The Riverman Reports - Inc. Huttz World

Sunday, November 18, 2007

THE CHESNUT TREE THAT ANNE FRANK LOVED TO SEE IN THE MORNINGS IS TO BE CHOPPED DOWN...

The Chesnut tree that comforted the young Jewish girl, Anne Frank, where she and her family hid from the Nazis during World War Two, is to be cut down by the local council because it is too diseased to be saved.

The rotting 27 tonne tree has been declared a danger to its surroundings, including the 'secret annex' on top of the canal-side warehouse where the Frank family lived in a tiny attic hidden from the Nazis for 25 months, a statement from the Amersterdam council said recently.

Rapid decay, fungus and moths have caused more than half of the trunk to simply rot away, the council said.

Millions of readers of the book, 'Diary of Anne Frank', over many decades will find the tree familiar - she made several references to it in her diary she kept during the 25 months she remained hidden indoors until August 1944 when the family was arrested by the Nazis and taken to a concentration camp where they all died.

Anne wrote: " Nearly every morning I go to the attic to blow the stuffy air out of my lungs." She wrote on Feb 23, 1944 "From my favourite spot on the floor I look up at the blue sky and the bare Chesnut tree, on whose branches little raindrops shine, appearing like silver, and at the seagulls and other birds as they glide on the world...and I may see it, this sunshine, the cloudless skies - while this lasts I cannot be unhappy." A sad little commentary.

The council has reluctantly given a licence to cut the tree down, despite protests from the 'Anne Frank Museum' - where the tiny apartment has been preserved.

Grafts have been taken from the tree and a sapling will eventually replace the tree, and the memory of a brave little girl will continue for ever, there in that canal-side warehouse.

The Writers Lounge
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Thursday, November 15, 2007

A SAD TALE OF TWO POLICE SHOOTINGS ... HALF A WORLD APART...

Reading the American story below made me think of a New Zealand case where a young man was shot by police. But lets go to America first.

1/ America:

An unarmed, mentally ill young man of 18 years could be heard yelling over the phone," I've got a gun!" as his mother made an emergency call.

New York police arrived at the family home and opened fire on the young man in a 20 bullet barrage, according to a transcript of the emergency call released by police recently.

Five police officers opened fire on him, after he allegedly charged them outside of his home with an alleged black object in his hand - a hair brush!

His mother had apparently attempted to have her son hospitalised earlier that day. But she was unsuccessful in convincing authorities of the need for his admission. There is definately no need now!

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2/ New Zealand:

Some years ago in Taranaki, New Zealand, a young man in his late twenties left his parents home in the evening in an extremely agitated state. A short time later he was reported to police as being the culprit smashing windows in the town's CBD. Police moved in, ordering him to cease, but he continued on his smashing spree. The police officers again ordered him to desist, but this time he moved towards the leading police officer, armed with a softball bat and golf club.

The leading policeman raised his Glock pistol which had been in the patrol car, and again ordered the man to desist, but he kept moving towards the policeman, who fired a number of shots at him. He fell mortally wounded. and died later.

This case raised a furore within New Zealand at the time because the general public claimed the policeman over-reacted. Apparently a police- dog and handler had been sent from New Plymouth city, only twenty minutes away by road. The dead man's family and members of the general public maintained that the police should have backed off and waited for the dog and handler to arrive.

The policeman was exonerated of any wrong doing at the inquest and ensuing enquiry. But the New Zealand public remains divided over the policeaction, many years later.

The Writers Lounge

Sunday, November 11, 2007

WHO IS THE THIRD ANTI-CHRIST? SOME SAY IT IS "MABUS". WHO IN HEAVEN'S NAME IS MABUS?

Good questions you might say. Is "Mabus" actually the Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi? It was claimed he once said that by using nuclear bombs it was actually perfectly fine and above board, according to Muslim law, in order to conquer the world for the God of Mount Sinai aka Allah. Really?

Perhaps the Muslims think they would survive the resulting nuclear winter and the ensuing ultraviolet summer. Nostradamus said the "Mabus" would soon die.

It was claimed that a wise women once said," He who knows everthing knows nothing,"; 2 Billion Christians, 1 billion Muslims and 18 million Jews believe their Holy Bibles, including the books of the Prophets are the word of God of Mount Sinai.

