Madeleine McCann: People Smugglers, A Small Fridge And Child Alerts
MADDYWATCH - Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Madeleine McCann.
DAILY EXPRESS front page: “MADELEINE - STOLEN BY PEOPLE SMUGGLERS.”
“Missing Madeleine McCann may be in the hands of North African people smugglers. Police in Morocco, investigating a reported sighting, believe they have identified a link with a ruthless gang of traffickers.”
Remember when Madeleine was in “the clutches” of Moroccans, and how the gang turned out to be a couple of farmers and their daughter?
Now: “The breakthrough came a few weeks after Madeleine went missing when a Spanish tourist reported seeing a blonde girl matching her description being dragged along by a scruffy, Arab-looking woman in the town of Zaio.”
Spanish tourist Isabel Gonzalez has told the world how she saw a blonde toddler in Morocco. Not Bouchra Benaissa. Another blonde Moroccan.
“The alarm was raised in May by 60-year-old Spanish tourist Isabel Gonzalez who said: ‘The girl I saw was blonde, with pale skin, whereas everyone else in the area is dark-skinned and dark-haired.”
Well, not everyone. Remember Bouchra Benaissa..?
DAILY STAR front page: “MADDIE BODY KEPT IN FREEZER.”
THE SUN front page: “MADDIE COPS IN SICK SLUR.”
“COPS MOST SICKENING SLUR YET” – “MADDIE’S BODY KEPT IN FRIDGE.”
“Maddie parents mark 150 days”
“McCann’s gagged by cops” – “A friend of the McCanns said: ‘It is madness. We are being forced to inhabit a fantasy world in which we can increase public awareness of Madeleine’s disappearance and urge the public’s help through a poster campaign, but her own parents cannot help in this because of the legal status attached to them. It is so frustrating - Madeleine’s own mum and dad are not allowed to speak about her.’”
So they have anything to say that is not said through their spokesman, Gerry’s blog and friends, and to the police?
DAILY MIRROR front page: “MADELEINE SENSATION – NEW SUSPECT IN STAIRWELL.”
“A British tourist seen ‘hiding’ in a stairwell outside Madeleine McCann’s apartment on the night she disappeared was being investigated last night.
“The new suspect, stocky and wearing two-tone glasses, was spotted by an Ocean Club worker just 12 metres from the flat. The employee, who did not want to be named, exclusively told the Mirror: ‘I’ll never forget him.’”
DAILY MAIL: “McCanns gagged from answering claims they dumped Madeleine’s body in Spain.”
•Portuguese papers claim Kate McCann killed Madeleine while Gerry played tennis
•Couple ‘then hid the child’s body in a fridge and later disposed of it in Spain’
•McCann spokesman Clarence Mitchell said the reports were ‘utterly ludicrous’
These are the “latest lurid allegations”.
“A family friend ridiculed the suggestion that Madeleine’s body could have been stored in a fridge, saying: ‘Have you seen the size of the fridges in those apartments? Of course they did not stuff her in a fridge.’”
THE TIMES: “Kate and Gerry McCann’s friends refute ‘missing hours’ claim as smears continue.”
“The parents of Madeleine McCann have pleaded for an end to the distressing smear campaign that has suggested that they may have killed their missing daughter…
“It was claimed yesterday that police in Portugal believe that Kate McCann killed Madeleine while putting her to bed at their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz between 7pm and 8.30pm on May 3 and then hid her corpse in a fridge, with the help of friends.
“The respected Diario de Noticias newspaper said that officers believed that Mrs McCann accidentally killed Madeleine while her husband was playing tennis.”
Stop the smears. But read all about them first.
THE GUARDIAN: “EU plan for missing child alerts.”
Oh?
“Portugal will next week call for the creation of an EU-wide alert system for missing children, five months after Madeleine McCann disappeared from a holiday resort in the south of the country. The move has been welcomed by the McCann family.”
So she was taken across boarders?
“In a statement released through Clarence Mitchell, the McCanns’ spokesman, Madeleine’s father, Gerry, said: ‘If this is true, we would very much welcome it as it would be a major step in the right direction. We feel it would be vital in protecting other children and their families. Kate and I have consistently campaigned to effect change throughout the EU to help protect children.’”
But Madeleine McCann might not have been stolen. Is this just another instance of people jumping on story to promote their pet cause?
DAILY TELEGRAPH: “Madeleine McCann’s parents may face jail.”
No, not for child neglect.
“Kate and Gerry McCann could face 12 months in prison if they speak out to defend themselves against a slur campaign in Portugal because of the country’s strict secrecy laws, it is claimed.”
