Tuesday 29th January 2008: -

• More old people are denied basic care - A rapidly ageing population and a squeeze on local authority funding mean fewer old people now qualify for help to pay for assistance with washing, dressing and eating. The annual report from the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) found that, despite a 3 per cent rise in the number of over-75s, there has been a fall in the number of elderly people receiving any services — from 867,000 in 2003 to 840,000 in 2006. Those receiving funded care in their own homes has fallen from 479,000 in 1997 to 358,000 last year.

• 9/11 responder attends State of the Union - John Feal of Nesconset had vowed never to return to the nation's capital. The former demolition supervisor, whose left foot was crushed by an eight-ton steel beam while he worked to remove debris from Ground Zero, said it was simply too painful to be reminded of what he sees as the Bush administration's abandonment of him and other 9/11 responders. But yesterday, Feal, 41, gave it another shot, sitting in the gallery of the U.S. Capitol, along with eight other first responders, who are battling illnesses and other disabilities related to their service. Their presence was both rebuke and de facto demand to the Bush administration.   (RELATED: Go to fealgoodfoundation.com for background info.)

• LATEST LOOSE CHANGE CIRCULAR: -

Loose Change Supporter,

Below is some information on an exciting upcoming event in Las Vegas.  We will be screening both Loose Change Final Cut v.1.1 and Loose Change 2nd Edition Recut.  Also, we're gearing up for big events in Colorado and across the country.  Be sure to check out our events page (http://loosechange911.com/events.html) weekly for updates.

Lastly,  a reminder that the Loose Change Store DVD special ends in 3 days (Jan 31, 2008).  For the price of a single sleeved Loose Change 2nd Edition, you get two and a free 10-pack of bumper stickers.  Head to the store (http://lc911.com/lc911/catalog/Sleeved-Loose-Change-2nd-Edition-DVD-Special-p-51.html) to grab them now, before the sale ends.  While you're there, please be sure to donate to the Feal Good Foundation to support injured first responders.  Click here to donate now!
 

--------------------------------------------------------
Event Description
 
The Libertarian Leadership Conference is a meeting of all Libertarian
activists, organizers, candidates, and financial supporters.  The
Leadership Conference is hosted annually by the Libertarian State
Chairs' Organization.   Every attendee will find more interesting
events than they will be able to do.

This year, the Libertarian Leadership Conference will be held in Las
Vegas Nevada over Presidents' Day Weekend.  For tickets go
to http://www.lpnevada.org/stateparty/lsla.php

This is where all Libertarians gather with the single purpose of
building our party's structural integrity beyond the level required to
defeat the establishment parties. There will be an eight hour seminar
on activist and candidate training. There will be job training for
county and state officers, from filing with the FEC to how to organize
volunteers in your area to organizing new affiliate parties in your
state.

Dylan Avery will be appearing at 6 p.m. on the evening of Friday,
February 15th, to introduce a free screening of Loose Change 2nd
Edition.  On Sunday from noon to 6 p.m., Dylan will hold a screening
of Loose Change Final Cut  followed by a Question and Answer session
from conference attendees.
 
------------
 
Brief schedule:
 
Friday February 15th, 6 p.m. screening of Loose Change 2.
Santa Maria room Sunset Station and short introduction speech by
writer Director Dylan Avery.
 
Sunday February 17th, 12 p.m.  - 6 p.m. screening of Loose Change
Final Cut and Q and A with writer / director Dylan Avery.

--------------------------------

Spread the word! 

-The LC Team

(RELATED: See our 9/11 archive and our affiliated site 911truthskipton.com)

• Exercise really can make you younger, study shows - People who take exercise are biologically younger - by up to nine years - than those who don’t. This striking finding may explain why exercise reduces the risk of heart attacks, diabetes, cancer, and other degenerative diseases. It actually suggests that active adults have cells that are measurably “younger” than those of inactive ones. A team from King’s College London looked at biological molecules called telomeres that act as a clock, measuring the passage of the years. Telomeres are the caps at the end of the chromosomes, designed like the tips of a shoelace to protect them from damage. In youth, telomeres are long, but they get shorter as we age, leading to a growing risk of damage. In the new study published in Archives of Internal Medicine the King’s team, together with colleagues from New Jersey, have shown that active people have longer telomeres than inactive ones.

• KUALA LUMPUR: Children can soon go cashless with debit card - A few weeks from now, children as young as 12 will be able to swipe a debit card and leave their cash at home. Tune Money Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Tengku Zafrul Aziz said applications for the prepaid Visa Tune Card would be made available for children aged 12 to 18 years. The Tune Card is a debit card that gives instant online approval with no credit check and allows for cash withdrawals at ATMs worldwide. The annual fee is RM9.99. Currently, credit cards are allowed only for those aged 18 and above. Tengku Zafrul said: “Children can buy things for themselves and it will be easier for parents to transfer money to their children. They won’t have to give them so much cash. “This way, parents will be able to easily monitor and control their children’s spending, as every transaction will be recorded.”   (RELATED: See our Cashless Society Control Grid archive)

Monday 28th January 2008: -

• 'Captain Underpants' MP who posed on gay dating site wants children as young as nine to be given sex advice - Under-11s should be given explicit sex education to help reduce teenage pregnancies, a Labour MP has said. Chris Bryant, who made the headlines in 2003 after appearing on a gay dating website in his underwear, also recommended distributing condoms in schools. His proposals, in a pamphlet published yesterday, include giving parents advice on how to talk about sex when their children turn 11.

• Neo-cons, not military, behind 9/11 - In his article (“Barrett alleges discrimination at 2 UW schools,” Jan. 21) Pedro Oliveira Jr. misstates my position, writing, “Barrett was heavily scrutinized in fall 2006 for his public affiliation with the belief that the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center were perpetrated by the U.S. military.” In fact, I have no affiliation with any such belief. The U.S. military consists of over 100,000 men and women, the vast majority of whom are loyal, patriotic Americans. Indeed, many military officers, including a general and several colonels, have bravely joined the 9/11 Truth Movement. And the 9/11 Truth Movement’s favorite Republican candidate, Ron Paul, is by far the biggest recipient of campaign contributions from U.S. military personnel. This suggests that the military is ahead of other American institutions in opposing and exposing the 9/11 crimes of high treason and mass murder.

