Monday 31st March 2008: -

• UK: Mass genetic surveillance - Britain’s police want to routinely put children as young as five on the National DNA Database (NDNAD), even when no crime has been committed. Gary Pugh, the DNA spokesman for the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and director of forensic sciences at Scotland Yard, recently told the press, “The number of unsolved crimes says we are not sampling enough of the right people.” According to Pugh, who was interviewed by the Observer, “If we have a primary means of identifying people before they offend, then in the long-term the benefits of targeting younger people are extremely large.”

• 'No evidence' Diana was murdered - The Diana, Princess of Wales inquest coroner has ruled out the possibility of a finding she was murdered saying there is "not a shred of evidence". Lord Justice Scott Baker also branded butler Paul Burrell a "liar" as he launched a withering summary of the evidence in the six-month, multi-million pound case. Laying out five options for the verdicts expected later this week, he ruled that a staged accident orchestrated by the Duke of Edinburgh could not be one of them. Describing Mohamed al Fayed's theories as "worthless" without evidence to back them up, he urged the jury not to be swayed by sympathy.   (RELATED: See our popular Diana Assassination archive.)

• NEW 9/11 FILM OUT OF THE UK: The Elephant In The Room: Trailer - Six and a half years after the tragedy of 9/11 the psychological impact of this catastrophic event has had reverberations across the globe that still linger in modern society's mind like a bad dream. The Elephant In The Room follows filmmaker Dean Puckett as he examines the cultural impact and paranoia that the events have had on British Culture; from the Truth Movement hoping to disseminate the evidence of the day, through Muslim psyche in modern Britain culminating in the return to New York on the 6th anniversary, to see a nation torn apart by its Governments lies and deceit over what exactly happened on the day. We are exposed to the silent shame of America; the 9/11 first responders, thousands of whom are suffering from respiratory illness and disease after their valiant efforts to aid in the emergency. The Elephant In The Room allows them to tell the story that no one else will.   

VISIT THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE: -
http://www.nosmokewithoutfire.co.uk
http://www.myspace.com/theelephantintheroom

And a quick message from the film maker...

Hello friends,

My new feature film 'The Elephant In The Room' has been selected to be screened at the London Independent Film festival 

Check out the festival program and schedule here: http://www.londonindependent.org

It will be screened at 2pm in Screen 2 at the BFI on the south bank on Monday, April14th. 

http://www.bfi.org.uk/whatson/bfi_southbank/visitor_information/how_to_get_here

Its nice and cheap so please show you're support and come along if you can.

You can purchase tickets at the link here: http://studio63.org.uk/liff/paypal-tkts.htm

If you have previously been invited to the friends/family/premiere screening in Mile End then please remember to RSVP

All the best,

Dean

• Attorney General Mukasey lies about 9/11 and international spying - In a recent speech at San Francisco’s Commonwealth Club, Attorney General Michael Mukasey defended the Bush-Cheney administration’s illegal domestic spying agenda by proclaiming that the 9/11 attacks could have been prevented if the government had been able to monitor overseas phone calls to the United States. Like every other member of the Bush-Cheney administration, Mukasey is lying. Lying about the fact that the “war on terrorism” is a fabrication. Lying about the pervasive worldwide eavesdropping capabilities of US intelligence agencies. Lying about the fact that 9/11 was a long-planned Anglo-American false flag covert operation. According to Mukasey’s spin on the now-classic 9/11 fiction, Bush-Cheney “knew there had been a call from some place that was known to be a safe house in Afghanistan and we knew that it came to the United States. We didn’t know precisely where it went. We’ve got 3,000 people who went to work that day, and didn’t come home, to show for that.” 

• Telecom Immunity: Playing the "9/11 Card" ... Again - The Bush administration, never known for its veracity on any issue, once again is playing the "9/11 card" in an desperate attempt to continue violating the Fourth Amendment rights of the American people. U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey, a darling of Senate Democrats prior to his confirmation as Bush's top lawyer, said in speech on Thursday at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, that the September 11, 2001 attacks could have been prevented "if the government had been able to monitor an overseas phone call to the United States," according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

• Mobile phones: A public health time bomb?: Worse than asbestos and smoking, claims neurosurgeon - Mobile phones could represent a public health time bomb akin to asbestos or smoking, according to a study by neurosurgeon Dr Vini G Khurana. It suggests there is growing evidence of a link between excessive long-term use of mobiles and certain types of brain tumours - reigniting a long-running debate about the safety of the technology. During a 14-month-long study Khurana reviewed more than 100 studies on the effects of mobile phone use in recent medical and scientific literature - in addition to press and internet coverage - and concludes "there is a significant and increasing body of evidence… for a link between mobile phone usage and certain brain tumours".

• Excavation starts at Stonehenge - The first excavation inside the ring at Stonehenge in more than four decades gets under way on Monday. The two-week dig will try to establish, once and for all, some precise dating for the creation of the monument. It is also targeting the significance of the smaller bluestones that stand inside the giant sarsen pillars. Researchers believe these rocks, brought all the way from Wales, hold the secret to the real purpose of Stonehenge as a place of healing.

Friday 28th March 2008: -

• MoD admits troops abused Iraqi prisoners - The Ministry of Defence will admit on Friday that British troops tortured and breached the human rights of nine Iraqi men they detained in southern Iraq in 2003, opening the way to potentially large compensation claims. The decision follows years of legal wrangling in which the family of Baha Musa, an Iraqi hotel worker who was beaten and died in British custody, and eight other Iraqis who survived the beatings, have sought justice. The ministry, which will make the admission in the High Court, said on Thursday it was doing so to try to smooth the process of paying compensation to Musa's family and the eight other Iraqis and end lengthy court proceedings.

• Pesticide Parkinson's link strong - There is strong evidence that exposure to pesticides significantly increases the risk of Parkinson's disease, experts believe. It comes as another study, published in the BMC Neurology journal, has made the link to the neurological disease. The US researchers found those exposed to pesticides had a 1.6 times higher risk after studying 600 people. Experts said it was now highly likely pesticides played a key role - albeit in combination with other factors.

• It's the end of Britain as we know it - You might want to take that vacation in England just as soon as you can - before its 1,000-year run as a sovereign nation comes to an end. This winter, 27 nations of the European Union (EU) signed the Treaty of Lisbon. You may think, "Innocuous enough", as Portuguese-inspired visions of the Tagus River and chicken piri-piri swirl before your eyes. But for England (Britain, actually) the Treaty of Lisbon isn't that appetising. That's because, if ratified, it will become the decisive act in this creation of a federal European superstate with its capital in Brussels. Britain would become a province and its "Mother of Parliaments" a regional assembly. And that's no small humiliation for a country that gave the world English and saved Western civilisation in the Battle of Britain in 1940. The Eurocrat elite in Brussels might not admit it, but the Treaty of Lisbon is essentially a constitution for a "country" called Europe. More bluntly, it's a cynical repackaging of the EU Constitution rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005.

