Should Kate McCann be 'Ambassador' for Missing Children?

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Madeleine McCann: South African business man "finds," Maddie's grave.

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Joana Morais has very interesting and significant updates on this story. I'm not going to copy any of them here, just point you in the right direction.


Joana's recent blog posts include articles under the following headings:


Attorney General's Office and Expert dismiss speculation about Maddie's body

Robert Murat likely to sue South African businessman

McCann Couple: Parents defy the police to investigate lead

South African businessman challenges Robert Murat

Maddie, again

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

New lead in the Maddie McCann case following revelation about Maddie's body being in Robert Murat's garden

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Selon le quotidien portugais, Correio da Manha, le corps de la petite Maddie se trouverait dans le jardin du seul suspect visé par les autorités, Robert Murat. Stephen Birch, un homme d'affaires sud-africain aurait découvert l'endroit où reposerait le corps de la fillette. L'affaire est classée depuis 2008 mais la police a d'ores et déjà réouvert une enquête pour vérifier ces informations.

http://fr.euronews.com/

According to the Portuguese daily, Correio da Manha, little Maddie's body is to be found in the garden of the only suspect the authorities had in their sights, Robert Murat. Stephen Birch, a South African businessman, has allegedly discovered the resting place of the little girl's body. The case has been archived since 2008, but the police have aleady reopened an investigation to verify the information. 

South African researcher says Madeleine McCann's body is buried in Robert Murat's back garden

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Google translation:

A South African researcher ensures that the body of Madeleine McCann is buried in the yard of Robert Murat, in the Algarve. Stephen Birch wrote to Scotland Yard and the Judicial Police to tell their discoveries.

Speaking to the "Morning Post" claimed to have detected all the 60 cm depth. His suspicions were confirmed by images taken by a "geo-radar" of the British police.

The newspaper writes that an international expert, contacted by the investigator, said he had no doubt that there is an object buried in the area concerned.

While in Praia da Luz, Birch oversaw the Murat house 24 hours a day, with the help of two assistants and even four times to enter the yard at night.

In his statements to the newspaper does not make accusations, ensuring that their aim is to discover where the body was buried, because "once removed, will be much easier to solve this case." The South African believes that in time, Murat's house was not "investigated in the most correct."

Madeleine disappeared a few days before to four years, May 3, 2007, the room where he slept with the two twin brothers, the youngest, in an apartment in a resort in Praia da Luz in the Algarve.

http://rr.sapo.pt/informacao_detalhe.aspx?fid=25&did=68914

The police searched Robert Murat's house and garden in May 2007 and again in August 2007, when a British sniffer dog was brought in.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6931725.stm

August 5th 2007


Police in Portugal investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann have ended a two-day search of the home of Robert Murat.

 Mr Murat, 33, the only official suspect in the case of the missing child, denies any involvement.

Police returned to the house at 0700 (0600 GMT) to search inside the property and its grounds.....

....BBC correspondent Steve Kingstone said police were using scanning equipment over the floorboards inside the premises in Praia da Luz.

As many as 10 officers - including two British detectives - spent 12 hours on Saturday searching Mr Murat's Algarve villa, which is owned by his mother.

Much of the day had been spent clearing thick vegetation, and a sniffer dog with a British handler inspected the premises.

Mr Murat, who was declared a suspect 10 days after Madeleine was last seen, was not arrested or questioned. He was on the premises with his lawyer as the latest search was conducted.


Stephen Birch Interview.

Kate McCann welcomes the new missing children alert system

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This week Kate McCann attended a reception at 10 Downing Street to celebrate the 116000 missing children hotline. It sure has been a long time coming. The UK is one of the last of the EU member states to roll out this system since it was agreed by the European Parliament, way back in 2006. I think the problem with the UK has been persuading an organisation to take on responsibility for it, but that, as we have seen, has now happened: the charity, Missing People, will operate the phone lines and CEOP will maintain the web site. 

