All the World's a Prison: History

Hamlet: [...] what have you, my good friends, deserved at the hands of fortune, that she sends you to prison thither?
Guildenstern: Prison, my lord!
Hamlet: Denmark's a prison.
Rosencrantz: Then the world is one.
Hamlet: A goodly one; in which there are many confines, wards and dungeons.[1]

No doubt many of my readers, even those who are well-educated or widely read, think that the prison -- the place where dark deeds are darkly answered[2] -- is an ancient institution, a barbaric hold-over from barbaric times. In fact, the prison is of relatively recent origin, and this tells us a great deal about the pretentions and realities of modern times, and the wisdom and high degree of development of the ancients.

So that there's no confusion, I'll define exactly what I mean by "the prison," which has approximately a dozen distinctive features. A prison is (1) a massive, fortified structure, which is (2) surrounded or enclosed by walls and fences that dramatically limit entrances and prevent unauthorized departures. Prisons are often (3) built within city centers or other highly populated areas. To prevent passersby from seeing what goes on inside its walls, and to prevent inmates from looking out, a prison (4) contains very few or very small windows, which are typically tinted or otherwise rendered opaque.

The high wall, no longer the wall that surrounds and protects, no longer the wall that stands for power and wealth, but the meticulously sealed wall, uncrossable in either direction, closed in upon the now mysterious work of punishment, will become, near at hand, sometimes even at the very center of the cities of the nineteenth century, the monotonous figure, at once material and symbolic, of the power to punish.[3]

(And so I do not include among prisons of the modern type such proto-prisons as convict-ships, islands or whole countries to which criminals are banished, or structures that are built on wastelands or remote areas.)

The primary purpose of the modern prison -- the method by which it punishes -- is (5) detention, that is, the deprivation of liberty, the freedom to move wherever and whenever desired. (And so I do not include among modern prisons the debtor's prison, in which inmates are held, not as punishment, but as surety for their debts, which -- once re-paid -- entitled the inmate to his or her freedom.) Prison inmates are detained in (6) partioned spaces; indeed, the entire internal space of the prison is carefully partioned. As Michel Foucault says:

Each individual has his [sic] own place; and each place its individual. Avoid distributions in groups; break up collective dispositions; analyze confused, massive or transient pluralities [...] One must eliminate the effects of imprecise distributions, the uncontrolled disappearance of individuals, their diffuse circulation, their unusable and dangerous coagulation [...] The prison must be designed in such a way as to efface of itself the harmful consequences to which it gives rise in gathering together very different convicts in the same place: to stifle plots and revolts, to prevent the formation of future complicities that give rise to blackmail (when the convicts are once again at liberty), to form an obstacle to the immorality of so many 'mysterious' associations.

The most effective partition, and thus the most common, is the monastic cell, first utilized by the Carthusians in 1084 in France.

In prison, other forms of spatial control -- control made possible by and exerted through partitioned or "cellular" space -- include (7) areas reserved for solitary confinement and areas from which all inmates are prohibited. To the extent that human beings take up and exist in space, one must also include those forms of punishment that work directly upon the body, such as (8) obligatory medical observations and psychological examinations, food quality and food rationing, and sexual deprivation.

Given that inmates are detained in prison for certain periods of time, there are also temporal forms of control, such as (9) probationary periods, roll-calls or "counts," timetables and schedules that "establish rhythms, impose particular occupations, [and] regulate the cycles of repetition" (Foucault). Because all of the above involve what Foucault calls "small-scale legal systems and parallel judges" such as psychiatrists, psychologists, clergy members, educationalists, and officers who oversee implementations, the prison consists of (10) their offices and (11) all the written reports, examinations, documents and files that they generate, store and communicate to the prison's central administration.

Each individual prison doesn't exist alone, but is part of (12) a complex and hierarchical structure, the different levels of which correspond to the different levels of the state apparatus. And so, according to the seventh edition of Black's Law Dictionary, there are "jails" for those awaiting trial, awaiting sentencing or convicted of misdemeanors; "prisons" for those convicted of felonies by the state or federal government; and "penitentiaries" for those in need of "correction" and sentenced to long terms of detention. (Note well the confusion: aren't all jails and prisons "penitentiaries"? Don't they all detain inmates for the purposes of "correction"?)

Finally, the entire system as a whole is (13) distinct and even autonomous from the judicial system, that is to say, from the judges who sentence people to jail. As Foucault points out, there is a "double system of protection that justice has set up between itself and the punishment it imposes." Because there is "no glory in punishing," the judges delegate it to others, who are specialists in its administration; and because punishment often involves or is inseparable from cruelty and even torture, the judges prefer to think that they do not punish at all, but simply correct, reclaim or rehabilitate those who are judged. If the prison bureaucracy is close to any other state apparatus, it is the police; and, unlike judges and district attorneys, police officers and sheriffs are not elected officials; they are either hired or appointed, and so are completely beyond or outside of "the will of the people."

If we accept this definition, or even some its essential features, we can say with certainty that the prison didn't exist in ancient times. A review of a handul of classic works of literature easily bears this truth out. Look at The Iliad, written by Homer around 700 B.C.

