WHY GONCALO AMARAL HAS TO BE THE BAD GUY

Grief sticken parents

Oh to have been a photographer in PDL when the call went out for pictures of the grief stricken parents and cops behaving badly.  One of the most fascinating aspects of this case is watching the way in which the publicity campaigns have been orchestrated and the public manipulated in order to make the lie become the truth. 

From the off the parents were portrayed as clean living, God fearing catholics who had never done anything wrong in their entire lives.  Kate and Gerry turned immediately to the church and thus got on board millions the world over who already believe in unseen entities and the word of the Lord - they were always going to struggle with the athiests. 

Bad Cop

At the height of their campaign they went to see the Pope, lit candles and begged the world to pray with them.  Not only had they lost their daughter but they were the victims of a scruffy, hard drinking cop who just wanted to wrap the case up quickly so he could get back to his wine and women. 

And it was a phenomenal success, one wonders how much of the Madeleine Fund was used to pay photographers for pictures of Portuguese detectives looking crumpled and K&G looked martyred, but impeccably dressed.   

 

The critics of Goncalo Amaral are obviously unfamiliar with the writing premise of almost every, strike that, every, fictional detective book/film/tv series etc. That is, renegade cop (with human failings) pursues clean cut rule following pillars of the community. Cops have strict rules and regulations to abide by, but we all cheer them on when they break them to catch the baddy.

The most successful hero cops, are usually flawed in some way (it creates empathy with the audience), that is, they are alcoholic, workaholic, emotional wrecks who have troubled home lives, but they never give up.

The fiction is based on fact. Its not the box ticking, clean cut, rule following automatons who solve the crimes, it is those who break the rules and think outside of the box, who get their man. And in real life, as in fiction, they are usually up against 'the establishment'.

This detective drama is writing itself, Goncalo is the baddy in a crumpled suit with a fondness for wine. His slate isn't clean, he didn't wear a smart uniform with polished shoes and a shiny badge. Whilst his career climbing colleagues were hand pressing their lapels, he was out getting his hands dirty - he's a cop, not a Sunday school teacher. 

The real Goncalo, much
loved by his family and friends

I smiled when I read that one of the things that hurt Goncalo was being called a 'bad dresser' - that has a sting like no other, especially when you know the basta'ds are out to get you looking at your worst.  It isn't true of course, it is all part of the 'monster cop' persona the Team McCann propaganda machine have created.  The British press are loathe to interview him because the reality bears no resemblance to the image of him that has been created.

Whilst clean living SS Commandants may be the epitomy of law and order, they are not ideal role models for a successful detective. You can demand the population play nicely and stick to the rules but they rarely do. Only in Steptford and Pleasantville can law enforcement officers perform their duties in their Sunday best. When chasing criminals, hair will fall out of place, clothing may be damaged and shoes may be scuffed. Has a criminal ever 'got off' because the arresting officer was inappropriately dressed?

The accusations being thrown at Goncalo Amaral are everything we expect, so much so, they are almost cliché. Goncalo is probably not very different to every middle aged, hard working cop the world over, His enemies have merely taken his flaws and amplified them.

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A WIN FOR GONCALO IS A WIN FOR MADELEINE

Goncalo Amaral will never give up on Madeleine



 In May 2007 Goncalo Amaral was handed the poisoned chalice that was the case of Missing Madeleine McCann.  It could have been any policeman in any town in any country in the world, but fate chose Goncalo and the quiet resort of Prai de Luz, and once the die is caste there is no turning back.

Unfortunately for the McCanns, this policeman was not for turning, his task was to find the missing child, and bring the perpetrators of her demise to justice.  He did the job he signed up for, he focused on the victim, and he focuses on her still. For whatever reason the British Government were pressurising the Portuguese to look for a stranger abductor, and accept, without question, the word of the Tapas doctors. 

An honourable man, Goncalo had no option but to resign from the job he had dedicated his life to.  However, that was not enough for Kate and Gerry McCann, Kate needed Goncalo to feel misery and fear. And in order to elevate themselves to sainthood, they needed an evil villain, a 'monster' they could direct the public to, in order to embellish their own suffering.  And the xenophobic British establishment, obliged and assisted with outrageous headlines, pointing the finger, and blaming the loss of Madeleine on a slovenly, sardine munching cop, who spent too long at lunch. 

The extremely kempt couple had time to shop
for new clothes to meet the Pope

But, here's a thing.  The reason Goncalo and/or indeed any of the PJ may have appeared slovenly or unkempt, was because they were sleeping at the office and working back to back shifts searching for a child who it was claimed, had been abducted!  They weren't shacked up in 5* hotels with a row of Hugo Boss suits at their disposal for photo shoots, they were looking for Madeleine. 