• THE DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT: NO EU CONSTITUTION: European Union: reject undemocratic, centralised law-making in Europe. Respect democracy & Europe's diversity - Click here and enter your postcode to find out whether your MP honoured their election promise to support a referendum on the EU Constitution - now being revived as the re-named 'Lisbon' treaty.   (VISIT THE DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT'S WEBSITE: democracymovement.org.uk)

• POLAND: Hopes of compromise over EU Treaty fading fast - The long awaited meeting between Prime Minister Donald Tusk and President Lech Kaczyński is scheduled to be held today. According to media reports, the PM will appeal to the President to withdraw his draft bill on the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty and to support the government's proposition. On Tuesday, during an extraordinary Sejm meeting, deputies will vote on the draft bill as proposed by the ruling coalition. The PM sees no way of introducing the changes proposed by Law and Justice (PiS). "The draft bill by Lech Kaczyński violates the Constitution," claims a source from the PM's Office. If the Lisbon Treaty is not supported by two thirds of the deputies, the government plans to hold a referendum.

• LATEST LOOSE CHANGE CIRCULAR: -

Dear LC Supporter,

We wanted to get you some updates, as we've been keeping busy here behind the scenes.  Dylan, Jason, and Korey are continuing to tour the country spreading the truth and attending Final Cut screenings.  Jason is en route to California for the Freedom Law Conference (be sure to check it out if you're in the area).  If you'd like to book the guys for an event in your area, please email events@loosechange911.com.  Dylan has been updating his blog again at http://loosechange911.blogspot.com/.

The Loose Change Store is happy to announce that we are now selling the 9/11 Press for Truth DVD!  This film is a great companion to the Loose Change series.  The less aggressive style and subject of the film tend to really appeal to more conservative viewers and is a great intro for skeptics to the movement.  In 9/11 Press for Truth, five of the most prominent members of the Family Steering Committee, including three of the 'Jersey Girls' (recently in the news after Ann Coulter's attacks), tell their story for the first time, providing the most powerful argument yet for why 9/11 still needs investigation. If you haven't seen it yet, we highly recommend checking it out.  If you have seen it, then grab a few copies and pass them out to your friends that weren't willing to watch Loose Change. 

Other news in the store is that, in case you missed it, we are now offering Loose Change Final Cut on spindles.  This means you can buy the full version of the film for as low as $4.50 a copy.  Grab some and start passing them out.  Mail them to your local politicians!

While you're in the store, please be sure to donate to the Fealgood Foundation.  They desperately need your help in their mission of supporting injured 9/11 first responders.  Nearly daily, another first responder reaches out to them for direly needed financial assistance with medical and life bills, and the Foundation is just not able to meet all of the needs right now.  Do your part to help.

Our technical team is busy working on some updates, new tools, and more for our site.  Stay tuned for more news on that front.

As always, we appreciate your support.  Keep up the fight for an independent investigation!

-The LC Team

Wednesday 26th March 2008: -

• Olympic Protester Sentenced to Five Years Imprisonment, Beaten - Olympic human rights activist Yang Chunlin was sentenced to five years imprisonment Tuesday for 'inciting subversion of state power' by championing his cause with the slogan, "We don't want the Olympics, we want human rights." While being taken from the courtroom, police shocked him with electric batons in front of his family. The 20-minute trial took place in the Jiamusi City Intermediate People's Court in Heilongjiang Province. Rejecting that the Chinese authorities' judicial system is legitimate, Yang refused to sign the court document and insists he will not appeal his sentence.

• Government-Funded Investigators Accused Of WTC Cover-Up: American Society of Civil Engineers lied about inability of skyscrapers to withstand airliner impacts - The American Society of Civil Engineers - an organization that was funded by FEMA to investigate the collapse of the twin towers on 9/11 - has been accused of engaging in a cover-up to protect the government, with critics charging the organization falsified conclusions that skyscrapers could not withstand getting hit by airplanes. The group has been forced to convene an investigative panel which could lead to a suspension in government funding. The Federal Emergency Management Agency paid the group about $257,000 to investigate the World Trade Center collapse and their report was released in 2002.

• RCMP defends censoring of Taser reports as critics slam secrecy - The RCMP is standing by its decision to pull crucial details from reports on Taser use, saying the police force is handcuffed by federal information law. Sgt. Sylvie Tremblay says the Mounties released "all the information that could be provided" under the Access to Information Act. A joint investigation by The Canadian Press and CBC found the Mounties are now refusing to disclose key information that must be recorded each time officers draw their electronic weapons. As a result, Canadians know much less about who is being hit with the 50,000-volt guns - whether they were armed, why they were fired on, and whether they were injured. Liberal and Bloc Quebecois MPs on a Commons committee studying Tasers have accused the RCMP of being too secretive.

Easter (or Ishtar!) Sunday 23rd March 2008: -

• N.C. Teen Dies After Police Shock Him With Taser at Grocery Store - A Charlotte teenager has died after being shocked with a Taser during a confrontation with police at the grocery store where he worked. Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said 17-year-old Darryl Wayne died Thursday. An autopsy is pending. The Charlotte Observer reported Friday that officers responded to a call at a Food Lion and saw Turner throwing something at a store manager. Police said Turner appeared agitated, refused their commands and advanced toward an officer before the Taser was used. Turner's mother, Tammy Fontenot, said her son told her earlier in the day that he had stolen Hot Pockets from the store and feared disciplinary action. Fontenot said she told him to go back to the store to face what happened.

• Naked man dies after Taser jolts, police say: Stun gun used on registered sex offender after he allegedly resists arrest - A 41-year-old man, who wandered through traffic and violently resisted arrest, died after officers stunned him with a Taser, South Florida authorities said. Broward Sheriff's deputies said James Garland was spotted naked wandering through streets waving his shirt about 4 a.m. Friday. Officers used the stun gun on him after he resisted arrest, police said. He was transported to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

• Aspartame and Rumsfeld's Disease: A Politically-Induced Biochemical Disaster Of Global Proportions - Donald Rumsfeld was known throughout the world as the zealous U.S. Secretary of Defense who is waging a global "war on terror" in search of "terrorists" and "weapons of mass destruction." Most people, however, are not aware that Rumsfeld himself unleashed a chemical weapon of mass destruction upon the world in 1981-and it is still out there destroying people all over the world. That "W.M. D." is aspartame and it has been scientifically and anecdotally linked to millions of chronic illnesses and deaths.

