Monday, March 14, 2016

Comments and Link Dump






Previous Comments
~

Avoid Distractions

190 comments:

Himself said...

"No police force would invite a paparazzo to record EVIDENCE for them."

In a nutshell.

Martin Roberts said...

It would appear that CMoMM have atoned for their earlier indiscretion by balancing the argument.

Martin Roberts said...

For the lady who has single-handedly cut off the duo's only escape route out of the picture palace:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSa1fG4rlQM

Anonymous said...

Martin,

Ah..I see the mix up on the main thread: two people who photograph artwork! (My "handle" will always be there).

Ag.

Himself said...

M R 14 March 2016 at 15:49

LOL


Oh and yes, on toast please.

Himself said...

Maren. Our old friend has been wheeled out again, not without justification in this case. But what a strange country it is.

If you are of the persuasion that America will be a totalitarian police state sooner rather than later, one wonders in that odd sort of way if Trump isn't just the right catalyst to "fulfil the prophecy"?

Bizarre place, totally bizarre.

http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/03/14/it-cant-happen-here-can-it

Anonymous said...

Good morning Himself

Mass hysteria. There’s no business like show business.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBLmh8ck0yk


https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/12/12/the-four-basic-reasons-that-explain-why-donald-trump-actually-is-so-popular/

Charisma plus a powerful message has always been the formula for political success. Those who doubted Trump for so long perhaps didn't recognize that he had a special brand of both.

Well, I still do not recognise that, and I’m sure I never will, but then again we’re normal over here. As we used to say: Just act normal, that’s already crazy enough!

We all have a cross to share.

Maren

Anonymous said...

P.S.

http://www.anorak.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/kate-mccann-cat.jpg

Himself said...

Ich schwöre bei Gott diesen heiligen Eid, daß ich dem Führer des Deutschen Reiches und Volkes, Adolf Hitler, dem Oberbefehlshaber der Wehrmacht, unbedingten Gehorsam leisten und als tapferer Soldat bereit sein will, jederzeit für diesen Eid mein Leben einzusetzen.

I swear by God this holy oath, that I want to offer unconditional obedience to the Führer of the German Reich and people, Adolf Hitler, the commander-in-chief of the Wehrmacht, and be prepared as a brave soldier to risk my life for this oath at any time.

Hiel Donald

Hiel Hillary

Which gender would you like your lunatic to be?

Only in Ameriki

Anonymous said...

Heil Hillary, indeed:

http://therealside.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/HillaryClinton-OrangePantsuit-HitlerSalute-Attrib-Twitter-BoschFawstin-102315.jpg

Anonymous said...

A timely quote that I've seen doing the rounds in a couple of places:

T Adorno: I do not fear the return of the fascists as fascists, what I fear is the return of the fascists dressed up as democrats.


http://off-guardian.org/2016/03/15/the-trump-phenomenon-explained/

Ag

Himself said...

Ag
Much of this goes back to the central idea of Adorno et al. in The Authoritarian Personality. Authoritarianism is the result of . . .

Plenty of results in the search bar for: Authoritarian attitudes

It pervades America, a uniform, a gun, and a low IQ, ready made stormtroopers, no matter the political stripe.

Himself said...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtH7iv4ip1U

Anonymous said...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtH7iv4ip1U

One of the comments:

Is this the next president of the United States?

God help us all in that case.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_God_we_trust

Just to inform myself. M

Anonymous said...

H, M,

comment....."She's off her nut."

And the quizzical sound of a penny dropping!

Ag

Martin Roberts said...

Via 'Twitter'

http://www.spectator.co.uk/2016/03/take-it-from-a-qc-you-wont-get-away-with-murder/

"But they had smoked a couple of cigarettes earlier, and thrown them away at the scene. The police scraped DNA from the butts."

I'm glad it was 'the' butts and not a 'typo'.

Himself said...

I was just about to paste the same link.

Not applicable to the Metropolitan Police Service.

Anonymous said...

https://twitter.com/BrusselsAirport/with_replies

Anonymous said...

Evidence of a new cell and incompetent security services?

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/22/brussels-attacks-show-how-global-terror-networks-act-local

Anonymous said...

12 AUG 2008

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/madeleine-mccann-brussels-cctv-sighting-326596

Their private detectives followed up the report with the help of investigators in Brussels and video enhancement experts in the US.

Anonymous said...

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/madeleine-mccann-brussels-cctv-sighting-326596

The news will be a blow to Maddy’s parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, who had hoped the Brussels sighting would provide the breakthrough they have been awaiting for more than 15 months.

and

The McCanns were shown the grainy security camera footage but could not rule out the possibility that the child might be their daughter.


McCanns Can't Remember Possibly Important Sightings

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7diM96eajQ

Istimewa said...

Little Madeleine-a-like Bouchra in Morocco -
handily photographed by APImages back in January 2007:

http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/MOROCCO-MISSING-GIRL/dcdc31085993483aa0cc952f96a78a7d/26/0

Anonymous said...

Istimewa @22:17

http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/MOROCCO-MISSING-GIRL/dcdc31085993483aa0cc952f96a78a7d/26/0

Creation Date: January 26, 2007 11:04:03 AM

Photographer: Abdeljalil Bounhar

-------------------------------

http://www.epa.eu/crime-law-and-justice-photos/police-crime-photos/british-girl-missing-photos-00999817

Creation Date: ?

Photographer: ?

-------------------------------

http://cdn.images.express.co.uk/img/dynamic/1/590x/Madeleine-McCann-picture-533815.jpg

?

Martin Roberts said...

Istimewa @22:17

"Little Madeleine-a-like Bouchra in Morocco -
handily photographed by APImages back in January 2007."

It's taken a day for me to wake up to this one. Sorry.

Your following examples basically torpedo any EXIF references as they apply to agency data in this case. Unless of course there was some 'back door' image trawling going on.

In any event agency photographs of Madeleine McCann taken on 4 May should have been an impossibility (unless she was abducted by Luis Forra that is!).

Anonymous said...

http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/MOROCCO-MISSING-GIRL/dcdc31085993483aa0cc952f96a78a7d/26/0

Sorry, we’re experiencing technical difficulties

Temporary? M

Anonymous said...

Temporarily. M

Martin Roberts said...

"Two for 50p, or any three you like for £1"

Barrow boy Mitchell holds court:

http://mumbrella.com.au/clarance-mitchell-commscon-2016-354982

Anonymous said...

Martin R. @10:13

Thanks for the link.

He explained how turf wars developed between local and international press, and how he had had reporters in tears begging for extra information otherwise they ‘would be fired’, leading to stories containing “wild allegations” in the media against parents Kate and Jerry McCann.

Reporters in tears, begging Clarence Mitchell for extra information? Well, anything is possible I guess.

Previous:

February 2nd, 2016

http://mumbrella.com.au/clarence-mitchell-madeleine-mccann-disappearance-pr-342797

How did your experience leading the British government’s media monitoring unit prepare you for working in PR?

“It gave me a crucial insight into the workings of central government structures at the highest level, along with an understanding of the civil service culture and attitudes – all vital for effective public affairs outreach in my later PR life.

It also gave me strong political insight. Although I, of course, operated with strict neutrality under the Civil Service Code of propriety, working for Ministers of the day, no matter which Party was in power.”

Perhaps it doesn’t make much difference which Party is/was ‘in power’.

Regards,

Maren

Anonymous said...

Somethin' keeps him driftin', miles and miles away... M

Martin Roberts said...

Maren @11:00

"Perhaps it doesn’t make much difference which Party is/was ‘in power’."

Indeed not.

Bringing together a number of 'clues', not least among which is KM's 'The police don't want a murder in Portugal, so they're blaming us', I am of the opinion that the abduction was an outlet required of the McCanns, not conceived by them.

Thereafter we have the law of unintended consequences in full swing, the entire marketing machine knowing full well that they were Teflon coated and could press on regardless. Clarence Mitchell got aboard the gravy train at the earliest opportunity, having been given the key to the vault by Tony Blair.

The entire affair fills me with revulsion - for those who instigated the deceit and those who have capitalized upon it ever since. They have no moral principles whatsoever. Utterly shameful the lot of them.

Anonymous said...

http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2016/03/dutch-investigate-claims-brussels-bomber-was-deported-to-schiphol-by-turkey/

Anonymous said...

http://www.dhnet.be/actu/belgique/attentats-de-bruxelles-dans-le-taxi-les-terroristes-parlaient-des-americains-56f305fb35708ea2d3d99294

Martin Roberts said...

http://jillhavern.forumotion.net/t12591-kate-mccann-releases-new-book-free-to-love-a-christian-romance-novella

Anonymous said...

