MORE ALOOFNESS AND PROOF OF EMPTY PROMISES BY ARUBA

Rita Cosby show summary excerpts taken from San at Scared Monkeys

Aruba Not Forthcoming With Information to the F.B.I.:

The FBI is refusing to send cadaver dogs to Aruban to help in the latest search of the sand dunes. The reason why? The Aruban police won’t say who tipped them off to start searching the dune two weeks ago.

Rita: How outraged are you that the Aruban police won’t even give it to authorities this is the FBI?

Beth: Rita I just don’t get it why won’t they seek out their help I mean just disclose who these witnesses are that have come forward and you know let’s do a coordinated search effort I mean the sand dunes they attempted this search what was it now two week ago Rita and it’s obviously that they cannot do it without some help so for the life of me I don’t have any idea why.

Attorney John Q. Kelly meets with Aruban Officials:

Attorney John Q. Kelly has met with deputy police chief Dompig and the prosecutor and will be meeting again. Beth said, "I am just grateful that he is able to get in there and at least get a line of communication so at least someone from the United States side knows what’s going on...there seems to be some progress. Dompig was on the show and he said the 3 boys are guilty as hell and I just have to prove it. He seems like he was trying to go after the truth as least in some shape or form."

Tim Miller:

If the sand dunes have not been searched we are taking our ground penetration units and we’ll go ahead and do the sand dunes and well take the dogs too. They don’t have to withhold where the information comes from from us we are volunteers.

We’ve got some equipment probably as good as anybody in the nation so you know our offer stands. I promise that we will be back in Aruba in two weeks

Rita: It's preposterous that they are not sharing this witness information with the Feds..it’s a blockade after another blockade.

Miller: There is always a new excuse--a new excuse every day.

Paul Van Der Sloot's Civil Damages:

Rita: Another thing that doesn’t make sense to a lot of people is that PVDS was in court for his hearing on damages. We don’t know what the result were because attorney John Kelly wasn’t allowed inside.

Beth said, ...in a civil case like this there should have been no reason for John Kelly to have been denied access in that hearing. Beth thinks that the judge or PVDS stepped forward and is probably the one who is instrumental in not letting him in there..if it was upfront and they didn’t have anything to hide or be fearful of they would have allowed him into that courtroom.

See this mess? Now check out the little jerk who caused it:

The Night I Met Beth Twitty

The Real Aruba Truth, Dan from TX

"DISCLAIMER: I was scribbling notes like a madman for half the evening, so I'm painting a very broad picture of the events. I also apologize ahead of time for misspelling anyone's names or forgetting names altogether.



Let me dispel some rumors. First, Joe Mammana was not there. Second, it was not a fundraising event for Beth or even for TES (they have a bigger fundraiser in March). It was a media event for Texas Equusearch and a pep rally- in attendance were local Houston news reporters and a camera crew from 60 Minutes. I might actually be in the footage since I was hovering around Beth when the cameras got all in my face...I am the chubby guy in the striped 'Mafioso' shirt and glasses. The one desperately trying to ignore the cameras and just act natural.


Downtown Houston absolutely sucks if you're not familiar with it, and how I missed a major intersection like Main and Preston twice I don't know. I got there an hour late and the first thing I asked the guy at the door (who was himself a TES member whose own sister has been missing for years) if Beth had arrived yet and then realized that she arrived just ahead of me...she hadn't even cleared the entry and was standing no more than twenty feet from me! Beth immediately said hello to Tim Miller and a few other people, and so I got in line to say hi as well.


About Beth Twitty: Beth looks just as thin in person as on TV, and she is taller than I expected. But she also seemed quite relaxed, friendly and open, confident, strong, and I had the feeling that she has made peace with some things. I know the Twittys are quite religious so perhaps she found that rock and fortress that the Bible speaks of. She is an ordinary woman with extraordinary resolve. Beth spent a few minutes talking to each person hovering around her with the news camera right in her face, and when she learned I had a boycott strategy guide to offer her she told me, "Don't leave tonight without talking to me again!" I offered to be her go-for; she graciously accepted but didn't ask for anything the whole evening.

