Welcome to the Twilight Zone

Once again, I have to offer appologies for another embarassing cock-up performed by the Portuguese...
Last time was the re-election of 'Socrates-gate' - the number one 'suspect' in Portugal of interfering with Madeleine McCann's investigation (among other suspicions); this time, yesterdays' ignoranous decision by a Judge to uphold the BAN on Gonçalo Amaral's book and his DVD... and if that wasn't already too much, he is FORBIDDEN of EXPRESSING his views on the subject of Madeleine McCann...

How to explain that? Well, anyone who can find a good reason to ban books and stifle someone, isn't really a friend of Democracy and Free Speech, if you ask me; but nowadays, not many people give a flying-fudge about these things. Some even don't call this censorship... How to explain this?...

Anyway, the Judge based her decision NOT on what was shown in court, but on what wasn't shown... confused? Well, there you go. When you don't have a solid fundament to justify your decision, make one up!
The Judge was quoted by the Press and by the McCann's Lawyer, stating that she has read the files of the case, in full, as presented by the M.P.; and she found that G.Amaral's defense only called witneses who shared his theory... still confused?

Well, seems like this is the first case in the world where you're supposed to call witnesses that actually will not help you or even support the other contender.
Nevermind what the witnesses you called said; what the Judge cares is what the others you din't call have to say... get it now?

Not only that but the Judge also issued her own opinion, stating that as an ex-cop, G.Amaral should have kept some 'reserve' about what happened during the investigation that he was leading in 2007...
I don't think ex-cops are bound by trade-secrecy... that would also defeit the purpose of his book, which was to clear his name and provide his side of the story, because as we know, his supperiors were to 'reserved' to do so...

Did you get it now? Well, if not, take comfort that this is not a permanent ban - that will come later (just kidding but it could become dead serious if the McCanns win their coming Law Suit against G.Amaral).

While the Portuguese watch every day on the news their Prime Minister claiming his innocense and reporters complaining of herassment and pressures, they just shrug their shoulders and eat another sardine.
Over to you again, UK -  the ball is on your field... hope you can do better than us...

The Good, The Bad and the Will it Ever End...

Sergio Leone's 'Western Spaghetti' classics have a new, much more lame, sequel - the 'Western Sardine' Trilogy... Warning: This vid is PG Rated - Parental Guidance recommended and TALAWFPRMC - Think And Let Authorities Work Freely, Re-open Madeleine's Case.

My way of marking the 1000 days Madeleine has been missing... and the show must go on...

Another McCanns' PR Disaster

Breaking News: The long-herald "embarrassment for Portugal" is finally upon us... PR, slash, Bouncer, slash, Jackass, proves that nothing good comes out from under every rock the McCanns (un)turn.

In contrast, Gonçalo Amaral was composed and relaxed.
And Martin Brunt's a true gentleman. Just like PJGA's spokesperson, Luis Arriaga.
Even the lady in the hat comes out looking good, next to that brute PR man.
And she was making more sense too.

Who Let the Dogs Out?

It's staggering to think all of this started with a little girl going missing...
It seems nothing is sacred.
Jill's mother, trust, responsibility... and so many other things that are supposed to be worth something...

Everybody needs to take a step back and think.
Who is really profiting from all of this? Many people, including the media. This sorry-ass affair has become a reality show; one of the worst kind.
Just say "In the name of Maddie" and you have carte-blanch for anything apparently.

When will people wake up and realize that there is just too much noise, too much cacophony going on in public, because there is a defening silence on the only stage where this case should be unfolding: the legal, official investigation, which must be allowed to continue, independent and unpolluted?

I am new at this but still can see my reflection in the mirror.
I know when to back off.
I suggest others do the same.
Peace on Earth to men of good will.

You're NO Sherlock...

The following are quotes from a new SE article:

“It is astonishing and disgraceful that the Portuguese have not assigned a specific team to scrutinise leads which could provide a breakthrough in the world’s biggest child abduction case.


“It is frankly outrageous that the parents of this poor child should be hiring private detectives to conduct an investigation which should have been taken on by the Yard in the first place."

Who else thinks this dude has a bug up his arse?

If this news are true (coming from such "reliable" source as James Murray, "Investigations Editor") =)) then Dai Davies needs to be informed that it's up to the McCann to ask the re-opening of the case; spending money on PI's has nothing to do with the PJ and quite frankly, he sounds like an idiot.