McCanns have also punished
Goncalo's family.

First and foremost, the men and women of the PJ are human beings, fathers, mothers, grandparents.  They were as touched by Madeleine's plight as the rest of the world - more so because they were so close to the action.  They worked day and night to find that little girl, as did the compassionate people of PDL, who spent days combing through the undergrowth, turning over EVERY stone, whilst the parents, hmmm, jogged!  The hypocrisy of the British media is astonishing, whilst admonishing critics on behalf of the McCann children, they viciously ripped into the life and reputation of Goncalo, with complete disregard for what effects reading their father is a 'monster' might have on the Amaral children! But more astonishing still, is their reports back to the UK that the PJ were doing nothing, while being first hand witnesses to the biggest missing child search in Poruguese history!

The British press did an amazing job of dehumanising the men and women who were looking for Madeleine, convincing the public that the PJ were incompetent and hell bent on stitching the parents up. Clearly all reason and logic were abandoned in their indecent haste to find a (foreign) rogue, because it was in no-one's interests, least of all the Portuguese police, to leave a predatory child snatcher on the loose. It would have left all children at risk, including their own. 

In defence of the Portuguese police, not only did they have the unco-operative tapas group to contend with, they also had the results of the McCanns phenomenal publicity campaign.  They were being inundated with calls from every crackpot around the globe claiming to have seen a 'small blonde' child and being pressurised to follow every lead up.  One might even say, they were being forced to 'look over there, not over here'. 

July 2007 (after dogs)
'police have told us they are looking for a live
child, and they have said that a lot'.

The 'establishment' would have us believe that Madeleine is lost because of the ineptitude of the Portuguese police.  Team McCann created the myth that the Portuguese police were trying to blame them in order to wrap the case up quickly and because they 'didn't want a murder' in Portugal.  Yet, whilst appearing to be working happily and in harmony with the Portuguese police, the McCanns were already planting stories in the press about the PJ's incompetence, ie.  'I see no helicopters' Gerry. For an example of their duplicity, we only have to look at the interviews they were giving at the time, Gerry's happy clappy blogs and what was really going on as told to us later in Kate's book, or as Blacksmith says, the longest suicide note in history. 

The spite continues and what 'hunt'?

It is the evil that lies a the heart of this conspiracy that sticks in my craw.  The pure spite of the campaign to destroy Goncalo Amaral, a man who has never stopped caring about the fate of their little girl. Yet the demonization of Goncalo continues, the British press gleefully brag about his downfall, cockahoop that a former policeman who was only doing his job is to be stripped of the few possessions he has remaining, to financially compensate parents who wilfully left their tiny children alone night and night, until one died, and who have no remorse about it whatsoever. 

It is an outrage on epic proportions and we need to respond with epic proportions, by arming Goncalo with the same resources as his persecutors.  A win for Goncalo Amaral is a win for Madeleine and for everyone who truly cares about her fate.  If the only way to win justice for Madeleine is through the Portuguese courts and faith in the goodness and fairness of the majority, then so be it.  The die has been caste. 

In its heyday the Find Madeleine website received 50million hits plus, from people all over the world who were touched by the plight of this little girl.  Most of those 50million have moved on, and quite rightly, but one man remains standing, one man who will never give up on Madeleine despite everything that is thrown at him.   One man who is prepared to challenge the establishments of Portugal and the UK and stand up for the real victim of this crime.  Goncalo is the stuff heroes are made of, a man ruled by truth, honour and integrity, willing to sacrifice everything (and he has) to carry out the task he was assigned. 

That little girl, who's face touched the hearts of millions is still missing and what happened to her is just as tragic now as it was 8 years ago but the wrong people are being blamed and persecuted.  Up until the death of Brenda Leyland, EVERYONE who criticised the McCann was included in the revenge list, the death dossier handed to Leicester police and Sky News.  Not believing the McCanns is probably as close to a criminal offence that most of us have ever committed, Brenda Leyland especially, and if the McCanns and their supporters have their way, we will all be in a dock facing a judge.  If we don't fight for our small freedoms, we won't have a hope when they take away the big ones.  This case is so much more than a missing child.

The abduction story has been kept alive through fear, intimidation and repetition. The majority who comment on the case do so anonymously, because they know their employers, friends, relatives and everyone they know will be informed of their 'disgraceful' behaviour and they will probably never find employment again.  That's how far the McCann Blacklist goes.  The McCann supporters are especially keen on outing people while guarding their own identities like East Berlin moles.  Clearly, they take no pride in what they do. 

