INTERVIEW YOU WON'T SEE

SF:   So Kate and Gerry, you here in Lisbon today to sue Goncalo Amaral the former Co-ordinator of the Portuguese investigation into the disappearance of your daughter for 1.2m Euros.  Do you consider the Portuguese people are still on your side?

Gerry:  I'll answer that.  Clearly we are white, middle class, well educated and good looking, it must be obvious to everyone, that Goncalo Amaral is jealous of us.  We are here for this child Margaret  Madeleine, and we need everyone to give as much as they can.

Kate:  We're obviously Madeleine's parents Sandra, and we are willing to do anything to shut the bastard up, it was all going so well, and, um..........

Gerry:  The key thing is, Goncalo Amaral is not British.  How can it be right that people listen to his opinion?

SF:  May I ask why you did not sue Goncalo Amaral when his book was first released

Gerry:  We had clear objectives and deliverables Sandra, obviously there was no point in suing him until he had received his royalties cheque.

Kate:  Sandra, we are Madeleine's mummy and daddy [sighs] and the best way to ensure Goncalo Amaral feels misery and fear is to take away all his money.  We won't stop.........

SF:  Are you concerned that this latest revelation, your suppressing evidence of potential abductor might harm the search for Madeleine

Kate:  when all the pieces of the jigsaw came together it was important to concentrate on the man seen by Jane Tanner because he didn't look like Gerry.

Gerry:  And you see the thing is Sandra, releasing that report and those e-fits would have detracted people from donating to the Fund, it was stacking up until Goncalo Amaral starting investigating us.

Kate:  We are obviously Madeleine's parents Sandra, we couldn't afford to investigate TWO sightings, we only had £2.5 in the Fund, and the mugs donations had dropped because of THAT book.

Gerry:  You heard that didn't you?  The book of Goncalo Amaral was damaging the Fund Search, and we wanted people to concentrate on what we told them so they would keep giving generously.

SF:  And what for the future Gerry and Kate?

Gerry:  Well we are not as happy as we could be

Kate:  A big libel payout would make us much happier.

SF:  Kate, Gerry, thank you.

I'M NOT A BLEDDY HATER LORRAINE!

It is about time those who fawn over the McCanns stopped with the name calling.  For whatever reason, they are viewing this case through rose tinted glasses, never stopping for one moment to consider that their deeply entrenched, starry eyed judgement of this grieving couple might be wrong?

I don't believe the McCanns, and if anyone bothered to do a quick public opinion poll, it would soon become apparent, that not many people do.  The huge audiences they attract are not sympathetic to their plight, merely astonished that the debacle continues.

Like hundreds of thousands of others out there, I don't hate the McCanns, I hate being lied to.  I hate that these breakfast sofa Queens consider that their opinions are the only ones that matter, and that anyone who views this case differently to themselves must be low life scum who are persecuting the bereft parents of a missing child purely out of spite and malice.  How little they think of the non professional classes who make up a large chunk of their audience.

They have accepted, without question, the word of parents who admitted they left their children alone, almost every night of their holiday, even when their oldest child asked them why they didn't come to herself and her brother when they cried.  As heartbreaking as that is, the parents then went out again, and that child is missing, probably dead.  Are these commentators aware that on May 1st Madeleine cried non stop for over an hour, sobbing and screaming inbetween?  Are they aware of the distress of the elderly lady in the apartment upstairs, hearing this child cry and being unable to do anything? Are they holding their hands over their ears and saying 'that's horrid, I'm not listening'?

They are accepting, on the word of two former suspects, that experienced detective Goncalo Amaral and the Portuguese police who investigated Madeleine's disappearance are incompetent and corrupt, as too are the officials who run the Judiciary.  The final report does not say the parents are innocent, the final report says they lost the opportunity to prove their innocence. Kate refused to answer police questions and the entire group refused to return for a reconstruction.

