Justifications, Like Details, You Can Have Too Many

Update. Joe Wilson/Plame on Dubya's memoir.


Particularly when you're trying to absolve yourself from starting a war of aggression and being tagged as a war criminal and mass murderer.

And it has to be said, there's no justification like self justification; and not for one minute do I have to remind you of that little castle in the sky.

I read on two subjects yesterday, the first being George Dubya's latest passel of lies in his forthcoming memoir, Decision Points, crayons optional. And t'other, the scribblings of Keir Simmons.

But of all that I read, one thing jumped off the page more than any other. Let me deal with that first then I can move on. See if you can pick out in these few lines just what that something might be?

In clips from a wide-ranging interview in advance of the publication this week of Mr Bush's memoir Decision Points, the former president also discussed his widely-reported decision to give up drinking at his 40th birthday.

"I didn't like the person I was," he said, noting his preference for beer, martini and bourbon. "I was a drinker. Now, I wasn't a knee-walking drunk."

Mr Bush agreed with interviewer Matt Lauer's suggestion that he was a "habitual drinker" rather than an alcoholic. source

Yes that's the bit, kind of sets the tone for what kind of interview one might expect.

(pics below are from the early days, so they might be a tad amateurish in places.)

A few talking points then regarding Bush Forty Three, aka Dubya.

Three people were waterboarded, now call me a tad cynical, but I do have a little trouble with that figure.

The next few lines are not without interest, shedding a little light on Tony Blair's, what I can only describe as a runaway attitude and supportive of Dubya's little folly whole heartedly, no matter what the cost. In short, George and Tony's private war.

I will say though, that the arrogant little fuck has lost none of his arrogance, special relationship did I hear you mention?

With arrogance only matched by his shamelessness, the Forty Third President of the United States of America, treats us to another of his innumerable little gems regarding the present day lot of the Iraqis, post invasion. I won't even give the man the comfort of tagging him deluded on that little issue.

But nothing comes close, as you can well imagine, nothing comes close to Bush's shear audacity as when he treats us to lies, so abject, so utterly contemptible, as when he talks of his disappointment in there being no WMD in Iraq. Mind you I don't want to be so terribly unfair to Dubya, we do need to spare a thought for Tony, 45 minutes, Blair, when all said and done.

Mr Bush's memoir, Decision Points, is being serialised in the Times.

In an interview with the paper the former president said: "Three people were waterboarded and I believe that decision saved lives.".........

.........In Mr Bush's interview with The Times, the 64-year-old former president described his close relationship with Tony Blair, but was dismissive of public opinion in Britain about the war in Iraq.

"It doesn't matter how people perceive me in England. It just doesn't matter any more. And frankly, at times, it didn't matter then," he said.

Mr Bush said when Mr Blair faced a possible vote of no confidence in Parliament on the eve of war, he offered him the chance to opt out of sending British troops into Iraq.

However, Mr Blair told him: "I'm in. If it costs the government, fine."




Mr Bush said he still had "a sickening feeling" about the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

But he defended his decision to invade Iraq, saying Iraqi citizens were better off without the former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and the US was better off without Saddam pursuing biological or chemical weapons.

Mr Bush admits that he was shocked when no weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq after the 2003 invasion. source



We all know the bottom line concerning this shabby pair, of course we do. But as Bill Maher says,"You can't lie anymore." (with the internet) Sorry video pulled. Never mind, try this pertaining to 1999.

War on my mind

By Russ Baker

Houston: Two years before the September 11 attacks, presidential candidate George W. Bush was already talking privately about the political benefits of attacking Iraq, according to his former ghost writer, who held many conversations with then-Texas Governor Bush in preparation for a planned autobiography.

“He was thinking about invading Iraq in 1999,” said author and journalist Mickey Herskowitz. “It was on his mind. He said to me: ‘One of the keys to being seen as a great leader is to be seen as a commander-in-chief.’ And he said, ‘My father had all this political capital built up when he drove the Iraqis out of Kuwait and he wasted it.’ He said, ‘If I have a chance to invade….if I had that much capital, I’m not going to waste it. I’m going to get everything passed that I want to get passed and I’m going to have a successful presidency.” more

So much for WMD.

Before we leave our erstwhile President, just a note on Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. If you were following the story at the time you would know just what the man held his hand up for, about the only thing he didn't cop to was the Kennedy assassination, but then I'm not so sure about that. So much for the quality of intel resulting from torture.

Right, the other fellow then, and yes I'll also hold my hand up to cherry picking, but at the end of the day I'm doing no more than playing by the oppositions' rules.

Why I was prepared to stand up for journalism and stand up to Lily Allen.
Keir Simmons 22 July, 2010

Which is why it worried me so much that last night Lily Allen accused Channel 4 News of only targeting Zac Goldsmith because he is rich. In other words she questioned the motives of Channel 4 News and their integrity…………

And that would never do would it, I mean who are we to question Channel 4? But wasn't it Channel 4 that brought us.......
I think that statement more than anything epitomises the attitude of Simmons, as described by John Blacksmith in the post below this.

