http://www.scoopit.co.nz Submit and vote on the news you care about Fri, 27 Jan 2012 05:29:43 NZDT en http://www.scoopit.co.nz/story.php?title=in-the-age-of-robotic-weapons
Perhaps the answer could be drawn from a ceremony that could be happening in various places in that tormented country. That is, a Jirga of elders awarding a young fighter the Jirga medal of honor for courage on the battlefield, which often happens to be their village or valley. ]]> Fri, 27 Jan 2012 05:29:43 NZDT Dharawal Commentary 6 http://www.scoopit.co.nz/story.php?title=in-the-age-of-robotic-weapons http://www.scoopit.co.nz/story.php?title=sheikhs-fall-in-love-with-renminbi
Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, who visited Doha last week, disclosed at a press conference on Friday: a) China proposes to invest in the manufacturing of ''downstream oil products, which are most urgently needed by Qatar''; b) China and Qatar signed an agreement to jointly build a refinery in Taizhou, Zheijiang, in China; c) Chinese companies propose to participate in infrastructure projects in Qatar; and d) China and Qatar are discussing a "long-term, stable and comprehensive cooperative partnership" in natural gas.

Then, Wen quietly dropped a bombshell. He revealed "one more important point" as if it were an afterthought. He said:
In order to address investment issues, we [China and Qatar] need financial support. Therefore, we reached another agreement, a cooperation agreement linking finance with investment. Qatar also proposed the use of local currency in trade settlement and even a specific ratio. I think this proposal can be studied.
The short point is, the renminbi, the "people's currency" also known as the yuan, is appearing in Doha. The China-United Arab Emirates (UAE) currency swap deal which was signed during Wen's visit to Abu Dhabi last week already brings the yuan to the Emirates. The deal with the UAE is worth US$5.5 billion and the Chinese central bank statement said that it aims at "strengthening bilateral financial cooperation, promoting trade and investments and jointly safeguarding regional financial stability".

Indeed, China is playing for the long term. Addressing an energy summit in the UAE, Wen made the startling proposal to create an international body that is mandated to determine the price of oil and which would regulate the policies of the entire supply chain involving the supplier countries, the consumers and even the transit countries.



]]> Thu, 26 Jan 2012 04:15:26 NZDT kaarangaranga Business 5 http://www.scoopit.co.nz/story.php?title=sheikhs-fall-in-love-with-renminbi http://www.scoopit.co.nz/story.php?title=what-is-sopa-and-why-wont-it-work ]]> Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:04:00 NZDT mariafeliks Culture 6 http://www.scoopit.co.nz/story.php?title=what-is-sopa-and-why-wont-it-work http://www.scoopit.co.nz/story.php?title=flog-off-uk-parliament-subsiding-into-the-thames-
The problem is so severe that MPs are even being asked to consider the radical proposal of selling off the historic building and moving into newly built offices – a move that could net £500 million for the Exchequer.

]]> Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:03:54 NZDT Res.Publica Commentary 5 http://www.scoopit.co.nz/story.php?title=flog-off-uk-parliament-subsiding-into-the-thames- http://www.scoopit.co.nz/story.php?title=journo-interrogates-ecb-on-irish-debt-liability
]]> Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:03:07 NZDT goanna.smiles Culture 6 http://www.scoopit.co.nz/story.php?title=journo-interrogates-ecb-on-irish-debt-liability http://www.scoopit.co.nz/story.php?title=ghadafi-loyalists-recapture-bani-walid
The assault on a base of former rebels who helped oust Gadhafi was the first major offensive launched by his loyalists since the "liberation" of Libya on October 23, shortly after the fall of Bani Walid.

"The loyalists of Gadhafi took control of the entire city of Bani Walid," said M'barek al-Fotmani, a former member of the ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) in the desert oasis, 170 kilometers south of Tripoli.

Fotmani said the daylight attack on the base of former rebels killed "five thuwar (anti-Gadhafi revolutionaries) including a commander." Around 30 former rebels were also injured, he said from inside the base.