Of course among the McCann watchers, there will be gloaters inevitable in a case such as this. Gloaters for non Blackadder fans, are people who crowd around to gloat at others' misfortunes.  The McCanns did of course give all of us an opportunity to pat ourselves on the backs, because unlike the good doctors, we would never have left our tiny children on their own to go out to dinner, so we are better than them.  However, those who wanted to say that, got it out of their system long ago.  Now the hot news is a Gerry lookalike wandering around PDL at 10pm with a Madeleine lookalike.  I could have tripled the length of that last sentence by stating it couldn't possibly be him, but I couldn't bring myself to type it.  Of course, my omission will lay me open to all sorts of hate mail, but, seriously, what are the chances of Gerry having a doppelganger in PDL, out and about enjoying the night air at the same time as himself, and making off with a child who looked exactly like Madeleine? They even had matching chinos with buttons down the side.  Spooky huh?  I say the aforementioned with trepidation, because I fear a future where questioning the McCanns will lead straight to jail without passing Go.

I must be careful. The watchers are watching our words.  I'm already on the Hate List of a known McCann enforcer.  Its kind of like the old McCarthy Blacklist, with name calling and character assassination. They keep track of my internet activity 24/7, its a bit creepy, but on the plus side, as a narcissistic writer I always have readers, and lucky me, they never miss a grammatical error!   They have after all these years, pretty much done their worst, but I still live in fear of them catching a picture of me scratching my arse and placing it alongside a picture of an outsize orangutan and a Spot the Difference caption.   I have confidence and paranoia issues.  I could cry sometimes, but it makes my eyes go puffy.  McCann supporters can be very cruel.  I wonder if  Lorraine and her colleagues are aware of the activities of the enforcement arm of the McCann campaign - have they ever bothered to look?

Over ninety percent of those who do not believe the McCanns are reasonable, logical people, from all walks of life, who simply find this story has gone so far into Wonderland that it no longer makes sense, not that it was up to much in the first place.  Those brave enough to dip a toe, will soon discover they are far from alone in their doubts.  Sadly, such is life, as in any movement or campaign, there is a small minority who cross the line, but for the majority of us who discuss this case, bad taste is bad taste, no matter what side you are on.  These journalists have the communication skills to challenge opinions they do not like, so why resort to ridiculous assertions and name calling?

Those of us on the receiving end of this constant abuse are here because we took an interest in the tragic case of a small girl who disappeared from her bed while on holiday.  We were alarmed at the disparities in the parents stories, their increasingly odd behaviour and the horrible feeling that we were being manipulated.  We had no idea then that we would come head to head with a fully armed media war machine that would go to any lengths to shut us up.

There is no evidence of abduction, and grown ups don't like being told to believe in something for which there is no definitive proof.  I believe God has the same problem.  The majority of child abduction cases involve the parents. It is not unreasonable to ask why Kate and Gerry McCann should be above suspicion.  A wicked crime has been committed, we should never forget that.  This case should not be about sympathy and support for the parents, it should be about discovering the fate of the child.  Rather than calling us names and dismissing us as 'haters' Lorraine et al should at least have the courtesy of listening to our reasons for not believing, and engage in civilised debate.

Why, for example, do they accept unconditionally  the word of two former suspects over that of the long serving detective Goncalo Amaral, his entire team, the English police involved in the original investigation and the Portuguese Judiciary?  Every lead was exhausted, the files, available to all, reveal  a thorough and transparent investigation carried out by the PJ, the biggest missing child search in Portugual's history.

Lorraine, Jane, Allison etc, should put aside their prejudice, and read the Portuguese investigation files, or even the book of Goncalo Amaral - its a more reader friendly version of the files, before judging this kind and dedicated cop, so cruelly.  He is not the monster portrayed by the McCanns and their spin doctors as the first few pages of The Truth of The Lie*, will quickly reveal.  They should also accept that a large number of their viewers and readers are among those so called 'haters' and 'nutcases' because they are astute enough to know when they are being lied to, even if the accomplished journalists and presenters don't.









*http://frommybigdesk.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/madeleine-mccann-in-books.html

WHERE ARE WE NOW?

As the dust settles after these major developments, are we any wiser as to whether or not Madeleine McCann will ever get the justice she deserves?