As a reminder of some of the history of this operation, which includes the McCanns visit to Strasbourg, when they spoke in favour of the introduction of an American Amber Alert style system, rather than the French "Alerte Enlèvement," system, which had already been adopted at the time by 17 EU member states, I am re-posting a blog from April 2010. I think the most significant factor to bear in mind is the 4 criteria for triggering an alert when a child goes missing. Unfortunately, in Madeleine's case, an alert would not have been triggered, because the criteria would not have been met. 

So, there was Kate McCann this week, celebrating a system which she and hubby tried to have replaced and which would not have helped their child in any way, if she had indeed been abducted. What information would the emergency services have had to work with? An old photo of a small blonde child, last seen being carried by a person described as "an egg with hair." Most unhelpful!

Blog post from April 2010 follows.   ......................
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Above: Kate and Gerry McCann in Strasbourg, June 2008


Well, the UK finally gets around to introducing an alert system for missing children.

Sky News April 4th

"Police will unveil a new nationwide alert system for enlisting the public to help them rescue abducted children next month."

An alert system has been active in some member states of the EU for some time now. In fact, Portugal was the second country after Hungary, to introduce an alert system in 2002, in accordance with an EU directive. (SOS Madeleine McCann blog )

In June 2008, the McCanns went to Strasbourg to gather support for a Europe-wide system, based on the American Amber Alert. They presented a written declaration to the Commission, but this was not their own work, rather it had been drawn up by Edward McMillan-Scott, then Vice-President of the European Parliament, but presented by the media-savvy, media magnets, the McCanns.

The McCanns had simply tried to hijack an initiative that had already been working its way through the European Parliament for some time, turn it into something else and claim it as their own.

"McCann wanted to seize “a policy that is already being enforced”

"The McCann couple launched a public relations campaign, trying to 'seize' a policy that is already being enforced..." accused the member of the European Parliament, Carlos Coelho, member of the Christian-Democrat group in the European Parliament and Party colleague of President Barroso. And this MEP knows what he is talking about, as he was among the 54 deputies who had adopted, in a committee session, the European strategy concerning children’s rights, a document which was approved on January 2008.

The “written declaration” to which McMilan-Scott agreed to associate Kate and Gerry McCann thus does not contain anything new, when compared with the legislative project of the European institutions." (Duarte Levy and Paulo Reis)

The McCanns in Strasbourg in 2008 were rather like the man who knocked my door the other day, trying to interest me in double glazing, to whom I pointed out my rather new windows! But oh dear! How were those crusading, never mind that we left our children alone "responsible parents," received? Those ungrateful deputies and journalists just kept asking questions about the night Madeleine disappeared and some even asked about the children having been left alone, which irritated our saintly duo immensely!

Gerry retorted that they had neither neglected nor abandoned Madeleine and that going over that old ground was boring! (Duarte Levy and Paulo Reis)

Oh yes, Gerry! Been there, done that, lost a child, but hey, let's not go over that old boring stuff!

In December 2006, an extraordinary meeting of the member states approved an initiative of the European Commission to reserve certain numbers (Starting with 116 ) for a Europe-wide alert system for missing children. This was the system which had been in operation in France since 2006 and had proved to be effective in several cases. (August 2007: abducted 5 year-old French child recovered within hours.)

Back to SkyNews:

"The network, comparable to the amber alert system in the United States, will be compatible with other European countries for the first time."

Well, hallelujah! By January 2009, 10 out of the 17 member states of the EU had adopted the European Alert system, the UK as we know, not having been amongst them, in spite of the fact of having the greatest number of missing children. (SOS Maddie blog)

But sky News tells us that the McCanns have been campaigning for such a system since their daughter disappeared! Well, no they haven't! They took up being poster children for McMillan-Scott's campaign in June 2008, when other member states had been operating an alternative system since 2006!

Since 2006, the French system, known as "Alerte Enlèvement," which is the system now introduced across most of the EU territory and finally in the UK, has recovered many missing children through rapid response to reported cases of abduction. The success of the system, according to Rachida Dati, former French Justice Minister, is due to there being very strict criteria for launching an alert. Four criteria must be met.