I ended up near the buffet chatting with a very nice lady named Kim Ogg, director of the Houston Crimestoppers and proud mother of a wanna-be break dancer (her young son discovered how well you can spin on a slick concrete floor). Kim was the evening's first speaker (Tim Miller was the MC), and her subject was the long-standing and mutually beneficial relationship that TES and Houston Crimestoppers has. But Kim began by explaining how on dispatch one night she fielded a missing persons call and found out that officially the police at that time couldn't do anything to help the missing person's family. Kim said that was the night she realized this was a terrible way to treat these people, official policy or not.

Tim Miller called Beth up to speak not about herself, not about Natalee, but about Texas Equusearch. She spoke of how TES offers something that even law enforcement cannot- hope and a chance to find answers and closure. She explained to everyone what Arubans don't seem to understand- if you find yourself faced with the mysterious disappearance of a loved one, you simply must do everything possible to find them. There is no other option. Of course Tim Miller understands this, having lost his own daughter Laura; her disappearance and murder inspired him to start Texas Equusearch.

Tim said he is the most blessed man in the world for this life mission he is on and despite the loss of his daughter. He went on to speak about one of TES's earliest searches. He spoke of a Hispanic family whose father was beaten badly and the mother and infant boy kidnapped (unfortunately the mother was later found murdered). TES found the mother's body and helped police find the boy- who had been sold! Tim described how TES members started a relief fundraiser for this man and his infant son that went from $200 to $35,000 in two days. I have the man and his son's name in my notes, but I can't seem to make them out...but they were there in person.

There were several other past and current clients who spoke: the man I met at the door who first got involved with TES when a co-worker disappeared and whose own sister is still missing today; Barbara Rigsby, whose brother disappearaed in West Texas earlier this year; and a man whose brother disappearaed recently- this search is ongoing. But Barbara added something to Beth's speech: finding a lost loved one, even if they are most likely dead, is a final act of love for them, not just closure for their family. You see, TES not only looks for missing persons but they allow families to get involved and feel that they are doing something more than waiting by a phone; Barbara said that TES is her family now.

I caught Tim at intermission and asked him a few questions, which he spoke about later that evening. If you look at the TES website you will see 250 members, but Tim told me that there are currently 700 members nationwide and that Natalee's disappearance and TES involvement in Aruba opened a lot of doors for this organization and brought a lot of new contacts, members, and resources. He told me that TES does about a hundred searches a year on average, and that he wants to see a half million members nationwide someday.

About Tim: he's very laid-back and easygoing, with striking blue eyes that I would describe as utterly free of pretense. If I remember correctly he attended this rally wearing blue jeans and cowboy boots!

Finally, they showed two DVDs: one was photos of the Aruba search, complete with Erica Harvey's Natalee song in the background; the second was photos of far too many missing persons that TES was or is searching for- and that DVD represented on a handful of their clients. I believe that many of the people present were Aruba veterans, because when TES member Joe Huston mentioned how wonderfully supportive, concerned, and helpful the Aruban people were but how worthless the Aruban government was in the search efforts, the room erupted in applause and agreement.

This is something that travellers to Aruba are repeating again and again, and if you read Walter's comments on this blog you will see that some of the Arubans aren't too happy about their government and ALE, either. It is too bad that they aren't unhappy enough yet to protest the MEP and ALE instead of criticizing and blaming the U.S. media and Beth herself.

If any of you Arubans are reading this, know that Americans blame your government for this fiasco of an investigation, not you. They are the problem here.

I did get to speak to Beth again for about ten minutes before I left; it was a quick discussion about boycott strategies that for now is on a need-to-know basis. Aruba will find out what Beth and her team have been up to soon enough if ALE doesn't produce some real results real fast!"

ONE HAPPY ISLAND?

Check out this website, Aruba Silence. Very interesting to see that the graves that were trashed in Aruba were of the name ODUBER? I wonder if disturbed graves are relations of our dear old Nelson Orlando Oduber?

Was this a message from the nasty underbelly of Aruba?

Aaah! Look! A grafitti tribute to Aruba's finest:

"The pharmacy is open"...

NEW WITNESSES AND SMOKE SCREENS?

From Rita Cosby Live & Direct:

Conflicting Statements?

