ITR-One Family's Secret History of the Jonestown Massacre-PipReynolds ITR USA for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Pip Reynolds InTouchRadio.net USA for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

A Cache Of Letters Hidden In The Basement

Brings To Life A House,

A Family And The Tragedy

That Would Change Everything...

From Silver Lake to Suicide:

One Family's Secret History of the Jonestown Massacre

By Barry Isaacson

For all photographs, view the corresponding Jonestown slideshow here.

Courtesy of the California Historical Society

“Dear Folks,” the letter begins/

“I think of you when I hear a Beethoven symphony or the words of a childhood hero repeated and more beautiful as I approach my forties. The strength and principles you planted into me at an early age, though inconsistent with the larger culture I grew up in, is now flowering in fertile soil. I see your faces in my mind and remember the courage both of you demonstrated during the McCarthy period when you were alone. How fortunate that Gail and David can grow up in a community that supports their ideals — it shows — they are so strong and independent, you would be proud. I work hard. I’m the administrator of the medical system in Jonestown. It’s the most exciting thing I’ve ever done. There is a song we sing that begins, ‘It feels good to rise with the morning sun,’ and ends, ‘It feels good to see all the work we’ve done and to know the future is now,’ it sums up my feelings about my life here. I am thousands of miles from you, the electronic communications are limited between us, but I am more your daughter than I’ve ever been before.”

The letter, signed simply “Phyllis,” is written to her parents, Herbert and Freda Alexander, who raised their only child in the hills above the Silver Lake reservoir. It is dated April 15, 1978, when Phyllis Chaikin was 39 years old, her husband, Gene, 45, and their children, Gail and David, 17 and 15. Six months later, on the night of November 18, 1978, Phyllis, Gene, Gail and David would die — along with more than 900 others — in the most infamous religious mass suicide in American history.

Phyllis and her family were dead for more than a decade by the time her elderly parents moved out of their house in Silver Lake in 1992. Architectural real estate agents had to bring the exquisite midcentury modern on Micheltorena Street back from the brink of decrepitude before selling it to my wife, Jenny, and me. Handing over the keys, they told us that, according to neighborhood folklore, the Alexanders might have left behind a concealed suitcase containing correspondence from their long-dead daughter and grandchildren. We looked but found nothing, and having been made aware of the circumstances of this family’s demise, we felt reluctant to intrude on an almost unimaginable grief. But this past February, 10 years after we started to raise a family of our own where the Alexanders had raised theirs, a handyman working on our house emerged from the basement carrying a dusty vinyl briefcase. Inside was an extensive collection of press clippings, evidence of an almost obsessive attempt by the Alexanders to make sense of their daughter’s fatal acts of bad judgment.

In a separate envelope were letters written by Phyllis from San Francisco and later from Jonestown, Guyana, where she and her husband had moved with their children in 1975. There were fond letters to their grandparents from Gail and David. The most moving document in the cache was a carbon copy of a painful valediction from Dr. Alexander to Phyllis, written on an old manual typewriter on September 21, 1977. Tenderly, but with eloquent firmness, he reprimands her, perplexed and offended by her embrace of Jim Jones, the deviant cuckoo who had flown into the Alexanders’ nest and whom Phyllis and her fellow Peoples Temple members called “Dad”:

Now, something like four months have passed, and we have received no communication whatsoever from you. We do not know where you [are] and what you are doing. From what we have read in S.F. Chronicle, the Peoples Temple is in trouble. Indirectly we hear that David is in Guyana. Now if you choose not to communicate any more with us, let us know. If Rev. Jones and the Peoples Temple are against the commandment ‘Honor thy father and mother’ unless they are members of the Peoples Temple, it is your choice whether to break off all contacts with your kin forever. However, it is our right to know of this alienation. Your refusal to reply to this letter will be evidence enough that you have abandoned us.

After reading the entire contents of the briefcase, I decided to learn what I could about Jim Jones, his Peoples Temple movement and Jonestown, so that I might understand how a middle-class Silver Lake family not unlike ours had fallen down a rabbit hole. I trawled the Web for long-out-of-print books and made contact with survivors, temple defectors and victims’ families. I showed the letters to Peoples Temple scholars Fielding McGehee and Rebecca Moore. Dr. Moore, a professor of religious studies at San Diego State University, lost both of her sisters in Jonestown: Annie Moore was Jones’ nurse, and Carolyn Moore Layton was his lover and most devoted lieutenant. McGehee and Moore told me that Phyllis and Gene Chaikin had been prominent within the church hierarchy, and they presented me with a copy of the long-withheld FBI evidence files on Peoples Temple. The files contained additional correspondence relating to the Chaikins, which was both more shocking and more revealing than anything to come out of the briefcase. A period of rapid growth for the temple in both the Bay Area and Los Angeles had turned Jim Jones into an unlikely public figure capable of wielding genuine political influence; for example, he produced from among his followers a large bloc of votes to help

On the three FBI disks were two quite intimate letters, written independently of each other by Phyllis and Gene and addressed to Jim Jones at a moment when both the Jonestown community and the Chaikins’ relationship were beginning to unravel in the jungles of Guyana. These letters witness the moral destruction of a married couple shortly before Jones brought about their physical annihilation. Above all, they reveal two very different responses to his influence, as half of this couple advocates genocide and the other attempts in vain to defy the minister at the eleventh hour and to save their children’s lives.

Herbert and Freda Alexander were, like Jim Jones, communists. Like Jones, Herbert came from the Midwest, settling in Los Angeles in the 1920s. He taught history at Los Angeles City College from 1929 to mid-1980 and participated enthusiastically in the intellectual and social life of a political salon that met in Silver Lake modernist houses and in an obscure corner of Fellowship Park still known as “Red Hill.” Phyllis was born in 1939, the same year her parents hired architect Harwell H. Harris to build their small, modernist house on a hill overlooking the city. Herbert had belonged to a union when it was inadvisable to do so; when the gloves came off after World War II, as McCarthyism reached even bohemian Silver Lake, he found himself before the Tenney Committee, a California Senate investigation of communist indoctrination in higher education. Only the intervention of a sympathetic department head enabled him to remain employed. As a teenager, Phyllis paid a heavy price for her parents’ politics and her lack of social grace.

“Phyllis was a friend of mine in High School — a very sweet, kind person,” writes Margaret Paul on McGehee and Moore’s Alternative Considerations of Jonestown Web site (http://jonestown.sdsu.edu). Paul attended nearby John Marshall High School with Phyllis in the late 1950s and remembers that her friend “always seemed to be a little lost, like she didn’t know where she belonged. I could always feel the longing in her for a place to stand. She was a unique individual, with the kind of uniqueness that doesn’t fit into a typical high school scene. On top of that, the kids found out that her father was a communist and so she was ostracized, which was horrible for her — one of the worst things that can happen to a kid in high school. High school kids can be so cruel, and they were. She essentially became an outcast.”

Phyllis was 21 when she married Eugene Chaikin, another Silver Lake “red diaper baby” six years older than she. Like Phyllis, Gene attended UCLA and, in spite of his family’s lifelong immersion in left-wing activism, became a corporate attorney representing insurance companies. By the time he and Phyllis joined Peoples Temple in the early ’70s, they had been happily married for 12 years and were living in Encino with two young children. Their lives together had been conventional and, by all accounts, happy. Gene Chaikin was intense by nature, a restless truth-seeker, rabbinical and a little unworldly; he and Phyllis, who taught kindergarten, had become fiercely devoted to transcendental meditation sometime before it was briefly popularized by the Beatles in the mid-’60s.

In July 1972, the Chaikins’ neighbors Claire and Richard Janaro invited Gene and Phyllis to travel to Ukiah, in Northern California, to meet a young activist cleric named Jim Jones, whose progressive teachings the Janaros admired. Jones had grown up dirt-poor in rural Indiana, where his father had been a member of the Ku Klux Klan. An only child raised almost exclusively by his irreligious, doting mother, Jones developed a precocious interest in social justice at about the same time he discovered Pentecostal Christianity, with its emphasis on divine revelation and the social gospel. Jones toyed with both medicine and the law but, after a brief phase as an itinerant salesman of pet monkeys, discovered his true vocation in God’s work. Armed with good looks, a wholesome wife, his mother’s blessing and a spectacular gift for oratory, he founded the Peoples Temple of the Disciples of Christ in Indianapolis in 1955. Among other causes, Jones was passionately devoted to racial integration; ominous early signs of a weakness for manipulative self-dramatization and chicanery could not fully obscure the sincerity of his beliefs.

In 1965, after reading that Northern California was the safest place to survive a nuclear attack, Jones moved his congregation to Ukiah. Sensing a unique historical opportunity, he began to recruit from the counterculture, attracting college-educated idealists like Gene and Phyllis Chaikin. Jones’ pitch soft-pedaled religion in favor of social activism, and it worked. Within weeks of meeting him, the Chaikins had quit their jobs, sold their house in the Valley, offloaded their possessions and moved north.

Peoples Temple’s nominal affiliation with the Disciples of Christ further solidified its reputation as a “black church.” Devout African-American families, recruited both in Indiana and California, were welcomed; many were already comfortable within Jones’ religious world. At this moment, however, the organization’s cultural center of gravity was about to undergo a radical shift reflecting Jones’ now apparent disillusionment with religion, a shift that would have been inconceivable without the professional and educational resources of a core group of atheist middle-class white liberals like Gene Chaikin, who were raised to address social injustice via secular activism rather than organized religion.elect George Moscone as mayor of San Francisco in 1976. However, Jones’ dissolute behavior was becoming a liability that had started to attract media attention. He was arrested for lewd conduct toward a male police officer in a San Francisco movie theater in December 1973 but managed to escape prosecution. A dissident group of younger followers left the church in the spring of that year and continued to question publicly their leader’s political integrity and personal ethics.

These ethical lapses — previously evident in elaborately faked faith healings that preyed upon the religious elderly — became institutionalized, as the core group of dedicated young idealists surrounding Jones struggled to accommodate his corruption as the only alternative to condemning it. The movement began to turn inward, as the glare of publicity exposed its increasingly bizarre, authoritarian social mores to liberal condescension directed at them from the outside world. This dialectical relationship only enhanced the minister’s power within his church and cemented its reputation as a cult.

Like Voltaire’s Candide, Gene Chaikin was temperamentally ill-equipped to adapt to religious hypocrisy on this scale and sought refuge from it in horticulture, a lifelong hobby. In mid-1973, he welcomed the opportunity to exchange his legal pad for a machete and went to South America, where Chaikin supervised the planting of an extraordinary, self-sustaining agricultural commune in the inhospitable jungles of Guyana, which would become known as Jonestown. Chaikin was there for two years, away from his family and living with a small group of pioneers, relatively free of Jones’ direct control before the mass exodus to Jonestown began in earnest.

It was the happiest time of Chaikin’s life. He oversaw the planting of crops in the challenging topsoil and functioned, in the words of fellow pioneer Don Beck as “a gentleman farmer.” From July 1977 onward, more than 1,000 Jones followers left America for a better life in Jonestown, intending never to return. It was in Jonestown where Phyllis Chaikin finally discovered a role for herself, one that corresponded with her commitment to the cause. At last, her nursing credential had won her the more elevated place she sought in the community and in the esteem of its leader. “Dear Folks,” she writes in an undated letter probably from late 1977:

Have not heard from you — mail to interior is delayed. I wonder how you are doing. Would you believe it I am administering the entire medical health staff at Jonestown. We have a fine young doctor, 2 nurse practitioners and a number of RNs and LVNs. Bright young people the doctor and I are training are Health Care Workers. They are becoming integrated in the whole health process here. They go to every residence in Jonestown twice a day to make sure everyone is ok — they have been trained to do monthly breast exams. Two were La Maze coaches when the first baby was born at Jonestown which was a highlight in my life — I was the circulating nurse. As you can imagine — it is very exciting and educational to oversee such a progressive system.

I think of you frequently —

Phyllis

Jonestown’s purpose-built medical center was Phyllis’ new domain. From there she administered a revolutionary program of socialized health care available not only to the temple populace but also to the outlying community of Amerindian tribes. She also supervised the Jonestown pharmacy.

As Phyllis blossomed, Gene began to wither. Jones had arrived in the jungle beset with crises, grudges and obsessions. He had tried and failed to suppress two hostile pieces of investigative journalism that appeared in New West magazine, several copies of which were picked up by Herbert Alexander, later to be placed in the briefcase we found in our basement. Jones claimed to have sired a baby boy, John-Victor, by an attractive devotee named Grace Stoen, whose husband, Timothy Stoen, had been a fervent Jones disciple since the early days in Ukiah. Jones decided to raise the boy in his own household and even persuaded Stoen — a Stanford-educated attorney who supervised Gene’s legal work for the temple — to renounce in a sworn statement all claims to patrimony.

When the Stoens’ marriage inevitably collapsed and Grace left the temple, Jones sent John-Victor ahead to Guyana in order to thwart her attempts to gain custody, a strategy temporarily reinforced by Timothy Stoen’s residency in Jonestown from mid-February 1977. A month later, however, on March 20, Stoen defected, leaving his infant son behind. Putting aside their marital differences, the Stoens reunited in California to pursue custody of the boy, and the stage was set for a public confrontation that would pose the ultimate challenge to Jones’ internal authority, as well as to his already battered reputation in the world outside Peoples Temple.

Timothy Stoen would become the church’s most dangerous apostate; he was articulate, resourceful, well versed in media and a credible witness to the worst excesses of Jones’ conduct. For Jones, the issue was deeply symbolic; within Peoples Temple, John-Victor assumed the status of a God-child, and the battle about to take place over his status represented the movement’s ultimate, defiant renunciation of the world it had left behind.

With the population of Jonestown now at 1,200, and supplies failing to meet the demand, Gene Chaikin’s idealistic vision of agricultural self-sufficiency was in ruins. Two-thirds of the residents were elderly or minors, so an overworked group of physically capable adults had to bear all responsibility for subsistence farming. Jones’ obsession with the Stoens’ custody case created difficulties for Gene, who had to orchestrate a relentless legal counterattack while keeping his reservations to himself. The case had become a rallying point for the temple’s enemies in the U.S., including both the press and a newly formed protest group organized by Timothy and Grace Stoen, called the Concerned Relatives.

Meanwhile, the Jonestown community was stockpiling pharmaceuticals, and its leader’s mental health was becoming increasingly precarious, his behavior erratic. When the Stoens attempted to press their case through the courts in Guyana’s capital city, Georgetown, Guyanese bailiffs appearing at the compound with summonses were chased off by security personnel armed with rifles and machetes. Jones began to fear that his host, the socialist government of Guyana, was about to deliver him to the CIA, and that the entire community would be repatriated in shame.

One night in August 1977, Jones fired gunshots into the jungle and, claiming to have narrowly escaped a sniper’s bullet, roused from sleep the entire population. Ranting maniacally over the public address system, as was his habit, he gathered everybody in the pavilion to announce that the CIA, backed by Guyanese paramilitary forces, was on its way. Jones declared another “White Night,” but this time it was not an exercise in psychodrama restricted to a core group of devoted ideologues in Northern California. This time, Gene Chaikin watched his children stand quietly in a jungle clearing, lining up with their friends to drink fruit punch that Jones announced was spiked with a lethal dose of cyanide.

When Jones finally sent everyone back to their cabins, Gene had seen enough. As a trusted member of Jones’ inner circle, he was one of the few in the community who still possessed his passport and a dispensation from Jones to travel outside the compound. Once again, Gene needed to get away from Jones and his madness, to gather his thoughts and possibly seek help back home. He had become convinced that Jones was mentally deranged and that the lives of his children were in danger.

Gene Chaikin flew to San Francisco. There he may have unburdened himself to his brother Ray and to other family members, who, like the Alexanders in Los Angeles, were anxiously monitoring the situation, hesitant to lend their support to the Concerned Relatives in case it provoked Jones to more extreme measures. Gene spent time in the temple’s legal office in the Geary Street church and imprudently confided his suspicions about Jones’ deteriorating sanity to the staff. Panic-stricken messages were relayed by ham radio directly to Jones in Guyana, who reacted in fury to Gene’s allegations. Temple loyalists in America scrambled to distance themselves from Gene’s blasphemy.

Impolitic by nature, Gene now shared with Marceline Jones his misgivings about her husband’s mental state. Finally, he huddled with Charles Garry, the legendary left-wing attorney who had defended Huey Newton and who had now been retained by Jones to manage the temple’s increasingly paranoid retaliation against its enemies in the media. The two lawyers had become friends. Garry was receptive to Gene’s message, but once again, Gene had been indiscreet. Marceline, known as “Mother,” was furious, and Jim Jones sat at the radio in Jonestown raging over what had now become known as “the Chaikin crisis.”

