MCCANNS AND FREEDOM OF SPEECH/Cristobell

http://cristobell.blogspot.co.uk/


MCCANNS AND FREEDOM OF SPEECH
I don't believe there can be any worse pain than losing a child, and like everyone else, my heart ached for the parents of Madeleine McCann, a sweet little girl, not yet 4, who mysteriously vanished while enjoying a family holiday in Portugal.

I was not without sympathy, but as an eternal student of psychology, media and human behaviour, I had questions, hundreds of them - but for some reason asking them, elicited such venomous abuse, that I began to think, curiosity did indeed kill the cat.


Within hours of the child going missing the parents demanded a priest, a press agent and a crisis management team. Before dawn broke on that morning of 4th May, we were being told that the apartment had been broken into and the child had been taken by an abductor. By the time it had been established that there was no break in, the story had been spread globally, and sympathy and cash began to pour in.

However, over the past year or so, there has been an air of change. Newspaper magnates and prime ministers have been called to give evidence before Public Enquiries, into the sleazy operating practices of certain branches of the press. Even those who restrict their reading to headlines, page 3 and celebrity trivia, cannot fail to have picked up on the Levenson Enquiry, the loss of their favourite Sunday paper, and the fact that there is something very remiss about the way in which news is reported. Never underestimate the power of spin.

We could of course argue points about this case until the cows come home, the total of the Tapas bar bill, the distance between the restaurant and the apartment, the 6 minute window of opportunity, etc, etc, but as many have have said, it has been done to death.

I am not a hater, nor a forker, nor a hounder, I don't wish to add to the parents' pain by criticising their parenting, only to say that I wish they had used their tragedy as a warning to others. I have no idea what happened to Madeleine, no doubt time will tell. Though 5 years on, I dare not say, I think Madeleine is no longer with us, because the result would be a long sojourn in Holloway.

I do however, object to the use of money donated by compassionate people who cared only for the fate of missing, vulnerable child, being used to gag newspapers and individuals who dare to ask questions.

Of course, I do not know if The Fund is used for legal fees. It may well be that all these expert, extradition and libel lawyers in the UK and Portugal work for nothing. And if they do, I hope that Goncalo Amaral and Tony Bennett, use this fact when their own cases come to trial.

Meanwhile, I cannot help but wonder, why the McCanns set up a Fund within days of their daughter disappearing? What was the need for it? The police and the people of Portugual had instigated the largest missing child search in its history and the iconic image of Madeleine was a global phenomenon.

Though not a registered Charity, The Madeleine Fund received millions in donations from well wishers all over the world. Without charitable status, the Fund could remain dedicated to the search for one child and the support of her family. We were invited to put cash in envelopes and simply address them to Kate and Gerry, Rothley.

Without charitable status, the Fund is not required to produce transparent accounts, nor does it. We are told all donations go towards the search for Madeleine, and we must believe this without question, though the only accounts available show the actual amount used for the search was 13%. The rest, presumably, comes under sundries, including an incredible £37,000 to set up a website.

Fortunately for the McCanns they have Carter Ruck, the most prominent (and expensive?) libel lawyers in the world, acting on their behalf and through them and a series of libel trials against newspapers, they were able to add to their coffers , and crush all, but a few dissenting voices.

The stories surrounding the disappearance of Madeleine may be old hat for those of us who use the internet and the message boards, but for most of the British public, they are unknown and unseen. The accounts published in the main stream press have been read, censored and approved by Team McCann and highly paid lawyers with an agenda. And yes, Carter Ruck do indeed have a team of lawyers dedicated to reading internet forums, would you believe.

Criticising or even questioning the McCanns and their unique form of parenting is now a criminal offence, and at least one British citizen is facing prison. There are several ongoing libel actions in this case, one of the main ones against the lead detective Goncala Amaral begins on the 13th of this month. The McCanns demanded that his book The Truth of The Lie (available in English on the net) be banned. Initially it was, but the book burning frenzy was overruled by the Appeal Court and the Supreme Court and it is now back on sale. However, the McCanns are proceeding to seek damages in the sum of £1.2m.