If you would like to read some more on this subject please go to the link below:

Read Here

Sunday, November 04, 2007

LET'S PUT THE QUESTION: DOES THE STATE OF TEXAS AND GOD LOVE TO EXECUTE? YES I THINK!

Do Texas and God love to execute? Your thoughts about this? Yes or no?

Texas will almost certainly reach the grim total of 400 executions in 25 years this month, far ahead of any other American state. The toll is testament to the influence of the state's conservative evangelical Christians and its cultural mix of Old South and Wild West. Some critics say the South can be seen in the racial bias of death sentencing, more than 41 per cent of the inmates on death row in Texas are black, but blacks are only about 12 per cent of the state's population.

In America God is allegedly a little different, he wears a big cowboy hat and a semi automatic hand gun, delivers justice via an electric chair and apparently has an IQ of 3, the ‘turn the other cheek’ and ‘love each other’ God was allegedly replaced in favour of the furiously stupid and psychopathic God by popular vote in America in 1832, how one can balance the apparent ‘goodness’ of God with a corrupt death penalty system that seems to have a penchant for executing black people is something claimed only a bible thumping Texan could understand. Amen.

The Writers Lounge

Thursday, October 25, 2007

WHAT A SHOCKING END TO A SURVIVOR FROM THE HELL OF THE HOLOCAUST SIXTY YEARS AGO...

What a shocking and inauspicious end to a survivor from the hell of the holocaust...

After surviviving the living hell of the holocaust over sixty years ago, an 80 year old survivor, Katherine Schweitzer, was found strangled to death in a wheelie bin near her Bellevue Hill unit for senior citizens in Sydney late last year.

What a shocking and inauspicious end to a concentration camp survivor who outlasted every conceivable inhumanity the SS guards dished out to her. As they would say in Sydney, what a great little Aussie battler! This poor old widow with no known living relatives in Australia deserved a better end than that! Nobody to fend for her, nobody to protect her from such brutal human trash in her latter years.

She survived the terrors of a Nazi concentration camp to end up 10,000 miles away like some discarded piece of trash - it just wasn't fair; but life is not always fair, is it?

Police described the killing as "callous and bizarre", with no obvious motive.

The Police sought a man in his 20's near the unit block where Mrs Schweitzer met her extremely sad end to her long life on this planet.

Depraved is a good word. I just can't understand such acts; robbery, yes! But such a lack of basic human empathy! I'm getting on a little myself, and it makes me wonder a little. Our elderly folk, in whatever country, city or town, need somebody to keep an eye on them. Somebody just to call around a couple of times a week to say hello, and to be a contact for those elderly people if they need one. She may have seen somebody hanging around but had nobody to confide in!

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Monday, October 15, 2007

ARMED NEW ZEALAND POLICE SWOOP ON ADDRESSES THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY - SUSPICION OF TERRORISM...

Little New Zealand down in the South Pacific, 2000 miles and three hours east of Walzing Matilda country, Australia, is hardly considered potential terrorist country. But post 9/11 anything is possible I guess.

Consider our surprise yesterday, NZ time, when our daily newspapers and television news programs indicated that terorism is not only possible here, but may actually be in the process of beginning. Hells teeth!

Armed police have swooped across the country after a 12 month investigation, arresting many people, and seizing weapons,military style eqipment,body armour, army issue knives, and terrorist training manuals during the raids which were carried out under the Firearms Act and the Terrorist Suppression Act.

They discovered what they claim were terrorist training camps.This has been denied by Maori groups who claim other reasons for the camps. A variety of groups have been caught up in the raids.

At training camps in the isolated Urewera ranges in the north east of the North Island a loose alliance of activists are accused of plotting armed attacks. But who against, is the question here?

There have been claims of political reasons for the raids - an anti-terrorism Bill is being debated by members of parliament here.

The NZ Cabinet was briefed yesterday on the police operation. The alleged military operation was taken seriously. Claims that napalm bombs were being developed and one had already been detonated,was considered deeply serious.

There were reports that a specific threat was made recently against the prime minister, Helen Clark. She wouldn't comment on threats against her or other politicians. The Diplomatic Protection Squad was connected to the security operation.