What kind of cop he is/was, if he doesn't even have a clue of what he's going on about?

As a man he can't be much as well, given the disrespectful way he addresses foreign colleagues.

He's got to be a disgruntled Everton fan (lost to Benfica 7-NILL on aggregate) :))

The only bit I agree, is that the Investigation should and must be re-opened.

Blitz This

Amazing how little you need to say the truth.
Some paper, a pen, and to have nothing to hide.

Not the Bloody McCanns on the Telly Again

Ye, but this time has a "happy ending"... the problem with lying is that sometimes the truth slips out....
Spot the Differences - will you go with the "if we say it many times, then has to be true", or with the "highly specialized trained dogs that are worth more than your friggin flat screen TV"?
Undecided? Let the professionals decdide for you the - make the McCanns re-open the Investigation like it's their right and obligation!

Happy Horrid Halloween - Warning! This May Traumatise You!

Two of my favourite worse things put together - crappy food and crappy people.

Just awful.

Have you ever seen 'grieving victims' so happy-go-meal?

No wonder so many people still gobble up their baloney - people stuff theemselves with crappy food all the time! But it's not alaways peoples's fault; that's what they are fed by the media and by the best advertising money can buy...

This must be two-for-one night. Two tasteless big macs for the price one. But you know that's money wasted - that's not real food, you'll be better off with a nice curry.

Adding Insult to Injury

Shameless cnts! This is bleeding outrageous!

Just stop being obnoxious - if you don't want to come clean, at least have the decency to shut the f. up!

REAL concerned parents cooperate with the Police! 

If my dog, my wallet, my friggin favourite t-shirt was missing, I'd want all the plods in the world on the case, and all the CSIs as well!

I'd gladly do a reconstruction and would make anyone else involved do it as well, at gunpoint if I had to!

Just re-open the investigation once and for all and cut the bull! See my poll on top, the people have spoken!

 
I do agree with one thing though - "If you stay quiet you are as guilty as those who took her". - Thanks to the Smith family, we know who took her, Gerry; and we won't stay quiet. Rest on that.

The Satanic Book

"Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it."

George Santayana had one of those "stating the obvious" moments when he engraved this famous sentence for posterity.
The problem with the obvious is that it's so on your face, that we miss it completely.

Let me refresh your memory. A few decades ago, Salman Rushdie, a rather unknown British-Indian writer, wrote a book that incensed the Islamic world. It wasn't a great book, but that's not why so many Muslims were angered by it; the book, suggestively called the Satanic Verses, offended the exacerbated sensibility of the Muslims, or so it was claimed.

To make a long story short, there was such a fury over Salman's book, that a Fatwa (sort of a summary death sentence decreed by an Islamic religious authority) was declared on him.

From that moment on, wherever he was, his life was in danger.
Since Salman Rushdy was a British citizen, and in view of the Freedom of Expression right, a value that the then British government held in the highest regard (or maybe for some other more prosaic reason), Her Majesty's Governmeny offered unconditional protection to Salmon Rushdy, exposing itself to the anger of the fundamentalists. However, the British Gov. did not bow down to the pressure, and rightly so.

Many years passed, we have the negative of that picture.
A foreign author is being demonised by some British fundamentalists, and no government is lifting a finger to uphold the once so dear Freedom of Expression...   Why?...

In Portugal, just a few days ago, one respected and well-known Poet/Politician, Manuel Alegre - who had been arrested by the Political Police in his youth, during the old regime, and later forced into exile - came out to speak in defence of Portuguese Nobel Prize Winner, Jose Saramago, whom, on his recent book "Cain", calls the Bible a "book of mischief" and God a "son-of-a-bitch"; fair enough - there was of course some controversy (he should try that with Islam), but nothing comparable to that hot Summer of 2007... and do you think Manuel Alegre or anyone else defended Gonçalo Amaral and his right of free expression? Obviously not. Why not?!

Could it be that these two governments have made a pact to perpetuate a convinient lie?
A lie to hide something that is more dangerous for them than an angry mob shouting "Death to the West", on every street, from Honslow to Islamabad? Maybe one day we'll find out.

Speaking of which, more fluff back in the news. Now we are hearing from the underworld of crime - not so much the Merseyside Sopranos, more of a Desperate Housewives of Liverpool - gangstas...

Right. It would be great to see the rat-pack direct their attentions to Morrocco again, or even better, to Algeria - maybe they will get on someone's nerves down there as well, step on a few toes, insult Islam, and a Fatwa is cast on them... inchAlá! ;D

Uncle Am. Needs You!