"Quatre critères doivent toutefois être réunis pour que le plan soit déclenché : il doit s'agir d'un enlèvement avéré, et non d'une simple disparition, même inquiétante ; la vie ou l'intégrité physique de la victime doit être en danger ; le procureur de la République est en possession éléments d'informations dont la diffusion permettrait de localiser l'enfant ou le suspect ; et la victime doit être mineure." (Duarte Levy)

1) It must be a confirmed abduction and not just a disappearance, however worrying.

2) The victim's life or physical safety must be at risk.

3) The Public Prosecutor must be in possession of sufficient information which, if broadcast, would help to locate the child or the suspect.

4) The victim must be a minor.

So, why is the press wheeling out the McCanns today in relation to this alert system, when they had nothing to do with its inception or its introduction? This is the system that they unsuccessfully tried to replace with McMillan-Scott's version of the American Amber Alert.

And would an alert have helped to find Madeleine in May 2007, given the above criteria?

1) Not met. There was no evidence of an abduction.

2) Maybe. If Maddie was still alive after 10pm on May 3rd, it is highly likely that she would be in physical danger.

3) Not met. The information available would not have helped locate Maddie or the alleged abductor. Small child, last seen in her bed, not there now, man seen carrying a bundle that could have been a child. Description: an egg with hair!

4) Met. One out of four ain't bad? No, it ain't good!

So, there they are today, the "responsible parents," who left three very young children alone in an unlocked apartment in a foreign country, being presented as the instigators of a system they tried to replace with one that wasn't even their own, one they just tried to hitch their wagon to! I guess they will draw more public sympathy than a photo of Rachida Dati, the French Justice Minister who developed the above four criteria which their own child's case didn't meet! Hey ho!

 

Did Rebekah Brooks THREATEN David Cameron?

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Madeleine McCann: Lights! Camera! Action!

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I was an avid watcher of "Taggart," when Mark McManus played the eponymous detective, though I can't recall even one single episode in its entirety, the plot or the characters. I do recall scenes where I recognised the urban landscape of Glasgow. "That's near the Art College." "That's at the top of the High Street."

The scene I recall most vividly is one that was filmed very near to where I grew up. On the edge of Coatbridge, a town in Lanarkshire, Scotland, the land rolls down through fields to the main Edinburgh to Glasgow railway line and the vista extends right out to the Campsie Fells: a view I was told off many times for staring at from the window of a classroom in my junior school at the end of our road.

Walk to the end of Dudley Drive, round Gartcloss Road and then head down the lane and you come to a farm. A scene from an episode of "Taggart," was filmed there and when the episode was shown on the telly, a little group of us were gathered at my mother's house to spot the scene where a car burst into flames right by one of the farm buildings. Would you believe it? Jist doon the lane!

So, there we were, all set up with cups of tea, (some of us!) cans of McEwan's, a few packets of crisps and a plate of Mammie's rock cakes. All I can remember of that show was the burning car, blazing away in glorious colour. "There it is," somebody yelled. (I think it was my brother Joseph, but it could have been any of the bunch of people squeezed onto the sofa.) And shoor 'nuff, there it was: a huge booming blast and a car roared into flames.

I vaguely recall the next bit, where the action cut to an office and a police officer said that the farmer had reported a car in flames on his land. Taggart said "Any witnesses?" The answer on screen was "No," and laughter erupted in Mammie's living room. "Nae witnesses? We wiz awe doon there! Hauf ae Toonheid wiz there!" (Translation: We were all down there. Half of Townhead was there.)

You see, word had gone round that there were television cameras setting up "ower the back," and a small crowd of locals headed down there, where a barrier had already been set up by the film crews, obviously expecting spectators. So, most of the people I was watching with had been there and had seen it all being set up. Now, they were watching the product for viewer consumption. No cameras, no director, no microphones. None of that behind the scenes stuff on view. Just the scenes from a story.

There is often a huge difference between the story we are shown and what went on behind the scenes, how the scene was set, how the show was staged.

