The Blacksmith Bureau-A worthy cause

matthew Wed 24 Oct - 19:50

The Blacksmith Bureau

Wednesday, 24 October 2012
A worthy cause

bennett

Mr Tony Bennett finds himself in a tight spot.

The Bureau and Mr Bennett very much don’t get on for all sorts of reasons, none of which are we going to list: doing so would only be seized on by the parents’ diminishing bunch of allies who have precious else to sustain them than pleasure at the misfortunes of others.

Mr Bennett, like many before him when faced by opponents with greater financial clout, chose to try and avoid being bankrupted in the libel courts. For reasons which he has never given the public he then chose not to stay silent as the terms of his formal gagging order demanded.

He told us what his savings were some time ago and it is clear that the Smethurst and McCann costs already accrued will wipe out that figure. It is clear also that the chances of a support fund raising significant amounts of money to assist him as things stand are very low.

He is bankrupt. The temptation to try even now to cut his losses shouldn’t trouble him any longer – it is too late. He is broke, virtually on his own, and unless he publicly recants he is likely to face jail, perhaps repeatedly. It is a position which is going to test him to his very roots, as it would test any of us.

And in that situation lies his salvation. What else can the courts and his enemies do to him? It is Kate and Gerry McCann who are asking for Mr Bennett’s imprisonment. And it is they who will have to decide what action to take should Mr Bennett, his original contempt purged and with no financial means to pay future fines or costs, make fresh and, one hopes, very carefully considered, comments on them.

Should Mr Bennett go to jail he becomes, to put it bluntly, a valuable commodity for the first time. Whatever criticisms can be made of him he will be in jail because of his beliefs about justice and the way he has expressed them to the public, something that most people thought could no longer happen in the UK. Mr Bennett has never gained financially from his stance on the fate of Madeleine McCann, unlike the journalists who profited so richly from writing about the family and unlike the fortunate recipients of the Find Madeleine fund. People instinctively recognise and respond when someone makes a sacrifice for their beliefs. And so, as both Mr Bennett and, more particularly, the McCanns should recognise, do the media. He may not believe it at the moment and he may feel that we are being presumptuous about even discussing his affairs like this; but once he is truly broke he has a surprisingly strong hand to play.

We've said some very harsh, indeed libellous, words directly to Mr Bennett in the past. So be it. If he goes to jail we’ll be among the first to make a financial contribution to assist him.

Lillyofthevalley Wed 24 Oct - 20:26

Ive said befor and I'll say it again, I dont beleave it will be the best outcome for the McCanns to have Tony sent to Prison it will give out the wrong signals and these signals will not do the McCanns any good whats so ever it will turn far more people agains't them, also if Tony goes to prison and this will bring an awful lot of "Bad" publicity for the two neglecting Doctors doing this to a Pensioner. IMO they will be alot of people starting a fund or digging deep in their pockets to help Tony, and once he serves his time he will be free to come out and except his "wind fall".
I for one like many others would dig deep and help Tony...........We are all here for the same reason as Tony, Justice for Lil Maddy!!
There for the grace of god go I.

mossman Wed 24 Oct - 21:34

Lillyofthevalley wrote:Ive said befor and I'll say it again, I dont beleave it will be the best outcome for the McCanns to have Tony sent to Prison it will give out the wrong signals and these signals will not do the McCanns any good whats so ever it will turn far more people agains't them, also if Tony goes to prison and this will bring an awful lot of "Bad" publicity for the two neglecting Doctors doing this to a Pensioner. IMO they will be alot of people starting a fund or digging deep in their pockets to help Tony, and once he serves his time he will be free to come out and except his "wind fall".
I for one like many others would dig deep and help Tony...........We are all here for the same reason as Tony, Justice for Lil Maddy!!
There for the grace of god go I.

I agree with everything you say. If TB is sent to prison, people will ask the obvious question - what did he say to have him sent to prison ? So sort of a double edged sword really - restricting TB from stating the facts could well lead to many others actually printing them in order to report the story !

