By Peter Finn
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, December 9, 2008; A01

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba, Dec. 8 -- Five of the men accused of planning the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks said Monday that they wanted to plead guilty to murder and war crimes but withdrew the offer when a military judge raised questions about whether it would prevent them from fulfilling their desire to receive the death penalty.

"Are you saying if we plead guilty we will not be able to be sentenced to death?" Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the self-proclaimed operational mastermind of the attacks, asked at a pretrial hearing here.

The seesaw proceedings Monday raised and then postponed the prospect of a conviction in a case that has become the centerpiece of the system of military justice created by the Bush administration. A conviction would have capped a seven-year quest for justice after the 2001 attacks, but the delay in entering pleas will probably extend the process beyond the end of the Bush presidency.

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The usual thing round here, bar the credit cards and the loan from the DWP social fund that is if you’re on income support, otherwise you can fuck off and apply for a crisis loan, in which case they’ll tell you ever louder to “fuck off” is the Provident loan. They give their loans to anyone, no questions asked and the interest rate is a staggering 68%. I know parents who have taken out a loan from the social fund as well as the “provi” loan. The former is interest-free and is deducted from your benefits at source. The two together amount to a hefty millstone when you’re struggling to survive on benefits.

So, if you’re on state benefits, it’s like your whole year centres on Xmas day, if not preparing for it then paying for it and having to do without essentials just to meet the loan agreements. You get your loans out just before Xmas and 50 weeks later you’re still paying them off and doing without other essentials throughout that period. I jest not – for many families, Jesus Christ, or rather what takes place in his name, has them skint year in, year out. I know parents who quite literally dread this time of year, who curse its approach. Do they know it’s Christmas? as Bob Geldof and friends once sang? Too fucking right they do – they pay for it every day of their adult lives.

And how this wonderful consumer society serves the poor; forever exposing the emptiness of our lives and kindly providing the means by which our lives can be enriched, proving that we too can enjoy happiness over Christmas, just like the well-to-dos. As the Citizen Advice Bureau has found, interest on this ‘happiness’ can rise to as much as 1800 per cent a year – a happiness that’s cheap at half the price…eh?

And just where the fuck would we be without the advertising industry who continually alert us to needs we never even knew we had and who constantly remind us that our lives are really less satisfactory than we had hitherto imagined? I looked through an electrical store recently and was amazed to find items I honestly never even knew existed. Jeez, where’ve I been this last year? Thank God for PSPs, Nintendos, ipods, male face creams and the myriad gadgets we have amazingly managed to live without for 2 million years. Just how the fuck did our species survive without them? Sheesh! Consider this - according to the Worldwatch Institute, we have used more goods and services since 1960 than in all the rest of human history! Have all of these pleasure-inducing goods contributed to a general human happiness? No, over the same period, 25-year-olds in Britain have become ten times more likely to be afflicted by depression. The WHO recently estimated that by the end of the decade depression will be the second commonest disease in the developed world.

The unrelenting onslaught of advertising exerts constant pressure on parents in particular who, fearful their kids will be labelled, belittled and humiliated if their pressies are not up to scratch when they compare notes in the school yard, are more than ready to satisfy the most outlandish wants and bugger the cost and inconvenience for the next 52 weeks. To hell if that present you’ve just paid £250 for will end up in a cupboard after a few weeks, the novelty having worn off – to be sold for £50 on ebay in a few months time – you just can’t let the neighbours know your hard up.

And the sad thing is, we all know Christmas marketing is just one big profit-oriented scam, benefiting manufacturers, stores, and huge corporations, while driving individuals into debt. We all know it’s a game of winners and losers. You don’t need a degree in ethics to realise that the Chrimbo "wish lists" and "gift exchanges", the giving in que demeans the real concept of giving. We know this annual orgy of consumption – 40% of what we buy is binned, unused – is detrimental to the environment, filling landfills with useless packaging and discarded gifts. We know Christmas means misery for millions of families, depression for hundreds of thousands – the Samaritans say they receive an 8% increase in calls between Christmas day and New Year. Yet still we tag along with the damned charade, still we passively acquiesce in the madness. Even socialists take it seriously, for fuck’s sake. I know SPGB members, my comrades, who actually send out the conventional Christmas cards.

