Maddie McCann Hunt 'Fraudster' to Get Legal Aid [Bill Paid by UK Taxpayers]

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Maddie McCann investigator to get legal aid in battle against U.S. fraud charges

By Christopher Leake and Mark Hollingsworth*
Last updated at 4:16 AM on 29th August 2010

By Lucy Panton, 29/08/2010

A private detective whose firm was paid up to £500,000 from publicly donated funds to find Madeleine McCann is to get tens of thousands of pounds in legal aid to fight extradition to the US for fraud charges.

Kevin Halligen, 50, told Kate and Gerry McCann he could find their daughter but allegedly spent the cash on a lifestyle of first-class flights, chauffeured cars, nightclubs and luxury hotels and goods.

In a separate alleged scam he was arrested last November at the £700-a-night Old Bank Hotel in Oxford.

US authorities issued an extradition warrant accusing Halligen of defrauding a law firm of £1.3 million by ­claiming he could help free two men jailed in war-torn Africa. It is claimed he instead spent the money on a mansion.

A document filed in the District Court of Columbia claims he took money, saying his firm could help secure the release of two executives from the multi­national company Trafigura jailed in Ivory Coast in 2007 for allegedly dumping toxic waste.

He is said to have suggested a rescue operation to fly in South African mercenaries, but it was cancelled. The duo were freed a few months later after a reported £120 million payment.

Halligen, who claimed to have worked for MI5 and the CIA, linked up with the McCanns a year after the 2007 disappearance of three-year-old Madeleine on a family holiday at Praia da Luz, Portugal.

He boasted of ‘contacts’ in Washington who could provide satellite imagery to help the search. Oakley International, a company run by Halligen, was hired by the fund set up by Madeleine’s parents, but was dropped after six months due to claims of too little progress and too much spending.

Fees: Halligen, who claimed to have worked for MI5 and the CIA, linked up with the McCanns a year after the 2007 disappearance of their daughter

Now British taxpayers are to pay for top-flight lawyers to fight Dublin-born Halligen’s extradition. His team includes a leading extradition barrister whose fees are thought to be at least £2,000 a day.

Additional fees for renowned London fraud solicitors Janes will boost costs even further.

The award of legal aid to ­Halligen, remanded at a London jail since arrest, was confirmed by Westminster magistrates this month. His next extradition hearing is on Wednesday.

Last night a spokesman for Kate and Gerry McCann would not comment on the case.
A spokeswoman for the Legal Services Commission said last night: ‘The decision on whether legal aid is required is made by the court.’

A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said: ‘We’ve announced the start of a fundamental look at the legal aid system.’

in Dacre's Daily Mail

Information
*Mark Hollingsworth is the journalist who saw his news article «Mark Hollingsworth Investigates The McCann Files» suppressed and removed from the London Evening Standard, edition published on 28 August 2009. The suppressed article hinted to the 'strange connection' between the roles of Carter Ruck legal firm - experts in super-injunctions, libel and silencing anyone [from the press, to MP's , to bloggers] - as the McCann Couple lawyers and as the Oil Company Trafigura lawyers [read - Trafigura Accused of Bribing Witnesses in Ivory Coast Toxic Waste Dump Case] & at the odd coincidence of the two 'private detectives' who were hired by both the parties [Trafigura & McCann couple]: Kevin Richard Halligen and a former MI5 named Henry Exton.

The above-mentioned article was reproduced in this blog & on the Maddie Case Files Forum; for that reason - already explained here in  A Censurable Censure - I've also received a menacing letter from a UK legal company - Bindemans LLP-  attempting to censor this blog and the forum with a D-Notice 5.

On the Side
Carter Ruck is one of UK's most expensive libel lawyers firm, since circa 2007/8 they have been under a contract with the McCann Couple, and are allegedly paid by the Madeleine's Fund: Leaving No Stone Unturned Limited Company, Trade mark No: 005917232, Date of Incorporation: 15/05/2007. Carter Ruck, according to a Portuguese lawyer have abused the McCann's lawyer request for a temporary injunction to prohibit a book based on the joint UK/PT police authorities' investigation to Madeleine McCann's disappearance written by the former Portuguese Judiciary Police Coordinator Gonçalo Amaral [until October 2, 2007 when he was removed from being that case coordinator]. Carter Ruck used the above mentioned injunction request to threat bloggers and sites of libel actions in an attempt to prevent the divulgation of the process case files translations, of the documentary based on the book 'Maddie, The Truth of the Lie' and mainly to impede the publication of the book in English.

In Portuguese Only
Resume of all the mentioned 'strange connections' : Carta de uma Noite de Verão

Related 
Madeleine McCann investigator didn't listen to ANY tip-offs given to hotline - and squandered £500,000
Madeleine detectives’ axing denied
Bindemans LLP letter and suppressed article at Cryptome.org [similar to Wikileaks]
McCanns & Carter-Ruck Target Satirical Wiki Encyclopædia Dramatica
Trafigura & Carter Ruck Versus Freedom of Speech
In the Scum, today: ‘Maddie rat tried to sue fund for £150k’
Kevin Halligen, the McCann's Former Detective will face Extradition Hearing - Updated
Kevin Halligen to fight US extradition order
FBI searches for detective who worked on Madeleine McCann case
News Recap: Amaral, McCanns, Halligen and a FOIA request
Former McCann detective Kevin Halligen Indicted for Fraud and Money laundering
Kevin Halligen: On the run from friends, the FBI and his fake wife too
BBC’s 39-page defence against the Trafigura libel suit via Wikileaks
Richard Wilson: Calling all bloggers – Help beat the gag on the BBC
Ian Dale: BBC Caves in to Carter Ruck Threats Over Trafigura Film
Wikileaks: BBC Newsnight's "Dirty tricks and toxic waste in Ivory Coast", 15min video, 13 May 2009
Wikileaks: BBC deletes important story on toxic waste dumping in the Ivory Coast after legal threats, 12 Dec 2009
Wikileaks: Updated secret gag on UK Times preventing publication of Minton report into toxic waste dumping, 16 Oct 2009
Wikileaks: Minton report secret injunction gagging The Guardian on Trafigura, 11 Sep 2009
Wikileaks: Minton report - Trafigura toxic dumping along the Ivory Coast broke EU regulations, 14 Sep 2006 
Minton Report PDF
BBC Censored Newsnight page - archived in PDF

Meanwhile on Murdoch's tabloid News of The World the UK Police asks: Who will pay?

That is obvious: the UK Taxpayers!

In Portugal, we the Portuguese Taxpayers also had to pay for a police investigation that was hindered since day 1, that is May 3, 2007. A criminal investigation which was clogged-up by the constant Home Office bureaucratic postponement to the rogatory letters; by the Forensic Science Service dawdled genetic analysis and peculiar report amendments; by the Foreign Office refusal to impart and disclose critical data to the Portuguese Police and Operation Task Gold Unit. An investigation that was pressured and coerced to be archived hastily by British diplomats residing in Portugal and politicians both from the UK and Portugal.

An investigation that was thwarted by a myriad of rent-a-opinion pseudo-criminal child experts; European xenophobic MEP's and crooked rent-a-cops/detectives. By self-proclaimed clairvoyants turned to lawyers; lawyers into forum and media pundits of highly questionable ethics.

An investigation that was stalled by the parents of the mysteriously vanished child and their Tapas friends, who did not cooperate fully with the authorities who still hold the jurisdictional custody of the case. A police inquest that was additionally derided by anti-paedophile/missing children UK organizations, who apparently believe that “the end justifies the means” and which did not, still do not care using the media circus around the McCann couple, a couple who left three children with a combined age of seven alone in an apartment, to bolster their organization image and campaign.

An investigation swamped by a media circus that was created in order to obfuscate the veracity of  the events that happened on the night the child disappeared; that was infested by an highly emotional mediatised portrayal of «White, Doctors, & British» couple suffering at the ruthless hands of  “sardine-munchers” in a lawless country; a  “marketorial” strategy deliberately used by a range of unscrupulous media editors and hacks who have profited in the most obnoxious manner by playing with men's instinctive nature of social identity, that is, by nurturing racism and hatred .

The Madeleine McCann case, or the McCann affair was the second most expensive investigation in the Portuguese Criminal History. The first being the Camarate case and on the third position the Casa Pia Scandal.

How much are we talking about?
                                                               Think in Million Euros.


Note for trigger-happy libel lawyers: read the process, read the newspapers, all of the above is there.

Cuts hold up Maddie UK probe
Who'll pay, ask police

A NEW probe by British cops into missing Madeleine McCann is being held up in a row over funding, we can reveal.

