BOYCOTT ARUBA--JUSTICE FOR NATALEE

By Meri, Aruban Boycott Blogger

So What Now??? A year has come and gone. Natalee is still nowhere to be found. Aruba continues to pretend like they are investigating her disappearance. Some Dutch Professors admit that the case was bungled from the start.

Joran is free in Holland pursuing his college degree. The Kalpoe Brothers continue to live on Aruba and to remain silent. Joe Tacopina awaits a NY Judge's decision as to whether or not the civil lawsuit goes forward or is thrown out for lack of jurisdiction. Beth shows Greta Van Susteren around Natalee's bedroom and we see a well organized calendar with dates as far ahead as August of 2006. Pretty summer dresses hang in a closet no longer used.

Rita speaks about Natalee and the case with Dave Holloway. On Saturday, America's Most Wanted will do a special on Natalee where one of her close friends will speak out for the first time. Does the above sound like a bunch of headlines strung together? Is what's left of the case of the disappearance of Natalee Holloway no more than a page in a tabloid...a quick nightly news report? Have other stories pushed Natalee out of the news?

Think about this; a girl was strangled in an apartment near Clemson University. The police believe that the case will be solved and there are already persons of interest in their sights. A wake was held for the young lady today and she will be buried by her loved ones.

Another young lady was kidnapped and taken to an apartment complex in Birmingham, Alabama. She was found the same day and the kidnapper is in custody due to excellent police work. A woman was murdered by two brutal killers who video taped their dirty deeds and who may have also killed at least one other woman. They have been caught and are behind bars.

The families of the victims will bury their loved ones. MOST cases of homicide and murder are solved and in even more the victims are recovered and their families can bury them.

The news changes every day but one thing remains constant; Natalee has not been found and her parents have not recovered her. If she is dead they cannot bury her. The police investigating her disappearance could in no possible way be described as having practiced excellent police work.

So, where do we go from here...those of us who want to help? I can tell you what I am going to do...I am going to blog and blog and blog until Beth and Dave have their answers. Until they know what happened to their daughter and if she will ever come home...even for the purpose of a funeral service. I am going to keep talking about Natalee Holloway until I have no more voice and my hands no longer have the strength to type.

You might ask why and I would have to defer you to the images of Beth that I watched on television last night. The pictures of a mother going through her daughter's precious possessions and trying to hold back her tears. I would have to defer you to the images of a father who is being interviewed and while I listen to him speak I can hear the sadness in his voice and see the sorrow in his eyes, I watch him holding back his own tears. That's why...

For those of you who believe that Natalee deserves justice, keep on going...don't give up.

Why Natalee? Why not me?

Ever since I started following and became emotionally involved in Natalee’s case, I have felt guilty about my own life and my past…the things I did when I was 18 and younger.

What happened to Natalee could have happened to me 100 times over. In high school I was a ‘wild child’. I was every parents nightmare. Teen angst? Normal behavior? I doubt it. Starting at the age of 14, I began a serious habit of binge drinking on almost a weekly basis. I hitch hiked, drove home with strangers after parties, walked the streets with my friends…I did everything that Natalee would never have done. I took unnecessary chances and never suffered any consequences.

Why am I here? Was I naïve? Most definitely. Were we safer 15-20 years ago than teens are today? I always had the attitude growing up that I was invincible. I was not afraid of anyone. Before my high school graduation, I had already lost my virginity to my high school boyfriend and was already on the path of becoming a teenage alcoholic (which I outgrew in college and rarely drink to this day) But at that time in my life I was everything that Natalee was not.

Why am I here? All the situations I put myself in when I was young make me feel terribly guilty…why not me? Why Natalee? I took a million more chances in my life to end up being raped, victimized or even murdered.

It’s not fair that good people like Natalee suffer the demise and the cover-up of her disappearance for a year now. It’s not fair that someone as good and smart and beautiful as Natalee should have endured this unimaginable situation.

They always say, “bad things happen to good people.” And this rings true…what is God trying to tell us? I don’t know what his plan is…but I will take whatever he feels is right. Maybe this all happened for a reason. Maybe Natalee is a martyr…and ironically, this day in history, Joan of Arc was burned at the stake. What more violence can women endure before we all come together and do something about it?

Violence against women has increased over the years…this needs to stop. Women need to bond together to protect themselves and their “sisters” instead of adopting and agreeing with the male opinions that Natalee is not the victim and she asked for it.

As a grown adult I see the crazy and unwise things I did when I was in high school. Although not to the magnitude that teens choose to do today. (i.e. "Girls Gone Wild", extreme open sexual behavior, all the attitudes that younger people have adopted in today's society). I am glad that I made it through those insane times of my life, but it doesn’t stop the guilt I feel for doing the things I did and why I am still here…while an innocent, beautiful hearted human being has suffered…and most importantly the pain and suffering her family and friends have endured over the past year.

It’s just not fair. They say “life isn’t fair”…true. But it still doesn’t take back the fact that this could have happened to any of us. I am sure we have all taken far worse risks than Natalee did sometime in their lives. We cannot be hypocrites.

If I were Natalee I would have been crucified from day one and I am sure that I would not have received any media coverage...just another girl who 'deserved it'. They would have written me off after all the mudslinging and information the Arubans would have found out about me and used against me.

The victims in all cases such as this not only suffer the tragedy, but have to endure the hateful remarks and do not have the ability to defend themselves. They are the silent victims. Unable to speak…unable to get the justice she deserves.

This case has made me think about the wild high school life I chose to live many years ago. Unfortunately, I believe Natalee is most likely deceased and then there are others like me who took unwise chances while we were younger that are still alive. It’s not fair and I don’t think I will ever feel the same about myself and my childhood actions after Natalee’s experience.