The response to the appeal Fund set up in the UK by Leanne Baulch, has been incredible, in fact, awe inspiring.  Far from being a very small bunch of misfits, weirdos and trolls, the Fund has shown that the people of the UK and beyond (there are thousands) do not believe the abduction story and they finally have an outlet in which to voice their true opinions.  Those who still think this case can be covered up, no questions asked, are receiving a huge wake up call.  All those opinions blocked by the comments sections of the UK mainstream media finally have a place and the means with which to say 'I am not buying this crap' and the government and Operation Grange better be listening.  The press can call us trolls, backed up with a pile of legal bumpf, but we wear the label proudly, we are all trolls, we are all Spartacus, we will not be silenced. 

I think the fickle finger of fate chose wisely, though Goncalo may not agree at this time - perhaps when he writes his memoirs :) - because he stood up to the plate, he did the job he was trained to do and that he dedicated his life to and his bravery and refusal to roll over like so many others, stopped the false history of this urban legend dead in its tracks.  He deserves our support, and so too does Madeleine.

 

THE TRUTH OF THE LIE
the book the McCanns won't let you read 


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A SEA OF RED FACES

If and when the truth of Madeleine McCann's disappearance ever emerges, there will be a sea of red faces, especially among the experts who have so vehemently insisted Gerry and Kate are innocent of all wrongdoing based solely on their previous good characters.

Most of the Mainstream Media and the journalists who have reported on this case, can wriggle out of their obvious bias by claiming that it is not their job to fully investigate each case they report on, and that most updates on the case came from Team McCann.  There may even be legal restrictions on the reporting of this case that none of us know about and of course, the litigious nature of Mr and Mrs McCann would put most editors off - for them it isn't worth the risk, they are not current news - although kudos to them for staying 'current' for so long.

However, the journalists who have supported the McCanns, to the point where they too are insulting the public and joining in the call for all McCann critics to be criminalised will have a lot to explain when it comes to their own 'Oops I made a mistake' moment.  People like 'I can't do enough for you' Lorraine Kelly, 'Brenda Leyland is a fecked up bitch' Carole Malone, and 'Up yours Senor' Tony Parsons. Ooh, mustn't forget 'the lawless internet' Grace Dent.

Then of course, we have the police chiefs, the criminologists and the experts, all of whom will have to admit to being hoodwinked. And all of whom will have to acknowledge that their belief in the McCanns' innocence was based on nothing more than 'they couldn't possibly have done it, they are such nice people' thus making UK policing the laughing stock of the world.  And again, these law enforcers have proved that even in the 21st century, charity and religion is still an effective cover for wrong doing. Dickens must be spinning in his grave.  

Summers and Swan then entered the fray, writing an entire book dedicated to the innocence of the McCanns and their ongoing ordeal with 'haters' - a new word they hoped to introduce to the British lexicon to stir up the rabble.  Sadly for them, it has never caught on, Brenda Leyland wasn't an 'evil hater' she was a regular middle aged woman, not very different to most of the people who simply don't believe the McCann's abduction story.  Instead of making Brenda a figure of hatred and scorn, they turned her into a martyr.  The public reacted to the Sky rolling news story with anger and horror - not at Brenda's actions, but at the sadistic cruelty that allowed such a story to go ahead.  Summers and Swan are still smarting and trashing the dead woman's name in their update, but that auld hate bus they are driving has very few passengers, I suggest they invest in a bicycle made for two. 

Then we  have Mark Williams-Thomas, the child protection expert and the go to guy, when the media need a criminologist.  The well known Mr. MWT, who sat and had a chat with a murderer with the body of the victim directly above his head, produced a definitive report that bent over backwards, with a few side swivels and a couple of triple axels to establish once and for all that the McCanns didn't do it.  Got that?  And of course Donal MacIntyre, who's abductors were a team from Molly Maid, who not only took away the child, but cleaned up afterwards. 

But the star turn and straight 6 for consistency and determination, has to go to Jim Gamble, who's powerful, authoritative voice, not only tells you the McCanns are innocent, but he will have you in the dock and facing criminal charges if you say they are not! 

However, despite the 'authorities' spending the last 8 years telling the British public how innocent the McCanns are, a recent poll puts 96% of the population in the 'WTF's going on' category and of course the phenomenal support for Goncalo Amaral merely reinforces it.  http://www.gofundme.com/Legal-DefencePJGA

It seems to me, the public have paid £10m and rising, because a shower of egotists would rather go to the ends of the earth than admit they were wrong.  It would be funny if it were not so tragic. 