**Lioned** Wed 24 Oct - 22:56

That is one of the few articles from Blacksmith that i understood and agree with.

Guest Wed 24 Oct - 23:02

Mossman, I have a nasty feeling that the media might just print things like "vile troll jailed for stalking Madeleine's devastated parents". People would then assume that he's the same sort of creature as the one who posted obscenities about April Jones.

I will try to keep optimistic though that the law in this case will not be a complete ass.

**kitti** Thu 25 Oct - 7:23

I don't think the mccanns give a toss about Tony?

Getting jailed.......they WANT him jailed especially Kate McCann....she is vicious and to be honest, she's scary and i can't imagine her having ANY friends and I can't imagine her caring about it either.

After all, money is there god, they have BOUGHT a lot off new friends .

She didn't care about her own child, do you think she is going to care about an old age pensioner , there only good for one thing....donating.

tigger Thu 25 Oct - 8:05

kitti wrote:I don't think the mccanns give a toss about Tony?

Getting jailed.......they WANT him jailed especially Kate McCann....she is vicious and to be honest, she's scary and i can't imagine her having ANY friends and I can't imagine her caring about it either.

After all, money is there god, they have BOUGHT a lot off new friends .

She didn't care about her own child, do you think she is going to care about an old age pensioner , there only good for one thing....donating.

The Blacksmith Bureau-A worthy cause 307691

Brilliant thinking there Kitti! Yes of course, they've bought friends, much better, because you then own them as well.

matthew Thu 25 Oct - 8:17

It must be hard for the McCanns to try & think what would parents who had no involvment do...obviously they think this action to jail a man for his belief after he has read the files,seen the dogs etc is the victims role...is it an example to us all? they can't stop me or you knowing what we believe to be true after everything we have seen about this case...we did not make them lie,we did not make the father write a happy blog whilst his daughter was possibly in the cluthces of a paedo,we did not make them plan events a year down the line,we did not make eddie alert to a cadaver in their apartment or hire car,we did not make them hire the worlds worst private detectives & spend so little from the fund in the bs search...just what are we supposed to think?
Wishing Mr Bennet well in his battle with evil

**cass** Thu 25 Oct - 8:38

matthew wrote:It must be hard for the McCanns to try & think what would parents who had no involvment do...obviously they think this action to jail a man for his belief after he has read the files,seen the dogs etc is the victims role...is it an example to us all? they can't stop me or you knowing what we believe to be true after everything we have seen about this case...we did not make them lie,we did not make the father write a happy blog whilst his daughter was possibly in the cluthces of a paedo,we did not make them plan events a year down the line,we did not make eddie alert to a cadaver in their apartment or hire car,we did not make them hire the worlds worst private detectives & spend so little from the fund in the bs search...just what are we supposed to think?
Wishing Mr Bennet well in his battle with evilwell said mathew

Karen Thu 25 Oct - 10:21

Response from Tony Bennett -
Tony Bennett Today at 12:22 am

.saltnpepper wrote:
The Blacksmith Bureau

A worthy cause

Mr Tony Bennett finds himself in a tight spot. The Bureau and Mr Bennett very much don’t get on for all sorts of reasons, none of which are we going to list: doing so would only be seized on by the parents’ diminishing bunch of allies who have precious else to sustain them than pleasure at the misfortunes of others.

REPLY - Blacksmith, I'm not quite sure why we 'don't get on', never having met you, nor spoken to you so far as I can recall, but if you don't get on with me, OK, noted. I do seem to remember that you have said some unpleasant things about me, and I think with some expeletives added. My beliefs require me to forgive others, so if you have said anything bad about me, I forgive you.

Mr Bennett, like many before him when faced by opponents with greater financial clout, chose to try and avoid being bankrupted in the libel courts.

