SILENCE BETH TWITTY? I DON'T THINK SO...

By Tamikosmom, Aruban Boycott Member

A VOICE THAT WILL NOT BE SILENCED

The voice of a determined mother who refuses to be silenced in regards to the perception of that a corrupt investigation is denying her precious daughter justice is the sole reason that the Natalee Holloway case was not deemed a closed case early on by the “powers that be” in Aruba. Beth Holloway Twitty is truly one amazing woman!

Beth Twitty:

“I met with Prime Minister Oduber. I don‘t care who you put the pressure on, where it comes from, but I want—you need to figure it out. You need to figure out who needs to apply the pressure and where it needs to be applied, because you have to solve this crime. I said, you do not want to turn me loose from this island without an answer.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9813596/

Beth Twitty:

“I have told Prime Minister Oduber that I will do this, I will be the voice of Natalee for the next 40 years. And I hope I have that long, because I will do it as long as I can.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9813596/

Beth Twitty:

“We will keep going back to Aruba over and over again. This is far from over. They know—they have the answers there on the island.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9354188/

Beth Twitty:

“I think it’s just the side that, you know, I—I will stop at nothing to get answers. There is nothing that I won’t do. There’s nowhere that I won’t go, and there’s nothing—I’m going to ask every question. I don’t care how painful it is. I will do it, because I’m not going to have any regrets.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8885950/

Beth Twitty:

“For the rest of my life, I will continue to be the voice for my daughter, seeking justice in Aruba. Every parent would want the same justice for their child.”

http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/news/050904/aruba.shtml

BETH TWITTY ON FOX MAY 30, 2007

Watch Greta's interview with Beth Twitty last night on FOX.

You Tube Video

GRETA: Do you have any contact with the current prosecutor?

BETH: No I don't...and of course John Kelly has been communicating with them, and I think over the last couple of weeks things have picked up somewhat in the communicative process from the Justice officials in Aruba. It's been a long time forthcoming, but I think it's picked up lately.

The Kalpoe Lawsuit

John Q. Kelly is in California to argue part of the suit against the Kalpoe's on Friday (June 1).

ALL EYES ON THE DUTCH--NO JUSTICE, NO TOURISTS

By Richard, Aruban Boycott Member

May 30, 2007 (4:30 a.m.) I’m on here early, after a restless night. I slept fitfully, with phantoms and phantasms racing through my mind. Now we’re into the third year that Natalee has been missing.


Yesterday I got an e-mail from someone who has been active in the case since early days, and is close to the family. I was told something I hadn’t known; it appears that a systematic effort has been made to erase information from the Internet about the case. For example, a significant number of articles related to Paulus van der Sloot’s trip to Miami (something that’s gaining importance in my mind) have been altered, erased, or booby-trapped with viruses.


No joke.


Some people who did research have had their computers contaminated with viruses picked up from articles online. Anyone still think this case is simple? We continue to disagree about what happened on that fateful night (morning, actually) two years ago. This is only proper, since none of us knows. But we also see there are hate sites that champion the suspects and defame the family. We see trolls here … no need to talk of them! We are besieged with arguments about Dutch law that sometimes defy common sense, and ignore the obvious lesson that has been hammered into us over the last two years: where evil and amoral people hold power in an unstable regime, the laws are theirs to sway, defy, ignore and disregard. Who can doubt that the Aruba regime is in this category?


All eyes now are on the Dutch. We know little or nothing of what they are doing: what we DO know is that so far, at any rate, their searches and their soil samples and whatever else they have done has given us … NOTHING. It took them some seven or eight months of re-reading documents before they even got to Aruba.


The Holloway Twittys, once they heard that Natalee was missing, got on a plane and found out more than the Arubans or Dutch have. In the face of growing hostility from the Aruban ruling clique, volunteers, mostly Americans, scoured Aruban land and waters searching for evidence. In the filthiest of conditions, American groups did the job of the Arubans and Dutch, looking through garbage landfills, going diving, undertaking private searches. Remember, in Aruba, as in Saba (where Joel Gove vanished at the end of December, and where his body still remains, as far as I know, because the locals and the Dutch won’t be bothered to look) the Arubans and Dutch mostly stood by, scoffed and sneered (and charged high prices for what they could charge for) while our people gritted their teeth and did THEIR job.


Amidst all the tragedy, heartbreak and bewilderment, the tone of the Arubans remained constant. Give us your money, Americans! You can be prey to our people, you can go missing and we won’t care, you can be thrown in jail for any pretext … but we will whine and chatter, beg and grovel for your dollars, because your money is what we want. We the people ignore this lesson at our peril.


Beth Twitty asked us, early on, to consider boycotting all the Netherlands Antilles islands. Whatever the pettifoggers may say about separate status, these include the ABCs: Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao. Also Saba, and some others.


It is the boycott, and ONLY the boycott, that caused the Aruban merchants to turn to their government in desperation, seeking some answers in Natalee’s case. We can’t say what will come of all this. But always, remember Natalee. Remember Amy Bradley. Remember Joel Gove. Remember Tracy Allen of Boston, raped on Aruba only to see the police do nothing. Remember the woman kidnapped from the Carlos ‘n’ Charlies parking lot in 2001. Remember the American couple drugged in one of the casinos … the husband was left unconscious in a back room, while the wife was taken to the desert and raped. Remember all of these, and resolve to observe the boycott, and promote it. That is the ONE tool we have.

Let our resolution never fail: No justice for Natalee … no tourists for Aruba.

WHAT WAS JULIA RENFRO'S ROLE IN NATALEE'S INVESTIGATION?

**Thanks again to Natalee's Freebirds for all their research and hard work! Get that Julia "Fluffer" Renfro! I love it!

The Strategic Communications Task Force

Who We Are

“The Strategic Communications Task Force is a working group established in Aruba to address the issues surrounding the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. The Task Force includes representatives from AHATA (Aruba Hotel and Tourism Association), ATA (Aruba Tourism Authority), business and government leaders……”


"The Strategic Communications Task Force’s goal is to stay abreast of all developments in the Natalee Holloway disappearance, verify if information given is truthful and bring forward the correct facts when necessary. The Task Force also aims to inform the public and media whenever there is information that can be shared and monitor media coverage both locally and internationally in an effort to prevent and minimize any damage to the economic well being of Aruba."

http://www.aruba.com/holloway/taskforce.htm


Was Julia Renfro instructed to lie to the American citizens via the International media, thereby providing a completely incorrect view of the investigation as it progressed?

