Top Scoop Stories – 10 December 2008 News Summary
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LEAD STORY------------
The Green Party is gravely concerned the new Government is keeping Kiwis in the dark on laws it plans to pass under
urgency this week, leaving no opportunity for the people of New Zealand to debate these proposals before they become
law. More »[1]
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NZ POLITICS------------
Ireland's former president and current Oxfam honorary president, Mary Robinson writes that millions of people's human
rights – to security, health, and sustainable livelihoods – are increasingly under threat and that climate change is a
contributor. More »[1]
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[10] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0812/S00118.htm [10]
Police have begun the reintroduction of tasers to those Districts involved in the trial in 2006/07. Taser Project
Manager Superintendent John Rivers said the first phase of the reintroduction of the tasers has begun with selected AOS
staff in the greater Auckland area and Wellington having completed training and certification in the operation of the
technology. More »[1]
More »[1]
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Oxfam New Zealand welcomes the confirmation that the government will honour its Kyoto Protocol commitments to stabilise
greenhouse gas emissions at 1990 levels in the current commitment period through 2012. However, the current government
has succumbed to delaying tactics and has not retained the previous government's target for greenhouse gas reductions
beyond 2012. More »[1]
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[10] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0812/S00148.htm [10]
... His eminence [is] not simply due to the titles he has held with supreme skill : Master of the Rolls, Lord Chief
Justice and senior Law Lord. During the early 2000s, Thomas Bingham (and the Law Lords he led ) delivered a series of
major human rights judgements – eg on indefinite detention, and on the use of evidence gained from torture – that beat
back some of the worst authoritarian impulses of the Blair government. More »[1]
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New Zealand Prime Minister John Key takes questions from the press gallery and gives his take on what the new government
is up to. Today Mr Key talked about Kiwisaver, sending a plane to assist evacuating NZers from Thailand, changes to the
bail laws and cancelling the Buy Kiwi-made campaign. More »[1]
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BUSINESS SCIENCE & TECH------------
Hanover is pleased to announce that the Debt Restructure Proposals for secured depositors, secured stockholders,
subordinated noteholders and bondholders have been approved at investor meetings held in Auckland today. More »[1]
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New Zealanders could get their cars for up to 50% less if they did their homework first, says the car buyers’ Dog & Lemon Guide. More »[1]
MAF Biosecurity New Zealand (MAFBNZ) have received advice from Biosecurity Australia that they have revised their
emergency measures which will allow the importation of tomato and capsicum fruit from New Zealand. More »[1]
Dec. 5 – The average New Zealand house price fell 6.8% in November from a year earlier, the second monthly slide of
that magnitude, as the weakened economy sapped people’s appetite to take on mortgage debt. More »[1]
As part of its continued effort to protect its customers and partners from software piracy, Microsoft has announced two
separate international investigations against individuals based in Auckland selling high-quality counterfeit software
likely sourced from China. More »[1]
Swallowing fish oil capsules for brain boosting, health-promoting omega-3 may be just as effective as tucking into a
fillet of salmon. But if you want a dose of selenium as well – an element many New Zealanders are lacking – then go for
the salmon fillet, say Massey researchers. More »[1]
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November figures show TVNZ’s flagship bulletin has grown in both audience numbers and share compared to the same period
last year. It is now heading into its second year of continuous growth. More »[1]
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COMMENT------------
(Wash. DC) The CEO's of General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler were in the Capitol Thursday asking for $34 billion dollars
to stay in business for the next few months. The three companies are now at the top of the corporate ''dead pool,'' with
a bankruptcy for ... More »[1]
The world economy appears to be heading into the worst recession in 60 years. The nominal wealth of global markets has
almost halved in the last couple of months and the United States Government... More »[1]
Peter Dyer writes: Can we successfully fight for social and economic justice in the United States while simultaneously escalating a war in
Asia? Barack Obama says we can. But forty-one years ago, Dr Martin Luther King Jr. warned against doing exactly that. More »[1]
Rosalea Barker writes: The topic of this week’s Stateside was going to be the weird conversations that perfect strangers strike up with me.
