John Ziegler - the video! Ziegler handcuffed for asking questions.

John Ziegler talks on the Greta show for Fox News about being handcuffed. I would say that what those guards did amounted to assault. You can see from the close up of John's wrist at the end of the video (above) that the assault caused actual bodily harm. So, let's hope that John is already instructing a lawyer.




John's web site:

http://www.howobamagotelected.com/

Film maker John Ziegler illegally handcuffed for asking questions.

"All I'm trying to do is ask questions!"

John Ziegler: John went to USC to witness and ask questions about Katie Couric getting the Walter Cronkite journalism award for her interview of Sarah Palin. He intended to also give away copies of his film but was literally prevented from doing so. He did not go there hoping for or expecting any sort of confrontation, especially with law enforcement. He was simply shocked and horrified by what happened there, as should every freedom loving American. He did absolutely nothing wrong and was handcuffed, detained and literally abused by law enforcement at the event.

The video speaks for itself, John will have plenty to say about this very disturbing episode. This video was shot and edited by Orange County Films. John Ziegler was not involved the the production or editing of this video in any way.

Watch the video

http://www.breitbart.tv/html/320303.html

Maddie: the Truth of the Lie Documentary

The video, together with the English transcript from Portuguese, is available on Joana Morais' blog. Thank you very much to Joana and Astro for the work involved in translating from Portuguese.

http://joana-morais.blogspot.com/

According to Reuters, opposition Republicans and SOME people in a FEW cities, attended tea parties yesterday in the USA!!!

It's funny to me now, but when I think of Reuters, I remember the impression I had, until this morning, that Reuters was an international news agency of some repute and in which I could have confidence. Not now! I was going to bed last night just as tea parties were getting underway all over the US, from sea to shining sea. Thanks to the internet, I could see for myself those crowds building up.

This morning, this is what Reuters had to say!

"Opposition Republicans seized the chance to rail against what they see as wasteful spending by his new Democratic administration, and some of Obama's grass-roots critics staged "tea party" protests in several U.S. cities."

Well, there were a lot more than "some" at those tea parties. And it wasn't just Republicans as far as I can gather from personal reports all over the internet. And it wasn't just "several" cities! If you look at the map I published in a previous post, you can see the locations and numbers of organised parties.

Chicago



Boston



Atlas Shrugs: NYC Tea Party

And just a few more of those tea parties in the slide show above!

Hillsborough 20 years on - thinking of the 96 fans who didn't go home.

Hank Williams Jr: Red, White & Pink-Slip Blues

Tomorrow's the day! It's Tax Day Tea Party Day from shore to shining shore!

The Ultimate Tea Party map.



View 2009 Tea Parties in a larger map

The red markers indicate parties taking place on April 15th. Blue markers indicate other dates. Visit the Tea Party site to find out where the parties are and what arrangements have been made.

http://taxdayteaparty.com/

Madeleine McCann: A Verdade Da Mentira - Amaral documentary - no longer available on YouTube.

Update: 15/04/09. YouTube has removed the videos because of copyright issues. The videos can now be viewed on the SOS Madeleine McCann web site.

SOS Madeleine McCann

The documentary, based on Goncalo Amaral's book, "A Verdade da Mentira," The Truth of The Lie, is already on YouTube. It's mostly in Portuguese but the gist of it is fairly clear. Joana Morais and Astro are working on an English transcription of the videos and I will post that when those two wonderful women have finished!

McCann Couple Furious (again!) about Documentary!

I watched the documentary online last night, the one based on Gonçalo Amaral's book, "A Verdade Da Mentira," The Truth of The Lie. Although it was mostly in Portuguese, the visual aspects of it were quite easy to follow and very interesting in that they placed the statements, and therefore the inconsistencies of the Tapas 9, into a visual context, which made those inconsistencies much more apparent. When we can see what is said to have happened, in a reconstruction in the actual physical location, then we can form an opinion more readily about the truth, or otherwise, of witness statements. For instance, how could Jane Tanner have walked past, almost within touching distance of Gerry McCann and Jeremy Wilkins, conversing outside apartment 5A, and neither saw her? And how could Jane Tanner have picked out a, "pinky aspect," to the pyjamas worn by the child she allegedly saw being carried in the light from the street lamps, which alters the perception of colours?