1. THE TALL DUTCH BOY WITH BLUE EYES

Julia Renfro attempts to distance Joran Van der Sloot from implication in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway as well as discrediting Beth Twitty when she stated that Beth told her that Natalee had phoned home and shared that she was in love with a tall Dutch boy with blue eyes. Gerold Dompig states that there are two declarations from Julia Renfro regarding this issue - declarations that have yet to be revealed.

Julia Renfro - The O'Reilly Factor - Dec. 7, 2005

O’REILLY: ... Now in the article, in the magazine, it states that you, Julia, had a conversation with Natalee’s mother Beth Holloway Twitty whereupon she told you that Natalee had mentioned another boy she was involved with on the island. Now Natalee’s mother denies that conversation. What say you?


RENFRO: ... What she told me on the 31st of May was that Natalee had met a tall Dutch boy with blue eyes. She’d met him. He spent some time with them, meaning the other Mountain Brook kids, as well, throughout their entire vacation.


O’REILLY: Another guy involved. You know, so you’re at odds with Natalee’s mother at this point, Julia?


RENFRO: Well, you know, we’ve — we’ve had a tough time. We’ve had a tough time, because I really went all out for her to help her and her family do everything possible to find their daughter Natalee.


O’REILLY: All right. So you’re standing by your story that she told you that Natalee told her there was a Dutch boy down on the island she liked with blue eyes. You’re standing by that?


RENFRO: Absolutely.

Gerold Dompig - VANITY FAIR - Jan. 2, 2006

According to Dompig, Beth Twitty had contact with her daughter while she was in Aruba. Dompig tells Burrough he has taken two statements from journalist Julia Renfro, as well as a worker at the Holiday Inn, and both claim Beth Twitty told them she had gotten a call from Natalee, who said she was in love with a tall, blue-eyed Dutch teenager. “We need to know the truth,” says Dompig. “Joran did not have blue eyes, so who was this boy?” Beth strenuously denies making any such statements, or having talked with Natalee while she was away.

HOWEVER ...

According to Beth Twitty, there was no contact between mother and daughter throughout the Aruban holiday and Natalee did not have an international calling plan. Also, Mountain Brook students deny that Natalee had any relationship with a tall, blue-eyed Dutch teenager.

Clint Van Zandt - 'The Abrams Report' - April 25, 2005

CLINT VAN ZANDT, FORMER FBI PROFILER: Yes we would. You know, a number of things, Dan. Number one, we‘ve got at least three different stories that implicate this man. Number one, there‘s this female cab driver who says that Natalee and her friends talked about this blond-haired, blue-eyed Dutch kid who Natalee really liked, was really hitting on. Beth refutes that; Natalee‘s mother refutes the statements. The students in the United States refute the statements.

Beth Twitty - 'The Abrams Report' - April 19, 2006

ABRAMS: Beth, any truth to this, I don't know if it's rumor or report, et cetera, that Natalee had said something to you about having a crush on a blonde haired, blue eyed boy in Aruba?


TWITTY: Dan, there's just—there's no truth to that at all. You know Natalee had not called me. She didn't have international calling on her phone and no she never—her friends said that this never happened, it was never mentioned. And just simply it's just another rumor that had started and it's just not true, Dan.

Beth Twitty - On the Record w/ Greta - April 18, 2005

TWITTY: ... But you know, I think there were some rumors circulating earlier on, maybe in the fall, about Natalee had met someone — a blue-eyed Dutch national — and it's just simply not true. There just was no truth to the rumors that were coming out of Aruba that Natalee had met him.

2. JORAN, DEEPAK AND SATISH - GOOD REPUTATIONS

Julia Renfro claims that as an editor she was privy to information that implied that Joran, Deepak and Satish were highly regarded on Aruba.

Julia Renfro - 'The Abrams Report' = June 17, 2005

ABRAMS: Bottom line, does everyone on the island, I mean is it small enough such that you know a little bit the three other men who are under arrest as well?


RENFRO: Well, it‘s a small enough island to know enough about everybody. Do I know them personally? No. But have I heard about them? Yes. And from my position in the newspaper, we‘re always covering all of the wonderful things that happen on Aruba and you know, they have good reputations.

HOWEVER ...

Another Aruban editor voices a contrary opinion regarding the reputation of Joran Van der Sloot.

Jossy Mansur - NANCY GRACE - Aug. 2, 2005

MANSUR: ... At school, he`s been in problems many times. He`s been allowed to gamble at 17 years of age, to enter casinos, which is prohibited in Aruba. He`s been allowed to drink at all these nightclubs that we see him partying. He`s a party boy. And I don`t know how they can serve him drinks, being 17 years old.

3. THE ALE CONNECTION

Why is the editor of an Aruban newspaper given direct inside information by those within the investigation regarding details relating to the Natalee Holloway case?

Julia Renfro - The O'Reilly Factor - Dec. 7, 2005

JULIA RENFRO, EDITOR, ARUBA TODAY: Well, it’s not really what I believe, but I did speak to the Commissioner Dompig earlier today, and I asked him, "What did you mean by they hurt the investigation?" And he said he’s not blaming them specifically for anything, but that their attacks via the U.S. media certainly changed the tide of the investigation, basically, pressuring the police to make what they felt, believe it or not, premature arrests of the suspect.

Julia Renfro - The O'Reilly Factor - Dec. 7, 2005

O’REILLY: OK. But Natalee’s mother denies the conversation totally. And what’s his name, Van Der Sloot, Joran Van Der Sloot doesn’t have blue eyes.


RENFRO: Right. That’s — that’s where there’s question.


O’REILLY: So the police are drawing a conclusion there was another man..


RENFRO: Right.

Julia Renfro - The O'Reilly Factor - June 9, 2005

Aruba newspaper editor Julia Renfro joined The Factor with the latest information on the case and the five men in custody. "The police told us that they have solid evidence against two of the men. The other three were considered as witnesses against those two men."

Julia Renfro - On the Record w/ Greta - April 5, 2006

RENFRO: Well, basically, Chief Dompig will remain in the position that he has always had and that commissioner of Oranjestad. Richardsonm on the other hand is the commissioner of the Noord district and the Noord residential area as well. Now, it is my understanding that while the Chief superintendant is abroad he will be replaced by Richardson, not Dompig.


VAN SUSTEREN: Why would Dompig want off this case? He has just gone on CBS 48 hours and said he was at a critical stage in this investigation. That is what they told 48 hours and he also said he believes it is alcohol and drugs. Making a rather profound announcement and then on Monday says he wants off.


