Breaking Media, Politicians & Celebrities Since 1995

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‘Collect & Keep’ Cardboard pop-up Maddies, ‘at the pool’, ‘at the airport’, ‘at the party’ etc…etc…. yours to collect and swap….

from McCann-O:-, construct your own Tapas Bar and real, working Pope- mobile!

The comments in this forum have sunk to a new low. How sad a story this really is. The ” Who done it” is getting old as a topic. It’s like a bunch of fools trying to decode a murder mystery novel. Parents? Murat? a Swiss? Aliens? Most of these posts must be written by neurotic mental cases that are somehow allowed to have Internet access at the institution they have been committed to.

Orion - do you think what pople say on an internet forum is different to what they think in private and say to friends and family? Anyone sane wants Madeleine found safe and well - how can we not feel for the parents, whose pain is all too real. But what does the media tell us about the case?

The newspapers peddling scurrilous, dangerous and ludicrous theories should be banned from publication. Free speech is essential but there has to be a limit on what may be said or written in terms of accusations, or implied accusations, of other people. Mud sticks. Bad enough to be living the tragedy which the McCanns are living, without the unfounded horrific slurs to which they have been subjected this last week. Worst of all is that these slurs are hidden, in certain papers, like the Daily Express, under a thin veil of “caring” about Madeleine and her family.
How long are we going to tolerate such a press?
Congratulations to the Independent which did, last week, attempt to portray a balanced view of the state of the “news” (non-news, actually) about the case at that moment.
I was out of the UK and had no access to the net and limited access to newspapers so I can speak only about the two newspapers I’ve mentioned.
Early on, with reference to Robert Murat, Gerry made the point that evryone must be seen as innocent until convicted and proved guilty. The same provilege should now be accorded to him and his wife.
What we have is trial by media, especially the gutter press. Something must be done to stop this.

Anorak-I can tell you what the media tells us about the case-not much of substance, more innuendo, spectulation and downright untruths. For example-one UK paper stated outright that the blood on the McCann apt wall was Madeleine’s and this was BEFORE it had even been TESTED! To me, this is irresponsible reporting no matter how you cut it. Also it has been said that the McCann apt has been rented out a number of times since the disappearance of Madeleine! And it has only been recently the police found what they call “blood” on the wall there. Maybe it was from one of the renters! Sounds reasonable to me. The armchair detectives out there have no more facts than I do. Some of the bloggers on this site make a little bit of sense but many are nasty,vindictive and grossly unfeeling! Maybe they need to step into the McCann’s shoes with a darling helpless child missing and then it would be an entirely different story, wouldn’t it?

Hi. I may be wrong Martin but I think the policeman said that some “clues” had been found. I find it a bit difficult to understand his accent just at that point but all the reports seem to have written it up as “clues”. Maybe I’ve got the wrong interview, or the wrong bit, or I may have misheard but I THINK that is what was said. What do others think?

Maria when I heard it, it sounded like “clues and” with a very heavy accent. If it’s clothing then that explains the suggestion of murder but presumably the interview was also given in Portugese, and if it was indeed “clothes” it would be all over the Portugese tabloids and then picked up by the rest of the world. Does this make sense?

As Anorak suggests, the entire Madeleine McCann story has done nothing to enlighten the great majority about the whole issue of paedophilia. It exists. It always has (read your classics and your social histories) and it always will. It is not a ‘disease’, an ‘illness’ or a ‘peversion’. It is yet another unfortunate expression of human sexuality, however unpalatable and unacceptable that might be to the great majority of adults. Until we - in mainstream societies - can get past that one fundamental, nothing will happen. We are marooned in the Middle-Ages, concocting knee-jerk laws and restrictions to villify and isolate the people we ‘don’t like the look of’, to legalise modern-day witchunting and all but provide the torches and rope to go on yet another lynching every time something like a child’s disappearance happens, or much less.

You know, adults get shot, stabbed, murdered, chopped-up and stolen all the time, every day, everywhere. But only when a child is involved do otherwise normal people suddenly become completely regressive, ditching all notions of common sense and justice - they act on some primal, highly contageous instinct to ‘take it out’ on the nearest, most likely suspect. In this modern age, more perhaps than ever before, there seems to be an unspoken license, both on the part of police and government, to act like a complete fools whenever paedophilia enters the equation (imagined or not).

But it’s pointless to ever look to the tabloids or even the broadsheets for any sensible discussion around the subject. It will not happen until there is a seismic shift in social, political and legal thinking. And I think that day is very, very far away. The McCann girl’s tragedy is, in the end, what it always was - before it was hijacked by the tabloids, that is - a sad tale of a child’s disappearance in a small Portugese holiday town. It happens all the time, everywhere. It always has. We have very short memories in this modern age. History seems to have taught us nothing. The most important questions - war, poverty, child-abuse - are left unattended, the elephants in the room, while we watch 24-hour reality TV and worship at the altar of celebrity.

Martin I think that this case is of enormous interest to the Portugese and the PJ has been briefing the press in their own lingo naturally. I dont think they’d be relying on his broken English, translated back into Portugese and delivered under pressure to write in the daily rag.

