Today I’ve got something very personal to share with you, but first…
Scan a few social media feeds and you’ll be forgiven for believing that those around us make more money than Carlos Slim on a good day, holiday regularly at the Ritz, and their kids (if they are fortunate enough to have any) are complete angels who, when not helping old people across the street are placing first in Badminton, or tennis, or swimming, or all of the above. Oh, and by the way, they just beat AlphaGo at chess.
Their wives or husbands love… no, adore them, never argue, and when they’re not at their perfect 3-day-a-week job, are found hobnobbing with God herself. The image is perpetuated because that’s all we see. Perfect lives, perfect people. Plastic!
It’s grand fiction, and the older I get the lower my tolerance threshold for such nauseating twaddle. I don’t typically talk about this stuff. After all, this is an investment blog.
Today’s different as I will share with you something very personal. The kind of information I NEVER share, and I’m going to ask for your help.
A long time ago I looked at this rapidly changing world and thought to myself, “Well, Chris this has massive implication. Some good, some downright terrifying.”
I chose to participate at a certain level, this blog being a reflection of that.
The only thing you’ll find on the net are my thoughts on finance. Nothing about my family, no pictures, no comments, nothing.
The Internet is a tool, not unlike a shovel. You can use it to dig a great big hole to plant a new tree or you can allow some lunatic to club you over the head with it. It’s a personal decision, which I feel is backed up daily when I see things such as this:
Show us your tweets: US unveils nosy new visa questionnaire
Protecting your data and your secrets is something not 1 in 10 seem to give a damn about and that worries the socks of me.
For the many nefarious parties out there it’s like open season for vultures feeding on a carcass and we’re the carcass.
Wannacry won’t be the last offensive in the war to access your data, and don’t get me started on the threat of governments. Obviously, you can and should use the many measures you can take to mitigate the threat. A Google search will reveal much though simply using a VPN and NOT putting out sensitive information in the first place is plain common sense.
Instead of shying away from putting out personal information as I’ve always done, today I’m opening up a slice of my personal life in the hope that it can help someone: my brother.
As I said… the Internet can be used to do good, to share valuable information (something I try to do each week on this blog). But just as easily as it can threaten us when used without thought.
Today, I want to ask you please to put it to good use and to use every social media channel you have at your disposal to help me.
Your Chance to Help
In September of 2013 my brother’s son, Mathieu-Pierre Etienne Macintosh (date of birth: 1 April 2004) was taken to France from Sydney, Australia by his mother, Christine Etienne. This was to be for a short 6 week trip to visit family. Mathieu was never returned – abducted by his mother who suffers from mental illness.
In 2014, a court case under the Hague Convention on Child Abduction was held in France and Mathieu was ordered to be returned home to Australia to be with his father. When this verdict was handed down Mathieu promptly vanished with his mother. Mathieu is currently listed as a missing person on Interpol here.
We believe Mathieu and his mother are hiding in France or Belgium, specifically in Poperinge or Ghent where we detected the most activities in accessing the Facebook page “Please help find Mathieu-Pierre”.
Here is the abducted child alert Europe page, and below is an aged photo of Mathieu.
My brother was recently featured on Australian news channels SBS and Ten News.
Matthieu is listed on the Australian Federal Police missing persons site, and I’ve posted a video interview with my brother on the Capitalist Exploits Facebook page.
Here are some additional links to recent media coverage regarding the search of Mathieu: The Sydney Morning Herald, The Canberra Times, The Huffington Post, and the Daily Mail.
So today I’m asking you… please, can you use all social media you can get your hands on and get this message out to EVERYONE you know.
People in your network may not know but they in turn have many people in their networks.
Certainly there are people out there, particularly those in Europe, who do know where Matt is. The worst that can come of it is that we’re exactly where we are today. Spending hundreds of thousands of dollars without success… trying desperately to find Matt.
It will take you just a few minutes and the reward payoff could be something that quite frankly can’t be priced. After all, what is the price of getting your son back?
Again, please share this article with everyone you know.
Yours sincerely,
Chris
“The abduction of a child is a tragedy. No one can fully understand or appreciate what a parent goes through at such a time, unless they have faced a similar tragedy. Every parent responds differently. Each parent copes with this nightmare in the best way he or she knows how.” — John Walsh