Seems the workers just need this annual fix, this distraction from the rat race, even if they do know its all bollocks

Me, as ever I’m pissed off with the unified bleatings of friends, family and associates, who mockingly call me "Scrooge" when I fail to fully endorse their ritual orgy of consumption or utter the hackneyed “are you set for Christmas yet?” type of remark. For I’m one of those dole wallahs with kids and grandkids, a single-parent to boot, who can say “Jesus Christ has got me skint.” And being a devout atheist, a Marxist, it smarts just that little bit more when you know you have to fucking conform – and phone up the ‘provi woman’ - just to save your kin humiliation.

So forgive me if you hear me say “Fuck Christmas! Stick yer Christmas tree up yer arse and put a match to that wee straw-filled manger.” To be sure, the class war is not suspended at Christmas as the religiously devout and profit mongers would have us believe. Indeed, the shameless robbery of our class is only accentuated when there are profits to be had.

If you’re looking for that anti-Xmas card, make your own like I do and use these pics below, courtesy of class warfare. Click to enlarge. Happy solstice :-

U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald is on the case. I’m familiar with him from the time he spent in Rhode Island, sending Providence’s Mayor-For-Life Buddy Cianci to the slammer for five years on corruption charges. Fitzgerald means business — he got the mayor’s righthand man on tape taking a bribe. Everyone in RI knew the great Budd-I was guilty as sin but making the charges stick would be the difficult part, and Fitzgerald did. So the fact that charges have been brought Blagojevich by Fitzgerald means the IL governor is as good as done in my book, because Fitzgerald wouldn’t bring up charges if he doesn’t have a rock solid case.

Personally, my hopes are that Blagojevich is just as entertaining as Cianci. Cianci was never a national figure, so all of you don’t know just how much amusement he’s provider to us roe-dyliners* over the years. But if it can be quantified, maybe this short description on how Buddy got ejected from office the first time (yes, before Fitzgerald) will do the trick: “Cianci was forced by law to resign from office for the first time in 1984 after pleading no contest to assaulting a man with a lit cigarette, an ashtray and a fireplace log.” Use your imagination to place the pieces together — and yes, the fireplace log was on fire.

It’s Everybody’s Mayor, baby! Beat that Blagojevich, I dare ya.

* - It’s an actual word … In the Rhode Island dictionary.

Why then kill 140 Indians, the vast majority of the victims, including 44 Muslims?

Then the Shiv Sena Mumbai authorities said that the "Terrorist" were targeting Israelis specifically, revenge for the Israeli treatment of Palestinians.Why in Shiv Sena run Mumbai?

Why then kill 140 Indians, the vast majority of victims, including 44 Muslims?

Then the Shiv Sena Mumbai authorities said the "Terrorists" were taking revenge for the poor treatment and killing of Kashmiris by Indian security forces.

Why then Kill 44 Muslims as well? 25% of the victims.

2. The Shiv Sena Mumbai authorities said there were 10 "Terrorists" operating at 13 different locations, according to the Maharashtra state minister, all at the same period in the city within a 3 hour period, starting at 9:30 -12:30

This was an operation involving maybe 30 terrorists from Israel, Germany and the RSS

(The RSS are Hindu nationalists).

Backed by other civilian handlers, C & C, transport, logistics, safe houses, escape routes, and back up teams - 100's of others. Planning for months on end.

The Shiv Sena had to have known about it, and OK'ed it, because without their cooperation it simply could not have been undertaken, and performed for the world for 60 hours, at 2 5 star hotels and other public places.

Mumbai photo from: mangalorean.com/news.php?newstype=broadcast...

3. Terrorist numbers, the time and location don't add up.

Some reports say the 10 "Terrorists" came ashore and split up into groups of 2 on the 26th of November.

Other reports say that some of the group came 15 days earlier from the 26th, contrary to what is explained by the authorities and ALL checked into Nariman House, where, confirmed by local shop keepers, they bought 100 kilograms of meat, and alcohol, stockpiling it in Nariman house.

Why would an Orthodox Jewish place meant for Jews only, welcome, and house young Muslim males, without asking questions first. "Oh look what are you going to do witth all that alcohol; having a party Abdul?"

If there were 6 terrorists at Nariman house as reported by the terrorists themselves to the authorities from the beginning, 3/4 at the Taj, that's 2 locations out of 13 locations attacked, and accounted for. The question is then, can the 1 remaining terrorist out of 10 be in 11 different places at the same time, carrying out the other attacks, if you believe there were only 10 terrorists who came ashore on the 26th?