…………It seems to be fashionable to attack journalists and journalism these days. And we should be able to take the criticism and be forced to defend our decisions like anyone else. But it’s worth remembering how crucial to democracy journalism is and that in general journalists’ guiding principles are to tell people what’s happening and to question those in power.
Indeed for their investigation Channel 4 News worked with the ‘Bureau of Investigative Journalism’, a not for profit organisation that aims to promote the kind of difficult journalism that is under threat in these difficult times.
Difficult times in which it’s worth remembering the old adage ‘don’t shoot the messenger’ and perhaps adding another, ‘you’ll miss us when we’re gone’. source

But it’s worth remembering how crucial to democracy journalism is. Stop for fucks sake. And.

and perhaps adding another, ‘you’ll miss us when we’re gone’. Just like I'd miss Leprosy, what a puffed up delusional fuckwit if ever there was.

Keir Simmons 6 July, 2010

At ITV News our fundamental purpose is to discover the truth and share it with our viewers.Yet there are rare occasions when we agree to put that aim on hold. Yesterday was one such occasion………..

..........We hate it when we can’t tell people everything we know. It goes against everything we stand for. But we also know that ITV viewers expect us to act responsibly. Over the last 24 hours that is what we have done. (a Raoul Moat story)

I think I'm starting to loose the will to live. Last dollop.

Keir Simmons 11 June, 2010

What is the job of journalism? It is to spread word, to ask questions, to hold to account – all of them noble principles. Which is fine in principle, the trouble is doing the job can be not very noble at all.

Because beyond the principles of journalism are real people, suffering real heartache. Their story may need to be shared with the nation, it may raise crucial questions that must be answered, but it is also their life.

A reporter should never forget that our stories aren’t just stories.
At ITV News we are daily faced with the challenge of reconciling our duty to report the story with our duty to care about the people we report on. The two do not always fit neatly together – far from it at times…………………..

……..And as ever – I will welcome your feedback as to whether we strike the right balance between the fair and the firm, the inquisitive and the intrusive. After all ITV News is, ultimately, about the people who watch us. source

Noble! bleedin' noble! principles of journalism! For fuck's sake! one of us needs locking up, but in the meantime, I've got me razor blades, got me box of matches, and all I need now is a busy intersection where I can play.

And let me leave you with this pearl, it is a permanent fixture in the side bar at Only in America.

I think the Iraqi people owe the American people a huge debt of gratitude, and I believe most Iraqis express that. I mean, the people understand that we've endured great sacrifice to help them. That's the problem here in America. They wonder whether or not there is a gratitude level that's significant enough in Iraq.view 60 Minutes 1/14/07

Keir Simmons: John Blacksmith On a Role

And ain't he just. Plus more below.

We just hate – but they know
by John Blacksmith


Despite the quote I gave from Boris Johnson, describing how he, a journalist and editor to his fingertips before he became mayor of London, now used Google as his primary source of information, poor old Keir Simmons just doesn’t get it, does he?

Let’s make allowances for his seriously gungy life’n’ style page heading – “How long, oh lord, how long?” – we all have a salary to earn after all - and treat the man as if he were a serious player with something to say worth analysing. An ITV newsman. I know, I know.

Good ol’ Keir’s case amounts to this:

He was in PDL in the twenty four hours after the disappearance. He is a journalist. He knows all about the case because he is a journalist and knows these things. He has decided that Gerry & Kate McCann are not just likeable, which he knows because they have let him get “close” to them, but beyond suspicion. We are cruel and wrong. He has spoken.

I mean, really.

Do you remember travel agents? There used to be a couple of them on every high street. They were people who were “experts” in travel. They rented an office and took perks from the people who were plugging hotels, resorts, car hire and the rest. Then they sat their arses in front of computer screens containing the schedules and prices – for flights, hotel rooms, whatever. And then they took your money and told you how to have a holiday. Experts, you know.

One day people suddenly started thinking, wait a minute, I can afford a computer now, I can look at the screen myself, instead of paying someone to look at it for me. Then they found out that the travel agent wasn’t really an expert at all, he was just reading from the screen. And then they clocked that all those special offers plugging certain holiday places weren’t kosher but were based on what nice Mr Travel Agent had been told, sold or perked. more

I've only just read this, the price of a day off I suppose. If you haven't already, enjoy.

My, how things can move
by John Blacksmith

This blog began when we discovered that the witness list for the Lisbon hearings in January this year had the Dirty Pair and their team staggering for the first time since October 2007.

There have been many ups and downs since that week when the lights burned late into the night while the group struggled to think of something – anything – that would help them cope with what was emerging. For the very first time the parents began to realise that amongst all the soap-opera phantoms they and their group had created – abductors, paedophiles, allies at the heart of government, all that tawdry Scouse fiction - there was somebody real: Goncalo Amaral was not only an enemy but a very dangerous one indeed. So dangerous that they couldn’t even discuss their deepest fears with Mitchell.

