"Natural
Parents have NO RIGHTS.... ONLY RESPONSIBILITIES....
"Natural
Parents' Rights now gone with my Homosexual Marriage
bill"
16.10 Maximum Contact & Friendly Parent Rule
has to go to conform to Judicial Practice, or Judges may be
held in criminal BREACH OF TRUST"
FYI,
the ideas that the State grants
Rights
Responsibilities Citizen is straight from pre-war Nazi
Germany. Under the British system rights are not
State-given, but God Given.
Buying into the Court's position that what
rights remain are Children's Rights, is buying into the same
position that "<Natural> Parents have no rights", and
Canadian Children are at birth the property of the Courts.
In
"Women and the Process of Constitutional Reform"
McLellan warns that <Horrors!>
"Provincial
Legislatures may impose a presumption of Joint Custody...
and perpetuate the domination of men over women"
Ask a lawyer what "Common Law" is and
they will likely tell you it is
"Judge Made Law", and expand up this to say
"Common Law is whatever the Judges are commonly saying these
days".
This is completely FALSE. The Judges
are Agents of the Crown and they BY DEFINITION Judges are WITHOUT
CAPACITY to make any law whatsoever. Since
1649, only
PARLIAMENT has the Capacity to make Law.
British Common law was NOT created by Judges, it was
only observed and documented by individuals sent out by the
newly Norman Crown after the
Norman Conquest of 1066 to observe and codify the
laws and customs of the various peoples of Britain..
This was done with a view to aggregate existing customs
which may vary across the land, into a unified body of
Laws. The Authority quoted by the Commoners in their
administration of
Common Law were frequently direct quotations from the
Bible and
principles of
Danelaw
The process of documentation took only a
couple of hundred years, and the product was a STATIC body
of Law which was historical, popular, and has served in the
intervening centuries as a Benchmark against which
Statutory Law may be measured for "Fairness".
It does NOT change.
Instead their position to promote the
"rights" of a "Parent" in the widest sense of the
word, making NO distinction between
NATURAL PARENTS and
wannaabe
Legal Parents. They have bowed to
University of
Victoria's assertion that the SCC's
Trociuk
Decision
"endorses a Heterosexual View of the Family and must be
ignored", legitimizing the ongoing
Child
Trafficking by the State which views
Canadian
children as State Property and merchandise for sale in
the lucrative Child
Adoption Market They refuse to be hampered by prior
obligations to that pesky Natural Parent who thinks they can
Veto an Adoption.
It appears that many
"Fathers Rights" groups commonly fall in with the United
Nations and Liberal
Irwin Cotler's assertion that the
Child's Right is to be protected, but the Natural Parent
has "NO RIGHTS",
making the State, not the Natural
Parents the Protector of the Child..
Without Cause or
Consent, no Child shall be removed from a Natural Parent!!!
"In spite of credible revelations
dating back to April 2002 about Bill Graham, a sex addicted
bi-sexual sodomizing a 15 year old male prostitute named
Lawrence Metherel,
Paul Martin allowed Graham to remain
Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister - and eventually named
him to the portfolio of Minister of Defense.
"On Sept. 28/2005 a vote was held in Parliament to raise the
age of consent from 14 (one of the lowest age of consents in
the world) to 16 (an age which many still consider too low).
"Bill Graham, Paul Martin, and Anne
McLellan, on Sept. 28th, voted against raising the age of
consent to 16
We apologize that the
following figures have not been developed for the Province of BC
specifically. We hope to do this over time. We do know,
however that women often move to BC from Alberta and the rest of Canada
to have their divorces done here in BC where the
misandry of the Family Courts will
maximize their powers to destroy their husbands.
Children from fatherless homes account
for:
63% of youth suicides. (Source: US Dept.
of Health & Human Services, Bureau of the Census).
71% of pregnant teenagers. (Source: US
Dept. of Health & Human Services)
90% of all homeless and runaway
children.
70% of juveniles in state-operated
institutions come from fatherless homes (Source: U.S. Dept. of
Justice, Special Report, Sept 1988)
85% of all children that exhibit
behavioral disorders. (Source: Center for Disease Control).
80% of rapists motivated with displaced
anger. (Source: Criminal Justice & Behavior, Vol. 14, p. 403-26,
1978).
71% of all high school dropouts.
(Source: National Principals Association Report on the State of High
Schools).
75% of all adolescent patients in
chemical abuse centers. (Source: Rainbows for all God's Children).
85% of all youths sitting in prisons.
(Source: Fulton Co. Georgia jail populations, Texas Dept. of
Corrections 1992).
Children from fatherless
homes are:
11 times more likely to exhibit violent
behavior than children from intact "married" homes.
5 times more likely to commit suicide.
32 times more likely to runaway.
20 times more likely to have behavioral
disorders.
14 times more likely to commit rape.
9 times more likely to drop out of high
school.
10 times more likely to abuse chemical
substances.
9 times more likely to end up in
state-operated institutions.
20 times more likely to end up in
prison.
"37.9% of
fathers have no access/visitation rights."
(Source: p.6, col.II, para. 6, lines 4 & 5, Census Bureau
P-60, #173, Sept 1991.)
