Top Scoop Stories – 10 December 2008 News Summary

Wednesday, 10 December 2008, 1:57 pm
Article: The Scoop Editor

LEAD STORY

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Legislation: Government Too Urgent For Greens' Taste
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]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0812/S00089.htm

ALSO:

Scoop Satire: What Else Is In The Urgency Plan? [2]

Firing At Will And Firing Up Broadband [3]

Govt must make fire at will bill public [4]

Govt's 90-Day Programme [5]

'Hire and fire' policy could put off skilled migrants [6]

'Hire and fire' bill gets Parliament off to rocky start [7]

[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0812/S00197.htm [2]

[3] - http://election08.scoop.co.nz/firing-at-will-and-firing-up-broadband/ [3]

[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0812/S00137.htm [4]

[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0812/S00177.htm [5]

[6] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/multimedia/tv/business/16454.html [6]

[7] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/multimedia/tv/business/16441.html [7]

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NZ POLITICS

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Human Rights Day: Climate Change Affects Human Rights
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]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0812/S00176.htm

ALSO:

Obama’s Middle East Challenge [2]

Hager: UDHR needed In NZ Too [3]

Human Rights Agenda for the Pacific [4]

UDHR 60th Anniversary [5]

Putting human rights abuses out of business [6]

Human Rights: Universal And Indivisible [7]

Human Rights Abuses hit home for NZ Zimbabwean [8]

Vigilance on Human Rights has to “start at home” [9]

Human rights an empty concept without action [10]

[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0812/S00182.htm [2]

[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0812/S00135.htm [3]

[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0812/S00134.htm [4]

[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0812/S00133.htm [5]

[6] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0812/S00132.htm [6]

[7] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0812/S00130.htm [7]

[8] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0812/S00126.htm [8]

[9] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0812/S00125.htm [9]

[10] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0812/S00118.htm [10]

Human Rights Day Special: Tasers Being Reintroduced To Trial Districts
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]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0812/S00128.htm

Yesterday In Parliament With Tom Frewen
More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0812/S00150.htm

ALSO:

12-month Herceptin treatment now available [2]

New Zealanders deserve best medicines available [3]

Roche welcomes 52 week Herceptin funding [4]

PHARMAC statement on Herceptin 12 month funding [5]

Herceptin Decision Irrelevant [6]

Herceptin Funding [7]

[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0812/S00083.htm [2]

[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0812/S00087.htm [3]

[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE0812/S00058.htm [4]

[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE0812/S00057.htm [5]

[6] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0812/S00129.htm [6]

[7] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE0812/S00062.htm [7]

Poznan Talks: Is NZ Playing Climate Roulette?
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]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0812/S00109.htm

ALSO:

Climate change select committee established [2]

‘Key’ and ‘Hide’ play Climate Deal of the Century [3]

Don't flush our climate down the John [4]

Kyoto and ETS: NZ acts globally by farming locally [5]

Wind industry calls for ambitious targets [6]

Construction Sector Can Do More To Curb Emissions [7]

UN Climate Deal Could Pay for Forest Destruction [8]

Ground-Breaking UN Atlas To Tackle Climate Change [9]

09 Critical Year For Action On Climate Change [10]

[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0812/S00071.htm [2]

[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0812/S00106.htm [3]

[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0812/S00110.htm [4]

[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0812/S00197.htm [5]

[6] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0812/S00193.htm [6]

[7] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0812/S00175.htm [7]

[8] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0812/S00156.htm [8]

[9] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0812/S00171.htm [9]

[10] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0812/S00148.htm [10]

Legal Eagles: Gordon Campbell IVs Lord Bingham Of Cornhill
... 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]

[1] - http://election08.scoop.co.nz/gordon-campbell-ivs-lord-bingham-of-cornhill/

ALSO:

Briefcase Blog: Judicial Retirements & Ed's Plate [2]

Bain Legal Team Ready For Privy Council [3]

[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0812/S00095.htm [2]

[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0812/S00100.htm [3]

PM's Presser: Key Considering Higher Govt Kiwisaver Contributions
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]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0812/S00148.htm