Not an account of the truth I assume, but divided opinion, as usual.

Awful
No real story and cliche after cliche. Characters were one dimensional and boringly predictable. Definitely one to avoid. I can't think of any plus points.

Five Stars
A good book to read


Other book reviews:
http://bit.ly/1mtSJab
http://bit.ly/1LJgHel


http://www.christiantoday.com.au/article/kate.mccann.doubts.on.god.short.lived/3117.htm

Even though these doubts exist, she said it was not God who had done this, but rather it was someone else.

Who knows?

Maren

Trust the dogs said...

Martin Roberts 23.03 @12:25

“The entire affair fills me with revulsion - for those who instigated the deceit and those who have capitalized upon it ever since. They have no moral principles whatsoever. Utterly shameful the lot of them.”

Well said.

Thank you

Happy Easter to all.

Martin Roberts said...

Maren @12:28

"Even though these doubts exist, she said it was not God who had done this, but rather it was someone else.

"Who knows?"

Not I. Whoever it was had to be both quick and smart to do it while God was looking the other way.

Anonymous said...

https://twitter.com/TeddyShepherd/status/713040627408220160

from http://amzn.to/1UOD8QJ I think. M

Anonymous said...

https://twitter.com/veniviedivici/status/713003863322791936

Faved on my imaginary twitter timeline.


https://twitter.com/userdidit/status/713055343966818306

I couldn't resist.


I trust you are doing well H.

Maren

Himself said...

Thank you Maren, I'm on the mend, albeit a tad slowly.

H xxx

Anonymous said...

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/Belgian-ministers-offer-to-quit-over-security-lapses/articleshow/51544603.cms

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/brussels-attacks-isis-turkey-ankara-suicide-bombings-president-erdogan-a6951266.html

Anonymous said...

http://bit.ly/1MGhWpA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9n05qz_aj8

1:34 Kate McCann: “I know the truth Sandra...”

Martin Roberts said...

Time is of the essence.

MBM signed out of crèche at 5.30 p.m. on 2 May, by Kate Healy:

http://www.mccannfiles.com/imagelib/sitebuilder/misc/show_image.html?linkedwidth=actual&linkpath=http://www.mccannfiles.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/ProcessoVolumeIpage109x.JPG&target=tlx_picm14b


MBM photographed in OC grass play area at 5.15 p.m. on 2 May by a 'friend of the family:

http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/HOLIDAY-PHOTOS-LIST.htm

"Page 588- MBM taken in Portugal at 17:15 on Wednesday May 2, 2007"

Yet another 'Penn and Teller' moment?

Himself said...

Ah so!

Dead by Sunday, still. Ain't that so Robert?

Martin Roberts said...

Himself @11.08

On the other hand it might just owe something to 'researchers' over active imaginations, Hi-de-Ho here:

http://jillhavern.forumotion.net/t12585p100-when-was-the-tennis-balls-pic-taken (scroll down)

And 'Albym' adding his/her own comments to the PJ archived photographs.

The Bruno Press Agency captions to their images as trawled by Hi-de-Ho simply read 'Girl Missing in the Algarve' with an associated date (of acquisition presumably) later that month.

Himself said...

As is the wont of 'researchers' and their over active imaginations.

For all the stuff Hi-de-Ho gets right, and she does quite a bit of the time, One has to guard oneself against the opinions of Op Grangers, for I think it is in to that category sits the lady.

That opinion based on an Op Grange non-communication on her behalf I add, rather than what I've read.

Or quite possibly her non-response due to other matters, lol.

Anonymous said...

Martin R. @10:48

After learning what a 'Penn and Teller' moment is, I reread a magical mystery tour. http://bit.ly/1RB2Cio

I always had the impression that the OC grass play area photos were taken on 28 April.

http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/HOLIDAY-PHOTOS-LIST.htm

Page 608

Family handout photo dated 02/05/2007 of Gerry McCann playing with his children (left to right) Madeleine and Sean (laughing) the day before Madeleine went missing on the evening of May 3.

http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/OA3_8/03_volume_III_o_apenso_VIII_Page_608_play.jpg

The clothes the children (Madeleine, S and LP) are wearing here resemble those they are wearing on the bus, 28 April.

http://www.gerrymccannsblogs.co.uk/L/b6.jpg

from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUcVncYr6xc

Maren

Martin Roberts said...

Maren @18:04

"I always had the impression that the OC grass play area photos were taken on 28 April."

Entirely reasonable. Throw in the late afternoon/early evening sun and you have the typical 'arrival photo'

If those 2 May attributions are not inventions by Albym et al, then where did the idea that these several pictures were taken on 2 May come from - and why?

If it should represent 'official information', then it has to be viewed as another device by which to extend Madeleine's supposed occupation of the OC premises (although it would still not make sense, on account of the crèche timing - A 5.15 photo on the grass preceding a 5.30 retrieval of the subject from daycare?)

Himself said...

I normally avoid American made documentaries like the plague, Harlan County excepted, but I am halfway through an epic series (8hrs) on the history of oil.

Adapted from Daniel Yergin's book "The PRIZE: Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qspu35JG59Q

It's more than a little interesting, with some great stills and early film. But one of the most striking participants in episode one, was journalist Ida Tarbell.

The Woman Who Took on the Tycoon
John D. Rockefeller Sr. epitomized Gilded Age capitalism. Ida Tarbell was one of the few willing to hold him accountable.


http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-woman-who-took-on-the-tycoon-651396/?no-ist

For want of a better phrase: now that's what I call journalism.

A brave woman given what a ruthless bastard Rockerfeller was.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the links H.

OT M

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/mar/28/cia-photographed-naked-detainees

Anonymous said...

Himself
Martin R.

http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/CRECHE/2rf97cy.jpg

16:30 – 17:00 Circle time
17:15 MBM photographed in OC grass play area by a 'friend of the family'
17:30 MBM signed out of crèche by Kate Healy


http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/HOLIDAY-PHOTOS-LIST.htm

photo 44 = photo 74

http://www.gerrymccannsblogs.co.uk/H/44.jpg

http://www.gerrymccannsblogs.co.uk/H/74.jpg


http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/HOLIDAY-PHOTOS-LIST.htm

photo 47 = photo 152

http://www.gerrymccannsblogs.co.uk/H/47.jpg

http://www.gerrymccannsblogs.co.uk/H/152.jpg


I'm sure that's nothing new to you, I just keep on wondering.

Maren

Martin Roberts said...

Maren @08:17

I don't imagine 'Circle time' = 'Family Circle time', do you?

As for the photographic duplications, I have no explanation beyond the commonplace observation that so much of the background to this case defies normal explanation. That in itself should give cause for concern.

Himself said...

Linkies

http://onlyinamericablogging.blogspot.com/2015/08/miriam-hyman-collateral-damage.html

Martin Roberts said...

Re-inventing the wheel:

http://jillhavern.forumotion.net/t12597-madeleine-and-ella-is-it-possible-that-only-one-child-was-attending-creche

"As this is new research, PLEASE be aware and let me know if there are any corrections needed"

http://www.mccannfiles.com/id400.html

'It Never Rains' (19.10.2012)

Trust the dogs said...

Martin Roberts @08:58

“…so much of the background to this case defies normal explanation. That in itself should give cause for concern.”

Two sentences encapsulating the whole affair, incontrovertibly

One man’s fish it is!. (And of these you’ve given aplenty. Almost miraculously.)

Thank you

Himself said...

Maren

'Half' was part of my search terms, and this popped up.

http://bit.ly/1TgJaK3

Anonymous said...

Hi H

radiant sun surrounded by crowns and lions – lol

https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_(munt)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noble_(English_coin)

Leuke link, dicht bij huis, dankjewel.

Maren

Anonymous said...

Martin R. @14:42

Five stars.

19 October 2012
It Never Rains...

http://www.mccannfiles.com/id400.html

"Together we took Sean and Amelie back to the Toddler Club at around 2.40 pm and dropped Madeleine off with the Minis ten minutes later. Ella was already there.” says Kate McCann.

As you say “Who cares whether Ella was there or not?”

Was Madeleine there?

KM (p.65)

“Fiona and Dave had been windsurfing that morning and had seen Madeleine’s group, who had gone down to the beach for their ‘mini-sail’ activity. We heard later that they’d been on a speedboat as well as a dinghy. Fiona told me she’d spotted Ella there but not Madeleine.”


14 October 2007

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-487506/Revealed-The-nanny-help-clear-McCanns-name.html

Mark Warner did not return Ms Baker to Portugal from Greece and she has since left the company. She is now a live-in nanny looking after three children. Her location is being withheld on the request of the McCanns.

Her location is being withheld on the request of the McCanns?

