sarasquares

iTrader: (1)

the twins were left with their aunt, the mothers sister and husband while the parents visited the pope. the children do not understand what is going on and need to be kept in as normal environment as possible.
why shouldnt the kids be entertained in a kiddies club, what else are they supposed to do in a foreign country? play with their friend in the garden.....?

i would find it incredibly hard entertaining two toddlers. i havnt seen the parents sitting sunning themselves on the beach and happily building sandcastles. how could they? every second they are not out there looking for Maddie they must feel hopeless.

and all this bullsh1t about the parents being involved in her abduction and milking it for their own ends will eventually taint the search for Maddie.

Neverguess

Totally agree! No one can fully understand this whole thing unless they have been through it and I pray to whoever that no one ever finds out.

Iwan

Sounds like the parents are really getting into being celebrities.

BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Madeleine police get test results

I've been to a few places in Europe but have never actually been to the Vatican, the Netherlands, Morocco or Germany. Perhaps if I demonstrate some utter stupidity the generous British public will send me on a free holiday.

Brendan Hughes

Surprised about them visiting the Pope.

They probably went to ask if he'd relocated any dodgy priests near Praia da Luz recently.

Trout

iTrader: (1)

Sara,

I think there is a big difference between doing everything you can to get your child back - I know I would - and having a measured campaign that maintains sympathy not p*** people off.

It is obviously a fine line and IMHO (and clearly others on this thread and now media commentators) they have landed on the wrong side of the line.

I am sure there are many things they can do to keep this campaign alive than have photo opportunities on private jets or pictures of them dressed up to see the Pope.

For many parents sympathy would come first and foremost from showing the love and care their children deserve rather than bugger off around Europe on a questionable tour.

Equally by not committing the huge sum of cash they have received to one of the many charitable causes around missing children or child protection and instead using it to appoint a 'legal and advisory team' (for what?) and use the remainder to fund them not working does not engender sympathy either.

Finally to manipulate the press (not always difficult as they are only too willing) to make this an exclusive cause celebre as opposed to recognising that this tragedy happens all too often right across Europe is possibly the most damaging aspect.

My hope for Maddie is fading as quickly as too much time has passed now. I do hope they get closure as that must be the very worst of it.

Rannoch

SiPie

Rannoch for Prime Minister

Trout

iTrader: (1)

I am not sure I could take another ten years

Where do you think I got all my policy ideas from - where better to road test them than Scoobynet

Flatcapdriver

Miaow! Have the Portuguese tired of the 'superior' British media and Police input?

Marky-San

My wife and I were at Edinburgh Castle and a complete stranger (female) stopped my 2 yr old girl and lifted her chin and looked in her face closely. I grabbed her by the scruff of the neck ready to immobilise her and pulled away me daughter, when she said 'I thought it was the little girl who was missing and I was checking her eye to see'.

Mixed emotions about this - first, its nice that people seem to be aware of the only outward trait that is likely to lead to the little girls return. secondly, I dont appreciate a total stranger even looking at my little girl, never mind touching her. The woman did apologise, but as I explained to her -that a less understanding parent would punch have your lights out in that scenario.

My little girl is big for 2, has blonde long hair but looks nowt facely like the wee lassie missing.

I dont think shes dead - but its going to be a possible on going mystery with what I hope, a happy conclusion.

The Zohan

McCann parents on crimewatch tonight at 9pm

stilover

Slight over reaction there I think?

A woman looks at your daughter and your ready to punch her lights out?? I think you need a reality check.

I remember some TV celebrity saying that when on the Tube a young lad stuck his tongue out at the Celeb, who returned the gesture in jest to play along with the child. The parent grabbed the child and accused the Celeb of being a Pedophile

The Zohan

If someone i do not know lays hands on my kids, without asking or giving good reason first then i would not be feeling the love towards them.

I would put myself betwen them and the child in an instant.

There are a lot of screwed up people about, no one shuld lay thier hands on your kids without asking .

as for the celeb on the bus, that is just plain madness

Brendan Hughes

Bloody hell. Goes missing in the southernmost part of Europe and someone checks your daughter in Edinburgh. I'd almost guarantee that it wouldn't happen in any other European country, because I'd almost guarantee that woman watched Sky.

FCD, I don't read the papers much, only the freebies on the train, but I'd say they report news-ish articles rather than desperately hanging on to the McCann's coat-tails. As stated, there are other missing children as well, not just Maddie. And Portugal has its own horrors to contend with in the last few years - google Casa Pia paedophilia, where kids at an orphanage in Lisbon were allegedly rented out to celebs and possibly politicians for abuse. I don't think it's reached judgement yet.

Marky-San

Er... are you for real? Are you a parent? Clearly not. Your the one who needs to get real.

This person touched my daughter (not just looked) without any warning/permission and do you seriously expect me to stand back and let her? What if she was trying it on?

Don't appreciate your paedophile story either. Not sure what you implying there by trying to liken the story to mine?

Now if you were you I'd smack you one without any need to touch my daughter. ****!




......and that wouldn't be an over reaction.

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

FFS Grow up. It's just an Internet forum and people are always more vociferous with their comments than they might be in the real world. Rise above it as an attitude like that is hardly a shining example to your children, for instance, is it now?

stilover

Ooh, name calling. Brilliant.

The point I was trying to make was parents these days worry far to much about their children than our parents did.
Todays parents don't let their kid out of their sight, or let them play anywhere other than their own back garden. When we were young, you'd be out playing without your parents knowing exactly where you were. You'd turn up when you got hungry.

An adult talking to a child or touching your child (obviously not in certain places) is not an act of kidnap. So if you were somewhere with your child, and someone said what a lovely child you had, and touched her totally innocently, you'd leap out of your seat and thump them one?

