Sunday 30th September 2007: -

• Fayed lawyers to ask for Queen's evidence - Lawyers acting for Harrods chairman Mohamed al-Fayed want the Queen to give evidence at this week's inquest into the death of Princess Diana. By law, the Queen cannot be forced to testify, but she could choose to do so. Fayed's lawyers say her evidence is crucial to establishing the truth about the deaths of Diana and Dodi Fayed, which an extensive investigation has already concluded were the result of a 'tragic accident'. Lawyers want to ask about a conversation after the 1997 Paris crash in which the Queen is alleged to have told Diana's former butler Paul Burrell there were 'powers at work about which we have no knowledge'. Fayed's press director, Katharine Witty, said that it was important that the coroner called all witnesses.   (COMMENTARY: Note how the defenders of the official (i.e. false) version of events often refer to their fable as a 'tragic accident'.  Therefore any denial of their theory is to deny the tragic element of Diana's death.  This plays into the notion that we are somehow desecrating the memory of the late Princess by seeking truth and justice for her murder.  So many times I have been told; "Oh you should let her rest in peace...".  Sorry people, that argument doesn't cut it! RELATED: See our popular Diana Assassination archive for more info.)

• High School Security Guards Attack Teen With Cell Phone Camera Then Frame Him: Incident provokes national outrage - High School security guards in Palmdale CA have reacted viciously to an incident that was caught on camera last week, creating false charges against school children to detract from their own excessive actions which have since hit the headlines. The incident at Knight High School, which received national attention yesterday, blew up after security thugs assaulted a 16 year old school girl and broke her arm after she dropped some cake and did not clean it up to the satisfaction of the guards. The Guards then viciously assaulted a 16 year old boy who captured video of the incident on his cell phone. After the guards noticed the boy was filming them they forcefully tackled him, pushing his head into the ground and twisting his arm behind his back. The boy's sister attempted to intervene as other students began to film on phones.

• VeriChip Gets First Sale in Switzerland - VeriChip Corp., a provider of RFID systems for healthcare and patient-related needs, announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Xmark Corp., has made its first sale in Switzerland. Xmark's ProtecPoint wander prevention system is being installed at Stiftung Schloss Turbenthal, a center for the deaf and elderly in Gehorlosendorf, near Zurich. The system is to be installed by Xmark's dealer Avatech AG. The ProtecPoint system provides cost-effective protection for wander-prone individuals, and is part of Xmark's suite of RFID solutions to locate and protect people in indoor environments. "Xmark continues to expand in overseas markets, building on our industry leading position in North America," said Daniel A. Gunther, President and CEO of Xmark. "We look forward to working with Avatech on future opportunities in Switzerland." Martin Naef, manager of logistics and facilities at Stiftung Schloss Turbenthal, said, "We choose Avatech AG and the ProtecPoint solution because of the easy installation and administration. ProtecPoint provides effective support for the nursing staff. We have been able to reduce manually monitoring of wandering residents."

• Labour MPs admit plan to fake Purnell photo - James Purnell, the Culture Secretary, came under increasing pressure over a fake photo last night, after two Labour MPs revealed they planned in advance for it be altered. The MPs, who featured alongside Mr Purnell in the doctored photograph, revealed that they had discussed how he would be merged into the shot after failing to turn up for a photocall on time. The MPs say that they had organised several different poses, each of which had space for the absent minister. The disclosure will prove highly embarrassing for Mr Purnell, who has faced a barrage of criticism ever since it emerged that his image had been pasted into a photocall at which he was not present.

• First Responder Kevin McPadden: Shocking New 9/11 Revelations - A 9/11 first responder has shed new light on how he heard a countdown before the demolition of Building 7, how he was told to "shut up" by superiors when he tried to report secondary explosions and why "vicious security" measures were enacted to prevent people from accessing certain areas of ground zero. Former Air Force Special Operations for Search and Rescue expert, Kevin McPadden traveled to ground zero completely of his own accord and spent the next four days searching through the rubble and nearby buildings for survivors. In a video interview with Alex Jones, McPadden describes the moments before the collapse of WTC 7, the countdown he heard, and the attempts to cover-up evidence at ground zero.

• Republican Opponents Afraid To Attack Giuliani On 9/11 - Rudy Giuliani has made his performance on Sept. 11 the dominant pillar of his campaign, a strategy that has proved at once effective and controversial. While the former New York City mayor finds himself atop national polls and well-positioned to capture the Republican nomination, he has also exposed himself to criticism that he is overstating his terrorism credentials and crassly politicizing the issue. Yet just three months before the first primary vote is cast, none of Giuliani's top-tier primary opponents have taken the bait.

Friday 28th September 2007: -

• CFR's Hart Suggests False Flag Event For Iran War: Tacit warning to Iranian government suggests staged event may be used to ensure "bombs fall on your head" - Council on Foreign Relations member Gary Hart, famed for stating that Americans will die en- mass on home soil this century, and for declaring 48 hours after 9/11 that it should be used "to carry out a new world order", has written a scathing letter to the leaders of Iran clearly warning that the U.S. government has a history of staging provocations in order to initiate conflict with other nations and that Iran could be next. Hart references the sinking of the USS Maine in Havana harbor in 1898, which led to the Spanish American war, as well as the Gulf of Tonkin incident, which was ultimately the catalyst for airstrikes on Vietnam. Why does Hart reference these two cases? Because they are both examples of staged managed events that were used to coerce the American public into supporting war.

• Police attack Jack Straw over ‘irresponsible’ vow on self-defence - The leader of rank-and-file police officers accused Jack Straw of irresponsibility last night over his proposed review of the law on self-defence. Mr Straw, the Justice Secretary, was also accused by the Opposition of a cynical preelection stunt after he proposed to review the law less than two years after a similar review. But the attack by the Police Federation caused the most surprise, with their warning that any changes must not encourage the public to take the law into their own hands. Jan Berry, chairman of the federation, expressed surprise at the latest review of self-defence law and said that nothing should be done that encourages vigilantism by the public.   (COMMENTARY: How dare anyone defend them self!  Don't we know that it is up to the 'authorities' to do protect us.  That's the deal, we give them our freedom and they keep us safe... but they don't do they?!)

• Beauty clinics accused of using their customers as guinea pigs - Customers of high-street beauty clinics are being used as guinea pigs for unproven cosmetic techniques peddled by cowboy practitioners, doctors have claimed. Injectable fillers to remove wrinkles, fat-busting treatments for the overweight and microwaves to tauten slack skin are being introduced without proper controls or adequate testing, said the British Association for Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS). Many firms now offer products and techniques which they claim can improve appearance, reduce weight and tone skin without the need for surgery. Non-surgical treatments are cheaper, simpler to administer and many can be carried out by anyone with a modicum of training, such as hairdressers.

Thursday 27th September 2007: -

• Saddam Offered Exile, But Neo-Cons Unleashed Carnage Anyway: What could have been saved? A trillion dollars, a million lives, the global reputation of the U.S. - but that wasn't the plan - Neo-Cons could have saved a trillion dollars, spared over a million lives and prevented tens of thousands of dead and injured U.S. soldiers but decided to unleash carnage anyway, after it was revealed last night that Saddam Hussein offered to step down and go into exile one month before the invasion of Iraq.

• Brown holds firm on refusal of EU treaty vote - Prime Minister Gordon Brown held firm on Wednesday over his refusal to hold a referendum on the European Union reform treaty, despite mounting pressure from politicians, unions and the media. Brown said he would ensure that all London's demands or red lines were met in the final text of the treaty and insisted the document marked no fundamental change to how Britain is run. "If we were making a decision on the euro, there would be a referendum. If we had the same constitutional treaty that was abandoned, we said there would be a referendum," he told Labour's annual conference in the seaside town of Bournemouth.

• Straw promises greater legal protection for 'have-a-go-heroes' - Greater protection from prosecution will be offered to "have-a-go heroes" under plans to strengthen the law on self-defence to be announced today. Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, will promise that people who fight back against intruders or challenge robbers in the street that they can act without fear of ending up in court. His move will coincide with a pledge from Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, that the Government will show "zero tolerance" to all forms of crime and anti-social behaviour. Mr Straw, who has taken the law into his own hands four times to tackle muggers or burglars, will acknowledge public fears that the criminal justice system can be tilted in favour of offenders. He will tell the Labour Party conference: "I know from personal experience that you have all of a millisecond to make the judgement about whether to intervene.

• FROM ONE OF OUR HELPFUL VISITORS: "Thought you would find this interesting. After the terrible rap the veriChip brand has after so many pets developed cancer after being microchipped, the company is changing its name. Do they really think we're that stupid???" See xmark.com

• Diana inquest jury to be selected - The process of selecting the jury for the inquest into the death of Diana, Princess of Wales is to get under way. Up to 200 potential jurors have been summoned to the Royal Courts of Justice in London, ahead of the start of the hearing on Tuesday. The candidates will be asked questions by the coroner to determine whether they have any prejudices or connections that could rule them out of the case.   (RELATED: See our popular Diana Assassination archive for more info.)

• Many pension schemes 'inadequate' - The amount of money being paid into many new company pension schemes is much too low, says a report from the advisory firm Mercer. Its survey of 400 employers, operating 600 "defined contribution" schemes, found contribution rates have risen only slightly in the past five years. In 2002 employers and staff paid in 9.5% of salaries, but now pay in 10.4%. Most of these schemes have opened since 2000 as employers have shut traditional final salary pension schemes.

Wednesday 26th September 2007: -

• Airport security arsenal adds behavior detection - Doug Kinsey stands near the security line at Dulles International Airport, watching the passing crowd in silence. Suddenly, his eyes lock on a passenger in jeans and a baseball cap. The man in his 20s looks around the terminal as though he's searching for something. He chews his fingernails and holds his boarding pass against his mouth, seemingly worried. Kinsey, a Transportation Security Administration screener, huddles with his supervisor, Waverly Cousins, and the two agree: The man could be a problem. Kinsey moves in to talk to him. The episode this month is one of dozens of encounters airline passengers are having each day — often unwittingly — with a fast-growing but controversial security technique called behavior detection. The practice, pioneered by Israeli airport security, involves picking apparently suspicious people out of crowds and asking them questions about travel plans or work. All the while, their faces, body language and speech are being studied.

• Diana: The unseen evidence which has been mysteriously ignored until now - Over English tea served in fine china cups at a sumptuous Paris apartment last November, an astonishing meeting took place to discuss the death of 36-year-old Diana, Princess of Wales. The conversation was cordial. A butler carrying a teapot and tray of delicate sandwiches moved smoothly between the guests in the richly decorated drawing room of a building owned by the British Government, near the famous Champs Elysees. In one Victorian armchair sat Lord Stevens, the respected former head of Scotland Yard. He had just finished a three-year investigation called Operation Paget into whether there was a conspiracy to murder the most famous woman in the world ten years ago and a cover-up to hide the truth.   (RELATED: See our popular Diana Assassination archive for more info.)

• A NY Republican Club Says No To Ron Paul Fund Raising Event - Ron Paul’s campaign stated on its website that the New York Republican club told the campaign that there wasn’t enough support on its board to allow Ron Paul to host a fund raiser at the club. Paul’s campaign is looking for another location for the October 12th fund raiser. The Metropolitan Republican club states on its website that: “We are a varied and enthusiastic group with the common goal of supporting New York City Republican candidates and ideals. Met Club activities include election campaigns, informational programs, and social events. Anyone who shares our basic goals and beliefs is welcome to become a member of the Metropolitan Republican Club.” The clubs facilities are privately owned but the cold shoulder does seem to conflict with its stated policies. Paul activists think NY Republicans should allow all of the candidates to be heard.

• Anger at Giuliani 9/11 fundraiser - Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani has been criticised over a fundraising party at which participants are being urged to donate $9.11. The International Association of Fire Fighters accuses him of exploiting the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks. Mr Giuliani rose to national prominence as New York's mayor on 9/11. The Giuliani campaign says it did not plan the event, which is due to take place on Wednesday evening in California at the home of a supporter. Nevertheless, the firefighters association said the stated theme of the fundraiser - "$9.11 for Rudy" was in poor taste.

• Do 9/11 Conspiracy Theories Upset You? - The 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon were brainstormed, arranged and executed by dark, shadow agents of the American government seeking to throw us into shock, horror and then rage. Their ultimate goal was US military action in the Middle East. Theories like the above are all over. Not only do books, magazines and websites spout them, but home brewed films like Loose Change, seek to "uncover truth" about that Tuesday morning in September of 2001. Hollywood celebrities like Charlie Sheen and Rosie O'Donnell have even embraced 9-11 conspiracy theories. I want to hear two sides to a story - don't we all? With something as complicated as this, there may indeed be more sides which won't be fully told for years. Even the 9-11 Commission upon publication of their report noted that the account they'd published wasn't a definitive version of the events, or what lead up to it in the first place.

• Education agency to build fingerprint database - The Michael Maples scandal shook the Victoria community, and Texas leaders are pushing to safeguard against such future incidents. When Maples was hired as principal of Memorial High School, the system for checking the criminal background of employees failed, said Eleanor Gonzalez, president of the Victoria Federation of Teachers. "Somehow people are slipping through," Gonzalez said. "Whoever expected something like that to happen in Victoria?"

• Seized 'child art porn' owned by Elton John - A controversial photograph by an American artist - part of Elton John's private collection - has been seized by police from a gallery on suspicion it may have breached child pornography laws. The Telegraph reports that the photo of two young girls one of whom was sitting down with her legs splayed wide apart, was taken by photographer Nan Goldin.