Some people claim the operation was heavy handed and over the top. Whatever the real or perceived reasons for the raids, a number of accused people will be having their day in court in the next few days in attempts to obtain bail. But what do these people want with such weapons? Guns are designed to kill. Is it a real terrorist plot, or the scene of another Peter Jackson masterpiece?

The Writers Lounge

Sunday, October 07, 2007

FAREWELL LITTLE 'PUMPKIN' WE WISH YOU WELL IN YOUR NEW LIFE WITH GRANDMA IN CHINA

Farewell little "Pumpkin" we wish you well in your new life with Grandma in China.

She beamed into our lives through world TV news programs a few weeks ago; that poor little abandoned three year old at a Melbourne, Australia, train station. She was nick-named "Pumpkin" by Australian authorities, because of the Pumpkin Patch clothing she wore on that fateful night.

Soon the horrible truth that preceded her abandonment was revealed by New Zealand police. Her father had allegedly murdered her mother in Auckland and fled to Australia with his little daughter, callously and cold heartedly abandoning her at the train station, and catching a flight to Los Angeles.

Soon the little girl was identified as Qian Xun Xuecan. Her mother, Anan Liu, was found murdered in the boot of a car outside the family home in Auckland.

Later news revealed she had an elder half sister in Auckland,Grace,the estranged daughter of Nai Yin Xue,who is still being pursued by US marshals in California to this day, and due to appear on "America's Most Wanted" program in a few days or so.

In the meantime little Pumpkin was brought to New Zealand by Australian social services authorities to await a decision on her future.

After her maternal grandmother arrived in New Zealand and expressed her desire to look after her little grand-daughter,a family group conference was held in Auckland.

The Principal Family Court Judge, Peter Boshier, has made his decision in the case.The child's grandmother, Liu Xiao Ping, has been given custody of Qian Xun Xuecan, the youngster the New Zealand public knew as little "Pumpkin".

Apparently Judge Boshier had a difficult decision to make because of many conflicting Acts of Parliament which had to be balanced, creating tensions, and because of this significant parts of his decision were suppressed to the public.

Mrs Liu, the grandmother, accompanied by an interpreter and her lawyer,was spoken to directly by Judge Boshier.

I quote the Judge:" It is important to acknowledge at the outset to those members of the family present today the utterly tragic circumstances." And further." Above all else, I acknowledge the sadness of the circumstances that bring us here today."

He appointed Mrs Liu as an "additional guardian" under New Zealand's Care of Children Act.

Under the same Act the grandmother was given leave to apply for a parenting order so that the child "is placed into the day to day care of her grandmother".

He also ordered that Qian Xun Xuecan's elder half sister be given contact with the child through email, telephone, exchange of photos and visits when Grace is in China, or when the child is in New Zealand.

The parenting order allows Qian to live in China with her grandmother. Even though she is a New Zealand citizen, she is Chinese and has cultural links to China, and attachment to her grandmother is demonstratable.

Surprisingly, the child's father still has guardianship rights over the girl, something that will be reviewed at a later date.It was a very good and just decision by Judge Boshier, reflecting the famiy's wishes to support and protect the little girl.

Goodbye, little "Pumpkin" and best wishes from us all for the future!

Petes Life and World Events

Friday, October 05, 2007

PURE METHAMPHETAMINE,KNOWN HERE AS 'P', STILL BURNING A HOLE IN HEALTH BUDGET

Still Burning a Million Dollar Hole in Health Budget - health and crime problems.

Pure methamphetamine ( P ) lab explosions are causing acute burns to be treated at emergency departments in New Zealand public hospitals and ensuing surgery is delaying other surgery and delaying already long waiting lists. Emergency treatment is free in New Zealand as is most other acute treatment.

These burns can actually look like explosive burns. Victims of " P" lab explosions often have flash burns to faces, hands and chests. Making pure methamphetamine involves strong acids, flammable chemicals and extreme temperatures, at about 130 degrees Centigrade.

A 70% burn takes five months of treatment at around $700,000 NZ. Some actually come to hospitals for treatment days after with complications,such as infections etc; costs could be $275,000 each.