And the Mail can reveal her identity, what her parents do for a living and where they live.


All that talk of opportunities...

Maren

Trust the dogs said...

Maren 29.03 @21:24

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-487506/Revealed-The-nanny-help-clear-McCanns-name.html

Her location is being withheld on the request of the McCanns.


It doesn’t seem to have been withheld from MailOnline mind you: “Ms Baker refused to comment about the investigation into Madeleine's disappearance, adding: 'I don't want to go through it again.'

Regards

Martin Roberts said...

Maren @21:24

Speaking of 'opportunity', it stands a better chance of knocking if given time in which to do so.

Part 4 of RD Hall's latest film introduces an intriguing line of inquiry, concerning the OC receptionist's arrangement of the Tapas 9's 'block booking'.

The picture appears to be one of a necessary context (nearby dining coupled with child abandonment) being deliberately established on the Sunday night, 29 April.

That idea might seem preposterous, given Jane Tanner's explanation (10.5.07):

“As for the holidays, on the first day (Saturday, 28 April 2007) they had dinner in the complex, making their way to the Millennium restaurant. No-one booked dinner at that restaurant, all, including the children, having gone for dinner around 18h00.

“The Millennium used to serve dinner on other days (except Saturday) only from 19:30 and, for this reason, they decided to start dining at the Tapas, seeing that, in addition to the above, they would be closer to the apartments. This was discussed at the table in the Millennium on the first night."

R. O'Brien confirmed:

"this time was late for the children, and thus they opted to have dinner, after that day, in the Tapas Restaurant. That restaurant is situated next to the pool, in the patio areas of the block of apartments where they found themselves lodged. The deponent furthers that the daughters of David and Fiona Payne are very agitated, and that they preferred to be the closest possible to the apartment. All the couples agreed, without objections.”

Apart from O'Brien and Tanner, how many of the others made reference in their statements to this 'discussion at the table', and their collective decision to dine at the Tapas bar thereafter?

None of them. Fiona Payne (mother to two 'agitated' daughters) had nothing at all to say about dinner at the Millennium Restaurant on the Saturday night. Kate McCann likewise. No one else refers, either to the discussion or their agreement 'without objection'.

The only two to come up with a retro-fit explanation of the group's decision to eat at the Tapas Restaurant every night from Sunday therefore (not Tuesday, as the McCanns would have us believe) were JT and her husband, the very man who was determined to make the reservation that same day. (KM has since made the false claim that it was RO who did so on the Monday night).

If Madeleine disappeared unexpectedly on the Thursday night, why should events of the prior weekend provoke deceit? (that's a rhetorical question btw.).





Himself said...

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/no-charges-over-jean-charles-de-menezes-shooting-was-the-right-decision-echr-rules-a3214366.html

Himself said...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3515963/North-Carolina-mother-23-charged-murdering-daughter-2-ordered-photos-child-beat-death-appearing-angel-grave.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Anonymous said...

8 May 2007

Email received from Leicestershire Police concerning Video footage taken by NF.

http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/OA3_8/03_volume_III_o_apenso_VIII_Page_542.jpg


23 May 2007

Photographs from a CD provided by Leicestershire Police visualised and analysed.

http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/FOSTER.htm


It might be just me, but it seems to be a relatively long interval.

Maren

Martin Roberts said...

Kate McCann (in 'madeleine'):

"It wasn’t until a year later, when I was combing through the Portuguese police files, that I discovered that the note requesting our block booking was written in a staff message book, which sat on a desk at the pool reception for most of the day. This book was by definition accessible to all staff and, albeit unintentionally, probably to guests and visitors, too. To my horror, I saw that, no doubt in all innocence and simply to explain why she was bending the rules a bit, the receptionist had added the reason for our request: we wanted to eat close to our apartments as we were leaving our young children alone there and checking on them intermittently."

A year later eh? With no such notebook recorded in the files as far as anyone else is aware.

A more credible explanation may be arrived at via Jane Tanner's 'non-denial denial' toward the close of her own statement to police (10.5.07):

“Prompted to clarify which member of the group booked the first dinner at Tapas she responded that she did not know. She clarifies that, that morning, she played tennis with Kate going, at the end of the game, to the restaurant to make the booking. She recalls that, when they arrived there, the booking was already made and she had not questioned who had made it. Asked if it would have been her companion Russell O'Brien who booked that meal, on his own initiative, she relates that it could have been done by any other person but considers [someone with] an excessively organised disposition would have done it, [something] usual of her companion.”

OC receptionist Luisa Ana de Noronha de Azevedo Coutinho told police on 8 May of a male, tall and thin, who approached her to request a booking for the whole group, for the whole week and always at 20.30.

“The man justified his request by saying that the group had many small children whom they would leave alone when they went to dine. She said that at intervals some two parents would go to the apartments to see if everything was OK.

“The deponent made some comments about the request, saying that the Tapas received many requests and that MW only had a quota of 20 per day, but upon the insistence of the guest she managed to make the bookings requested.”

So Jane Tanner and Kate McCann turn up at the Tapas reception after their game of tennis, with the intention of booking a table for the Sunday night, only to be told that someone else from their party had already done so (picture the scene: 'Look, I've already made a note of the request. Here you are. See.').

And now an open question: With MM not 'disappearing' until 3 May, why should the T9 (Jane Tanner and Russell O'Brien in particular) have been evasive about who made the FIRST Tapas booking that week or, indeed, for that week?

Martin Roberts said...

Re the above:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXCfOaTxhT8&ebc=ANyPxKpk77P6lurNF_LbwQKaCnEq7T2quGxcd3o4DEQ6IDNgd3g7RAuA0x--BlIRKji6_KxUGrRg45f8FSgBAcNYjqtEeq3z1w

GM: "We weren't sure we were gonna get into the Tapas and, (to Kate sitting alongside) remember?"

Like HE didn't remember the T9’s typewritten timeline, presented to the PJ, and which read: “20.30 Standard booking for meal at Tapas restaurant for group - same all week (Sun – Thurs)”.

Courtesy of Russell O'Brien, who made the booking on the Sunday morning.

Anonymous said...

Martin R. 2.4 @18:54

http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/JANE-TANNER-10MAY.htm

10 May 2007

“Asked who had made the first booking at Tapas, JT did not know.”

It seems strange that Russell didn’t tell Jane that he made the first booking, or was it another ‘tall and thin male’?

“At first dinner was booked each day having later been diarised as a permanent booking for 20h30 until the end of the stay.”

Is it possible that the first booking on Sunday morning was a ‘one-off’, and Rachael Oldfield made a permanent booking in the afternoon, as she states on 9 April 2008?

http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/RACHAEL-OLDFIELD-ROGATORY.htm

“I think Matt was up by that stage, think he came out in the afternoon, erm and then we'd booked to eat in the Tapas Bar that night because The Millennium had just been one kind of a bit of trek and a bit too stressful with all the kids and it was, thought it would be quite nice to have dinner by ourselves, so erm I booked a table for eight thirty in the Tapas for us and we just thought we'd do our own sort of baby listening as you know we, well you know if we'd been in another Mark WARNER resort thats what would have happened'."

"1578 'So you, you booked the table on the Sunday evening'
Reply 'On the Sunday yes'.
1578 'For eight thirty''
Reply 'Yeah'.
1578 'For nine adults'"


Kate McCann (in 'madeleine'):

"In spite of what we’d been told about booking the Tapas restaurant, Rachael managed to get a table for nine at 8.30pm pencilled in for the rest of the week after having a word with the receptionist at the pool and Tapas area."

Maren

Anonymous said...

“Gerry and I have always quite liked having a routine, though I wouldn’t say we were obsessed by it, and our children, like most children, seemed to like it, too. This holiday was no exception. It’s hard to accept that living our lives in such an ordinary way might have been our downfall. Was someone watching us that week? Watching Madeleine? Taking note of the pattern of our days?”

says Kate McCann in ‘madeleine’.

How can their children seem to like it when they weren’t aware of their parents’ absence? Two sedated and one dead?

Speaking of 'routine':

"So basically we'd go and have dinner and then we'd sort of run back you know every fifteen twenty minutes and have a listen at the door and make sure nobodys screaming their head off'." - Rachael Oldfield

Such an ordinary way?

Maren

Martin Roberts said...

Maren @20:46

"It seems strange that Russell didn’t tell Jane that he made the first booking, or was it another ‘tall and thin male’?"

JT was off playing tennis with KM at the time.

"Is it possible that the first booking on Sunday morning was a ‘one-off’, and Rachael Oldfield made a permanent booking in the afternoon, as she states on 9 April 2008?"

