Out of the blue...

Today 27th September, marks one year to the day of me coming across one of the most horrific accident scenes I have seen in years. It was already an hour or more after the accident, but the scene was still pretty chaotic. Those involved in the accident itself had been transported away, but the scene was very fresh, and the investigation in its very early stages.

Heading to the doctors that morning, I had seen on social media that there were reports of an accident right by the surgery, so I decided to walk. On arriving at the junction of Kirkdale and Wells Park Road, I couldn't believe my eyes. The completely mangled remains of a motorcycle, and a damaged van, mid way into the side road. The collision had clearly been a heavy one.

Standing around while I was waiting for the doctors appointment time to come around, I saw the officers trying to get an ID on the motorcyclist, and then make contact with their place of work, and with friends or family. A naturally hard time for all.

Being my usual self, I took a number of pictures of the scene, trying to avoid anything which would cause alarm or distress to anyone, and not wishing to be gorish. Posting one on social media, and stating where the accident was, the image was soon picked up by local media. Used as part of their story, I followed the updates on the situation to see if there was any news about the motorcyclist.

Early reports suggested very serious injuries, broken legs and arms and all sorts of speciation. A media report a little later stated a serious condition but nothing much more.

As with most things, the media soon dropped the story, nothing more was said.

So, a year later and its today, Friday 27th September 2019. Late last night (actually now but by the time I publish this will be the 27th) I received a Facebook message request. Anyone using social media will know, getting a random request is nothing unusual. Usually you just read it, block and delete, but this one seemed genuine. Reading the message, it was from a lady by the name of Alessandra. Complete with a link to a media story about an accident. At first glance I wasn't sure I remembered it, but reading on, it was one of the stories written using my image.

Now I know some will be thinking, "you people who take pictures of accidents sicken me", and to a degree I agree, it can be a horrible thing to do, but bear with me on this...

Alessandra was asking if it was me who took the picture and if I witnessed it or had any more information on the matter. Obviously I had not witnessed it but had more pictures, thanks to cloud back-up on Google Photos. Scrolling back through my history, there they were.

It turns out Alessandra was the lady riding the motorcycle that day, and was trying to piece together what had happened that day. Having spent ten days in a coma after the accident, she has very little recollection of that day at all, let alone any idea what happened or what the scene looked like. So was trying to get more images and info to piece things together a little better.

My first reaction was to be embarrassed and apologetic about taking pictures of the scene. However I soon realised she was happy to see them, so that was a relief. On speaking a little more, it appears she has had one heck of a year. Spending months in hospital, having a number of surgeries, and healing from multiple broken bones. I can't imagine for a second what that must be like.

It is one of those strange moments in my life where I feel my actions actually had a purpose that day, and I really hope that they have helped her in even the smallest possible way.

I wish you a great recovery Alessandra, and thank you for not being mad at me for taking the pictures. Thank you for reaching out to me.

If anyone else has any images or memories of that accident that they wish to share with Alessandra, please get in touch and I will be sure to pass them on to her, or put you in touch.

The world is a weird and wonderful place at times, and today I am feeling so happy to have heard from her, and know that she made it through.

The images below are some of the images shared with Alessandra. I have her permission to post this information and these images. Please be aware one of the images shows the wreckage of the bike. I hope this doesn't cause anyone any upset.

The pitfalls of social media.

The draw of social media to someone who starves themselves of contact with people is huge. The opportunity to communicate with others, without the need for actual personal interactions is hard to resist at times. But it is not without its risks.

From time to time I find myself withdrawing from face to face interactions with people, as it is just how I feel at the time. At times like this I like to keep in touch with the world, current affairs, and friends from the comfort and security of my own home. As any regular reader of the blog will know, keeping in touch is important to me, even if it is a boring monologue at times. Either way, for those important to me, it is a way of letting them know all is well, I am just having "a moment".

Unfortunately, as I have found over recent months, during various encounters, it can also be a bit of a lions den at times too. Speaking your mind is a tough one, as exercising your freedom to do so, also reminds you that others have the same right to do so. So taking offence simply at someones stance on something is not really on, and it is a case of sucking it up. Pretty much the rules of social media and the WWW really. 

Of course, there is expressing your opinion on something, then there is actively trolling, and trying to cause offence. That is a little bit different. I am no stranger to speaking my mind, and causing upset on my blog, I have been doing it for years, sometimes even to family and loved ones, and I don't see that changing any time soon. Speaking my mind is one thing I feel strongly about, and feel that everyone should express themselves, as long as it is in a factual and fair way.

