h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Also, re:social services 'inactivity' I believe they are not allowed to do anything while a family(i.e. parents) that has, alledgely, possibly, maybe done something wrong re: their kids are not in tyhe UK/have not returned to the UK. Therefore, social service could not do anything until last week i.e. investigate whetehr anything has, possibly, maybe been done improperly by any parents in question.

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Um, she's not been seen without make-up, or highlights, or different clothes every day. Or the toy which she washed, when anyone else would have treasured the smell of their daughter.

Are we sure it's Maddie's and not Kate's? The only pic I've seen of Maddie with a toy is the one with the sonic screwdriver.

Supporters of Everton FC are really unlucky aren't they?

He means is Maddie wearing make up.

SoRB

Holy cow!

Little girls do like to emulate Mummy though. We shouldn't ready anything into that. Only the results aren't normally nearly so... professional.

ready = read

Anyone see ITV's programme yesterday evening about this case?

I thought it was somewhat biased in the McCann's favour rather than being totally impartial, but it did introduce some aspects not previously aired.

Oh christ will these people never shut up? I get home and what's on the radio news? Shiny new PR spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, paid for by an annonymous benefactor, saying the usual old twaddle, blah blah blah. "feels so so strongly they are innocent", "loving family" etc etc etc. Why don't they just let things die down as there are no concrete developments? Can they not bear to be out of the news for one bloody day?

But no matter how many Archbishops and Popes, how many business tycoons, how many rich benefactors, how many PR consultants they sign up; how many prayers and hail Marys they say, they can never erase the one cold hard fact that they will probably always be remembered for. They chose to leave their three children, all under four, alone one evening, whilst they went out eating and drinking with their mates. And on that evening one of them disappeared.

Yep. That about sums it up for me too, Fanny.

W

This post has been removed.

I missed that one. What'd it say?

Fanny,

I totally agree also. If leaving the kids, and losing one, is the only 'crime' they committed it is bad enough. I hope this will disrupt their calm, ordered and "well connected" lives.

Though having so much of the 'twaddle' people are persuaded to overlook the initial decisions they made. Not me!

Novo

>>I hope this will disrupt their calm, ordered and "well connected" lives.<<

In case you hadn't noticed Novo, that is exactly what has happened. I don't want this because it can only harm their other kids. That's why I'm suggesting they keep a lower profile for a while. Although they probably feel concerned about all the suggestions of *evidence* coming out in the press. I think people will quickly tire of that unless anything concrete comes out and charges are brought. I think all their counter PR stuff is just stoking the fires because it will sell newspapers.

>> Though having so much of the 'twaddle' people are persuaded to overlook the initial decisions they made<<

That's exactly what I'm not saying, because I suggested that they'd always be remembered for that.

Hi Fanny

Yes I had noticed, one would have to have lived in isolation to not be bombarded with it. My concern is that the publicity was carefully engineered to concentrate minds on the loss, not on the decisions which brought it about.

I too want the decisions to be remembered. I do not want the twins to have to live with the results, so to speak, but the McCanns ...Yes

Novo

Interesting bit in the Register about the media storm around the case and why it is happening:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/09/19/will_davies_tv_torture/

just one quote from it I found interesting:-
"Most grippingly of all, we have no idea what genre of story we are watching, so have no idea how or when it might end. To an extent, the same was true of the hit American drama Lost. But reality TV from the news department is always a one-off - there will be no sequel."

Hence the constant mantra: the parents had nothing to do with the abduction...um, yes they did: they left the children alone in a flat...

There's been a lot of attention paid to what the police found in the car, but not why they were looking at it.

Indeed. The question of why the car became a focus of investigation is a question I've only seen even *asked* here, on h2.

SoRB

The fact that it has not been mentioned anywhere else seems a bit strange. I just assumed that because they had no definite leads anywhere else it would seem obvious to check for evidence there as the police know that near relatives should always be considered suspects. I can't really go into detail about what I assume they were suspecting or this post will be yikesed.

Interestingly, I think the hire car only became a subject of interest after the British police became more involved. I would have thought they probably had much more experience of crimes like this than the Portuguese police. Their previous experience of certain crimes may have indicated that it was well worth investigating the hire car.

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If I repost, it'll just be modded again. I'll emailthen perhaps you can tell me what was potentially libellous or defamatory about it