I'm torn.  DCI Redwood is a canny fella.  He could outfox Cool Hand Luke if they went head to head in a game of poker.  Only a few months ago, he told us most sincerely, that they were looking for a 'live' Madeleine, but this much heralded latest Crimewatch had no age progression photographs and there were no appeals for Madeleine sightings.  No appeals from the parents to Madeleine or her kidnappers either.  The World's Most Wanted is a Magic Eye picture of a man who looks suspiciously like you know who, seen carrying a child by the Smith family.  

Those of us familiar with this case, know the Smith sighting is not new.  We also know, for whatever reason, the McCanns have never featured these photofits in any of their campaigns.  Scotland Yard seem to be going along the same lines as Goncalo Amaral, but presumably they will be permitted to follow these lines through to conclusion.  If this were a whitewash, they are following the right path to get the wrong answer.  Of course they could be like a group of scientists trying to repair a rocket in space, they must find a solution using only the parts that are available to them. The PJ files will always be available for comparison with their own.  

Taking Tannerman out of the equation was a stroke of genius, and it was done in such a way that it absolved Jane of any fault, should questions be asked as to why the world's press has been saturated with disinformation for the past 6 years.  It also supports the prejudiced views of those who have bought into the myth that the PJ made a shambles of the investigation on the grounds that they are not British.  Where are we now?  Who knows, we will have to wait for old Cool Hand to make his next move.

WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH

I must admit I wanted to throw things at the telly whilst watching the Crimewatch programme, I found the idea of changing peoples' perceptions accompanied by the McCanns telling us what wonderful parents they are, particularly grating.  I can see that it is imperative the focus stays away from the McCanns during the investigation, the McCanns have history of clamming up and hiding behind lawyers when the going gets tough, so we must be nice to them.  However, the urge to scream 'why can't you see what I can see' often overwhelms me.

My worry was that this huge media furore would wreck the ongoing libel trial in Lisbon.  Goncalo Amaral deserves his day in Court.  I am outraged at the cruel and systematic way in which the McCanns have set out to destroy Goncalo Amaral's life, using their 'Britishness' to give the impression that we are all complicit.  

Their motives are spite and greed.  They have nothing to do with searching for their child. I want the Court to reject their 'poor me' claim for 1.2m Euros, and I want the world to see that Goncalo Amaral is a good man.  A police detective who began an investigation into the disappearance of a little girl 6.5 years ago, and who won't write 'file closed' until that little girl gets justice.  

Far from assisting the McCanns with their current libel trial in Lisbon, I think the recent publicity has had the opposite effect. Amongst other things they cannot prove, they are claiming that their search was harmed by Goncalo Amaral's book. This is clearly not the case, the headlines have never gone away, and there are plenty right now.  

However, what will be particularly damaging to the Libel trial, is the fact that the McCanns, never used the Smith sighting in any of their campaigns or fund raisers. And worse, some might say they perverted the course of justice, by focussing the world's attention on  the shaky sighting of Jane Tanner who only got a glimpse of the 'abductor', from a distance and in poor light.  The description given by Jane Tanner was hopelessly unreliable.  Within days she changed it completely by identifying Robert Murat as the man she saw carrying the child, a man with light brown hair, a detached retina, and wearing glasses, and immediately following her identification of Robert Murat, 3 of the tapas group suddenly remembered that they had seen him that night too. Jane has said 'it could be' to almost every face publicised in a long list of Madeleine's abductors, from large eggs with hair, to George Harrison lookalikes.  Dave Edgar 'the only professional' investigator employed by the McCanns said Jane could even have seen a woman -  though in his defence, it was during the time they were touting the e-fit of Posh Spice. 

The McCanns employed an ex FBI artist to draw a composite sketch of Tannerman and released it with a great fanfare, using it thereafter as the face of the man who took their daughter.  Ahh, but they didn't know about the Smith sighting you may say. Not true, it was a line of enquiry being pursued by Goncalo Amaral immediately prior to his being removed from the investigation.  The Smiths were contacted by representatives of the McCanns, but honourable people that they are, they preferred to stick with the official investigation. Off musing, I'm beginning to see a film here, The Incorruptibles, an honourable detective who never gave up and a lovely Irish family who know the meaning of integrity. 