As Obama says, "the time for words/games has passed".

Things are getting tough for Gonçalo Amaral, and when things get tough, the tough get going.

It's time citizens do their part and tell the powers that be, that we the people, demand a fair representation of the facts about the Madeleine disappearance, and we will stand up for our civic rights, such as free expression!

We all know that this stopped being about Madeleine, the minute her parents began marketing her missing daughter as a brand. Recent events are the living prove that this is a Marketing campaign that involves lots of money and is being anchored on the media.

Most of the success they have enjoyed so far, comes from the fact that they have been portrayed has victims, while the few brave ones, mediatic enough to stand in their way, have been singled out and labeled as "loonies", "twisted", "heartless", "disgraced", etc. the list goes on forever...

What I believe is that we need to show our strength in numbers; that we want a fair representations of the facts and we are standing up for our civic rights. If they can come up with strategies to play the media game, well, two can play that game, right?
Who's crazy enough to be with me? Join us!
You may email me with confidentiality here, as well.

You Shuttapa Your Face!!!

WTF is going on? No bloody way some stuck up foreigners will tell me what I can or not say, read, etc. and whatnot!!!

I actually think Mark Hollingsworth can stick his opinion of the Portuguese Police up his arse, but fair enough, it's his opinion and he's entitled to it! So, if anyone has a problem with this article, take it up with Mark Hollingsworth and stick your gag up yours too!!!

NO TO CENSORSHIP!!!!!!!!!!!!


Mark Hollingsworth Investigates The McCann Files


Disillusioned with the Portuguese police, Gerry and Kate McCann turned to private detectives to find their missing daughter. Instead the efforts of the private eyes served only to scare off witnesses, waste funds and raise false hopes. Mark Hollingsworth investigates the investigators.


by Mark Hollingsworth*



It was billed as a ‘significant development’ in the exhaustive search for Madeleine McCann. At a recent dramatic press conference in London, the lead private investigator David Edgar, a retired Cheshire detective inspector, brandished an E-FIT image of an Australian woman, described her as ‘a bit of a Victoria Beckham lookalike’, and appealed for help in tracing her. The woman was seen ‘looking agitated’ outside a restaurant in Barcelona three days after Madeleine’s disappearance. ‘It is a strong lead’, said Edgar, wearing a pin-stripe suit in front of a bank of cameras and microphones. ‘Madeleine could have been in Barcelona by that point. The fact the conversation took place near the marina could be significant.’



But within days reporters discovered that the private detectives had failed to make the most basic enquiries before announcing their potential breakthrough. Members of Edgar’s team who visited Barcelona had failed to speak to anyone working at the restaurant near where the agitated woman was seen that night, neglected to ask if the mystery woman had been filmed on CCTV cameras and knew nothing about the arrival of an Australian luxury yacht just after Madeleine vanished.



The apparent flaws in this latest development were another salutary lesson for Kate and Gerry McCann, who have relied on private investigators after the Portuguese police spent more time falsely suspecting the parents than searching for their daughter. For their relations with private detectives have been frustrating, unhappy and controversial ever since their daughter’s disappearance in May 2007.



The search has been overseen by the millionaire business Brian Kennedy, 49, who set up Madeleine’s Fund: Leaving No Stone Unturned, which aimed ‘to procure that Madeleine’s abduction is thoroughly investigated’. A straight-talking, tough, burly self-made entrepreneur and rugby fanatic, he grew up in a council flat near Tynecastle in Scotland and was brought up as a Jehovah’s Witness. He started his working life as a window cleaner and by 2007 had acquired a £350 million fortune from double-glazing and home-improvement ventures. Kennedy was outraged by the police insinuations against the McCanns and, though a stranger, worked tirelessly on their behalf. ‘His motivation was sincere,’ said someone who worked closely with him. ‘He was appalled by the Portuguese police, but he also had visions of flying in by helicopter to rescue Madeleine.’



Kennedy commissioned private detectives to conduct an investigation parallel to the one run by the Portuguese police. But his choice showed how dangerous it is when powerful and wealthy businessmen try to play detective. In September 2007, he hired Metodo 3, an agency based in Barcelona, on a six-month contract and paid it an estimated £50,000 a month. Metodo 3 was hired because of Spain’s ‘language and cultural connection’ with Portugal. ‘If we’d had big-booted Brits or, heaven forbid, Americans, we would have had doors slammed in our faces’ said Clarence Mitchell, spokesperson for the McCann’s at the time. ‘And it’s quite likely that we could have been charged with hindering the investigation as technically it’s illegal in Portugal to undertake a secondary investigation.



