Today's Top Scoops - 11 July 2008
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LEAD STORY------------
Police: Officer Slain In Line Of Duty - The tragic death of a police officer in Titahi Bay this morning shows the serious risk police face every day in the line of duty, says New Zealand First law and order spokesperson Ron Mark. Mr Mark, who has a police officer in his own family, says he extends his sympathy to the family and colleagues of the dead officer who died trying to uphold the rule of law and order. More >> [1]
ALSO: National - National saddened by death of police officer [2] NZ Govt - Death of Police Officer [3] NZ First - Police Work Dangerous And Unappreciated [4]
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NZ POLITICS------------
National Policy: Parents Given Freedom To Pay For ECE - National today released details of its early childhood education policy. Spokeswoman Paula Bennett says, "Thousands
of parents are now using 20 Hours and we do not want to cause them uncertainty, especially in these challenging economic
times. However, we will not live with the clearly dishonest claim of the scheme being free for parents. It never was." More >> [1]
Health: Minister Welcomes Rest Home Closure - Minister of Health David Cunliffe has welcomed a decision to move residents of the Belhaven Rest Home into a new
home. More >> [1] ALSO:Age Concern - Older people given less than 24 hours to move [2]
Housing: Action To Assist Boarding House Dwellers - "Considerable progress has been made at the completion of the 90 Day Action Plan to address issues of overcrowding
and substandard accommodation in South Auckland boarding houses", Housing Minister Maryan Street said today. More >> [1]
Tony Veitch Saga: Statement from TVNZ - Television New Zealand has a review process underway regarding disclosures by sports presenter Tony Veitch... The
review began on Monday but there were significant and complex matters around the issue that restricted what could be
said publicly. More >> [1]
ALSO:New Zealand Police - Investigator Assigned [2] Television New Zealand - TVNZ: Statement Regarding Media Requests [3] Jigsaw - After Shock [4] Women's Refuges - Veitch Police Investigation Vital [5] Radio Adelaide - Selwyn Manning & Peter Godfrey Discuss The Veitch Admission + Political Spat [6] TV3 Video - Police to look into allegations around Veitch [7]
Heroism: Kiwi Firefighters To Help Battle California Blaze - A contingent of New Zealand and Australian rural firefighters will soon be helping to tackle the wildfires in
California, Internal Affairs Minister Rick Barker said today. The 40 strong group will include 8 Kiwi rural firefighters
from the Department of Conservation, territorial authorities, and forestry companies. More >> [1]
Corrections: Prisoners Put Hammering Skills To Good Use - A new building construction yard at Spring Hill Prison will see prisoners refurbishing state houses for families in
need while learning new skills... The construction yard was officially opened today by Mr Goff. More >> [1]
ALSO:NZ Govt - Goff: Building Construction yard at Spring Hill [2]
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BUSINESS SCIENCE & TECH------------
Viral Marketing: Enjoy Soft Rock With Musically Challenged Primate - In a first for mobile phone users in New Zealand, Cadbury is introducing image recognition technology for Cadbury
'Gorilla' fans, so that they can download 'Gorilla' content to their phones. More >> [1]
Luxury: Buying A Golden Fleece Probably Cheaper Than Escorial Cloth - On 22nd June 2008, Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, New Zealand, auctioned 2 metres of Escorial cloth fetching
$4,100. The cloth was a donation from The Escorial Company to the Symphony Orchestra. More >> [1]
Happy Hoteliers: Hotel guest nights increase in May - Total guest nights in short-term commercial accommodation increased 5 percent in May 2008 compared with May 2007,
Statistics New Zealand said today. More >> [1]
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WORLD------------
Colombia: Ingrid Betancourt's Unlikely Rescue & Beyond - In spite of Ingrid Betancourt's extraordinary rescue, the fate of Colombia will be no brighter than before unless she
accepts a new mission and returns to the public life, and President Alvaro Uribe commits a patriotic act by declining to
seek a constitutional change allowing him to run for a third term in 2010. More >> [1]
EXPERT RESCUE ADVISORS?Opinion - Israel's Role In The Rescue Of Hostage Ingrid Betancourt [2]
Environment: Green Goods To Come To The Front Of UK's Shelves - "It needs to be easier for people to buy products that will save them money and reduce their impact on the
environment - and that's exactly what we're doing. There are real savings to be made - through this action to green the
products and materials we use." - Climate Change Minister Joan Ruddock, UK Government More >> [1]
Onward Christian Soldiers: Non-Christians Convinced U.S. Army Discriminates - Jeremy Hall, a 23-year-old U.S. soldier,lost his Christian faith while serving two tours of duty in Iraq.