Joana Morais is to be thanked, once again for her speedy posting of English translations by Astro of an article from 24horas.

http://joana-morais.blogspot.com/

McCann couple furious about documentary

Carlos Pinto de Abreu, Kate and Gerry’s lawyer, says he hasn’t received any orders yet from his clients about the piece that was broadcast by TVI yesterday

by Duarte Levy

“Madeleine was never abducted and died on the night of the disappearance.” This was the thesis that was defended in the docuemntary that is inspired by the book from Gonçalo Amaral, a former PJ inspector, about the Maddie case, which TVI broadcast yesterday and the McCann couple’s lawyer, Carlos Pinto de Abreu, confessed to not having watched.

“I don’t comment on fiction and even less inventions”, the lawyer said, recognising that he had received no instruction from his clients, Kate and Gerry McCann, about the documentary from Valentim de Carvalho."

According to a source that is close to the McCann couple, Maddie’s parents “are furious about the fact that Gonçalo Amaral continues to insist on a lie, further adding that TVI’s documentary will never be shown in England because it “constitutes a fiction that doesn’t help in the search for the little girl”,

The couple’s spokesperson, Clarence Mitchell, accuses the former PJ coordinator of “wanting to make money off the case.”

In England, the documentary was attentively watched on the Internet and in Portuguese cafés and bars where TVI was a reason to justify dinner reservations, mostly by British customers who wanted to watch what they know no channel in the country will broadcast.

Pressures and interferences

In the documentary, Gonçalo Amaral showed a brief reconstitution of what, according to the Polícia Judiciária’s official inquiry, happened on the night of the 3rd of May 2007, using the power of images to point out the inconsistencies of the statements from Maddie’s parents and their seven friends.

Yesterday’s documentary showed, for the first time on television, images from the work that was done by the 2 dogs that came from England, prepared to search solely residues of blood and cadaver smell.

The dogs indicated the car that had been used by Maddie’s parents in the Algarve, but also several items belonging to the couple and some spots inside apartment 5A at the Ocean Club.

TVI’s documentary also raised doubts concerning the work that was done by the English lab – the Forensic Science Services (FSS) in Birmingham – whose analyses were initially considered to be sufficient to launch suspicions on the McCann couple, but ended up being denied through the intervention from a senior English police officer.

During 50 minutes, both Gonçalo Amaral, who lead the investigation into the case, and several other intervenients, stressed the interference of the English authorities, with the former coordinator of the PJ’s Criminal Investigation Department in Portimão ending up removed from the inquiry.

Gonçalo Amaral himself stated once more that “the PJ was pressured to not investigate this case like any other”.

Efficient French alert

Elise, the little girl that was abducted on the 20th of March in Arles, was recovered by her father in Hungary yesterday, due to the European arrest warrant that France launched within the “Abduction Alert” system whose model was adopted by Portugal this year. The French “Abduction Alert” system was used for the 8th time since it exists, and once more, its success was confirmed. This system, contrary to the one that is planned by the English and the Americans, takes into account the real necessity of using the media, apart from a real and true coordination between the various intervenients: family, police and Public Ministry."


source: 24horas, 14.03.2009

by astro

+/-

+/-

Maddie: What Lies Beneath The Truth.

Recently, Gerry McCann has been back in Praia da Luz, Portugal, for the filming of a reconstruction of the events of May 3rd, 2007, when Madeleine McCann disappeared from her bedroom. This will be screened by Channel 4 in May.

On Monday of next week, Portuguese TV channel, TVi, will screen a documentary based on Goncalo Amaral's book, "A Verdade da Mentira." (The Truth of the Lie.) Here is the trailer for the programme.



Madeleine McCann disappeared on May, 03 2007.

For the first time this documentary re-enacts the events of that night, a night that hit the news worldwide and grabbed the people's attention for so long.

Gonçalo Amaral, the chief investigator, presents his version of the events and all questions are answered by interviewing the main participants in the story.

Did the witnesses speak the truth?

What are the main inconsistencies?

What did the forensic tests reveal?

Why did Maddie's case reach a dead end?

Experts were consulted, and all scientific and forensic evidence found were thoroughly examined. Investigation material never yet shown is presented.

Two re-enactments at Vila da Luz, shed light on what has happened to Madeleine McCann, that Thursday night, May 3, 2007.

After 27 years on the force, Gonçalo Amaral retired in July 2008 to regain his full freedom of expression about the case, and do his best to help uncover the whole truth and to see justice done.

Based on Gonçalo Amaral book: A Verdade da Mentira - The Truth of the Lie.