Jones summoned Gene to return immediately to Jonestown, but Gene held out, diverting instead to Trinidad, where he made a last stand. He mailed Jones a long, principled letter of dissent, explaining his misgivings about the minister’s mental state and challenging his judgment. This letter, included in the FBI evidence files, is the boldest and most eloquent statement of dissent on record against Jones. “Jim,” he wrote:

I left because I am no longer willing to live in a situation of anxiety or bi-weekly crisis ... for several reasons: 1) my nerves just won’t take it any more, I’m too beat, 2) it is impossible to build anything in that sort of atmosphere because building requires lots of planning and continuity of effort and application — the continuity is destroyed by the crisis mentality, 3) because I feel that the crisis environment is to some extent created and maintained by your state of mind ... I think you suffer from a lack of balance, both of perspective and behavior. I detest being lied to and manipulated. You have, over the years, done a lot of both ...

Gene criticized Jones’ hysterical overreaction to the maneuverings of the temple’s detractors in America, which, he felt, was jeopardizing the commune’s health and stability.

The standoff continued as the two men exchanged letters. Jones attempted to persuade Gene to return to the compound, while Gene demanded the immediate release of his children. Finally, Jones appeared to consent but hedged, insisting that Phyllis come out first, ostensibly so that she and Gene could discuss their future together.

Gene was fencing with Jones but was doing so from a position of weakness; it was not in his nature to blackmail the minister with what he knew about the temple’s inner workings. Yet, unlike Timothy Stoen, Gene could not face defecting without first removing his children. His only hope was that Phyllis might support him in his attempt to liberate Gail and David and reunite his family. Gene signed off his letter to Jones:

Even in the present situation when I asked for the children you lied to me, said you would send them out, but held off till Phyllis could get here so that you would have some basis for hanging on ... I would rather be told straight out than ‘put on.’ What I do at this juncture depends to a considerable extent on what you say ... You leave me very few choices. Phyllis will come in tonight and I suppose we will talk ... but I think you and I now have very little to say to each other.

If Phyllis were allowed out of Jonestown to talk to her husband about their situation, it would only have been because Jones expected her to toe the party line. According to Tim Carter, a Vietnam veteran who survived the approaching cataclysm in Jonestown, Phyllis did indeed leave the compound to visit Gene. In a hotel room in Jamaica, she confronted her husband of 17 years, ending his rebellion by denying him the support he needed to remove their children from the clutches of a madman. Phyllis had made her choice.

“Dear Grandma and Grandpa, How you doing?” wrote Gail Chaikin in an undated letter to the Alexanders. (Judging from the rounded printing of a young teenage girl, it was probably written not long after the Chaikins first arrived in Jonestown). “We’re doing real well and are very happy at our new home. We have many streams, trees, beautiful plants, & wild flowers growing all around are [sic] area plus the different crops we planted.”

In a later letter, written in a more mature script, Gail adds:

You can’t believe how beautiful it is here. The air is free from pollution, there’s only the pleasant scent of the abundant trees. We have fields upon fields of food. Mom, Dad and David (who is really growing up) are all doing fine, are healthier than ever before in their life and love it here.

Less than a year after this letter was written, when Gene returned to Jonestown, Jones immediately ordered that his food be spiked with the powerful sedative Thorazine, and that he be constantly observed. Temple members recall sandwiches being brought out for lunch, all of them cut on the square except Gene’s, which were cut diagonally and loaded with Thorazine. Gene spent much of what remained of his life heavily sedated and was for some of this time confined to the “Extended Care Unit,” which housed dissidents being “resocialized” — in the room next to where Phyllis worked as nurse administrator of the medical staff. In the most informative journal of daily life in Jonestown known to have survived, Edith Roller, an elderly English professor, notes: “Phyllis Chaikin said she wanted to change her name. She thinks she has been too dependent on Gene. Gene agreed with her.”

Gene was sufficiently compos mentis for some of the time to continue puttering in the Jonestown nursery and even to do legal work for Jones. The minister remained threatened by Gene’s capacity for independent expression, and when dignitaries, such as the Russian ambassador to Guyana, visited the compound, Gene was nowhere to be seen.

With her marriage no longer an obstacle, Phyllis was able to devote herself anew to the minister. As the end approached, she wrote the following in a letter to Jones, preserved in the FBI files:

Dad —

... The very people who resist Revolutionary Suicide because they want to save their asses would make excellent captives for the enemy ... Though the strongest might kill themselves before being taken, the weakest — no matter what they might say in public meetings — would not kill themselves and would be the first to talk.

We prepare the people by reading the words of strong, assertive revolutionaries of the past who took this choice over the p.a. system ... We will meet in the pavilion surrounded with highly trusted security with guns. Names will be called off randomly. People will be escorted to a place of dying by a strong personality ... who is loving, supported [sic] but nonsympathetic. They are accompanied by two strong security men with guns. (I don’t trust people to arrange their own death ... but [it] can be arranged by outside pressure and no alternatives left open.) At the place of dying they are shot in the head and if Larry [Dr. Larry Schact] does not believe they are definitely dead, their throat is slit with a scalpel. I would be willing to help here if it is necessary. The bodies would be thrown in a ditch. It might be advisable to blindfold the people before going to the death place in that the blood and body remains on the ground might increase the agitation.

As the sun set, I donated the contents of the briefcase to a representative of the California Historical Society. I will keep the briefcase itself, and before Jenny and I depart our beautiful house for the last time, I will leave it in the basement, containing a manuscript of the book I intend to write about another family that once sat down to dinner together under our roof. The final words, however, will always belong to Herbert and Freda Alexander, who ended their letter of September 1977, their last known correspondence with Phyllis, this way:

We have at long last opened our hearts to you, expressing the sorrow and agony which we have restrained over six long years. Any time you express the wish to resume normal relations and exchange with us, the past will be forgotten. For after all we do love you and the children more than any other persons. We shall continue to cherish you to our last day on earth. The peerless joy of raising you from childhood to youth is a unique life experience, indeed.

Your father and mother

Michael Dixon Founder of InTouchRadio.net

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S.O.S. from ZIMBABWE

PLEASE Read

Forward To As Many People As You Know.

Phote of Robert Mugabe President of Zimbabwe

Letter from Zimbabwe sent in by John Winter

I reckon that these are the last days of TKM and ZPF. The darkest hour is always before dawn.

We are all terrified at what they are going to destroy next........I mean they are actually ploughing down brick and mortar houses and one family with twin boys of 10 had no chance of salvaging anything when 100 riot police came in with AK47's and bulldozers and demolished their beautiful house - 5 bedrooms and pine ceilings - because it was 'too close to the airport', so we are feeling extremely insecure right now.

You know - I am aware that this does not help you sleep at night, but if you do not know - how can you help? Even if you put us in your own mental ring of light and send your guardian angels to be with us - that is a help -but I feel so cut off from you all knowing I cannot tell you what's going on here simply because you will feel uncomfortable. There is no ways we can leave here so that is not an option.

I ask that you all pray for us in the way that you know how, and let me know that you are thinking of us and sending out positive vibes... that's all. You can't just be in denial and pretend/believe it's not going on.

To be frank with you, it's genocide in the making and if you do not believe me, read the Genocide Report by Amnesty International which says we are - IN level 7 - (level 8 is after it's happened and everyone is in denial).

If you don't want me to tell you these things-how bad it is-then it means you have not dealt with your own fear, but it does not help me to think you are turning your back on our situation. We need you, please, to get the news OUT that we are all in a fearfully dangerous situation here. Too many people turn their backs and say - oh well, that's what happens in Africa

This Government has GONE MAD and you need to help us publicize our plight---or how can we be rescued? It's a reality! The petrol queues are a reality, the pall of smoke all around our city is a reality, the thousands of homeless people sleeping outside in 0 Celsius with no food, water, shelter and bedding are a reality. Today a family approached me, brother of the gardener's wife with two small children. Their home was trashed and they will have to sleep outside. We already support 8 adult people and a child on this property, and electricity is going up next month by 250% as is water.

How can I take on another family of 4 -----and yet how can I turn them away to sleep out in the open?

I am not asking you for money or a ticket out of here - I am asking you to FACE the fact that we are in deep and terrible danger and want you please to pass on our news and pictures. So PLEASE don't just press the delete button! Help best in the way that you know how.

Do face the reality of what is going on here and help us SEND OUT THE WORD.. The more people who know about it, the more chance we have of the United Nations coming to our aid. Please don't ignore or deny what's happening.
Some would like to be protected from the truth BUT then, if we are eliminated, how would you feel? 'If only we knew how bad it really was we could have helped in some way'.

[I know we chose to stay here and that some feel we deserve what's coming to us]

For now,--- we ourselves have food, shelter, a little fuel and a bit of money for the next meal - but what is going to happen next? Will they start on our houses? All property is going to belong to the State now. I want to send out my Title Deeds to one of you because if they get a hold of those, I can't fight for my rights.

Censorship!----We no longer have SW radio [which told us everything that was happening] because the Government jammed it out of existence - we don't have any reporters, and no one is allowed to photograph. If we had reporters here, they would have an absolute field day. Even the pro-Government Herald has written that people are shocked, stunned, bewildered and blown mindless by the wanton destruction of many folks homes, which are supposed to be 'illegal' but for which a huge percentage actually do have licenses.

Please! - do have some compassion and HELP by sending out the articles and personal reports so that something can/may be done.

'I am one. I cannot do everything, ---but I can do something.. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do. What I can do, I should do. And what I should do, by the grace of God,
I will do.'

Edward Everett Hale


Please send this on to everyone in your address book. We send jokes out
without blinking an eyelid. We don't get told this on the news in South Africa , we only get told what they want us to hear. We all have a chance to do something, even though the something is by pressing forward to as many people as possible. Let's stop talking and let's start doing! There is power in prayer, there is also power in more people knowing about this than you in my address book. This is going to America , Dubai , Australia , France , South Africans all over South Africa , the UK . By forwarding this to all in my address book I have done something. The world needs to know what is going on.

Gill Josling

Clinical Co-Ordinator

Training Unit

Fourways

Mobile : +27 83 415 9316

Email : Gillian.josling@lifehealthcare.co.za

Website: www.lifehealthcare.co.za

LIFE ISN’T ABOUT WAITING FOR THE STORM TO

PASS…….IT’S LEARNING TO DANCE IN THE RAIN.

---

Life Healthcare Group (Pty) Ltd

Registration number: 2003/024367/07

This message and any attachments are confidential and intended solely for the addressee. The following link will display the full disclaimer: http://www.lifehealthcare.co.za/disclaimer/

The following link displays the list of Directors: http://www.lifehealthcare.co.za/directors/

Michael Dixon Founder of InTouchRadio.net

Urgent Message

Help Needed

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ITR-US Bases Brace For Surge in PTSD-PipReynolds ITR USA for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

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US Bases Brace For Surge in PTSD

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. – Some 15,000 soldiers are heading home to this sprawling base after spending more than a year at war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and military health officials are bracing for a surge in brain injuries and psychological problems among those troops.

Facing prospects that one in five of the 101st Airborne Division soldiers will suffer from stress-related disorders, the base has nearly doubled its psychological health staff. Army leaders are hoping to use the base's experiences to assess the long-term impact of repeated deployments.

The three 101st Airborne combat brigades, which have begun arriving home, have gone through at least three tours in Iraq. The 3rd Brigade also served seven months in Afghanistan, early in the war. Next spring, the 4th Brigade will return from a 15-month tour in Afghanistan. So far, roughly 10,000 soldiers have come back; the remainder are expected by the end of January.

Army leaders say they will closely watch Fort Campbell to determine the proper medical staffing levels needed to aid soldiers who have endured repeated rotations in the two war zones.

"I don't know what to expect. I don't think anybody knows," said Gen. Peter Chiarelli, vice chief of staff of the Army, as he flew back to Washington from a recent tour of the base's medical facilities. "That's why I want to see numbers from the 101st's third deployment."

What happens with the 101st Airborne, he said, will let the Army help other bases ready for similar homecomings in the next year or two, when multiple brigades from the 4th Infantry Division and the 1st Cavalry Division return.

Noting that some soldiers in the 101st Airborne units have been to war four or five times, Chiarelli said he is most worried the military will not be able to find enough health care providers to deal effectively with the troops needing assistance.

Many of the military bases are near small or remote communities that do not have access to the number of health professionals who might be needed as a great many soldiers return home.

More than 63,600 active duty Army soldiers have done three or more tours in Iraq or Afghanistan. That is a nearly 12 percent of the total number of soldiers who have deployed at least once. Roughly four in 10 soldiers who have gone to war have served more than one deployment — and that number is growing steadily.

One solution under discussion is the formation of mobile medical and psychological teams that can go to Army bases when they are expecting a surge in activity from returning units.

At Fort Campbell, the director of health services, Col. Richard Thomas, has roughly doubled his authorized staff of psychologists and behavioral specialists to 55 and is trying to hire a few more.

"I think we have enough staff to meet the demands of the soldiers here, but I could use more, and I'll hire more if I can," said Thomas. "I'll hire them until they tell me to stop."

He said he expects the increased staffing levels to last at least through next year.

For the first time, Thomas said, every soldier returning home will have an individual meeting with a behavioral health specialist and then go through a second such session 90 days to 120 days later.

The second one is generally the time when indications of stress surface, after the initial euphoria of the homecoming wears off and sleeplessness, nightmares, and other symptoms show up.

"We're seeing a lot of soldiers with stress related issues," he said. "They're not bipolar or schizophrenic. But they're deploying three and four times and the stress is tremendous. They're having relationship issues, financial issues, marital problems — all stress related."

According to Dr. Bret Logan, deputy commander for managed care at the base, extended war zone stints that have lasted as long as 38 months over the course of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have taken a severe toll.

More than 3,000 of the 15,000 troops returning home, Logan estimated, probably will experience headaches, sleep disorders, irritability, memory loss, relationship strains or other symptoms linked to stress disorder.

Medical staff at Fort Campbell say they also worry that there will be a new surge of suicides — an escalating problem in recent years, largely related to the stresses of war.

Jon Soltz, an Iraq war veteran and chairman of VoteVets.org, said more soldiers will have stress-related problems, and the military must be vigilant in diagnosing and treating post-traumatic stress disorder to head off more serious issues.

"The longer you are there (at war), the more PTSD you're going to see. You wonder when it's going to be your time," he said.

Each returning soldier is evaluated through a seven-day reintegration program. It includes medical checkups, tests, lectures on suicide prevention and relationships, and other sessions to help them transition back into life at the base and with their families.

During his visit to Campbell, Chiarelli took a spin on one of the base's simulators, which are used for soldiers having neurological or stress problems. The simulator can be used to test soldiers' reflexes or as a way to work someone back into everyday situations.

With occupational therapist Eileen Hayes watching over his shoulder, Chiarelli adeptly negotiated the city streets, sudden turns and other obstacles moving at him on the small screen.

The simulators said Logan, put patients in high stress scenarios to test their decision-making ability while under duress.

While soldiers have been routinely deploying for 15-month tours, most Marines serve about seven months and airmen deploy for about four months, although some may serve for tours of six months or longer.

Late this past summer, Pentagon leaders ordered a change, saying any soldier who deployed in August or after would serve 12-month tours. Army leaders say they want to reduce that to nine months, but doing so will be difficult considering the strains of fighting two wars at once.

Logan said that some 85 percent of those soldiers with stress disorder symptoms will recover with the help of some treatment or medication. But the other 15 percent will require more intensive help.

Michael Dixon Founder of InTouchRadio.net

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ITR-Rockie Ascendent: A Farewell to Our Favorite Stargazer-Pip Reynolds ITR USA for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Pip Reynolds InTouchRadio.net USA for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Rockie Ascendent:

A Farewell to

Our Favorite Stargazer

A farewell to our favorite stargazer

By JEREMY GARDINER AND KRISTEN STAVOLA

Published on November 05, 2008 at 12:53pm

Note to Rockie's readers: There will be a public memorial for the late astrologer on November 15, 3-6 p.m., at Boardner's, 1652 N. Cherokee Ave., Hollywood (323-462-9621).

Rochelle "Rockie" Gardiner

All and everything goes this Halloween, as liberating Uranus and daring Mars perfect their rewarding trine.

—The Rockie Horoscope, Oct. 30, 2008

Rochelle “Rockie” Gardiner, Sagittarius, departed planet Earth at 11:11 a.m. on Friday, October 31, Halloween.

She was 70.

Rockie was born in Brooklyn and raised in Lawrence, on Long Island.

She attended Syracuse University and received a degree from Barnard College.

She worked in publishing at Doubleday, where she was an editor of children’s books.

While at Doubleday she worked with literary luminaries such as Shirley Jackson and Arthur Miller.

Rockie married the love of her life, Peter Gardiner, in 1958.

Peter was a cutting-edge psychedelic film director and a pioneer of “pop films” (the predecessor to music videos).

In 1963, Rockie and Peter had a son, Jeremy Gardiner, and Rockie left the publishing world to make more time for her family.

While living in Laurel Canyon in 1966, Rockie found her calling when she was introduced to astrology by a friend.

