Riehl World View

Hurricane Dennis

Here's a round up on Dennis with multiple links.

The IR is still cooking up a nasty collision with the Gulf Coast.

I'm off to feed two dogs, a hamster and a hermit crab ... and maybe even myself.

What Do You Get

When you cross a bulldog with a ballet dancer?

A mismatch, or a biatch slap ... perhaps.

Look for the video h/t The Political Teen.

Registration Issues

Hopefully any who wish to comment can do so right now. There was a glitch in implementing the registration requirement. It's likely that one step was missed in the process - by me, not typepad. I hope to have it worked out shortly and allow comments to continue in the interim.

The registration, assuming all goes as planned, will be through typekey. Establishing an account there is easy, free and secure. It requires nothing but an email address. If you want to see how it works go here and try to make a comment. If this implementation isn't as seamless; I'll simply de-activate until it is.

In my experience, once you log into a thread you don't need to re-log in for every comment made during a visit.

Search Continues

Divers search underwater cavern for missing Alabama teen.

ORANJESTAD, Aruba - Forensic divers from Florida State University probed an underwater cavern Saturday on the northern tip of Aruba for any sign of a missing Alabama teenager.

It's likely this is the team of Forensic divers mentioned by Miller of EquuSearch in a recent radio interview.

h't to a commenter

The Truth, Natalee Holloway and Aruba: You've Got Mail!

From Island Hopper - who I banned yesterday because they looked like they needed a break.

I have given this considerable thought and after reading through the messages last night I see that you would prefer to have Roger "Natalee is a child molester that attacked Joran", blacklable (racist and bigot to the core) and the other Dutch or Aruban attackers than those that do intelligent research and attempt to find real answers and possible reasons for Natalee's disappearance  for the sake of a"political correctness" and "why can't we be friends" on this "ONE HAPPY BLOG".

I hope the Dutch and Aruban posters contributed nicely to your bleg to create your sudden compassion and love for those that have run the Holloway and Twitty families through the mud after one of their own most likely raped and murdered her AND they aided in the cover up.  Otherwise, I could never understand why you would do such a thing.  Enjoy your Aruban/Dutch blog for Natalee, but do not expect any appreciation from her family for being a sell out.Your little trick of having Phantom send my email headers to you was pretty stupid. 

IF you are really the one that hacked into my computer rest assured that you will be charged for the crime.  I am dismayed to hear tthat "p" was most likely really you  or a  friend of yours AFTER all, that is a sick and illegal way to get attention to your blog.

I'm growing as weary of an America that doesn't want the complete truth of this story to come out, anymore than do some in Aruba. I was half-way through a draft of a post on that when this email came in. Not even sure I'll bother finishing the post, actually.

Neither of those most entrenched on either side of this story wants the whole truth of the matter to come out - they can't handle the truth

There's at least something to be learned here.

But here's the best place to start. Everyone is talking about the circumstances of Natalee Holloway's departure from Carlos and Charlies, and rightly so ... but no one in America wants to talk about why a group of American high school students frequented the club throughout their visit ... now do they?

And no one in Aruba wants to talk about what that significant part of their night life is really about, either. Very few people are looking for the complete truth of this tragedy ... they're seeking only a relative and palatable truth. And that goes for both sides.

Ultimately by the time the complete truth is known, it'll mostly be ignored and both sides will be weakly served to some degree. That might not really help America or Aruba to greatest effect ... but at least we'll be One Happy World, again.

I'm tired. Maybe it's time to start slinking back into obscurity for this web log. It might not mean being popular ... but the company was good. Perhaps that's why so much truth abides there, as well - in obscurity. eh!

". . . better to fall in with crows than flatterers, for in the one case you are devoured when dead, in the other while still alive." Diogenes Laertius, Antisthenes.

FYI - All this is off the record, of course. You understand.

A Study In Contrasts

Both these links require a mild warning. Pal Sadie gets an E.N.D. for expletive not deleted ; ) and the second guy gets a P-I.M.A. for Pseudo-Intellectual Moron Alert.

Read this from Sadie.

Then read this.

My guess is Sadie would knock the guy clean out of his loafers in a real show down.

Update: Watch an intellectual go underground.

And Some "Newer" News

Detailed crime statistics are hard to come by: In 2003, the most recent year with available data, there were 4,236 crimes, though no specifics on those against tourists. According to Aruba's attorney general, five homicides were reported last year. But police have not provided a breakdown of offenses since 1995, says Martijn Balkestein of the Central Bureau of Statistics.

And, says the guidebook Frommer's Portable Aruba, a "low crime rate is the envy of nearly every other island in the region. Where else would you see tourists over 60 and women in their 20s hitchhiking without a qualm? Aruba's boomed in the past couple of decades, and the rapid changes and influx of new people have disturbed the way of life a bit. ... But you may find that you feel safer in Aruba than at home."

But the State Department's 2005 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report notes that "while Aruba enjoys a low crime rate, prominent drug traffickers are establishing themselves sporadically on the island ... drugs are easily found within walking distance of Oranjestad's cruise pier and are frequently peddled to cruise ship tourists. The expanding use of (Ecstasy) in clubs by young people attracts increasing attention."

Update: This article almost makes Aruba sound like two different places. Funny how ones judgement can be colored.

According to AVP: What is the use of having all your hotels full: while the community is not sharing in the economic development and is going through difficult times; while the majority of the private sector employees do not enjoy the benefits of a general pension; while AZV does not even cover the basic necessities in health care for our people; while our roads are in a deplorable situation; while the Government is not investing in education; while the majority of the people do not own a house; while crime is on the rise; while Aruba is mortgaged by the Government and the people are being punished by a large number of measures and there are no funds to grant the public employees an adjustment in cost-of-living increase; while some communities did not know any type of social-economic development; this is especially true for San Nicolas where the only project that this Government has executed is the expansion of the medical center, which was a project of the former Government.

Oduber, furthermore talked about the reviving of Main Street; the introduction of modern zoning and environment protection laws; the support of the police in their crime fighting role; awareness of the community as to the importance of tourism for the economy of Aruba; training, education, and knowledge enhancement of the workers in the hospitality industry; and all that is necessary for Aruba to comply with the requirements of a premier tourism destination.

Aruba isn't a premier tourism destination? Who knew ...?

Just Old News Now

Caribbean Update

December 01, 2001

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

Additional Help On Way To Aruba

This report from reader Robert. I'm still unclear as to what real practical purpose additional searching can reveal without some pin-pointed locations. Though I'm also in support of anything which might shed any light on this tragic situation.

from Telearuba news broadcast

TIM MILLER, Texas Equusearch director, announced at the same press
conference (after BHT's press conference) that TWO underwater Remotely
Operated Vehicles; TWO Navy Seals (on their own time - on leave from
the Navy); and FOUR forensic divers ("the best in the country") are
headed for Aruba to aid in the search for Natalee Holloway.

Are You Afraid?

People from all over are sending images to this website telling the world in general and pathetic islamofacist thugs in-particular "We're Not Afraid."

Updated: But just to keep things fair and balanced:

Terrorists Have  Problems  Too!

And I bet you didn't know this terrorizing former dictater is a dancer. Crank up the volume for that one.