"40% of mothers reported that they had interfered with the
non-custodial father's visitation on at least one occasion, to punish
the ex-spouse." (Source: p. 449, col. II, lines 3-6, (citing
Fulton) Frequency of visitation by Divorced Fathers; Differences in
Reports by Fathers and Mothers. Sanford Braver et al, Am. J. of
Orthopsychiatry, 1991.)
"Overall,
approximately 50% of mothers "see no value in the father's continued
contact with his children...."
(Source: Surviving the Breakup, Joan Kelly & Judith
Wallerstein, p. 125) Only 11% of mothers value their husband's input
when it comes to handling problems with their kids. Teachers & doctors
rated 45%, and close friends & relatives rated %16.(Source: EDK
Associates survey of 500 women for Redbook Magazine. Redbook, November
1994, p. 36)
"The former
spouse (mother) was the greatest obstacle to having more frequent
contact with the children." (Source:
Increasing our understanding of fathers who have infrequent contact with
their children, James Dudley, Family Relations, Vol. 4, p. 281, July
1991.)
"A clear
majority (70%) of fathers felt that they had too little time with their
children." (Source: Visitation and the
Noncustodial Father, Mary Ann Kock & Carol Lowery, Journal of Divorce,
Vol. 8, No. 2, p. 54, Winter 1984.)
"Very few of
the children were satisfied with the amount of contact with their
fathers, after divorce." (Source:
Visitation and the Noncustodial Father, Koch & Lowery, Journal of
Divorce and Remarriage, Vol. 8, No. 2, p. 50, Winter 1984.)
"Feelings of anger towards their former spouses hindered effective
involvement on the part of fathers; angry mothers would sometimes
sabotage father's efforts to visit their children." (Source:
Ahrons and Miller, Am. Journal of Orthopsychiatry, Vol. 63. p. 442, July
1993.)
"Mothers may
prevent visits to retaliate against fathers for problems in their
marital or post-marital relationship."
(Source: Seltzer, Shaeffer & Charing, Journal of Marriage & the Family,
Vol. 51, p. 1015, November 1989.)
In a study: "Visitational
Interference - A National Study" by Ms. J Annette Vanini, M.S.W. and
Edward Nichols, M.S.W., it was found that 77% of non-custodial fathers
are NOT able to "visit" their children, as ordered by the court, as a
result of "visitation interference" perpetuated by the custodial parent.
In other words, non-compliance with court ordered visitation is three
times the problem of non-compliance with court ordered child support and
impacts the children of divorce even more. Originally published Sept.
1992
Child Support
Information from multiple
sources show that only 10% of all non-custodial fathers fit the
"deadbeat dad" category: 90% of the fathers with joint custody paid the
support due. Fathers with visitation rights pay 79.1%; and 44.5% of
those with NO visitation rights still financially support their
children. (Source: Census Bureau report. Series P-23, No. 173).
Additionally, of those not paying support, 66% are not doing so because
they lack the financial resources to pay (Source: GAO report:
GAO/HRD-92-39 FS).
The following is sourced from: Technical Analysis Paper No. 42, U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Income Security
Policy, Authors: Meyer and Garansky.
Custodial mothers who receive a support
award: 79.6%
Custodial fathers who receive a support
award: 29.9%
Non-custodial mothers who totally
default on support: 46.9%
Non-custodial fathers who totally
default on support: 26.9%
Judges and their elite
Star
Chamber entrench their power and status to rule over Canadians with
impunity and unbridled
narcissism.
Feminist and Homosexual Activists as Judges effect
their political agenda without the consent of the Canadian demographic.
They with full knowledge and intent (scripted in the sixties & seventies
by their Activist writers) circumvent due democratic process and
knowingly contravene the founding legal constructs of Canada in the BNA
& in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Activist Judges happily
and routinely breach the Trust placed in them by their employer, the
Canadian Taxpayer.
Lawyers routinely Entice into self-destruction and
financial rape vast numbers of families entering their doors.
Because of the Statutory self-regulation of the BC Law Society, we know
of no limiting factor to cap the Activism of the Judiciary other than
prosecuting Judges and Lawyers who exceed the powers granted them by
Statute.
The BC Law Society pimps BC women, and use them as
their hookers. With others (also conspicuously funded by the
Taxpayer), Law Society members instruct women to hook fathers and
families into the Courts and the financial ruin a "Legal Marriage"
entails. Children NEED this threat to their security to be
EXTERMINATED.
Faced with the entrenched Father Hatred and
Affirmative Action of the burgeoning civil service, boys and young men
despair. Having no vision for a Future or a university education,
they become prone to fulfill the Father Hatred prophecies of BC
university's Women's Studies faculties and Feminist Activists.
"Children of single parents were at
higher risk of physical abuse and of all types of neglect and were
overrepresented among seriously injured, moderately injured, and
endangered children. Compared with their counterparts living with both
parents, children in single parent families had:
a 77% greater risk of being
harmed by physical abuse (using the stringent Harm Standard) and a
63% greater risk of experiencing any countable physical abuse (using
the Endangerment Standard);
an 87% greater risk of being
harmed by physical neglect and a 165% greater risk of experiencing
any countable physical neglect;
a 74% greater risk of being
harmed by emotional neglect and a 64% greater risk of experiencing
any countable emotional neglect;
a 220% (or more than three
times) greater risk of being educationally neglected;
an approximately 80% greater
risk of suffering serious injury or harm from abuse or neglect;
an approximately 90% greater
risk of receiving moderate injury or harm as a result of child
maltreatment; and
a 120% (or more than two times)
greater risk of being endangered by some type of child abuse or
neglect."