What I take sincere offence to, is when someone repeatedly targets someone in such a way that it protects their identity, while trying to damage the reputation of the target. Slanderous and unfounded comments, posted in irrelevant and opportunistic places to maximise its audience and effect on the person. 

For me, I will honestly say that recent such attacks have caused me great upset. Not by what has been said, but because of the targeted way it has been carried out, and the justifications given when questioned on their actions. Before any one person gets too carried away, and their ego starts to inflate, this is not about ONE person, nor ONE comment. This is me speaking out against ANYONE who feels they are within their rights to attack someone online with no foundation. Facts are fine. And I mean facts, not opinions. But opinions tainted with spite are not facts, and should not be expressed, and certainly not in a manner in which its only intention is to cause upset, and in my case, instability in mental wellbeing. 

Mental health is not a laughing matter, not a joke, nor an excuse for poor behaviour. I would not, and will not use my condition as an excuse to say anything I say. If I make a comment, write a blog, or express my opinion in the moment, it will be done openly, in my own name, and not forced upon others by spreading it out of context. I like to feel that any comments I have made in the past about ANY person, has been able to be justified, and backed up by hard facts, usually in the form of written comments, messages or other such communications. 

I will wrap this up by saying, I am not against people expressing their opinions about me, god only knows how many people have done just that. All I would ask is that it is done honestly, openly, and not done to simply try and damage my mental state. 

Sitting up all night, running scenarios through your head is not a nice existence. And the less people who have to go through that because of the spiteful and vindictive actions of another, knowing they are having that exact effect, the better. 

#LondonIsOpen (and toxic)

There is no secret that I find the Twitter feed of the current London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, very annoying. Constantly bleating on about things, then falling silent when questions are asked, or the tables turned.

One of the original things that really got on my nerves was the constant tweets stating how there would be less strikes and more negotiations under his watch, cutting the number of transport strikes drastically. Boris had called for them to be almost banned, Sadiq felt that negotiation was the way forward.
For days on end there were almost hourly tweets about his pledge and how there were less strikes. Until of course strike season hit, aka holiday season. Then the shit hit the fan and the strikes begun. On the odd occasion when agreement was reached, they would be cancelled or postponed, and Twitter would hear all about how HE had prevented travel chaos, and was so much better than Boris..

Then the tables turned, and strike after strike has hit various transport networks, and silence from the mayor. The occasional "we are disappointed" tweet, but nothing strong worded, demanding further talks or how out of order it was. Certainly no boasts about his involvement in the talks, in fact the opposite. Avoiding having any involvement at all.

Then there is the demand that TfL have control over Southern Rail. Again, another bandwagon jumped aboard before knowing the full story. Granted Southern is a joke, especially with their strikes also, but their services leave a lot to be desired too. Something needs to be done, but with the shambles that is under his control already, I am not sure that adding another pony to the stables is the right move. Again, we heard so much about "I want to take control" but no comments on the strikes that cripple London each time. Obviously the negotiating skills used with the tube unions don't work, so stay out of it. Wise move!
That said, when Southern rejected the idea of handing over to TfL, they DID say be part of our talks, and help us with your ideas on how it could be improved.
With London's best interests at heart, naturally Mr Khan said NO, I want nothing to do with it, and refuse to be a part of this. Nice one Sadiq!

Then my favourite bit of it all. As you can tell from the blog title.. #LondonIsOpen.
Put on most posts from the mayors office, this seems to be the favourite tag of the moment.
My only thought on it is summed up by this scene from Blades of Glory..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eRRab36XLI

I don't even know what that means
No one knows what it means, but its provocative
No it's not!
Quite simple, words!
Ringing back to the Brexit referendum, when people started somehow saying that the UK was shutting the world out and didn't want to trade with them, the mayors office coined the phrase and tag #LondonIsOpen
Somehow suggesting that the world thought we were closed for some reason. Not once has it ever been suggested that London didn't want to trade with anyone, or that London was somehow closed for refurbishment. Windows painted out, so no one could see what was happening.
Nope, in fact London has never been closed, and in some ways, suggesting it is open creates an air of negativity towards it.

After that was all done with, the tag remained, and is now used on absolutely everything, from business to events etc. Which when promoting an event which has already been arranged is a bit pointless, as the organisers clearly know London Is Open, or they couldn't have booked it ! Duh!

Speaking of events, that is my next and final grip, mixed in with #LondonIsOpen

Recently, along with being open, the mayor has also identified that London is toxic. Very toxic in fact. To the point of issuing warnings suggesting people don't go outdoors unless really necessary at times, and saying how we are failing, and people are dying each year in London BECAUSE of the pollution.
Now I am no neigh sayer here, I know full well that we live in a very busy city, packed with vehicles and other things churning out toxins all day long. I certainly notice the difference when I visit Wales or the Spanish Mountains. But there seems to be some confusion from the mayors office about how bad it really is.

Day after day, Twitter is flooded with comments about how the government need to give people thousands of pounds towards replacing their diesel car. The same diesel car they were given money towards in the last scrappage scheme. The government needs to act on the pollution, taxes levied and increases to the tolls for the congestion zone. Advising how many people die annually because of the air etc.

And then, in the nest breath (a very toxic one of course) we get told about events being held, in Central London, in the open air, and how people should flock to them, because after all #LondonIsOpen.

I have posted a few examples of the contradictions below. And before you say anything, I am all for London hosting events, I love cycling in London, and spending time in town, so have nothing against it. But you can't be the champion of champions for London, aka the mayor, and scaremonger people into believing we are living in a city which has toxic smog daily, air quality warnings and sirens, and environmental wardens walking around in high vis uniforms so they can be seen through the smog.
THEN expect your same audience on Twitter to flock to events you are promoting. That's just dumb. Get a story and stick to it.

Smog and toxic
https://twitter.com/MayorofLondon/status/831929385741668377

https://twitter.com/MayorofLondon/status/830718056959709185

https://twitter.com/MayorofLondon/status/830367140733714432
London’s dirty air is a public health crisis. I’m committed to tackling this. Read more about my plans here:
Older people & adults & children with lung or heart problems should avoid strenuous physical exercise, particularly outdoors.

Meanwhile... Positives
https://twitter.com/MayorofLondon/status/832198886102093825
On 26 Feb we're turning Trafalgar Square into London's biggest cinema for a very special Oscar-night screening of #TheSalesman #LondonIsOpen << There it is!!

https://twitter.com/TfL/status/831862211303845888

https://twitter.com/MayorofLondon/status/831823169858203650

So... #LondonIsOpen AND #LondonIsToxic

In short, I guess what I am trying to put across in this entry is quite simple.

Stop talking shit Sadiq. Do what is right for London and its people, stop scaring people with over exaggerated stories, and then contradicting yourself by saying we need to bring people to London for events, tourism etc. Don't you see that by bleating on about air quality, you scare people away, not bring them here. Its the exact same media channel and audience that you speak through and to, but somehow you expect them to be positive.

London IS open, London is proud. It is a diverse yet united city who has been and still is respected globally by millions of potential tourists. Walk in the streets in town and you will see just how open London is, without having to use a damn hashtag and believe it spreads a message of positivity. It really doesn't. London is not a convenience store which has an Open/Closed sign. It is a city right up there on the world stage, historic, respected, and a magnet to people around the world. Stop pretending that YOU are single handedly  making the difference, you really aren't.

#RantOver

If bullets were reusable....

We are all soldiers in a war, it's true, we are. While sitting on our phones and tablets, or behind our PC's, each time we share, like, or air an opinion in any matter, be it war, immigration, or other political causes, we all fire a shot.
A single shot in a propaganda war which is raging across social media.

Of course we are all entitled to have opinions, and of course social media is there, so why the hell not share it. I know I do. But just for a second, take a breath, and think about this.

Wars are fought on propaganda, they have been for decades, and will continue to be for decades to come. Its a big and sometimes complex word, and really not as simple as one government telling their people how well they are doing, and forcing the message onto the people of the opposition.
Instead, these days it is done through hatred, confusion, and lies. Most of it which finds its way into our minds through the media and social media.

Posts reporting one side of a complex story, or taking a single snapshot of something that has been happening for 2 years, and using its powerful image or story to impress on others how serious the situation is. Why it takes ONE thing to make the whole of society to burst into action, I don't know. And quite frankly it pisses me off. If we are that high and mighty, that interested in humanity and the good of our country... What exactly have YOU been doing for the past 20 years to support that ethos? For many, I will hazard a guess and say naff all! (me included)

Look at 9/11 for example. There we were, rolling into a new millennium, not a care in the world. Then an organisation who most had never heard of struck with horrific force, taking the western world by surprise. This followed on with 7/7 in London, and with that the scene was set. All brown people are Muslims, Muslims are evil, Muslims want to kill the West. Clearly no doubt about it, 2 acts, (with a few more after) and a whole load of hype by the media and extremists on both sides, and it was job done. A religion resigned to the history books as one who reigned terror on the West. (A little like the Christians of centuries before, but we won't talk about that as it was for the greater good and all eh!)

And now here we are again. Syria.
There are two parts here, which I will try and separate, but I apologise in advance for any cross overs.
Firstly there is the refugee situation. I say refugee and NOT immigration for a reason. Let me explain for those who don't get it. The media have done a number on you, so it's ok, you are forgiven.
Immigration is the act of someone who has decided to move from the country of their residence, to another country. Hoops are jumped through, papers are complete. Requirements are usually met, in order to be accepted and integrated into the country of their choice.
Refugee is a person who is fleeing violence or threat of harm or violence in their current country of residence. Not through choice, but through necessity and persecution. The move is sudden, undesired, and usually involves dropping everything and running.

Now, I am not for one second saying the issue is not clouded or taken advantage of. Lets be honest, its perfectly clear in most refugee situations, that some of it is fuelled by greed and the want of a better life. Countries endless decisions to make travel between countries easier, encourage freedom of movement, and welcome migrants into their countries with arms maybe a little too wide open clearly doesn't help. But I'm not going into detail about the whole EU freedom of movement thing, as that's a whole other bone to chew on. That is migration, carried out by immigrants, seeking economic migration to better themselves.

The part I will comment on however are those from outside the EU, who are not part of the freedom of movement agreement, but still want to seek a better life and settle within certain choice parts of the EU. Travelling from their country of origin, way across Europe, before presenting themselves to the officials of their country of choice and applying for asylum. Falsely claiming asylum, straining many systems from border control, to transport, right through to the actual immigration and asylum systems.  The problem is, we are so fed up of seeing people trying to get onto lorries to get across the Channel, that we have become intolerant to genuine asylum seekers.
Now again, I am not saying every person trying to get across the Channel is a fake, but there are plenty of questionables.

Fitting then don't you think, that the media, one of the group of instigators for hatred and anger towards whatever their target is for the current week or month, started showing huge interest in Calais, getting the UK wound up tightly about how it would affect everyone as more and more immigrants and asylum seekers bled into the country. Even taking the time to berate the government for using words such as a swarm. How despicable..... Or is it.
Well, there is an algorithm used when planning evacuations and people flow through buildings when they are at their design stage. It predicts movement behaviours in certain situations. The algorithm is called Distributed Swarm Evacuation Planning . How dare they indeed!

Anyway, getting back to Calais, or moving on from it at least, we have Syria. Clearly currently undergoing a devastating war, people terrorised, and genuinely fleeing violence. Again, most of them are anyway. I am sure there is a small percentage, like in any walk of life, taking advantage of it. Given the opportunity, most would. So now that the media have stirred the pot, built up intolerance and hatred towards anyone helping anyone else from another country, transferred that to social media, and built up a load of support for it. Now we have Syria, a genuine cause, which now no one has any time for and is blinkered by past events.

So as things in Syria unravel, and their world falls apart, we in the Western world continue with the important stuff. Bigotry, propaganda, and our faithful belief in anything we read in the media or social media. Very rarely do people ever bother to find things out. Instead we read something, go through the "its on the internet, so must be true" verification process, and immediately share, with a strong worded opinion of our own. Shot fired!

The funny thing is, each time we fire a shot of ignorance onto the internet, two things happen. One group take our comments, and use it to show others how fed up of the situation we all are. Waving it in the face of the undecided, screaming how many people have liked their status, and its proof, all the proof we need that its all a scam.
The other group take our negativity, and hatred, and show it to the other side. Showing their supporters and again the undecided, how much hatred and anger is directed at them. Their race, religion, or beliefs, and justifying why they should make a stand against you. Its always so easy to see one side of a story, and once we have our beliefs, it is almost impossible to open your eyes wide enough again to take a second, better look.
Think of it this way, if bullets were reusable, would you think more carefully about how many shots you fired at the enemy, knowing they could fire them back at you?

Now, the latest twist in the story is a message from ISIS (apparently) A threat that 500,000 would flood across Europe, claiming asylum, but in fact they will ALL be terrorists, and will destroy us all. Holy shit! Is this for real?
No, its propaganda at its finest. Like I said, most wars are fought with propaganda. Take a section of the world which is not paying much attention to the other. Put in place an all out assault which will displace tens of thousands, maybe millions. In the meantime, tell the country which isn't paying any attention that you will send an army to destroy them. Now launch your attack, drive the people from their homes and seeking refuge, and crank up the propaganda, media hysteria, social media assault vehicle.

Let me explain it simply.
IF, and I mean IF, this is all part of the plan to "destroy" Europe, its working well, and we are all playing our part.
Just like someone splitting from their cheating ex, hitting someone where it hurts (the pocket) is always the way to go.
Without weapons, without firing a shot or detonating any bombs, ISIS can cause serious damage to the UK and most of Europe.
Firstly by displacing the people of its country, it places strain on a country and its economy, let alone its resources and manpower, as well as infrastructure to cope with the sudden influx. Then in turn the influx causes stress, anger, hatred, and instability in society. This alone is powerful, and as I said before, is fed back to the extremists to fuel their cause. But also while all this is going on, the economy of any country involved in the whole matter, be it armed forces, taking refugees, or just part of the situation, takes a battering. Shares drop in price, currencies devalue, stability turns to instability.
Like I say, the crazy part about this, is its warfare at its finest, but without any fighting (between the counties at least)

So right now, as I look in my social feeds, I see fear, distrust, anger, and a call to push back. Social instability. How long before there is a high profile, mass attended protest march. One planned as a peaceful one, but joined by the extremists on the West side (so they believe), and one which will turn into a violent, expensive, distraction, and cause even more instability.
The cycle is endless, and not about to lose momentum any time soon. I don't expect this post to make any difference whatsoever. I did however want to go on the record, put my thoughts out there, and get it off my chest.

If you have read this far, kudos to you, and thank you for reading. I would also hazard a guess that there is hope for you yet.

Whatever your belief, whichever side you support. I'm not saying stop posting, I'm not saying stop caring. I am simply asking that you put a pause between the seeing and sharing routine. A pause just to see if it's true, believable and not just hateful bullshit.

This what the Snopes website was built for, but on steroids.
Snopes made it's name from disproving stories posted on the internet. Gang initiations, celebrity stories, scams, police alerts etc. Think about this for a moment. Snopes made its name for one reason, and one reason alone. There are SO many gullible people on the internet who follow the belief that if you read it on the internet its true. It still to this day continues to make fools of people stupid enough to read any old bullshit they see on the internet, and then not content with being dumb enough to believe it themselves, they share that shit, and perpetuate it!

You got to admit, it's a fair point.!

Right, I'm done here for now, thanks again for reading.

The McCann's, the 'Trolls' and the media

Not really sure where to start with this whole thing, so lets go to the beginning...

On 3rd May 2007 the UK awoke to the news of a missing child. One would like to say a rare occurrence, however on the grand scheme of things, its sadly not rare at all. In fact to quote one source reporting in 2008, 'Every year more than 100,000 children go missing in the UK.... that's one every FIVE minutes.' Quite startling I am sure you will agree.

However, while this was a UK child, the disappearance had happened thousands of miles away in Portugal, Praia da Luz to be precise. The child I am sure you have worked out by now is Madeline McCann.

Over the next days, weeks, months, and now years, the parents of Madeline would somehow steal the hearts of people around the world. Part of this was due to the huge explosion of social media around this time. Facebook, Twitter etc were all in the process of becoming global names, and for some of us a way of life. Every opinion, ever suggestion, theory or sometimes fact, would be known globally within minutes of its publication, all thanks to social media, Blackberry, iPhone, and the mobile internet. Because of this, and the constant feed of both genuine information, as well as a whole lot of speculation, the McCann's gained what I can only describe as 'fame'.

But what was the fame for exactly. Well this is where things get a little bit messy. So lets break it down.

First up, simple facts.
Madeline was taken from an apartment in the complex in where the family were staying. Having been left in the apartment with her two younger siblings, somehow she went missing. Her parents at the time of the said disappearance were at a tapas restaurant in the same complex. From basic facts, the children were out of both audio and visual range of their parents. However 'regular' checks were made on them.