• United States Forest Service Purchases 700 TASER X26 Electronic Control Devices: Federal Agencies Continue to Show Growth Opportunities - TASER International, Inc. (Nasdaq:TASR), a market leader in advanced electronic control devices, today announced that it received an order from the United States Forest Service for 700 TASER(r) X26 electronic control devices and related accessories. "We are excited about this new additional federal agency purchasing TASER technology to protect life," said Tom Smith, Chairman and Founder of TASER international. "Traditionally, we have focused law enforcement sales at the local and state level, but we are now seeing acceptance of TASER technology at various federal law enforcement agencies."

Tuesday 25th September 2007: -

• MySpace Censors Anti-War Websites: Prison Planet blocked as the model for government regulated Internet 2 gets a dry run - Rupert Murdoch's MySpace has been caught in another act of alternative media censorship after it was revealed that bulletin posts containing links to Prison Planet.com were being hijacked and forwarded to MySpace's home page. MySpace has placed Prison Planet on a list of blocked websites supposedly reserved for spam, phishing scams or virus trojans. It has been apparent for at least two weeks that all bulletin posts containing links to Prison Planet were being censored but we decided to wait and see if it was just a technical error before drawing any attention to the problem.

• MAINSTREAM MEDIA WORKS TO LINK HOLOCAUST DENIAL TO ASKING (ANY) QUESTIONS ABOUT 9/11 TRUTH: Ahmadinejad Questions 9/11, Holocaust - Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad defended Holocaust deniers and raised questions about who carried out the Sept. 11 attacks in a tense showdown Monday at Columbia University where the school's head introduced the visitor by calling him a ``petty and cruel dictator.'' Ahmadinejad, appearing shaken by what he called ``insults'' from his host, sought to portray himself as an intellectual and argued that his regime had respect for reason and science. But the former engineering professor soon found himself drawn into the type of rhetoric that has alienated American audiences in the past.   (COMMENTARY: Got questions about 9/11?... I guess that you're one of them Holocaust deniers then... I read about it in the London Guardian!)

• Giuliani Confronted for Desecrating 9/11 Dead - Hovering over the consecrated remains at Ground Zero is a ghostly air of harrowing memories and unanswered questions. Maybe that's why former Mayor Giuliani feels the urge to leave so quickly when pieces of those memories begin to surface and the truth begins to hurt. Certainly, Giuliani did not want to think about the fact that he trashed the remains of more than 40% of Ground Zero victims-- and used them to fill potholes and to pave roads. As a consequence, many family members never found their loved ones and their tragedies were made worse by callous desecration on the part of a leader they were supposed to be able to trust.

• EU treaty debate 'must end' - The debate over the new EU treaty must be resolved if Britain is to have any chance of tackling 21st century challenges, according to the leader of the European Parliamentary Labour Party. Gary Titley told Labour delegates at the party's annual conference in Bournemouth that globalisation brought with it the challenges of climate change, people trafficking, terrorism and the need to regulate corporations. And he said that Gordon Brown would ensure the treaty agreed in December "is one that represents the best deal for Britain". "The 21st century challenges are tough and if the EU is to face them, then we have to get away from debates about treaties, institutions and processes," Titley said.

• Family Ties Link Russian Government - If some governments resemble stodgy men's clubs, Vladimir Putin's has started to look like a family affair since a Cabinet shakeup this month that left two pairs of close relatives serving in top posts. For many, the arrangement underscores the rift between Russia's ruling elite and the people - and reflects Putin's reliance on personal bonds as he maneuvers ahead of crucial elections and the end of his term next year.

• Evening Standard launches 'Eros' cashless shopping card - Eros? What's the god of sexy times got to do with buying a newspaper using a swipe card so you've got something to read on the nightmare commute home? Once you've signed up, got yourself an Eros card and added some credit to it via the scheme's web site, you're able to buy a paper at select shops by swiping your card on the reader, Oyster card style. There's nothing particularly sexy about it, but it will shave valuable seconds off your commute and give you a massive advantage over those fools who insist on fumbling for change. Also, in a shameless attempt to get fashionable urban hipsters on board, the scheme's giving users five free iTunes music downloads each time they add some credit to their cards. If you want in on the trial, or just want to cynically try it out to get the new Girls Aloud single off iTunes for free, the scheme kicks off at London's Waterloo station next Monday with a giveaway of cards loaded with some free money.

• LOOSE CHANGE CIRCULAR: Greetings, We just wanted to drop everyone a quick email to let you know that we're working hard on the Final Cut. It's going to be an amazing film and the culmination of years of hard work. Stay tuned for more info about releases and details, in the very near future. 
  In the meantime, you can check out Dylan's interview with Amber Mac from Webnation here: http://ambermac.typepad.com/ambermac/2007/09/jane-goodall-an.html
  
  Also, the 'Investigate 9/11' hats are back in stock in our online store. They're low profile, 6-panel, embroidered baseball caps that are perfect for wearing to 9/11 events and everywhere else to spread the word! The cap features 'Investigate 911' on the front and 'loosechange911.com' around the opening on the back. 
  
  Remember, that any purchases you make really help us with funding the final stages and launch of the Final Cut. Also, please make a donation to the Feal Good Foundation, which helps struggling first responders. 
  
  As always, thank you - we wouldn't be anything without your support. Spread the truth!
  
  Thanks,
  The LC Team

• Blue Peter to apologise for rigging cat poll: Blue Peter presenters are to apologise to young viewers today for fixing a poll which had asked children to name the show's cat - An online poll run by the BBC was overruled after the name chosen was deemed unsuitable by production staff. The result was that the cat was called Socks instead of Cookie, a breach of viewers' trust which the corporation hopes to rectify by introducing a second cat today. After an apology from presenters, Cookie the kitten will join Socks in the first programme of the new series of the show. It was announced yesterday that acting editor Tim Levell will take over as editor of Blue Peter after former editor, Richard Marson, was reportedly sacked over the poll. Marson was also in charge when the show misled viewers by asking a girl who had been visiting the studio to pose as the winner of a phone-in competition. The BBC was fined an unprecedented £50,000 by media watchdog Ofcom over the incident, one of a string of deceptions that has rocked public trust in programming.

Monday 24th September 2007: -

• UK Inheritance tax 'snaring 135 homes a day' - More than 135 homes a day will be trapped in the inheritance tax net over the next year, according to research by Britain's biggest mortgage lender. Halifax estimates that over the next 12 months, 50,000 extra properties will be pushed over the limit above which bereaved families must pay 40 per cent inheritance tax when the owner dies. These will be in addition to the 2.3?million homes already worth more than the inheritance tax threshold, according to the lender. Even if house price growth slows to five per cent over the next year – less than half the 11 per cent seen over the last 12 months – many more homeowners risk paying the much-hated tax despite the threshold increasing from £300,000 to £312,000 next April.

• Debate heats up over US stun gun laws - In the United States, a string of ugly incidents in the past week has prompted calls for stun guns to be better regulated. Police say the guns, which emit electricity rather than bullets, are an important tool of their trade. But they can be dangerous and in one particularly graphic case, a police video shows a handcuffed woman being repeatedly zapped. A grainy video shows 38-year-old Heidi Gill in the back of a police car, clearly distressed, screaming and struggling following her arrest after an argument in a bar. At one point the woman tries to kick out the car window, but the policeman fires his stun gun and Ms Gill screams and pleads for help.

• Big Bro’s coming to transport hubs: Security plan ups cameras - Big Brother will be watching, under a new Patrick administration anti-terrorism strategy being unveiled today to expand security video surveillance at major transportation facilities, part of a new push by the federal government that some critics say is too little and long overdue. “There are tremendous efforts being made, in terms of cameras, information-sharing and intelligence-sharing. That’s all linked to the London bombings,” said Homeland Security Undersecretary Julliette Kayyem, referring to the attack of July 7, 2005.

• 100,000 march against Burmese junta - MORE than 100,000 Buddhist monks and supporters marched in Rangoon yesterday, piling the pressure on Burma's ruling military junta and adding to fears the "Saffron Revolution" would end in a bloody crackdown. Led by about 15,000 monks clad in orange and red robes, protesters swarmed through Burma's main city in two huge marches. One group of at least 30,000 protesters went through the city centre, even marching past the military's War Office, where soldiers watched but took no action, witnesses said. The group set off from the holy Shwedagon Pagoda and past the offices of detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party.

• Accused in 'corrupt police' claim - A man charged with murdering a drug dealer has told a court of his bid to expose a link between corrupt police and an Aberdeen councillor. Derek Carswell, 40, said he planned to steal a laptop from the home of then councillor Raymond Hutcheon. Mr Carswell and Stephen Rankin, 32, deny murdering Robert Mair, 57, whose body was found in Aberdeen's Kettlehills Crescent in February. The trial, at the High Court in Edinburgh, continues. Mr Carswell - who is currently serving a sentence for a drugs offence - believes he was set up.

• GMTV phone scandal company fined 250,000 pounds - A company that ran competitions for British broadcaster GMTV has been fined a record 250,000 pounds ($507,000) after viewers lost an estimated 20 million pounds in a phone-in scandal over almost four years. GMTV, which had allowed viewers to enter competitions they had no chance of winning, said in July its managing director would stand down over the problem. Regulator Icstis said it had imposed its maximum fine of 250,000 pounds on competition phone service provider Opera Telecom after it allowed at least 18 million callers to enter competitions they had no chance of winning.

Sunday 23rd September 2007: -

• Taxman wants to swipe money direct from bank accounts - You might think the taxman already has enough clout, but things could be about to get worse - a lot worse. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) wants to extend its powers so it would be able to raid bank and building society accounts for unpaid tax, without having to make its case before a judge and obtain a court order. Your home could also be at risk: HMRC could put a charge on your property if you didn't pay your tax, again without seeking sanction from a court. HMRC believes the changes would give it the "right tools to tackle debt". Many experts think they go too far and would turn the taxman into judge, jury and executioner. Mike Warburton, senior tax partner at accountancy firm Grant Thornton, said: "It's a disgrace. If HMRC has a claim, then it should stand up in court. I would rather put my faith in the independent judiciary than the taxman. We are not yet living in a police state."

• Families play it safe at national wellness event: Fingerprinting, ID cards part of Kids Day - Children had their faces painted, ate free pizza and cookies and tried their skills on a rock climbing wall at Belle River Elementary School on Saturday afternoon. But their parents didn't bring them to the school just to have fun - they had their children fingerprinted and checked out for cavities and spinal problems as part of Kids Day America. The event, initiated by the World Wellness Foundation, has been taking place for more than a decade in cities around the world and arrived in Marine City for the first time this year. Zimmer Chiropractic of Marine City and other local agencies and businesses pitched in to educate families about health and safety issues. Children were given an emergency child identification card with a dental record form; space for a photo; questions such as address, height, weight and blood type; and boxes for each fingerprint.

• Child ID program draws hundreds: Prints held on file... just in case - Seeing her aunt go missing for three days was all too frightening for Keisha Boog. She was eventually found and was OK, but Boog said she would do all that's necessary to prevent a similar disappearance. Yesterday she took her sons, 1-year-old William and 7-year-old Austin, to Byerly Ford-Nissan off Dixie Highway where police were filing fingerprints and handing out identification cards to children. "We hope this will help if anything happens to them," Boog said. "We don't want another" fright. Close to 300 children had their fingerprints scanned and photos taken. The children's fingerprints and photos, along with their weight and height, were also logged onto an encrypted disk that only the FBI can read.

• I always feel like somebody’s watching me... - I DIDN'T break the law last week. Like the greatest number of you, I didn't break the law the week before, or the week before that. Once upon a time I played football flagrantly in places where football was strictly forbidden. Years ago I withheld the poll tax, very politely I thought. But as criminal masterminds go, I'm one of life's innocent bystanders. So why is someone always trying to take my picture? Why does the government insist I pay for a plastic card just to grant complete strangers instant access to private information? Why does an English high court judge, a Lord Justice Sedley, believe it would be "fairer" if my genetic material, along with the DNA of everyone else who resides in or visits Britain, was held on a giant database?

• War Costing $720 Million Each Day, Group Says - The money spent on one day of the Iraq war could buy homes for almost 6,500 families or health care for 423,529 children, or could outfit 1.27 million homes with renewable electricity, according to the American Friends Service Committee, which displayed those statistics on large banners in cities nationwide Thursday and Friday. The war is costing $720 million a day or $500,000 a minute, according to the group's analysis of the work of Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph E. Stiglitz and Harvard public finance lecturer Linda J. Bilmes.

• Beck said he "enjoy[s] watching" Taser videos; O'Reilly rolled out "Don't Taze me, bro!" bumper stickers - Summary: In segments on University of Florida student Andrew Meyer, who was shocked with a Taser by campus police, Glenn Beck asserted: "To me, Taser videos are a little like potato chips. I just can't watch just one," and Bill O'Reilly announced that "[a]nyone buying anything on BillOReilly.com will receive a 'Don't Taze me, bro!' bumper sticker."

• U.S. Airport Screeners Are Watching What You Read - International travelers concerned about being labeled a terrorist or drug runner by secret Homeland Security algorithms may want to be careful what books they read on the plane. Newly revealed records show the government is storing such information for years. Privacy advocates obtained database records showing that the government routinely records the race of people pulled aside for extra screening as they enter the country, along with cursory answers given to U.S. border inspectors about their purpose in traveling. In one case, the records note Electronic Frontier Foundation co-founder John Gilmore's choice of reading material, and worry over the number of small flashlights he'd packed for the trip.

