Natalee Holloway - Case Discussion Extended Thread 16

If you think about it, an attempted boycott against Aruba is unjust, because it is misdirected and won’t achieve the desired results.
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I agree with Jossy that there are innocent Arubans that could be financially damaged by a tourism boycott. But I disagree that a boycott won't achieve the desired results.

I think Aruba is a good money maker for the Dutch government. I'm sure they get a slice of the Aruban economic pie. When the Aruban economic pie is down to one thin slice, the Dutch government might get a little hungry.
When they get hungry enough they just might begin a canabalistic carnage. The Van der Sloots should be the first course.

Boycott Aruba!
Boycott the Netherlands!

I think Dave to putting too much trust in the ALE. He does not seem to suspect that evidence has been destroyed or hidden.

Jug, I think, looks at ALE with a more critical and dubious eye.

From what I have read about Joe M, he tends to scare me somewhat. I think his approach is what is needed to break through on this case. He would have to walk a very fine line though.

Bump and Bookmark...

Oh no! Lucy, I think you're right! This is sickening...they need to let this poor girl come home.

All the accounting that the Public Prosecutor’s Office has to do, will be done before the Common Court of Justice of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba. Only the Common Court of Justice judges if the Public Prosecutor’s Office has done its work, the persecution (prosecution?) of criminal acts, correctly.

If a concerned party in a criminal case, for example somebody who has filed a complaint with the police, is of the opinion that the investigation is not being done or not being done in a reasonable amount of time, this person can file a complaint with the Common Court of Justice of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba.

According to this Aruban law, if Beth decides to file a complaint against the Public Prosecutor’s Office because she has the opinion that the investigation is not being done or not being done in a reasonable amount of time, then the Common Court of Justice judges whether or not the Public Prosecutor's Office has done its job correctly. Unless I'm mistaken, the Common Court of Justice is where PVDS (father of the chief suspect, and an arrested suspect himself) was training to be a judge.

No conflict of interest going on in this case in Aruba, no absolutely not, all is open and above-board. /sarc

bwcitypaper.com

By Chuck Geiss

October 06, 2005

Taking the long view of the Natalee Holloway investigation, it is easy to come to the conclusion that the Aruban government has no interest in resolving this case. However, they do want you to visit the island; tourism officials have unleashed an aggressive new media campaign in the United States and they would prefer that you forget all about Natalee Holloway.

Let's take a moment to re-visit some facts behind the case. Natalee was reported missing in the early morning hours of May 30, yet police officials took several days to begin an official investigation. In the absence of an investigation, family and friends descended on the island and took matters into their own hands, and within hours, had pegged the lead suspect as Joran Van der Sloot. When questioned in his front yard by the missing girl's family, Joran offered his initial accounting of the early morning's activities, which would be the first of dozens of lies he would tell authorities in the months to come.

Aruba's Police Commissioner, Jan Van der Straaten, ignored repeated pleas to get involved in the case and even told one family friend to go to Carlos & Charlie's on Wednesday night, "because it is Ladies' Night and she will certainly be there." Later, Van der Straaten took a more sympathetic approach, but only after having alienated himself from the Twitty family. In an effort to stay close to the investigation, the family appointed an intermediary to meet with Van der Straaten on a daily basis, but getting the simplest of details on the progress of the case was a chore.

What little information the police provided to the family and the press was often masked in meaningless phrases, repeated over and over again, such as, "we will have important details in 48 hours," and "the investigation is reaching a very critical point." False information was continuously leaked to the press. DNA evidence that was collected and later rejected by authorities over "procedural problems" was never re-collected. It took 10 days for authorities to arrive at Joran's home—where he had told police he had taken Natalee—to gather forensic evidence. There are doubts whether any of the items confiscated there were actually tested.

Van der Sloot gave hundreds of hours of recorded testimony to the police, yet Beth Twitty was allowed to see only six transcripts out of the entire collection. "A government official was allowed to select what I saw, and we had to have the information transcribed. There are countless documents that I have never seen," she said.