RENFRO: Well, he actually said this last September. He was only suppose to be on the case for about six weeks. He was actually manhandling two positions by doing both the Noord district as well as the Oranjestad district. So, you know, this was a hefty handful here and Richardson who has been on the case since day one under Van der Straaten has continued on in Van der Straaten’s position. So it is really not as comical as people are making it out to be.


VAN SUSTEREN: I would not use the word comical. It’s more baffling. Why, if you got the deputy chief who’s been the person out front in what is perhaps the most important murder investigation going on in Aruba and who has just told CBS 48 hours that they were at a critical stage of the investigation suddenly says "Oh yeah, I wanted off last September. I want off again now and then leaves."


RENFRO: Well, I believe we are in a situation where Richardson is actually more qualified in this critical stage that we are in at this point.


VAN SUSTEREN: And more qualified than Dompig? Why was Dompig on this so long then?


RENFRO: Well, it’s my understanding that that is basically what Richardson was doing was he was doing the hard work, the behind the scenes work and it has just come to a point where Dompig has decided where he needs to move on. Credit: Brandi (BFN)

4. THE DOUBLE AGENT

Was Julia Renfro placed in a position by the "powers that be" in the investigation to assure that all pertinent information that had the ability to implicated Joran or Paulus could be directed accordingly? Could this explain why Julia Renfro's cell number was printed on the Natalee Holloway Missing posters?

Julia Renfro - 'Rita Cosby Live & Direct' - Dec. 5, 2005

VELEZ-MITCHELL: ... You are mentioned quite a bit in this article, and basically, what it says is you were friends with Beth, you initially championed her cause and helped searched for Natalee.


JULIA RENFRO, “ARUBA TODAY” NEWSPAPER: Yes, I did. Actually, you know, everything you just said is absolutely correct, in that I went all out to help Beth in every way, to help find her daughter.

Julia Renfro - The O'Reilly Factor - Dec. 7, 2005

RENFRO: Well, you know, we’ve — we’ve had a tough time. We’ve had a tough time, because I really went all out for her to help her and her family do everything possible to find their daughter Natalee.

5. THE BLAME GAME

We do believe that Julia Renfro is attempting to obscure the issue. It is not Natalee's parents who are creating chaos on the Island of Aruba. As Beth Twitty implies in her defense of the boycott, it is a corrupt investigation - a corrupt investigation that is distancing Paulus and Joran Van der Sloot from being implicated in the events of that fateful morning.

Julia Renfro - DANA PRETZER SHOW - Mar. 26, 2005

RENFRO: Large groups of people have been canceling their trips to Aruba.”


PRETZER: You are a parent and I am a parent. This is a parents worst nightmare.


RENFRO: … the parents had lost their child, but they created massive chaos on an innocent island of 100,000 people.

HOWEVER ...

Beth Twitty - CBS NEWS - Mar. 25, 2006

Last fall, Twitty called for a boycott of Aruba. The island’s tourism industry has suffered: Travel bookings are off more than 4 percent from a year ago. Does she still support a boycott of Aruba? “The only leverage that we have in getting any traction in the investigation is when they feel the effects of a boycott,” says Twitty lost their child, but they created massive chaos on an innocent island of 100,000 people.

6. THE RACE CARD

Julia Renfro claims that the detainment of the security guards was not a racial issue - that Aruba has no such distinctions.

Julia Renfro - CNN - June 15, 2005

She insisted the reasons behind the guards' arrest had nothing to do with race. "Locally there was never even a mention or a breath of concern that this was a racial issue nor a status issue," Renfro said.

HOWEVER ...

Ann John claims that race definitely factored into the detainment of her son, and her son concurs.

Ann John - NANCY GRACE - June 9, 2005

GRACE: Miss John, your son (Mickey John) is one of the two security guards that were first arrested, not one of the three young men that were last seen with Natalee. It`s my understanding that there is some belief a racial bias is happening. Do you think that?


JOHN: I do think so.

Ann John - CNN - June 15, 2005

"The problem is, and I will say it plain, they have a color question in Aruba." Ann John said.

Mickey John - On the Record w/ Greta - June 29, 2005

JOHN: Well, I guess they wanted (INAUDIBLE) maybe the Dutch guy have some power on them, they all friends, and the family stick and talk and say, "We're going to stick to that, and that's it," you know? Trade in some black guy, scapegoat, lock him up, I guess so.

7. THE PUSHING INCIDENT

Julia Renfro claimed that there was an incident when an upset Jug Twitty used physical force against her.

Julia Renfro - 'Rita Cosby Live & Direct' - Dec. 5, 2005

JULIA RENFRO, “ARUBA TODAY” NEWSPAPER: ... And at some point, I believe it was early July, her husband, Jug, got very upset with me and actually physically pushed me and yelled and screamed at me in foul language in front of my children.

HOWEVER ...

Beth Twitty concedes that the situation was tense but states Jug did not use physical force against Julia, and Beth implied that there were other witnesses present at the alleged incident who would concur.

Beth Twitty - 'Rita Cosby Live & Direct' - Dec. 5, 2005

BETH: Well, Jane, you know, tempers—you know, you are frustrated. We were searching for answers. But as far as Jug physically pushing Julie Renfro, no, that did not happen. I was there. There was another witness there with us, and also a cab driver was there. I‘m sorry that—if she felt that—misconstrued that situation. But there were senior several witnesses there, and no, he did not physically push her, but there was a heated moment, yes.

8. IMPLICATING THE SECURITY GUARDS

Julia Renfro claims that there was no reason to disbelieve Joran, Deepak and Satish when they implicated the security guards.

Julia Renfro - CNN - June 15, 2005

Renfro said police arrested the black guards "because the three boys pointed their fingers at these two security guards, and they couldn't leave that out of the loop. There was no reason to believe the boys were lying."

HOWEVER ...

Beth Twitty had already revealed to Aruban officials that the Holiday Inn security cameras did not record Natalee returning to the hotel, nor meeting up with any security guard in the lobby.

Beth Twitty - 'Rita Cosby Live & Direct' - Dec. 5, 2005

TWITTY: ….. within 72 hours, we knew that their first story was totally fabricated, that within the first 72 hours, I faced a room of 12 -- at least 12 detectives, Aruban and Dutch detectives, and a lead detective, Dennis Jacobs (ph), and they knew after we reviewed video footage from the Holiday Inn casino lobby that my daughter had never been brought back to the Holiday Inn. They knew that those suspects were fabricating a story from day one.