With the Madeleine McCann case, we know the story. We have seen it often enough now over the past five years. We have heard the audio version(s) from Kate and Gerry McCann, we have read the written versions in our newspapers and we have seen the McCanns version of the events surrounding Madeleine's disappearance in their documentary. There is photographic evidence of the apartment after Madeleine had gone from it. There is the "last photo," of Madeleine with Gerry and Amelie by the swimming pool. And we are about to have version number two of Kate McCann's book.

That's the story. What we see after such an event is the story. What went into making the story is what we need to know, what the police need to know in order to find out what happened to a little girl whose name we only knew after she was gone. We don't know the before, because we weren't there when the scene was set and the story unfolded. Did the story roll like an incident we might hear about on the news, which unfortunately, in this case, wasn't caught on CCTV? Was it like a news story? "Today a car was mysteriously found ablaze at Jock MacDonald's farm just outside Coatbridge," or was it a scene that was staged for a later viewing audience? "A film crew arrived at Jock MacDonald's farm just outside Coatbridge to film for an episode of Taggart."

There is, of course, a world of difference between a staged drama and an actual event. There is a huge difference between a spontaneous happening and a scripted event. Think of the ways in which these two might be described. An event being reported would be described, probably, in the past tense. "We saw that car being brought down the lane and we saw it being set on fire," whereas the script would read, "Vehicle is positioned near the barn, petrol is thrown onto it and it's set on fire."  In both cases, there is a description and there is a timeline.

So, what of the original story as told by the people known as "The Tapas 9."? Script of report?

One of the covers torn from a child's sticker book on which the timeline was set out.

A mixture of tenses here. So, reads partly like a script and partly like a report. Note 9.20/5 which is particularly significant, I think. "Ella. Jane checked 5D. Sees stranger (with) child."

Version 2 of the timeline. Notice that in version one, male adult McCann's name is spelled as '"Jerry," and in version 2, as "Gerry." Version 2 has "Gerald," written on the bottom. So, perhaps was drawn up by Gerry? 

Version 2 is written mostly in the present tense, so reads, in my opinion, more like a script. We have the added information about Russel's "poorly daughter," and Jane Tanner's experience of seeing "the abductor," is described more fully. "Sees stranger walking carrying a child."

In my opinion, I would consider that some of the above is scripted and some is factual reporting. Work out which is which and I guess the case is on its way to being solved!

And what of the scene of the drama? Stage set or images of a place where an unforeseen traumatic event unfolded?

Madeleine's bedroom the day after she disappeared, showing the edges of the two cots, where the twins were said to have been sleeping that night. Madeleine's bed looks as though no one has been sleeping there and a witness stated that the cots had no sheets, just mattresses. Did the twins sleep there? And what about the headboard of the bed designated as Madeleine's being behind a chest of drawers?

Shutters jemmied? Shutters not jemmied! Window open? Well, Matthew Oldfield didn't notice on his 9.30 check, although he did get the number of windows wrong, when he said there were two! Did one of the "set," builders mess up there? If this was a stage set, which in my opinion it was, one of the stage hands didn't sort out those shutters! Action! Lights! Roll it anyway!

Key players? Witnesses? Actors? Extras? In the story, Kate and Gerry McCann are the key players. Madeleine leaves the stage before the story unfolds and we view her through the veil of the memories those who remember her. She has become almost like a shadow in the background of the continuing Kate and Gerry McCann saga.

Were the Tapas 7, those who went on holiday with Kate and Gerry, just bystanders? Did they, like the people in my mother's house, view the story only when it was being told for the audience? Or were they extras or even key players in the drama? If there was a script, who wrote it? Who set the stage? Who was in charge of props? Who was the director?

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood, who is leading the Scotland Yard team reviewing the Madeleine McCann case, is quoted as saying he believes that Madeleine could be alive somewhere, living with her abductor. Does he really think that Madeleine could have been taken from that holiday apartment in the "small window of opportunity," which was more like a medieval arrow slit? If he does, then he is watching the show through the lens of the stories told by those who took part. He's like the people sitting watching it on the telly, who never ask how the drama was produced. He needs to go right back to the production stage, bring in all the players and question them about their roles. Bring in the key players: Kate and Gerry and the rest of the Tapas Crew. Bring in the extras: the Mark Warner staff; the Smith family who saw a man carrying a child. Make sure all those people with "walk on," parts, tourists who were in Praia da Luz at the time, have been interviewed.