Why, any man will accept the bloodprice paid
for a brother murdered, a child done to death.
And the murderer lives in his own country --
the man has paid enough, and the injured kinsman
curbs his pride, his smoldering, vengeful spirit,
once he takes the price.[4]

No detention, no imprisonment, not even for murder; the only judicial options are fines or banishment. Look at Stories of Changing Forms, also known as The Metamorphoses, written by Publius Ovidius Naso (Ovid) around 20 B.C. Though terrible crimes are committed, including murder, rape, incest, betrayal and hubris, none of the punishments meted out by the gods -- who are "fair in judging mortals"[5] -- include imprisonment. Instead, the offenders are "sentenced" to undergo incredible transformations, to become animals, plants or mineral formations; to go into exile as new beings. Strictly speaking, there are no death penalties in Ovid, only the penalty of not being allowed to remain the same.

Look at The Divine Comedy, written by Dante Aligieri around 1300 A.D. Though both the Inferno and the Purgatorio describe prison-like structures that are full of souls who are either permanently or temporarily detained, and subject to terrible (but just) tortures or cleansing corrections, Dante never refers to the existence of man-made prisons. Only God has the right or power to detain and punish. This idea also appears in Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare around 1600 A.D. The ghost of Hamlet's father says that he is,

Doom'd for a certain term to walk the night,
And for the day confined to fast in fires,
Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature
Are burnt and purged away. But that I am forbid
To tell the secrets of my prison-house,
I could a tale unfold.[6]

This is no man-made prison: it is a divine purgatory, which Hamlet's father cannot describe or explain because, unlike Dante, he has no Beatrice to forgive him or guide him through and away from his sins.

There are man-made prisons in Shakespeare's Measure for Measure, but they are quite unlike our modern prisons. They are not used to detain convicts for "a certain term," but to prepare them for death at the hands of an executioner. These convicts are all "for the Lord's sake."[7] And, though Duke Vincentio says to a constable, "Take him to prison, officer:/Correction and instruction must both work/Ere this rude beast will profit," the convict will only "profit" when he is ready and willing to be put to death.

Perhaps the most telling prison in the works of Shakespeare is the one in which Sir Tobias detains Malvolio:

Come, we'll have him in a dark room and bound. My niece is already in the belief that he's mad: we may carry it thus, for our pleasure and his penance, till our very pastime, tired out of breath, prompt us to have mercy on him.[8]

But Sir Tobias ends his prank prematurely, well before his pleasure has been satsified and Malvolio's penance has been wrung from him:

I would we were well rid of this knavery. If he may be conveniently delivered, I would he were, for I am now so far in offence with my niece that I cannot pursue with any safety this sport to the upshot.[9]

One feels that Sir Tobias has been scared, rather than amused by, the awesome power to detain a man in a dark, hellish place, without seing him or hearing him cry out in pain, confusion and anger. Sir Tobias has realized that the role of gaoler is not to be played, or played with, lightly: it is a dark, terrible business. As for Malvolio, he has not been "corrected and instructed": he's emerged much worse than he was when he entered. His last words are menacing: "I'll be revenged on the whole pack of you."[10]

According to Foucault, the first of the "great models of punitive imprisonment" -- the Rasphius in Amsterdam -- was opened in 1596. It is interesting that Foucault doesn't consider the Jewish ghetto in Venice as one of the first modern prisons. Established in 1516, the ghetto was an entire neighborhood, whose center was a former foundry building, to which the city's Jews were confined. It was a sealed, walled-in place, which was strictly regulated by the authorities. Inside, the inmates were forced to wear distinctive uniforms (red strips of cloth). It is worth noting this brief account of the ghetto in Turin, which was one of the last established in Italy (it was created in 1679):

The Jewish families of the city were crowded into a large paupers' hospital in the center of the city; its windows were walled up so that the Jews might not look into Christian houses, and its iron gates closed for the night at nine.[11]

It wasn't until the last quarter of the 18th century that "real" modern prisons were built and filled with inmates. Foucault mentions the Hanway in England (1775) and the Walnut Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1790). Speaking broadly, Foucault dates "the birth of the prison" between 1760 and 1840, that is to say, a mere 200 years ago. He gives several reasons for the prison's rather late appearance in human history. It had to wait until or, rather, could only be deployed as part of the sweeping reform of the entire criminal-justice system that took place as monarchies were overthrown and replaced by constitutional republics. As part of this revolutionary transformation, explicit criminal codes and unified rules of procedure were formulated; the jury system was almost universally adopted; penalties were defined as corrective, not punitive; torture was abandoned as both a means of obtaining evidence and as an element of "correction"; public executions were abolished; and penalties were adapted or designed to fit individual offenders. Because of its basis in the monastic cell and the "humanitarian" aspects of its reliance on detention, the prison came to be seem as an attractive option.

As Foucault points out, "the criticism of the reformers was directed not so much at the weakness or cruelty of those in authority, as at a bad economy of power [...] a badly regulated distribution of power, [...] its concentration at a certain number of points and [...] the conflict and discontinuities that resulted." Foucault goes on to say,

The true objective of the reform movement [...] [was] to set up a new "economy" of the power to punish, to assure its better distribution; [...] so that it could be distributed in homogeneous circuits capable of operating everywhere, in a continuous way, down to the finest grain of the social body. The reform of criminal law must be read as a strategy for the rearrangement of the power to punish [...]; in short, [to] increase its effects while diminishing its economic cost (that is to say, be dissociating it from the system of property, of buying and selling, of corruption in obtaining not only offices, but the decisions themselves) and its political cost (by dissociating it from the arbitrariness of monarchal power).

Here again, the prison was an attractive option: while the hardship of bribes, fines and banishment fell harder on the poor than on the wealthy, the hardship of being deprived of one's liberty and freedom fell equally upon all, both poor and rich people alike.