2006-11-10
Top judges rebuke Tories Federal plan would allow police to help
appoint judiciary - workopolis.com; "Beverley
McLachlin, Canada's Chief Justice, along with a powerful council of
the country's top judges issued an unprecedented rebuke yesterday to
Justice Minister Vic Toews for hatching a plan to arbitrarily change
the way judges are chosen. The Canadian Judicial Council
expressed dismay that Mr. Toews is planning to introduce "significant
changes to the composition and functioning of the Judicial Advisory
Committees," secret groups which are set up in each region to vet
candidates for the 1,100 federal judgeships across the country.
Chief Justice McLachlin, who chairs the council, urged Mr. Toews to
include the judiciary and key legal bodies in any discussion of
changes to the committee vetting process."
We
need in the very least some kind of JUDICIAL ACCOUNTABILITY ACT
which will look something like::
Divide the Law Society into two groups of
Judges and Practicing Lawyers to protect the Lawyers who would
make Cases against Judges. There would be some Law Society
Members who may practice as Barristers, and some as Solicitors,
but a Judge must RETIRE from the Practice of Law and
become unable to affect the Law Society while they act as a
Judge. On removal of a Judge for
Judicial Activism,
the Law Society may deny their return to Practice from
Retirement for specified cause, such as the case made during
an unsuccessful Criminal Charge of
Breach of Trust or Treason.
The Judges naturally divide into two bodies,
the Provincial and Federal Judicial Societies to parallel the
Provincial and Federal Courts. Membership in both Judicial
Societies must be precluded. Federal Judges would be tried
by Provincial Judges according to the
JUDICIAL ACCOUNTABILITY ACT, and the Provincial Judges would
be tried by the Federal Judges. They could be tried both
in Tort and in Criminal Court for
Breach of Trust and for
Treason.
Make Judicial Appointments for a FIXED TERM
of no more than five years (Jimmy Pattison where are you when we
need you?)
Judicial Re-Appointment must meet a Test for
Judicial Re-Appointment which demonstrates the prescribed
Impartiality (that is an Activism Free record.) and Non-Infamy
with the Electorate.
Automatic Temporary Suspension Without Pay
for a Judge who is going to Trial in Tort or in Criminal
Court, pending its outcome.
Eradication
of
Freemasonry from the Judiciary and Law Societies. Both
are granted special privileges by Parliamentary Statute which
they receive In Trust.. Judicial Candidates and sitting
Judges must be vetted for Occult
practices resulting in Public Safety concerns such as
Pedophilia.
Pedophilia is an established part of Occult worship
(See
Malachi Martin among others) and is reported to be a
tolerated practice of some high ranking Judges.
Trial by Jury of Judges before non-allied and
non-associated Judges, e.g.. Federal
Judges
tried before Provincial Judges, visa versa..
NO SPECIAL
PROSECUTORS for Judges or other Public Servants being
tried.
Under the "federal" division of powers in the BNA
(Constitution Act, 1867)) Education falls into the Provincial
domain. A parallel Provincial Statute to amend the licensing
and Suspension of Teachers
would be necessary to stop the present use of our Schools for
Political Indoctrination by Activists. See also
Four Missions
Removal of judges from office, Oklahoma
Constitution
(a) In addition to other
methods and causes prescribed by the Constitution and laws,
the judges of any court, exercising judicial power under the
provisions of Article VII, or under any other provision, of
the Constitution of Oklahoma, shall be subject to removal
from office, or to compulsory retirement from office, for
causes herein specified, by proceedings in the Court on the
Judiciary.
(b) Cause for removal from
office shall be: Gross neglect of duty; corruption in
office; habitual drunkenness; commission while in office of
any offense involving moral turpitude;
gross partiality in office;
oppression in office; or other grounds as may be
specified hereafter by the legislature.
(c) Cause for compulsory
retirement from office, with or without compensation, shall
be mental or physical disability preventing the proper
performance of official duty, or incompetence to perform the
duties of the office"
"The Family Courts
are <generally> a bunch of second rate hangers-on
... build each other's businesses through
referrals...Family Law is a <parasitic> self-sustaining
Industry"
Habeas
Corpus : "literally, "you
may have the body". A Habeas
Corpus is a legal writ that protects an individual against arbitrary
imprisonment by requiring that any person arrested be brought before
a court for formal charge. If the charge is considered to be valid,
the person must submit to trial; if not, the person goes free. When
the law is suspended, then individuals can be imprisoned
indefinitely and without charge."
.....
"This
is one of those moments when you want to grab liberals by the lapels
and demand, "Well, what did you expect?" ... A group called the
National Center for Men has filed a lawsuit they are calling "Roe v.
Wade for Men." ... More than three decades
ago Roe vs. Wade gave women control of their reproductive lives but
nothing in the law changed for men. Women can now have sexual
intimacy without sacrificing reproductive choice. Women now have the
freedom and security to enjoy lovemaking without the fear of forced
procreation. Women now have control of their lives after an
unplanned conception. But men are routinely forced to give up
control, forced to be financially responsible for choices only women
are permitted to make, forced to relinquish reproductive choice as
the price of intimacy."
