Libel damages for the McCanns

[Workingman]

Apart from straw men arguments what have these other cases to do with the McCanns and Maddie?

[moondancer]

Apart from straw men arguments what have these other cases to do with the McCanns and Maddie?

Simply that someone said most child murders are carried out by family members or family friends.

I pointed out that was not always the case.

Does anyone honestly believe that in the time frame the McCanns could actually have disposed of her body leaving no trace whatsoever and it was never found despite intensive searches for years and years ?

She was abducted, taken away , probably for a paedophile gang, and then murdered, possibly not even in Portugal at all.

I'd stake my life on the fact that those two had absolutely nothing to do with her disappearance at all.

They wouldn't even be under suspicion were it not for the fact that people are disgusted she was left alone.

They may well be correct, but that doesn't mean they had anything at all to do with her probable death.

[Workingman]

Does anyone honestly believe that in the time frame the McCanns could actually have disposed of her body leaving no trace whatsoever and it was never found despite intensive searches for years and years ?

There are two time frames. One is from the time Maddie was picked up from the play area to the moment of "They have taken her!". The other is from the time the McCanns left the apartment to the moment of "They have taken her!". Who knows what was possible?

She was abducted, taken away , probably for a paedophile gang, and then murdered, possibly not even in Portugal at all.

Supposition without any proof whatsoever: not one iota. A more probable scenario is that Maddie woke up and not finding mum or dad in the apartment wandered outside and got lost in the dark. Her apparent abduction would then be an opportunist act.

Whatever the case, the McCanns were, are, guilty of a form of child neglect, and that has never been followed up by the relevant authorities. Their freely taken trip to the 'out of sight' tapas bar for wine and nibbles with friends makes them culpable in whatever happened to Maddie. It is that action, and their relentless endeavours to deflect blame from themselves, which gains them so much antipathy in some quarters.

[Kaz]

Simply that someone said most child murders are carried out by family members or family friends.

I pointed out that was not always the case.

.

That's why I (as it was me) said most, not all Most are, that is a fact. There are however very few facts indeed that can be corroborated about this case, certainly not that it was impossible or unthinkable that the McCanns were involved. Nobody can say they definitely weren't any more than it can be said they definitely were! We are all just giving our opinion, and unless the truth ever emerges - which is most unlikely after 8 years - it will be just that. Opinion and supposition.......

[medsec222]

If they were involved in the murder of Madeline why would they continue to carry on with the search. Surely human nature would be to let the dust settle and then keep quiet.

[Workingman]

Meds, the idea that Maddie died in an accident was put forward at the time of the original investigation and it never went away. However, the McCanns hired PR man Clarence Mitchell to manipulate the media and relentlessly push the abduction scenario as the only possibility for what happened to Maddie.

One theory presented at the time, and carried in just about every news medium, was that Maddie had been given an overdose of the sleeping draught use to calm the children. Had that been the case the careers of the McCanns, both doctors, would be over. The hypothesis went that abduction became the cover for the accident and that is why the search was pushed and pushed and pushed.

Now I recognise that the above is way off-the-wall, but I am betting that if it was put forward as the basis for a fictional book or film, long before Maddie, it would have gone down as an exceptional thriller.

[moondancer]

Whatever the case, the McCanns were, are, guilty of a form of child neglect, and that has never been followed up by the relevant authorities. Their freely taken trip to the 'out of sight' tapas bar for wine and nibbles with friends makes them culpable in whatever happened to Maddie. It is that action, and their relentless endeavours to deflect blame from themselves, which gains them so much antipathy in some quarters.

Exactly my point !

They are suspected of being involved in her disappearance for exactly that reason !

I don't hear many people speaking out about the other 4 families who also left their children unattended.

But because the McCanns were the ones who should have the most sympathy because their mistake ended in tragedy, the opposite has happened and they are vilified and abused.

Which is not only wrong but cruel.

They are suffering unbelievably through the loss of their daughter and this is made worse by people who are accusing them of something they have patently not done.

It makes me furious.

[Nanna]

Me too MD.

[Workingman]

I don't hear many people speaking out about the other 4 families who also left their children unattended..

Most of the tapas group were ignored by the media as its total focus was on the McCanns. They were only bit-part players. I bet few people can even recall any of their names except for Jane Tanner.

But because the McCanns were the ones who should have the most sympathy because their mistake ended in tragedy, the opposite has happened and they are vilified and abused.

That is not quite the case. Maddie gets sympathy from every quarter, and the McCanns do get some sympathy for their loss, but that does not prevent criticism of them.

It is their actions in the immediate short and medium, and even long term, after what happened to Maddie, that gets them so much antipathy.

* The immediate reaction of there being an abduction - They(?) have taken her
* Kate phoning an acquaintance in the media in the middle of the night to get them 'on board'
" Hiring Clarence Mitchell (at enormous cost) to manipulate the media and push the abduction scenario
* Having 'word perfect' answers to question - no discrepancies of any sort
* An audience with the Pope
* Appearing on Oprah!

I am sorry, MD and Nanna, but I do not give any credence to the abduction theory - there is not a shred of evidence for it. I prefer to believe that the McCanns did not do her any harm, but that Maddie woke and in a confused state from a sleeping draught wandered off to look for mummy and daddy.......

Go on google maps and search for: R. Dr. Francisco Gentil Martins, Praia da Luz. The McCanns' apartment is on the corner with R. Dr. Agostinho da Silva. Choose Earth view and zoom in and have a good look around. Take a walk around the streets. Now imagine that you are three, going on four, and it is dark and you are sleepy.

[moondancer]

* The immediate reaction of there being an abduction - They(?) have taken her
* Kate phoning an acquaintance in the media in the middle of the night to get them 'on board'
" Hiring Clarence Mitchell (at enormous cost) to manipulate the media and push the abduction scenario
* Having 'word perfect' answers to question - no discrepancies of any sort
* An audience with the Pope
* Appearing on Oprah!

.

I would do all of that and much much more if I thought it would help to find her.

And "an audience with the Pope"....are you actually blaming them for that ?????