Re Wellard: Thanks, I had read about it a few months ago, but couldn't recall the name, I tend to remember factoids better than names or dates. I don't think that prison idea is necessarily workable due to the high proportion of prisoners who were interned there who went bonkers from the enforced silence.


Re Antarctica: Wasn't Australia a barely inhabitable wasteland which could also be called "desolate"? Also my understanding of Antarctica was that it wasn't "owned" per se by any single nation, but that most first world countries had outposts on it and small amounts of territory to do scientific research on (I've also heard from one of my conspiracy theory heavy friends that it's the site of one of three alien research/dissection labs, area 51 being closed due to publicity, and the old international space station which broke apart upon reentry into the atmosphere).

Seriously though until we terraform Mars or develope another option there isn't a realistic solution to the penal colony approach

<font color = lightgreen>I don't know about alien research labs there, but Antarctica is the prime suspect for the location of the lost civilization of Atlantis. South America, Australia, and Africa are all equally accessible from Antarctica and the Piri Reis map, drawn in 1516, accurately depicts the coastline of Antarctica as it exists under the ice; notes on the map state that it was compiled from "earlier sources". [img]graemlins/saywhat.gif[/img] Anyway....

Prisons should be places of punishment where violent offenders are removed from society. While there, they should be put into work programs to help offset the cost of operating the prison.

Non-violent offenders, such as those serving time for drug offenses or non-payment of child support should be put into minimum-security work-release programs, not just "community service".

I have long though about alternatives for the violent offenders like exile or simply killing them outright, depending upon the circumstances. Exile seems preferrable, because they are permanently removed from society and if they choose to kill each other then so be it. </font>

:blinks: How was Plato supposed to have got to Antartica??

IIRC it had sunk about 600 years before Plato described it, he had never actually been there.

Ah yes, you're quite correct [img]smile.gif[/img]

As always, the trusty Wikipedia has a nice summary of things.

My point about Antarctica was that you (the USA) would not like it if we sent our (Australian) prisoners to the Mojave Desert or to Alaska. They are your prisoners so keep them away from our part of the world thank you [img]tongue.gif[/img]

I'm hoping that there are surveys to show that prisons that are given the money to teach the illiterate inmates how to read and write, who give anger management courses to the violent and forced labour to those that choose not to self develop are more successful at rehabilitation. Maybe private jails should be given bonuses depending on the re offence rate of their prisoners ??? [img]graemlins/1ponder.gif[/img]

The role of prisons.... well....living in the Netherlands for the past 39 years, i have to admit that the role of prisons escaped me lately. Sorry, i can't answer your question, my goverment needs to straighten my brains out first, and probably my fellow countrymen's as well.

<font color = lightgreen>I'm not so sure. Many Americans are automatically interested in and drawn to anyone having an Australian accent. Weird, but true.</font>

When I see prisons or hear or read about it. One word come straight ot my mind. "Money" . Strange really...

There were people there before it was made a prison colony, so it's at least inhabitable enough to support a civilization.

Antarctica on the other hand has nothing to eat but fish and penguins, and you have to eat them cold because you can't make a fire as there is no wood. And there is nothing to drink but sea water and snow you melt with your own body heat. And the snow is either too soft and powdery to build anything of or too hard to dig, so you can't even build a shelter.