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A few weeks ago there was a photograph on the front page of The Sun (a British Newspaper also known as "McCann Digest") that featured a Morroccan family with a blong haired child on the back of one of the women. The child looked vaguely like Madelaine McCann.
Leaving aside the obvious racial undertones of the entire affair (blond-haired child, dark-skinned peasant-like family, Africa, etc etc), what was interesting was that it didn't take long to track down the family and to establish that the child was not Madelaine McCann. However, what was fascinating was that this peasant family, living in a small village in North Africa, had heard of the case.
I was reminded of this matter yesterday when a man alleged to be a child sex abuser was arrested in the wilds of north-eastern Thailand, about as far off the beaten track as you can get, only a day after his image ad been published. Not only was there a tip-off, there were reportedly more than 300 tip-offs. And they found the guy, so it is claimed, by GPSing his mobile phone. Never has the phrase "you can run, but you can't hide" been so true.
The best place in the world to hide is probably London. No-one pays any attention to anyone here. At the height of McCann fever, an appeal was broadcast to a football crowd. Andy Ward observed that, if he saw Madelaine McCann on Barnet High Street, he would be sure to tell someone. But, when you think about it, if you cut the hair and dyed it black, Madelain McCan could be eating in the McDonald's in Oxford Street and no-one would pay here any attention -- or indeed, no more attention than they pay anyone else -- which is none at all.
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( Three Pairs Of Jacks )
Leaving aside the obvious racial undertones of the entire affair (blond-haired child, dark-skinned peasant-like family, Africa, etc etc), what was interesting was that it didn't take long to track down the family and to establish that the child was not Madelaine McCann. However, what was fascinating was that this peasant family, living in a small village in North Africa, had heard of the case.
I was reminded of this matter yesterday when a man alleged to be a child sex abuser was arrested in the wilds of north-eastern Thailand, about as far off the beaten track as you can get, only a day after his image ad been published. Not only was there a tip-off, there were reportedly more than 300 tip-offs. And they found the guy, so it is claimed, by GPSing his mobile phone. Never has the phrase "you can run, but you can't hide" been so true.
The best place in the world to hide is probably London. No-one pays any attention to anyone here. At the height of McCann fever, an appeal was broadcast to a football crowd. Andy Ward observed that, if he saw Madelaine McCann on Barnet High Street, he would be sure to tell someone. But, when you think about it, if you cut the hair and dyed it black, Madelain McCan could be eating in the McDonald's in Oxford Street and no-one would pay here any attention -- or indeed, no more attention than they pay anyone else -- which is none at all.
++++++++++++++
( Three Pairs Of Jacks )
