Say hello and introduce yourself here

A warm welcome from me Eileen. Love your avatar (sideways or not!)
I am a thread-stopper, I only ever have comments sadly, no new information but you are so welcome here.
Noone will denigrate your ideas, and attacks are unknown. Feel free.

Welcome Eileen.

Your lovely Avatar looks like my daft pooch

It's sideways, Freedom. That's what dogs often do - to test you ;-)

I tried a pic myself and it came up sideways too lol!

Can't manage to work out how to fix profile pic! I just spent 20 mins writing a long post on another thread when I pressed the post button it told me it had "timed out" my post disappeared and I realised that I had automatically been logged out Is there any way to retrieve it?

EileenC wrote:Can't manage to work out how to fix profile pic!  I just spent 20 mins writing  a long post on another thread when I pressed the post button it told me it had "timed out"  my post disappeared    and I realised that I had automatically been logged out  Is there any way to retrieve it?

That happens sometimes Eileen, it may have gone into drafts in your messages, but I think it has probably gone for good.  It does happen very occasionally  and is very annoying I know.

EileenC wrote:Can't manage to work out how to fix profile pic!  I just spent 20 mins writing  a long post on another thread when I pressed the post button it told me it had "timed out"  my post disappeared    and I realised that I had automatically been logged out  Is there any way to retrieve it?

Hello EileenC

Welcome to the forum.

I'm sorry to hear that you lost your long post, that has happened to me in the past, you press send and it disappears into a black hole never to be seen again.  

I don't know if you use Word or another programme but it you do it's better that you type out your long post in another format (and perhaps save it as you go along) then copy and paste it onto the forum.  I've learnt that from my mistakes in the past.

I hope that helps.

Just to check in and say hello.

I was moved to log in here after reading that monumentally  sub-standard book "Looking for Madeleine" by Swann and Summers. It wasn't so much a piece of objective investigative journalism, as a one-sided insult to the intelligence - I suspect the definitive account of the McCann mystery is yet to be written, and may never be written in the UK because of the nature of our libel laws and the mentality of the media. It'd be too much of a hot potato for any publisher to touch.

I was looking for other critical accounts of the book, to eliminate the lingering suspicion that it was just me being hyper-critical, and was relieved to discover them in profusion.  Which led me here.

It's important for me to say I have no fixed opinion on the McCann case and retain pretty much an open mind. I'm prepared to read and evaluate anyone's perspective on the mystery and also to contemplate the elephant in the room - the possibility, however slight, lingering and improbable - that the McCanns themselves may be more culpable in this than we have been led to think. (Even here I'm not sure how far I can go and how explicit I can be without leaving a paper trail that might, however remote the possibility,  be used against me - is this paranoid or just good common sense?) So it's necessary to say here, for the record, that if I were to write about the possible scenarios where two parents' actions might have led to the death of their child - this is hypothetical and is in no way is to be taken as an accusation. You have to think the unthinkable and consider EVERY possible explanation. Which Summers and Swann  patently failed to do,  and in fact refused to even consider doing right from page one of their account.

Elsewhere on the Net I have one of those pesky independent minds that people find irritating. On religious sites I belong to the faction who read the Bible for themselves and evaluate it for themselves - as opposed to having other people read it to you and tell you what to think.  I discuss strange and anamolous things on Fortean sites and hold the point of view that science as we have it is incomplete. When you've eliminated frauds, hoaxes, bad observation and wishful thinking, and are left with a residue of genuinely strange things that don't fit in anywhere, then you have to consider that paranormal phenomena can happen, and the scientific framework for explanation is yet to evolve.  You can apply this pattern of thought  to more mundane mysteries as well, like unsolved disappearances and crimes.

I was banned from BBC talkboards for questioning their official statements once too often. Perhaps I am naturally argumentative, I hope in constructive ways.

And the more I read about Madeleine McCann, the more I wonder about what really happened. It's obvious even on a cursory reading that something really strange and out of the ordinary happened here (but NOT in a "fortean" way, please!) . The official statements are lacking and full of holes. And a piece of lazy, partisan writing like Summers and Swann.... well, here I am. Not a regular as too much else is going on, but as an occasional visitor.