What is pure meth. or "P"? It is a more potent form of amphetamine. It can be smoked, eaten, snorted or injected. " Ps " effect on the body is similar to that of the natural chemical adrenaline, but with deadly side effects. Once inside the body it quickly affects the central nervous system, speeding up the heart and increasing blood pressure uncontrollably. While the high from one hit of crack lasts about 10-15 minutes, a " P " high can last for hours. Smoking the Crystal form " Ice", can produce a high for up to 24 hours.Users on the run or a "marathon" taking the drug hits every few hours, go for days on end without eating or sleeping. It is highly addictive and prolonged use results in a permanent alteration of the brains chemistry.

When the effects of the drug wear off, users experience a severe "crash". Some may sleep for long periods, but most users experience what is called " tweaking " or methamphetamine psychosis, a condition similar to schizophrenia - a mental disease. They become paranoid, delusional and stike out at those around them and themselves.They may also have fevers up 180 degrees, which could cause permanent brain damage. With continued crashes the brain damage gets worse and worse.In effect their brains are getting cooked. Police describe them as walking timebombs!

Metamphetamine is produced in makeshift underground laboratories.The people making the drug usually have no scientific background and manufacture it dangerously. The actual strength of "P" on the streets is therefore unknown.

But the costs to our society are definately becoming known through health costs and crime. Some of our worst crime and murders in recent years have been perpetrated by "P" users!

Still relevant as the day this post was originally written elsewhere in June 2006.

My Blogevolve

Friday, September 28, 2007

TASER STUN GUN ISSUE WOULD HAVE SAVED THE LIFE OF CHRISTCHURCH POLICE SHOOTING VICTIM

A one year Taser trial in New Zealand is ending; but opponents believe the Taser stun gun will be used regardless of the findings,

The controversial year long Taser trial is drawing to a close, but opponents believe police will use the device regardless of the outcome.

The latest issue of the NZ police magazine Ten-One says police have used the stun gun device 19 times in 111 deployments.

Criminal lawyer Marie Dhyrberg from the lobby group Campaign Against the Taser says the trial has not been transparent or independent. She claims that throughout the trial period police have refused to give her group detailed information about the situations where the Taser has been used, preventing monitoring and assessment of whether the gun is reasonable or necessary.

Ms Dhyrberg says opponents understand police need to use an immobilising device to help defuse difficult situations, but believe a safer alternative should be used.

The attitude of the New Zealand Government will be very interesting; will they be critical of the Taser trial itself, or will they want to be seen supporting frontline police officers. It has to be remembered that New Zealand police are an unarmed police force like the British police; firearms are available only when the need arises.

While the police and New Zealand Government continue to evalute the controversial stun gun, its need was never more understated with the shooting and killing of an out of contol man by a policeman in the South Island city of Christchurch in recent days.

The victim who was under the influence of party pills and had not slept for four days had run amok with a hammer, and directly threatened the policeman who was armed with a Glock pistol. He fired twice at the man, in the leg and chest; he was killed instantly. His life would have been spared if Christchurch police had access to Tasers.

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Wednesday, September 26, 2007

LITTLE 'PUMPKIN' IS REUNITED WITH HER GRANDMOTHER IN NEW ZEALAND

Little 'Pumpkin', Qian Xun Xue, the Chinese girl abandoned by her father at a rail station in Melbourne, Australia, about a week ago, has been reunited with her maternal grandmother in Auckland, New Zealand, yesterday. She was brought over to New Zealand by Australian child welfare authorities.

The elder half sister of the little girl, Grace Xue who lives in Auckland, they have the same father, has pleaded with him to give himself up to US Marshals who are closing in on him in California, after he fled there after allegedly killing his wife and mother of the three year old in Auckland.

The family wll be meeting with New Zealand child welfare authorities, 'Child Youth and Family', to decide the future custody of the little girl. The grandmother is believed to want to take the girl back to China, while the older sister may be keen to look afer her in New Zealand. However,this wll be resolved after a family group conference in coming days. In the meantime there is a family reunion.

United States authorities have allegedly received new sightings of the father of the girls and have met with NZ police in Los Angeles. A US marshal would not give details but said the fresh leads were positive and being investigated.

Ms Xue said she had been abandoned by her father as well when brought to NZ as a nineteen year old, just two months after arrival and left to fend for herself in a strange country. She pleaded with him because she was struggling financially, but he simply rejected her. History repeated itself with the abandonment of little 'Pumpkin'.

Ms Xue said she hadn't met her little sister yet, as she was waiting for the go-ahead by child psychologists.