Dogstar you write of paedophilia: “It is yet another unfortunate expression of human sexuality, however unpalatable and unacceptable that might be to the great majority of adults” - what about the kids and babies who are violated? They dont know big words like unpalatable and unacceptable. But “it hurts” would go some way to summing things up. A society should be judged on how well it treats the vulnerable - kids, elderly etc. And for the most part, those without a legal voice ie: loads of money is largely ignored. People who violate those who have absolutely no way of defending themselves should be hunted, but as you say, celebrity is the new God and war, famine will be ignored.

Penster, did the pj speak to any other british journalist apart from the bbc guy? Is it not possible he would deliberately slip something factual or a ‘red herring’ for the British press to see the reaction of any suspects who may be under surveillance?
I looked in a newspaper this morning and the quote is “There have been some developments, and CLUES HAVE been found, that could point to the possible death of the little child.” Well a quote is all well and good but the fact remains that if the guy meant to say ‘clues’ he ended up saying nothing of the sort. Actual quote is “some ‘closing’ in the…had been found. Now there’s only one english word in a portugese accent that fits with ‘closing’ and that is ‘clothing’.
I just cant get past this. My son was online this morning playing with an Australian friend of his. He has heard of the case but it is of no interest to him. We sent him the link to the police interview, told him only to listen to the first few sentences and tell us simply “what did the policeman say was found?” After a moment of silence he uttered “clothing”, said it was obvious and when told, said he found it amazing that anyone could assume him to say anything else.
Now of course this doesnt prove anything (and you may be of the opinion that its not ‘clothing’) but is it just possible that it is indeed that word stated as fact/’red herring’ for british consumption to catch out people under surveillance. Have I got a valid point or do I need a holiday? Just off to watch Columbo! lol

Colette, I think its ridiculous the journalist didnt clarify this but then the bbc, as with all our media only want to hear positive things about the McCann’s and they are trying to influence what we hear and think. I remember the journalist clarifying that the McCann’s were not considered ’suspects’ and then the continued report stated in effect “well where does that leave Robert Murat?” Utterly disgraceful journalism because why did the journalist not clarify whether Murat was still a ’suspect’? Obviously the bbc wanted to make the McCann’s appear in the best possible light whilst still scapegoating Murat without any evidence yet of ANYTHING.
Another interesting point relates to this interview where I’m convinced he says ‘clothing’ (sorry if you’re bored with it!). Everyone who thinks he says ‘clues’ (including the whole British media) are left assuming that he is referring to the blood in the appartment. I ask you this. What remotely intelligent police spokesman would state the possibility of the girl’s death based on an UNTESTED sample when the blood could belong to anyone??? He wouldn’t do it, would he? But ‘clothing’ would certainly make what he said logical.
Even the ‘pro McCann and friends’ newspapers today have had a field day with this very issue, again in an attempt to smear anyone BUT the McCanns.

Daily Mirror:
Police said his extaordinary announcement was based on the discovery of blood inside the McCann’s appartment at Praia da LUZ.
Friends of Kate and Gerry, both 39, said detectives will be left looking foolish if tests show the blood does not belong to Madeleine, four. One said: “If it turns out that way, then Portugese police are going to look like the Keystone Cops.”

Again I cant possibly believe the police spokesman was referring to the blood. The only other answer is that he was making a mischeivous statement in assuming possible death without evidence in order to get ‘people’ talking who they may have under surveillance (e-mail, phone tap etc). Or it could be ‘clothing’ he said after all…..

I suppose its one way to proceed for the McCann’s and their friends. Create enormous amounts of sympathy. Get the media to declare you virtual saints. Declare the police incompetent. The more this goes on the more I’m convinced that even if the McCann’s and friends ARE hiding a sinister secret (as I believe they are but hope I’m wrong) then any excuse possible will be promoted to question any implicating evidence.

One or two people on these boards are already coming up with excuses as to why an unknown abductor would kill the child, clan traces of blood and then abduct them. How ridiculous can it get in an attempt to keep the McCann’s out of the equation.

Of course the above scenario is very hypothetical at this stage but you can see where this will be going if god forbid, the McCanns are implicated in ANY way.

Martin, I am in Australia and the case is pretty big here, reported everyday in print broadsheets and tabloids, radio etc. I heard that interview on the radio so I’m not sure who the interviewing journo was. It def sounded like heavily accented English to me “clues ing”. Something else to point out, I’ve spent a bit of time in Spain and Portugal and often the “S” and “C” are pronounced “TH”. It sounds like a lisp but that’s how the language works. For instance “thankyou” in Spanish is “gracias”, pronounced “grathias”. It confused me at first when trying to speak to and understand people, but got the hang of it eventually. When I heard the interview and the heavy accent it sounded like “clues” with a bit of a lisp, which is how a Spaniard would pronounce it. I’m not sure how the Portuguese pronounce “s” but that is how it sounded. Anyone know if Portuguese has the same “th” sound as Spanish?

The other point on that is that the Portuguese press are all over this case and would presumably have been briefed in their own language, no confusion over “clues” and “clothes”, it would have been picked up on immediately had the PJ said that clothes had been found.

I dont think that the blood specks are anymore Madeleine’s than mine, and sadly, the Mccanns will be in limbo hell forever.