OC receptionist Luisa Ana de Noronha de Azevedo Coutinho told police on 8 May of a male, tall and thin, who approached her to request a booking for the whole group, for the whole week and always at 20.30.

If a male had already booked for the whole week, RO needn't have repeated the exercise.

Kate McCann (in 'madeleine'):

"In spite of what we’d been told about booking the Tapas restaurant, Rachael managed to get a table for nine at 8.30pm pencilled in for the rest of the week after having a word with the receptionist at the pool and Tapas area."

Rachael's big moment, described here, was on the Monday, supposedly. She cannot have made the booking on Sunday afternoon, given a male had done so earlier that morning.

Among the relevant statements (waiters, receptionist, Tapas manager, T9) there is a lack of consensus regarding the claims of K. McCann, R. Oldfield etc., coupled with a conspicuous attempt on the part of Jane Tanner to distance Russell O'Brien from the process.

Madeleine McCnnn was witnessed with her family by an OC cleaner at about 1.15 p.m., which suggests the tapas booking issue was not an aspect of any 'grand plan' associated with her disappearance. It was, however, significant enough for several people to have lied about it. I wonder why?


Martin Roberts said...


G'day peeps!

In answer to my own previous ? ('Why should the T9 (Jane Tanner and Russell O'Brien in particular) have been evasive about who made the FIRST Tapas booking that week or, indeed, for that week?')

I suspect the concern was not, after all, with the booking arrangements per se, but keeping Russell O'Brien out of the picture as far as possible.

In the course of his first Rogatory interview, and sandwiched neatly between a cursory description of the Monday morning, followed by the Monday afternoon, we get this:

"After Madeleine disappeared we all began eating lunch at Dave and Fiona’s apartment."

(http://www.mccannfiles.com/id221.html).

Madeleine is supposed to have disappeared on the Thursday. What relevance does the group's behaviour afterwards have to Monday's events?

Let me guess...

Trust the dogs said...

OG is safe to go on for six more months, with £95k in hand.

Can’t close shop before the outcome of the Portuguese appeal is known? What’s £95k after all…

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/657734/Scotland-Yard-six-months-Madeleine-McCann-pull-plug-missing-Briton

Anonymous said...

OT

http://panamapapers.sueddeutsche.de/articles/56febff0a1bb8d3c3495adf4/

M

Anonymous said...

https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2016/04/corporate-media-gatekeepers-protect-western-1-from-panama-leak/

M

Anonymous said...

Martin R. 4.4 @12:02

"I suspect the concern was not, after all, with the booking arrangements per se, but keeping Russell O'Brien out of the picture as far as possible."

Could it be that Jane and Russell were protecting Ella who was old enough to remember events?

Maren

Martin Roberts said...

Maren @09:35

I think it more likely that it was Russell O'Brien who had knowledge of/involvement in 'events'. The sudden and inappropriate insertion of a reference to M's disappearance into a chronological account of said events is both unexpected and suspicious in my view

M.R.

Anonymous said...

OT

http://www.algarvedailynews.com/news/8433-numbers-start-to-roll-in-for-portuguese-caught-in-panama-papers-expose

M

Himself said...

4 April 2016 at 21:49

Thank you Maren, most interesting. That's not to say the Iceland article wasn't. http://panamapapers.sueddeutsche.de/articles/56fec0cda1bb8d3c3495adfc/

The new pigs also walk upright.

5 April 2016 at 05:53

You can trust the Guardian!

Himself said...

5 April 2016 at 11:43

Oh for a similar cache concerning this lot.

I'm sure one good hacker would work wonders for this case.

Anonymous said...

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/panama-papers-icelands-sigmundur-gunnlaugsson-ropes-pirate-party-waits-wings-1553272

Himself said...

Hi Maren I heard he'd gone on the car radio some short while ago.

Who is going to out all the bent Brits, (Dutch, Germans et al) the Guardian?

Or some blogger?

Anonymous said...

Hi H. Some blogger, no doubt. Mx

Anonymous said...

Astonishing that @BBCr4today teaming up with @guardian yet again to continue attacks on press by recycling self-serving Gerry McCann whinges

https://twitter.com/neilwallis1/status/717616968589819904

https://twitter.com/BBCBreakfast/status/717615305283887105

https://twitter.com/ScottJonesy/status/717616797843906560

G'day. M

Martin Roberts said...

Hi M

Your link:

https://twitter.com/BBCBreakfast/status/717615305283887105

McCann: "They've had their say. We've HAD the inquiry. We need full implementation of Leveson".

Presumably he's referring to OG, which has a further six months to run?

And Mitchell taking bids for 'ten year anniversary specials'. It seems we have a Kenneth Wolstenholme moment ("Some people are on the pitch. They think it's all over!").

This disgusting creature has the sheer gall to bleat about press intrusion and litigation as a last resort. HE's A BAREFACED LIAR. They PAID for PR to feed the press and deliberately side-stepped the PCC.

How the bounds of incredibility are continually being stretched in this case is almost beyond understanding.

Anonymous said...

http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/gerry-mccann-grilled-bbc-breakfasts-7698152

"We're back to square one."

M

Anonymous said...

https://twitter.com/hashtag/GerryMcCann

Anonymous said...

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/gerry-mccann-slammed-for-hypocrisy-after-speaking-out-about-press-intrusion-a3219046.html

Anonymous said...

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/254636/At-last-sad-Kate-McCann-can-smile-again

Photo whooshed, photo saved.

http://www.klatsch-tratsch.de/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/wenn3410258.jpg


Good advice is expensive, bad advice is really expensive.

Kate McCann (in ‘madeleine’):

“As more TV and press turned up in Luz, Alex Woolfall gave us helpful pointers on handling the media. We came to rely on Alex as our de facto media liaison officer. It was he who guided us early on, giving us simple advice that has stood us in good stead since. He told us to ask ourselves the following two questions before giving anything to anyone in the press: what was our objective, and how was it going to help? We’ve always tried to remember those basic principles in all our interactions with the media. Alex explained the rather Pavlovian responses of the media pack. If we began to give daily statements, for example, they would expect one at the same time every day. Sometimes, he said, all they needed was to be fed something to keep them happy, and if that was the case, this might be our only objective in speaking to them.”

https://twitter.com/woolfallalex
PR guy. Always chasing the sunshine. Views are my own, unless shamelessly plagiarised. Often they make no sense whatsoev...


"all they needed was to be fed something to keep them happy"

We will have to wait and see.

Maren

Martin Roberts said...

M @10:13

'Back to square one' eh?

That's just a whisker away from 'point zero' at a guess (Redwood's baseline).

Anonymous said...

Martin R.

"It's like peeling back the layers from an onion" said Mr Redwood.


But rather than wait until ?, here are the highlights:

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/06/05/1966-world-cup-final-pathe_n_5450734.html


It's extraordinary that this has been covered up for so long.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2045482/1966-World-Cup-Germany-players-drugs.html


Bonne nuit.

Maren

Anonymous said...

http://www.algarvedailynews.com/news/8443-portuguese-police-chiefs-took-money-from-drug-traffickers-for-inside-information

The arrests were supervised by the Central Department of Investigation and Penal Action and police said that there more people have detained in the "very complex and time consuming" investigation that has been going on for several years.

------------------------------

7 July 2013

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/jul/07/theresa-may-leave-europol-despite-madeleine-mccann

It is understood Wainwright has been personally involved in advising ministers on how best to co-operate with the Portuguese authorities, an issue which has previously bedevilled progress on the case.

------------------------------

http://www.mccannfiles.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/syinbarcelona.jpg

https://twitter.com/TeddyShepherd/status/717395518641594368

------------------------------

Good morning. M

Himself said...

Good morning Maren

Methinks Theresa has much to answer for in the hidden agenda department.

It is such a dirty game politics, you don't know who owns who? But I will say this, if the McCanns ever fall, she has some explaining to do.

Along with Hyphen-Howe, Redwood, and given the status quo, Nicola too I can well imagine.

An unenviable position really, I can't see her exactly volunteering for the position. Pension time poison chalice?

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w-8JKaTohe4/TEN4arPUVrI/AAAAAAAAZbg/pnyTf1KoGbE/s1600/conscience.jpg

H xx

Martin Roberts said...

Maren 6.4 @22:00

It's one of those 'you remember where you were' moments in history for me (Germany of all places).

I shouldn't be too concerned about the drugs issue in retrospect. The England players were on a 'substance' every Saturday night ('the sauce' as it was commonly known at the time). I remember seeing George Cohen at 'the club' myself (and that's not FFC btw.)

Happy days...

Martin Roberts said...