REPLY - That's correct. Where you speak of 'greater financial clout', I'm really not sure that I have ANY financial clout. The gross imbalance of financial clout is called by the European Court of Human Rights 'inequality of arms'. And in several ECHR cases, they have said that inequality of arms means that any trial is unlawful. Period. End of. As in Steel & Morris v UK, and Alkan v Turkey.

For reasons which he has never given the public he then chose not to stay silent as the terms of his formal gagging order demanded.

REPLY - Let's be very clear. The terms of the undertakings never required me to 'stay silent', as both the McCanns and Carter-Ruck accept. Indeed, in one of my letters to Carter-Ruck, I actually wrote the words: "My undertakngs were not a Trappist vow of silence". I am fully at liberty (or so I thought) to write as much as I wished on the facts of the case. The McCanns themselves accept that I can recite as many facts about the case as I wish. For example:

* Listing obvious contradictions in witness statements

* Examining their choice of private investigators

* Reproducing the list of police questions that Dr Kate McCann refused to answer

* Listing the reasons why Tavares de Almeida in his report of 10.9.07 said the Portuguese police decided to make the McCanns suspects in Madeleine's disappearance...

...and so on.

Look at some of my articles, running to 30-50 pages, and (if you look at their committal file), there may be only 2 lines within those articles that are said to breach the terms of any of the undertakings.

He told us what his savings were some time ago and it is clear that the Smethurst and McCann costs already accrued will wipe out that figure

REPLY - If (a) the McCanns win and (b) if the judge then awards them all of their claimed costs.

It is clear also that the chances of a support fund raising significant amounts of money to assist him as things stand are very low.

REPLY - I suspect that's correct.

He is bankrupt.

REPLY - Hold on a moment. Not yet, by a long chalk.

The temptation to try even now to cut his losses shouldn’t trouble him any longer – it is too late. He is broke,virtually on his own, and unless he publicly recants...

REPLY - That won't do me any good, it's too late for a recantation now. Even if I did recant, I'd probably do an 'Archbishop Cranmer' and end up being burnt at the stake at the end of the day anyway.

...he is likely to face jail, perhaps repeatedly.

REPLY - Go to jail? For repeating what the original detective in the case has said, in a book which has been translated into 9 different langauges and has sold over 600,000 copies in around 30 countries around the world? That seems more than a tad unfair, don't you think? Especially in this land famed the world over for loving freedom of speech and allowing robust debate.

It is a position which is going to test him to his very roots, as it would test any of us. And in that situation lies his salvation. What else can the courts and his enemies do to him? It is Kate and Gerry McCann who are asking for Mr Bennett’s imprisonment. And it is they who will have to decide what action to take should Mr Bennett, his original contempt purged and with no financial means to pay future fines or costs, make fresh and, one hopes, very carefully considered, comments on them.

REPLY - Spiller v Joseph [2010] gives me and everyone else on this forum and everywhere else the right to make 'honest co mment' on just about anything.

Should Mr Bennett go to jail he becomes, to put it bluntly, a valuable commodity for the first time.

REPLY - Thanks a bunch!

Whatever criticisms can be made of him hewill be in jail because of his beliefs about justice and the way he has expressed them to the public, something that most people thought could
no longer happen in the UK.

REPLY - You make a valid point there.

Mr Bennett has never gained financially from his stance on the fate of Madeleine McCann

REPLY - As members of The Madeleine Committee know and can verify, I've made a significant loss so far.

, unlike the journalists who profited so richly from writing about the family and unlike the fortunate recipients of the Find Madeleine Fund. People instinctively recognise and respond when someone makes a sacrifice for their beliefs.

REPLY - Not always. It depends what the issue is.

And so, as both Mr Bennett and, more particularly, the McCanns should recognise, do the media. He may not believe it at the moment and he may feel that we are being presumptuous about even discussing his affairs like this; but once he is truly broke he has a surprisingly strong hand to play.

REPLY - I doubt it..

