NO TO PAEDOPHILE HUNTERS!

UPDATE  31/01/18

Older readers will remember that horrible time in the 1980's when the evil Sidney Cooke led a gang of paedophiles in the rape and murder of 7 year old Mark Tildesley, 14 year old Jason Swift and other boys who had disappeared.  The arrest of Cooke led to the uncovering the evil gang known as 'The Dirty Dozen', whose modus operandi was to lure rent boys and runaways back to their flat, where they would be drugged, raped and murdered. 

Most of their victims were missing teenagers, boys who had run away from home who were picked up at the London terminals with offers of friendship and a bed for the night.  It will probably never be known how many were killed by this gang.  I imagine this is an ongoing heart ache for families of missing loved ones.  

Their game was up when they snatched 7 year old Mark Tildesley at a funfair, his young age, setting off a massive police investigation that resulted in the trial and conviction of these evil men.  And of course, it highlighted the dangers faced by rent boys and runaways, not just in London, but worldwide.  I have no doubt those dangers still exist, and it is heart  breaking, but hopefully now there is much more awareness, and of course CCTV and phones in our pockets that can pinpoint exactly where we are. 

Cooke's gang were targeting 'lost' kids, that is kids who could disappear without trace, and without a public outcry.  They had a target demographic, and sadly, they were easy pickings.  Easily identifiable getting off the trains with their backpacks and luggage.  Today's equivalent I suppose would honing in on troubled kids via social media, a game of numbers, how many 'fuck off you perv's' do they get before  they find a victim?  I'm guessing a lot, which is probably why most paedophile hunters are trying to entrap each other. 

Cooke and his evil gang, showed us a dark murky side of life that was unknown to most of us.  We knew exactly who the evil ones were and sadly, we discovered how easy it was for this gang to prey on vulnerable teenagers.  Valuable lessons were learned and if they weren't, I advise every parent with a stroppy teenager to tell them the story of 'Hissing Sid' as the vile creature was known.  That scary time between little Mark's disappearance and the arrest of the evil gang will I am sure be ingrained in those of us who remember it, the whole of the UK knew a paedophile gang were snatching children. 

Apparently Jim Gamble, former head of CEOP has said there are 700,000 paedophiles operating in the UK.  I don't know what that means, but it sounds truly alarming.  Are they paedophiles in the Sidney Cooke mould? Does operating mean active?  As in trying to groom children online?  The figure is staggering, but more troubling in my opinion, is who are their victims?  The childrens homes and institutions no longer exist, and it is very hard now for anyone to go off radar.  As I don't know what this 700k demographic is made up of, I presume he means on social media, thus presenting the internet as the biggest danger to our kids and the need for a specially trained police force. 

An army of online paedophile hunters would effectively be a branch of law and order devoted to pre-crime activities.  A less sophisticated Minority Report system that arrests people before they go on to commit a crime.  The majority of that 750,000, actually, scrap that, 749,999 will probably Not molest a child.  Viewing even the vilest of pornography does not lead to violent crime, anymore than a video nasty or a song by Marilyn Manson sends millions of teens on a killing spree.  It just doesn't happen.  Evil isn't triggered by movies, books, music, the arts or even pornography.  It was there before the internet, see Sidney Cooke.

Just to be absolutely clear, I do not condone child pornography in any way but I do not accept that looking at images makes these 750k men dangerous criminals.  I have never seen the kind of 'sickening stuff' that is said to be available on the net, nor do I want to.  But if this kind of thing is happening, why aren't the makers and distributors of these images being rounded up?  I don't buy the argument that the audience are responsible, it's like trying to stop the drug trade by targeting the users. I would much rather hear that the children who are the subjects of these vile images are being rescued and that the bastards assaulting them are being locked up.  If the police in the 1980's were able to swoop in on Sidney Cooke and his gang, there should be no excuse now.  We live in an age of constant communication and constant surveillance, how are these 750,000 paedophiles able to operate? 

Ps.  I have just read the Times Article on Jim Gamble.  The predators apparently can be teachers, police officers....... from all parts of society etc....'.  Wow pretty much anyone can be arrested and charged for a pre-crime.   

Unfortunately, I do not have a Times subscription so cannot reply, so, Dear Bishop Blake, I am a careleaver and survivor of a Catholic childrens home and I'm happy to assure you, paedophilia is not rife.  In my 60 years on this earth, the only place I encountered it was in the Convent.  I also encountered sadism and brutality, sexual abuses's less salacious sidekicks .