Welcome to the forum, AgProv. 

Very good first post and look forward to reading your contributions. 

I've not read the S and S book. Don't think I ever will either.

The book is barely worth the paper it's printed on, believe me. I put my first thoughts about it as a reply to a review on the Amazon page:

thanks, this very neatly verbalises my misgivings about this book. It's hard to say what you feel should be said without falling foul of restrictions - the McCanns have been very litigious - so there's a lot that cannot be said here. But the authors' clear and blatant bias in favour of the McCanns closes down several lines of inquiry which, while mentioned in this book, are brought up once, dismissed in a perfunctory way, and never mentioned again. This is no way to write an objective analysis - if one was intended in the first place. (I don't feel free to be anything other than vague here. But read the book, if only for the non-sequiteur assumption from page one that decent upper-middle-class professional people are always absolutely free from blame in any way whatsoever. And that they deserve preferential treatment. As befits two BBC staff journalists writing about two doctors... they could be neighbours and send their kids to the same sort of schools...)

I didn't know about the Rachel Charles disappearance in Praia de Luz until I read about it in this book, for instance. In which another little British girl was abducted in the same area, albeit a few years before. But Swann and Summers dismiss this in a single sentence as if it were of no great importance. What? A similar abduction - a definite and confirmed one - in the same area and it only gets mentioned in passing? I had to go to the Internet to find out that while a man was convicted for abduction and murder, considerable doubt surrounds the case, and it is thought that Portuguese police botched the investigation, came under pressure to find a suspect, and did a Colin Stagg or a Barry George - fitted up a plausible suspect known for being a bit odd, who had no friends or supporters. Why S&S did not use this as part of a discussion on the ability and aptitude of the local police - to air the possibility there could be a connection - you don't know.

Evidence possibly prejudicial to the S&S case is skimmed over, ignored, perfunctorily dropped or otherwise dismissed. Where it should not be. You also suspect they did selective research on a few medical and other technicalities. I'm a layman, but unlike S&S I can think of one commonly available chemical which has been used as an anaesthetic/sedative and which leaves no traces... that's on the basis of school chemistry!

I'd say more. But... this book is not objective and presents a partial and biased case. Don't look here for anything deep or new.

****************************************

The full page with a lot of damning reviews is here:-

http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/RXVZOWEP46PTI/ref=cm_cr_dp_cmt?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00M407EGM&channel=detail-glance&nodeID=266239&store=books#wasThisHelpful

Hi I'm a refugee here from JH. Actually an immigrant as I don't want to go back there. Can I tell you why? I was recently  banned ( until the 22nd) for joining in a thread titled, ''Photos revisited.'' Now I am a courteous poster and like to explore all possibilities to get to the bottom of this mystery and felt that some of the photos of Madeleine contained anomalies. A couple of other very polite posters and I were having an amicable discussion when suddenly we were pounced on by a pair of socks. They  highjacked the discussion and attempted to derail it by deliberately misinterpreting what we were actually saying to make our points look ridiculous . Even mentioned the 'UFO' abduction theory when no one had mentioned anything as unlikely on the thread. .  The rude opinionated   socks' posts were never  removed whilst ours were deleted routinely. Bearing in mind the thread 's 'revisited' title and that a very similar idea was being promulgated by a senior member of this forum way back when without furore made me curious. It's something I intend to follow up now anyway ...................individually in my own time I hasten to add. Who knows? Maybe I'll be in good company with a certain RDH !!!!  Nobody knows what happened to MBM and to shoot people down in flames for merely discussing anomalous photographs is strange to me.
Well now I've got that off my chest, a bit about me. I'm a mother of three, grandmom of four and intrigued by the Madeleine mystery. I'm not as knowledgeable as many on this site but am always ready to learn and be corrected without getting upset. I spend quite a bit of time in France so if I'm not posting that will be the reason why. I can't always get an internet connection.
Looking forward to reading posts and hopefully contributing something worthwhile.
nannygroves

Welcome nannygroves.

Your experience there has become a regular occurence for many.

We don`t go on the attack here and we don`t have one person (with many socks) dictating the narrative.