You know, we—and what was so unbelievable about this, is they knew this information and still chose to pursue the two security guards on June the 5th.

9. WHERE DID THE SOLID EVIDENCE GO?

Julia Renfro's inside information implies that there is "solid evidence" against the security guards.

Julia Renfro - The O'Reilly Factor - June 9, 2005

Aruba newspaper editor Julia Renfro joined The Factor with the latest information on the case and the five men in custody. "The police told us that they have solid evidence against two of the men. The other three were considered as witnesses against those two men."

HOWEVER ...

Within four days a government spokesperson refuted Julia Renfro's words.

Ruben Trappenberg - Associated Press - June 13, 2005

Authorities had freed John and another former hotel security guard, Abraham Jones, 28, late Monday. Trappenberg said earlier their release "probably means they had nothing to do with this case and prosecutors were able to check out their alibis."

10. CALL ME HOOTIE

There were those who ridiculed Beth Twitty in regards to the "Hootie" reference that appeared on the Natalee Holloway Missing posters. At the Birmingham Meeting in October, 2006, Beth revealed when responding to a question from an attendee that Julia Renfro was the instigator.

Beth Twitty - Birmingham Meeting - Oct. 28, 2006

QUESTION:The "Call me Hootie" poster... what is the explanation of that?


TWITTY: This poster is the first that was distributed in Aruba. The Kidnapped posters that were made up to be put up were not allowed to be used. The Call me Hootie poster idea came from Julia Renfro. Credit: Debbie (BFN)


This collusion and corruption needs to be exposed, stopped, and the participants brought forth to answer for their actions to their own citizens, the US media, the US citizens, and most importantly – to Natalee Holloway’s family.

Natalee and her family deserve justice, and we will not let up until they have it!


Natalee's Freebirds


http://nataleesfreebirds.blogspot.com/

TWO YEARS LATER--WHAT HAVE WE REALLY LEARNED?

Unfortunately, it has been two years since Natalee Holloway vanished after last being seen with Joran van der Sloot and the Kalpoe brothers. Within the past 24 months an astounding amount of information has surfaced, yet nothing has happened. No one has been prosecuted. The media fed and continues to feed lies and teasers; Aruba feeds more lies and unseen “fireworks”.


We learned that Joran came up with approximately 20 different lies about what happened that night with Natalee. We learned that the Kalpoe brothers not only have many lies, but different accounts as to what happened to Natalee. We learned that Joran’s father was involved in Natalee’s disappearance. His involvement may never be known, but we do know that he not only lied, but was implicit in the cover-up and ongoing conspiracy of Natalee’s disappearance. We learned the infamous phrase, “No body, no case”. We learned of Paulus’ “clout” on the island as well as his best friends, business colleagues and dirty connections.


We learned of Steve Croes, the false witness who lied in order to put two innocent security men behind bars. We learned of other witnesses that came forward, yet mysteriously “disappeared”, retracted their statements, or were deported for unknown reasons.


We learned that Natalee was declared dead on June 10, 2005, yet later the statement was retracted. Did she miraculously rise from the dead? Who was the “dead person” they found?


We learned about and watched the “Arubay videos” and the infamous missing video that could blow the case open which a man named Ed Smith claims to have. We learned that the Aruba Visibility Team was at the scene where the footage was taped and “something” was found. Rocks were painted with an unknown substance. Items of importance or possible forensic evidence were found and quickly discarded like used tissue. A picture of a white garbage bag with something eerily human inside surfaced on the internet and in the American papers. A man was photographed carrying a scrap of material matching Natalee’s shirt. A bone was found. We were told things were sent to Holland for forensic testing, yet we heard nothing.


Suspects came and went like a revolving door…yet nothing surfaced. It is Aruba’s longest running “circus festival”…will we ever see a just and fair finale?


We learned that the police investigator Gerold Dompig stated that the three boys were “guilty as hell”. We learned Dompig is related to a well-known local “beach bum drug dealer” and the Kalpoe brothers. Dompig’s son, Michael, who was also known to hang out with “the pimps” told a source that hours before Beth Twitty arrived on the island he saw Joran, Koen Gottenbos and Deepak take Koen’s boat out into the ocean. Dompig ended his career after he went on national television and stated that Natalee likely died of an “overdose”.


We learned that Aruba has suffered greatly because of this tragedy that did not have to escalate. The boycott of Aruba has stymied their economy and their reputation has been forever damaged.


Yet, with all this information and much more that could fill a book (and that book is called Aruba: The Tragic Untold Story of Natalee Holloway and Corruption in Paradise) NOTHING has happened.


We are now waiting on the Dutch to decide Natalee’s fate. Will she receive her due JUSTICE? Will Joran et al walk away scott free? What will come of the Kalpoe’s lawsuit against Dr. Phil and Dave and Beth’s suit against the Kalpoe’s for wrongful death? Will we ever really learn the truth? Will Natalee ever really receive justice?


Two years is a long time to lie…the consequence of continued lying? The INDEFINITE boycott of Aruba and everything Dutch.

IS HOPE A GOOD THING?

I don't want to think this, but I feel Dave is in denial about getting answers from the Dutch and is clinging to hope that I don't think exists. And of course, why shouldn't he have that right to that ounce of hope?! I am not trying to take that away from him. I am not asking anyone to believe in my cynicism about this case.

What is Hope Anyway?


"...But there may be a turn in the case."


"...more hope for clues has emerged."


"The Dutch are very secretive on that type of thing"

Being realistic, how could anyone know if new clues emerged if the Dutch are mum? Don't forget the line HOPE in that sentence.


How could there be a turn in the case if the Dutch aren't talking? Don't forget the line "but there may be" a turn in the case. Another clench of hope.

"One of these days we'll find the answers."

One of these days could be a very, very long time. Look at Amy Bradley's family. Look at how other countries treat crimes against non-citizens (let alone their own citizens!) I just can't sit here and pray and hope that something happens. I don't believe the Dutch have uncovered anything that isn't already known. I don't think they will prosecute anyone. I think they went to Aruba for "show" in order to save their reputation and help Aruba look good. I hate to be so negative, but after two years of getting your chain pulled will dull anyone's senses and shatter any ounce of trust.

I hope to GOD I'm wrong.

(Source)--This marked another holiday without closure in the case of missing Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway. However, some of her relatives in Meridian say they now have renewed hope that this could soon change. It has been almost two years to the day since Dave Holloway's daughter Natalee was last seen.


