Wednesday 7 January 2009

Public vs Private

I apologize for my absence.

It’s got to do with my private life and nothing with possible threats or pressures to stop.

Life is much simpler than the conspiracy theorists would like us to believe that it is. Sometimes a toothache is something that can divert your whole attention to it, and the rest of the world becomes a dream world that you were evicted from with no foreseeable return.

Unfortunately for me, its not a toothache, and is not subject to public discussion, so I’ve dwelt enough on this.

In Portugal, there are 3 kinds of felonies: public, semi-public and private. This categorization has only to do with who is able to trigger police or investigative action on whatever is at stake. In a private felony its mandatory to have a complaint. Or as the Americans like to express themselves, to press charges.

For example, if my dog bites your leg, unless you complain, I’ll not be accountable for that action. If you do, well, I’ll just have to handle whatever the law applies to me. In a public offense, it’s mandatory that the police act upon it. Murder, rape, domestic violence are examples of obvious felonies that fall under this category.

Kidnapping is another. Will not get into semi-private, just because its not relevant, but if you understood the other 2 concepts, just “draw” a line in the middle and you’ll get the picture.

Now, in the Maddie case, the Portuguese authorities have, however incompetently I may believe, done an investigation and have reached a conclusion. Not a definitive one, but one that they state that they, until further notice, have reached a stale-mate.

May not agree with, I don’t, but it’s the Portuguese official version. Nothing to argue there.

But, on the British side of things, we have a British citizen who has been, ACCORDING to McCann fans, abducted.

A kidnap in which, still according with the same “reliable” sources, the victim was most likely taken out of Portugal. Spain, Belgium, Romania, Morocco are just few of the named locations.

If you live in some other country, do pat yourself on the back, as congratulations are due: your country is not ranked very high on the UK pedophilic graduation scale.

So, you have a crime, a public one at that, and there is no reaction from the British authorities.

I heard that that is due to the fact that nobody complained. Not even a statement saying that they subscribe the Portuguese decision to abandon the investigation…

So, if I got the things quite straight, and I ask this because things weren’t like that when I lived there, if I murder or kidnap somebody, there is a form to be filled by somebody before I face the coppers?

Hmmmm... Fred, how about a holiday in Britain this year?

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