Madeleine McCann: Blown Out Of All Proportion
MADELEINE McCann is on the beach at Praia da Luz. Or at least her likeness is.
As the Mail reports, Chris Lennox and Les Harley, have driven 2,200 miles from Scotland. They have brought along a 800 sq ft giant inflatable billboard appealing for Madeleine’s safe return.
The Mail doesn’t say anything about Chris Lennox and Les Harle nor why they should choose to display Madeleine’s image in such a fashion. Is this not a little unusual, creepy even?
At least the BBC bothers to speak with campaigners. It hears Mr Lennox tell us: “My heartstrings have been pulled on this and I want to help. I have a family with small kids and my wife has been following this from day one. She told me to come out here and do what I could. I am clearly here to help raise awareness.”
Such is the way of public spectacles, like the Madeleine McCann mystery, that many feel involved. They want to do their bit. But what can they do? Put themselves in the public eye? Make a huge inflatable and show the world how much they care?
Lennox and Hale plan to tour the area with their massive inflatable sign. And surely it will keep Madeleine’s name in the public eye. People will be reminded that Madeleine McCann has gone missing. Parents on holiday will be made aware that children can be taken. They will anxiously hug their children closer. And, if they’ve read some of the over the top media coverage, they will worry over holidaying in Portugal.
Meanwhile, back in the UK, Sun readers can go online and watch a video of Madeleine. It’s called “Maddie on Mobile”. The Mail has stills of Madeleine McCann at the airport, excitedly climbing the airplane’s steps.
The two films, one of 13 seconds and another of nine, were taken on camera phones. “Somewhere in the background there’s even the sound of her voice,” says the Mail. Ghouls will love it.
And they can see it on the Sun’s website. Right after an advert for a film called Paradise Lost, featuring lot of babes in bikinis, and before “Sex in the City, a video showing a couple shagging on a London rooftop, there’s Madeleine on the airport shuttle bus.
So we look. But what does it teach us? Only that the media owns the story of Madeleine McCann. And that she is just another form of entertainment to pass the time before the next show…
Posted: 29th, May 2007 | In: Madeleine McCann Comments (262) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
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September 30th, 2007 at 6:45 pm
[...] Week’s PicturesAnorak - Put themselves in the public eye? Make a huge inflatable and show the world how much they care ? Lennox and Hale plan to tour Don t you think Gary Glitter has been awfully quiet recently about this whole McCann missing girl story? Mind you I hear he [...]
September 28th, 2007 at 10:47 pm
[...] Week’s PicturesAnorak - Put themselves in the public eye? Make a huge inflatable and show the world how much they care ? Lennox and Hale plan to tour Don t you think Gary Glitter has been awfully quiet recently about this whole McCann missing girl story? Mind you I hear he [...]
September 28th, 2007 at 6:33 pm
A minor blogger in Oz said the Mccanns are sordid little swingers [his own words] - is there any proof of this?
September 25th, 2007 at 10:58 am
[...] Week’s PicturesAnorak - Put themselves in the public eye? Make a huge inflatable and show the world how much they care ? Lennox and Hale plan to tour Don t you think Gary Glitter has been awfully quiet recently about this whole McCann missing girl story? Mind you I hear he [...]
September 20th, 2007 at 10:36 am
we all think the mother had somethink to do with it but the father doesnt because wen on the news he always looks upset but the mother jus looks guilty and we really dont want to be horrible but how long is it gunna be till u think she is dead .
why isnt maddie in any of the pictures wid her parents we think she was neglected……….?????????????????????????????????/
September 17th, 2007 at 10:13 am
chezza dear….. the body could have been hidden days before they reported to the police,a planned crime cannot be commited or carried out blindly, still i think they have a lot of explaining to do,just by leaving a 3 year old alone home is already something to be punished for,anyway just how much do uknow these people??? certainly not enough…. or a lot
September 16th, 2007 at 10:54 pm
Oh FFS, another man with money is splashing his cash to ‘help’ the mccain oven chips (Cos thats what they look like, 2 fries, one fatter than the other) Why does Richard Branson have to butt in and pay all legal fees for them? They’ve got money in their high paid jobs, albeit they have not been working for a while. Mr. Branson should concentrate in putting his money in his businesses, in particular Virgin Media where their services are crap, customer services is even worse.