HOLLOWAY: Well, I think there was some early confusion on what some of the Mountain Brook kids reported and what they said. I did speak with one individual. And he said that they all came out of the establishment, and they were all talking, and everybody appeared to be OK. And then suddenly they saw Natalee look around as if she was looking for someone and walked back into the establishment and was back in there approximately 15 minutes. And then, when she came out, Deepak had her by the arm, leading her out of the bar.

COSBY: And that was the last thing that they saw?

HOLLOWAY: Well, that was one of the individuals' witness statement was, was that Deepak walked her out. Some of the others indicated that she walked out with Joran. So I think that‘s a matter of clearing that issue up.

The Sand Dunes?! Another Smoke Screen?

COSBY: And, Steve, of course, everyone—we‘ve been talking about the sand dunes. Any movement in what‘s happening in the sand dunes? Because there was so much focus that another—we were hearing somebody close to Joran, a friend, (Are you kidding me? We are supposed to believe a friend of Joran's? All his other friends are scummy shady characters who have lied for him in the past, present and I'm sure future. However, unless this 'friend' is like Steve Cohen--another bad liar who slipped up...) insinuated something to point them back towards that area. Have you heard if there‘s any progress, any movement there?

COHEN: Yes. You know, the original information there is part of there-look at the investigation, as well as new witnesses that have come forward. So the investigators felt that they should begin to dig in the area by the sand dunes. That went on for a few days. It has now ceased for a moment, as they begin to sift through what they‘ve got, figure out where they are. I also understand that they are awaiting something special dogs who also can go out and help them in the search. (Wasn't this all done before? This makes no sense...)

STEVE COHEN PICKED LAST IN GYM CLASS TODAY

ATA and Briesen Chastise Actions of Steve Cohen

ARUBA – Also Aruba Tourism Authority (ATA) dissociates herself from the firm statements of Steve Cohen. ATA emphasized in a press release that ATA and Tourism-minister Edison Briesen (MEP) do not agree with the statements of Cohen on the details of the investigation and the guiltiness of the three suspects.

The judgment of Cohen during the Caribbean Marketplace-conference in Puerto Rico last week took the minister and the ATA by surprise. They immediately talked to him afterwards and he was made clear that he is not allowed to speak out like that on behalf of Aruba. (Bad boy! Don't do that again or you'll be wearing concrete boots!) They made it clear to him that he is not allowed to give details about the case; he cannot speculate and accuse the three suspects.

Unfortunately, Cohen had already made such statements in Dr. Phil’s show that was recorded on January 10th, five days before Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA) conference. Cohen’s statements had been on the Task Force’s website for some time. Cohen had also added an elucidation on the same website. Both articles are meanwhile removed from arubatruth.com.

Even though Cohen is officially the spokesperson of the Task Force, he is not being paid by ATA (government) but by Ahata (private).

According to ATA’s press release, the Task Force and the ATA had already drawn up the document with the name Natalee Holloway Talking Points. This document is a guideline for everybody that talks about the case with the international media. The parties have not discussed deviation from this document. ATA emphasises that speaking about the case to others is very inconvenient and the ATA appreciates the fact that Cohen wants to do this. They also say that Cohen’s presence at the conference had a positive effect on the tour operators.

OPEN LETTER TO GOVERNOR PERDUE

Dear Gov. Perdue:

I hope that you will castigate the Georgia Chamber of Commerce for its visits to Aruba. Their actions are contrary to the spirit of the tourism boycott that you have endorsed in which more and more Americans are adopting as the only tool we have in our campaign to seek justice for the family of Natalee Holloway.

I am aware that the Georgia Chamber of Commerce is a private organization, yet surely it is not indifferent to public opinion. I hope that you will denounce the visit swiftly and vehemently.

Thank you for your attention and assistance, and for your courageous support of the boycott.

Richard R.
Vermont, USA

OPEN LETTER TO GEORGIA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

I have read that your organization is planning to visit Aruba. It is inconceivable that such an action would be considered at this time, and I am asking that you will reconsider this ill-judged idea.

Your own governor has supported the tourist boycott of Aruba as the only tool we Americans have to seek justice in the Natalee Holloway case. I am aware that the boycott is not legally binding, but moral leadership is an issue to which we should not be indifferent.