On May 30, 2005, the then 18-year-old disappeared while vacationing with school friends on the island of Aruba. Since that time, all leads have pretty much turned up cold. But there may be a turn in the case. Natalee's father said Monday that Dutch authorities took over the investigation from Arubans about six months ago and more hope for clues has emerged.


Unlike in previous searches, Holloway says just last month Dutch authorities did a full search (Fact: they were not actual "searches" like the way Americans think of crime searches; they were surveys of the areas in question.) of the property belonging to the three men who were last seen with Natalee. "Well, they had the forensic team on that property and they have since left and gone back to Holland," Holloway said. "And as I understand, there are still 4 or 5 other investigators still on the island." (Just because a forensic team is present and investigators are there with pen and paper in hand doesn't mean squat. Maybe that's why they are "secretive"? Because they aren't really doing anything?)


As for the results from the recent searches, Holloway says it's unknown when those could be released. "The Dutch, unlike the Arubans, are very secretive on that type of thing," said Holloway. (I rest my case...)


For the Holloway family this renewed investigation has brought renewed hope. "One way or the other, I think (operative word) we'll finally get answers," Holloway said. "And when it will be? I thought it would be long before now but one of these days we'll find the answers.".

GRETA'S NO SHOW???

Saturday night came and went...nothing from Greta on her news "special"....Sunday afternoon comes and goes...NOTHING. A "phone in" into the show does not constitute a CRIME SPECIAL as was ADVERTISED.

Duped yet once AGAIN...

GRETA! You have LOST ALL RESPECT from not only myself (a LONG time ago) and hundreds of others with your pitiful "teasers", repeated stale information, lack of follow up questions, pathetic fluff pieces, etc. For someone who is probably paid millions, you certainly don't do your JOB. You are no reporter. You aren't even a decent "defense attorney". Frankly, you are a joke. You never report anything new. I find more relevant information from my own research, leads from "regular people"...not the MSM, the internet, up-to-date and thought-provoking blogs, and others who follow this case by putting their personal time and effort to get the REAL NEWS.


If you are an example of what a reporter and an attorney are in this country, then I would suspect that A LOT of us should start sending out our resume for YOUR JOB. Go join the firm of Joe Tacopino. You'd make a great addition to their "Dewey Cheatum & Howe".

Click here to watch the boring clip of Fox's "special" last

night...that is, if you have nothing better to do.

SOMETHING FROM THE MAILBOX....

**This is an actual emailed letter that was sent to me by a Aruban Boycott member that came from a friend. Definitely not a flattering letter...the ATA would hate to read this one!

Hi Bob (name changed):

For many years our family has been going to Aruba, no more. We purchased a time share in the Playa Linda resort but use it now solely for exchanges in other places. We bought at the top of the market but today we would get peanuts for it. My feelings before Natalee was that it was a safe island with not too much crime. Playa Linda had been broken into a few times though. Very few murders that we knew of but there had been a girl murdered on the beach a few years before we stopped going there. I have tried to remember the details but for the life of me can't remember.

Before Natalee disappeared we were going to purchase a small house in Aruba and had a long conversation with the owner, an arubian native. She told us the drugs were out of control because of the transients now living mainly in the oil refinery town. There was a large piece of property opposite her that was for sale and she said it was owned by a drug lord from Colombia and his wife. She said they lived in Florida and the wife came back and forth all the time. She said they got their money mainly from drugs. She told us then that crime was rampant and she was really getting worried about Aruba and what was happening to it. She wanted to move to a safer part of the island but there is only so far you can go on Aruba!


Lot of people coming in from other countries, foreigners that were causing a lot of trouble. Would not make a very good real estate agent for Aruba would she! But that is their mentality. So very laid back. Live for their yearly Carnival, planning for it all year. That is why Aruba is in the state it is today. Lots of booze flowing at the beach side bars, many people letting their guard down.


Friends of ours went with their brother to have a meal and had close to $10,000 extra put on their credit card as did our friend's brother as he paid his own check. We went a few weeks after them to same place, paid cash, and the waiter tried to overcharge us as well. This was about four years ago. Now you have big European countries putting all this cash into Aruba. Cruise lines helping I am sure with getting new docks and hotels built there as well.

--Anonymous

FOX THIS WEEKEND--ONE HOUR "CRIME SCENE" SPECIAL

Natalee Holloway--A FOX Crime Scene Special

As the anniversary of Natalee Holloway's disappearance approaches, FOX put together all that they have learned: The missed opportunities, false leads and outright lies that have plagued this investigation from the beginning are revealed in a one-hour, "Crime Scene" special.

Joran Van der Sloot, still the prime suspect, gives his version of his last moments with Natalee. It's an account that has never been corroborated by anyone else.

When:

Saturday, May 26 at 9 p.m. ET

Sunday, May 27 at 4 p.m. ET

ARUBA ADMITS IT! A DECLINE IN TOURISM!

EUREKA! BY GEORGE, I THINK THEY'VE GOT IT!?

Gina Lopez, a spokesperson for the ATA finally admits the truth after all this time. Aruba has SUFFERED! She also said that the island of 70,000 wants this solved. (Which is it? 70,000 or 100,000? Your statistics keep changing...or is that how many others have died, went missing or "committed suicide"? According to the CIA Worldfact Book, the correct number is 100,000. A spokesperson can't even get population numbers straight?)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/aruba_missing_teen;_ylt=AqQhnTeVa6gA_zE45m3lbora_JYv

"Negative publicity from the case may have been a factor in a decline in tourism last year on the island of white sand beaches off the coast of Venezuela, said Gina Lopez, a spokeswoman for the Aruba Tourism Authority. She said the island of 70,000 people wants the case resolved soon."

Well guess what, Gina...you say 70,000 people of Aruba want this solved...well a hell of a lot more people in the United States want it solved! We won't give up until it is solved and those responsible are PROSECUTED! I'm talking serious punishment. Behind scary bars, dark shower rooms, the filth of "the hole" and having a "celly" with someone named "teabag" who has a lot of friends on the inside. Nowhere to run...nowhere to hide.

DUTCH NEWS: ANNE FRANK HOUSE TRASHED

Before anyone starts complaining...no, this post has nothing to do with the Boycott of Aruba. Since the Dutch have taken over Natalee's investigation I am concerned with their lack of morals and laissez-faire attitudes. To me, this is a huge factor on how they may be treating her case. Let's remember WHO we are dealing with.