When the Mccans are found guilty all these people who think they’re whiter than white will be so hard hit, they’ll look like they’ve had a full boxing match with Mike Tyson and Mohammad Ali at the same time!
September 16th, 2007 at 8:02 pm
What would the Buddha say?
September 16th, 2007 at 6:07 am
(Quote>)”I urge people to print details of other missing children and each time you see a photo of Madeleine, stick another missing child poster beside it. There is no good reason why the Madeleine campaign should take precedence or steal every other missing child’s advertising space.”
That’s a superb idea, I couldn’t agree with you more!
Some links……
http://www.missingkids.co.uk/ [clink "Distribute Posters", for example]
http://www.pact-online.org/html/poster_campaigns.html
http://www.childrescuealert.com/links/npo.htm
September 14th, 2007 at 11:48 am
im sure the portugeise police did not see them drunk did they?????? No
September 14th, 2007 at 11:47 am
lets just say for instance if it was them who killed maddiehow on earth did they hide the body for a month and then move the body surly with all the media attention they get they wouldve been seen??????
September 14th, 2007 at 11:43 am
people r seeing that the mcanns drank loads of wine to themselves they did have friends there ya know and ok 14 bottles or wine is more than enough but whos to say the mcanns drank loads also how do we know one or 3 or 4 of there m8 r not alcoholics huh? I wouldnt say the mcanns r alcoholics as it hasnt been in the media about any drinking habits of theres. u people just altomatically wna believe its the mcanns mcanns mcanns its stupid and unfair!!!!!!
September 14th, 2007 at 11:37 am
oh my Gosh why do u people only believe wot u see if u think carefully u can see the portugese police r just trying to pin it on the mcanns. I dont know why u all compare this case up to other cases. This is about MADDIE and no1 know for sure what happened. Sandra u speak pretty good english to me i think u r either american or english or irish or welsh got to be. All i do know is that the context u r using is shit u speak about things that aint even to do with madeliene get a grip. I think if anything that one of their m8s may have harmed maddie why havent they been inteviewed yet?and i think Gerry has kept himself more calm and collected more so than kate but still that doesnt mean its him or her. I dont know what grounds that have to charge them i really dont all that DNA crap it dont mean anything at all. Dont you think the mcanns r going through enough with losing their child and then have to get put through this and they ave said even tho this is happening they will not stop looking for maddie. They need as much support as they can get right now. U people r slagging the Mcanns of meanwhile this girl has really been ubducted its not fair. You people are heartless and I cannot believe my eyes.
September 14th, 2007 at 10:21 am
you r right dewizard11,all planned,just put the parents in for life without any trial at all,they do not deserve it,the defenseless child could not even say a word to defend herself,why should they(the parents) be given the right to defend themselves??
September 14th, 2007 at 9:50 am
guess reading some comments about this case and they are for one reason or another removed from this opinion poll,shows me there was some truth behind them all,anyway,very clear that madeiline parents where involved just hope that she will be found alive,further i guess these irresponsible parents would be given life imprisonment especially if the poor girl was murdered,who i think she is otherwise they tell where she is..nowadays kids are not even safe with their parents….ALL PLANNED IT WAS FROM THE BEGININNING ALSO THE HOLIDAY IN PORTUGAL
September 13th, 2007 at 12:31 am
What a great day to bury bad news.
September 8th, 2007 at 11:52 pm
Sam,how is it disgusting to say the parents are irresponsible to have left Madeleine on her own.It WAS irresponsible.
I don’t agree with making jokes about the situation,although I understand the point some are making about it being a media circus.
I find it hard to empathise with the parents.My heart goes out to Madeleine,though my gut feeling is that she is dead.
The parents are arrogant in their attitude towards people’s criticism of having left her alone.I don’t think I have heard them say they made a mistake.
I hope I am wrong,but I feel they were involved,though I think it would have been a case of manslaughter,perhaps due to an overdose of sleeping pills.The whole story doesn’t add up.Though the alternative that she was taken by a paedophile is horrific,too,of course.Why was there blood in the car,which was hired weeks after she disappeared? It’s not as if they could have been framed by the police,as they would have needed her dna to do this,which they didn’t have as she was missing.
September 8th, 2007 at 6:14 pm
Well it’s about bloody time the parents were ’suspects’ naybe now they’ll realise they can’t get away with their pathetic ploy trying to blame someone else!
September 8th, 2007 at 5:22 am
The media has blown this story of 1 missing child into the stratosphere.