• Cynthia McKinney's 'Confronting Empire' in Leeds, UK: Organised by the West Yorkshire and Leeds Truth Campaigns and 911 Truth Skipton - Saturday 09th Sept 2007: -

(SPECIAL THANKS GO TO NARINDER FOR RECORDING THIS)

Saturday 22nd September 2007: -

• ITV drops British Comedy Awards over allegation of phone-in scam - The British Comedy Awards have become the latest victim of the phone-in and fakery scandals that have swept through the television industry and will not be televised live by ITV this year after an investigation was announced into a public phone vote on the show two years ago. But last night the organisers of the UK's comedy "Oscars" pledged to carry on with the awards, with Jonathan Ross presenting. ITV has brought in the media law firm Olswang to carry out the investigation, after learning that one of its own shows was chosen as a winner in a public phone vote in the 2005 comedy awards, before the lines were closed.

• Tesco 'limited competition' claim - Regulators accused supermarket giant Tesco of limiting competition and choice following its acquisition of a former Co-op store. The Competition Commission has provisionally ruled that the purchase of the store in Slough, Berks, in 2003, by the UK's largest supermarket group, has resulted in a "substantial" lessening of competition in the area. The Office of Fair Trading referred Tesco to the Competition Commission in April after it failed to find a buyer for the site it had been told to sell in 2004. Tesco purchased the former Co-op store, just 800 metres from its existing shop in the town, to trade from as it developed its original site. It was then due to sell the grocery shop after it moved back to its original store.

• The continued exploitation of 9/11 - Like other colossal events, the attacks of September 11, 2001 on New York and Washington, have significantly transformed many countries. The events of 9/11 have had devastating repercussions on the regional and international levels, and forced some rulers in Arab and Muslim countries to make some unsavoury choices. On that ominous day, the US administration, under George W. Bush, began to look more narrowly and fanatically than ever before at regional and international issues.

Friday 21st September 2007: -

• Crackdown on 7-year inheritance tax gift rule - A new inheritance tax crackdown has been launched against families who use the seven-year gift rule to reduce their bill, it has been disclosed. In the past five years under Gordon Brown the number of people paying the tax has risen 72 per cent, with the amount the Treasury receives almost doubling to £3.3 billion. Because of increasing property prices, tens of thousands more families have found themselves liable for inheritance tax and as a result have tried to use legitimate gift laws to lessen their bills.

• Repossessions could soar in UK - Home repossessions could rocket by the end of the year as lenders of sub-prime mortgages push up their interest rates and clamp down on easy credit terms. As many as 250,000 homeowners with poor credit histories might have to pay more or risk losing their homes as the after-effects of the Northern Rock debacle and the global credit crunch forced lenders to impose new restrictions on their loans, according to mortgage brokers.

• Shelter eyes fingerprint scans, ID cards for homeless - A Calgary homeless shelter is considering a high-tech security system that would require fingerprint scans and photo ID cards from people looking for a warm, safe place to spend the night. A spokeswoman for the city's Drop-In Centre said Thursday the shelter is pricing new security measures that could include biometric technology, such as fingerprints. The effort to ramp up security comes after a survey at the shelter showed more than half of 284 users were concerned about their safety while there. "There would be a desk where people [would] have to swipe their cards," said Louise Gallagher, manager of resource development and public relations.

• Autistic Teen Tasered in Calif. - Sheriff's officials defended their use of a Taser stun gun to subdue an autistic teenager who left a social services center where he was being treated. "It was necessary," sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino said in defense of the use of a Taser stun gun to subdue 15-year-old Taylor Karras. He said the teen was running in and out of traffic and is lucky to be alive. "If that were your son, would you want him Tased or hit by a car?" Amormino asked. The teenager bolted from a social services center in Westminster on Monday and had walked 15 miles when sheriff's deputies received a call of someone running in and out of traffic on busy Newport Avenue. Sheriff's Lt. Larry Jones said a deputy fired the Taser after a second car had to swerve. The teen was home with his parents Tuesday, uninjured and no charges were filed. But his parents said they believed deputies overreacted.

• Denver Sheriff's Office Helps Private Companies Take Blood And Saliva At Checkpoints: Drivers subjected to "voluntary" procedure say they feel like DUI stops - A Sheriff's office in Denver has been blasted by drivers after it engaged in the operation of what appeared to be DUI checkpoints but were in fact stops being carried out by a private non-profit research group. The Gilpin County Sheriff's Office was hit with complaints earlier this week from motorists who say they were not properly informed of the nature of the stops and felt that they were non-voluntary. One Undersheriff even described the procedure as "like a telemarketer that you couldn't hang up on,". The Denver post reported on the incident earlier this week: Sgt. Bob Enney said deputies assisted the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation in stopping motorists at five sites along Colorado 119 for surveys on any drug and alcohol use. Surveyors then asked the motorists to voluntarily submit to tests of their breath, blood and saliva. At least 200 drivers were tested, Enney said. About five motorists later complained, he said. The research is reportedly part of a nationwide study partly financed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

• E-numbers 'can do psychological harm to children' - The food watchdog was accused yesterday of "chickening out" of tough action on additives. In the face of unequivocal evidence of the potential harm to children, delivered in person by an eminent university researcher, the Food Standards Agency fudged a decision on what to do next. Professor Jim Stevenson, author of a breakthrough study on additives, told the FSA board yesterday that additives used in thousands of sweets, cakes and processed foods "damage the psychological health of children".

• Two BBC producers are forced out as more vote-rigging cases emerge - Two senior producers were forced to quit the BBC yesterday, after the corporation admitted that producers had fixed four more audience votes and competitions. Richard Marson, a former editor of Blue Peter, was dismissed, and Ric Blaxill, the head of programmes for the digital radio station 6 Music resigned – taking the total number of enforced departures at the broadcaster to three. Mr Blaxill, a former Top of the Pops executive producer and creative director of Capital Radio, is the most senior of the casualties. He quit as the BBC admitted that production staff invented fictitious winners on the Clare McDonnell show and the Tom Robinson programme, both on 6 Music. Mr Marson was forced out after the BBC also confirmed The Times’s report that producers had overruled an audience vote on the naming of the current Blue Peter cat, Socks. The producer was also in charge when production staff on the programme had faked the result of a phone-in competition, by picking a child from the audience who was told to pretend to answer the question via a telephone next to the studio because the phone lines had failed.

• Officer On Leave After Woman Tasered - The Warren Police Department is under fire for another accusation of abuse of force. The latest incident happened during a September second arrest in the parking lot of a popular nightclub. 33 news is the only station that requested the dash camera video of the arrest. Reporter Peggy Sinkovich and photographer Nck Rich show us the video and reaction from city officials. We warn you some sequences of this video are graphic and very disturbing. It's this shocking video that has warren city officials in an uproar.   (View the video here)

• Victim Of 17 Mistaken Identity Arrests Sues: Michigan Man Files $1 Million Lawsuit - A Detroit barber has filed a $1 million lawsuit saying he's been wrongly arrested 17 times. Keith Lamont Johnson, 47, shares his name and birthday with a convicted felon currently in a Michigan state prison for armed robbery and other crimes. Johnson said the first time he was a victim of mistaken identity was in Woodhaven, Mich., when his car broke down. Police spotted him and later arrested him.

Thursday 20th September 2007: -

• British intelligence accused of complicity in torture: Terror suspect alleges mistreatment in Pakistan / UK and US officials also questioned him, he claims - British intelligence and security officials were facing fresh questions about allegations of complicity in torture yesterday after a terrorism suspect appeared in court accused of plotting an al-Qaida attack. Rangzieb Ahmed, a British citizen from Fallowfield, Greater Manchester, alleges that during a year in captivity in Pakistan he suffered sleep deprivation and severe beatings, and that three fingernails were extracted from his left hand. Before being put aboard a plane to Heathrow this month, Mr Ahmed, 32, says he was questioned by British and US officials as well as by Pakistani intelligence officers who he alleges carried out the torture.

• Barrister becomes first to be jailed for perverting justice - A barrister became the first member of his profession to be jailed for perverting the course of justice yesterday after sending bogus court documents to his client's opponent. Bruce Hyman, a radio and theatre producer who retrained as a barrister, engineered a sting in an apparent effort to discredit the former husband of a friend he was representing in a family court case. Bristol crown court was told that Hyman, 49, a father of four, committed the offence while he was suffering a depressive illness because he was struggling to make a success of his new career.

• US blocks Iran leader 9/11 visit - The New York authorities have rejected a request from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to visit the site of the 11 September 2001 attacks. The Iranian president will arrive in New York on Sunday to address the United Nations General Assembly. A New York police spokesman said the World Trade Center site was closed to visitors because of construction work. He said requests by Mr Ahmadinejad to visit Ground Zero would be opposed on security grounds. New York Police Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne said the Iranian leader had asked the permission of the police department, the US Secret Service and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to visit the site. White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe told reporters it seemed "more than odd that the president of a country that is a state sponsor of terror would visit Ground Zero". And Zalmay Khalilzad, the United States ambassador to the UN, told journalists that the US would not support Iran using the site for a "photo op".   (COMMENTARY: So I guess that Iran was behind 9/11 now!  And those who were ACTUALLY complicit in the attacks like Giuliani and Bush have been grandstanding at Ground Zero for years)

• Author of tasered student's 'mystery book' points to irony in incident - The book Andrew Meyer clutched in his hands moments before being swarmed and eventually tasered by police--a "mysterious" yellow book, reported the Washington Post--isn't so mysterious at all: it's the latest from BBC investigative reporter and author Greg Palast. "About eleven people called me after it happened," Palast told RAW STORY. "Then I saw the full clip on YouTube." Palast's book, Armed Madhouse: From Baghdad to New Orleans--Sordid Secrets and Strange Tales of a White House Gone Wild, was the basis for Meyer's comments to Sen. John Kerry, who had been fielding student questions in a forum at the University of Florida.

Wednesday 19th September 2007: -

• Greenspan Working To Destroy US Economy: Puppets of the elite posing as saviors once again - Over the past few days Alan Greenspan has appeared in every major financial publication to explain exactly what is going to happen to the economy and what the next steps should be, while also deriding the Neocon administration for the current downturn. For this he has been lauded as some form of economic savior, yet a cursory examination of the facts reveals that the economic decline has long been in the pipeline and Greenspan and his ilk operate under the influence of those who continue to engineer the slow meltdown. Alan Greenspan and Paul Volker, both former Federal Reserve Chairmen, along with current chairman Ben Bernanke, the Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Alistair Darling, Exchequer of the Treasury in England have been out in unison since last Friday announcing over and over that the economy is going to implode, there is going to be serious inflation, housing is going to go down between ten and thirty percent, and the Dollar is going to be replaced with the Euro.

• U.S. Spy Chief: 9/11 'Could Have Been Prevented': Director of National Intelligence Says U.S. Didn't Connect Available Information - Six years after the deadliest attack on U.S. soil, the head of U.S. spy operations admitted to lawmakers that "9/11 should have and could have been prevented." Director of National Intelligence, Michael McConnell, told members of the House Judiciary Committee Tuesday that "it was an issue of connecting information that was available." McConnell, explaining that the intelligence community was, at the time, very focused on foreign threats, said the community allowed itself "to be separated from anything that was potentially domestic," and that domestic threats were "not something we [were] supposed to be concerned with."

• Wheelchair-Bound Woman Dies After Being Shocked With Taser 10 Times: State rules Taser death homicide - A Clay County woman's family said it's seeking justice after their loved one died shortly after being shocked 10 times with Taser guns during a confrontation with police. The family of 56-year-old Emily Delafield said it would take the Green Cove Springs Police Department to court, according to a WJXT-TV report. In April 2006, officers with the police department said they were called to a disturbance at a home in the 400 block of Harrison Street just before 5 p.m.

• Taser aftershock - Following the Tasering of a University of Florida student at a political event Monday, the university has been thrust into a growing national debate about the limits of free speech, the appropriate role of law enforcement and the politically charged environment of modern times. The incident that has sparked such controversy took place Monday afternoon, when 21-year-old Andrew Meyer was arrested and shot with a Taser gun during a town hall forum attended by U.S. Sen. John Kerry. Meyer had approached an open microphone to question Kerry, but his microphone was cut off when he used some salty language that drew organizers' objections. Shortly thereafter, UF Police Department officers tried to physically remove him from the University Auditorium, but resorted to the use of a Taser gun when he did not "comply," according to officers.

• Fox anchor: 'officers should be commended' for tasering student - Weighing in with his legal opinion regarding police officers' tasering of a University of Florida student, attorney and Fox News anchor Gregg Jarrett said no excessive force was used during the incident. "He is resisting. And the videotape really doesn't lie--it speaks volumes about what's going on," said Jarrett, referring to video of the event that is circulating around the internet. "The law doesn't allow you to resist police officers when they ask you to do something," he added. The tasered student, Andrew Meyer, was wrestled to the ground by officers after asking Sen. John Kerry a question during a school forum.