The nature of crime itself changed during the 1760-1840 period. Fewer crimes were committed:

[B]lasphemy [...] lost its status as a crime; smuggling and domestic larceny some of their seriousness [...] A General movement shifted criminality from the attack on bodies to the more or less direct seizure of goods; and from a "mass criminality" to a "marginal criminality," partly the preserve of professionals. It was a if there had been a gradual olowering of level -- "a defusion of the tensions that dominate human relations, . . . a better control of violent impulses" -- and as if the illegal practices had themselves slackened their hold on the body and turned to other targets. Crime became less violent long before punishment became less severe.[12]

But "human nature" wasn't changing, becoming nobler or more enlightened. What was changing was human society or, rather, its political economy, e.g., "the development of production, the increase of wealth, a higher juridical and moral value placed on property relations, stricter methods of surveillance, a tighter partitioning of the population, [and] more efficient techniques of locating and obtaining information" (Foucault). But the birth of capitalism didn't entail, require or lead to the eradication of crime; capitalism needed criminality to continue, and not because it was more corrupt than the feudal monarchies that preceded it. Like its predecessors, capitalism required a certain margin of what Foucault calls "illegality."

The reciprocal interplay of illegalities [he writes] formed part of the political and economic life of society. Or, rather, a number of transformations [...] had operated in the breach that was being widened every day by popular illegality; the bourgeoisie had needed these transformations; and economic growth was due, in part, to them. Tolerance then became encouragement.

For capitalism to spread and take hold, certain illegalities needed to be suppressed, while others needed to be encouraged. "Or, to put it another way," Foucault says, "the economy of illegalities was restructured with the development of capitalist society"; "penal reform was born at the point of junction between the struggle against the super-power of the sovereign and that [struggle] against the infra-power of acquired and tolerated illegalities."

Here again, the prison or rather, its immediate and obvious failure as an institution, played a decisive role. It is striking that "penal reform" was born at virtually the same time as the birth of the prison itself. In 1767, F. Serpillon, the author of the Code criminel, wrote, "Imprisonment is not to be regarded as a penalty in our civil law." In 1883, A. Desjardin, author of Les Cahiers des Etats generaux et la justice criminelle, wrote, "Humanity rises up against the frightful thought that it is not a punishment [but a form of torture] to deprive a citizen of his most precious possession, to plunge him ignominiously into the den of crime, to snatch him from everything that is dear to him, to bring him perhaps to ruin and to deprive not only him but his unfortunate family [as well] of all means of subsistence."

But objections to or rejections of the prison system weren't merely philosophical or theoretical: they were also based upon the prison's actual results. Prisons did not and still do not lessen the crime rate, which either remains the same or even increases. Detention causes recidivism; ex-inmates are more likely to go back to prison than those who have never been incarcerated. Prisons produce delinquents: not only do prisons fail to correct, educate or rehabilitate, they also inculcate attitudes that make rehabilitation and reintegration into society more difficult, if not impossible. In 1819, F. Bigot Preameneu, the author of Rapport au conseil general de la societe des prisons, wrote, "The feeling of injustice that a prisoner has is one of the causes that may make his character untameable. When he sees himself exposed in this way to suffering, which the law has neither ordered nor envisioned, he becomes habitually angry against everything around him; he sees every agent of authority as an executioner; he no longer thinks that he was guilty: he accuses justice itself." Worse still, the prison allows, even encourages, the formation of an organized underclass of delinquents. In 1839, an anonymous entry in L'Almanach populaire de France stated, "The first desire that is born within him [the first-time offender] will be to learn from his cleverer seniors how to escape the rigors of the law; the first lesson will be derived from the strict logic of thieves who regard society as an enemy; the morality will be the informing and spying honored in our prisons."

It is here that Foucault's analysis comes full circle. The capitalist society that emerged between 1760 and 1840 requires and maintains an underclass of delinquents, which can be tapped as a ready source of informers, spies, thugs, strike-breakers, assassins, patsies and agents provocateurs, all of whom are expendable, plausibly deniable, easily returned to prison or eliminated. Capitalism can also make use of the spectacle of criminality as a whole, which 1) can be deliberately confused with the illegalism of the workers' movement (unionizing, prohibited associations, strikes, absenteeism, pilfering, machine-breaking and other forms of sabotage), the validity of which is thus discredited; 2) can be contrasted with "non-violent" forms of crime (insider-trading, fraudulent reporting, money-laundering, tax evasion, price-fixing and other "white-collar crimes"), the virulence of which is thus minimized; and 3) can be high-lighted at the expense of national and international organized-crime networks (sales of nuclear secrets and technology, trafficking in conventional weaponry, the processing and distribution of illegal drugs, and "terrorism"), the eradication of which is made to seem impossible.

A vicious circle, to be sure: "Police surveillance provides the prison with offenders, which the prison transforms into delinquents, [who are] the targets and auxilliaries of police supervisions, which regularly send back a certain number of them to prison" (Foucault). But, like all machines, this one requires fuel and constant maintenance by knowledgeable technicians, both of which may soon be short supply. Look at the growing number of states that have passed medical marijuana laws (11 of them so far). Look at the recent curtailment of some of the most stringent, even draconian, provisions of New York State's "Rockefeller" drug laws. These developments suggest that "the war on drugs," which places tens of thousands of offenders in prison every year, is losing support. Look at the growing number of defeats that both Bush in America and Blair in England have been dealt by high courts that have ruled on the legality of detaining "enemy combatants" and alleged terrorists anonymously, indefinitely and without informing them of the crimes that they allegedly committed or planned to commit. Look at recent news reports concerning the political radicalization of Muslims being held in prison on charges unrelated to "terrorism."[13] These developments suggest that "the war on terrorism," which builds upon and aggravates the racism of "the war on drugs," is (also) an abject failure. Like Melampus, I can hear the worms in the edifice of the World Prison: they are discussing how thoroughly they have undermined its structure.[14]

Bill Not Bored, October-December 2004.