I grieve daily for Natalee, Beth, Dave, her family and friends. My heart hurts not knowing where she is and what happened to her. I know that everyone who believes in Natalee will ever give up until the truth comes out. Aruba will not hear the end of us…maybe even for life. Aruba and Holland has been irreparably damaged.

We will never forget Natalee…a good, intelligent and beautiful person inside and out. I don’t need to know Natalee personally to figure that out.

Think about the unwise things you have done in your life before you cast stones. If you think you are perfect and have never done anything unwise or irresponsible in your life, you are delusional and in denial...or just a plain liar. At least I have the balls to come out and admit my past faults...there are many others who have done the same thing and are cowards for not thinking of what they've done themselves before they bash Natalee and her family.

To those who believe Natalee "deserved it" and Beth is a "media whore", I hope that if God forbid something would happen to you, someone like me and thousands of others stand behind you and not write you off.

This is how I imagine perfect karma--JUSTICE and LOVE to Natalee Ann Holloway

--Michelle

It’s 2021, and Natalee Holloway is 35 years old. She went on to complete her undergraduate studies in pre-medicine at the University of Alabama, and graduated magna cum laude. She married her college sweetheart and studied medicine at the prestigious John Hopkins University Medical School. However, instead of becoming a pediatric practioner like she always thought she would do, she opted for biomedical research in the area of pediatric hereditary diseases. She is one of the lead inventors of a medical team that has just completed all their research and medical trials for a life changing new drug. This drug will save millions of babies’ lives for a particular hereditary disease that is currently incurable.

Same year--2021. After his third divorce, Joran meets and marries his fourth wife, Betty Boop. Joran does not have any children because he has always “used a condom” with everyone he’s been with…including all his wives. He was never really committed to having a family and although married, he continued to live his cavalier lifestyle and never did manage to get over the stigma of being regarded in the likes of O.J. Simpson.

However, Joran seems to want to finally settle down with Betty Boop and together, they decide to start a family. Betty Boop becomes pregnant shortly thereafter. Joran and Betty are ecstatic and very excited for their new, wonderful, perfect baby.

Flashback 35 years…

It is May 29, 2005. Natalee Holloway has been vacationing with her friends and celebrating their high school graduation on the safe island of Aruba. After coming home from Aruba, Natalee plans to attend the University of Alabama with a full scholarship for pre-med. She wants to be a pediatrician. Unfortunately, Natalee’s future will never be known because she met someone in Aruba named Joran van der Sloot. In the early morning hours of May 30, after an evening of fun with her friends at a cheesy local tourist bar, she is seen leaving with Joran, who posed himself as a tourist, and offered her a ride back to the hotel. Natalee believes Joran is staying at the Holiday Inn as well. Natalee Holloway is never seen again. Justice is never served. Joran van der Sloot goes on about his life.

Here comes the irony of the alternate universe…

It is May 30, 2021. Joran Van der Sloot and his wife Betty welcome their new, perfect beautiful baby boy into the world. Unfortunately, the beautiful baby boy is not perfect and tragically dies due to a pediatric hereditary disease. There has been a drug in the works for years, but a cure has never been found.

By Meri, Aruban Boycott Blogger

It's a year since Natalee Holloway disappeared from an Island in the Caribbean. A year since her family last spoke to her or heard her laughter. A year since all of her hopes and dreams were ended. A year that will NOT be marked in any special way by her Mother because every day is a day of remembrance and pain for both Beth and Dave.

I spent yesterday reading the various blogs and message boards on the Internet that concern Natalee and I went over all of the alerts that I have received from Google regarding Natalee's disappearance and the futile search for her this past 12 months. I read the opinions and the comments; the good and the bad.

First, ALL roads lead back to Joran van der Sloot. No matter what is said or who is arrested, they all lead back to Joran and his actions both on the night that Natalee was last seen alive and his subsequent lies and inconsistencies in each and every statement that he has made. I took notes when Greta Van Susteren interviewed him and when Chris Cuomo interviewed him and I re-read the police statements that I have in my possession and I came up with over 20 pages of lies and inconsistencies.

This isn't about Joran though, it's about Natalee, so I will focus on what was lost and what may never be found. A bright, smiling, intelligent girl with hopes and dreams and a family who loves her vanished off of the face of the earth.

If it is true that one person's death diminishes us all than Natalee is a perfect example of that saying. So many people have worked tirelessly to try to find Natalee. So many have contributed in some way to find answers as to what happened to her and where she might be. So many of us believe that we know what happened in a general sense and we know why the truth will never be told. That makes it even more difficult to write about this case and to move forward in our search for the truth.

There are far better writers than I am who submit various pieces to web sites and I read them every day. There are people much closer to Natalee than I was or ever will be who I have listened to and yet I feel compelled to continue my search for answers. I can't even give you a solid reason for my interest other than the usual ones about justice, compassion and empathy for Natalee's parents. I can tell you that somewhere in my heart something was touched by Natalee Holloway and by her parents.

Their grief is a part of it and the way that they have been treated by the Aruban authorities is another. The unkind words and pictures on the hate sites push me forward as well, so I guess if you put all of that together there is a reasonable explanation for my continued interest in finding out what happened to Natalee last May.

I think that most of all, I simply have come to know Natalee and her family in a unique and special way that I never anticipated prior to ever hearing her name a year ago. She is my daughter, my sister...my friend...me. She could be anyone and everyone and she has come to symbolize that for me. Her mother could be me, my mom, my daughter-in-law, my friends and her dad could be my dad, my husband, my sons...my friends. Natalee and her parents, very simply put, are ALL of us and that's why we can't give up on her.

Today we remember fallen heroes who fought for our country and for our freedom and that is something separate and apart from the remembrance I will feel for this lovely girl from Alabama.

She was not a hero nor a warrior and she didn't set out to defend America. She did become a symbol nevertheless of what America stands for and that is to care about, protect and defend our neighbors and to stand by our fellow citizens in time of suffering. Natalee brought out the best in some of us and her parents showed us the path to courage.