She had no preference for which country Qian was raised in, only that the persn who raised her would bring her up to be a beautiful person. But she was adamant she would be part of Qian's future, whatever it may be, and to be a positive role model for her.

Ms Xue has set up a "Little Pumpkin Trust" to ensure her financial wellbeing, with anything extra going to the other 'little pumpkins' who get abandoned by their parents, or become destitute by accident or through criminal offences.

A close family source said the mother, Anan Liu's funeral would be a small private affair.

The trust in New Zealand has a website, www.littlepumpkintrust.org New Zeland phone 0900-40000

Once the father, Nai Yin Xue, has been arrested by American police and handed over to their New Zealand counterparts, there will be some closure for the little girl and her family.

Pete's Life and World Event

Friday, September 21, 2007

NEW ZEALAND POLICE MAKE GRISLY DISCOVERY IN THE BOOT OF A CAR IN AUCKLAND SUBURB

A grisly discovery was made by NZ police in the boot of a car in Auckland.

The body of little "Pumpkin's" mother has been found stashed in the boot of a car outside the family home.

The world saw the little unknown three year old Chinese girl at a Melbourne train station in Australia, after she had been abandoned by her father, an Auckland businessman and self proclaimed martial arts expert. She was dubbed "Pumpkin" because of her pumpkin patch clothing.

Her elder sister had recently rung Auckland police to inform them of her safety. Her mother had been missing since September 10.

What a very sad situation. Details will be given at a news conference when the identity of the woman has been confirmed.

The little girl' grandmother is coming out from China to collect her grand-daughter and take her back to China.

New Story

Monday, September 10, 2007

NEW ZEALAND HAS BEEN UNDER CYBER ATTACK FROM UNKNOWN FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS

New Zealand has been under cyber attack from unknown foreign governments. Government computers have been hacked into by agents of these governments, according to the head of New Zealand's SIS, the Security Intelligence Service in Wellington, New Zealand's capital.

Government department websites have been attacked, information has been stolen, and hard to detect software has been installed that could be used to take control of computer systems, Security Service director Warren Tucker has stated.

Mr Tucker, who has been recently appointed as New Zealand's top spymaster, said there was evidence that foreign governments have been responsible for the attacks. This has been treated as extremely serious.

He will not publicly state which country is responsible, but referred to comments made by the Canadian security service about Chinese spying activities.

Both Russia and China have been implicated in attacks on the British parliament's computer system.

Mr Tucker also noted the bungled attempts by Israeli Mossad agents to secure New Zealand passports back in 2004.

China was accused just last week of hacking into German Government systems and also the Pentagon's computer systems in the US.

The New Zealand SIS and the Government Communications Security Bureau, had responded to the cyber attacks by stepping up a security awareness campaign.

New Zealand is not some idyllic South Seas island in the sun; it is a small but sophisticated first world western nation of four million people quite capable of defending itself in the cyber world.

But after taking all this into account, do we really want to be involved in some free trade agreement with the world's most populous nation which is intent on committing a cyber world version of a 9/11?

I would strongly suggest it is in the best interests of the US to enable free trade agreements to be made between itself and other South Pacific nations.

It must be a real concern that China is gaining political and possible economic influence in the South Pacific region.

Friday, September 07, 2007

CROCODILE MAN'S DEATH VERY SIMILAR TO THE 1939 DEATH OF 18 YEAR OLD NEW ZEALAND WOMAN

Its been a year since Aussie icon Steve Irwin's tragic death from stingray barb in his heart...

The tragic death 12 mths ago of Australian icon, crododile hunter, Steve Irwin, was very similar to that of an 18 year old New Zealand woman in 1939.

The records of a young New Zealand woman who was stabbed through the heart by a stingray barb, were discovered since the death of Australian icon, crocodile hunter, Steve Irwin.

An entry in the 1939 Medical Journal stated that the death of an 18 year old woman was "an unusual bathing fatality", and that she had collapsed while bathing in three feet of water in the Hauraki Gulf (Auckland).

An autopsy report found the cause of death was haemorrhage from a wound to the heart caused by a Stingray barb.

The article said the victim's body was found alone on the beach and police would no doubt have suspected a "murder of the sexual pervert character" as the wounds looked like those made by the sharpest of knives - an imaginative observation by the police of that era.