The agency had 35 investigators working on the case in Britain, France, Spain, Portugal and Morocco. A hotline was set up for the public to report sightings and suspicions, and the search focussed on Morocco. But the investigation was dogged by over-confidence and braggadocio. ‘We know who took Madeleine and hope she will be home by Christmas,’ boasted Metodo 3’s flamboyant boss Francisco Marco. But no Madeleine materialised and their contract was not renewed.



Until now, few details have emerged about the private investigation during those crucial early months, but an investigation by ES shows that key mistakes were made, which in turn made later enquiries far more challenging.



ES has spoken to several sources close to the private investigations that took place in the first year and discovered that:



•The involvement of Brian Kennedy and his son Patrick in the operation was counter-productive, notably when they were questioned by the local police for acting suspiciously while attempting a 24-hour ‘stake out’.

•The relationship between Metodo 3 and the Portuguese police had completely broken down.

•Key witnesses were questioned far too aggressively, so much so that some of them later refused to talk to the police.

•Many of the investigators had little experience of the required painstaking forensic detective work.

By April 2008, nearing the first anniversary of the disappearance, Kennedy and the McCanns were desperate. And so when Henri Exton, a former undercover police officer who worked on M15 operations, and Kevin Halligen, a smooth-talking Irishman who claimed to have worked for covert British government intelligence agency GCHQ, walked through the door, their timing was perfect. Their sales pitch was classic James Bond spook-talk: everything had to be ‘top secret’ and ‘on a need to know basis’. The operation would involve 24-hour alert systems, undercover units, satellite imagery and round-the-clock surveillance teams that would fly in at short notice. This sounded very exiting but, as one source close to the investigation told ES, it was also very expensive and ultimately unsuccessful. ‘The real job at hand was old-fashioned, tedious, forensic police work rather than these boy’s own, glory boy antic,’ he said.



But Kennedy was impressed by the license-to-spy presentation and Exton and Halligen were hire for a fee of £100,000 per month plus expenses. Ostensibly, the contract was with Halligen’s UK security company, Red Defence International Ltd, and an office was set up in Jermyn Street, in St James’s. Only a tiny group of employees did the painstaking investigative work of dealing with thousands of emails and phone calls. Instead, resources were channelled into undercover operations in paedophile rings and among gypsies throughout Europe, encouraged by Kennedy. A five-man surveillance team was dispatched in Portugal, overseen by the experienced Exton, for six weeks.



Born in Belgium in 1951, Exton had been a highly effective undercover officer for the Manchester police. A maverick and dynamic figure, he successfully infiltrated gangs of football hooligans in the 1980’s. While not popular among his colleagues, in 1991 he was seconded to work on MI5 undercover operations against drug dealers, gangsters and terrorists, and was later awarded the Queen’s Police Medal for ‘outstanding bravery’. By all accounts, the charismatic Exton was a dedicated officer. But in November 2002, the stress appeared to have overcome his judgement when he was arrested for shoplifting.



While working on an MI5 surveillance, Exton was caught leaving a tax-free shopping area at Manchester airport with a bottle of perfume he had not paid for. The police were called and he was given the option of the offence being dealt with under caution or to face prosecution. He chose a police caution and so in effect admitted his guilt. Exton was sacked, but was furious about the way he had been treated and threatened to sue MI5. He later set up his own consulting company and moved to Bury in Lancashire.



While Exton, however flawed, was the genuine article as an investigator, Halligen was a very different character. Born in Dublin in 1961, he has been described as a ‘Walter Mitty figure’. He used false names to collect prospective clients at airports in order to preserve secrecy, and he called himself ‘Kevin’ or ‘Richard’ or ‘Patrick’ at different times to describe himself to business contacts. There appears to be no reason for all this subterfuge except that he thought this was what agents did. A conspiracy theorist and lover of the secret world, he is obsessed by surveillance gadgets and even installed a covert camera to spy on his own employees. He claimed to have worked for GCHQ, but in fact he was employed by the Atomic Energy Authority (AEA) as head of defence systems in the rather less glamorous field of new information technology, researching the use of ‘special batteries’. He told former colleagues and potential girlfriends that he used to work for MI5, MI6 and the CIA. He also claimed that he was nearly kidnapped by the IRA, was involved in the first Gulf War and had been a freefall parachutist.