• ‘Spy claims cost six months of my life’ - A man accused of being a Russian spy has said the claims have ruined his life. Peter Hill, 23, spoke out after the Crown Prosecution Service confirmed he will not face trial on explosives charges because there was insufficient evidence to offer a "realistic prospect" of a conviction. This comes a month after it was announced Mr Hill was not set to face charges under the official Secrets Act after being arrested during an undercover operation in November. Mr Hill had been detained for allegedly trying to sell military information to the Russians. He was bailed under the allegations but charged under the Explosives Act after items were seized from where he was living in Lambert Street, Skipton.

(RELATED: See our Illuminati Symbolism archive)

• IMPORTANT NOTE: SATIRE ONLY (TODAY...TOMORROW WE'RE NOT SO SURE!): Verichip is to Replace Real ID - Crappers; State need to complied with real ID and many states had rejects real ID as being to expensive. Other states asked for an extension until 2011. The US Homeland Security has taken to long to come out the regulations for the real ID. Now we are stuck without any way to get a proper ID card. Now the US government has a new program to receive the Verichip. It will be law by may 15 to present a real ID to work, open a bank account, receive social security, Take a loan out, Get food stamps, or get into Federal building. States who rejects real ID will not be able to work, Collect social Security, board airplanes, or enter federal buildings until they prove that you are who you are!

Saturday 22nd March 2008: -

• Big Brother clocks car park cheats - A `BIG BROTHER' operation is being used to deter car park cheats at a supermarket who could face a £70 fine. Sainsbury's are using their store at Salford to trial a scheme which may be used nationwide. Drivers who enter the vast car park at Regent Road, Ordsall, have to go past a device which identifies and flashes up the registration number of their car on a screen. The screen also informs them that they have up to three hours parking but anyone leaving their vehicle beyond that time risks being penalised. When cars leave the car park the registration number is again shown on a screen at the exit - and it details how long the vehicle has been in the car park.

• 20,000 ID wristbands to help find missing kids - CHILDREN in Liverpool are to be offered identity wristbands in case they go missing while out with their parents. A hotline has also been set up for parents to contact city centre CCTV operators as soon as they lose sight of their child. It will connect them to the CCTV control rooms of Liverpool council, St John’s shopping centre and Clayton Square shopping centre. The Child Safe Zone scheme, which is launched today, will see more than 20,000 of the free wristbands made available to parents in the city centre while they are out shopping.

• Scotland Yard Investigator Wants to Collect DNA from School Children - The director of Scotland Yard's forensics division says that Britain should be collecting DNA samples from any primary school children who show signs of behavior that exhibit a propensity for later crimes, according to an article in the Observer. The Yard's Gary Pugh says the idea that trivial offenses committed early in life can forecast more serious crimes later in life is supported by studies, and that identifying these individuals when they're children would not only aid crime-solving later, but possibly deter some of these suspects from committing crimes when they're adults.

• Nicolas Sarkozy to bolster force in Afghanistan with 1,000 extra troops - President Sarkozy of France will tell Gordon Brown next week that France plans to send an extra 1,000 soldiers to Afghanistan to bolster the battle against the Taleban. Senior ministers have told The Times that Mr Sarkozy wants to underline his commitment to the alliance during his state visit to Britain. The Ministry of Defence has made a working assumption that President Sarkozy will announce a deployment of “slightly more than 1,000 troops to the eastern region”, one said. The deployment would deliver a significant fillip to the military operation in Afghanistan, ensuring that other countries such as Canada remain engaged. It would also provide concrete evidence that France was keen to forge a new relationship with Nato.

St Patrick's Day 17th March 2008: -

• Top New York Cop Thought Towers Were Bombed On 9/11: Former debunker Dietl admits he shares 9/11 truth activist's questions during confrontation - Highly decorated former New York City detective Bo Dietl admits that his first instinct on 9/11 was that the twin towers were downed with explosives, as he conceded that he shared many questions about the official story with 9/11 truth activists he had formerly debunked on national television. What started out as a adversarial confrontation with members of We Are Change turned into a cordial discussion as Dietl contradicted some of his previous public statements on 9/11 and appeared to agree with the group on several issues, presumably prompted by the fact that his daughter was doing a research paper on 9/11 which lent credence to the suspect nature of the official story behind the attacks.   (RELATED: See our 9/11 archive and our affiliated site 911truthskipton.com)

• DNA database plans for children who 'could become criminals' - Primary school children should be put on the national DNA database if their behaviour suggests they will become criminals, a senior Scotland Yard expert said yesterday. Gary Pugh, the director of forensic science and the new DNA spokesman for the Association of Chief Police Officers, called for a debate on the measures required to identify future offenders. He said: "If we have a primary means of identifying people before they offend, then in the long term the benefits of targeting younger people are extremely large. "We have to find who are possibly going to be the biggest threat to society." But critics said this was a step towards a police state that would risk stigmatising youngsters who had yet to commit a criminal act.

• Airport workers' ID card 'insult' - Union leaders representing airport workers are to meet Home Office officials to express their concern at being among the first to have ID cards. Steve Turner of the Unite union will say that his members oppose the plan. Mr Turner says staff are already extensively vetted before being given airside passes. The Home Office says that recording the fingerprints of staff will speed up the checking process and help maintain public confidence in airport security.

• Police flood Tibet ahead of protests deadline - Police staged a massive security operation across Tibetan occupied areas of China today as the deadline for rioters and protestors to give themselves up to the authorities passed. Convoys of paramilitary vehicles were seen on roads in the provinces of Gansu and Sichuan, which border on the Tibetan autonomous region.

• Deputy disciplined after taser threat, spanking - A Collier County Sheriff Deputy spanked an 11-year-old boy and threatened him with a taser, according to an investigation. The internal investigation reveals Collier County Sheriff Deputy Corporal Susan Boylan spanked the boy after he refused to listen to his mom. "The child was having a counseling session and during the counseling session the child became aggressive and the child wasn't obeying his mother and the counselor at that time saw fit to call the Sheriff's Office for assistance," Michelle Batten, a spokesperson for the Sheriff's Office, said. According to the report, when threatened, the boy responded, "You can't use that on me because I'm not being violent towards you and I'm a juvenile." The officer discharged the taser twice, then placed the taser on the boy's shoulder without discharging it. The deputy told investigators, "I don't think I did anything wrong." The investigation said the officer had the mom's permission to spank the boy and she thought it was okay to intimidate with the taser.

• Woman shocked by police Taser back in hospital - A woman who gained notoriety when she was repeatedly stunned with a stun gun by a police officer outside a bar last year has been hospitalized with a head wound. Heidi Gill was taken to St. Joseph Health Center's emergency room in Warren yesterday. Police said she had a gash or a puncture wound to her forehead. Gill's home in Howland was initially treated as a crime scene because she was found unconscious. Gill's 5-year-old called a family friend, who took her to a Youngstown hospital, where she is listed in stable condition. Howland Police Chief Paul Monroe said Gill told police she fell down the steps. Police said they were treating the incident as an accident. Gill gained notoriety last September after officer Richard Kovac repeatedly used a Taser on her. He was suspended for 60 days and later fired for dishonesty in another case.

