Oddity Central |
- Bastoy Prison Island – A Relaxing Getaway for Hardened Criminals
- UNBELIEVABLE: Stray Dog Runs 1,700 Km across China after Befriending Cross-Country Cyclists
- Retro Running – The Fine Art of Putting One Foot Behind the Other
| Bastoy Prison Island – A Relaxing Getaway for Hardened Criminals Posted: 28 May 2012 10:18 AM PDT
Norway is famous for its liberal prison system, but not even the most optimistic criminal would ever hope to end up in a place like Bastoy Island. It’s quite simply paradise on Earth for serious offenders looking for some time off from crime. Located about an hour away from Oslo, Bastoy Prison, if you can even call this place a prison, is located on a scenic island accessible by ferry. The unique philosophy governing this place can be observed from the moment you set foot on the boat, which is manned almost exclusively by inmates. Instead of just trying to make a run for it as soon as they reach the mainland, these hardened criminals greet visitors and help dock the boat. But once you get to the island and see the kind of freedom and resort-like leisure prisoners enjoy at Bastoy, it becomes clear why they wouldn’t want to go anywhere. Photo: Disinformation This holiday version of Alcatraz has plenty of beaches where inmates actually sunbathe during the warm summer months, plenty of great fishing spots, tennis courts and even a nice relaxing sauna. Instead of tiny cells, the around 115 prisoners on Bastoy Island live in cozy wooden cottages painted in warm colors, and carry the keys to their own quarters so they can come and go as they please. But you know what they don’t have at Bastoy Prison? Armed guards and fences preventing anyone from escaping. And just so we’re clear, the men here have been convicted of serious crimes, ranging from drug trafficking to rape and murder. Still, they enjoy the kind of lifestyle that is just unthinkable anywhere else, and that most people would actually pay for as a vacation. Photo: Akkora But the idea of Bastoy Prison isn’t to offend the people of Norway by pampering criminals instead of punishing them, but to change them, because, as Arne Kvernvik Nilsen, the prison’s governor, says, “what’s the point of punishment, except for leaning toward the primitive side of humanity?” And guess what, Bastoy works! According to statistics, only 20% of criminals who experience Norway’s progressive prison system reoffend within two years of being released, and at Bastoy figures are even better, dropping to an impressive 16%. In comparison, the three-year re-offense rate for US prisons has been 43%, according to a 2011 study, with older ones indicating even grimmer numbers of over 50%. Photo: John D. Sutter/CNN Getting back to life in Bastoy Prison, you should know there are very few rules here prisoners have to obey, and a lot more perks to enjoy. Everyone here has a job they have to report to from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm, but they can choose from gardening, farming, taking care of horses, and a bunch of other activities. They get paid about $10 a day for their work, and can spend their salary on groceries at the local shop, so they can cook for themselves at breakfast and lunch. But for dinner the prison cook offers them a diversified menu which includes everything from salmon to chicken con carne. Also, inmates have to check in several times a day, so the guards can make sure they’re still on the island.
Only 1 and a half miles of water separates Bastoy Island from the mainland, and with no fences to stop them from escaping, all inmates would have to do is swim across, or even better, steal one of the boats. All the inmates agree it would be extremely easy to get away, but only a few of them have ever attempted. If they escaped and were later caught, they would be transferred to a maximum security prison and have their sentences extended, and most don’t want to risk that. Plus, having just three unarmed prison guards on the island during the night, makes them feel like they have no reason to escape. But to reassure them further, Nilsen gives them a small talk when they first arrive at Bastoy, telling them to find a phone on the mainland and call, should they escape, “so we don’t have to send the coast guard looking for you.” It’s this kind of shocking trust that keeps prisoners from going anywhere.
