NO NANCY--NOW IT'S GRETA

I wish Nancy could have done this show.

I can't stand Greta. But it's better than nothing.

Tonight on Greta she will be interviewing Beth regarding her visit to Holland. I am looking forward to hear what is really going on over there and if they are just appeasing her. I'm not holding my breath until I hear and see the Dutch in Aruba WORKING.

ARUBA HAS NO CONTROL OVER CORRUPTION!

ARUBA – “Aruba is one of the last countries in the world that does not have compulsory education yet and no legislation on the control of corruption. Even a country like Nigeria has a code of conduct for the Parliament members and Tanzania has laws against corruption. The lack of these kinds of matters caused astonishment.”


Rudy Lampe (RED) returned from Tanzania with those shocking establishments. He attended a conference on corruption in Tanzania that was organized by the Organisación Mundial de Parlamentarios Contra la Corrupción (World Parliamentary Organization Against Corruption, Gopac). Parliamentarians from all around the world have exchanged information and debated on the best way to tackle corruption.


The Dutch Kingdom has signed a treaty with the United Nations on corruption, but it cannot be ratified as long as there is no necessary legislation in Aruba. It’s such a shame that the rulers are not more critical on the own way of handling and prevents regular entanglement of interest. Lampe said that the government leases space from a member of parliament of the opposition. “How can somebody criticize the actions of ministers, when his own wallet plays a part?”


Lampe, who had the fight against corruption as one of the spearheads of his election campaign, is of the opinion that Aruba has to start working seriously. He has lots of examples of ministers that after their period in office were much richer than they could have been with just their salaries. We need laws against corruption; laws against the financing of political parties and the protection of bell-ringers. The assets of ministers have to be registered.


In order to show how damaging corruption is, he named the example of Calmaquip that was charged with fraud and corruption. Calmaquip has supposedly jacked up the costs of gigantic projects. This same company had done the renovation of the airport, and the actual costs ended up being much higher than the estimated costs. Lampe says that this went probably hand in hand with bribes. (What about the example of Natalee Holloway?)

THE BAHAMA EMERGENCY

It is very sad to hear that a 20-year old boy died under unknown circumstances in the Bahamas. Officials immediate reaction was to get this issue solved. But is this the fact that Anna Nicole Smith is a celebrity? Because she has such notoriety the Bahamas are under the scope--trying to salvage their tourism. They compare it to the Aruba debacle. They admittedly said they didn’t want another Aruba situation. Doesn’t that suggest that the boycott is working and the word Aruba infers a bad connotation?


However, I wonder if Natalee went missing in the Bahamas, would that have made a difference? Would they have blown the case off like the ALE did? I wonder if the Bahamas would have treated Natalee’s case as important as Anna Nicole Smith’s son.


I hope so. Maybe there are people out there with consciences. The ones that don’t probably live in Aruba.

ARUBA, ARE YOU REALLY THAT STUPID? SOUNDS LIKE A YES TO ME

Wow, and I thought that the educational system in the U.S. was bad. This is outright embarrassing for Aruba! I was 11 when I was in 6th grade. No wonder why these people are so pathetically inept.

50 Percent of six-graders too old

ARUBA – 50 Percent of all the six-graders is too old, says MPA- leader Monica Kock. She bases this on the figures of the Education department. Chances are that these students become drop outs or will start working, because due to their age, they can no longer be admitted on secondary schools.

MPA is of the opinion that in order to prevent that this development becomes a trend, the government will have to take actions soon. In 2004-2005, 49.6 percent of the six-graders were older than 12 years; 45.4 percent of the fifth-graders were older; and 43.2 percent of the fourth-graders. MPA says that the figures are from the Education department.

“The problem is that 14- and 15-year olds are in the same classroom with 11-year olds. Another problem is that these children are considered too old for the secondary school”, concludes Kock. She says that chances are that these children become either drop outs or start working. There are already children that stop going to school after the sixth grade or that do not even finish the last grade of the elementary school. “We are not only talking about illegal children, but also Aruban natives”, says Kock.

IS THIS WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO THE DUTCH? A HOT POLITICIAN?

AMSTERDAM — Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende lacks sex appeal and charisma, according to high-educated survey (High-educated? I won't even go there...) respondents aged between 25 and 40. The survey of 5,000 business leaders gave the Christian Democrat CDA minister scores of just 2.4 and 4.1 for sex appeal and charisma respectively. Carried out by the careers magazine Volkskrant Banen and research bureau GITP, the survey also found Balkenende is not highly rated for characteristics such as daring, decisiveness, integrity and leadership.


It was revealed last week that Balkenende scored the lowest average rating of the eight party leaders with a score of just 5.9. Socialist SP leader Jan Marijnissen scored the best with 7.2. On the so-called charisma scale, the prime minister scored exceptionally low, news website nu.nl reported on Monday. Only Geert Wilders performed worse. Balkenende scored just 4.8 for exuding authority, 4.7 for prompting admiration and 4.6 for humour.



Women gave Balkenende a score of just 2.3 for sex appeal. Despite the poor results, Balkenende and his CDA party are still performing reasonably well in pre-election polls. "Fortunately for Balkenende, it appears that Dutch voters place more importance on their own wallet and prefer a boring prime minister than a charismatic leader such as [Labour] PvdA leader Wouter Bos whom they don’t know as prime minister," GITP spokesman Anton van der Horst said.

LIONEL PRACTICES FOR THE BIG ARUBA GIG! WHOO!

The other night I was flipping through channels and I immediately stopped when I saw a very sweaty Lionel Richie dancing and singing on BET. However, it was more like flailing his arms around with that big white toothy grin.

“We're going to Parti', Karamu', Fiesta, forever…Come on and sing along.”

I’ll admit he still seems to be a great performer, but you could see his age coming through. The sweat dripping down his face looked like a bad day for a jerry curled ‘soul glow’ dude like Rick James.

Throw your arms in the air like ya just don’t care, “Tom bo li de say de moi ya Yeah, Jambo Jumbo…Way to parti' o we goin'…Oh, jambali. Tom bo li de say de moi ya Yeah, JUMBO JUMBO!”

Looks to me that good old Lionel is in preparation for that big soul concert in Aruba. I wonder if he’ll have fellow Alabama’s Tommy Shaw from Styx sing the Diana Ross portion for the ‘romantic ballad’, “Endless love”. (Blotting my eyes) That song just brings tears to my eyes.