By Dutch law, all hearings are closed to the public. "On September 1 [at the hearing when Joran was set free], the suspects, the defense, and the prosecutors all appeared before a judge. [Natalee's family] was not allowed to be in the courtroom. "We can't hear the testimony, we can't see the body language, we don't have the opportunity to understand what is happening and why," said a frustrated Twitty. "I've since discovered that all of the news reports about the Aruban government sharing information with the FBI were completely mistaken. It never happened."

Unbelievably, Van der Sloot and the Kalpoe brothers were set free by a judge who officially ruled that there was a "lack of sufficient grounds and serious suspicions." Understandably, Twitty was outraged: "Joran has lied over 20 times about what he did that night. He has admitted to taking Natalee back to his house and at some point having sex with her while she lapsed in and out of consciousness. That's rape. Deepak gave a taped confession that implicated all three boys having sex with her. That's gang rape. Who says there's no evidence?"

Joran also told investigators about driving to some fishing huts on the northeastern area of the island later that night. As it turned out, three of the huts had been broken into around that time frame. Several knives and a fishing cage large enough to hold a body had disappeared from the huts. Owners had reported the missing items to police but, amazingly, never received a response from the authorities. Is there any reason not to believe that the investigation is a total scam?

Joran Van der Sloot has since left Aruba to attend college at Arnhem Business School in the Netherlands. According to accounts from Kristina Pedersen, a girl who has befriended Joran on campus, Van Der Sloot has sunk back into his old routine of cutting class, chasing women, and drinking heavily. "I'm hoping that for Joran, it's just a matter of time," said Twitty. "He's been our lead suspect since day one, and there's nothing that can change my mind that he's the one."

Twitty has since called for an American boycott of Aruba, as have many high-profile personalities on whose shows she has appeared, including Oprah Wynfrey and Dr. Phil. This doesn't sit well with some Aruban authorities, such as Justice Minister Rudy Croes who has explored the option of "shutting [Twitty] up," whatever that means.

Aruban tourism officials now have ad campaigns and promotions in full swing throughout the United States. Last month, the "Regis & Kelly"; show gave away a trip to Aruba on the air to a viewer. A USA Today travel article last month read, "Teens in tight jeans and skimpy tops slurp free ladies' night drinks in foot-long orange plastic glasses and gyrate on the dance floor of Carlos 'n Charlie's to a U.S. rap hit whose chorus taunts, "It's getting hot in here, so take off all your clothes."

Proceed at your own risk. &

http://www.scaredmonkeys.com/

Videos from Search for Natalee Raise More Questions
October 8th, 2005

In the early days of the investigation, some videos were posted on June 11th to an Aruban websites, aru-bay.com, that showed people searching an area near the lighthouse. It was presumed that they were searching for Natalee Holloway. Shortly after they were posted online at this site, they were removed. The reason for the removal was that the videos were posted to help prove the security guards initially arrested were innocent, and then removed when the guards were released.

The videos are from a handheld camera and and show the police searching near some large rocks, and during the search they put up a tarp and then mark the rocks. The timing of the videos was the day after the Aruban and Dutch authorities mistakenly announced Natalee was dead, and were going to retrieve the body. That is why the folks followed them and recorded it.

Although these videos are inconclusive, they are interesting and present some unanswered questions. They recently were uploaded to Google video and are available for viewing again.

Click on the videos to view.

Video 1, Video 2, Video 3, Video 4, Video 5, Video 6, Video 7, Video 8

Thanks to Molly12 and Chicago 510 for helping with this.

Justice Minister Rudy Croes who has explored the option of "shutting [Twitty] up," whatever that means.
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Well, gee whiz, Rudy...there is an easy way to 'shut Beth up.'
Find Natalee.