For me this case evolved into an issue of free speech, a subject I care about passionately, the burning of books especially. We have learned this past year, about Super Injunctions, ways in which those who are rich and powerful enough, can manipulate the law to cover often unpalatable truths. And those of us who care about Freedom of Speech are all too well aware of totalitarian societies where free and independent news reports are forbidden by law. We must never allow that to happen here.

For those out there willing to dip a paw, like the proverbial curious cat, there is much more to this case than meets the eye. You may be surprised to see that the 'haters on the net' that the McCanns refer to, are no more than interested observers who discuss this case in a civil, moderated environment. Abuse and libel is strictly prohibited. I would suggest you look at the 'pro' sites too, JATYK2 is a good starting point, however, don't give your name, because on sites such as these, abuse is positively encouraged.

It may well be that the McCanns have enough in the kitty to sue everyone, but if you have read this far, I can only urge you to dig a little deeper and ask why the McCanns need more money and why the details of this case can never be revealed.

Why can't the details of this case be revealed? because they go much much deeper than anyone could ever think. There is or was a member of the group who has been and has to be protected to the ends of the earth. His (or her) presence in PDL that week must never be known about. Why. what deep dark secrets are being held back, what is so shrouded in secrecy and why. If someone can ever find out, then the whole thing will unravel.

Cristobell/Rosalinda's sentiments certainly strike a chord - but for someone who describes herself as an Author, Playwright and Journalist, the prose is tortured and the punctuation unbelievably poor.

But the piece is worth persevering with, even if parts of it need to be read several times to get the sense of it.

The End Is Nigh wrote:Cristobell/Rosalinda's sentiments certainly strike a chord - but for someone who describes herself as an Author, Playwright and Journalist, the prose is tortured and the punctuation unbelievably poor.

But the piece is worth persevering with, even if parts of it need to be read several times to get the sense of it.

Hi TEIN, with respect, I found this piece
spotty-dog! Well crafted and as you say
hit the right chord.

......and Looby Lou.....

If there is a whitewash by SY, I believe that those who know or believe they know what may
be involved here, who may be being protected etc., will not be silent, they will be so enraged if a whitewash is done for Madeleine that sooner or later what is thought to be known by some will become common knowledge and the very person's name they want to protect will be out there for all to see!

Rather a dilemna for SY I would think, a whitewash could massively backfire on those who are trying to coverup what happened imo.

The End Is Nigh wrote:Cristobell/Rosalinda's sentiments certainly strike a chord - but for someone who describes herself as an Author, Playwright and Journalist, the prose is tortured and the punctuation unbelievably poor.

But the piece is worth persevering with, even if parts of it need to be read several times to get the sense of it.

Bit harsh!

Good piece by Christobell - well done again.

Excellant from christobell, and spot on

I think that this is a good piece about the bizarre nature of this case and, even I as a bit of an old fusspot when it comes to grammar and punctuation, didn't find too much to grimace over. That's not usually the case with Internet blogs, I might add!

I sometimes find it hard to remember that, in the past when there has been a missing person case with suspected family involvement, the issue could be discussed openly without being insulted - sometimes in the vilest language - by those who believe the suspects' version of events, regardless of how completely bonkers it is.

I hope that we all live to find out just what it is about the McCanns and their associates which has allowed them to be treated so differently from everybody else.

quote: "For me this case evolved into an issue of free speech, a subject I care about passionately, the burning of books especially."

Same for me. Since they managed to ban Amarals book, and they were not allowed to sell the copyrights to any country. They attacked my personal freedom of speech and the constitutional right for freedom of speech in my country. (I live in EU) It's a personal issue because I and my country are directly suffering from their actions. (it doesn't matter if anyone wanted to publish the book or not. They simply have no right, by law, to forbid it.) It's against the law. I despise them. More than I can say.

(sorry if the grammar and the dots and co. are not correct)

I thought it was a good article.