Shame on you Lionel Richie! You are from Alabama…don’t you care about the people from your state? Whether they are black, white, rich, poor. You are all supposed to be “Alabama homies”. Instead you turn your back to get that last chance of “stardom” (next we’ll see him on “Dancing with the Stars”). What if Natalee was YOUR daughter, Lionel?

Just keep on with that Uncle Tommin’. Hope that works out for you.

THREE MINISTERS+ BETH= FIGHT TO THE END

At this moment, Beth is on her way to Holland. I wonder if she will be privy to meetings with any of these fools? I hope Beth gives them HELL. If it doesn't go the way she wants, or if she gets more lip services and runarounds, the boycott will get bigger, meaner, and extremely ruthless.

GOD BLESS YOU BETH!

ARUBA/THE HAGUE – Three Aruban ministers are in the Netherlands this week on business. Minister Nilo Swaen of Economic Affairs and Finance had a meeting with Minister Gerrit Zalm (VVD) in The Hague. Justice-minister Rudy Croes met with Piet Hein Doner, who stepped down a day later. Prime Minister Nelson Oduber presented Herman Tjeenk Willink, vice-president of the Council of State with ‘his’ book. Oduber and Croes signed a protocol with the Dutch police with the ministers Atzo Nicolai and Johan Remker (both VVD) earlier this week.

ARUBA--YOU GOT SERVED BY THE BAHAMAS!

Aruba, your corruption, lies and cover-ups will haunt you for many years to come. No one wants to be associated or compared with you in the tourism industry.


Read this article regarding Anna Nicole Smith's son's death in the Bahamas. They obviously CARE about getting this taken care of.

Read Entire Article Here

"The fact of the matter is, the investigation surrounding this thing must be thoroughly done, it must be seen to be thoroughly investigated in any event," he said. "You have to follow everything."


Fears of missteps in the investigation have led some to worry about the islands' image overseas, and led to comparisons with the much-criticized investigation into the disappearance of American teen Natalee Holloway in Aruba.


Authorities there have arrested nine people in her disappearance and released all of them for lack of evidence. "We are all aware of what happened in Aruba," Michael Scott, a Bahamian attorney for Smith, said Thursday. "We don't want that to happen in this jurisdiction."

POVERTY: A PRESSING PROBLEM, BY AN ARUBAN

Even the locals know Aruba's officials just DON'T CARE about the people of Aruba. They only care about their tourism. People of Aruba, don't be fooled.

See article here

LIKE OUR FAVORITE SAYING--IF YOU AIN'T DUTCH, YOU AIN'T MUCH

MICHELLE SAYS SO:

From what I gather, I believe that the white Dutch in the Netherlands are RACIST. Some things never change. We saved their asses in WWII, yet they persecuted the Jews when the war was over. They change their attitudes when it's conveinent for them. Wanna smoke a joint...do some x? That's ok...even the hard stuff...police turn their cheeks. Prostitution? Ladies in the windows? Perfectly acceptable!


But when it comes to the darker skinned "dutch citizens" on the islands they are treated unfairly and I believe that is part of the definition of RACSISM. Shall I use innocent 'black' security guards Mickey and Abraham as an example? That debacle has ruined their lives. I bet the Dutch don't give a rat's ass on that one. However, Paulus can be released as a suspect and then sue the ALE. What a load of crap.

A clean start ?

(Source) --The coming days and weeks could prove crucial regarding the process to dismantle the Netherlands Antilles and for St. Maarten to become an autonomous country in the Dutch Kingdom. With Parliament elections in Holland just two months away, there is very little time left to reach basic agreement with the Balkenende Cabinet, while exactly what position the next Dutch Government will have on the issue of constitutional change in the islands remains to be seen.



Judging from the policy statements in the 2007 Kingdom Relations budget presented this week by that same outgoing cabinet, it won’t be easy. In a no-nonsense manner, it says drastic measures are inevitable, but that local authorities do not seem willing to take decisive action and have not wholeheartedly supported The Hague’s gestures to put future Kingdom relations on a firmer footing and arm them against political upheaval.



Despite the uncompromising tone of his budget statement, including acceptance of the so-called non-paper “Partners in the Kingdom” as condition for a Round Table Conference (RTC), the upcoming visit of Kingdom Relations Minister Atzo Nicolaï could provide an opportunity for progress. While he will focus primarily on the three “smaller” islands Saba, Statia and Bonaire that want direct ties with Holland, St. Maarten and Curaçao, as the two islands that want country status, could greatly improve the chance of having an RTC before elections in Holland if they reach agreement on crucial issues like a monetary union when they meet on the matter next week. It seems clear at this point that the Dutch Government will not give St. Maarten and Curaçao the exact same status Aruba received when it left the Antilles 20 years ago. That may not be considered consistent, or even fair, but it is the reality, also based on the fact that times and circumstances have changed.



It can’t be said enough: compromise on all sides will be needed and should be possible. The Council of State in an advice on the matter, for example, backs away from the Dutch Government’s unrealistic view that not only should the Antillean islands keep sharing one attorney general, prosecution and police, but that Aruba should be re-included as well. The council points out that the local political responsibility of the respective Justice Ministers must also be considered.



So while huge differences still exist not only between the Antilles and Holland, but also among the islands, there are prospects for bridging them. That is important not just in terms of ending the constitutional quagmire that has plagued the Dutch Caribbean for decades, but also because of the unique chance it offers to solve the five-billion-guilder Antillean debt crisis with the help of Holland, so the new island entities can have a clean start.

GOGO MUST GO-GO

Richard, a member of the Grassroots Aruban Boycott wrote a letter to GO-GO Travel. After reading what they had to say GO-GO Travel and their management are heartless and only interested in the almighty dollar. DO NOT USE GO-GO TRAVEL.

This is what they had to say:

September 15, 2006

Dear Richard,

Thank you for taking time to address your concerns with Gogo Worldwide Vacations' travel agent convention in Aruba. While we sympathize with your plea to ASTA to encourage members to boycott this event, ASTA maintains its position that "there is no evidence that a travelers' boycott of Aruba will serve the cause of justice", (sic) as previously expressed in the following statement issued December 2005:

The tragic case of Natalie (sic) Holloway is regrettable and saddens us all. Our sincere sympathy goes out to her family and friends. It is our clear desire that the perpetrators of this crime be brought to justice as soon as possible. However, a boycott of travel to Aruba will not solve this crime nor guarantee justice. Rather the people of Aruba will suffer for something that they did not do. Travel is about the freedom of free people to go where and when they want. There is no evidence that a travelers' boycott of Aruba will serve the cause of justice. I appreciate your passion and enthusiasm for upholding ASTA's code of ethics and industry standards.