I don't know what kind of crazy world you live in Bishop, but with my opposite of a sheltered life, I suspect I'm a lot closer to reality than you are, and I have never met anyone the slightest bit interested in having sex with kids.  And it's the kind of thing you would remember.  Young adults and thirtysomethings are much more interested in each other, than they are in kids.  Heck, chuck in the 50s and 60s too and few sprightly 70 year olds too. 

I sometimes wonder if these paedophile hunters have ever spent any time with actual children?  Because 99% of the time, they are a gigantic pain in the arse. The one who stays in with the kids has drawn the short straw.  They talk incessantly, and when not talking they are singing or doing somersaults on your white sofa with sticky mitts and chocolate goo coming out of their mouths.  Then there are the demands.  Every time you sit down, they think up a new one.  Your only hope of survival is to play something repetitive until one or both of you falls asleep. 

As nobody wants to go below the surface of the 'P' word, the logistics and the reality are completely overlooked.  Saying there are 750,000 paedophiles in the UK disguised as teachers, police officers, etc, (not doctors?) is truly bizarre.  How are they able to operate?  Are they taking advantage of their professions?  Are kids being molested at school and by the police?  The key word, as used by the Bishop is 'potential', 750k potential paedophiles.  That is anyone who has looked at something they shouldn't could potentially have their lives and careers destroyed because it is assumed they will abduct and kill a child.  That is an almighty leap, but it bumps up the fear factor. 

I tend not to think there are paedophile gangs in the suburbs made up of teachers, police officers etc.  Not just because the idea is disgusting, but because it is completely unheard of.  People tend not to sexually abuse their children and pass them around to the neighbours, the idea is so sick, it wouldn't even make the plot of a seriously disturbed 'B' movie.  I fear the Bishop has very little faith in human nature if he thinks it does.  Yet we must accept it as true because it comes from an online child abuse expert and a Bishop.   



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I rarely visit the cesspit (CMoMM), because I simply don’t have their stomach for their deplorable fascist views.  They quite literally leave me feeling nauseous.  Today especially as they have an entire thread devoted to paedophiles and what they would like to do with them.  

 

I’m not quite sure what the consensus is, as they are both berating Jim Gamble, who’s name heads the title of the thread, whilst at the same time supporting his idea of an army of vigilantes trained to track down paedophiles online.  The idea of a specialist police force to track down paedophiles online is horrendous, I’m not sure it would even stand up in a communist or fascist state?  What powers would these non police be given?  The power to access the online activity of anyone they choose? The power to kick in doors at the crack of dawn and the power to seize children and computers as Operation Ore did in 2002?  Happily, I’ve never seen anyone, other than Jim Gamble promoting the idea.

 

The subject of paedophilia however is so emotive and yucky, that most people act with their primal instincts. Quite rightly, we are genetically programmed to protect our young. I’m not a violent person in any way, but when I see the evil faces of convicted child murderers I want to batter them to a pulp. I get the anger and the rage.  Unfortunately, rage blinds us to logic and reason, that's why discussion of this subject is almost impossible. 

So let's start with the basics.  The generic image of a paedophile is a dirty old man alone in his bedroom trying to groom young girls and boys online. Someone socially inept, isolated but somehow also hooked up to others just like him, extremely unlikely btw, because paedophiles have difficulty relating to their peers, on any level.  This group, happily is minute, and the perpetrators more likely to be sad, than bad, they are afraid to go out. 

The next group are the opportunists, the psychopaths like Ian Huntley and Mark Bridger.  These are almost impossible to legislate against, they are a freak of nature and every society has them.  Their crimes don't stem from the internet, the evil was always within them.  On the plus side, they are very, very rare.

The largest group by far, are those active paedophiles who ingratiate themselves into vulnerable families by grooming the Mother.  Or they are friends, relatives or even professionals.  Almost every abused child, was abused by someone who knew them.  And it is not just sexual abuse, it is physical and psychological cruelty.  Physical abuse, which is far more prevalent and can be fatal, rarely if ever gets a mention.  The best protection is education, so much is spent on educating children on internet safety, how about educating them on safety in their immediate world.  Especially those young naïve mothers who go from abusive relationship to abusive relationship.  We should be empowering children and young parents, not taking over their personal responsibility. 

