Some help for the first two:
#1: [spoiler]If you want to do this the "old fashioned" way, think ciphers. And think about ancient Roman dictators. And remember that a good way to break a cipher is to find the easy-to-identify letters. If only there were some way on the Internet to easily find phrases...[/spoiler]
#2: [spoiler]First place is the only place. Something is missing. What's in a name?[/spoiler]
Edit: not stuck anymore.