Violence in Mexico City Airport - Take care

A French researcher Christopher Augur 48, an expert in bio-molecular chemistry was en route to the University of Mexico at Iztapalapa. He had arrived in Mexico on 31st January. and changed some money at at the Mexico City Airport- Benito Juarez International Airport. He had four thousand 800 Euros and 370 dollars on his person.

A University car had been dispatched to pick him up, this was intercepted and stopped by three cars and six people got out broke into his car stole his money and shot him dead.

This was not the first time such an assault has happened and the are suggestions of involvement by law enforcement agencies.

Assistant city prosecutor Luis Vasquez said a total of 17 such robberies of people leaving the Mexican capital's airport have been reported since March 2008. The attacks appear to be the work of two or more gangs, or one organization with several cells.

Vasquez said the victims in four of the cases were foreigners: an English man, two Ecuadoreans and a man from Guinea. The rest were Mexican citizens.

Victims in all the attacks were apparently followed in vehicles after they exchanged money at the city's airport and robbed outside the terminal.

Although not directly related there were more than 5,300 drug-related murders in Mexico last year, double the year before, but only a tiny handful have been prosecuted and arrested.

Drug trafficking is still by far the biggest component of Mexico’s economy, estimated at US $60 billion a year. The year end 2008 report of the US Army Joint Forces Command singles out Mexico and Pakistan as the two nations in the world in the most danger of ‘rapid and sudden collapse’ into chaos.

Indiana State fair - 08/08/08 - a message from our sponsors

St Vincent Heart centre and here

Sean and Amelie McCann - a problem for Leicestershire Social Services

Extraordinary. Column miles of newsprint, squillions of hours of intense TV/Radio coverage not a mention of the problem dumped on the doorstep of Leicestershire County Social Services by the return home of the McCann twins with their parents.

They are not accompanied by their big sister who their Mummy & Daddy unaccountably (to date) mislaid whilst on holiday.

To lose a child is bad enough but then to be determined (after many,many gruelling hours of Police inqisition) as official suspects in their child's disappearance must alert even the dopiest Director / Councillor.

Leicester Plod (and others) have evidently been hard at work preparing evidence in the case. It is inconceivable that there isn't a high degree of liason between both services - and also the Portuguese Police / Judiciary.

Now the twins are firmly within the area of Leicestershire Social Services' responsibility so they can remove their heads from the sand and consider the request outlined in the on line petition started by Ms Marilyn Baker (marilynbaker1955@hotmail.com) in May. (16,000 plus signatories to date)

... so that they can as signatory No. 108. Tillie Marrow asks ..."Investigate the McCanns as you would someone from one of your sink-estate's, don't be intimidated by Gerry's profession and the masons."

At the time the BBC reported that ..."The Leicestershire council statement said: "All agencies are acutely aware of the traumatic ordeal that the McCanns are experiencing."Madeleine's uncle John McCann refused to comment on the petition when contacted by BBC News, but did say it was "not helpful".

There will no doubt be some anxious enclaves discussing the position in Leicester County Council offices today whilst they listen to the BBC4 Today programme report that a Judge will review the case and that the Police there ..."expect significant devlopments within days". If you follow the instruction above at the LCC website you will find that the quaint village of Rothley (candle covered shrine already commenced at Cross Green) is covered by Charnwood SS - Pennine House,2 Lemyngton Street,Loughborough LE11 1UH ; Tel 01509 266641 Fax: 01509 210167 (Open 8.30 - 5.00 Mondays) - so if you are .." worried about any child and think they may be a victim of neglect, abuse or cruelty" that's who to contact...or Plod

Can we expect action today ?

The Daily Mail today report that .."The detectives are determined to charge Mrs McCann with accidental homicide - the Portuguese equivalent of manslaughter - and her husband with helping to dispose of the body. " and that Michael Caplan, QC, of Kingsley Napley, one of the country's foremost law firms for international cases who represented torturer General Pinochet ahs been "consulted" by Mr & Mrs McCann. ***



Cross Green Rothley, Leics. Circa 1903 ... days of rural inoccence

*** Toni Fabuloso (fresh from hunting balls in Leicester this weekend) has just brought in the Starbucks and suggests that Mrs McC should get herself her own lawyer. What can she possibly mean ?