Police forces face cuts of tens of millions of pounds to their budgets leaving no spare cash to pay for what would be a costly re-investigation.

Home Secretary Theresa May held a meeting with Kate and Gerry McCann early this month to discuss the search for their daughter.

Senior officers at Scotland Yard have been consulted about taking on the case. But despite the apparent early progress we can reveal that there are two key stumbling blocks.

No police force can afford to take on the job which could take at least two detectives away from other duties for as long as a year.

A source said: "The real issue that needs to be resolved is who is going to pay for it? No police force can afford to agree to take on the case without knowing where the funding will come from.

"The other issue which is as important to resolve is to ensure that British officers will have full access in Portugal.

"At the moment there is no agreement in place that the Portuguese authorities are going to allow and co-operate with a British re-investigation.

"The review has highlighted the need for a thorough re-investigation starting from scratch. The Metropolitan Police have been consulted and are likely to be given the job, but not until all the problems have been ironed out."

The McCanns, from Rothley, Leicestershire, appealed directly to former Home Secretary Alan Johnson and now Mrs May for extra help.

Madeleine was three when she went missing from her family's holiday flat in Praia da Luz in May 2007. This year we broke the news that the Met's Homicide Command have been approached to discuss taking on the investigation.

Jim Gamble, head of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, told Labour ministers there were huge holes in the original inquiry.The treasury are set to slash eight per cent of the policing budget for the next three years threatening jobs.

in Murdoch's tabloid NOTW

Andrew Thompson 'Where is he?' / Found * updated 9.9.10

Happy days: (Inset) Andrew Thompson at home with his father Ken; and (below) with his mum Melinda Thompson, before she disappeared with her son.

He rides a pushbike across Europe, a picture of a child’s face on his shirt. Ken Thompson is on a remarkable journey in search of his missing son and he will never give up, writes MILES GODFREY

Thompson began showing the first signs of mental illness.

The symptoms were subtle at first. But they progressed, manifesting themselves in paranoia and false beliefs about various people, including Mr Thompson.

“I didn’t realise it at the time, but it started slowly and just escalated, it was terrible,” Mr Thompson said this week from Germany. By December 2007, his wife had been diagnosed by one of Australia’s leading psychiatrists as having a paranoia disorder.

She left the family home on January 1, 2008. And then, aware of the psychiatrist’s report and fearing she would lose access to her son, fled Australia on April 24, abducting Andrew, then 3.

The Australian Federal Police issued a warrant for her arrest and together with Interpol managed to trace her to Frankfurt. But there the trail quickly ran cold.

“I just didn’t know what to do,” Mr Thompson said.

“I had a job that carried with it a great amount of responsibility, but which I could no longer do properly. I couldn’t concentrate.”

So he took early retirement and began to plot a way to find his son. A close family friend, who does not want to be named, picks up the story.

“He was sitting in Australia as the police did as much as they could,” she said. “But it got to the point where he thought, ‘Well what can I do?’

“And he knew he could cycle.

“I don’t think he’ll mind me saying this, but he wasn’t the fittest person in the world at that point and he’d suffered a bout of pneumonia in 2008 that he’d had to fight back from.

“He had been under tremendous stress because of it all.”

By that point the Family Court of Australia had granted an order lifting a ban on Andrew’s name being published, to aid the search.

So Mr Thompson got himself fit, organised a bike, set up a website, got a cycling shirt printed with Andrew’s face on it and set off for Europe. His plan was to cycle across the continent, searching for his wife and child.

He landed in London in early May this year, just in time for International Missing Children’s Day on May 25.

There he met British woman Kate McCann, mother of Madeleine McCann, who vanished while on a family holiday in Portugal. The case remains the highest-profile missing persons case in the world.

Then Mr Thompson’s real work began. After cycling to northern England to spread the word about Andrew, Mr Thompson pedalled south, crossed into northern France, and cycled east through Belgium, Luxembourg and into Germany.

He visited Frankfurt and other German locations where Ms Thompson may have been hiding, before moving north again to the Netherlands. There he handed a letter to the International Court of Justice in The Hague, signed by about 70 families of missing children, calling on the United Nations to update its 30-year-old conventions on child abduction.

Many people might consider stopping here and heading back to Australia. But Mr Thompson pedalled back to Hamburg and Berlin, to Poland and then back to Germany. On Wednesday he spoke to AAP from Zittau, on the Czech Republic-German border. He now plans to cycle to Prague, then to Switzerland and south to Spain, Italy and beyond as the northern winter draws in.

All the time he’ll be looking for Andrew, looking for his wife and highlighting the plight of missing persons everywhere. When will he stop? “I don’t know. I’ll keep going as long as I can,” he said.

“I’ll do whatever it takes. He’s my son. I’m responsible for him.

For further information or if you can help find Andrew, visit Mr Thompson’s website: findandrew.com

in (Australian) The Weekend Post, page 36 - 28 Aug 2010 paper edition only

Information

Present family name: THOMPSON
Birth name: THOMSPON
Forename: ANDREW JOHN
Sex: MALE
Date of birth: 19 August 2004 (6 years old)
Place of birth: ST. LEONARDS, SYDNEY, Australia
Nationality: Australia
Father's family name & forename: THOMPSON
Mother's maiden name & forename: STRATTON
Height: 1.50 meter <-> 59 inches
Weight: 25 kg <-> 55 pounds
Colour of eyes: BROWN
Colour of hair: LIGHT BROWN
Distinguishing marks and characteristics: undefined
Language spoken: English
Date of disappearance: 24 April 2008 at 3 years old
Place of disappearance: SYDNEY, Australia
Flyer with further information in PDF

Anyone with information about the whereabouts of Andrew and Melinda should contact local Police, Interpol, or the Australian Federal Police on 02 6126 7777.

Family Court of Australia Publication Order enabling the release of information about an International Child Abduction PDF document [14 December 2008]

«The publication order is a document issued by the Family Court of Australia that allows us to publicly talk about Andrew and his situation. It stipulates what we are allowed to talk about regarding his case, and the boundaries within which that is to take place. All documentation going out to others must contain words to this effect: “If you have seen Andrew or Melinda please contact your local Police urgently who will contact Interpol - do not approach Melinda THOMPSON.” For any questions regarding this Publication Order please use the contact details provided on this website. These orders are issued very rarely and the issue of one for Andrew’s abduction and disappearance highlights the very high levels of concern that the Australian and International authorities hold for Andrew’s welfare.»

Update: After almost three years, missing son finally surfaces
by Eamonn Duff
September 9, 2010

Normal life suspended ... Ken Thompson gave up his job as a senior fire fighter to search for his son after he was abducted by his former wife. Photo: Lorne Campbell

Almost three years after his son went missing, former NSW deputy fire chief Ken Thompson has learned the six-year-old boy is in Amsterdam.

Andrew Thompson was three years old when he was abducted in Sydney by his mother, Melinda Stratton, on April 24, 2008, after a custody battle.

Ms Stratton eluded the Australian Federal Police, Interpol and missing children's organisations until she was picked up on Monday after attempting to enrol Andrew in school.

Noticing the six-year-old's passport had expired, the school's principal ran a security check and discovered the boy was the subject of more than 180 Interpol alerts.

Mr Thompson quit his job in May to cycle across Europe on a public crusade to find his son.

‘‘I didn’t know where in Europe he might be,’’ Mr Thompson told Macquarie Radio from Amsterdam on Thursday morning, having just arrived in the city.

‘‘I just knew Europe was the most likely place, so I decided I would do whatever I could do to raise public awareness to Andrew, and to some other kids who are missing in Europe as well, by riding a bicycle and just trying to generate as much media interest as I could in Andrew.’’

A family friend, Robin Bowles, said police had contacted Mr Thompson advising him that his son was safe with welfare officials and his former wife was in custody. Arrangements for her extradition were due to be raised in a court appearance yesterday.

"Ken's ecstatic, emotional, relieved, overjoyed and still in a total state of shock," Ms Bowles said. "It is no secret there were fears for both Melinda's and Andrew's safety and the longer time went on, the fear grew deeper within Ken that maybe he'd never see his son again. He wants to see him. He can't wait a moment longer."

Ms Stratton fled Australia four months after she and Mr Thompson failed to reach a custody settlement. She flew with Andrew to Germany, then vanished. In a letter to her family, she claimed she was forced to flee after losing faith in the Family Court over its handling of serious allegations she levelled against her former husband.

But in December 2008 Mr Stratton successfully lobbied the Family Court to lift a ban on identifying Andrew and his plight.