COMMENT: Roe
V. Wade was a "Femi-Narcissistic" decision, looking after the
interests of the Mother only. The principal established there
established was extrapolated into a Mother's "murder rights"
expressed in minimal sentences when murdering their children.
Equal Parenting eliminates much of this.
Father dealt difficult hand by the system
"Even last week, when the family court file of
Elaine and Leo Campione was released to the press -- in
significant measure because Mr. Campione didn't oppose the
media's bid to see it .. There is, to be frank, an
underlying perspective of feminist oppression from which all
else springs. .. Women are seen first as victims --
generally of male power and particularly of husband power -- and
presumed to be truth-tellers and good mothers until proven
otherwise. The starting point for men is that they are abusers
and deadbeat dads in the making unless they can prove the
contrary, and if it takes years for them to demonstrate that, oh
well."
Debtor's Prison, abolished in 1869 in the UK, reinstituted to appease "Femi-Nazis"
Debtor's Prison, abolished in 1869 in the UK, reinstituted to appease "Femi-Nazis"
The common practice in BC Courts when Fathers
do not pay Child Support -
which most of the time is merely
Imputed - is to send non-paying Father to Prison until he
or his family members pay the fees imposed by the Judge.
Whereas monetary orders are enforced against
fathers even when Moms don't want it enforced, we have yet to
find a monetary order enforced against a mother.
There are rare instances in which Dad has sole custody and a
typically modest monetary order along with it.
Imputed Income is especially hard on White Males because of the
ubiquitous Affirmative Action
programs in Canada hiring foreigners and specified preferred
groups "because of their underrepresentation" into these coveted
government jobs..
Judges
- who are typically beneficiaries of Affirmative Action
themselves - cannot comprehend that for White Males born in
Canada, the easy money the government throws at women and
foreigners seeking a career in Canada simply isn't available to
White Males born here, or that the is the money they
receive in salary in all the government programs to artificially
improve their employment stats is money TAKEN AWAY from Free
Market and the white males that by being "NONE OF THE ABOVE"
have to work in by EARNING a paycheck..
White Males in Canada are having a tough time
reproducing. We believe this to be no accident.
Even when mothers agree that Child Support
should no longer be paid, we find that the
Family Enforcement
agencies, which are private contractors functioning as
Bounty Hunters, typically refuse to end their claim on the
father's income, and Judges support the Agencies' continued
claim on the father's income in spite of the mother's agreement
to end Child Support.
Judges
are now requiring Child Support to be paid even when the "Child"
is FIFTY YEARS OF AGE, and in the Alberta case, the
fathers' pension was being gleaned for the adult "Child" to
remain in various University. programs. It may be that
university Law
Professors see Child
Support for fifty year old students as a way to keep their
courses filled.
They
say it is their
"Policy" to NEVER return OVERPAYMENTS on Child Support.
They say it is their "Policy" or to NOT
acknowledge Payments to the Payee directly without going through
their Office, saying such payments are "Gifts" only,
and will NOT be considered by them to be payments of Child
Support. They say their "Policy" of removing
Passports and Drivers' Licenses, and spreading around your SINs
to strangers NOT involved in taxation is justified by the
"Greater Good"of defending a
Child's Right to receive
Support Payments. They claim Themis is a "Creation of Statute",
exercising only the powers given it by Parliament. See
Issues: Breach of
Trust of a Public Officer, Criminal
Themis operates as
Chris Beresford's
mercenary
Bounty Hunter.
We have known of Moms who, having seen what Themis has done to
Dad, have waived payment of Child Support to stop
Themis' attacks, but Themis has refused to stop.
A guide to surviving prison or preparing yourself to go to prison, with
tips on staying safe, prison
etiquette, how to deal with guards
and other prisoners, how to get
involved in organising and struggle,
and more.
Introduction
Imprisonment
as a form of punishment can be traced back to
Greek times, but until relatively recently
long-term incarceration was extremely rare, only
flourishing in modern times after transportation
to 'the colonies' became unviable (in no small
part due to the American Revolution)
Traditionally, those that
offended against society were punished publicly,
generally in the most brutal way, from the
stocks to the gibbet. Public executions, often
with attendant torture and/or mutilation, were
the norm in this country until the 17th century.
Even when they were abolished it was not out of
any sense of decency or humanity, but according
to the Oxford History of the Prison, because
they had "become the occasion of rowdiness and
disgust - both because the crowd had begun to
identify with the victim, not the executioner,
and because the spectacle had become revolting,
offending a new sensibility about pain and
bodily integrity. Thus, it became desirable to
mete out punishment away from the public gaze."
Today, prison is still very
much a closed world, and while within the past
two decades TV cameras have occasionally been
able to show a very limited view of life behind
bars, they rarely capture anything more than
that which the authorities wish them to see. The
true misery of imprisonment is deliberately kept
secret from the general public, while the
right-wing press and unscrupulous politicians
conspire to present a picture of cushy 'holiday
camps' and 'health farms'. The prison
authorities do everything within their power
(legal and illegal) to prevent investigative
journalists having contact with prisoners and
vice-versa, while Michael Howard and Jack Straw
imposed a ban preventing visiting journalists
reporting anything at all. Though the ban has
subsequently been deemed unlawful, the vast
majority of journalists are so lazy, cowardly,
and/or clueless that it might as well still be
in place.