• Care for 9/11 Responders Is Piecemeal: Plan for Processing Center On Hold, Funding Uncertain - As President Bush gives his State of the Union speech Monday, there will be one man in the audience who plans to sit quietly and watch, his very presence a form of protest. Joseph Libretti, 51, is sick. He has been diagnosed with chronic lung disease since volunteering after Sept. 11, 2001, to cut through steel to remove bodies from the gritty, smoking pile of detritus of the World Trade Center. Now, too weak to return to his job as an ironworker, he mostly keeps close to his Pennsylvania home. He is among a group of responders demanding a coherent national program to provide local medical treatment for Ground Zero workers from outside New York City who answered the call to help after the terrorist attacks. An existing program was effectively halted in December, when the federal government canceled its search for a contractor to process medical reimbursements.

• Diana secrets missing, says sister - The sister of Diana, Princess of Wales entrusted a "Pandora's box" of secrets to butler Paul Burrell in the aftermath of the fatal Paris car crash, an inquest has been told. Lady Sarah McCorquodale said its contents were given to Mr Burrell, Diana's aide, but the sensitive documents - including Diana's divorce papers - have never been seen since. The large wooden box is at the centre of claims it contained "nasty" letters from the Duke of Edinburgh to Diana and other embarrassing material that Lady Sarah destroyed to stop it causing distress to members of the Royal Family in the future. But Lady Sarah told the court she was "100%" confident there were no letters from the Duke in the box - despite a note from policeman Roger Milburn which suggested there had been. Mohamed al Fayed is convinced Philip ordered Diana to be murdered by MI6 and believes her father-in-law's letters may hold the key to her death.

• Diana feared that Harrods boss had bugged luxury cruise yacht - Diana, Princess of Wales, thought that she was being bugged by Mohamed Al Fayed as she cruised on the Harrods owner’s yacht in the Mediterranean, her inquest heard yesterday. Lady Sarah McCorquodale, the Princess’s sister, told the jury at the hearing that Diana had expressed her fears in a telephone call when she was a guest of the Fayed family shortly before the fatal crash in a Paris underpass in August 1997. In the last call to her sister, hours before her death, Diana had been distraught about the publication of an interview she gave to the French newspaper Le Monde on her landmines campaign, complaining that she had been misquoted and made to look as though criticising Tony Blair’s Government.

Sunday 27th January 2008: -

• EU plans to see our economy blown away - It was appropriate that, just as our MPs were voting last week to hand over yet more of the power to run this country in the EU treaty, the EU itself should be unveiling easily the most ambitious example yet of how it uses the powers we have already given away. The proposals for "fighting climate change" announced on Wednesday by an array of EU commissioners make Stalin's Five-Year Plans look like a model of practical politics. Few might guess, from the two-dimensional reporting of these plans in the media, just what a gamble with Europe's future we are undertaking - spending trillions of pounds for a highly dubious return, at a devastating cost to all our economies.

• How I Came To Distrust the Official 9/11 Conspiracy Theory - From 2001 through most of 2007, I didn't think much about this subject. I had casually wondered if the fires could actually be responsible for bringing the towers down, thinking about the heat and thermodynamics necessary to weaken the steel columns. I have an undergraduate degree in chemistry, and find thermodynamics very interesting. The idea that fires fueled by office materials and jet fuel (enhanced kerosene) could weaken steel beams, resulting in total failure of the entire structure seemed vaguely unlikely. After all, there have been other large steel-structured office building fires that had not resulted in complete, catastrophic collapse, but I didn’t dwell on my vague doubts. I have since learned there have been no complete, catastrophic collapses of steel-framed buildings due to fire recorded, ever, like these. There have been partial collapses, involving a few floors, and considerable damage due to fire, but no complete collapses ever of steel-framed buildings. On 9/11, we are given to believe there were three.

• Insights of a Canadian Lawyer: Was 9/11 an Inside Job?: by Hal. C. Sisson, QC - In mid January 2008 united 9/11 Truth Movements across Canada, spearheaded by Victoria and Vancouver branches, sent a petition letter to the heads of all Canadian political parties and to every Member of Parliament. The letter requested two things: a. A call for a new investigation into the events of September 11, 2001 by an independent and impartial tribunal, plus b. Open discussion in Parliament of, or a national referendum on, the proposed integration of Canada, the United States and Mexico into a North American Union, under the Security and Prosperity Partnership agreement, (originally signed in 2005 in Waco Texas by then Prime Minister Paul Martin); an Agreement that has never been discussed outside of a cabal of senior government officials and military and corporate leaders.

• Bill Calls for Sugar-Substitute Ban - Many popular foods and drinks would be pulled from store shelves under a bill in the state Legislature to ban the sweetener aspartame. While the Food and Drug Administration and many doctors say it's safe, a growing contingent of consumers thinks the additive is dangerous if not deadly. One lawmaker is bringing the debate to the Capitol. Diet soda -- for many, a daily staple. But is what's inside hurting us? Some consumers are organizing against the no-calorie sweetener aspartame that's found in numerous drinks and snacks. Critics say it's been linked to 92 symptoms and several deaths. Hawaii lawmaker Rep. Mele Carroll heard concerns from dozens of her own constituents with conditions they blame on aspartame.

• Diana's bodyguard had help pleas ignored - Bodyguards for Princess Diana and her lover Dodi Fayed had calls for extra security rejected during their fateful trip to Paris, the inquest into their deaths has heard. Trevor Rees, who was one of two bodyguards assigned to the couple, said he believed Dodi and Diana should have had four security guards protecting them from hordes of photographers and onlookers in the days before their fatal car crash in the French capital. Photographs of the couple had been splashed across newspapers around the globe as they holidayed aboard Dodi's yacht in late August 1997. By the time they arrived for a one-night stopover in Paris on August 30, dozens of photographers were waiting to track their every move.