Source: Valentim de Carvalho

http://joana-morais.blogspot.com/

Duarte Levy comments on the two documentaries.

"It was only after being aware that the documentary inspired on the book “Maddie: The Truth of the Lie” was soon going to be broadcasted on Portuguese TV that the McCanns understood the urgency to show the British public their version of the story. This information was now confirmed by a source close to the couple who added that ‘the campaign launched in the Algarve was only a way to prepare and justify the documentary that they want to show the British public as soon as possible”.

If the documentary with Gonçalo Amaral’s version is going to be the first to be aired in Portugal, even before the second anniversary of Maddie’s disappearance, the version given by the McCanns has already guaranteed a wider broadcasting in Europe: Channel 4 is broadcasting the documentary recently filmed in Praia da Luz and several contracts have already been negotiated, including in Portugal, where the channel chosen was SIC.

Based on the book by the former man in charge of the official inquiry into Maddie’s disappearance, taken off the case due to political pressures exercised on the highest level within the English government, the documentary by Multimédia Valentim de Carvalho doesn’t not contain much new information but, through the strength of the footage, completely destroys the version of an alleged abduction, like Kate and Gerry McCann always insisted happened.

Available in Portuguese and English, the documentary by Multimédia Valentim de Carvalho was directed by Carlos Coelho da Silva, produced by Manuel S. Fonseca and written by Nuno Ramos de Almeida.

Duarte Levy

http://duartelevyen.wordpress.com/

That Obama bow from another angle!

My thanks to "Ju," for the link to this video which shows the bow very clearly. Obama does not lean over to grasp the Saudi King's hand with both of his. Neither does he bend because the Saudi King is shorter; Obama bows, stands upright, then approaches the Saudi King and shakes his hand.

Well, did Obama bow to the Saudi King?

As some folks know, I work as a supply teacher, mostly on long-term contracts. I have been doing this work for a few years now and it suits me; it puts food on the table.

Now, during the time I've been doing this work, I have developed one or two scientific theories, which I am about to release to the world. The first, which is verifiable without the use of sophisticated equipment is this: if someone's lips are moving and a sound is coming out, that person is almost certainly the one who is talking. There are attempts every day in my working life to discredit this theory, when the person identified as having moved their lips, turns to their neighbours, arms out, hands palm upwards, in that gesture of, "I ain't dun nuffin'. It weren't me. Woz it me?" However, I persist with my conclusion: the lips move; a sound comes out; one of us is a few sandwiches short of a picnic and it's not me!

I have also studied the science of trajectory, parabolas and follow-through arm movements. If I see someone's arm move in a wide arc, back to front, and a paper projectile follows a parabolic route from the person's hand, as the arm follows through and returns to a position lateral to the body, I can be almost 100% sure that I can believe the evidence of my senses; that person was the one who just threw the paper airoplane!

So, just cal me Little Lucy Sharp Eyes. Hey! I can even tell if someone is doing a text message under the table! The head is down, the arms are symmetrical and even under a shirt, I can see the brachioradialis muscles twitching!

So, Little Lucy Sharp Eyes examines Obama greeting the Saudi King. Exhibit number one: does he bow from the waist, like a half-shut knife? Looks rather like it to me. Look closely at 50-55 seconds on this video.



But lookee here! In the Chicago Sun-Times, an Obama aide, figuratively, does that hands out innocent gesture.

Chicago Sun-Times April 8th 2009

"An Obama aide speaking anonymously denied that the president was bowing.

“It wasn’t a bow. He grasped his hand with two hands, and he’s taller than King Abdullah,” the aide was quoted as saying by Politco.com Wednesday."

Yea right! Have another look at the video. Obama was a good three feet away from the Saudi King when his body folded at the waist. He then moved forward and possibly then shook the kings hand.

So, the Obama aide wants us to accept that the Prez had to bend because he's taller than the Saudi King? Well, Obama is significantly taller than Good Queen Bess, but he didn't appear to have to bend over to shake her hand. He remained upright and did a very slight nod of the head, as is fitting when one Head of State greets another.

Again, from the Chicago Sun-Times:

"Such an act is a traditional obeisance befitting a king's subjects, not his peer. There is no precedent for U.S. presidents bowing to Saudi or any other royals,” said the conservative Washington Times."

Here is Obama greeting Queen Elizabeth. See any bending? Obama manages to shake the Queen's hand sans bending over.