Now to this article...this is how much respect the Dutch still give Anne Frank and the millions of other Jews who lost their lives. This hatred comes from Dutch children, no less.

Anne Frank house vandalised

21 May 2007

AMSTERDAM – The Amsterdam police arrested two boys aged 16 and 17 in the early hours on Sunday for spray-painting graffiti on the Anne Frank house, various other buildings in the area, and the open air photo exhibition on the Westermarkt. The two boys caused thousands of euros of damage, the police said on Sunday.


A security guard caught the two red-handed just as they were vandalising the photo exhibition at about 5 am on Sunday. He managed to overpower one of the boys until police arrived.Police managed to track down the second boy near the Westermarkt.


The organisers of the photo exhibition and the foundation responsible for the Anne Frank house have filed charges for destruction of property. A special company has started to remove the graffiti. The boys could be held liable for both the cleaning costs and the damages claims.

The Dutch and Anti-Semitism

• Verbal and violent anti-Semitism in the Netherlands is probably greater today than it has been during any other time in the last two centuries except the Nazi occupation.

• Excessive Dutch tolerance has become an incentive for crime. Developments in anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism are a good indicator of what is happening in Dutch society at large.

• ...Jews are above average targets for their racists' behavior. Easily recognizable Jews often try to hide their identity in public.

• ...The Dutch government has still not publicly acknowledged the major assistance of the Dutch bureaucracy in the preparatory stages of the murder of Dutch Jews by the Germans during the Holocaust.

• It also continues to misrepresent the post-war discrimination against the Jews in the Netherlands.

Figleaf: Anne Frank

...There is a widespread myth that there was no anti-Semitism in the Netherlands before the war. While this is largely true for extreme, violent anti-Semitism, many other less aggressive forms of anti-Semitism and discrimination existed. Social anti-Semitism was substantial, but details have not been adequately researched.


During the Second World War, 74% of the 140,000 Dutch Jews were murdered, a higher percentage than in any other Western European country. Due to the Anne Frank paradigm

, the myth of the good Dutchman has persevered in giving the impression that large parts of the Dutch population resisted the Nazis and helped the Jews. Much attention is given to the remarkable Dutchmen who hid her and none to those who betrayed and arrested her.


The truth about Dutch collaboration with the Nazis is very different from what is commonly known outside the country. The Dutch authorities sent the Jews on their first steps to their extermination on German orders; the Germans required very few of their own people for this. Dutch policemen arrested the Jews. The policemen were well aware of the criminal character of their acts; it is the role of the police to arrest suspected criminals, not innocent citizens or babies.

Government Denial of the Truth about the War

Dutch railway employees transported the Jews to the transit camps. Dutch policemen guarded them there. There was a small minority of Dutchmen who helped hide the Jews and they deserve great respect. The numbers of Dutch Nazi collaborators during the war, however, exceeded those active in the resistance. Relative to the size of its population, the Netherlands had the most Waffen SS volunteers in Western Europe.


Furthermore, out of the 24,000 Jews who were hidden, 8,000 were betrayed by Dutchmen for a reward which in today's money amounts to perhaps 30 Euro per victim. Almost all of them were murdered in the death camps.


The Dutch government-in-exile in London cared little about the fate of the Jews who were deported to Poland. It did not instruct the Dutch under occupation not to collaborate with the Nazis. After the war, the Dutch transport minister praised the Dutch railways for not striking when they transported the Jews because that would have been bad for the Dutch economy.

In more than four years of radio speeches from London, the Dutch queen, Wilhelmina, devoted a total of five sentences to the Dutch Jews and their fate.



Security and Justice for Jews Today

...For all practical purposes, the Netherlands cannot be defined as a state where justice reigns. The percentage of prosecuted crimes is low.

Dutch Hypocrisy

The widespread hypocrisy among the Dutch political left is even more extreme. Its attitude could be summarized as:

"From our friends we expect much more than from ourselves."

...It would have been easy to illustrate this statement by quoting examples of Dutch behavior during the German occupation and the collaboration of the Dutch authorities with the Germans in bringing the Jews to their death.

(Source)

Read entire article...very interesting!

DISTURBING DISCREPANCIES STILL EXIST!

**Thanks for the hard work from "Natalee's Freebirds"!!!

CORRUPT ARUBA GOVERMENT IGNORED THE VAN DER SLOOTS' MANY LIES IN THE NATALEE HOLLOWAY CASE

In the first 23 days of the Natalee Holloway investigation Joran Van Der Sloot, who has admitted he was the last person to be seen with Natalee Holloway, told five different versions of how he got home that night. The first lie, told in conjunction with Deepak and Satish Kalpoe, was that the three dropped Natalee off at the front entrance lobby of the Holiday Inn, where she was staying. This lie was quickly debunked when the security camera footage was reviewed and there was no sign of Deepak Kaploe’s silver Honda ever coming near the front entrance of the hotel, nor any sign of Holloway near or entering the lobby on May 30, 2005.

What is particularly interesting in this lie is that all three suspects pointed to leaving Natalee in the hands of a black security guard, which, of course, never showed up on the security camera either. Despite this fact, the Aruban Authorities arrested two black security guards five days later fully knowing Joran and the Kalpoe brothers had lied to them.

These arrests allowed the three suspects another five days to roam free to cover any evidence of a crime against Holloway. The two security guards were later released when Aruban law enforcement admitted they could find no evidence they had anything to do with Natalee Holloway’s disappearance. Both the Aruban Prosecutor and the lead investigator, who happened to be a close friend of the Van Der Sloot family, have received harsh criticism for these actions, and rightfully so as they carry strong overtones of corruption.

When Joran Van Der Sloot and the Kalpoe brothers were finally arrested on June 9, 2005 they were still touting the Holiday Inn story, but that quickly changed when their statements were taken as suspects instead of witnesses and it had been clearly proven their first story was a lie. What would follow was a variety of differing stories by Joran Van Der Sloot as to how he got home that night, none of which have been proven to be true. In fact, two of these “versions” of his story were told before he was arrested, more than likely to confuse the police investigation, which was slowly pointing towards his possible guilt.

On and around June 12-13 Joran tells a barrage of differing stories, more than likely reacting to what he is learning the Kalpoe brothers have claimed in their own police statements. Such leaks to the van der Sloots would not be unrealistic considering the close friendship between the lead investigator and the van der Sloot family.

