Posts by Stuart Coats
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And doesn't that just make your stomach turn a little, thinking of all the misery and death that goes on when prisons are badly and cheaply run as the cost of doing business?
Well, yes, but I'm sure the SST and their acolytes won't mind because they're only prisoners! People who broke the law! The scourge of right and decent folks everywhere!
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@Eddie. My thanks to you too. My curiosity is getting more and more satisfied.
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@Matthew - thanks. I did wonder how that would work. I'm guessing that the profit comes from saying it costs, say $50k (why does that number keep popping into my head? Was there an article sayingthat was how much it cost to house a prisoner for a year? Hmm) and then trying to do it for $40k. Or less. That sounds like... fun.
@Ian. If the stories of riots are true then it would be difficult to get public reassurance.
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Please excuse my ignorance, but how does a privately run prison work?
Does the government put the prisoners up for tender ("We've got a 10-year prisoner here. Who wants 'em?")
Does the government decide that it costs, for example, $50k per year for a prisoner and then give that to the prison to house said offender, with it then becoming up to the prison how it chooses to use that money?
Does the prison itself get to choose who it takes and who it doesn't? (in which case would any private prison have taken on Graeme Burton? Or Antoine Dixon?)
And, lastly, does the private prison have any obligation to rehabilitate, or is it just there to house and punish? -
My parents are both ministers, and from time to time they have used me or my behaviour in their sermons. I'm lucky in that they both became ministers after I was 18 so everything has pretty much been retrospective. I never mind that they do this because
1) They never say anything that they wouldn't say to my face
2) I know that they love me, despite my own failings. If they can then use those as examples to help other people then that is all good.And I guess that would be the point with your writing, Russell. Everyone here can see how much you love your children when you write about them. Similarly with David and Emma and the other contributors who have talked about their children; the love and respect is obvious.
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But 'church' also has connotations which 'community' does not, and which members of the PA community might find offensive or simply discomforting. So why use it?
If my use of that word has offended anybody I sincerely apologise. That was never my intent. My use of the word is more as " a place where people gather". And I used it, rather than community, because people choose to gather here. Admittedly you can also choose to be part of a community and, in hindsight, that may have been a better choice of word on my part.
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@ Robin
I was interested in someone claiming to have the spirituality of a brick. I just didn't belive that that could be the case. A lot of religious debate comes down to semantics anway, so I thought I woudl throw mine in there. :)@ Emma
We're going to get into more semantics probably, but what word would you use in that context? -
What does annoy me is the people who insist that everyone has a spritual side. "Oh," they say, "you do have an inner spirituality, even if you don't believe in God." No. No, I don't. I have the spiritual impulses of a brick.
This is probaly going to annoy you then, Jack. While I don't believe in a "soul" in a Christian way (y'know, the thing that lives forever, either in heaven or in torment) I do believe that everyone does have a spiritual side. Do you laugh at a good joke (or even a bad one!). Does music uplift you in any way? Can you read a book and get transported by it? Or by a film?
Human being are animals. We follow basic biology and that is to survive ourselves and ensure that our species survives. For me anything that it outside of that biological imperative is the soul, or spirituality.
You don't have to go to a church to get this. However, some people would say that we have built our own church right here on Public Address - like-minded (for the most part) individuals discussing issues that affect us. -
It's probably complete shit, but it is free …
You've missed your true calling in sales.
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I've found that barking loudly like a dog gets JW's, Mormons and the like to leave you alone. Quite quickly.
It also works for charity collectors and salesmen. Although when I did it to the guy trying to get me to sign up for an American Express card in Wellington airport I then had a security guard watch me closely for the rest of my time there.