Always willing to help the Bureau pointed out to interested readers – and they included the loathsome Coffin – that, yes, Goncalo Amaral was engaged with them in a fight, a proper fight, not PR crap from people like Mitchell who’d only ever confronted real struggle as a voyeur from the media sidelines, not battles for a bigger NHS hospital budget from provincial doctors but a genuine fight that really – yes, really - was going to end with either he or they being destroyed.

The soap opera that they created is now being pushed aside by a genuine drama: not the cheapo version of their deprived imaginations but something as strange and disturbing as any No Country for Old Men script: a fight to the finish before our eyes.

And just as they struggled and gasped in January 2010 now, as things move towards the climax, they are struggling again but with fewer options and less hope.

The media suspect what is going on; some politicians have sensed what is happening and are quietly backing away from the case.The Bureau has, shall we say, a feeling about what is taking place. The supporters of the pair, however – there were 3 million plus of them when the fund was set up, 30 000 plus now – are out of the loop: bafflement has taken over.

Enjoy Lisbon, Gerry.

Keir Simmons Hack

Unedited

I wasn't going to bother giving attention to yet another tedious, inaccurate serving of sycophantic drivel in defence of the McCanns. Until that was, John Blacksmith decided to pen a reply to this embodiment of English journalism, Keir Simmons. Thus, by virtue of Blacksmith's reply, allowing me to post Simmons' tripe without the tedium of picking the thing apart.

I would however like to pick on one or two points that John Blacksmith, I won't say omits, but rather doesn't cover, if for no other reason than my two'pennorth doesn't fall within the structure of his reply.

From the very outset, the header gives us a hint of just what we might expect in the way objectivity from Mister Simmons, and be assured he doesn't disappoint.

No Mister Simmons far from disappoints when he treats us to pearls such: I can say today with confidence that the police hunt for Madeleine was utterly inadequate. Thus spaketh the hack, with confidence no less. From what I have read of the process, I can say with confidence and more, the investigation was far from inadequate, but then I have read the files.

Next up: Good journalists Perhaps you might furnish us with a name or two Mister Simmons, I would be more than interested who might fall into this category. In fact I would more likely be astounded by those on which you would bestow such a title.

But there is something you write that I agree wholeheartedly with, in fact I endorse it unequivocally from the bottom of my heart. we lost our balance You don't say? but you do! and still suffering such vertigo that no doubt your knuckles be so terribly sore. Some journalists lost the plot. Let me ignore that little gem, for haven't you already given us so much in so few lines.

Good journalists under pressure from London took far too many risks with the truth. Collectively in my honest view, we lost our balance. Some journalists lost the plot.

As equally as I shall ignore the poor parents and The suffering they are enduring, unimaginable as it may be. Because there is one little pearl, one little gem that outshines all others, and that little gem be.

At the centre of it all this were two parents who had no idea how to handle such pressure.

How long must Kate and Gerry McCann suffer?
Posted by Keir Simmons. 8 November, 2010

More than three years ago Madeleine McCann vanished from an apartment in a Portugese (sic) seaside town. Madeleine was three years old and 11 months. She has now been missing for almost as long.
She disappeared on the evening of Thursday May 3rd. I arrived in Praia Da Luz the next day. I felt sure she would be found and that I would be back in the UK before the weekend was over. I now know how wrong I was.
So much is easy with hindsight. I can say today with confidence that the police hunt for Madeleine was utterly inadequate. One of the detectives admitted as much in a newspaper article this weekend. I didn’t once see officers searching apartments in the area.
I look back at the media’s coverage of the events that would unfold with deep disappointment. Good journalists under pressure from London took far too many risks with the truth. Collectively in my honest view, we lost our balance. Some journalists lost the plot.
At the centre of it all this were two parents who had no idea how to handle such pressure. The last time I saw Kate and Gerry McCann was at a news conference around a year ago. They looked as shell shocked as when I first saw them – perhaps more so. The suffering they are enduring is unimaginable.
And yet, there continues to be a group of individuals who use the internet to attack these two poor parents. I hear from them all the time via Twitter. They demand that I investigate this or that “if you don’t you’re not a reporter” one informed me recently. After a report I produced for NBC News over the weekend I was subjected to a torrent of abusive messages – one suspects they are co-ordinating their attacks for best effect.... more blah blah

Dear Keir Simmons
by John Blacksmith

“But why should two parents who have suffered so much continue to have this groundless campaign against them?”

So glad that you wanted some feedback and I hope that someone will forward this to you or twitter you the link. First, by way of a taster, can I quote what the mayor of London wrote this morning about the BBC journalists’ strike, which you will note brought the country to its knees?

“I consume vast quantities of news – but almost entirely without the assistance of the BBC. I get up early and read a fair quantity of newsprint, notably this paper and the FT. But if I then switch on my computer and go to Google news, I can see what everyone is reading across the planet.

You don't have to wait and fume for a quarter of an hour while some egotistical journalist tries to skewer some temporising politician. You don't have to worry about the bias of programme editors, because the sheer multiplicity of sources enables you to shake out the bias and work out what is really going on. You can find it all out in your own time, and it usually takes about five minutes.”

That’s the world you now work in, Mr Simmons. more The Bureau

Anna Andress has a word or two to say about Keir Simmons, but in not quite the forgiving way as myself.