We are all being taught to fear the internet in the same way our predecessors were taught to fear books.  And those planting the seeds and spreading the terror are not doing it for philanthropic reasons.  They have blown the problem of internet trolls,  completely out of proportion, most are halfwits posting infantile threats, who are, in reality, afraid of their own shadows.  I don't know how anyone takes them seriously.  As for paedophiles online, the danger does not outweigh the benefits.  That some bad people use the internet, should not be an excuse to police it for everyone.  .
 

But let's get back to the central theme.  The policing of the internet by untrained police who are not bound to the same high standards as the professionals is abhorrent.  It reminds me of that moment when Napoleon introduces his attack dogs to Animal Farm,  I can't think of anything scarier, than if King Jong Ung were to take the helm. 

 

Where does it end? Their agenda may be to track down paedophiles, but what if they stumble on other crimes along the way?  The keeping of a database of an internet's user's activity online is wide open to abuse, including corruption and blackmail.  If it is one of their own, a paedophile hunter, do they keep it quiet?  How do they select their victims, targets? Isn't a bit weird for grown men to pretend to be scantily clad teenage girls? Just curious.  Effectively, we have a situation where paedophile hunters are talking to each other while pretending to be nubile teens.

 

I have seen Jim Gamble pitch his 'people's army' or whatever it is he wants to call his specialist vigilantes, but I've never seen anyone take up the cause.  It is not in step with the spirit of times.  The real Masters of the Universe reside in Silicone Valley, and their aim is to get information to everyone on the planet, they are genetically opposed to the kind of restrictions Jim Gamble wants to  put in place.  JG now finds himself out of step in the real world having to compete on a level playing field, he doesn't have the police advantages he once had.  And he is competing with young internet geniuses who had laptops when he had a teddy bear.  He is a duck out of water where new apps are concerned, it's a young person's industry.  Though I fear had he put his ideas forward in the Blair era he would have got what he wanted and that's where the  Animal Farm reference came in, in case anyone is wondering :)

 

The whole idea of vigilantes and paedophile hunters has less to do with protecting children, than it does with wanting to be part of an angry mob taking out their rage on a deserving victim.  It's ugly.  It's uncivilised.  There is something savage and Lord of the Flies about it.   A couple of years ago, I read with horror, how a drunken British mob chased a Spanish waiter who had the audacity to chat to British kids in the swimming pool.  You small, small people, your fear is not only deranged and illogical, it could have resulted in a tragedy.  And let me take this opportunity to thank every foreign waiter I have ever met, who has kindly taken the time to chat to and amuse my kids  holiday.  They are among the happy memories we always came away with. 

Since when did kids become sexualised?  Answer: Never, because 99.9% of us don't see kids that way and never will.  It would never have entered our minds that our kids were sex symbols lusted after by at least three quarters of the adult population.  Maybe someone should come up with a new line in baby hijabs.  Cover the little blighters from head to toe! 

Yes, we have now reached the ridiculous stage.  Ancient lost tribes are laughing at us, they know the photographer isn't actually stealing their souls.  Let's look at worse case scenario.  Imagine a pervert does get hold of your child's picture.  What is he going to do with it?  Ok, apart from the yucky obvious, but so what?  There are billions of pictures of children on the internet, including children of the royal, the rich and famous.  Unless you and family go around with bags over your heads, your image can be captured by anyone, anywhere. 

But I have entwined two topics, which I am afraid was beyond my control.  I should explain.  As the subject of paedophilia is yucky and most of us know little about it, this army of paedophile hunters could accuse anyone of anything.  The key to their success is entrapment.  Something frowned upon in the official police, and open to all sorts of abuse, particularly if the target is anyone they choose.

In theory an internet army of paedophile hunters doesn't sound such a bad idea, if they are guilty they deserve to be caught and they deserve to face an angry mob in a car park.  No-one will speak for them, and no-one can speak for them, without being accused of being a paedophile, or a paedophile supporter.  Ergo, this mob justice is allowed to flourish unchallenged and if Jim Gamble has his way, it will have a government stamp of approval.

But the reality is, real lives are being affected, some destroyed, I understand there have been suicides.  They may 'catch' some guilty men, but what of the effect on the wives, children and families of these men? The deceptive nature of the job makes me question the morality of those who would apply, it is a job for professional liars and those who get a kick out of leading angry mobs.  It isn't a fight back against paedophiles - real child abuse in real time is flourishing in these hard times.  It is the targeting of a tiny pathetic minority, while ignoring ALL of the bigger issues.  If these people care so much about children, why don't they get together a lorry load of provisions for the kids in the refugee camps?  Or better still, start up an after school dinner club for all those kids who are going hungry?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

STOCKHOLM SYNDROME OR SELF PROTECTION?