Once you start shooting, you are fixed to your location.

Indian Nanny from www.huffingtonpost.com/nanny-moves...

4. The Indian nanny, who reportedly rescued the 2 year old Jewish child, is now in Israel, given permanent residency immediately, as a government priority by Israel, and is unavailable for questioning by Indian authorities? Is this true? Maybe she saw that it was Israelis fighting the Indian commando's.

All Jewish casualties bodies are flown to Israel immediately, and no further detailed autopsy can be done on them by Indian authorities, except that none of the 6 had any torture marks as confirmed by Indian doctors, at the latest report.

In the year 2000, 11 Israeli passport holders, pretending to be Muslim religious figures (Tabliqi) were detained by Indian authorities for questionable activity, and then under pressure from Israel, quickly repatriated to Israel. More of Israel's fake al-Qaeda.

Reports consistently stated that only 2 hostages were left in Nariman house when the Indian commandos attacked, so who are the other 4 dead Jews.

How did they die if the place had been cleared of all hostages bar the two owners?

Many jews live in India.

Are the 6 dead Israelis the ones that actually fought Indian security forces, along with others?

Some Indian commandos who raided Nariman house clearly saw that they were fighting whites.

Account from the Guardian newspaper:

"One police officer who encountered the gunmen as they entered the Jewish centre told the Guardian the attackers were 'white'

"...'I went into the building late last night,' he said. 'I got a shock because they were white. I was expecting them to look like us. They fired three shots. I fired 10 back.'"

Some say 9 people died at Nariman house? whilst according to reports 6 Jews died. So 9 minus 6 leaves 3. Who are the other 3?

The "Terrorist" claimed there were 6 of them in Nariman house, as reported by the Commando Units, so if there are 9 dead at Nariman house where are the other 3 terrorists, out of a total 6 reported at one stage.

Scores of severely mutilated bodies of 'Terrorists' are produced by the Siv Sena Mumbai authorities, so Joe public can't tell if they are foreign nationals or locals, or whatever. No clear identification.

Karkare

5. How could they come from 500 miles away, so heavily burdened, come ashore in rubber dinghies, at a heavily protected port area, undetected or challenged by Port Security, Customs, bystanders, and local Police; get into Taxis and find and kill Mr Hemant Karkare as one of their first targets in the first hour or two of the operation?......maybe they were lucky.

Mrs Karkare has refused to accept the compensation for his death offered by the Indian Government.

6. Most terrorists linked to Kashmir don't speak English.

They tend to be of poor and uneducated.

But our captured 'Terrorist' speaks good English?

Feels ashamed to speak Marathi does he? Or Urdu? Or Hindi? Or Mallu? Oh no, he has to speak English first......for the benefit of whom?

Let him drop his pants, and lets see his "DANDA".

Let him recite the KORAN from memory, and all the Sura.

Let him speak in his native tongue for a very very good while, NOT English, in conversation with another native speaker from his locality. .

7. The captured terrorist 'Kasab' was photographed by security cameras wearing a saffron wristband, identifying him as a Hindu. No Muslim, let alone a fervently Muslim ‘terrorist’ would ever wear that Hindu identification.

Pakistan Consular access to Kasab is being denied.

Clean shaven..........No Lashkar-e-Taiba member would ever be clean shaven, and he does not look Pakistani.

Is he from Faridkot, Punjab, Pakistan as the authorities in India clearly said, or from India?

8. Italy means drugs and Mafia.

Rome has always been a major center for Mossad operations in Europe and North Africa.

Rome is where the Niger Yellow cake forgeries by the Israelis and Iranians were hatched, which was the causus Belli for the Iraq invasion by America, and false allegations against Saddam Hussain.

Rome is where Mossad and Iranian intelligence VEVAK meet to discuss how to keep the hated mullah regime in power in Iran, and other matters that are of interest to both nations.

The Jews, through America, the UK, and France, changed things in Iran in 1979, and brought in the mullahs.

Yellow Cake Uranium

So when a terrorist wears a Versace T-shirt, it is an Israeli statement of power, and operational presence - "This is our show", we are running it.

Jews, through various intelligence organizations and organized crime, control most of the world narcotics trade. (The real reason why Uncle Sam is grunting in Afghanistan).