• Coca-Cola drops artificial sweetener from Coke Zero - Coca-Cola has reformulated the Mexican version of Coca-Cola Zero by removing artificial sweetener sodium cyclamate, revealed media reports. The artificial sweetener has been replaced with a combination of two other artificial sweeteners, aspartame and acesulfame-K. New bottles and cans of Coca-Cola Zero carry the words 'without cyclamate' in Spanish. Sodium cyclamate has been banned in the US after certain lab findings suggested that the sweetener posed a cancer risk. Consumer advocates in Mexico strongly protested against the presence of this sweetener in the Mexican version of Coca-Cola Zero.

• Former Health Min. admitted aspartame not for kids: Former NZ Health Minister admitted aspartame should not be given to kids - Phoenix Organics initiative against aspartame will save many lives. Your former Health Minister, the Honorable Pete Hodgson, with Minister/Education Steve Maharey made the deal with Coke to leave only diet drinks in schools. Minister Hodgson knew aspartame damages children.

• Does Diet Soda Make You Gain Weight?: The Rats Got Fat in a Study of Artificial Sweeteners, and Some Researchers Say Humans Do Too - In a recent study at Purdue University, rats that were fed saccharin-sweetened yogurt ate more and gained more weight compared to rats that were fed glucose-sweetened yogurt. Some researchers, including those involved with this study, say that this effect translates to humans too, according to a Los Angeles Times article. These researchers say that no- or low-calorie sweeteners such as saccharin and aspartame signal a sweet taste to the body, without "delivering the goods." The body then cannot properly determine how many calories have been eaten and how many are used up, making weight control difficult.

• Boy, 15, Commits Suicide After Increased Ritalin Dosage - A British teenager who recently had his prescription for Ritalin increased committed suicide by hanging himself, it is being reported. According to the Daily Mail, Anthony Cole, 15, was prescribed the drug six years ago when he was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). His father, Colin, said Anthony had been acting “snappy,” as if in a “trance,” in the days before his death. The teen's mother, Tina, also said her son had recently asked her how to write a will, it was reported. On Saturday, Cole was found dead in his bedroom. "He disappeared to his bedroom and about an hour later we called him down for lunch," Cole's father said. "But when he didn't reply I went upstairs and found him hanging there."

• Walk away from depression - I HAVE seen two very different newspaper articles recently about drugs and health. The first said that anti-depressant tablets may be a waste of time and money. Researchers at the University of Hull looked at dozens of studies involving some 5,000 patients and found that some of the most widely-prescribed anti-depressants work little better than dummy pills. Around two million people in Britain are on anti-depressants so it is clearly a significant finding. Only in the most extreme cases did the tablets improve mental health, the study found. Perhaps more worrying, some of the drugs involved – Prozac, Seroxat and Efexor – have also been allegedly linked to a host of side-effects, including suicide.

• Report: EU Must Build Military in Face of Climate Change - The European Union needs to increase its civil and military power because of “serious security risks” posed by climate change, according to a joint report from the EU’s two top foreign-policy officials. The paper draws attention to resource shortages in particular.

• The Treaty of Lisbon: EU treaty under fire - Law and Justice has called for emergency talks on the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty but experts believe the move is just political posturing. As the Polish parliament proceeded to its second reading on the parliamentary act ratifying the Treaty of Lisbon, the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party stirred up controversy by threatening to vote against the act. In the end, the parliamentary session on the treaty's ratification was postponed until this Tuesday.

Sunday 16th March 2008: -

• MI5 seeks powers to trawl records in new terror hunt - Millions of commuters could have their private movements around cities secretly monitored under new counter-terrorism powers being sought by the security services. Records of journeys made by people using smart cards that allow 17 million Britons to travel by underground, bus and train with a single swipe at the ticket barrier are among a welter of private information held by the state to which MI5 and police counter-terrorism officers want access in order to help identify patterns of suspicious behaviour. The request by the security services, described by shadow Home Secretary David Davis last night as 'extraordinary', forms part of a fierce Whitehall debate over how much access the state should have to people's private lives in its efforts to combat terrorism.

• Army's rules against torture should be good enough for CIA, too - One of the most reprehensible features of George W. Bush’s presidency has been its use of torture, although he clings to euphemisms for the practice. Responsible political leaders in both parties must continue to try to move the country back toward interrogation policies that are in line with traditional American values. This is fundamentally a moral issue, something that Bush has tried to obscure with semantic games and rhetoric suggesting that the country must choose between the physical abuse of prisoners and national security. Such physical abuse, including torture that essentially has been contracted out to other governments, has put American troops at greater risk of mistreatment, undermined international human rights efforts and — according to many experts — actually harmed U.S. intelligence gathering.

• Thousands in anti-war protest march - Thousands of anti-war protesters joined marches in Britain on Saturday to mark the fifth anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq. They took to the streets in London and the Scottish city of Glasgow demanding that British troops pull out of Iraq and Afghanistan. A spokesman for the Stop The War coalition, which organised the marches, said that five years after the invasion of Iraq, the world had become "a much more dangerous place." "Estimates suggest as many as one million people have died violent deaths as a result of the occupation of Iraq," spokesman Paul Collins said.

Saturday 15th March 2008: -

• FBI abuse after 9/11 detailed - The FBI illegally collected information on citizens in 2006, continuing its misuse of expanded powers granted by Congress after the 9/11 attacks, an audit by the Justice Department's inspector general said Thursday. The report said the agency violated rules for obtaining phone, e-mail, financial and other records using national security letters, a type of subpoena that doesn't need court approval. A study last year revealed similar abuses. Assistant FBI Director John Miller said the bureau will continue to work to eliminate the problems.

• Is the CIA’s “Mighty Wurlitzer” Playing Geraldo Rivera? - Another example of the 'truthers are terrorists' talking point that corporate media hacks are emanating in unison, as we previously predicted they would. It must have been a disappointment for Faux Mockingbird News. Back on March 7, it was discovered that the “bombing” of the Pentagon recruitment center in Times Square was not the handiwork of “anarchists” or antiwar activists, although the corporate media tried mightily to forge such a link. As it turned out the “letters,” described as a “manifesto,” the corporate media initially attempted to link to the “bombing” were not connected, much to the frustration of trash TV careerist Geraldo Rivera. On Fox and Friends, Geraldo declared Times Square is a “magnet for these crazy people, for anarchists… that’s what I think this is, this bomber isn’t al-Qaeda, isn’t anything like that, he is more like — it’s a man — he’s more like those 9/11 was an inside job kind of guys, they… they protest things in a violent way, but in a violent way almost like the eco-terrorist where they don’t intend the inflict casualties.”