Maren @ 08:07

Your link:

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/jul/07/theresa-may-leave-europol-despite-madeleine-mccann

The immediate impression is of Theresa May wanting to take the football indoors so as not to have to play with the Portuguese. (indoor five-a-side with Redwood promised a result whereas facing Eusebio's mates didn't).

Anonymous said...

https://twitter.com/CletisStump/status/718050766695636992

Who knows? M

Himself said...

He's an all right bloke is out Cletis, he ain't your average Yank, and certainly ain't your average hillbilly.

http://latenightfootfalls.tumblr.com/

But you've met him before, Maren?

Anonymous said...

Hello Himself

Someone with two neurons bolted together as we say Oop North. Yes, we have ‘met’ before. One of those occasions:

http://bit.ly/1MV7HmG

And the Dutch do dance. http://bit.ly/1pEVipe

Maren

Himself said...

Yorkshire man takes his cat to the vet.

Yorkshireman: "Ayup, lad, I need to talk to thee about me cat."

Vet: "Is it a tom ?"

Yorkshireman: "Nay, I've browt it wi' us."

LOL

Anonymous said...

Martin R. 5.4 @10:07

Whilst busy contemplating (as usual), some words from KM in ‘madeleine’ came to mind.

“On the night Madeleine went missing, Russell, anxious to get posters produced and out there quickly, asked me for my camera, so that he could use the photographs of Madeleine stored on it."

I hear a false undertone. Subjective, I know.

Maren

Martin Roberts said...

Maren

Yes. Now that you mention it. Why the anxiety on Russell's part? Oh, of course, Gerry McCann would have been too 'devastated' even to think of it.

Himself said...

I hear a false undertone too, subjective or not.


OT https://charliehebdo.fr/en/edito/how-did-we-end-up-here/

Anonymous said...

http://bit.ly/23puv2b

KM in ‘madeleine’

[as regards the statements in the files]

“A member of staff based at the Millennium restaurant, for example, stated how she saw us there every morning having breakfast with the children. She described in detail what a nice family we were and what a lovely relationship we had with Madeleine. Very kind of her to say so – but we weren’t there. We had breakfast in the Millennium restaurant only once, on our first morning in Praia da Luz, along with all of our friends.”

Perhaps that member of staff was mixing up the families? M

Martin Roberts said...

M @18:47

No 'perhaps' about it. And isn't it thoughtful of her ladyship to confirm others' suspicions that staff at the Millennium (and elsewhere) were suffering false memory syndrome.

Himself said...

If you will pardon my French, beyond fucking belief.

http://themaddiecasefiles.com/topic23149.html

http://themaddiecasefiles.com/topic23150.html

http://themaddiecasefiles.com/topic23151.html

Himself said...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-36004641

Himself said...

http://boingboing.net/2016/04/07/fearing-the-pirate-party-icel.html

Anonymous said...

Himself @05:15

Spring 2011 Fashion Campaign?

KM in ‘madeleine’

“We were informed that we would need to wear ‘dark suits’ to meet the Pope. Clothes again! On the Tuesday morning Gerry and I went to a big shopping centre to buy something appropriate. As a woman who could not yet enjoy a snack in a café without feeling guilty, I could not get my head round this. My daughter was missing and here we were shopping! It was unthinkable. I moved randomly from rack to rack, from shop to shop, the tears rolling down my face. I longed for it all to go away.”

http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/CLOTHES.htm


OT

http://www.nu.nl/panama-papers/4244121/nederlandse-hulporganisatie-solidaridad-in-panama-papers.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YSal7ItkWw

Maren

Himself said...

Martin

Why?

When People Take The Piss: The Met and The McCann Affair #McCann http://bit.ly/P0sHeC

And given how this 'review' came to pass, it becomes even more staggering, stunning in fact.

Which received the grand total of 1 like & 1 retweet.

Which is indicative of what you may ask?

Mankind being the bollocks I have always maintained it is.

Just need a little more time I guess!

I'm out for a couple of hours. Anon

Himself said...

Maren 9 April 2016 at 09:23

1: I couldn't bear to read more.

2: The gift that is destined to keep on giving. (When twats get theirs)

3: Well that's a first, Strictly and me. Pleasant though, in that old fashioned kind of way.

Dank Tulipe

Martin Roberts said...

Himself @14:56

You were not wrong when first you posted the comment, and correct in re-posting same.

A spell in the supermarket café just now has enabled me to see more clearly the fallacy inherent in a couple of recent observations by Blacksmith.

With specific reference to the Portuguese investigation, up to and including its archiving, he states:

"All this makes me quite certain of the direction things are going."

The direction in which things WERE going is plain as a pikestaff. There are no such clear grounds for transplanting that momentum onto events since however, much less speaking as in the 'present continuous' (which he later extends into the future):

"most of us are content to....wait for the inevitable denouement to be brought to us by the legal system one way or another."

He who speaks of 'Hall's fantasies' (and other optimists of his ilk) appears to overlook political reality.

The UK suspects in a heinous crime committed on Portuguese territory fled that country and took refuge behind an internationally known extradition lawyer. The conduct of the case 'review', in a matter over which the Portuguese continue to hold primacy, was sufficient to send a clear political message: The UK has no intention of pursuing the only suspects over an overseas incident which it (the UK government) regarded at the time as an inconvenience.

Dr Amaral's civil litigation aside, what might one suppose should be the Portuguese attitude to the prospect of having to spend time, effort, and THEIR money, first in bringing the suspects back to Portugal, then, and only then, expending further TE & M in prosecuting the case through their own judicial system, always supposing they had sufficient evidence to warrant their doing so?

The suspects are off their soil and represent no physical danger to members of Portguese society. The British seem perfectly happy to spend millions in an attempt to convince the great British public of their innocence.

The bottom line? It's no skin off their (Portugal's) nose if UK ltd. choose to cosset a pair of international fraudsters. Why should the Portuguese waste any more of their resources on the matter? They could doubtless find better uses for the Euro equivalent of £12m stg.

In sum, it's more cost-effective by far for the Portuguese to swallow their pride and let the UK continue to show itself up for the degraded monstrosity it has become; a society where the politics of greed are matched only by those of envy.

As for Operation Grange...a queue has no doubt formed already of imminent retirees keen to take on the 'challenge' of finding Madeleine McCann, like a retinue of managers convinced they'll win the Premier league during their one season with Scunthorpe Utd.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Martin Roberts said...


I believe Isabelle McFadden is Portuguese. She perhaps has a clearer understanding than a good many others if that's so.

Damages trial Gerry MCann vs detective about money #mccann https://youtu.be/sKBZK58YLw4

Himself said...

M R 9 April 2016 at 17:29

I couldn't agree more. But hasn't the message always been there? It was certainly not lost on Amaral when Leicester plod left Portugal hanging on to Gerry McCann's shirt tail. That they were there team handed in the first place, I think tells us much.

In looking for Amaral's quote, I came across the first post on Wristbands. (started well after The Gallery) Not come very far have we?

http://goodqualitywristbands.blogspot.com/2009/11/how-did-it-get-this-far.html

Martin Roberts said...

Himself @13:04

Quite so. The very same 'cause and effect' Elephant-in-the-room you've upped (and 're-upped) since. Only now we can see very much more of the creature, tusk to tail.

Himself said...

Levy 2008

http://forum4.aimoo.com/madeleinemccanncontroversy/WELCOME-to-HDH-Controversy-Info/Title-Analysis-of-the-phone-calls-reveals-a-clue-1-2309283.html

Martin Roberts said...

Himself 10.4 @20:56

A timely retrieval.

Anonymous said...

http://frommybigdesk.blogspot.nl/2008/12/mccann-case-analysis-of-telephone-calls.html

“In statements recorded recently in London, sources close to the former Liberal Party candidate and specialist in public relations, confirmed that Justine McGuiness was even allegedly the target of various pressures, notably in the legal field, meaning, for her, that she should keep quiet about everything she saw and heard during the time she worked for Kate and Gerry McCann.”


13 September 2007

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/sep/13/marketingandpr.crime

“One reason Ms McGuinness has given to journalists for her departure is that the McCanns have been ordered to remain silent because of the changing nature of the investigation and she feels she cannot help them further.”


7 Oct 2007 Updated 9 Feb 2013

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/51k-for-89-days-work-gerry-1642543

The source told The People: "Gerry was the only one who wanted Clarence.

Despite ‘questionable advice’ in the early days.


http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/JUSTINE_MCGUINESS.htm

They managed to cope with the pressure and I credit them with behaving as true professionals would have done in an identical situation.

Is that supposed to be a compliment?

I remember that on certain days Kate was very tearful and sad. I also remember Gerry's frustration upon seeing the presentation of some photos of Madeleine one night.

Frustration, one night between 22 June 2007 and 15 September 2007?