In granting the order, the court allowed Mr Thompson to release a psychiatric report – compiled before his former wife's disappearance – revealing she had a paranoia disorder that severely impaired her ability as a parent.

Mr Thompson said: ‘‘He is safe. We’ll hopefully now get him back to Australia and then Melinda and I can resume the process that needs to be resumed, that was started in 2008."

in Sydney Morning Herald w/ AAP

The Daily Mail Sing-a-long Song For Hacks

video by Dan and Dan Films [twitter][u-tube]

Briton held for taking beach photos of boys

Eighty pictures are research for clothes firm, he claims

23 Aug 2010
Daily Mail
By Neil Sears in London and Len Port in Vilamoura n.sears@dailymail.co.uk

‘I realised I’d been an idiot’

A BRITISH business executive has appeared in a Portuguese court after being accused of taking photos of children on a beach.

Questioned: Rhys Jones, left, appeared in court after taking pictures on the beach at Vilamoura, above

Parents had been alarmed when they saw 48-year-old grandfather Rhys Jones – who works for international clothing retailer Peacocks – arrive at an Algarve holiday resort alone and start taking pictures of boys in their swimwear.

When the parents complained, a row developed, police were called, and father-of-two Mr Jones was arrested.

The beach is 50 miles from where Madeleine McCann disappeared from her parents’ apartment in Praia da Luz in May 2007.

It is understood that 80 pictures of boys aged eight to 15 were found on the camera.

But Mr Jones has told the Daily Mail that while he had been ‘absolutely stupid’, he had an innocent excuse – he was impressed by the youngsters’ swimwear, wanted his firm to copy it, and was taking photos as research.

The businessman, who was holidaying in a hotel in Vilamoura with his wife Ann and his 14-year-old son, spoke before appearing in an Algarve court on Friday afternoon.

The keen amateur sportsman, who runs an under-14s football team and is chairman of the Welsh Club Cricket Conference, has worked for Peacocks for 30 years and is international operations and development controller.

Last Thursday he was on the beach at Vilamoura when he said he realised young male holidaymakers were wearing swimwear unlike that stocked by Peacocks.

On the spur of the moment, he said, he began photographing boys playing in the sand, with the aim of showing them to colleagues to suggest they stocked similar trunks, particularly for sales in Peacocks stores in Cyprus and Malta.

Police were called after parents objected.

Mr Jones said: ‘I was absolutely stupid. When parents approached me I realised what an idiot I’d been. ‘I can fully understand the parents’ reaction. I’ve been bloody stupid. My wife keeps telling me I’m an idiot – she’s right, I was.

‘But I didn’t try to sneak any pictures, I did it all openly.’

Mr Jones said he is worried about his job at Peacocks, which is based close to his home in Cardiff.

Portuguese police commander Marques Ferreira said: ‘A 48-year old Englishman was seen photographing children on the beach at Marinotel in Vilamoura [Tivoli Marina Vilamoura 5 Star Hotel with private Beach] and was arrested by the Maritime Police.

‘We were able to verify the existence of many photographs of children aged between eight and 15.’

A police source said witnesses said, ‘The man pointed his camera several times at children who were playing in the sand by the water’.

Mr Jones has been named an ‘arguido’, or formal suspect, and appeared in a court on Friday with a local lawyer to answer initial questions, but is understood to have been allowed to return home with his wife and son at the weekend.

He will be recalled to Portugal if the court decides to take the case further. Taking photographs of children without their parents’ permission is a crime in Portugal.

Mr Jones was on Saturday due to play cricket in his position as captain of the Lisvane Second XI in Cardiff and is due to go on a cricket tour of Berkshire today.

One of his friends said last night: ‘ He has been one of the stalwarts of the cricket club for many years, joining as a teenager just after its foundation in the late 70s.

‘I can’t believe he has ended up in a Portuguese court. He’s a straightforward guy with a great sense of humour.’

Daily Mail | 2010-08-23 | UK | Page: 5

Related Links
external
Briton arrested for child beach photos: My 80 pictures are 'for research', says clothes buyer
Briton arrested over Portugal beach photos
British mother abandoned daughter on Spanish beach while she went drinking | Mail Online
Murdoch's Scum: "MADDIE BEACH PERV"
Daily Mail lies about Facebook (updated x7) | Influence and networks | Global Dashboard
**Coming Soon** – Awareness Wristbands - POLICE INSPECTOR BLOG

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Hypocrisy R Us: UK Media Infotainment Network
New Appeal for Information regarding Madeleine Beth McCann

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Perverting the Course of Justice: The Hilarious and Shocking Inside Story of British Policing

Sunday Express picks the Story after almost one month: Uncle quits Maddy Fund

Gerry McCann's Boss Douglas Skehan & Brother John McCann Resign from Madeleine's Fund Director's Board - September 1, 2010

«Dr. Douglas Skehan, clinical director in cardiology at Glenfield Hospital resigned from "Madeleine's Fund: Leaving no Stone Unturned Limited Company" [06248215] - Filled electronically on 27/08/2010 at Companies House; Resignation Date made on August 24, 2010.

John McCann, Gerald Patrick McCann brother also resigned from "Madeleine's Fund: Leaving no Stone Unturned Limited Company" - Filled electronically on 27/08/2010 at Companies House; made on July 23, 2010.»

Key McCann out as strategy gets revamp

By James Murray

THE brother of Gerry McCann has quit the Madeleine Fund amid a drive to inject new dynamism into the search for the missing seven-year-old.

John McCann has been a dedicated director since the fund was launched more than three years ago and worked tirelessly behind the scenes to do everything he could to find the child.

However, latest company accounts show he left last month along with fellow director Douglas Skehan, a heart specialist and colleague of Gerry McCann who works with him at Leicester’s Glenfield Hospital.

Speaking at the launch of the fund two weeks after Madeleine vanished, John said: “This fund will be a vehicle to help our family get our darling, wee niece back.”

In an update to their website, neither Kate nor Gerry McCann mentioned the names of the directors who have now left the fund. Instead they focused on the “renewed vigour” behind the campaign to find their daughter.

They believe Madeleine was abducted from their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz on Portugal’s Algarve coast in May 2007.

The message states: “There will be some changes and development in terms of strategy and ideas as we endeavour to leave no stone unturned in our search.

“This will include some changes to the board of Madeleine’s Fund, simply to try to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of what we are doing.

“It has now been three years and four months since Madeleine was taken from us. None of us ever thought we’d still be in the position we are today.

“Inevitably there has to be change for a variety of reasons but importantly, this will also allow people to help and support us in different ways.

“Regardless of change, everyone’s focus, commitment and desire continues to be that of finding Madeleine.”

New board members, as yet unnamed, have been appointed to the fund, which stands at £450,000 and relies on public donations to pay private investigators to carry on the search.

The unsigned blog continues: “Keeping Madeleine’s image out there greatly increases our chances of finding her.

“It is a reminder to people that she is still missing and to please keep looking for her. In addition, we know that somebody knows where Madeleine is.

“One more reminder of her may be all that it takes for them to finally come forward and let us know.”

The McCanns met Home Secretary Theresa May over the summer to ask for a review of all the evidence in the case by a hand-picked team of Scotland Yard officers.

Former police detectives David Edgar and Arthur Cowley have made repeated visits to Portugal and have a new photo fit of a suspect which has not yet been released to the public.

Sunday Express, page 19, paper edition 26.09.2010 (with thanks to jon at The Maddie Case Files Forum) 

Online edition
MADELEINE’S FUND LOSES KEY MCCANN

'NO STONE UNTURNED': New vigour in the hunt for Madeleine(photo caption)

By James Murray and Tracey Kandohla Sunday September 26,2010

THE brother of Gerry McCann has quit the Madeleine Fund amid a drive to inject new dynamism into the search for the missing seven-year-old.

John McCann has been a dedicated director since the fund was launched more than three years ago and worked tirelessly behind the scenes to do everything he could to find the child.

However, latest company accounts show he left last month along with fellow director Douglas Skehan, a heart specialist and colleague of Gerry McCann who works with him at Leicester’s Glenfield Hospital. Speaking at the launch of the fund two weeks after Madeleine vanished, John said: “This fund will be a vehicle to help our family get our darling, wee niece back.”

In an update to their website, neither Kate nor Gerry McCann mentioned the names of the directors who have left.

Instead they focused on the renewed vigour behind the campaign to find their daughter. They believe Madeleine was abducted from their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz on Portugal’s Algarve coast in May 2007.

The message states: “There will be some changes and development in terms of strategy and ideas as we endeavour to leave no stone unturned in our search.