Today I will thank our fallen heroes and remember them. Tomorrow I will thank Beth and Dave for showing me what real courage is all about and I will remember their daughter...our daughter..our sister....our friend... our neighbor........Natalee.

Translated Dutch article
posted on SM by Vila

Holloway Case: ‘Holland, intervene’

Amsterdam: Exactly a year after the disappearance of Natalee Holloway in Aruba, the investigation is stuck. Criminal law experts and Natalee’s Mother only see one solution: Holland has to intervene.

Dutch detectives have to take control of the police team that on Aruba is investigating the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. This is argued by criminal law expert Peter van Koppen.

After a year the investigation of the disappearance of the American teenager is stuck. At least nine persons are accused of having kidnapped and murdered Natalee, more than 280 witnesses have been heard and there’s a file of over 40,000 pages. But what happened to Natalee in the early morning of may 30th 2005 on Aruba? The investigators don’t know.

Criminal law experts and people involved have the impression that police and justice on Aruba are completely lost. It seems like the Arubans are capturing suspects randomly, says Van Koppen.

It would be wise if a Dutch team takes over the case instead of having the Arubans dragging on the investigation. The current police team is apparently not able to distinguish ripe from green. A good Dutch team could manage it.

Lawyer Gerard Spong, who as lawyer of the suspect Guido W. got to know the file agrees with Van Koppen. Spong calls the Aruban investigation amateurish. According to him the case is so complicated that a college of three judges should handle it. This is not possible in Aruba.

Also the mother of Natalee Holloway, Beth Twitty, hopes that Dutch detectives will eventually shed some light on the case. In an interview with the AD she calls the investigation on Aruba so far a mess.

Aruban lawyers notice that witnesses and suspects are continuously being called for questioning again. People who have been interrogated twenty times already, get sick of it. Several suspects refuse to even talk to the police anymore, according to a lawyer.

Police and justice on Aruba refuse to comment.

(HA HA HA! That was the best laugh I've had all week!)

by Meri, Aruban Boycott Blogger

Yesterday I posted some pretty incendiary comments regarding the Dutch and the Arubans. I have no regrets about what I said but I will take back the extreme generalization of some of my comments.

I'm sure that not ALL Dutch and Arubans are evil. Unfortunately, the ones we have been exposed to as of late are, so my words have to stand. I also want to correct my comment about the Dutch giving us Hans Christian Anderson....they didn't...they gave us tulips, wooden clogs, dikes, windmills, and Joran van der Sloot. I would have preferred Hans to Joran any day.

I am angry with the way this case has been handled and about how the lies and constant arrests have gone down. I DO understand the differences in the laws of our countries because I have spent HOURS reading about them. That doesn't make me any less angry because no matter what a country's law is there is a way to handle an investigation and a way not to handle one.

The Arubans have completely messed up from day one and NO difference in laws can alter or change that fact. The police force on Aruba is a nepotistic bunch of bozos who don't seem to know their heads from their behinds and if anyone needs further proof...just read the Internet and what has transpired up to this point in time at the hands of the ALE.

I believe that favors have been called in, evidence ignored and truth thrown to the junkyard dogs on the Aruban landfill, where Natalee Holloway is concerned. I also believe that this was deliberate and continues to be so. I would be thrilled to be convinced otherwise and proven wrong but I doubt that will happen in this lifetime because you can't turn a sows ear into a silk purse and the ALE is most definitely of the sows ear variety when it comes to investigating the disappearance of a young girl.

It's not that big of a place...they know who everyone is...where everyone is..they know what happened to Natalee Holloway and of that I am completely convinced. No matter how much her parents want answers...deserve answers....need answers...those clowns will not allow them to have any resolution and they have KNOWN from the beginning that they never would.

Joe T., Arlene, Julia, Rudy Croes, Dompig, Jacobs, Vander Stratton, et al will NEVER allow the truth to come out because they simply have way too much to lose. Joran will never stop lying and the Kalpoe's will remain silent. The people who may have aided and abetted them will also keep silent.

This is the most frustrating case I have ever seen or read about and those feelings are shared with many others. This is cruelty beyond comprehension for Natalee's family and for Natalee herself, who has been disparaged, trashed and blamed for her own disappearance.

The guilty will remain guilty and unpunished and the innocent will never know the truth so the powers that be on Aruba have succeeded in what they set out to accomplish from the very beginning. What we are left with is a sad family, missing a child, and a bunch of hateful individuals who post disgusting words and images on the Internet.

Justice???? Where did it go?
It certainly didn't take a vacation break on the Island of Aruba.

By Meri, Aruban Boycott Blogger

On the Refugees message board I noticed that Joe Tacopina gave those idiots an interview. WTF???? Has he bothered to look at the content over there? Does he realize what those morons stand for and what they say? Is this the same Joe T. who continually tries to portray himself as a compassionate person who has deep feelings of sadness for the Holloway/Twitty families?

Gee, Joe, don't you have a secretary in your office who can peruse things for you before you run off half-cocked and give interviews to creeps who post vile words and pictures? Are you a one-man office? I thought you were some big-shot lawyer who could afford help. What, no Paralegals or even a switchboard operator who could check these things out for you before you make a complete fool of yourself?

Maybe instead of the morons on those hate sites starting a legal fund for your client Joran, they should start one for you. Maybe they can help you raise enough money to hire an assistant with two eyes and a computer who could check out the places that you select to bless with your presence?

Tacopina, you are as bad as those people on your special message board. You have proven to me that you ARE the joke that the legal community thinks you are. Take some time off from your "talking-head" job on the various cable news shows and go and read what the people you thought highly enough of to give an interview to have to say. You will be so proud of yourself after you realize that you contributed to a site where worthless, lost souls post and where between ALL of them there exists not one working brain cell.