Play the Google Image Game

Given the shameless bias that we have come to expect from the whores of Fleet Street, aka the British media, I am pleased to tell you there is still one impartial game in town, Google images.

A very quick game in the learning, producing more often than not, an interesting, if not indeed an entertaining result.

Let me start you off with a three worder, most others being just the two. As with all quests for knowledge, switch the censorship, the safe search, to off, not to do so is to ask someone else to think for you, and that would never do.

With the safe search off then, type in, Jim Gamble, and enter. Next, Jim Gamble CEOP, and enter. And finally, Jim Gamble CEOP cunt, and enter.

Then you can carry on after that playing mix n match with your favourite McCann character. A few suggestions in the graphic, but I'm sure you can use your own imagination to further the game. Have fun.


Footnote: Try matching fuckdog to one of our featured characters.

Disclaimer and Blog News

Any comments left by me elsewhere on the net are under the handle of, and only, Himself, and wherever possible under my Blogger/Google ID.

Comments are still open, I was a tad pissed at the time, not pissed pissed, pissed off.

To the poster who recommended "Who Framed Colin Wallace" if finally arrived today.

Said the Librarian, "You won't be loosing it will you, because it's from the British Library and it's a hundred pounds if you do?

I'll try not to says I.

And lastly, as much as I would have liked to have kept the "advertisement" for A Verdade Da Mentira - The Truth About The Lie, at the top of the page, I am unfortunately going to have to let it slide, for I intend to open up Only in America and restart blogging on subjects in general. Starting here with, A Tale of Two Twats.

H

Spare a Bit of Dosh?

I hear on the grapevine that Nigel at the McCann Files is feeling the pinch somewhat, and that a little love would be greatly welcomed.

As you can all appreciate the McCann Files is a very valuable resource that we can ill afford to loose. Evidently there is a real danger of this happening, the site is in peril for want of some kindly donations to offset the running costs.

Might I therefore ask you show some kindness to our comrade in arms and put a long arm in a short pocket.

For donations, on the main page, go to the bottom of the left hand side bar and click the Contact/Link button or you can click this direct link. Donations can be made by card or Paypal. Thank you so much.



It's a biggy, click it again once opened.

Daily Mail, I'm Not Surprised You Pulled The Story

I've pulled one or two of my own before today, and they weren't anywhere near as outlandish as Kate McCann's latest rant from the asylum, nowhere near at all.

But it is my sad duty to inform you that you weren't quite quick enough. Seemingly, and understandably, the content being so bizarre, so off the wall, that the story was grabbed by someone who appreciated what the life expectancy of that story might be; might be that is, before someone at the Mail woke up and pulled what I can only describe as a gem.


As for the rest of it, barking mad, your two luvies are barking mad. I do so hope you enjoy a closeness of relationship in the future, as that which you have enjoyed in the past.

It's only fair you must agree, now that the Daily Mail has become so synonymous, so inextricably entwined with the Doctors McCann, that many of us can't tell you apart, see you as one as it were.

And should you doubt my diagnosis regarding the mental health of your venerable pair, might I just ask you to look at the photograph below.

It's there isn't it, it's been there since day one, pity you couldn't see it?

Madeleine’s mother hits out at ‘fluffy worthless promises’ as appeal fund is set to run dry
By Vanessa Allen
Last updated at 10:24 PM on 2nd November 2010

Madeleine McCann’s mother yesterday condemned politicians for their ‘fluffy, worthless’ promises to help find her missing daughter.

The 42-year-old spoke out as she and husband revealed that their multi-million pound appeal fund will run dry within months.

Kate McCann accused the Government of giving up the hunt for the child who went missing shortly before her fourth birthday. She said a series of ministers had shrugged off her pleas for help.
Tireless: Kate and Gerry McCann have warned the fund to find their missing daughter will run out of money
‘I don’t want to be appeased, and that’s what I feel we’re getting. We need action, I don’t need fluffy worthless words,’ she said.

The couple have written an open letter, begging for political and financial help and launched an online petition to lobby the British and Portuguese governments for a formal review of the case.
Mr McCann said: ‘We have tried in vain to get the authorities to play their part but our requests have seemingly fallen on deaf ears.’

Madeleine vanished in 2007 during a family holiday in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz.

Huge effort: Madeleine McCann went missing in May 2007
Portuguese police shelved an 18-month investigation into the disappearance after clearing her parents as formal suspects, and the case has remained closed.

Mr and Mrs McCann, of Rothley, Leicestershire, have met a series of ministers in the hope that the case will be re-opened or a cold-case review of the investigation launched.

Their hopes were raised when the Labour government looked at the feasibility of an Interpol review of the disappearance.

But when they met Home Secretary Theresa May in August, they learned the new Home Secretary had not read the report.

The McCanns have used £2million in public donations to pay for private detectives.
But heart consultant Mr McCann, also 42, said the fund would run dry early next year, and begged for donations.

Mrs McCann said: ‘We can’t stop trying to find Madeleine – or at the very least find out what’s happened.’

