Madeleine McCann.

[Bazzlad]

I don't think Foreigners are more likely to commit such crimes, I think that doing it away from your own secure home, surrounded by neighbours and family, and doing it in a hotel room that multiple people have keys too (Cleaners, front desk etc) in a location you don't know is 100 times as risky. Nothing to do with little England syndrome.

[Betty_Swallocks]

When my children were much younger we went on holiday to Tenerife. We took a friend (our au pair as it happens) with us and took it in turns to stay in for the evening so that each of us went out 2 nights out of 3.

The idea of leaving our beloved children alone for as much as few minutes wouldn't even have crossed our minds.

We all ate together at a time suitable for the children and when they were asleep two of us would go out.

It was a family holiday. The clue is in the word there. Family.

Of course the McCanns have my sympathy. I can only guess how awful they must feel.

For what it's worth though I think all this hysterical searching is futile and rather ridiculous. I saw a car in Whittlesey (East Anglia) the other day with a poster in the back window exhorting us all to help look for her.
Well, I'm sorry, but the chances of her turning up in a market town in Cambridgeshire are beyond remote.

My feelings are that she probably didn't survive the night and is somewhere at the bottom of the ocean right now.

Whether we will ever know who killed her and the circumstances of it I don't know, but I suspect not.

One interesting question comes up time and again in my reading of various places on the net about this.

If the parents had been a single mother from Bradford and an unemployed brickie rather than a professional married couple would the publics response to all this and the reaction to the neglect be quite so forgiving?

[JPreston]

If the parents had been a single mother from Bradford and an unemployed brickie rather than a professional married couple would the publics response to all this and the reaction to the neglect be quite so forgiving?

First thing they did was call the police, their lawyer and a public relations firm.

To what extent were the parent's responsible? Well, when I stay in a hotel room I don't leave my passport and cash-filled wallet in full view on the bedside table in case someone should sneak in while I'm out chucking down the sangria. The idea that it is acceptable to leave an infant alone in an unfamiliar room on the basis that you can sort of see roughly where the building is is appalling. Not just because of Paedogeddon.....what if there was a fire?

Me, I think Jimmy H did it

[MadduckUK]

Me, I think Jimmy H did it

would explain the fascination wouldn't it?

[Jimmy.H]

I don't think Foreigners are more likely to commit such crimes, I think that doing it away from your own secure home, surrounded by neighbours and family, and doing it in a hotel room that multiple people have keys too (Cleaners, front desk etc) in a location you don't know is 100 times as risky. Nothing to do with little England syndrome.

_______________________________________________________________________________

It wasn't a hotel, it was a holiday apartment, and you would expect your children to be safe there for half an hour. Only the renters have the keys, plus a spare set is kept at reception in case of emergencies. How on earth could any parent anticipate that their child could go missing from what should be a safe environment within the expected security of a private holiday complex.

Surely security should have checked on all strangers roaming or lurking around near the holiday apartments.

[Disturbedguy]

But how can the security possible know who is a stranger and who isnt? Guests will come and go every day so keeping tabs is nearly impossible.

[JPreston]

Duh! Strangers will be the ones 'lurking around'

[Disturbedguy]

Lmao

[Blitzen]

If the parents had been a single mother from Bradford and an unemployed brickie rather than a professional married couple would the publics response to all this and the reaction to the neglect be quite so forgiving?

Bang on!
If it was a single parent family and the mum was unemployed then the British media wouldve eaten her alive.

They got all the help and sympathy at the start because the McCann's were 'professionals.
Just goes to show that being well off isnt a pre-requisite for being a good parent.

As sad as this story is, the fact remains, if they had left their children, she would still be here.
They are going to have to live with that a fact for a very long time.

It wasn't a hotel, it was a holiday apartment, and you would expect your children to be safe there for half an hour. Only the renters have the keys, plus a spare set is kept at reception in case of emergencies. How on earth could any parent anticipate that their child could go missing from what should be a safe environment within the expected security of a private holiday complex.

Surely security should have checked on all strangers roaming or lurking around near the holiday apartment.

Christ!!!!
If thats what you think then i REALLY hope you arent a parent.

[Jimmy.H]

But how can the security possible know who is a stranger and who isnt? Guests will come and go every day so keeping tabs is nearly impossible.

Nothing is impossible............ Ever heard of ID badges ?

Security is far too lax in many European holiday resorts. A friend of mine had his holiday flat burgled on the second day of his holiday, and coincidentally, that was also in Portugal.

The resort that I go to for my summer holidays issues all holiday makers with a security number on a lapel badge as soon as they arrive and sign in, and you can be requested to produce it at any time by resort security personnel who patrol the grounds day and night in shifts.