Thursday 24th January 2008: -

• The chinks in Giuliani's 9/11 armor: His composed response after the attacks is at the core of his presidential campaign. But some of the chaos that hobbled rescuers was rooted in his blind spots as New York's mayor - On Sept. 11, 2001, Rudolph W. Giuliani emerged from the ash plumes of the ruined World Trade Center as much an icon as the fallen towers. His drawn face was coated in concrete dust. His painstaking words were freighted with the unimaginable. "There were so many people around, so many problems," Giuliani recalled in his autobiography. The counting of the dead had not begun, and he had to publicly reckon with the disaster's human toll. "The number of casualties," he told the world, "will be more than any of us can bear ultimately."

• The 9/11 porn of Cloverfield - At some point we knew it had to happen. After all, it does to nearly every great event in modern American history. It doesn't matter if the subject matter is tragic or horrifying or simply embarrassing; a Hollywood exec can take that signature moment and turn it into a crowd-pleasing actioner, a goofy rom-com, or a half-witted television pilot. Tinsel Town hungers for new concepts like Bill Clinton hungers for 40 winks and a hummer. The slavery era was given a zip-a-dee-doo-dah makeover in Song of the South. By harnessing the combined powers of Technicolor, animation, and songwriting, Walt Disney was able to whitewash the darkest days of American history.

• Diana bodyguard 'under pressure' - Trevor Rees has said he felt under pressure from Mohamed Al Fayed to recall a flash of light moments before the crash which killed Princess Diana. The bodyguard and sole survivor of the crash told the inquest into Diana's death he did not "feel comfortable" when he was with the Harrods boss. Mr Al Fayed, whose son Dodi also died in the crash, claims Mr Rees is pretending to suffer memory loss. Mr Rees told the court he had always tried to do his best to tell the truth.

Tuesday 22nd January 2008: -

• Voting open to 'childishly simple' fraud, says watchdog - Reforms to the postal voting rules introduced by Labour have made electoral fraud in Britain "childishly simple", a European human rights watchdog said today. The Council of Europe claimed the British voting system was now open to fraud and the system "makes it extremely easy to add bogus characters to the voters' lists". The council said steps taken to tighten up the system after a postal voting scandal in Birmingham in 2004 had failed to close the serious loopholes.

• 9/11 Contradictions: When Did Cheney Enter the Underground Bunker?: by David Ray Griffin - With regard to the morning of 9/11, everyone agrees that at some time after 9:03 (when the South Tower of the World Trade Center was struck) and before 10:00, Vice President Dick Cheney went down to the Presidential Emergency Operations Center (PEOC), sometimes simply called the “bunker,” under the east wing of the White House. Everyone also agrees that, once there, Cheney was in charge---that he was either making decisions or relaying decisions from President Bush. But there is enormous disagreement as to exactly when Cheney entered the PEOC. According to The 9/11 Commission Report, Cheney arrived “shortly before 10:00, perhaps at 9:58” (The 9/11 Commission Report [henceforth 9/11CR], 40). This official time, however, contradicts almost all previous reports, some of which had him there before 9:20. This difference is important because, if the 9/11 Commission’s time is correct, Cheney was not in charge in the PEOC when the Pentagon was struck, or for most of the period during which United Flight 93 was approaching Washington. But if the reports that have him there by 9:20 are correct, he was in charge in the PEOC all that time.

• Actor Heath Ledger is found dead - Australian-born actor Heath Ledger, 28, the co-star of the Oscar-winning movie "Brokeback Mountain," was found dead in his New York residence on Tuesday, police said. "Heath Ledger was found dead at 3:26 pm this afternoon," a police spokesperson said, saying he was found in his residence in the posh district of Soho. "We don't know the cause of the death." The entertainment website TMZ said Heath was discovered by a maid in his bed in his Manhattan apartment, adding that "law enforcement sources ... believe it was not a crime."   (COMMENTARY: We don't normally do celebrity news, but we were saddened to hear this one...)

• MoD laptop losses expose government data indifference - The latest data giveaway by the UK's Ministry of Defence shows that not even the most basic IT policies are being followed. There are various ways to ensure laptops do not go astray when loaded up with sensitive information. The most basic is that such information should not be on any machine unless absolutely necessary. The second policy would be to take some action to ensure the laptop was kept physically safe - so leaving such a laptop in an empty car overnight is probably not a good idea. Assuming one or both of these steps were followed, the MoD could then use various types of technology to ensure the data was safe if the worst did happen and the machine was stolen - it could password protect the machine and it could encrypt the data.

Monday 21st January 2008: -

• "Inconsistencies" over Diana driver samples - The procedures used by French medical experts to collect samples from the body of Princess Diana's chauffeur suffered "inconsistencies", the inquest into her death was told on Monday by a leading British toxicologist. French and British police investigations have both concluded that Diana and her lover Dodi al-Fayed died in a high-speed Paris car crash because chauffeur Henri Paul was drunk. But Dodi's father, luxury storeowner Mohamed al-Fayed, alleges that her son and Diana were killed by British security services on the orders of Prince Philip. He has also questioned the results of the tests taken on Henri Paul's body after his death.

• Three military laptops with secure data missing - Three military laptops containing personal details of new recruits have been stolen from Ministry of Defence staff since 2005, Des Browne was forced to admit today. The Defence Secretary was making a statement to the House of Commons explaining the loss of a laptop containing the personal data of 600,000 people earlier this month when he made the embarrassing admission. It was revealed that a further two military laptops containing the unencrypted details of at least 500 military personnel and potential new recruits had been lost in the last two years.

• Worst one-day FTSE fall since 9/11 - More than £70 billion was wiped off the value of blue chip shares as the London market suffered its worst one-day fall since the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001. The stock market bloodbath came as fears of a recession in the US intensified. Traders described the losses on the FTSE 100 Index as "incredible", with the Footsie at one stage plummeting by as much as 330.7 points. London's leading share index later closed down 323.5 points at 5578.2, almost equalling the dramatic 324-point fall seen on the day of 9/11 and taking the FTSE 100 to its lowest level in around 18 months.

• BRITISH SOLDIER KILLED IN AFGHANISTAN - A British soldier was killed and five were injured by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan yesterday, the Ministry of Defence revealed today. The soldier, a member of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers attached to 5th Regiment Royal Artillery, died when the vehicle the troops were travelling in struck a landmine near Musa Qala. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Next of kin have been informed.