Sincerely,


/s/ William A. Maloney
CTC Executive Vice President
and COO American Society of Travel Agents


cc: Gilbert Haroche President and CEO, Gogo Worldwide Vacations

Richard's Response:

September 18, 2006


Mr. William A. Maloney
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
American Society of Travel Agents
1101 King St., Suite 200
Alexandria, VA 22314


Dear Mr. Maloney:

Thank you for your reply of September 15 to my request that ASTA urge its members to shun a travel event that Gogo Worldwide Vacations was arranging in Aruba. I was most heartened to read the December 2005 statement that ASTA extended “sincere sympathy” to the family and friends of Natalee Holloway.


Had the statement managed to spell her name correctly, it might perhaps have had more of the ring of sincerity than it does. Few would quarrel with your statement that “Travel is about the freedom of free people to go where and when they want.” The converse of this statement must also hold true: that people who choose to avoid a locale have the right to do so. Aruba, which has maintained that a tourist boycott is illegal, seems unable to comprehend this idea.


ASTA may care little that the Holloway Twitty family have been insulted for their impudence in seeking to learn their daughter’s fate; that elements of Aruba’s government and law enforcement have since day one conspired to prevent the truth from emerging, presumably to protect certain local individuals and perhaps others; and that reports of drug dealing, assaults and other crimes are routinely suppressed on the “happy island.”


Those of us who see a moral issue in where and how we spend our money, however, care deeply. If the organizations that should champion the interests of Americans abroad see fit to turn their eyes aside, we will protect ourselves. Aruba whines that tourism is down; with no justice for Natalee (please note the spelling), there will be no tourists for Aruba. Nothing but our voluntary boycott could have induced them to seek Dutch assistance.


I appreciate your attention and assistance on this matter. If you want some of the “boycott Aruba” stickers on my envelope, hoping thereby to promote justice in a country that seems indifferent to the very concept, I shall be only too pleased to supply them to you.


Sincerely,


Richard

BETH HEADED TO HOLLAND--WHAT'S THE HOLD UP?

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC)--Beth Twitty is hoping a trip to Holland will help open the lines of communication in her to find out more information on the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. FOX6 News Reporter Christie Del Amo meets with Twitty to discuss the new investigation team in Holland. Beth Twitty says that investigators from Holland have indicated they will send a cold case squad to Aruba.

Watch video for more

"UNDER PRESSURE"--NOT THE DAVID BOWIE FREDDY MERCURY SONG...

Aruba police under pressure

THE HAGUE/ARUBA – “When it comes to combating criminality, like drug dealing, our police officers are pressured”, explained Prime Minister Nelson Oduber (MEP) the protocol for the cooperation with the Dutch police today. That’s the reason why Aruba wants support from the Netherlands to see how to cope with this and how to resist the tempting corruption. (I thought the Netherlands were supposed to take care of the Natalee Holloway matter first...lip service AGAIN!)


“The Netherlands is also faced with these problems on a daily basis and has therefore a lot of experience in this field. We want to learn from that experience.” Oduber also indicated that Aruba is striving for this same kind of cooperation in other areas, like border control. Aruba has already contacted the Royal Military Police about this. “We live from tourism. Since the terrorist attacks in the United States, all sorts of international measures were announced and we have to comply with those. We would like to interpret these well, so that the tourism do not experience unfavourable effects of these.”

Michelle Says:

You don't need to be worring about your tourism from a terrorist standpoint...worry about it from a Natalee Holloway standpoint! Be afraid, be very afraid...the grassroots boycott movement is making a difference...whether you believe it or not!

JET BLUE AND ARUBA KISSES TOURISTS' ASSES

It sounds to me that Aruba is going out of their way to kiss the asses of incoming tourists by making them feel like royalty. Champagne? I think that is going a little bit too far to make up for Aruba's bad name. Nothing they do can change the minds of the people who are dead set against Aruba. We, the people will not forget what was done to Natalee...not for all butt kissing and all the champagne in the world.

ARUBA – The first aircraft of the American low cost airline company JetBlue landed in Aruba on Friday afternoon. The Airbus 320 arrived with passengers from New York’s JFK airport. On the apron, they were ceremoniously received by two sprayer engines of the airport’s fire department.


Minister Edison Briesen (MEP) of Tourism and Transport, together with Rob Maruster, vice-president Airport Operations of JetBlue cut the tape at the gate right before the passengers got off the airplane. Representatives of the airport, Aruba Tourism Authority (ATA) and Aruba Hotel And Tourism Association (Ahata) greeted the passengers with a warm ‘bon bini’, when they were getting off the airplane.


There was a reception in the VIP-room of the airport afterwards and they toasted with blue-coloured champaign on a good collaboration between Aruba and JetBlue. The airline company makes daily flights between New York and Aruba and maintains much lower tariffs than other companies. The aircraft has 156 leather seats. Each passenger has his/her own TV-screen that gives the possibility to choose from a great deal of programs.


One passenger that had just arrived with JetBlue was very enthusiastic about the service on board. “On my television screen I could read that I can ask for another drink and that they will be pleased to bring it to me. That’s not the case with other airline companies. Maruster joked that JetBlue can fly this cheap to Aruba, because upon arrival, the airplane gets washed free of charge.

MORE ARUBAN ASS KISSING

Get Your Family Ready for a High-Luxury, Low-Budget Aruba Retreat

DOYLESTOWN, Pa., Sept. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Think you have to drain your savings to afford an Aruba vacation for your entire family? Think again. Get more for less on your family vacation with these insider tips, gathered from the thousands of affluent families who book their trips with CheapCaribbean.com each year: -- Book during hurricane season. Aruba lies outside the hurricane belt. (However, Aruba does not lie outside of the crime belt against tourists...)

Read entire article here

EVEN THE CAYMAN ISLANDS CARE ABOUT NATALEE AND SAFETY ISSUES

Cayman is vulnerable to terrorism, says senior cop

(Source)--What about tourists and safety? Laws that prevent what happened to Natalee Holloway in Aruba - the laws that let guilty parties go free. I pray they find missing teen Natalee Holloway. - Ellyn Field

WHERE IS JIM DOOLEY? THE FBI KNOWS MORE THAN THEY SAY...

Does anyone remember this National Enquirer article from June 15, 2005?

HOW NATALEE WAS KILLED

Dutch teenager Joran van der Sloot confessed to his father that he dumped Natalee Holloway's body in shark-infested waters after she accidentally hit her head and drowned in a drug-induced stupor on an Aruban beach.