• The meaning of that Kerry fracas In Florida: By Paul Craig Roberts - Naïve Americans who think they live in a free society should watch this video filmed by students at a John Kerry speech September 17, Constitution Day, at the University of Florida in Gainesville. At the conclusion of Kerry’s speech, Andrew Meyer, a 21-year old journalism student was selected by Senator Kerry to ask a question. Meyer held up a copy of BBC investigative reporter Greg Palast’s book, Armed Madhouse, and asked if Kerry was aware that Palast’s investigations determined that Kerry had actually won the election. Why, Meyer asked, had Kerry conceded the election so quickly when there were so many obvious examples of vote fraud? Why, Meyer, went on to ask, was Kerry refusing to consider Bush’s impeachment when Bush was about to initiate another act of military aggression, this time against Iran?

• Call for action on food additives - Two leading professors in science policy have written to a Government watchdog urging it to be more "proactive" on the issue of additives in children's food. The letter to the Food Standards Agency (FSA) asks the body to "widen" its advice to parents on synthetic food colourings and also calls for further measures to safeguard health. Professor Erik Millstone, of the University of Sussex, and Professor Tim Lang, of London's City University, wrote the letter ahead of a key FSA meeting on the issue.

• Greenspan predicts worse to come as Northern Rock shudders - Britain's housing market is heading for a painful correction, Alan Greenspan, the former head of America's central bank, the Federal Reserve, predicted in an interview with The Daily Telegraph this week. He also warned that Britain is more vulnerable to the effects of the credit crunch than the US. Greenspan, who was the central banker for several United States presidents, says The Bank of England’s decision to raise interest rates five times in the past year to their current 5.75 per cent means difficult times ahead for UK home owners. His comments come only days after the Bank of England was forced to bail out the mortgage lender Northern Rock, amid the escalating credit crunch in the City and markets around the world.

• Iris scanning 'to become more widespread' - The use of technology that collects biometric data via iris scanning is set to grow, according to one expert. Iris scanning has been increasingly rolled out at airports around the world in recent years and this growth looks likely to continue, a spokesperson for security firm Aditech said. He added that iris scanning - which is used at Birmingham, Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester airports - is the most accurate method out of all of the biometric systems in use today. "It is able to identify an individual within a couple of seconds from a database of millions … You don't have to touch anything. All you have to do is look at what is effectively a camera and it takes an image of your iris," he explained.

Tuesday 18th September 2007: -

• Leftist Blogs Defend Police Brutality In Student Tazering: Partisan bickering obscures heart of the issue as Fox News, MSNBC set up phony debate by making Kerry's behavior focus of story, not oppressive actions of thug cops - Media coverage of a University of Florida student being tazered by cops for asking a question didn't spark a debate about ongoing police brutality and political persecution, but instead prompted partisan bickering and mindless ninnying about John Kerry's behavior during the incident, while leftist blogs defended the actions of the police. Andrew Meyer was grabbed by cops yesterday after he asked the former presidential candidate why he didn't challenge the rigged election of 2004 and about his membership of the skull and bones secret society. Meyer asked police what he was being arrested for as they dragged him to the back of the University Auditorium before manhandling him to the ground.

• Police use taser gun to subdue student at Kerry speech - "U.S. Sen. John Kerry's speech at the University of Florida came to a dramatic close Monday, shortly after a vocal audience member was hauled off by police and shot with a Taser gun." The Sun tells what happened after Andrew Meyer, 21, "approached an open microphone at University Auditorium and demanded Kerry answer his questions. ... A minute or so into what became a combative diatribe, Meyer's microphone was turned off and officers began trying to physically remove him from the auditorium. Meyer flailed his arms, yelling as police tried to restrain him." As he continued to resist, Meyer was "Tased, which prompted him to scream and writhe in pain on the floor of the auditorium." Kerry, meanwhile, "urged the audience to 'cool down' and proceeded to answer Meyer's question about contesting the (2004) election. As officers escorted Meyer from the auditorium into the lobby, Kerry went on to explain that he did not think there was sufficient evidence of voter suppression to justify contesting the 2004 election. 'We just couldn't do it in good conscience because we didn't have that evidence,' he said."   (RELATED: See police state victim / Truth action hero Andrew Meyer's website theandrewmeyer.com and see how you can offer support locally.)

• Federal prosecutor charged in child sex sting - A federal prosecutor was charged yesterday with flying across the country to have sex with a little girl. Our cousins at Detroit Free Press quote police who say John David Roy Atchison, 53, arrived at the airport in Detroit "with a Dora the Explorer doll, hoop earrings and petroleum jelly for a 5-year-old he planned to have sex with" following a series of online conversations with an undercover investigator. "Atchison reassured the sheriff's deputy who was posing as the child's mother that he would not hurt the 5-year-old because he goes 'slow and easy,' and 'I've done it plenty,'" The Detroit News reports.

• Spy Chief Seeks More Eavesdropping Power - The top U.S. intelligence official is asking Congress for even more changes to a law that he says limited the government's ability to eavesdrop, not just on terrorists but also on more traditional potential adversaries. Mike McConnell, the director of national intelligence, says China and Russia are aggressively spying on sensitive U.S. facilities, intelligence systems and development projects, and their efforts are approaching Cold War levels.

• Gold Advances to Near 16-Month High After Run on Northern Rock - Gold rose to near a 16-month high in London as customers lined up across the U.K. for a third day to withdraw funds from branches of Northern Rock Plc after the lender was bailed out by the Bank of England. Shares in Europe and Asia declined, led by banking stocks, on concern a credit crisis ignited by the collapse of the U.S. subprime mortgage market is spreading. Silver also rose today. ``The queues in front of Northern Rock have been all over the papers,'' Wolfgang Wrzesniok-Rossbach, head of sales at Hanau, Germany-based Heraeus Holding GmbH, which refines precious metals, said in an interview today. ``It's making people much more aware of gold as an investment.''

• Prepare for prolonged turmoil, says US Treasury Secretary - Investors should brace themselves for a prolonged period of market turmoil, Henry Paulson, the US Treasury Secretary, said yesterday as he held emergency meetings with the Chancellor and the French Finance Minister. Mr Paulson flew to London to discuss the financial crisis with Alistair Darling as markets remained in the grip of anxieties over the continuing toll from the global credit squeeze. Speaking after talks with his counterparts in France and Britain, Mr Paulson insisted that the global economy remained strong despite the seizures in interbank lending, but admitted that the American economy would take a knock from the turmoil.

• Tag banned; what's a kid to do now? - I see where yet another elementary school in this great country has banned tag on the playground, this time on the theory it causes "conflict" among the kids. Too many complained about being chased when they didn't want to be chased, said an official at a Colorado Springs, Colo., school. And this apparently constituted a form of kiddie harassment, which should surprise no one in this day and age. In fact, I'm surprised there weren't lawyers handing out business cards on the playground the next day. Anyway, the end result was: goodbye tag at recess, although the school official said other running games would be allowed.

• British soldier killed by friendly fire, inquest hears - A British soldier died in Afghanistan yesterday after an Army dump truck was hit by an explosion in Helmand province, the Ministry of Defence has announced. Another soldier, also from 36 Engineer Regiment, was injured in the incident, which happened as a routine logistics convoy was moving 12 miles (19km) northeast of the town of Gereshk. The two casualties were airlifted to the Isaf medical facility at Camp Bastion, where the first soldier was pronounced dead on arrival. The second soldier's injuries are not said to be life-threatening. Next of kin have been informed. 

• Why myth linking Hussein, 9/11 still thrives - The resilient myth that Saddam Hussein plotted 9/11 is proof that Mark Twain was right when he said, "A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." Even today, long after this 9/11 myth has been officially and repeatedly discredited, roughly 40 percent of Americans still insist that Hussein conspired with al-Qaeda to bring down the Twin Towers. And it's a fair bet that this myth will remain in mass circulation as long as proponents of the Iraq war persist in believing that it is savvy politics to prey on people's ignorance. Consider, for instance, the current TV ads - sponsored by a White House front group known as Freedom's Watch - that seek to shore up waning support for the Iraq war by perpetuating the canard that 9/11 was a Hussein production. In their quest to stoke emotions in defiance of fact, the ad-makers aren't exactly subtle. First, some military vets are shown making the case for staying in Iraq. Then, in the key image, we're back on 9/11. The north tower is burning, the second tower is seconds away from igniting, and these words flash on the screen: They Attacked Us.

• Fifty firms at first UK ID card bid meeting: £2bn of deals will go through the framework contracts now in procurement - Fifty potential suppliers to the government's planned multi-million pound biometric identity card programme participated in the first bidders' conference last week. The procurement for the scheme was launched last month and the framework contracts – which will handle up to £2bn of subsequent business – are expected to be signed within nine months.

• Experts call for DNA restrictions - A group of eminent lawyers and scientists is calling for anyone not convicted of a crime to have their details wiped from the DNA database. The Nuffield Council on Bioethics said it is "unjustified" to keep people on the National DNA Database when they have not been convicted of any offence. Some four million DNA samples are on the police's database. Earlier this month a leading judge called for the whole of the population to be placed on the database.

• Britain accused on cluster bombs - The UK government has been accused of trying to reclassify two kinds of cluster bombs so they can still be used after a proposed global ban begins. Landmine Action said the government wanted to make use of its current stocks of the controversial bombs which open up to scatter smaller bombs. The government says its position was backed by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). However the ICRC says this has never been discussed with them by Britain.

Monday 17th September 2007: -

• Terrorists-in-wait or just misfits?: Seven in Miami face trial, but some doubt they could -- or would -- have attacked - The charges were stunning: Seven Miami men were accused of trying to join forces with al-Qaeda to blow up the FBI headquarters in Miami Beach and the Sears Tower in Chicago. On closer examination, however, the explosive accusations fizzled. Even government officials described the group's plans as "more aspirational than operational." Now, more than a year later, it comes down to a jury to decide whether the men, who were living in the low-income Liberty City area, were homegrown terrorists bent on bringing down the U.S. government or innocent dupes entrapped by paid informants.

• UK 9/11 TRUTH STREET ACTION REPORT: Download last nights broadcast on Bradford based Islam Radio featuring cremationofcare.com webmaster Joseph Skelton. Topic of discussion; Local 9/11 truth street action and the sixth anniversary.   (RELATED: See our 9/11 archive and our affiliated site 911truthskipton.com)

• Bill Maher: 9/11 Truthers need professional help, not publicity - Bill Maher takes a jab at the 9/11 Truth movement in a recent "New Rules" segment. "Crazy people who still think the government brought down the Twin Towers in a controlled explosion have to stop pretending that I'm the one who's being naive," says Maher. How big a lunatic do you have to be to watch two giant airliners packed with jet fuel slam into buildings on live TV, igniting a massive inferno that burned for two hours, and then think 'Well, if you believe that was the cause...'

• 9/11 -- the big cover-up? - Even the chair of the 9/11 Commission now admits that the official evidence they were given was ‘far from the truth’. Six years after 9/11, the American public have still not been provided with a full and truthful account of the single greatest terror attack in U.S. history. What they got was a turkey. The 9/11 Commission was hamstrung by official obstruction. It never managed to ascertain the whole truth of what happened on September 11 2001. The chair and vice chair of the 9/11 Commission, respectively Thomas Kean and Lee Hamilton, assert in their book, Without Precedent, that they were “set up to fail” and were starved of funds to do a proper investigation. They also confirm that they were denied access to the truth and misled by senior officials in the Pentagon and the federal aviation authority; and that this obstruction and deception led them to contemplate slapping officials with criminal charges.

• The power of the postcode: There's no lottery about postcodes. It is a precise ... and revealing ... science, writes Jasper Gerard - It's in the DNA of the British to keep up appearances. Even the Queen patches her carpets. Meanwhile, the middle class kits itself out from Boden clearance sales and supplements the weekly shop in Waitrose with a crafty whizz round Lidl. But postcodes, we now learn, strip away our pretence and lay bare just how smart we really are. An Englishman no longer gives away his life story by opening his mouth, but by opening an envelope marked with that telltale code. How long you are put on hold is now determined by it. Whenever some call centre operative from Bangalore asks for your postcode, he will have "frighteningly accurate" information about your salary, credit rating, property value, hobbies, relationships, holidays, political affiliations, even what TV shows you watch, your interest in current affairs, what newspaper you read, which websites you check. CCTV cameras may document where you are through the day, but now companies can instantly summon an image of how you live - thanks to your postcode.

Sunday 16th September 2007: -

• EU Treaty could pave way for European ID card - Euro passports and ID cards could be on the way under new powers written into the EU Treaty, it was disclosed yesterday. The Daily Telegraph has learned that existing safeguards preventing EU interference with national identity documents have been quietly dropped. Sources close to negotiations suggest that Britain has allowed the safeguards to be removed in order to participate in EU security measures, such as biometric passports and ID cards. William Hague, the shadow foreign secretary, said: "Gordon Brown has absolutely no democratic mandate to sign Britain up to a possible Euro ID card scheme.

• LIE DETECTOR TRAPS FOR BENEFIT CHEATS: Phone software nails fraudsters - Thousands of benefit cheats are set to be exposed - by lie-detectors. Councils are rushing to buy a new hi-tech phone system that can pinpoint porkies. The computer software scans callers' voices for increases in stress levels - a telltale sign of lying. And suspects will then be forced to provide extra information before they can get any handouts.

• False finger: Biometrics is no guarantee for secure data - Police are not the only ones taking fingerprints these days. Starting on November 1, fingerprint data will even be stored in the passports issued by many countries. As fingerprints are unique, they have also drawn attention from manufacturers of equipment designed to limit access to computers. After all, pressing your fingertip against a reading device is simpler than learning and inputting a password. But are fingerprint sensors really more secure? The answer is both yes and no.