Monday's attack follows an outburst of opposition to the NTC in the eastern city of Benghazi last week that prompted its chairman, Mustafa Abdul Jalil, to warn of possible "civil war" in post-conflict Libya.

Mahmoud Warfelli, spokesman of Bani Walid local council, said the attack was launched by "a group of remnants of the old regime," and called for outside help against a feared "massacre."

"There are around 100 and 150 men armed with heavy weapons who are attacking. We have asked for the army to intervene, but the defense ministry and NTC have let us down," he said.

"(The gunmen) took control and hoisted the green flag on some districts, some important districts in the center of the city," Warfelli added.

]]> Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:03:00 NZDT Hecate World 6 http://www.scoopit.co.nz/story.php?title=ghadafi-loyalists-recapture-bani-walid http://www.scoopit.co.nz/story.php?title=hollywood-reality-undermines-internet-policy-1
Much of the controversy surrounding The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) [1] and the Protect IP Act (PIPA) [2] pertains to how they were drafted and their potential adverse consequences to the Internet itself, if not society generally. While a prolonged analysis or description of these proposals are beyond the scope of this article – but can be found quite easily online – they represent the latest attempts by the intellectual property (IP) industry (although ‘cartel’ might be a more appropriate term) to further extend its reach into cyberspace to enact what it believes are necessary measures to protect its copyrighted property such as movies, music, and software. Unfortunately, these legislative proposals were conceived and developed primarily by industry lobbyists with little input from Internet engineers, cybersecurity practitioners, or other subject matter experts who understand the technical, legal, and social consequences should these proposals, as written, become law. The secrecy surrounding the drafting of SOPA and PIPA are reminiscent of how these same industry organisations were adamant that the international development of 2011′s controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) occur in secret with little if any public consultation, comment, or discussion.[3] ]]> Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:02:53 NZDT feniks Culture 5 http://www.scoopit.co.nz/story.php?title=hollywood-reality-undermines-internet-policy-1 http://www.scoopit.co.nz/story.php?title=gould-insidious-attacks-on-nz-press-freedom
When it became clear that a record of that conversation was in the hands of the media, and that they saw no legal problem in publishing it, the Prime Minister’s reaction was very instructive.

He did not go to court to seek an injunction and assert his right to privacy. Instead, he laid a complaint with the police and asked them to investigate what he maintained might be a criminal offence.

The police were quick to comply.

They not only initiated an investigation but also warned the media that they, too, could be criminally liable if they published the recording. This warning was sufficient to frighten the media into silence.

Two months later, we are still waiting for the outcome of the police investigation. No criminal offence, it seems, has yet been established. The only legal outcome so far is that the Attorney-General, acting for the Government, has declared his intention to seek substantial costs from the cameraman who had the temerity to try to establish if he had committed no offence.

The police investigation, while so far inconclusive on the issue of criminality, has nevertheless been successful in another respect; it has fully met the Prime Minister’s requirements by keeping the conversation secret till beyond – well beyond – the election.

The message is clear. The police will support threats issued by the executive to deter the media from publishing material that as far as we know was lawfully obtained and that was of substantial public interest. ]]> Tue, 24 Jan 2012 23:31:43 NZDT The.Old.Zealand.Institute Commentary 9 http://www.scoopit.co.nz/story.php?title=gould-insidious-attacks-on-nz-press-freedom http://www.scoopit.co.nz/story.php?title=criminology-of-the-current-crisis Tue, 24 Jan 2012 04:12:04 NZDT John.Law Law & Order 6 http://www.scoopit.co.nz/story.php?title=criminology-of-the-current-crisis http://www.scoopit.co.nz/story.php?title=the-rise-of-the-overclass Tue, 24 Jan 2012 00:25:13 NZDT CommonGood World 6 http://www.scoopit.co.nz/story.php?title=the-rise-of-the-overclass http://www.scoopit.co.nz/story.php?title=why-im-suing-barack-obama .......
I met regularly with leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza. I used to visit Palestine Liberation Organization leaders, including Yasser Arafat and Abu Jihad, in Tunis when they were branded international terrorists. I have spent time with the Revolutionary Guard in Iran and was in northern Iraq and southeastern Turkey with fighters from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party. All these entities were or are labeled as terrorist organizations by the U.S. government. What would this bill have meant if it had been in place when I and other Americans traveled in the 1980s with armed units of the Sandinistas in Nicaragua or the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front guerrillas in El Salvador? What would it have meant for those of us who were with the southern insurgents during the civil war in Yemen or the rebels in the southern Sudan? I have had dinner more times than I can count with people whom this country brands as terrorists. But that does not make me one.