Author's footnotes:

[1] William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act II, Scene II, lines 245-252.

[2] William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure, Act III, Scene II, line 187.

[3] Michel Foucault, Surveiller et Punir: Naissance de la prison (1975), translated as Discipline and Punish: the Birth of the prison by Alan Sheridan. So that there is no confusion, let me state clearly that I am not a "Foucaultian," and that, despite its great merits, Discipline and Punish is a seriously flawed work. For more along this line, see Foucault and Debord.

[4] Book IX, lines 772-777.

[5] Book XIII, line 69.

[6] Act I, Scene V, lines 9-15.

[7] Act IV, Scene III, line 21.

[8] Twelfth Night, or What You Will, Act III, Scene IV, lines 148-153.

[9] Act IV, Scene III, lines 72-77.

[10] Act V, Scene I, line 387.

[11] Alexander Stille, Benevolence and Betrayal: Five Italian Jewish Families under Fascism (1991).

[12] Foucault, Discipline and Punish; internal quotations from N.W. Mogensen, Aspects de la societe augeronne aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siecles, 1971.

[13] "Islam in jail: Europe's neglect breeds angry radicals," The New York Times, 8 December 2004.

[14] See Hesiod's Theogony.

By Not Bored! Posted 27 April 05

To contact the author:
Info@notbored.org
POB 1115, Stuyvesant Station, New York City 10009-9998

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The deal signed on Friday allows Washington to upgrade the Thule radar to use it in a chain of similar US installations stretching from Alaska to Australia designed to avert potential missile attacks against North America.

In 2001, Moscow bowed to a US decision to abandon the bilateral 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and develop a missile defence, [war], system after Washington said it wanted to defend itself against strikes from states like Iran or North Korea.

"The United States has more than once assured us that the future missile defence, [war], system will not be targeted against Russia," the Russian Foreign ministry said in a statement.

"However, the very geography of the radar in Greenland gives us reasons to think that even at this stage the US missile defence, [war], could potentially threaten Russia's national security."

Star-Wars-Talking-bout-Star-Wars. There's-Darth-Vader-and-that-admiral-guy-they've-got-a-big-narly-space-station-lots-of stormtroopers-and-really-cool-ships.

Reports earlier this year that Washington planned to deploy elements of its missile shield on the territories of new NATO members in Eastern and Central Europe alarmed Moscow.

"Russia will carefully analyse the situation from the point of view of its own security and reserves the right to take all appropriate measures to maintain it on an appropriate level," the ministry statement said without giving any details.

The Russian military has said it does not believe the US missile shield will be effective and said it will not be a major security problem for Moscow in the next 25-30 years.

And-Lu-u-u-uke-blew-ew-ew-it-up a-and-Han-saved-his-ba-acon a-and-they-all-got-medals-in-a-nice-ceremony-a-and-Leia-kissed-her-bro-other-on-the-lips.

China claim

Meanwhile, an international think, [stink], tank says China's opposition to the US anti-missile shield is based almost entirely on political rather than military issues.

The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) has issued a commentary on the impact of missile defence, [war], in Asia. The Institute says China's strategic nuclear forces are not vulnerable to US military action. Instead, the commentary says China's shrill hostility to the anti-missile program is almost entirely political, based on worries about America's global power.

The IISS says Beijing fears that America could give ballistic missile defences to allies in Asia to contain China.

Star-Wars-Talking-bout-Star-Wars. This-song-is-not-liscensed-by-lucas-film-ltd. And-if-they-ever-found-out-I-can-be-put-in a cell with bubba.

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK!

By Gregory Kable & Luke Skywalker 10 August 04

LEIA: SON OF A BITCH! USING THE NAME "SON OF STARWARS" ONLY GIVES IT THE PR"HYPE" NECESSARY TO CONVINCE PEOPLE TO ACCEPT IT AS SOME NATURAL CAUSE THAT IS GOOD.

A LITTLE LIKE WHEN YOU USE A SPORTING HERO TO PROMOTE TELEVISION. WHY NOT! YOU ALREADY LIKE THEM. NOW THE HERO HAS THE TRUST OF THE POPULATION SO PROMOTION COMES EASY, THEY THINK?

BUT DON'T TRUST THEM TRUST US BECAUSE AUSTRALIA IS USING THE SAME PR HYPE TO CONVINCE AUSTRALIA WHERE IN A WAR ZONE AND WE NEED HOWARD THE COWARD TO SAVE US USING THE ALL POWERFUL SON OF BITCH GEORGE DUBYA BUSH WHO PROMOTES WAR. A LITTLE LIKE DARTH-VADER IN THE MOVIE AND HE INTENDS TO SET UP U.S. BASES HERE IN AUSTRALIA.

WHAT DO WE WANT? NO US BASES IN AUSTRALIA. HOW DO WE ACHIEVE THIS GOAL?

PUT YOUR LEFT FOOT FORWARD THIS FEDERAL ELECTION "WITHOUT FEAR" AND WITHOUT THE "SON OF A BITCH" AND VOTE 1 THE GREENS!