Regards,

Maren

Anonymous said...

According to Kate (in ‘madeleine’) she wanted Clarence, too.

“We heard from Clarence that evening [8 September 2007]. Before long Justine would be moving on to pursue her political career and we’d always hoped he would be able to return as our family spokesperson. The government, however, had other ideas. They forbade him from any further involvement with us because of our arguido status. Clarence was very upset, as were we.”

As regards her journey to Portimão on 7 September in Justine’s ‘little car’, Kate writes:

“Just when it seemed the whole situation couldn’t get any more surreal, before turning the corner to the police station, Justine stopped the car, took her lipstick out of her bag and, looking into the rear-view mirror, began to reapply it.”

I get the picture. M

Martin Roberts said...

M @08:09

"...before turning the corner to the police station, Justine stopped the car, took her lipstick out of her bag and, looking into the rear-view mirror, began to reapply it.”

Isn't that what rear-view mirrors are for? She was instinctively preparing to face the public, and Kate was miffed because she didn't have that 'shade' among her selection.

Anonymous said...

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/feb/15/chilcot-inquiry-lord-scott-arms-to-iraq-report-comparison

A senior Ministry of Defence official responsible for arms exports told Scott: “Truth is a very difficult concept.”

OT

Martin Roberts said...

Anonymous 12.4 @18:49

“Truth is a very difficult concept.”

More so for some than others, clearly..

Anonymous said...

Nothing new, just recycling. M

13 May 2007

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12766608._apos__apos_On_this__Madeleine_apos_s_birthday__please_keep_looking__please_keep_praying__please_help_bring_Madeleine_home_/

“On April 30, three days before Madeleine went missing, a Portuguese holidaymaker, Nuno Lourenco, chased a man he had spotted taking photos of his four-year-old daughter at a beach near Sagres. Lourenco took an obscured mobile phone photo of the man who fled in a car driven by a woman.

The McCann family were on the beach, some 20 miles west of their resort, on the same day - an eerie coincidence that indicates to Portuguese police that this was the co-ordinated kidnapping of a preselected child.”

The McCann family were on the beach, some 20 miles west of their resort, on the same day (Monday 30 April)?


http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/KATE-MCCANN.htm

“Following a request from the inspector, she authorises a reading of the calls on her mobile phone. Apart from the Kids Club and the apartment, they only went once to the beach with Madeleine and the other children and only for a very short period of time, since the weather was changeable. They could only go to the beach between 1.30 and 3pm, the time when they went back to the club. At the beach, they only ate an ice cream then they went back to the apartment.”


KM (in ‘madeleine’)
Tuesday 1 May

“In the afternoon Gerry and I decided to take the children down to the beach.”

Martin Roberts said...

M @10:13

Much depends upon the way we view things. Novelty value is unimportant.

With the McCanns making no phone calls that Monday it's anybody's guess as to where they were at various times that day.

Himself said...

Panama “hides” José Sócrates' millions along with money

http://portugalresident.com/panama-%E2%80%9Chides%E2%80%9D-jos%C3%A9-s%C3%B3crates-millions-along-with-money-from-algarve-tourist-complexes

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w-8JKaTohe4/TENYjjn5SII/AAAAAAAAZDg/pBQ4agbXoCw/s1600/master.jpg

Methinks Socrates could tell a tale or two. How wonderful if he did.

Anonymous said...

Martin R. @10:42

I assume Madeleine was with them from 15:30 http://bit.ly/1N9464B or at least with Kate.

No Garden adventure and no Mini dance. http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/CRECHE/2rf97cy.jpg

Twins signed out at 17:20 http://bit.ly/1TRVOiZ

Madeleine signed in at 15:15
Twins signed in at 15:25
Madeleine signed out at 15:30

All by KM. From the Mini Club to the Toddler 2 Club and back to the Mini Club?

Maren

Anonymous said...

Himself @17:40

It's no laughing matter.

OT
http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/german/comedy/jokes.shtml
https://twitter.com/Thomo74/status/719931432026705921

Gute Nacht.

Maren

Himself said...

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/kevin-mcgeever-swindler-who-faked-his-own-abduction-1.2608108

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2016/04/unique-document-on-rotterdams-wwii-capitulation-found-at-auction/

Martin Roberts said...

M 13.4 @21:57

"From the Mini Club to the Toddler 2 Club and back to the Mini Club?"

RDH makes a very good point concerning the apparent signing out routine and wasted journeys toward the end of his latest video.

Martin Roberts said...

Lesly Finn @07:22

See: 'Bunkered' (4.8.2011) at

http://www.mccannfiles.com/id356.html

Himself said...

Maren 13 April 2016 at 22:14

It's no laughing matter.

But it is actually, and some of his other clips at the link.

He's a bit like thi sen, a member of the English school.

Tha knows?

Martin Roberts said...

Maren 13.4 @22:14

This is certainly no laughing matter

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-36041316

Sniffer dogs described as 'failing to find class A drugs' passing through Manchester airport between Nov. 2014 and June 2015, although one detected a quantity of cheese and sausages in that time.

It is not that the dogs' performance is anything to laugh at, but that the BBC reporting is irresponsible and misleading, inviting the stupid to do what they do best - jump to the wrong conclusion because it appeals to them.

The dog that identified the foodstuffs drew attention to what IT was trained to detect, which was NOT class A drugs at all but illegal animal products.

And the drug sniffers?

According to the BBC, an official report 'concluded that "Class A drugs detections were not at the level that might be expected", and said Border Force should review "how particular flights were risk assessed" and where staff and dogs were deployed.'

Ah. So it's not the dogs failing at all, but the Border Force targeting the wrong flights - flights on which Class A drugs happened not to be carried (while the 'Grass' 'Coke' and 'Smack' crept in aboard flights which, unfortunately, the force chose not to target and where the dogs did not even get a sniff. So how are they supposed to detect anything?

(Thanks to 'Maggie Smith' on Twitter for bringing the subject sarcastically to everyone's attention - another one who can't see further than her nose)

Anonymous said...

M.R. By return. M

http://www.manchesterconfidential.co.uk/news/national-media-pounce-on-manchester-airport-but-omit-successes

Martin Roberts said...

M @19:43

Thank you. Justifies my previous comment.

Being a suspicious person, I am left wondering whether widespread misreporting of the dogs' effectiveness might not be deliberate.

Part of a wider UK media agenda? Surely not....

Anonymous said...

KM (in ‘madeleine’)

“Madeleine’s group, the Mini Club for three-to-fives, was based in a light, airy room above the twenty-four-hour reception. This was slightly further away and it was a few mornings before we got our bearings and found a quicker route there. Ella went too and although until the previous day the two girls hadn’t seen each other for several months, they soon became great pals.”

I just learned what ‘get one's bearings’ means and now I wonder if it is true. A few mornings?

Furthermore, I cannot understand why Tanner and O’Brien allowed Kate to involve their daughter in that book, or didn’t they have a choice?

Kate continues by saying:

“Madeleine’s nanny, Cat, I warmed to straight away, as did Madeleine. She was bubbly, smiley, kind and bursting with enthusiasm. It was obvious that she was doing the job because she loved children, not simply as a way of spending a few months in the sun”

http://bit.ly/1qJyLvc

http://www.abc.net.au/news/image/2548774-3x2-940x627.jpg

Regards,

Maren

Anonymous said...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/14/sir-cliff-richards-beloved-algarve-winery-goes-on-sale-for-75mil/

Anonymous said...

H 13.4 @17:40

http://portugalresident.com/panama-%E2%80%9Chides%E2%80%9D-jos%C3%A9-s%C3%B3crates-millions-along-with-money-from-algarve-tourist-complexes

To be fair, none of these allegations are new. What is new are the ‘other names’ that have surfaced as a result of the Panama Papers: Luís Portela, head of Portuguese pharmaceutical group Bial, former Benfica president Manuel Vilarinho, law firm Abreu Advogados and the number of tourist complexes from the Algarve that have been mentioned.

Anonymous said...

http://portugalresident.com/operation-achilles-sees-pj-top-brass-behind-bars

Anonymous said...

July 8, 2015

https://pharmupdates.wordpress.com/2015/07/08/portuguese-pharmaceutical-group-bial-under-searches-for-suspected-payments-to-physicians/

Anonymous said...

http://www.todayonline.com/world/kremlin-says-sorry-goldman-sachs-german-paper-over-panama-papers-slip

http://www.todayonline.com/world/europe/spanish-industry-minister-resigns-after-panama-papers-revelations

Martin Roberts said...

Maren @07:18

"Furthermore, I cannot understand why Tanner and O’Brien allowed Kate to involve their daughter in that book, or didn’t they have a choice?"

