Just heard on Wisconsin Public Radio

[웃 910]

When I lived in the UK I was burgled regularly and my daughter was burgled last week while she was in bed. It consists of 19 year old drug addicts stealing televisions and laptops and if they are discovered, they run away. In the USA , it's more likely to be some inner city minority robbing a store at gun point. Still a crime but no comparison in it's seriousness

A guy I went to high school with did this while nobody was home. He was charged with "Home Invasion" and since he was recently aged 17 (magic number for being charged as an adult) he destroyed his life. He was charged with a serious felony and in 2002 he was shipped off to prison. He got out in February of 2008 and by May 2008 he was caught with a gun and charged with multiple felonies. The poor guy now has an earliest chance of parole of December 2012 from his May 2008 incident of being caught with a gun. His guaranteed date of release (maximum): May 30, 2029!

Edited June 2, 2011 by Lord Infamous

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

So why has the USA got the largest percent prison population in the 1st world ?

Because this is a nation of criminals that has forgotten that fact. We rebelled against Mother England, so that we could form a nation more friendly to smugglers and tax cheats. However, it didn't take long for the new government to renege on that promise.

Whiskey Rebellion

Shays’ Rebellion

[Captain Oates 911]

The last time I was burgled in the UK, I came downstairs at 3am when I heard a noise. It was a hot summer night (yes, in England) and so I laid on the settee a while. The burglars returned and shone a flashlight on me. I smiled and waved at them and they nearly broke their necks running away. I have that effect on women too when I am in the buff

The time before, they lifted my patio doors off the runner and leaned the door up against the kitchen window. I came downstairs and they scarpered in panic

The time before that, 3 Pakistanis were ripping the radio out of my Merc. I ran out into the street semi-naked and brandishing a rolling pin - and they all ran too.

I never heard of any burglar having a gun or a knife in all my decades of living there

Now I live in the USA, I sleep with a Ruger LCR 38 special and I have a AR-15 semi auto rifle with a 30 round magazine in it. It is a totally different world here.

Why should it be like that in 'The finest country in the history of the world' (Mitt Romney)

Perhaps he is applying his own criteria such as the 'easy availability of Grecian 2000'

[^_^ 5,021]

I've only lived outside the U.S. for a few years as a teenager and I have never been mugged, robbed, raped, abducted by aliens, chased by Pakis, or anything even remotely like it.

I did live in India for a few years as a teenager and within that short period of time I was assaulted (multiple times), robbed and even had a gun pointed at me.

Your accounts of life in the U.S. sound a lot more like the stories my dad had when he was a new immigrant (before I was born) living in some of the crappiest neighborhoods in early 70s America. I wonder if your stories are real or regurgitated garbage from something you've read or heard.

[Captain Oates 911]

I've only lived outside the U.S. for a few years as a teenager and I have never been mugged, robbed, raped, abducted by aliens, chased by Pakis, or anything even remotely like it.

I did live in India for a few years as a teenager and within that short period of time I was assaulted (multiple times), robbed and even had a gun pointed at me.

Your accounts of life in the U.S. sound a lot more like the stories my dad had when he was a new immigrant (before I was born) living in some of the crappiest neighborhoods in early 70s America. I wonder if your stories are real or regurgitated garbage from something you've read or heard.

My stories of burglary in the UK are my own stories - first hand and unembroidered

I have no first hand stories of crime in the US except from accounts in my local newspaper which describe gun crimes in this little 'ole town. I have lived in Milwaukee which was described as the murder capital of the USA at one time. I have also lived in Tampa, Florida and watched the local news there - which is somewhat different to Harrogate,

North Yorkshire where someone once stole a plastic garden gnome

I don't think my view of the differences between UK crime and US crime are at all exaggerated but there again I have never met an American who thought that crime and punishment in the USA was worse than anywhere else - or that anything anywhere was in any way better than the USA.

Edited June 2, 2011 by Alan the Red

[Ban Hammer 13,343]

When you look at how the US treats Bradly Manning who hasn't even been tried, it's just barbaric. Solitary confinement and naked on a cold hard wood bench for month after month. I like living in the US while everything is going ok for me - but I do live in fear of US culture and 'justice' as I find it so aggressive and crude and violent and barbaric - so I always feel 'at risk' in case I go through a red light by mistake or hit a pedestrian while driving

I may be moving to Wisconsin later this year Nick - so sort it out quickly !

i wasn't aware you'd been here to ft leavenworth and toured his cell.

[Captain Oates 911]

i wasn't aware you'd been here to ft leavenworth and toured his cell.

I wouldn't go anywhere near in case I was arrested for not wearing a US flag lapel pin.

His conditions have improved from the nastiness prior due to the fresh air of publicity from the likes of me but the malice towards (and 'punishment' of) an unconvicted person was very plain

http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2011/05/06/miraculous-reversal-bradley-mannings-humane-conditions-at-leavenworth/

[Ban Hammer 13,343]

I wouldn't go anywhere near in case I was arrested for not wearing a US flag lapel pin.

His conditions have improved from the nastiness prior due to the fresh air of publicity from the likes of me but the malice towards (and 'punishment' of) an unconvicted person was very plain

http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2011/05/06/miraculous-reversal-bradley-mannings-humane-conditions-at-leavenworth/

have you considered another possibility - that "his conditions" may have changed because he's been transferred to a brand spanking new facility on ft leavenworth?

btw, saturday we're expecting westboro to be here to protest on his behalf.

[Captain Oates 911]

have you considered another possibility - that "his conditions" may have changed because he's been transferred to a brand spanking new facility on ft leavenworth?

btw, saturday we're expecting westboro to be here to protest on his behalf.

Brand new facility eh - they must be expecting many more inmates in the future.