This stunning new theory from inside the Police investigation of the missing teen emerged as her grief-stricken relatives came to terms with the fact that Natalee was not going to be found alive - or possibly not found at all - because the man-eating sharks may have left nothing behind. "Her family has come to believe that she's not with us anymore. That's just realistic," said Natalee's step-uncle Steve Parten, a Florida minister.


Natalee, from Birmingham, Ala., was last seen around 1 am on May 30 leaving Carlos 'n Charlies, a local nightclub, with 17-year-old Joran and his buddies Satish Kalpoe, 18, and his brother Deepak, 21. It was the last night of Natalee's high school graduation trip with her classmates.


For the first time, Police are investigating information from several sources that a panic-stricken Joran confessed to his father Paulus that Natalee died accidentally and that he fed her body to the sharks. Two of those sources are Jim Dooley, a South Carolina job recruiter for the health care industry, and his wife, Bella.



In an exclusive interview, the Dooleys said they contacted the F.B.I. after learning of Joran's confession to his dad during a shopping trip to a clothing store in Charlotte, N.C. The date was June 11; just a few days after Aruba Police had arrested Joran and the Kalpoe brothers as "persons of interest" in the case.



(Hey FBI...what happened to the Dooley's? Is the FBI hiding something? Why haven't these people been re-interviewed and included in the ALE investigation?)



Dooley said the clerk at the clothing store told him that she and her husband are very good friends with Joran's dad, Paulus van der Sloot, and his wife, Anita. Her own son had attended school with Joran on the island and was a close pal. The clerk told Dooley: "Joran told his father that he and Natalee had all been drinking and taking drugs at the nightclub. The father specifically mentioned they took Ecstasy. (She was drugged...we know it, Aruba knows it...everyone knows it.) Joran told his father that when they left the club, they went to a beach on the island. Natalee was very ill and threw up several times.


"Then she fell and hit her head on something. Joran checked her and realized she was dead. "Joran and others discussed an appropriate place to dump Natalee's body, a specific place where someone would disappear forever... a spot on the island where the waters are shark-infested."


Arubans know the shark-feeding spot very well and directed a National Enquirer reporter to its location on the rugged north coast of the island, where the ocean pounds the rocks and few people live. The water there is deep and murky and sits beneath a high cliff, far away from the beautiful beaches and posh hotel casinos on the island's southern side. A meatpacking plant once occupied the site. Workers there would discard meat cuttings into the ocean. The sharks would quickly gather and go into a feeding frenzy. To this day, dead animals are dumped into the waters at the shark site for the sake of tourism. (??? Is this a tourist attraction?)


The clerk continued: "Paulus van der Sloot is very worried. This was an accidental death but his son is likely to end up going to jail because it looks like he was covering up a murder. "But Paulus admitted telling his son that if a body wasn't found, there could be a chance he'd get out of jail."


According to another source close to the case, Robert Werner, headmaster of the International School of Aruba, where Joran attended classes, also said that Paulus van der Sloot admitted to him his son confessed that Natalee died accidentally in a fall on a beach.


The source revealed: "Paulus told the headmaster that Joran and Natalee had been taking drugs and decided to go for a swim. As they played in and around the water, Natalee fell, hit her head on a rock and drowned. In a drug and alcohol-induced panic, Joran felt he had no other choice but to dispose of Natalee's body in the sea." (Doubtful story...)


Paulus van der Sloot was arrested himself on June 23; a week after the Dooleys reported their conversation with the clerk to the FBI. He was later released but he could be rearrested, said Aruban authorities. He did admit talking to his son about Natalee's disappearance, saying he advised him in general terms that without a body there may be no way to prove a crime was
committed.


The Kalpoe brothers were also released. But they, too, could be rearrested, Aruban authorities said. At the time of going to press, Joran remained behind bars. His family maintains his innocence.

DUTCH GLOOMY ON SOCIAL CLIMATE

I am a PROUD AMERICAN. Obviously the Dutch can't say that for themselves.

THE HAGUE, 19/09/06 - The Dutch are gloomy about the social climate in their country. They are particularly worried about insecurity on the street and in other public places, according to a poll by Newcom Research & Consultancy.


Nearly seven in 10 (68 percent) of those polled consider the social climate in the country has deteriorated in the past three years. Additionally, 52 percent expect it to worsen further in the next three years. Respondents are most worried about safety on the street (47 percent), the different cultures in society (43 percent), the quality of education (43 percent) and integration of minorities (41 percent). They are least concerned about alcohol abuse (16 percent) and natural disasters (12 percent).


With an eye to upcoming elections, respondents were asked what they considered the political parties find important subjects. Healthcare and social facilities were most often named in this connection (72 and 64 percent respectively). The least important subjects are sports and defence (8 and 5 percent respectively).


Less than half (47 percent) are in general proud of the Netherlands. The Dutch are relatively proud of the Dutch flag (55 percent), the national anthem (45 percent) and the royal family (42 percent). They are less proud of the Netherlands' role in Europe (33 percent), the way in which people in the Netherlands treat each other (22 percent) and domestic politics in general (14 percent). The way in which foreign policy is conducted also garners little pride (17 percent). The online survey was carried out in July among 1,929 panellists. The group comprises a representative sample of the Dutch population aged 18 to 65.

BOUNCER VIOLENTLY ASSAULTS TOURIST

Well Aruba, this is just another "Oops, I did it again", isn't it? I guess this is the way all tourists are treated. Robbed, raped, drugged, assaulted...did I leave anything out?



ORANJESTAD(AAN) A public worker that in his spare time works at a night club is now under arrest for heavy battery against a tourist who had to be taken to a hospital after the beating. The public employee goes by the last name F. Contrary to Holland, where an Aruban died as a result of mistreatment by various bouncers, this one in Aruba is under arrest for the act that he committed. What happened exactly we do not know, but the public employee is in prison and will probably lose his job (probably? Good lord...). It seems that the tourist had to be interned in the hospital for the beating that he received. Detectives on this case arrested the suspect while the tourist has already left for his country. (Their dream tourist crime...the victimized tourist leaves the country. I hope this man receives his justice!)

RUDY CROES: SEX SCANDALS , DIRTY LAUNDRY AND DEATH THREATS

(Source)--Politics...... The story is that Rudy Croes as minister of justice signed for these 3 ladies to work in Aruba, but the scandal is that another member of the same political list was the employer, apparently.... and he asked for these ladies to have sexual relations with him. They say that as they refused they didn't get any payments anymore.


It is election time in Aruba so you will hear more about such dirty stories in all directions, bashing the politics and their families every day....