Despite being treated more like tourists than prisoners, all the inmates on Bastoy Island say they will gladly leave this place when their sentence has been executed. “It’s still prison,” one of them says. “In your mind you are locked up.” Bastoy isn’t the only convict-friendly jail in Norway. Two years ago, we wrote about Halende, a prison that looks more like a hotel, where even mass-murderer Anders Behring Breivik could end up, and there are more of them where the philosophy is not to punish criminals, but to make them want to become better people. ”It’s all in the name of reintegration,” said Gerhard Ploeg, a senior adviser at Norway’s Ministry of Justice. ”You won’t be suddenly one day standing on the street with a plastic bag of things you had when you came in” he added. Bastoy Prison Island – A Relaxing Getaway for Hardened Criminals was originally posted at OddityCentral.com  |
| UNBELIEVABLE: Stray Dog Runs 1,700 Km across China after Befriending Cross-Country Cyclists Posted: 28 May 2012 05:21 AM PDT
After a cyclist gave her food during a cross-country race through China, Xiao Sa, a little stray dog with a really big heart, followed the cyclists 1,100 miles across very rough terrain. The incredible journey of Xiao Sa began on the streets of Yajiang, Sichuan province. Zhang Heng, a 22-year-old student from Hubei, was on a graduation cycling trip to Lhasa, when he saw the small dog lying tired on the street. He and his friends stopped to feed her, and the pooch started following them. At first, they thought she was just doing it for fun and would give up when she got tired, but the dog stuck with them day and night, and the guys felt she really wanted to go with them, so they decided to take her along to the end. It turns out the cyclists were right, Xiao Sa really wanted to accompany them on their trip, and she showed incredible determination over the 20 days she ran alongside her new-found friends, all the way to Lhasa, Tibet. She traveled a total of 1,138 miles, climbed ten mountains over 4,000 meters high, and ran on uphill sections where many bikers prefer to take the bus. The only portion of the journey where Xiao Sa didn’t have to run was on a steep slope in Litang, where downhill speeds reach 70 km per hour, which made it impossible to catch up. So the cyclists made a cage for her and gave Sa a ride to the bottom, where she resumed her journey on foot.
Seven days after they met their small fluffy companion, the cyclists opened a microblogging account for her. Called “Go Go Xiao Sa”, the webpage got over 37,000 visits in two weeks, and about 4,000 comments when the group posted a photo in front of Potala Palace, in Lhasa. Her story went viral, and other cyclists traveling along the same route reported meeting Xiao Sa on their journey. They said she was very smart and never got lost even when they passed through mountains, and never seemed to get tired, even when she ran up to 60 km a day, all uphill.
Upon completing their 20-day journey to Lhasa, Zhang He, the man who fed her in Yajiang, called her “a buddy and a friend” and said he “would like to take the dog home and take care of her. She has been a stray on the road for a long time. She needs a home.” Well, I’m sure anyone would be lucky to have a pet like little Xiao Sa. via China Daily UNBELIEVABLE: Stray Dog Runs 1,700 Km across China after Befriending Cross-Country Cyclists was originally posted at OddityCentral.com  |
| Retro Running – The Fine Art of Putting One Foot Behind the Other Posted: 28 May 2012 03:51 AM PDT
Whether you’re looking for a fun way to get BACK into sport, spice up your boring training or struggling to escape constant injuries, there’s no better way to do it than retro running. Running backwards may look like a weird, unnatural way to move, but it’s apparently very beneficial for the human body. In fact, the Chinese have been practicing walking and running backwards for thousands of years as a way of staying in shape and reducing the risk of injuries. It wasn’t until the 20th century that retro running developed in the United States, but today it’s recognized as a very efficient workout by many fitness gurus and athletics experts, and competitions are regularly organized all around the world. Photo: Men Media If it weren’t for people being to embarrassed to give backwards running a try in public, they’d be able to enjoy a much more efficient and healthier training than regular jogging. Garret Doherty, a retro running champion, explains that the sport burns three times more calories than forward running because it uses more muscles. Also, instead of landing heel to toe, which is known to affect joints in the long run, in retro running you land on the correct part of your feet, which helps ligaments and ankle bones. In forward running, it’s the muscles in your lower back that get all the workout, while in backwards running it’s the muscles in the lower abdomen that do all the work. Very few people know that retro running can actually prevent a lot of injuries and is also used for athletes recovering from injuries, because it balances out the strain caused by forward running.
Because walking or running backwards doesn’t really come naturally to humans, you’re likely to find it a little cumbersome at first, but you’ll get used it quite quickly with a bit of practice. Just start by walking backwards and gradually speed up. Obviously, not seeing where you’re going can be a problem, especially if you’re not familiar with the terrain, so it’s recommended you have a forward-running friend with you, to act as your eyes, while you concentrate on your workout. Tripping in backwards running can be dangerous, so it’s best to learn how to drop in a backward roll, in order to avoid any serious injuries.
Retro Running – The Fine Art of Putting One Foot Behind the Other was originally posted at OddityCentral.com  |
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