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Lost Your Job? Maybe a Felon Found It! Prison Gigs Aplenty...

CitizenSugar — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 08:00:49 -0700

While California inmates were busy fighting fires this month, prisoners in South Carolina were stitching up some brassieres for Victoria's Secret. That's right. Check that tag, your bra might be the new license plate, an arguably more useful product, I'd say.

Mother Jones has a whole list of common goods that are now sourced to prisons. Drinking some coffee? Yup, that too. What else?

Eating: CA inmates produce 680,000 pounds of beef, and Starbucks has hired WA prisoners to pack up holiday coffee blends.
Playing: Nintendo Gameboys and Microsoft mouses are packed in the pokey.
Learning: TX and CA inmates make everything from lockers to juice boxes.
Wearing: The above mentioned Vicky's bras, as well as leisure wear for JC Penney

And the best prison product? To see it,

Front Page: Israel/Hezbollah Prisoner Swap, Consumer Prices Balloon, US Troops Abandon Afghan Outpost

CitizenSugar — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 07:00:01 -0700

Israel/Hezbollah Prisoner Swap:
Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah have completed their prisoner swap: Israel handed over five Lebanese prisoners and the bodies of 200 Lebanese and Palestinian fighters in exchange for the bodies of two soldiers, captured in 2006. Lebanon declared a national holiday to observe the swap, as now Israel holds no more Hezbollah militants.

Consumer Prices Balloon:
A telling measure of inflation rose last month at its fastest rate in 16 years. The Consumer Price Index, which tracks prices of a batch of common household products, rose 1.1 percent in June; inflation accelerated last month at nearly twice the rate in May, when the index grew 0.6 percent. It was the largest monthly gain in the inflation indicator since June 1982.
US Troops Abandon Afghan Outpost:
US troops have withdrawn from a remote outpost in northeastern Afghanistan, three days after Taliban militants tried to take over the base and left nine US soldiers dead. Though NATO has downplayed the withdrawal, Taliban militants and likely to claim victory in the move. On Sunday, the Taliban militants briefly broke through the incomplete defenses of the new post sparking hours of fierce fighting that killed nine US soldiers and many more insurgents.

Source

Sound the Alarm! California's Prisoners Help Fight Wild Fires

LibertySugar — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:00:57 -0700

California has called on a plentiful resource — prisoners — to save the state's natural resources from devastating fires. About 2,500 prisoners are fighting the thousands of wild fires engulfing California. The convicted helping hands are not amateurs; California has maintained a prisoner firefighter training program for 60 years.

Serving fellow citizens during an emergency provides an unfamiliar role for former criminals, giving them an opportunity to help society rather than burden it. Taking their jobs seriously, few convicts have escaped during the course of the program. Those driving by pull over to say thank you, and one prisoner said: "Even though I have to wear these colors, I still feel important."

Firefighter training seems like a great way to pass on work skills to inmates, while giving them a tie to the community and a chance for respect — the lack of these things might have caused the crimes in the first place.

Source

Austria Redux? Italian Woman Held Prisoner for 18 Years

CitizenSugar — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 08:00:51 -0700

Italian authorities discovered a woman who has been kept in a locked room in her family’s home for 18 years, immediately drawing comparisons to the Josef Fritzl story out of Austria.

After receiving a tip authorities freed the 47-year-old woman, Maria Monaco, from her befouled living quarters. Her 80-year-old mother, a sister, and a brother have been accused of kidnapping.

After becoming pregnant out of wedlock, Monaco was kept locked up at home. when she was found the police said, “she could barely walk, and instead of speaking she emitted a sort of wailing sound.” She was immediately transferred to a psychiatric ward in a Naples hospital.

Though the parallels to the Austria case were quick to fly, a lawyer representing the family said the comparison was false. To find out why,