Pete's Life and World Events

Sunday, September 02, 2007

HE IS OUR PETER JACKSON - FILM MAKER EXTRORDINAIRE - ANOTHER KIWI SUCCESS STORY.

He is Peter Jackson from New Zealand - the world's highest paid director for King Kong.The Guiness world record for the biggest paid fee paid to a director. That's a lot of money for some great writing.It was also the biggest film budget too - US$207 million for King Kong.

If Peter Jackson doesn't like what studios offer him, which includes 20th Century Fox and Universal Pictures profit share offer for the yet unmade HALO - he backs off and looks elsewhere.He can afford to - THE LORD OF THE RINGS made US$2.7 billion at the box office alone -with 20 Oscars from his films he can do what he likes.There are more movies, a partnership with Microsoft for new kinds of video games, and even ideas for a television mini- series.

Don't get the idea that Peter Jackson is some sort of big- head - he isn't! He's lost a lot of weight and has replaced those horn rim glasses with contact lenses, but at heart he is still that big overweight young man who started his professional life making a low budget gory comic zombie movie BAD TASTE, on weekends around the Wellington region for three years or so.

He was self- taught and was involved in just about everything in that film - the $10,000 cost coming from his weekly wage as an engraver for the local paper.Twenty years ago this very month, the New Zealand Film Commission finally relented and agreed to financially back an unknown young film maker from Pukerua Bay just a few miles outside of Wellington City.

He said he used to save up and buy four or five rolls of film, shoot them all up in a day, store them in the fridge until his next pay cheque and get them processed.When he had to pay the lab bill he couldn't afford film until the following week.

He was living at home with his parents at the time, and when he got his first $5,000 from the film commission he resigned his job as an engraver the very next day.

Today Peter doesn't have to store film in his fridges in his homes, offices or jet. He can afford as many rolls of film he wants, whenever he wants, in a jiffy,and get the film processed in a multi- million dollar facility that he owns in Wellington. He no longer has to go cap in hand to anybody to get money for his films. Now the world's biggest studios come to him! He is Mr Peter Jackson, and the world is his oyster.

Peter's Life and World Events

Thursday, August 30, 2007

ECHOES OF LIAM - THE SAD DEATH OF YOUNG NEW ZEALANDER, LIAM ASHLEY IN 2006. R.I.P.

The following story was written and posted on now defunct blogsites in 2006. It was one of the saddest stories I have ever written about.
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A most tragic case of parents tough love gone so sadly wrong - their youngest son loses his life!

A 17 yr old Auckland, New Zealand,youth was facing a charge of unlawfully converting his mother's car. His parents decided albeit wisely or unwisely, to try and teach their youngest son some responsibility for his actions. They persuaded the District Court judge to remand him in custody and enable him to gain some first hand knowledge of the justice system - a little time at the coalface, if you like!

The youth, named Liam Ashley, was transported from the court with 13 other remand prisoners in a private security company's van which was divided into four compartments - there has not yet any reason given to why the Corrections Department did not transport the prisoners to the remand prison - and Liam was put into one of the compartments with two other men, one of whom was a violent gang member with a string of 80 convictions behind him.

That man has now been arrested for Liam's death after allegedly beating and strangling the youth to death with his handcuffs on the way to the remand prison.

The 25 yr old man is understood to be a member of a notorious local gang with convictions for firearms offences, escaping from custody and aggravated robbery.

His last court appearance which resulted in him being in the same security van as young Liam, was for aggravated robbery and wounding with intent, and had to be accompanied to court by four armed guards because of his violent history and unpredictability.

How on earth was the youth, who has had no previous offences,placed with such a felon?

The devastated family find the situation that led to their son's death, untenable, intolerable and unacceptable under any circumstances, and obviously negligent. They, too,wonder just how their son could have been placed in the van with such a person.They do not need any reminding that it was their initial decision to have their son put into custody, when he could have been bailed.

When the van had arrived at the remand prison Liam had not been breathing. Ambulance officers managed to resuscitate him, but such was the severity of his subsequent brain damage the family later had his life support turned off.

A post mortem established the cause of death and an enquiry will be held to determine why Liam was put in the van with such a violent prisoner.