Flashback to June 16, 2005:

bwcitypaper.com

By Chuck Geiss

Our plane touched down Friday evening, June 10, on the island of Aruba. As we approached the hotel where Natalee Holloway had stayed during her five-day vacation, yellow and white ribbons were evident everywhere. On June 5 the island had exhausted its supply of yellow ribbons, so white ribbons joined yellow ones on lampposts, street signs, and flagpoles. They were visible reminders of a tragic story that many island locals hoped would disappear.

Since the day after she vanished, a group of closely knit friends had gathered with Natalee Holloway's family in Aruba. Initially, they came to provide emotional support, but soon found themselves acting as the lead detectives in an investigation to find the 18-year-old girl. Within hours of arriving on the island, they were troubled to learn that island police were tentative about beginning any investigation, since missing-person cases require a 24-hour waiting period. Police assured the family that Natalee would show up soon, exclaiming, "Things like this happen all the time, people love the island so much, and they just don't want to go home."

Friends of the family immediately took matters into their own hands; within hours they learned the identity of the three men last seen with Natalee at a local nightclub during the early hours of Monday, May 30. They conducted informal interviews at the home of 17-year-old Joran Van Der Sloot who, in the company of police officials, readily admitted to having been with Natalee on the previous evening before dropping her off at her hotel at 2:30 a.m. Later, it was learned that surveillance tapes from the hotel revealed no such activity. Moreover, friends who waited for Natalee in the lobby until 5 a.m. said she never even arrived at the hotel. Believing that Van Der Sloot was lying, the family and their friends pegged him as the leading suspect a mere 12 hours after Natalee's disappearance.

As flyers were posted around the island, the search for Natalee began in earnest. Efforts concentrated around the hotel and at the lighthouse on the north end of the island, where Van Der Sloot, 18-year old Satish Kalpoe, and his brother, 21-year old Deepak, said they had taken Natalee after leaving a local downtown nightclub. As an avalanche of leads and anonymous tips flowed in, friends of the family mobilized into an investigative task force armed with cell phones, two-way radios, and a fleet of rental cars.

Psychics, prevalent on the island, began demanding the attention of the family. Each told family associates that "she is in a dark place, and near water." One claimed that Natalee's soul was sitting next to her. "Ask her what the name of her dog is," a family associate asked. "She is crying," she told him, "she is too upset to talk." During that early period of the family's investigation, attempts to get the police involved were unsuccessful. According to a friend of the family, the Police Commissioner actually suggested that they go to Carlos & Charlie's (the bar Natalee disappeared from) on Wednesday night. "It is Ladies Night," he said, "and I am sure she will be there."

As the search became more desperate and the tips became more bizarre, missions into the island's darkest barrios, including the red-light district and assorted crack houses, were orchestrated. The editor of the island newspaper informed the family that a group of drug dealers were holding Natalee for a $10,000 ransom (an odd amount considering that the posted reward was in excess of $50,000). A late-night rendezvous between the drug dealers and family friends was arranged, and after a wild series of events an American girl was rescued by the police, who called to report that "they are 98-percent sure they have Natalee." The family raced to the police station only to discover that the female in custody had dark hair, brown eyes, weighed about 130 pounds, and looked to be about 45 years old. Natalee had blonde hair, blue eyes, weighed 110 pounds, and was 18 years old. That was the first of many letdowns and false leads.

On Day 5, police arrested two security guards, leaving the family perplexed as to why the investigation had not yet led to the persons last seen with Natalee: Joran Van Der Sloot and the Kalpoe brothers. From all accounts, the three have bad reputations. Joran Van Der Sloot is a son of privilege; his father has been appointed to a judgeship on the island and rumors swirled that he was using his influence to impede the investigation. There were varying descriptions of Joran, ranging from model student athlete to casino playboy (he met Natalee in a casino). He is tall, handsome, and looks older than his age. His friends, Satish and Deepak, also sons of wealth and privilege, were described to me by a local islander "as bad men who mistreat women." One scenario has the trio involved in a seedy scam that involves meeting attractive female tourists, learning the date of their departure, and taking advantage of them on their final night in town.