On second thought...maybe that's exactly where you belong.

By Meri, Aruban Boycott Blogger

This is why the world is going to hell. The anti-American comments posted by the Dutch, and the corrupt Arubans are very reflective of the attitude held by not only the Dutch, the French and others who hate Americans because they have no values and are cowards. When it comes time to bail their asses out of another war they will come crying to the USA once again and when it's over they will continue to bash us because they resent the fact that they can't take care of their own business and because they have such low moral values.

I pity these people and pray that they will STAY in their own delusional countries and leave ours alone. Let the Dutch go smoke their weed in their little cafes and live their lives pretending that they stand for something. They don't and never have. The only good thing to have come from Holland was Hans Christian Anderson.

Bash us all you like...WE know who we are and the proof of that is in the caring and devotion that we show to our own people when they are suffering as is the case with Beth and Dave. We care about each other...you just throw flames. I pity you.

As for Aruban tourism going UP...are you insane? Read the stats and weep. If you are going to believe liars and shills like Julia you are deluding yourselves or you are just plain lying...but that seems to be a national trait (just look at Joran, Paulus and the other Dutch suspects in this case). You people have lying down to a fine art. Keep it on your Island and in your country...we don't want it or need it here.

In addition, I observed a disgusting picture of Beth Twitty on The Refugees site and I wonder how those people manage to exist. I, along with others are going to do EVERYTHING within our power to bring down that site and its ugliness. You don't have to like Beth and you don't have to care about Natalee...NO ONE is asking that of you.

What you DO have to do is show some kind of decency on the Internet and not participate in hate speech or photos. That is something that will NOT be tolerated.

Your site is filled with hate and disrespect for women and that picture of Beth proves it. How can ANY female allow that type of crap to be posted without speaking up and objecting to it? What if it were you who was the object of scorn and hatred? What if it were your picture being so blatantly misrepresented? What if it were your mother or your sister?

Self-respect and self-esteem are two qualities that the women of the Refuges site and others of it's ilk seem to have none of. I don't care who the object of your scorn is, you have no decency and no brains and you need to be stopped from polluting the Internet with your crap. Have your opinions about the Holloway case, that's your right, but you have gone too far and it needs to stop.

Who posted that piece of crap picture of Beth? Was it some teenaged boy? Do the females among you approve of this sort of behavior? If you don't, then speak up and make them take down that horrible, gross example of the trashing of women. I can't believe that ALL of you think that this is acceptable. I call on anyone who cares about other human beings to do something to try and stop this site from continuing to spread their vile garbage.

I don't usually single out countries or people in such a non-specific way and I feel that doing so is usually wrong. USUALLY.....I am tired of the bashing and the constant lies that have come from both Holland and Aruba since this case began. I am sick of the delusional individuals who refuse to show even the slightest amount of compassion for a sad and tragic family who lost so much.

If I believed that these people who continue to take shots at everything Holloway/Twitty and everything American had any sort of redeeming qualities I would never make such statements as I posted above but I see NO compassion and I see NO empathy and that makes me sick. People devoid of these qualities are not human to me and they deserve no consideration whatsoever; I stand by my remarks despite the nasty comments that I surely expect to receive for stating my opinion.

It's been a long time in coming and well deserved by those I am aiming my words at. Shame on you. You are no better than the person who murders without a conscience. You are no better than a low life creature who is unable to think and feel.

I am sick and tired of this pathetic mess.

I’m sick and tired of Aruba arresting people that most likely had nothing to do with Natalee’s disappearance to make it look as if they are doing something.

I’m sick and tired of the continual lies, the smoke screens, the corruption, the coverups, and the Aruban officials who laugh behind Beth and Dave’s back knowing that this case won’t be solved--because they won’t allow it to be solved...they have too much to lose because this goes way beyond Natalee and Joran. We know it, and you know it.

The ALE knew from the very beginning that Joran, Deepak and Satish had something to do with this. Dompig stated, “These 3 are guilty as hell”, or whatever it was that he stated. I believe that Satish may have had nothing to do with Natalee’s demise or disappearance; but I believe Joran and Deepak are the ultimate culprits. Joran has admitted himself in front of the entire world that he is a liar…why should we ever believe him?

I believe that the people of Aruba know what happened to Natalee, but won’t come forward due to alliances, or because of fear. If Joran is innocent, then why won’t he take a polygraph? One of the men accused in the gang rape at Duke University had no problem in taking a polygraph, which he passed… if one is innocent, one has nothing to hide.

I honestly do not think that this case will ever be resolved. From day one, they have sent Beth and Dave on a wild goose chase. "Natalee is in a crack house", "check Carlos and Charlies", check here, check there. "She probably ran off with a boy she fell in love with" (even though she was only in Aruba for a mere few days and spent all her time with her friends), not detaining the three boys right away due to “a tactical maneuver”, throwing away evidence or discounting it.

Everything from day one has been nothing but LIE after LIE after LIE.

And you know what really pisses me off is that no one can even call Natalee by her NAME. It’s always “the girl”. It’s as if she isn’t even a human being. She’s just “the girl”. That makes me sick. Her name is NATALEE HOLLOWAY. Don't forget it. Because her name will haunt your island for eternity.

Aruba thinks that Beth and Dave will get tired and go away if they just hang in there for awhile. I know for a fact that Beth and Dave will not go away. Neither will thousands of others who believe that Joran, Deepak and his father had something to do with her disappearance and believe they are absolutely guilty.

I am entitled to my opinion and freedom of speech applies in my country. You say innocent until proven guilty? Aruba, you have NO RIGHT to use those words when you don’t even acknowledge your own laws…and innocent until proven guilty is an AMERICAN right. The ALE, Karin Janssen, Julia “leatherface/ex-porno fluffer” Renfro, Arlene Schippers, etc., have stated from DAY ONE that Aruba is not America and that their laws are different than our laws…you basically told the family to ‘get over it’, while using our “innocent until proven guilty” rights. Don’t you dare use our rights for your own sick purposes.