• Global Warming Censored: How the Major Networks Silence the Debate on Climate Change - Global warming crusader Al Gore repeatedly claims the climate change “debate’s over.” It isn’t, but the news media clearly agree with him. Global warming skeptics rarely get any say on the networks, and when their opinions are mentioned it is often with barbs like “cynics” or “deniers” thrown in to undermine them.

• Smoking During Pregnancy Linked To Behavioral Problems In Newborns - Women who smoke during pregnancy are more likely to give birth to babies with behavioral problems, according to a study reported in the current issue of the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. The study included 18,000 UK babies born between 2000 and 2002. The mothers were classified as either non-smokers during pregnancy, quitters, light smokers and those who smoked 10 or more cigarettes a day (heavy smokers). The infants’ temperaments were assessed when they were 9 months old. The results showed that mothers to be who kicked their habit had the most easy-going infants. At the other end of the scale, heavy smokers had the most difficult children. Their babies were much more likely to exhibit negative behavior traits.

• Nine Inch Nails Free Download Experiment Nets Over $1.6 million: Band leader Trent Reznor now encourages user-generated videos for Ghosts I-IV album - Nine Inch Nails raked in over $1.6 million on their new album in the first week it was sold on the band's Web site, and now the band is trying another experiment. Ghosts I-IV, released March 2, sold all 2,500 copies of its $300 Ultra-Deluxe Limited Edition on the first day. Sales of other packages, including partial album downloads, entire album downloads, hard copies of CDs, and a limited deluxe edition were also popular. In all, the band reported more than 780,000 downloads as of Wednesday. As part of an experiment in online music distribution, the band made the first nine tracks available for free and offered the entire 36-track album for $5.

Wednesday 12th March 2008: -

• Gov. Perry Awards $689,000 to Texas Child I.D. Program - Texas Gov. Rick Perry last Friday awarded more than $689,000 to the Sheriff's Association of Texas for the distribution of child identification kits to all incoming kindergarten students in Texas public schools. These I.D. kits will allow parents and guardians to record their children's physical characteristics and fingerprints on identification cards that can be filed at home and quickly given to authorities in the event their child goes missing. This grant is awarded under the federal Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act and distributed by the governor's Criminal Justice Division. "Texans must take every precaution, even prepare for worst-case scenarios, to keep our children safe," said Gov. Perry. "Whether a child is lost or abducted, these child I.D. cards will save valuable time in the search and rescue process, and help reunite families whose situation could have been much worse without the cards."

• ZEITGEIST DAY: MARCH 15TH 2008 EVENT LIST - 688 Public Events & 1100+ Private Events Worldwide

• New York governor Eliot Spitzer quits over sex scandal - Eliot Spitzer resigned as Governor of New York this afternoon, a sex scandal putting an end to the political career of a rising star once seemingly destined for the White House. A contrite Mr Spitzer, the crusading former prosecutor once known as the Sheriff of Wall Street, said he would "leave public life" two days after he was identified as Client 9 in a $5,500-an-hour international call-girl ring. He will be replaced on Monday by his deputy, David Paterson, who will be New York's first black governor and the first legally blind governor in US history. Mr Spitzer, who is married with three daughters, emerged to announce his resignation after remaining inside his Fifth Avenue apartment with his family since issuing a public apology when the news broke on Monday. "I am deeply sorry that I did not live up to what was expected of me," he told a press conference, with his wife Silda at his side.

• Mystery surrounds death of Manchester police chief Michael Todd - A post mortem examination of the body of Manchester police chief Michael Todd has shown "no obvious cause of death", the coroner has said. Dewi Pritchard Jones, the coroner for North West Wales, said they were hoping to have the results of toxicology reports by Thursday morning. Chief Constable Todd's snow-covered body was discovered near a path on Tuesday afternoon, 3,000ft up Snowdon.

Tuesday 11th March 2008: -

• THE DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT: NO EU CONSTITUTION: European Union: reject undemocratic, centralised law-making in Europe. Respect democracy & Europe's diversity - Click here and enter your postcode to find out whether your MP honoured their election promise to support a referendum on the EU Constitution - now being revived as the re-named 'Lisbon' treaty.   (VISIT THE DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT'S WEBSITE: democracymovement.org.uk)

• New York governor Eliot Spitzer given 48 hours to resign over sex scandal - The political career of Eliot Spitzer, the embattled governor of New York state, teetered on the brink of collapse amid growing calls for his resignation and new details about the extent of his alleged patronage of an upmarket prostitution ring. Mr Spitzer, a Democrat who was tipped as a potential US president, apologised to his family and public on Tuesday following media reports he paid a prostitute $4,300 to visit him in a Washington hotel room. But he has so far given no indication of his plans, claiming the issue was a "private matter".

• Pollution 'alters brain function' - An hour sniffing exhaust fumes may not just give you a headache - it could even alter the way the brain functions, Dutch researchers have suggested. Scientists have known nanoparticles reach the brain when inhaled, but this is the first time they have been shown to affect how we process information. Researchers sought to replicate the environment experienced by those who work in a garage or by the roadside. Their findings were published in the journal Particle and Fibre Toxicology.

• Inquiry uncovers backdoor state school 'fees' - A “shocking” number of leading state schools are demanding payments from parents before giving children what should be free places, the Government said today. Ministers said a review of three local authorities uncovered unlawful admissions practices in a “significant minority” of schools, mostly faith establishments. Ed Balls, the Schools Secretary, said he thought the practice was widespread across the country. He ordered schools to return money donated this year. However parents will not be able to appeal, nor claim compensation for any payments made to schools prior to the introduction of a new admissions code last year.

• Top UK police chief is found dead - The head of one of the biggest police forces in Britain has been found dead. Michael Todd, the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, disappeared while out walking on Snowdon, north Wales, on Monday night. Rescue teams found the 50-year-old's body on part of the mountain called Bwlch Glas on Tuesday afternoon. The cause of his death is not yet known but suicide is understood to be one line of inquiry. Letters addressed to his family were also found. Deputy Chief Constable Dave Whatton confirmed the death of his friend, a father-of-three, in a statement outside force headquarters in Manchester on Tuesday evening.

Monday 10th March 2008: -

• UK: 1.5m children will have DNA taken next year amid claims of universal database 'by stealth' - The number of children placed on the DNA database after being arrested is far higher than official figures suggest, it emerged yesterday. Around 1.5million ten to 18-year-olds will have had their genetic profiles stored by this time next year, bolstering claims that the Government is moving towards a DNA database of all adults "by stealth". Since 2004 police have had the power to take DNA samples from anyone over the age of ten who is arrested, regardless of whether they are later charged, convicted, or found to be innocent. The Government has played down the issue of juvenile DNA sampling but confirmed last year that the profiles of 358,000 children were on the register.

