Peppermill wrote:
high96 wrote:Apparently prison is pretty laid back in Sweden:
http://www.kriminalvarden.se/sv/English/Prison/
There is also a pdf file of Basic Facts pamphlet of the Swedish Prison system with some statistics.
http://www.kriminalvarden.se/sv/English/Documents/
Very interesting to read.
Thanks, High96.
Just took a look at this PDF:
Vision and core valuesInformation about Vision and core values of the Swedish Prison and Probation Service. 2008. 20 pagesDiscontinuity with reality? Or, no?
I would have to say it is discontinuous with reality. Though I don't know exactly what their rehabilitation programs entail. I like how they stated their mission is to
like an IEP in the USA's school systems they seem to have an "IIP"- Individualized Institutionalization Plan. 
It also appears that though the sentences are short and the atmosphere consists of unicorns and rainbows, once you are released you could very easily be sent back. I will have to read more, but this seems to suggest that you are never really done serving your time and must look over your shoulder even when you are released having completed your sentence. Maybe like the US's sex offender registry, it depends on the severity of the crime.
Peppermill wrote:
"Your VIS (sometimes called a 'Radom') is a very well designed handgun based on the John M. Browning M1911. It was the standard pistol of the Polish Military prior to WWII. The one's manufactured for the Polish Army from 1935 to 1939, had a much higher quality than the later one's made for the Nazis.
"When the Nazis invaded Poland in September, 1939, they took over the manufacture of the VIS and issued it as a secondary firearm for the Nazi Army.
"Yours bears a Waffenampt (German acceptance mark), so it was made sometime between late 1939 and early 1945.
"The caliber is standard 9mm (Luger/Parabellum)."
(Bold added.)
Another interesting page on the Radom from the same site.
From Wikipedia:
“Vis (Polish designation pistolet wz. 35 Vis, German designation 9 mm Pistole 35(p), often called incorrectly Radom in English sources) is a 9 mm caliber, single-action, semi-automatic pistol. Originally designed by Piotr Wilniewczyc and Jan Skrzypiński in 1930 at the Fabryka Broni (Weapon Factory) Łucznik Arms Factory in Radom under Director Kazimierz Ołdakowski, it was adopted in 1935 as the standard handgun of the Polish Army. Considered by many to be one of the finest handguns ever produced, it is highly prized among collectors of firearms.”
(Heads up thought: YOU MAY WANT TO CHANGE THE SUBJECT LINE IF YOU "REPLY" TO THIS MESSAGE WITH A LINK ON A DIFFERENT TOPIC.)
As I look back over the links ,and all are great...Pepper,It was The Gun that set the tone for me..As only you do so well.Shake us up a bit...Susan...
I just HAD to find out about Siw Malmkvist, voice on Grens' infamous tapes! Here is a link to her fansite as well as a collection of photos of Stockholm through her eyes. The webpage is in Swedish, of course, but Google will translate the page so that it is moderately easier to understand. I asked my mother who is is in her late 60's if she knew of this person and after first saying, "WHO??", I said she was a singer in the sixties and she replied, "Oh yes! I never really liked her." 
http://www.siw-malmkvist.de/home/home.html
Vastmannagatan 61 -- a hotel near(?) the setting in our novel of Vastmannagatan 79. (See pp 18, 75, 86, elsewhere)
"It was a beautiful flat on the fourth floor of Vastmannagatan 79.Three spacious floors in an old building, high-ceilinged, polished wooden floors, and full of light, with windows that faced out over Vanadisvagen as well." p. 18.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vanadisv%C3
Map showing the intersecting streets:
http://www.happycow.net/gmaps/get-map-direct.php?v
"Ewert Grens opened the window. He normally did around midnight to listen to the clock on Kungsholms Church and then another one that he had never managed to locate." p. 62
Kungsholms Church
http://www.ourtravelpics.com/?place=stockholm&sear
This location has several other perspectives on the church. In at least one (enlarged), it is clear that the clock is over the door, but up on the tower. I just liked the atmosphere of this one, with the barren trees and the gravestones visible. (The church architecture does not come across as impressive as a number of others in these pictures.)
The link shows several churches that are possibilities for the one Grens has never identified as well as a number of the Outer Court at Stockholm Palace. As the photographer apparently was, given the number of shots, I am fascinated by the statue of St. George and The Dragon in St. Nicholaus Church.
Several of the pictures were taken from the main tower of the Stockholm City Hall. I still haven't figured out were the police offices were or where the meeting with the higher ups was held -- don't know if the information is even there for us or not, just haven't concentrated on figuring it out. (Maybe someone else?)
Clicking on these pictures enlarges them to fill your screen. (Well, at least more than my screen!)
For more pictures of Stockholm by these travelers, try here:
http://www.ourtravelpics.com/?place=stockholm (I particularly like the aerial view that is such a neat contrast with the view of Manhattan when landing at LaGuardia from the south.)