Tragically, Rockie was widowed in October 1968. She never remarried.

Rockie’s column, THE ROCKIE HOROSCOPE, first appeared in the L.A. Weekly in 1983.

Although she found her astrological calling years before, it was in the pages of the Weekly that she found her voice.

Her column’s pop-culture references to celebrity, rock & roll, politics and professional sports resonated with readers and brought her a cult status.

Rockie’s column went on to become nationally syndicated and even graced the pages of Vogue magazine.

She was one of a kind — fiercely intelligent, insightful, sometimes caustic, always witty, introspective and often inspiring.

She will be greatly missed, not just by her close-knit circle of family and friends, but also by so many of you, who connected with her through her column.

Rockie, recognizing how important that connection has been for many of you over the last 25 years, requested that a public memorial be held for her readers. (Details will be posted soon at laweekly.com.)

Rockie Gardiner was predeceased by Harry Greene and Bess Miller (parents), John Miller (brother), Linda Miller (sister) and Peter Gardiner (husband).

She leaves behind a son, Jeremy “The Crab” Gardiner (Los Angeles), Uncle Leo Marshall (Brooklyn), and Dr. David and Nancy Milstein of Scarsdale (sister and brother-in-law), as well as numerous cousins, nieces and nephews, her partner-in-crime Vicky Taft (Los Angeles) ... and her black cat, Terra Kitty.

Michael Dixon Founder of InTouchRadio.net

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ITR-Rockie Gardner Of L.A. WEEKLY Horoscope Passes Away-PipRyenolds ITR USA for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Pip Reynolds InTouchRadio.net USA for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Pip's Message To Me:

"Our Family's friend Rockie Gardner

Of

L.A. WEEKLY Horoscope

Passed away at 11:11 a.m.

Oct.31.2008

(She Was The Best Astrologer Ever)

Daily Forecast

All of us at LA Weekly were saddened to hear the news that our beloved Rockie Gardiner passed away Friday at 11:11 a.m. on Halloween. See Rockie Ascendent: A Farewell to our Favorite Stargazer.

A public memorial is being planned. Watch here for details. Meanwhile, we will continue to publish the weekly forecasts that she sent before she fell ill, but no daily forecasts remain.

Weekly Forecast

Astrological forecast for October 31-November 6

If you know your ascendant, read it too.

GENERAL FORECAST: All and everything goes this Halloween, as liberating Uranus and daring Mars perfect their rewarding trine. On Saturday, All Saints’ Day faith-based Neptune comes out of retrograde, where it’s been since Memorial Day. Daylight Saving Time ends Sunday morning. Monday can be tough on a few fronts: Affable Venus undergoes a stress test, while macho Mars attacks Neptunian dreams and delusions. The Capricorn moon is void-of-course until 4 p.m. PST/7 p.m. EST Election Day, so vote late, after the Aquarius moon is in effect, to make sure that your vote counts, that there are consequences of your action. Tuesday is also the day old-guard Saturn in Virgo and progressive Uranus in Pisces perfect their first opposition since they faced off 40 years ago. 1968, what a year that was! Also on the 4th, Mercury shifts from the last degree of Libra, where it flipped on Election Day 2000 (remember that one?), to secretive Scorpio for two-plus weeks.

ARIES (March 20–April 19)

The last load of bull to sort out gets dumped on your doorstep when idealistic and/or duplicitous Neptune faces forward after sifting through retrograde repetitions since Memorial Day. On Election Eve, your perceptive Mars ruler cuts through the retouched images Neptune has been projecting, so what could change dramatically is your vote. There may be more dubious business filtering down around the Veterans Day full moon, but by then a crusading Ram will have other fish to fry. Possibly along a river far from home.

TAURUS (April 20–May 20)

Your appreciative Venus ruler may be showing you a good time as it travels through optimistic Sagittarius. However, the goddess can be a target for the tension generated by the opposition between “stay the course” Saturn and revolutionary Uranus. Were you aware that the conflict between these contrasting planetary energies last peaked during the late 1960s? Although their current face-off might not seem as significant, on your solar chart it is pitting group mores against individual creativity and pure love.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20)

It’s out of your hands. In case the Twins were having a hard time making up your mind, relax and, while Venus is in your Sagittarius marriage house, let your mate handle the issues that arise during the opposition between conservative Saturn and progressive Uranus. Seriously, harmonious Venus is often a better arbitrator; besides, your ability to behave like a rational human being may be colored by your Mercury ruler’s transit through suspicious Scorpio from Election Day to November 22. That’s when you’re especially receptive to “conspiracy” theories.

CANCER (June 21–July 22)

Your source of inspiration can come from far away, so don’t dismiss any forays into sci-fi lit or esoteric travel articles. They’re likely to influence your next assignment and the one after that. Health professionals and charity workers may devise an unusual way to get around a local restriction or another obstacle to delivering your services. While it might be a hassle, don’t count on getting sufficient help until amenable Venus arrives in your Capricorn house of partners during the Taurus full moon on the 12th.

LEO (July 23–August 22)

It may cost more than you figured, but denying affectionate Venus anything the goddess asks while she fills your Sagittarius house of romance with love and luck could be difficult, if not impossible. Not while she’s willing to deflect a good amount of the tension flowing between restrictive Saturn in your own money house and erratic Uranus in your house of shared resources. That battle will rage on and off for a year, so, despite your generous spirit, try to conserve when money is tight so you can treat when it’s not.

VIRGO (August 23–September 22)

If only you were riding the seesaw of love. The ups and downs you’ll be subjected to concern your self-image, i.e., how you feel about yourself vis-à-vis what’s going on with your partners. By now you should have a good idea about the benefits and drawbacks stabilizing Saturn has been offering Virgins. What you’re about to learn is how much control Saturn can exert over unpredictable Uranus in your Pisces marriage house. Will their polarity keep relationships on an even keel or will you vacillate between high highs and low lows?

LIBRA (September 23–October 22)

Read for Taurus and Gemini. Because Venus is your ruling planet, you need to know if there’s a chance you’ll become a whipping boy, i.e., if erratic Uranus in your work zone has it in for you. And if so, for how long. You should also be aware that Mars in your Scorpio money house is about to attack the vision idealistic Neptune has created during its long reign in your Aquarius house of love and stuff. Will that vision lose its funding when the Scorpio sun and Mercury set their sights on matters of Neptunian faith?

SCORPIO (October 23–November 21)

Where do your loyalties lie? Are you supporting the changes innovative Uranus in your Pisces house of romance, risk and recreation advocates? Are you that game? Or are you counting on the safety net tradition-bound Saturn and your network of acquaintances provides? Their planetary opposition could have you ricocheting from pillar to post for another year, so if you’re involved in a romantic attachment, be prepared to pay some serious dues. If not, assume that area of your life is liable to become a lot more interesting.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22–December 21)

Magnetic Venus in your sign could draw more attention to you personally than you need or want right now. Why in the world would you simultaneously challenge disruptive Uranus in your home base and restrictive Saturn in your career zone? And on Election Day, no less! Shouldn’t Venus be helping you make peace between powerful opposing forces, not provoke further dissension? However, after you realize this is only the beginning, that more planets transiting Sagittarius can exacerbate the situation, you’ll be better prepared.

CAPRICORN (December 22–January 20)

You’re aware that it’s been building, and before this crucial week is over, everyone will know that the generational opposition between your productive Saturn ruler and destructive Uranus is here. Also, that it’s not going away anytime soon, not until summer 2010. Thankfully, Saturn is in Virgo, a supportive earth sign that governs your ninth house of lifelong goals. Before Saturn moves on to Libra and energizes your career zone, take time this year to further pursue interests you’ve developed, to travel and study.

AQUARIUS (January 21–February 18)

Structure out of chaos? It’s possible. If you’re a typical Aquarius, with a wide range of interests and a wider range of friends, you might welcome the form strict Saturn is trying to impose on Uranus, your nonconformist ruling planet. Especially if their polarity can transform your financial picture. But that’ll take more time than what may transpire this week, as militant Mars in your career zone challenges wishy-washy, day-dreamy Neptune in your sign. The God of War is issuing an order: Do it now!

PISCES (February 19–March 19)

As you well know, exciting, exotic Uranus is in Pisces and stern, sensible Saturn is occupying your Virgo house of significant others. Who might those fogies be and why are they trying to squelch your fabulousness? The first polarity between these incongruous planetary forces in 40 years is upon us; however, few signs will be as affected as the Fish. You might want to read for Virgo, Capricorn and Aquarius for further clues as to what could be in store before this potent pair go their separate ways in 2010.

Obviously the next is on hold:

Curious about the future? Order a personalized Transit Forecast (30 to 40-plus pages) detailing the major themes and issues that will arise over the next 12 months. Send name, date, time and place of birth, with a check or money order for $40 plus $3.50 s&h, to ROCKIE GARDINER, 6701 Colbath Ave., Valley Glen, CA 91405.

www.rockiehoroscope.com

Michael Dixon Founder of InTouchRadio.net

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ITR-The Copycat Effect-Pip Reynolds ITR USA for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Pip Renold InTouchRadio.net USA for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

The Copycat Effect

The copycat effect is what happens when the media makes an event into a "hot death story." Then, via behavior contagion, more deaths, suicides, school shootings, assassinations, murders, and related violence occur in a predictive cycle, as per the book The Copycat Effect (NY: Simon and Schuster, 2004).

Friday, November 28, 2008

India's 911: Synchronicity and Coincidence in Mumbai

Astrology and a murdered astrologer. Synchronicity and a Synchronicity Foundation. One of the first people killed in the terrorist attacks at Mumbai was the chief of the Mumbai police's anti-terror squad.

Synchronicity is the coincidental occurrence of events that seem related but are not explained by conventional mechanisms of causality. As we look more closely at the attacks in Mumbai, India, how does one separate the human planning from the synchronicity that apparently underlies these events?

Where, who, why?



A gunman enters the Chatrapathi Sivaji Terminal railway station in Mumbai, India, Wednesday, November 26, 2008, opening AK-47 gunfire and throwing hand genades, killing at least ten people immediately. Teams of gunmen in coordinated attacks, storm luxury hotels, a popular restaurant, hospitals and a crowded train station across India's financial capital, killing people, taking Westerners hostage and leaving parts of the city under siege for three days. (Mumbai Mirror, Sebastian D'souza)

Before even an attempt at "why," first let's get straight to the "where" of the attacks. What sites have been hit? Of ten reported, these are the known targets:

1) A police station;

2) Metro Cinema (historic);

3) Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (railway station);

4) Cafe Leopold (a major tourist center in Mumbai's Colaba area);

5) Nariman House, site of the Chabad Lubavitch Centre (Jewish center);



6) Taj Mahal Palace and Tower hotel (above, a castle-like 1903 landmark, across from the Gateway of India monument);

7) Oberoi-Trident Hotel (five star hotel used by foreigners, such as former guests Rupert Murdoch and Bill Gates); and

8-9-10) Three other unknown (?) sites.

Where is the exact recording of what ten sites were attacked? (I have privately been noting to associates that I think probably eleven sites were actually attacked, not ten.)

The site, The Daily Behemoth took a look at the name game apparent with "Mumbai.":

Its present name of Mumbai- used, formally, since 1996, and informally for many centuries before that by speakers of Gujarati- is combined from the local goddess Mumba, and a word meaning 'mother', 'Aai'.

According to Wikipedia, Mumba was the patron of the original inhabitants of the seven islands, the salt collectors and fisherfolk; and is still deeply venerated in the city's seventeenth-century Mumba Devi Temple.

Most intriguingly, Mumba is depicted inside the temple as a black stone sculpture: evoking obvious comparisons not only to the Black Madonnas of Templar-infused Catholicism and Isis, but to the origins of Islam in the pagan worship of the Kaaba at Mecca (a word related to Cybele.) Devi is a Sanskrit word, synonymous with Shakti, the female aspect of the divine.

Other insights can be gained by reading about the "Trident" name at Through the Looking GlassEtemenanki. Indeed, the Etemenanki has posted an elaborate astrological precusor chart (below) linking the time and space to the words India and Indiana, and the temporal points on the calendar.



Who are the victims?

Gunmen who burst into the Taj "were targeting foreigners. They kept shouting: `Who has U.S. or U.K. passports?'" said Ashok Patel, a British citizen who fled from the hotel.

Authorities believed many foreigners were prisoners at the Taj Mahal hotel.

Early reports on Wednesday night indicated at least three top Indian police officers — including the chief of the anti-terror squad — were among those killed. Indeed, most media accounts mention Hemant Karkare, the chief of the Mumbai police's anti-terror squad as one of the first

Officials at Bombay Hospital, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a Japanese man had died there and nine Europeans were admitted, three of them in critical condition with gunshot wounds. All were brought in from the Taj Mahal hotel, the officials said.

Only a little news is slowly being released on the victims, with, of course, the Americans being noted by the American press.

Who are the known Americans killed in Mumbai?

Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg, 29, and his wife, Rivkah, 28, died in the attack on the ultra-Orthodox Chabad-Lubavitch movement's center in Mumbai, Rabbi Zalman Shmotkin said in New York. Their son, Moshe, was rescued by a brave staff member who had earlier been able to flee with the baby.

The group said three other victims in the building apparently had been visiting there. Shmotkin said the dead included Bentzion Chroman, an Israeli with dual U.S. citizenship; Rabbi Leibish Teitlebaum, an American from Brooklyn; and an Israeli woman whose name was not released. The Israeli Foreign Ministry said the body of a fourth victim, an unidentified woman, was also found inside the five-story building.

Some of the victims had been bound.

Two other American individuals have been identified as Alan Scherr, 58, and his daughter Naomi, 13, both there on a spiritual trip with a group called the Synchronicity Foundation. Alan Scherr was a Vedic astrologer.

According to the foundation's Web site, the community is led by Master Charles, a former leading disciple of Swami Paramahansa Muktananda. He is described on the Web site as "one of the most popular spiritual teachers from India to build a following [in] the West in the 1970s." He taught a form of yoga.

The Washington Post says this about the Scherrs:
and of the astrology of the events at people killed.

Twelve years ago, Alan Scherr committed his life to meditation and spirituality, moving his family to the Synchronicity spiritual community in Faber, Va., about 30 miles southwest of Charlottesville in the Blue Ridge mountains.

It was that spiritual journey that led the former art professor at the University of Maryland to be in Mumbai Wednesday evening, eating a late dinner with his 13-year-old daughter at the Oberoi Hotel, when armed gunmen attacked. Both Alan and Naomi Scherr were killed. Local media had reported that they were killed at the historic Leopold Cafe, but U.S. officials later said that the two died at the Oberoi.

The Scherrs were among 25 participants from the Synchronicity community who had traveled to a program in Mumbai. Four other members of the group were injured in the shooting, the Associated Press reported.

According to a statement put out by Synchronicity this morning, Scherr, 58, and his wife, Kia, had been part of the community since the 1990s. Kia Scherr and the couple's other children had not traveled to India on the spiritual mission, the AP reported.

"Alan committed most of his adult life to meditation, spirituality and conscious living," the statement from Synchronicity said. "He was a passionate Vedic astrologer and meditation teacher who inspired many people to begin a journey of self-awareness and meditation. He was committed to making a positive difference in the world and devoted himself to the community he lived in."

The Synchronicity statement described Naomi as "a bright and lively young woman who loved spending time with people and living life to the fullest. She was passionate, if not a little mischievous, and will be fondly remembered by many of us for colorful hair styles and radiant energy."

In an essay in the Web magazine Realization in 2000, Alan Scherr described his journey from college professor and follower of Eastern meditation to a member and full-time staff member of the Synchronicity community, led by Master Charles, described as a contemporary mystic and master of meditation.

After listening to Master Charles speak in 1994, Scherr wrote, he and his wife decided to join the community, which promotes high-tech meditation and a holistic lifestyle. They moved to Faber in 1996.

"For me, real freedom means living life in each moment, as it unfolds, without concepts or conditions." Scherr wrote. "It is a life very few choose because it requires an orientation and re-prioritization of life that is, in many ways, antithetical to our modern Western culture. And yet, it is always available whenever one is truly focused upon self-mastery. The miracle of this life continues to unfold for me on daily basis."

Bobbie Garvey, a Synchronicity spokesperson, told the Associated Press that other members of the mission narrowly escaped the armed attack.

Garvey identified those from the group who were injured in the shooting as Helen Connolly of Toronto, who was grazed by a bullet; Rudrani Devi and Linda Ragsdale, both of Nashville, who both underwent surgery for bullet wounds; and Michael Rudder of Montreal, who remains in intensive care after being shot three times. Other members of the mission narrowly escaped the attack.

The Baltimore Sun also noted:

"I would call them bright stars," said Bobbie Garvey, a spokeswoman for the Synchronicity Foundation meditation group, of the Scherrs. "Extraordinary, bright, very positive -- examples to the world."

The Scherrs had lived at the foundation all of Naomi's life, Garvey said. Alan Scherr's wife, Kia, and her two sons did not travel with them to India.