A devastated family continues to grieve for the death of their youngest son in such circumstances.

The prisoner has now been officially charged with the murder of the youth who had his own challenges; he was an at risk youth who had been assessed with ADHD earlier in his young life, something that undoubtably created its own difficulties.

Updates to the story:

The prisoner was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. An appeal aganst his sentence was denied in 2007.

Young Liam's sad death has resulted in a number of changes to the transportation of prisoners in New Zealand. The private company previously involved has not had its contract extended. The Corrections Department itself will assume this role in future, as was done back in the days of the old Prison Service.

Prisoners will be manacled while being transported in future.

Nothing will bring young Liam back,but let's hope his death was not all in vain. The changes that have been made by the NZ Corrections Department should ensure that the situation that led up to Liam's death will not be able to be repeated.

Even in retrospect,I don't blame Liam's mother for the decision she made; it was made out of love and concern for her at risk young son.

My Write Niche

Sunday, August 12, 2007

The US Federal correctional facility in Florence, Colorado, is the ultimate in maximum security - it is known as Supermax! It is the legion of the damned!

The 9/11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui faces the rest of his life there after the federal jury rejected the death penalty - he faces a fate worse than death.A prison expert looked straight at jurors during the trial and told them what punishment awaited Moussaoui at Supermax, " I have seen them rot," he said. " They rot!"

Perhaps a death sentence may prove preferable for the convicted terrorist.It will certainly send a message to others facing prosecution in future.

It was reported in the media recently that Moussaoui will spend every day of the rest of his life alone in a soundproof cell as small as 2 metres by 3.5 metres, with a concrete poured desk,bed,and stool, and a small shower with a timer. In the cell is a toilet that stops flushing if it becomes blocked. There is a small black and white television that offers religious and anger management programmes only.

There is a small triangular recreation area, known as "the dog run", where solitary Supermax prisoners can occasionally get a glimpse of the sky.

Life is harsh. Food is delivered through a slit in the cell door.Prisoners do not leave their cell to see a lawyer, doctor or prison official; those visitors must come to the cell.

There are 1400 remote controlled steel doors. Motion detectors and hidden cameras monitor every move. The prison walls and razor wired grounds are patrolled by laser beams and dogs.

Prisoners can earn extra privileges like a wider variety of television offerings, more exercise time and visitation rights,based on their behaviour.

The facility now houses 400 inmates,with further room for another 90 inmates.There is a veritable" bombers" row with a number of infamous convicts there.

There is obviously no pretence at preparing prisoners for a return to society - most won't be returning in any case - they are there not just for punishment but for total incapacitation!

Inmates are constantly monitored 24/7; it was described like being in a tomb.A convicted spy who was incarcerated there described his sentence with no regret," You're slowly hung,you're ground down.You can barely retain your sanity," he said.

It has been described by a defence lawyer as extraordinary draconian punishment.Moussaoui may be a household name today,but in twenty years from now,people will have forgotten him.He will sit there all alone,and all forgotten.He will become a veritable non-person!

Another defence lawyer described prisoners rotting inside the facility's walls, as being too kind,as rotting implies a slow, gradual disintigration.Supermax is worse, as it is designed to just grind you down and break you. The ultimate in society's revenge!

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EXPLOITATION OF MEXICAN YOUTH: WALMART KEEPS ITS WORLD IMAGE.

For research purposes only:

Web Exclusive
By Joseph Contreras
Newsweek
Updated: 3:33 p.m. ET July 31, 2007

July 31, 2007 - Wal-Mart prides itself on cutting costs at home and abroad, and its Mexican operations are no exception. That approach has helped the Arkansas-based retail giant set a track record of spectacular success in the 16 years since it entered Mexico as a partner of the country’s then-leading retail-store chain. But some of the company’s practices have aroused concern among some officials and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that Wal-Mart is taking advantage of local customs to pinch pennies at a time when its Mexican operations have never been more profitable.