LABOUR NEED TO GO LEFT

THREE BLAND MEN
 

As the Labour party pieces together where they went wrong, they are once again overlooking the bleeding obvious.  They refuse to see what the audience see, the way in which the three main parties merged into one, all fighting for the centre ground and appealing to the same demographic. The most dynamic and popular leader to come out of the 2015 election, was the far left Nicola Sturgeon, her compassion and humanity gave her the X-factor, the public appeal, the generic grey men standing alongside her lacked. 

Such is the perpetual scuffle for the centre ground among the career politicians at Westminster, that society's most vulnerable have been completely abandoned by the main parties, they no longer have anyone to represent them.  The poor are being punished for the errors of the super rich and the public school boys are merely bickering over ways in which to do it.  The poor and the unemployed are units, a free and dispensable workforce to bounce back and forward over a net when the occasions calls. 

Blair, who I don't think anyone should ever trust again, is calling for Labour to return(?) to the centre ground, despite the fact that the traditional centre party, the Lib Dems, have been all but demolished.  In Scotland, the centre hugging Labour candidates have been ousted, and so successful was the SNP's anti austerity campaign, that if the UK had had an equivalent of Nicola Sturgeon, the Left (if there had been one) could have done the same. 

There is no need for austerity, the UK is one of the richest countries in the world - the 'austerity' is man made.  Following World Word II, the UK were able to found and build the National Health Service.  If the country were able to do this in 1947, at a time of extreme economic hardship, what are they wimpering about now?

The National Health Service not only improved the health of the nation, it created jobs in abundance, more jobs than the indigenous population could handle.  It was a philanthropic idea that made the UK one of the most progressive and admired countries in the world. 

At the moment we are still living under the last century's Methodist ideology that we should work until we drop, or at least scrub our doorsteps before dawn and break rocks if we haven't got anything better to do.  In order to remain righteous we must keep our noses to the grindstone - the devil makes work for idle hands and all that.

However, the truth is, technology has taken over most of the menial tasks that kept us occupied for 14 hours a day - which has left us with, schhh, don't say it out loud, lots of free time and no-one quite knows what to do with it, other than watch Britain's Got Talent (imported) and moan about the immigrants.

Up until a couple of days ago, we had 3 bland men discussing ways in which to squeeze everything possible economically out of the UK's citizens, and none, it seems putting forward ideas in which to improve their lives.  Ways in which to create employment and inspire young people to improve the world they live in.  They have come to a standstill, squabbling like Ebenezers over the pennies left in the dungeon's coffers, casually dismissing the deaths of the nation's most vulnerable people as economically worth it. 

In the 21st century, the UK should be investing in the nation's health, not cutting back!  A sick nation, creates a sick economy.  We should be building more hospitals with more advanced facilities and more advanced practitioners.  The health of the nation is rapidly declining, children born now are not expected to live as long as their parents. Obesity is endemic and the NHS is heading towards breaking point. The once proud flagship of Great Britain, built by brave, inspiring pioneers, is being torn to shreds by politicians who have completely lost the plot as to why it was established in the first place. 

Investing in health, education and leisure creates jobs (it's not a sin to have leisure time) - and it is jobs that give people money to spend and plough back into the economy.  Unemployment is a natural consequence of advances in technology, most of the traditional working class jobs no longer exist.  The only altruistic way forward is for the nation to invest in its most valuable resource - its people.  

At one time, Great Britain ruled the waves, it was at the forefront of the world for its advances in science, technology and education.  Now we 'can't afford it', we have reached the top and had to stop and that's what's bothering me. 

WHY I AM RELIEVED

 

As much as I hate the tories, I do feel a sense of relief today.  I'm afraid that picture of Gerry McCann with Harriet Harman and the Hacked Off campaign, is indelibly fixed in my mind.  So too the relationship between Jim Gamble and the Labour Party.  Under Labour he was head of CEOP and on course to run CEOP as a separate internet security organisation, with God knows what powers, Theresa May did at least bring a halt to that. 
 

Gamble's present ambition is to set up a team of vigilantes volunteers to watch the internet 24/7 to guard us against child predators.  He also wants a clampdown on internet trolls (now officially all non McCann believers) and wants them in a dock in front of a Judge.  I fear if Labour had won this election, quite a few of us would have had knocks on the door and our computers seized.