I now refuse to believe that any new arrests warrant that person had anything to do with Natalee’s disappearance. Aruba has forgotten the main rule of a criminal investigation…the last person seen with a victim is almost always the guilty party. If you don’t believe that, then go back to detective school…or continue with your inbreeding (Isn’t it odd that everyone is related to everyone down there?) and continue to live in complete denial. Inbreeding causes mental retardation and that’s what I think of all of you involved in this sick and demented disaster.

Joran thinks that his life has been ruined by this? Guess what Joran, not only is your life ruined, but your entire island is suffering due to your LIES. If Joran was an American citizen and compromised our country like Joran has compromised Aruba, you can bet your ass that he would have been turned in a long time ago. Our citizens don’t let sexual predators and liars get away with murder. Especially if it affects American citizens and their financial livelihood.

Keep digging those holes…because you have dug one deep enough to put everyone involved in it. And I would like to be in line to help BURY that hole. If I were Beth I would have taken matters into my own hands a long time ago. I would gladly sit in prison for the rest of my life...just knowing that I avenged my daughter and took care of the real people who are responsible.

God bless Beth, Dave, Natalee, and their entire family. We will never forget what happened and Aruba will go down in history as the most corrupt and sickest tourist island in the world.

By Meri, Aruban Boycott Blogger

Last Wednesday in Utrecht, Holland in The Netherlands, a close friend and tennis partner of Joran van der Sloot was arrested. This young man who's name is Guido Wever, worked at the Casino in the Holiday Inn where Natalee was staying. He was questioned last June by the Aruban authorities and has been a suspect for sometime.

He has hired Gerard Spong, one of Holland's top lawyers to try to prevent the Dutch from sending him back to Aruba. I am hoping that his attorney is successful and that the questioning of this suspect is handled in Holland by the Dutch since I have NO faith in the Aruban police. This is the first major link between a suspect and Joran for many months.

One of the charges being brought against him is "Heavy Battery" which implies that Natalee was beaten and that would account for how she may have died. Prior to this no one mentioned the charge of "Heavy Battery" to the best of my knowledge.

Do the Aruban's know exactly what happened to Natalee? Have they retrieved her body and found that the COD was battery? Considering that Steve Croes, GVC and everyone but the Kalpoe's have disclaimed knowing Joran this could be a major break in the case.

This boy absolutely knows Joran and they absolutely hung out together. There will be much more information forthcoming by tomorrow since that is when his attorney will make an appearance in a Dutch Court on his behalf. According to Jossy Mansur, the young man has been named by more than one witness and there is testimony that he was involved in Natalee's disappearance.

Guido Wever's attorney claims that he will be easily cleared but if he stays in Holland that may not be quite as easy as it would be on Aruba where they haven't a clue how to investigate a crime. I have faith that the Dutch DO know what they are doing and that it will not be a repeat of the Keystone Kop routine that we have witnessed thus far when the Aruban officials are involved.

I am hoping that this is not another dead end and that FINALLY...right before the first anniversary of Natalee's disappearance, Beth and Dave will get some answers. They can make deals with suspects in Dutch Law, even though people like Arlene Ellis Shipper have denied this possibility. Let's hope that this boy won't be willing to take the fall for others and that he will tell what he knows. Although they are not referred to as plea bargains like they are here in the USA, they can go easier on a suspect and reduce charges if they cooperate.

Let's hope that this time we get some answers and that the people who harmed Natalee are finally brought to justice. It is long over due.

http://www.modellenbureau.nl/

Guido Wever, who was a croupier (dealer) at the hotel where Natalee was staying, and has been questioned on more than one occasion while on Aruba came to Utrecht in Holland and was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping and murder on Wednesday of this past week. His lawyer, Gerard Spong is accused of "assisting in the murder, heavy battery and kidnapping" Natalee, and he is trying to prevent him from being extradited back to Aruba via a court hearing.

Guido is a friend of Joran van der Sloot's who is considered the main suspect in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. The Dutch will not confirm anything because they say they made the arrest at the order of the Aruban authorities. It has also been rumored that he left Aruba two weeks after Natalee's disappearance and that Arlene Schippers is his cousin.

Could he be related to Yolanda Wever? The woman in charge of the crematorium?

By Meri, Aruban Boycott Blogger

Is Natalee Holloway still among the living? Let's examine the facts (those few pieces of information that we have).

Almost a year ago Natalee left a sleazy bar with three young men. They began to lie the minute that Beth Twitty discovered that they were the last known people to have seen Natalee alive.

When the first lie didn't work they switched to the beach story and it narrowed down to Joran being the last known person known to have seen Natalee alive. Soon, Joran began to point to Deepak and then Satish as having picked him up ALONE from the beach, leaving Natalee on her own and incapacitated. Both Kalpoe brothers deny that they picked Joran up. Joran somehow left his brand new shoes on the beach along with a supposedly living, breathing Natalee. The shoes AND Natalee were never seen again...as far as we know.

Since that night there have been several arrests and several releases. All of those who have been questioned are now considered suspects on that strange Island that more resembles Wonderland than what Alice encountered when she fell down the rabbit hole.

Paulus gave free legal advice not only to his flesh and blood son but to t

he two Kalpoe brothers in the beginning...that is until Joran decided to accuse them of harming Natalee and rendering himself totally innocent. After all, according to Anita, Joe T. and Paulus, Joran is the perfect kid. Maybe he is simply a spoiled rotten brat who had no concern for a young woman who was probably drunk and not thinking straight? Maybe he is guilty of ONLY leaving her alone on a beach at night; a beach peopled by drug addicts (like our old friend Booty)? A beach peopled by players like Freddy and GVC and Steve Croes and God knows who else. Maybe he left her on a beach where a man existed who attempted to molest at least two other American tourists (the one who's sketch we saw).