 

In response to Bjorn's post on the last blog, I had never considered Stockholm Syndrome with regard to the group dynamics, but it perfectly describes the kind of situation where a group's fear of breaking a pact, is stronger than their fear of the consequences if the truth were told.  

 

Turning to Stockholm Syndrome as it relates to the Tapas group is intriguing.  All these people, who may now in fact hate each other, are bound together forever more. This little house of cards is just one puff away from tumbling down.  Though to be fair, their silence has worked thus far, 11 years on and no-one arrested or charged.  Despite Gerry taunting the police for years with 'no evidence' and 'prove it', almost safe in the knowledge that it can't be done.  How is he so confident?

 

A strong character, or characters are holding this pact together, based initially on the collective decision to leave the children alone in the apartments and I agree, it's Gerry.  His need to control, well everything, was apparent from the off. And that included the Portuguese police investigation - miffed at not being put in charge, he started an investigation of his own. And his own search and his own campaign and his own media monitoring unit.  Apart from wearing a massive ‘I am a control freak’ badge, his control needs could not be more obvious.  David Payne I am not so sure of, but it was he who first referred to a 'pact' and it was he who led Yvonne Martin and away and told her to sod off. 

 

The tapas group may well need psychological help, but they are educated adults with free will, their prison is of their own making.  Their fears, I am sure, all go back to that night in May 2007, when they made the worst decision of their lives.  However, my sympathy for them stops there. Some, if not all, were happy to frame an innocent man, Robert Murat, for something he didn't do.  That goes into the realms of evil.  They are all complicit, all standing on the steps of the Royal Courts of Justice, celebrating their victory. Each of them having it within their power to bring the Madeleine 'search' to a dignified end, but choosing not to, some might say.  

 

How seriously the ‘choosing not to’ is taken by the Portuguese Judiciary and Scotland Yard remains to be seen.  Do we, the UK, have an equivalent to the US Fifth Amendment?  The right to remain silent, without anything being assumed from it? Please do correct me if I wrong here, and I’m sure someone will, lol.  Is it keeping silent, or withholding evidence?  Or the far more serious, perverting the course of justice? 

 

What are the consequences of that silence? Well both Portugal and the UK have been put to considerable cost, financially, and this lengthy investigation has tied up the services of many detectives for many years. The newspaper barons have been forced into paying out hundreds of thousands in damages and faced the wrath of the public in Leveson.  At least two British Prime Ministers and a couple of Home Secretaries will face huge embarrassment when their poor judgement is exposed, and embarrassment is the best they can hope for.  

 

The McCanns and their friends have far more to fear from those higher up the social scale than those at the bottom who they perceive to be their enemies. Among that sea of red faces will be many intent on revenge.  For example, the Madeleine case has been the kiss of death for the tabloids. As recently as 2007, most of us still believed that the newspapers were not allowed, by law, to lie to us - we knew of course that they were politically biased, but we had no idea how far the rabbit hole went.
However, in 2007, news was no longer restricted by borders.  And as a human interest story, it reached a much bigger demographic, even Sun readers began to see that their daily newspaper was lying to them.  Those of us hooked by the drama straight away, were witness to the huge difference in the way the Madeleine case was reported in the UK and the way it was reported in Portugal. We ‘english’ were being stirred up to believe this was a case of National pride, two British citizens were being victimized.  And alarmingly, our government and the MSM were in on it!  They chose to believe the two British suspects over the Portuguese police. 

 

But returning to Stockholm Syndrome and all those closely involved.  Each, I think have secrets and fears, each will be judged on their own actions and decisions.  They have not protected themselves with their statements to the PJ, they have protected Gerry and Kate.  They too were stupid enough to leave babies and young children unattended while they went out to dinner.  It was a group decision, and each of their statements are that part of the puzzle that makes up the 'group statement'.  All agreed on Madeleine's colouring book on the night the child disappeared, and reaffirmed in a get together prior to the Rogatory interviews. 