Rudy Gets Death Threat

(Source) January 10th 2005, ARUBA--The Minister of Justice Rudy Croes has again received death threats at his address. The Minister is now surrounded by a group of security officers. Police Chief Ronny Bernadina has confirmed that the Minister has received serious death threats recently, reason for the increase security.


There is an ongoing investigation in so to catch those behind the death threats said Bernadina. In the past the Minister of Justice has received death threats related to his stringent immigration policy, the fierce fight against illegals and drug trafficking on the island.

From the Amigoe Newspaper, we read that Jossy Mansur's newspaper has brought claims of fraud against Minister for Justice Rudy Croes:

ORANJESTAD — The AVP wants the District Attorney to investigate the alleged irregularities by Justice minister Rudy Croes (MEP). According to the AVP there are more than enough indications that the minister and his colleagues have committed possible misdemeanors, which is why the fraction of the green party handed a letter to the DA yesterday.


In the letter, directed to the Attorney General Theresa Croes-Fernandes Pedra the AVP writes: “As you already know we informed the DA in the last mentioned case of the corruptive practices within the Ministry of Justice and the DINA. We have also reported a felony committed by the minister of Justice, H.R. (Rudy) Croes. You however concluded in said case, without even investigating the matter apparently as the ladies in question were not even interrogated, that there was no just cause for a criminal investigation.”


The AVP fraction refers to the letter by the Dutch ministers Ben Bot of Foreign Affairs, Rita Verdonk of Foreign Affairs and Integration, and Alexander Pechthold of Governmental Reform and Kingdom relations dated September 9 to the Governor of Aruba.


In said letter the three Dutch ministers request the Governor of Aruba to start an investigation into the “issuance of stay permits” and “the degree in which the minister of Justice makes use of his discretionary authority with the allowance and admittance of foreigners, as this would in fact eradicate the visa duty. The articles in the Diario published two checks. The first one is signed by ‘Aruba Tigers Org. a/o Oslin Quijada’ for an amount of 5,000 florins. The article identifies the beneficiary of this check as a government official who works at the bureau of the minister of Justice, according to Diario the right hand and advisor of the minister of Justice.


A second check was for 2,500 florins and was made out to Fundacion Pro Rudy Croes. According to both articles the checks were made to fix permits. Allegedly coordinators and campaign co-workers of the minister, Juan Lopez and Edward Croes, stipulated payments from companies to handle and grant work and stay-permits.


Furthermore a businessman stated last week in a radio-broadcast that during a personal conversation with Rudy Croes concerning a work and stay-permit for personnel in his company, he was referred to Croes’ cousin Edward Croes. In a conversation with this Edward Croes the businessman was informed that he would have to contribute to the minister’s campaign in order to obtain the permits he had requested. The businessman consequently adhered to this condition. According to the businessman several other members of the minister’s bureau also had to be paid off in order to obtain other types of permits.


The AVP believes the articles and radio broadcast are indications of felonies committed by Croes and his co-workers. The party urges the DA to start a criminal investigation. The party wants to know from the attorney general if the articles and radio transcripts delivered by them is enough to start a criminal investigation.


Comment: Jossy is exposing some of the Croes' dirty laundry for what I suspect is their hindrance in the Natalee Holloway case.

A BLOW OFF FROM JET BLUE

This is an obvious 'diss' by Jet Blue to the American people. They did not address nor answer any questions. Instead they use the lame excuse of "we are experiencing a large volume of emails." Doesn't that tell THEM something??? Doesn't that tell YOU something? They DO NOT care.

Do something JET BLUE, or you will LOSE.

Dear Ms. _______:



Thank you for your comments regarding one of our newest JetBlue destinations, Aruba. We apologize for the delay in responding to your message. We are currently experiencing a longer than average response time due to an increased volume of email. (Gee, I wonder what those emails are about???)

We are researching the information you have sent to us regarding the radar in Aruba at the Aruba Queen Beatrix International Airport. We appreciate your patience and will get back to you as soonas we receive more information.

Thanks again for your patience!


Kindest Regards,


Penny
Customer Commitment Crew
JetBlue Airways
Crewmember 44408

GOALS AND PROMISES REMEMBERED

By Meri, Aruban Boycott Contributor


Those of us who come to this blog and those of us who support the boycotting of Aruba are dedicated to being successful. It is NOT because we have the desire to harm innocent citizens and it is not because we are hateful or mean-spirited. It is because we have a need and a purpose that was thrust upon us and not one that we asked for.


We gave the Aruban authorities every chance in the world to do the right thing by Natalee Holloway and her family. We waited many months and hoped that they would stop the game-playing and the merry-go-round of arrests and releases that they engaged in with no answers forthcoming. We waited for them to give us answers but they never did.


Instead, they formed groups to push tourism and talk up the promised paradise that they advertise in their brochures and ads. They began a spin campaign the likes of which the Clinton Spin Machine would be envious of. They had Julia pimping for the Island, Ruben and Arlene...almost everyone was getting face time with the various media outlets to sell their Island to the world. They kept pushing aside the fact that a girl went missing from their Island and that three young men lied from the moment it was discovered that she was gone.


They arrested the wrong people (two innocent security guards) who could have been proven innocent in a matter of minutes had they bothered to view the hotel video tapes where they were supposed to have abducted Natalee from. I will be doing a blog about those two men later this week but for now I will simply say that the behavior exhibited by the Aruban police started on a shoddy note and went down hill from there.


You CANNOT conduct a boycott without all the necessary elements. You must fight and fight hard to show the dangers of why people should not make Aruba their vacation destination. You must point out each and every crack in that so-called paradise and show it for the hell that it really is.


Beth is doing that through her lectures on travel safety and Michelle is doing it on here by providing the public with information about the inner workings of Aruba and the Netherlands. If she hesitates or stops to worry about stepping on the toes of business owners or anyone who would benefit from a failed boycott effort she would not be doing her job and she would not be conducting a boycott. You can't boycott with half-measures. It's all or nothing and it's all out war on that Island.


Some, feel as if we should tread lightly and be cautious about what we say about Aruba. Why? The truth speaks for itself and it is damning. We don't have to exaggerate or make things up...Aruba has provided us with enough fuel through their actions (or lack thereof) for us to fill books with information. We need to combat the deliberate misinformation campaign that the Aruba spinners have put into place and that is our goal and has been from day one.


Those of us who believe in this boycott and know the reasons for it will not be told to back off or to tread lightly. We will not befriend those who oppose us. They are the enemy and they have to be exposed. I have attempted to do that and I have received a terrific response to my blogs. I am planning to continue exposing those who want to defeat our goal. Julia Renfro is next on my list. I am working on that right now.