And on a moral basis, your proposed visit is appalling. The Holloway Twitty family has faced lies, evasions, duplicity and insult in their efforts to find out what happened to their daughter. They continue to pay huge sums to finance a search that is rightfully the obligation of Aruba. Meanwhile, the Arubans scoff at the campaign to hold them accountable, and the main suspects remain free.

Aruba has spit in the face of the American people. And you seem to be indifferent. I hope that your governor publicly condemns your action.

There is an old joke:

Q. Which is worse, ignorance or apathy?

A. I don't know and I don't care.

May I venture to say that if your visit is carried through, you will be displaying both?

Support for your governor and for the Holloway Twitty family would seem to be an absolute minimum that could be expected from your group. You have failed.

-Richard R.
Vermont, USA

LET THE INTERROGATIONS BEGIN..

Two Aruban police investigators were en route to Alabama on Monday and plan to spend the next week to 10 days interviewing 21 friends of missing Mountain Brook teen Natalee Holloway.

At the same time, another team was visiting the FBI regional headquarters in Barbados to look at documents in the case, and ground searches could start up again in the next few days, Aruba Deputy Police Chief Gerold Dompig said Monday.

Birmingham FBI agents will help conduct the voluntary interviews, said FBI spokesman Raymond Zicarelli. "We're here to assist and coordinate in the interview process," he said. "The FBI will be present during the interviews, but this is an Aruban investigation."

The FBI spoke with many of the Mountain Brook High School graduates in the weeks after Holloway disappeared. But since then, Aruban police have asked them to return to fill in gaps. Dompig said his team had a "wish list" of 21 people to interview. He would not say if any of the adults who were on the trip are included in that list.

Although many on the list are in the state, others may be away at school. Dompig said the team is even considering flying some potential interviewees back to Birmingham. He said the team plans to stay as long as 10 days but may need to remain longer.

Meanwhile, he said, his team plans to research a stretch of dunes near a lighthouse on the western edge of Aruba if cadaver dogs expected to be loaned by the FBI arrive this week. The search, which started Jan. 16 but was quickly aborted, is based on a tip he said matched other information. "Those two things together gave us the feeling that we had to go back," he said.

COMMENTS STEVE COHEN LEFT ON BLOG SITE

There are concerns about the statements regarding the investigations view of whether or not any of the suspects had consensual sex with Natalee Holloway. It was not my intention to suggest that they had admitted any such actions on the official record. The statement was made in regard to why interviewing Alabama teens would be important to the case. However, the Office of the Prosecution believes it is important to determine all details of that night including Ms. Holloway’s physical state.

- Steve Cohen




I have received much positive response to our defense of Aruba’s conduct in the disappearance case of Natalee Holloway. In Boston, this weekend at the Vacation Expo, many consumers offered their support of our stance and booked their vacations to Aruba. It was a difficult communication forum, but I did carefully offer the official view of the case, and why we had done nothing to halt or hamper the investigation. In my statements regarding the culpability of the suspects, I offered the view that a case against the suspects was progressing and that it was the goal of the investigation to find them guilty of a range of charges.

Steve Cohen
Aruba Special Adviser

Click here to read for yourself

NEW SHOW ON FOX--LEAVE IT TO JORAN

"The best show to hit the air since 'Cop Rock' "--Roger Ebert

Show begins January 31, 2006, 8:00 EST

ODUBER--"I AM SICK AND TIRED OF THE CASE"

"When will this end? When can I stop hugging this lady?"

Check out that great body language Oduber oozes and that contrite emotional hug he gives Beth...oh so telling. He looks guilty of knowing something.

Thanks for the info and great comments RED--SM

ARUBA — After the Holloway-case is closed, Prime Minister Nelson Oduber (MEP) wants a thorough investigation be conducted on the course of everything that had to do with the investigation on the disappeared American teenager, especially the begin phase. He thinks that mistakes were made especially in this phase. “I have already spoken with the Court president, Louis de Lannooy and with former judge Bob Wit.”

Oduber says that the investigation must reveal whether mistakes were made, so we can learn from them. Oduber’s statement is due to the Amigoe-comment of yesterday “Enough, this is it” of yesterday. “We have to figure out which mistakes were made and how to prevent these in the future. We have to come to standing agreements between the Public Prosecutor (OM) and the police on how to conduct an investigation and how to deal with the local as well as the international media in these cases. There is too much talk about the case and what is said, differs too much. The OM says one thing and the police say another. That confuses the Americans.”