During 1999 and 2002, under the last Labour Government, Jim Gamble ran Operation Ore, a government sanctioned investigation launched as a result of a tip off from the US that credit cards were being used to purchase child pornography online.  In the UK 4,283 homes were raided, 140 children taken into care and an estimated 39 men committed suicide.  As it turned out, the majority of the credit cards had been used fraudulently, but in the UK 1,848 men were charged, whilst in the US (x5 bigger than UK), only 100 were charged. 

Being accused of being a  paedophile is a slow form of execution, it is something no man (or indeed woman) can ever recover from. The subject is so taboo that it breeds paranoia and fear - everyone is so afraid of being labelled that reasoned, logical debate is impossible.  It is much safer to join the crowds baying for blood, and destroy all pictures of your kids having a bath or in their bathing suits, than it is to point out the madness. 

There is an assumption that ALL adults see children as sexual beings, and even though it is an assumption that is grotesque and insulting, our society has accepted it as a given.  Schools no longer allow parents to film their children in nativity plays and cameras on the beach are obviously tools of the devil.  Concerned parents are now calling for lone adults to be banned from parks and play areas and smiling at a baby can get you a punch in the eye.  If these ideas were introduced to a primitive tribe, untainted by 'civilisation', they would spend a week laughing, and another, thinking how creepy we are.  

Sadly these fears have gripped the UK and have stolen our freedom and our childrens' freedom just as effectively as a government sanctioned coup. We are buying these fears because we love our children and we think we are protecting them.  But we are not protecting them, we are making them just as afraid as we are and we are moulding them into a conformist, model army.

We should be teaching our children to be strong resilient adults, not fearful wimps who need a big brother to look after them.  Yes, there is a darn good chance they will be called names on line, and come across a number of weirdos, but that's life!  If they need a panic button online, then they will also need one when they run down to the shops. 

  


Stop the McCanns' book burning:

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BANNING BOOKS IS ANOTHER FORM OF BULLYING

 



Even when the McCanns win, they lose.  Karma.  No enlightened 21st century citizen wants to see books burned, the thought of it sends shudders down everyone's spines.  All the McCanns' efforts to bury the truth have had the opposite effect, they only had to google 'Streisand' before they began their ill advised quest, it would have saved them a fortune and maybe even their reputations.  Ce la vie.  There were no triumphant speeches on the steps of Lisbon Court from Gerry and Kate and no congratulatory messages of support from all those prominent friends and journalists, just a chavvy gutterfest from their number one fan Antonella Lazzeri in the Sun. 

I don't want to attack the Labour Party, especially as another 5 years of tory misery looms, but to see top Ministers fighting for media control alongside Gerry McCann, chills me to the bone.  I can see why Labour teamed up with the McCanns, they are the epitome of the modern British family.  They didn't send any government spokesmen or child protection officers to Karen Matthews door to assist her.  Nor did anyone give a flying one about what was said about her in her press in that intervening period while the world scorned wept with her.  A time at which the McCanns were being flooded with cash and worldwide sympathy.  It is a class issue, and all very PLU (People Like Us), the fantasy abduction is a direct threat to the middle classes, the 'we all do it' ones who leave their kids in hotel rooms.  If it could happen to perfect parents like Kate and Gerry, it could happen to them.  They are simplistic thinkers at heart.

Gerry and Kate McCann, the eminent cardiologist and his fragrant wife were the right victims, at the right time.  What they wanted, the Labour Party wanted too, a DNA database of all its citizens and a government sanctioned enforcement agency to police the internet 24/7 under the guise of seeking out paedophiles and perverts.  Cherubic, under fours it seems are in constant danger of being snatched from their beds by introverted computer geeks and sociaphobes who sneak out after dark to prowl holiday complexes, they have to do a lot of prowling, as only a special child will do.  It is only with a specialised police force watching child pornography day and night, that they can prevent child abuse apparently.  Meanwhile, over 90% of abuse victims continue to suffer within their own homes.

The McCanns quickly picked up on Amber Alert - is it a good thing?  I don't know, its a good way of collecting every new born baby's DNA, and a good way to enforce stricter border controls and keep track of the population.  As for finding missing kids, hard to tell.  Apparently enough children go missing every year to fill a large inner city comprehensive, yeh, who knew? 

Kate and Gerry also quickly took advantage of the ridiculous libel laws both here in the UK and in Portugal to silence ANYONE who did not believe their fairy tale abduction story, the most dangerous among them, the detective who led the original investigation.  Probably the most litigious bereft parents in the world, the McCanns couldn't let their hatred of Goncalo Amaral go.  What they really hate is the truth, they want the internet silenced to protect their children.  What about the children of Goncalo Amaral?  How do you think they might feel at reading Lazerri's 'Monster' article?  Once again, those screaming the loudest, have given it the least thought. 

