Project GHB: What exactly is GHB?

Straight from Project GHB, what you don't know might kill you:

GHB: Gamma hydroxy butyrate or Gamma hydroxybutyric acid, Sodium Oxybate

Made From: gamma butyrolactone (GBL) and Sodium Hydroxide or Potassium Hydroxide - basically it is degreasing solvent or floor stripper mixed with drain cleaner. When GBL or BD or products containing them are ingested, GHB is produced in the body, that is why we refer extensively to GBL and BD products on these pages.

Street Names for GHB: GHB, "G" (most common), Gamma-OH, Liquid E, Fantasy, Georgia Home Boy, Grievous Bodily Harm, Liquid X, Liquid Ecstasy (is not ecstasy), Scoop, Water, Everclear, Great Hormones at Bedtime, GBH, Soap, Easy Lay, Salty Water, G-Riffick, Cherry Meth, and Organic Quaalude, Jib.

GHB Precursors (analogs): (They turn into GHB in your body) GBL, BD, Blue Nitro, Revivarant, Renewtrient, GAMMA-BUTYROLACTONE, Revitalize Plus, Serenity, Enliven, GHRE, SomatoPro, NRG3, Thunder Nectar and Weight Belt Cleaner, Invigorate, Firewater, Verv, and more.

Description: A clear liquid. Looks just like water. Can be mistaken for water because it is usually found in a small (30ml) clear plastic bottle, a water bottle, or even Gatorade bottles, which contains several doses. One quick taste, and you'll know it's not water. Not as common, but also found as a white powder. In fact powder use is on the rise!

Effects: Intoxication, increased energy, happiness, talking, desire to socialize, feeling affectionate and playful, mild disinhibition, sensuality, enhanced sexual experience, muscle relaxation, loss of coordination due to loss of muscle tone, possible nausea, difficulty concentrating, loss of gag reflex.

Many people have bad reactions. These can include nausea, headaches, drowsiness, dizziness, amnesia, vomiting, loss of muscle control, respiratory problems, loss of consciousness, being conscious but unable to move, and death- Especially when combined with alcohol or other drugs.

Effects of large doses: Disinhibition, sedation, desire to sleep, rambling incoherent speech, giddiness, silliness, difficulty thinking, slurred speech, passing out, and death. Here's one scenario: While You Were Sleeping - Online Presentation of GHB Dangers***WARNING - if your friend passes out, always seek medical attention immediately, no matter what anyone else tells you.

Effects of overdose: Sleep or deep sedation from which you cannot be awakened by any means for about three hours, and in many cases, death. Passing out while on GHB is sometimes called carpeting out, scooping out, or throwing down.

Center for Disease Control: "GBL is an industrial and household solvent of acrylate polymers, and unintentional poisonings have been reported ... It also is marketed as a dietary supplement at health food stores and on the World-Wide Web under several trade names. Although labeled as dietary supplements, GBL-containing products are illegally marketed, unapproved new drugs that have been involved in .... reports of adverse events..."

EMEDICINE: "GHB is readily manufactured from its precursor, gamma-butyrolactone (also known as 2(3h)-furanone dihydro or GBL). GBL is a solvent found in floor cleaning products, nail polish and super glue removers. Saponification of the lactone with sodium hydroxide in the form of lye results in nearly quantitative conversion. This method is not without its drawbacks however; there are several case reports of caustic alkali ingestion from undissolved lye. GBL also undergoes conversion into GBH in vivo (by an unknown mechanism) and, accordingly, is associated with many of the same symptoms." click their link for more.

Karma

We've grown accustomed to the flippant (yea arrogant) demeanor of O.J. Simpson. And today's mugshot is no different.

Splashing his own self in the media with all sorts of admissions, reveling in his 'sting operation', the possibility of criminal accountability (and why would it, based on past history) hasn't, even in the tiniest way, twinged his compulsively narcissistic (to the point of sociopathic) view of the world.

Booked today on multiple felony charges, including two counts of robbery with the use of a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit a robbery, burglary with a deadly weapon, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and coercion.

From what I've read, Las Vegas, NV law enforcement dots their i's and crosses their t's prior to issuing an arrest warrant. And with recorded footage of every inch of every casino, they can likely make their case, easily. It is unlikely that a Size 12 Bruno will be in question.

Conviction of the most stringent charge could bring a 35 year sentence. And he'll likely be held without bond, based on the fact that he's a flight risk (helloooo!).