The family was informed, however, that paying $1,000 to a certain official might make him work harder to find Natalee. Friends of the family concluded about that official that "no sum of money could make him smart enough to help us." Finally, a team of FBI agents arrived in Aruba. Island police arrested the three boys last seen with Natalee, but offered no information about their investigation. Despite their frustration, the family maintained a positive spin for the media, saying "they are pleased with the process." Behind the scenes, that was hardly the case.

The lobby of the Aruba Holiday Inn was a peculiar mix of scantily clad, well-sunscreened hotel guests, members of the media, and people engaged in the search for Holloway. Those involved in the search had established a war room in the hotel, but most of them hung out in the lobby in between search activities because the war room was too depressing. Eleven days after Natalee's disappearance, the flow of tips and leads had abated, mainly because family friends had become adept at screening them. Efforts were concentrated on getting scuba divers in the water, defining specific locations for organized searches, and staying visible to police and government officials. Natalee's mother, Beth, spent her days visiting schools and churches, speaking with children and handing out wrist bracelets made by friends in Birmingham.

"The only thing we have going for us is maintaining a high profile and letting these people know that we aren't leaving without Natalee," said one family friend, "otherwise it's just another missing girl." Indeed, it was clear that virtually everyone on the island wanted the family and friends to go home because they were jeopardizing the tourist economy, hindering the local drug trade, and drawing intense media scrutiny to local police and government officials who have no experience managing this kind of case.

Late Friday evening, June 10, rumors circulated that police had taken members of the family to the lighthouse to identify a body. On television, CNN reported that Natalee was dead, and both CNN and Fox News were reporting a confession "that something bad has happened to Natalee." Both stories were without merit. The next morning, CNN was still reporting that Natalee was dead, but Fox had retracted its story about a confession. At 10 a.m., Vivian Van Der Biezen, spokesperson for the Attorney General, held a press conference at the hotel to report "they are at a very critical point in the investigation and they will neither confirm nor deny information being reported from other sources." This was typical of the information being provided to the family, in that it had absolutely no substance.

On Saturday night, Geraldo Rivera conducted a live interview with Beth Holloway Twitty [Natalee's mother], George Twitty [her step-father], and Prime Minister Nelson Oduber. The interview went smoothly until the Prime Minister revealed a fact undisclosed to the Holloways—that the police found blood in one of the cars impounded during the investigation (a lab test later proved this to be false). Twitty took the opportunity to criticize Oduber. "This is typical of what we're going through. They have information that we know nothing about and this is the first time we're hearing it. You hear it before we do." Off camera, Oduber was having a total meltdown.

By Sunday morning, June 12, Natalee's parents were modifying their media strategy. Worried early on that any criticism of the investigation would jeopardize their relationship with the police department, they ultimately concluded that things couldn't get much worse. After 14 days with no answers, it seemed that the media was their only hope of getting any results. Government officials continued to defend the investigation's credibility to the media.

Two weeks after Natalee Holloway was reported missing, I left the island. Understandably, her family won't leave without her, and by now police and government officials on the island are keenly aware of that fact. My lasting impression of Aruba is the license tag on the rear of the car that brought me to the airport. The slogan at the top of the plate read "One Happy Island."
&

Flashback to June 16, 2005:

bwcitypaper.com

By Chuck Geiss
July 14, 2005

Frustration continues in Aruba as the mystery over the disappearance of Natalee Holloway remains unsolved.

A colony of the Netherlands until 1954, Aruba is now a political experiment between the Royal Dutch government. Islanders elect their own Prime Minister, but the actual powers of this position are diminished since many island officials, including executives in the police and justice department, are appointed by the Dutch government. Discord between the Dutch upper-class and the local population continues to simmer, which leads to repeated difficulties in governing the island. The search for Natalee Holloway has exposed what has long been a dysfunctional relationship between the two camps.

