Madeleine McCann: 4650 Articles, Christian Ridout Was Here And Lawless Morocco
MADDYWATCH - Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Madeleine McCann.
DAILY EXPRESS front page: Poster blitz in Morocco”
“More than 11,000 letters and posters have been distributed in remote parts of the North African country to jog the memory of someone who may have seen the little girl”
A spokesman says: “E-mail is great within larger towns and cities, but there are still a lot of people who do not have Madeleine’s picture or the phone contact details to report sightings or information”
Do you have Madeleine’s picture? Do you know the phone number?
DAILY MAIL: “Letter blitz on remote Moroccan mountain villages that Madeleine McCann campaign cannot reach”
“Agents [of Metodo 3] have distributed photographs of the little girl with an appeal in French and Arabic to call with information about her whereabouts. But it has proved difficult to reach all of the isolated communities where a child could have been taken, many of which are in lawless, mountainous regions”
Those lawless Moroccans…
“Madeleine: Private detectives hunt for British barman known as DJ Shifty, accused of grooming an under-age girl for sex”
“Part-time barman and disc jockey Christian Ridout, 32, allegedly sent the British girl obscene text messages when he worked in an expats’ pub 200 yards from where Madeleine disappeared. When the 12-year-old’s mother discovered the explicit messages, Ridout - also known as DJ Shifty - left Portugal in a hurry”
A suspect?
Says the paper: “By coincidence, the Ridout family were next-door neighbours of the family of Robert Murat, the chief suspect in the Madeleine hunt, when the Murats lived in the nearby village of Almadena. The night after Madeleine went missing, a British expat walked into the Plough and Harrow pub in Praia da Luz, still owned by his parents Tony, 57, and Jill, 58, and asked: ‘Where’s Christian then?’ Locals have disparagingly nicknamed the pub ‘The Plough and Paedophile‘ and the missing man is widely disliked in the tight-knit community”
So where is Christian? Well, he left Praia da Luz a few years ago. His mother says she has not seen him for two years. Says the girl’s mother: “I went in to see them just before Madeleine disappeared and they confirmed they’re still looking for him. ‘No one knows where he is, but he could have been back to this area”
Or not…
THE SUN front page: “Publicity blitz for Maddie in Africa”
“Many still don’t recognise her”
Help make Madeleine McCann the world’s most recognisable face
“Despite a massive campaign highlighting the seven-month search for their daughter, experts believe many in the north African country still lack the crucial information they need to help trace her”
Many?
“Now a silent army of volunteers from the Helping To Find Madeleine campaign have given their time over the festive period to flood businesses across the nation with 11,500 letters and posters”
Not so silent
“The initiative comes after the McCanns’ Spanish detective agency pin-pointed Morocco as the most likely place little Maddie may have been taken”
Can you pinpoint a “likely place” to an entire nation? Is this detective work or guesswork?
Kate and Gerry McCann are “doctors”. Fact
Kate pins on badge of hope: “ANGUISHED Kate McCann returned to church yesterday – with a badge of hope bearing a picture of missing Madeleine pinned close to her heart”
A new merchandise push?
One “worshipper” at Kate’s church says: “Every mother wants to cuddle her children at Christmas – it’s heartbreaking that Kate has been denied that. The badge is a symbol of hope that could help focus new eyes on the hunt for Madeleine”
“347 new Maddie calls combed” - The McCanns’ spokesman Clarence Mitchell says: “We are pleased with the calls and they are continuing to come in. Every single call is much appreciated and we are going through them with a fine-tooth comb. Any that need to be acted upon swiftly are being acted upon swiftly. We don’t go into detail because if there is any significant information”
DAILY STAR: “TECS: MADDIE BEING HELD IN MOROCCO”
“More than 11,500 posters appealing for information about the youngster have been sent out to the furthest reaches of the north African country”
Francisco Marco, the PI hired by the McCanns, says: “Morocco is the perfect place to hide a kidnapped girl”. He has said this before. Is Morocco the perfect place? Why not Algeria? Or Malta?