Example. When I lived with my parents house. There were plenty of young children running about on the back green. I'd regularly talk to the kids. Sometimes play football with them etc. Does that make me a predator???? NO. Totally innocent.
It only takes one idiot though to think that that is wrong, and a billy big bollox wants to punch you lights out.

PS. The pedophile story was simple pointing out how parents over react when anyone interacts with a child that isn't their own. Even look at a child and your a pedophile.

OllyK

I blame NL...

well actually I blame the press. I don't think child abductions etc are signifcantly higher now than they were in the past, however, they do get a lot more press coverage resulting in borderline paranoia from a large number of parents.

Fantom

Cut and paste:

The UK's only charity dedicated to missing people today (15.05.2007) reveals that it has recorded enquiries on almost 450 incidents of young people disappearing since Madeleine McCann (03.05.2007) went missing and asks the public to 'share support' for all missing people.

National Missing Persons Helpline, the UK charity working with young runaways, missing and unidentified people, their families and others who care for them, says it provides ongoing support to around 2,000 families each year and directly finds 10 missing people each week.

Paul Tuohy, Chief Executive of the charity said: "Everyone hopes that Madeleine's disappearance will have a swift and happy ending. However, in the meantime we believe the awareness raised has helped to educate the public that 'missing' is a social issue that could affect every one of us."

An estimated 210,000 reports of missing people are made to UK police forces each year. Around two-thirds of these concern young people under the age of 18.

Mr Tuohy continues: "Madeleine's disappearance has prompted many people to support a 'Fighting Fund', which we applaud. However, we do not want the public to lose sight of the fact that for £2.5million each year (our annual expenditure) we support thousands of families, directly find more than 500 missing people and provide vital support to 4000 young runaways. We now need the public to share support for all missing people."

speedking

Let's hope your daughter never gets separated from you. Say she's stood crying in the middle of a train station because she's got lost. Am I going to try and help her, escort her to a lost property kiosk or similar? Knowing that at any moment you might jump on me

Far more chlldren are going to suffer from being ignored by members of the public who daren't get involved, than are abducted, because of gross overreactions by people like you. Hope I don't have to decide whether to push her out of the way of a bus!

Fantom

Do you think the parents of these people fly around Europe for free?

TelBoy

Why is the "for free" bit SUCH an issue? Are you envious or something?

stilover

Very well said.

That's one of the things I meant, in a round about way.

spider

iTrader: (1)

Looks like some of the press is turning against them; or at least asking questions that sound like they've read this thread! MSN News

STi wanna Subaru

iTrader: (1)

The initial news story is wearing thin. They're going for another angle now. It's not like the news agency's care

Fantom

Well I don't know the facts, but aren't they being donated money from all over the place? How does flying around Europe help find their daughter?

The Snug Rhino

is that a serious question?

whether you agree with their aproach or not even the most stupid can grasp the idea that it raises the profile of the case in countries where it may not be big news.


bottom line - if it were your kid and you had the option of packing up and going home to sit by the phone or do what they are doing (which has generated interest FAR beyond the norm) ...what would you do?

I am bored of it - like i am bored of African's starving but i no more have a problem with them going about their days in the manner they are than i have a problem with an African tucking into a bowl of rice if they can find it.

Abdabz

The thing is, my snug friend, this jetsetting lifestyle and pointless +600k fund balance are having a negative effect. There is only Telboy in the whole world who are supporting this farcical PR offensive by the Mccans...
Even the way they rebuke the allegation is lame and insincere in its tone.
The Website is a begging bowl, and for what? What are we giving our money for? Publicity? That costs nothing... Look at the inflatable billboard made by the News Of The World.

Surely all of the donations should go to the NSPCC who should in turn offer to use what pissy percentage of it that's required to fund their stay in Portugal. The rest can be used to tackle parents who leave their toddlers unattended while they go out on the lash.

At the very least the website should be clear what the cash is being spent on and what will be done with the 550k+ that won't be spent jetsetting and meeting famous people.

I think the PR excercise has been a disaster and apathy is far more prevalent than concern now as a result of it.

I, and many I know turn over the minute they hear the poor girls name now.
At least my ears pricked up when I heard the latest allegations by the German media and fair play for having the guts to write what several million (at a guess ) around western europe have been thinking now for over a month.

David Lock

To say that thr PR exercise is a distaster is ridiculous. The main objective was to get Maddy's plight in front of as many people as possible. The only downside might just be that if she is being held by some low IQ lowlife that he/she would be terrified about what to do with her. I had expected some messages to come out of the PR machine just asking for her to be taken to a church or hospital or similar and just left. Or the church to ask priests to be cooperative if they had any suspicions.

I think the parents have been fantastic in the way they have handled all this in the terrible circumstances. I think the view that they might have been involved is insulting nonsense. As for the fighting fund I don't think they will be planning on how to celibrate a bit of extra cash. I expect there is a good reason why this isn't yet designated as Charitable status but there will be a reason, perhaps too many restrictions and red tape.

Good luck to them.

And just for record I get a bit sick and tired of hearing the story every day but don't take it out on the family. dl

Spoon

That's exactly it. I certainly don't begrudge the family anything at all and I had a similar amount of money stolen with no 'fundraiser' offered. This is a child that has gone from a family and anything and everything should be done to help look for her.

I'm sure those that resent this case wouldn't give up the reward if you found her.

Just listen to yourselves, for whatever the reason she disappeared, she doesn't deserve to be wherever she is now.

Trout

iTrader: (1)

There is another angle to this. If the parents, sorry they cannot speak for themselves, their spokesperson is creating negative empathy then it is not going to help anybody.

It is probably not the families fault and they are so overwhelmed they are being washed along with the whole thing.

And if this approach creates negative empathy then it is the little girl who will suffer.