As with many Caribbean islands, drugs, drug trafficking, and corruption are prevalent in Aruba. The scale of the drug trade in Aruba ranges from significant to huge, depending on who is speculating about the matter; one islander I spoke with called it "Pablo Escobar-ish" in size (referring to the late Columbian cocaine dealer who once ruled the infamous Medellin cartel). The fact that police and government officials are quick to dismiss the notion of a wide-scale drug trade suggests some level of corruption between high-ranking island officials and drug kingpins. For years Dutch officials in Europe have blithely ignored what has become known as "the Aruban problem."

The investigation into Holloway's disappearance did not begin until four days after she was reported missing. That's because a) police and justice officials are incompetent, or b) they were attempting to stage an internal fix. Consequently, the Holloway family has lived the plot from the movie "Groundhog Day," waking every morning to the same circumstances but at the end of the day being no closer to finding their daughter. For the first two weeks after Holloway's disappearance, police and prosecutors provided the family with the same oft-repeated phrases—"we will have important news in 48 hours" and "we are entering a critical phase of the investigation." Meanwhile, the opportunity to secure evidence by quickly making arrests, impounding cars, and gathering other critical clues was lost due to repeated suspicious delays.

The three top suspects in the case, Joran Van Der Sloot, Satish Kalpoe, and his brother Deepak Kalpoe, were the last people seen in the company of Natalee Holloway. All three lied to investigators, providing a false story that they had driven her to the lighthouse on the northern end of the island and later dropped her off at her hotel, the Holiday Inn, in the early morning hours of May 30. Van Der Sloot later revised his story, saying he and Holloway were dropped off at the Mariott Hotel (one-quarter mile north of her hotel), where he later left her alone on the beach. That story also appears to be implausible. At best, all three of these suspects are proven liars.

The wild card in the case is Paulus Van Der Sloot, Joran's father, and although he may be involved in Holloway's disappearance, observers suspect that his standing with the Dutch government as a judge-in-training might place him above the law. There are varying accounts as to his whereabouts on the night Natalee disappeared. He is believed to be responsible for orchestrating the early alibis for Joran and the Kalpoe brothers. While the Holloway family was pleased to see Paulus jailed last month, he offered little help to the investigation and was released soon afterwards.

By Dutch law, Joran can be detained up to 116 days, at which point he must either be charged with a crime or released. With conflicting testimony between various suspects and no physical evidence, there is concern by the Holloway family and friends that Joran might soon be set free. The ultimate fear is that the Aruban justice system will prove to be a farce and that there will be no resolution to Natalee's disappearance.

With so little help coming from the police, family and friends are forced to untangle clues on their own. Alternative theories abound, including new worries about Aruba's underground rave culture. According to locals, the rave crowd is made up of island drug dealers, their bodyguards, and various ne'er-do-wells. One scenario under scrutiny has Joran directing Natalee to one of their parties, where he has reportedly taken many women before. If something bad happened to Natalee there, Joran would be in a terribly uncomfortable position. He could not reveal the truth of the crime nor his whereabouts without jeopardizing his life or his parents' lives with the island's criminal underground.

Furthermore, according to the theory, drug dealers began a cover-up with island police officials accustomed to taking bribes. Concurrently, Paulus Van Der Sloot (aware that his son and the Kalpoe brothers would soon be the fall guys) concocted a story about taking Natalee to a lighthouse far away from where evidence of any crime might be found. Police officials stalled the case long enough to keep the Holloway family and their friends from getting close to the truth. In the event of a trial, Joran's father and island police officials would have thus arranged for the prosecution to find only shoddy evidence, rendering a conviction unlikely.

All of those scenarios are hypothetical. However, if the case can indeed be stalled long enough, a key figure in the investigation will disappear. Jan Van Der Straaten, the island's Police Commissioner, ends his tour of duty in Aruba during the month of July, after which time he will return to the Netherlands.