Says Clarence Mitchell: “Each and every one of these nonsensical allegations causes real pain and hurt for both Gerry and Kate.
“We just hope that everyone can see these ridiculous rumours for what they are.”
Posted: 29th, September 2007 | In: Madeleine McCann Comments (573) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
Comments
September 29th, 2007 at 5:49 pm
here’s one I wanted to post this morning before I had a confused hour or two…
Here’s a prediction. Now everyone knows they are simply not interested in finding their own poor little girl (dust is just soo hard to find, after all) I reckon they will start latching on to other “abduction” cases.
Photo shoots with “poor people” an’ all dat jibe man. They could then extend the remit of the “fund” to look for other people. Handy ruse for a few jollies too.
Branson could cash in by lending them a 747 (bit cramped wid all dem reporter dudes - bet he wished he’d ordered some extra Airbus A380s now).
You read it here first…
September 29th, 2007 at 5:47 pm
Bloody hell
just managed to work out what’s going on here.
I thought Comical Clarrie (from Emmerdale?) had got on to Gordo’s wife’s web police company and closed us down…
I need a cuppa to steady me nerves now…
Carmen will have noticed that I got Comical Clarrie right this time although I felt a sex change was in order…
September 29th, 2007 at 5:47 pm
twiglets - now you’re talking
September 29th, 2007 at 5:40 pm
125
there was something on telly about youhurt enemas last night.
September 29th, 2007 at 5:39 pm
glad its working.
i’m going to go eat my bag of twiglets then.
September 29th, 2007 at 5:35 pm
Can I join in?
L. ludus “a game, play” may be from Etruscan, or from a PIE base *leid- “to play.”
Etruscans liked playing with entrails. Not sure if they referred to their children’s body-parts as ‘rotting meat’, though.
They didn’t have the later Algarve custom of keeping bodies in fridges after death, though, so they wouldn’t just forget about, say, a small arm hidden behind the fish & yoghurt for too long.
They did have very interesting burial customs, and since the Romans systematically wiped out all traces of their culture that remained above ground, this is all we really know about them.
September 29th, 2007 at 5:29 pm
118 Batman
But personally I do not think the McCanns are 100% innocent. No concrete evidence – just my own opinion. I think they know something important that they wish to hide and that is why I think they are going to have to remain in the hole they have dug themselves for a long time to come.
Yeah, I could do along with that as a theory… Something about the circumstances of what may have been happening around the time of Madeleine’s disappearance that would cause some sort of embarresment if it became public.
May even be as simple as - if they were responsible for Madeleine’s demise in some way, albeit tragic accident etc, the likely consequence would be that the twins are taken away from them so they lose three children, not one. Not convinced there is any evidence for the tragic/accidental death scenario. Just lots of speculation/rumour.
September 29th, 2007 at 5:12 pm
Trismegistus 32: steady on, ludere is only the Latin verb. There is an earlier Greek adjective, loidoros, meaning abusive. There is no identified Indo-European root for this word (unlike others) and according to Darling Buck, the words for “play” in the principal Indo-European languages are dervied from a variety of sources meaning variously, a child, a jest, a game, and most commonly to dance.
September 29th, 2007 at 5:02 pm
A source VERY close to Philomena McCann today issued the following statement
today;
Who the fuck is calling me Comical Philly, I’ll have his nuts?!
Kate has crashed. Gerrys guts have dropped. Its VERY very bad. How dare that
little peasant impersonate the daughter of my VERY middle-class brother! The very idea that Kate would go ANYWHERE the shops are closed is UTTERLY ludicrous. We PERSONALLY had GREAT trouble squeezing Madeline into a spin-dryer so the NOTION she could have fitted in the fridge is LUDICROUS. The SAS the EU the DUP are doing an EXCELLENT job on keeping the focus on Gerry and Kate.
September 29th, 2007 at 4:58 pm
120 William Perry - “A family friend yesterday said of the period between 7pm and 8.30pm: “Kate was not in the apartment alone with Maddie. They had both been playing tennis earlier. Then they put her to bed and were down for dinner by 8.20pm.”
Funny that the rest of the friends seem to dispute the fact that the Mc’s were at the Tapas any earlier than just before 9! Perhaps they forgot what time they were actually supposed to put into their statements!
September 29th, 2007 at 4:53 pm
I know something about large fridges.
The fridge-freezer in apartment 5a was about 160×60x55cm (hxbxd).
The freezer compartment was about 60 litres capacity, and the fridge compartment below it, about 200 litres.