Oduber disputes the fact that he himself had recently approached a group to come look for the girl in Aruba. “I am sick and tired of the case. I do not talk about this case with people; not with the Attorney General, not with the OM. In the beginning I have discussed the matter with the American FBI, but I do not do that anymore. The OM and the Aruban police are doing the investigation and they have to try to conclude it right. I think that Aruba can do the investigation right herself, but if the OM and the police are of the opinion that they need assistance from abroad, they can get that. I am not the one to decide on that.”

If those in Aruba ever wondered why Americans are as upset as they are and make the conscious choice as individuals to not visit Aruba, just take a look at what your Prime Minister says.

“I am sick and tired of the case”

Please tell me the PM thinks this case is just going to go away. He is sick of the case? Do you really think that’s what potential Americans on the fence of deciding to go to Aruba or go else where want to hear? This case that you are sick of happened on your island, deal with it.

Then there comes the following contradiction of statements. The Aruban PM thinks Aruba can investigate the crime, yet wants to have a thorough investigation after the Natalee Holloway case is over so they “can learn from their mistakes”. All the Holloway & Twitty families want is a thorough investigation now.

"Hey everyone! Check out my new bowling shirt!
We just started a Tuesday night league! It's a great
release for me because I'm just so sick and tired of the
Holloway case."

WILL COHEN HAVE A JOB? DOESN'T LOOK GOOD!

OM and defense not happy with Cohen's Statements

ARUBA – The Public Prosecutor (OM) has called Steve Cohen, spokesperson of the Strategic Communications Task Force in the United States to account his statements in Dr. Phil’s show of last week. During the show in question, Cohen had declared that the OM is of the opinion that the three boys are guilty of the disappearance of Natalee Holloway.

The OM had asked Cohen in a letter where he got the information from and called him to account the fact that he declared the three boys guilty. “As Public Prosecutor, we are not allowed to comment on the question whether a person is guilty or not, and we will never do that either, neither will we relinquish detailed information from the investigation”, said spokesperson Mariaine Croes of the OM. It upsets the OM that Cohen, as official spokesperson of Aruba, has done this. (HA! Upset that the truth is coming out, and your weak advisor can't lie as well as the rest of you?)

Also the lawyer of the Kalpoe brothers, David Kock, has indicated not being pleased at all with the firm statements of Cohen. He says that Cohen should have maintained the indication that the three boys are suspects, but Cohen decided to assume the judge’s position by indicating firmly that they are guilty and his statements are considered very important since he is partly being paid by the government.

Cohen explained his certainty by indicating that he was talking before an American public. “There is no doubt about the OM trying to prove this assumption. It is very common in the United States that the OM says that the suspect is guilty and in the mean time continues to try to prove this assumption. If I have acted differently, it would have been interpreted as if I am participating in a cover-up.” (Because YOU ARE...you are trying to cover your ass. You might be on the 'chopping block', so to speak. I'd get out of Aruba while I had the chance.)

Cohen made his statements in a tense, negative environment. “But we think that we were better off showing up than cancel. For most of the viewers, we were calm and reasonably perspective.” Cohen says being pleased that he could mention the three most important issues: that the investigation is on-going, that we are still looking for forensic evidence, and that the witnesses in Alabama as well as in Aruba will be interrogated.

Sounds like Cohen might not be buddies with his Aruban friends for long!

BRIAN THE DREAM PSYCHIC HAS A NEW NATALEE DREAM

Brian's Predictions--a Verified Dream Predictor


This is his third dream about Natalee.

This is disturbing...

Missing person Natalie Holloway was planning on meeting a man named "J.J." for several months before she went missing. This man lives in Barranquilla Colombia, and that's where she is right now. She is staying in a hotel called Juan Mina, and is not being held against her will. The hotel room was confirmed by one of my readers today...