Very little of this is true. What is true is that Halligen has a degree in electronics, worked on the fringes of the intelligence community while at AEA and does understand government communications. He could also be an astonishingly persuasive, engaging and charming individual. Strikingly self-confident and articulate, he could be generous and clubbable. ‘He was very good company but only when it suited him’ says one friend. He kept people in compartments.’



After leaving the AEA, Halligen set up Red Defence International Ltd as an international security and political risk company, advising clients on the risks involved in investing and doing business in unstable, war-torn and corrupt countries. He worked closely with political risk companies and was a persuasive advocate of IT security. In 2006, he struck gold when hired by Trafigura, the Dutch commodities trading company. Executives were imprisoned in the Ivory Coast after toxic waste was dumped in landfills near its biggest city Abidjan. Trafigura was blamed and hired Red Defence International at vast expense to help with the negotiations to release its executives. A Falcon business jet was rented for several months during the operation and it was Halligen’s first taste of the good life. The case only ended when Trafigura paid $197 million to the government of the Ivory Coast to secure the release of the prisoners.



Halligen made a fortune from Trafigura and was suddenly flying everywhere first-class, staying at the Lansborough and Stafford hotels in London and The Willard hotel in Washington DC for months at a time. In 2007 he set up Oakley International Group and registered at the offices of the prestigious law firm Patton Boggs, in Washington DC, as an international security company. He was now strutting the stage as a self-proclaimed international spy expert and joined the Special Forces Club in Knightsbridge, where he met Exton.



During the Madeleine investigation, Halligen spent vast amounts of time in the HeyJo bar in the basement of the Abracadabra Club near his Jermyn Street office. Armed with a clutch of unregistered mobile phones and a Blackberry, the bar was in effect his office. ‘He was there virtually the whole day,’ a former colleague told ES. ‘He had an amazing tolerance for alcohol and a prodigious memory and so occasionally he would have amazing bursts of intelligence, lucidity and insights. They were very rare but they did happen.’



When not imbibing in St James’s, Halligen was in the United States, trying to drum up investors for Oakley International. On 15 August 2008, at the height of the McCann investigation crisis, he persuaded Andre Hollis, a former US Drug enforcement agency official, to write out an $80.000 cheque to Oakley in return for a ten per cent share-holding. The money was then transferred into the private accounts of Halligen and his girlfriend Shirin Trachiotis to finance a holiday in Italy, according to Hollis. In a $6 million lawsuit filed in Fairfax County, Virginia, Hollis alleges that Halligen ‘received monies for Oakley’s services rendered and deposited the same into his personal accounts’ and ‘repeatedly and systematically depleted funds from Oakley’s bank accounts for inappropriate personal expenses’.



Hollis was not the only victim. Mark Aspinall, a respected lawyer who worked closely with Halligen, invested £500,000 in Oakley and lost the lot. Earlier this year he filed a lawsuit in Washington DC against Halligen claiming $1.4 million in damages. The finances of Oakley International are in chaos and numerous employees, specialist consultants and contractors have not been paid. Some of them now face financial ruin.



Meanwhile, Exton was running the surveillance teams in Portugal and often paying his operatives upfront, so would occasionally be out-of-pocket because Halligen had not transferred funds. Exton genuinely believed that progress was being made and substantial and credible reports on child trafficking were submitted. But by mid-August 2008, Kennedy and Gerry McCann were increasingly concerned by an absence of details of how the money was being spent. At one meeting, Halligen was asked how many men constituted a surveillance team and he produced a piece of paper on which he wrote ‘between one and ten’. But he then refused to say how many were working and how much they were being paid.



While Kennedy and Gerry McCann accepted that the mission was extremely difficult and some secrecy was necessary, Halligen was charging very high rates and expenses. And eyebrows were raised when all the money was paid to Oakley International, solely owned and managed by Halligen. One invoice, seen by ES, shows that for ‘accrued expenses to May 5, 2008’ (just one month into the contract), Oakley charged $74,155. The ‘point of contact’ was Halligen who provided a UK mobile telephone number.



While Kennedy was ready to accept Halligen at face value, Gerry McCann – sharp, focused and intelligent – was more sceptical. The contract with Oakley International and Halligen was terminated by the end of September 2008, after £500,000-plus expenses had been spent.