Sources: Associated Press, IDN India News, CNN, MSNBC, Synchronicity Foundation, Mumbai Mirror, Baltimore Sun, Washington Post, Yahoo News, Through The Looking Glass, and The Daily Behemoth.

Michael Dixon Founder of InTouchRadio.net

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ITR-States Get Extra $15 Billion COAG Deal-JanEngland ITR Australia for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Jan England InTouchRadio.net Australia for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

States Get Extra $15 Billion COAG Deal

Healthcare ... States get an extra $1.1 billion to train doctors and nurses under the new COAG funding plan / pic supplied.

• States agree to $15bn funding deal
• More money for healthcare, education
• Spending to create 133,000 jobs

STATES and territories have agreed to a funding program by the Commonwealth Government which gives them an extra $15 billion for health and education.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said the plan would create 133,000 new jobs and boost the economy, while still letting the government maintain a 'modest' budget surplus.

Training for doctors, nurses and healthcare professionals will receive an extra $1.1 billion in funding under the new Council of Australian Governments agreement.

Efforts to improve the public hospital emergency departments will get $750 million in funding.

In addition to extra health spending, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said the Commonwealth had agreed on a new $42.4 billion national education agreement.

"A core condition for this new partnership ... is in bringing about a new era of public transparency in the reporting of schools and their performance across the nation," said Mr Rudd.

There will also be a new national agreement on teach quality, with a $555 million partnership to train teachers and reward good ones. Another $1.1 billion will go to disadvantaged schools.

"This is a clear statement that this government intends to prosecute the education revolution based on a new era of transparency and schools reporting to their communities ... on their actual performance," Mr Rudd said.

"So that school principals become change agents for the future, particularly those schools that are in the most disadvantaged parts of Australia," he said.

However, the Australian Education Union said schools are not getting their fair share.

The announcement of $400 million annually for primary and secondary schools falls short of the $2.9 billion needed, said AEU Victorian president Mary Bluett said.

"We're disappointed with the amount of investment, particularly coming from a government that was elected on the platform of an education revolution.

"It falls well short of what we had hoped for.''

More money for primary and disadvantaged schools is welcome, but wasn't enough to pay for smaller class sizes or special programs for disadvantaged students, she said.

"We need about more than double what they're put aside if we're to tackle the educational outcomes for those students in disadvantaged areas," said Ms Bluett.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh welcomed the Commonwealth's decision to increase funding, and to give states an extra $870 million for school computers.

"It's an investment straight into the economy to keep the motor running,'' Ms Bligh said of the funding pact.

Mr Rudd said the Commonwealth would be able to fund the new deal and still maintain a "modest'' budget surplus.

The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) had this year streamlined the number of purpose payments from 96 to 5, said Mr Rudd.

``This is one of the largest reforms to the structure of commonwealth-state relations that we have had in the recent history of federation.''

"Which for the first time will be driven by a rigorous commitment to the measurement of the actual outcomes, outputs, results that we achieve through these agreements.

Victorian Premier John Brumby said he was pleased the additional health funding was tied to specific outcomes.

"In other words, more money in, more treatments going out ... more patients being treated.''

Mr Brumby said the Commonwealth had committed $400 million for social housing and homelessness, which will be matched by the states.

Michael Dixon Founder of InTouchRadio.net

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ITR-Indian Forces Kill Last Gunman in Mumbai-PipReynolds ITR USA for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Pip Reynolds InTouchRadio.net USA for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

For ITR UK GLOBAL

Indian Forces Kill Last Gunman in Mumbai

MUMBAI, India – A 60-hour terror rampage that killed 195 people across India's financial capital ended Saturday when commandos killed the last three gunmen inside a luxury hotel while it was engulfed in flames.

Authorities searched for any remaining captives hiding in their rooms and began to shift their focus to who was behind the attacks, which killed 18 foreigners including six Americans.

A previously unknown Muslim group with a name suggesting origins inside India claimed responsibility for the attack, but Indian officials said the sole surviving gunman was from Pakistan and pointed a finger of blame at their neighbor and rival.

Islamabad denied involvement and promised to help in the investigation. A team of FBI agents also was on its way to India to lend assistance.

Some 295 people also were wounded in the violence that started when at least a dozen heavily armed assailants attacked 10 sites across Mumbai on Wednesday night. At least 20 soldiers and police were among the dead.

Orange flames and black smoke engulfed the landmark 565-room Taj Mahal hotel after dawn Saturday as Indian forces ended the siege there in a hail of gunfire, just hours after elite commandos stormed a Jewish center and found nine hostages dead.

"There were three terrorists, we have killed them," said J.K. Dutt, director general of India's elite National Security Guard commando unit.

Later, adoring crowds surrounded six buses carrying weary, unshaven commandos, shaking their hands and giving them flowers. The commandos, dressed in black fatigues, said they had been ordered not to talk about the operation, but said they had not slept since the ordeal began. One sat sipping a bottle of water and holding a pink rose.

With the end of one of the most brazen terror attacks in India's history, attention turned from the military operation to questions of who was behind the attack and the heavy toll on human life.

The bodies of New York Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg and his wife, Rivkah, were found at the Jewish center. Their son, Moshe, who turned 2 on Saturday, was scooped up by an employee Thursday as she fled the building. Two Israelis and another American were also killed in the house, said Rabbi Zalman Schmotkin, a spokesman for the Chabad Lubavitch movement, which ran the center.

Among the foreigners killed were six Americans, according to the U.S. Embassy. The dead also included Germans, Canadians, Israelis and nationals from Britain, Italy, Japan, China, Thailand, Australia and Singapore.

By Saturday morning the death toll was at 195, the deadliest attack in India since 1993 serial bombings in Mumbai killed 257 people. But officials said the toll from the three days of carnage was likely to rise as more bodies were brought out of the hotels.

"There is a limit a city can take. This is a very, very different kind of fear. It will be some time before things get back to normal," said Ayesha Dar, a 33-year-old homemaker.

Indians began cremating their dead, many of them security force members killed fighting the gunmen. In the southern city of Bangalore, black clad commandos formed an honor guard for the flag-draped coffin of Maj. Sandeep Unnikrishnan, who was killed in the fighting at the Taj Mahal hotel.

"He gave up his own life to save the others," Dutt said from Mumbai.

Bhushan Gagrani, the Maharashtra state government spokesman, told The Associated Press that at least 11 gunmen had been killed and one captured alive.

On Saturday the Indian navy said it was investigating whether a trawler found drifting off the coast of Mumbai, with a bound corpse on board, was used in the attack.

Navy spokesman Capt. Manohar Nambiar said the trawler, named Kuber, had been found Thursday and was brought to Mumbai. Officials said they believe the boat had sailed from a port in the neighboring state of Gujarat.

Indian security officers believe many of the gunmen may have reached the city using a black and yellow rubber dinghy found near the site of the attacks.

A group called Deccan Mujahideen, which alludes to a region in southern India traditionally ruled by Muslim kings, claimed responsibility for the attack, but Indian officials pointed the finger at neighboring Pakistan.

Jaiprakash Jaiswal, India's home minister, said the captured gunman had been identified as a Pakistani.

"According to preliminary information, some elements in Pakistan are responsible for the Mumbai terror attacks," India's foreign minister, Pranab Mukherjee, told reporters.

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani insisted his country was not involved. His government was sending an intelligence official to assist in the probe.

In the U.S., President-elect Barack Obama said he was closely monitoring the situation. "These terrorists who targeted innocent civilians will not defeat India's great democracy, nor shake the will of a global coalition to defeat them," he said in a statement.

On Friday, commandos killed the last two gunmen inside the luxury Oberoi hotel, where 24 bodies had been found, authorities said.

But in the most dramatic of the counterstrikes Friday, masked Indian commandos rappelled from a helicopter to the rooftop of the Chabad Lubavitch Jewish center.

For nearly 12 hours, explosions and gunfire erupted from the five-story building as the commandos fought their way downward, while thousands of people gathered behind barricades in the streets to watch. At one point, Indian forces fired a rocket at the building.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak told Israel's Channel 1 TV that some of the victims found at the center had been bound.

The attackers were well-prepared, carrying large bags of almonds to keep up their energy during a long siege. One backpack found contained 400 rounds of ammunition.

India has been shaken repeatedly by terror attacks blamed on Muslim militants in recent years, but most were bombings striking crowded places: markets, street corners, parks. Mumbai — one of the most highly populated cities in the world with some 18 million people — was hit by a series of bombings in July 2006 that killed 187 people.

The latest attacks began Wednesday at about 9:20 p.m. with shooters spraying gunfire across the Chhatrapati Shivaji railroad station. For the next two hours, there was an attack roughly every 15 minutes — the Jewish center, a tourist restaurant, one hotel, then another, and two attacks on hospitals

Michael Dixon Founder of InTouchRadio.net

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ITR-Vodafone Prize £1million -We're Saved!BLAG!-MyResponse-MichaelDixon InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Michael Dixon - Founder InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Vodafone Prize £1million

We're Saved!

Nope It's A BLAG!

MyResponse

Hi Everyone

Well by now you will know that InTouchRadio.net is in trouble and we need to secure another server by the 17th December or pay GBP £6000 - we are unfunded and we don't have money like that - we need your kind Donations right now and if you know anyone who would like to help as a 'Backer' or 'Sponsor' then please put them our way - we also need Advertisers too - nothing is for free as we all know - that includes running a global radio station like InTouchRadio.net.

As Friends of InTouchRadio - shall I say as Family Members of the InTouchRadio.net family you know the ethos of ITR as I shall call it.

We are here to support - promote and help bring our Human World Family together in Peace, Love and Harmony - to break the boundaries which divide us and to let those in distant places know they have family all around the world.

It's a mammoth job - I said that right back then when I started this - it can't run with just one or a few people - there are over 7 billion people in our family and we are just a splash in the ocean - in fact - you will have heard me say I caste a pebble in the air at the beginning - it fell into the sea of consciousness and now that tiny ripple is a wave and it's challenging those that would rather have us separate and in fear - why should be fear? We are One - when we cut we bleed.

With World events now bringing more and more fear to the forefront we need now more than ever this tiny pebble-caster called InTouchRadio.net (ITR) to bring information from every sector and compass point to a central networking arena so all can share.

I set this up with the idea of bringing World Music from the most remotest areas to a place where it can be shared so we begin to understand the multifarous and complex beings we are within our own unique communities - by sharing we learn and from learning we understand and from understanding we grow into that singularity called One.

I had hoped by now that we would have had many small donations - maybe a few larger ones but only what people could afford. We have a few, of which I am truly grateful for, but we need more - if we can achieve enough to supply enough to feed this energy called ITR we will have done this from zero point - from beginning to now = 22 months - my income to date = zero. My outgoing to achieve this = my life savings and by selling some of my studio - I don't mind this - it was my idea - my dream and if it has helped one person then it was worthwhile.

Now there is no other way but to ask for your help - if you wish ITR to survive - remember you call came on board in the station - then please donate whatever you can and with grace we will be able to do so much more. Remember we don't have to be big to be beautiful - as long as we make people aware then we are succeeding and sometimes the smallest pin prick is the sharpest and most noticed.

You will have been having emails I'm sure from our Pip Reynolds who is based in California and runs the West Coast Team - she has put in endless hours - the other day a full 24 in one session - you will have heard me say that I've been up to 20 a day doing my best to keep ITR alive and pushing the boundaries - I apologise if I should have breached any divisions without asking - please accept my apology - but with such little time left you may now understand the reason.

Don't let all these thousands of work hours go to nothing - if this does go you can't look back and say I wish I had... - it will then be too late.

We have, with Virigilio Fino of www.UseYourEars.com been able to download all our programs which, as you know, took many hours to prepare and upload (each program takes up to two days to make and then finalize into a movie - we've been hosted to date on a .TV server hence you've been able to hear and see movies and pictures.

Well the reason for this Blog is this:

Today I received among the 2,300 plus emails a day a letter apparently from Vodafone UK. I have approached Vodafone for sponsorship quite some time ago, a very difficult process I can tell you (this is among many other companies like Vodafone as well).

This email told us we had been selected along with 5 others to receive their annual GBP £1 million - of course this is a CON with capital C - I'm not that stupid but saying that I'm not sure I would know a genuine acceptance now if it did come... we are all jaded by the outcome of so many scams.

Well following is the email and my letter of response - of course I don't live near Newbury the Head Office of Vodafone but I made out I did.

You see these people do catch others out and they feed like vampires off people's fear, hunger - poverty and good will - don't allow yourself to get caught out - read, always, between the lines.

Finally before the email and my repsonse Please do help ITR if you possibly can - we are family I hope you wish us to continue to be so.

Vodafone Group Plc

to undisclosed-re.
Vodafone Group Plc
Vodafone House
The Connection
Newbury
Berkshire
RG14 2FN
England
Attn: Beneficiary,

Congratulations Vodafone Group Plc has chosen you by the board of
trustees as one of the final recipients of a cashGrant/Donation for your
own personal, educational, and business development.

To celebratethe 30th anniversary program,We are giving out a yearly
donation of 1,000,000.00(One Million Pounds Sterlings) to 5 lucky
recipients,donations/aid from the Vodafone Group Plc,ECOWAS,EU,UNICEF and the UNO in accordance
with the enabling act of Parliament,which is part of our promotion.this is also to inform you
thatyour winnings falls in the Africa Category (Nigeria) you will be required to pay just $150 as
the delivery charges to send all the neccessary documents and your winnings check to your address,
kindly fill the claims requirement form and send it to the executive secretary so as to enable him
send you details on how you are to send the payment.

To file for your claim you are to fill out below information and send
it to Sir. Mclean Robert The Executive Secretary Via his email contact
address:(claimsoffice_007@yahoo.co.uk)
you can also call to confirm the genuity.

Claims Requirements:
1. Full Name:.........................

.....
2. Address; ............................
3. Nationality:..................................
4. Age:.......... Date of Birth:.................
5. Occupation:....................................
6. Phone:................Fax:.....................
7. State of Origin:..........Country:.............

The Executive Secretary:

Sir. Mclean Robert

Email :claimsoffice_007@yahoo.co.uk
Tell:+234 807 898 6203

My Response:

Dear Vodafone - Sir. Mclean Robert

Thank you couldn't have come at a better time. I live near to Head Office, Newbury and will take this email in and collect my money there and fill in the form below in the office.

What a surprise.

Sometimes you know a Corporate can do good things and Christmas will be that much better as we had just lost everything and at the point of losing our home, we let the car go back to the finance company yesterday and we've been praying for a little good luck - you're a life-saver.

We'll celebrate this weekend and use the last of our credit cards to have a meal and take all our friends out - we like to share when we come into good fortune.

I'll always stay with Vodafone now - we were going to have to let that go too! Happy Christmas Vodafone. I kept telling people I'm sure those up there will look down and help - we've always been there for others, never wanted anything but to help where we can - wouldn't use, abuse or take from another - see everyone - we are looked after.

Mum says to say hello - she broke both arms and a rib last year and we had to drive hundreds of miles a week to be there - we'll be able to buy her the special chair she needs and the stairlift as she's nearly 80 - she was just crying on the phone when I told her.

I'm going to get in touch with the national newspapers and the local radio to tell them how we've been saved from Vodafone just 5 minutes away. Thank you, thank you - thank you from the bottom of our hearts - if you were here we'd take you out too.

M.D.

Newbury, Berks

Michael Dixon Founder of InTouchRadio.net

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ITR-Floodwaters peak in storm battered Tamworth-JanEngland ITR Australia for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Jan England InTouchRadio.net Australia for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Floodwaters Peak

in Storm Battered Tamworth

The State Emergency Service is continuing to respond to calls for help after heavy rain caused flooding at Tamworth in north-western New South Wales overnight.

The city has been cut in two by the Peel River which has been swollen by run-off from the flooded Cockburn River and Goonoo Goonoo Creek, after major storms hit the area last night.

Namoi SES controller Andrew Galvin says they have received 170 calls for help, but the flood waters appear to have peaked.

"We have flood holding at six metres in Tamworth," he said.

"That is obviously the level that closes Bridge Street access between east and west Tamworth.

"We are expecting that the river will probably hold steady at the existing flood height of six metres."

Business owners in the low lying industrial area of Taminda are hoping they may have escaped most of the flooding because of the city's partially completed levee bank

But Mr Galvin says there are fears it might not be able to hold the water back.

"The levee is incomplete. It runs three quarters of the length of Taminda," he said.

"With a flood at the height we've got, there'd normally be water right through Taminda but that's not the case.

"I was unsure what the flood behaviour would be at this particular height but it looks like a good outcome for most of the businesses in Taminda."

'Dual-edged sword'

New South Wales Premier Nathan Rees says he is still being briefed on the situation.

"As far as I'm aware everything's under control in Tamworth," he said.