First Joran says the Kalpoe`s dropped him off at his house and drove off with Natalee. Next he says he walked home after the Kalpoe`s dropped him off at the beach with Natalee. Then he states that Deepak Kalpoe picked him up and gave him a ride home, leaving a sleeping Natalee at the beach. Why the police interrogators never bothered to question such a broad collection of accounts is a mystery unless corruption is suspected.

On June 28, 2005 Joran van der Sloot changed his story again, this time saying Satish Kalpoe picked him up at the beach. This change may have been due to him finding out there were computer records that showed activity on Deepak's computer at the time he was supposed to be picking Joran up. Once again, Joran seems to be evolving his story by what he has learned through police discovery.

Both Kalpoe brothers deny ever picking Joran up at the beach. But Joran’s father Paulus has been caught in a lie that adds another layer to the story. In wire tap records revealed in a court appeal denying him compensation for the 3 days he was arrested, information was exhibited of a conversation in which PAULUS VAN DER SLOOT SAID HE PICKED UP JORAN AND NATALLEE AT 4:00 AM. Several people heard this very statement from him the night her family arrived on Aruba, but he changed his story several weeks later to say he picked Joran up at 11:00 pm.

The big question here is: Why would Joran van der Sloot change his story so many times if he were innocent of Natalee Holloway's disappearance? Innocent people have no reason to lie and are virtually always vindicated by the truth.

JORAN VAN DER SLOOTS EVOLVING STORIES:

1. MAY 30, 2005- JORAN VAN DER SLOOT SAYS THEY DROPPED NATALEE OFF AT THE HOLIDAY INN

FROM JORAN VAN DER SLOOT'S PERSONAL DIARY:

"I then suggested we say we dropped her off at the hotel and Deepak agreed saying there were no cameras in the lobby so no one would ever know the difference."

HOLIDAY INN DROP OFF
Joran Van der Sloot
Suspect Statement
June 9, 2005

We drove back to the Holiday Inn Hotel to drop Natalee off there. When we arrived there Deepak parked on the left lane and not on the right lane that lies in front of the Lobby. Natalee got out the back door on the right side and she fell to the floor. I got out of the same car door and helped her get up. After I did that Natalee said to me not to touch her and she walked into the direction/towards the lobby. I saw that she touched a pillar. We did not kiss and I got back into the car. Then we drove home.

And according to Mickey John in an interview with Greta Van Susteren Deepak told him Paulus Van der Sloot helped the three make up the Holiday Inn story:

ON THE RECORD- Wednesday, June 29, 2005

JOHN: He said a story being made up about dropping the girl of at a Holiday Inn, was all something being made up. He, and the Dutch guy, and the Dutch guy's father, they sit and made up the story.

VAN SUSTEREN: The father, too?


JOHN: All of them. They made up...

VAN SUSTEREN: Did he specifically say — Deepak specifically say to you the father was part of that?

JOHN: Deepak told me that he and the family sit down and they made up the story.


VAN SUSTEREN: So family and not father?

JOHN: Well, I don't know who the family consists of. But I know the father was involved, according to him. They made up the story, and they say that they didn't drop the girl off, because they said they would give the police something to (INAUDIBLE) when somebody is missing in Aruba, they would find them a few days later by a crack house or with some beach bum or something.

VAN SUSTEREN: How certain are you that that your memory is correct that the family or the father was involved in creating this cover-up story?

JOHN: Well, he (Deepak) told me — he, all of them, sit and make up the story. He, Dutch guy, and the family. He told me they made up a story that they said they dropped the girl off at the Holiday Inn. She was talking to a black guy, security guard specific, dressed in black pants, black top.

VAN SUSTEREN: So what percentage certain are you that he said family or father that was involved in this?

JOHN: He said family.


VAN SUSTEREN: So you're certain?


JOHN: I'm certain.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,161044,00.html

2. JUNE 12-13, 2005- JORAN SAYS THE KALPOES DROPPED HIM OFF AT HIS HOUSE AND DROVE OFF WITH NATALEE.

FOX NEWS- June 13, 2005

Fox News is now reporting that the three suspects' stories have changed now that they have been held in separate jail cells, according to the lawyer of one of the men.


Joran Van Der Sloot is now saying that his two Surinamese friends dropped him off at his home after he exchanged email addresses with Holloway. He is saying the two Kalpoe brothers were the last to see Natalee.


The two brothers, however, are now telling authorities that they left Van Der Sloot and Natalee at the beach on the northwest side of the island.


"They know these boys have been lying," Mickey Jones' attorney Chris Lejuez told FOX News.


MONDAY JUNE 13: HAISIBOKOS

UPDATE 20: TOP95 FM (Aruban radio station) reported on Monday that they have received information about the story that the suspect Joran van der Sloot gave to the police. The radio station got this information from the attorney that is representing the suspect Abraham Jones.


Jones is being held at the same location as Joran and he has been hearing/getting information from within the institute. According to the attorney, Jones declared that Joran is convinced that he is being framed. Joran is saying that he did not go to the lighthouse with the group at all. He testified that after he left the club, he caught a ride home with his Surinamese friends, the brothers Kalpoe.


At that time Natalee Holloway was in the car. Joran allegedly testified that the Kalpoes dropped him off at his home and drove off with Natalee in car. It was only afterwards (a few days later), around the swimming pool at his house, that the Kalpoes made plans to come out with one version of the events. But now it seems that they are trying to frame Joran. The attorney also told the radio station that his client has been hearing Joran van der Sloot sobbing a lot lately.

3. JUNE 12-13, 2005- JORAN SAYS THE KALPOES DROPPED HIM OFF AT THE BEACH AND HE WALKED HOME.

Karl Penhaul - Cnn Correspondent
NANCY GRACE
July 14, 2005

PENHAUL: Not necessarily, Nancy. What we do know, and these from statements that were in the dossier that one of the defense attorneys from the Kalpoe brothers had and shared some of that with us, was that Joran Van Der Sloot was dropped off at the beach near the Marriott, according to statements, around 1:50 in the morning.

He then made a phone call to Deepak Kalpoe at about 2:30 or 2:40, so less than an hour later, saying, "I`m leaving Natalee at the beach, and I`m walking home."

4. JUNE 14, 2005- JORAN SAYS DEEPAK KALPOE PICKED HIM UP AT THE BEACH


BEACH DROP OFF
Joran Van der Sloot
Suspect Statement
June 14, 2005

When Natalee and myself were dropped off at the Marriot Hotel by Satish and Deepak it was approximately 01.50 am.