• Thumbs-up for nursery security - PARENTS are being fingerprinted at a nursery school as part of a drive to tighten security. Only families and carers whose details are on a database can gain access to the Ally Bally Bee nursery in Blantyre, Lanarkshire. The nursery, which looks after 55 children aged three months to five years, is one of the first in Scotland to install an American-style biometric fingerprint controlled entry system for parents. Before youngsters join the day care centre, parents are asked to attend a pre-visit, where they place their thumb or finger on an electronic scanner.

• Practical tests for ID card scheme - ID card proposals offer a golden opportunity for the government to show real leadership (Smith targets public sector in ID card hard sell, March 7). A serious trial programme for ID cards should first be applied to ministers, then all MPs, requiring them to have their irises and fingerprints scanned before each entry to parliament. This would be an important practical first test. The scheme should then be given a few years of extended trials involving all civil servants. If access to all this data were made available to the many appropriate possible users, government departments, local councils, police etc, then by about five years from now it would be more clear whether it is practical, economic, safe and useful enough to be extended to the rest of us.

• ID cards will curtail civil liberties - Human rights groups have slammed Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith's plans for the introduction of ID cards for all UK citizens, saying it will pose a major threat to liberty and privacy. The unwelcome plans announced earlier last week will initially require all foreign nationals living in Britain to register their biometric details onto the National Identity register and carry an ID card by the end of the year. Community leaders say that this will lead to anybody who looks like a foreigner, being asked to produce their card.

• NY Gov. Spitzer tied to prostitution ring: NYT - New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer has told his most senior administration officials that he had been involved in a prostitution ring, the New York Times reported on its Web site on Monday, citing an administration official. A person with knowledge of the governor's role told the Times the governor was believed to be a client of a prostitution ring. Spitzer had been due to make an announcement at 2:15 p.m. EDT, but half an hour later had yet to address a room crowded with journalists awaiting his statement.

• Treason law to be axed following Princess Diana crash inquest - Treason laws from 1351 are to be axed following the inquest into the death of Princess Diana, it was revealed yesterday. Sleeping with the heir-to-the-throne's wife is still a crime under them - and any affair before Diana's divorce from Prince Charles in 1996 would have technically been treason. As well as Dodi Fayed and Hasnat Khan, five other lovers were named at the inquest, including ex-officer James Hewitt.

Sunday 09th March 2008: -

• Whether or not you are a 9/11 truther... - This is a Constitutional (First Amendment) issue and MSNBC is now promoting violence towards those who disagree with their 'government controlled agenda'. This must be addressed by all people, whether or not you are a 9/11 truther, This is a Constitutional (First Amendment) issue and MSNBC is now promoting violence towards those who disagree with their 'government controlled agenda'.

• LATEST LOOSE CHANGE CIRCULAR: -

LC Supporter,

We will be sending out some event updates shortly, but in the meantime, we wanted to remind you of the sales in the Loose Change Store.  We are offering FREE SHIPPING with COUPON CODE 'march08' (on orders to the US via ground shipping).  We are also offering a FREE COPY of the LOOSE CHANGE MORE BEATS CD (the Loose Change Final Cut soundtrack) with orders over $20.  It's a great time to pick up a spindle pack of Loose Change 2 and score a free CD.  Hurry because these specials Monday, March 10th at midnight!

Please remember that funds raised through the Loose Change Store go back into the movement and supporting the spreading of the truth.

Also, please be sure to donate to the FealGood Foundation with you're at the store.

-The Loose Change Crew

• More doubts on Taser use - POLICE in Nova Scotia should keep Tasers holstered until a provincial review of the potent weapons is completed and any recommendations acted upon. That’s been our stance on Tasers since the review was announced last fall, when a number of Taser-related deaths in Canada, including in Nova Scotia, garnered headlines from coast to coast. We see no reason to change that position now that the initial findings of that review have been made public. Simply put, more studies are needed on how Tasers can impact the human body, and more consistency – and restraint – is necessary in police training and rules of engagement using the stun guns.

• You Tube Censors Hugely Popular "Question Your Reality" Video - After receiving over 50,000 views in a few hours and on its way to shoot to the top of the most viewed chart, You Tube brazenly pulled a popular video from their rankings system Friday in an act of wanton censorship. "Question Your Reality," a stirring and well put together video montage featuring talk show host Alex Jones was rocketing up the charts, already having reached number 2 most viewed on News and Politics and soaring up the general most discussed and most viewed categories. A moment later, it was nowhere to be seen as You Tube cleared the slate and prevented the clip from going completely viral. You Tube is owned by Google, who have pulled this trick many times before, but by spreading the video far and wide you can help offset their censorship and wake people up.   (DIRECT LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpFu_bYkomc)

EXPOSING

• YOU TUBE VIDEO: Common Purpose the Unseen Invasion - Brian Gerrish discovered the hidden machinations of Common Purpose in Plymouth England some time ago. CP influence is seen in force throughout the BBC, Local Councils, Police, Schools, National Health Service, and many government agencies that run towns in the UK. Leading toward ever closer union, it is a subversive way to set up new leaders of the coming Totalitarian Socialist State (The European Union). Bringing people in through 'Self Improvement' courses, the talented are picked and indoctrinated in CP ideology. Destined to break up traditional viewpoints it is a very effective and hidden tool of manipulators behind the scenes. Many CP trained 'leaders' are well aware of the true purpose of the organization, most are not but are serving the goal as a result of their retraining in the CP mode of thinking. Brainwashing, a cult, a subversive organization, are terms redily applied to the methods and organization of the group. 

• GOOGLE VIDEO: Common Purpose Government Infiltrators - This presentation was given on 15th September 2007 at Leicester England. MEP Rogert Helmer came specially to be there and guest host the meeting. Edward ... all » Spalton of the CIB (Campaign for an Independent Britain) gave a short introduction. The presentation was given by Brian Gerrish on his researches concering Common Purpose. Check out our other videos on Google Video... bringing out the suppressed information the controlled media will not air!

• Traitorous UK 'Common Purpose' Shills For NWO - Brian Gerrish discovered Common Purpose when he was involved with a group in Plymouth in the west of England helping people find jobs and one of their projects was repairing wooden boats. He said they had lots of public support and backing from the local authorities and everything was going fine. But then it suddenly changed and the council support was withdrawn. When they tried to continue alone, he said that within a short time key people were being threatened: 'When we started to explore why we were being threatened we were absolutely staggered to find a very strange organisation called Common Purpose operating in the city. And we were absolutely amazed that there were so many people involved but they were not declaring themselves ... '[Common Purpose] was operating throughout the structure of the city, in the city council, in the government offices, in the police, in the judiciary. Essentially we discovered what is effectively, at best, a quasi secret society which doesn't declare itself to ordinary people.' Further research has led Gerrish to establish that Common Purpose is recruiting and training leaders to be loyal to the objectives of the organisation and the European Union and preparing the governing structure for what it calls the 'post-democratic society' after nations are replaced by regions in the European Union. 'They are learning to rule without regard to democracy, and will bring the EU police state home to every one of us', Gerrish says. Common Purpose 'graduates' are increasingly everywhere, as you will see from the partial list at the end of this article.