FBI InfraGard warns of a crescendo of public concern about Obama's eligibility

Defend Our Freedoms

5/04/09

"by DefendUSx April 05, 2009 11:14

Tasked by the FBI to provide "informational analysis" on conditions which could be construed as potentially harmful to civil order and national security, InfraGard, of the FBI's National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC), issued an unclassified Protective Intelligence Communication report in March 2009 regarding the "crescendo" of public concern about Obama's presidential eligibility.

Authored by Dr. Lyle J. Rapacki, Protective Intelligence Specialist and Agent, the report summarizes the substance of legal challenges to Obama on the question of his constitutional eligibility and concludes that if it "should be discovered Mr. Obama is ineligible, a constitutional crisis would ensue attempting to determine which of his executive branch orders should be valid." It goes on to warn that "if...Mr. Obama fights revealing his documentation, there is growing concern of civil unrest, or worse, being unleashed in the streets of our nation. The economic crisis coupled with this type of a constitutional crisis could prove to be a flashpoint that would test conventional law enforcement and elements of homeland security."

The stream of law suits, the most recent of which have been tendered by high ranking military officers and state legislators, to compel Obama to prove his eligibility have been unremitting and increasingly vocal. A request for "quo warranto" action, an apparent last-ditch legal remedy, was recently delivered to both the US Attorney for the District of Columbia and to the Attorney General.

Dovetailing with this unsettling assessment, and pretty much out of public view, are the following national security developments which, in their totality, could well signal acute domestic instability in the period ahead.

Upon the recommendation of the Army's Strategic Studies Institute, The Army Times reported that a somewhat euphemistically dubbed "Consequence Management Response Force (CCMRF)," currently the role of the 3rd Infantry Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team, but which, reportedly, might eventually comprise upwards of 80,000 troops, is being trained and readied to deal with what could be widespread civil disorder resulting from an "unforeseen economic collapse" or "loss of a functional political and legal order."

Symptomatic of festering civil unrest are the many "tea parties" springing up around the country, growing fears of economic disintegration and of both crippling terrorist attacks and even of perceived federal overreaching. Add to this the very real threat of a rogue nuclear EMP (electro-magnetic pulse) attack on the homeland which could instantaneously reduce the country to a paralytic pre-industrial condition, plus the unrest on our southern border, and there appears to be ample and justifiable cause for concern and appropriate contingency planning at every level of government."

Defend Our Freedoms

The web site of Dr Orly Taitz

The Obama Deception

A film by Alex Jones of infowars.com

You’re not wanted here, McCann told

Metro on Sunday April 5th 2009

The father of missing Madeleine McCann was yesterday told to go home by angry residents during a fresh visit to Portugal.

Gerry McCann, 40, sparked critic­ism after returning to the Portug­uese res­ort to launch a fresh TV app­eal and film a documentary.

But his arrival coincided with the loss of 21 staff at the Ocean Club complex, which management blamed on the 'Maddie effect'.

We don't want to be uncharitable but we had more than our fair share of bad publicity when little Madeleine went missing,' said one bar owner at the resort.

'This new appeal just stirs up unp­leasant memories and we can't see it leading anywhere,' he added.

Madeleine McCann, of Rothley, Leicestershire, went missing on May 3, 2007, during a family holid­ay at the resort of Praia da Luz. She would now be aged five. A police inquiry came to nothing and has since been closed.

Last week, posters appealing for information were torn down at the resort and the flat in which the family stayed was vandalised.

The Find Madeleine Fund, which arranged the international TV app­eal, said residents had never been asked about what they saw.

Gerry McCann took false ‘Maddie’ to Praia da Luz

With thanks to Joana Morais.

http://joana-morais.blogspot.com/

by Duarte Levy for 24horas

Gerry McCann, accompanied by Clarence Mitchell and by his friends Jane Turner and Matthew Oldfield, two members of the Tapas group, were in Praia da Luz yesterday to follow the first day of filming of a new television documentary where the English production team didn’t hesitate to use the services of a child to play Maddie’s role.

Maddie’s father arrived at the Ocean Club in the company of Jane Tanner and returned to the same locations that the group of English people frequented when the little girl disappeared, having inspected the Tapas Bar, the tennis court and even apartment 5A, where cots just like the ones in which Sean and Amelie slept on the night of May 3, were brought in.

The documentary, in which 15 actors participate, intends to reconstruct the McCanns’ version of an abduction that allegedly took place at around 9.30 p.m. on the evening of the 3rd of May 2007, and which gives the idea that the man who was seen by Jane Tanner, was the perpetrator.