“This will include some changes to the board of Madeleine’s Fund, simply to try to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of what we are doing. It has now been three years and four months since Madeleine was taken from us. None of us ever thought we’d still be in the position we are today.

“Inevitably there has to be change for a variety of reasons but importantly, this will also allow people to help and support us in different ways

“Regardless of change, everyone’s focus, commitment and desire continues to be that of finding Madeleine.”

New board members, as yet unnamed, have been appointed to the fund, which stands at £450,000 and relies on public donations to pay private investigators to carry on the search.

The unsigned blog continues: “Keeping Madeleine’s image out there greatly increases our chances of finding her.

“It is a reminder to people that she is still missing and to please keep looking for her. In addition, we know that somebody knows where Madeleine is.

“One more reminder of her may be all that it takes for them to finally come forward and let us know.”

The McCanns met Home Secretary Theresa May over the summer to ask for a review of all evidence in the case.

Sunday Movie: The Cranes are Flying / Летят журавли directed by Mikhail Kalatozov

The Cranes are Flying / Летят журавли directed by Mikhail Kalatozov
translit. Letyat zhuravli



Film Review by Graeme Hobbs

At the film's start, obliviously happy sweethearts are skipping along a dam wall at dawn with sunlight glinting on the water. Immediately apparent is the striking boldness of composition; soon we are looking down on the couple framed in a constructivist composition of shadows and angles which sensitizes us to the theme of people set against their surroundings and that continues throughout – against staircases, steel barricades, bombed-out buildings, tanks in the street.

The Cranes are Flying, winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1958, was made during 'The Kruschev Thaw' that followed his denunciation of Stalin's cult of personality. In cinema, this meant the freedom to move away from stereotypical Stalinist heroes and show a more nuanced view of events and, significantly, the suffering and sacrifice of ordinary people.

The story, of sweethearts' love ruined by war and fraternal betrayal, is largely melodramatic, but the performances lend it heartfelt credence. Vassili Merkuriev as Boris's father is both strong and vulnerable, weighing sacrifice with practical duty; most engaging of all though is Tatiana Samoilova as Veronika, who is especially winsome in the exuberant impulsiveness of her early scenes with Boris.

Excitingly, Kalatozov's direction is a direct link to an earlier, experimental age of Soviet filmmaking. We notice the extreme close-ups and a striking use of light and shadow, which is especially effective after Boris has tacked a blanket across a window. When he then tells Veronika that he has volunteered for the army, the shards of light that angle across Veronika's face actually look like they hurt.

This visual strength is complemented by an inspired sound design that peaks during the air raid sequence in which wails of sirens spiral to cacophony with Mark's frenzied piano playing. In the silence that follows, the crunch of feet across a floor of broken glass becomes the squelch of soldier's boots through mud.

Sergei Urusevsky's camerawork is also striking, especially in how well it conveys the confusion of the throng in moving through crowds. Kalatozov and Urusevsky's artistry would of course culminate eight years later in Soy Cuba.

An interesting synopsis by an IMDB user

1956 was the 20th Congress of the Communist Party and the Soviet Premier Krushchev made a speech denouncing Stalin and the Stalinist purges and the gulag labor systems, revealing information that was previously forbidden, publicly revealing horrible new truths, which opened the door for a new Soviet Cinema led by Mikhail Kalatozov, once Stalin's head of film production.

This film features a Red Army that is NOT victorious, in fact they are encircled, in a retreat mode, with many people dying, including the hero, in a film set after 06-02-41, the German invasion of Russia when Germany introduced the Barbarossa Plan, a blitzkrieg invasion intended to bring about a quick victory and the ultimate enslavement of the Slavs, and very nearly succeeded, actually getting within 20 miles of Moscow in what was a Red Army wipe out, a devastation of human losses, 15 to 20 million Russians died, or 20% of the entire population.

Historically, this was a moment of great trauma and suffering, a psychological shock to the Russian people, but the Red Army held and prolonged the war 4 more years until they were ultimately victorious.

During the war, Stalin used the war genre in films for obvious morale boosting, introducing female heroines who were ultra-patriotic and strong and idealistic, suggesting that if females could be so successful and patriotic, then Russia could expect at least as much from their soldiers. Stalin eliminated the mass hero of the proletariat and replaced it with an individual, bold leader who was successful at killing many of the enemy, an obvious reference to Stalin himself, who was always portrayed in film as a bold, wise and victorious leader.

But Kalatozov changed this depiction, as THE CRANES ARE FLYING was made after Stalin's death, causing a political thaw and creating a worldwide sensation, winning the Cannes Film Festival Palm D'Or, as well as the Best Director and Best Actress (Tatyana Samoilova), reawakening the West to Soviet Cinema for the first time since Eisenstein's IVAN THE TERRIBLE in the 40's.

This film featured brilliant, breathtaking, and extremely mobile camera work from his extraordinary cinematographer Sergei Uresevsky, using spectacular crane and tracking shots, images of wartime, battlefields, Moscow and crowded streets that are extremely vivid and real.

Another brilliant scene features the lead heroine, Veronica, who hasn't heard from her lover, Boris, in the 4 years at war, so he is presumed dead, but she continues to love him, expressed in a scene where she runs towards a bridge with a train following behind her, a moment when the viewer was wondering if she might throw herself in front of that train, instead she saves a 3 yr old boy named Boris who was about to be hit by a car.

Another scene captures the death of Boris on the battlefield, who dies a senseless death, and his thoughts spin and whirl in a beautiful montage of trees, sky, leaves, all spinning in a kaleidoscope of his own thoughts and dreams, including an imaginary wedding with Veronica.

This film features the famous line, "You can dream when the war is over." In the final sequence, when the war is over, the soldiers are returning in a mass scene on the streets, Veronica learns Boris died, all are happy and excited with the soldier's return, but Veronica is in despair, passing out flowers to soldiers and strangers on the street in an extreme gesture of generosity and selflessness revealing "cranes white and gray floating in the sky."

The film was released in 1957 in Russia, and according to some reviews, "the silence in the theater was profound, the wall between art and living life had fallen...and tears unlocked the doors."

Stills

Production Crew
Directed by Mikhail Kalatozov (28 December 1903 – 26 March 1973)
Script/screenplay by Victor Rozov
Cinematography by Sergei Urusevsky
Film Editing by Mariya Timofeyeva
Original Music by Moisey Vainberg

Running Time: 97 minutes
Language: Russian
Subtitles: English
Colour: B/W
Production © Mosfilm 1957

Awards
Palme d’Or at the Cannes IFF, 1958
Special Diploma for Best Actress (Tatiana Samoilova) at the Cannes IFF, 1958
Honorary Diploma at the Locarno IFF, 1958
Silver Sombrero Prize at the Guadalajara IFF, 1958
Nominated for 2 BAFTA Film Awards, 1959

Check the Internet Movie Database for further information.
Buy the DVD at Ruscico - Russian Classic Films with great extras (various subtitle languages available.)

Note: If you are unable to watch the film, it's because you're missing the proper codec, please download the DivX Plus Web Player for Windows here

New Appeal for Information regarding Madeleine Beth McCann

Madeleine Beth McCann 2003-2007

Video Appeal

Please, if you have any information that may lead to the reopening of Madeleine McCann investigation, whose process was archived in July 2008, contact the Portuguese Judiciary Police - The only Official Criminal Investigative Authority who has the Jurisdiction on the Madeleine Beth McCann Disappearance Case.



Unidade de Informação de Investigação Criminal [UIIC]
Rua Gomes Freire ,174, 1169-007 Lisboa
Telefone: 218 641 000
Fax: 213 304 260

Criminal Investigation Information Unit
R. Gomes Freire 174, 1169-007 Lisbon, Portugal
Phone: 00 351 218 641 000
Fax: 00 351 213 304 260


View Judiciary Police in a larger map

Or Contact

The Criminal Investigation Department of the Judiciary Police in Portimão [Departamento De Investigação Criminal De Portimão]
R. do Pé da Cruz 2, 8501 Portimão, Portugal‎
Telefone/Phone: 00 351 282 426 041‎
Fax: 00 351 282 412 763
E-mail: dic.portimao@pj.pt


View Criminal Investigation Department of the Judiciary Police in Portimão in a larger map

Relacionado em Português: Carta de uma Noite de Verão

News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch: We Own the 'Sky' in Skype

What next? Firefox?

Rupert Murdoch claims to own the 'Sky' in 'Skype'
by Kevin Rawlinson

Rupert Murdoch’s BSkyB is fighting a legal battle with the internet telecommunications pioneer Skype, claiming that it owns the “Sky” in “Skype”.