The fridge-freezer, enough to store about four small 3-year-old bodies, was visible in a photo of the interior of the McCanns apartment, which has mysteriously vanished from the Net since yesterday, just after the McCann’s PR machine suggested that:
“PORTUGUESE cops came up with their sickest slur yet against the McCanns yesterday — claiming little Maddie’s body may have been kept in a FRIDGE before being dumped.They are working on the extraordinary theory that Kate killed her daughter accidentally and that dad Gerry helped her cover up.
“A family friend yesterday said of the period between 7pm and 8.30pm: “Kate was not in the apartment alone with Maddie. They had both been playing tennis earlier. Then they put her to bed and were down for dinner by 8.20pm.”
“And referring to the lurid fridge allegation, the friend insisted: “That is total rubbish. Have you seen the size of the fridges in those apartments? Of course they did not stuff her in a fridge.”
Well… yes I have actually seen the size of the fridge-freezer in apartment 5a.
It’s HUGE, as you would expect in a self-catering apartment in the sweltering extreme south of Europe.
I wonder what size the O’Brien’s fridge-freezer in the nextdoor apartment was?
September 29th, 2007 at 4:45 pm
Musings on a PR disaster:
The McCanns would have been viewed in a much more favourable light if they had conducted this whole drama differently. On the assumption that they are innocent (neglect aside for the moment)
Past mistakes.
1. The involvement of the media at such an early stage smacks of ‘special treatment’, ‘string pulling’. How many other missing children cases have been reported within the first 12-24 hours by Sky News? (Can’t remember a single one, but am open to correction on that).
2. The fund was also set up with break-neck speed – again this smacked of ‘what is the motivation here – to find the child or rake in money’. I know that it was not set up by the McCanns themselves, but it was done through an ex-pupil of Gerry’s sister. So was probably with his knowledge and consent. They should have at least waited a few weeks in case Madeleine was found.
3. The INSISTENCE from the start that it was an abduction and not, say, an accident where Madeleine had wandered off. If she had wandered off and falled into a hole or into the sea her body might not be found for a couple of days. So this insistence was a real error as it again smacks of ‘its someone else to blame and NOTHING to do with us’. Strange for a loving parent not to be open to other options – at least at the beginning.
4. Their visits to some places and not others – again very poor judgement. Why not at least go to those cities where Madeleine’s ‘sightings’ had occurred instead of totally unrelated ones.
5. The whole ‘we are devout Catholics’ angle again should really have been a quiet private matter. A simple statement to say that they took solace in their faith would have been far more dignified and believable than endless videos of church visits and the famous ‘Papal blessing’.
6. Leaving the twins behind on the Papal visit – again not good PR. The twins are unlikely to ever have another opportunity to be blessed personally by the Pope, and I am still don’t understand why they did not bring them.
7. Although they had planned to leave PdL on the day they actually did leave, it would have looked far better to stay on for a few days. They could have said that because of their interviews with the PJ they had not had time to say goodbye properly and thank people locally for their support. Jumping on the next plane made them look like they were ‘running away’.
8. Then we move into the whole area of countering ‘leaks’ from the PJ. This I think is where the McCanns really have dug themselves into an enormous hole. Anytime I try to build up a case for them being really innocent, their excuses and contradictory stories come to mind and their credibility goes out the window, eg. ‘nappygate’ and Cuddle Cat bring taken to work while Kate was in close proximity to cadavers. Much more effective would have been to say that because of the secrecy laws, imposed by the Portuguese legislative system, they have no comment to make regarding specifics. However, they would like to state that they have plausible explanations for all accusations made against them. No further comment. (There is an old adage – better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than speak and remove all doubt.)
Suggestions on how to proceed from here:
9. Fund. At this stage the fund should be (a) frozen and (b) have its remit changed so that it cannot be used to pay the McCanns domestic and living expenses. It should be changed to a charity asap and actively expanded to include other missing children. It should also have regular updates as to how much is being used to actively search for Madeleine. Maybe a declaration should be made that any interest earned would be given to a children’s charity.
10. Find Maddy site. Gerry’s blog should be removed forthwith. If appropriate it can be replaced by updates on sightings etc. that have been followed up. Donors would feel good knowing their funds were being put to good us.
11. Likewise all emphasis on ‘happy families’ needs to be stopped immediately.
12. Public engagements – balloon/teddy bear launches – etc. curtailed forthwith. All smacks of ‘jumping on the bandwagan’
(13. I have read that the McCanns have tried to copyright some of the Maddy stuff. Unless someone can give me concrete evidence that this is the case I simply cannot believe ANYONE would try to profit from their daughter in this way.)