I notice most spelling, grammar and punctuation mistakes but when writing in a hurry on blogs (don't do one myself) and fora, errors do creep in. I spelt procedure wrong last week and still can't get over it LOL

On Twitter, spelling goes by the board and is down to squeezing the message into 160 characters much like texting on a phone (which I don't do either) LOL.

So it's all down to getting your ideas over to other people which I think the article does.

Not Born Yesterday wrote:I think that this is a good piece about the bizarre nature of this case and, even I as a bit of an old fusspot when it comes to grammar and punctuation, didn't find too much to grimace over. That's not usually the case with Internet blogs, I might add!

I sometimes find it hard to remember that, in the past when there has been a missing person case with suspected family involvement, the issue could be discussed openly without being insulted - sometimes in the vilest language - by those who believe the suspects' version of events, regardless of how completely bonkers it is.

I hope that we all live to find out just what it is about the McCanns and their associates which has allowed them to be treated so differently from everybody else.

The one certain thing in this case is that the Mccanns have been treated in a very different manner to all other child neglectors both in Portugal and UK. I have never understood and never will understand just why in view of the horrendous and disgraceful way the Portuguese were badmouthed and libelled almost continually by certain people and the UK press and media, not one complaint by Portugal was ever made. Why? Any other country in the world that suffered such insults would be demanding public apologies and would be headline news.

Whitewash, in my opinion, definitely, from beginning to present day. Why? Well only the Mccanns, their "friends" and two governments can answer that and somehow I doubt they ever will.

mara thon wrote:The one certain thing in this case is that the Mccanns have been treated in a very different manner to all other child neglectors both in Portugal and UK. I have never understood and never will understand just why in view of the horrendous and disgraceful way the Portuguese were badmouthed and libelled almost continually by certain people and the UK press and media, not one complaint by Portugal was ever made. Why? Any other country in the world that suffered such insults would be demanding public apologies and would be headline news.

I often wished the Portuguese weren`t so passive over this, but it actually shows more dignity and is more clever NOT to bat the ball back. It shows they are relaxed about their position - its actually showing the UK up as nothing more than bullies. It will all come out in the wash, fingers crossed !

Just thinking of the case next week and hoping it is not postponed, I am wondering what happened to the Pat Brown case where the McCanns ordered amazon to withdraw the book, which they did. the last I heard was Pat was taking Legal action, does anyone know what's happening there?

Oldartform wrote:

mara thon wrote:The one certain thing in this case is that the Mccanns have been treated in a very different manner to all other child neglectors both in Portugal and UK. I have never understood and never will understand just why in view of the horrendous and disgraceful way the Portuguese were badmouthed and libelled almost continually by certain people and the UK press and media, not one complaint by Portugal was ever made. Why? Any other country in the world that suffered such insults would be demanding public apologies and would be headline news.

I often wished the Portuguese weren`t so passive over this, but it actually shows more dignity and is more clever NOT to bat the ball back. It shows they are relaxed about their position - its actually showing the UK up as nothing more than bullies. It will all come out in the wash, fingers crossed !

When I have been accused of something I haven't done. I don't fight back. The more you protest, the guiltier you look. The issue will solve itself, it always has. Karma.

weissnicht wrote:

Oldartform wrote:

mara thon wrote:The one certain thing in this case is that the Mccanns have been treated in a very different manner to all other child neglectors both in Portugal and UK. I have never understood and never will understand just why in view of the horrendous and disgraceful way the Portuguese were badmouthed and libelled almost continually by certain people and the UK press and media, not one complaint by Portugal was ever made. Why? Any other country in the world that suffered such insults would be demanding public apologies and would be headline news.

I often wished the Portuguese weren`t so passive over this, but it actually shows more dignity and is more clever NOT to bat the ball back. It shows they are relaxed about their position - its actually showing the UK up as nothing more than bullies. It will all come out in the wash, fingers crossed !

When I have been accused of something I haven't done. I don't fight back. The more you protest, the guiltier you look. The issue will solve itself, it always has. Karma.

Justice works in silence, silent protest can sometimes
carry more weight.