• Fears over Rock's online accounts - Customers of the troubled Northern Rock bank have complained of problems accessing their online savings accounts because of massive demand. Savers have rushed to take money out of Northern Rock, amid concerns over its emergency Bank of England loan. Its branches saw long queues of worried customers on Friday and Saturday. Northern Rock insists that the problems with its website are "entirely logistical" and "in no way related to the bank's solvency". According to online customers the only way they can get to their money is via the internet, due to the terms of their accounts. But demand is so high many are cannot access the site.

• ADHD diagnosis, meds aren't best solution - Having spent 10 years in the public school systems as a school psychologist, I am disturbed by the upward trend in the diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Even more troubling is the estimated 6 to 10 percent of students who receive stimulant medication as a form of treatment. ADHD is widely defined as a developmental disability manifested in problems with sustained attention, impulse control and maintaining appropriate levels of activity. To many parents' surprise, there is no specific "test" used to identify who has ADHD and who does not. Furthermore, it is argued by many psychologists that the means and measures used to make the diagnosis are far too vague and subjective.

Saturday 15th September 2007: -

• Computers will be "trained to talk like terrorists" - Improvements in voice mimicking technology could lead to a new form of "vocal terrorism", scientists are warning. At the current rate of progress, researchers believes that in 10-15 years computers will be able to perfectly mimic human speech after hearing just one sentence. Aside from the obvious implications for Karaoke and prank phone calls, scientists also believe the technology could have serious repercussions in the fields of fraud and terrorism. One of the scenarios postulated envisages a phone call from someone who the customer believes to be their bank manager asking for account details, which could then be used by fraudsters to empty their bank account. Scientists also speculate on a type of terrorism whereby an official's "voice" is broadcast over a country's communications network, carrying false instructions or information to citizens.   (COMMENTARY: Think back to 9/11 and those alleged cell phone calls that were made to the family members from the airplane hijack victims at impossible altitudes... this technology has probably been around for a few years don't you think?)

• Colbert: We don't need another 9/11, we need re-runs - Stephen Colbert commented this week on various manifestations of the sixth anniversary of the destruction of the World Trade Center. He began with a Philadelphia Daily News editorial titled "To save America, we need another 9/11," in which columnist Stu Bykofsky suggested that future targets for al Qaeda might include "the Golden Gate Bridge, Mount Rushmore, Chicago's Wrigley Field." "Do not be so humble, Mr. Bykofsky." stated Colbert. "You are clearly enough of a patriot that your house belongs on that list." "Call me crazy," Colbert continued, "but I don't think we need another attack to re-establish post-9/11 unity." He recommended instead the example of MSNBC's unedited re-airing of three hours of its original 9/11 coverage.

• Bush leaves Iraq war to next president: papers - President George W. Bush's pledge to bring some troops back from Iraq may buy time, but his strategy is little changed and he left the task of ending the war to the next president, newspaper editorials said on Friday. Bush told Americans in a televised address Thursday evening that U.S. forces could be cut by about 20,000 by July and he linked the reduction to what he said was progress on the ground, especially in volatile Anbar province and in Baghdad. The administration's so-called "surge" over the past eight months involved deployment of about 21,500 combat troops.

Friday 14th September 2007: -

• Foot and mouth outbreak comes at worst time for farmers - Britain's latest outbreak of foot and mouth disease could not have come at a worse time for the nation's farmers. A fresh ban on the movement of animals coincides with the peak trading period for cattle and sheep, sparking fears this week's outbreak could cause more damage than the devastating 2001 epidemic. And the National Farmers' Union (NFU) estimates a ban on exports is costing the UK farming industry about 2 million pounds($5.76m) a day.   (COMMENTARY: And... whoops the loving caring UK government released it... by accident)

• Sex offence police officer jailed - A detective constable who worked for a unit investigating cases of child abuse has been jailed for five years for sexually assaulting a teenager. Peter Cooper, who has worked for West Midlands Police for 32 years, was sentenced at Stafford Crown Court for attacking an army cadet in the 1980s. The 58-year-old, of Redditch, Worcestershire, was an officer with the army cadets when the attack took place. Between 2002 and 2005 he investigated child abuse claims.

• Ex-Army major and girlfriend jailed as paedophile ring is smashed - A former army major has been jailed for six years for his part in a paedophile ring that met on the internet and abused two children. Oxford-educated Archibald Wood, a governor at two schools, linked up with church-going Monica McCanch and retail manager Steven Horton to subject a 12-year-old girl and 13-year-old boy to a catalogue of abuse that included rape. They submitted the youngsters to a six-hour ordeal, forcing them to perform sex acts and to watch as the adults engaged in sex.

• 9/11 explains the impotence of the antiwar movement: By Paul Craig Roberts - The antiwar movement has proven impotent to stop the war in Iraq despite the fact that the war was initiated on the basis of lies and deception. The antiwar movement stands helpless to prevent President Bush from attacking Iran or any other country that he might demonize for harboring a future 9/11 threat. September 11 enabled Bush to take America to war and to keep America at war even though the government’s explanation of the events of September 11 is mired in controversy and disbelieved by a large percentage of the population. Although the news media’s investigative arm has withered, other entities and individuals continue to struggle with unanswered questions. In the six years since 9/11, numerous distinguished scientists, engineers, architects, intelligence officers, pilots, military officers, air traffic controllers, and foreign dignitaries have raised serious and unanswered questions about the official story line.

• Pentagon Censors 9/11 Suspect's Tape - The Pentagon has censored an audio tape of the suspected mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks speaking at a military hearing - cutting out Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's explanation for why Islamic militants waged jihad against the United States. After months of debate by several federal agencies, the Defense Department released the tape Thursday.

• MPs condemn 'appalling' barracks - Some armed forces housing remains in an "appalling condition" and could take decades to be brought up to scratch, according to a report by MPs. It warns the Ministry of Defence not to take money from the housing budget at times of financial pressure. It adds that the "disgraceful" accommodation is fuelling problems with military recruitment and retention. The MoD welcomed the recognition of good work carried out, but said some "problem areas" still needed work. The worst barracks accommodation should be put right "as a priority" but the challenge was "enormous," the report said.

• Tax threatens to lift petrol over £1 a litre - Motorists are again braced for petrol prices to hit £1 a litre, prompting calls for Alistair Darling to freeze a planned 2p rise in fuel duty due for next month. A surge in oil prices past $80 (£39.35) a barrel is expected to push prices at the pump to highs not seen for two years. The AA urged the Chancellor to shelve the duty rise, saying it would “rub salt into the wounds” for millions of drivers already hit by a succession of interest rate rises. A litre of unleaded petrol currently costs about 95.2p, but the AA said that pump prices are almost certain to increase by as much as 3p in the next six weeks. An additional 2p increase in fuel duty would add about £2 to the cost of filling the fuel tank of an average saloon. The Treasury is expected to pocket £25 billion from taxes on fuel this year.

• Visitors Commentary: -

"Came across some interesting stuff about DRM (digital rights management), looks quite worrying as its placing greater power in to the hands of large corporations whilst destroying our freedom and independence. And then we have Software Patents to content with (very very bad news)....

Heres some sites worth looking at if this kind of thing floats your boat...

DRM -
http://www.1729.com/blog/LookingForAWinWin.html
http://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/~pgut001/pubs/vista_cost.html

Software Patents - 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_patent_debate
http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/stallman-patents.html

My final words on this are: Say good bye to innovation. Say good bye to freedom. Hello social control. Hello sinister future."

Mat.

Thursday 13th September 2007: -

• 9/11 First Responder Heard WTC 7 Demolition Countdown: Former Air Force Special Operations for Search and Rescue expert witnessed officials attempt to conceal planned nature of demolition - A 9/11 first responder has gone on the record to describe how he heard a demolition-style countdown precede the collapse of WTC 7, eyewitness testimony that dovetails with other EMT's and rescue personnel who were also told that Building 7 was going to be "brought down". Earlier this year, we reported on the testimony of an anonymous EMT named Mike who told Loose Change producer Dylan Avery that hundreds of emergency rescue personnel were told over bullhorns that Building 7, a 47 story skyscraper adjacent the twin towers that was not hit by a plane yet imploded symmetrically later in the afternoon on 9/11, was about to be "pulled" and that a 20 second radio countdown preceded its collapse.

• Castro says US lied about 9/11 attacks - Fidel Castro today joined the band of September 11 conspiracy theorists by accusing the US of spreading disinformation about the attacks that took place six years ago. In a 4,256-word article read by a Cuban television presenter last night, the country's leader asserted that the Pentagon was hit by a rocket, not a plane, because no traces were found of its passengers. "Only a projectile could have created the geometrically round orifice created by the alleged airplane," he said. "We were deceived as well as the rest of the planet's inhabitants," he said. In fact, the remains of the bodies of the crew and passengers of American Airlines flight 77 were found at the Pentagon crash site, and positively identified by DNA. As for the attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York, Mr Castro wrote that the way the passenger jets crashed into the twin towers on September 11 and the data from the plane's black boxes "do not correspond with the criteria of mathematicians, seismologists, and information and demolition specialists".

• 9/11 death toll may rise - If you're curious about the lingering ill-effects of the World Trade Center attacks (which continue to impact tens of thousands of people), check out this site. Launched by New York City's Health Department yesterday, on the sixth anniversary of 9/11, it provides information for and about people who continue to suffer from health problems as a result of the Twin Towers' collapse. According to the research, much of the lasting health damage was done by the intense dust cloud created by the towers' debris. Many passersby, local building occupants and rescue workers who got caught in or near the cloud developed respiratory problems, some of them very serious. One of the site's sadder observations is that "hundreds of firefighters developed severe respiratory illness and became disabled and could no longer work as firefighters." Like all disasters, the attacks also wreaked psychological havoc on those who experienced them, creating cases of serious depression, general anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.

• Researcher: Bin Laden's beard is real, video is not - On the Friday before the sixth anniversary of 9/11, Osama bin Laden appeared in a new video, his first since prior to the U.S. presidential elections in 2004. In analyzing the video, Neal Krawetz of Hactor Factor, an expert on digital image forensics, said in his latest blogs that the video contained many visual and audio splices, and that all of the modifications were of very low quality. Most striking is bin Laden's beard, which has been gray in recent images. For this video it is black. "As far as my tools can detect, there has been no image manipulation of the bin Laden portion of the image beyond contrast adjustment. His beard really does appear to be that color."

• 'Pirbright link' to farm outbreak - Preliminary tests show the latest outbreak of foot-and-mouth involves the same strain as that which infected herds last month, BBC News understands. Cattle on farmland near Egham in Surrey were confirmed as infected on Wednesday - only a week after Britain was declared to be free of the disease. Cattle and pigs at another farm nearby were also being slaughtered on suspicion of infection, Defra said. The virus escaped laboratories at the Pirbright complex during August. A national movement ban is in place and the European Union has banned exports.

• Forces veterans need better state care, says Royal British Legion - The Government is failing to properly care for soldiers returning from active service in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Royal British Legion will say today as it calls for improved conditions for the armed forces. At the launch of its Honour The Covenant campaign, the charity will call upon ministers to provide troops with a fairer compensation system, better medical care and ensure that bereaved military families do not wait years for inquests. The legion claims the Government is failing to uphold the Military Covenant, which states that soldiers, sailors and airmen should expect fair treatment from the state for serving their country and risking their lives. Many are left to struggle alone when they leave the forces, the legion adds.

• Darling calls for return to old-fashioned banking - Going back to "old fashioned banking may not be a bad thing", Chancellor Alistair Darling said in a newspaper interview published on Thursday. Talking about the current crisis of confidence of markets, Darling told the Daily Telegraph that lenders and borrowers had to be aware of risk. "Primary responsibility has to rest with the people. In crude terms they need to know who they're lending to, how much they're lending and what the risk is," Darling was quoted as saying. "Now, that's elementary banking one might think but there are times when going back to old fashioned banking may not be a bad idea." The Treasury wants to see more transparency from banks over investments in complex financial instruments and looks set to bring the issue up at the upcoming meeting of European Union finance ministers in Portugal this weekend.

• Schwarzenegger Vetoes Iraq Pullout Vote - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced early Wednesday he had vetoed legislation that would have allowed Californians to vote on an advisory measure calling for President Bush to immediately withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq. The Republican governor said in a statement that a proposed ballot measure on the war would further divide Californians as they go to the polls in the Feb. 5 presidential primary. "There is no louder message Californians can send to Washington on the Iraq war than who should lead our nation," Schwarzenegger said. "Placing a nonbinding resolution on Iraq on the same ballot, when it carries no weight or authority, would only further divide voters and shift attention from other critical issues that must be addressed."

Wednesday 12th September 2007: -

• UK 9/11 TRUTH STREET ACTION WEEKEND 2007: IN VIDEOS AND PICTURES - ON THE STREETS OF BRADFORD, LEEDS AND LONDON.  INCLUDING VIDEO FOOTAGE OF YESTERDAYS HISTORIC 9/11 TRUTH STREET ACTION DEMO IN LONDON, OUTSIDE THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT.  (Please help spread this link!)

SPECIAL THANKS TO BELINDA AND WEARECHANGE.ORG.UK AND EVERYONE ELSE WHO WE WORKED WITH ON YESTERDAYS HISTORIC DEMO!