The Home Office said: ‘The Government wants to ensure that everything feasible is being done to progress the search.’

Update: I see there is a sanitised version back online, hardly surprising I don't suppose; that Vanessa Allen, she does get carried away so when she writes about her darlings.


What a tip of the bonnet, and a mighty flourish of hat, do I owe to poster, "Maebee" for having the foresight to save this... this... do you know; I'm quite at a loss for words to describe it.

How Times Do Change

Looking forward to it with the same zeal that one would have for cleaning out the garage, I finally forced myself to trawl through Only in America and collect up previous graphics to complete me archive But it was rediscovering a couple of early blog posts, that if nothing else, gave way to a wry smile.

My reluctance to blog on the McCann story becomes apparent from the date of my first report, it being twelve days after the event. Given the circus and the incessant press coverage that had surrounded the Natalee Holloway/Aruba disappearance, I think that reluctance was justified.

But given where I stand today, it is the second short post on the subject that now becomes a bit of a hoot.

~ ~ ~

Madeleine McCann Abduction
Tuesday, May 15, 2007

There is some breaking news on this case.

I'm not a criminal profiler but actions like this fit a criminal profile.
Those that voluntary get deeply involved in a case are viewed as highly suspicious and quite often guilty. I'm not jumping to conclusions, let's wait and see.

The search of the property known as Casa Liliana began at 0700 local time on Monday after Sunday Mirror journalist Lori Campbell had spoken to the British Embassy and the police about Mr Murat.

He had become well known to journalists during the search for Madeleine.

Mr Murat, formerly of Hockering, Norfolk, describes himself as half-Portuguese and told reporters he had been helping police with translation work during the investigation.

Circus?
Wednesday June 6

Is it becoming one if it hasn't already? Again I choose not to publish the name, I don't want the blog inundated with the type of reader this story attracts.

Reading the above, logic dictates that there must have been an inbetween post somewhere, now below.

Is This Turning Into a Circus?
Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Whereas I have every sympathy for the parents and share the public's concern for the safety of Madeleine McCann, I cannot help but wonder about certain aspects and motives in this ongoing tragedy.
And now the parents are flying off for an audience with the Pope.

The couple are expected to head for Italy on Tuesday on a private plane provided by a well-wisher before their meeting with Pope Benedict XVI .

Do you recognise the author, he seems a tad familiar, but......

Machiavellian Manipulations and Manifold Machinations of the Mendacious Media

~

Updated and expaded list of shame. Which I can only describe as scandalous.

~

The other alternative was to entitle the piece: You Cannot Be Fucking Serious?

By way of an answer to this question.

Is there a single unbiased, articulate journalist left in the UK? Is there even ONE with the integrity to provide an unbiased, non-emotive rendition of the FACTS about this case?

What I can be serious about however, is my respect and admiration for a person that researches, catalogues, and then goes on to publish a list of such proportions, that I can only describe as mighty.



This isn't the first list by any means that has been presented to us by Winnowing The News. I shouldn't perhaps describe them as lists, that description being too low, too demeaning, too unappreciative of the time and effort that must have gone in to projects thus.

Perhaps catalogues then, or better still encyclopaedias, because they are truly that, encyclopaedic. As too is the other material to be found on the site, be the subject, Goncalo Amaral, Raymond Hewlett or the IRA even. I would even go so far as to say that it wouldn't be a stretch that one day, the archives of the site became an educational tool in the lessons of Media Manipulation.

You have my unmitigated respect Madam.

And perhaps while on the subject, might I ask you to spare a thought, and perhaps an unsolicited thank you now and then, for a woman who's tireless efforts are an inspiration to us all, Joana Morais. Knowing that to produce even the simplest of blog posts can take anything from a couple of hours to kiss the day goodbye, I shudder to think how great the burden of work that the Lady subjects herself to. My many and sincerest thanks Joana.




Right so! what have we got?

The Mail and the BBC, always topical at GQW, let's have a look at just these two beacons of light. I can't lay before you their reporting on the lifting of the injunction on Goncalo Amarals book, A Verdade Da Mentira, The Truth About The Lie, because just like evidence of abduction, there ain't none.

There is only this.

Shameful censorship regarding the ruling of the Lisbon Appeals Court in the Amaral case

BBC

McCanns to sue Portuguese officer 17 May 2009 "...[McCanns] are to sue [Gonçalo Amaral] for defamation..."

Madeleine McCann policeman 'book action' postponed 11 December 2009, BBC News, "...An attempt to overturn the banning of a controversial book claiming Madeleine McCann is dead has been postponed...A Portuguese judge granted an injunction banning the book, ["The Truth of the Lie"] by...Gonçalo Amaral, in September..."

McCanns' Christmas 'heartbreak' . Last updated: 19 Dec 2009 "...Gonçalo Amaral is trying to overturn the banning of his book, The Truth Of The Lie, in which he questions the McCanns' account that Madeleine was taken while they were eating with friends..."

McCanns confident over court case 14 January 2010 BBC, "...Kate McCann says she is confident that a book ["The Truth of the Lie"] written by [Gonçalo Amaral] who led the investigation into her daughter's disappearance will not be published..."