Lastly, re-enact the scene. Set up a reconstruction, involving all the original cast. That, in my opinion, may be the first step towards finding out if the stage was set (rather badly) or if what took place on the night of May 3rd 2007, in Praia da Luz was a very tragic and unforeseeable event in the life of two caring parents.

DCI Redwood may find that there are problems with continuity, actors being upstaged, impossible scenes of actors appearing to be deaf and temporarily blind. Reconstruction first and then interview all the actors when the impossibilities show up in the production. Then tell us again that Madeleine may be alive and living with her abductor!

Note: this blog post is not the director's final cut. More scenes will be added! 

Madeleine McCann - the world's most well known missing child

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 Could she be alive and well and living with her abductor?

Duarte Levy - Maddie: new book, but still no solution to the mystery

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"Don't expect a miracle. This is still just promotion," warns a Portuguese PJ inspector.

Approaching the fifth anniversary of their daughter's disappearance, Kate and Gerry McCann, little Maddie's parents, are preparing to launch a new version of their book, "Madeleine."

Thanks to promotion and a rapid decrease in the initial cover price, the original version of "Madeleine," sold 280,000 copies in the United Kingdom alone.

The "new," work, in paperback format, will be released in the United Kingdom on May 10th and includes a new epilogue which is supposed to reflect the work of the British team which is busy analyzing the the original investigation.

What's more, it's the confidence the McCanns claim to have in this team that has been put forward to justify the return of the case to the pages of the British tabloids.

After five years and a few million Euros up in smoke - 2.2 million in 2011 alone - , a team of 36 detectives and civilians would be under pressure to find the solution to the Maddie mystery.

According to a source - always the same - quoted by the Sunday Mirror tabloid, "the London Metropolitan Police (Scotland Yard) would have invested a great deal of resources in the examination (of the investigation) and they want results."

According to the Sunday Mirror, the work of the British police will result in a "full report with a series of recommendations," for the Portuguese PJ.

Astonishingly, the source quoted by the tabloid also provides statements from the McCanns and details of Kate's work in the writing of the new epilogue.

The information disclosed by several British tabloids, also makes clear that Chief Inspector Andy Redwood's team anticipate that their report could lead to the reopening of the investigation in Portugal.

As a reminder, a PJ team in Porto, in the north of Portugal, is also proceeding with a re-examination of the facts from the original investigation - a kind of "Cold Case," Portuguese version.

Pressure, but no miracles.

A long way away from the communication experts and the promotion of the new version of "Madeleine," the Portuguese team views the case with a lot less enthusiasm.

"Unfortunately, we can't expect a miracle because it's still only promotion," a PJ inspector close to the team directed by coordinator Helena Monteiro warns.

According to this inspector, "the method adopted by the English is flawed by a mistake: at the beginning, they threw out all possibilities with the exception of abduction by a stranger to the group."

"I am not accusing the parents, but there were other people and for certain there are still doubts. And the only way to take up the investigation again would be to start with the reconstruction," states the same inspector, stressing that "pressure is on collaboration," at the expense of quality.

Decoding

One month before the publication of this "new" book - a sort of rehash of the first version - it is important from a commercial point of view, to make a new appeal to the British media.

It is incidentally interesting to stress that it's the same English tabloids that the McCann clan condemn every time the subject of Maddie's disappearance is approached from an angle that is not orchestrated by their public relations machine - and I'm referring to Clarence Mitchell.

Astonishing coordination between the British media, usually miserly in their collaboration, who, for some unknown reason (sorry for this utter sarcasm), have all published similar information.

Information worthy of a communications expert....did I mention Clarence Mitchell?!

I am not even talking about the Portuguese media ...because there we talk about the "parrot," effect.

Duarte Levy 17th April 2012/

How DARE Gerry & Kate Claim the PJ Did NOTHING!