For the McCanns it was a bitter experience, Exton has returned to Cheshire and, like so many people, is owed money by Halligen. As for Halligen, he has gone into hiding, leaving a trail of debt and numerous former business associates and creditors looking for him. He was last seen in January of this year in Rome, drinking and spending prodigiously at the Hilton Cavalieri and Excelsior hotels. He is now believed by private investigators, who have been searching for him to serve papers on behalf of creditors, to be in the UK and watching his back. Meanwhile, in the eye of the storm, the McCanns continue the search for their lost daughter.



in ES Magazine (London Evening Standard)– Paper edition only, 28 August 2009



*Mark Hollingsworth is best known for his investigations into Mark Thatcher and also MI5. He worked for Granada TV’s ‘World In Action’ programme for five years. He is the author of nine books, notably ‘Thatcher’s Fortunes: The Life and Times of Mark Thatcher’, ‘Defending the Realm: MI5 and International Terrorism’ and ‘Saudi Babylon: Torture, Corruption and Cover-Up Inside the House of Saud’. His new book, ‘Londongrad: From Russia with Cash, The Inside Story of the Oligarchs’, will be published in July 2009. He also contributes regularly to the London Evening Standard and most national newspapers.

PORTUGAL'S REPLY TO GAGGING

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/please-re-open-madeleine-mccanns-case

Not OK In My Book, Mate

Gerry McCann suggested that "Portuguese people are not looking for Madeleine" because of Gonçalo Amaral's book and documentary.

Here's my reply in an open letter to the McCann.

I don't need to be told what to think. I was lucky to get to read the book, but that, Mr. McCann, did not influence me at all, because I had already made up my mind just by following the case and using common sense. I am ashamed of my country for having twice betrayed Mr. Amaral and the search for the truth. I don't need a book to see that you and your wife seem to be unquestionable and are more concerned with yourselves than with Madeleine.

What I need is to see YOUR evidence that there was an abduction. All your efforts to prove that there was an abduction are more than vague... they are contradictory and not credible - not grounded on any evidence whatsoever.

As for the evidence that Madeleine is dead - it may be insufficient to prosecute you, but it is certainly there - under "Eddie and Keela mark spots where body was" - on the case files, which are public - and that you cannot deny.

How would I feel, if I was a father of a missing child, some misinformed people always ask.

I and anyone I know, would fully cooperate with the Police Investigation and answer all their questions and do the reconstruction so vital for finding out what happened. What I would not do, is hire some rent-a-cops and harass people who happen to think differently.

I would definitely ask the re-opening of the official investigation.

I think all those police books you've been reading while you were in Praia da Luz, messed up your head.

But it's still not too late to do the right thing.

Re-open the Investigation.

HAVE WE HIT THE BOTTOM?

Or have the ludicrous McCann?

What do you expect from a country that as a long tradition of "archiving" high-profile judicial cases?

It started in 1908 when the King and the Crown Prince were assassinated in public, right before a crowd; everybody knew who was behind the crime, who ordered it, who paid for it, etc.

And what happened to them? They became the government, after they overturned a wounded Monarchy to impose a Freemason Republic.

What happened to the judicial process? All copies disappeared after the Republican "revolution", which took polace just days from the revelation of the Investigation findings.

The last known copy was stolen from deposed King Manuel’s home, in his exile in Twikenham. A rather unusual commodity for a thief, or a rather peculiar thief. They are still around, believe it or not.

It’s up to the people to do something and put a stop to this vile people working in the background. We need to make ourselves heard loud and clear.

But first, let’s get the football out of the way.

Blunder from Downunder

There has been more fluff on the media about a possible suspect in yet again the Madeleine McCann case.


I have read many things, including G.Amaral's book; all things considered, I believe the forensic evidence recovered in PDL is enough to state beyond doubt, as much as it pains me to say it, that Madeleine died that night.


Weather you accept it or not, there is no evidence of abduction; just of a cover up.


1- There is forensic evidence (haematic and corpse scent) related to a member of the Mccann clan.


2 - Credible witnesses that saw Gerry carrying Madeleine towards the beach that night.


3 - Contradictions and lack of cooperance from the parents & friends.


4 - Inadmissible political and media pressure over the investigation.


5 - A neverending list of suspects that lead nowhere but to a wild goose chase to keep the public opinion misinformed and the money running to their pockets.


6 - They are NOT the only parents to loose a child, but they are probably the only who's acctions contributed to that end.