 

If each of them were isolated and questioned individually without collaboration with the rest of the group, their statements would probably be quite different.   The tapas group stayed in PDL for a further 10 days after Madeleine disappeared, giving plenty of time to build a story and alibis.  They weren't out searching with the police and volunteers, they stayed close to the parents throughout.  They didn't search on the night and they didn't help with the searches in the days that followed.  For me, their failure to search for the child speaks volumes.

I very much doubt the group have grown closer over the years, the secret they share must be like having a heavy chain around your neck, a chain that gets heavier and tighter with each passing year.  As a commitment phobe, I can't imagine anything worse than being bound to other people against my will.  The tapas group were not lifelong friends, they did know each other as well as they said, which makes it all the more strange that the parents had 100% faith that their friends weren't involved. 

We all meet hundreds of friends along life's journey, but very few last long enough to become part of our intimate circle.  For me it is usually 3, 4 at a push, that's all I have time for, I like Jerry Seinfeld's practical approach on the issue of friends, each has a place and there are rarely vacancies!  For each of my close friends, I could give a zillion reasons why they could not and would not steal a child.  For friends on the periphery that I hardly know, I couldn't say the same.  Kate was witness to her friends leaving the table during the course of the dinner, how could she not suspect them?  

The foundations for this group's relationship were built on very rocky ground, each is dependent on the other not to expose them as liars.  Each has to stick to the group statement compiled on the back of Maddie's colouring book.  They cannot deviate from the script in any way, and every time they talk about it, the chances are they will.  Gerry and Kate, Kate especially, become very agitated when asked to go over the details of that night.  They recite the well practised and rehearsed set script.  There is no embellishment and nothing else has come to mind in 11 years, no detail as to how they reached that collective decision to leave the kids alone, no detail as to their own behaviour that night and the days that followed.   The nearest to a human reaction, was bizarrely, Gerry's calling from God as he prayed in the local church.  Go forth and find Maddie, and all missing children, the good Lord told him, not in those exact words, I believe it was a tunnel of light.  

I'm not sure Stockholm Syndrome applies to the tapas friends, admittedly it could be because I have little sympathy for them.  Their cavalier attitude towards the duty of care they owed their children, appals me, so too their arrogance.  In fact I think I will wind myself up by having a re-read of their rogatory interviews.  

I also think there are several alpha males within that group, who are vying to be top dog, they are all competitive but perhaps none so much as Gerry, whose tennis tournaments continued while others searched for his daughter.   Gerry takes the crown, but I doubt the others are submissive, they each hold Ace cards they can play at any time.  Gerry is as enslaved as any hostages he has taken, they all are.

 

 

 

IDES OF MARCH II - THE END OF THE SEARCH

UPDATE:  12/01/18

Bizarre, that the rabid 'antis' and the rabid 'pros' are singing from the same hymn sheet in their belief that Operation Grange are performing some kind of cover up.  The 'antis' believe they are covering up for the parents and the 'pros' believe they are covering up for government agents.  Other than that, their arguments are pretty much the same.

The 'antis' drawn to the case by their penchant for conspiracies have been resolute on the 'cover up' theory since day 1.  And that's where their thinking has stayed and festered.  But conspiracy is not altogether a dirty word, conspiracies can and do happen on a daily basis.  There has been a conspiracy in the missing Madeleine case.  If there hadn't been, it would have ended 10 years ago.  It is when conspiracies go off into the land of fantasy and speculation, that they become problematic, in a time wasting sense.

All the 'pros' commenting on my blog are convinced that not only is there a cover up, but that all the police working on the investigation are corrupt.  Not the sort of thing you would expect from someone speaking on behalf of a missing child and to whom everything they have asked for has been given. 

The McCanns, it could be said, have good reason to be angry with Scotland Yard and Operation Grange.  They haven't found the McCanns' missing daughter nor have they convinced the public that they [the parents] were not involved.  But those are the not the reasons given by the pro defenders, they cite other unrelated cases as evidence of police corruption. 

Ideally they would like Madeleine's case to be filed away unsolved.  Why? and Wtf?  That's not a good result for Madeleine or her parents, it means no-one will be looking for her.  I suspect SY have told the parents Madeleine is dead, and they are not accepting it.  But I suspect the result they hoped for, Madeleine is alive and findable, is the least likely conclusion of OG.

It seems the remains of the McCann Media Monitoring department (not their finest) are using my blog to plant seeds of distrust in Operation Grange.  Do they have no hope whatsoever that OG will produce evidence that clears the parents and their friends completely?  Why so negative towards a report that hasn't been published?  What are their fears? 