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From Joana Morais - Judge orders return of Amaral's books

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Following the ruling of the Court of Appeals of Lisbon on October 14, 2010 in which the judges decreed that Gonçalo Amaral's books could be sold, revoking the first judgement of the Court a quo [lower court/court decision's that was appealed] that had granted a banning injunction, and in a new legal setback for the McCanns, we can now confirm that the judge has ordered the immediate devolution of the 7.500 copies of the book "Maddie, the Truth of the Lie" that were entrusted to Isabel Duarte, lawyer of the McCann couple. The lawyer has, of today, 10 days to fulfil that order.

Read the full article on Joana's blog

And in Spanish on Mercedes' blog, credited by Joana as having published this breaking news.

"Belle Famille," - by Arthur Dreyfus - Chapter 29

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Résumé of chapter 29, with thanks to Frencheuropean

Sometimes, just for a moment, Laurence would find herself believing that Madec had really disappeared and was alive.

Less than two weeks after the Pope's appeal, the donations reach over three million Euros. Stéphane insisted on engaging a professional accountant. Indeed, as "people make mistakes", he doesn't want to be chased by the taxman when he goes back to France.

Forty days have gone by in which Andreotti has devoted all of his time to a child he never knew. One day, he even imagined:

"If she had never existed? This would make great theatre. (à la Pirandello) He suddenly feels weary, thinking about the hundreds of cases that have passed through his hands during his career. And if he had a child with his friend Venezia?"

Then he receives a call from the prison governor: Ron Murdoch wishes to speak to him urgently.

Tony decided to pour almost all of the money in the fund into various private detective agencies "who often have means at their disposal which are better than those of the police". Four are chosen, "one of them being the prestigious Control Risks Group, which had investigated the death of Lady Di."

Tony also wants to use psychics to find Madec. But not a simple psychic, a total service that will pull out all the stops: "crystal ball reading, read the tea leaves, tarot, drawing the cards, dowsing, telekinesis, hypnosis - and even the drawing of blood. It was a serious programme."

Stéphane can't get over the exorbitant amounts demanded. Sure, it is boring to have to be forever repeating the same things, but at least , "these were obliging people and they wore made-to-measure suits."

Since his violent argument with Laurence, he wakes with a start each night, next to the sleeping Laurence, crying out: "I have killed her!".

He remembers his childhood in a family that was wealthy and cold and of that fatal day when the car driven by his father's personal chauffeur was involved in the accident that caused his scar.

The driver, distracted by a pretty redhead on a pavement in Pigalle, had run a red light.

At the hospital, he looked at himself in the mirror:

"At the sight of his face which had been torn and sewn back together, Stéphane had made two decisions: to never again go to Pigalle; to become a surgeon."

Martin Brunt of Sky News - the blue sports bag.

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In this video from December 2007, Martin Brunt mentions the blue sports bag, which was said to have disappeared from the McCanns' holiday apartment. He also shows the view from the table the McCanns sat at in the Tapas Bar and states that the McCanns would not have been able to see anyone going in or out of the apartment.

Brunt then walks the route the McCanns would have taken to check on the children and concludes that it would have taken 80 paces from the restaurant to the gate leading to the unlocked patio doors.

And what will Kate and Gerry tell the twins about that evening when their sister disappeared into thin air? When Sean and Amelie are old enough, they will be told that Kate and Gerry were dining 'in the restaurant next door.'* I hope that Brunt video is still available when Sean and Amelie are judged to be old enough for the explanation because 80 paces to the restaurant next door may seem like more than spitting distance to them or close enough to hear a child crying. I guess that's Kate and Gerry's problem. The twins will be able to explore for themselves before too long and how will their parents explain away all the discrepancies? However hard the McCanns try to make sure certain things get whooshed away, there will be plenty left on the internet for the twins to find. And when they do, perhaps that's when Kate and Gerry will truly have to face the reality of what went on in Praia da Luz, how they went on holiday with three children and came back without Sean and Amelie's sister.

