Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year!

To the many of you that have dropped me an email I would like to thank you for giving of your time. Your well wishes are appreciated!

This has been a busy time for me with closing out projects and kicking off new ones for 2008. So, I have once again neglected this blog.

All is well with me and my family. I hope the same is true for all of you. May the New Year bring us all a little closer to peace, harmony and better times!

Where is Justin Gaines?

November 1, 2007 eighteen year old Justin Gaines left Wild Bills a popular Atlanta club at 1:00am and has not been seen or heard from since. Justin’s disappearance has not received the media attention many other cases have, but that does not change the fact that a family is extremely heartbroken and distressed.

www.justingaines.com

http://www.operationfindachild.org/Cases/JUSTIN_GAINES_JG1.html

Gwinnett County Press Release issued Nov. 14 by Gwinnett Police PIO Corporal Illana T. Spellman

There have been a lot of questions regarding the status of this case. As of late, this is still a missing persons case. There is still no evidence to support or deny foul play. The investigation has slowed over the past week due to lack of cooperation from some of Justin Gaines’ close friends and associates. This is a concern for the detectives working this case. The detectives want to strongly encourage those individuals to come forward and cooperate in this investigation which could possibly develop more leads into Justin’s whereabouts. Anyone with information can call the Criminal Investigations Section at 770-513-5300.

Madeleine McCann’s Disappearance

This case is another that provokes very emotional outcry and appears to be divided into three distinct mindsets.

1) Those that think the parents are guilty.
2) Those that think this was a stranger abduction.
3) And, those that just want to know the facts.

Self-proclaimed “experts” sit in their easy chairs, watch assorted news clips and make psychiatric determinations about the fitness of Kate and Gerry McCann. Those determinations appear to be based strictly upon the “expert’s” life experiences and have little to do with any facts that have been discovered, concerning the McCann’s. Given that fact, it is extremely difficult to give much credence to these quacks. Yet, people do so, because the blatantly prejudiced claims serve a particular mindset that has convicted the McCann’s without basis.

If the McCann’s did play a roll in this heinous crime, then the timeline must be explained. When did the supposed crime take place? When did the parents dispose of the body? How did the parents so successfully hide the remains? And the biggest question of all, why? All of these questions have to be answered and those answers must fit within the established time constraints.

Timeline:

MAY 3

9.15AM MADELEINE and two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie, are quickly up and dressed and the family breakfast together in their holiday apartment. The children go to the kids' club - on site at the Mark Warner Ocean Club complex in Praia da Luz - where they have been staying with friends. Kate and Gerry enjoyed jogs on the beach, tennis and morning strolls.

12.30PM KATE and Gerry scoop up their children from the creche and head back to their apartment for lunch. Madeleine has learnt a dance which she and her young friends are to perform for their parents the following day.

2.30PM THE family head for the Ocean Club's pool. Kate takes a last photo of Madeleine dangling her feet in the water, next to sister Amelie and Gerry. They spend the rest of the afternoon pottering.

5PM (This entry has been questioned) THE McCanns join friends for drinks at a restaurant in Praia da Luz where the children have their tea. A waiter, who has not spoken before, said: "They arrived in beach clothes and there was a big group. Nine adults and six or seven children and they took up two large tables. The adults ordered alcoholic drinks and had quite a lot. They were happy." Gerry played in front of the restaurant with his children, pushing Madeleine on a swing. The waiter said Madeleine's parents called her in from the beach to eat her meal on the balcony of the restaurant. He said: "When he brought her back to get an ice-cream, she was jumping up and down with excitement. It was a lovely sight."

6PM MADELEINE eats her ice cream as the group leave for their holiday apartment. It is the last time she is seen in public.

7.30PM KATE gives Madeleine a bath, then dries her hair, carefully taking out a bead she had put in earlier in the week. Then she helps her into her pink pyjamas and puts her to bed next to the twins' cots at around 8pm. As Madeleine snuggles up to her beloved Cuddle Cat toy, she says: "Mummy, I've had the best day ever. I'm having lots and lots of fun."

8PM KATE and Gerry spend half an hour together before meeting friends at the tapas bar, as usual, at 8.30pm. It has a view of the apartments 50 metres away where they are all staying. The McCanns choose not to use the baby-sitting service.

8.30PM THE couple meet seven others at the restaurant including Russell O'Brien and his partner Jane Tanner as well as Dr Matthew Oldfield and his wife Rachael.

9PM GERRY is the first to return to the block, checking on his children at 9.05pm. He sees all three children sound asleep. On his way back to the restaurant, Gerry bumps into Brit Jeremy Wilkins, with whom he had played tennis. Jane Tanner goes to check on her daughter who is ill.

9.15PM AS Jane enters their block - number five - she sees a man carrying what looks like a child wrapped in a blanket. She barely gives him a second glance. The restaurant is buzzing as diners take part in a quiz, organised by aerobics instructor Najova Chekaya.

9.30PM DR Oldfield gets up to look in on his children and offers to check on the McCanns'. Instead of going into apartment 5A he listens at the door. Satisfied the children are sound asleep, he rejoins the party and reports all was well. At around the same time, as the quiz ends, Gerry invites Ms Chekaya, 21, to join their table. She is with them for half an hour. Dr O'Brien also leaves the table for 25 minutes to look after his ill daughter, returning shortly before 10pm.

10PM KATE leaves the group to check on the children. Letting herself into the flat, she opens the door to the kids' bedroom and freezes for a split second. Madeleine's bed is empty. A bolt of terror shoots through her followed by panic. Hysterical, she races back to the restaurant. One witness said she shouts: "They've taken her, they've taken her. The group run back with her to the apartment and help Kate and Gerry triple check every room, looking under the beds, in the wardrobes, behind the doors. Their panic grows. The couple are said to have known immediately that their daughter had been taken because Cuddle Cat was left on a ledge impossible for Madeleine to reach and a window shutter had been forced open.