There are persistent rumors that the Shiv Sena trades in narcotics with the Israelis, through the huge number of Israeli tourists who flock to India each year.

It should be noted that the 'illustrious' Jewish house of David Sassoon, which controlled a significant portion of the worlds opium trade at one time, was based in Mumbai.

Some of his descendants still live there, along with the traditional Cochin and Beni Israel Jews of India.

Clive meets Mir Jafar

9. The Pakistani military are the traditional Mir Jafars of the region, allowing foreign bases on South Asian soil to the extent no other self respecting South Asian nation with IZZAT would allow.

(Mir Jafar - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

1971. 3,000,000 killed in East Pakistan by the British/US trained and armed Pakistan military.

1973--1977. 100,000 killed in Baluchistan by the British/US trained and armed Pakistan military.

Since 2003. Perhaps up to 10,000 killed in the NWFP by the British/US trained and armed Pakistan military.

In the 1948, 1965, 1971, 1999 wars the British/US trained and armed Pakistan military have killed maybe 10,000 Indian servicemen.

In Kashmir through the backing of separatist insurgents the British/US trained and armed Pakistan military have indirectly been responsible for the death of 50,000 people.

Since July 1979, through American encouragment, the British/US trained and armed Pakistan military trained and armed the Afghan Mujaheddin in response to American geostrategic plans for the area, under "Operation Cyclone" and "Greenbelt". 1,500,000 Afghans died in the war that followed.

In 1994 in response to American strategic requirements, the British/US trained and armed Pakistan military trained, armed, organised and often led the Taliban in Afghanistan into power resulting in 100,000 deaths in the country.

10. But by allowing Israeli intelligence to manage their show in Mumbai ...the Shiv Sena authorities have stooped to a new low of Mir Jafarness traitorous behavior as South Asians against all of South Asia.

This is how the Raj conquered all India, eventually.

This is how the Raj killed 30 million Indians, eventually.

This is how the Raj stole $1 trillion worth of Indian assets, eventually.

Family arguments should be kept within the family. You don't bring in foreigners in order to settle your family arguments. Then you become beholden to the wishes and interests of foreigners, after all they have helped you have they not? Something all South Asians should know from their metric history books.

You don't kill your own people, using foreigners in order to win elections either. The word for such things is treason, high treason.