I had called Deepak, on May 30th 2005 at approximately 03.00 am, on his mobile phone. I laid down next to her. At about 03.30 am Deepak came to Fisherman's Huts to pick me up.

5. JUNE 28, 2005- JORAN SAYS SATISH KALPOE PICKED HIM UP AT THE BEACH


CNN NEWS
Karl Penhaul - Cnn Correspondent:

"PENHAUL: Van der Sloot's attorneys, Antonio Carlo, declined to talk to us for this report, but Kock has seen van der Sloot's statements to investors and says he's changed his story several times since his arrest. Claiming first Deepak Kalpoe picked him up from the beach after he left Natalee. Then saying it was Satish Kalpoe. In another version of the story, Joran Van Der Sloot said he walked home.

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0506/28/acd.01.html

THERE ARE OTHER RADICAL CHANGES IN JORAN'S STORY ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED THAT NIGHT.

1. Joran initially told police they all went to the lighthouse. Then he changed his story to just the opposite. The Kalpoe’s still say to this day they went to the lighthouse. Why the disagreement?

DIARIOARUBA NEWSPAPER
05/05/2006

All police reports show that something smells in Matter of the Lighthouse in the case of Natalee.


At first, Joran van der Sloot himself declared that they went to the lighthouse and that he, himself, told the Kalpoe brothers to go in the direction of the lighthouse while Joran ‘supposedly’ was sitting in the backseat of the car with Natalee.


During other interrogations which continued, Joran van der Sloot himself radically changed his declaration in what concerns the matter of the lighthouse and it could even be observed that the way that Joran got to hear that the Kalpoe brothers did indeed declare and were firm on the matter of going to the lighthouse, Joran became like an angry bear.


Today DIARIO has reproduced a part of the controversial declarations that Joran first made on the matter of the lighthouse, which he accuses the Kalpoe brothers of lying about going there and today, everyone can read how Joran was changing his version every time.


In one declaration alone, he contradicted himself even on the matter of going to Noordkant [northern tip] with Natalee.


At first, Joran declared that Natalee herself asked to go to the North side of the island to see sharks (a very ridiculous proposition in the darkness of night; neither day nor night can one see sharks on the Aruban shores).


Afterwards, later in the same interrogation, Joran tells police: “At no time did Natalee ask to go to the north side of Aruba!” Joran himself declared that the (supposed) idea of going to the lighthouse came from him!

2. Joran also radically modified his story about Natalee Holloway's condition that evening. He told the police and Natalee's family the night they arrived at his residence that Natalee was drunk and had been doing drugs. He repeated this in other interviews as did his U.S. attorney Joe Tacopina... until they found out that Joran could be charged with rape for the vaginal penetration he described doing to Natalee in the backseat of the Kalpoe car that night.

In his more current statements to U.S. media he changed his comments to say that Natalee was in good condition and only mildly drunk, even though he early statements to police describe Natalee as "going in and out of consciousness." Could it have been that Natalee was given a drug by van der Sloot or a paid bartender at Carlos & Charlie's and was disabled by its effects after leaving the bar?

* WHY WOULD JORAN VAN DER SLOOT LIE SO MANY TIMES IF HE WERE INNOCENT IN THE DISAPPEARANCE OF NATALEE HOLLOWAY?



*WHY DO JORAN VAN DER SLOOT AND THE KALPOE BROTHERS DISAGREE SO RADICALLY ON THE EVENTS OF THAT NIGHT?



*WHY WOULD JORAN CHANGE HIS STORY ABOUT NATALEE'S CONDITION THAT NIGHT?



*WHY HAVEN'T THE DUTCH AUTHORITIES TAKEN JORAN VAN DER SLOOT TO TASK ON ALL OF THESE LIES?



*WHY DID PAULUS VAN DER SLOOT LIE ABOUT WHEN HE PICKED JORAN AND NATALEE UP AT 4:00 AM?



*WHY WERE JORAN, DEEPAK AND SATISH EVER RELEASED FROM CUSTODY WITHOUT CONDITIONS WHILE SO MANY DISTURBING DISCREPANCIES STILL EXIST?

Natalee and her family deserve justice, and we will not let up until they have it!


Natalee's Freebirds

http://nataleesfreebirds.blogspot.com

JOSSY MANSUR--"THIS IS NOT A COLD CASE!"

What is next? The Fisherman's Hut?

Jossy Mansur was interviewed on FOX last evening...here is a synopsis of what he said:

"I don't think it is a cold case, there has been movement..only it hasn't been publicized. The investigation is an ongoing one. It has never been considered a cold case. Where they are going next, I believe the Fisherman's Hut. Many things happened there and came forth from the interrogations that point to that spot as one of the most important ones in the investigation. I think that is where they will move on to next."

LEAVE IT TO THE DUTCH...

You've GOT to be KIDDING me...

Discount on funerals for donor

AMSTERDAM – Those who lose a loved one and donate one or more of their organs may be able to get a discount on the funeral, the Volkskrant reports. Monuta Funeral Care and Insurance is giving a EUR 150 discount on the bill paid by the relatives of organ donors. The funeral business hopes this might make a small contribution in the struggle with shortages of donated organs. "A financial incentive of EUR 150 doesn't solve the problem, but it might give people a little push," says spokesperson Paul Debets of Monuta.


The company's action is in response to a call from the Kidney Foundation for financial incentives to encourage more Dutch people to be donors. Paying for organs is prohibited in the Netherlands. The ministry of welfare, health and culture is going to investigate whether this kind of discount is permitted by law.

AMSTERDAM AIRPORT--SECURITY OR PEEPING TOM?

Amsterdam airport's new 'X-ray' security scan reveals all

AMSTERDAM - Amsterdam's Schiphol airport Tuesday introduced a new security scan that sees through clothes, the first airport in the world to use the system, officials said. The scan outlines body contours, making it easy for security personnel to see if anyone is carrying weapons or smuggling money or drugs. (Drug smugglers don't usually keep the drugs on them...maybe INSIDE them or concealed in luggage. So, my guess is that the drug smugglers are off the hook. Afterall, Amsterdam needs those drugs for profit!)


Airport authorities said the scan was quicker and better than body searches. To ensure privacy, the images from the scan are analysed by a security attendant in a separate room. The face of the person is also blurred to avoid recognition. Schiphol put two such scanning machines into operation Tuesday and another 15 are set to follow.


For the present, passengers can choose between the body scan or regular controls, which sometimes include being frisked.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/276467/1/.html