Sunday 20th January 2008: -

• MP ALLEGES COVER-UP IN CYBERSPACE - Ministers were accused of an internet cover up after their staff CHANGED information on an encyclopaedia's website. Health minister Ben Bradshaw admitted his officials altered 1,500 entries on website Wikipedia but has refused to reveal why. The meddling from 2005 to 2007 was traced to his department's computers. Shadow health minister Stephen O'Brien said: "This looks like a desperate attempt to rewrite history he is ashamed of. Is this an appropriate activity for civil servants to be engaged in?" But a department spokesman said staff were not acting officially but accessing the site for personal use only.

• USA: Hands down, it's the law: Fingerprinting educators is costly, intrusive - and required - Red tape and resistance have tripped up the state's first crack at collecting fingerprints for an estimated 1 million people who work in Texas public schools. Barbara Banta, a third-grade teacher in Austin, is fingerprinted by Paul Potter, a technician with Integrated Biometric Technology. Anyone who works with children should be checked out thoroughly, she says. School districts across Texas have reported paperwork delays in hiring new janitors, bus drivers and other noneducational employees who must provide fingerprints to the state before they can start work this month. Most of the troubles are rooted in bureaucracy, but some bubbled up out of protest.

• Ron Paul bags 2nd place in Nevada - So-called long shot candidate Ron Paul managed to finish 2nd place in the Nevada caucuses held today, which proves the Texas Representative may have more support around the country, and especially out west, than he's getting credit for. Romney destroyed the competition in Nevada with over 50% of the vote and finished first. Ron Paul came in second with 13%, and John McCain finished third, also with 13% but with fewer popular votes than Paul.

• Tom Cruises 9/11 ‘lies’ web rant sparks anger in the US - American actor Tom Cruise has sparked outrage in the U.S, after he accused government officials of lying following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In a new promotional video for Scientology, the actor was seen blasting the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for endangering the health of emergency service staff at ground zero. “The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) came out and said the air was clean. Of course as a Scientologist you go, ‘That’s a lie.’ You just go, ‘Liar’, Contactmusic quoted him as saying. “Finally you say, dammit, just go there and do it. Put it there, let’s go, here’s the money, let’s go. Let’s just get one person treated. I can’t sleep another night,” he added.   (COMMENTARY: Okay, all the Tom Cruise-Scientology publicity hype and hysteria stuff aside for a moment, lets put this into the proper perspective.  Take a deep breath if it helps...  How can it be considered a lie to claim that the American government lied about the safety of Ground Zero in the aftermath of the WTC fall out on 9/11.  This is a fact.... THEY LIED AND PEOPLE ARE SUFFERING AND  DYING AS A DIRECT RESULT.  Go to fealgoodfoundation.com for background info.  Granted, Tom Cruise - just like New World Order shills Hillary Clinton and Michael Moore before him - has his own personal agenda talking abut the WTC dust and we must be VERY wary of this, but at least he has the courage to bring these issues to the table.)

• Canada Adds U.S. to List Of Nations That Torture - In Canada, the United States has joined a notorious group of countries -- Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Afghanistan and China, among others -- as a place where foreigners risk torture and abuse, according to a training manual for Canadian diplomats that was accidentally given this week to Amnesty International lawyers. The manual is intended to create "greater awareness among consular officials to the possibility of Canadians detained abroad being tortured." Part of the workshop is devoted to teaching diplomats how to identify people who have been tortured. It features a section on "U.S. interrogation techniques," including forced nudity, hooding and isolation.

• Maker of 'happy pill' Seroxat is sued by man who killed wife while on drug - Murderer Colin Dorey, who battered his wife to death with a hammer, is suing pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline over his use of the anti-depressant Seroxat. From his cell at Gartree prison in Leicestershire, Dorey, 48, has joined nearly 500 other users of the drug in a lawsuit against the multi-national, each seeking compensation of up to £50,000. Their case is funded by legal aid at an estimated cost of hundreds of thousands of pounds to the taxpayer.

Thursday 17th January 2008: -

• Kenya opposition accuses police of shooting civilans - Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga accused police on Thursday of deliberately killing civilians during a second day of protests over disputed elections. Police firing live rounds and tear gas again dispersed opposition supporters gathering in Nairobi and several other towns in scenes similar to those during the first of a planned three days of protests on Wednesday.

• LOOSE CHANGE CIRCULAR: -
  
  Loose Change Final Cut and 9/11 Press For Truth Screenings
  
  On Tuesday, January 29th, join us for a very special 9/11 Truth Tuesdays. At 5pm, we will be showing Loose Change Final Cut, and at 7pm, we will be showing 9/11: Press For Truth. Following the screening of these films, we will be going to the Freehouse Restaurant in Wayne, PA for a session of Q&A.
  
  The Panelists that will be attending are: -

  9/11 Family Member Bob McIlvaine who lost his son Bobby.

  9/11 Family Member and "Jersey Girl" Lorie Van Auken who lost her husband Kenneth.

  9/11 Family Member and "Jersey Girl" Mindy Kleinberg who lost her husband Alan.

  9/11 First Responder and founder of the FealGood Foundation, John Feal.

  Director of Loose Change Final Cut Dylan Avery.

  Director of 9/11: Press For Truth Ray Nowosielski.

  And maybe some surprises...

The Anthony Wayne Movie Theater is located at:

109 West Lancaster Avenue
Wayne, PA 19087
610-225-7247

Seating for both the Anthony Wayne Theater and the Freehouse Restaurant is limited. Both should be able to accommodate 100 or so people.

Press is welcome.

And don't forget our sale in the Loose Change store: buy a single sleeved copy of Loose Change 2nd Edition and get another copy for free, plus a 10-pack of bumper stickers.

Thanks as always for your support. We hope to see you at the event!

-The LC Team.

• We could have saved Diana, former Met chief tells inquest - Diana, Princess of Wales, would still be alive if she had accepted protection offered by the Metropolitan police, the force's former commissioner told the inquest into her death today. Paul Condon also rejected claims he had covered up evidence that the princess was murdered as "abhorrent" and "disgusting". "Let me be absolutely frank. If as my wish, she would have had police protection in Paris, then I'm absolutely convinced those three lives would not have been tragically lost," said Lord Condon, the head of the Metropolitan police from 1993 until his retirement in early 2000.