First, I will discuss the two security guards and their plight and make some suggestions put forth by Debbie P. as to how we can try to help them find justice for what they were put through on that Paradise Lost.


In the meantime....BELIEVE in the boycott and SUPPORT the boycott and join us in displaying stickers and educating other's about why we are doing this.. It's for Natalee and it's the right thing to do.

THIS IS ONE SICK SICK WOMAN

I am 'pro-choice' in the matter of abortion. However, this woman and her crusade is absolutely despicable and morally wrong going against all the laws of nature. What kind of decrepit society do these Dutch people live in?


It's one thing to be a liberal; a "tree hugger", a hippie, a "Hilary Clinton fan", an "ultra liberal", etc.; but it's quite another thing to have these types of "liberal" values. To me it sounds like they live in the world of the "laisse-faire" attitude (Laisse faire is a French word for "Never mind! Don't bother!" This refers to their careless attitude in the application of a policies, implying a lack of consideration or thought.)...but it seems the Dutch only use it when it suits their purpose.


Requiring or even SUGGESTING to a woman to get an abortion is against the laws of human nature and personal liberty. No one but that woman should decide her basic human rights.


It's also telling that this woman mentions Arubans and Antillians as the ones who should get abortions. This screams obvious RACISM since these groups of people are black, or have dark complexions.

Like the saying, "If you ain't Duch, you ain't much."

Marianne van den Anker

MATTERS OF LIFE AND DEATH



Mandatory abortion proposed in Holland Official
calls for debate to deal with issue of unwanted children

(Source)--A health official in the Netherlands has called for a debate on the idea of forced abortion and contraception to deal with what she sees as a crisis of unwanted children.


Alderman Marianne van den Anker of the Leefbaar Rotterdam Party wants specifically to target communities of Antilleans and Arubans where she sees the biggest problems of unwanted children. Her comments have stirred protest by a health foundation working with those communities in Rotterdam. The group, which called the comments degrading, is asking Mayor Ivo Opstelten and other politicians to distance themselves from Van den Anker's views.


Van den Anker is a mother of two children and the official in charge of Rotterdam's health and security portfolios. In an interview in a newspaper Saturday, she said she had tried everything to prevent child abuse. "I fail, I fail," she told the interviewer as she outlined her controversial idea for a debate on compulsory abortion and contraception.

The target groups for her program are Antillean
teenage mothers; drug addicts and people with mental handicaps.

According to the report, Van den Anker said children from these groups run an "unacceptable risk" of growing up without love and with "violence, neglect, mistreatment and sexual abuse." "The exceptions," she said, "and there are some, can be counted on a pair of hands." Van den Anker pointed to the growing number of Antillean youth gangs in Rotterdam whose members come from loveless homes.

Maybe the Dutch government should consider implementing programs to teach teenagers and adults on the importance of proper parenting, teaching their children morality, spending more money on schools and education, teaching children to avoid self-indulgence; and regarding boys, RESPECT for women.

Education is the key...because ignorance is NOT BLISS.

THE DUTCH LOOK THE OTHER WAY WHEN IT COMES TO DRUGS

U.S. urges Dutch to toughen drug policy

AMSTERDAM--The United States' anti-drug chief and a Dutch police commander were touring Amsterdam's red-light district recently when a man approached the U.S. law enforcement delegation. "Ecstasy? Viagra? Cocaina?" he whispered to a Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman. The Dutch cop shrugged. DEA Administrator Asa Hutchinson grimaced. Drug dealers are bold here. Drugs, especially the club drug Ecstasy, are cheap and plentiful. Dutch police mostly look the other way, preferring to focus on property crimes and public nuisances.

It's added up to a 100 million-pill-a-year problem for the USA, where authorities have become increasingly frustrated at how the Netherlands' laissez faire approach to drug enforcement has allowed Ecstasy labs to flourish here.


The Netherlands has become the dominant supplier of the synthetic hallucinogenic drug that has exploded in popularity among U.S. teens and young adults.


U.S. officials say about 80% of the 2 million Ecstasy pills flowing into the USA each week are manufactured on Dutch soil. U.S. Customs officers stationed in New York City-area airports, the most popular Ecstasy smuggling hubs, say they can make a bust every other day just by targeting passengers from flights that have passed through the Netherlands.


...U.S. law enforcement officials want the Dutch to become less hospitable to Ecstasy's manufacturers and smugglers, but they have little power to make that happen. The Netherlands is a wealthy ally that cannot be pushed into tougher drug enforcement with the promise of U.S. aid or the threat of sanctions. Instead, U.S. officials are trying to politely persuade the Dutch to see it their way.


...The Dutch have made significant busts since creating a synthetic-drug law enforcement division in 1997. In 2000, Dutch authorities dismantled 23 Ecstasy labs, the U.S. State Department says. Dutch officials say they intend to close more Ecstasy labs with five new anti-drug squads. The Dutch parliament recently approved a five-year, $35 million program aimed at reducing the Ecstasy supply, and the Dutch justice minister has suggested a registration system for pillmaking machines.


U.S. officials appreciate the moves. But they say the Netherlands' underlying tolerance of drugs undermines the crackdowns. Penalties for dealing and manufacturing drugs are not stiff enough to discourage it, they say. "They have a permissive drug policy that has a natural way of attracting those who want to engage in illegal behavior, and they have a weak law enforcement structure," Hutchinson says.


Ecstasy is illegal in the Netherlands. The Dutch, however, regard drug use primarily as a health issue rather than as a crime problem, so they focus their efforts on preventing drug use rather than law enforcement. Licensed shops in the Netherlands sell marijuana for individual use, and the government provides free needles and clean rooms where heroin addicts can shoot up. Addicts who become a nuisance are steered toward treatment. The large-scale dealers and manufacturers who are prosecuted rarely spend more than a year or two in prison.

Read entire article here

DO YOU DRINK & DRIVE? GO TO THE NETHERLANDS

What an asinine way to teach students about drinking and driving.
Maybe he should show things like this:

Dutch Scientist Teaches Young To Drink And Drive

Holland (AHN) - A Dutch scientist is experimenting with a new way to discourage (discourage? Don't you mean teach?) drivers from drinking and driving. He teaches young people to drink and drive on a racing track.


Karel Brookhuis, professor at the University of Groningen, said the aim of his experiment is to dissuade his "students" from drunk driving for real. And according to him he's getting positive results from his studies. He told Het Laatste Niuews that he gives the special course to young people taking driving lessons in his home town of Emmen.