"Brian there is a hotel named Juan Mina on some sort of strip in Barranquila Colombia type in the place check under hotels I hope her family knows this. I have always thought she might be alive. some guilt to do with her family The Good girl thing"

This took me some time to figure out, and from what I can tell, I think its about missing person Natalie Holloway, and I think she is alive, which totally contradicts a dream a had a month ago or so. This say "Nate" was sold for $500 USD to a man drawn above, she is now in Barranquila Colombia? (not sure if this is a real place yet). She's staying in a hotel room #17, and I think the hotel may be called Juan Mina. She has not been harmed, and I do not think she is being held there against her will...this may not be Natalie Holloway...but its worth checking out.

These are all the motels on Juan Mina Road:

MOTEL SCAPE

Cr 38 117-40 Vía Juan Mina Km 3
COLOMBIA - Atlántico, Barranquilla

Telefonos: (57)(5)3595719
Agregar a Mis PáginasAmarillas


MOTEL CABAÑAS DEL SAHARA

Cr 38Km 3Via Juan Mina-
COLOMBIA - Atlántico, Barranquilla
Telefonos: (57)(5)3595550
Sucursales
Agregar a Mis PáginasAmarillas

MOTEL SCAPE

Cr 38 117-40 Vía Juan Mina Km 3
COLOMBIA - Atlántico, Barranquilla
Telefonos: (57)(5)3593223, (57)(5)3595719
Agregar a Mis PáginasAmarillas

Brian's First Natalee Prediction Written May 31, 2005:

A 18 year old girl named Nate (I think) is being held by by 3 men, which abducted her at some sort of party. She has been raped and beaten, but is still alive. The location of the girl is show by the X above, but I have no idea of where this place is, may actually be an island like Hawaii. I also know that if someone does not stop her going to this party, she will eventually be killed and her body will be dumped into the ocean, and eventually some of her body parts will wash-up on the beach??

ANOTHER DESOLATE DAY

Another dull day in Aruba

GEORGIA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE HYPOCRITES?

Doesn't look like Georgia's Chamber of Commerce doesn't care about Georgia's offical boycott of Aruba. When it comes to money, people will do anything, including sacrificing their beliefs in exchange for greed. Have a great time in Aruba, and watch your back.

SHAME ON GEORGIA'S CHAMBER OF COMMERCE!!!

2006--a result of the campaign, the Georgia Chamber now has members in 154 of the state's 159 counties, also a new record.

For 24 of the campaign's top producers and their guests, their next stop is Aruba in January, for the annual post-campaign planning and evaluation session. This five-day excursion to the popular Caribbean island is a mix of relaxing and brainstorming about the 2006 campaign and ways to make it even better.

2006-- Volunteers are currently vying for a wide range of prizes and incentives, including trips to New York City, the Bahamas and Aruba. Plus, they have chances to earn certificates good for $100 in BP/Amoco gasoline, a weekend stay at the Sea Palms Resort in Saint Simons, airplane tickets and a host of other prizes.

2005--Based on their production, nineteen volunteers have already won spots on the coveted Victory Trip to Aruba, which takes place in January 2005. The nineteen winners, along with their guests, will spend five days on this island paradise enjoying 86-degree temperatures while their friends and co-workers brave the cold winter back home in Georgia. But, the criteria for winning the trip is stiff and those that win it, truly earn it.

In addition to the Aruba trip, volunteers are still competing for a trip to New York City, provided by AirTran Airways and jointly sponsored by ALLTEL and a luxurious Caribbean Cruise.

2004--Volunteers around the state continued to recruit companies as the campaign enters the homestretch. Through week 18 of Team Georgia Chamber 2004, volunteers have recruited 523 new members and raised more than $1 million. On November 10, the Campaign Victory Celebration will mark the official end of this year’s membership and resources drive. Production will continue to come in after the Victory Celebration and volunteers can still earn a spot on the Victory Trip to Aruba, in January.

2003--Savannah Electric & Power Company is the third team to reach both its new member and dollar goals with 15 new members recruited and $30,740 produced. Second year Team Captain Swann Seiler led all producers for the week with $10,495 to put her team over the top and earn a spot on the Victory Trip to Aruba in January.

Article from Aruba Today:

Georgia Chamber of Commerce Continues Support of Aruba

Palm Beach-- The George Chamber of Commerce has been enjoying the pleasures of Aruba over the past week, and on Saturday evening the group made a three-peat visit to Palm Beach seafood standout, Aqua Grill.