We've said some very harsh, indeed libellous, words directly to Mr Bennett in the past.

REPLY - I agree.

So be it.

REPLY - You could recant?

If he goes to jail we’ll be among the first to make a financial contribution to assist him.

REPLY - A food parcel from Fortnum and Mason would be nice..

____________________

Tony Bennett

Guest Thu 25 Oct - 16:00

It's regrettable that worthy individuals sharing the common aim of keeping the inconsistencies and dubious tactics of some of the people close to the Madeleine Case well and truly in the public eye do not, apparently, get on.

On the other hand, it should serve to demonstrate to the unquestioning sycophants who cannot see what is in plain sight that we ghouls and nutters are not all of the same mould.

almostgothic Thu 25 Oct - 17:29

Indeed.

I like to think of the truth seekers climbing up the same mountain but not always by the same path.

mossman Thu 25 Oct - 18:57

matthew wrote:It must be hard for the McCanns to try & think what would parents who had no involvment do...obviously they think this action to jail a man for his belief after he has read the files,seen the dogs etc is the victims role...is it an example to us all? they can't stop me or you knowing what we believe to be true after everything we have seen about this case...we did not make them lie,we did not make the father write a happy blog whilst his daughter was possibly in the cluthces of a paedo,we did not make them plan events a year down the line,we did not make eddie alert to a cadaver in their apartment or hire car,we did not make them hire the worlds worst private detectives & spend so little from the fund in the bs search...just what are we supposed to think?
Wishing Mr Bennet well in his battle with evil

I think it is a case of focusing your energy elsewhere, then you do not have to dwell on your own problems. Kate is very much into the blame game. Remeber she blamed "the bad man". Thats her excuse, if the abductor did not exist he would not have taken the child. However, the truth is if she did not leave her child alone, he could not have taken her child.

If Kate were as busy as she says looking for Madeleine, not only would she not have the time or energy to worry about anything else, she would not wish to part with the money, money that would be so much better spent on the search for her child. But she is not looking and has too much time on her hands. Time on here hands allows her to think. The one thing she cannot allow herself to do is think about the truth.

So basically all of these court cases keep Kate busy and focus her attention elsewhere. Avoid the real issues.

xtina Thu 25 Oct - 19:18

i have posted this on another forum ...but seeing this has been posted here will post the same

excellent replies Tony ..but imo it is something you can do without ...now especially

i have never really got what BB is all about ...especially lately

i may be in the wrong with how i am perceiving all this but surly ...at the end of the day ...there are enough people on your back ...with out BB having his pennies worth ...

but surly i am right about this ...not every thing i read i agree with ...but that's the way it goes .... we are still on the same side we should stick together in our beliefs [of what happened that night]....

maddie needs all the help she can get in outing the truth...tony you are doing something constructive you stand by your principles and belief ...so what the hell is BB going on about why should you have to explain yourself to him.

interested Thu 25 Oct - 19:31

mossman wrote:
Lillyofthevalley wrote:Ive said befor and I'll say it again, I dont beleave it will be the best outcome for the McCanns to have Tony sent to Prison it will give out the wrong signals and these signals will not do the McCanns any good whats so ever it will turn far more people agains't them, also if Tony goes to prison and this will bring an awful lot of "Bad" publicity for the two neglecting Doctors doing this to a Pensioner. IMO they will be alot of people starting a fund or digging deep in their pockets to help Tony, and once he serves his time he will be free to come out and except his "wind fall".
I for one like many others would dig deep and help Tony...........We are all here for the same reason as Tony, Justice for Lil Maddy!!
There for the grace of god go I.

I agree with everything you say. If TB is sent to prison, people will ask the obvious question - what did he say to have him sent to prison ? So sort of a double edged sword really - restricting TB from stating the facts could well lead to many others actually printing them in order to report the story !