Skype yesterday announced that it plans to float on the Nasdaq stock exchange in New York. BSkyB’s legal challenge to Skype using its name within the EU was revealed in the 250-page document announcing the intended flotation.

Skype notes that its applications “in respect of the Skype name are being opposed by BSkyB plc”.

The company says that it has won the right to use its name in Switzerland, Turkey and Brazil, but that the European Union has ruled against it. Skype intends to appeal the decision “if necessary to the General Court at the Court of Justice of the European Community”.

If defeated in court, the company could be barred from trading under its own name if it is found to be in competition with Sky. The two companies operate in the field of telephony and could, therefore, be considered competitors, leading to possible confusion in the market-place.

The Name Inspector, a company name analyst blog, told paidContent:UK: “On the Skype forum, an employee reveals that the name was derived from the expression sky peer-to-peer.

“Some people might interpret Skype as a more conventional blend of sky with something that rhymes with Skype, like hype–or pipe, ripe, type, wipe.”

A spokesman for Sky confirmed that the company has been involved in a “five-year dispute with Skype” over trademark applications filed by the telecomms company. These are, the spokesman added: “including, but not limited to, television-related goods and services.

“The key contention in the dispute is that the brands ‘Sky’ and ‘Skype’ will be considered confusingly similar by members of the public. This was supported by consumer research conducted by Sky, and which was taken into account by the relevant authorities when they recently found in Sky’s favour.

Sky pointed out that, at this stage it has not brought any proceedings for trade mark infringement against Skype and its action is aimed at seeking assurances that Skype will not register trademarks in areas where it would come into competition with Sky.

In the document, filed earlier this week, Skype noted that, if it were unsuccessful in registering its trademark, it “may have a material adverse effect on our business. Moreover, a successful opposition to our application in one or more countries might encourage BSkyB or other third parties to make additional oppositions or commence trademark infringement proceedings.”

The document also carried the warning that, if BSkyB were to pursue litigation, the defence could be “costly and time consuming even if we were ultimately to prevail.

“If we were not ultimately to prevail in any such litigation to prevent our use of the Skype name or logo, we could be precluded from using the Skype name or logo in one or more jurisdictions without obtaining a license from BSkyB or such other third parties, which license may not be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.”

This newspaper reported yesterday that Skype, formerly owned by eBay, has 560 million registered users, and has logged 95 billion minutes of voice and video calls in the first half of 2010.

It was bought by a consortium led by Silicon Valley venture capitalists Silver Lake with Andreessen Horowitz, a fund which was set up by the web browser pioneer Marc Andreessen.

A spokesman from Skype was unavailable for further comment yesterday.

in The Independent

The most absurd legal case of the year?
by George Eaton

I have to confess that when I first heard the news that Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB had launched a legal challenge to Skype I thought April Fool's Day had come early, not least because the basis of the lawsuit is that the company claims to own the "Sky" in "Skype".

But it transpired that the case was genuine, and that BSkyB has been ensconced in a legal battle with Skype for the past five years. The news emerged only after a brief reference to the legal action in the 250-page document announcing Skype's Wall Street flotation.

A spokesman for Sky said: "The key contention in the dispute is that the brands 'Sky' and 'Skype' will be considered confusingly similar by members of the public."

To which I can only reply that I have never linked the two and can't think of anyone who has. But it seems that the EU has upheld Sky's complaint and, should Skype lose its forthcoming appeal, the company may be forced to change its name.

One wonders if others who have had the temerity to use the word "sky" in their work will now fall foul of the Dirty Digger. The Media Blog names some of those who may need to watch their back here.

UPDATE: BSkyB has been in touch to point out that the dispute concerns several trademark applications filed by Skype, including, but not limited to, television-related goods and services. It's fair to say that were Skype's name to appear on a set-top box, Sky would have a better case. But I'm sure most people could make the distinction.

Sky may claim its customer research suggests members of the public would be confused by the similarity, but the key question is this: did any of the people surveyed consider "Sky" and "Skype" similar before they were asked?

in New Statesman

Read as well:

Scotland Yard Announces New Inquiry Into Murdoch Spying Scandal And Then Abandons It Only A Few Hours Later

Murdoch Journalist Denies Murdoch Media Conspiracy

Ex-Murdoch editor Andrew Neil: News of the World revelations one of most significant media stories of our time

Three inquiries launched into News of the World hacking claims

Why Skype has conquered the world

18 years ago... (A Timeless Speech was made)

“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities,
in the expert’s mind there are few.”
—Shunryu Suzuki

“The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the Earth Summit, took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from June 2-14, 1992”

Severn Cullis-Suzuki, now in her early 30's, started the Environmental Children's Organization (ECO) when she was only 9-years-old. ECO was a small group of children committed to learning and teaching other kids about environmental issues. In 1992 Cullis-Suzuki and three Vancouver schoolmates raised their own money to attended the UN's Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. A then 12-year-old Severn closed a Plenary Session with an amazing speech that received a standing ovation.


original video here

“When you are little, it's not hard to believe you can change the world. I remember my enthusiasm when, at the age of 12, I addressed the delegates at the Rio Earth Summit. “I am only a child,” I told them. “Yet I know that if all the money spent on war was spent on ending poverty and finding environmental answers, what a wonderful place this would be. In school you teach us not to fight with others, to work things out, to respect others, to clean up our mess, not to hurt other creatures, to share, not be greedy. Then why do you go out and do the things you tell us not to do? You grownups say you love us, but I challenge you, please, to make your actions reflect your words.”

I spoke for six minutes and received a standing ovation. Some of the delegates even cried. I thought that maybe I had reached some of them, that my speech might actually spur action. Now, a decade from Rio, after I've sat through many more conferences, I'm not sure what has been accomplished. My confidence in the people in power and in the power of an individual's voice to reach them has been deeply shaken. (...)

(...) But in the 10 years since Rio, I have learned that addressing our leaders is not enough. As Gandhi said many years ago, “We must become the change we want to see.”

I know change is possible, because I am changing, still figuring out what I think. I am still deciding how to live my life. The challenges are great, but if we accept individual responsibility and make sustainable choices, we will rise to the challenges, and we will become part of the positive tide of change.”

Cullis-Suzuki, 2002 in TIME magazine

Severn Cullis-Suzuki (born November 30, 1979 in Vancouver, Canada) is an environmental activist, speaker, television host and author. Born to writer Tara Elizabeth Cullis and geneticist and environmental activist David Suzuki, she has spoken around the world about environmental issues, urging listeners to define their values, act with the future in mind, and take individual responsibility.

more in Severn Cullis-Suzuki

McCann: Nobody wants to live in Houses Stained by Crime

by Joana Capucho

Houses where bloody crimes occurred are often found empty. Few people like to buy a house where a violent death has taken place. Even if the prices are decreased substantially, as it happens, people tend to avoid buying them. Experts explain that it is the mythical fear of ghosts which scares potential new buyers away. The "King Ghob's" [a recent Case in Portugal of a man who has committed three homicides] castle in Carqueja may become another ghost house, uninhabited and without interested buyers. (...)

Houses of Death

Praia da Luz

No one wants to buy Maddie's Apartment

by José Manuel Oliveira

The property belonging to an Englishwoman [Ruth Margaret McCann], was put on sale in 2008 for 200 thousand euros, so far only curiously [morbid] people have shown an interest to see the flat. Tours from the North of the country even include the place in their itinerary programs.

The apartment 5 A at the Ocean Club resort, in Praia Luz, Lagos, from where the 3-year-old English girl Madeleine McCann mysteriously disappeared whilst on vacation with her parents and twin siblings, also minors, on the night of May 3, 2007; remains closed and for sale since August 2008 for 200 thousand euros; even though the notice board with that information was removed. The world-wide media coverage surrounding the case does not “diminish nor increase” the property value of the T2 ground-floor apartment [T2 is a real estate jargon typification, meaning a 2 bedroom apartment], situated at about 200 meters from the beach, said the real estate investors to the DN.


* Minor note: If you find the above text by JMO somewhat garbled and confusing you should try to read it in Portuguese - it's even worst! Did not translate the full churnalistic article relative to the other «ghost» houses...

in Diário de Notícias here and here 08.08.2010

David Hughes McCann's Former Media Adviser in MP's Tax Evasion Scandal

Lib Dem MP in council tax probe had THREE men staying with her

By Glen Owen
Last updated at 3:39 AM on 8th August 2010

On the campaign trail: Lib Dem MP Tessa Munt with leader Nick Clegg

The saga of the MP accused of making false council tax claims took another bizarre twist last night as an adviser to Kate and Gerry McCann was dragged into the affair.