*Daily Mail May 2nd 2010

Criminal Profiler Pat Brown Travels To Portugal To Search For Madeleine

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Video produced by HiDeHo

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"Belle Famille," - by Arthur Dreyfus - Chapter 28

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Tony rented a Mercedes for going to see the Pope.

In the comfortable car, Laurence thinks about the secret recording: "There's no ethics any more in the profession of journalism. It's all about audience figures." Happily, for some unknown reason, the government is supporting her.

They wait in a small room for the Pope's formal discourse to end.

Laurence drily tell her husband, who is praying beneath a crucifix, to "quit this circus." An escort comes to fetch the Macands to take them to the Holy Father.

On the way there, Laurence takes out of her handbag an Elnett hairspray for dry, damaged hair.

The Pope is old and tired. He looks ill. He is addressing the crowd from the balcony overlooking St Peter's Square. As he comes back, his special adviser, Comman, presents Madec's parents and Madec's photo to him and reminds him that he agreed with the French government that he would speak to them about it later.

The Pope turns back to the crowd for his final homily. To the crowd he presents, not the photo of the child, but the fax, upside down. An adviser respectfully turns it up the right way.

"Questa ragazza è sparita. Piccola Madic è stata sottratta dall'amore dei suoi genitori" (This little girl has disappeared. The little girl Madic has been taken away from the love of her parents.)

The adviser murmurs a few words in his ear. The Pope corrects himself:

"Piccolo Madec è stato sottratto dall'amore dei suoi genitori. Che Dio ci aiuti a ritrovarlo, con il vostro aiuto a tutti." (The little boy, Madec has been taken away from the love of his family, may God help him as well as all of you.)

A moment later, the Macands find themselves back in their car. Laurence is disappointed. All the Pope did was offer her a limp hand, without even looking at her.

During the journey, Laurence receives a call from the Minister. She thanks him and he tells her that the Italian police "are going to get things moving." The secret recording is not mentioned.

For the first time, Laurence feels totally cynical: "All it takes is for something to get a bit muddled for the thing to disappear. Sincerity is human, she thinks, but politics is scheming."

(Thank you Frencheuropean!)

"Belle Famille," - by Arthur Dreyfus - Chapter 27

The Minster is proud of having got the Pope interested in the Macands. His Public Relations service will "leak," the information to magazines about the role he will have played in securing this interview.

The young journalist at France 2 is suspended and the case will be subject to a temporary injunction.

The Josserand's lawyer demands 230,000 Euros in damages and compensation and Laurence considers that they could thank her because, without doing anything, they are going to get lots of money, thanks to her.

Then the internet site of an investigative journal publishes an article accompanied by a secret recording:

"SCANDAL AT THE CSA

When the Macand parents pull the media's strings.

Then Laurence's voice is heard, indistinct because of static. Madec's mother whispers: "between you and me our friends the Josserands, who were interrogated in France, are behind my son's disappearance...He will be dead. The police know who killed my son."

In his office, the Minister is not at all happy:

"-Every time you try to be nice, it backfires on you.

- You made the right decision, Minister.

- Why did that idiot need to talk crap like that for the first camera to arrive?

- We don't know yet. We 're trying to contact her.

- What will Carolis (former president of France television), Interpol and the CSA think of me?

- It has nothing to do with you.

- I remind you that I informed the Pope: it's gone world-wide.

- It might be a fake, sir.

- You know it's not, he let out in exasperation. The services analysed it.

-Yes, but for the rest of the world, it's perhaps still a fake. Nobody authenticated it.

- You're certain about what you're saying? The politician asked after a preoccupied silence.

- I think we need to play that card, Minister."

Petrified, Laurence picked up her phone. It's the Interior Minister's Public Relations service again. She is told that it's known to be a fake, that the Minister will support her "in her fight for the truth." The voice repeats:

"A message, you've only got to give out a message, which is also ours, Madame Macand - that document is a fake."

Confronted for the first time since Madec's death, with the real world, Laurence locks herself in the toilet. Tony reproached her above all for screwing up their good image. Stéphane looked on her as an enemy.