• Schools 'breaking admission laws' - Some schools in England may be breaking the law in the way they admit pupils, despite the introduction of new rules last year, the government has said. Schools Minister Jim Knight said not all children had been given an equal chance of getting into a school of their choice this September. Councils who failed to prevent this have been warned they may have flouted the new admissions code themselves. Mr Knight said "covert admission practices" penalised poorer families.

Wednesday 16th January 2008: -

• Diana warned of 'car crash plot to kill her' - Diana, Princess of Wales told her solicitors of a plot to tamper with her car so it would crash and "get rid of her" or leave her "unbalanced", the inquest into her death has heard. Maggie Rae, one of three lawyers present at the meeting in October 1995, said the Princess also believed the Queen was about to abdicate in favour of Charles, the Prince of Wales, and that Tiggy Legge Bourke, the former Royal nanny whom she believed the Prince wanted to marry, had had "an abortion". The Princess made the extraordinary claims when Lord Mishcon, head of law firm Mishcon de Reya, visited her at Kensington Palace to introduce her to Miss Rae and senior partner Sandra Davis, who were to take over the Princess's legal work from him.   (RELATED: See our popular Diana Assassination archive.)

• Coroner objects to Diana inquest TV debate - The coroner presiding over the inquest into the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, has objected to the airing of a debate on the BBC's Newsnight programme. Staff of Lord Justice Scott Baker have referred the discussion to the Attorney General believing it might be prejudicial to the hearing. The inquest into the car crash that killed the Princess and her lover Dodi Fayed in Paris has already faced a number of difficulties that delayed its coming to court. A spokesman for the Attorney General tonight confirmed the referral had been received and said it is under consideration.

• FBI wants instant access to British identity data: Americans seek international database to carry iris, palm and finger prints - Senior British police officials are talking to the FBI about an international database to hunt for major criminals and terrorists. The US-initiated programme, "Server in the Sky", would take cooperation between the police forces way beyond the current faxing of fingerprints across the Atlantic. Allies in the "war against terror" - the US, UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand - have formed a working group, the International Information Consortium, to plan their strategy. Biometric measurements, irises or palm prints as well as fingerprints, and other personal information are likely to be exchanged across the network. One section will feature the world's most wanted suspects. The database could hold details of millions of criminals and suspects.

• Fingerprint readers help reduce fraudulent employee behaviour - Timecards can be easily shared or falsified. Employee lateness and accountability is a costly problem in business. The ability to measure and account for employee time is very valuable to companies who need to maximise their resources. Additionally, security is a huge concern for organisations, not just authenticating users onto IT systems, but also physically securing the premises. Keys or swipe cards can be shared, lost or stolen and are expensive to manage. Time Systems (UK) Ltd. wanted to improve their existing time clock systems by adding a biometric component. They selected DigitalPersona’s Platinum software Development Kit and U.are.U Fingerprint Readers. DigitalPersona’s technology seamlessly integrated into Time Systems application creating a secure and easy-to-use time and attendance solution.

• 'Cloverfield': Horror Film Not Sensitive About 9/11 - Matt Reeves’ "Cloverfield," produced by J.J. Abrams of "Lost" and "Alias" fame, is an 84-minute rollercoaster ride of a monster movie that should be a big hit. But Cloverfield also inadvertently disses New York for what happened on Sept. 11, 2001, by re-enacting scenes of buildings exploding and massive clouds of debris for fun and profit. Does no one recall what was said following the World Trade Center disasters? There was such sensitivity about the huge human losses that images of the Twin Towers were erased from movie posters and excised from films. Yet six years later, the "Cloverfield" gang is cool enough with it to show New York being pulverized. Very quickly and without warning, downtown New York is destroyed. The first bit of damage is depicted by a World Trade Center-like structure exploding and collapsing downward, sending off a cloud not unlike those my friends ran from that day.

Monday 14th January 2008: -

• Peace protester Brian Haw injured in demo - Seven people were arrested, one of them anti-war campaigner Brian Haw, during a demonstration outside Downing Street. Mr Haw, who has been encamped in Parliament Square since June 2001, was filming the protest when arrested. He accused police of using "violent and humiliating force" but said he would not be making a complaint. A police spokesman said 100 people took part in the march against the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act (Socpa), which limits protests near Parliament. Mr Haw, from Redditch, Worcestershire, said: "I was filming the students lying down in the road when one officer stepped forward, as I was walking back, and pushed the camera with his hand. It struck my face." He said he was "dragged" by police into a police van, who pushed "my head close to the ground with my arms handcuffed high above my back". A Metropolitan Police spokesman said they were forced to act because the march contravened the Socpa legislation. "They did not seek authority from the Metropolitan Police Service for the demonstration," he said.

• Prisoners 'to be chipped like dogs': Hi-tech 'satellite' tagging planned in order to create more space in jails / Civil rights groups and probation officers furious at 'degrading' scheme - Ministers are planning to implant "machine-readable" microchips under the skin of thousands of offenders as part of an expansion of the electronic tagging scheme that would create more space in British jails. Amid concerns about the security of existing tagging systems and prison overcrowding, the Ministry of Justice is investigating the use of satellite and radio-wave technology to monitor criminals. But, instead of being contained in bracelets worn around the ankle, the tiny chips would be surgically inserted under the skin of offenders in the community, to help enforce home curfews. The radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, as long as two grains of rice, are able to carry scanable personal information about individuals, including their identities, address and offending record. The tags, labelled "spychips" by privacy campaigners, are already used around the world to keep track of dogs, cats, cattle and airport luggage, but there is no record of the technology being used to monitor offenders in the community. The chips are also being considered as a method of helping to keep order within prisons.

• Generation ID: lessons in kiddyprinting: Thousands of children across the UK have had their fingerprints and DNA taken without explicit informed parental consent - The innocuous term ‘kiddyprinting’ refers to the controversial practice of routinely fingerprinting schoolchildren. Many parents are unaware of it because they have not been asked for their explicit consent, or in many cases even notified that it is taking place. There are no official figures for how many schools in England use some form of biometric identification system. Terri Dowty, director of Action on Rights for Children (ARCH), claims ‘thousands certainly. But local authorities aren’t keeping any records.'