MORE INFO: See our new Common Purpose resource archive

Friday 07th March 2008: -

• ID cards are the ultimate identity theft: Computer systems always fail - and the national database will do so big time - The ID card project is still on track - more or less. Jacqui Smith is just the latest in a long line of Home Office ministers to sell us the benefits of ID cards, while casually informing us of the latest rise in costs or slippage in its implementation schedule. Ms Smith is also yet another Home Secretary who subscribes to the “pixie dust” school of technology: computation is a magic substance to be sprinkled over problems, that, hey presto, then vanish. Little wonder that Britain has an appalling record in government IT projects.

• Home Secretary in ID card gaffe: Unhackable? Up to a point, minister - Security experts have rubbished claims by the Home Secretary that databases for the controversial National ID Cards will be "unhackable" because they are being kept off the public internet. In an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Thursday, Jacqui Smith said "none of the [ID card] databases will be online, so it won't be possible to hack into them". Experts, such as GCHQ accredited penetration testing firm SecureTest, said the Home Secretary's claims demonstrate complete lack of understanding of the security issues affecting databases.

• 9/11 Attacks Harm First Amendment - The shadow of the Sept. 11 terror attacks is eclipsing press freedom and other constitutional safeguards in the United States, Associated Press President and CEO Tom Curley said Thursday. "What has become clear in the aftermath of 9/11 is how much expediency trumps safeguards," Curley said during the annual dinner of the Radio and Television News Directors Foundation. "Congress steps back from its constitutional role of executive oversight. Civilian oversight of the military wanes. A Justice Department interprets laws in ways that extend police powers. More drastically, prisons are established in places where government or military operatives circumvent due process or control trials," Curley said in accepting the foundation's First Amendment Leadership Award. "It's at moments like these when a free press matters most," he said.

• 9/11 TRUTH Issues EXPLODE onto CBS National Radio Yesterday!!: 9/11 Truth (& False Flag Terror) FINALLY on CBS NATIONAL Radio - Jim Bohannan Show !! - STUNNING National CBS Radio Interview! Bohannan is a right wing pro-military radio voice, who's audience has probably NEVER been exposed to 9/11 truth issues. "The Shell Game" author, Steve Alten, came on after an Oil Executive's interview, at about 39:50 in the 1.5 hour show. At about 54:56 it gets REALLY interesting when a caller calls in to discuss 9/11 as a false flag attack. Which unleashes Alten into a deep discussion of 9/11 truth issues. All hell brakes loose in the next few minutes, as Alten enters the realms of 9/11 truth, explaining to the stunned Bohanan and and his virgin (9/11 truth issue) audience that there is a mass 9/11 truth movement in America that involves engineers, police, private investigators, and many other experts challenging the official 9/11 story.

• Environmental Illnesses Haunt Some Who Covered 9/11 - Between 2002 and 2004, The World Trade Center Worker and Volunteer Medical Screening Program surveyed 9,442 workers, including 81 who worked for news agencies. The survey found that this group was five times as likely as the general population to suffer from reduced breathing capacity. The NYPPA has been encouraging 9/11 journalists to fill out an anonymous online survey. By early February, the survey had logged 161 responses. Respondents reported a variety of breathing problems like asthma and persistent coughing, and symptoms of depression and PTSD. Thirty-six of them said post-9/11 health problems have affected their careers.

• Diana inquest not to call Philip - The Duke of Edinburgh will not be called to give evidence at the inquest into the death of Princess Diana, the coroner has stated. Lord Justice Scott Baker also said the Queen should not be asked to answer questions posed by Michael Mansfield QC, representing Mohammed Al Fayed. He said: "Neither step will in my judgement further the inquest process."

• Paul Burrell may face perjury probe after Diana inquest - Scotland Yard said today that Paul Burrell, the former royal butler, may be investigated for perjury after the inquest into the deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales and Dodi al-Fayed, has been completed. Mr Burrell, who lives in Florida, was contacted by Coroner Lord Justice Scott Baker and asked to explain discrepancies between his testimony to the inquest in January and later comments reported by The Sun newspaper. However he has refused to return to Britain to answer any more questions or give evidence by video-link from the United States, the coroner revealed yesterday. The prospect of a perjury probe arose after The Sun reported that Mr Burrell was caught on a hidden video camera bragging about withholding information during his testimony.

• No prosecution on suicide-risk drug - A drugs manufacturer has been criticised, but not prosecuted, over claims that it withheld information about the increased risk of suicide for children taking Seroxat, the bestselling antidepressant drug. Ministers have promised to tighten laws that require pharmaceutical companies to disclose data from clinical trials after a report suggested that GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) knew about safety risks but failed to report them to the medicines safety watchdog for five years. GSK should have been much quicker to raise the alarm on the risk of suicidal behaviour associated with the drug in under18s, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has found. But after a four-year investigation involving a million pages of evidence, the agency has said that it would take no legal action against the company because it has no realistic prospect of securing a conviction.

Monday 03rd March 2008: -

• Marion Cotillard 'in shock' over 9/11 row, but will not apologise - Marion Cotillard, the Oscar-winning French actress, will not apologise over remarks she made describing the 9/11 attacks as a conspiracy and believes that the comments had been taken out of context and misunderstood. Cotillard, who won the Best Actress statuette last week for her portrayal of Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose, has claimed that the September 11 atrocity had been orchestrated by the owners of the Twin Towers. The comments, made in an interview first broadcast a year ago, have resurfaced on the internet since her Oscar victory. Cotillard said that the towers were destroyed not as part of a terrorist plot, but because it would have been too expensive to rewire them.   (COMMENTARY: Granted, her analysis does not seem to expose much of the picture as to why 9/11 was staged by criminal elements of the US government/military, but what really matters is that she had the courage and integrity to bring attention to the issue.  Here we are in 2008 - six and a half years since 9/11 and we still see these arrogant fools laughing at us and attacking us for seeking and spreading the truth about 9/11.  So on a personal level, for that reason, I can only admire her for speaking out)

• Cotillard's 9/11 Comments Echo Widely-Respected Experts, Public Opinion: Attack dog media attempts to isolate and ridicule French actress by hiding the fact that hundreds of other widely respected experts, as well as the majority of the public, agree with her - A smear campaign against Oscar-winning French actress Marion Cotillard is now in full swing, with the establishment media attempting to hide the fact that her comments about 9/11 echo the sentiment of hundreds of widely-respected intelligence and scientific experts in addition to public opinion. Cotillard's statements about the suspicious collapse of the WTC buildings mirror those of a 20-year Marine Corps infantry and intelligence veteran. In February 2007, 20-year Marine Corps infantry and intelligence officer, the second-ranking civilian in U.S. Marine Corps Intelligence, and former CIA clandestine services case officer Robert Steele went on record as saying that, "Dick Cheney saw this as a gift of heaven, and organized the 9-11 exercises so as to have complete operational control of the U.S. government, and he "let it happen." Steele also directly accused WTC complex leaseholder Larry Silverstein of having advance knowledge of the attacks and rigging the WTC towers and Building 7 with demolition charges, "In order to clear the area for rebuilding and get the $7 billion in insurance money."