The Siv Sena of Mumbai are 'filthy traitorous chamar, nothing less'.

~~~

Image via Wikipedia

I can think of no greater hell on earth than spending day after day in a little box. What about non-violent offenders? The drug addicts, the bad check writers, the people that are filling up our jails and costing us money?

The number of prisoners in prisons for drugs equals the total number of prisoners in 1980! The good news: in the past 20 years spending for higher education has increased 21%. The bad news: in that same 20 years, spending for prisons increased 127%.

We're creating criminals, not citizens.

Yesterday we reported the story of RARBG, a 100,000 user tracker currently feeling pressure from anti-piracy group, BREIN. Although popular with Bulgarians, RARBG had an english version of the site and also indexed regular material that could be found on most trackers.

Rather than limited action against one site, the picture emerging today shows a concerted attempt by the police to take down many other Bulgarian trackers, both those hosted in their home country and others hosted elsewhere. A special police unit usually dedicated to fighting organized crime recently starting working to identify the administrators of the sites. Once identified, the police set about making contact with them, and each was invited to a meeting.

At the meeting the administrators were ordered to shut down the sites. There were no explanations as to why they should, or which laws were being put into effect, but the order was clear - shut down the sites or the police will come and take the servers. Below is a rundown of sites that are currently affected, but we can’t confirm yet that all of these administrators were actually at the meetings.

ArenaBG, at one stage thought to be one of the larger European trackers, currently displays the message, “Dear user, We were forced to close our website.” The site was hosted at LeaseWeb in The Netherlands. However, the site has an alternative URL at 0.arenabg.com and appears to be setting up a new open tracker, which can be found at free.arenabg.com.

With 120,000 users, P2PBG is a pretty significant site. Although still visible, the site has been ordered by the police to cease tracking torrents. P2PBG is hosted in Bulgaria.

The MastersTB tracker has disappeared. AvatarBG, another Bulgarian tracker is currently down, but links on the homepage show a forum and alternative domain available elsewhere.

A site which intends to close altogether is Torrent-BG. There is no longer a torrent section on the site and the site owner says he will even give away the domain to a worthwhile new owner. Another site set to disappear is WordBG, and the administrators of Zarta.org have announced that the site will no longer have a BitTorrent tracker, and that it will go in a new direction. All sites were hosted in Bulgaria.

Currently, Bulgaria’s largest BitTorrent tracker Zamunda.net is fully operational. It has around 500,000 members with a tracker serving up to a peak of 1.8 million peers.

If any reader has additional information on this developing story, please contact us in confidence.

Post from: TorrentFreak

Exxon Valdez spill payments reach claimants

Although less than hoped for, plaintiffs begin to receive share of $383 million in damages.

By WESLEY LOY

The millions of dollars Exxon Mobil Corp. has surrendered as punishment for the Prince William Sound oil spill have started hitting the streets, nearly 20 years after the disaster.

Several commercial fishermen who joined in the lawsuit against Exxon reported receiving direct deposits in their bank accounts Monday. Paper checks are expected to go out in the mail in the next week.

The payments mark the beginning of a process to distribute $383 million among nearly 33,000 commercial fishermen and other plaintiffs.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs and Exxon continue to battle in court over whether the oil company owes interest on the punitive damages award. If so, the interest could roughly double the total payout.

_______________


Exxon long held that it didn't owe punitive damages, arguing it already had spent $3.4 billion as a result of the spill including compensatory payments, cleanup payments, settlements and fines.

Over the summer, however, the U.S. Supreme Court said the company owed up to $507.5 million in punitive damages.

_______________















An Anchorage jury originally decided in 1994 that Exxon owed $5 billion for the 11-million-gallon oil spill, which disrupted many of the state's commercial fisheries and sullied miles of beaches. Over many years, however, Exxon's lawyers succeeded in whittling down the amount to a fraction of the jury award."

Everybody's very disgusted because of the process and the whacking we got from Exxon and the Supreme Court," Mullen said. "Nobody's thrilled, but nobody's going to send the check back, either."

In recent weeks, lawyers for the plaintiffs filed long lists in court specifying the amount to be paid to each claimant. Most of the amounts range from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand, but some exceed $100,000.

Lawyers will deduct about 22 percent from each payment as compensation for pressing the epic class action against Exxon.

llinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested Tuesday on charges of conspiring to get financial benefits through his authority to appoint a U.S. senator to fill the vacancy left by Barack Obama's election as president.

According to a federal criminal complaint, Blagojevich also was charged with illegally threatening to withhold state assistance to Tribune Co., the owner of the Chicago Tribune, in the sale of Wrigley Field. In return for state assistance, Blagojevich allegedly wanted members of the paper's editorial board who had been critical of him fired.

Blagojevich also was charged with using his authority as governor in an attempt to squeeze out campaign contributions, prosecutors said.

Shepherds Nights

The idea of the “Shepherds’ Nights” aims to promote tourism in the Bethlehem area while stimulating the local economy and empower local communities.

The idea of the “Shepherds’ Nights” aims to promote tourism in the Bethlehem area while stimulating the local economy and empower local communities. It will consist of two nights:
- The First night, 24 Dec 2008: Palestinian art consisting of music, folkloric dances, highlights of local theater groups, marching bands, art exhibits, other artistic expressions. The location is suggested to be the YMCA grounds in Beit Sahour
- The Second day, 25 Dec 2008: Tourists and locals are enlisted in joint programs and celebrations ranging from home visits to visits to impoverished areas to bring the Christmas spirit to the needy etc. More afternoon programs at the location of the first evening will include Children’s program and Christmas Carols. In the evening, a “Candle Light Procession” from Shepherds Field. The candle procession for this year will be titled, “Light a Candle for the Land of the Shepherds”
The Program:
First Night: December 24
16.30 – 18.00 Christmas Eve service at the Cave
18.00 – 18.50 Children Show ( Alhara Theater)
19.00 – 20.10 Rim Al-Banna
20.20 – 20.40 Al Ghad Al Jaded Dabka
20.50 -21.20 Christmas Carols
21.30 – 21.50 Kazar Dabka
22.00 – 22.30 Said Zarzar
Second Night: December 25
16.30 Candle Procession start "Light a Candle for the Land of the Shepherds"
17.30 Local Choir Groups
18.30 Tornado Lights Rap Songs
Hospitality (Arabic Coffee and Oriental Sweets)

Donor & Sponsors:

ORGANIZERS: