(must stop reading that awful Matt Drudge but he has good links !)

Craiglist-some sort of US listing board, but this "sting" I believe is another example of very irresponsible policing that is all about headlines and nothing about enforcing law.

Another one of those bizarre US set-ups..cops pretending to be under aged kids offering sex (is this really palatable ?..police posing as children selling sex?).

So 14 or so fantasists get busted..it really is 'thought crime'. Whilst obviously a crime that is on the statutes has been broken, no real actual activity has taken place apart from a bunch of blokes answering an advert.

People arrested for thinking about committing a crime whilst cops have actually been encouraging them to commit that crime.

Let alone how do we really know that the cops on-line or arresting don't harbour the very same thoughts themselves ?

How much of this sensationalism is just a cover for sending a message to the prolls (and if you read the responses we haven't come out the dark ages as to punishment...lynch mobs abound for the crime of having a thought) that somehow predators are being rounded up daily and that at some stage-as the media loves to imply, all crime will cease at a certain point ?

(it's called Future Shock-the idea that one day all pot holes will be filled-all buildings built and so on)

From all accounts I have read from professionals, genuine real predators are far more cunning than answering an advert from some fictional mother offering up her 13 year old.

They spend months or years ( and in the majority of cases are in the family) grooming.

So what we have is tabloid pandering which in effect does not prevent children being abused.

That is self evident as the adverts keep coming and the "To Bust A Predator" or Sarah/ Sally's Law (or whatever the hell it's called) rolls on while the great unwashed sit at home nodding away thinking that the pedo behind the bush has been nabbed.

If you are not actually preventing child abuse but are part of a media campaign to appear you are and giving a false impression-you are responsible for it happening.

Even if just one child (and in reality it is tens of thousands) is abused-sexually, mentally, physically or by neglect-because you participate in putting all recourses towards window dressing, you are as guilty as sin as the perpetuator.

(too much coffee this morning)

Totally agree.

The whole cover up of Paedophiles who are mainly in Government - Police - Social Services hiding behind the veneer of respectability - is a scandal of modern times. This part accounts for about 20% of abuse and the other 80% is usually in the family between family members - hence it rarely reaches courts.

The "Show Trials" are usually based on silly inquisitive weirdos who answer silly adverts like this and who have probably abused a child in their life - they are just internet surfers with too much time on their hands and without "being groomed" by the authorities into this sort of action would have carried on surfing EBay and Craigs List for bargains.......

News today in the UK that thousands of kids dont go to school because they are invisible to the authorities.......yet we dont see the Police doing anything about these kids - who are potentially being abused or even trafficked for the pleasure of those at the "top" of our society who seem to be able to carry on with this sort of activity with no Police scrutiny at all - in fact with the HELP of the Police in the UK.