What is it about me, I wonder, that someone in the post office will ask me as we leave if I believe in UFOs and then
walk with ... More »[1]
When it comes to protecting George W. Bush and his administration, Attorney General Michael Mukasey is stretching legal
arguments as far as his predecessor Alberto Gonzales ever did – now even invoking the “Nixon Defense” for justifying
presidential... More »[1]
Eleanor Ainge Roy, is currently in Cambodia. She writes that the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (the
body set up to try the Khmer Rouge's surviving leaders) is running out of funds. Will the February 2009 trials take
place? (Image: A victim of the Khmer Rouge.) More »[1]
They just don’t give up, do they? Obama’s win, thumping, at least by American standards, is insufficient to placate
those who question its legitimacy. Yes, so it went to a man who has a name of Hussein (ask Fox News, a network
mesmerized by ... More »[1]
Women of childbearing years represent the most lucrative market for the makers of psychiatric drugs. The knowledge that
infants were being born with birth defects and suffering a withdrawal syndrome when these drugs were used during
pregnancy was... More »[1]
Indeed the historic victory of President-elect Obama has created profound prospect of hope and change that swept through
America. However, for millions across the world who have witnessed devastation, insecurity and chaos resulting from an
imprudent ... More »[1]
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LIFESTYLE------------
The Eyes From Ethopia online exhibitionis organised by Wellington-based photographer Kate MacPherson.
Kate spent time in Ethopia photographing these kids. They’re for sale to raise funds for a children’s home, education
and living expenses. More »[1]
Katie Wolfe’s New Zealand short film THIS IS HER has been chosen to screen in competition at the 25th Sundance Film
Festival, one of the most acclaimed international film festivals in the world. More »[1]
December is the busiest gift-buying month of the year, and kid’s toys are usually #1 in the shopping list. To be a
responsible Santa, how do you know that the toys you plan to buy are safe? More »[1]
In the latest gripping issue of Auckland Fucking City, we interview HomeBrew, the best hiphop crew you've never heard of
and talk to one of the world's best artists, Lil El's about god, graffiti and girls. More »[1]
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WORLD------------
With a "humanitarian tragedy" unfolding in the war-torn eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), it is imperative
that action be taken immediately to protect the population and bring an end to the fighting, the top United Nations
peacekeeping ... More »[1]
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As the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is celebrated tomorrow on International
Human Rights Day (10 December), Amnesty International calls upon world Governments, including New Zealand's new National
Government, to use this ... More »[1]
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Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon voiced his growing frustration today that the United Nations’ long-standing efforts to
promote national reconciliation and democratization in Myanmar have yet to achieve the desired results and he urged the
Government to ... More »[1]
Zimbabwe is now facing its worst cholera outbreak in over a decade, with the number of suspected cases of cholera in
Zimbabwe in recent months having climbed to nearly 14,000, including 589 deaths reported, the United Nations announced
today. More »[1]
Poznan, Poland, December 9, 2008- A young Pacific Islander has issued a challenge to world leaders at the UN climate
change talks, telling them to stop paying lip service and show the political will to fast... More »[1]
Representatives of around 100 countries gathered in Oslo, Norway today to sign an historic United Nations-sponsored
treaty formally renouncing the use of cluster bombs, a weapon that frequently kills innocent civilians and cripples
communities for decades ... More »[1]
Somalia’s population faces total destitution next year without more effective aid, a United Nations humanitarian
official cautioned today, as the many problems in the Horn of Africa country are exacerbated by extremely difficult
political and security ... More »[1]
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) today launched a campaign to raise
awareness of the humanitarian implications of climate change, calling for improved disaster preparedness and response
measures in countries ... More »[1]
ENDS