With the British prison
population currently growing at a rate of four
hundred a week, and New Labour's draconian
policies criminalising dissent, as a political
activist it is more likely that you will see the
inside of a prison cell than at any time in
recent history. For those committed to the
overthrow of the state, imprisonment has to be
seen as an occupational hazard, and as such it's
better to consider it beforehand, rather than
when it's too late.
During my life I've spent
time in over 20 British prisons (plus at least a
dozen more I've visited or 'stopped over' at)
including local prisons, remand centres,
long-term Category B prisons, all Britain's
maximum security dispersal prisons, a couple of
Category A units and 16 segregation units. I've
been around a bit, but I've never been anywhere
near a low security or 'open' prison, and though
I correspond with a number of women prisoners,
I've obviously never been held in a women's
prison. So while I think I'm pretty well
qualified to talk about the prison experience,
there are limits to what I know, and inevitably
this piece reflects that.
Preparing for prison
If you know you're going to be imprisoned, at
least that gives you a head start. Maybe you can
even talk to someone who's been in your local
nick, and who knows the rules and can give you
an idea what to expect. The 'unknown' is the
scariest thing of all, isn't it? Prison is the
worst thing our society has.
The most common fear,
certainly among men, seems to be that if they
get locked up they'll 'have to go in the showers
with Mr. Big.' Forget that - predatory
homosexuality is as rare in British prisons as
malt whisky, in fact in some prisons it's a
great deal rarer. There's probably more chance
of you being raped or sexually assaulted
'outside' than in here. I have never actually
come across a single occurrence.
Then there's the fear of
non-sexual violence - are you going to be locked
up with a load of thugs and psychopaths who'll
cut your throat as soon as look at you? Again,
this is largely exaggerated, but violence does
exist in prison. However, it's a relatively
simple matter to minimise the likelihood of
being attacked. In my experience there's far
less random violence in prison than in wider
society. I was in an adult long-term prison at
19, and the only time I've ever been attacked it
was by the screws.
Staying safe comes down to
basics. Stay alert and learn some manners -
prison is a close environment containing too
many people, so manners are extra important. Be
polite to people, treat them with mutual
respect, don't be nosy or impinge on their
limited personal space, never borrow things
without asking, don't boast or bullshit, never
grass anyone up, and even more importantly,
avoid drugs (heroin) and stay away from junkies.
When I was at Full Sutton in 1996, there was an
average of one stabbing a week, but almost all
of them were related to smack.
While adult prisons,
particularly long-term ones, tend to be a fairly
mature environment, 'Young Offenders
Institutions' (for those under 21) can be
different, and violence less easy to avoid. The
general advice still applies though - be
assertive not aggressive, but don't let people
take liberties with you, and if necessary be
prepared to fight. Some self defence training
may give you an edge, but be warned that prison
fights are always dirty - you can expect to be
bitten, scalded, stabbed, coshed, and/or
attacked by multiple assailants. Attacks are
likely to take place in the showers or when the
victim is still in bed.
In reality, it's not other
prisoners you should be worried about, they will
become your friends and comrades. In the harsh
prison environment bonds will be forged that can
last a lifetime. Your problems will come from
the system, and from the screws, particularly if
you're a person of integrity. From the very
first moment you enter prison your principles,
your sense of selfhood, and your very humanity
will be under attack. If you are to survive
unbroken, you must resist all attempts to turn
you into a numbered, subjugated, compliant piece
of jail-fodder, a 'Stepford Prisoner' who has
had their spine and brain removed. You are,
after all, not just an individual, but a member
of a movement, and those that come after you
will be judged by how you behave.
Unfortunately, for those of
you entering prison today, the level of
political consciousness among British prisoners
is at the lowest point for many years. Divide
and rule scams like the loathsome 'Incentives
and Earned Privileges' scheme have undermined
solidarity, and in-cell TVs and heroin have
helped a culture of selfishness to develop. You
will hear people come out with things like, "I
can't afford to get involved" or "I've done my
bit" or "I just want to get out." Ignore these
wankers, they're just trying to justify their
own cowardice. Everybody wants to get out of
these rotten places, but how do you want to get
out - on your feet or on your knees? Resistance
and solidarity will always exist within prisons,
and if you have anything about you at all, your
place is with that resistance, not with the
grovellers and forelock-tuggers who shit on
their fellow cons in the foolish belief that
they can make a comfortable life for themselves
in here.
Prison Receptions, the entry
point into any jail (unless you go straight to
the punishment block - the segregation unit),
have changed a lot since the days when you were
very likely to be met with a beating, but they
are still inevitably an unpleasant experience.
It is here that your prison file will be opened,
that you will be given a number, where strangers
will begin to address you by your surname only,
where others will decide what clothes you can
wear and what possessions you can have, and
where you will receive your first strip-search.
It is in Reception that the battle begins.
The first Prison Reception I
was ever in was at Canterbury in 1980. There
were certainly worse places back then, but there
were still some vicious screws working there. In
every nick in the country they used to read you
a little speech at Reception, part of which
went, "You will call all prison officers 'Sir'."