This is the fifth year in a row that the George business executives have chosen Aruba as the reward destination for the top producers in the annual membership drive for the state’s chamber of commerce, and the third year at what they call their “favorite restaurant on the island.”

George Chamber CEO and President George Israel was amazed by the success of the team of volunteers, chaired by President and CEO of AGL Resources Paul Rosput Reynolds, that chipped in to raise a record-breaking $1.64 million dollars and recruited more than 800 businesses in the statewide membership drive for 2005. The recruitment volunteers exceeded three of the campaign’s five category goals—new members, renewals, and sponsorships.

The Georgia Chamber’s continued support and confidence in the island’s tourism product was undeterred by Georgia Governor Purdue’s controversial call to officially boycott Aruba in response to the Natalee Holloway disappearance. Several Georgia Chamber members at the Aqua Grill dinner Saturday night stated that they intent to meet with Governor Purdue in the coming weeks to stress their continued support of the island that has welcomed them with gracious hospitality five years in a row.

Sounds like some people in Georgia have some sort of vested interest in Aruba. These people from the Georgia Chamber of Commerce are heartless PIGS.

LET'S TAKE A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE

Here's an old post re-written..let's not forget what this idiot said. His 'goof-up' of admissions don't add up to what he's trying to take back now. He knows it and we know it.

We as Americans, WILL and SHOULD not stand for another country treating our American like garbage and publicly trashing their innocent grieving family because their Island needs to cover up their illegal activities and gross incompetence.

The spot light is on them. They are like cockroaches...scrambling from the light.

Be Patriotic and Stand up for Natalee

Quotes taken from Scared Monkeys

From the Dr. Phil show:

Cohen, consultant to the Aruban government, first professed the suspects innocence, now says they are guilty. After all this time that Aruba, the Aruban government and the Tourism industry has defended Aruba and the three suspects...now they think the suspects are guilty.

• Dr. Phil asks him, “From your opinion, based on what you know, do you believe that these boys are guilty of wrongdoing here?”
  

• Steve says that he does.

• “Do the prosecutors believe they are guilty of wrongdoing?”

• Steve says that they do.

• “Do you believe that [the boys] have available, intimate knowledge of what happened to her that night?”
  

• Again, Steve confirms that he does.

Steve explains (similiar to the excuse, 'my dog ate my homework'):


“Forensic materials continue to be collected. I think we’ve got our hands on some forensic material now that may actually open up the doors to the final results of this case.”


(Let's not hold our breath)

Many have questioned from the outset that Steve Cohen held a conflict of interest because of the many relationships he had with private sector Aruban Tourism Association, Strategic Communication Task Force, consultant to the Aruban government and access to the ALE information.

The Questions continue:

• Dr. Phil says, “You say that you are a consultant paid by the tourism industry that’s also working in conjunction with the government, and in the same breath you say that you are the ones that had to let these boys out of jail?”

• “I was the guy who had to let them out. I opened the jail door for all three of them. It was nobody else. It was me. And my feeling was that we had lost. (Why would you feel that they've lost when they were just RELEASED!?) And then we didn’t lose because we all sat together and said, ‘We can figure this out.’” (Sounds like Mr. Brady giving advice to the kids...)

Cohen cuddles up to his new 'buddies in crime'

More cover-up plan discussion...

Attorney for Beth Twitty, John Kelley speaking in response to Steve Cohen says there is a reason why tourism has taken a dip in Aruba and its because many are just appalled at what has transpired.

Attorney John Kelly answers for Beth:

• “We’re not going to sit here and say, ‘Mr. Cohen’s a nice guy. He told us some nice things. Aruba’s a nice country.’

• "No! Their daughter’s missing. We don’t have answers. The answers are down there."

• "They have the resources, they have the men, they have the answers, they’ve got the suspects, it’s all down there for them to solve this, and they’re not doing it."

• "We need that done."

Awesome! A lawyer with some balls! No more pussyfooting around Aruba!
Better fasten your seat belts for the crash you are responsible for.

MYTH: NO CRIME IN ARUBA

Low Crime Rate, my Ass! A Safe Island, NOT!