DAILY RECORD: “Maddie Poster Blitz In Morocco”
“Schools, supermarkets and medical centres are being blitzed with thousands of photos of the missing four-year-old. And letters written in French and Arabic are being sent to towns and villages in the most remote parts of the country”
Madeleine in Morocco. Or not. Again… Isabel Gonzalez saw her. Mari Pollard saw her
Clarence Mitchell says: “Anyone who puts effort into assisting us in any way, we are incredibly grateful for, and it sounds like they have done a fantastic job. I have no doubt that it is this kind of effort and initiatives that will lead us to finding Madeleine”
Gerry and Kate McCann are “doctors”
THE GUARDIAN: “From Mr Bean to Shambo the bull, the media obsessions of 2007”
A review: “Almost nine months after she vanished, we know a lot about Madeleine McCann and her family. We know the legal implications of being named an official suspect in a Portuguese criminal investigation. What we do not know is who took her, if she is alive and whether any trace of her will ever be found again. A total of 4,650 articles have appeared in British newspapers since she disappeared on May 3”
THE SCOTSMAN: “Madness, badness, hate and heroism - Robert McNeil continues his unique take on the events of 2007 with a look back at the second three months of the year…”
“Hell also visited the parents of three-year-old Madeleine McCann on 3 May when the toddler disappeared from their holiday apartment in the Algarve. In the ensuing months, Kate and Gerry McCann used the media to keep the case in the public eye. The Portuguese police did the same, but their efforts were directed more at casting doubts on the McCanns and their friends. Supposed sightings of Madeleine were reported periodically, but each time hopes were dashed”
THE TIMES: “Hundreds ring hotline after Madeleine plea”
Yesterday in the latest entry on his internet diary, Mr McCann wrote: “Madeleine should not be spending Christmas away from her loving family. The person who took her has it in their power to end our suffering and will be able to appease their conscience that they have done the right thing – especially at this time of year. Kate and I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to write to us and let us know Madeleine and our family are still in their thoughts and prayers. We still have at least one hundred cards to open! As always, every single one will be read and the support expressed helps renew our determination to find Madeleine”
The story, speculation and sensation…
Posted: 27th, December 2007 | In: Madeleine McCann Comments (1,081) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
Comments
December 27th, 2007 at 9:55 pm
654 Judith C
It was mentioned some time ago in here. I can’t recall what made that topic come up. Perhaps someone had looked at aspects of their connections in Rothley. I’ll have a look around and see if it was on another forum.
I saw the nanny in a photo more recently unless it was a family member. It didn’t look like any of the known family members so I assumed the nanny was a permanent fixture - also a drain on the fund.
You’re right about the UK comment. Can you remember which interview it was?
December 27th, 2007 at 9:53 pm
684
Stevo Says:
December 27th, 2007 at 9:45 pm
677 Garth
God help kids with people like you around. No wonder the cherished two get your support.
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Whats the matter with you?…………………i love kids…………but i cant eat a whole one!
December 27th, 2007 at 9:50 pm
552
chenier Says:
December 27th, 2007 at 6:53 pm
Indeed there is more; regrettably, from Meejician’s perspective, the more consisted of a number of reserchers tearing the claim to shreds.
**************
Not nice, chenier. I said I’d be back, gave the very early stuff (based on the known high heredibility) and had to go and work.
In fact, the research you quote isn’t the latest. Doubts are being cast on all of the early Eureka moments, and just as in autism research, there now appear to be several genes involved.
But hey, why don’t YOU inform everyone about the issue ?
Welcome to it, too. There’s so much misinformation and urban mythology in this field that I’m getting sick to death of the damned work I do, and sick to death of fighting pointlessly for these children/adults. Here’s the torch. Carry it. It’s a thankless task for an NT. Better just to come in with a pre-emptive snipe, eh?
December 27th, 2007 at 9:49 pm
Garth , and others like him/her ,why don’t you try ,to post 1 comment about Benazir Bhutto !