Friends of the Holloway family who have been searching the island since her disappearance have become hardened and cynical about the progress of the investigation. Asked to comment on the above theories, one family friend who has been on the island since the first day of Holloway's disappearance said, "There is something very wrong with the Van Der Straaten guy. If someone were to tell me one day that he was criminally involved in this matter, I would not be surprised in the least."
&

Flashback to June 16, 2005: = Flashback to July 14, 2005

Flashback to August 25, 2005:

bwcitypaper.com

By Chuck Geiss
August 25, 2005

On September 4, Joran van der Sloot, the lead suspect in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, will go before an Aruban judge to learn whether he will be set free or spend another 30 days in jail awaiting possible charges. There has been scant progress in this case over the last 15 weeks. With only days remaining before the hearing, Natalee Holloway's family has good reason to suspect that van der Sloot might be set free.

At this point, there are many more questions than answers to the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. Nonetheless, the few facts that are known do provide a picture of what is happening in Aruba; it's just not a very pretty picture.

There are those, including Joran's parents, who would like to paint Joran as a quiet, kind, stable honor student. So how is it that Joran van der Sloot hangs out in casinos, gambles, and drinks alcohol at the age of 17? He is often seen in casinos, drinking and gambling, largely because his father taught him how. It is reported that the elder van der Sloot has a $50,000 line of credit at every casino on the island, and young Joran has taken advantage of that since he was 15.

Joran told Natalee that he was visiting the island and staying at the Holiday Inn, when he is actually a resident of Aruba. Initially, many of Natalee's friends were confused as to why she got into the Kalpoe's jeep and left with Joran. We now know that he lied to her about staying at her hotel and that Joran told Natalee that the Kalpoe's vehicle was an unmarked taxi (many taxis on Aruba carry no special markings). Because it's only a five-minute ride to the hotel, Natalee might not have foreseen any danger in Joran's invitation.

What happened then? The next 90 minutes of that morning are the most crucial in the case, and it is certain at least these three (Joran and the two Kalpoe brothers; there may be others) know the answer to Natalee's fate. However, through the logic of the Aruban legal system, only Joran remains in jail. How many different stories has Joran told investigators and interrogators about the events of that morning? According to records, 22.

It is apparently not illegal to lie to the authorities in Aruba. Should Joran eventually be formally charged, he would have to appear in front of a judge, testify under oath, and he would be subjected to cross-examination from the prosecution. By then, he must provide just one alibi if he is to appear credible. With so many to choose from, that shouldn't be difficult.

Why does Joran have nine attorneys, and who is paying for them? It appears unlikely that Paulus van der Sloot, Joran's father, has the means to support such a legal army. In fact, the elder van der Sloot is currently unemployed, having flunked a test in recent months that would have elevated him to the position of a judge on the island. According to islanders, "casino interests" and "syndicates" are helping the van der Sloots with their legal bills. Translate that however you want.

Any credence to the idea that Paulus van der Sloot might be involved in Natalee's disappearance? At the very least, he remains a suspicious character in the eyes of the Holloway family. Regarding his whereabouts on the morning in question, van der Sloot has told conflicting stories, most notoriously the claim that he had picked up Joran at a McDonald's near the hotel at midnight. That statement is simply not credible. He also told Natalee's father, Dave Holloway, "that he would do anything to protect his son." One wonders if "anything" includes lying, obstruction of justice, and other conspiratorial activities.

Doesn't the recent testimony of "the gardener," who said he saw Joran and the Kalpoe brothers at 2:30 a.m. that morning across the street from the Marriott, present a problem for the defense? While it would indeed conflict with Joran's current alibi, both the prosecution and the defense believe that recent testimony from this witness before a judge helped their case. If the case moves to trial, there will again be no jury, only a judge listening to testimony, so it is possible we may never know how this critical testimony, or any other information, weighs in the outcome of the case.