In the presence of several members of the GNR [local police force], who were sent on location to guarantee the safety of the group of English citizens, the production team from Mentorn Media filmed inside and outside of the Ocean Club, including in the apartment where Madeleine was allegedly abducted from.

That documentary, which “is going to be centred on leads that were undervalued by the Portuguese police”, may be broadcast in Portugal by SIC [tv channel], with which conditions are to be negotiated that may include a “contribution” to the financial fund that was created by the McCanns in 2007, a fact that Clarence Mitchell, the couple’s spokesman, denied to 24horas: “there won’t be any contribution to the ‘Find Madeleine’ fund or even to the family. The parents simply want to find further leads that help the private investigation to find Madeleine McCann, nothing else”.

The members of the public that were present around the entry to the resort’s reception didn’t enjoy the presence of the English group, accusing Gerry McCann of carrying out “burnt land” politics in Praia da Luz: “Two years later, what do they want to prove?”, a member of the public asked, stressing that it was incomprehensible that the Portuguese authorities permitted “to carry out this circus in a village that hasn’t stopped suffering with this case yet”.

According to the filming – that doesn’t match the statements that were made by the nine English citizens when they were questioned in Portugal and in the United Kingdom – the documentary now intends to transmit the idea of a predator in Praia da Luz, who allegedly watched the group’s steps, the reason why the filming includes the dinner at the Millennium restaurant, where the couple dined on the evening before the little girl’s disappearance, near the Ocean Club swimming pool, and near the church of Praia da Luz.

Private investigations continue

Just like 24horas had reported yesterday, the McCann couple’s spokesman confirmed to journalists that two private investigators are in Praia da Luz working on still unexplored leads, without specifying any further.

The two men were even observed in terrains not too far from the Ocean Club, where they inspected a cane field under the attentive look of members of the PJ.

During the filming, which continues today (Sunday), those investigators will observe the reconstitution of the case “according to the description that was given by Gerry and his friends”, which according to the couple’s spokesman, “may help to understand where Madeleine went to”.

Among various key scenes of this documentary, large emphasis is placed on the witness testimony of Jane Tanner, who states that she observed a man carrying a child, but which she was incapable, since the outset of the official inquiry, to describe in a coherent manner.

When questioned by 24horas, Clarence justified the decision by the couple and their friends not to participate in the reconstitution that was requested by the Polícia Judiciária, explaining the fact that by not being broadcast on television, it couldn’t help the McCanns.

“Now we believe that this documentary may generate new information that help us to find Madeleine”, Clarence Mitchell added, explaining that after being negotiated with several countries – including Portugal – the video will be available on the webpage that was created by the couple: www.findmadeleine.com.

During the course of the filming, the GNR will keep teams on location to maintain the tranquillity of the film crew’s work and to keep the population away, which is openly unhappy about Gerry McCann’s presence.

McCanns may return by the end of the month

A source close to the couple confirmed once more that Gerry McCann and some relatives may return to our country as early as the end of April in order to be in Praia da Luz in time for the second anniversary of Maddie’s disappearance, but that “Kate is not prepared yet” to face a return to our country, which was confirmed by Clarence Mitchell.

Priest doesn’t want the McCanns in church

Father Pacheco has informed Gerry McCann that he doesn’t want him in the little church of Praia da Luz this Sunday, neither him nor any of his friends.

The false ‘Maddie’, dressed thoroughly like Madeleine at the moment when she disappeared, cried to avoid walking the steps of the real one…

(continues)


source: Duarte Levy @ Wordpress, 05.04.2009


by astro

http://joana-morais.blogspot.com/

"According to the filming – that doesn’t match the statements that were made by the nine English citizens when they were questioned in Portugal and in the United Kingdom – the documentary now intends to transmit the idea of a predator in Praia da Luz, who allegedly watched the group’s steps, the reason why the filming includes the dinner at the Millennium restaurant, where the couple dined on the evening before the little girl’s disappearance, near the Ocean Club swimming pool, and near the church of Praia da Luz."

This cannot be right. According to various statements from the Tapas crew, the group only ate at the Millennium on the first evening of the holiday.