David Hughes, who was media adviser to the McCanns in the months after their daughter Madeleine disappeared, admitted staying with Liberal Democrat Tessa Munt while she claimed a single resident’s discount.

Mrs Munt, 50, has already been threatened with police action after it was discovered that BBC radio presenter Andy Kershaw and a local GP were recorded as living at her home while she was receiving the rebate.

It has been alleged that Mrs Munt, who is separated from her husband, had a secret affair with the GP, Dr John Laband, and charged him £200 a month to rent a room in her house while she claimed to be living alone.

The extraordinary developments have prompted political rivals to call for Mrs Munt, the MP for

Wells, Somerset, to resign just three months after being elected.

Mr Hughes confirmed yesterday that he had been quizzed by the local authority, Sedgemoor District Council, as part of its investigation into Mrs Munt’s council tax bill.

Mr Hughes, a Liberal Democrat activist, has told the council that he stayed at Mrs Munt’s house for an unspecified period during the past two years while visiting his ex-wife and their children, who live in Somerset. Curiously, he is registered to vote at Mrs Munt’s house despite having a house in London.

Asked about his relationship with Mrs Munt, Mr Hughes said: ‘I have absolutely nothing to say about personal matters.

‘I gave Sedgemoor Council a detailed account of my movements and haven’t heard back from them. I told them that I had stayed [at Mrs Munt’s house] from time to time over a number of months because my children and ex-wife live elsewhere in the county.

‘I would often support Tessa with her campaign on my way through to visit them. I am an itinerant person, and divide my time between Somerset and London.’

Mr Hughes admitted: ‘I believe I am still on the electoral roll. I have not done anything to remove myself, although the council may have decided that I am not an appropriate person to be on the roll and removed me. I don’t know.’

Mr Hughes advised the McCanns after three-year-old Madeleine disappeared from a holiday flat in Praia da Luz in Portugal in May 2007.

The council’s investigation is focused on 2008, when both Dr Laband and Mr Kershaw were recorded as living at Mrs Munt’s house, where Mr Kershaw was registered to vote.

Mrs Munt says that she rescued Dr Laband from sleeping on his garage floor while his wife filed for divorce, offering him a place to stay briefly. She says that Mr Kershaw, 50, who at the time was ‘on the run’ from the authorities on the Isle of Man over a broken restraining order, had visited her and left his dog with her for eight weeks while he visited other friends.

Neighbours say that during 2008 a number of strangers appeared to be staying at Mrs Munt’s detached house at Mark on the Somerset Levels. One said: ‘None of the locals knew who they were. People were coming and going all the time.’

Mrs Munt, who separated from her husband Martin, with whom she raised three children, before her alleged affair with Dr Laband, is now believed to have a new partner who lives nearby. She stopped claiming the council tax discount in May. She was not available for comment.

A Liberal Democrat spokesman said: ‘None of these people was staying permanently with Mrs Munt.’

Sedgemoor Council refuses to discuss individual cases.

in Daily Mail

The LibDems Who Are Advising the McCanns
Iain Dale 7:06 PM September 07, 2007

I've spent much of the day with Sky News on in the background. One could be forgiven for thinking that there was no other news today apart from the developments in Portimao regarding the McCanns.

You wouldn't think there was a political angle to the unfolding drama in Portugal, would you? But there is. Kate McCann's lawyer is the former Libdem candidate and blogger Justine McGuinness and who did I spy accompanying Mrs McCann to the police station but none other than LibDem supporting PR consultant David Hughes?

I suppose it's inevitable, given the huge media interest, that the McCanns have had to employ the services of a PR consultant, but I'm sure that most people wish the TV coverage wasn't so completely obsessed with speculating on what might or might not be going on. People's lives are at stake here.

CLARIFICATION: One or two people in the comments have interpreted this post as an attack on the LibDems. I still can't quite see how, but can I just make it clear that it is not. David Hughes is a friend of mine and was one of my best customers at Politico's. All I was doing was observing that two LibDems were advising the McCanns. Nothing more nothing less. Two commenters have pointed out that Esther McVey is too. I hope all three are doing a good job, as it seems to me that they are about to be 'fitted up', if that's the phrase.

Possibly related: McCann Case: Foreign Office Secrets

McCann Case: Freedom of Information Act on John Buck former Ambassador

1112 Days*

McCanns meet May in Madeleine probe

Kate and Gerry McCann have held talks with Home Secretary Theresa May to discuss the search for their missing daughter Madeleine.

The couple used the meeting on Wednesday to appeal for extra help from the coalition Government to look for the little girl. It is more than three years since Madeleine disappeared from a holiday resort in southern Portugal.

Mr and Mrs McCann, from Rothley, Leicestershire, want a full independent review of the police investigation into what happened to their daughter.

They complained in February that they encountered "reluctance" when they asked the British authorities to re-examine all the information held by law enforcement agencies around the world.

Mr McCann said: "I think people are reluctant to undertake a review because there's been difficult, sensitive issues. But Madeleine's rights should be put first. She's missing, she's innocent and whoever's taken her is still out there, and that has to be of paramount importance."

A Home Office spokesman said: "The Home Secretary held a private meeting with Kate and Gerry McCann on Wednesday to discuss the case of their missing daughter Madeleine.

"The Government's primary concern in this matter is the wellbeing of Madeleine McCann and to ensure that everything feasible is being done to progress the search for her."

Madeleine was three when she went missing from her family's holiday flat in Praia da Luz in the Algarve on May 3 2007 as her parents dined with friends nearby.

Portuguese police launched a massive investigation with the support of British officers but the inquiry was formally shelved in July 2008 without reaching any firm conclusions about the child's fate.

Private detectives employed by the McCanns are continuing to investigate the case.


source: The Press Association, 06.08.2010

* 1112 Days have gone by since the Madeleine McCann investigation was archived by the Portuguese Public Ministry. This is an excerpt from the archiving dispatch:

"Nevertheless, anyone who feels unsatisfied about the epilogue of the investigations, will have the possibility to react against it, having the possibility of eventually changing that epilogue, by prompting diligences based on new evidence, as long as that person has the legitimacy to request them and the requested diligences are serious, pertinent and consequent. They may do so in three ways: by requesting the reopening of the inquiry, under article 279, number 1 of the Penal Process Code; by appealing hierarchically against this dispatch under number 2 of article 278, or in another case, under number 2 of article 279 of the Penal Process Code, or by requesting the opening of the instruction under article 287, number 1, item b, of the Penal Process Code."

Carta de uma Noite de Verão

Mário Tomé © All Rights Reserved

O psicopata é como o gato, que não pensa no que o rato sente. Ele só pensa em comida. A vantagem do rato sobre as vítimas do psicopata é que ele sempre sabe quem é o gato. - Robert D. Hare

Querida amiga A.,

Em resposta à tua missiva aqui te deixo algumas cogitações. Sobre aquilo que disseste por último só posso dizer que sim, sem dúvida, e isso foi já sobejamente mencionado pelos próprios Ingleses, que dizem geralmente algo como: “If they were chavs they had been arrested a long time ago”. (nota: “Chavs” é um termo Britânico pejorativo, usado para definir um estereótipo da classe trabalhadora que vive com o apoio da segurança social; uma das várias classificações snobs de uma sociedade altamente hierarquizada e cada vez mais segregada)

Eles até podem sentir “dor” e não a demonstrarem como seres humanos ditos “normais”; por um qualquer motivo menos perceptível ou devido a uma ausência de empatia quiçá provocados por distúrbios de cariz sociopata e narcisista. Mas não é, nem pode ser, a aparente falta de emoção, ou o fingimento conveniente da mesma nas “sessões” com os média que nos permite presumir e ter a convicção da falta de inocência do casal McCann, e quando falo de inocência refiro-me à acepção do ser-se «inocente» até prova em contrário estabelecido pela lei, ou seja a dita «presunção de inocência».

Existe um processo judicial, fora do segredo de justiça e no domínio público, onde se encontram inúmeras inconsistências e incongruências do casal e do grupo chamado «Tapas» ou de G9 pela equipa de investigadores criminais Portugueses e Ingleses que trabalharam em conjunto no caso Maddie, cognominados como 'Operation Task'.