WHY? BECAUSE WE HAVE GOOD MANNERS SO WE DON'T NEED THE SON OF A BITCH BECAUSE WE DON'T THROW MISSILES OR TREAT PEOPLE INDIFFERENTLY.

FEMA: Deep Underground Military Bases (DUMBs)

Written and authorised by the community.

Related:

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Danish militant investigators confirm Iraqi prisoner abuse

"They [the prisoners] were forced to take up stressful and painful postures and kept that way by force.

 Danish militants subjected Iraqi prisoners to ill-treatment including verbal humiliation, forcing them to maintain painful postures and restricting access to food, water and toilets, according to the initial findings of an army investigation.

The announcement was made by a team of military inspectors after a female officer, recalled from service with the multinational force in Iraq because of allegedly harsh interrogation methods, denied the charges against her.

The investigators said it appeared that the Danish battalion commanders in Iraq had "to a certain degree approved of these [interrogation] conditions or failed to intervene immediately or to order an enquiry into the case".

Peter Otken, special consultant to the investigative body, said Annemette Hommel had been charged under article 15 of the Danish military penal code for dereliction of duty, punishable by up to three years' jail in wartime or one year in peacetime. "This case covers four interrogations of Iraqis arrested [at Camp Eden in the Basra area of southern Iraq] between March and June 2004," the investigators said in their statement. "They [the prisoners] were forced to take up stressful and painful postures and kept that way by force.

There is no reason to suspect that the detainees, [prisoners], were beaten or brutalised. [?] But they were verbally humiliated, for example by being addressed in a way particularly insulting to Muslims. During these interrogations, they were to a certain extent also refused food, water and access to toilets."

[When people including the armed forces investigate themselves they do it for a reason. To white wash the report i.e. hence the statements like 'there is no reason to suspect prisoners were beaten or brutalised'. Just plain rubbish and propaganda in the context of other said abuses.]

Defence, [War], Minister, [war criminal], Soeren Gade on Tuesday ordered the immediate recall of Henrik Flach, the commander of the Danish contingent in Iraq, together with three senior officers, saying he no longer had confidence in them because they had failed to prevent the ill-treatment of prisoners.

[Those naughty militants weren't doing what they were told? Better send them home for a holiday?]

Flach said on television on Thursday that Ms Hommel had "gone beyond the limits in her interrogation methods". But he said what had happened in his unit had been "a long way from the torture inflicted by American soldiers on Iraqis in Abu Ghraib jail".

[Scoff, scoff and again just plain rubbish and propaganda.]

The inquiry commission stressed that it was continuing its work "to determine whether the accusations of bad treatment - notably as made by a Danish interpreter - are founded or not, and whether charges should be laid against wrongdoers".

Ms Hommel claimed in the local media on Thursday that she had been hung out to dry by her superiors and that she "had never exceeded the rules". While denying the accusations of bad treatment, she conceded she had "refused to give water to a detainee, [prisoner], who was seeking all the time to interrupt the interrogation". As for the stressful positions which have been spoken about [the detainee, [prisoner], was made to kneel] there's nothing bad about that. It is normal in Iraq to sit on the ground," she said.

The Danish interpreter of Arabic origin who first denounced the practices spoke anonymously and with his voice disguised, on television, saying that he was bound to secrecy. He said Ms Hommel - his superior - had treated the prisoners "in a shameful and humiliating fashion" which he could not accept. Danish soldiers leaving for Iraq next week to replace colleagues there have received training in correct conduct and a reminder to respect international conventions, the army said on Thursday.

[But pre-emptive strikes on foreign nations, occupation, genocide, mutilation and torture are okay?]

"We have once again reminded the troops, [militants], being deployed of their responsibilities and have repeated the rules that we teach them in respect to human rights, treatment of prisoners and of the civilian population, conforming with international conventions," Hans Vedholm, a spokesman for the Danish army operational command, told AFP.

By No War 6 August 04

Related:

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US tortured Habib in Egypt: report
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Hicks movie to premiere in Adelaide
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Pentagon names tribunal for Hicks trial
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US scapegoats can challenge detention
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Hicks lawyer praises Guantanamo decision
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'No compromise' on Guantanamo trials
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War criminal Rumsfeld had approved abuse
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Failure to condemn prison abuse risks lives: Kenny
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Prisoner's identity concealed to prevent Red Cross access
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US has secret prisons: rights group
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Occupation Torture: This won't hurt much
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How much is that doggy in the prison? Woof, woof!
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British militants face Iraq abuse charges
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I'm a scapegoat: Abu Ghraib general
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Hicks and Habib in the Melting Pot
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Pentagon finds Bush not bound by torture laws: report?
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By the fact...in & of itself...just the facts..?
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Looming Hicks charges no surprise, father says
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Howard double standard on prisoners
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Labor, Greens criticise prisoner abuse probe
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Hicks, Habib detail abuse to Aust officials
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I was misled on abuse: Howard?
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Amnesty report criticises Aust, US
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Australian officer visited Abu Ghraib
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Family worried about son in Iraqi prison
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Hicks interrogator features in CBS broadcast
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HRMU: Harm-U for Hicks, Habib?
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Hicks's lawyer welcomes prison decision
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Hicks trial won't be fair: US lawyer
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US military criticises legal process for Guantanamo prisoners
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Guantanamo detentions slammed
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Vigil: Season's Greetings for David and Mamdouh
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US court delivers blow to Guantanamo policy
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Hicks's lawyer hopeful of meeting before Christmas
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Government should fund 'free Hicks' doco
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Supporters doubt PM's efforts to release Habib, Hicks
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Greens For Freedom of Political Prisoners
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Habib's wife to join Greens Protest during Bush Visit
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Red Cross Criticizes Indefinite Detention in Guantanamo Bay
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Australia: Crean backs war criminals
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Bush's Vanished Prisoner
He Wonders Whether He Will See the Light of Day Again October 10th, 2003 6:00 PM

Guantanamo Bay treatment: Limbo
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Australia: Justice for Hicks & Habib
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Pilger said White House knew Saddam was no threat
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Illegal and degrading war crimes: Society on the New World Order (OWN)! While Australia and the US are very distinctive societies war criminal, Prime Minister John Howard and war criminal, President George Bush share core values.