As well as people asking "what did he say to have him sent to prison?", they might just be asking themselves, "Is this what the McCanns are doing with the money that was donated to the Fund? Is this why they needed money for legal purposes, to send an OAP to jail? And what about the expenses involved in their lawsuits in Portugal? The public thought they were donating to help find Madeleine not to prosecute people dedicated to establishing what 'happened' to her!!!"

I think there might just be an outcry from people who generously donated to the fund if Mr. Bennett is jailed; that is if the papers are allowed to print their comments.

mossman Thu 25 Oct - 20:03

Not Born Yesterday wrote:Mossman, I have a nasty feeling that the media might just print things like "vile troll jailed for stalking Madeleine's devastated parents". People would then assume that he's the same sort of creature as the one who posted obscenities about April Jones.

I will try to keep optimistic though that the law in this case will not be a complete ass.

NBY I would absolutely have said that a few months ago. However, just lately the shine seems to have gone from the McCanns star. I don't know, even the articles today about Tony were not as cruel as they could have been, I know Tony was not happy, and rightly so, but they were slightly watery and not as forceful and aggressive as I would have expected. The abduction theory is no stated as a fact each and every time anymore, we have moved to missing and disappeared.

Fingers crossed for a good outcome for Tony and for once some good, honest reporting.

**MaryB** Thu 25 Oct - 20:28

I've not seen that phrase 'cleared of all wrongdoing' for quite a long time. It used to appear in every single article. perhaps it is felt people have got the message.

Lillyofthevalley Thu 25 Oct - 20:34

Yes your right MaryB, also now the papers and media use the word disappeared alot more instead of they're favourite "abducted" phrase.

**kitti** Thu 25 Oct - 22:58

Waiting for Kate McCann to get in on the act re Ben needham .

She's probably waiting for the outcome ...

What's the betting an article will appear with 'findable' and 'unharmed' in it soon.

**Panda** Fri 26 Oct - 0:30

I have said before what I think of Tony but I don't think he will go to Prison for one minute. The McCanns will not want their pound of flesh and clearly Tony has breached the undertakings he agreed to and been very intrusive in some of the ways he has tried to get his message across.

I think he will be given one last chance in Court to agree to the demands of the McCanns and if he breaches the undertakings again THEN he will go to prison. The McCanns know they will never be able to demand a hefty fine because Tony has admitted he hasn't got much in the Bank and I suspect his House is in his Wife's name , but what they will get is the satisfaction of getting good Press for being so magnanimous.

**pennylane** Fri 26 Oct - 8:50

Panda wrote:I have said before what I think of Tony but I don't think he will go to Prison for one minute. The McCanns will not want their pound of flesh and clearly Tony has breached the undertakings he agreed to and been very intrusive in some of the ways he has tried to get his message across.

I think he will be given one last chance in Court to agree to the demands of the McCanns and if he breaches the undertakings again THEN he will go to prison. The McCanns know they will never be able to demand a hefty fine because Tony has admitted he hasn't got much in the Bank and I suspect his House is in his Wife's name , but what they will get is the satisfaction of getting good Press for being so magnanimous.

Morning Panda The Blacksmith Bureau-A worthy cause Icon_flower

I doubt the McCanns will appear "magnanimous" no matter what they attempt these days. Many people are absolutely sick of the pair of them.

Whatever the gruesome twosome's PR machine spins henceforth about Mr Bennett or Dr Amaral, I suspect it will only serve the purpose of emphasizing the doubt and skepticism that exists regarding the McCanns dodgy version of events. These are troubling times for members of the Establishment who use money and clout to bully people into suppression. The people vs the Establishment is picking up momentum, and I don't think the public are as gullible or innocent as they once were.

jmho

**Panda** Fri 26 Oct - 10:53

pennylane wrote:
Panda wrote:I have said before what I think of Tony but I don't think he will go to Prison for one minute. The McCanns will not want their pound of flesh and clearly Tony has breached the undertakings he agreed to and been very intrusive in some of the ways he has tried to get his message across.