That i would like to see
December 27th, 2007 at 9:48 pm
672
LORCANDAY
How does an American cop know so much about what’s going on in Europe?
December 27th, 2007 at 9:46 pm
683 Chenier
If you’ve never served in the military how can you possibly know?
December 27th, 2007 at 9:45 pm
677 Garth
God help kids with people like you around. No wonder the cherished two get your support.
December 27th, 2007 at 9:45 pm
668
Stevo Says:
December 27th, 2007 at 9:25 pm
………..when I served in the military and grew up in that military environment, I didn’t ever see the sort of defiant behaviour we see today. The reason is simple - the forces don’t want soldiers who won’t do as they are told. From the Romans through all great armies, when you do your basic training, it’s a form of brainwashing to make you realise that you are there to do as you are told. There is no “personal” soldiering within the army. You are a group of men, trained to do what you are ordered to do. …
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I think you would find that people who made their entire careers in the military would question that belief.
Particularly when they had to deal with conscripts, who were only too willing to question everything in the hope of getting out…
December 27th, 2007 at 9:44 pm
679 Lorcanday
No.
December 27th, 2007 at 9:44 pm
677
Garth Says:
December 27th, 2007 at 9:39 pm
676
Stevo Says:
December 27th, 2007 at 9:34 pm
667 Ann
Didn’t you once say in here you smoked a lot while pregnant? Forgive me if I got that wrong but if you did, did it not dawn on you that it wasn’t helping your child and some of the problems you describe could be because of that?
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Ffs shutup!
…………………………………..
Seconded
December 27th, 2007 at 9:43 pm
675
veritablequandary
No, I’m saying that the things we were discussing - like ADD/ADHD/ODD are not things you experience in the military because the symptoms of those disorders are ironed out of you in basic training. What use would a military force be if it had the types of disorders found like this?
What use would it be if a sergeant issued commands and someone with ADD wasn’t paying attention? Or if the corporal told his troup to go one way and some smart-alec ODD person defied him and went the other way.
This is why I firmly believe that the military works with things like this because it is one of the few areas in life which enforces discipline. School doesn’t anymore because the kids are streetwise to it all.
In my office in the UK I used to have secondary kids congregate in the ground floor lobby because we had a chip shop close by and if it was raining they’d come in and shelter from the rain. First of all they weren’t meant to be out of school. Second, they shouldn’t have entered our building, thirdly they left their finished chip-papers in my office and would tread it in the carpet and generally cause mayhem. So, one day I walked out past them - about 6 in the lobby and as I walked out, I locked the door so they were locked in. Then I called the police and school. The headmaster drove to the office and I told him I had his pupils in there. He was very apologetic but you know the saddest thing of all was when the headmaster confronted the six and I had to watch these kids cheek him back and laugh in his face. It was only when the police arrived and took their addresses and phone numbers that any semblance of normality occurred.
Someone doing that in the military would get their arse kicked because that action would impact the whole group.
December 27th, 2007 at 9:41 pm
Is Stevo an MD.
December 27th, 2007 at 9:39 pm
674
Meejician Says:
December 27th, 2007 at 9:33 pm
———————————————————
The problem is that you have still not cited any papers in support of your claim.
For the avoidance of doubt, a 12 year old press release does not constitute scientific proof of a hypothesis….
December 27th, 2007 at 9:39 pm
676
Stevo Says:
December 27th, 2007 at 9:34 pm
667 Ann
Didn’t you once say in here you smoked a lot while pregnant? Forgive me if I got that wrong but if you did, did it not dawn on you that it wasn’t helping your child and some of the problems you describe could be because of that?
—————————————————-
Ffs shutup!
December 27th, 2007 at 9:34 pm
667 Ann
Didn’t you once say in here you smoked a lot while pregnant? Forgive me if I got that wrong but if you did, did it not dawn on you that it wasn’t helping your child and some of the problems you describe could be because of that?