10.10PM THE alarm is raised with the resort manager within 10 minutes. The Mirror has learned Gerry bursts into the Ocean Club's reception and asks for a priest and the police. Told it is too late to get hold of the priest, he then runs down the hill towards the church, stopping cars and pleading: "Have you seen a little girl? She's my daughter and she's missing." Friends and staff join in the search. Kate stays with the twins, waiting for news.

10.41PM THE police claim they receive a call telling them that a child is missing.

11.03PM TWO local officers arrive at the club and after a laboured questioning session involving a translator then call the Policia Judiciaria who investigate serious crimes. Friends of the McCanns allege that shortly after 11pm, they see British expat Robert Murat, who lives nearby with his mother, join the search party at the Ocean Club. He denies this, saying he was at home with his mother.

Even if we disregard the 5:00pm entry the timeline is still very tight, giving little time for the parents to have killed their child, disposed of the body and make it to dinner for a few laughs with friends.

It is true that the parents acted negligently by leaving the children alone, while they dined with their friends. But, does that fact negate all else that has been learned about this child’s disappearance? Or could it actually support the notion of a stranger abduction? Waiters at the Tapas Restaurant report that for at least the last four nights of the planned vacation, the McCann’s along with the rest of their party had a specific table reserved outside overlooking the pool. This group had a very well timed ritual and that became well-known to those working in the establishment. Such a regimented routine could have created the perfect conditions for the abduction of Madeleine.

If any of you have any theories about how the McCann’s may have pulled off this almost perfect crime, I would love to read them. How the McCann’s look or react in the media means little to me unless some sense can be made of just how they managed to do this. Also, I am a parent as well and we never left our boys unattended when they were toddlers, but that is not the issue here either except that it definitely opened a window of opportunity for a possible child abductor.

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This article published November 4th is an interesting addition to the story. Daily Mail

What I found most interesting is the following quote:

“Dr Payne, 41, a cardiovascular researcher from Leicestershire, was the last person outside the McCann family to see Madeleine alive. He went to the family's apartment at 6.30pm on May 3 and said he saw Mrs McCann there with all three of her children, while Mr McCann played tennis.”

If we are to take that information as fact, then it tightens the timeline considerably.

Monday, October 29, 2007 9:00ct/10:00et

Some of you may know that I am a fan of On The Record w/Greta Van Susteren. I may not always agree with her take on some of the more publicized cases of the day, but I still enjoy watching and listening to her program. In fact, along with Greta and several other regular features, Fox News has become a daily routine for me.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Greta accompanied First Lady Laura Bush on a trip to the Middle East this past week with hopes of spreading the word about this very serious malady so many women face. She was a real trooper and recorded her daily activities almost hour by hour on her increasingly popular blog, GretaWire. (Check It Out!)

In a very small way, I would like to support this cause and urge each of you to tune into her program this Monday night, October 29, 2007. The ratings will show the bean counters of this world that people do take this disease seriously, want more information and would like to see it cured in our lifetime.

Encourage those you care about to watch this hour of television. Make it a family affair and let it propel discussions within your own family. It will be time well spent!

Desperation?

Below is a translation of a recent Bon Dia article provided by ArubaGirl. I find it to be somewhat strange and the timing more than coincidental with Greta Van Susteren’s visit to Aruba. Perhaps more light will be shed upon these claims over the next few days.

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American Congress with a petition to hold hearings because
FBI Accused In Hindering and Threatening Aruban Authorities in Holloway Case
In an attempt to protect the rich and powerful Twitty Family

Oranjestad - A group of American Congressmen asked for a congressional hearing to seriously investigate the FBI due to its interference in the investigation in the Natalee Holloway Case. It is an attempt to get clarity about what the tasks of the FBI was in this entire situation and if indeed the FBI hindered the investigation as they have heard.

A group of congressmen submitted a petition to congressman [senator? – ag] who is the leader of the [senate?? –ag] judicial committee in the United States. In the letter is written that since both American votes and citizens of the allied (like Aruba – Ed.] they are disgusted about the cover-up from the American press about the corruption that exists in the highest level It must be illustrated that this congressional commission supervises the American Justice Department that includes the FBI and also the American Federal Court system.

The letter goes on to say that they feel that the United States has to work for everyone and not just those who are privileged.

The 100th American congress promises to reestablish responsibility in the American government and strengthen ties with its allies. To do this, they are asking for a congressional hearing, to investigate this matter.

Also pointed out is that for the last two years, the American press reported on the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. Now it seems that a powerful financial group, politically connected, pressured the FBI Barbados department to not cooperate in the investigation. This should have taken place when they were asked for assistance. It was shown that there are indications that there was an attempt to disrupt and frustrate the investigation to protect those financially powerful and politically well connected.

The letter points to an article in the month of July in the newspaper Amgioe, where it speaks about the FBI hindering the work of the police and Justice in Aruba about the investigation of the Natalee Holloway case. Especially when the direct family of [Natalee] Holloway had to be investigated like the mother Beth, and the step father George “Jug” Twitty.

It seems now that the stepfather had direct influences to the Whit e House, and also tired to cover the investigation in the 120 students who came to Aruba.

A high FBI official would have told Gerold Dompig, who was then involved in the investigation, to do his own dirty work. I and other police officers not only had to work under serious pressure of the FBI, who arrived in Aruba in a record time, but we were also hindered in doing our work, and were even threatened.

Fact is that there are actions taking place that give this case another turn, and put people thinking that now the disappearance is nothing more than a diabolical plan to camouflage a well thought out plan and with connections on the highest level, was helped in an unprecedented way.

- Bon Dia Aruba, October 9th, page 6