Perhaps it had something to do with...(see 'It Never Rains, 19.10.12 at http://www.mccannfiles.com/id400.html)

Anonymous said...

16 October 2008

http://www.carter-ruck.com/news/read/jane-tanner-russell-obrien-fiona-payne-david-payne-matthew-oldfield-rachael

"Between July and December last year, the Defendant published a number of articles which referred to the Tapas 7 or to one or more of the Claimants individually. These articles suggested that at least some of the Claimants, in particular Dr O’Brien, had been identified as potential suspects by the Portuguese authorities. The articles also suggested that the Claimants had covered up the true facts concerning Madeleine McCann’s disappearance and misled the authorities investigating her disappearance."

Something to do with his absence? M

Martin Roberts said...

M @14:51

"These articles suggested that at least some of the Claimants, in particular Dr O’Brien, had been identified as potential suspects by the Portuguese authorities."

Where could they possibly have got that idea from?

From 'Statement to the Press' (16.10.08):

"The defamatory stories written about us were not only extremely damaging on a personal level but we strongly feel were detrimental to the search for Madeleine."

Almost as detrimental as completely ignoring the PJ's entreaties to return to Portugal for a reconstruction! (The refusal letter written by Rachael Oldfield is an unbelievable act of hubris).

Regards

M.R.

Martin Roberts said...

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/madeleine-mccann-detective-we-still-hope-to-find-her-alive-a3227561.html

'The police chief admitted detectives did not have a “full understanding” of what happened to Madeleine or why she was taken'

No! Really?

O.K. Who DID come down in the last shower? Anybody?

Anonymous said...

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/madeleine-mccann-detective-we-still-hope-to-find-her-alive-a3227561.html

A spokesman for the McCanns said: “Kate and Gerry remain incredibly grateful to the officers working on Operation Grange and to the Met in general.

https://twitter.com/TeddyShepherd/status/712665466024669184

Borrowed.

M

Martin Roberts said...

A genuine candidate for arrival with the last shower (c/p from #McCann):

"Even in suspected murder case with no body there's always a chance - however slim - the victim may still be alive"

Pardon me, but doesn't a suspected murder usually involve the presumption (not assumption) of a death somewhere along the line?

Anonymous said...

Martin R. @14:35

suspected murder case

‘murder case' to rule out ‘a tragic accident’?
‘suspected’ because there is no body and there is no murderer?

KM (in ‘madeleine’):
“We heard from Clarence that evening [8 September 2007]. Before long Justine would be moving on to pursue her political career and we’d always hoped he would be able to return as our family spokesperson."

9 September 2007
"Police don't want a murder in Portugal and all the publicity about them not having paedophile laws here, so they're blaming us." - Kate McCann
http://bit.ly/22IaOQS

“She died in the apartment as a result of a tragic accident and the parents simulated an abduction after failing to care of their children,” Tavares de Almeida, former chief inspector at Portimao police station during the initial months of the investigation, told the court in Lisbon.
“These were the conclusions of a police report signed by me on September 10 2007,” he added.
http://bit.ly/1ugBEk7


"Mr Duthie, who is head of Scotland Yard's Homicide and Major Crime Command, said: "There is ongoing work. There is always a possibility that we will find Madeleine and we hope that we will find her alive."

http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/madeleine-mccann-could-be-found-alive-detectives-still-hope-1-7334927

There is always a possibility that we will find Madeleine and we hope that we will find her alive.

Because there is no possibility that they will find her body and her murderer?

I conclude that Madeleine died as a result of a tragic accident and the parents simulated an abduction.

Maren

Anonymous said...

http://en.people.cn/n3/2016/0418/c90000-9045696.html

The Ministry of Environmental Protection started an investigation on Sunday into what caused about 500 students at Changzhou Foreign School in Jiangsu province to come down with a range of pollution-related illnesses.

OT

Anonymous said...

https://twitter.com/Gillianmc/status/722312599241682944

Hikoi said...

https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/534377607924445185/XcREV4q2.jpeg

Clarence Eden Mitchell looking a bit of a dick with his complexion blending into his pink shirt and an onion dome'd topped head. I like how his limp left wrist takes centre stage.

Martin Roberts said...

Anonymous @07:53

Gillian is standing quietly on the right side of the fence.

Martin Roberts said...

Hikoi @08:03

Just a couple of inches to the right of camera and you'd have to conclude the photographer was being, shall we say, unsupportive.

Martin Roberts said...

From #McCann:

PJGA
‏@PJ_GA
Appeal in favor of Gonçalo Amaral #McCann more to follow.

That confirms the need for £95k and a further 6 months of Operation Grange.

Anonymous said...

PJGA‏@PJ_GA
We will post a summary of the decision as soon as we can. #McCann It will take some time #translation


https://twitter.com/PJ_GA/status/722402005717819393

J.S. Bach said...

Anonymous @13:38

What should the VERY FACT of the most recent Met Police PR announcement, by NOT Nicola Wall AND favouring the McCanns, tell us about the relationship between Operation Grange and any search for the truth behind Madeleine McCann's as yet unexplained disappearance?

And yet we are expected to vote for the politicians, who ultimately authorize the salaries of the likes of Sir Bernard Hyphen-Howe and his cohorts, when funding of the whole rancid gaggle is authorized by the Exchequer and paid for out of the public purse!

It doesn't take an LSE graduate to figure out we're being 'mugged'!

Himself said...

However, Mr Duthie insisted that the investigation may continue into 2017, saying: 'I imagine that if we have not completed our inquiries within six months we will go back to the Home Office and ask for more money.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3546099/Madeleine-McCann-detectives-believe-youngster-disappeared-family-holiday-Portugal-2007-alive.html#ixzz46HImv5Gi

Say no more.

Ad infinitum.

Martin Roberts said...

The latest MSM reports concerning the Amaral appeal deliberately refer to the earlier 'libel' trial.

As Isabelle McFadden has succinctly explained

(https://youtu.be/sKBZK58YLw4)

it was NOT a libel trial (i.e., a criminal case in Portugal, which would basically have required the McCanns to prove their innocence) but a civil claim for 'damages'.

The difference is significantly more than academic.


Martin Roberts said...

Himself tweeted:

"Well for once I am delighted to be wrong, I expected the Pt judiciary to screw the man. A fail for politics"

I have no doubt they will have done their level best!

£12m and 5 years. Who was the REAL beneficiary? Certainly not the deceased. And papering over the cracks in the McCann façade hasn't prevented further subsidence either.


Himself said...

J S Bach 19 April 2016 at 13:58

I wonder if Nicola has bailed out, shove your investigation where the sun don't shine?

I'm sure there must be precedents for asking to be removed from a case.

I won't be conceited in suggesting my graphic campaign played any part if she has gone, but at least they know where I/we stand.

And so does the Home Secretary by now I shouldn't wonder.

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more

Martin Roberts said...

Himself @17:13

The latest SY 'two-step' makes it perfectly clear that the Met. were unashamedly roped into collusion with the McCann directorate, whosoever that might be, and I doubt they operate out of Rothley, Leicestershire.

The game plan has always been to disregard the original Portuguese investigation, discredit Amaral's succinct synopsis (author guilty of naughtiness = he's wrong), and issue the McCanns with a UK certificate of innocence.

Never mind the 'Dunkirk spirit', this campaign followed the Gallipoli principle, i.e. press on without an adequate map of the overseas landscape - something they no doubt tried to construct over the last 5 years.

Well the wheels have come off and the collusion is clearly exposed for what it is. Now we really are owed an explanation for the farce!

Anonymous said...

H/MR/JSB

It ain't over till it’s over, but it’s still a good day.

I doubt they operate out of Rothley, Leicestershire, too.

http://bit.ly/1qkNJ3f

Bis zum nächsten Mal!

Mx

Anonymous said...

http://www.24heures.ch/monde/accuse-diffamation-policier-acquitte-appel/story/18282700

Affaire Maddie
Il avait écrit que les parents de la petite Britannique disparue avaient caché le corps. «Liberté d'expression légitime», selon les juges.

Hikoi said...

Martin Roberts at 09:18

It's for Clarence to put a spin on.

Anonymous said...

http://www.news24.com/World/News/maddies-parents-lose-lisbon-libel-case-on-appeal-20160419

The appeals court "decided that [Amaral] had the right to do what he did. It said he can write what he wants," Duarte, the lawyer, told the AP by telephone. "It absolved him, said he didn't have to pay anything."

She said the McCanns took the reversal in their stride after a long time battling in Portuguese courts.

"They're used to it," Duarte said.

Portuguese police closed the case in 2008 because authorities had detected no crime, but British police are still looking into it. Madeleine would turn 13 next month.