David Payne's statement 4/05/07

http://www.kidnapping.be/affairemadelein1/index.html

"Concerning the remaining members of the group, normally they got up and went for breakfast at the, "Millennium," restaurant, after which they left their children at the Kids Club and the adults went to do sports inside the tourist complex or they went to the beach. The couple Gerry and Kate had breakfast in the apartment. It was usual to have dinner together every night. With the exception of Saturday, when they all dined at the, "Millennium," restaurant, every evening the group was to be found at the, "Tapas," restaurant at around 8.45 for dinner. While the adults were dining, the children were sleeping in their respective apartments. "

Russell O'Brien's statement 11/05/07 (Also Enfants Kidnappés)

"The "Millennium" restaurant is a long way from block 5 where the couples were lodged. As meals at the "Millennium" restaurant were served after 7.30pm, except on Saturdays for the reception of new clients arriving that day, they found that time late for the children. They opted for meals at the "Tapas" which is close to the swimming pool, back facing the apartment block where the couples were staying. The informant states that David and Fiona's children were very restless and they preferred to be as close as possible to the apartment. All the couples were in agreement with no objections. "

Matthew Oldfield's statement 4/05/07 (Enfants Kidnappés)

"The interviewee says that the day yesterday was identical to the previous ones and that, as on all other nights, at around 8.45pm, he and his wife left their daughter asleep in the apartment and went to the "Tapas" restaurant. "

Rachael Oldfield's statement 4/05/07 (Enfants Kidnappés)

"They had the habit of going to eat every evening at the,"TAPAS," restaurant which is about 50 metres from the apartments as the crow flies but 60 or 70 metres round the building to the back entrance. "

Neither Kate nor Gerry's statement of 4/05/07 is clear about the dining routine, but those most of the Tapas 7 seem quite clear that it was the Tapas Bar except for the Saturday evening.

Fun when dancing breaks out at Antwerp's main railway station!

Gerry McCann returns to Praia da Luz for a reconstruction of the events of May 3rd 2007

"Madeleine McCann's father Gerry McCann has returned to Portugal to advise private detectives filming a reconstruction of her disappearance.

Family spokesman Clarence Mitchell said Mr McCann and two family friends have returned to the resort area of Praia da Luz to help with the filming.

The reconstruction will be shown in a Channel 4 Cutting Edge documentary.

Madeleine, of Rothley, Leicestershire, was three when she vanished from the Algarve holiday flat on 3 May 2007.

The reconstruction - being filmed by the McCanns' own private investigators - will focus on what happened on the night, as described by witness statements." *

As described by witness statements? Surely there are so many inconsistencies in those statements, this reconstruction will be very difficult, unless this firm of private detectives is planning to portray several different versions. For a start, there are several versions of Jane Tanner's statements about what she saw. There was the "Eggman," who was wearing beige coloured trousers and was carrying, "a bundle that could have been a child." Then there was her statement about the swarthy man who was carrying a child in pyjamas identical to the ones Madeleine was said to have been wearing when she disappeared. Then, there was the version where the man she saw was just like the man seen by the two female tourists. So, which one will the detectives go with?

"Negotiations are under way for the reconstruction to be shown on Portuguese television and in other European countries, and it will be also be available on the Find Madeleine website.

Mr Mitchell said: "The aim of this is to get that critical piece of information that could still help to find Madeleine. Gerry has returned with that aim." *

So, why didn't Gerry return when the Portuguese police wanted to mount a reconstruction? The seven friends the McCanns were on holiday with in May 2007, decided that a reconstruction would accomplish nothing one year on, and so communicated their decision to the Portuguese police.

"On May 23rd, all seven of the McCanns' friends sent a formal reply to the Prosecutor's request for a reconstruction, saying that they would not be attending, after advice from their lawyers. The reconstruction was therefore canceled by the Judge for the Court of Criminal Investigation, on May 26th 2008."

Duarte Levy & Paulo Reis

http://sosmaddie.dhblogs.be/

The planned reconstruction was canceled because of the conditions imposed by the Tapas 7 and also because they did not see any purpose in such a reconstruction. Maybe Gerry could have persuaded his friends at that time that a reconstruction could have led to important new information. After all, he actually said he was willing, but the date was not suitable.

"As it was impossible to accept or accomplish these conditions, Paulo Rebelo, in an email addressed to Stuart Prior on April 29th, requested that a final decision was taken. Jane and Russel O'Brien were the first to respond, saying yes, but waiting for further advice from their lawyers. Rachel and Matthew sent a similar response, but stressing that they couldn't be in Portugal between May 15th and May 17th. "

"The criminal court took the decision to set a new date: 29th and 30th of May 2008. Then Gerald McCann requested a change to this new date, because his lawyer had another meeting planned before the Lisbon court, for May 29th. His request was refused because it was impossible to make a further revision of the date, due to the numbers of people involved. "

SOS Maddie (See link above)

So, after all that messing about, the reconstruction was canceled.

