Detta är ett öppet brev till delstaten Kaliforniens nye guvernör Arnold Swartzeneggar angående svenskan Annika Östberg som suttit I ett kalifornisk fängelse I drygt 22år. Jag har skrivit brevet på amerikansk "slang-engelska" ungefär som Arnold själv talar språket. Jag vädjar till läsarna att stödja innehållet genom att skriva kommentarer på engelska. Redaktionen kommer att skicka brevet till Terminatorn!
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The Terminator strikes again! Congratulations Arnold!
Now that you have fulfilled the American dream how about looking at some of the real problems which not only affect Californians but also people as far away as Sweden - You know "Sweden" Arnold, the country of Björn Borg, ABBA and the Nobel Prize. That long country of forests and lakes about two hour's flying time from your old home country Austria. A country of blond haired and blue eyed people who have watched all your "Terminator" films with great excitement over the years. Well Arnold, one of our citizens, Annika Östberg has been rotting away in one of your California prisons for the last 22 years under bizarre circumstances. Her crime? She happened to be lying asleep in the back seat of a car which was driven by a man who shot a cop. Note Arnold, she didn't shoot the cop and she didn't tell the guy who shot the cop to pull the trigger. She was asleep when it all happened! Our Ambassador in Washington, Jan Eliasson has made several attempts to have Ms Östberg transferred to a Swedish prison, but was met by Governor Grey Davis with the same arrogance that was used by him in his election campaign against you. So how about it? What d'ya say Arnold? How about living up to your Terminator status and "terminate" Annika Östberg's prison sentence, allowing her to come home?
There are several reasons why you should consider this Arnold. One of them being the fact that your Califiornian economy is right now totally screwed up and keeping foreign prisoners in your prisons is costing you over 20 million bucks a year. Therefore, it ought to be in your state's economic interests to get rid of foreign national prisoners whose countries are prepared to take them. Furthermore Arnold you have promised to be the "people's Governor, and being the "people's governor" means working for the "people". Releasing Annika Östberg to the Swedish Prison Authorities would be an act for the "people's" benefit because it would save the "people" having to pay for her upkeep as they have done for the last 22 years!
Obviously Arnold you may think that releasing Ms Östberg might go against California's hard policies on crime. Many will tell you to ignore this plea because the woman was "involved" in a cop shooting, but come on Terminator, let's face it, some of your California laws are kinda weird anyway aren't they? Like for example the law about third time punishment. A guy who commits a crime twice gets a warning. The third time - he steals a pizza and gets life imprisonment - Come on Arnold - it's not only bizarre it's stupid and you know it!
One more thing Arnold - the Terminator is a tough guy, but Annika Östberg is a helluva lot tougher! She has put up with 22 years of tough life behind bars in your hardest women's prisons for a crime which she technically didn't really commit.. Even the Terminator would have had difficulty managing that length of time. Annika has the support of 90% of the Swedish population and that means about 9 million people. Arnold - you can't just ignore this matter, so the next time you listen to an ABBA song or when you see the Nobel Prizegiving on TV here's what we want you to do: Grab that Terminator outfit, get your pen and sign the release papers for Miss Annika Östberg.
Live up to your name Mr Terminator - TERMINATE ANNIKA ÖSTBERGS SENTENCE!
Billy Butt Record Producer, (ex-USA) Stockholm, Sweden
William Butt, Musikproducent, Stockholm
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