I think he will be given one last chance in Court to agree to the demands of the McCanns and if he breaches the undertakings again THEN he will go to prison. The McCanns know they will never be able to demand a hefty fine because Tony has admitted he hasn't got much in the Bank and I suspect his House is in his Wife's name , but what they will get is the satisfaction of getting good Press for being so magnanimous.

Morning Panda

I doubt the McCanns will appear "magnanimous" no matter what they attempt these days. Many people are absolutely sick of the pair of them.

Whatever the gruesome twosome's PR machine spins henceforth about Mr Bennett or Dr Amaral, I suspect it will only serve the purpose of emphasizing the doubt and skepticism that exists regarding the McCanns dodgy version of events. These are troubling times for members of the Establishment who use money and clout to bully people into suppression. The people vs the Establishment is picking up momentum, and I don't think the public are as gullible or innocent as they once were.

jmho

Morning Pennylane, I think we forget that cloistered here, all singing from the same Hymn sheet , that maybe my Son's opinion that it could have been a Member of Staff who kidnapped Madeleine intending to ask for a ransom, but the immediate publicity and U.K. Reporters etc frightened him . Since Madeleine could recognise him he had to silence her. I doubt now if we will ever know what happened on that night , like Jon Benet, it will be one of the unsolved mysteries.

Guest Fri 26 Oct - 10:57

Hmm. I think that it is very well known by PJ and SY what happened, but not necessarily entirely (or even sufficiently) from incontrovertible and admissible Evidence.

**pennylane** Fri 26 Oct - 11:31

Panda wrote:
pennylane wrote:
Panda wrote:I have said before what I think of Tony but I don't think he will go to Prison for one minute. The McCanns will not want their pound of flesh and clearly Tony has breached the undertakings he agreed to and been very intrusive in some of the ways he has tried to get his message across.

I think he will be given one last chance in Court to agree to the demands of the McCanns and if he breaches the undertakings again THEN he will go to prison. The McCanns know they will never be able to demand a hefty fine because Tony has admitted he hasn't got much in the Bank and I suspect his House is in his Wife's name , but what they will get is the satisfaction of getting good Press for being so magnanimous.

Morning Panda

I doubt the McCanns will appear "magnanimous" no matter what they attempt these days. Many people are absolutely sick of the pair of them.

Whatever the gruesome twosome's PR machine spins henceforth about Mr Bennett or Dr Amaral, I suspect it will only serve the purpose of emphasizing the doubt and skepticism that exists regarding the McCanns dodgy version of events. These are troubling times for members of the Establishment who use money and clout to bully people into suppression. The people vs the Establishment is picking up momentum, and I don't think the public are as gullible or innocent as they once were.

jmho

Morning Pennylane, I think we forget that cloistered here, all singing from the same Hymn sheet , that maybe my Son's opinion that it could have been a Member of Staff who kidnapped Madeleine intending to ask for a ransom, but the immediate publicity and U.K. Reporters etc frightened him . Since Madeleine could recognise him he had to silence her. I doubt now if we will ever know what happened on that night , like Jon Benet, it will be one of the unsolved mysteries.

But your son is ignoring the blood and cadaver dog alerts, the McCanns advertising of Maddie's eye defect - even though they were told it could limit Maddie's chances of survival; the parents failure to search for their three year old little girl on the night she allegedly disappeared, and their non-cooperation with the PJ; plus the hiring of a bunch of third rate people to search for her, even as they employed the very best to protect their image.... at astronomical fees; not to mention all the lies and alterations we have witnessed from the pair over the years.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but it's incomprehensible to me how anyone can believe the McCanns absurd version of events. No way are these two the parents of an abducted child (imho).

**pennylane** Fri 26 Oct - 12:08

The End Is Nigh wrote:Hmm. I think that it is very well known by PJ and SY what happened, but not necessarily entirely (or even sufficiently) from incontrovertible and admissible Evidence.

I think you are spot on, TEIN!

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