--------------------------

A fly in the ointment?

Maren

Martin Roberts said...

Maren @09:30

'A fly in the ointment?'

Looks like Jeff Goldblum, sounds like Jeff Goldblum, but could get uglier given time.

Anonymous said...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzikQRswVpw

Clarence Mitchell lies to Australian CommsCon Conference about Madeleine McCann

Martin Roberts said...

Anonymous @08:04

I can see CM on the witness stand now:

"I did NOT have Public Relations with those women..."

Martin Roberts said...

https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2016/04/the-strange-case-of-gordon-brown-and-the-mccanns/comment-page-2/#comment-590937


Author's comment:

"Let me add how I very first heard of the McCanns. It was the very first day it was headline news in the UK – which I imagine was either one or two days after the event. The couple made two live press appearances (press conference, interview, I cannot pretend to recall). I was not watching, it was Nadira who paid attention, and Nadira made to me this remarkable observation. She said that not only had Kate McCann changed her clothes between appearances, she had changed her earrings to match. Nadira considered that to be very extraordinary in a frantically searching parent. That was the first I ever knew of the McCanns."

Anonymous said...

Martin R. @09:37

“We were bored to death. All spin and no delivery...” - those women (in my imagination)


https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2014/05/a-day-off-politics/comment-page-3/#comment-460257

McCann
June 7, 2014 at 06:16
You were warned. Get ready to pay.


Maren

Himself said...

http://portugalresident.com/appeal-court-judges-reject-mccanns-%E2%80%98libel-win%E2%80%99

Martin Roberts said...

Maren @22:26

Very amusing - your perspective on the PR.

When it comes to paying, I wonder, between Brian Kennedy, the Laird of Stobo Castle and the Home Office, who will make good the shortfall should the McCanns own 'ringfenced' funds prove insufficient?

M.R.

Himself said...

2007
Madeleine: Bloody footprint found in McCanns' apartment

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/madeleine-bloody-footprint-found-in-mccanns-apartment-6642364.html

Much spin among it, but not without interest.

Himself said...

2006

I never saw a court, not one first instance court nor a superior court, condemning a person to pay 500,000 euro for defaming another. Never saw that in my entire life. I would like that the deaths in Portugal had sentences like that, because the indemnifications when someone dies are "there you go 50,000 euro" which is a far inferior sum to a medium range car. That is how I would like to see the deaths compensated. I never saw half a million euro for defamation, just like it's abnormal to prohibit the publication of a book and the circulation of that book in the market, something that I find that jeopardizes the freedom of the press.

http://joana-morais.blogspot.com/2016/04/media-comments-on-mccanns-v-goncalo.html

No, me neither old lad.


BUSTED: Pro-Clinton Super PAC Caught Spending $1 Million on Social Media Trolls

http://usuncut.com/politics/clinton-super-pac-busted/

Natasha Donn on unauthorised translations of Amaral's book.

https://twitter.com/K9Truth/status/723472505458069504

Himself said...

!
https://twitter.com/IanKerr/status/723570598614601732

Anonymous said...

http://bit.ly/1NG7T4b

?

Goodnight.

M

Martin Roberts said...

Himself @20:44

Can't get that link to work although there's a variety of interesting stuff @IanKerr. Does it have to do with this perchance?

Vicount Ian Kerr CGC
‏@IanKerr
They tried to shut down #Amaral completely, they wanted to ruin him, and during this time someone killed his cousin, case unsolved. #mccann





Anonymous said...

M @22:41

Blacksmiths are a dying breed.

I sense a persistent inclination to put the Blair influence down to nothing more than spontaneous opportunism after the fact (or at least after 3 May). I am not buying it.

Bis Morgen

M.R.

Martin Roberts said...

M @22:41

Sorry. I'm not anonymous. It was just a 'slip of the digit'.

I should add that the metal worker's invective is probably inspired by the fact that Murray's confirmation of inappropriate official involvement in the McCann case, coming as it does from an insider, threatens to put the skids under his own thesis that the McCanns did it all unaided - except of course by the reprehensible media.

Murray's piece has lit a fuse. It remains to be seen which powder keg it runs to.

Himself said...

Paul Barbara
April 22, 2016 at 20:57

Most of the folks on this blog accept Craig’s word. This blog is not a Court of Law.
You’re not, by any chance, the ‘Blacksmith’ that Richard Gage wiped the floor with, I trust?

https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2016/04/the-strange-case-of-gordon-brown-and-the-mccanns/comment-page-4/#comment-591416

Anonymous said...

For something completely different:

http://www.chrismansfieldphotos.com/RECORDS-of-WOOLWICH/Royal-Arsenal-/i-w7J2NRP/13/O/cordite%20cases.jpg

And a smiley:

https://twitter.com/CraigMurrayOrg/status/723622201681960960

Auf Wiedersehen!

Maren

Martin Roberts said...

Maren @09;51

Dangerous stuff cordite. So dangerous the British 'dreadnoughts' of WW1 stored theirs in armour plated magazines - until they were called into action at the battle of Jutland. In order to improve the firing rate, sacks were brought up in anticipation and held in abeyance, nearer the guns. It didn't occur to anyone that an incoming shell might detonate an explosion or two - or three!!!

Back on topic: With significant overheads looming large, TM may have to reduce expenditure on their posse of 'Interlektyoualls' monitoring the internet.



Himself said...

http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2016/04/20/letter-from-the-netherlands/

http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2016/04/23/another-letter-from-the-netherlands/

Anonymous said...

Good afternoon H

Thanks for the links.

The Netherlands has lost its bearings whilst it was a few mornings before the McCanns got their bearings (and found a quicker route).

It’s a sad state of affairs.

http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2016/04/23/letter-from-europe/

M

Anonymous said...

http://mondediplo.com/openpage/drone-whistleblowers-step-out-of-the-shadows

“Sometimes I am so sad that my heart wants to explode,” an Afghan man says, speaking directly into the camera. “When your body is intact, your mind is different. You are content. But the moment you are wounded, your soul gets damaged. When your leg is torn off and your gait slows, it also burdens your spirit.” The speaker is an unnamed victim of a February 2010 drone strike in Uruzgan, Afghanistan, but he could just as easily be an Iraqi, a Pakistani, a Somali, or a Yemeni. He appears in National Bird, a haunting new documentary film by Sonia Kennebeck about the unexpected and largely unrecorded devastation Washington’s drone wars leave in their wake. In it, the audience hears directly from both drone personnel and their victims.

--------------------

M

Martin Roberts said...

M 23.4 @20:25

"...the unexpected and largely unrecorded devastation Washington’s drone wars leave in their wake."

It's the 'unrecorded' bit I find most offensive. The marketing of conflict. Never mind the truth, give the 'audience back home' the news they want to hear.

Anonymous said...

https://twitter.com/TeddyShepherd/status/724300027288535048

25 Jul 2013

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/woman/real_life/5032291/gerry-mccann-twins-freedom-charity-triathlon.html

Gerry says of the Met review: “It has taken a huge amount of pressure off us. And the fact that they are actively investigating is a huge step forward.

“They have been incredibly thorough. You have got all that expertise and resources directed into finding Madeleine and finding who’s responsible. We always knew there were lots of leads that needed following up.

“As long as they are making progress, that is the most important thing. Madeleine is a missing British subject and incredibly vulnerable. We are hoping she is still out there.”

Himself said...

http://portugalresident.com/amaral%E2%80%99s-libel-win-opens-pandora%E2%80%99s-box-on-national-television

Martin Roberts said...

Himself @01:29

Excellent! (I thought I'd responded to this previously. Perhaps it's gone down the cyber plug hole. Never mind).

Himself said...

Maren 24 April 2016 at 19:36

Asked after I posted numerous examples:

Maggie Smith @MaggieSI00

@TeddyShepherd why do think she is biased?


Shakes head.

. . . . “As long as they are making progress, that is the most important thing. Madeleine is a missing British subject and incredibly vulnerable. We are hoping she is still out there.”

Is that his first born he's talking about?

Shakes head.

Himself said...

M R 25 April 2016 at 10:46

Only this in the spam box.


http://onlyinamericablogging.blogspot.com/2016/04/conclusions-of-appellate-courts.html?showComment=1461497080336#c6279113424167642115

Himself said...

Orf out to darkest Preston for the afternoon. Laters

Himself said...

Risk Assessment

The interesting bit is not by Jerry Lawton, that becomes obvious, nor is it contemporary, but written in 2010.

http://www.anorak.co.uk/429939/tabloids/madeleine-mccann-amaral-v-the-mccanns-was-an-accident-waiting-to-happen.html/

Anorak | 20th, April 2016