But back to the Smith sighting. How could the McCanns not know about it?  They spent £100k from the Fund on having the PJ files translated and Kate has been reading them for years.  They also spent a lot of money on private investigators, possibly in excess of £1m, are we to believe that these 'big boys'* (as described by Clarence) missed this vital evidence too?

Those of us glued to this case have always questioned why the McCanns never publicised this sighting, the most credible they had - it came from outside the group of friends, and it supported their claim that Madeleine was abducted.  The Smith family group consisted of at least 3 adults who saw the 'abductor' in close proximinity.  So close in fact, that Mrs Smith asked the man if the child was sleeping.  He did not reply.  Their statements are indeed a revelation, and will probably top the list should anyone care to google them, and I suggest if you have got this far that you do.  This story seems to have a new director, and the bits that had previously been discarded on the cutting room floor are now being restored.  

*Big boys now facing criminal charges.   

We can all go home now

We can all go home now, the McCanns are not suspects, Scotland Yard have spoken and they are the world's leading Detectives with links to James Bond.

I do wonder though if they are keeping the heat off Kate and Gerry by exonerating the infamous pair halfway through the investigation?  Has there ever been a case in the UK or indeed anywhere in the world, where detectives have declared the main protagonists as 'not suspects'? Its quite an odd thing to do, especially as the investigation is ongoing and could potentially lead anywhere.  

The pro trolls on twitter are jumping for joy and those who have lost all faith in humankind after following this case, are pessimistic, and shouting 'whitewash', and 'I told you so'.  I'm not convinced, it would be a risky strategy, who knows how many are involved, and how many of those involved would stand up to close scrutiny should their own 'interests' be analysed? Is trolling on the internet a recognised profession?    

It looks as though a lot of people have big secrets eating away at them and they probably do not have the calculating personalities of Gerry and Kate. Something has got to give, not least the ever present danger that someone within their circle might spill the beans and outdazzle the starry pair with their own true story of what happened. They are clearly not honourable people, and why should the McCanns get all the cash?  

Anyone could crack at anytime in the future, and the whole house of cards will come tumbling down. It's a big old secret to have hanging over you, and it will never go away, because the McCanns won't.  'We won't stop' said Kate, 'ever'.  My sympathy goes out to all of those on their mailing list.   

As some of us already know, there are people in the inner circle, and indeed on the periphery, of this case who will go to any lengths to protect whatever the hell it is they are protecting.  Many of these proactive supporters are, shall we say, very unstable, so much so, that I even fear for the McCanns themselves.  The magnitude of what has gone on to cover up the disappearance of this child, cannot be underestimated, especially in cash terms, it runs to telephone numbers.     

Why not a whitewash?  Prime Ministers like to leave a legacy, and putting right the wrongs of a former Prime Minister would contribute to that. As it stands, any blame for things that have gone wrong in this case  in the past, can be lain at the door of Gordon Brown.  David Cameron can be the knight on the white steed, who charged in to put it all right.  He gave the go ahead for the Review, he gave another £5m of public money and the go ahead for a full investigation.  He must now produce a living Madeleine and a swarthy abductor or criminal convictions. Oops, will not suffice.   

I could of course be completely wrong, and we are at War (of the media kind) with Portugal.  How dare you victimise our stricken British citizens, you dastardly foreigners - we won the war you know!  Pip pip.  The good old Beeb, (BBC) are putting out a special edition of Crimewatch, for the UK and at least another 4 countries that will prove beyond doubt, the McCanns are caring parents who deserve our love and (financial) support - please see link to the Madeleine Fund paypal button in the credits. 

Our 'official government approved' documentary supercedes your 'Truth of the Lie' documentary, and if you won't give Kate and Gerry 1.2m Euros, we will prove you are just being horrid to them and our Navy will prepare for war.  You have been told!

  

Ps.  This announcement has nowt at all to do with ongoing libel trial in Lisbon.