To politicians I would say, beware the McCanns, they will take you down with them, of that you can be sure.  I hate to be the one to point this out, but whoever selected (or did they push themselves forward?) Gerry and Kate to head Hacked Off, guaranteed their cause would be doomed. And thank all the Gods there may for that. 

This book burning triumph of the McCanns can and should be condemned by free thinkers, those who care passionately about Freedom of Speech.  There is a malevolent force at the heart of this 'child' abduction case, a force that is ruthlessly pushing to restrict Freedom of Speech everywhere, online especially.  They have already succeeded in keeping The Truth of the Lie from the UK, and made an example of an innocent member of the public who dared to criticise them.  Right now, they are being financially rewarded for their book burning, journalist jailing, pursuits while a decent detective who  has never faltered in his duty to the victim, is forced to hand over all his worldly goods to the former suspects!  How obscene is that?

This case is much, much more than a missing child, this case is a threat to Freedom of Speech in the UK.  The Truth of the Lie has never been available in the UK, we must ask why?  Who is powerful enough to prevent the publication of a book and the screening of a documentary? 

Instead of answering or confronting the allegations made against them, the parents have ducked, dived and dodged the questions and the lie detectors.  Their church going and medical professions should be enough, they are very much up there in the 'how dare the plebs' zone, the God Complex in action.

They have begged the world again and again for help and cash (especially cash), yet they didn't publicise Smithman (they couldn't afford it, £4m not enough) and wouldn't take part in the Scotland Yard reconstruction.  The only thing they enter with any degree of enthusiasm, is litigation with the promise of a fat pay cheque for their Fund (to be spent as they wish). 

Meanwhile, all criticism of them must be stamped out.  Examples must be made, 'trolls' (now officially all non McCann believers) must be tracked down and placed in a dock before a Judge.  This is the Britain of Gerry McCann, Jim Gamble and every arse licking politician and journalist who dances to the McCann tune.  Before you vote next week, ask your prospective MP if they will pushing for a crackdown on the internet trolls, sheriff style and news stories censored by those with the biggest coffers?  Ask if they agree with books being removed from shelves and burned? 

I have written to Harriet Harman and Yvette Cooper.  I haven't received a reply from either of them, and don't really expect to, but if they get in, I will be watching their child protection initiatives with great interest.  I would especially like to see if they are planning any more dawn raids on the public Operation Ore style (again).   

 
Support Freedom of Speech.  Support Goncalo Amaral, the only man standing up to this huge injustice. 

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GROUNDHOG DAY

As no-one else appears to be as delighted as Kate and Gerry McCann are at their recent battering of a diligent, hard working, former cop, there has been a quick change of tack.  Kate is now more driven than ever to find her daughter, and, gawd 'elp us, more driven than ever to prove just how innocent she and her husband are.  Like Savile and Armstrong, she puts her face atop a charity.  If she was genuinely philanthropic, she would run out to Nepal, where her abandoned medical training could be put to good use. 

Of course Kate is more driven, she has to be.  At some point she and her husband may have to (officially) mount a very large legal defence. The McCanns have surrounded themselves with lawyers since May 2007, and not just the run of the mill High Street ones, but the UK's biggest guns, and they don't come cheap.  Kate is driven to win the public onside, if and when the time comes, she wants rioting in the streets and a huge backlash against anyone mean enough to ask her questions. 

Now, having 'won' their libel case, would be a good time for the McCanns to abandon all that makes them miserable (negative publicity) and give their surviving kids some kind of normality.  The past 8 years of their childhood has been dominated by the spectre of their missing sister. I pity them, I truly do, it seems not one adult around them is prepared to stop the insanity.  The world and it's dog have done everything humanly possible to find Madeleine, and if it weren't for the fact that Kate and Gerry know she will never be found, the same too could be said of them.  The McCanns have shamelessly exploited their kids, even going so far as naming and quoting her son during the libel trial.  Those poor kids will forever be known for the tragedy that engulfs them and their family, because not one of them is functional enough to let the crazy, money spinning machine, that is their dead sister, go. 

The McCann twins cannot be protected from what is said on the internet, no child, or even adult can.  Every time we log on we risk seeing something that might offend/distress us, its a chance we take.  The same thing happens when we step outside our front doors.  How the hell do you legislate against it?  What is offensive to one person is not necessarily offensive to another?  And who is to judge what is offensive?  Do we really want a panel of moral arbiters?  People like the late Mary Whitehouse, Jim Gamble and Tony Bennett?  That is, the only people likely to volunteer for the job? 