• School defends pupil fingerprint scan - PUPILS' fingerprints are being scanned at two Suffolk schools before they buy dinner in a new “cashless” catering system, it has emerged. A headteacher at one of the schools has insisted it is not an infringement of civil liberties, despite concerns being voiced by one pressure group. Stowmarket High School has become only the second comprehensive in Suffolk to adopt the controversial method for meals, alongside Kirkley High in Lowestoft. School bosses say it means there is no chance of children being bullied for their dinner money, but campaigners claim it is unwise to encourage children to allow fingerprints to be used for such an everyday activity.

• Organs to be taken without consent - Gordon Brown has thrown his weight behind a move to allow hospitals to take organs from dead patients without explicit consent. Writing in The Sunday Telegraph, the Prime Minister says that such a facility would save thousands of lives and that he hopes such a system can start this year. The proposals would mean consent for organ donation after death would be automatically presumed, unless individuals had opted out of the national register or family members objected.

• Diana's mother 'condemned her as disgrace for seeing Muslim men' - Diana, Princess of Wales, was condemned by her mother as a disgraceful “whore” who was messing around with Muslim men, the inquest into her death heard today. Paul Burrell, the Princess’s former butler, told the High Court that he had been allowed to listen into a telephone call where Frances Shand Kydd rounded on her daughter for having a relationship Hasnat Khan, a Pakistani consultant cardiologist. Mr Burrell repeatedly resisted attempts by Michael Mansfield, QC, counsel for Mohamed Al Fayed, to reveal what the Princess's mother had said during the telephone call in June 1997, saying: “Respectfully, that’s not very kind to a lady who is no longer here."

Friday 11th January 2008: -

• Commons call to disestablish church is number 666 - A motion calling for the disestablishment of the Church of England has been listed in the House of Commons as 666 - the Number of the Beast. Labour MP John Austin, who has repeatedly tabled Early Day Motions urging disestablishment, put down his latest motion last night as MPs debated scrapping Britain's blasphemy laws. It appeared appeared on the House of Commons order paper numbered 666, the number associated with the Antichrist in the Book of Revelation. Scholars believe 666 referred to the Emperor Nero. The King James Bible renders Revelation 13:8 as: "Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six."   (ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: Thanks to Samina for informing us of this news story / RELATED: See our Illuminati Symbolism archive)

• Kucinich Backs New Hampshire Recount: Vote fraud expert Bev Harris warns he could be walking into a trap - Citing "serious and credible reports, allegations and rumors" about the integrity of Tuesday's results, Congressman Dennis Kucinich is backing a full recount of ballots for the Democratic contest in New Hampshire, meaning that both party's primaries may now both be cast into doubt. However, vote fraud expert Bev Harris has warned that it could all be a trap to validate Diebold electronic voting machines. As we reported yesterday, New Hampshire Republican candidate Albert Howard is prepared to put his name behind a primary recount in order to ascertain if the example of "human error" in the town of Sutton, where Ron Paul was originally given zero votes, was an isolated case or if wider vote fraud took place.

• Pro-Taliban cleric denies involvement in Bhutto killing - Pro-Taliban cleric Maulana Fazlullah, one of two militant leaders accused by President Pervez Musharraf of masterminding the assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto, has said he was not involved in her killing. Fazlullah, who is being hunted by Pakistani security forces for spearheading a campaign to enforce Shariat or Islamic law in the restive Swat valley of the North West Frontier Province, has claimed Bhutto's killing was a "part of power politics"

• 'British spies bugged Diana, leaked tapes to smear her' - British intelligence was spying on Princess Diana and recording embarrassingly private conversations, which were later leaked to the world, three years before she separated from the heir to the throne, her former bodyguard has said. Ken Wharfe, Diana's former bodyguard, told the long-running inquest into her death that the infamous "Squidgygate" tapes of Diana talking in an intimate fashion to an alleged lover were recorded by the British intelligence listening station GCHQ. They were later deliberately leaked to embarrass the Princess, he said, in a damaging suggestion the royal family was "jealous" of Diana's "popularity" and aides to the British Queen and her husband were "sharpening their knives" against her.   (RELATED: See our popular Diana Assassination archive.)

• Philip 'sent Diana cruel letters' - The Duke of Edinburgh wrote "cruel and disparaging" letters to Princess Diana, an alternative therapist has told the inquest into her death. Simone Simmons, who practises "energy healing", told the London hearing the princess had shown her two letters from Prince Philip dating from 1994 or 1995. Ms Simmons said the duke had made observations about the propriety of the princess's behaviour. Diana and her companion Dodi Al Fayed died in Paris in a car crash in 1997.

• Sullivan: 'Thank God for Ron Paul' - No one else, except McCain, copped to the GOP's rank betrayal of fiscal conservatism, limited government, prudent foreign policy and civil liberties. When he was asked to disown the 9/11 Truthers, he gave a revealing answer, and one that reflects on the newsletters issue. It just isn't in his nature to adopt other people's views, or to tell anyone else what to believe or what to say. He doesn't just believe in libertarianism; he lives it. This means that he doesn't have the instinct to police anyone else's views or actions within the law or the Constitution. I don't think it excuses his negligence in the past, but it does help me understand it better.