Pps.  In the event Truth of the Lie has higher ratings and more believers we reserve the right to claim a further 1m Euros + for the McCanns' descendants and their heirs and any children Madeleine may have had.

Ppps. The Madeleine Corporation are presently working on a Room 101 prototype should the government documentary fail.  

For indepth discussion:
http://jillhavern.forumotion.net/portal

The Mythical Child

I know I keep harping back to A Few Good Men, but I really do foresee one of those Courtroom drama moments on Wednesday when Gerry takes the stand.  Lets face it, he's quite a character. Will he try to flirt with the Judge as he did with lovely Sandra Felgueiras?  Will he treat the Defendants' lawyers as if they are a bit simple, maybe speak to them crossly, as though he were their dad? Will he discuss Team McCanns' very clear objectives, their wider agenda? Balloon days and candlelight vigils, a Madeleine Day for the whole world? 

Perhaps he will discuss the mental health issues suffered by himself and his wife.  Jeez, you'd need a couple of weeks for that and 'ologists' of every variety will be writing about it for years to come. For myself, it will be one big old blog with everything my itchy little fingers have been dying to say this past 6 years.  

But I digress, I am particularly looking forward to hearing about the McCanns' obsessive desire to keep all horrid headlines out of the UK.   Maybe a clue lies in Kate's reaction to the first police suspicions: 'what will my parents say'.  Indeed. 

By now it must be clear to the whole world and its wife, that the McCanns are using the Madeleine Fund to finance malicious libel actions against anyone who questions them.  Not content with the huge financial rewards the McCanns had already received, they also wanted the Law changed to protect them against any crisis they may have in the future,  Happily, the government momentarily regained its senses before altering the 1689 Bill of Rights to protect 'The Search for Maddie', and sanity prevailed.  

Madeleine didn't reach the age of 4, the mythical child did. The cherubic picture of Madeleine in her red dress, bore no resemblance to the up to date picture of the little girl clutching the tennis balls that had been taken that week.  Regardless, the cute toddler picture was the one the parents decided to go with and by dawn the tapas group were handing out hastily run off A4 copies of the baby faced Madeleine in her Christmas frock.  

The picture became iconic, the pretty angelic child grabbed our attention, appealed to all our maternal and paternal emotions. The mythical child drove the mythical search, the only thing real was the cash that was piling up.  By June 2007, the McCanns went from not knowing they needed a Fund at all, to a desperate need for more and more cash. The newspapers rushed to get first front pages of a pretty little blonde girl peeping out from her Moroccan Mother's backpack without questioning why on earth an impoverished family from rural Morocco would want to steal a western child?  The search became more ridiculous and the headlines more sensational.

The parents registered their copyright to the mythical Madeleine brand and saturated the media with heart rendering pictures and appeals to the masses.  Again and again, the parents told us there was no evidence Madeleine had come to any harm, she was a real, findable child who could be returned to her loving family if we all prayed and contributed to her Fund.     

The mythical Madeleine is growing up before our eyes, as age progression pictures remind us of how she might look now.  We have a 6 year old Maddie,  an 8 year old Maddie and even an Asian Maddie, handy I suppose if her skin changes colour or she is being raised by a nice family with a place in the sun.  The UK backed the 'Madeleine is alive' myth, our own Scotland Yard producing the most recent image for the McCann Fund Campaign and a Court is threatening a man with prison if he dares say otherwise.  

The thing is, what does 'search' actually mean? I think it should be clearly defined, because some of the more virulent McCanns supporters are criminally insane.  I fear for young blonde girls the world over.  Actually, I fear too for swarthy foreigners who walk funny and of course Victoria Beckham lookalikes.  Obviously, child snatchers, the lot of them.  But sticking with hope.  I doubt there is a doctor or dentist on this planet who is not aware of Missing Madeleine and her very distinctive eye, presuming of course that she is being well cared for.  The 'Cleveland' option is unthinkable.

From a non cuckoo land perspective, the fact is both the blood and cadaver dogs alerted in Apartment 5A and Madeleine has not been seen for more than 6 years.  Why then are people being prosecuted for believing she is dead?