"But 150 millimetres of rain over the last 24 hours in an area that's been drought-stricken for some time - it's the dual-edged sword that rural Australia is so used to."

While the rain has broken the drought, valuable crops have been destroyed, including one of the best winter grain crops in the region for years.

At the same time however, the flooding is putting a large volume of water into the Namoi River that will eventually find its way into the Murray-Darling Basin.

Emergency services say they had several scares overnight after more than eight people were rescued after being stranded in floodwaters.

Dale Kimball of the Tamworth Regional Council says some motorists are continuing to put their lives at risk.

"We've actually had motorists get out and move road closed signs, so they could drive through dangerous areas," he said.

Now the people of Gunnedah downstream from Tamworth are bracing for the floodwaters to come their way in the next 24 hours.

Michael Dixon Founder of InTouchRadio.net

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ITR-Spain To Fly to Mumbai to Repatriate Spanish-Heather Carter ITR Spain for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Heather Carter - InTouchRadio.net Spain - Mediterranean - Portugal - North Africa - Canaries

PLANE TO BE SENT TO INDIA
TO FLY SPANISH CITIZENS
OUT OF MUMBAI

MADRID: European nations plan to send a plane to India to fly their citizens out of Mumbai, where coordinated attacks by Islamic militants left at least 100 dead, Spain's consul in the city said Thursday.

"I know that there are two initiatives: one from the Spanish government to send a plane, and an initiative on the European level to send a larger plane to allow all Europeans to travel," Cesar Alba said on Spanish National Radio.

Alba said all Spanish nationals in Mumbai had been located, with about 20 having taken refuge in the Spanish consulate.

Spanish media reported that two Spaniards were hurt in the attacks.

The head of the Madrid regional government, Esperanza Aguirre, escaped unhurt from a shootout at her hotel in Mumbai, a government spokesman said. She was to arrive back in Madrid on Thursday morning.

Officials said at least 100 people were killed and hundreds more wounded in the gun and grenade attacks across India's financial capital that began late on Wednesday.

Army commandos laid siege Thursday to two luxury hotels where gunmen held foreign guests hostage.

INDIA TIMES

Michael Dixon Founder of InTouchRadio.net

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ITR-World Economy Trapped In Vicious Cycle-JanEngland ITR Australia for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Jan England InTouchRadio.net Australia for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Rudd Says

"World Economy Trapped In ~Vicious Cycle~"

Urgent warning: PM Kevin Rudd at the APEC conference in Peru (AFP)

• The world faces a "vicious cycle" of falling economic growth unless urgent measures are taken by global leaders, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told Asia-Pacific leaders this morning.

"As confidence across the world falls, it begins a vicious cycle that leads to further caution on the part of households, leading to further falls in consumer spending, leading to further falls in business investment, leading to lower growth," he said at a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Peru.

"As private demand falls, governments must step in to take up the slack. This will require further monetary action and it will require fiscal action."

Chinese President Hu Jintao warned the outlook for the world economy was not looking good, but said continued strong growth in China could help serve as a global buffer.

"The situation is very grim," Mr Hu told world business leaders gathered in the Peruvian capital Lima ahead of the summit.

"The sound and steady growth of the [Asia-Pacific] economy is threatened by the grim world economic situation."

Mr Hu stressed China's main contribution to world efforts to address the global financial crisis was to maintain steady economic growth at home.

"The steady and relatively fast economic development in China is in itself a major contribution to upholding international financial stability and promoting world economic development," he said.

- Reuters/AFP

Michael Dixon Founder of InTouchRadio.net

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ITR-Megan Jones wins SASI Female Sportsperson of the Year-Angela Spray InTouchRadio.net Australia for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Angela Spray InTouchRadio.net Australia ALL THINGS EQUESTRIAN for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Megan Jones wins SASI Female Sportsperson of the Year

Megan Jones

EFA National, Friday, 25 November 2008

Australian Olympic Eventing Team Silver Medallist Megan Jones topped off a wonderful year by winning the prestigious award.

"It was so good to be recognised as the athlete when often the general consensus is that the horse is the only athlete," said Megan who has been a semi-finalist once before.

Minister Wright said Megan, with her silver medal in the teams event and a fourth-placing in the individual ranking at Beijing, had developed her horse Irish Jester over 15 years, and now has another horse waiting in the wings for London 2012.

Her dedication to her sport and success on the world stage had led to her taking out the prestigious Female Athlete of the Year Award.

Minister Wright said the 2008 SASI Awards showcased the outstanding achievements of SASI athletes, coaches and programs over the past year.

Congratulations Megan from All Things Equestrian!!!

And from the InTouchRadio.net Global Team.

The New Lucinda Green Range clothing. Nov 2008

Lucinda Green




Lucinda at Chatsworth UK



Lucinda Green (UK)

Michael Dixon Founder of InTouchRadio.net

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ITR - Researchers Fear Widespread Reef Coral Bleaching-JanEngland ITR Australia for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Jan England InTouchRadio.net Australia for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Researchers Fear Widespread

Reef Coral Bleaching

Marine researchers fear the Great Barrier Reef will suffer more coral bleaching than normal over the next 12 months because of rising sea temperatures.

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority is using data from the weather bureau to formulate its yearly forecast, which indicates there is a high risk the bleaching will be widespread.

The authority's Dr Paul Marshall says global warming is having a significant impact on the ocean.

"So particular species of coral reef fish that depend on coral either for food or for shelter, but those very very hot summers that affect the corals also affect many other sorts of plants and animals as well," he said.

"Seagrasses suffer a great deal from hot temperatures, sea birds and turtles can also suffer, particularly when they're nesting."

Michael Dixon Founder of InTouchRadio.net

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ITR - LASTEST DIRECT FROM OUR KASHISH IN MUMBAI-MichaelDixon ITR UK GLOBAL

Michael Dixon- Founder InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Latest Email from our girl out their in India Kashish Berry. This is as up-to-date as emails and time difference takes.

"We all need to send our thoughts to India at this particular time - it is fraught with possible outcomes - we need to put our thoughts and minds that the outcome will be for the best not just falling into the hands of those who would destroy our world.

The global situation is changing rapidly - power is shifting - remember the power in politics you see and witness is just the puppets obeying the power of string-pulling from areas you will never see or know - read between the lines and keep an open mind.

Send thoughts to all those other flash points around the world and to those who are in need - a need more than our current situation - theirs will continue - ours will always come back in one form or another - Human Family is our Family - Yours and Mine - let's now unite as One which is the ethos of InTouchRadio.net - Your Net Radio Station - as Friends we can unite and spread the word - Each and Every One of You are Responsible to Spread the Word about InTouchRadio so we can be a part of a better world." Michael Dixon - Founder www.InTouchRadio.net

Hi Michael,

Good to hear from you again.

One is compelled to wonder what the world is coming to with the sort of financial break down, unemployment and now even worse terrorism that's hit so close home.

I guess our challenge is to be optimistic and hopeful even through it all.

The blessing is that there are still wonderful people in this world and one has to believe it to see it.

Have just been following Tele and there's still some hostages at the trident hotel but there hasn't been another blast in the last couple of hours. Officials are unable to confirm the exact situation, but I think the nightmare will soon be over.

The thing about Mumbai is that we're very resilient people who have learned to survive all odds and I am sure the city will get to normal soon enough, but of course nothing can make up for the huge loss of lives over the last 30 hours of so.

I think a deeper and more compassionate approach to life is needed and your radio could well be a stream to relay the message.

I know you've put in several months in hours towards it and al though the monies could come in slower, the greater sense of reward comes from knowing that you are building a channel that will bring more hope and happiness during such times of despair.

I am sure your book will prove to be a good thing. You do write extremely well and it also looks like something you will enjoy.

I'll be in touch with you as always; will keep you posted on how the city is limping back to normalcy

Look after yourself.

Love

Kashish

Kashish Berry
Mumbai, India

Michael Dixon Founder of InTouchRadio.net

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ITR-Second Australian Confirmed Dead As Commandos Storm Luxury Hotels In Mumbai-JanEngland ITR Australia for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Jan England InTouchRadio.net Australia for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Second Australian Confirmed Dead
As Commandos Storm
Luxury Hotels In Mumbai

Paola Totaro
November 28, 2008

Commandos take up positions at the Taj hotel.
Photo: Getty Images

A second Sydneysider, Doug Markell from Darling Point, has been confirmed dead in the Mumbai terrorist attacks.

Mr Markell, a 71-year-old former businessman and Woollahra councillor, was holidaying in the city with his wife. She is thought to be staying at the Australian embassy.

Mr Markell's sons are travelling to Mumbai to be with their mother Alison, a family spokeswoman said.

The other Australian confirmed dead was North Turramurra businessman and father Brett Taylor, 49.

He was a member of a NSW trade delegation and was staying at the Oberoi. He was dead on arrival at St George Hospital in Mumbai on Wednesday night.

Up to 26 Australians may be holed up in the Taj and Oberoi hotels in Mumbai and cannot yet be accounted for, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Stephen Smith, has confirmed.

Mr Smith's comments came as Indian commandos fought room-to-room battles to save people trapped inside the luxury hotels after coordinated attacks by gunmen across India's financial capital yesterday.

Are you in Mumbai? Do you know more? Message 0424 SMS SMH (+61 424 767 764) or email us with information or images.

Police said 125 people were killed and 315 wounded when gunmen - at least some of whom arrived by sea - fanned out across the city to attack sites popular with tourists and businessmen.

With the drama still unfolding, the final death toll could be higher.

Mr Smith said he had spoken to the Australian High Commissioner to India, Mr John McCarthy, who coincidentally had been in Mumbai during the attacks.

He said Mr McCarthy had now visited all hospitals "under extreme circumstances" and had ascertained that there are no Australians being treated in city hospitals.

Mr Smith said officials still did not know exactly how many Australians had been caught up in the terrorist attack.

However, a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) spokesman said this morning that more than 70 Australians were in the area directly affected by the attacks.

Mr Smith said that Minister Mukherjee had signalled that Indian authorities, through their police and military forces, were "proposing to take strong action."

Michael Dixon Founder of InTouchRadio.net

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ITR-Congo: Stop the Bloodshed-Michael Dixon for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Michael Dixon InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Congo: Stop the Bloodshed

Dear friends,

The brutal war in Congo is escalating, as a terrified Congolese people plead for Europe to send peacekeepers to protect them.(1) Today, two top experts warned that Congo looks frighteningly like Rwanda before the 1994 genocide and that only Europe can deploy a strong and neutral force fast enough to stop the bloodshed.(2) European leaders are wavering as their council meeting approaches - we have just one week to persuade them to act.

We know how to do it -- last week, Avaaz ran a hard-hitting advertisement in The Times of London, pressing UK leaders to support a European force or risk responsibility for genocide -- their Africa minister called us immediately, and their position has shifted -- the UK has moved toward supporting a European force!

Now we need to take this effective ad campaign Europe-wide -- placing ads in influential newspapers in key deciding countries. The Times ad was paid for by 300 small donations from Avaaz members. If just 3000 of us donate in the next 48 hours we can run ads across Europe before it's too late. A full page ad can cost just 6,000€ ($8,000) in a major newspaper. See the Times ad and watch a tense video demand for action we received today from a displaced woman caught in the conflict:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/congo_europe_must_act/

There are only days left to influence decision makers in Europe. Next week the agenda and positions will be determined for the European Union's Council of Ministers meeting on the 8th and 9th of December. If they fail to act now, the people of the Congo will have to wait months before the EU considers the issue again.

Our ad last week and a campaign by over 135,000 Avaaz members helped shift the British government, but we need another EU state to step up and lead the troop proposal. France will support it, but for historical reasons should not send troops.(3) We are being told that Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain are the key countries that tip the balance. We will start by placing ads in newspapers in those countries and in the European Voice in Brussels - the most widely read newspaper by European politicians - just as EU Ambassadors decide their positions on this issue.

The UN says it will send more peacekeepers to the Congo, but the Congolese people and experts agree that UN forces have completely failed to protect civilians and require European reinforcement. This week, 44 Congolese organizations signed a letter to European leaders asking them to send peacekeepers. Their letter pleads: "We have been abandoned...We urge you to transform your kind speeches and messages into action... with each day that passes, more and more people die." Follow the link to help these desperate voices reach Europe's leaders:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/congo_europe_must_act/

The Congo has languished for too long, with unspeakable suffering. It now has a brief window of the world’s attention – let’s seize that window to bring peacekeepers who can help achieve lasting peace.

With hope,
Ricken, Alice, Iain, Veronique, Paul, Graziela, Luis, Milena, Ben, Brett, Paula and the whole Avaaz team

PS: For a report on Avaaz's campaigning so far, see:
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/report_back_2

PSS: Here are the sources for this alert:

[1] http://www.avaaz.org/blog/en/w/pascal/2008/11/call_for_help_from_congo.php
[2] http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2008/s2428031.htm
[3] http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=44605


ABOUT AVAAZ Avaaz.org is an independent, not-for-profit global campaigning organization that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people inform global decision-making. (Avaaz means "voice" in many languages.) Avaaz receives no money from governments or corporations, and is staffed by a global team based in Ottawa, London, Rio de Janeiro, New York, Paris, Sydney and Geneva. Call us at: +1 888 922 8229. Click here to learn more about our largest campaigns. Don't forget to check out our Facebook and Myspace and Bebo pages!
You are getting this message because you signed "Stand with Tibet - Support the Dalai Lama" on 2008-03-19 using the email address michael@touchwoodvibes.com. To ensure that Avaaz messages reach your inbox, please add avaaz@avaaz.org to your address book. To change your email address, language settings, or other personal information, https://secure.avaaz.org/act/index.php?r=profile&user=a43a79b673a48840b043bf373f31c407&lang=en, or simply go here to unsubscribe.

To contact Avaaz, please do not reply to this email. Instead, write to info@avaaz.org. You can also call us or send postal mail to our New York office: 857 Broadway, 3rd floor, New York, NY 10003 U.S.A. p: 1-888-YA-AVAAZ (1-888-922-8229) If you have technical problems, please go to http://www.avaaz.org

Michael Dixon Founder of InTouchRadio.net

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ITR-For ITR ~HAPPY THANKSGIVING!~ Pip & Ilya Have The Flu ITR USA for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Pip Reynold InTouchRadio.net USA for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

For ITR

~HAPPY THANKSGIVING!~

*(Ilya and I have the flu)

But We Feel The Spirit

By COLLEEN LONG, Associated Press Writer Colleen Long, Associated Press Writer

AP – Miley Cyrus waits aboard the 'Bolt' float before the start of the 82nd annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day …

NEW YORK – Val Bonner planned for a decade to attend the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on her 50th birthday, and this year she got her wish Thursday, joining throngs of holiday revelers in Manhattan cheering the giant balloons and thousands of marchers.

"It's just fabulous — I cried when I saw it," said Bonner, of Steilacoom, Wash. "This is my gift to myself. I've been saving for years for it. It's a dream come true."

Bonner, her husband Frank, and son Jack stood with shrieking, delighted children throwing confetti as the 82nd annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade wound its way through Manhattan streets under sunny skies.

Quincy Kersbergen of Wyckoff, N.J., found a prime viewing spot — perched on a police barricade near the beginning of the parade — and proclaimed herself a big fan of a giant dog balloon.

"This is just fantastic!" the 11-year-old Kersbergen said. "So amazing to be here in person! I'm just so excited about today!"

New to the revelry this year were Buzz Lightyear, the square-jawed, action-figure astronaut from the 1995 film "Toy Story;" Horton, the compassionate elephant of Dr. Seuss books; and a five-story Smurf, a blue, gnome-like creature popularized by a TV show that began in 1981. Old favorites like Kermit and the Energizer Bunny also were back.

Organizers said more than a million spectators viewed the 82nd annual parade in person, with another 50 million watching on television. The 2.5-mile route winds from Central Park West and West 77th Street to Herald Square, in front of Macy's flagship store.

Crews on Wednesday inflated the 13 giant balloons and 31 smaller ones. Each giant balloon requires more than 5,000 cubic feet of helium, much of which supplier Linde North America intended to recover and recycle, said Nick Haines, the company's helium director for the Americas. Linde tested the process of sucking the gas out of the balloons, compressing it and later purifying it for resale last year.

Among the smaller balloons was a newcomer that pays tribute to graffiti artist Keith Haring, who died in 1990. The parade also featured 28 floats, 10 marching bands and performances by Miley Cyrus, Trace Adkins, James Taylor and the Radio City Rockettes.

"She's just the coolest!" 6-year-old Isabella Muccio said of Cyrus.

The parade, which began in 1924 and was canceled for two years during World War II, also provided a coveted yearly spotlight for Broadway productions. This year, cast members of "Hair," "In the Heights," "The Little Mermaid," "South Pacific" and "Irving Berlin's White Christmas" were featured.

"I'm so excited! ... The crowds, just seeing it in person!" said parade-goer Phyllis Grodnicki of Plainsboro, N.J.