Sunday 09th September 2007: -

• PLEASE BEAR WITH US OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS, AS WE ARE CURRENTLY TAKING PART IN LOCAL AND NATIONAL STREET ACTION, TRAVELING ACROSS THE COUNTRY TAKING 9/11 TRUTH TO THE PEOPLE OF THE UK, IN ASSOCIATION WITH 9/11 TRUTH SKIPTON AND THE WEST YORKSHIRE TRUTH CAMPAIGN...

911 TRUTH STREET ACTION EARLIER TODAY IN LEEDS, WEST YORKSHIRE

WE WERE PLEASANTLY SURPRISED WHEN 7/7 BUS BOMB SURVIVOR DANIEL OBACHIKE (ABOVE) TURNED UP TO HELP US OUT WITH OUR DEMO - DANIEL HAS RECENTLY RELEASED HIS BOOK 'THE 4TH BOMB' - SEE THE4THBOMB.COM

CYNTHIA MCKINNEY JOINS SOME OF THE CREW FROM 9/11 TRUTH SKIPTON AND THE WEST YORKSHIRE TRUTH CAMPAIGN FOR A PHOTO OPPORTUNITY

• News: Alex Jones Arrested In New York - On the Eve of the New York Premiere of his latest film, Endgame (see exclusive trailer below), and major events commemorating the sixth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, authorities have arrested Alex Jones in New York City. Details to follow.   (COMMENTARY: Surprise surprise... I think that these next few days are going to be quite interesting across the map as the good people take to the streets to promote the truth about the inside job that was 9/11!)

EXCLUSIVE ENDGAME TRAILER: -

Saturday 08th September 2007: -

• PLEASE BEAR WITH US OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS, AS WE ARE CURRENTLY TAKING PART IN LOCAL AND NATIONAL STREET ACTION, TRAVELING ACROSS THE COUNTRY TAKING 9/11 TRUTH TO THE PEOPLE OF THE UK, IN ASSOCIATION WITH 9/11 TRUTH SKIPTON AND THE WEST YORKSHIRE TRUTH CAMPAIGN - GO TO WYTRUTH.ORG.UK FOR DETAILS OF SOME EVENTS.

(ABOVE) EARLIER TODAY ON THE STREETS OF BRADFORD, WEST YORKSHIRE :-)

• Video shows Bin Laden 'in false beard' - The US government is analysing videotape that appears to show Osama bin Laden in a false beard, marking the sixth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. American intelligence sources told ABC News that the video message was authentic, recently produced and proves that the al-Qai'da leader is still alive. US authorities have a transcript, which they say encourages potential suicide bombers to commit missions against the West. Evidence that Bin Laden is still directing al-Qai'da operations, despite the best efforts of the US military and a $50m (£25m) price on his head, will be a blow to President George Bush who staked his reputation on winning the "war on terror". In a banner ad for the video, the al-Qai'da leader, now aged 50, looked fit, with a full beard of dark black hair, rather than his usual grey-streaked beard. Instead of the customary combat jacket, he was wearing Arabic robes.

• Ministers reject 7 July inquiry - The government has officially confirmed it will not hold a public inquiry into the 7 July London bombings. Survivors and relatives of those killed have received a letter from government lawyers outlining their position. The group want an independent review of the way security agencies and others acted in the run-up to the attacks. They have applied for a judicial review of the government's refusal to launch a full review into the 2005 attacks which killed 56 people and injured about 800. A Home Office spokesman said: "The home secretary has reiterated her sympathy for the families and survivors of the July 7 attacks.

• Bridge, tunnel tolls to cashless? - Drivers may one day be able to zip through Port Authority bridge and tunnel toll booths without E-ZPass or handing over money. But it won't be a free ride -- the bill will be in the mail. The authority opted Thursday to move toward all-electronic tolls that would allow motorists without E-ZPass tags to cruise through tolls without stopping to hand over cash. The technology will photograph license plates and send a bill to the driver's home.

• Gap widens between British poor and rich - The gulf between rich and poor in Britain is at its widest since World War II, it was reported Saturday. The gulf is segregated along lines of class, education, home ownership and health, said Sheffield University researchers, who compared more than a thousand neighborhoods. Britain is in danger of being split into areas where to succeed is 'nothing out of the ordinary' and other areas where 'just to get by is extraordinary,'T said Professor Daniel Dorling. The researchers found rich children almost never played with friends more than one social class below them and grew up in 'small palaces,' while poorer children lived in overcrowded rooms, The Telegraph reported.

We also recommend the following video...

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Friday 07th September 2007: -

• US still awaits 9/11 answers - A new poll finds a majority of Americans still await an inquiry into the president's and vice president's actions before, during and after the 9/11 attacks. Over 30% also believe Presdient Bush and/or Vice President Cheney should be immediately impeached by the House of Representatives. 67% also fault the 9/11 Commission for not investigating the technical aspects of the collapse of the World Trade Center. The poll was conducted by Zogby International via telephone of adults across the US from August 23 to August 27, 2007.

• Neo-Cons Enlist Bin Laden's Help To Counter 9/11 Truth: Discredited Pentagon-affiliated IntelCenter to release another dubious tape right when Bush needs it most, Osama pops up hours after new Zogby poll shows Americans want new 9/11 investigation for second time running - The U.S. government, via its closely affiliated IntelCenter front, is to release a new tape of Osama Bin Laden on the sixth anniversary of 9/11 in a desperate ploy to counter 9/11 truth and a new Zogby poll that again proves the majority of Americans are highly suspect of the official story. A pre-released image shows an apparently older looking Bin Laden with a dyed dark brown beard, meaning the individual in the tape is either a body double or the terror master has been using Grecian Formula 16 in between his dashing from cave to cave across the mountainous Pakistani border region.

• HERE WE GO AGAIN! Bin Laden 'to release new video' on 9/11 anniversary - OSAMA bin Laden is to a release a new video on the sixth anniversary of the 11 September attacks on the United States, it was reported last night. The al-Qaeda figurehead will address his message to the American people, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors fundamentalism on the internet. A still posted on an Islamist website, shows bin Laden addressing the camera. His beard, which in previous messages had been streaked with grey, was entirely dark and appeared aged. A message on the webpage said it would soon carry the new bin Laden video to mark the sixth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The site did not say when the video, produced by al-Qaeda's media arm, al-Sahab, would be issued. Bin Laden was last seen in a video statement aired to coincide with the November 2004 US presidential election. Since then, he has issued several audio messages, the last one in July 2006 in which he vowed al-Qaeda would fight the US anywhere in the world.

• Former Congressional Office of Technology Assessment Senior Staff Member Calls for New Investigation of 9/11 - In an online editorial yesterday, Joel S. Hirschhorn, PhD, former Senior Staff Member of the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), called for a new investigation of 9/11. “First, let the technical truth emerge. Then, if necessary, cope with the inevitable political, conspiracy and other questions. But let us not allow a possible painful truth block the primary task of determining once and for all what caused the collapse of the WTC towers and building no. 7.” Dr. Hirschhorn is a nationally recognized engineer who has testified before Congress more than 50 times on technology, science, and environmental issues. In addition to his work for the OTA, Dr. Hirschhorn also served as Director of Environment, Energy and Natural Resources for the National Governors Association.

• Sir Ian Blair's leadership crisis as police watchdog calls for his resignation over Menezes shooting - Sir Ian Blair's ability to run Scotland Yard was again called into question yesterday as a police watchdog criticised his handling of the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes. Members of the Met's governing body demanded to know why Sir Ian was kept in the dark about the blunders which led to the innocent Brazilian's death. One leading member of the Metropolitan Police Authority said it was 'incomprehensible' Sir Ian had not been told his officers had shot the wrong man until 24 hours after the incident. Another furious member even asked Sir Ian to consider resigning over the matter.

• New photo ID available for children - The Alberta government is making its photo ID cards available to children as young as 12 as a result of new Transport Canada rules that now require children to show identification to board aircraft. The cards can be obtained from Alberta registry offices for fees ranging from $12 for a one-year card to $39 for a five-year card. They will take about 10 days to process and contain the same security features as Alberta driver's licences.

• Virus linked to destruction of honeybee hives - Scientists may have discovered the cause of a devastating syndrome in honeybees that has destroyed 50% to 90% of hives in the USA — posing enormous problems for crops that depend on them to reproduce. The culprit, reported in the journal Science Thursday, may be the Israeli acute paralysis (IAP) virus. Colony collapse disorder, or CCD, first surfaced in 2004 in U.S. hives. It kills the worker bees that go out to find pollen. Theories on the cause have ranged from exposure to pollen from genetically modified crops to the impact of electronic waves from cellphone towers. None have panned out.

Thursday 06th September 2007: -

• A 'chilling' proposal for a universal DNA database - A civil liberties storm erupted yesterday after a senior judge called for the genetic details of every person in Britain, and all visitors to the country, to be added to the national DNA database. Critics warned that the "chilling" move would infringe privacy, be hugely impractical and have only a marginal impact on crime. Downing Street and the Home Office, which have been accused of moving Britain towards a surveillance society, distanced themselves from Lord Justice Sedley's controversial suggestion without entirely ruling it out. About 4.1 million samples are already on the database, almost 7 per cent of the population and far more than in any other Western country. Police can take DNA from anyone arrested, regardless of whether they are eventually charged.

• Republicans, Paul Clash Over Iraq War - Republican presidential contenders voiced support for the Iraq war Wednesday night despite a warning from anti-war candidate Ron Paul that they risk dragging the party down to defeat in 2008. ``Even if we lose elections, we should not lose our honor,'' shot back former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, ``and that is more important than the Republican Party.'' Huckabee was in the majority, Paul very much in the minority on a University of New Hampshire debate stage when it came to the war. The politically unpopular conflict has emerged as the dominant issue of the 2008 race for the White House.

• 9/11 DVD Delayed to Protect the Clintons? - The writer of last year's TV miniseries "The Path to 9/11" says the release of the show's DVD is being delayed in order to protect Bill Clinton's legacy and Hillary Clinton's candidacy. The Los Angeles Times reports that Cyrus Nowrasteh says he was told by ABC that the DVD would be released this past January, then April, then this summer. Now there is no release date set. The mini-series cast a critical eye on the Clinton administration's anti-terror efforts prior to the attacks. It was a ratings success and garnered seven Emmy nominations.

• Food additives 'can cause hyperactivity' - A new study has indicated that some food additives can increase hyperactivity in children. Researchers commissioned by the UK's Food Standards Agency looked at the effects of two combinations of E numbers on the behaviour of children who were prone to hyperactivity. The scientists took two mixes of artificial food colours and the popular preservative sodium benzoate, which can be found in foods in like soft drinks, confectionary and ice cream, which are popular with children. They found that the combinations did increase hyperactivity among children and recommended that those who are prone to hyperactivity or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder should eliminate these additives from their diet.

• BBC climate change special dropped - The BBC has dropped plans for Planet Relief, a TV special on climate change. In recent weeks BBC executives have been stating that it was not the corporation's job to lead opinion on climate change. But the BBC said the decision not to proceed with the Comic Relief-style day of programming was not related to the criticisms.

Wednesday 05th September 2007: -

• Princess Diana death dossier 'disappears' - Tens of thousands of legal documents and photographs detailing the circumstances surrounding the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, have gone missing, according to a French newspaper. Just weeks before the opening of the high-profile inquest into her death, Le Figaro reported that a Parisian lawyer had been told a dossier more than a metre high has disappeared. Jean-Louis Pelletier, who represents a French paparazzi photographer, said his request for access to the case files had been turned down by the French courts, as the entire dossier could not be found. "It's the first time I've seen anything like this. There are certainly files that disappear from time to time, but, in this particular case, it's not normal," he said. "All the more so since the case is still ongoing."   (RELATED: See our popular Diana Assassination archive for more info.)

• Top judge: put everyone in UK on the DNA database - One of the UK's top judges has thrown a grenade into the smouldering debate around the national DNA database, saying that everyone in the UK - including visitors from overseas - should be on file. Lord Justice Sedley, a senior appeals court beak, said the current situation was "indefensible." At the moment the database contains the genetic signatures of around four million people. Anyone arrested for a recordable offence (meaning all but the most trivial misdeeds) is sampled and filed. In England and Wales, that's it; you're normally in for life. Under Scottish law the plods must delete the file if they fail to get a conviction. If you are convicted though - even for quite minor crimes - again, you'll be on file forever.

• Student who put her flip-flops on train seat wins ‘ludicrous’ case - A student who was taken to court for putting her feet on a train seat escaped a potentially career-wrecking criminal conviction yesterday after lawyers branded the case a “ludicrous” waste of time and money. Kathleen Jennings, 19, wiped tears from her eyes as she was given an absolute discharge by Chester magistrates. The university student, who is studying maths, had fallen foul of the train operator Merseyrail’s “zero tolerance” policy to protect its upholstery. Although she removed her flip-flops from the seat as an inspector arrived, this did not satisfy the company. Rather than imposing a fine, it chose to pursue the matter through the courts, in a move that was criticised yesterday as an absurd over-reaction. Had she been convicted of a criminal offence, the teenager could have struggled to realise her ambition of becoming a maths teacher.

• Heads can 'prosecute' parents of errant pupils - Head teachers will be able to take parents to court if their children misbehave under tough powers announced yesterday. From this week, they can apply for a civil order requiring mothers and fathers of wayward pupils to take parenting classes, with fines if children continue to step out of line. This is an escalation of the Government's hardline policy on unruly behaviour and problem parents. There could also be a criminal record and £1,000 fine for parents of children found roaming the streets after being excluded from school.