Students were allowed to drink alcohol until they reached the legal limit. After reaching the limit of intoxication, they were told to go to the track where they attempted a slalom course, parking and an emergency stop. He said that in the ten years he has been conducting the special course, not a single person has succeeded in accomplishing the tasks. He said, "But at the same time they realized it is impossible to drive properly once they had drunk alcohol.


Youngsters who took the drink driving test were not likely to attempt to drink and drive in their later life." Survey showed that young people who took the alcohol test were six times less likely to be later caught for drink driving. An average of 160 students enlist for Brookhuis test in Emmen annually. It is his hope he can extend the test nationwide.

NEED SOME X? CHECK OUT THE DUTCH MARKET

307,473 Dutch-origin Ecstasy Pills Seized

A total of 307,473 Dutch-origin ecstasy pills have been seized in an operation carried out by narcotics police in Istanbul. Acting on a tip-off relating to ecstasy pills being brought into Turkey from Europe in exchange for heroin traveling in the opposite direction, Istanbul narcotics branch police commenced surveillance operations on the gang in question.

Narcotics police swooped on members of the drugs ring as they swapped samples of their illegal merchandise in Freedom Square in the Istanbul suburb of Bakirkoy. Acting on information received from the detained suspects, police then carried out a raid on a house in the western Istanbul suburb of Buyukcekmece which was being used as a depot by the gang.


A total of 307,473 ecstasy pills were found stored in a fridge in the house, and 9 people were detained for questioning. Istanbul police officials, stating that they had seized around 350,000 ecstasy pills in operations over the last twelve months, said that the latest seizure nearly equaled that total.


In their annual report for 2005, the Turkish Security Authorities announced that during the course of 2005 they seized 6,663 kg of heroin, 140 kg of morphine base, 34 kg of opium, 6,002 kg of hashish, 40 kg of cocaine, 1,228,750 captagon pills, and 5,760,819 ecstasy pills.

A PERFECT MURDER?

By Mark Hutcherson


A few years back there was a movie staring Michael Douglas called, “The Perfect Murder”. In this movie, the husband played by Douglas hired a man who was having an affair with his wife to kill her. While this movie was fiction, I wonder how many people have somehow planned out a perfect murder and I wonder if the death of Natalee Holloway in Aruba will someday be classified as one of those perfect murders?


Sometimes a perfect murder isn’t planned that way, but turns out that way because of bad police work and prosecutors that don’t do their job properly. Since the disappearance of Natalee Holloway over a year ago all kinds of speculation has been put forward about her disappearance in Aruba on her senior trip.


The unfortunate truth is that Holloway was probably a fun loving teenager who found herself in the company of some evil minded young men who had a goal of taking advantage of her. More than likely something got out of hand and she was killed either by accident or on purpose.


My thinking is that Natalee was like many other young women in a similar situation and was drinking more than she would normally do. However, these young men who had a plan to take advantage of someone that night were probably drinking less and had evil intentions in their heart before they ever left home. This type of activity has gone on for years in places all around that world and most folks in the media don’t want to acknowledge that fact.


Then there is the island nation of Aruba whose very survival depends on tourist traffic to its shores. When I think about the police in Aruba, my mind goes back to a movie I saw years ago called, “Jaws”. In that movie local officials were so concerned about losing money during their main tourist season that they put pressure on law enforcement officials to look the other way even when faced with grave danger.


In the first few weeks after the disappearance of Natalee Holloway I believe local government officials in Aruba adopted this same type of attitude and they mistakenly thought that the disappearance of Holloway would fade from public view in short order.


However, authorities in Aruba forgot about Natalee’s mother, Beth Twitty, and they also forgot that a parent would not give up so easily when it was their own flesh and blood who was missing.


When I think back on this case now, I believe it is more likely than not that Natalee’s death was an accident that occurred when some young men were trying to take advantage of a young women who had too much to drink and at some point she decided to fight back against her attackers and lost her life. While these young men probably never left home that night with the desire to commit murder, in the end that is exactly what happened.


While the alleged actions of these young men is despicable, the real tragedy happened when older adults decided that is was in their own best interest to ignore what really happened that night and try and “white wash” the whole deal with a murder cover-up. I believe that in time most of the facts of what happened that night in Aruba will come into the light of day and most likely when that happens the real events of that night will be exposed by one of the boys involved because time does have a way of working its magic on the souls of most people, given the benefit of time.

DRUGGIES, HOMELESS AND BEGGARS IN ARUBA--BEWARE!

(Source)--Who-ever gave the powers-that-be the brilliant idea to open a homeless and druggies shelter in the middle of the downtown Oranjestad shopping district?


Anyway, since over a year, it is there, and the accompanying nuisance is, too! The homeless, so-called ‘chollers’ can get a meal, a shower and a place to sleep in the shelter, situated on the parking lot close to the main shopping street, but they congregate here during the day, too, begging for handouts, breaking into parked cars, and just generally making a nuisance of themselves.


Their presence has made a shopping trip to the main street a far less pleasurable experience for both tourist and local, and has even lead to many businesses moving to the safer malls outside of the city center. Don’t park your car in the parking lot near the shelter (the green building with Hotel Central written on it) and ignore the ‘chollers’ if they approach you.


When ignored they’re generally quite harmless (lots of them aren’t even drug addicts but mental patients who have gone untreated). Parking your car in the large parking lot close to the (large pink wedding cake) Royal Plaza Mall behind the bus station is a better idea (though a bit of a walk).

GO DIRECTLY TO JAIL--DO NOT PASS GO, DO NOT COLLECT $200

(Source)--By Mr. Justice

ALE Budget During the visit to Washington by members of the Aruba “investigative team” Rep. Bachus was informed that they spent 40% of the ALE budget on Natalee’s case.

However, that raises the question on an island with so little crime where did the other 60% of the budget go, and here is the answer. 50% protecting the Van der Sloots and Kalpoes 40% on the Natalee Holloway case 8% on the date-rape drug 2% on alcohol and drugs I hear to make-up for this budget crunch begining in 2006, the rates for purchasing a rape license will go up from $10 to $20.


Remember males purchase a rape license and you are free to drug and rape as many women as you want on Aruba. Should you commit any other injust acts on Aruba this is the get out of jail free card.


I am a Dutch boy, my papa is a legal official, I want to go to school and it was all her fault. You will be thrown a parade and embraced by the people of Aruba.