The atmosphere along the route was upbeat and jovial despite the nation's economic downturn. "It's something you can do with your kids for free," said Martha Muccio of Manalapan, N.J. "And it makes them happy, takes our minds off everything."

In Detroit, thousands braved near-freezing temperatures in hats, mittens and scarves to stake prime spots to view the city's parade, which has been held for more than 80 years.

Harry Vanuden, a 45-year-old Chrysler LLC worker, said he was grateful to still have his job this Thanksgiving. He's among 200 remaining employees at Chrysler's Mack engine plant in Detroit. Two years ago, Vanuden said they numbered 1,500.

"I've been a toolmaker for 26 years," said Vanuden, who lives in the Detroit suburb of Warren. "You hope for the best. I'm just thankful I'm still there."

His 13-year-old daughter Kelsey was excited at the prospect of seeing the Warren Cousino High School marching band, which she hopes to join when she starts at the school next fall.

Kelly Smith, 44, and her husband Tom, 46, brought their 4-year-old daughter Annalise to her first Thanksgiving Day parade.

"We're just happy with what we have, and we're hopeful the economy will rebound," Smith said.

For many Americans, the day promised football games and family dinners with too much food on the table.

The seven Endeavour astronauts and three space station crew members also planned a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, but unlike families on Earth, they were poised to float — not sit down — for their feast at the joined space shuttle-international space station complex.

On the menu were smoked turkey that's ready to be heated and freeze-dried green beans and cornbread dressing in need of water injections before they're served.

Some 220 miles below, President George W. Bush was spending Thanksgiving at his Camp David retreat, thankful for his almost-expired "privilege of serving as the president." President-elect Barack Obama was staying in Chicago to "have a whole bunch of people over to the house" and squeeze in some Christmas shopping.

Michael Dixon Founder of InTouchRadio.net

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ITR-Arctic Blasts Batter Mallorca As Snow Falls In Mountains And Temperatures Plunge-Heather Carter ITR Spain for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Heather Carter InTouchRadio.net Mallorca - Spain - Mediterranean for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Arctic Blasts Batter Mallorca
As Snow Falls In Mountains
And Temperatures Plunge

HUMPHREY CARTER
PALMA

WINTER hit the Balearics with a bang yesterday as snow fell and north-easterly Arctic blasts sent temperatures plunging.
Two roads were closed by Guardia Civil traffic officers because of snow in Mallorca’s Sierra Tramuntana, which began falling during the middle of the day.
Vehicles were blocked from using roads linking Caimari and Lluc and Andratx and Pollensa because of the covering of snow as low as 800 metres above sea level.
Hailstorms and heavy rain also affected the area around Sa Pobla, with five litres of rain per square metre falling in a 10-minute spell. Across the region, approximately 20 litres of rain per square metre fell in one hour accompanied by biting cold winds.

Balearic Meteorological Office director Agustin Jansa said the storms were localised and ended quickly. He said some of the bad weather was accompanied by thunder and lightning and temperatures plunged from 18 degrees centigrade to between 12 and 13 degrees as the bad weather affected the region. Night-time temperatures managed to reach just seven or eight degrees.

(BTW I know the temperatures don't seem too drastic - but to us out here who are aclimatized to much warmer weather I's positively Arctic!)

Michael Dixon Founder of InTouchRadio.net

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ITR-In Memory of Barbara Simmonds - Windsor, Berks UK Who Passed Today.

Michael Dixon Founder - InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Barbara Simmonds died today at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Aylesbury, Bucks UK.

Barbara fell and broke her neck earlier this year.

Barbara was a friend of my mother's for over 50 years and I knew her from childhood. She was always supportive and was the great mother to her family and grandchildren and great grand children.

She helped my mother through the death of my father and was supportive over all the years especially recently when my mother fell and broke both arms and a rib last year.

Barbara suffered terrible loss in her own family in recent years including several brothers all unexpectedly and sisters. Her own daughter Jeanette lost her husband in his mid 20's and brought up two children with Barbara being the loving Grandmum.

To add to all this Barbs daughter Jeanette went down with cancer six years ago and fought with great courage including going and seeing her own mother so many miles from their home daily and having to spend time in hospital herself having blood transfusions - finally in August / September Jeanette died.

Barbara Simmonds was a wonderful friend to my mother and to me and she was a psychic with strong seeing abilities often seeing my father in my mother's house. She was a great comfort to many including myself when I went through my own family problems and was always there with an encouraging word.

She leaves a husband John and two grandchildren Christopher and Paul and two great grandchildren Jessica and Rebecca.

Please send out prayers to Barbara's family and that Barbara makes her way home safely and with Love.

Michael Dixon

Michael Dixon Founder of InTouchRadio.net

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ITR-Fatal San Mateo Home Invasion-Pip Reynolds ITR USA for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Pip Reynolds InTouchRadio.net USA for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Investigators Work To Unravel Mystery

Of Fatal San Mateo Home Invasion

Loan Kim Nguyen was a 24-year-old mother of two, a former beauty contestant from the East Bay with a banker husband and ambitions of her own.

Raymond Gee, a 22-year-old mentally unstable man, investigators said, was from a hard part of east Oakland.

Investigators Wednesday revealed for the first time that they believe that obsession was a potential motive behind the brazen, bizarre crime that left the mother slain and the man dead by his own hand as SWAT members were closing in on him.

"We have confirmed that this was not a random attack, but rather an incident of stalking," San Mateo Chief Susan Manheimer said at a Wednesday afternoon press conference.

One of Nguyen's neighbors saw Gee near the home days before the shooting. Police said Gee — who his a history of weapons possession and was arrested for possession of a loaded weapon — had been using the Internet to pursue Nguyen for several weeks, but they refused to elaborate.

The stalking revelation came a day after Gee entered Nguyen's home. Investigators now believe he may have snuck through a partially open garage door of the San Mateo home as Nguyen's husband left for work. Nguyen managed to text an alert to her husband and hand her two young children to arriving police officers just before being felled by what seems to be Gee's fatal gunshots.

By the time police smashed their way inside, Gee, too, was dead from a single gunshot to the head.

Steve

Wagstaffe, the county's chief deputy district attorney, said that he remained in awe over Nguyen's selfless bravery and how police officers braved gunfire to rescue her 1-year-old girl and 3 year-old boy.

"There is no question in our mind that the children could have been victims if she hadn't handed them over to the officers,'' Wagstaffe said. "And the officers risked their lives."

Nguyen's house on Hobart Avenue, a quiet residential neighborhood off El Camino Real, was quiet Wednesday.

The front door, which had been smashed in, was boarded up and the shattered window through which Nguyen lowered her crying children was protected from the rain by a garbage bag. On the steps were a half dozen bouquets of flowers, a candle and a typewritten letter from a neighbor expressing condolences. "She gave her life to save them,'' the letter said. "She died a hero."

Investigators, including those with the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office, used a ballistics expert to determine whether it was the suspect or one of the many officers at the scene who shot Nguyen. Preliminary results seem to show that she was shot by the assailant and he shot himself, according to police.

Friends described Nguyen as a kind-hearted beauty pageant regular from Concord who was well-known in the local Vietnamese community.

She was set to graduate with a bachelor's degree in communications from University of the Pacific on Dec. 19.

Nguyen and husband Dennis Quan married about four years ago and moved to San Mateo, so they could be closer to his job as a loan officer at a Wachovia Bank branch in San Jose, friends said. But financial difficulties forced Nguyen to work part time for a company that manages night clubs, said Janey Luu of San Jose, a close friend.

That work sometimes kept her out until 4 or 5 a.m. and was a cause of stress, Luu said.

"She would complain that it was tiring because she would rather be at home with the kids, but with the economy bad, they needed more than one income," Luu said. "Maybe somebody from the club was stalking her, but if they're in love with her, why would they try to beat and shoot her?"

Tuesday's violent outburst began just before 9:39 a.m. when a man called San Mateo police and told them that his wife had sent him a text message, saying that she was being robbed at gunpoint inside their home, police said.

Officers went to the house and saw a man, holding a handgun, inside. He was assaulting Nguyen. Officers told him to drop the weapon and surrender. Police said he fired at the officers, narrowly them.

Nguyen barricaded herself in a bedroom with her two children. As she handed her children — who were unharmed — to the officers perched on top of a SWAT van, the suspect began shooting from an adjoining bathroom through a wall. Police fired back.

Just as the officers took the second child from the mother, she crumpled, struck with multiple gunshots. She died later at Stanford University Medical Center.

Police entered the house through the front door and chased the suspect into a back bedroom. There they found him dead.

Contact Sean Webby at swebby@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5003.

Michael Dixon Founder of InTouchRadio.net

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ITR-New Strain Of 'Blue Tongue' Found-Pip Reynolds ITR USA for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Pip Reynolds InTouchRadio.net USA for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

New Strain Of 'Blue Tongue' Found

AFP/File – A police car blocks the entrance to a road leading to a farm where a cow infected with Bluetongue disease …

LONDON (AFP) – Authorities said Tuesday they have found a new strain of the livestock disease bluetongue in imported cattle, but said there is no evidence that it has spread beyond the affected premises.

Five animals near Blackpool tested positive for the BTV1 type of the disease, the environment and farming ministry (Defra) said. They have been killed and the premises sealed off.

Another animal from the same consignment also tested positive for bluetongue, but it was unclear what strain. It too has been killed.

The BTV8 strain of bluetongue has already been found in Britain, but chief veterinary officer Nigel Gibbens said: "This is the first case of BTV1 infected animals being imported into the UK.

"Taking into account the epidemiological evidence and the consideration of the risk represented to British livestock, I have taken the decision to cull these animals."

The cattle came from an area of southwest France where the movement of livestock is controlled because of bluetongue.

Defra said the import complied with European Union rules that cattle should not be moved until 60 days after being vaccinated.

"There is no evidence that BTV1 is circulating in the UK and no additional control zones have been declared," it added.

The disease, which affects ruminants such as cows and sheep but not pigs or horses, is difficult to control once it takes hold. It is not a risk to humans, but in animals it causes high fevers, mouth ulcers and swollen heads.

It has become an increasing problem in Europe since the first outbreak of the BTV8 strain, for which there is no vaccination, in northern Europe in 2006.

In the past, bluetongue occurred further south in Spain and Italy as well as north Africa, and some experts blame climate change for its northward progress.

Michael Dixon Founder of InTouchRadio.net

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ITR-House of Lords Endorses Tougher 'Pot' Penalties-PipReynolds ITR USA for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Pip Reynolds InTouchRadio.net USA for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

House of Lords Endorses Tougher 'Pot' Penalties

By RAPHAEL G. SATTER, Associated Press Writer Raphael G. Satter, Associated Press Writer

LONDON – The House of Lords on Tuesday backed a plan to toughen Britain's penalties for possessing marijuana, as a group of senior scientists warned that such a move would confuse people about the dangers of more potent drugs.

Parliament's upper chamber endorsed a measure that passed the more powerful House of Commons earlier this month. The Lords' vote is seen as a formality since it cannot kill legislation, but only delay it.

The Home Office said it expected the change to take effect in January.

In Britain, drugs are classified into three different categories, with "Class A" the most dangerous. Marijuana is now a "Class C" drug but will be upgraded to "Class B," which the government argues is necessary because of the increasing potency of some cannabis varieties.

Marijuana will join amphetamines, Ritalin and pholcodine as "Class B" drugs, whose possession can result in up to five years in prison. Marijuana possession is now punishable by up to two years in jail, although users aren't typically prosecuted until after a third offense.

The change would reverse the relaxation of British cannabis laws in 2004 and ignore the recommendations of the government's drug advisory council.

In a letter published in The Guardian newspaper, 10 scientists said the reclassification could be "very damaging," saying it sends a confusing message about the more dangerous "Class B" drugs.

Among those signing the letter were Michael Rawlins, former head of the drug advisory council, and two former chief scientific advisers to the government, David King and Robert May.

The letter criticized the government for ignoring the advice of the advisory council, which has said scientific evidence on the health dangers of marijuana did not justify putting the drug back in the higher category.

"Cannabis use has fallen in recent years, especially following the downgrading to Class C in 2004, and it's obviously unwise to risk reversing that trend," the letter said.

The Home Office has said it wants to send a message to marijuana users that possessing the drug is a serious crime. It said the evidence about the risks of marijuana use was more uncertain now than it had been in the past.

Michael Dixon Founder of InTouchRadio.net

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ITR-Some Dutch Cannabis "Coffee Shops" To Go Up In Smoke-PipReynolds ITR for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Pip Reynolds InTouchRadio.net USA for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Some Dutch Cannabis

"Coffee Shops" To Go Up In Smoke

Reuters – Joints containing different types of cannabis are seen in their jars at a coffee shop in the southern …

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Almost a fifth of Amsterdam's popular marijuana-selling coffee shops are to be closed because they are too close to schools, the city council said on Friday.

Of the 228 such shops in the Dutch capital, 43 must close by the end of 2011 because they are within 250 m (yards) of a secondary school, the council said.

But the city, home to a quarter of the nation's cannabis coffee shops that are a big draw for tourists, threw its support behind a controversial Dutch policy permitting the sale of "soft drugs."

"There should be a system introduced in which it is clear where soft drugs come from," the city said in a statement in which it also urged prosecution of any possible criminal links in the supply of cannabis.

In addition to marijuana, deemed a soft drug, some shops also sell so-called "magic mushrooms" which have psychedelic properties.

The policy on soft drugs in the Netherlands, one of the most liberal in Europe, allows for the sale of marijuana at coffee shops, which the Dutch have allowed to operate since the 1960s, and possession of less than 5 grams (0.18 oz).

But the cultivation or supply of the drug to the shops, the so-called "back door" of the business, is banned.

The policy is not without critics and Dutch mayors will meet on Friday in Almere, 30 km (19 miles) east of Amsterdam, to discuss a possible revamp.

The meeting was called after Bergen op Zoom and Roosendaal, located near the Belgian border, said recently they will close all coffee shops in their jurisdiction within two years to combat drug tourism and criminality, Dutch media has reported.

(Reporting by Aaron Gray-Block; editing by Michael Roddy)

Michael Dixon Founder of InTouchRadio.net

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ITR-A Bit Of Light Aussie Humour-Jan England ITR Australia for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Jan England InTouchRadio.net Australia for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

A Bit Of Light Aussie Humour

Go Anna

Some years ago our family was driving south down the Pacific Highway in Northern NSW. We were returning home after a couple of weeks on the Gold Coast and our journey was accompanied by the heaviest rain I have ever seen.

We began to encounter portions of flooded road forcing us to inch through such sections with great caution.

I miss-judged one of these low sections of road and ended up stalling the car in a section where the water reached up well beyond the bottom of the car doors.

There was nothing for it but to open the doors and wade out. What a disaster! We left the car doors open to provide less resistance to the rushing current, hoping our car wouldn't be washed off the road and into the nearby ditch.

Eventually a friendly truck driver hauled us across and after drying out our electrics we slowly resumed our journey.

Two days later I left for a business trip to Europe. I started getting calls from my wife. "Rick, there's a really bad smell starting to come out of the car".

I told her not to worry, "that will be the carpets... just leave the doors open for now and when I come home I'll give them a good shampoo".

Well after I got home I found an unbearable stink and multiple carpet washings didn't seem to help. I eventually decided to have a Motor Trimmer completely replace all the carpets.

An hour after dropping the car the Motor Trimmer was on the phone. "Rick, we've just removed the front seats. Did you know that you've got a three foot dead goanna lodged in the springs of the passenger seat?"

• Rick Peebles - NSW

Michael Dixon Founder of InTouchRadio.net

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ITR-Darfur Peacekeepers Short Of Men, Gear: General-Pip Reynolds ITR USA for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Pip Reynolds InTouchRadio.net USA for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Darfur Peacekeepers

Short Of Men, Gear: General

By Andrew Heavens Andrew Heavens
Reuters – A Rwandan soldier serving with the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) stands guard …

EL FASHER, Sudan (Reuters) – Overstretched peacekeepers in Darfur lack vehicles, helicopters and other equipment and could be in trouble if seriously attacked, the force's deputy commander said on Tuesday.

The joint U.N.-African Union force now has about 12,000 soldiers and police, less than half of a promised 26,000, almost a year after it arrived in Sudan's violent west.

Major General Emmanuel Karenzi told reporters the mission was severely short of equipment, including a total lack of transport and attack helicopters.

"I wouldn't say we are helpless," he said at UNAMID headquarters in El Fasher, capital of North Darfur.

"If you are talking about a fully-fledged attack on UNAMID with big weapons we may find ourselves in a difficult position to defend ourselves."

A total of 11 UNAMID peacekeepers have been killed in Darfur in ambushes and other incidents since the force replaced an African Union mission at the beginning of the year.

The peacekeepers, who are supposed to cover a remote region about the size of France, have often found themselves caught up in a chaotic conflict involving bandits, government forces, insurgent factions and militias.