December 27th, 2007 at 9:34 pm
668 Stevo Says:
___________________________
Ann, the reason I think the parents are more to blame than anything else (not the sole reason but the majority of it), is because when I served in the military and grew up in that military environment, I didn’t ever see the sort of defiant behaviour we see today. The reason is simple - the forces don’t want soldiers who won’t do as they are told. From the Romans through all great armies, when you do your basic training, it’s a form of brainwashing to make you realise that you are there to do as you are told. There is no “personal” soldiering within the army. You are a group of men, trained to do what you are ordered to do. Unfortunately, kids today first of all don’t respect their parents. Respect in its simplest form means doing things someone else wants, even if it’s something you personally don’t want to do. Secondly, kids don’t respect authority because they know nothing will happen to them. There are no consequences. They hear politicians tell them the jails are overcrowded and they all know a mate who maybe got community service at worst.
Until a child realises it should do as it is told and has someone over and above them who sets the rules, a child will not be “trained” properly. Of course, the parent has to set good examples or else the child is easily confused. Leaving kids alone to fend for themselves when aged under 4 is not a good example. Good parenting is not rocket science. It’s common sense.
You need less slipper when your child realises it has to do as it is told. Then, parenting becomes a self-policing affair because the child knows the difference between right and wrong far quicker than a child left to fend for itself.
—
Stevo are you really saying we just need more good soldiers?
December 27th, 2007 at 9:33 pm
540
Tony Bennett Says:
December 27th, 2007 at 6:37 pm
QUESTION: Is the lack of dopamine *the cause*? Or *the effect*?
Not known yet, and it’s not a lack of dopamine, it’s an inefficient output and a monoamine/amino acid imbalance. The most recent research, 2006/7 shows a suspiciously double helix type reliance at some point on the glycine chain involving the amino acids glutamate, glutamine, serine and others. So this sugar conversion issue may play a role in the norepinephrine/dopamine/serotonin (monoamines). It’s all tied up with GABA. Allegedly.
December 27th, 2007 at 9:31 pm
667 Ann
Environmental factors influence a child as well - do the parents party all the time or smoke/drink. I know I get pretty angry to see a smoker in a car with children in there - that’s one of my big bugbears. What chance has a kid got with a selfish parent like that?
Another thing a lot of parents never understand is what abuse actually means. We all know that physical or sexual violence is abuse but what about a parent who smothers their child with too much loving - constantly buying them things or constantly feeding them so they get obese and/or spoilt? This latent abuse is just as bad as any other form of abuse because the child will become dysfunctional. Sadly, over-protection and loving too much is probably the most prevalent form of abuse today.
December 27th, 2007 at 9:30 pm
My Pop has heard from a Portuguese detective in his precinct, that the case may now be leaning towards the kidnap angle, interesting twist.
December 27th, 2007 at 9:30 pm
667 Ann
—
I respect your experience more than that of those who have not walked in your shoes.
December 27th, 2007 at 9:27 pm
665 Gloria Smudd Says:
662 veritablequandry
Check it out on the main Anorak menu - two threads about Mrs Bhutto, 8 replies and I am 4 of them. Perhaps it’s because no-one replies to me on here, except Garth, sometimes, who is rude and mentioned my bloomers last time he replied.
—–
Sorry Gloria, I did not mean to be flippant.
I care deeply about what is happening in Pakistan.
But Anorak is not the only venue for expressing concern.
December 27th, 2007 at 9:26 pm
Where ’s my mate Redrooster…alias…wanker ade?
December 27th, 2007 at 9:25 pm
658 Ann Says:
December 27th, 2007 at 9:04 pm
537
Judith C Says:
December 27th, 2007 at 6:33 pm
Ann, what’s your view on the fact that there were (apparently) no ‘attention deficit hyperactive children’ not so many years ago — say 30 or 40 and leading up to then? Do you think they were just not ‘discovered’?