• Chertoff reiterates support for PASS Card and national ID - Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff on Monday told a packed room of public safety experts that the United States should create a controversial passport-like form of identification for land border crossings. Intended primarily for Americans who travel frequently by land or sea to Canada (Mexico is another story), the PASS Card ID has raised eyebrows because its original design contains a RFID chip that privacy advocates say would allow the government to track a person's movements. Chertoff did not discuss RFID during his speech at the National Emergency Management Association conference.

• Gordon Brown in EU treaty warning - Gordon Brown has issued a warning to the leaders of France and Germany that he will have to call a referendum on the new EU treaty if they force Britain to cede more powers to Brussels. The Prime Minister revealed that he had told Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, and Nikolas Sarkozy, the French president, that he will use the "nuclear option" of a national vote if they try to force his arm in final negotiations next month. Mr Brown knows the warning will have carried weight because the likely result - a No vote from the British people - would throw the European project into turmoil.

• Bush dines with Howards, Aussie troops - US President George W Bush is a self-confessed meat lover, and he got his lunch of choice as he dined with Australian troops at a Sydney naval base. Mr Bush, accompanied by Prime Minister John Howard and his wife Janette, took a short cruise across Sydney Harbour for a barbecue lunch with Australian defence personnel at the Garden Island naval base. It wasn't barbecue weather - there was a slight drizzle - but the guests sheltered in a marquee to lunch on steak, sausages, chicken and a variety of salads.

• Mattel discloses 3rd recall of Chinese-made toys - Mattel Inc. on Tuesday announced its third significant recall in just over a month of toys manufactured in China because lead-containing paints were used on the surfaces of the toys in violation of U.S. law. Mattel said it has recalled 11 toys globally, with 530,000 units affected in the U.S. and 318,000 elsewhere in the world.

• Dublin Club cancels David Ray Griffin's 9/11 Lecture Due to Threat of Jewish Protest
  
  David Ray Griffin's lecture scheduled for September 11th at the Sugar Clubin Dublin, Ireland, has been canceled by the club manager. The club manager writes, "members of the local Jewish Community are planning to stage a protest outside The Sugar Club on September 11th 2007 because of the nature of the talk you planned to stage here."
  
  An email exchange between Morgan Stack of Ireland, and the club manager can be read here;
  http://www.911truth.ie/sugarclubyellowbelly.html
  
  David Ray Griffin is not an anti-semite, nor does he equate 9/11 skepticism with a "Jewish" or "Zionist" conspiracy. So the protesters appear to be misinformed about the "nature of the talk", and now this has blown into the cancellation of an important lecture with very little time to secure and properly publicize a new venue.

   Update: New Venue Found

   Click here for details ... 

Tuesday 04th September 2007: -

• Cheney Orders Media To Sell Attack On Iran: Fox News, Wall Street Journal instructed to launch PR blitz for upcoming military strike - Dick Cheney has ordered top Neo-Con media outlets, including Fox News and the Wall Street Journal, to unleash a PR blitz to sell a war with Iran from today, according to Barnett Rubin, the highly respected Afghanistan expert at New York University. The New Yorker magazine reports that Rubin had a conversation with a member of a top neoconservative institution in Washington, who told him that "instructions" had been passed on from the Office of the Vice-President to roll out a campaign for war with Iran in the week after Labor Day.

• Students use fingerprint scanners to pay for lunch - The speed-walking herd of ravenous Covington Catholic High School students hits the doors of the cafeteria seconds after the 11:20 a.m. bell signaled that the soup was on. By 11:35, all 170 students in the first of three lunch periods were through the food line, paid up and in their seats inhaling the hot chicken quesadillas, corn and nachos on Friday's menu. The scene might have been a typical one in any high school lunchroom except for how the students paid for their meals - not with cash or a debit card, but with their fingerprints.   (RELATED: See our Cashless Society Control Grid archive)

• Tough penalties for parents of excluded pupils - Parents of pupils who have been expelled from school face fines of as much as £1,000 if they fail to keep their children off the streets, under new measures aimed at forcing parents to take greater responsibility for their offspring’s behaviour. Under regulations announced today by Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, parents will be fined £50 if their children are found in a public place during school hours without justification in the first five days of an exclusion, rising to £100 if they do not pay within 28 days. Failure to hand over the money within 42 days of the penalty notice being issued could result in a prosecution and a possible £1,000 fine.

• Don’t airily dismiss my protest at a spy in the sky - Two weekends ago at the V Festival, revellers were surprised to see a remote-controlled surveillance drone flying and filming overhead. Little to nothing was known beforehand about the drone’s use, and news reports after the fact shed little light on why or how its use was approved. I put in a Freedom of Information Act request and discovered that the drone was part of a sales demo by a company called MW Power at the invitation of Staffordshire Police. What about the legality of the drone, I asked the police? They wondered why I was asking. Was I a competitor? Did I want to sell them a drone? It was unbelievable to the police, I suppose, that a citizen might be concerned about her privacy.

• 9/11 victims’ kin keep up fight - Three dozen families of 9/11 terror attack victims are vowing to turn the national spotlight back on Logan International Airport security lapses in a federal courtroom and say they’ll head to a mediation session tomorrow with no intention of settling. “At least I have to try. I’m a father,” said Mike Low, whose 28-year-old daughter Sara Elizabeth Low was a flight attendant on American Airlines [AMR] Flight 11 and had just moved into a Beacon Hill apartment before she was killed as the hijacked jet slammed into the World Trade Center in New York. Low said he is hoping a series of full-blown trials set to begin later this month will finally “disclose facts why 19 Saudi thugs were allowed to murder our loved ones.”

• Wiretaps on the rise nationally since 9/11 - Investigators have tapped more phones, listened to more people and recorded more conversations since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks not only in terrorism probes, but in traditional criminal cases, too. State and federal courts authorized 8,122 wiretaps for domestic criminal investigations in the first five years after Sept. 11, 2001, marking a nearly 25 percent increase over the previous five years. Judges denied wiretap applications only twice.

• Q) Which costs more, a litre of petrol or milk?: Clue: Food prices are rocketing - MILK is on sale for £1 a litre in Scottish shops, as dairy shortages and a massive rise in the cost of cattle feed force up the price of pints to record levels. The price - equivalent to 57p a pint - follows similar rises on staples such as bread and rice after the value of wheat leapt 5 per cent earlier this week. A combination of poor harvests brought on by severe weather and demand for crops which can be used as biofuels has led to sharp rises in the cost of groceries which in a phenomenon analysts have dubbed "agflation". Farmers' leaders say "unsustainable low prices" in supermarkets had forced many dairy farmers out of business, leading to a shortage in supplies. It means milk is now more expensive than petrol in some areas of Scotland, with whole milk on sale for the equivalent of £1 a litre at the WHSmith in Edinburgh's Waverley station yesterday.

• Experts suggest a link between the use of deodorants and breast cancer - NEW research has suggested a potential link between the use of deodorants and breast cancer. A study at Keele University looked at tumour samples from 17 breast cancer patients, measuring levels of aluminium - which is used as an antiperspirant in most deodorants - in the tissue. The researchers found the patients had "significantly higher" levels of aluminium in the underarm region of the breast where the products were used than in other parts of the breast. But the team, led by Dr Chris Exley, said they could not prove a link between the use of deodorants and breast cancer.

• Big Brother was watching Orwell - for his dress style - Big Brother was looking out for George Orwell. Even though police were convinced that the author of Nineteen Eighty-Four was a devout Communist and a threat to the nation - because he dressed “in a bohemian fashion” - MI5 officers vetted him for vital wartime work. The security service dismissed police surveillance reports, finding Orwell’s left-wing views to be “a long way from orthodox Communism”. Declassified files show that MI5 kept tabs on Orwell for more than 20 years. A report from 1929 says that although he was seen reading a communist-sponsored paper in Paris “he has not so far been seen to mix with Communists”.

• China denies hacking the Pentagon - China today dismissed accusations that its military had hacked into Pentagon computers, calling the claim "cold war" thinking. The robust Chinese response followed a front-page report in the Financial Times saying Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) hackers broke into a US defence department network in June, taking data and causing the shutdown of a system serving the secretary of defence, Robert Gates. "The Chinese government has consistently opposed and vigorously attacked according to the law all internet-wrecking crimes, including hacking," the foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu was quoted by Reuters as saying.

• Name changed to hide 'Superhighway'?: WND obtains secret document revealing original moniker of 'SuperCorridor' - A 1998 document which WND has obtained shows the North American SuperCorridor Coalition, or NASCO, was originally named the North American Superhighway Coalition. The document plays into an emerging debate in which a number of critics, including President Bush, want to deny that a NAFTA "Superhighway" exists.

Monday 03rd September 2007: -

• Ministers say Yes to EU treaty text on passports - British passports face yet another European makeover after the Government agreed with proposals from Brussels to stamp them with passages from the EU treaty. Under contentious plans for a huge expansion of the EU's involvement in representing member states and their people abroad, it has emerged the European Commission wants Article 20 of the treaty to feature in each and every passport to remind people of their rights as "EU citizens". Even staunchly pro-European countries such as Ireland have made it clear that they are opposed to the proposal.

• EU TREATY MAY SET BRITISH KILLERS FREE - NOTORIOUS killers including Ian Brady, Ian Huntley and Rose West could ask European judges to let them go free under the controversial new EU treaty, it was claimed yesterday. Although the Government insisted the worst murderers would be locked up for life, sceptics said ministers could not be sure that British court decisions would be safe from Brussels. Conservative Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said: “The simple answer is we don’t know. One of the problems of European legislation is that it often expands far beyond what the Government intended.

• DIANA: VITAL NEW EVIDENCE BLOWS APART POLICE CASE - THE mystery over Princess Diana’s fatal car crash took another twist yesterday when startling new evidence emerged about the death of a key witness. The Daily Express has uncovered dramatic new information which undermines the French police claim that photographer James Andanson doused himself and his black BMW with petrol and set himself alight. Andanson was found dead in his burnt-out car three years after the smash which killed Diana, her lover Dodi Fayed and driver Henri Paul. Andanson, suspected of causing the crash by driving a white Fiat Uno into their Mercedes, was said officially to have committed suicide. But investigators have uncovered a receipt which shows that although Andanson, 54, did buy a substantial amount of fuel on the day he died, it was diesel, not petrol.   (RELATED: See our popular Diana Assassination archive for more info.)

• Mobiles to become digital wallets - The UK's big five mobile phone firms have switched on a payment system that turns handsets into digital wallets. Called PayForIt, the scheme is designed for those buying goods and services with a value of up to £10. The industry hopes it will be used to pay for ringtones, train tickets, parking fees and eventually as a payment system on web shops and sites. Any cash spent via the scheme will automatically be added on to a customer's phone bill.   (RELATED: See our Cashless Society Control Grid archive)

• How machines took over the election - All kinds of voter confusion on the day. All sorts of technical problems on the night and into the next morning. And by the end of a long, long election night, 146,000 rejected ballots. Exactly four months on from the Holyrood elections, a picture has emerged of an electoral 'perfect storm' where every element conspired to confuse.

New World Order Voting Systems...

• Brown to reveal future vision - Prime Minister Gordon Brown is due to flesh out plans for "new Government" in a bid to reach out to disaffected voters. Mr Brown is expected to build on his statement to Parliament on constitutional reform, made soon after he took over at No 10 from Tony Blair, in a keynote speech aides said would give a major insight into the premier's vision of the future of politics. He is expected to point out that mass movements such as the Make Poverty History campaign demonstrate that the public has not lost interest in vital political issues, but many have become disconnected from the Westminster political process.

• Green taxes 'are making billions' - The government is raising billions of pounds more in green taxes than it needs to remove the UK's "carbon footprint", a report says. The Taxpayers' Alliance said emissions in 2005 had done damage worth an estimated £11.7bn, but green taxes and charges in that year had made £21.9bn. It claimed ministers were "cynically" raising revenue rather than using the money to improve the environment.

• Ear Infection Almost Labelled ADHD - Health problems and dietary deficiencies are being mislabelled as behavioural problems in New Zealand schools, according to a growing number of concerned individuals. Citizens Commission on Human Rights executive director Steve Green says he is deeply concerned at the push to label children in schools with 'behavioural problems'. "The child is labelled with behavioural problems so that they can be medicated," he said. School counsellors arrange meetings with parents of disruptive children, sometimes before ruling out other health problems. "A young boy had an ear infection. It was pretty obvious. There was stuff leaking from his ear. And they just looked at his behaviour and said he had a behavioural problem.

• Schools adopt swipe cards for toilet breaks - PARENTS are pushing for a statewide roll-out of electronic tracking of students to combat truancy. Swipe cards, SMS alerts to parents and fingerprint logging are already in use in some schools and have led to a dramatic drop in absenteeism. NSW Federation of Parents and Citizens Association president Di Giblin said the success of the swipe-card and SMS systems should lead to them being installed across the state.

• Chabad school fingerprints pupils: Beit Hannah high school brings in biometric fingerprint identification device to check students' attendance. National Council for the Child expresses concern with new policy; school principal says students are happy - The new school year brings with it innovative (and questionable) methods of guaranteeing students' attendance as students of a Jerusalem high school found on their first day of school last week. Pupils of the Chabad movement's Beit Hannah girls' high school in Jerusalem were surprised to find upon arrival that the school had installed a biometric fingerprint identification device.