Officer loses McCann book appeal 18 February 2010 "...Gonçalo Amaral has vowed to continue his fight in the European court [Gonçalo Amaral] has failed to overturn a ban on his book ["The Truth of the Lie"] about missing Madeleine McCann..."

Madeleine McCann book appeal lost by detective 18 February 2010, BBC News "... [Gonçalo Amaral] has failed to overturn a ban on his book about missing Madeleine McCann..."

New Madeleine McCann leads filed away, says father 19 February 2010 BBC News, "...[McCanns] spoke to reporters after [Gonçalo Amaral] failed to overturn a ban on his book ["The Truth of the Lie"] about their daughter..."






DAILY MAIL / SUNDAY MAIL

We'll sue cop Sunday Mail, 17 May 2009, Bruce Walker "...Their decision to sue the former police chief is a bid to prevent further publication of [Gonçalo Amaral]'s "deeply offensive" book The Truth of the Lie..."

Maddie detective's book is banned Daily Mail, 10 September 2009, 147 words "...A book that claims Madeleine McCann is dead can no longer be sold, a judge in Lisbon ruled yesterday. [McCanns] were said to see the ruling as a triumph and were 'absolutely delighted' that further publication of ["The Truth of the Lie"] ..."

Show-offs! Ex police chief blasts McCanns; Vanessa Allen Daily Mail, 12 December 2009, 387 words "...[McCanns] have accused [Gonçalo Amaral] of making 'obscene' amounts of money from the high-profile case and have previously won a court injunction to ban the book ["The Truth of the Lie"] from being sold worldwide..."

Kate: I can find a little solace at Maddie resort The Mail on Sunday, 13 December 2009, 447 words, Matt Sandy "...libel case against [Gonçalo Amaral]...The website statement from Kate added: 'As the injunction [against Amaral's book] remains in place, we have no reason to be disappointed..."

Maddie cash to run out in three months Sunday Mail, 13 December 2009, 421 words "...[McCanns]...flew to Portugal last week for a new libel action against [Gonçalo Amaral] , who wrote a book ["The Truth of the Lie"] claiming Madeleine died in an accident, but on Friday the trial was adjourned until next month. It could see them net £1 million - cash that would be immediately diverted to the fund to find Madeleine, who was just about to turn four when she disappeared from their Algarve holiday home in May 2007..."

Detective sued over Maddie is to visit UK The Mail on Sunday, 10 January 2010, 178 words, "...[Gonçalo Amaral] is due to appear in a Lisbon court to fight a £1million libel action brought by the McCanns over his book on the case..."

Jan Moir Column Daily Mail, 15 January 2010, 1994 words, "...The McCanns are back in Portugal...as they continue their libel case against [Gonçalo Amaral]. He is trying to overturn the banning of his book The Truth Of The Lie in which he questions the McCanns' account that Madeleine was taken while they were eating with friends. Indeed, he goes further and accuses them of covering up their daughter's death..."

McCanns shouldn't have left the children alone, say police Daily Mail, 14 January 2010, 651 words, Vanessa Allen "...But he was giving evidence on behalf of Gonçalo Amaral, the detective accused of libelling the McCanns in his bestselling book, Maddie: The Truth of the Lie. [McCanns] took legal action against Mr Amaral over accusations they faked their daughter's abduction to cover up her death while on a family holiday. They won a court injunction banning the sale of the book worldwide and preventing him from repeating the allegations..."

A silly own goal for the airbrushed poster-boy; Daily Mail, 16 January 2010, 1350 words, Platell's People "...[McCanns] say they have no regrets in taking [Gonçalo Amaral] to court for libel, thus subjecting themselves to weeks of lurid accusations in court. They claim Gonçalo Amaral's accusations in his book Maddie -- The Truth Of The Lie have hindered the search for their daughter. For his part, Amaral warns that he will drag the McCanns though the European courts for years..."

So why have they put themselves on trial? ; She's terrifyingly thin. he's boiling with rage. and they're having to sit in silence as a disgraced ex-cop accuses them of covering up Maddie's death... Daily Mail, 16 January 2010, 2281 words, David Jones "...Melodramatically titled Maddie: The Truth Of The Lie, the book had become a best-seller in Portugal by September, when the McCanns won an injunction ordering it to be removed from the shelves..."

Was this Maddie? Revealed, The photo files Portuguese police kept secret... to the fury of the distraught... Daily Mail, 3 March 2010, 832 words, Arthur Martin "...Their existence came to light in a legal action brought by the McCanns against [Gonçalo Amaral] .... They had wanted to stop him airing the slur that they had been involved in their daughter's disappearance..." much more here.

Updated cor bleedin' blimey list here.

A Few Pics And a Re-Up

Not a schadenfreude gallery, it's far too early for that. Just a few oldies to reflect my ruminations of today and for me to extend an invitation to yourselves to join me in sparing a thought for the Tapas Seven, without who's collusion we wouldn't be here today.






How much did y'all accept in damages Fiona? bad move girl, bad move.





The re-up was an afterthought, so pray forgive the duplications.