***************************************************
I think they were just the “naughty kids” who ended up in the corner or getting the slipper, because - let’s face it, we all knew those types.
______________________________
Ann, the reason I think the parents are more to blame than anything else (not the sole reason but the majority of it), is because when I served in the military and grew up in that military environment, I didn’t ever see the sort of defiant behaviour we see today. The reason is simple - the forces don’t want soldiers who won’t do as they are told. From the Romans through all great armies, when you do your basic training, it’s a form of brainwashing to make you realise that you are there to do as you are told. There is no “personal” soldiering within the army. You are a group of men, trained to do what you are ordered to do. Unfortunately, kids today first of all don’t respect their parents. Respect in its simplest form means doing things someone else wants, even if it’s something you personally don’t want to do. Secondly, kids don’t respect authority because they know nothing will happen to them. There are no consequences. They hear politicians tell them the jails are overcrowded and they all know a mate who maybe got community service at worst.
Until a child realises it should do as it is told and has someone over and above them who sets the rules, a child will not be “trained” properly. Of course, the parent has to set good examples or else the child is easily confused. Leaving kids alone to fend for themselves when aged under 4 is not a good example. Good parenting is not rocket science. It’s common sense.
You need less slipper when your child realises it has to do as it is told. Then, parenting becomes a self-policing affair because the child knows the difference between right and wrong far quicker than a child left to fend for itself.
December 27th, 2007 at 9:17 pm
610
i-dont-believe-them Says:
December 27th, 2007 at 7:42 pm
Ann (yesterday’s thread) admitted she drugged her own child to sleep and called him a “mini-monster”. Ann, he didn’t “happen” to “develop into a paranoid schizophrenic”. No, that’s caused by rubbish parenting
*****************************************************
You really don’t “listen” to people do you ? You have your own opinion and you have just marmalised what I said and did. I challenge you to speak to any parent of a screaming child who just will not shut up and is disturbing the rest of the household, nay - possibly the whole bloody street, night after night after night, and see what they tell you. I ended up in tears of desperation on some occasions , he was affecting us all which is why I sought advice and help from those who are supposed to be qualified so to do and did not take myself off down to the nearest pharmacy and gather up bottles of pills and potions to administer to him willy-nilly, and where in Heaven’s name did you get the myopic impression that paranoid schizophrenia is caused by BAD PARENTING ???? !!! You are unbelievable !!
December 27th, 2007 at 9:14 pm
Jane
I have looked in several times today in the hope that you might post. As you know, I don’t intend to engage in actual discussion on this site as it’s basically nothing more than pooling our ignorance but I needed to “talk” to you.
You’ll remember you asked me weeks ago if I posted on the British Democracy forum? At the time, I hadn’t even heard of it. Yesterday, when family had all left in the evening, I finally decided to investigate. Very interesting….and surprising! THANK YOU! I haven’t actually joined but was very heartened by much of what I read!
Following your post today, here’s another example of why newspaper reports are usually largely rubbish and why that method of selecting from “reports” to support any particular theory is wrong. This is from Express early on.
“Main suspect Robert Murat is reported to have asked several people for alibis
Saturday May 19,2007
By David Pilditch and Matt Drake
THE main suspect at the centre of the Madeleine McCann investigation asked a number of people to give him an alibi for the night she was snatched, it emerged yester day.
And questions were raised after reports that Robert Murat, above, had telephone conversations with Russian Sergey Malinka soon after the child went missing – despite saying they hadn’t spoken for months.
News of 33-year-old Murat’s shocking attempts to cover his tracks led a police source to say yesterday: ’This was one more incident which led to suspicions falling on him.’ ”
So where does that leave us? Was it a pack of lies from the sources or from the newspaper or both? Partial? Mistaken? Malicious? Correct? Anti-Murat smear? Who knows? Nobody. Certainly nobody here! Possibly the police know.