Tuesday 08th January 2008: -

• J7 (UK 7/7 Truth Campaign) Decline to participate in BBC's Conspiracy Files - Shortly after the second anniversary of 7th July 2005, J7: The July 7th Truth Campaign was contacted by Chris Alcock of the BBC who advised us of plans for a BBC documentary covering the events of 7th July 2005. No detail about the nature of the 'documentary' was provided until five months later, in December 2007, when another BBC employee, Assistant Producer Susan Prichard, advised us by email that the BBC production in question, rather than being a serious documentary effort for which the BBC was once well known, was in fact an episode of BBC2's risible Conspiracy Files series.   (RELATED: See our original 7/7 London Bombings archive, set up the day of the attacks / See also our archive on the BBC's previous hit-piece on the 9/11 Truth Movement 'The Conspiracy Files')

• ACLU Rips Plan to Track R.I. Students - A tech company with ties to a school district plans to test a tracking system by putting computer chips on grade-schoolers' backpacks, an experiment the ACLU ripped Monday as invasive and unnecessary. The pilot program set to start next week in the Middletown school district would have about 80 children put tags containing radio frequency identification chips, or RFID chips, on their schoolbags. It would also equip two buses with global positioning systems, or GPS devices. The school and parents will be able to track students on the bus, and the district hopes the program will improve busing efficiency, Superintendent Rosemarie Kraeger said. The devices are intended to record only when students enter and exit the bus, and the GPS would show where the bus was on it's route. Parents could opt out of the program, Kraeger said.

• ID cards 'may not be compulsory' - Identity cards might not become compulsory for all Britons, Gordon Brown has appeared to suggest. Anyone getting a passport from 2010 will have to get a card, and ministers had said they would be compulsory for all if Labour won the next election. But, in an apparent softening of that line, Mr Brown described compulsion only as an "option" which is "open". The Tories and Lib Dems oppose the scheme and say they would axe identity cards if they got into power. The parties, who oppose the cards on cost, effectiveness and civil liberty grounds, have said they would seek to make them a key issue at the next election.

• How to delete your DNA profile: A cut-out-and-keep reference guide - It's a little known fact that it's possible to have your DNA profile removed from the National DNA Database (NDNAD). While the Police have processes to gather and retain DNA samples - they don't yet have a procedure to delete the DNA of innocent members of the public.

• Paris will push for EU enlargement - France is to become a champion of further enlargement of the European Union, according to the French minister for Europe, in a change of approach likely to ease the accession of new members to the bloc. In an interview with the Financial Times, Jean-Pierre Jouyet said the French government under Nicolas Sarkozy, the president, had ditched its longstanding scepticism about enlargement and now saw a bigger EU as a stronger force in the world. Mr Jouyet said there had been a sea change in the government's approach to Europe since French voters rejected the EU constitution in a referendum in 2005.

Monday 07th January 2008: -

• 9/11 Contradictions: Bush in the Classroom: by Dr. David Ray Griffin - The official story of 9/11 is riddled with internal contradictions. One of these contradictions involves the question of how long President Bush remained in classroom in Sarasota, Florida, on the morning of 9/11. Bush was there to publicize his education policy by being photographed listening to students read. He arrived at the school at 8:55 AM, at which time he reportedly first learned that a plane had struck one of the Twin Towers. Dismissing the crash as an accident, Bush said that they would go ahead and “do the reading thing anyway.” Bush entered the second-grade classroom of teacher Sandra Kay Daniels at about 9:03. At about 9:06, the president’s chief of staff, Andrew Card, came in and whispered in Bush’s ear, telling him, Card later reported, “A second plane hit the second Tower. America is under attack.”  Thanks to Michael Moore’s film Fahrenheit 9/11, which came out in 2004, the world knows what happened next: Bush remained sitting there minute after minute after minute. Journalists, however, had reported Bush’s strange behaviour much earlier.

• Diana's home 'may have been bugged' - A suspected bugging device may have been found in the home of Diana, Princess of Wales by a security expert, her inquest heard. An electronic sweep of Diana's Kensington Palace apartments found a signal from a wall that could have been a listening device, the jury was told. Diana had serious concerns about being under surveillance from "dark forces" and believed a five-strong team had been tasked with watching her every move and that her home and car were fitted with devices, the inquest heard.   (RELATED: See our popular Diana Assassination archive.)

• UK Home Office plays down ID card abandonment - Following a barrage of calls from politicians, campaigners and certain sections of the media to scrap the UK’s national ID card scheme, the UK’s Home Office has highlighted to SDW why it will press ahead with the controversial scheme. A particularly fierce critic of the scheme, Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg, said in his New Year’s message: “We should campaign tirelessly to stop the expensive, invasive and unnecessary Identity Cards scheme in its tracks. The child benefit and learner drivers’ data loss scandals mean there is a looming crisis of public confidence in the government’s capacity to look after their personal information. So let 2008 be the year we bring down the Identity Cards scheme.”

• Vending Companies Quick to Respond to USA Technologies ''Quick Start'' ePort(R) Service: Dozens of Small to Medium Vending Operators Respond to 'No Money Down' Cashless Offering - USA Technologies (NASDAQ:USAT) announced today that its new Quick Start Program that eliminates up front capital cost of installing the Company's ePort cashless payment products had attracted an immediate and growing response from vending companies. The Company believes that the positive results currently being experienced by its customer base, as well as flexible options such as Quick Start which lower cost of entry, have contributed directly to continued adoption of cashless payment in vending, leading to accelerating sales of its ePort products and services.   (RELATED: See our Cashless Society Control Grid archive)

Saturday 05th January 2008: -

• Struggling candidates reach for '9/11 cards' - Well they're off - officially - in the race for the White House, and one-time frontrunners Rudy Giuliani and Hillary Clinton have stumbled out of the gates. What's a struggling New York pol to do? Never Forget. Clinton and Giuliani both broke out 9/11 references a day after the Iowa Caucuses upended the Democratic and Republican presidential campaigns. "None of this worries me - Sept. 11, there were times I was worried," Giuliani told the New York Daily News, brushing off his sub-Ron Paul finish in a state he virtually ignored. The former mayor, who left office three months after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, is an old hand at going to the 9/11 well when his political fortunes need a boost.

• LATEST LOOSE CHANGE CIRCULAR: -

Dear LC Supporter,  We're happy to announce the following upcoming screenings in the UK.  If you're in the area, we hope you'll come by.

Exeter Picturehouse
Wednesday 9th January, 9.00pm

The Little Theatre Cinema, Bath
Sunday 13th January, 2.00pm

Phoenix Picturehouse, Oxford
Sunday 20th January, 3.00pm

Duke of York's Brighton
Sunday 3rd February, 6.30pm

Here is the link to webpage for more info and tickets: http://www.picturehouses.co.uk/loosechange

To help start spreading the word in 2008, we are offering a special in the Loose Change Store.  If you buy a paper sleeved copy of Loose Change 2nd Edition, you will get another one free, and we'll also throw in a 10-pack of bumper stickers.  This sale will run for a limited time, so visit the store now to take advantage.