• US christens '9/11 steel' warship - Thousands of people have watched the naming in Louisiana of a US warship built partly from steel salvaged from the World Trade Center. The twin towers in New York were destroyed in the hijacked planes attack of 11 September 2001. Friends and families of 9/11 victims were among those at the ceremony for the new amphibious assault ship, the USS New York, in the base of Avondale. The bow contains 7.5 tonnes of steel taken from Ground Zero. It also bore a shield with two bars to symbolise the towers and a banner with the slogan Never Forget.

• Scottish Matron Named As Suspect In Jersey Abuse Scandal - A SCOT who was matron of the Jersey abuse scandal children's home has been named as a suspect. Morag Jordan, who now lives in Kirriemuir, Angus, is one of 40 people police on the island are investigating over allegations of physical and sexual abuse of up to 200 children. She and her husband Tony spoke to the Record last week to deny any involvement in abuse.

• 'Pieces of bone' found at Jersey care home - Police excavating a former Jersey children's home at the centre of a child abuse investigation today said they had found what could be more human remains. Forensic teams have been searching the Haut de la Garenne site since part of a child's skull was unearthed on Saturday, February 23. A sniffer dog trained to find human remains gave a strong reaction to the items, police said, adding they were "possibly pieces of bone". Deputy police chief Lenny Harper said: "We continued to excavate the first site at the house and have taken out a few items. "It is too early to say what the significance of those are. They're possibly pieces of bone." The announcement came after the first picture of a "torture chamber" below the children's home was released. Police are investigating the claims of about 160 people, who say they were subjected to sexual and physical abuse at the former home.

• 'I have known about Jersey paedophiles for 15 years,' says award-winning journalist - The award-winning journalist who exposed terrible abuse in Islington children's homes now reveals horrifying links to sinister discoveries at Jersey's Haut de la Garenne. I met the frightened policeman at an isolated country restaurant, many miles from his home and station. Detective Constable Peter Cook had finally despaired, and decided to blow the whistle to a reporter.

• Secrets and lies: the dark side of Jersey: The child-abuse scandal is the latest episode in the history of an island that rarely conforms with the mainland - The first sign to greet visitors to Gorey, on the east coast of Jersey, is a bright red plaque with white lettering that says, "Caution: Ducks crossing". Tripping over a duck is about the most dangerous thing you would expect to happen in this picture-postcard village, where the hotel tourist literature boasts of how safe the streets are. Visitors are encouraged to explore the warren of backstreets which are pitch-black at night and consist, at this time of year at least, of empty tea rooms and restaurants serving the fresh "catch of the day" to the occasional tourist. High above, on top of the cliffs above the town's medieval harbour, Mont Orgueil casts its shadow, the 13th-century bastion built to protect the island from the threat of invasion from the French. But now a much darker shadow looms over this village. Further up the hill, to the east of the castle, stands another historic building, a 19th-century grey stone structure built to house "young people of the lower classes of society and neglected children", which has become the setting of one of the worst cases of child abuse in the recent history of the British Isles.

• PASS THE SICK BAG: Texas university honours Tony Blair with thousands of pounds and an honour reserved for war heroes - EVEN though it is eight months since he left Downing Street, Tony Blair has once again laid himself open to an unfortunate combination of the words “cash” and “honours”. A Texas university with close links to President George W Bush will this week pay Blair thousands of pounds and hand him an honour usually reserved for Republican grandees and American war heroes. Blair has turned down an honorarium that goes with the Medal of Freedom but has asked for a cash fee to speak to students and children from deprived backgrounds after the award ceremony.

I'M GONNA HURL!...

Sunday 02nd March 2008: -

• Oscar-Winning Actress Claims The U.S. Was Behind 9/11 Attacks - The French actress who last week won an Oscar for portraying singer Edith Piaf has now sparked controversy by hinting that the U.S. intentionally plotted the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C. Marion Cotillard, 32, openly questioned the U.S. government's role in the terror attacks during an interview broadcast on a French website. In the discussion, Cotillard strongly indicated that the collapse of the World Trade Center towers was orchestrated by America. "A tower... I believe it was in Spain, burned for 24 hours. It never collapsed," she said. "In a few minutes, the [World Trade Center] collapsed." "I think we are lied to about a number of things," she added.   (RELATED: See our 9/11 archive and our affiliated site 911truthskipton.com)

• International Investigation of 9/11 Called For - Against a background of escalating ecological crises, and the fact that large parts of the world´s population are being exposed to extreme poverty, inhuman working conditions and increasing social tensions, the annual global military expenditure has risen to more than 1000 billion dollars. The military-industrial complex of just a few G8 countries is responsible for the overwhelming part of this spending, causing incalcuable social and ecological consequences. Unequal distribution of global resources, increasingly controlled by large multinational companies, global debt policy and unfair international trading practices ultimately could not be maintained without military security. In many countries the military is used to repress critical opposition.

• UK airman killed in Iraq attack - A British airman has died following a rocket attack on a military base in Basra, southern Iraq. The serviceman, attached to the Royal Air Force's 903 Expeditionary Air Wing, was killed in the attack on the base on Friday evening. The serviceman's family has been informed, said the Ministry of Defence. The death takes the number of UK troops killed in Iraq to 175. The last fatality was a member of 1st Battalion The Scots Guards, killed in December. British troops transferred control of Basra province to the Iraqi authorities later the same month, four and a half years after the US-led invasion of the country.

• Safety tool or moneymaker?: More and more suburbs are putting red-light cameras at intersections - More suburbs in the coming months are expected to give the green light to plans for cameras to nab motorists running red lights. Naperville launched its program Saturday, joining Lake in the Hills, Rolling Meadows and Rosemont as communities with active cameras. Dozens of towns, though, have contracted for the cameras and more are considering such a move. But as officials in those towns stress the goal of the electronic eyes is to modify driving behavior and reduce accidents, critics say it's all about municipalities eyeing dollar signs. The National Motorists Association, for example, claims photo enforcement isn't even the most effective method to improve traffic safety.

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