The Portuguese Police would take lead on the case, and along with the majority of the UK media, would subsequently point the finger of blame at the parents. Reasons for this blame ranged from simple irresponsibility and abandonment, through to foul play and suggestions of murder and disposal of Madeline's body.

As time passed, the Portuguese Police would ask for or allow intervention in the investigation from Scotland Yard, senior investigating officers would be removed from the case, and charges considered both against the parents, and officers involved. At one point the parents were considered arguido's (suspects)

OK so I shall break from the fact reporting for a moment because this is where it gets interesting.
Arguido's, the first was Robert Murat (later cleared of ANY involvement in the case). The name came to the headlines quite quickly, and certain media sources, ok Sky News took it upon themselves to dig up EVERYTHING they could about this man. Making suggestions of child porn on his PC, paedophile activities and many other very damaging accusations. Of course this all lead nowhere, and after the well orchestrated destruction of Mr Murat's reputation and name, they simply moved on.

Next, with the McCann's now being considered suspects too, the media (yes Sky and others) turned their attention to them. As the use of so called 'cadaver dogs' begun, and reports of indications in the apartment spread, the media turned their attention to foul play. Over the coming days, which ramping up the huge media appeal for information on Madeline's whereabouts, the media also took aim at the parents, speculating on what two trained medical professionals could have done. Drugged, accidentally killed, disposed of in a panic.. The list was quite wild, but also lets be honest, plausible too.

So lets move on a few years.
After much support, a whole heap of cash donations, and lets be honest now, a lot of bad feeling towards the parents too, the media circus was over, right? No, far from it.
In fact what was coming next was probably going to eclipse the disappearance of Madeline. To be honest, her face is probably one of the best known child faces in the world. Having not been out of the media for more than a month in any given year, now the poster child for any story which contains the words 'missing child', Madeline will most definitely never be forgotten.

But now it was publicity, book writing, pleas for more help, repeated TV appeals etc, and of course don't forget the media. Their ongoing love affair with the whole matter, the ratings topping McCann stories just kept coming. I have never quite worked out what the attraction, interest or attachment between Sky and the McCann's is. Sky seem to have an insatiable appetite for stories involving Kate and Gerry. Maybe its the controversy it causes, maybe its the Twitter trend topping #HashTags they end up with, who knows. All I know is, in the 7 years since Madeline disappeared, statistically almost THREE QUARTERS OF A MILLION children have at some point been reported missing in the UK.

I sadly concede that there have been other flash in the pan cases, all of which have ended in tragic and heartbreaking discoveries of bodies. Tearing families apart after their beloved child has been taken, and subsequently murdered and simple disposed of. All the children have been subjected to horrific ordeals. My heart goes out to these families each time, and I wish the perpetrators of these crimes the most miserable of lives or deaths.

However, with no real leads in the case almost since the day Madeline was reported missing, the media continue to follow this one. Maybe there is something about the family we don't know, or maybe the media are just hoping for the exclusive on one day getting closure on the story.

So, the recent crusades of the media regarding the McCanns.....
A few days ago Sky doorstepped a woman known as @sweepyface (twitter name), and revealed her to the world as a despicable hateful woman who was harassing and abusing the McCann's via twitter. Before I go on, its worth pointing out that the McCann's neither use Twitter, nor (as they said themselves) had any knowledge of this womans comments. However they applauded their mates at Sky for stamping on this 'troll' and agreed she should be used as an example.

So the Sky story, lets look at it. Using quotes and examples of 'hate' tweets aimed at the McCann's ranging from questions of their morality and integrity in their actions on May 3rd 2007, right through to threats against the lives of them, and suggestions of torture, waterboarding and other vile suggestions. The problem is, in this quote cloud as I like to call it, the only tweets with their author NOT obscured were those of @sweepyface . Most were mildly aggravated comments directs at #McCanns , but to someone not paying much attention to detail, and the way the so called investigation was aimed at this person, it would appear that she was responsible for ALL the comments on screen.
Now the reason I mention the comments of the parents is a simple one. If I fire a gun screaming someones name, but 100 miles away from them, is that attempted murder? If I blog about someone, saying mean things about them, but knowing they nor their friends will ever read my comments, is that liable? If I tweet angrily about a subject, airing my opinion, am I a troll because you disagree with me. My point being, if the other party involved is never subjected to my opinions or comments, have I caused them any upset?