Map of Crime Area and locations of interest

We have heard the Aruban government boast about their "low crime rate" since the kidnapping of Natalee Holloway; however, that statistic CANNOT be trusted. First, the so-called government of Aruba which is the world's first and only run mafia state has not published crime statistics since 1995. So there is no accurate way to know how many and what types of crimes are taking place.

• We know that lying to the police is not a crime.

• We know when there is a reported crime the police take weeks, months and at some point never take the report seriously; such as Natalee Holloway.
  

• We know how the senior police officials belittle victims of sexual assault. If you were a victim of a sexual assault would you turn to the Aruba government for justice?
  

• Drugs are openly sold on the streets of Aruba and there is no noticeable police presence and even if they were there is no concern for the drug dealer.

• Aruba between 2004 and 2005 had a 200% increase in murders.
  

• Between 2004 and 2005 a 100% increase in kidnappings.

Crime in Aruba

Articles and links to crime in Aruba that are practically non-existent. Some of them, mind you, are a few years old, therefore may not apply, but should at least clear up the myth that there is no crime in Aruba.

Caribbean Update—12/1/01

There has been an increase in crime in Aruba, reports the U.S. State Dept. (Nov. 9, 2001), which notes: "Although strolling downtown or in other tourist areas after dark used to be generally safe, Americans should note that there has been a sharp rise in armed robberies. Newspapers report these incidents as being mostly drug related. There have been incidents of theft from hotel rooms. Petty crime and credit card fraud continues to be a problem."

AP Worldstream--3-26-2004

ORANJESTAD, Aruba
Authorities have detained four Dutch marines on drug-smuggling suspicions, sending two back to the Netherlands and keeping two in custody in Aruba while the military investigates, a spokeswoman said Friday. The four suspects, who have not been identified by name, were low-ranking marines serving in a 200-strong military presence at the Savanega base in this Dutch Caribbean territory. They were detained March 17 during raids at their homes in Aruba, and had been suspects during an ongoing investigation.

AP Worldstream--3-08-2004

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands
A majority of the people imprisoned in the Netherlands are foreigners or immigrants, the Central Bureau for Statistics said Monday. At the end of September 2003, 55 percent of the Dutch prison population was born abroad, compared with 50 percent 10 years ago, the government agency said.

The increase could reflect the drive in recent years to crack down on crime, especially drug offenses. The overall number of people in prison rose by 7 percent to around 13,000 from September 2002, the statistics office said. Around 9 percent of prisoners are from Suriname, the former Dutch colony, and an additional 9 percent from the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba, both Dutch possessions in the Caribbean. Moroccans comprise 7 percent and Turks 5 percent.

Of the 1,600 prisoners serving a sentence of longer than four years, 70 percent were convicted of violent crimes and 25 percent of drug offenses. The Netherlands is believed to be one of the world's largest producers of the synthetic party drug Ecstasy, and a gateway for cocaine traffic through Europe.

STEVE COHEN'S SPEAKS OUT--HIS EXCUSE

I have received much positive response to our defense of Aruba’s conduct in the disappearance case of Natalee Holloway. In Boston, this weekend at the Vacation Expo, many consumers offered their support of our stance and booked their vacations to Aruba.

It was a difficult communication forum, but I did carefully offer the official view of the case, and why we had done nothing to halt or hamper the investigation. In my statements regarding the culpability of the suspects, I offered the view that a case against the suspects was progressing and that it was the goal of the investigation to find them guilty of a range of charges.

I have been critiqued for being too strong on this issue. But, there seems to be no doubt that the prosecution seeks to prove this premise. In the United States, prosecutors regularly claim that the accussed is guilty of the crime, and then they proceed to prove it. Any other language by me on Dr. Phil would have appeared to be a dodge or cover up.

It was a highly charged, negative environment, but we felt that speaking out was better than failing to appear. It seems for most viewers, we presented a reasoned, calm perspective on the case.

It is difficult to speak to the Aruban audience and the American audience at the same time. Still, we were able to make our points:

The investigation continues
There is an ongoing search for forensic evidence
Witnesses in Alabama and Aruba will be questioned

In sum, it was a challenging, but essential opportunity to present the Aruban side of the case. Such efforts to explain our efforts to the American audience will continue, so that charges of corruption, collusion, or apathy in the case will not go unchallenged.

Steve Cohen
Aruba Special Adviser