In the single bloodiest attack on peacekeepers since the start of the conflict, 12 African Union troops were killed when gunmen stormed their base in Haskanita in September 2007.

Karenzi said officers were still hoping to build up the international force to 60 per cent of its promised deployment by the end of the year. But he said the impact of a simple increase in troop numbers would be minimal.

"We will be better of than where we are today but there will still be big gaps in terms of what we are expected to do."

The force still needed transport and logistics units, together with the vehicles and equipment. It was also still waiting for 24 transport and attack helicopters.

Most of the units lacked night-vision equipment, he said.

Almost six years of fighting in Darfur has killed 200,000 people and driven more than 2.5 million from their homes, international experts say.

Major General Karenzi briefed reporters during a visit to El Fasher and south Darfur's capital Nyala by the U.N.'s humanitarian aid chief John Holmes.

Holmes said Darfur's humanitarian situation was deteriorating as people were still being attacked and displaced. Large parts of Darfur's population had moved to camps, he said.

"The problem is that people have been in camps for four or five years now. The wider question is how long can we go on like this," Holmes said.

(Editing by Angus MacSwan)

Michael Dixon Founder of InTouchRadio.net

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ITR-More Australians May Be Hurt In Mumbai: Rudd - Jan England ITR Australia for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Jan England InTouchRadio.net Australia for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

More Australians

May Be Hurt In Mumbai: Rudd

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says he has been advised that there may be more Australians injured in Mumbai's terrorism attacks.

The death toll from the coordinated terrorist attacks has risen to 101 including six foreigners, although no details of their nationalities have been released, and more than 250 people have been injured.

Two Australians - 23-year-old David Coker from Townsville in Queensland and his girlfriend, 24-year-old Kate Anstee from Sydney - have already been confirmed as injured and are being treated in hospital.

Mr Rudd says his thoughts are with the families of those injured and he has condemned the attacks, and says officials in Mumbai are speaking with hotel owners to to establish how many Australians may have been caught up in the events.

He says 317 Australians are registered as living in Mumbai but there could be more.

"The Government is seeking to confirm as a matter of urgency the safety and welfare of Australians who may be affected," he said.

"I am advised that Australian casualties may rise."

Mr Rudd says the attacks are a reminder that the world must remain vigilant against terrorism.

"This cowardly attack on India's stability, peace and democracy reminds us all that international terrorism is far from defeated," he said.

"We have to continued to work closely with our allies and partners around the world to defeat terrorism."

India's Home Affairs Minister Shivraj Patel says it seems the terrorists have kept explosives in some vehicles.

"They are fighting the people who are in the hotels. In Taj I was told that about four or five persons are dead," he said.

"And the police commissioner was telling me that in Oberoi also there are four or five persons. So it seems that there is a big conspiracy."

The Australian Government's National Security Committee has met to discuss the attacks but Mr Rudd says little is known at this stage about the Deccan Mujahideen group who is thought to be behind the attacks.

"But whichever group has perpetrated this attack, they are cowards, absolute cowards and murderers," he said.

Mr Rudd says the Government has offered to send AFP counter-terrorism and forensics staff to India.

We stand ready to assist India in any way it needs right now," he said.

'Stay safe'

Australian travellers are now being advised against going to Mumbai and those already have been told to stay in a safe place and follow the directions of authorities. Garrick Harvison, an export manager for Yarraman Estate wines, is staying at the Oberoi Hotel in Mumbai as part of a New South Wales Government trade delegation.

Mr Harvison says he has been hiding on the floor of his hotel room since seeing the gunmen enter the lobby.

"We started hearing all this banging, which we just thought were fireworks or something," he said.

"I went out, had a look and it was just bang bang bang like a semi-automatic rifle. When we looked over and found that it wasn't fireworks, it was actually people shooting people, I just ran inside my room.

"From that point, for the next sort of five or six hours, I heard gunshots and bomb blasts. Pretty scary experience."

He says was lucky to escape.

Townsville man Dave Coker was at Cafe Leopold in Mumbai when the shooting began.

He suffered minor injuries, but his girlfriend Katie Anstee was shot through the thigh and has a broken femur.

Mr Coker says he had to act quickly to get her out of the restaurant.

"I managed just to get her outside and get her into a sort of lift where I had my sort of hands around her, one hand around her knees and one hand around her shoulders and got her off the street to a taxi and got to hospital as soon as we could," he said.

Australian actress Brooke Satchwell was caught up in the terrorist attack at the Taj hotel.

Satchwell says she still does not feel safe.

"We definitely won't be moving and ironically we only made it out of Bangkok an hour-and-a-half before it shut down," she said

"My nerves are a little frayed at the moment. I haven't slept for the last 24 hours."

Satchwell says one group of Australians escaped the Taj hotel by shredding some drapes, tying them together and sliding down the makeshift rope from the hotel's second floor.

"Real Robinson Crusoe," she said.

Michael Dixon Founder of InTouchRadio.net

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ITR-News Direct from Mumbai from Kashish ITR India for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Kashish Berry InTouchRadio.net Mumbai India for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

News from Kashish Berry

Direct from Mumbai 10am UK GMT

Kashish Berry is our girl in Mumbai and a close friend of Michael Dixon.

"I contacted Kashish today concerned for her well-being and was lucky to get through to her - this was her mail back - please send thoughts to all those concerned out in India and all those other places around our World that are in conflict." Michael Dixon - Founder of InTouchRadio.net

Hi Michael

Things are still pretty bad after last night's terrorist attack.

Fortunately no one I know has been affected directly, but its shattering to see what's happening and this must come to an end.

There are still many ppl taken hostage at the Oberio/ Trident hotel at Nariman point.

PPl arn't really moving out today, given the situation is still not under control.

We've lost several police men in combat, they're trying very hard to get the hostages out safe.

The Taj hotel which is such a big landmark is almost destroyed by the fire that was set by a bomb last night. Its a seriously SAD situation and I pray for all those who have lost their lives to this pathetic act of terrorism.

Lets hope all will be well and none ever faces such a situation ever again.

Thanks so much for your concern.

I will be in touch.

How are you?

Love

Kashish

--

"It's not the great things you do that matter, but the small things you do with a great heart"
~Mother Teresa~

Michael Dixon Founder of InTouchRadio.net

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ITR-EleanorRigby-Beatles Truth! - Pip Reynolds ITR USA for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Pip Reynolds InTouchRadio.net USA for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Mystery `Eleanor Rigby' Document

Goes to Auction

By GREGORY KATZ, Associated Press Writer Gregory Katz, Associated Press Writer

AP – Annie Mawson, Founder and Chief Executive of Sunbeams Music Trust charity, poses with a page from a 1911 …

LONDON – Eleanor Rigby: fact or fiction?

That question, which has bedeviled Beatles' fans for decades, may be answered in part by a 1911 hospital payroll sheet to be auctioned in London on Thursday.

The document, sent by Paul McCartney in 1990 to the director of a music charity who had asked for funding, contains the signature of a scullery maid named "E. Rigby" who worked in a Liverpool hospital.

The director of the company auctioning the document believes the woman who signed the payroll is the same Eleanor Rigby buried in 1939 in a Liverpool graveyard next to the church where McCartney met the young John Lennon.

"I've spoken to the person who lived in the house where she used to live, and they've confirmed that the signature is the same signature of the person in the graveyard," said Tom Owen of the Fame Bureau auction house, adding that the finding may contradict McCartney's longtime assertion that the song was based on a made-up character.

"It's intriguing that McCartney owned it because he says he created the song around a fictitious figure," said Owen. "And yet, how did he have this document and why did he have it? When he was asked to donate money, he sent this."

Interest is so high it's estimated the document may fetch $750,000.

McCartney has said the song was not based on a real person but concedes he may have been subconsciously influenced by seeing the tombstone.

When the auction was announced earlier this month, he released a statement reiterating that the character was not real. "If someone wants to spend money buying a document to prove that a fictitious character exists, that's fine with me," McCartney said.

The payroll sheet was signed by "E. Rigby" after she collected her pay at Liverpool's City Hospital. McCartney has not revealed how he got the document, or why he sent it to the charity 18 years ago.

According to the tombstone, Eleanor Rigby was born in 1895. If she is the woman who signed the hospital payroll, she would have been about 16 at the time. She worked as a maid washing pots and pans in the hospital kitchen, the document says.

The song "Eleanor Rigby," released in 1966 as a single and on the Beatles' "Revolver" album, represented a sharp break for the band, which until then had largely relied on cheerful tunes for their international hits.

With its haunting refrain, "Ah, look at all the lonely people," it is a devastating portrayal of an isolated woman whose death draws so little notice that no one attends her funeral.

There are no rock 'n' roll guitars or drums on the somber track — McCartney's lead vocal is backed by violins, violas and cellos arranged by Beatles producer George Martin.

"It's a Beatles song with no Beatles instruments," said Glenn Gass, a rock historian who teaches a course on the Beatles at Indiana University.

"It's just so bleak and so sad: she picks up the rice at someone else's wedding, the whole image of her wearing a face that she keeps in a jar by the door. There are things happening emotionally that you just can't see. It's not a pop song in any traditional sense, but it's one of their great songs."

Lennon and George Harrison sing harmony; Ringo Starr does not play or sing, although Beatles experts say he contributed one line to the lyrics. "Eleanor Rigby" is credited to the Lennon-McCartney writing team, but it is widely regarded as primarily by McCartney.

McCartney has said he considered naming the woman in the song "Daisy Hawkins." He also mulled naming the unsympathetic priest "Father McCartney" but decided on "Father McKenzie" so his own father wouldn't be burdened.

The song has had so much impact that a statue honoring Eleanor Rigby — be she real or imagined — has been built in downtown Liverpool. Passers-by often place flowers there.

Owen said "every penny" from the auction will go to Sunbeams Music Trust, a charity that provides music instruction to people with special needs.

The charity's founder, Annie Mawson, received the document from McCartney after writing him an 11-page letter seeking help for her foundation, which uses Beatles songs, among others, to teach music to people with physical and mental disabilities. She has found, for example, that autistic children respond well to Beatles music.

"I told Paul McCartney how his music had helped so many vulnerable children," she said.

She hand-delivered the letter to McCartney's London office in 1989 and received the hospital payroll document in the mail the following year. It was in an envelope carrying the logo of McCartney's world tour, but did not contain any note.

"I think my letter moved him, so he sent me this beautiful parchment document, a ledger, from 1911, showing E. Rigby," Mawson said. "My head was whirling when I saw the significance."

Her plan is to use the proceeds from the auction to finally build a music instruction center in Cumbria, England, where the charity is based.

"This is what I dreamt about in the '90s," she said, explaining that she held the document for years as the value of Beatles memorabilia soared.

"It's taken this long to develop the charity and get a good team behind it and now we really need a proper center."

Michael Dixon Founder of InTouchRadio.net

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ITR-Bill Bonham's Home Fire Update-Pip Reynolds ITR USA for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Pip Reyolds InTouchRadio.net USA for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Bill Bonham's Home Fire Update

Before and after pics from the view in fron of my home.

Main thing is my home is untouched thanks to the fire fighters and prayers.

Michael Dixon Founder of InTouchRadio.net

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ITR-Irrigation Channels Set To Water Wetlands-JanEngland ITR Australia for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Jan England InTouchRadio.net Australia for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Irrigation Channels Set To Water Wetlands

Irrigation channels are spread across 750,000 hectares of southern New South Wales. (ABC TV)

Many of Australia's wetlands are anything but what their name suggests. To the contrary, they are drying and dying.

In the first project of its kind in Australia, conservationists are assessing 600 wetlands in southern New South Wales to work out which ones should have water allocated to them in the future.

From the air it is possible to get a true picture of the vast network of irrigation channels which spread out across 750,000 hectares of southern New South Wales.

Only a few channels have water in them, just enough for domestic use.

But that is not deterring conservationists who want to use the irrigation channels to deliver a much-needed drink to the wetlands.

"I guess we're just trying to make something useful out of what already exists," Deborah Nias, from the Wetlands Working Group, said.

Ms Nias says the wetlands are in desperate need of water.

"In the last three or four years even the ones that are connected to the river have started to dry out so they're looking thirsty," she said.

There is no water available for the project this year but ecologists have begun assessing 600 wetlands to work out which ones can benefit most from a drink in the future.

"We recognise there simply won't be enough water to maintain all the remaining wetlands," Ecologist Matt Herring said.

"Most of the time sites that are adjacent to irrigation channels are easiest and cheapest to get water to."

The chairman of Murray Irrigation, Stewart Ellis, says there was some initial opposition to the project.

"When you haven't got water available to use to irrigate crops to grow food, which is what earns people an income here, some people would question the rationality, I guess, of making water available and putting it in a swamp area or a wetland area," he said.

But Mr Ellis says it is a separate allocation that is only made available when there is more water in the system.

"This water that is used for Wetlands Working Group watering program is water that has now been returned to the NSW Government for environmental use," he said.

"It has now been handed onto the Wetlands Working Group, so it is no longer irrigators' allocation water, it is specifically environmental water."

The project relies on farmers who have wetlands on their properties agreeing to take part.

Farmer Alan Wragge has built a channel to divert water from an irrigation channel straight to his wetland.

"You're putting water on this wetland and you're not producing food and fibre, so that was probably my reason I was a bit sceptical of it, but down the track once we've done it I think it's fantastic," he said.

Now all that is needed is a downpour.

Michael Dixon Founder of InTouchRadio.net

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Jan England InTouchRadio.net Australia for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

My closest city here in Australia

Love
Jan

Adelaide Entertainment & Night Life

On most nights of the week musical entertainment in Adelaide can be found in many of Adelaide great hotels and bars.

Rundle Street East is a busy place with 9 hotels in the area with many of them featuring bands on the weekends.

Where: Exeter Hotel - Rundle Street East

PJ O'Briens a popular Irish style hotel on East Terrace Adelaide has something different with a popular comedy night Tuesdays.
Local Adelaide Bands are on Friday and Saturday nights

Entertainment in North Adelaide is comprehensive as there are 13 Hotels located acrooss the suburb.

Bands are regular features in most of the hotels
The Lion Hotel in Melbourne street has bands and Djs (weekends & some week nights), and The Royal Oak Hotel in O'Connell Street has bands on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Sunday nights with DJ's on Thursday and Friday nights.

Maxwell's Tip: Lucifer's Lounge is very popular the The Royal Oak on Tuesday nights.. Be Early to avoid the line up!!

The Royal Oak Hotel also has a movie night on Mondays.

The renovated Caledonian Hotel at the northern tip of O'Connell street North Adelaide has dj's and bands on the weekend nights.

The renovated National Bank building is a trendy up market bar called "The Bank" and it has bands & dj entertainment most nights. along with a good selection of fine beers and wines.

A short walk west up Tynte Street will get you to the Daniel O'Connell Irish Pub, at 165 Tynte St North Adelaide. This fine old hotel has a large very popular restaurant to the rear overlooking a magnificent 150 year old Pepper Tree, and there are bands in the front bar on the weekends.

The Dan can also provide dining on it's upstairs balcony. The wine list is outstanding.

Around the corner from the western end of Tynte Street is Peter & Polly Howell's historic Wellington Hotel located in Wellington Square, North Adelaide. Freshly renovated with 30 Australian beers on tap.
There is a band at "The Welly" on friday nights and this hotel has a great outlook onto Wellington Square and is an ideal place for an evening meal while you watch the sunset and the world go by.
Website www.wellingtonhotel.com.au

The Governor Hindmarsh - A Top Venue in Adelaide for Bands
Location: Port Road across from The Adelaide Entertainment Center.
This is about a 8-10 minute Taxi ride from the Adelaide G.P.O. and about a five minute trip by car from North Adelaide.

Most Fridays and Saturdays the back room at the Governor Hindmarsh is alive with the sounds of top Australian and International music and performers. There are smaller bands and solo performers in the front bar. Later on Friday night around 9pm it is folk music night.

Ronnie Teheny performed her new show "Decalogue" at the Gov to a packed room on Saturday February 4th 2006

Ronnie who left Adelaide about 10 years ago to work in Europe comes back to Australia once a year to catch up with family and friends in Adelaide and also at Edithburgh on the Yorke Peninsula.

I was one of the lucky ones to see her very entertaining and amazing one woman show.

Ronnie Taheny Website: www.ronnietaheny.com

Michael Dixon Founder of InTouchRadio.net

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ITR-BHP Pulls Out of Rio Tinto Bid-Jan England ITR Australia for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Jan England InTouchRadio.net Australia

BHP Pulls Out of Rio Tinto Bid

Financial crisis at fault...BHP says the deal isn't in its shareholders' best interests. (Getty Images: Ryan Pierse, file photo)

The global financial crisis is being blamed for the collapse of one of the biggest takeover bids in history.

The board of BHP Billiton has announced it is abandoning its offer for Rio Tinto, saying the deal is no longer in the best interests of shareholders.

The company says it understands the main regulator still needed to approve the bid, the European Commission, will ask it to sell assets to deal with competition concerns.