Only when they are tearing down prisons can we be sure that things are getting better

I am sure his transfer was something to do with the howl of protest from all over the world as I am sure that the instincts of the descendants of the puritans are intact and would be manifested in the same way as the 1600's if they were so allowed

[Ban Hammer 13,343]

Brand new facility eh - they must be expecting many more inmates in the future.

Only when they are tearing down prisons can we be sure that things are getting better

yes, that's the plan. the new jrtc replaces several other prisons.

I am sure his transfer was something to do with the howl of protest from all over the world as I am sure that the instincts of the descendants of the puritans are intact and would be manifested in the same way as the 1600's if they were so allowed

more like his transfer is sop.

FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan. -- The Midwest Joint Regional Correctional Facility, or JRCF, is the newest Department of Defense correctional facility. It is a state-of-the-art, 464-bed, medium/minimum custody facility with a 48-bed special housing unit built to comply with American Correctional Association Standards. It officially opened on Oct. 1, 2010 and received its first military prisoners four days later.

The mission of the JRCF is to provide pre-trial confinement and post-trial incarceration for U.S. military prisoners sentenced to up to five years of confinement. The JRCF staff conducts correctional and treatment programs in order to maintain good order and discipline and reduce recidivism upon release from confinement.

The facility is located adjacent to the United States Disciplinary Barracks. Together they form the Military Correctional Complex at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. The Military Correctional Complex is similar to a Federal Bureau of Prisons' Federal Correctional Complex in that it clusters several distinct correctional facilities of varying security levels in one location that share services and manage efficiencies in manpower and logistics.

The JRCF staff includes a team of mental health professionals, including a psychiatrist, psychologist, social workers, and behavioral science noncommissioned officers with experience in addressing the needs of military personnel in pre- and post-trial confinement.

The facility's Directorate of Operations is responsible for security, safety, housing unit operations, military police investigations and physical security. The JRCF also has its own military facility commander who reports to the 15th Military Police Brigade Commander/Military Correctional Complex commander, who leads a team of approximately 1,200 trained and experienced Corrections Specialists and Soldiers.

Within the JRCF, there are six general population housing units capable of holding a total of 464 prisoners. All of the six general housing units are of the direct supervision design. The correctional specialist's control panel is located in the housing unit common area.

Five of the general housing units are two levels with 40 modular cells. Each of these general housing units has the capability of housing 80 prisoners each. The sixth general housing unit is an open bay design with 32 double bunks capable of housing 64 minimum security prisoners. Each housing unit has an open center containing pay phones, tables, chairs, and televisions.

Each cell is at least 80 square feet, of which 35 square feet is unencumbered, usable space not taken up by furnishings or fixtures. All cells have a sleeping surface and mattress, a writing surface and seat, storage for personal items, and adequate storage space for clothes and personal belongings.

Lighting in all cells is at least 20 foot-candles at desk level and in personal grooming areas, and prisoners have access to natural light by means of an opening or a window of at least three square feet between the cell and an adjacent space.

The Special Housing Unit is a multi-floor design with 48 individual cells. The correctional specialist's control panel is located in a secure observation booth. There are four areas of four cells each designated for pretrial prisoners awaiting trial.

This is where Pfc. Bradlwy Manning will be located. The pre-trial living area and daily activities are separate from the general population. Pre-trial prisoners are also segregated from general population prisoners for all meals and recreation.

However, pre-trial prisoners like Manning, are able to interact with each other in a common area just outside their individual cells. Pre-trial prisoners also receive three hours of recreation daily and are able to watch television, read or engage in other personal activities while in their housing unit.

During pre-trial confinement, pre-trial prisoners have access to religious support, medical and mental health care, personal and legal visitation, phone calls, and are authorized to write and receive mail daily.

The JRCF occupies approximately 40 acres of property, with a 250,000 square foot facility consisting of five buildings. The exterior walls of the facility were built using 1,488 precast concrete panels. Outside the secure perimeter of the fence is an administrative building, a utility building and the Military Correctional Complex warehouse.

Inside the secure perimeter is a vehicle access security building and the main multi-purpose building. The main building is divided into multiple zones consisting of legal, food service, medical/dental clinics, education, chapel, prisoner services, visitation, vocational training, library, gymnasium, laundry, administrative offices and the general population housing units.

There is an open air central recreation yard consisting of a softball field, two full-sized basketball courts, a handball court, weight pad with eight stack weight systems, and a paved running track, all with exterior lighting.

The perimeter fence consists of two 12-foot chain link fences, topped with wire and an intrusion detection system monitored from the central control. The perimeter is illuminated by security lighting and monitored by a closed-circuit television system and roving security patrols.

http://www.army.mil/article/55146/

[Captain Oates 911]

Seems "the finest Military the world has ever known", has some bad boys (and girls)

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Seems "the finest Military the world has ever known", has some bad boys (and girls)

Why do you bleed for terrorists?

[B_J 2,752]

Why do you bleed for terrorists?

Those who hate the USA have to stick together??

[Captain Oates 911]

Why do you bleed for terrorists?

Surely you don't approve of what went on at Abu Ghraib ?

Terrorists (convicted terrorists that is) should be punished according to the law and not by some tattood southern trailer trash according to her own sadistic perversions

Would you agree ?

By the way - the US government and Military leadership agrees with my views on this..

Edited June 2, 2011 by Alan the Red

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Surely you don't approve of what went on at Abu Ghraib ?

Terrorists (convicted terrorists that is) should be punished according to the law and not by some tattood southern trailer trash according to her own sadistic perversions

Would you agree ?

By the way - the US government and Military leadership agrees with my views on this..

Okay. Send in Interpol. Try them in the Hague, next to ####### Cheney and Don Rumsfeld. Then we can all sing ring around the rosie.

Romans had it right. Line the roads with the crucified terrorists as an example.