Subsequently his atheist beliefs caused him to be denied promotions in the Army and to have his life threatened by other
troops, according to an interview Hall had with CNN. The military assigned a bodyguard to protect him and returned him
stateside. Hall asserts there is a pattern of discrimination against non-Christians in the military. More >> [1]
Summing Up: Gordon Brown Briefs British MPs On The G8 Leaders Summit 2008 - The world is working collaboratively on a range of international issues, Gordon Brown told Parliament as he updated
MPs on the recent G8 Summit. The PM said there is growing international agreement on the need for "detailed
collaborative actions" on energy, climate change, trade and international development. He also welcomed the
"unprecedented" G8 statement on Zimbabwe. More >> [1]
Kosovo Situation: Life As An Independent Country - Kosovo declared its independence in February. There were at the time expectations that there might be severe
problems, great violence, displacement of persons, conflict, fighting. There were any number of very dire scenarios
which we thought were possible but not likely, were possible, and for which we planned, none of which turned out to be
true. No major ethnic violence, no refugee flows, the government has responded with restraint to provocations. That is
the good news. More >> [1]
ALSO IN KOSOVAUN Briefing On 'Use Of Languages' Report [2]
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COMMENT------------
More Heat Than Light: Survival of the TVNZ Charter Depends on Definitions - News reports about recent announcements by Labour and National concerning their respective policy positions on TVNZ
all overlook a critical issue at the heart of the debate- the assumption of different definitions of 'public
broadcasting'. At least five distinct conceptions can be discerned. The result is that both political policies and news
reports on public broadcasting conflate different notions of public broadcasting, stirring up arguments that generate
more heat than light. More >> [1]
Chicken & Egg: Niueans Encouraged to Eat Free Range Chooks - Niue's Director of Health Dr Sitaleki Finau is encouraging Niueans to begin eating free range chickens. Unlike in
most countries the move would actually save locals money. Thousands of chickens roam the island mostly unmolested
because Niueans prefer to eat imported factory reared chooks. More >> [1]
Scoop Review of Books: "Five Crime Novels that Influenced My Writing" - Auckland crime writer Andrea Jutson - author of the just published The Darkness Looking Back - nominates five crime
novels that have influenced her writing....The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri, Scaredy Cat by Mark Billingham, Live
Bait by P. J. Tracy, The Unquiet Dead by Gay Longworth, The Brother Cadfael Series by Ellis Peters. More >> [1]
Suzan Mazur E-Book In Six Parts: - "Evolutionary science is as much about the posturing, salesmanship, stonewalling and bullying that goes on as it is
about actual scientific theory. It is a social discourse involving hypotheses of staggering complexity with scientists
assuming the power of politicians."
EVOLVING STORY1. An Exposé Of The Evolution Industry [1] 2. Will the Real Theory of Evolution Please Stand Up? [2] 3. Evo Exposé: M. Pigliucci & M. Piattelli-Palmarini [3] 4. Rare Chat W/ R. Lewontin & A. Lima-De-Faria [4] 5. Evo Exposé: The Wizards -- Pivar, Dawkins, Salthe [5] 6.Evolution: Except Vanity Fair Media Doesn't Get It [6]
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LIFESTYLE------------
Furry Critters: Definitive Cat Care Guide Published - Be they cuddly smoochers or perky cats-about-town, felines across the country will soon be benefiting from the
publication of a definitive new guide to their needs and to the responsibilities of owners and carers. More >> [1]
Winter Spectacular: Flaming Good Art On Petone Foreshore - The Petone Foreshore will be transformed into a unique public art gallery for the Petone Winter Carnival on Saturday
19 July. More >> [1]
Poetry Party: NZ Poet Laureate to MC celebration of Kiwi Poetry - New Zealand Poet Laureate Michele Leggott will MC 'Poetry Central', a celebration of Kiwi poetry, on Montana Poetry
Day, Friday 18 July. More >> [1]
And those were the Top Scoops on this day, 11 July 2008
:)
ENDS