Not a safe environment for a lone girl. Not a hopeful scenario for a future living, breathing Natalee. Whatever Joran did or didn't do this is for certain...he LIED and he left a girl alone on a beach and we have not seen her since.

The Aruban police announced that Natalee was dead and then they withdrew that claim in favor of a more placid pronouncement, "We have no evidence that a crime was committed." Weird, huh? What made them think that Natalee was dead? What made them think that Natalee wasn't dead?

There have been videos, photos and all manner of clues that seem to indicate that perhaps a body was found...do the Aruban's have an excuse for that too? The Kalpoe brothers just happened to clean their car out with bleach AFTER Natalee was last seen in it...strange. I clean my car but not with bleach.

Art Wood found a belt that he believed was out of place on the beach. It resembled a belt that Joran was using to pretend to strangle a friend in a photo (quite the innocent boy, eh?), don't we all have such a photo in our memory books? I searched mine and could NOT find one single picture of ANYONE pretending to strangle anyone. I also could not recall EVER knowing anyone who called themselves a "Pimp" or a "Loverboy" as a mark of pride. Usually those names are reserved for hormonal teenaged boys who need to show off because they aren't mature enough to call themselves real men, men who exploit women for money or gang members.

Which of the above categories does Joran fall under?

The evidence, scant though it is, points in a sad direction and that direction does not lead me to believe that Natalee Holloway is alive. No, there is no proof of either death or life where Natalee is concerned but there IS and always will be common sense and reason and for those who possess it the time has probably come to accept the fact that Natalee is gone and the most that anyone can ever hope for is some resolution as to what happened to her.

If I am proven wrong I will rejoice along with everyone else who cares about Natalee but for the time being and until further notice I have to go with reason and common sense and leave the dreaming to others.

Latest News...More to follow

Loverboys' preying on teenage girls

18 May 2006

AMSTERDAM — Young pimps known as 'Loverboys' have found a new recruitment ground, centres for people with learning difficulties, according to radio programme.

The programme makers based their findings on interviews with various organisations that have encountered the phenomenon. It is not known how extensive the problem is.

The term loverboy is used to describe a young man - often Moroccan - who becomes romantically involved with a young woman to persuade her to work as a prostitute for him. There are ongoing campaigns in Dutch schools about these pimps who shower their 'girlfriends' with gifts and attention before forcing them into prostitution.

Radio programme

'De Ochtenden' uncovered accounts of loverboys masquerading as friends of young female residents. Young women living in individual residential units are preferred targets.

A staff member of a Amsterdam organisation told the programme how one pimp kept up the charade he was the boyfriend of one of the girls for weeks. "That at a certain stage we discovered that she was no longer going to school for two or three weeks, but was working behind a window in the Wallen [Amsterdam's Red Light district]."

The programme also established that the loverboys sometimes persuade a female to go to an establishment to seek new victims. "I know of one centre where three girls were recruited for prostitution in this way," Lou Repetur of Pretty Woman said. Pretty Woman is a foundation that offers help to girls exploited by loverboys.

Girls with mild learning difficulties make an attractive target for the pimps because they often lack the social skills and awareness of other girls their age. Some also come from difficult family backgrounds which makes them more vulnerable to manipulation.

Whoever wrote this should keep on with their papiamento...don't try English...it's not working for you.

I realize that the Aruban people aren't at fault, but what about those Arubans who know what happened to Natalee and aren't coming forward? You should be mad at your country, not us. Are you afraid of your government? In America, we aren't.

An Aruban's point of view....

Things that never took place on this island is now talking place so believe me, it wont suprise me anymore but if it is true that they kidnap young girls and put them into sex slavery then how come we don’t have any missing young girls on this island before Natalee? And also, we have lot’s of white girls with blond hairs and blue eyes on this island too. How come they are not being kidnap? Why only Natalee? Again, i am not saying that it is not possible but it is strange.

In San Nicolas we have lot’s of Colombian and Dominican women working as prostitutes and they are brought here in Aruba by their own fellow country men that lied to them that they can work here and make alot of money here in Aruba and can have a better life here then where they come from. And when they are brought here and when they see what they will have to do for a living but then realize that it is too late to go back.

Many Arubans talk bad about Colombian and Dominican. They blame us for changing our island. Most of the crime here are committed by non Aruban people so I do understand why most of my fellow Arubans want the foreigners to go away from this island.

Why is OUR duty to help your corrupt country???

I think you should help them instead of blaming them for everything. Help them integrate so they can find a job and not go around and rob people. (So you are saying that most Arubans who don't make a good living are all robbers?) The older ones living here on this island are being seen as Arubans. They are well integrated into our society but the new ones that came to our island has changed our island.

They refuse to speak papiamento and they only want to speak spanish and do want to integrate. The bad ones are ruin it for the good ones that lived here their entire life and see themselves more like Arubans who love this island but never forget where they came from.

Sounds like a message from Pres. Bush!

Another 'Conspiracy Theory'--"She's Alive!"

Dale Netherton

May 18, 2005

What do you do when a crime is committed and there is not a trace of evidence to pursue? You have three choices. You can endlessly search for evidence and if nothing turns up eventually you must turn to the second choice which is to file the case away in the cold case files. Either of these two choices will lead you nowhere if you ‘re looking for evidence in the wrong place.

How do you decide where to look for evidence? You can look where you have already looked or you can look in a new location. Given the size of the earth you would probably like to narrow your search to somewhere more likely than less likely. How do you decide where is more likely? Here you must revisit the known facts of the case and formulate a theory that will give you some possibilities of where to look. Otherwise you will be looking at random over a vast area which limits the possibility you will find anything. This is why a theory must guide you in your search.