People who need to be protected when they go online should probably avoid it for their own sanity.  Oddballs and deranged stalkers exist in all walks of life, including, surprise, surprise, on the internet.  The cyber world is not that different from the real world and just as we cannot keep our babies safely secured in a basinet for 18 years, we cannot clean up the net sheriff style so it is safe for them to go on. 

The ONLY effective protection the McCann children can have, must come from their parents and from within the home.  We cannot stop kids seeing stuff, but we can make them strong and confident enough to handle it.  For their children, the kindest thing the parents could do now would be to focus ALL their attention on them.  Pack away the shrine that is Madeleine's bedroom and put all the posters and tat in the bin. No kids should have to live with that kind of shadow over them, it has gone way beyond the creepy stage.   

As for the cycle ride?  Again, Kate has taken up a time consuming and very public crusade that takes her away from her kids, one that satisfies her needs (fame and glory) and not those of her children (love and attention).  It has been leitmotif thoughout, why am I surprised.  

It must be galling for the McCanns that they cannot fundraise for themselves (and they were so good at it) while Operation Grange continues.  It would be a bit like saying 'thanks guys, but we better build a nest egg for when you fail'.  The McCanns and Clarence obviously don't have much faith in Scotland Yard if they are preparing to launch a private investigation of their own when OG reaches an unsatisfactory 'end'.

At the moment they have more than enough money to continue 'searching' for Madeleine the rest of their lives, even if it only means an annual trip to PDL to hand out photographs - eg. the kind of stuff parents of other missing kids do, but minus the £1m the McCanns have to spare in their bank account.  Those loony enough to believe that they can 'spot' a generic, white female child aged 12 out of the millions around the globe will carry on regardless.  Though of course, not wanting to restrict the search too much, the parents and their little helpers covered the 'white' aspect by also giving us an 'Asian' Maddie. 

From this

To, yeh, still speechless after all these years

 

The McCanns clearly don't need money,  and they are unique in having a Scotland Yard task force working exclusively on their case with a seemingly open cheque book. A task force that have publicly stated that Madeleine might be dead.  Far more damning to the 'search' for a live Madeleine than anything said by Goncalo Amaral, or indeed any of us.  It's straight from the horse's (or should that be dog's) mouth.  Or can the McCanns sue Scotland Yard and the individual cops involved?  In which case, now would be a good time for them to safeguard their pensions.   

I would say Kate is more driven now because she has to be.  She is in a prison of her own making and the walls are closing in.  The verdict from Lisbon didn't go down well, it comes across as greedy and obscene in the face of all the help the McCanns have had.  Other than their (paid?) spokesman and Jim Gamble, very few if any share in their delight at ruining a former detective who was only doing his job.  I wonder if they got a congratulatory bouquet from the officers at Operation Grange?

Pat Brown has made a lot of fair points in her recent blog but she is taking an empirical stance - that is, she is judging this case on her own personal knowledge and experience, and of course 'the state' she refers to is the USA.  Whilst I agree one country's 'state' is much like another, there are enormous cultural and ethical differences.  I prefer the much more open US system btw, but such is life.

The case of missing Madeleine McCann however is unique.  Yes, I know there are other cases with many similar traits - the Jonbenet Ramsey case being a good example of rich, influential parents avoiding criminal charges and redirecting the blame elsewhere.  However, the parents of Madeleine became rich and influential through the loss of their daughter, they are nouveau riche, the kind of people (secretly) despised by the landed gentry, those who have worked their socks off for their own fortunes, and of course the snobs.  Welcomed into the inner circles at the height of their fame, their arguido status and bizarre behaviour has turned them into social pariahs.  And lets call a spade a spade, they just aren't likeable.  John and Patsy Ramsey were far more sophisticated and eloquent than Gerry and Kate, and they never had to rely on fundraising to keep their campaign going. And from a psychopathy perspective, the UK version are hindered by their extreme love of public attention - they simply cannot keep away from the click of the camera and opportunities to give their enemies the finger. They are arrogant and reckless, it is only a matter of time before it all catches up with them. 

As for Operation Grange, there appears to be no will to prosecute this case, it has dragged on far too long.  However, the idea that 38 homicide detectives have spent 3, or is it 4 years covering up the death of a child is pretty hard to accept.  I know it has been explained, they are all assigned different tasks etc, but they are human beings and they walk, talk and interact.  In order for this to be a cover up, each and every one of these detectives must swear to some sort of lifetime pact, that they will never reveal their true agenda.  I am not even going to bother listing all those higher up the chain of command, obviously they too must be in on it. But the ordinary cops?  Seriously?  Not one avenger of the victim among them?