14. The involvement of all the ‘hard hitters’. Gag Clarence Mitchell and give him the boot. Might be difficult and even more problematic to choose less controversial legal representatives at this stage – but engaging these particular guys again smacks of ‘overkill – we have something to hide so need to bring in the big boys’.
However, the very best thing that Team McCann could do now is simply shut up. Stop digging and be seen to be actively looking for their daughter. Going back to work is probably not an option and is a double edged sword. Why are they working and not looking for Maddy? vs. Why don’t they use the fund money to get others to search for Maddy and go back to work so the fund money is not diverted into ‘support for the family’? Don’t think they can win that one.
But personally I do not think the McCanns are 100% innocent. No concrete evidence – just my own opinion. I think they know something important that they wish to hide and that is why I think they are going to have to remain in the hole they have dug themselves for a long time to come.
September 29th, 2007 at 4:13 pm
Mods and admin
Yes I have noticed all the changes
It looks lovely in here, so clean and bright!
Thanks for your communication help yesterday. It is appreciated.
I will be donating when you have your button up and running. Good call Carmen.
September 29th, 2007 at 4:13 pm
Thanks spudgun!
People all over the world please watch this video again:
http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=2296203136219895848&hl=en-GB
September 29th, 2007 at 4:11 pm
Good afternoon all!
Congrats to England on beating Tonga last night!
Anyone want to place bets that by this time next week there’ll be at least three new witnesses claiming to have seen some scaly character lurking around the apartment that night! Where on earth have these witnesses been for the last 149 days ? …… possibly sedated?
BTW just finished doing some gardening in the hot African sun, & now enjoying a nice cold Bernini, so if my posts start getting long and shlurrrrred, just tell me to shut up!
September 29th, 2007 at 4:11 pm
106 firestar
I would imagine any foreigner in the US would be subject to the same extradition laws and procedures. Surely everyone in the country is subject to the law - excluding of course those with diplomatic immunity?
O course this might be too simplistic.
September 29th, 2007 at 4:00 pm
Couldn’t we have elliptic integrals?
September 29th, 2007 at 3:57 pm
the time’s wrong though
September 29th, 2007 at 3:52 pm
wayhey - its back - & with posting numbers and sums!!!!
September 29th, 2007 at 3:46 pm
Stig - it was a transcript of the first article here:
http://gazetadigitalmadeleinecase.blogspot.com/2007/07/truth-about-leonor-cipriano-mother-of.html
September 29th, 2007 at 3:00 pm
the video i just posted could be used in a school as a ‘how to spot lying body language’ standard.
September 29th, 2007 at 3:00 pm
can someone start a petition or something to get anorak to put the bloody numbers back in…..please dont put them stupid sums back in though they were starting to get quite hard
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Mods and Admin
It seems the updates are still occurring, I have pointed out the ‘time’ problems, now the sums , do you still want simple arithmetic or would trig do?
September 29th, 2007 at 2:59 pm
batman
Thanks! I can’t access the thread any longer.
September 29th, 2007 at 2:59 pm
stig again
the bankers were uk subjects extradited from the uk.
i mean uk subjects on holiday in the us.
September 29th, 2007 at 2:58 pm
Hey - i no longer have to do math in order to post - is that because team McC complained that it was an elitist web site that they could not access???
September 29th, 2007 at 2:58 pm
stig
no, and the maths test has gone as well.
September 29th, 2007 at 2:58 pm
Extraditing people from the US.
Don’t you guys remember those poor bankers extradited from the UK to the US to face those rubbish charges related to the Enron collapse?
The agreement under which they were extradited was supposed to be a bilateral one but the US Congress hasn’t/wont ratify their end of the deal so it is a one way vacuum hose by which the US can suck up anyone from the UK they want without evidence. Dear Tony what a great guy for installing such a beneficial arrangement for UK citizens!
September 29th, 2007 at 2:57 pm
the times are all over the place on these postings!!!!
September 29th, 2007 at 2:57 pm
i’ve only just seen this, its old and short, but says it all.
i expect everyone else has already seen it, if so i’m sorry for re posting.
http://prisonersvoice.blogspot.com/2007/09/mccanns-have-lot-of-explaining-to-do.html
September 29th, 2007 at 2:56 pm
lol
more likely theres someone frantically trying to find out where the numbers went so he can enjoy his wine.
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Mods and Admin
I am a she, think the updates are continuing, we are a huge site, its 1300 hrs and the sun is long over the yard arm! Really firestar how could you!!!