]]> Tue, 24 Jan 2012 00:25:07 NZDT Honest.John Law & Order 6 http://www.scoopit.co.nz/story.php?title=why-im-suing-barack-obama http://www.scoopit.co.nz/story.php?title=megaupload-the-real-meaning ...
that might be why SOPA’s chief sponsor – who said he’d still push SOPA even after Wednesday’s web blackout – backed down right right after megaupload was taken down. ]]> Sun, 22 Jan 2012 03:34:42 NZDT Skua Commentary 6 http://www.scoopit.co.nz/story.php?title=megaupload-the-real-meaning http://www.scoopit.co.nz/story.php?title=hedge-funds-to-sue-greece-for-losses-1 Sat, 21 Jan 2012 06:30:12 NZDT Oikos Commentary 9 http://www.scoopit.co.nz/story.php?title=hedge-funds-to-sue-greece-for-losses-1 http://www.scoopit.co.nz/story.php?title=portugese-economy-in-grecian-spiral Sat, 21 Jan 2012 06:30:10 NZDT Cassandra Business 7 http://www.scoopit.co.nz/story.php?title=portugese-economy-in-grecian-spiral http://www.scoopit.co.nz/story.php?title=can-politico-sink-any-lower-
Splashed across pages 24 and 25 is an ad from military contractor Lockheed Martin with a picture of the Armed Aerial Scout Scout 72X helicopter – “carrying a 2,300 pound mission payload .. "
..
The back cover is brought to you by none other than .. Goldman Sachs ]]> Sat, 21 Jan 2012 06:30:09 NZDT bite.the.bullet Culture 7 http://www.scoopit.co.nz/story.php?title=can-politico-sink-any-lower- http://www.scoopit.co.nz/story.php?title=whatever-happened-to-al-jazeera Fri, 20 Jan 2012 05:30:50 NZDT banjo World 10 http://www.scoopit.co.nz/story.php?title=whatever-happened-to-al-jazeera http://www.scoopit.co.nz/story.php?title=pilger-the-world-war-on-democracy Fri, 20 Jan 2012 05:30:43 NZDT Pemulwuy Commentary 8 http://www.scoopit.co.nz/story.php?title=pilger-the-world-war-on-democracy http://www.scoopit.co.nz/story.php?title=julian-assange-the-rolling-stone-interview Fri, 20 Jan 2012 05:30:41 NZDT banjo World 8 http://www.scoopit.co.nz/story.php?title=julian-assange-the-rolling-stone-interview http://www.scoopit.co.nz/story.php?title=escobar-the-myth-of-isolated-iran- Fri, 20 Jan 2012 03:22:59 NZDT Rodolfo World 7 http://www.scoopit.co.nz/story.php?title=escobar-the-myth-of-isolated-iran- http://www.scoopit.co.nz/story.php?title=us-israeli-rift-over-iran-joint-exercise-cancelled The row between Washington and Jerusalem is now in the open, ]]> Thu, 19 Jan 2012 07:47:29 NZDT feniks Commentary 6 http://www.scoopit.co.nz/story.php?title=us-israeli-rift-over-iran-joint-exercise-cancelled