Photo courtesy of Las Vegas, Clark County Nevada Law Enforcement... and a million other sources.

Glimpse of Vulnerability in Wall of Strength

Although David Ritcheson demonstrated extraordinary strength, in enduring surgeries, criminal trials and congressional testimony... he exposed a tiny bity of vulnerability:

"I shouldn't care what people think," Ritcheson told a reporter last spring. "But it's like everyone knows I'm 'the kid'. I don't want to be a standout because of what happened."

David Ritcheson, In His Shoes

David Ritcheson jumped to his death from the cruise ship Ecstasy earlier today, in a decided effort to bring his personal pain to an end.

David is the young man who suffered unspeakable violence and acts of hatred last April, when his attackers taunted him with racial slurs, kicked, punched and sodomized him, poured bleach on his body and left him for dead.


David fought gallantly through 30+ surgeries to repair internal injuries, testified successfully against his attackers, and appeared before Congress on April 17th of this year, on behalf of Hate Crime legislation:

"I appear before you as a survivor. I am here before you today asking that our government take the lead in deterring individuals like those who attacked me from committing unthinkable and violent crimes against others because of where they are from, the color of their skin, the God they worship, the person they love, or the way they look, talk or act."

It is a common experience to us all, that we grow and pass through life, wanting to fit and wanting to blend. If we are known for something, we dream of being known for athletic prowess, beauty or talent. Teenagers chart their paths in many directions, but with one overriding fear: embarassment.

I've thought, many times, of young David... a teenage male, having to face his peers and his infamy, with the burden of his past, albeit a past over which he had no control. And, at his tender young age, I couldn't fathom his strength. I'm sure that people, who ordinarlily wouldn't have, reached out to him... with the best of intentions. And still he questioned. And still he hurt.

This is such a shame. I believe the world lost a young man that held a lot promise for many good things, had he found the strength to endure these tender years of emotional hardship. If I truly place myself in his shoes, however, I understand. I totally understand.

That awful event, a year ago, should not have happened. And it could not have happened at a worse time in David's life, psychologically.

His refusal of therapy, in my opinion, should have been the first sign of his growing depression and impending decline... but I also understand the mixed signals that the truly troubled soul can convey. And often, by human nature, their loved ones see what they want to see.

I'm sorry that it came to this. My heart goes out to his parents, and to all that love him. It's a shame... not on him, but on the hateful and criminal perpetrators.

Today's Thoughts on the Natalee Holloway Investigation

1. I still believe what I've always believed, though my hope for resolution has waned considerably.
2. A lot of folks got their shorts in a wad over the details and inconsistencies in Joran's 'beach story'. Please! There was no walk along the beach that night.
3. Dompig's statements regarding the drug angle are either (1) playing the old, "I can't solvethe case so I'll blame the victim" game, (2) setting up a "final scene" for a television show, (3) conjecture from the accused, or (4) generalizations based on the average teenager, (5) a theory picked up off some blog or forum, or (6) just a lot of mindless crap.
4. ALE: (pick one) A. conspirators, B. incompetent, C. impotent, D. all of the above.
5. And just when you select your answer to #3, they seize Deepak's car for use in a television re-enactment.
6. Like Dompig, I only have hunches, intuition and gut feelings. Like Dompig, I don't claim to know for sure.
7. Unlike Dompig, I'm not privy to the undisclosed details, nor do I or my family have a personal stake in the matter.
8. Up for some interesting reading? Check out Aruba Dirty Police!

Three Ruses

Aruba follows up on another ruse, but to their credit, they followed up.

Randy Quaid follows up on what he considers a big old ruse.

I'm not sure where the ruse lies in the story of the Church of Christ preacher's wife who shot her husband dead... but if it's not on the one hand... it's the other.

Empathy and Joran

From the moment I became aware of Natalee Holloway's disappearance, my empathetic tendencies have worked overtime.

First, I empathisized immensely with Natalee. I had a similar upbringing. And I experienced a memorable and life-altering high school graduation trip by throwing caution to the wind, and taking a giant leap of faith. Fortunately for me, mine was a slow death over time, rather than consequences that were immediately apparent.

Second, I began to empathisize with Joran. My immediate reaction was to feel sorry for him. After all, he had stated that he dropped Natalee off at the hotel. It seemed innocent, enough, and highly understandable.