A real story would have been the continual slaughter in Iraq & Afghanistan.
But no the ‘Great British Unbiased Media’ in all its breath-taking hypocrisy, focus day in and day out on this minor case.
The latest developments have made a mockery of this entire system and the celebrity plastics who will do anything for some free publicity.
August 29th, 2007 at 11:40 am
Stevo I dont think the Mcanns should have left the children alone for five minutes never mind half an hour But… I dont believe that they are behind her disappearance in any way shape or form. I dont care what spin the media puts on it.
As for what you say about other childrens posters being put up I totally agree.
For too long not enough was done when a child was abducted. Any child going missing is an outrage. I say good on the Mcanns for making such a commotion about their child going missing. If it were my child God forbid I would be doing the same as the Mcanns. It might may make the next sicko who comes along think twice that little children are not such easy pickings.
August 24th, 2007 at 6:40 pm
i hope madeline is found safe and i hope that she aint dead i wud do anythink to help and i do mkiss her as if i really hope she is found cuz i feel sorry 4 her and her parents she as only 4 and her birthday went y she was missin we love u madeline
August 19th, 2007 at 5:00 pm
steve ur right as is sue but 1 thing i will say i have not been taken in by Team McCann’s publicity campaign yes i do have a myspace page for madeline but it is for the sweet lil angel that didnt deserve this i did not do the page for her parents i did it for maddie and maddie only so ppl cud leave messages for her .if u ask me i wudnt call her parents responsible more irresponsible and drinking that much when there 3 children are in a room on their own when they were offered babysitting services and why lie about calling the police when they did. This as made me realise the parents are involved and i think the police know it they just anit taking their chances of the mccann’s doing one
August 19th, 2007 at 12:15 am
I think the McCann parents are racked with guilt and the media campaign is all a cover up to divert attention from them. Let’s face it - they are 110% guilty of failing in their duty to look after their 3 toddlers. This is not in dispute. Madeleine would be here today if they took parenting seriously. I really get annoyed when Kate McCann says they would do nothing to harm their children. Rubbish…they already have! Even my 11 year old daughter keeps asking me why on earth they left 3 toddlers in a room alone.
I live in the USA but have flown back to England twice in the past 3 months. I can’t believe how the whole country has been taken in by Team McCann’s publicity campaign. Ok, Madeleine is a lovely toddler and we wish she is found. But…I’m used to seeing multiple photos of snatched children posted in supermarkets and other places in the USA. I urge people to print details of other missing children and each time you see a photo of Madeleine, stick another missing child poster beside it. There is no good reason why the Madeleine campaign should take precedence or steal every other missing child’s advertising space. The McCann’s should realise their missing child isn’t the only one in the world.
This could all be dealt with swiftly by giving the McCann’s and their friends a lie-detector test!
The most likely scenario right now is that the police know she’s dead and they are looking for a body. When a body is found, I’m sure that the jigsaw will all come together.
Here’s a theory…perhaps the McCann’s want to remain in the resort because they know where the body is hidden. Perhaps they want to ensure it’s gone without a trace before they leave and return home…
August 18th, 2007 at 9:57 pm
The following is cut and pasted from the mirror.co.uk
Here is a Straight cut and Paste from Mike Hitchens’ Blog comments. There is no validation link for the comment and it could be well wide of the mark. But a Gut feeling tells me This IS what actually happened, being well versed in How grumpy old Ladies can react, I think it gen.
”
Here’s a translation of a statement by a member of staff at the Tapas BAR that evening….
“During the short hour that dinner lasted, the group asked for, and consumed at their table, eight bottles of red wine and six of white wine, according to the restaurant´s records”.
14 bottles of wine, in less than an hour, between 8 or 9 people….hmmm… did they walk to check the children, or stagger, one wonders……
With regard to the statement by Mrs. Penn, who rents the flat above the room the child was in - she had complained to the complex staff about the children being left alone before the child went ‘missing’. Staff had spoken to the McCanns again about a babysitter, but were brushed aside.
On the night the child went ‘missing’ Mrs. Penn had heard what appeared to be a commotion below, went down, and found a large number of people in the room.
Kate M. told her the child was ‘missing’ .Mrs. Penn then offered to phone the police, but was told, ‘no we’ve already [honed them’.
Although Mrs. Penn is 70, her faculties are considered excellent. she noted the time of this exchange as being 10pm.
