Natalee Holloway: Boycott Aruba? Sounds Like B&W has his own reasons not to go. (The B&W travel Guide to Aruba)

Although Chuck Geiss of Birmingham’s ‘Black & White’, is against the Aruban boycott in name and claims that it will not work; he seems to have come up with many of his own reasons why not to go. This may actually be more convincing than Gov. Riley’s words.

I do grow tired of the argument that there are missing people in Alabama argument. Frankly its a nonstarter, a too simplistic argument and a poor comparison. First, Alabama is far from the tourist destination that Aruba is last time I checked. Secondly, this is not about boycotting because of a missing person. It is a called boycott due to a proposed cover up and shoddy investigation. The age old adage where “the cover up is worse than the crime;” however, in this case the crime may be much worse.

To B&W, Boycott be damned. However, the B&W Aruba travel brochure may not be one the the Aruba tourism board takes to kindly to.

Boycott or no boycott, Aruba is not a country worth visiting, unless you enjoy traveling four hours to a destination with attractions that you could easily find much closer to home. With the exception of a cluster of tourist hotels on the western side of the island, all of which offer beautiful beaches, conditions on most of the island prove that travel brochures are mostly hype.

Wow, he further goes on to give a less than Fodor’s type description of Aruba.

Read more

Natalee Holloway: Three-Quarters of Alabama Residents Support Aruba Boycott, Poll Says

More news on the Aruba boycott front from Alabama. A poll was taken by Alabama residents and it seems that seventy-five percent are in favor of AL Governor Riley’s call for a boycott of Aruba.

MOBILE, Ala., Ala. — Three-quarters of Alabama residents back the governor’s call for a travel boycott of Aruba to protest the island’s handling of the disappearance of teenager Natalee Holloway.

The poll, conducted by the Mobile Register and University of South Alabama and released Sunday, also found that seven out of 10 respondents would not travel to the Caribbean island even if they won a free trip.

As Michelle says over at”Michelle Says So“, The boycott will continue until the Holloway family gets answers.

With the amount of news articles in Aruban publications regarding the boycott there must be some concern on the island, even though they claim there has been no change. I do hope that those in Aruba do understand the enormity of this story and do not just listen to the many editorials in American newspaper’s claiming that a boycott is useless and will have no effect.

The poll, which was taken Monday through Thursday by the USA Polling Group, surveyed 400 adult residents of Alabama. The results carry a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.

UPDATE: USA Today: Poll: Most Alabama residents support Aruba boycott

The comment from The American Society of Travel Agents, Bill Maloney, the group’s executive vice president was rather expected. Although it is not like this group does not have a self-serving agenda. Hardly objective in this matter, yet Bill Maloney makes the point that may have been stating even though he is against the boycott. Its all about freedom of choice.

The American Society of Travel Agents, the largest national association of the tourism industry, opposes a boycott. Bill Maloney, the group’s executive vice president, said a boycott would neither solve the crime nor guarantee justice.

“Rather, the people of Aruba will suffer for something that they did not do,” he said in a statement to the Mobile newspaper. “Travel is about the freedom of free people to go where and when they want. There is no evidence that a travelers’ boycott of Aruba will serve the cause of justice.”

Some how I think that maybe Bill Maloney might be singing a different tune if it were someone God forbid in his family. I would also state to Mr. Maloney, there is no evidence that a travel boycott of Aruba will not serve the cause justice. Who are you to say?

Clint Van Zandt discusses Why some say Natalee Holloway may still be alive

From the outset of the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, Clint Van Zandt has done some of the best reporting on the tragic and at most times confusing events surrounding the disappearance. Read more of Van Zandt’s thoughts into the Dr. Phil thoughts that Natalee Holloway may still be alive theory. Clint Van Zandt met with Beth Twitty prior to the show and said the following. (full article)

Before we went on camera, Beth and I sat together. She was cold and shaking, and she’d obviously lost some weight since I first met her in Aruba this summer. As I put my arm around her I said, “Beth, you know that statistically Natalee is probably dead.” (We had discussed this in Aruba.) “I know,” she said, “but I can’t give up hope.”

Then Clint Van Zandt said one of the most profound comments that all should remember. Not just about Natalee Holloway, but a comment to all families, friends and individuals that have been affected by a missing person’s case.

“I told her as long as we all remembered Natalee, she’d never be lost”.

Everyone must remember this is about a missing teenage girl and a family’s efforts to not only deal with that tragedy but also the less than stellar performance of an investigation to find answers. All the hate aside, all the condemnation of the family aside which there has been far too much of in this missing person’s case as compared to others; its about a missing person and as Van Zandt says most likely a dead teenage girl.

A family’s desperation to find their daughter can be explained by their actions and what they do or say. What can’t be explained is the hate that has come from this missing person’s case that is no where seen in any other case. This hate existed long before any boycott ever existed.

Remember what Clint Van Zandt said on the Abrams Report, November 17, 2005. Does anyone ever want to be put in this position? How would you act or react if you ever were? The family of a missing person and of a missing child has an excuse as to how they act. What is everyone else’s?

But I sat there between the Bradley’s and between Beth, both that are desperately clinging on some type of hope that their daughter’s alive. And at this point, I think any of them would consider any hope… ( full transcript)

Missing Child System Works

So very often we are telling you about the about missing children, and how something went wrong in the system that caused them to fall through the proverbial cracks. Today we have a story of a boy that was missing, the system kicked in, and the child was found quickly and safely.

An 11-year-old boy reported missing Monday evening in Seymour was found safe and sound early Tuesday morning, thanks to a pre-recorded telephone message that went out to 1,000 homes in the area.

Seymour Assistant Police Chief Bill Elliott said the boy’s parents reported him missing at 6:30 p.m. Monday after he didn’t come home from basketball practice. The boy later was found at a friend’s house, where he had told the friend’s parents he had permission to spend the night.

Police officers were able to track down the boy after receiving a phone call from a woman responding to the A Child is Missing message. The caller advised that her son had seen the missing boy with another child. Officers then were able to contact that child’s parents and found the boy there. The initial prerecorded message went out just a few minutes before 2 a.m. Police received the tip a few minutes after 2 a.m., and by 2:10 a.m. had located the boy.

“Everything turned out just fine and we are very thankful for that,” Elliott said. “Although the boy was never in any danger, his parents were very worried. via The Tribune

We have previously talked about the A Child is Missing system, and think that proactive tools for the police and community to use are the way to combat the horror of missing children. It is not necessarily the product of A Child is Missing that we are advocating, but the proactive response to this issue that would make all the difference. Information needs to be disseminated, as this weblog does, so that when a crisis happens, people who have the information that can make a difference can be brought into the loop as soon as possible.

More articles here, here , and here.

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