So it didn't take long for my first
confrontation to come, I would not, and will
not, be forced to call anyone 'Sir'. Nor was I
prepared to substitute 'boss' or 'guv'nor' as
was acceptable in some prisons. Like a lot of
principles it's ostensibly a small thing, it
would be so easy to compromise, especially when
almost everyone else does, but what are we
without principles? Once you start abandoning
them for the sake of convenience, who's to say
where it will end? I remember a few years ago
when I was forced onto a blanket protest at
Durham. Having failed to intimidate and bully me
into putting on the prison clothes, the screws
tried persuasion - "You're alone down here in
the punishment block, away from your mates,
nobody will even know you've put them on." But
I'd have known, and the screws would have known,
and that was enough.
Today there's no longer an
obligation to call your captors 'Sir', and many
nicks no longer require you to wear prison
clothes, but your integrity will still be
tested, and you will have to struggle to retain
it. Relinquish it, and I imagine prison will
have far more of a lasting effect on you than if
you spend the whole of your sentence in the
block.
Screws often behave like
playground bullies and when you come into a new
nick, they'll try it on to see how much they can
get away with. A classic example is to try to
get you to 'squat' or bend over during a
strip-search - tell them to fuck off. Every
prison has its own rules about what you can and
can't have, and they change constantly, but if
you know you're getting sent down you can still
try to be prepared. Often, little can be sent in
after you're imprisoned, so have anything you
need and might be able to have with you. Most
prisons allow you to wear your own training
shoes these days, so get yourself a good sturdy
pair. Prisoners generally wear sports clothes,
which are easily cared for, avoid black and dark
blue colours which aren't always allowed, and go
for cotton fabrics that will survive the prison
laundry. A radio or small stereo will be useful,
as will one or two books, and some basic
stationery. A watch is more or less essential,
ideally get one that doesn't require batteries,
is tough and waterproof (so you can wear it in
the shower), but not unduly expensive or
ostentatious. While highly desirable, food and
drink and toiletries won't be allowed. If you
smoke (and it's a big advantage not to), you may
be permitted to keep a small amount of tobacco.
Make sure you have cash with you, so that you
can buy phonecards and other items you need from
the prison shop.
There was a time when every
cell contained a copy of the prison rules, and
prisoners were required to read them. Now the
prison authorities generally do their best to
keep them secret, because they are so regularly
broken. You will find it useful to consult the
Prison Rules and Standing Orders, which outline
your few rights and entitlements, and they
should be available in the prison library. The
Prison Service also publishes its own
information booklets, but the contents are very
selective. If you have difficulty getting hold
of a copy of the rules, or think you are not
getting what you're entitled to, as regards diet
or exercise for example, either contact your
solicitor or the Prisoners Advice Service at the
address given elsewhere in this section.
Prisoners' letters are generally censored, and
so have to be handed in or posted with the
envelopes unsealed. However, you may write to a
solicitor or the Prisoners Advice Service in
confidence under Prison Rule 39. Contrary to
what you may be told, you do not have to allow a
member of staff to seal the envelope for you,
and if you do not have stamps you can ask for a
'Special Letter', which should be sent at public
expense. Simply seal the envelope, write your
name and 'Rule 39' on the back, and hand it in
or post it in the box provided.
There is a good deal of
variation in prison architecture, from the
ancient cathedrals of human misery to the stark
modern control-units. The accommodation parts of
prisons are known as 'wings' or 'houseblocks',
and they generally have cells on 'landings' or
'spurs' on more than one level, known as 'the
ones', 'the twos' etc. Most modern prison cells
are approximately 7ft x 11ft, but some are a
good deal smaller, and in some prisons each cell
may contain 2, or even 3 prisoners. Personally,
I am not prepared to share a space that small
with another person, and if necessary will opt
for a single cell in the block. Prisoners are
having to spend more time locked in their cells
than for many years, but you should not be
'banged up' for more than 23 hours at a time.
Prison really is a bizarre
institution to come into, and it'll take you a
while to get used to it. Humans are an adaptable
species though, and within a few weeks you'll
probably find you're cracking on like an old
lag. If you're on remand though, this can be a
time when you fuck up, and it's something I
always warn people about. Time is different in
jail and particularly when you're first locked
up, a couple of days can seem like a month. It's
a harsh environment, and you'll be spending a
lot of time with the same people. Many of these
will turn out to be good friends, but always try
to bear in mind that in reality, you've known
them for days or weeks, not years, and that not
everyone in jail tells the truth about
themselves. In particular, be wary about
discussing the details of your case with those
you hardly know - too many people wind up in
court with former cell-mates giving evidence
against them. Also be careful about giving out
your home address or personal details until you
know your new friends a lot better.
There's a thousand scams and
tricks in jail - cons are extremely inventive
people and are always one step ahead of the
screws. As you pick up your jail-craft, you'll
learn everything from how to pass a cigarette
from one end of the wing to the other, how to
make prison 'hooch' without yeast, how to make
weapons out of next to nothing, how to defeat
electronic door systems, how to make a cup of
tea without a kettle, and all sorts of other
survival skills. When you first get locked up,
you'll doubt that you could last more than week
in this environment, but in all likelihood you
will, and will even share in the gallows humour
endemic to this otherwise joyless existence.