She takes to musing that life is only a game, "the only game, where the objective is to understand the rules."

With thanks, once again, to Frencheuropean for the résumé in French.

"Belle Famille," - by Arthur Dreyfus - Chapter 26

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Résumé of chapter 26 - from Frencheuropean

The conference, transmitted by journalists of fourteen different nationalities, is a great success. Donations flood in. By midnight, 300,000 in euros has been promised. Tony takes on to decide how the money will be used: prime time slots on TV being expensive, "he opts for an announcement in the regional and national dailies and a poster on street hoardings." He will also contact graphic artists and advertising agencies.

As planned, Sylviane lodges a complaint against France Television. She calls Laurence to ask her what she should do with the boys as she no longer wishes to take responsibility for them, given the circumstances. In a rather frosty tone of voice, after having consulted how much money was available, Laurence informs her that a local teacher will come and fetch them. The conversation is over, "Madec's mother reckoned that she had never liked Sylviane. That at the first setback, that fat cow had become a stranger to her. Was it possible to be friends with someone who was physically ugly?"

The Minister, for his part, is indignant at the error committed by the journalists. He picks up his phone and two hours later, Antenne 2 receives a notice of reprimand from the CSA for its untruthful reporting.
(CSA = Conseil Supérieur de l'Audiovisuel, the president of which is appointed by the government, but which is independent.)

On returning home, he meets with fierce anger from his wife, who reproaches him for his intrusive activities, telling him that because he can "get the CSA to issue a notice of disapproval," he gets to feel manly and powerful.

"Belle Famille," - by Arthur Dreyfus - Chapter 25

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Résumé of chapter 25 with thanks to Frencheuropean, as usual!

In spite of the reticence of the Macands, who find it inappropriate, Tony insists on organising a buffet for the journalists at the conference. On principle, Laurence has obtained an assurance that there will be no lump fish roe because the guests might think it was caviar.

Tony insists that if they are well fed, they'll write longer articles.

Although surprised, the journalists set upon the food and the champagne. "Everybody gets down to guzzling and they fight over the leftovers. There are injuries." Outraged by this behaviour, Stéphane smashes the glass of a journalist who is demanding a fourth glass of champagne. Laurence drags him into another room and puts him sharply in his place, being sarcastic about her husband's usual lack of restraint. He apologises.

"Belle Famille," - by Arthur Dreyfus - Chapter 24

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Continuing with the résumés which have been sent to me by Frencheuropean.

Chapter 24

The Macands' financial situation is cause for concern. The stay is expensive and Stéphane is no longer being paid. As Tony has organised a press conference, this presents an opportunity to appeal for donations.

Laurence, who has gone out through the back of the building, where the conference will be organised, spots a young journalist in the car park, just sitting idly in his car. She asks to speak to him in private, and once in the vehicle, she whispers: "The police know who killed my son."

As early as 4pm, a rich woman from Versailles writes a cheque for 50,000 Euros made out to a non-profit organisation, which had urgently been set up three days before. "Finding Madec."

Stéphane is furious because he has just watched the 1 o'clock news on France 2 with Tony and heard that Fabien and Sylviane figure "amongst the main suspects in Madec's disappearance (and probably his death) They were under investigation."

He telephones the news to Laurence, who exclaims: "they're totally mad!"

And she gets to thinking:

"The wheels were in motion. In a few hours, the Josserands would inevitably have seen the news. They would be indignant at being accused. They would lodge a complaint for defamation. And dig their heels in. Ruling out participating in any way in a reconstruction. Inspector Braconnet would give up his infernal idea."

It's looking good, muses a relieved Laurence, practically savouring the moment: the loss of a child accompanied by loads of things to do and exhausting disagreements, but which, all the same, make you forget, somewhat, the sadness of the loss itself.

Tony Bennett met with criminal profiler Pat Brown today!

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US criminal profiler Pat Brown met with Tony Bennett, secretary of the Madeleine Foundation, today in Windsor, to discuss the complete mystery of Madeleine McCann.

Read the report of that meeting here ("Gerry McCann Abuse of Power" blog.)