• Police move to widen DNA net - POLICE want the power to take DNA from more suspects and keep it indefinitely, even in the absence of charges or convictions. Under a Victoria Police proposal, samples could be taken from suspects even without crime scene material to match it to. And by widening the range of offences for which DNA could be taken, tens of thousands more samples would be added to the state's database.

• Intelligence database worrying some - After a commercial airline pilot testified before a government agency against the construction of a nuclear power plant, the Department of Public Safety intelligence division investigated him as a potential terrorist who might fly his passenger-loaded airplane into such a plant. The First Unitarian Church of Dallas hosted talks by a gay-rights group and was labeled by DPS intelligence as the "sponsor of radical-left groups." The manager of a West Texas Chamber of Commerce announced that he would challenge the House Appropriations Committee chairman's re-election. The man immediately lost his job, and the DPS created a dossier on him and his wife that was circulated at the Capitol. The DPS at the time was building a massive intelligence computer database on Texas residents that would be shared among law enforcement agencies. Then-Gov. Dolph Briscoe put a halt to it, saying it appeared to lack safeguards against an invasion of privacy. All of that occurred in 1974 and embarrassed the DPS nationally. The agency destroyed the intelligence files and apologized to the Dallas church. But now the scandal is all but forgotten, and some civil libertarians fear that it could be repeated.

Sunday 02nd September 2007: -

• Vital Lockerbie evidence 'was tampered with': Fragments of bomb timer that helped to convict a Libyan ex-agent were 'practically carbonised' before the trial, says bankrupt Swiss businessman - The key piece of material evidence used by prosecutors to implicate Libya in the Lockerbie bombing has emerged as a probable fake. Nearly two decades after Pan Am flight 103 exploded over Scotland on 21 December, 1988, allegations of international political intrigue and shoddy investigative work are being levelled at the British government, the FBI and the Scottish police as one of the crucial witnesses, Swiss engineer Ulrich Lumpert, has apparently confessed that he lied about the origins of a crucial 'timer' - evidence that helped tie the man convicted of the bombing to the crime.   (RELATED: See our Problem > Reaction > Solution archive)

• Second UK general attacks US Iraq policy - A second general has spoken out against the US' attitude towards post-war Iraq, heightening differences between the American and British views on the war. Major General Mike Cross added to comments yesterday by the head of the British Army during the invasion of Iraq, General Sir Mike Jackson, who accused US war architect Donald Rumsfeld as having an "intellectually bankrupt" approach to the war. In comments to the Sunday Mirror newspaper, Maj Gen Cross said it was clear before the 2003 invasion that American leaders were certain that the Middle Eastern country would make a swift transition to stability.

• WEST YORKSHIRE TRUTH CAMPAIGN – PRESS RELEASE: US Presidential Candidate, Cynthia McKinney, visits Leeds - Former Congresswoman and US Presidential candidate, Cynthia McKinney, is coming to the UK as part of a European tour and will be presenting a talk entitled "Confronting The Empire". The event, organised by the West Yorkshire Truth Campaign, will be held at the James Graham Building (Lecture Theatre B), Leeds Metropolitan University, Headingley Campus, Leeds LS6 3QS on Sunday September 9th at 7.00pm.   (LINK OPENS IN PDF FORMAT)

• Ministers pledge to fight growing calls for EU treaty referendum - Ministers, including David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, are set to come out fighting this week against growing demands for a EU treaty referendum. Government sources say that a string of ministers will "make it clear" that the Government has a mandate for the new reform treaty, given at the European Council in June. The Government came under growing pressure last week to refuse to rule out a referendum. But the Prime Minister is expected to firmly rule out a referendum later this week. The move follows intense pressure on Gordon Brown from members of his own party. A campaign led by the Labour MP Ian Davidson, who said that up to a third of Labour MPs could back calls for an EU treaty, was joined by the former Europe minister, Keith Vaz, on Friday. He said: "We should not be afraid of actually putting this argument before the British people. We don't need a referendum on the reformed treaty because we didn't have one on the Nice Treaty or on Maastricht. But I think there's a difference between need and desirability.

• Pre-school nerves creating stressed children - Anxiety over starting school for the first time is causing children to be stressed three to six months before the term starts, researchers have found. Concerns about being away from home and making new friends were shown to raise the stress hormone cortisol. The team from the University of Bath measured levels of the hormone three to six months before school started; two weeks after school started; and six weeks after the start of term. Lead researcher Dr Julie Turner-Cobb said that stress levels in anticipation of starting school began to rise "much earlier than expected".

• Al Fayed inquest plea to Diana bodyguard - HARRODS boss Mohamed Al Fayed has urged Princess Diana’s former bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones to give evidence at her inquest. Mr Rees-Jones, 49, marked the 10th anniversary of the Princess’ death by refusing to say whether he would speak at her inquest in October. After Princes William and Harry led a memorial to their late mother’s memory, Mr Al Fayed said it was time for people with vital evidence to come forward. A spokesman for Mr Al Fayed was commenting on the decision of Mr Rees-Jones to refuse to reveal whether he would attend the Princess’s inquest or not.

• Owner of white Fiat Uno refuses to give evidence at Diana inquest - A key witness to the car crash that claimed the lives of Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed has rejected repeated requests from British detectives to give evidence at next month's inquest into their deaths. Le Van Thanh, a Parisian taxi driver, owned a white Fiat Uno identical to the one that struck Diana's Mercedes seconds before it smashed into a concrete pillar. The coroner, Lord Justice Scott-Baker, believes he holds crucial information about what took place in the Alma tunnel ten years ago.

Saturday 01st September 2007: -

• Diana's death: UK press echoes to end conspiracy theories - After a decade of questions over Diana's death in a car crash in Paris ten years back, British newspapers have finally agreed that it was time to let the Princess of Wales rest in peace. In their editorials published here today, following Friday's Princess Diana's memorial service, leading British dailies like the 'Daily Mail', 'The Daily Telegraph', 'The Guardian' and tabloids like 'The Sun' and 'Daily Mirror' largely concurred with the appeal of the Bishop of London. The Bishop of London, Richard Chartres, on Friday said, "Let it end here" -- a plea which also echoed the wishes of Prince William and Prince Harry who have called for an end to the bitterness and conspiracy which have shrouded Princess Diana's memory. In its opinion piece, the 'Daily Mail' said that "it is time to let go".   (COMMENTARY: Like hell 'Let it go'!.  You know I am really getting sick of this whole attitude that our seeking truth and justice over what was so clearly a professional assassination is somehow disrespectful to Diana's memory.  We showed this yesterday and we show it again here today (see below), a letter from Diana written ten months before her 'accident' where she speaks to a serious concern that she is in danger and that she is going to be killed in "an accident".  So I guess that Diana herself was a conspiracy theorist... that kind'a puts her on our side somewhat wouldn't you say!!!.  The mainstream media that is governed and controlled by the same dark establishment that removed Diana is now telling us to stop asking questions... or even having doubts - insulting and labeling us as 'conspiracy theorists' (the usual tactics). We now have the Bishop of London telling us to basically drop it and let her 'rest in peace' - i.e. let her killers go free. To me this shows the level of deep corruption at the heart of our mainstream media, religious establishments, justice systems etc.  Hence we will continue to press for exposure of the truth.  We may never know the names of the specific individuals that caused her death in that tunnel ten years ago, but we damn well realise that this was no accident... and this will be the general consensus amongst the British people (if it isn't already!).  Sorry New World Order, but you screwed up on this one and went too far.  The people are waking up to your tyranny... watch it happen, your control is coming to an end.  As your minion The Daily Mail said in the above article "it is time to let go".)

(RELATED: See our popular Diana Assassination archive for more info.)

WE WILL NEVER FORGET YOU

Memorials to "the people's princess" still draw admirers - She'll always be 36. Beautiful. Stylish. Wistful eyes, but sparkling smile. The center of a dysfunctional royal fairy tale with a surprise grisly ending.

• British ex-army chief criticises U.S. over Iraq - The head of the British army during the Iraq invasion has launched a scathing attack on U.S. post-war policy, a newspaper reported on Saturday, underlining growing transatlantic strains over Iraq. General Sir Mike Jackson, a now retired former chief of the general staff, said the approach taken by former U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was "intellectually bankrupt" and described his comment that U.S. forces "don't do nation-building" as "nonsensical", The Daily Telegraph said. Jackson's comments, made in his autobiography that is to be serialised in The Daily Telegraph, highlights the deep-seated tension between the British command and the Pentagon during the 2003 Iraq war, the newspaper said.

• Former Reagan aide: 'Brownshirt' Bush among top 'mass murderers of all time' - President Bush's apparent plans for a preemptive nuclear strike on Iran will only add to the civilian death toll as a result of US intervention that has placed the president "high on the list of mass murders of all time," a former aide in President Ronald Reagan's administration known for strident anti-Bush rhetoric said Friday. "Bush is too self-righteous to see the dark humor in his denunciations of Iran for threatening 'the security of nations everywhere' and of the Iraqi resistance for 'a vision that rejects tolerance, crushes all dissent, and justifies the murder of innocent men, women, and children in the pursuit of political power,'" writes Paul Craig Roberts, a former assistant secretary of the Treasury. "Those are precisely the words that most of the world applies to Bush and his Brownshirt administration."

• Marines Ordered To Execute Civilians In Nazi-Like Slaughter: Latest evidence compounds catalogue of war crimes - With evidence having emerged that marines were ordered by superiors to massacre women and children in Haditha in Iraq two years ago, combined with scores of other testimonies and reports of such barbaric demands being forced upon American troops daily, it is clear that organised execution and ritual slaughter is the set policy of the architects of aggression in the middle east. A military court heard Thursday that a US Marine was ordered to execute a room full of Iraqi women and children during the massacre in Haditha which left 24 people dead.

• Cholera spreads in Iraq as health services collapse - Lack of clean drinking water and poor sanitation has led to 5,000 people in northern Iraq contracting cholera. The outbreak is among the most serious signs yet that Iraqi health and social services are breaking down as the number of those living in camps and poor housing increases after people flee their homes. "The disease is spreading very fast," Dr Juan Abdallah, a senior official in Kurdistan's health ministry, told a UN agency. "It is the first outbreak of its kind here in the past few decades."

• Thousands of Gaza Children Under-Nourished - Children suffering from malnutrition in Gaza could face major health hazards if the crisis in Gaza continues, a health expert said. Dr. Itedal Al-Khatib, director of Ard El-Insan medical clinic in Gaza City, said thousands of children in the Gaza Strip were suffering from malnutrition. "We have experienced many difficult times, but this is the worst period of our work in 23 years," she told The Media Line. More than 5,000 children are registered with the center and are classified as malnourished, due to lack of food intake, poverty or poor education of the mothers, she said.

• Box sales boom as organic food market nears £2bn - Home delivery of fruit and vegetables has surged in popularity as Britain's organic market approaches £2bn a year. Sales of box schemes run by firms including Abel & Cole and Riverford rose in value by 53 per cent to £146m last year, the Soil Association said. Box schemes have become a popular way for shoppers to buy organic fresh produce and Sainsbury and Tesco have entered the market. But 40 per cent of sales still come from farmers who deliver food grown in their fields or raised in their barns, according to the 2006 Organic Market Report. Overall sales of organic products rose by 22 per cent to £1.93bn, with annual growth of 27 per cent in the past decade.

• '10 min on cell a cancer risk' - Just 10 minutes of chatting on cellular phones is enough to trigger such chemical changes in the brain that can increase the risk of cancer, warn scientists. A study by the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel has shown that even low levels of radiation from handsets interfere with the process of cell division, which encourages the growth of tumours. Although the researchers have yet not found any evidence that signals from cell phones are harmful, their findings suggest they may be. Several studies have been conducted world over to find an association between mobile use and brain tumours, but they neither found any such link nor any dramatic rise in cancer rates.   (RELATED: See our Compromised Health archive)

• BBC one of the 'most racist' institutions, says TV writer - JIMMY McGovern, writer of the Cracker TV series, yesterday called the BBC "one of the most racist institutions in England" in an interview on one of its own radio stations. He said that while there were "lots of black faces in the BBC", they were working in the canteen. The BAFTA-winning screenwriter's comment, during an interview on Radio 5 Live, prompted a swift response from the BBC. McGovern was being interviewed about his new stage play, King Cotton. The drama is part of commemorations of the 200th anniversary of the slave trade's abolition.

• White people in UK's cities 'likely to be a minority in 20 years' - White people in some of the UK's largest cities are likely to dwindle to a minority due to a boom in ethnic populations, experts claim. Birmingham, the country's second largest city, will have its one million population made up of largely ethnic minorities in 20 years time, researchers say. And Leicester's half-million population is likely to follow the same path in just four years time, it is believed.

• CONFRONTING EMPIRE: The West Yorkshire Truth Campaign will be hosting a talk by former member of the US House of Representatives Cynthia McKinney on Sunday 9th September 2007.
  
  Cynthia will be giving a talk entitled 'Confronting Empire' - see confrontingtheempire.org.uk
  
  Venue:
  Lecture Theatre B
  James Graham Building
  Leeds Metropolitan University
  Headingly Campus
  Leeds LS6 3QS
  
  Time: 
  Doors 6.30pm
  Begins 7.00pm
  
  Admission:
  Free (£5.00 suggested donation)

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