Here’s another example. The press repeated reports a few weeks ago that the Catholic priest was hiding some big secret of the McCanns. As you know, he has been accused of hearing their confession or saying a requiem for Madeleine at their request and then revealing secrets to the Vatican. (All good Dan Brown stuff!) The denials of these reports by the Catholic priest were reported a couple of weeks ago in the local paper in Praia da Luz for expats, The Resident. Here’s the article. I suppose I think it’s just a bit more likely to be true because it’s local and actually quotes the priest’s words rather than “sources”. The Resident’s reports are generally more sober in tone from those of the rags here. I’ve read them all since May.
“Updated: 13 December 2007
Praia da Luz priest denies reports in UK newspaper
By: CECÍLIA PIRES
cecilia@portugalresident.com
PRAIA DA Luz church is receiving the image of Our Lady of Fátima on Monday, December 18, in a special visit to the region and this is the reason why ribbons and images of Madeleine McCann have been temporarily removed from its interior, according to father José Manuel Pacheco, the local catholic priest .
Praia da Luz’s community “has not forgotten the little British girl and special prayers are still being held every Friday,” father José Manuel Pacheco told The Resident.
The catholic priest was reacting to reports in the UK’s Daily Express in which he is said to have “ordered the removal of scores of green and yellow ribbons which were put up as a symbol of hope in the days after Madeleine vanished”. The British newspaper quotes a “close friend to the priest” as saying that the latter “can’t even hear the Madeleine case mentioned without becoming irate.” A statement that father José Manuel Pacheco describes as “barbarity” and a “lie”. “I do not know who that ‘friend’ might be, but I doubt such person is my friend”, he told The Resident.
Father José Manuel Pacheco ensures that “priests have no power to order anything in our churches. We have an entity for that, which is the Conselho Pastoral, where the catholic community is represented”.
Church key
With regards to the key to Praia da Luz church that the McCanns were given after Madeleine went missing, so that the couple could pray in privacy, “that was a decision made by the Conselho Pastoral and I only knew about it three days later”.
Father José Manuel Pacheco said: “Madeleine McCann’s parents know that we support them and that is the most important thing. The family kept very close and good relations with the church and its representatives in Praia da Luz”.
Madeleine McCann has now been missing for 225 days and her parents renew appeals every day looking for “that piece of information” that will lead to her being found. In contrast, the police investigation being carried out in Portugal continues to focus on the couple as the main suspects for her probable death.
If you have any information on the whereabouts of Madeleine McCann, please contact the McCann helpline on +34 902 300 213 or the Portuguese Police on +351 282 405 400. ”
Again, I think none of us knows the truth. Possibly the police know a lot more. That’s why I won’t engage in further discussion. Any “sources” we have are not sound and that certainly includes all those reports of what Tanner was supposed, or not supposed, to have said at different times. The press reports may change but only the police know what she actually told them and when.
The worrying thing is that intelligent people should know that and not try to construct theories on sand and pre-empt charges and verdicts. I will remain firmly of that view
Happy New Year and thank you again!
December 27th, 2007 at 9:14 pm
662 veritablequandry
Check it out on the main Anorak menu - two threads about Mrs Bhutto, 8 replies and I am 4 of them. Perhaps it’s because no-one replies to me on here, except Garth, sometimes, who is rude and mentioned my bloomers last time he replied.
December 27th, 2007 at 9:13 pm
663 Jane Says:
at 9:11 pm
Oh, and I forgot to mention the Hollywood film rights
————
and to whom would you wish the film rights to go?
December 27th, 2007 at 9:11 pm
Constatine:
Oh, and I forgot to mention the Hollywood film rights
December 27th, 2007 at 9:10 pm
660 Gloria Smudd Says:
Also, I can’t really grasp that only me, June Johnson and Anorak seem to mind that Benazir Bhutto has been assassinated. Obviously this is more important, in terms of global politics.
—————
surely not only you three
December 27th, 2007 at 9:08 pm
well it’s ricky gervais extras time so stuff the mcconns
nite all and see you when tomorrow’s doom bar wears off
that could be a long time…
such fun