LIFE LESSONS LEARNED

By Meri, Aruban Boycott Contributor

The path to this boycott has not been an easy one to follow. We have hit many roadblocks the least of which are the Aruban authorities and their inability to either investigate or tell the truth about what happened to Natalee Holloway.


I have met a lot of people along the way and some have taught me a lot of lessons...both good and bad. I have learned that people lie, people have their own agendas and people pretend to be helpful when in fact, they are not. Some of this has been painful and I really believed that at my age at this stage of my life I could not be shocked or fooled. I was wrong.


I have had to pull so many knives out of my back that I have a permanent backache. I have had to learn to be quiet when all I want to do is shout out how I feel. I have not been able to behave the way I have always behaved and that is sometimes a problem for me.


When I see something that I believe is wrong my instinct is to fix it. I now know that I can't fix everything and everyone involved with this sad story and that even some of the people closest to Natalee are not always who they appear to be.


What I failed to understand at the beginning of my journey was that just because a child goes missing it does not alter or change people or their core personalities or their behavioral patterns. If they were not honest before...they will not suddenly become honest afterward. I have experienced secrets, lies, pettiness the likes of which I hope to never experience again and I have been shocked and offended too many times to count.


One thing never changes though...I am hear to help find out what happened to Natalee Holloway and despite those who would like nothing better than for me and other's like me to disappear off the face of the earth..I will continue on my journey.


I am traveling along with some very devoted and dedicated people and I feel blessed to have them by my side. They have taught me that it is possible to trust and to believe. We have been told by some that we are not always welcome and we have been lumped in with the true haters surrounding this case.


My fellow travelers are the reason why I keep going and all we need do is look toward the image of one woman. A woman who has shown courage beyond what I expected any human being to ever display after what befell her in late May of 2005. She inspires me and keeps me going and she humbles me whenever I want to walk away and recapture my life as it was before Natalee.


Beth...you are why I am here and your daughter will remain my focus until we find the truth and get that illusive justice that we seek. No one will deter me and my partners from our journey and no one will succeed in driving us away because we infringe upon their comfort zone.

Boycott Aruba--Support Beth Twitty and
help us find justice for her daughter, Natalee

SEX & VACATION? THINK AGAIN...

"I always use condoms!"--Joran van der Sloot

WOULD YOU LIKE A SIDE OF AIDS WITH THAT ONE NIGHTER?

(Source)--The Caribbean region now has the highest rate of HIV infection outside sub-Saharan Africa, according to a spokesperson at a recent conference on AIDS in the area. Until now, little has been said about the epidemic because of concerns that an AIDS epidemic would tarnish the tropical islands' idyllic image, damaging tourism. Take appropriate precautions if sexual encounters are on your agenda.

BETH SPEAKS TO STUDENTS IN PUEBLO COLORADO

(Source)--The mother of a missing Alabama teenager gave hundreds of District 70 students a heart-to-heart talk on staying safe as part of her nationwide campaign to promote safety when traveling abroad.


"What I need you to remember is that you could be Natalee and I could be your parent," Beth Twitty told the seniors from Pueblo West, Rye and the Technical Academy who gathered in the Pueblo West gymnasium to hear her 45-minute presentation, "Save Yourself." Her daughter, Natalee Holloway, has been missing for 16 months since she and classmates took their senior trip to the Caribbean island, Aruba.


Twitty later spoke Monday night at Colorado State University-Pueblo. Her Pueblo appearance was sponsored by the Pueblo County Sheriff's Department. "I never imagined I would be traveling around the country telling the story of how my daughter was kidnapped, raped and most likely murdered on her senior trip to Aruba," Twitty told the attentive high school crowd. "But here I am."


Twitty has been traveling throughout the U.S. speaking to high school and college students as part of her recently founded International Safe Travel Foundation. At Pueblo West, Twitty told the students of the nightmare she has been living since her daughter Natalee went missing on May 30, 2005, in Aruba.


Twitty, who identified herself as "Natalee's mother," backed up her powerful talk with slides of Natalee, including some from her graduation, and other pictures of locations she has visited in Aruba in search of answers to her daughter's disappearance. Twitty began her talk by discussing how most parents teach their kids at an early age things to do to keep them safe.


"We don't do this to make you live in fear, but because we know the world is not safe," she said. Twitty then went on to talk about how excited Natalee was to be going on the senior trip to Aruba. "On May 26, I drove her to the airport to take the long-awaited trip to Aruba," she said. "I kissed her goodbye and that was the last time I saw her." Twitty then went on to say that on Memorial Day, she received the call that has changed her life forever when she was told that Natalee missed the flight back home to Alabama. "In an instant I knew something happened," she said.


Twitty chronicled the family's quest to not only locate Natalee but also find answers to what happened to her. Twitty talked of the frustration in dealing with Aruban police to try to get the true story of where Natalee was during her last night in Aruba. Then Twitty offered her best motherly advice by giving students tips to help prevent them from facing the same fate as Natalee. She urged students to develop a safety plan and remember they ultimately are responsible for their own safety.


"Once Natalee got into that car, she was at the mercy of her abductors and couldn't save herself," Twitty said. "She never saw this coming. She was blindsided and never had a chance with her perpetrators."


Twitty offered simple safety tips that often are taught to younger children but apply to young adults as well. Among them were to never go anywhere alone. Don't allow yourself to get into a situation you cannot control and never leave a drink unattended. Finally, she encouraged students to learn about the laws and customs of other countries before visiting them." You do need to remember that when you leave our borders, you leave behind all customs and rights that we are all accustom to," she said.


"It's one thing to be lost in the United States, but more devastating to be lost outside of the United States," she said. Twitty encouraged the students to visit her Web site at www.safetravelfoundation.com to learn other rules in staying safe abroad and at home.


As a daily reminder to students, Twitty gave each in attendance a sticker with the words "Safe Travels" to place on the rearview mirrors of their cars or other locations they frequently see. "I can't save Natalee; it's too late," she said. "But it's not too late for you and it's not too late for your parents."


Twitty's talk had an impact on at least three Pueblo West seniors. "It makes you realize how much you really have to be careful and that you can't trust just anyone out there," said Danielle Vincent. Ashley Maroney said she took to heart what Twitty had to say, especially since she is planning a trip to South Africa after she graduates in May. "It makes me not want to be left anywhere alone," she said. "I'm definitely going to get online and find out more about South Africa. I want to make sure I have a safe trip."


Although many students may have thought that Twitty's presentation was geared more toward females, Kevin Sumald said she gave tips that could benefit anyone. "I guess the big thing I heard was that you have to watch out for yourself," he said. "Don't ever let your guard down."