But BHP says it will not offer any remedies to the regulator, because of the difficulty of achieving fair values for those assets in the current climate.

BHP says it also has concerns about the prospective debt levels of the combined company during the tough economic times.

But even though BHP says it is trying to protect shareholders, it will still write off almost $500 million in costs related to the bid process over the past year and a half.

Michael Dixon Founder of InTouchRadio.net

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ITR-True Story-John Bonham's 1st Cousin Bill>Pip Reynolds ITR USA for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Pip Reynolds - InTouchRadio.net California USA

For The Attention of Michael Dixon ITR - UK GLOBAL:

Hi Michael

This is a true story about John Bonham's 1st Cousin (Led Zeppelin), Bill and asked for this to go on InTouchRadio (ITR).

I was Praying for him too, I am cry so many tears of joy.

God Bless Bill and that Angel!

Pip x

We were praying for a miracle as this happened in Orange County because in Los Angeles on the news the TV reported the firefighters were going to leave just then & let the houses on Carbon Canyon burn down - as well as the church there.

My friend & I prayed in agreement for Bill's house & the church to be saved. I believe that man was an Angel - no doubt. ^_^ PEACE

God Bless us!

Love,

Pip x

Do You Believe In Angels?

I just found out talking to some of the crew that actually protected my house.

They told me the winds were so powerful that the water was blowing back at the fire fighters and knocking them down...

They decided to leave and let my house burn when some guy turned up who said he was from the State Housing pleaded with them that the winds are about to change they said we have to go and he kept on pleading that the winds are about to change and suddenly they did.

They still don't know who that guy was as apparently no State Housing people were there and they never saw him again but they assured me that they would have left had it not been for whoever that was...

Another strange occurrence is the fact that the church near my house was also not touched and they have a huge wooden cross way out on a hill that was burned in a circle around the cross but the cross isn't even smoke ridden!

Michael Dixon Founder of InTouchRadio.net

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ITR-Robe Village Fair 2008-LimeCoast-JanEngland InTouchRadio.net Australia for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Jan England InTouchRadio.net Australia

Robe Village Fair 2008

Our Location

Set aside the 28 to 30 November this year, as the Robe Village Fair, set in the Historic fishing village of Robe on the states’ Limestone Coast is celebrating its tenth Birthday.

The music line-up promises something for everyone this year, with performances from The Angels - sponsored by BankSA, Vanessa Amorosi - sponsored by Coopers Brewery, James Reyne - sponsored by Cape Jaffa Anchorage, The Badloves - sponsored by Banner Hardware, The Black Sorrows - sponsored by The Karatta Wine Co, The Bondi Cigars - sponsored by The Aussie Cider Co, and The Huckleberry Swedes - sponsored by The Coastal Leader and Paperworks.

Together with a fantastic selection of food and wine from the region, a huge hot rod display, and free rides and family entertainment for the kids, this years’ event will set a new standard for the iconic festival, now in its tenth year.

The event begins on Friday night the 28 November with a special tenth birthday concert featuring performances by Adelaide band Huckleberry Superjam, Sydney blues legends, The Bondi Cigars, and perennial favourites The Black Sorrows.

The music continues on Saturday with a huge music line-up starting at 11am with performances by The Huckleberry Swedes, The Bondi Cigars, The Badloves, James Reyne, Vanessa Amorosi, and concluding at 11pm after a performance by legendary rockers The Angels.

The Limestone Coast Food group will hold a farmers market on Sunday together with a myriad of Art and Craft stalls, rides and competitions for the family.

Facilities

• Access Without Assistance for the Disabled
• Alcohol
• Bar
• Child Activities/Child Minding
• Entertainment
• First aid equipment
• Public Telephone
• Shaded Area
• Sheltered Area
• Toilet facilities for the Disabled

Michael Dixon Founder of InTouchRadio.net

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ITR-Britain Fights Recession With Huge Stimulus Package-Pip Reynolds ITR USA for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Pip Reynolds InTouchRadio.net California USA

Britain Fights Recession

With Huge Stimulus Package

by Roland Jackson Roland Jackson

AFP – British Finance Minister Alistair Darling outside the Treasury Building in London. Britain has unveiled …

LONDON (AFP) – Britain has unveiled a major economic stimulus package worth 20 billion pounds to reignite consumer spending and help the nation recover from a deep and painful recession expected next year.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling said he would cut tax on goods and services and would fund the plan -- worth 23 billion euros or 30 billion dollars -- by borrowing more and raising income tax on the wealthy from 2011.

In a pre-budget report, Darling also warned the country's economy would shrink in 2009 and would not recover until 2010, but said the downturn would be softened by his "wide-ranging" stimulus measures.

"While clear risks remain, particularly relating to prospects for credit conditions easing, the downturn will be shallower and shorter than would have been the case in the absence of fiscal support," Darling said.

He also brought forward major public spending projects -- such as motorway upgrades, school refurbishments and repairs to public housing -- worth 3.0 billion pounds.

Investors applauded the cash bonanza, sending the London stock exchange's blue-chip FTSE 100 index up 9.84 percent -- its biggest-ever one-day gain -- to close at 4,152.96 points.

The stimulus package followed calls from Prime Minister Gordon Brown -- who as Darling's predecessor oversaw the country's longest-ever run of prosperity -- for governments around the world to cut taxes and increase public spending.

The country stands on the verge of recession after its economy shrank in the third quarter, slammed by the global credit crunch, a slumping property market and chaos on world financial markets.

"I will do whatever it takes to support people through these difficult times," Darling told parliament.

"That is why my pre-budget report today contains a substantial fiscal loosening to help the economy now, with a 20-billion-pound fiscal stimulus between now and April 2010."

The package totalled around one percent of Britain's total gross domestic product (GDP), he added.

Warning that the economy might not recover before 2010, Darling said the Labour government was acting now "to help us emerge quicker and emerge stronger from these difficult times."

He forecast the economy to shrink by 0.75-1.25 percent in 2009 -- a major downgrade from his March estimate of 2.25-2.75 percent growth -- before rebounding with growth of 1.5-2.0 percent in 2010.

"The United Kingdom is the world's leading financial centre, but because of the size of the financial sector, we are likely to be affected more directly by a global financial recession," he said.

Turning to tax cuts, Darling said he would slash sales tax, or value-added tax (VAT), on goods and services from 17.5 percent to 15 percent in a temporary move beginning on December 1. VAT will return to its current level in 2010.

This is equivalent to giving consumers 12.5 billion pounds, he said.

The Labour government will also lift the highest rate of income tax to 45 percent from 40 percent, he said.

However, the new band will not be introduced until 2011, a year after Britain's next general election is due, and will only apply to individuals earning above 150,000 pounds (177,000 euros, 226,000 dollars) a year.

The stimulus package will also be funded by a hefty increase in state borrowing, to 78 billion pounds in the current financial year and then 118 billion pounds in 2009-2010.

Debt as a share of GDP would increase to 48 percent in 2009-2010, before peaking at 57 percent in 2013-2014.

The main opposition Conservatives warned Darling was storing up more trouble because taxes would rise in the future to pay for the plan.

He had "placed a huge unexploded tax bombshell timed to go off under the future economic recovery," Tory finance spokesman George Osborne said.

"This isn't just a bombshell," he said. "It is a precision-guided missile at the heart of a recovery."

Howard Archer, an economist at IHS Global Insight, said the cost was probably justified.

"There is the very real danger that the (economic) recovery will start much later and from a much worse position unless serious fiscal stimulus is delivered now in tandem with sharply lower interest rates," he said.

But the Financial Times warned Darling had shown "extraordinary optimism" about how soon the economy would bounce back, saying: "The route back to financial sustainability was unconvincing."

Michael Dixon Founder of InTouchRadio.net

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ITR-Australian Banking Glitch Strips Customer-JanEngland ITR Australia for InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Jan England InTouchRadio.net Australia

Banking Glitch Strips Customers of Funds

Commonwealth Bank says about 200,000 customers have been affected by a processing glitch that has seen transactions lodged twice.

The problem with the bank's overnight processing has stripped some accounts of funds and resulted in a doubling of others.

Internet and ATM transactions have been affected.

Spokesman Bryan Fitzgerald says the bank is urgently trying to fix the problem.

"We're investigating the cause of the problem now and working as quickly as we can to rectify the problem and reverse the transactions to our customers' accounts," he said.

"We've just got all hands on deck to get this fixed as quickly as we can."

Commonwealth bank customer and ABC journalist Elaine Ford says about $2,000 has been stripped from her account.

"I was shocked when I saw my bank balance nearly $2,000 in the red, which is not what it's supposed to be," she said.

"And now I am thinking something is wrong with my Mastercard because there are extra charges that don't appear on my statement.

"I tried to ring and obviously you are put on hold and told staff will get to you when they can."

Ms Ford says she is still none the wiser but is hopeful the Commonwealth Bank will fix it up soon.

"I'm just glad I went shopping last week, so I've got food at home," she said.

A statement posted on the bank's Netbank website said accounts involving transactions made over the past three days had been affected.

"We have a current issue affecting the balance on a number of customers accounts where transactions were performed on the 22nd, 23rd, 24th of November.

"We have identified a fix to this problem which will be resolved overnight."

Michael Dixon Founder of InTouchRadio.net

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ITR-UK - Somerset Police Drink Driving Campaign - Michael Dixon InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Michael Dixon InTouchRadio.net UK UK

Annie Deeley Somerset for InTouchRadio.net

Somerset Police HQ

Road Policing Unit

This Ringmaster message is being sent from Police HQ at the request of the Road Policing Unit.

Once again we would like to remind you that the Christmas Drink Drive campaign starts on 1st December 2008. At this time of the year many people do not realise how much they have had to drink before driving home and the combination of bad weather, poor visibility and impaired responses can be fatal.

Please get the message out that if anyone is concerned about someone drink-driving they can call Crimestoppers 0800 555 111 anonymously with details of the drink-driver, the vehicle they use and the area or place this is happening.

The Crimestoppers 0800 555 111 number should be used to give information anonymously where people feel vulnerable or do not want their identity to be known. The caller cannot be identified, the number does not appear on telephone bills and calls from landlines and many mobiles are free. Information given on this number is passed to the local police force and in Avon and Somerset calls relating to drink-driving will be acted upon by local officers and the road policing unit. This number can be used at any time during the year to report drink-driving, information about crime, drug dealing, fraud or other criminal activities where the caller wishes to remain anonymous.

For those on email you can find more information about drink driving, the effects and penalties at: http://www.dft.gov.uk/think_media/241033/241066/howmuch11.pdf

If you have information about any crime, phone the police on 0845 456 7000 or you can call anonymously to the independent charity CRIMESTOPPERS 0800 555 111

Michael Dixon Founder of InTouchRadio.net

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ITR-Requested Repost Michael Dixon Founder ITR Message InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Michael Dixon - InTouchRadio.net UK GLOBAL

Sunday 23 November 2008

Michael as he is: sometimes/

"My Astrology Daily Reading - thought I'd post this as many of you will know the current crisis InTouchRadio.net is going through and with all the hard work the InTouchRadio.net family of friends have put into the survival of our/your Global Net Radio station helping to bring us all together from every race, culture, creed, colour, belief system aroudn the world." - Michael Dixon

Hello Michael

Sunday
November 23, 2008

If you've served as a fine example, someone may show their appreciation and honor you in some way. It's a great day for love and bonding and tapping into that flow of spiritual energy at your disposal. It's very possible you'll end this day far more perceptive than you began it.

The day started at 00.30am today for me, well to be truthful the day started yesterday at around 06.00 am and I was just about to go to bed - I was tired but I was stressed with worrying how I / we could save InTouchRadio.net after all these months - 22 now since I first ventured into the world of net radio.

I had put some Avocado oil on my scalp - thanks Pip - it did help - the stress was causing scalp flakey skin - ok that's what severe stress can do amongst all the other parts it can reach and damage without our knowing.

Did I leave the oil on for the night? I'd sat with a plastic hair hat on - I looked the part trust me I did - a sight not to be seen without an 18 plus certificate... Nope I'd wash it off - it was not hard and it actually seemed to relax washing hair at nearly 01.00 am - I then had to dry it and remember if you use heat - put on the cold air for a few moments - it actually takes the electricity out and stops your hair flying out (mum told me about this years ago - she's a hairdresser since 14 and even after last years accident when she broke both arms and a wrist at nearly 80 (sorry mum I promised I would not reveal your age - you young chick you...) she's still doing some of her friends hair - how about that!

Hair dried - I was about to go straight to bed and read - went in to the studio room and did a final email check and there was a mail from our Angela Spray - she's our girl out on the Queensland Border with NSW Australia - the place they've had those horrendous storms all last week.

I started to read the mail and there she was saying she no longer had time - she is a teacher as well as a horsewoman. She was finding MySpace very difficult with all the changes recently (we all have haven't we?) she couldn't get her Blog page going and felt she needed more support and she was pulling out at the end of the month/ great - I now felt like someone had dislocated my brain and placed some dark energy in its place - I wrote a thanking letter and wished her well - I now had to go to bed not only with multiple concerns about ITR (InTouchRadio.net) - I thought "Ok you lot up there - you really are giving me the message - let it go - get on with the rest of your life," so with heavy heart and feeling lower than I already did I went to bed - sleep - not easy and I dreamed, as I always do, very spiritual dreams and I was flying along this motorway kneeling with an invisible steering wheel and no car and fast... well the dream continued and I'm sure my Clairsentient side was working overtime/

Up at 05.30am I came in to another email from Angela wishing me luck and asking me to post the letter she'd sent: I put it to one side - just couldn't draw the energy to post it.

Other situations came up - even on a Sunday - that had to be dealt with - I've allowed ITR to blinker me far more than I should have and with the economic situation particularly here in the UK and where we live things have got somewhat out of hand and difficult.

I answered the mails I could - I get up to 2000 emails every day - 80% spam and up to 200 I answer as best I can - this takes up to 4 hours sorting the wheat from the chaff. I didn't realise I was so popular with the ladies - well not ladies I actually know but I get mails telling me how much they want me - I know its great to be wanted - but what they want to do with me would titilate the most shy thinking person - funny thing they all seem to live in Russia and although they have different names - the all seem to have the same photo... interesting maybe it's just one lady trying different ploys... interesting/

I didn't realise I needed a substance called Viagra so much and other medications - obviously my stress must be getting around the world - I shall know where to go when I need them.

Along with Porn and all this other Chaff I have to sort out I decided recently that I would join the fray and become an Erotic Writer - and yes I am doing this - it's coming along very well and several close friends have given me their constructive support - non so far have dismissed and most have been actively supportive - so if any of you out there no a good publisher - direct them here please - if I can sell this then I will have another way to keep ITR going and I guess the world got here through sex - so don't diss the subject - without it you, me - well we wouldn't be here unless you know another way...

Ok back to Angela - I was just about to post her original email and this came in:

Angela l Spray

Ok Ok!!! I will not close the site!!! I have had second thoughts Michael. This seems weird I know!!! I guess I could still

run it - but as long as people keep putting in their effort - it is like you here, not enough effort and I can't seem to get

a forum going on there!!! Tell me what to do here. If you have already posted it, just go back and delete it!!

Angela ( I am off to get dressed up tomorrow because of the Primary schools dress up fun day - and guess what I am going as????? Yes you have guessed it, a horse woman!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What else!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok Ok, I shall keep my Equestrian page!!!!! Write in the letter instead - changed her mind!!!!

Suddenly the world was put right.

You see ITR is not just a radio station based on a .TV server it is more than that - much more - it is a Global Family of Friends Around the World - it was and is my dream to bring people together as One Family - simply the Human Family and of course our friends of the Animal Kingdom that share our lives with us.

I'm not interested in Politics (ok I am - but I'm middle ground wanting equality for all - not power hungry enforcers who control) - I am not interested in Religions or Belief Systems - I have my own belief and path to my own God - I don't need someone to tell my how to achieve what I have already done. I don't need to be told to kill someone for their belief system I Believe We All Have The Right To Believe What We Individually Believe and We Have The Right To Speak Our Talk Without Taking Over Another - I guess I'm talking Freedom here - the Freedom to Believe - Speak and Do without harming or affecting another. Am I saying Love here - Of Course I Am.

This Love is Universal - Interplanetary - Galactic - from the Macrocosm to the Microcosm - Love that is True and Real not the 60's Hippy Dippy - Hazy Crazy Love that was Free Love - though I thoroughly enjoy that part of life too but I am talking Love that is our fundament.

InTouchRadio.net (ITR) was - is my dream - it came from a life time of wanting to help put back something that is fast falling into another persective where people don't connect any more but hide in backwaters of their fear - fear brought about by those power junkies and zealots that would have us under the thumb. My dream to bring all the colours of the human race together as one multicoloured family where we can know each other in Trust and Love to the ultimate Harmony where we can truly call ourselves Civilised.

I have been many things in t