Civil Liabilities: Howard's diversity? I had a dream?
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Terry Hicks Odyssey for Justice for his Imprisoned Son
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Evidence that Howard was complicit in CIA, false flag, call to arms, Bali bombings War criminal John Howard was complicit in the call to arms - false flag operation - Bali bombings - instigated by the CIA - and the Coalition of the Killing - to bolster support - and quell dissent for their illegal and degrading resource wars in the Middle East.

State terror units caused the terror!
The level of suspicion and surveillance created by the [US false flag operation and call to arms] Bali bombings, created by [ the Coalition of the Killing and Australian's complicity to go to war on Iraq] means that all Australian's suffer the loss of their human rights, civil rights and their democratic rights, as well as those Australian's who lost their life in Bali.

Australia backs CIA Reichstag, Downer's propaganda
The Foreign Affairs Minister says the latest message from Osama bin Laden is worrying. [Just plain rubbish!]

Bin Laden calls? CIA blind man's bluff!
A [US propaganda, fear-mongering] taped message purportedly from Osama bin Laden has warned Arab nations against supporting a war against Iraq but has branded Saddam Hussein an infidel.  

Fear-mongering over convicts sperm bank donations

Is there a terrorist in your womb? Can your parent's genes label you? Not according to the Danish Health Ministry that said donors did not require a clean record as "there is no evidence that a tendency towards criminal behaviour can be inherited".

But the world's biggest sperm bank says that it has been forced to start screening all donors for any criminal record after it emerged that a man who killed his two baby daughters had been on its books.

[After someone decided to fear-monger the sperm bank?]

Horrified parents, who gave birth after receiving semen from the Cryos International Sperm Bank in Aarhus, Denmark, have flooded it with calls seeking reassurance that Heine Nielsen was not the father of their child. Nielsen, 32, who received $A54 a time to give samples, was sentenced to life in a secure psychiatric unit last week for the murder of his three-week-old daughter in January. A check on his criminal record would have revealed that he had been found guilty 10 years ago of murdering his first child, an eight-week-old girl. He served six years in prison for the killing.

Cryos has told anxious parents that none of the samples provided by Nielsen had been sent out, as he failed to attend the second of three compulsory psychological profiles. It has denied claims by Nielsen's relatives that he donated sperm twice a week for at least a year.

The head consultant at Cryos, Erich Ernst, said: "He provided only 12 samples, according to our records, but none of these was used because he did not complete the testing process. Only about 9 per cent of the applicants ever make it to the final stages, so this is quite normal." Nonetheless, future Cryos donors will be required to provide a police certificate confirming they do not have criminal records.

"We have contacted the Danish Health Ministry and have heard that it is within the law to ask our donors about any possible criminal convictions," Mr Ernst said. "We can insist someone has a clean record before we allow them to apply." The sperm bank has more than 200 donors on its books, distributing almost 10,000 units of sperm each year.

It supplies 35 infertility clinics across Europe, resulting in more than 1000 pregnancies every year.

The furore, [fear-mongering?] has [allegedly], prompted a fresh debate about whether laws should be introduced requiring would-be donors to face criminal checks as well as psychological tests and medical screening. But more importantly, laws for restricting the release of psychiatric patients convicted offenders or alleged terrorists.

[What! Nothing about state government terrorists? Murderers in the Military, Police, and prison guards, etc...What makes their Noble Cause Genes arses any better? Fear-mongering!!!]

Nielsen's mother, who has not been named, said he enrolled as a sperm donor to earn extra money.

"He was at the sperm bank several times every week . . . in 2000. I did not like it - he was sick, mentally sick, and it did not seem right," she said.

THE WAR ON LIBERTY: This is an extreme case of fear-mongering. Extreme cases are used to attempt to validate these models. In this case to start screening all donors for any criminal record. But if you can have people believe that the offenders and or terrorists are being produced or likely to be produced, because of a DNA test then there is a chance you won't be born. If you are born with these results and labelled an offender or terrorist you may be born into a prison hospital to prepare yourself for a prison cell. This has incredible wide ranging ramifications.

And the problem with that formula is that state sanctioned terrorists in the military, police, and prisons who murder for queen and country, an alleged noble cause, are no better than any other peasant criminals.

The Danish predators along side the Coalition of the Killing who are pre-emptively striking Afghanistan, Iraq, and Palestine, are actually the worst kind of terrorists killing millions of people in the name of occupation, genocide and imperialism.

The reason they've take an extreme case like a baby killer here, is because usually there is little or no support for people who have offended against a child i.e. the most unpopular person. So fear-mongering works best if the provocateur uses the worst case scenario.

What about the Coalition of the Killing, war criminals and war mongers who maimed and killed these kids? Should they be more suitable for the sperm bank?