I'm unable to put myself in Joran's shoes, because I'm a girl... but I grew up with an older brother that I adored. So, I began to imagine that Joran was my brother, and I began to empathize with his family.

And that's when it all fell apart for me.

If Joran (presuming his or my parents' belief in his innocence) was my brother, his ass would have been out on the beach, in the sand dunes, scouring the streets, the casinos, the clubs... desparately looking for Natalee. He would have no time for anything else. He would have been following any lead. He would have centered his life around helping Natalee's parents, not scoffing, not lying, not serving time in KIA over some assinine, irrelevant lie. MY parents would have had MY brother doing the detective work that the local police weren't staffed or equipped to do.

MY brother would have NO LIFE... NO sleep, let alone rest of any kind, until Natalee was found.

MY brother, and MY family would have joined Natalee's family. We would be as one. We would have dedicated ourselves to finding Natalee. And not one of us would have rested until the goal was reached.

Therin lies the incrimination of Paulus, and possibly Anna. Why are they not helping the search? Why have they not employed Joran and their younger son in the search? Why has the entire family NOT joined the search?

Detractors, say what you want about the morality of Americans. Let's say Americans are the least moral among us, how do you explain the family's reaction(?)... then... and now?

Morality is not, in and of itself, a crime. But I believe it speaks volumes about the truth and likely circumstances. After all, there are only TWO reasons not to commit yourself to a search.

1. The search is pointless (She is dead, and all the searching isn't going to matter) .
2. She is dead. Her body is hidden, possibly re-hidden. And it is imperative that it not be found.

So for me, it's so much MORE than what Joran DID AND SAID that wreaks of guilt (name ANY 17 year old that had rather spend 60+ days in jail to protect a girlfriend or to stand by an initial lie), but also, what he DIDN'T DO. That part incriminates not just Joran... but his entire family.

Now You Have a Theory

Suddenly Dompig has a theory about what happened to Natalee Holloway. I guess let's see what he has to say. Theories are about ten cents a dozen at this point.

If Only There Was a Fate Worse

If only scum reaped what it sowed.

The jury rendered the fate of death to Joseph Smith for the (taped) abduction and murder of 11 year old, Carlie Brucia.

In Spite of the DNA/ Blood Evidence

Darryl Littlejohn is innocent of the rape, strangulation and suffocation of Imette St. Guillen. Sure he is.

And I own a ski lodge in Brownsville, Texas that I would like to sell.

Greta's Joran Van Der Sloot Interview, Part 2

Pull out your waders, it's getting deep in here.

Joran Van Der Sloot: Interview with Greta

Only the ALE know what Joran has testified before, but here are my thoughts and observations on Joran's interview with Greta last night:

Observation 1: Joran is reading (reviews of his previous interviews in) ALL of the blogs and forums!

1. In contrast to previous interviews, he altered his impression of Natalee, creating (an illusion of) more warm and fuzzy emotions. He knows people are having a hard time with the callous attitude that he displayed a week ago.
2. In contrast to previous interviews, he altered his impression of Natalee's mother. He was careful to fully empathize with her for the first time, to temper his view of her treatment of him, and to focus his contempt on her support of the boycott on Aruba.
3. He provided additional details to respond to the inconsistencies that bloggers and forum members have pointed out to him... in length and micro-detail.

Observation 2: Joran has ALWAYS read ALL of the blogs and forums!

1. It is my belief that he picked up the reference to Natalee's mom as "Hitler's sister" from the forums. I don't believe she said this to him. Having been the teenage daughter of a strict mom, I believe that she might have made this comment to her running buddies, in jest. This has been a "rumor" in the forums for quite a while. According to Joran and his description of the events, could this have even been a topic? Perhaps... if questioning whether it was a good idea to go to his house, Joran told her that his father was 'cool'... she might have contrasted that with "my mom is Hitler's sister!" That said, they either went to his house... or she didn't say it.
2. In last night's interview, he said he had read or heard that another of her friends had confirmed that she said this before. Yes, he read it in a forum!

Observation 3: Joran said that Natalee asked him if he lived in a "big house".