In all the years I have been going there I have not heard of one case of child abduction. It's impossible for non holiday makers to even enter the resort. That's what I call security. Children are looked after by nannies free of charge if any parents want to have a night out on their own.

If such facilities were in operation at Praia da Luz, this tragedy could never have occurred.

[Jimmy.H]

Bang on!
If it was a single parent family and the mum was unemployed then the British media wouldve eaten her alive.

They got all the help and sympathy at the start because the McCann's were 'professionals.
Just goes to show that being well off isnt a pre-requisite for being a good parent.

As sad as this story is, the fact remains, if they had left their children, she would still be here.
They are going to have to live with that a fact for a very long time.



Christ!!!!
If thats what you think then i REALLY hope you arent a parent.

_______________________________________________

Wrong! I am a parent but I don't ride a high horse. I have the intelligence to realise that harm can befall a child at any time, even when the parents are in the home with them.
A young girl recently strangled herself in the rails of her bed headboard with a scarf while the parents slept in the next room without hearing a thing. Was that the fault of the parents...were they neglectful ?

In another recent case a young girl was snatched from her bath by a pervert, abducted and raped.
The mother was in the lounge watching TV and heard nothing. So these things can happen, and do, when least expected, regardless of how responsible a parent may be.

Can anyone say for sure that Madeleine McCann would not have been abducted whilst the parents were in the apartment fast asleep after a night out at the Tapas restaurant ?

[Jimmy.H]

"As sad as this story is, the fact remains, if they had left their children, she would still be here.
They are going to have to live with that fact for a very long time"
[quote]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You are getting somewhat confused methinks..They did leave their children.
Check the first sentence of your above post. It doesn't make sense.
The word you were looking for was, (hadn't) left their children.

[Jimmy.H]

Jimmy, I strongly urge you to stop jumping to conclusions about peoples' characters, your assumptions, even in this thread alone are frequently wrong.

The reason there's a help icon? Because people ask for help frequently about technical PC issues, this being a technical forum. It's not there as a tool to suggest people need the help of a psychiatrist and nor is it your place to suggest the same.

Now, either carry on discussing the can of worms you've opened about the McCanns or carry on with the high-horse snap judgements of long term forum members.

One of these paths leads to exclusion from these boards, I know you can figure out which.

_________________________

Oh..I see, we are into censorship now are we ? You really do need help.
Long term or short term posters, we are all entitled to express our opinions so please don't try your intimidation tactics on me. I don't scare easily.
Furthermore, how long has a Question Time forum been for "technical issues only" ??

[Jimmy.H]

The people replying to these posts aren't being mean or unkind towards you.

I'm wondering and maybe other members are wondering, like has already been mentioned, why somebody, whom to me seems to have no interest in what these forums are about which is technology technology has come on here creating threads to judge peoples responses and characters as some sort of psychology assignment.

You claim that you haven't insulted the posters in any of your threads, yet you are demeaning peoples characters in a large amount of your posts.

After reading most of your replies, you reply in ways it seems to me your attempting to provoke people into possible hostile replies.

"Temper, temper!! You must respond with reasonable argument, not petty insults, or you will just demonstrate your immaturity. "

Yeah, your getting the replies, but then again people on these forums aren't sheep as you seem to be suggesting, each person on here thinks for themselves and are quite capable of posting for themselves regardless of what you may think.

People aren't going to hold there tongue when someone comes on here practically claiming they are superior to the people replying, which you have pretty much done in one of your previous replies.

Anyway thats enough for one post, now feel free to make an initial assessment of my character and reply how you see fit because quite honestly, what you say or think has no bearing on myself, be it my confidence, my personality or my state of mind.

____________________________________________________________________

Yes, well if you don't mind I will give you a brief assessment, as you have requested:
I find that you are slightly hysterical, enjoy being part of a gang that enjoys bullying new posters who are not part of your long term, self appointed, forum resident's association, and also think that you and your critics own the forum because you have been here for some length of time.

[schmunk]

[QUOTE=Jimmy.H;1327121]"As sad as this story is, the fact remains, if they had left their children, she would still be here.
They are going to have to live with that fact for a very long time"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You are getting somewhat confused methinks..They did leave their children.
Check the first sentence of your above post. It doesn't make sense.
The word you were looking for was, (hadn't) left their children.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Oh, grammar Nazi are we, now?


edit: OK, 'spelling Nazi', technically, but I'm sure you wouldn't pick me up on that...

[schmunk]

and:

_______________________________________________

Wrong! I am a parent

Blimey! I'm presuming Rohypnol was involved...

edit: oops, sorry, I forgot the %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%