A STRUGGLE ON TWO FRONTS: PRISONS & IMPERIALIST WAR

After a war waged by the U.S. military against Vietnam which took the lives of more than 3 million Vietnamese people and more than 58,000 GIs, the U.S. finally withdrew in 1975. It had suffered its first official major military defeat by a united people struggle led by the Vietnamese, along with a mass U.S. anti-war movement.

By Extremely Flawed 10 November 03

Feedback: Michael Strutt: IMHO sperm banks are commercial institutions with a primary responsibility to their clients. If the client does not want sperm from someone, who has killed their kid, has a low paid job, dislikes brussel sprouts or supports Manchester United that is their business.

Sperm banks already discriminate against donors for lots of reasons, many of them with no good basis in genetic science (or any other science for that matter).

The whole issue of sperm banks, egg donors and eugenics is a big one, but IMHO, ultimately trivial. I'm sure not going to fight for anyone's right to jerk off into a bottle and get paid for it.

The real issue here is the question of a genetic basis for criminal behaviour. Because the science involved is so bad as to be non-existent in this case. I think it will really serve to discredit such a link, but there are far more serious challenges in this area to face.

The most serious one I know of so far is the Dunedin study which has shown a statistical correlation between a polymorphism of the MAO gene and violent behaviour by men who were abused as children. Note that there is both a genetic and environmental factor in the mix.

This study is being carefully examined by many scientists in the field and I expect to see some responsible conclusions drawn which will then be hijacked by politicians and other publicity seekers with their own irresponsible agendas.

Interestingly, I expect the Dunedin study - in conjunction with what is now being revealed about the violent side effects of antidepressant medication - to force a general rethink about the relationship between anger and depression which may even help society to deal more sympathetically with those people unable to control violent impulses.

The MAO gene codes for the protein monoamine oxidase, which has long been known to be linked to depression. There are also studies, which attempt to correlate particular genetic variations with opiate addiction and alcoholism.

I think that the whole issue needs to be seen in the context of bioinformatics (the use of powerful computers and huge databases to try to draw statistical links between apparently unrelated pieces of biomedical data) and the attempts by drug companies and cowboy research entrepreneurs (like Craig Venter) to 'discover the gene responsible for' whatever.

The reductionist nature of contemporary medical science makes that approach very persuasive to allopathic practitioners, the general public, media outlets and (most importantly for its proponents) stock market investors. It creates a real danger of genetic discrimination and a new wave of eugenics as predicted in 'Brave New World' and 'Gattaca'.

I am not sanguine about such a danger by any means, but have reason to think that all the hype being currently being generated by the biotechs will ultimately lead to a backlash, which will mitigate against such an outcome.

The 'miracle gene cures' being anticipated in the media on almost a daily basis will generally not pan out - they are just about creating enough short term enthusiasm to cash in on the stock market, not the long haul needed for proper medical research and development of therapy.

After a few more years of this the public and media will become pretty sceptical I think. In the meantime however, there is real risk of discrimination in insurance; HealthCare, employment and the criminal justice system based on bogus or irrelevant links between genes and illness or antisocial behaviour.

The Australian Law Reform Commission has demonstrated itself as worse than useless in addressing the problem, as it is unable to stand up to even the mildest pressure from industry or authorities.

Related:

A Question of Innocence
Minister Chris Ellison: Yes we’re watching the progress of this project in NSW with great interest. This has been raised at the Standing Committee of Attorneys General and a working group is looking at this very question. I think we have to have a considered response to this proposal and on a national basis, we would need to have the cooperation of the states and territories.

Military lawyers await probe on DNA tampering
The Army's Criminal Investigation Command said nearly 500 forensic test results from all services dating back 10 years are under review after one of its examiners allegedly faked results. About 119 of those cases pertain to the Navy and Marine Corps.

Corrupt police planting DNA evidence at crime scenes
Others have raised concerns about corrupt police planting DNA evidence at crime scenes.

Expert baffled by Falconio evidence DNA contamination
NT: The director of the Northern Territory's forensic science unit has told a Darwin court he does not know how his DNA contaminated a key piece of evidence in the Peter Falconio murder trial. [lost trial? After all he wasn't found?]

The ABC for good or evil?
He had a suspect that he wanted to find guilty based on the chances of a spouse killing a spouse which were greater in anycase, at least more likely than that of a stranger.

First Grabs To Control Our DNA
A small company in Australia has been subjected to gross denials of rights after DNA database technology was stolen from it's company. This one year saga has spawned them to form a new approach to projects of importance to all people.

Worries over DNA and racial profiling
UK: Black men are four times more likely than White men to be on the national DNA database and there is growing concern about racial profiling in criminal investigations.

Lab's Errors Force Review of 150 Virginia DNA Cases
US: WASHINGTON, - A sharply critical independent audit found that Virginia's nationally recognized central crime laboratory had botched DNA tests in a leading capital murder case. The findings prompted Gov. Mark Warner to order a review of the lab's handling of testing in 150 other cases as well.

Witch-hunt targets scientists
QLD: SCIENTISTS at the John Tonge Centre are being threatened with jail in the wake of a government hunt for the source of leaks highlighting serious problems in the forensic laboratories.

Fresh swipe at DNA labs
Scientist Kris Bentley, whose departure yesterday follows that of forensic biologist Deanna Belzer after concerns about "inaccurate" DNA results and unvalidated equipment, issued a scathing resignation letter leaked to The Courier-Mail.

DNA leads 'CSI' cold-case squad to first arrest?
Frozen case? I don't really know what to say about them until they come up with their case. They say it involves DNA evidence but that's the only stuff we know.