The human spirit can flourish
and triumph in the face of the darkest
adversity, but I'm not going to tell you that
prisons are anything other than utterly rotten
places, particularly for those of us who have to
endure year after year of long-term
imprisonment. Prison kills you physically and
psychologically - it's a living death, like
being buried alive. I once read about a Native
American woman who suddenly woke up from a coma
as if from sleep. She wanted to know where her
husband and her children were, but she'd been
unconscious so long her husband had remarried
and her children grown up. It's a tragic story,
but at least she didn't have the slow torture of
having to watch, helpless, as her life slipped
away from her, together with everything she
cared about. That's how it is for most long-term
prisoners, and many lose their families, homes,
jobs, savings, and possessions even before their
cases come to trial. Hang onto your integrity,
because when the system's finished with you and
spits you back out on the street, it may be all
you have left.
But hey, nobody said it was
going to be easy - if it was easy they wouldn't
call it 'struggle' would they? As political
activists we're the lucky ones in here, given a
rare opportunity to get inside the machine and
act like a virus. As an activist, you're not
locked up to take a holiday - there's a real
struggle to be fought in here, so keep militant
and get involved...
By Mark Barnsley, Whitemoor Prison, England
More notes on surviving
prison
Britain has the largest prison population per
capita in Europe and if the government has its
way it'll carry on growing! More and more people
are likely to do time for crimes they did or
didn't commit, partly because the state is
always creating more + more laws that we can
break, especially laws criminalising political
protest. The fear of prison is one of the
state's ultimate deterrents to stifle dissent
and protect the ruling classes from the wrath
and poverty of the masses. This deterrent only
works as effectively as we are fearful of it,
and this is an attempt to dispel some of the
fears and myths that surround prison.
Experiences of prison can
vary greatly from person to person and from
prison to prison. Obviously there's a big
difference between a short stay and a long
stretch, not so much on the experience while
there but mentally it can be harder to remain
unaffected, and will take longer to re-adjust to
the outside world as it will have changed more,
and old skills will have to be remembered. Being
in prison on remand can be mentally and
emotionally taxing, because of the uncertainty
regarding length of sentence, and the stress of
an approaching court case, etc. Women's prisons
are also quite different, not only are you
likely to be further from friends and family
because of the scarcity of women’s' prisons but
my women are in for gender/poverty related in a
way that men aren't, basically because most
coppers/judges are male chauvinists. Category
‘A’ prisoners (high security) also have less
privileges than Category ‘B’, ‘C’ and ‘D’
respectively. It should be remembered worldwide,
British prisons have a reputation for being soft
compared to elsewhere especially outside of
Europe.
If you know in advance that
you're going to be going inside it's helpful to
talk to others with experience of prison. It's
good to tie up any loose ends regarding family,
housing, money, support before you go in. Also
get a few good reading books together!
This section is aimed mostly
at those who do time for political 'crimes' or
crimes(?) of conscience although it can apply to
anyone. Some political activists see going to
prison as a natural extension of direct action.
Political prisoners have the advantage of being
part of a wider movement, which can offer
practical support and boost moral. Having a good
understanding of why you are there can give a
degree of inner strength, calm and confidence
and so from this perspective prison can be an
empowering experience, and can also be somewhat
amusing at times as well!
Most folk on knowing they're
about to go down have a flood of varied emotions
and/or passing attacks of anxiety and fear. It
can feel like the whole weight of the world is
falling upon your head.
with the threat of prison
hanging over my head I try and find out as
much as I possibly can about the prison I am
likely to be sent to... I worry about what
the other prisoners are like; will I fit in?
How much stuff I can take with me? Will I be
on my own or sharing? When I arrive
different questions become a problem: where
do I go to eat, to shower, where is
everything, this place is big. After you
come out of prison, take a holiday, or rest,
to give yourself time to adjust to being out
again and having space to move about. Give
yourself time and tell others how you are
feeling.
"Prisons and prison experiences vary
enormously.. the first time I went to a
British prison was one of the most hellish
weeks of my life: I was beaten up by the
guards, denied a vegan diet, taken before
the governor three times (and threatened
with everything from the punishment block to
the psychiatric wing) and put in a cell with
someone in for murder and someone in for
manslaughter. In contrast, much of my five
months in another prison was a leisurely
rest - badminton, jogging, table tennis,
evening classes, my own cell, passable vegan
food, friendly enough screws
I had sort of expected I
was going to prison and actually felt quite
prepared and calm. As the prison van pulled
up at the gates I felt a strange sort of
excitement mixed with a bit of nervousness
and uncertainty. I found it fairly easy to
settle in after the initial 'crikey! I'm in
prison' type feelings. Getting used to the
regime can be a bit hard - so many rules.
When your life is totally in the hands of
authoritarians you just have to adapt and
get used to it, and know that they can’t
confine your thoughts or hold your true
freedom. It's important to use the time well
with things to focus your mind. There lots
of potential for self development and
learning from people of different
backgrounds. I really benefited from doing
lots of meditation and tai chi, which helped
me keep calm, especially when dealing with
some of the screws who would try and draw me
into confrontation because of my beliefs
However the reality is a lot
easier than the fears, and when you start
meeting the other cons you realise most of them
are just ordinary enough people brought here by
unfortunate circumstances, rather than the
social monsters the government and media would
have you believe. Obviously there are some
nutters but they aren’t that common, and let’s
face it there are plenty of nutters on the
outside as well! Very few people are looking for
a fight because that can mean time in solitary
and less parole, so if you're not looking for
trouble you're unlikely to find it. If you try
and act hard, someone's going to challenge you,
so just be yourself and be calmly confident,
and, keep a good sense of humour!