Is there a statute of limitations on Aruba? If Joran is detained yet again on September 4, he will have another hearing up to 30 days later on October 4. At that time, he must either be formally charged or released. If he is released, he can be arrested again if charges are forthcoming. Otherwise, prosecutors have two years to bring a case. After that, according to my sources, Joran is no longer subject to prosecution for the disappearance of Natalee Holloway.
&

Shebacal, thanks for posting these articles. There are tidbits of info I've never heard before.

bookmark for later

you may want to check out today's arubatruth

John Pauly Speaks Out About Aruba Media Coverage
Since the initial disappearance of Natalee Holloway, media coverage has been constant however not always accurate. As coverage continues with little to no development or new evidence against the primary suspects, some have questioned how members of the media have conducted themselves. Bob Costas refused to cover the story, Mathew Felling of the Center for Media and Public Affairs publicly described the coverage as “emotional pornography," and even CNN's president stated that the coverage has been "easy and brainless."

John Pauly, a media advisor to the Aruba Task Force, spoke with reporter Alan Pergament and shared his experience.

By Alan Pergament
"The media was just running wild down there," said Pauly in a telephone interview from his Philadelphia home. "This little country has never been caught in a media storm and had no idea what was going on. Everyone is sympathetic to Beth Holloway (Natalee's mom) for losing her daughter. But the media overwhelmed the island. They were chasing people down the street."

A former newspaper reporter who ruffled his share of feathers at Channel 7 and Channel 2, Pauly might seem to be an odd choice for his Aruban role. "I know both sides of the story," said Pauly. "I'm an aggressive journalist, but I'm also a very honest and ethical journalist."

He thinks the mainstream media - the broadcast networks and the Associated Press - has been very professional. But he says he has witnessed some outrageous, out-of-control behavior from Fox News anchors and producers and CNN's Nancy Grace.

According to Pauly, Grace reported that Natalee was kidnapped by white slavers and speculated that one of Natalee's arms may have washed up in Venezuela.

"The currents and the winds don't go to Venezuela, they go to Panama," said Pauly. "It turned out the thing was an animal bone."

Pauly said Grace highlighted on her show a guy who said he saw the three suspects, Dutch teen Joran Van Der Sloot and brothers Satish and Deepak Kalpoe, bury the body in a garbage dump. Pauly said the witness changed his story, saying he saw Van Der Sloot's father burying the body and that it was in a pool liner.

"It all turned out to be absolute nonsense," said Pauly. "Nancy Grace is a drama queen. She bounces from the Queen of Overkill to a cheap-shot artist. It has nothing to do with the facts. She is the worst."

Asked for a response, CNN's Laurie Goldberg, a senior vice president of public relations, e-mailed: "Nancy makes no qualms about being a victim's rights advocate, and she's not afraid to tackle controversial or high-profile cases. Sometimes when she shines a light on such a case, she angers people."

Pauly doesn't have much use for Fox News, either. But he considers Greta Van Susteren as the most fair. "That is like saying Curly is the smartest of the Three Stooges," said Pauly. Fox News wouldn't respond to Pauly's comments.

A newsman who covered the case but wished to remain anonymous praised Pauly, who set up regular noon briefings to allow Aruban authorities to correct errors and rumors.

"He was always ready to help, doing his best to get information from a government almost always mute or sparing of words, and often anticipating the reporters' requests," the source replied in an e-mail. "A newsman himself, he understands the press. One can only hope he helped the Aruban government understand it better."

Pauly felt the cable news offenders never gave the Aruban government and other officials credit for giving employees days off to search for Natalee, using three F-16 fighter jets with special radar to search for her and conducting an Arms Across Aruba prayer vigil for her. "That got about maybe 20 seconds and then they went right back to the nonsense," said Pauly.

Pauly said the nonsense included Fox's Geraldo Rivera saying the suspects were released because the world's attention had been diverted by Hurricane Katrina. Pauly said they were released after a hearing that was scheduled six weeks earlier. "There was no way on God's earth anyone would know six weeks in advance a hurricane was coming."

Pauly feels his "greatest triumph" was persuading Aruban authorities to hold a press briefing when the suspects were released and made available for interviews.

"The Aruban police thought the American media were morons because of all the misinformation they were putting on the air," said Pauly. "So they weren't about to cooperate with them."

