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LEAD STORY------------
BUDGET 2008: Scoop Lines Up Top Political & Business Analysts For Budget08 - Scoop Media has lined up some of New Zealand's top political, business, and economy analysts/writers to offer the most comprehensive Budget Day 2008 coverage available. They include: Gordon Campbell, Pattrick Smellie, and Jonathan Underhill. From mid-morning until 2pm on Budget day, Scoop's top line-up will be inside the Budget 2008 lock-up questioning the Finance Minister and Treasury officials about the intent and purpose of Dr Michael Cullen's announcements. More >> [1]
*** Scoop will be compiling complete coverage of the budget as it comes to hand at Scoop Feature: Budget 2008 [2]
ALSO:TV3 Video - What the business sector wants from the budget [3] TV3 Video - Impact of budget on NZ [4] TV3 Video - A measure up of how far Dr Cullen's tax cuts are likely to go [5] JP Morgan - JP Morgan's NZ Budget08 Tips [6]
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NZ POLITICS------------
Cultural Offense: Harawira Apologises For Abusing Judge - "When you're wrong son, you're wrong. Say sorry and move on. That's what my mum always told me," said Maori Party
rebel MP Hone Harawira, "so I'm apologising to Judge Adeane, because I was wrong to say what I said about him over his
decision to send that tagger to jail... I apologise for my comments, and I do so unconditionally," said Harawira. More >> [1]
Legislation: Youth Crime Bill Sent Down The River - Despite the defeat at the second reading yesterday of his Young Offenders (Serious Crimes) Bill, Ron Mark says that
the case for action on youth crime is even stronger. More >> [1]
ALSO:Maori Party - Hone Harawira: Young Offenders Bill [2]
CONTRACTORS BILL:Labour Party - Minimum Wage for Contractors passes 2nd reading [3] Maori Party - Pita Sharples: Minimum Wage Amendment Bill [4] CTU - Low Paid Contractors Need Minimum Protections Too [5]
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BUSINESS SCIENCE & TECH------------
Economy: Strong earnings growth in public & private sectors - Average mean quarterly earnings and the number of filled jobs continued to grow in the five years to March 2007,
Statistics New Zealand said today. The average mean quarterly earnings for full-quarter jobs increased by 4.3 percent... More >> [1]
World Turtle Day: Turtles come out of their shell - Most New Zealanders are more familiar with pet turtles in living room aquariums than the large turtles that swim off
our coast, but Forest & Bird is asking Kiwis to help protect these fascinating sea creatures on World Turtle Day this Friday (May ... More >> [1]
Vector-borne infectious diseases: Exciting New Potential Treatment for Malaria - Super Critical Extraction New Zealand & Australia Pty Limited ("SCENZA") today announced the development of two new and distinct nutraceutical treatment
delivery systems in the fight against Malaria. Each formulation contains active ingredient ... More >> [1]
Disaster Prevention: New gauge part of tsunami monitoring network - A sea-level gauge installed at the Port of Tauranga this week will form part of a national network of gauges for
monitoring tsunamis, Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) and GNS Science announced today. More >> [1]
Computing and Internet: NZers Embrace Internet Video Revolution - Australian and New Zealand broadband users are spending considerably more time using the Internet than watching
television or movies and are downloading video in significant numbers, a leading study by Cisco has found. More >> [1]
Tourism: Wotif To Feature PREVU Rich Media - PREVU are pleased to announce that they will shortly be delivering streaming video content to the Wotif group of
websites (starting with wotif.com, to be followed by lastminute.com.au, travel.com.au, SmartStays.com and LateStays.com
and all portals ... More >> [1]
Computing and Internet: Top Sites For High Income Earners - The top ten channels in Nielsen//NetRatings' Market Intelligence NZ domestic traffic showing the sites that attract
the highest percentage of people, with a household income greater than $100,000 per annum, for the month of April 2008. More >> [1]