Why aren't the Pro McCanns pro Operation Grange?  Why aren't they thanking and defending those detectives who have put so much time into searching for their daughter?.   I have watched many docu-dramas where the loved ones of missing people bond with those police officers who pick up the cold case files, they become friends of the family.  There doesn't appear to be any bonding here, nor any sense of gratitude for what Operation Grange are doing.  They are playing a two hand game -  publicly thanking Scotland Yard, but privately sending out social media warriors to diss them.  

Sadly for them, they no longer have the power to destroy a police officer's life and career in the British tabloids, as far as I know, none of the UK tabloids have run with OG officers having lunch or coming off a 24hr shift, or indeed infantile name calling like 'sardine munchers'.  I sincerely hope there is some sort of ruling, or mutual moral agreement between the police and the media, not to target the private lives of police officers working on homicide cases.    The media has much to be ashamed of in it's persecuting of targets selected by the McCann family, police officers especially.   

But a quick word on protests.  With so many other far more newsworthy topics, it's likely there will not be much interest in the conclusions of Operation Grange.  Most people have never heard of it and don't care.  But those who have a good idea of how far the rabbit hole actually goes will not accept the cover up of the initial actions of the incumbent government and the British police agencies who flew out to PDL.  The imperialistic assumption that our police are better than your police.  Gerry and Kate are already in a prison of their own making.  They are stuck with the fake goody two shoes personalities they themselves devised.  They left no room for human error, they are perfect.  An oft used word in Kate's book.

The strive for perfection can send even the most stable over the edge.  Think of an OCD guy mowing a camomile lawn in exact horizontal lines, being confronted by a small mutt cocking a leg? Or worse, squatting?  For myself, perfect is not a word I use often, not even when my Yorkshires are flowing over and a dark crunchy brown.  Even my sponges, at which I am now genius level, I prefer to use the term 'Paul Hollywood handshake'. 
For my disasters, I growl at my guests to fill in the feedback form, if they dare!        

But I jest.  I strive for perfection with my writing, and I torment myself daily for not being good enough.  I want to blame everyone and everything else, but I accept it's all down to me.  Even if I write something blinding with thousands of hits, I am left in terror that I won't be able to do it again.  An artist's life is not a happy lot!  Nor is the life of anyone seeking an insane level of perfection.   

But back to the idea of protests when Operation Grange ends.  Do enough people feel that strongly?  I suspect not.  Gerry and Kate are not cartoon villains like Toby Young, they are the parents who lost a child.  An angry mob shouting for their arrest is never going to be tasteful or endearing.  

I think on the angry mob front, all that remains is the half a dozen who post in the cesspit and in MMM.  Most people have managed to keep their interest in this case in perspective.   Personally, I wouldn't be happy if the blame for not finding Madeleine was placed on the PJ and Goncalo Amaral. Though I don't think for one minute that will be happening, because if it were, the McCanns right now, would be jubilant. 

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The announcement of DCI Rowley's retirement in March has sparked off another round of posts that put 2 and 2 together and make 5.  I doubt Mr. Rowley (I don't know his rank) had much, if anything to do with the case of missing Madeleine.  As a senior officer, the Madeleine case was probably one among hundreds that he oversaw, whether he or someone else is in overall charge, won't make any difference to the outcome. 

 

I get the impression most people still believe there is a cover up afoot and when the funding ends in March, that will be it.  It will be filed under some sort of Official Secrets that decrees it should not be looked at for 75 years.  That is probably the ideal end game for those feeling very uncomfortable right now, but realistically, it's very unlikely. 

 

Can you imagine the announcement:  'We know what happened to Madeleine McCann, but we are not telling anyone' or 'We don't know, were nearly there a couple of time and thanks for the top ups, but we got nothing' or 'none of us have got any intention of telling anyone what we have been doing this past 6 years, so don't ask'. 

 

There is no diplomatic way to end this multimillion pound investigation without questions being asked.  I was going to say, public outcry, but, see previous blog, the McCann case has slipped right down the public interest scale.  If it ended with no result however, even the moderate would protest.

 

From the perspective of Gerry and Kate McCann, they fear their enemies are salivating at their impending downfall.  They may well be right, their fame has attracted the worse of human nature, but this is not a case to feel smug about.  No-one wins.  I personally have never had any interest or stomach for retribution, nor the punishment side of crime and punishment and it's not the focus of this blog.   It is horrible to see anyone suffer, even if they have brought that suffering on themselves.

