Have you read the original metafilter thread? There was someone from the State Department saying this was a textbook sex trafficking setup--and the loose connection to a strip bar was far from the main reason why.
The young women, however, thought he was full of it, until they found out it was a strip bar, at which point, they were convinced he was right, and had saved them. It's this sudden about face on their part that seemed strange to me, till I reread the part of them getting off the bus and dealing with all of these people who were trying to help them. That level of unexpected attention would lead anybody to assume they had narrowly avoided something terrible.
I agree that from the story told by the original metafilter guy, these women seemed to be potentially in real danger. The women had a different opinion, however, up until they were descended upon by police and others, which surely must have freaked them out.
In the judgment of the two people who this was actually happening to, the guy was overreacting. They continued to ignore him until they were freaked out by the people who met them at the bus. Why do we assume their original assessment of the situation was wrong, while his was right? Because they were "young girls, far from home". Meanwhile, young men of that same age, are leading fire teams in Afghanistan.
My point, I guess, is that, we don't know anything about this, except what this guy is telling us.
Also, there is a lot more info in that thread than what the one guy posted. There was at least one other Metafilter user who spent time with the girls, and it's certain that the police are going to investigate given the attention, so it's likely we'll know more soon.
In any case, it's deplorable to promise two people jobs
as lifeguards in Virginia Beach, only to bait-and-switch
them into something that was, at best, a job in a
disgusting strip club (as the google street view of the
address would indicate)
If you actually google "Lux Lounge Washington DC", http://www.google.com/search?q=lux+lounge+washington+dc you'll see some lovely pictures of a very nice place. Go on, look at it, I'll wait.
It looks to me like a very nice place, and it's definitely not a "disgusting strip club". It's not even a "really nice strip club". It appears to be a regular club, with lines in the street of people (women and men) wanting to get in.
They were in regular contact with the person they were supposed to meet ("George"), who told them to meet in NYC. They took the greyhound to NYC. Given that there is also a Lux Lounge in NYC, what would make you think the existence of the lounge in DC is anything other than a coincidence? Everything we know about this situation indicates otherwise.
Quite a coincidence, isn't it? They're in DC, there is a Lux Lounge, and it is on New York Ave., but they're actually supposed to go to a different Lux Lounge, in New York City.
We have people speaking their non-native tongue, and a guy who is texting and talking while driving. Can't wait to find out the real story.
http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&q=lux+lounge+washing...
If you go closer, it's Venus