He persuaded the police to co-operate with the media or risk the probability that the media would stake out the prison and suspect's homes and there would be threats to public safety.

"This was the first time in the history of this investigation that the police actually cooperated with the media," said Pauly. "So the media got their access to ask questions."

Unfortunately, the question of what happened to Holloway may never be solved. "Look at it from a logical point of view," said Pauly. "There's no body, so there's no murder. There's no crime. There's no rape because there's no complainant. There's no forensic evidence, no credible witnesses. So what are you going to do with these guys?"

"It is horrible that a mother is missing her child, but you can't impeach the entire island of Aruba for a missing girl," said Pauly. "These are good, honest, hard-working people." He wouldn't say the same about certain tabloid journalists who went wild.

"If I hadn't seen it, I wouldn't have believed it," said Pauly.

John Pauly is the PR guy hired by Aruba, the one whose main job is representing a group of X-rated video makers and who was shown in photos celebrating with the VDS family after Joran was released from jail. I figure if anybody is able to recognize pornography, "emotional" or otherwise, it's this guy!

This came from "Dan the Man's" blog at RWV today.

I agree about Nancy Grace. How she ever got her own show is beyond me.

She must be sleeping with Larry King.

You're welcome. There were things I hadn't read before, also.

Penowa, thanks for the info. My reply to John Pauly is, "bu!! $&!|."

They (media) were chasing people down the street."

Just one example: The media was chasing PVDS, failed judge in training, arrested suspect, and father of prime suspect, down the street, and he was making tracks away from the media as fast as he could like a scared rabbit. Not exactly judicial looking on his part. Oh yes, later on he started sweating buckets when being interviewed by two women in the comfort and safety of his own home. His behavior smacked of guilty knowledge, to me.

http://www.scaredmonkeys.com/?p=1727#more-1727

Strategic Communications Task Force of Aruba; Emergency meeting about Natalee Holloway case
From Amigoe; Spoedoverleg over kwestie-Holloway, 6 Okt, 2005, 18:44 (GMT -04:00)

ORANJESTAD — De regering heeft het verzoek gekregen met grote spoed overleg te plegen met de Strategic Communications Task Force of Aruba. De escalerende negatieve berichtgeving over de zaak-Holloway moet daarbij het gespreksonderwerp zijn.

(English translation, Hat Tip: Edwin)

ORANJESTAD - The government was asked for an emergency meeting by the Strategic Communications Task Force of Aruba. The escalating negative information about the Holloway case is a major subject.

Since two weeks the disappearance of Natalee Holloway is back in the American news shows. The Task Force concludes that it gives a negative turn with the lowest point the Dr. Phil show: “They started a campaign against the authorities of Aruba and Arubans as a touristic location.” Especially the overwhelming efforts of Natalee’s mother, Beth Twitty, to punish all of Aruba for what happened to her daughter, is harmful according to the Task Force.

They took this conclusion after negative polls showed that the negative media attention will damage the reputation and therefor the economy of Aruba seriously. “And the negative media attention will increase if Aruba from their side does not take any actions”, according the letter from the Task Force to the government of Aruba.

Minister Rudy Croes of Justice gave a reaction to the Task Force. He believes that the government should do a final attempt to show Twitty that Aruba offered her all possible hospitality, support and help. Unfortunately that was not enough to get her daughter back, according Croes. He suggest that if Twitty continues to boycott Aruba, he will take further steps. The Task Force did not want to take any action against Twitty because such an action would cause more media attention and will have a negative effect: “Mothers of victims are ‘holy’ for the American media.”

I was actually catnapping tonight and missed part of the story on Fox - the show before Geraldo? Apparently Aruba has been in touch with the Dr. Phil show to get the Tape that Depak spoke on? He has "conditions" on releasing the tape.

My questions are, why does Dr. Phil "own" that tape? Isn't it the Private Investigators?

And what are the conditions? Did anyone else hear this?