If the objective of Operation Grange was to clear the parents of all suspicion, their actions have done the opposite.  If they are to relieve the parents of that ominous cloud, they will have to prove Madeleine was abducted by a stranger they failed to catch.  Can you imagine the CVs of the 30+ detectives assigned to Operation Grange.  'Spent 6 years working of a missing child that failed to achieve a result'.  

Once you apply logic to the arguments of those who claim the investigation is a cover up, you can see how nonsensical their arguments are.  They completely overlook the human factor.  The men and women working on OG are human beings with emotions, opinions and values.  This case is about a missing child, the victim is their focus.  To assume that they would conspire to cover up the disappearance of a child is insulting.  I cringe at the insults hurled at the known names of the detectives who have worked on this case.  The childish allegations that these men and women are using this case for excursions to the Algarve are, effectively, telling us that is what they would do, because where else could the idea have come from?  Most people aren't scumbags.  Even I, not the world's best employee, gave everything to the jobs I had - aren't we all inherently driven to be the best that we can be?  Why would any one of those officers meekly accept
a glaring gap in their career history?  Or indeed a skeleton that may at any time, fall out of the closet

The case of missing Madeleine was a huge knock in the faith if human nature, in a way it was an awakening.  Almost daily confirmation that the MSM did in fact have the power to make a lie, the truth.  Had Madeleine disappeared before the internet, the alternate truth, the story of Goncalo Amaral would have been contained by borders.  Now, no matter how many victories a claimant has against the tabloids, they cannot stop the spread of news and information on the internet.  The first point of call for most people's news. News agencies can no longer distort the news by showing just one angle because most people carry around camera phones.  And there is no legal way to stop alternate views from being discussed on social media.   

Goncalo's Truth of the Lie, is not available on the shelves of British bookshops, but it is instantly available, and translated, online.  As are the Portuguese police files. Kudos to Gerry and Kate on that one, not even Donald Trump can get a book banned!  Perhaps Clarence should mention it in his CV and get it off to the Donald immediately.  And for those who accuse me of 'hate', yes, hands up, I do indeed have an extra special dislike for book banners and burners.

I do happen to believe, that the truth will out in March.  And I think March will be a very good time to release news some would prefer was overtaken by bigger events.  The mad reign of the self anointed God that is Donald Trump, will come to a spectacular end, by March I am sure, and the fall out will spread to the UK, as the British public question Theresa May's over eagerness to deal with him.   An influx of scandals may be fighting for the front pages and the headlines.  Interest in the Madeleine case is probably at it's lowest ebb, but, depending on the revelations, it still has the potential to cause another massive media wave.  It might be that a human interest story could distract the public's attention from bigger things that are going on, or it may in itself be the bigger thing, depending on how deep OG go. 

Everyone I think, even the parents, have given up on the possibility of Madeleine's disappearance having a good ending.  Neither Madeleine or her remains have been found, and some will never accept closure until she is.  The parents may well know the conclusions that Scotland Yard have reached, and it may be they have rejected them.  There is a good chance they will re-start their own search for a live child, in which case any rift between the parents and the police will become glaringly apparent.  

I believe it will end in March, and with the precedent set by the PJ, the investigation files will be transparent, especially as these files will have to be added to the PJ files when the case concludes in Portugal.  The only narrative that will fit the facts and evidence available is the true one.








Ps.  Ferrero Rocher - My struggle! 

A dear friend gave me a box of the delicious, naughty little delights,

Step 1.  Put box in fridge to chill min. 10 mins.  OK, 8, 5 at an absolute push.

Step 2.  Attempt to open box and shriek in horror on discovering it is impossible, only Thor could get the lid off!

Step 3.  Get large carving knife and do what's necessary, sledgehammer must be absolute last resort.

Step 4.  Reconsider carving knife - is it worth 13 hours waiting in A&E, where said little ball of scrumptiousness will have to be prised from the cold dead hand they are trying to re-attach.  Yep.  Still totally worth it.

Step 5.  Discover see through cellotape attaching lid to box.  Doh.  Feel I should write a stern letter to the makers telling them they should have a large warning such as 'Remove invisible film.  Do not attack with carving knives or chainsaws!  How many Ferrero Rocher accidents must there be?  (actually, I don't know if there have actually been any), but it's still a good question.