To me it seems as though Pat, in reaching her conclusions is not allowing for human nature.  Cops are not (as yet) automatons ruled by the State.  I am sure many of the detectives working on this 'disappearance' are mothers, fathers, perhaps even grandparents.  All I am sure, joined the police to protect the innocent, not the guilty, and it would take one hell of a leap for 38 of them to jump over to the dark side.  From an economic and 'the fewer people who know the better' perspective, a task force half that size could have wiped this clean in half the time and made the spider's web more manageable.  And of course Teresa May, David Cameron and bff Rebekah Brookes had no need to respond to the McCanns' desperate plea in the first place!  They could easily have said no, and missing Madeleine would have become yesterday's news. 

The investigation hasn't done the McCanns any favours, Scotland Yard haven't cleared the parents, on the contrary, support for the McCanns and their Fund is at an all time low.  Crimewatch made them appear more guilty, not less, especially when a dead ringer for Gerry was flashed across the screen

Pat is right of course in many of the things she says, and on occasion I feel torn myself.  However, Operation Grange opened with a fanfare and they have, I think, been transparent in telling the public the costs.  If Clarence is correct and the investigation will end - they will have to produce a report on their findings, and simply saying neither the parents or their friends are suspects, just won't cut the mustard.  They have spent around £10m, and they are a public service - they are accountable.  OK, they may not be accountable to the extent of publishing their files online, but they will have to tell us the result, and how they got to it.  

In comparing the Madeleine case to others in the US, Pat is overlooking the fact that an official investigation into this child's disappearance has been opened (top off worm can) with 38 homicide detectives assigned to work on this case and nothing else.  That never happened with the Jonbenet case for example, it went cold, apart from the work of private detectives hired by the Ramseys to find a likely suspect (yes that too rings bells). 

Operation Grange is an official investigation, sanctioned by the UK Government and carried out by public service employees.  Contrary to popular belief, we still live in a democracy where questions can and should be asked in the Houses of Parliament.  We are probably going about this all wrong, we should be tackling our Members of Parliament individually and getting them to ask the right questions on our behalf.

Having said that, we haven't really got a clue what is going on.  Operation Grange may be playing a very cool and calculated game, who knows. If they are, kudos, they have had my head spinning on many occasions, I would hate to be in a suspect's shoes. We should at least await the outcome before condemning the investigation and attacking the people working on it, that is just wrong on every level. I have to say, I have always been uncomfortable with Bennett sending off reams of bumf to Operation Grange and continually pestering them for answers to questions that are none of his bleddy business, the man's a menace. 

Looking at the bigger picture, the case may well be dragging on because so many people are involved and perhaps cases must be made against each individual before any pouncing can begin.  That is one possibility.  The case of Jonbenet never went to trial, because the Prosecution simply wasn't convinced they had enough evidence for a conviction, if that happened the Ramseys would walk, and never be put on trial again, eg. Casey Anthony. 
 
If Scotland Yard have to abandon the investigation because they don't have enough evidence, it still won't be the end of it, just as it wasn't the end of it when the PJ shelved their files.  The fact is, there are hundreds of cases worldwide where suspects remain free for years and even decades, because the police simply do not have enough evidence to prosecute. This is Gerry's mantra, there's nooooooo evidence.  And it is not just rich people who 'get off' either, there are examples of poor parents swanning it too, while the police remain powerless.  Its not always political - though I fear this one is. 

Whether or not the McCanns will be prosecuted this time around is not the same as the sky falling in.  For the rest of us the world continues to turn, we are free to start new ventures or pick up where we left off with old ones.  Kate and Gerry and indeed all of their entourage meanwhile are trapped in a particularly nasty groundhog day. For the short tempered Kate, retelling the flimsy 'moment I knew she was taken' story over and over clearly pushes her patience to the limit, you just know 'ffs' is on the tip of her tongue.  Gerry too has failed to inspire the masses to march against the media moguls. Now he cuts an isolated and bitter figure, his stop the press campaign falling on deaf and extremely alarmed ears.  No-one wants his and his wife's book burning, nor do they want the McCanns' form of extreme retribution, Brenda Leyland style.

Of course Kate is more driven, probably Gerry too, though yet again he hides sheepishly in the background while his wife tests the water.  They can both run, cycle, hop, skip and jump, they are still not fooling anyone. They know Maddie can't be found, so what is that drives them?