UPDATE 10/9/07 11.15

Daily Telegrah Online : By Gordon Rayner, Caroline Gammell and Nick BrittenLast Updated: 10:10pm BST 10/09/2007

" ...... Leicestershire's child protection team met to discuss the welfare of their two-year-old twins, Sean and Amelie, who could be placed on an "at-risk" register if they were considered to be vulnerable.

Social workers were expected to visit the family home in the village of Rothley this week to assess whether the children were being cared for properly and whether they had been in any way traumatised by the events of the past four months.

Child welfare experts said social services were obliged to investigate any case where parents were suspected by police of harming their children, and that placing the twins in foster care could become an option if the McCanns were charged or forced to return to Portugal for long periods."

So no press comment but three cheers for Leicestershire Social Services.

Boy Scouts 100 years old - join in and celebrate

Lord Patel celebrated 50 years of Scouting in 1957 by attending a Jamboree . This year the Centenary will be celebrated around the UK at hundreds of sites which are mapped in an interactive map which uses GIS technology to inform its 500,000 members of the special events happening throughout the country for its 2007 Centenary celebrations.

“This is the first time The Scout Association has used an interactive online tool to organize and communicate information about a major national event,” said Nick Varney, a volunteer leader and project coordinator for The Scout Association. “We are very excited to be working in this new way, because we are bringing the essential skill of map reading into the 21st century, enabling scouts to facilitate their camping adventures online as well as develop and maintain their friendships within scouting.”

ESRI (UK) used ArcGIS Server 9.2 to build the application, and the company will manage the Web site on a daily basis. In addition, Streetmap.co.uk, NAVTEQ and Collins Bartholomew have provided detailed atlas and street-level maps for each celebratory event.

That's the Press Release .. now go here to the Scouting 2007 website and see what is going on near you.

Are there people who would like to see Gordon Brown dead ?

Reading Shapan on his (?) "Lingering questions about Robin Cook's death" rang a chord ( see also his (?) the only transcription of the last BBC radio interview Bob Woolmer did for 5 Live)

But. for example, how did he die? The post mortem took two days "to establish whether the Livingston MP had died from an illness or injuries sustained in the fall", and the cause of death was eventually given as 'hypertensive heart disease'. No mention was made of any injuries to the head and neck...... .

When did he die? There are conflicting accounts, not helped by the fact that the announcement of his death was delayed by three hours for family and friends to be informed. .....

Who were the so-far unidentified group of walkers (or hunters(?)) who, we were told, came to Gaynor Cook's aid? If it's not an obvious question, what were they doing on Ben Stack? For, according to the landlady of Scourie Lodge, where the Cooks had spent their last night,

"She was lucky another walker was in the area to be with her at such a time.

"You could be on Ben Stack ninety times and not see a soul, so for someone to be within shouting distance and with a mobile phone was very fortunate."

Which just makes us all want to wish Gordon Brown a long life and a happy holiday in the hills this Easter.

Taking things with a pinch of salt pan

Her Maj's Ambassador to Ethiopia Robert Dewar has just made a statement.

"I am extremely relieved and happy, as are all of us at the Embassy, including DFID and the British Council, that our five friends and colleagues are safe and well."

"I am pleased to report that the five all seem to be in generally good health."

Press Office, Downing Street (West), London SW1A 2AL

Seeing that the Dame Lady Pauline Neville Jones Fan Club were called out en masse to root around 7 squillion miles of desert for the missing dips, it seems (to Lord Patel in his snug hideout) that their anonymity has been remarkably well preserved.

It would require an exceptionally disordered mind to begin, even to start to think that this wonderful desert holiday in the searing heat was quite the carefree break away from it all ,in the stuffy Embassy. Thank goodness they didn't take any children !

Perhaps they were just looking at salt pans and lots, and lots, and lots of sand. Or are we taking this with a pinch of salt pan ?

UPDATE Thursday night

Happily the anonymous adventurers are returned to the bosoms of their family and children - the press seemingly incapable of either naming them , getting a decent snap. or signing them up for "My Holiday in Hell in the hot salt pans on the Ethiopian Border" sories.

UPDATE Sunday Newspapers 18th March

Not a whisper about the Ethiopian adventures.Nul.Zero.Blank.