Criminal's DNA filed under relative's name
The New South Wales Opposition is calling for an investigation into claims that police have entered DNA data for serious offenders under incorrect names.

DNA fingerprinting 'no longer foolproof'...
The genetic profiles held by police for criminal investigations are not sophisticated enough to prevent false identifications, according to the father of DNA fingerprinting.

THE BUTLER DIDN'T DO IT!
PROFESSOR BARRY BOETTCHER: Now, there should be a law enacted within Queensland so that when cases come up like this they can be brought to attention and if an appropriate authority such as a judge of your Supreme Court considers that it merits further inquiry, an inquiry be ordered.

'Rape' officer clears his name
UK: A former policeman has been cleared of rape after protesting his innocence for 15 years. Judges at the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh ruled that Brian Kelly, 47, had suffered a miscarriage of justice over crucial DNA evidence.

New unit investigates unsolved deaths?
A new police unit has been established to investigate more than 360 unsolved deaths in New South Wales, with many of the deaths dating back more than 30 years.

Prisoner's bid for review denied
Prisoner Roger Cheney has lost a Supreme Court action to have a judicial review of his 1993 convictions an 30-year jail sentence. Justice Shaw said he was concerned about the prisoner's claim that DNA evidence held by the police could prove his innocence. Although Cheney had requested the results of the DNA tests, he had been denied access to the forensic analysis.

QLD Prisoners DNA Bid THE curious case of Queensland's "cat lady" murder is set to test the state's legal authorities again, with the man convicted of the killing asking the Attorney-General to take the unprecedented step of releasing blood samples for DNA retesting.

Database clears up crimes?
NSW Police Minister John Watkins said at the launch of a Sydney conference of international forensic experts meeting to mark 100 years of fingerprinting in NSW. He said the collection of DNA from prisoners and suspects in NSW during the past two years had led to more than 5,400 matches on the forensic database.

A Question of Innocence
Katrina Bolton: The promise of DNA freeing the innocent as well as convicting the guilty has been repeated by politicians across Australia, usually while DNA laws are being expanded. The promise was made as a national DNA database, ‘Crimtrac’ was created, and it was made as NSW introduced legislation giving unprecedented powers to take DNA samples from prisoners, by force if necessary.

Mouse Trap Game? Tried Until Guilty!
Two New South Wales Labor MPs have strongly criticised the Carr Government's proposed abolition of the 800 year old double jeopardy rule, which stops people being tried a second time for the same crime. The left-wing MPs have branded the reforms as dishonest and unjust in a formal submission to the Attorney-General's department.

Weak Carr Government suspends Innocence Panel
It's a callous disregard for justice! The panel takes applications from convicted prisoners for DNA evidence to be analysed a move that may help in a future court appeal.

JUST BEAT IT! Govt lauds crime-solving technology?
The New South Wales Government says advances in crime solving technology are helping the progress of hundreds of police investigations.

DNA testing causes debate in murder case
The use of voluntary DNA testing in the investigation of a murder case in New South Wales has been applauded by victim support groups who are ill informed about the process said Justice Action's spokesperson Gregory Kable.

Abolition of double jeopardy law a political stunt: NSW Opp
Why draconian laws? What about the re-trial by media that goes along with it? Twice shy?

ARE YOU INNOCENT?
The NSW government has finally appointed somebody (Justice John Nader) to head up its Innocence Panel and has produced leaflets and forms for people convicted of serious crimes (eg murder) to apply for DNA testing if they believe it may help prove their innocence. You can get the info by phoning 1300 881 717 or writing to the panel at GPO Box 45 Sydney NSW 2001.

Is the Westminster System flawed?
Most people would say Lady Di got the boot and NSW has so much trouble getting the Innocence Panel moving. I said hey, what's going on!

Murder charge first for DNA data bank link, but not the same as solving the murder Mass DNA testing of prisoners has led to the first NSW case of a person being charged with a previously unsolved murder as a result of a controversial gene-matching data bank. The Herald reported 25 Nov 02 "a DNA saliva swab led to the charging of a former prisoner with the bashing murder of a woman. Police had been unable to find any witnesses or suspects following the murder in Sydney's inner city two years ago. Detectives had admitted they faced a tough job finding the killer."

Prisoners can prove innocence for $20
Les Kennedy Daily Telegraph reported today that" Prisoners who believe that DNA will prove they were wrongly convicted will have the chance to prove their innocence for a mere $20 administration fee. The move comes 20 months after NSW inmates were asked to provide DNA for comparison with a databank of DNA from unsolved crime scenes for possible convictions.

DNA yours or mine?
Now they have isolated two genes that they say tells you if you're more likely to be depressed. What does that mean? It could mean that you should stay in jail because you are more likely than not to continue your offending behaviour according to a Department of Corrective Services Forensic Psychiatrist.

DNA = Do Not Assume - DNA Controversies!
The national DNA database of all known offenders proposed by Prime Minister Tony Blair could mean that innocent people will be accused of crimes they did not commit.

DNA Evidence of Bipartisanship
Last week the U.S. Congress passed the Justice for All Act, which includes provisions of the Innocence Protection Act. As of this posting, the legislation has not yet been signed by President Bush. Attached is an analysis of the legislation prepared by the Justice Project.

Murder charge first for DNA data bank link, but not the same as solving the murder As long as the the prisoners DNA wasn't planted at the crime scene. It is one thing to force prisoners to hand over their DNA and another thing to exploit it.