NationStates Jolt Archive

John Daly called into an Irish radio show recently from his cell in Portlaoise Maximum Security Prison (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portlaoise_prison), where he was serving time for armed robbery(he's since been transferred). Naturally the prison service began to go over the prison with a fine toothed comb.

Among the contraband discovered was a budgie, complete with bird cage.

Clearly Ireland has the most genius criminals in the world.

Linky (http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/0509/portlaoise.html).

I kind of feel bad for him. I doubt this will make him many friends

I only feel bad for the guy who had his pet budgie taken away. :(

Also, how the hell do you hide something like that in a prison cell?!

I only feel bad for the guy who had his pet budgie taken away. :(

Also, how the hell do you hide something like that in a prison cell?!

And what harm does it really do to have a budgie? Mean old prison guards

I wonder where on/in his body he smuggled the bird and cage into the prison.

I only feel bad for the guy who had his pet budgie taken away. :( yep
http://www.southwalesanimalrescue.org.uk/Used_pics/ForeverHomesNeeded/OtherAnimals/BudgieS.jpg

I only feel bad for the guy who had his pet budgie taken away. :(

Also, how the hell do you hide something like that in a prison cell?!

I think the prison guards let him off with having the budgie until they had to crack down on contraband.

I think the prison guards let him off with having the budgie until they had to crack down on contraband.Ah, makes sense.

Still. :(

I wonder where on/in his body he smuggled the bird and cage into the prison.

Both the bird and the cage were constructed entirely out of plastic drinking straws from the cafeteria.

John Daly called into an Irish radio show recently from his cell in Portlaoise Maximum Security Prison (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portlaoise_prison), where he was serving time for armed robbery(he's since been transferred). Naturally the prison service began to go over the prison with a fine toothed comb.

Among the contraband discovered was a budgie, complete with bird cage.

Clearly Ireland has the most genius criminals in the world.

Linky (http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/0509/portlaoise.html).
I suppose that despite this pet budgie the other items, such as the cell phones and the drugs, including syringes which were most likely NOT sanitary, should be ignored?

And where are you guys getting this "budgie" term anyway? Those are parakeets.

And where are you guys getting this "budgie" term anyway? Those are parakeets.

The Budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus, nicknamed budgie), the only species in the Australian genus Melopsittacus, is a small parrot belonging to the tribe of the broad-tailed parrots (Platycercini); these are sometimes considered a subfamily (Platycercinae). In the latter case, the budgerigar is sometimes isolated in a tribe of its own, the Melopsittacini, although it is probably quite closely related to Pezoporus and Neophema.[2] Though budgerigars are often called parakeets, especially in American English, this term refers to any of a number of small parrots with long flat tails. The budgerigar is found throughout the drier parts of Australia and has survived in the inlands of that continent for over 5 million years.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budgerigar

And under the subheading of "too much information", we find:
Budgerigar means "good eating" or "good food" in some Australian Aboriginal languages.[4]

We have a budgie, but she doesn't particularly like us.

*interesting information about how stupid my dialect of English is yet again.

...

Well...I'm a moron. :(

I suppose that despite this pet budgie the other items, such as the cell phones and the drugs, including syringes which were most likely NOT sanitary, should be ignored?



Quite right. This is a armed robber we are talking about.

No sympathy from me.

I suppose that despite this pet budgie the other items, such as the cell phones and the drugs, including syringes which were most likely NOT sanitary, should be ignored?
Not at all, but they weren't particularly amusing.
Quite right. This is a armed robber we are talking about.

No sympathy from me.

Said armed robber didn't have the budgie, someone else in the prison did.

Quite right. This is a armed robber we are talking about.

No sympathy from me.
Ah, so he keeps those items, then? I think you mean that he should lose everything. I was talking about how those items were not mentioned in the original post.

Furthermore, let's not forget that he was armed robber for a reason...we don't want to just lock him up and ignore the problem that caused him to rob in the first place...we need to address the sources of crime, and rehabilitate the criminals.
Not at all, but they weren't particularly amusing.

True.

Not at all, but they weren't particularly amusing.


Said armed robber didn't have the budgie, someone else in the prison did.

Yeah...sorry I totally misread your post! Doh!

Also, how the hell do you hide something like that in a prison cell?!

people like that are very smart at hiding things like hand made weapons but not TVs

...

Well...I'm a moron. :(

Nah, you've just never watched Monty Python's Flying Circus, which is where I learned the term. :D

Whoever you are, wherever you are: Watch as much Monty Python as you can. It's not only entertaining, it's educational!