Step 6.  I'm in.  And have stopped at 4. 

St. 7.   5,  I'm going to stop at 5.  :)

 

HEED THE IDES OF MARCH

 

If I were a soothsayer, which I’m not, though I do on occasion have a hankering…..  I would say we were hurtling into a period of final acts, not just here in the UK as the investigation of a toddler who went missing abroad comes to close, but big showstopping finales, like the collapse of the inhumane facism regimes of the UK and the USA.  A change in the paradigm as information reaches the masses, and people power is realised.  An information revolution.  Numbers matter, they can force the abandonment of unpopular laws and appointments.  See Toby Young, who was in office for less time than Scaramucci.  In the old days, the said Toby Young would have blended in nicely with Theresa's cabinet of psychopaths, but his life is littered with a trail of repugnance that will never go away.  Some call it Karma.  

 

Democracy is tottering.  It CAN be interfered with, it is no longer the safest and only option.  The Russians demonstrated that targeting a specific demographic, can swing an election.  Momentum, and I love them, have demonstrated that by targeting specific constituencies they can unseat MPs. 

 

Trump's demographic might be as small as 30 something percent, but if they all turn up to vote, and they will, they can swing an election.  In a nutshell, ways have been found to shift the apathetic, all those who couldn't be arsed before.  Everyone carries a phone, every 5 minutes, 'did you go vote yet?'.  How do they know who to target?  We give away our likes, dislikes, preferences, age, weight, social status, etc, every time we log online or buy a bottle of wine.  As much as we the masses have access to information never seen before, so too do the authorities, the large corporations, the Keyhole Kates and the downright creepy.  Knowing everything about us, is a good guide as to how we will vote. 

 

But let's get back to the Ides of March.  Trump is on the brink, Theresa May, could spontaneously combust, but with grown ups Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell taking over, something can be salvaged from Brexit.  I have faith the US too have grown ups waiting in the wings. 

 

After the Ides of March, we will have a 'sweep up April' and a glorious May.  I am unashamedly a huge fan of Prince Harry and Meghan.  Yes, their exalted status, class, privilege, etc, etc, are inherently wrong, but isn't it possible they are just nice people?  For all my Marxist, revolutionary ideas, my heart went out to those two young boys who lost their mother, and aw shucks, I do shed a tear when I think how proud she would be. 

 

For many of my readers however, there still remains the huge question of how Operation Grange will conclude.  For that, another blog.  

 

 

 

 

 

Theresa methinks will be hung by her own petard, or one of those ghastly necklaces that remind us of how enchained she is to those billionaire puppet musters.  If I didn't hate her so vehemently I would send her a copy of Women Who Love Too Much.  And I'm playing fast and loose with the word 'love' there.

 

The Trump Show however, is history in the making.  The world has once again thrown up an absolute raving lunatic with the power to destabilise the whole planet.  And yes, I say planet, because Hitler only managed the world, had he realised there was a war to be had with Mother Earth, I'm sure he would have gone for it.  Trump is actually that deranged that someone could tell him there was a bigger planet out there, with lots more gold and lobotomised beauty queens and he would go take a look.  I bet Mike Myers now kicks himself for not making 'Goldmember' President.  

 

I read a great article the other day, (will find link) comparing Trump to Emperor Nero.  Apparently Nero used to tour Rome locking all the citizens in, in each town, so they were forced to watch him sing, dance and perform.  Followed by great applause and praise for how wonderful he was.  Guards would stand watch so no-one could climb out or over the gates.  If you have ever been to a bad show you would know how that feels.  Of course the punch line is, as Rome burned, Nero was asking 'so what did you think of my fiddling?' .Quite.

 

I don't see the Trump crime family lasting much longer than March.  This has been a huge knock in my faith in human nature.  I love Americans!  Just as much as my dear old Dad did - he was eternally grateful to them for stepping into WWII.  But he loved the whole US thing, the culture, the accents, the glamour, the music, the books, the courage. And by courage, he meant all those immigrants who had the guts to go start a new world.  But most of all the movies!  A love I always shared.  For the past year or so, I have believed you have a room of good guys like Steve McQueen, Henry Fonda and Marlon Brando somewhere, just waiting for a moment to take the bast'ard out.  Legally of course, a swine like Trump should stand trial for his crimes, the world needs an example of 'this should never happen again'.