Welcome from me too. A well moderated place awaits you. Discussion is the rule not ridicule and derision.

Hello and welcome from me as well nannygroves.
Good to have you here.

I'm still on the Jill Havern forum under a different username and often read the main topics here but have been following the discussions of the last few days and wondered if I was missing anything in the members section
In the circumstances I hope you don't mind me joining

But fear not, I come in peace!!!

Neveronasunday wrote:I'm still on the Jill Havern forum under a different username and often read the main topics here but have been following the discussions of the last few days and wondered if I was missing anything in the members section
In the circumstances I hope you don't mind me joining

But fear not, I come in peace!!!

If you're here to try and establish some truth towards the memory of Madeleine, then welcome.


Welcome to a great forum.
.


Let's discuss trying to solve this mess.

Not some other mess that's been deliberately instigated.


Deleted some bits Andrew, let's leave it at that now.

Neveronasunday wrote:I'm still on the Jill Havern forum under a different username and often read the main topics here but have been following the discussions of the last few days and wondered if I was missing anything in the members section
In the circumstances I hope you don't mind me joining

But fear not, I come in peace!!!

Welcome, you are missing the discussion section which is far more important, discussing what we are all here for.........  the members section just a chat forum, and to put some wrongs right.

Welcome to nannygroves too.

Not interested in point scoring, just discussing a few ideas and learning from other members, thanks for having me on board

Just wondered if anyone has the update for what is happening in the Amaral Trial Appeal? I contribute to the GoFundMe website already as I feel that something is seriously wrong here and this man is not getting justice.

Someone asked what they should do if they saw a 'Thingy', well I thought I would add my own experience here:

Last night I found a Hairy Thingy, it was small and soft and flat.
I bent down and stroked it and showed it to the cat
I pressed its little head and pulled its little knob
And all at once the Hairy Thingy grew, and it began to throb!
It shook and flopped and twisted round and then it gave a DONG
It made me cough and splutter ‘cos it made an awful pong.
It purred and hissed and waggled and then I got a fright
It screeched so loud my ears popped, and the cat’s fur turned all white.
It sounded like a Banshee that had got a stomach ache
And it slithered round and round, just like a slimy snake
I threw the Hairy Thingy out the door; the cat had run for cover.
I wished I’d never stroked it and I’ll never touch another.
Hairy Thingies could be anywhere, so be careful with your feet.
They could be in the garden; in the house; or in the street.
If you find a Hairy Thingy and you can’t think what to do,
Don’t touch it, or stroke it, or say “how do you do”
Better if you stamp on it or SPLAT it with your shoe.
Just squash it, sweep it up, and flush it down the loo.



Be careful where you step!


Nice to meet you all. I am now off to read what people have written in the McCann thread.

Welcome Yorkshiregel, I am a bit lost as to what the 'Thingy' is about.

A different form of introduction but welcome!

Neveronasunday: your name and avatar takes me back to my childhood when there was nothing to do and indeed everywhere was shut.

Welcome yorkshiregel.
"Just wondered if anyone has the update for what is happening in the Amaral Trial Appeal?"

As far as I`m aware, Goncalo`s appeal is at the moment being considered by the judges. I don`t know how long this takes but they have to go over the previous trial and consider the points that Goncalo raised as unfair. I expect we will hear something soon.

I am a new member, joined today.   What I would like to know is how do I find my own posts to see if anyone replied.  Where are the instructions to move around the site.  Are the new posts from A to Z or Z to A?  ie is the latest post at the top?  Anyone like to help please?

Please be patient with me, I am just finding my way about.

The latest posts are at the top of the portal page.

These links on the home page are useful.

View posts since last visit • View your posts • View unanswered posts

Yorkshiregel wrote:I am a new member, joined today.   What I would like to know is how do I find my own posts to see if anyone replied.  Where are the instructions to move around the site.  Are the new posts from A to Z or Z to A?  ie is the latest post at the top?  Anyone like to help please?

If you look at the very top above the edging of the index/home page you will see 3 headings



View posts since last visit        View your posts         View unanswered posts







You can click on those.  Hope that helps