Heading For Rothley
by John Blacksmith

On the very first page of this blog, we asserted that the McCanns had lied about the case from beginning to end. Perhaps readers thought, oh this is blogland, people make all sorts of claims.
No. We repeat, and it is a matter of record, that Kate & Gerry McCann lied from beginning to end of the investigation into their daughter’s disappearance, a claim that will stand up in the libel courts because it is undeniably true.

It began, as we said, with the parents failing to tell the police the truth in their very first interviews. As the case prosecutor, Mr. Menezes, stated in court, in Lisbon, this month: “the couple lied to police about how long they had left Madeleine alone.”

And it ended with the McCanns claiming through their spokesperson that the final report from that same Mr. Menezes concluding the case in August 2008, “cleared” them. That was also a lie, not a misunderstanding, one which they later embellished by claiming that “the courts” had cleared them. Nowhere does the report clear them.

Now, this is not just a problem for Kate & Gerry McCann. It is a very real problem for their friends, the so-called Tapas 7. Why? Because most members of the group confirmed in their own statements the accuracy of what the couple had told the police. And they did not do so by accident, nor by hearsay. more Blacksmith Beurau

These were my thoughts at the time, having watched the Tapas Seven outside the High Court.

My initial reaction was probably the same as many, disbelief followed by outrage as I witnessed this bunch of Liars fraudulently receiving their Thirty Pieces from Express Newspapers.

But on reflection and having just watched Payne give that statement on behalf of THEM ALL and more importantly on BRITISH SOIL, they, the Tapas Seven or better described as loyal troops, have followed their little Caesar and have crossed the Rubicon.

Crossed the Rubicon, burnt their boats or whatever other metaphor that could be employed, the Tapas have done it in Spades.

This is no unaccountable inaccurate statement made to a foreign police force, this is a statement of record given in Britain and as such their lies are now etched in stone.

It won't be today or tomorrow for that matter, but rest assured there will be a day when they will rue crying hail Caesar.

So says I, drive on Tapas Seven, enjoy your "moment of vindication" but fix it firmly in your mind's eye because your day of vindication is also the day you put your collective heads in collective nooses.

When will the trapdoor spring,? I know not, but believe me, it will and the whole sorry bunch of you will sway gently in the breeze.

You're on the road to Tyburn, you just don't know it yet.

If all else fails, I still believe that one day justice will be done. If for no other reason than there being just too many people in the know of what happened that fateful night in Priai Da Luz.

Too many people directly involved, too many people have waded in this cesspit, this McCann sewer of filth, lies and deceit, and on each and every one of those people a burden of pressure, increased daily I might add, by the McCanns own ill judged and increasingly bizarre and unacceptable behaviour, that at times this pressure must be virtually unbearable.

You might want to repeat that which is already said by many, that these are a callous heartless bunch devoid of any conscience. I think you would be in error were you to do so.

Basically they are little different from you or I or anyone else for that matter, the same strengths and the same frailties that we all posses, though obviously to varying degrees.

And it would be well to remember that there are far more than just these seven that must carry this most unenviable burden on there shoulders, there are plenty more, there are many that can be counted as belonging to this exclusive little club.

One day one of them will crack.

And all the plagues and sorrows known to humanity will come spilling out.



It was some time later that I had this whimsy, whimsy or caprice? whimsy I think, for I recall the description of a caprice from none other than the darling Oscar.

The only difference between a caprice and a life-long passion is that the caprice lasts a little longer."

Did this motley collection of liars have any say in accepting damages from Express Newspapers, or was it in fact presented to them as fait accompli, having been instigated by McCann and his lawyers in order to ensure their silence?

~ ~ ~

Just a small reminder of the time of year.

"Our Maddie" Not Served By UK Media

This is the fourth article in a series by John Blacksmith. If you haven't visited The Bureau of late, I sincerely recommend that you do so for what is always a worthy read.

First article: He Made It

Why Not?
by John Blacksmith

The McCann strategy that has been in place since October 2007 – to silence the expression of all doubts within the UK about their conduct, using all the resources at their disposal, has failed.

The McCanns have had undeniable tactical successes in the last three years: using criminal lawyers to build a powerful defence to the Portuguese claims made against them, suing or wooing the media, returning to the TV screens on both sides of the Atlantic to put their story across. The British public show no overt animosity towards them, and the Portuguese, perhaps surprisingly, have shown little antagonism on their increasingly frequent visits to that country.

The checklist

The Portuguese police: roundly defeated.

The Tapas 7: silent or actively co-operative.

The UK media: brought completely onside or silenced.

The UK police and courts: supportive.

The UK government & parliament: supportive.

The UK public: willing to live and let live.

The Truth of the Lie: unavailable in the UK.

And the price

There is one particularly notable omission from this list of triumphs: Madeleine McCann. The “successes” of the parents completely exclude her. She has received none of the millions of pounds collected and expended by them;the money is almost gone so she will never see any of it;nothing on that win-win checklist has helped her in the slightest. All the victories relate only to the parents, not to her. Knowledge of her fate has not advanced one iota since 10 PM on May 3.