Rural Connectivity: Rural People Using The Internet To Save On Fuel - Rural people are increasingly turning to the internet in response to rising fuel costs, according to rural broadband
provider Farmside. More >> [1]
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WORLD------------
Middle East: Lebanese Political Accord Should Be Prelude To Reconciliation - Today's accord follows recent violence in the capital, Beirut, and elsewhere between pro- and anti-Government
militias. Since November last year, when the office became vacant, there have been 18 failed attempts to conduct a
parliamentary vote for president. More >> [1]
ALSOState Dept - Briefing on Lebanon [2] UK Govt - Comments On Doha Accord [3]
Middle East: Syria And Israel Have Started Indirect Peace Talks - Syria and Israel have started indirect peace talks, under the auspices of Turkey. The two sides stated their
intention to conduct these talks in good faith and with an open mind, and to pursue dialogue in a serious and continuous
way. More >> [1]
South Africa Gone Mad: Xenophobic Attacks Deplored By UN - UN agencies operating in South Africa have expressed deep concern at the outbreak of violent xenophobic attacks in
the province of Gauteng in the past week that has led to the deaths of several people and many others being left injured
or homeless. More >> [1]
Danger Zone: Securing Pakistan's Dangerous Tribal Areas - The United States Government's principal contribution to establishing security in the FATA and the western border
region is the Security Development Plan, a six-year multi-faceted program to enhance Pakistan's ability to secure its
border with Afghanistan. More >> [1]
Burma Crisis: Ban Ki-Moon Will Meet Than Shwe Over Boosting Aid - Mr. Ban said, ''I will meet with senior Government officials in the Myanmar Government, including Senior General Than
Shwe.'' He added it was essential to ''expedite all arrangements for facilitating the free movement of international
relief aid and workers.'' More >> [1]
EARLIERBan Ki-Moon Pledges To Do 'Utmost' For Burmese [3] Top Relief Official Meets Burma Govt [4] Special ASEAN Burma Meeting Statement [5] Ban Ki-Moon To Travel To Burma [6]
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COMMENT------------
Gordon Campbell: The risks of Exxon-Mobil in New Zealand waters - Exxon-Mobil are the elephant in the room that the Government refuses to confront, as it throws open the ecologically
vulnerable Great South Basin region to oil exploration and exploitation. Currently, New Zealand does not have an oceans
policy... More >> [1]
Pacific News: PNG Minister Wants More Investigative Journalism - PMC's associate professor David Robie writes: Papua New Guinea's acting Education Minister Tony Aimo has a made a
plea for more investigative journalism and a stronger commitment to ''accessible and affordable'' community media in the
Pacific. More >> [1]
The Doha Scorecard: Lebanon gets a President - "The agreement was not ideal for either party and I hope that it will serve as a launch pad for decent relations
between the majority and the opposition. We will tackle the other issues in Beirut and there is no need to fear
anything". More >> [1]
ALSO Alberto Cruz - Four days that shook the Middle East [2]
Dumpster-Diving for GOP Quotes: (And Their Hidden Meanings) - As a playwright, I pay special attention to the difference between words as they are spoken and the unsaid words
hidden beneath the surface -- what we in the dramaturgy biz call "subtext." More >> [1]
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LIFESTYLE------------
DOC: Kaimanawa Horses Passed Muster - A recent appeal for people to re-home Kaimanawa horses from the annual muster has left many potential owners having
to wait patiently until next year. While not all horses mustered are suitable for re-homing due to their age or
condition, for the ... More >> [1]
Alcohol: Binge Drinking Ads To Play Only In Adult Viewing - The Alcohol Advisory Council is to limit the screening of all three of its controversial binge drinking television
ads to adult viewing times. The move follows a ruling from the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upholding
complaints against one of the ads that features an intoxicated man in the pub accidently elbowing a barmaid. More >> [1]
And those were the Top Scoops on this day, 22 May 2008
:)
ENDS