Ah, so he keeps those items, then? I think you mean that he should lose everything. I was talking about how those items were not mentioned in the original post.

Furthermore, let's not forget that he was armed robber for a reason...we don't want to just lock him up and ignore the problem that caused him to rob in the first place...we need to address the sources of crime, and rehabilitate the criminals.

True.

Do you know what his reason for armed robbery was then?

Is it just me, or do tonight's threads sorta suck :(

Do you know what his reason for armed robbery was then?
I suspect it may have had to do with funding his drug addiction, given that he was found with drugs in his cell. Of course, one has to ask why he was hooked on drugs in the first place--what propelled him to do so, what his financial conditions were, ect ect--and all that before writing him off as a piece of trash. I'm not saying his crime was right by any means, but what I am saying is that we cannot treat crime by simply locking up the criminals, or else all we'll do is create hostility on the part of the criminals, making them far more willing to commit crimes because when released they will have no new skills to put to use to make a better life for themselves, and we also will not stop the cause of the crime in the first place, which will only lead to more crime, and more criminals, and so on and so forth in a viscious cycle.

No...we rehabilitate criminals...figure out what caused them to commit the crime. Help them break a drug habit if they have one. Teach them skills they will need to gain a new job and otherwise fend for themselves when they are released. Hell, I'd go so far as helping them find said job.

In the meantime, we figure out the general cause(s) of the crime and eliminate it so more crimes will not occur.

As for those we are unable to rehabilitate...then and only then should we imprison them in the sense we do now, and even then we should try and work out a way to rehabilitate them. Usually this unability lies within some mental illness or something else wrong with the brain on the part of the criminal...sociopaths, for example. We should figure out how to cure these problems so they do not have to be locked up. They are sentient beings and they deserve the same rights we all do.
Is it just me, or do tonight's threads sorta suck :(
Silly Aussie, it's seven in the morning! :p

Silly Aussie, it's seven in the morning! :p

:( I hate this annoying time-zone, getting home to find a thread that you were following has grown by twenty pages you don't want to read is not fun... and it's 10:40 dammit!! *escapes to tomorrow*

I suspect it may have had to do with funding his drug addiction, given that he was found with drugs in his cell.

Doesnt say that anywhere I see although I could be wrong.

I agree with your post in general other than that with a few small exceptions. I'm meant to be studying now so i'll not write about those. Maybe later

:( I hate this annoying time-zone, getting home to find a thread that you were following has grown by twenty pages you don't want to read is not fun... and it's 10:40 dammit!! *escapes to tomorrow*

Still, isn't it fun living in the future? You get tomorrow's news today! (Or is that yesterday's news tomorrow? Or next week's news last Tuesday? :confused: )
:D

:( I hate this annoying time-zone, getting home to find a thread that you were following has grown by twenty pages you don't want to read is not fun... and it's 10:40 dammit!! *escapes to tomorrow*
You could always move to the United States.
Doesnt say that anywhere I see although I could be wrong.

From the article:
he Irish Prison Service has confirmed that the jail of some of the country's most notorious criminals was scoured yesterday.

Eight mobile phones, three sim cards, various drugs, including ecstasy tablets, syringes and home made alcohol were all part of the haul.

It is not specific about which items were found in which cells, but presumeably this armed robber had at least some of the drugs in his.

I agree with your post in general other than that with a few small exceptions. I'm meant to be studying now so i'll not write about those. Maybe later

I'll be waiting.

:( I hate this annoying time-zone, getting home to find a thread that you were following has grown by twenty pages you don't want to read is not fun... and it's 10:40 dammit!! *escapes to tomorrow*

only 9:12 here

You could always move to the United States.


From the article:

It is not specific about which items were found in which cells, but presumeably this armed robber had at least some of the drugs in his.


I'll be waiting.

You're making a pretty big presumption about the drugs thing though.

Actually i'v re-read your post and I don't actually have any major problems with it. Theres something niggling in the back of my mind. If I figure it out i'll post it :p

You're making a pretty big presumption about the drugs thing though.

Big, yes. Reasonable? Also yes.

And even if I am mistaken, it does not invalidate the fact that his crime did not have to occur and only occurred due to circumstances we can and must control.