ALSO:

Changes make KiwiSaver more affordable for all [2]

CTU welcomes softening of KiwiSaver stance [3]

Key announces plans to make KiwiSaver fairer [4]

[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0812/S00061.htm [2]

[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0812/S00107.htm [3]

[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/multimedia/tv/politics/16377.html [4]

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BUSINESS SCIENCE & TECH

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Finance: Investors Approve Hanover Debt Restructure
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]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0812/S00210.htm

ALSO:

Hanover investors vote on restructuring plan [2]

[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/multimedia/tv/national/16436.html [2]

Buying Stuff Cheap: Fancy A Nice Little Motor
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]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0812/S00182.htm

International Trade: How D'Ye Like Them Capsicums?
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]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0812/S00180.htm

Economy: NZ Average House Price Falls For A Second Month
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]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0812/S00133.htm

Crime: Microsoft Hunts Software Pirates In Pacific Seas
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]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0812/S00065.htm

Nutrition: Research Reveals Salmon Is Good
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]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/SC0812/S00012.htm

ALSO:

Support for Science [2]

[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/SC0812/S00014.htm [2]

Media: Audience Climbs Again For One News
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]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0812/S00039.htm

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COMMENT

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Michael Collins: GM, Ford - Wont't Pledge To Buy American
(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]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0812/S00138.htm

Peter Barrett: Unlike Markets, Climate Won’t Bounce Back Soon
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]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0812/S00158.htm

Obama's Decision: Domestic Social Agenda vs. Foreign War
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]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0812/S00141.htm

Stateside: Bizarrities
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]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0812/S00146.htm

Jason Leopold: Mukasey Uses Nixon To Defend Bush
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]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0812/S00144.htm

Indo-China: Will Cambodia's Court Survive To Try Remaining Khmer Rouge?
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]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0812/S00126.htm

It’s In The Blood: The Effort To Unseat Obama
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]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0812/S00102.htm

Evelyn Pringle: Mothers Act Promotes Pregnancy As New Cottage Industry
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]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0812/S00107.htm

Sadia Ali Aden: Somalia Ought To Be Obama's Litmus Test
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]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0812/S00118.htm

ALSO:

Somali Piracy and the Enchanting Water Circus [2]

[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0811/S00331.htm [2]

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LIFESTYLE

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Charity/Art: Eyes From Ethopia online exhibition
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]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0812/S00103.htm

Kiwi Pride: 'This Is Her' Selected For Sundance
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]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0812/S00098.htm

Careful Giving: Buy A Safe Toy For Xmas
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]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0812/S00087.htm

Cyber Magazines: Online Celebration of Auckland Culture – Issue Three Out
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]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK0812/S00078.htm

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WORLD

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UN Peacekeeping Chief: Time To Act In DR Congo Is Now
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]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0812/S00168.htm

ALSO:

DRC: UN To Launch Dialogue Between Govt & Rebels [2]

UN Starts Airlifting Aid To North-Eastern DR Congo [3]

[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0812/S00188.htm [2]

[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0812/S00200.htm [3]

10th Dec, 2008:: International Human Rights Day
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]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0812/S00196.htm

ALSO:

Remarks At the 2008 IHR Day Awards Ceremony [2]

[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0812/S00207.htm [2]

Ban Ki-moon: Ban Voices ‘Growing Frustration’ At Lack Of Progress In Myanmar
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]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0812/S00186.htm

Zimbabwe: Cholera Cases And Deaths Continue To Climb
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]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0812/S00173.htm

"My home is drowning," Young Pacific Islander Stands Up To World Leaders
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]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0812/S00213.htm

'Dozens Of Nations': Sign Up To UN-Backed Treaty Banning Use Of Cluster Bombs
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]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0812/S00114.htm

Horn of Africa: Next Year Is ‘Make Or Break’ For Somalia
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]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0812/S00116.htm

United Nations: Time To Prepare For Disasters Caused By Climate Change Is Now
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]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0812/S00093.htm

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Top Scoop Stories – 10 December 2008 News Summary