But now, two years on, Gerry McCann returns to Portugal for this reconstruction by his team of private detectives? I think the local people of Praia da Luz have given the message very loudly and very clearly, that Gerry McCann and his merry band are not welcome in the area. Two years ago, the people of Praia da Luz did everything they could to help find Madeleine McCann. While Kate McCann did absolutely no phyisical searching for her daughter, local people took a whole week off work to search the area. The Portuguese police searched hundreds of properties and questioned hundreds of local people. Kate and Gerry swanned off round Europe! And now, they want the help of the local residents?

No! I guess something else must be going on. Maybe the Goncalo Amaral case is nearing a resolution and Mr Amaral's book will be available in English soon? Also, I believe there is a documentary based on Mr Amaral's book. So, perhaps the McCanns want to get their film out first? There must be something going on, I reckon for this to suddenly be important after two years.

At this point, as the tourist season is just getting underway, and the main industry of the town of Praia da Luz is tourism, I cannot help but wonder what effect this invasion of Gerry McCann's film crew is going to have on local business. One more chance, Gerry, to ruin a few businesses in Praia da Luz.

"The McCann's friends Jane Tanner and Matthew Oldfield, who were with them on the night Madeleine disappeared, will be interviewed on the programme, to be aired on 7 May.

A man was said to have been "acting suspiciously" two days before Madeleine disappeared, and Ms Tanner said she had seen a man carrying what may have been a sleeping child.

Channel Four commissioning editor for documentaries Mark Raphael said: "The disappearance of Madeleine McCann is one of the most harrowing unsolved crimes of recent years.

"Two years on, Kate and Gerry McCann are still searching for their daughter. We hope that this documentary and reconstruction may be able to provide vital new leads for the investigation." *

* http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7983413.stm

A few reports from the "Religion of Peace," this week.

Mother-in-law kept her sons' three wives locked up like slaves or dogs.

When I first saw this headline, I assumed this was a story from Pakistan or Afghanistan or India, but no, this happened right here in the UK, is free country, where women are equal under the law and are protected by the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. Right here in the UK, three young women were brought to this country to be married and ended up being beaten, confined to their mother-in-law's house and treated like slaves.

A mother locked up her three daughters-in-law and treated them as slaves for more than a decade, a court heard yesterday.

Naseebah Bibi, 62, is said to have ruled the women by fear - beating and slapping them if they disobeyed her, threatening to break their legs and denying them food.

Their ordeal only came to light when one wife managed to break free and ran into the street to alert a neighbour.

The court was told that Tazeem Akhtar, Nagina Akhtar and Nisbah Akhtar had arrived in Britain over several years after arranged marriages to Bibi's sons Nahim, Fahim and Nadeem in Pakistan.

Instead of living with their husbands and raising families, the women were put to work by their mother-in-law cooking and cleaning and using an industrial sewing machine.

Daily Mail April 1st (Read more here)

And sadly, it's not an April Fool's joke! It's all too true!

Rape in marriage to be legal in Afghanistan?

And in Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai proposes a new law that would make rape in marriage legal and ban women from leaving their homes without their husband's permission.

"Critics worry the legislation undermines hard-won rights for women enacted after the fall of the Taliban's strict Islamist regime.

The law – which some lawmakers say was never debated in parliament – is intended to regulate family life inside Afghanistan's Shiite community, which makes up about 20 per cent of this country of 30 million people. The law does not affect Afghan Sunnis.

One of the most controversial articles stipulates the wife "is bound to preen for her husband as and when he desires."

"As long as the husband is not travelling, he has the right to have sexual intercourse with his wife every fourth night," Article 132 of the law says. "Unless the wife is ill or has any kind of illness that intercourse could aggravate, the wife is bound to give a positive response to the sexual desires of her husband."

Daily Telegraph April 3rd (Read more here)

China: Muslims riot after traffic incident

They don't seem to be very sure what happened because seemingly there are several widely varying versions of the story. A Muslim male was hit by a bus and killed. A Muslim male was traveling in a taxi that was in an accident with another vehicle, was badly injured and is in hospital. But hey! Why miss a good opportunity for a riot?!!! Whatever happened, there was a Han Chinese driver at fault and that calls for a riot!!