Later that day Sky would proudly announce a Q&A session with one of their reporters. #AskBrunt . Now far be it for me to judge, but what exactly was the aim of this session going to be. Would it really be objective, and what did it possibly hope to achieve. Well as 2pm rolled around, and anger towards Sky grew on twitter, surprise surprise #AskBrunt started to trend. I bet that was great for commercial purposes eh! As the session started, and the mood worsened, it was obvious that not much was really going to happen. With questions ranging from angry to funny, on and off topic all being thrown into the pot, 25-30 mins was spent answering a select few. At the end of it, the discussion continued, the # continued to trend, and the fat cats sat staring at their success of re-using the McCann story once again to get some attention.

Tonight, it has started to feed into the media that @sweepyface has been found dead in a hotel.
I don't claim to know of every tweet she sent, nor do I necessarily agree with her actions or comments. But what I do know is the McCann's say that they had no knowledge of this person, therefore she had done them no harm. However, the whole of the UK knew who she was by the evening, her face plastered on papers and websites, both hatred and support pouring out for her. It would appear at this point, going by the statements of the police, that she took her own life.

Is this justice? Is this 'the right thing'. Did she 'deserve it' for the tweets she had posted?
Well that is a matter of opinion. and this is mine.

Sky News, obsessed with the McCann story, onto a good thing using their name to 'help' the family find Madeline, took it a step too far.
Doorstepping a soft target who they had tracked down, isolating her and using the tweets of other Twitter users they for some reason decided to obscure, rain hell on her and somehow gave the impression that @sweepyface was the ringleader in a UK wide campaign of hate and vulgar behaviour towards their mates the McCanns.
Their choice of reporting technique, the manner in which they melted her into the mixing pot of other truly sickening Twitter users, and their convincing opinions that she was a truly hateful woman, led to her taking her life.

So,,, lets summarise.
The McCanns went out for dinner leaving their kids at home. One was taken.
The McCanns shot to fame as the irresponsible parents who left their kids home alone.
Sky News somehow struck up a friendship, dedicating a whole section of the Sky News website to Madeline for a long period of time.
Sky News seemingly took on the McCann name as some sort of franchise.
When their franchise came under too much fire, they bit back.

And now here we are.

No, nothing is clear cut, we don't know the facts of what happened in Praia da Luz that evening. But quite frankly, and with the greatest of respect, its time for the world to move on and leave the family to work through it in private. The remaining kids will probably spend the rest of their lives in the media spotlight if Sky have anything to do with it.
Speaking as a father who was part of the upbringing of my own daughter for her early years, I can say in MY opinion, and those who I socialise with... It is NOT normal behaviour to leave a child out of sight. From one room to another yes, answer the front door, get the washing in, YES. To go out to dinner for the evening.. Ermm nope. Not in my books. ANYONE who does this, or has done this certainly in the last decade should question their actions.

So that's me done.

I just want to finish up by saying, how do you think the two examples below compare.

@sweepyface and her comments into seemingly empty space. Comments which would never reach their target.

Sky News, and the systematic character assassinations of people that flash on their radar as involved in a case, who subsequently turn out to have NO involvement.
Robert Murat and Christopher Jefferies are good examples of this kind of behaviour.
If putting hateful, hurtful and damaging comments and opinions of people into the social domain is considered 'trolling' , well Sky News, I suggest you get writing a dossier... on yourselves!

If you have read this far, please read this last bit.

I in NO WAY condone the behaviour of genuine internet trolls who target, abuse, and attempt to destroy the lives of innocent people. There is a big difference between targeted troll campaigns, and people who genuinely wish to express themselves in the public domain. It is for these people who choose to express themselves, for which blogs like this, and social media sites such as Twitter were made for.
Do my opinions differ from yours? Maybe so. Does it make me vile, wrong or insensitive? I would like to think not. If we all agreed on everything the world would be a dull place to say the least. There are rough guidelines to follow, but we all have our own limits. The thing to pay attention to is the intent in which the comments are made. If there is clear ill intent, and not just an interpretation of words which somehow offend you, then it should be reported and efforts made to cease the persons activities. If you just disagree with someone's opinion, no matter how strongly worded, then look away, move on, and forget about it.

Late night rants never look that good in the morning, so forgive any glaring faults, I will proof this again in the morning.

Thanks for reading and as ever, feel free to share.