7 - They are all about themselves. The only person going to the end of the world for Madeleine, is G.Amaral.


8- Just this week the Police released the figures of the expenses on this case - they are the lawful channel to conduct an investigation. The Mccanns can ask them to re-open the case - it's the only way they can clear themselves of any suspicion.


9 - The Mccans created a media monster that had a negative impact on the investigation; but this monster is getting out of their control and will end up devouring them.


10 - Stop discrediting the PJ. Innocent people have been sent to jail by UK's finest with less or no evidence.



As a matter of a fact, one of the English Police agents that took part in the investigation said that he had sent people to prison in the UK with less. So to claim that Amaral somehow "framed" the parents is acctually claiming that the Scotland Yard is an accessory to Mr. Amaral - a man, btw, that contrary to the Mccann, had nothing to lose; and rather than conceal is "trick", he writes a book about it...



That's why people resent the McCann. We want justice for Madeleine.


Recently I have seen something that added another piece to the puzzle.


Why did Gordon Brown get involved in this case? Why did others, not pertaining to the investigation?


I found a reference to the Masonry that could in fact explain a lot.


A secret society where men dress in aprons and get together to do anything but cooking, is always going to smell fishy to me.



Being Portuguese, I know very well how subversive they can be, as they were responsible for the Regicide in 1908 and the subsequent overturn of the Monarchy.


However, I believe not in a larger conspiracy re the Mccann affair, but more in fashion with what is suggested on the Handbook of Masonry, page 183, which I take the liberty to replicate: "You must conceal all crimes of your brother Masons...and should you be summoned as a witness against a brother Mason be always sure to shield him...It may be perjury to do this, it is true, but you're keeping your obligations."



Does it sound crazy? Well, I've seen more crazy stuff coming out with the McCann’s blessing. Why isn't the world press questioning and discrediting the Mccanns stategy of shooting in all directions, but actually getting nowhere? Their smokescreen tactics will have to backfire one day...


The difference between the so called "Team McCann" and the rest of the world (let's call it Team Justice for Madeleine), is someting akin to the difference between the middle-ages and the Renaissance. I did a little experiment, aimed at finding out why some people blindly stick with the McCann version of the story; the results are not groundbreaking, rather very much the expected - their opinions are based on the supernatural - love the one that links the desapearence of Maddie with the Apochalipse - tarot, faith, hope, and lots of misinformation.
Ultimatelly, the difference between "Team McCann" and "Team Justice for Madeleine", will be defined by the outcome of this story (if ever) - if they are right and Madeleine is alive and well (little chance), Team Justice for Madeleine will be happy for her; if Team McCann is wrong, they will have nothing to be happy about...

UPDATE 16.08.2009

Seems like the leaflets with 10 reasons suggesting Madeleine was not abducted, may have been inspired by this post ;D

I hope the McCs won't call the coppers on me too. After all, last time they seemed to be running from them...

Ludicrous McCann Media

Here we go again. Infamous accusations, smear, slurs and even insults, all served in a big bowl of speculation a la SKY NEWS...
This people have no code of conduct to go by at all? What has happened to impartiality, unbiased and rigorous information, etc?

Blind faith is quite medieval, so is the British media approach to this case. Why people choose sides when what is in question is evidence submitted to a Brit Lab, which seems to point to Madeleine being dead?
It is perhaps the harsh reality. Denial is understandable from the family, but the biased, deliberate smear campaign of the Brit media against the PJ, is what is Ludicrous. If the PJ are to be proven right, I'm sure then kudos and the glory of solving the case will go to the British cops present in the Algarve, that only take the scene when something positive occurs.

The public opinion is being manipulated. There is a lot of misinformation.
One clear example is the supposed "deal" offered by the PJ to Kate. Forget what you saw in the movies or TV - under Portuguese law, the police has no power to offer any deals, so it's highly unlikely that they would even go there. One word of advice: try to get as much independent information from reliable foreign press agencies, because you can't get that from the likes of Skate&Gerry News, the public family TV.
As someone watching from abroad, it seems like I am hearing about two different cases, so different is the coverage from Sky News, compared to Spanish or Portuguese TV...

Of course, the usual resistance to learn other languages may be a hindrance to understand what really is going on. There seems to be only one side of the story being released in the UK media, and that is the emotional quasi-hysterical nationalist one.
The PJ is not answering the provocations from the relatives and the media, but if this keeps up like until now, I hope they sue.