A investigação feita por essa equipa de agentes altamente especializados e experientes - entre os quais se encontravam elementos da New Scotland Yard, do National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA), da Unidade Nacional de Contra Terrorismo (UNCT) da Policia Judiciária, elementos do MI5 (que raio andava o MI5 aqui a bisbilhotar?), etc. - chegaram em concordância, à única conclusão exequível após analisarem as várias hipóteses e cito:

“Por todo o exposto, RESULTA dos Autos QUE:

A) A menor Madeleine McCann morreu no apartamento 5A do Ocean Club da Praia da Luz na noite de 03 de Maio de 2007;

B) Ocorreu uma simulação de rapto;

C) De forma a impossibilitar a morte da menor antes das 22h00 foi inventada uma situação de vigilância das crianças do casal McCann enquanto dormiam;

D) Kate McCann e Gerald McCann estão envolvidos na ocultação do cadáver da sua filha Madeleine McCann;

E) Neste momento parece não existirem ainda fortes indícios de que a morte da menor não tenha ocorrido devido a um trágico acidente;

F) Do apurado até ao momento, tudo indica que o casal McCann, como autodefesa, não queira fazer a entrega de forma imediata e voluntária do cadáver, existindo uma forte possibilidade de o mesmo ter sido transladado do local inicial de deposição. Esta situação é susceptível de levantar questões quanto às circunstâncias em que ocorreu a morte da menor.”

Folhas 2601 do processo 201/07.0GALGS

Logo, nem esta é uma tese forjada pelo ex-coordenador da Polícia Judiciária Gonçalo Amaral como o casal McCann e a sua brigada de Relações Públicas e advogados tentam à força descreditar. Nem o ex-inspector os difamou nem difama quando escreveu em formato abreviado no Livro, com a experiência e conhecimento enquanto coordenador daquele caso sobre a tese partilhada pelo conjunto de investigadores. Livro que se encontra actualmente banido e censurado em Portugal por via de uma providência cautelar posta em prática sub-repticiamente, de uma forma ardilosa e puramente maquiavélica.

E foi assim que, abusivamente utilizando a Lei, se acrescentou mais uma grilheta ao Direito à Liberdade de Expressão.

O que me vexa e envergonha é que um Cidadão Português – sim, já que o ex-coordenador é agora um «civil» como eu e tu – esteja em pleno século XXI coarctado de exprimir a sua opinião sob pena de multa de 1000 euros de cada vez que o faça.

Que eu saiba, a Constituição da República Portuguesa ainda diz o seguinte no Artigo 37º:

“Todos têm o direito de exprimir e divulgar livremente o seu pensamento pela palavra, pela imagem ou por qualquer outro meio, bem como o direito de informar, de se informar e de ser informados, sem impedimentos nem discriminações.

O exercício destes direitos não pode ser impedido ou limitado por qualquer tipo ou forma de censura.”

Mas o que mais me profundamente indigna como jovem Mulher de 36 anos (nascida 6 dias antes do 25 de Abril de 1974) é que apesar da nossa História recente, uma Juíza ainda faculte que se condene à supressão um Livro e um Documentário baseados numa investigação factual. Uma censura que têm, de acordo com a advogada dos litigantes, como desígnio final a total e definitiva exterminação de ambos; se calhar estão a pensar fazer uma espécie de auto de fé moderno à semelhança das queimas de livros dos Nazis ali para os lados do Terreiro do Paço.

Resumindo, além de um Cidadão Português, estão igualmente impedidos: a TVI de difundir ou divulgar quaisquer referências acerca do que consta no processo bem como no livro, ou seja a tese do homicídio e ocultação de cadáver. A Valentim de Carvalho Filmes e a Editora Guerra e Paz, respectivamente, de editar, distribuir ou ceder os direitos do Documentário e do Livro 'Maddie, A Verdade da Mentira'.

E isto porquê? Porque um casal de Ingleses foi negligente com os filhos? Porque não querem que nem o Livro nem o Documentário sejam publicados, lidos e vistos em Inglaterra? E porque é que só agiram com a providência cautelar passado mais de um ano, quando o livro já nem se vendia, precisamente na altura em que se negociavam as edições para Inglês?

E já agora porque é que o casal McCann não censura o próprio processo? E porque não pedem o tal milhão e meio de euros a que aspiram, de forma a coagir e intimidar o ex-coordenador da PJ, ao Estado Português?

Mais um milhão, menos um milhão, que diferença faz ao Estado Português? Afinal muito mais do que um milhão e meio de euros foi gasto na investigação da filha deste casal, pago por todos nós, Cidadãos Portugueses.

Um casal que se recusou a responder às perguntas feitas pelas autoridades Portuguesas, que nunca fez a reconstrução pedida pelas autoridades da noite de 3 de Maio de 2007….

Um casal que 12 dias apenas após o enigmático desaparecimento da filha já tinham constituído um fundo privado, que recebeu, contas feitas assim à pressa, pelo menos cerca de 4 milhões de libras. E uma loja online, que vendia e vende, pulseirinhas de borracha, cartazes, Kits de Viagem com autocolantes (já agora que tal uma caderneta de cromos?) e t-shirts, promovendo como imagem de marca os olhos da Madeleine, nomeadamente o direito que tem a íris com uma risca. Chama-se a isto merchandising - a rentabilização calculada de uma marca com vista a maximizar o número de vendas.

Nas palavras do pai da criança, ditas em entrevista a uma revista Americana, em finais de 2007, “Certainly we thought it was possible that [the publicity] could possibly hurt her or her abductor might do something to her eye . . . But in terms of marketing, it was a good ploy.” Desculpe, disse o quê!?

O fundo neste momento e de acordo com as últimas contas publicadas pela Companies House, têm como directores cerca de 60% de elementos da família dos McCann, inclusive os próprios ex-arguidos Kate Healy e o Gerry McCann.

Um fundo que foi usado para tudo e mais alguma coisa: desde contratar advogados como o Michael Caplan que defendeu o assassino e torturador Pinochet na saga da extradição com os Espanhóis; o Ex que na altura era o Bastonário da Ordem dos Advogados Rogério Alves; o Dr. Carlos Pinto de Abreu; a Carter Ruck advogados especialistas em «silenciar» a imprensa como no caso das mortes provocadas pela empresa Trafigura (ref. The Guardian/BBC/Super-Injunctions) ou de tipos, vá lá, peões, que se declaram como advogados com capacidades mediúnicas. E claro, para pagar os honorários da mais recente advogada chegada à «dream-team», a Dra. Isabel Duarte.

Um fundo que serviu para pagar desde as amortizações da casa, a pagar os inúmeros detectives privados [mini-lista: Oakley International, Metódo 3, Francisco Marco, Control Risks Group, Henry Exton, Kevin Halligen, Dave Edgar, etc.] de qualidade duvidosa que alegadamente “engendraram” avistamentos desde Marrocos até à Austrália, e que alegadamente “perseguiram testemunhas para as calarem”; e quem sabe se até mesmo aquele carro que foi incendiado no Algarve ou o “assassinato” do cão da família do Gonçalo Amaral não estará relacionado com as tácticas extraordinárias desses detectives.

Um dos quais é actualmente motivo de uma disputa entre o R.U. e os E.U.A., sendo que os segundos o querem ver extraditado para ir a julgamento. No entanto sem se perceber muito bem porquê, só a audição para avaliar o pedido feito pelas autoridades Americanas já foi adiada, pelo menos umas quatro vezes - é o chamado Efeito Vale e Azevedo.

Portanto, mais um singular episódio da saga McCann, onde um dúbio “detective” contratado pelo casal consta da lista do FBI e da Interpol por ter cometido uma série de fraudes financeiras e outras.

Um pequeno aparte, porque é que o casal McCann que se viu desfalcado em cerca de 602 054.691 Euros [£500,000] não informou a polícia acerca desse facto, e de acordo com o que divulgaram pela “boca daquele que mente com todos os dentes que têm” nem sequer o tencionam levar a tribunal?

Já nem digo nada sobre o facto de ser ilícito “pseudo detectives privados” andarem alegadamente a «investigar» em Portugal sem permissão das autoridades Portuguesas.

E o fundo sem fundo, claro, também serviu e serve para pagar as múltiplas empresas de comunicação e assessoria de imagem, aliás de “limpeza de imagem”, como a Hanover; a Justine McGuinness; o David Hughes; a Sheree Dodd ; o Clarence Mitchell ( 2007 até ao dia de hoje), enviado pelo Tony Blair, garantido pelo Gordon Brown e saído directamente das funções de director da Media Monitoring Unit (MMU), um departamento que trabalha directamente para a agencia governamental Central Office of Information (COI). Mais recentemente o fundo também serve para pagar os serviços da Lift Consulting, cujo CEO é o Salvador da Cunha – o mesmo que me acusou de estar avençada pelo Gonçalo Amaral, esquecendo-se que eu, ao contrário dele não estou à venda.