The Portuguese police defeat was a defeat for the child. However understandable Kate McCann’s refusal to answer their questions, however fearful they might have been of the Portuguese system, in defeating the police they took out of the game the body with the greatest knowledge and the greatest resources.

Their domination of the media has served the parents well but not the interests of their daughter: since October 2007 none of the journalists have made their own independent enquiries – which might, just might, have turned up something. The Tapas 7’s blind identification of their own interests with that of the parents has achieved nothing for the child. The steadfast, if passive, support of the UK police and courts has, again, been of great value to the parents: what Lady Hogg et al accomplished for the child is less obvious. And so it goes on, right through the list: every “victory” has been a defeat for the parents’ own flesh and blood.

Right at the bottom of the list we have the Truth of the Lie, whose author, the supposed failure, the “disgraced cop” and persecutor of the parents, is the only person actually working for the re-opening of the case in order to discover what happened to the child.

The parents are manifestly not doing so, since despite their absurd calls for a supranational enquiry into the case, they have failed to take the one action that could get it re-opened tomorrow morning: a statement that they and the Tapas 7 wished to return to Portugal to assist the investigation unreservedly, without lengthy legal argument and negotiation, in clarifying the discrepancies in their original statements: that would produce, one way or another, the “significant new evidence” required for a formal re-opening. The efforts of the McCanns’ own so-called “investigators”, that rabble of crooks and failures on whom the McCanns have lavished something like half a million pounds of Madeleine’s money, are not even worthy of discussion.

But that is not the full extent of their failure. The strategy of ensuring their own freedom and either silence or compliance with their opinions in the UK obviously implied that one day they and their other children would be left alone to get on with their lives: all doubts about them “expunged”, as the BBC was happy to allow nice Mr Smethurst to say on their airwaves.

It is now over two years since the report came out that might have offered them closure, about their own fate and reputation if not that of their child. With the developments in the Portuguese courts the likelihood is that the libel case against Amaral cannot be fully resolved before 2012 at the earliest. Whatever happens the Truth of the Lie will always be available over the internet. And there is nothing to suggest that a live Madeleine McCann will turn up. more

Paul Dacre Daily Mail Your Silence Speaks Volumes

What gives mister Dacre, I would have thought this story would have been right up your street, just your cup of Darjeeling so to speak?

I do think you are missing the boat with this one Paul, I really do. Good heavens man, there's enough McCann Agony in this one story alone to keep you going for months, and proper agony it will be at that, this you can believe. But we don't hear a word from you, not a one.

I seem to be quoting this bloke a lot of late, I hate being repetitive but it just fits the bill perfectly as it were. In fact given the circumstances of last week it's almost as if Mister Orwell wrote it with you and all your chums in mind. I mean come on, even you would have to admit the bonnet ain't a bad fit at all, not at all it ain't.

‘Do remember that dishonesty and cowardice always have to be paid for. Don’t imagine that for years on end you can make yourself the boot-licking propagandist of the McCanns*, or any other régime, and then suddenly return to mental decency. Once a whore, always a whore.’ As I Please (*Soviet Regime)

But I'm not so sure now, about it being perfect that is, not after reading this bit anyway: then suddenly return to mental decency. You know where I'm going with this don't you Mister Dacre, returning to 'mental decency,' although I'm sure that should read 'moral decency,' no matter, either word is academic as you can well imagine. Returning to mental, or to moral decency is not an option open to you is it? Your colours are so firmly nailed to the McCann mast that I'm sure even a creature such as yourself wouldn't for shame scurry rat-like from the the leaking SS McCann.

In a nutshell, if you'll pardon the mixed metaphors, you are up a gum tree Mister Dacre' up a gum tree without a paddle. And to add to your woes, the sharks are circling, they can smell blood and they are hungry, circling for three years now, constantly suffering a deficient and enduring diet of pap and drivel. Courtesy, I hardly need to add, of your dear self and your dear chums. The sharks circle, and they wait; and ask not for whom they wait, they wait for you.

~

Now talking of 'McCann Agony' you might expect any link I offer would be to some of the monumental amount of 'McCann Agony' that Paul Dacre has previously printed in his little rag. It is to the Mail I'm going to send you though, but to another story of a 'Mother's Agony' the who's agony you will have to see for yourself, for I don't think you would believe me if I told you.

This particular article has no equal, it is peerless, and it is so for a number of reasons that will become all too apparent, and it is with that, that might I ask of you with the know how, can you please save the page for posterity. I am assuming this can be done?

Oh deary me, I've just found a gem at the bottom of the page.

David Rose has been investigating miscarriages of justice for 25 years and has written several books on the subject.

Just like Paul Dacre has been an editor for .......whatever.




English translation of the full text of the Appellate Court decision that recently overturned the ban on Dr. Gonçalo Amaral's book, “Maddie - A Verdade da Mentira”, which has been commonly known to English-speaking people as “Maddie - The Truth of The Lie”. Translated, produced and published by journalist blogger Joana Morais, sans spots, can be read here.






For this below see comments.




Found it, two in fact.

Edit. Three sketches on the one clip.