For a concrete example let’s revisit the Natalee Holloway case. There has been no evidence of her found to date. There have been searches in all places where there was some indication her body might be found and nothing has turned up. There have been interrogations and arrests and releases and nothing reported that indicates there is a likely location her body will be found.

Searching for a body of someone we don’t have any evidence is dead is a flaw in the investigation strategy. (Yet, Janssen held them last summer for premeditated murder...how would they know it was a murder at that point in time???) Time spent looking for what at this point is an assumption, narrows the investigation and excludes the question, “ What if she is alive?” At this point in the investigation there is just as much evidence she is alive as that she is dead, yet where have all the searches been conducted and for what?

No one thought they would find a live person in any of the search areas. This show the bias of the dominant theory driving the investigation. Likewise there is a bias that the chief early suspects, especially Joran Van der Sloot, were participants in her disappearance to the extent they “knew what happened to her”.

Perhaps they participated and didn’t know what happened to her after she was “delivered”. This option seems to be either ignored or dismissed but it hasn’t been proven to be out of the question.

So if the current theory that Natalee is dead is not coming up with any findings, why isn’t someone pursuing the possibility she is alive? (You are ridiculous if you think she really is alive when all indications of common sense and simple research conclude that she is not alive according to Joran et al.) If you watch the interviews and the talking heads all you get is an attitude of resignation that comes from “ no body has been found therefore we can’t proceed”.

Not once has there been anyone that I have seen on TV say,’ Let’s suppose Natalee was kidnapped and may be held a this very moment in a live and captive position”. This statement would lead to a whole series of questions that may be pertinent to finding Natalee. Such as, “ Where could she be?” “ Who would have taken her and for what purpose?” “ Is it possible for someone to take a girl from the island of Aruba without the authorities knowing it?” Or “ Could the authorities have known about it and looked the other way?” None of these questions are being asked nor pursued and the viewing pubic should be asking why they aren’t.

I have contacted several networks asking about this approach and I have received no response. These are news organizations that would rush in thousands of cameras and reporters to look at a dead body but won’t consider that might not be the story at all.

Why is their mind set so rigid? They know they are finding nothing new. They know this case is fading from the public view because of a lack of leads, Yet they will not consider what might create new leads. This is a free press that is supposed to be searching for the truth and reporting it but instead it is more interested is clinging to a theory that is going nowhere.

What kind of a mindset clings to the hope of finding a dead body for a story instead of exploring the possibility that the person is living and could be rescued? How many times has it occurred that someone given up for dead is later found alive and has lived in captivity? This is not an unknown happenstance yet in the Natalee Holloway case it is evidently taboo.

For those readers out there who would like to see the media consider a positive approach that could lead to a happy ending I urge you to do your part and make it known to your friends and the media you subscribe to that this story is not being fully considered. It is floundering in false unproven assumptions and there are many possible suspects that are being ignored.

When a large reward is posted, as one has been and no one has responded this tells you something is fundamentally wrong in the investigation. Either there is no one who knows anything (which is highly unlikely) or they are under threat if they talk.

This needs to be ferreted out. The media thrives on giving attention to others mistakes and incompetence. Like the government self examination is not something they do with any regularity. It would be a good time to give them a wake up call and ask them what they are afraid of and why they are reluctant to investigate rather than just sit around waiting for a phone call. There is a comparison used in the selling trade between a salesperson and an order taker.

This is analogous to having a reporter that waits for the news and one who searches out all the possibilities. One asks where could evidence be found and the other sits and bemoans a “ lack of evidence”. If you had been kidnapped, which one would you rather was covering your disappearance?

EDITORIAL: A SECOND LOOK AT NATURE AND NURTURE

Excerpts of Study

The human brain is the most fantastic thing on earth. Nothing could do what the human brain does, yet somehow the brain does it—and keeps getting better at it. During six million years of human development, the brain has continued to enlarge and to become more complex...

One of the most complex features of the brain is its control of behavior, and research in this area is demonstrating that many of our long-held ideas about behavior are incorrect.

Not many decades ago, even scientists thought the newborn brain was a "blank slate," and that all behavior, good and bad, was learned. Research now shows conclusively that this idea was wrong.

Today researchers estimate that around fifty percent of behavior is genetically acquired, and thus attributable to "nature." Even a trait such as poor logic, which can lead to bad behavior, may be transmitted genetically, possibly by preventing the brain's neurons from connecting normally.

In retrospect, it is surprising that both science and society have been so slow to recognize that if people can genetically acquire hair and eye color, a predisposition to diabetes, and so much more, we can also inherit different behaviors—just as dogs and horses inherit different behavioral tendencies.

It is equally remarkable that it has taken us so long to understand that when a malfunctioning brain is inherited, bad behavior can be the result.

The Nurture Factor

It doesn't take much calculation to determine that if "nature" is responsible for 50 percent of behavior, "nurture" has to be responsible for the other half. Because society thinks of nurturing as pertaining to home conditions, and especially parenting, billions of dollars are spent by government in an effort to improve troubled children's home environments.

These billions, however, are failing to help. Why? Judith Rich Harris in her book, The Nature Assumption, presents a strong argument that neither home conditions nor parenting have any effect on the development of a child's personality and behavior...For example, researchers often attributed children's behavior problems to parental discipline styles, failing to note that those disciplinary styles frequently evolved in response to children's aberrant behavior. Indeed, Harris cites evidence showing that peers have a greater influence on a child's behavior than parents do.

It is critical that we recognize the crucial role that genes, often coupled with biological insults, play in determining behavior. Parents, including parents of adopted children, need to realize that if their children have "gone bad," it may be the result of an innate genetic vulnerability or physical insult rather than psychological trauma.

Vol. 10, No. 1, 2004, Page 2

Joe Tacopina is just like Joran and Paulus...one huge bullshitter.