The first call to the police came in at 10.40pm.
Why did Kate M. lie to Mrs. Penn, saying they had already called the police?
Following this, Mrs.Penn refused to talk to either journalists or police, feeling that she had done what any right thinking person would do, ie. alerted the staff to children left alone, and subsequently offered to phone the police, only to be brushed aside and more or less told to mind her own business.
August 18th, 2007 at 9:49 pm
then i read the dailyexpress news and find this
SENSATIONAL new evidence has been unearthed in the hunt for missing Madeleine McCann, it was revealed last night.
Forensic experts are examining at least six vital fresh clues which police believe will provide a significant breakthrough in the investigation.
The fresh evidence, which is being examined for DNA, has been gathered from vehicles seized by the police and a beach.
Among the 10 vehicles forensically examined was one driven by the McCanns and another by Robert Murat, who remains the only official suspect in the case.
Portuguese detectives, who are waiting on the results, are confident they will provide the vital link needed to make an arrest.
News of the development comes as the investigation into the disappearance of the four-year-old continues to gather momentum following weeks of frustration for the family and police.enior detectives on the Algarve are now working on the theory that Madeleine died on the night she disappeared and was not kidnapped as first thought.
It has also been reported that Portuguese police believe they know the identity of the killer or killers and are now simply building the case against them.
The resuls of the DNA tests could be all detectives need to swoop on the suspects.
Portugal’s top policeman Alipio Ribeiro has even said his officers are just hours from solving the disappearance.In an interview with the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, he said: “In the next hours one of the keys of the case will become clear.”
The breakthrough came after a British police team using specially trained sniffer dogs travelled to the Portugal to re-examine the apartment from where Madeleine went missing on May 3.
The dogs discovered two tiny specks of blood, which had been missed during an earlier examination of the property.
These samples were sent off to the Forensic Science Service laboratory in Birmingham to check if they were a match for Madeleine’s DNA.
But it has now emerged that in addition to the blood traces, detectives also found six other pieces of evidence, which have been described as extremely significant.
It is also understood that forensics officers are examining a small amount of evidence collected from a beach near to Praia da Luz, leading to speculation that the little girl could have been killed and her body dumped in the sea.
While police sources have refused to divulge details of what the new clues are, they have revealed that they are crucial to the overall investigation.
Police examined a total of 10 vehicles in an effort to ascertain whether Madeleine had been moved by car in the hours after she was abducted.
Detectives working on the case sealed off three floors of an underground car park in nearby Portimao in order to conduct a thorough forensic examination.
Tests were also carried out on vehicles belonging to Murat’s German girlfriend Michaela Walczuch and her husband, Portuguese swimming pool maintenance man Luis Antonio. The McCann’s hired Renault Scenic was also examined.
Police also carried out tests on vehicles owned by Russian computer expert Sergey Malinka, 22, and several of Murat’s relatives.
The police insist that the McCann’s, from Rothley, Leicestershire have never been suspects in the case.
The results of the forensic tests have been described as the final piece in the jigsaw, which will finally allow detectives to move in and arrest the suspects.
However due to the fragile condition of the samples, it could take several more days before the results are finally available.
One source at the laboratory said: “There is a significant amount of material from a number of locations and it will take some time to work through it all.”
Despite the developments Kate and Gerry have refused to give up hope that their daughter will be found alive.
Yesterday they once again visited the tiny Catholic Church in Praia da Luz to offer prayers for the safe return of their daughter.
Gerry and Kate, who was clutching Madeleine’s toy cuddle cat, spent around 45 minutes at the church where they have visited regularly since their daughter’s abduction.
A family friend said: “Their faith is extremely important to them and they get enormous comfort by spending a little time praying in church.”
August 18th, 2007 at 9:44 pm
here was something i came across in a post on the skynews website read it tell me wat u think
Police suspect it was an accident with sedatives?
“Madeleine had been put to bed with Sean and Amelie sleeping in cots on either side of her while her parents, Kate and Gerry, dined with friends at a tapas restaurant 50 yards away.”
“The twins did not even wake when part-time GP Kate, 39, found Madeleine missing – and repeatedly screamed out her name in desperation. And they slept on after the McCanns raised the alarm and a frantic search began involving their friends and other holidaymakers.”
“The twins were eventually carried out of the apartment still sleeping by two police inspectors.”