1. While I'm sure that she was convinced of Joran's "aristocracy" (in his defense, I think he presents himself in that manner), I don't believe she asked this question.
2. Perhaps this observation should be filed under "He's always read the blogs", because this is a statement that would paint the picture that the Joran-lovers/Beth-and-therefore-Natalee-haters have painted for about 8 months now.
3. If she actually said this, I believe it was said flippantly when he mentioned that he had his own "apartment" separate from the house. And I don't believe for a minute that they didn't go in.
4. Greta carefully asked enough questions for us to be sure... Deepak and Satish parked and went into his apartment. He walked out after midnight with them, headed for Carlos & Charlies. Why all of a sudden... would he have had concern that when he walked in an hour later with Natalee... that Paulus would have known? Surely Paulus would have been more likely to hear Joran leave, that Joran coming in.
5. Further... if he had worried, how would I get her back to her hotel? He confessed that Deepak and Satish had no problem coming back (essentially anywhere). It was NO BIG DEAL. Greta went over and over it with him. And he dug his hole.

Ovservation 4: The Racist Comment, Natalee asked him if Deepak and Satish were his slaves or servants (because they were driving him around).

1. I can't believe ANYONE, let alone an American would make this statement, let alone Natalee. I believe Joran dropped this other little bomb to, again, taint her character and in his mind, displace responsibility.
2. Or to incriminate the Kalpoes, under the guise of anger and disgust, although Joran admitted that they might not have heard the comment. I believe he "admitted" that because (a) she didn't say it, and (b) the Kalpoes weren't in on that particular lie.
3. Perhaps I should have listed this under "He's always read the blogs", because this is the kind of characterization with which Joran supporters have portrayed Mountain Brookers, Beth and Natalee.
4. Even if you buy into the MB state of mind, Natalee wasn't born into this sort of "aristocracy".
5. Buying into this argument, would you really think the Kalpoes were slaves??? I don' t think so! Of course, she might have asked if they were his chauffers, since he didn't act like he really knew them. And wouldn't a 19 year old rich boy not have his own car?
6. Alabama(n) does not equal racist, in spite of the old stereotype he's leaning on.
7. Have the psychologists view the photographs and videotapes of her demeanor, then tell me that Natalee felt that she was aristocratic and better than anyone/everyone else.
8. It's not the "servent" Kalpoes that Beth most blames. If Beth and Dave were such racists, why would they not have been happy to prosecute the black security guards?
9. Perhaps to counter-balance the accusations of his own racism, as Joran and the Kalpoes assigned blame to the BLACK security guards... perhaps Joran is also displacing blame to a racist Natalee.

By the way, there are PLENTY of opinions on this particular topic, and I don't claim to be the authority! These are just my observations.

I feel badly that I have participated in the discussion forums that Joran has used to establish his defense. However, as he keeps changing his feelings and descriptions of the night in question, relative to all of the questions we have and discrepancies we find, I think he's digging himself a bigger hole with ALE. But then, only time will tell.

Let's see what unfolds in Greta's Interview, Part 2, tonight!

Good News, and Sad, Sad News

Good: Andy Pettitte leads the Astros to a win in Game 1 over Atlanta.

Sad, sad, sad: The body of Taylor Behl was found today, confirming everyone's fears.

Random Memo 080405

1. woke at 430am, pleased that I had 30 more minutes in bed.
2. woke (2nd x) at 655am, due at work in 5 minutes, displeased that i had forgotten to set the alarm.
3. lost my keys. found them in my hand.
4. had a devil of a time getting on the freeway... stalled truck and trailer in the lane i needed to be in.
5. mid-morning, thought about strangling an engineer (figuratively, of course).
6. opted to pull a large clump of hair out instead (MINE, not his!).
7. went to lunch with MMSP.
8. had a greasy burger at a health nut restaurant.
9. received appalling glances.
10. re-named the guy who cut me off on the freeway on the way home. can't repeat the name, but bet he's been called that before.
11. watched ng and swore i never would again.
12. she's STILL calling him "JOE-SEE".
13. chatted with CT, WE and MARU and watched GRETA on the side.
14. decided the world is a place that is rife with corruption, scandal, crime, mystery... and really good friends to mull it all over with.

Rant: Scott Peterson

Scott Peterson says that Laci knew of his affair with Amber Frey, and was "cool" with it.

I have a little experience in this sort of thing. And while I think she probably discovered his 'little' escapade... he'll never convince me that she didn't have a problem with it!

Rant: Martha, Martha, Martha...

As everyone knows by now, Martha Stewart, convicted of conspiracy and obstruction of justice charges, was sentenced on Friday to five months in a minimum security prison, and five months house arrest (pending appeal).

Check out my rant, and my very mixed emotions about the entire ordeal, from the charges to the conviction to the sentencing!