May 17, 2006

Transcribed by Michelle Says So

GRETA: Why weren’t the Van der Sloot’s at the hearing today?

JOE: No, it’s not a question of whose side I’m on. Clearly, for the Holloway family that was just here, from the bottom of my heart want closure for them and want them to get some answers.

GRETA: You have five kids…

JOE: I have 5 kids yeah…and this is not about trying to prevent them from getting answers. I 100% believe in my client, Greta. I believe in Joran. I wouldn’t have come into this case if I make my own finding that he had nothing to do with her disappearance. I understand they are emotionally invested in believing he had something to do with it…and I hope they get answers. But on the same token, I hope my clients get their lives back.

GRETA: Why weren’t your clients there today. They don’t have to be there, but they could have been there.

JOE: Well they could have been, but the problem is part of our argument it is not a convenient forum for them. Joran is in college in Holland right now. He is an honor student, he takes his schooling very seriously. He is doing very well in his first year. Paulus’ life has been turned upside down. He lost his judgeship that was pending in Aruba.

GRETA: I thought he failed it…did they lose it because of this case, or did he have some sort of…

JOE: Now he is struggling to make a living right now as an attorney. A trip here is not an easy thing for them. The bottom line is they called us with their fate in our hands today and you know (inaudible)…

GRETA: In terms of the hearing today, did the judge say anything to you…she thought that was a great question for us, or that is a lousy question for us?

JOE: No. The judge really let both sides have at it. Laying out their arguments and gave us a chance to reply…and clearly is going to take this very seriously, very thorough. She made a point she is going to read a transcript of the hearing…read the briefs again. The only comment she made was about the fact is that none of the parties are residents of work.

GRETA: And the lawyer then responded that there are lots of cases in the New York Courts where there parties don’t live here.

JOE: It is just absolutely not accurate.

GRETA: If your clients lose, will they answer and defend the case, or will they default the case.

JOE: They will not default the case.

GRETA: So they will be subjected to depositions, answer questions under oath, the whole bit.

JOE: …we are going to fight the case, but, as far as fighting the case, there are literally about five other motion what they call the supercedes law 3211 in New York State that are right for dismissal. We have made other motions to dismiss. This isn’t the first…quite frankly clear cut. I think the factors are like this: I think the scales aren’t even close. There are other motions, but if they had to litigate, but it’s not the facts that we are afraid of here…Joran is innocent, there is no evidence to show that he had anything to do for her disappearance or harm her in anyway.

GRETA: Did you talk to your clients and tell them what happened today?

JOE: Yeah, they called afterwards and we spoke…they are just getting run down, no surprises. They clearly want to know if there was any movement by the Court…they were as gracious as usual and very appreciative.

GRETA: Is Joran an involved client? Some clients are really involved, some are not. Is he paying attention to this or busy with studies. How do you describe him?

JOE: We’ve tried to keep him off this quite frankly--he is paying attention because this is his life, and his life has been really in turmoil for the last year. But he is now in Holland, studying…his first year of college…he is probably most mature, articulate 18-year old boys. I mean you’ve spent some time with them. He’s been a real help quite frankly in this case and in this investigation.

GRETA: One of the things I thought interesting today, and obviously you and the other side have a very different view on this…whether or not you had subpoena power. If this case remains in New York State Court, can you reach into Aruba and subpoena witnesses. You say yes, and the Holloway-Twitty faction say yes because of the Hague Convention.

JOE: The Hague Convention doesn’t speak that at all. The Hague Convention really encourages cooperation between governments as far as discovery and sharing documents. It is not in any way shape or form.

GRETA: So you say no…so you can’t bring witnesses into Court…

JOE: I cannot subpoena a witness in Aruba and make them appear in that New York Court. It does not speak (inaudible).

GRETA: It was very interesting because the lawyer on the other side, and it wasn’t John Q. Kelly said that was absolutely false. One of you got the law wrong and I don’t know who it is…the judge will tell us.

GRETA: Have you ever talked to Deepak Kalpoe?

JOE: No, not at all. We went down there and spent some time there…we’ve spoken to a lot of people from this individual named Booty to other alleged suspects, to witnesses, to people claiming they have real information. It’s hard to (inaudible) because everyone seems to want to be a part of this. We did not speak to the Kalpoes.

GRETA: Did you try to?

JOE: Well, they have lawyers, and we respect the (inaudible) client privledge. We reached out to their counsel, and I think they just want to disappear since this.

GRETA: Booty is enormously…Booty is someone who hangs out on the beach, made a live on the beach. Someone who I have been told has a criminal history. He is there sometimes at night…has access to a boat, is the brother in law of Gerald Dompig.

JOE: And…most importantly, he had a hut on the beach and he showed us where it was that had a direct shot into the room stayed at that night. We were there…the beach that he lived in, I mean literally stayed on this beach out there. What you have to understand this climate permits something like that. It’s just a cover and that’s where he stayed.

GRETA: Is there any place where you have seen the police talked to this man. He’s a brother in law to the police chief…you would think he would have information about the beach.

JOE: That’s the funny thing. The police reports we have gone through…thousands of pages of police reports. They are silent as to this individual. And we know he is going is going to make statements to several people who have been down there, television…claiming to have information about Natalee’s disappearance, and yet there is no police report that speaks to this individual.

GRETA: You know what I think is weird, I’ve talked to journalists down there and they say they are afraid of him. That is what is so peculiar…if it’s so easy to pick someone up, why don’t the police bring him in, detain him, question him, maybe because he’s the brother in law. What is his boating access?

JOE: Well, you know apparently he had access to some sort of a boat that was on the beach that disappeared after May 30. Who knows what that means…they should have least looked into this.

GRETA: Something the police definitely should have looked…this is a no brainer and certainly I would like to know what Booty might know, or at least he may know what’s going on the beach.