A police source said: “It is a remarkable aspect of the investigation. Madeleine was asleep in a bed between the twins’ cots – one on either side.
“They were just a few feet away, yet they never woke up.
“We had hoped officers could have discovered information from the young ones in a gentle way.
“It might have been possible that they could have unearthed things children may even have tried to bury in their subconscious – things they never even thought they’d witnessed.
“But in this case there was nothing. The twins simply carried on sleeping, even through all the noise and the confusion during the desperate search that followed.
“The two children were asleep when police arrived and were removed from the apartment by two inspectors.
“Because of this they were unable to be of any use in our investigations.’’
A family friend said: “They didn’t give the children anything to help them sleep. The youngsters must have just been exhausted after a long and exciting day on holiday.
“In some ways it may be a blessing they didn’t wake.’’
****
Now does anyone in the world actually believe that all that noise would not wake up 2-year old children? And why it’s again the friends defending the parents? The plot thickens…
Source: http://www.express.co.uk/news/view/16538/McCanns:-We-did-not-give-our-children-medication
August 18th, 2007 at 9:20 pm
stevo and katrina, I think I read this in The Express paper (UK) and it is correct to disbelieve the c**p which is being written, we are all exasperated by the lack of news, but I suppose the Portugese police may have very valid reasons for holding back info:
I was also questioning the fact that the last sighting of the child were by the parents and that nobody else had seen her , then the article came up of the very late offer of the restaurant manager or owner of the cctv footage, which in itself is unbelievable due to its lateness!! what planet was he on to offer it so late, that is if it is a true story, many late stories are emerging, one today was that on old lady in the apartment above the McCanns is a new very important witness.
She is called Mrs Fenn, she was in her flat with her niece and her friend on the time running up and including the night of the child being missing.
(We also had her photo shown) this by the way is in the Express, she was burgled by a man fitting the description of the man described by Jane Tanner, the man who was supposed to have had the child in his arms in a blanket, the old lady and her neice saw the man and the old lady, mrs fenn grabbed his legs as he got out of the window, but he got away!
Another resident in the block was also burgled of 500 euros and personal belongings, but the only thing the police did was raid the flat of the old lady with sniffer dogs soon after the abduction.
They did not go back and question the 3 women in the flat above until now, these women saw a man hanging about outside the flats and have descriptions, due to the fact probably that they had been previously burgled. The neice is supposed to be returning to Portugal tomorrow, monday, to give a statement.Sue
August 18th, 2007 at 8:16 pm
thats actually suppose to be true but to me this case seems more focused on wat the parents are doing and not doing than on the person in question that sweet lil angel maddie ur right alice its like that want to become celebs and bea big part of the public eye well if thats wat they are trying to do then wat a way to go about it steve i actually think u might be right i dont think maddie was in the room either i was reading back ion the news reports on skynews and there is a post there saying thast maddie was in a bed with the twins in cots either side of her why where the twins not disturbed if someone kidnapped maddie doesnt make sense to me
August 18th, 2007 at 4:44 pm
Anybody read the Gerry blog - 17 august? You cant tell me that they have actually flown out the priest that married them to conduct a service for them in Portugal?? Somebody please tell me I have read this wrongly!! If this is true - who the hell would go to those extremes when there is so much more important business to attend to - like searching for the kid. They really have escalated themselves to celeb status - or they think they have…..most folk just consider all this hype and media circus as either a sham or an attempt to not show the “real” person. Anyone know if Gerry wanted to be a pro footballer and failed or Kate wated Kate moss status and failed?? Well grab the spotlight while you can - there are a lot of dark days ahead - whether their daughter is safe or not there are a lot of unanswered questions
August 18th, 2007 at 1:25 pm
You said it Katrina…one paper says one thing and another paper says something else. I suggest not reading the papers because 90% of what’s written is untrue. The police can’t tell the public exactly what’s going on because it’s an ongoing investigation. I just wish people could think outside the box on this instead of following like sheep and relaying the speculative stories in the papers.
I for one wonder if Madeleine was in that room at all that night.
August 18th, 2007 at 8:35 am
well they have the blood results why cant they just let ppl know wether its maddie’s or not because now they are saying they maybe inconclusive wtf its all crap the information we are given changes one paper says this another says this how are we suppose to know the truth if even the papers and the police involved cant tell us wat really happened on the 3rd of may when pooor maddie was taken from her appartment while her parents dined