More updates coming soon, on screenings in the US.

-The LC Team

• Shopping Technology Erodes Traditional Retail Jobs - The number of jobs in the retail industry is diminishing, and economists believe that shopping technology has played a prominent role, according to The Associated Press. An Associated Press analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics' employment data found that department stores slashed 247,100 jobs since June 2001, when employment in that sector peaked. The number of jobs at food and beverage stores has fallen by 118,800 since April 2000.

• Some students abuse ADHD medication to cope with school - Many students say the pressure to maintain quality grades in a distracting environment such as Ohio State can be overwhelming. The measures taken to overcome these distractions can be extreme - some people cheat, stay up all night or take prescription medication. Some of these stressed-out college students are taking medications prescribed for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder recreationally or to help them overcome distractions. Ritalin and Adderall are the drugs most commonly used to treat these disorders, according to drugs.com. Both medicines are central nervous system stimulants with similar side effects.

• Bets to back ADHD alternative - WHEN Bets Gregory's daughter was diagnosed with ADHD she refused to put her on medication readily prescribed by most doctors for the disorder. "It just wasn't an option for us. I would never be happy to put my children on Ritalin - you know its street name is 'speed'," Mrs Gregory said. Instead the Gordon mother-of-two took Ciara, then 8, to see a psychologist who recommended a natural learning therapy. It was the first of several therapies the family tried over two years before finding one that worked in not only managing the symptoms but treating the root case.

• Trams anti-terror probe - A MAJOR study is to be launched in Manchester to find ways to protect tram systems against terrorist attack. Experts fear light rail networks like the city's Metrolink could be `soft targets' for extremists after security at stations and airports was increased following attacks in London and Glasgow. Nearly 20m people use Manchester's Metrolink every year. Millions more use trams in seven other cities in Britain, but often platforms are unmanned and do not have CCTV like rail stations. The £1m Manchester university study will look at ways to make public places safer from terrorist attack. Transport experts will inspect tram networks in a number of cities, looking at the design of trams and platforms and speaking with operators and users.

• IRELAND: Students to pay €3.50 for school water bills - The Government faces a major new storm after it imposed a €3.50 water levy on thousands of primary pupils. And in quietly slipping out the latest 'stealth tax' announcement last night, it immediately triggered widespread anger among parents and teachers. The new move means schools will have to pay a rising charge to meet the annual €30m water bill. After last night's Cabinet meeting it was announced that they would have to pay €3 for each student to cover last year, €3.50 for this year and €4 for next year.

• The Year in First Amendment Rights: Internet Censorship - The Year in First Amendment Rights: Internet Censorship - Via ACLU Blog - Free Speech: In addition to net neutrality, the Internet faced threats in other areas too. We saw a number of bills sail through the House and the Senate that would increase censorship on the web under the guise of protecting our children. H.R. 3791, the "Securing Adolescents From Exploitation-Online Act," or "SAFE" Act, relaxed federal criminal standards by expanding requirements for service providers to report "facts or circumstances that appear to indicate a violation" of child pornography laws. Actual knowledge was no longer required.

• Ron Paul Won’t Be Allowed To Win - Let US be perfectly clear on just one thing going into 2008: Congressman Ron Paul of the 14th District in Texas will NOT be allowed to win. Period – end of discussion! I have previously written that Congressman Ron Paul is America’s last hope of restoring the constitutionally limited republican form of government envisioned by BOTH our Federalist and anti-Federalist Founding Fathers. And both Federalists and anti-Federalists abhorred cash-raising and lobby-dominated political parties that catered to pay-offs from big money. For it is the political parties and their supportive cash-bearing lobbies and big corporate benefactors that comprise The Establishment which has replaced the will of the people.

Thursday 03rd January 2008: -

• Scientists create machine that knows what you are thinking - Scientists have developed a machine which is capable of reading our mind and revealing our most private thoughts. American researchers from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, found that, with the aid of a sophisticated scanner and computer programme, they were able to determine how the brain lights up when thinking about different subjects. Using an advanced form of MRI scanner, they analysed how the brain reacted to ten drawings of tools and buildings.

• Ron Paul Air Corps Set To Soar Over American Cities: Funding sought for 50 flights dragging huge "Revolution" banner - Ron Paul supporters are being urged to take the revolution to the air as funding is sought for a squadron of 50 flights to take to the skies before the end of January, dragging behind them gigantic 90 by 30 feet banners promoting the Congressman's presidential campaign.   (CAMPAIGN: Visit ronpaulaircorps.com)

• Musharraf denies security forces involved in Bhutto slaying - President Pervez Musharraf conceded Thursday shortcomings in Pakistan's own investigation into opposition leader Benazir Bhutto's killing but rejected any lapse in police security, questioning why she poked her head from her vehicle despite knowing the militant threats against her. In a feisty news conference with foreign journalists, Musharraf vehemently denied the Pakistan's military and intelligence agencies were behind the killing, saying they are themselves the target of a wave of suicide attacks that have killed 400 people in three months.

• Princess Diana was spied on by secret agents before her death? - Britain's Princess Diana was spied on by secret agents, it has been claimed. Photographer Mark Saunders - who followed the princess around the world - claims he was offered money by a man believed to be an agent for the British Secret Service, MI5, or the British Secret Intelligent Service, MI6, in return for information on Diana's whereabouts. Saunders insists the man known as James came up to him in an Austrian hotel in Oberlech, in 1994, and asked: "Will you be our eyes and ears?" Saunders makes the claims in his new book, 'Diana and the Paparazzi', which he co-wrote with fellow photographer Glenn Harvey. He added: "James looked like Diana's lover James Hewitt. He had a very public school accent and was very knowledgeable about military history. "He talked about Diana and said, 'Information is a commodity, you buy it and you sell it.' But I told him I wasn't going to be a spook for him or anyone and never saw him again. "When I spoke to a royal detective, he said there was nobody from their side in Oberlech, where we were. The more I've thought about it, the more I think they must have been spies."