Hundreds of ethnic Hui Muslim people in Luohe, Henan province, attacked the government headquarters and paralysed traffic in a protest against the local authorities' alleged mishandling of an accident in which a Hui villager was injured, a Hong Kong-based rights organisation said yesterday.

The Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy quoted officials with the Luohe city government, including local traffic police, as saying that up to 1,000 Hui had laid siege to the building and blocked three of the town's four main bridges since Tuesday.

The report said a Hui man, a pedestrian, was killed last month when he was hit by a bus driven by a Han Chinese.

The suspect was reportedly released after several days' detention. The Luohe Public Bus Company, for which the driver worked, offered relatives of the victim 200,000 yuan (HK$227,000) in compensation. The relatives were demanding 1 million yuan.

But a local source gave the South China Morning Post (SEHK: 0583, announcements, news) a different version of the accident, saying the victim, a 20-year-old Hui man, did not die. He said the victim's face was injured when a taxi, not a bus, in which the victim was a passenger and which was driven by a Han Chinese, collided with another vehicle.

The victim's relatives and friends had turned to the local government for help after the taxi company refused to offer any compensation, the source said.

But local authorities decided to take no action."

South China Morning Post April 3rd (Read more here.)

Saudi religious police arrest famous actors because men and women were performing together.

The muttawa raids a hotel where a popular television series was being filmed. The actors have been released on bail, and one woman has been subjected to a moral education session. There is sharp division in the country between the fundamentalist religious leaders and those who want more freedom.

Riyadh (AsiaNews/Agencies) - A blitz by the Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (the religious police, or muttawa), who early in the morning of March 30 raided a famous hotel in Riyadh and took away the actors and production staff for a television series.

Three actors and one actress were taken to the local police station, and later released on bail. According to a local newspaper, they are the famous Omani actor Ebrahim Al Zidjali, the actors Ali Saad and Fawaz Al Jaser, and the actress Sahar.

Local sources explain that the religious police intervened because scenes were filmed at the hotel in which male and female actors were on the set together. For this reason, Sahar was also taken to a center of the Commission where female officers explained to her the consequences and dangers of being with men in public places.

Asia News April 2nd

Italian authorities carry out raids against "Islamist radicals" across country

Rome, 2 April (AKI) - Twenty-six foreigners suspected of links to international terrorism as well as aiding and abetting illegal immigration are being investigated by Italian police, after raids carried out on Thursday in various Italian cities.

The raids were carried out in properties around the northern cities of Vicenza, Venice, Padova, Brescia, Como, Cuneo and Trento, the central city of Florence and the southern city of Caserta.

The anti-terrorism and organised crime investigators in March 2007 began probing alleged Islamic fundamentalists attending the Via Dei Mille mosque in Vicenza in the northern Veneto region.

The mosque was led by a Yemeni imam, who is also being investigated for terror links.

However, most of the 26 foreigners arrested are Algerian.

Three of them, who lived in Naples, are though to be Islamist radicals sympathetic to the radical 'Takfiri' ideology.

The three radicals had already been involved in falsifying documents to aid jihadist groups.

Takfiris believe contemporary Muslim society has reverted to a state of unbelief ('kufr') and thus considers legitimate both rebellions against the state and acts of violence against Muslim citizens.

Adn Kronos April 2nd

And finally, suffer the little children.

New Pope to be appointed.

Exclusive! From the office of Fr Alan Clifford himself today.

The NRC news agency reports that Fr Alan Clifford (he has four children) is to be appointed Pope this time next year.

Interviewed today, the Pope-elect intends to abolish the entire structural organisation of the Roman Catholic Church, including his own office. His new post will simply be 'pastor'. The Vatican will become a museum for renaissance studies and a home for the elderly.

All the papal investments will become charitable trusts for the hungry and homeless. Compensation will be available for the descendents of victims of those persecuted by generations of RC clergy and monarchs. All priests, monks and nuns are to be married off. The reformed administration is to be transferred to Geneva and a new website is to be created: www.bibleonly.com.

Since the Pope-elect is too good looking, he is to undergo cosmetic surgery to adapt his appearance to his new role (see image above). It is hoped that these radical changes will be welcomed universally. Thank you for taking time to read this announcement. Have a good day!

Dr Alan Clifford

Norwich Reformed Church.

April 1st 2009