Political prisoners tend to
get a fair bit of respect in prison, if not a
few strange looks for having somewhat alien
beliefs. Most trouble in prison is over drugs
and addictions (including tobacco) and bullying
to get them when personal supplies run low (the
prison shop's only open once/twice a week and
everyone's skint anyway)... Time to give up?
Sometimes, especially if it's obviously your
first time inside, you may find yourself
challenged in some way by other prisoners, as a
kind of test of strength which as long as you
stand your ground in a calm but confident
manner, will generally pass off without
incident. Backing down to any threats or
bullying leaves you wide open for abuse and
bullying later if you become seen as an easy
victim, so stand your ground. It's pretty
similar to school playground philosophy really.
An open mind and a bit of
common respect can go a long way in prison
meeting half-way the many different lives,
experiences and expectations that you'll meet
there. It can be a time of 1earning and an
insight into the inner workings of Babylon, both
in the oppressive and overly bureaucratic
organisation of prison and in the inmates
themselves, most of whom are in for some kind of
poverty (class) related crime. Prison can be a
lonely place, it is designed to isolate.
Communication and solidarity is essential, both
with other inmates and with the outside world as
well. Political prisoners usually get a lot of
support correspondence from the wider movement,
this gives a big boost to morale and in some
cases can be a lifeline (make sure they know
you're there - see contacts below) It also makes
a prisoner feel less anonymous, less of a number
in a system to be pushed about.
Adapting to prison regime can
be strange (if not interesting)... it's a
culture unto itself- so many new rules and
regulations, new behaviour norms, respective
routines, social hierarchies, different
language. You can expect some overcrowding,
frustrating and irritating levels of noise and
distraction and little personal space or
privacy. It may be difficult to sleep properly,
radios blaring, bars, loud arguments etc. Food
will be starchy and dull. You will learn to
wait...for a phone call, a shower, a meal, the
answer to a question even the time of day. Time
can become distorted, days will slip by but each
hour could seem like an eternity. Focusing your
mind on something like a campaign, reading,
studying, drawing, yoga etc. can be a great help
in dealing with the monotony and stresses of
prison life.
Different diets can be
catered for upon request although you are only
guaranteed a vegan diet if you're a member of
the Vegan society before getting sent down. Some
progress has been made recently on getting GMO-free
diets, although such decisions (as are most
decisions regarding personal welfare) are at the
arbitrary discretion of the individual prison
Governor. Visits and the sending of books, money
stereos, what you can and can't send in/out
varies greatly from prison to prison so check
with the Prison Visitor Centre concerned. The
screws are generally alright, if not a bit
uptight, with a predisposition towards having
authoritarian fantasies. Their prime concern is
to preserve order through obedience and
submission. However you don't have to indulge
them in this fantasy and as long as you don't
take the piss they generally leave you alone.
Let them be responsible for keeping order while
you stay responsible for keeping your
conscience.
A sense of humour goes a long
way in dealing with the daily routine of being
inside, and a smile can disarm all but the
meanest screws and cons. Sometimes it's hard not
to laugh at those in authority when they take
themselves far too seriously especially if their
authority and power in not having the desired
effect on you. Just because your body is behind
bars doesn't mean you've got turn in your
conscience or convictions with all your other
belongings at the gate. Whether in prison or
not, the freedom we enjoy is the freedom we
claim for ourselves, and while the body can be
incarcerated the spirit is as free as it wishes.
Being in prison can be an incredibly empowering
experience by bringing this message home.
When you come out, give
yourself time to adjust. If you've been in for a
while, take it easy, it can take a while to
psychologically adjust to looking after yourself
again - cooking, cleaning, socialising. Tell
friends how you're feeling and above all keep
smiling, ‘cos there’s nothing you can't laugh
at...
From the
UHC Collective website
Debtor's Prison, abolished in 1869 in the UK, reinstituted to appease "Femi-Nazis"
The common practice in BC Courts when Fathers
do not pay Child Support -
which most of the time is merely
Imputed - is to send non-paying Father to Prison until he
or his family members pay the fees imposed by the Judge.
Even when mothers agree that Child Support
should no longer be paid, we find that the
Family Enforcement
agencies, which are private contractors functioning as
Bounty Hunters, typically refuse to end their claim on the
father's income,.
Imputed Income assessed to Dads with no Job or
"Underemployed"
If a BC Judge thinks the Child Support you
pay based on your real Income isn't enough, they might impute Income to
you to artificially boost the Support Cheque. These "judgments' can be
free-wheeling, arbitrary and punitive for all members of the Victim's
family.
Affirmative Action has made White Heterosexual Anglophone Males (WHAMs) a Class
of employment ineligibility & PC Hatred since 1980
"I get government cheques..... you stupid
Canadians.. I get government cheques.", Korean Realtor
Canadian Affirmative Action programs coupled with massive
immigration from "non-traditional" sources to accommodate UN commitments
precluded white males and many white females from employment and progressive
employment in government offices.
These same White Males are now routinely subjected to Imputed
Income by Family court Judges - the majority of whom are beneficiaries of
Affirmative Action programs - when Dad's incomes aren't as high as the Judge
expects them to be.
Disclaimer: EqualParenting-BC.Ca encourages exercising democratic
rights such as the freedom of expression, but does not by association or
reference to other materials condone or sanction violence or hatred.