E que dizer dos diplomatas Ingleses que interferiram no caso McCann, desde 4 de Maio de 2007?

Todos “afastados”, mas mesmo todos sem excepção! O Embaixador Inglês John Buck, em Setembro de 2007 - menos de uma semana após o casal McCann ter sido constituído como arguido. Tendo sido substituído pelo actual Alexandre Ellis, ex-assessor do Durão Barroso na Comissão Europeia. Bill Henderson, o Cônsul destacado para o All-Garve disse “bye, bye!” em Julho de 2007, um mês antes de ter concluído a comissão diplomática. Esse Cônsul foi substituído pela Celia Edwards que em menos de um ano, a Junho de 2008, também disse adeus ao Al Ghareb (…)

O Alexander Ellis é além de embaixador, escrevedor numa coluna intitulada “Um Bife Mal Passado” no jornal Expresso; cujos artigos demonstram que ele presume compreender e por isso, depreender que sabe avaliar bem Portugal e os Portugueses; chegando mesmo por vezes a alvitrar uns pretensiosos pareceres, como se de um “Henry Kissinger colheita‘75” se tratasse.

O Expresso, claro está, é o mesmíssimo jornal que publicou numa capa em letras garrafais XXL, estilo à la 24 Horas/Crime: “Gonçalo Amaral, é uma Vergonha” para vender uma entrevista lambida que fizeram ao casal McCann. Cujo actual director escrevinhou uma das maiores cretinices, para não dizer “trampas” que alguma vez li vinda de um alegado jornalista; ultrapassando assim em larga escala o recorde pessoal até à altura imbatível da tia Isabel Stilwell, a puritana ‘directriz’ do Destak.

Voltando ao Bife, a 7 de Junho de 2010, numa entrevista dada a um outro jornal, o Exmo. Embaixador Britânico em Portugal, respondeu assim à pergunta do jornalista:

“A relação bilateral foi afectada pelos casos judiciais dos últimos anos, o desaparecimento de Madeleine McCann e o caso Freeport?

Antes pelo contrário. No caso McCann continuamos a desenvolver esforços para a encontrar e mantemos contacto com a polícia portuguesa.”

Pois então, se assim é muito gostava eu de entender porque raio é que a página da Embaixada Britânica em Portugal, tem um link para o Fundo, o tal fundo sem fundo, o fundo dos ex-arguidos McCann?

É no mínimo ofensivo que o embaixador mantenha, tal como a Leicestershire Police Constabulary [ LPC é um serviço especializado de entrega de flores ao domicilio em Rothley] um link para o Madeleine's Fund: Leaving No Stone Unturned Limited Company.

E digo isto porque, contrariamente ao que os menos atentos ainda não perceberam, em parte devido aos outros que tentam distorcer os factos - O casal McCann não foi ilibado nem inocentado; um arquivamento prematuro de um processo de investigação criminal não iliba nem acusa.

No entanto é preciso não esquecer, e deixar bem explícito que o processo de investigação ao casal McCann (sim, porque já não é o da Madeleine) foi arquivado antes do término da investigação criminal, a qual se encontrava a cargo da Polícia Judiciária. Adivinhando-se, aliás, já ser esse o destino (o arquivamento) a partir do momento em que a investigação deixou de ter como possível a tese de rapto por não existirem quaisquer provas que a sustentassem e uma absurda quantidade de incongruências que a opunham; e quando passou a ser considerada como mais provável, pelas evidências encontradas, a «morte acidental, o homicídio por negligência e a subsequente ocultação de cadáver».

O arquivamento “foi quase confirmado” pela substituição do ex-coordenador da Polícia Judiciária Gonçalo Amaral pelo Paulo Rebelo em Outubro de 2007, e consumado a Junho de 2008. Mas, a Procuradoria-Geral da República deixou sempre em aberto que “poderão ter lugar a reclamação hierárquica, o pedido de abertura de instrução ou a reabertura do inquérito, requeridos por quem tiver legitimidade para tal” acrescentando ainda que “No entanto, o inquérito pode vir a ser reaberto se o Ministério Público assim o entender ou a requerimento de algum dos interessados caso surjam novos elementos de prova que originem diligências sérias, pertinentes e consequentes.”

Concluindo, apesar da investigação não ter tido tempo para obter as “provas conclusivas” necessárias que permitissem levar o casal a julgamento, as autoridades oficiais que investigaram o caso defendem, e defenderam sob juramento no Palácio da Justiça em Lisboa, nos meses iniciais de 2010, que não tem “quaisquer dúvidas que a criança faleceu no apartamento 5A” do Ocean Club na Praia da Luz, e que “os pais estão envolvidos na ocultação do cadáver da criança”.

Não me parece que nenhuma das declarações acima mencionadas seja passível de ser interpretada como uma declaração de inocência que ilibe totalmente ou sequer parcialmente o casal McCann de ausência de culpa e a ti?

Como vês, as cogitações sobre os últimos 3 anos já me (nos) transportaram em círculo para um presente onde tudo se mantêm quase na mesma; estou em crer que ainda há-de haver uma ou outra surpresa antes do casal voltar a tentar suprimir a inalienável realidade dos factos pela intimidação e pela censura.

Indubitavelmente, se vivêssemos num mundo Huxleyano idealizado pelos McCann também a suprimiriam (à verdade) da nossa memória colectiva; ditosamente nem com uma overdose massiva de Soma nos apagam a memória.

De facto existe uma pequena teimosa pedra, que jamais será levantada, debaixo da bota que o casal calçou: é que a Verdade é persistente, resiliente; e tal como o Azeite vem sempre ao de cima!

Bom, tenho que ir ali dar de comer aos gatos, não vá dar-se o caso de toparem com um rato,

Um beijinho, e um abraço amigo, continuação de bom Verão

Joana M.

Lisboa, 3 de Agosto 2010

Addendum: Reproduzo aqui as esclarecedoras palavras de um outro querido amigo, uma resposta a um néscio que achou “muito bem” que o livro tivesse sido censurado.

Devo realmente ser de uma ingenuidade a toda a prova. Sim, porque, se a sua tese estiver correcta (se bem entendi, essa tese resume-se a uma palavra, e essa palavra é “dinheiro”), então Maddie foi mesmo raptada por um pedófilo. Mr. Mitchell largou o posto que tinha por amor à verdade. Os pais da criança não ganharam absolutamente nada com a história. Não há nem nunca houve qualquer envolvimento do MI5, logo, do Governo britânico, e, no fim, de contas, este caso é igualzinho a todos os outros desaparecimentos não resolvidos.

Portanto, na mesma lógica (meia dúzia de desvalidos mentais, entre os quais eu próprio, que se equivocaram em toda a linha), se o livro tivesse sido publicado por simples amor à “causa”, isto é, inteiramente de borla para os leitores, então a tese do assassinato e ocultação de cadáver já teria credibilidade? Não coloca, por conseguinte, sequer a hipótese de o livro surgir porque este homem foi (além de demitido, mas isso é “amendoins”) absolutamente e vergonhosamente enxovalhado, e foi isso o que o levou a defender-se como pôde e pode? E se o livro provocar – de alguma forma – a reabertura do processo, isso também não é justificação suficiente, ao menos a nível das intenções subjacentes?

Realmente, se nada disto tiver ponta por onde se lhe pegue, devo reconhecer sem quaisquer caganças que não me serviu de nada andar por cá há 48 anos, e que não fiz outra coisa neste tempo todo senão ver passar os comboios.

Acho que o H. está, se me permite a franqueza, redondamente enganado neste particular.

Mas enfim, é como diz, nisso tem toda a razão, “se todos podem opinar, eu também opino…”

P.S.: Muito a propósito, o casal McCann ameaça processar todos os blogs que sequer “discutam” A Verdade da Mentira. Infelizmente, não especificam se são todos, se são só os que “discutem” o livro para dizer mal deles, casal, ou se estão excluídos os blogs que “discutem” o dito livro para desancar no autor e para louvar o também dito casal de extremosos progenitores.

Nota a 4 de Agosto 2010: “O processo Freeport é o terceiro mais caro da história judicial portuguesa, depois de Camarate e da investigação ao desaparecimento de Madeleine McCann. Implicou diversas diligências, entre perícias e viagens ao estrangeiro, e todos os meios estiveram ao dispor dos investigadores.”

29 Jul 2010, Edição Público Porto, pág. 9