Actually i'v re-read your post and I don't actually have any major problems with it. Theres something niggling in the back of my mind. If I figure it out i'll post it :p
Such as, say, what to do about those who commit rape or other crimes of a sexual nature? It's a puzzle, certainly, but I feel they can be rehabilitated same as anyone else. This society of ours that so freely ostracizes sexual offenders is insulting and degrading...especially towards juvinile offenders who often were only imprisoned because they chose to have sex with someone close in age and the parents decided to prosecute. Call me overly sympathetic towards everyone, but that's how I feel, and I will not change that.

I suppose that despite this pet budgie the other items, such as the cell phones and the drugs, including syringes which were most likely NOT sanitary, should be ignored?
Quite right. This is a armed robber we are talking about.

No sympathy from me.
Which is why way upthread a very smart girl posted this:
I only feel bad for the guy who had his pet budgie taken away. :( :p

Which is why way upthread a very smart girl posted this:
:p

Aye...what's wrong with keeping the bird, eh?

Is it just me, or do tonight's threads sorta suck :(

:( :(

Call me overly sympathetic towards everyone, but that's how I feel, and I will not change that.

Empathetic I hope rather than sympathy. Unless you've shared the experiences of those criminals. Sorry couldnt help being a smart ass (although I get the feeling i'll be proved not to understand the difference. Always had trouble with those two)

Empathetic I hope rather than sympathy. Unless you've shared the experiences of those criminals. Sorry couldnt help being a smart ass (although I get the feeling i'll be proved not to understand the difference. Always had trouble with those two)

Yes, yes, yes, you knew what I meant. :p

Yes, yes, yes, you knew what I meant. :p

Yeah but boredom turns me into an ass :p

You could always move to the United States.

I could, but then I'd be a in a worse country, jobless (that doesn't change anything), parentless, friendless etc.

I could, but then I'd be a in a worse country, jobless (that doesn't change anything), parentless, friendless etc.

I think our country has surpassed yours, but only because we've reigned in Bush. John Howard, on the other hand...

Okay, seriously though, I understand your point.

I think our country has surpassed yours, but only because we've reigned in Bush. John Howard, on the other hand...

Okay, seriously though, I understand your point.

in your dreams

in your dreams

I think we both may have biased viewpoints on the matter, so let's just agree to disagree.

lol a budgie in a prison

i guess prisoners have alot in common with budgies. but think about it, keeping a creature inside of a cage inside of a bigger cage. its like the teory that our universe is just a molecule inside of a bigger universe. and so on.

Not one person metioned "jake" the crow, From The Shawshank Redemption. But you know what they say: "If you don't get busy posting, then get busy dying."

Not one person metioned "jake" the crow, From The Shawshank Redemption. But you know what they say: "If you don't get busy posting, then get busy dying."
There's also a famous older movie that has a bird. Escape from Alcatraz or something? Or something else entirely? With Burt Lancaster, maybe? Or someone else entirely? <.< >.>

There's also a famous older movie that has a bird. Escape from Alcatraz or something? Or something else entirely? With Burt Lancaster, maybe? Or someone else entirely? <.< >.>

the Birdman of Alcatraz

And what harm does it really do to have a budgie? Mean old prison guards

Well, it might allow a prisoner to slowly regain a gentleness and empathy for fellow creatures. Which is unacceptable. You can't keep prisons overflowing with that! We need jaded, hateful bastards going into prison, and we need jaded, hateful bastards going out of prisons! We need nice, reasonable people going into prison, and we need jaded, hateful bastards coming out of prisons! We need innocent, wrongfully convicted nice guys going into prison and we need jaded, hateful bastards coming out of prisons! And we need these jaded, hateful bastards to be elected to public office! That happens already, but we need more! MORE! MOOOOOOOAAAAARRRRR!!!

Both the bird and the cage were constructed entirely out of plastic drinking straws from the cafeteria.

the bird was also made from straws?


I hope the guards quietly give the budgie back.

the bird was also made from straws?

Yeah. It's harder than it sounds, too. :p

I'd like a budgie if I were in prison.

the Birdman of AlcatrazReally? Damn, that should have been a pretty obvious guess. :P

Yeah. It's harder than it sounds, too. :p:p

I'd like a budgie if I were in prison.I'd like a hamster. Or a bunny. Or mice! Or a cat. Or a dog who'd need me to take him for looooong walks outside. :)

I'd like a hamster. Or a bunny. Or mice! Or a cat. Or a dog who'd need me to take him for looooong walks outside. :)

Well, I did think cat at first, but then you couldn't have one with the budgie as well. And there's a risk that you'll be confined with a really moody cat that wants to claw your eyes out as you sleep.

Really? Damn, that should have been a pretty obvious guess. :P

only saw it once