Yes, the word is "Ludicrous" indeed. Furthermore, it's absolutely sickening to see how people in the UK, including the media, find it easier to come to terms with "a cover up or planted evidence" by the naughty Portuguese Police, than to understand that speculation aside, the couple is being questioned, as they should, after the forensic evidence has been return from the UK LABS... immagine what it would be like, if the results had come back from Portuguese labs... it isn't that we do not have capable forensic labs in the country as suggested; it was actually a very wise move, to publicly further the involvment of British elements in the investigations. Now mine the credibility of that...

Will the same Brits that question every little move by the Police, with the same mistrust they would only have against foreigners, be that strange looking food, or driving on the right side of the road, will the same people question the results out of the British Labs? If the results say it's Madeleine’s blood and that she is dead, then is it ludicrous to suspect of anyone that has been around the misfortunate little girl, at the time?

Ludicrous is the way some people and the British media has been questioning everything as this SOBERAN COUNTRY is nothing more than a colony... Talk about slurs and campaigns... the British tabloids have the mint of all that rubbish, bordering defamation on a number of occasions and I hope they will soon be prosecuted.

You may not like how the results of the investigation, but the McCann have created a Media monster, and it's not fair to press for the "results" you'd like, if they may point in a different direction. Sooner or later, people may have to face the harsh reality that the little girl is dead... and we all feel for her.

Finally, there seems to be some people more eager to believe in conspiracy theories such as "PJ cover up and planted evidence to frame the McCann", than in what seems to be the body of evidence collected by the Brit and Portuguese agents investigating the case together.
For those who seem to be fond of conspiracy theories, get a load of this one:
Gerry McCann's brother and Gordon Brown, good old Scottish lads, seem to have been buddies in school...
Imagine what being friends with the prime minister could do for your family...
Anyone believes what they want... or in other words, people believe more easily that which meets their inclination and expectations.

UPDATE Saturday 8, 14.15h

I salute the change of tone in some Sky News reporters, that just now admited they should pay more attention to what they'd been calling a "smear campaign" by the Portuguese press, was in fact "a reflection of the Police investigations" - funny enough, that's almost the exact words I used a few weeks ago, here (under nnrico) - here's the quote:

" The Portuguese press merely reflected the change of course in the investigations, puting aside the victimization of the parents, whom, like it or not, are partly responsible for what happened." End quote.

"Hysteria Lane" is nothing compared to this...

Wait and see what happens, just like people normally do, in other cases.

I guess that's pretty much the view of people around the world; only in the UK people seem to be taking it so personally, and the media are definately responsible for the hysteria, no doubt about that.

According to English tabloids, the Portuguese press "smears" and print "unfounded claims"; while the brilliant UK media is the paladin of truth and wholesome journalism, as we can see by their own dodgy style... pitiful and biased. The Portuguese press claim they have an inside "source" - they may have or not, butat least they try to do their own investigation, and no one is pressuring them nor throwing money at them, to side with one side of the story...

Discounted the obvious bias and the intentional MCs campaign to discredit the police work and the investigation, what is more revolting is that the UK media has been acting as the main vehicle for all the slurs, the pressure and the persecution, which borders xenophobia...It's unheard of, I think the word is acctually "LUDICROUS"!

All the fuss surrounding this case is indeed adding insult to injury in respect to parents of other missing children...

On the upside, though, all the fuss and hatred about the PJ work in Praia da Luz is not hurting the Tourism as it's claimed by the PJ detractors, but is in fact helping -Let me put it this way: "There's no such thing as bad publicity"...

Praia da Luz is now world famous, and even after the McCann left, many people still flock there in a sort of "macabre" peregrination to see the church, the resort, etc where everything took place...

The news teams alone sold out every room available in and about the area...

Besides, Portugal is much more than just Algarve, and thanks to all the publicity, even Americans now know that Portugal is not a Hispanic country in South America...

Also, many people have pledge to come next year to Portugal, on account of the beautiful scenery divulged on Tv and as a reaction to the vicious attacks the country unfairly received from the UK media and MCs supporters. After all, to believe in the parents own version, it could have happened anywhere in the world, since they stated the 3 very small children were left alone, to chance, and the door opened...

Anyway, the more the spin, the more people cry "wolf", the worst it looks for the MCs; it's quite sad when people resort to insults instead of arguments. Innocent or not, they are fast becoming the least favorite couple of the year. And how they are helping...