Wal-Mart is Mexico’s largest private-sector employer in the nation today, with nearly 150,000 local residents on its payroll. An additional 19,000 youngsters between the ages of 14 and 16 work after school in hundreds of Wal-Mart stores, mostly as grocery baggers, throughout Mexico—and none of them receives a red cent in wages or fringe benefits. The company doesn’t try to conceal this practice: its 62 Superama supermarkets display blue signs with white letters that tell shoppers: OUR VOLUNTEER PACKERS COLLECT NO SALARY, ONLY THE GRATUITY THAT YOU GIVE THEM. SUPERAMA THANKS YOU FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING. The use of unsalaried youths is legal in Mexico because the kids are said to be “volunteering” their services to Wal-Mart and are therefore not subject to the requirements and regulations that would otherwise apply under the country’s labor laws. But some officials south of the U.S. border nonetheless view the practice as regrettable, if not downright exploitative. “These kids should receive a salary,” says Labor Undersecretary Patricia Espinosa Torres. “If you ask me, I don’t think these kids should be working, but there are cultural and social circumstances [in Mexico] rooted in poverty and scarcity.”

In a country where nearly half of the population scrapes by on less than $4 a day, any income source is welcome in millions of households, even if it hinges on the goodwill of a tipping customer. And Wal-Mart did not invent the bagger program that, as a written statement from the company notes, pre-dates the firm’s arrival in Mexico, nor is it alone within the country’s retail sector in benefiting from the toil of unpaid adolescents. But in Mexico City, for example, the 4,300 teenagers who work in Wal-Mart’s retail stores free of charge dwarf similar numbers laboring unpaid for Mexican competitors like Comercial Mexicana (715) and Gigante (427). Although Wal-Mart’s worldwide code of ethics expressly forbids any “associate” from working without compensation, the company’s Mexican subsidiary asserts that the grocery baggers “cannot be considered workers.” The Mexico City government’s top labor official dismisses that contention as so much corporate hogwash. “To my mind, that is not an accurate description because the bagger is providing a service on the store’s premises that benefits the company by serving the customer better,” argues Federal District Labor Secretary Benito Mirón Lince. “In economic terms, Wal-Mart does have the capability to pay the minimum wage [of less than $5 a day], and this represents an injustice.”

Certainly, Wal-Mart’s bottom line is healthy. Wal-Mart de Mexico reported net earnings of $1.148 billion in 2006 and $280 million in profits in the second quarter of this year, a 7 percent increase in real terms over the same period last year. Buoyed by the handsome bottom-line results of the preceding 12 months, Wal-Mart de Mexico Chief Executive Eduardo Solórzano announced plans in February to add 125 new stores and restaurants to its existing network of 893 retail establishments during the course of 2007. That ambitious expansion plan will represent new investment totaling nearly a billion dollars, according to company spokesmen.

And in its defense, Wal-Mart says it fully complies with a 1999 agreement covering the teenaged baggers that the Mexico City municipal government negotiated with the Supermarkets and Department Stores Association of Mexico. The company also says it goes beyond the obligations of that accord, awarding bonuses twice a year to baggers who maintain high grades in school and also providing accident insurance that covers the kids not only when they are on duty, but also when they are en route between home and workplace. The company’s written statement cited a study conducted by the Mexican government and a U.N. agency that found that teenagers participating in the baggers’ program were less likely to use illegal drugs than peers who panhandled or hawked merchandise on city streets.

Wal-Mart says the bagger program was designed “in accordance with the International Labor Organization’s (ILO) guidelines.” That’s questionable: Article 2 of the ILO’s Convention 138 specifically prohibits the employment of 14-year-old children. (When asked by NEWSWEEK specifically about this clause, a Wal-Mart spokesman said in a written response: "With respect to your questions about the ILO, I repeat that we subscribe to an agreement signed between the Supermarkets and Department Stores Association of Mexico and Mexican labor officials. I suggest you share your doubts with Mexican authorities as to whether the [1999] accord [with the Mexico City municipal government] is in line with ILO guidelines.") A study conducted by three student researchers at the Autonomous University of Mexico documented violations of the 1999 agreement at a Wal-Mart Supercenter store in southern Mexico City. These included inadequate training and forcing youngsters to work a double shift, thereby exceeding the six-hour limit per day established by the accord. Then again, things could be a lot worse. In February 2005, Wal-Mart agreed to pay the U.S. Labor Department $135,540 in civil money penalties to settle charges of 24 child-labor violations. Some of the accusations involved minors who operated forklifts, chain saws and other potentially dangerous equipment. Stuffing groceries into plastic bags would seem considerably less hazardous.