That about sums it up...

"I felt no pressure. I'm really stable psychologically. I think my Polish colleague was more stressed. I came here to win and break records. It's not just empty talk. I did it."



World champion Andrei Aramnau of Belarus after breaking three heavyweight world records in the men's 105 kg snatch Monday to win Belarus' first Olympic gold medal.

Letter to the editor...

Hello Adam!

I enjoyed reading the book (Being Had) - in fact I couldn't put it down...

Anyway - i really empathize with you - I got stuck on the polish border recently for about 5 hours - and ended up getting the ambassador on the phone - at which point the border guard gave me my passport back without any explanation for the delay.

Anyway - I told him what I thought of him!

Yossi G

Journalists and the beautiful and interesting Republic of...

Hi Adam

I came across your very interesting blog on the net tonight - and read some of your Being Had book.
Haven't read the ending yet, but let me guess, you were had? Joking aside, your writing style is great, so maybe something good came from being had.

Anyway, the reason I came across your blog is that I was doing some online research on Belarus as I hope to vist the country to document a number of topics, including the experience of journalists and Chernobyl survivors. I am just after a little bit of advice on the various pitfalls I may encounter - if you have any. I know it's unlikely I'd be accredited a journalist-related visa or accreditation so I am looking at other possiblities.

I've no agenda either way; I just want to look at these topics with a fresh perspective. In my country, we have many people from the neighboring countries of Belarus, such as Lithuania, but people here know little of Belarus and I'd also like to give an insight in this regard. One of my pieces would look at the life of Belarusians in my own country and I'd hope to link this would some interviews in Belarus - perhaps from you? I should also point out that other topics in the series may be looked upon in a controversial way by the Belarus authorities, and it would be going online for all to see.

Best,
Journalist.

Well first of all, I am not sure there is all that much need for security. We have journalists come here all the time and I have had even political friends come through- and by this I mean oppositional/democracy minded journalists- and they have all gotten their visas and come through and none of them have ever been harassed. Well, there was Mike Schwirtz, but you know, Mike Schwirtz is Mike Schwirtz…

But that particular story aside, I am sure you are welcome to come and have a look around. I am actually not sure myself about how the accreditation would work; by this I mean that it might only have to do with having press access to public statements and such. But as far as interviewing people, workers, students; even press people- I don't see where anybody would ever have a problem with this up to and including questions about the government and such.

There was actually a very good article about the opposition that was really right on the button from RFE/RL a week or so ago (http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/06/70e93494-9cbf-4855-b364-4c36822376bd.html) I also ran this as the endnote for the BHTimes on the 11th of June (http://bhtimes.blogspot.com/2008_06_11_archive.html).

For myself, it seems that the days of controversy and intrigue from the beautiful and interesting Republic of might have become a thing of the past. The doors are open for business and there are much fewer restrictions on people now. Like I said, that RFE article really seemed to hit the spot.

But the lifestyle and "The Life" are still here. It is still very difficult to get by and it takes a particular sort of character and outlook to manage living here. I am not really sure that westerners would be willing to allow so much of what they have come to think of as normal in life to go away. And of course we are all rather frightened about the current economic situation and no one wants to go back to the times of crisis and collapse, something that people here have gone through twice- and this is of course not counting Chernobyl.

But on the other hand it is not impossible to find some beauty and comfort in the things that the place does have to offer. The pace is slower and people are very friendly. They have news an internet and satellite TV and their own methods of being sophisticated and getting along. There is life and possibilities here and to a certain extent, we have come to adopt a little of the philosophy that work pays and passively waiting for government support is not where it is at. So like I say, there is change.

So briefly, please, you are welcome! Come on out. And if you do and have time on your itinerary to come down to Pinsk, I would love to show you around. Minsk is of course the big city but I think the perspective possible from this little corner of the world can be pretty interesting a well.

Let me know how further I can be of help.

Yours fro Belarus,

Adam Goodman
(My actual real name)

Yea, but would he talk with Lukashenko?

Just read an article from the Wall Street Journal which deals with Barak Obama's statement that he would meet with leaders of Rogue states:

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joe Biden took to the airwaves this week to "help" the rookie Barack Obama out of a foreign-policy jam. Oh sure, admitted Mr. Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee had given the "wrong" answer when he said he'd meet unconditionally with leaders of rogue states. But on the upside, the guy "has learned a hell of a lot."

Somewhere Mr. Obama was muttering an expletive. But give Mr. Biden marks for honesty. As Mr. Obama finishes a week of brutal questioning over his foreign-policy judgments, it's become clear he has learned a lot – and is learning still.

Right now, for instance, he's learning how tough it can be to pivot to a general-election stance on the crucial issue of foreign policy. He's also learning Democrats won't be able to sail through a national-security debate by simply painting John McCain as the second coming of George Bush.

Remember how Mr. Obama got here. In a July debate, the Illinois senator was asked if he'd meet, "without preconditions," the "leaders of Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea." It was an unexpected question, and Mr. Obama rolled with his gut: "I would," he said, riffing that the Bush administration's policy of not negotiating with terror-sponsoring states was "ridiculous."

It is hard to say whether the article is pointing out a flaw in Barak's character, but I for one would be wildly thrilled at such a possibility. A genuine dialogue and reasonable relations between countries and individuals is at the epicenter of living in a reasonable world. As a current resident of the Republic of Belarus and, at least as of the moment, a citizen of the United States, I would wholeheartedly back any president who would agree to help establish better and more open relations between the two countries.

Belarus has enough problems feeding itself without the extra added weight of political manipulations and I absolutely agree with the Belarusian president's view that normal relations are what is needed from both sides. I liked Bill Clinton a lot and have long considered myself closer to the Democrats and from the beginning, had been of the mind that I wouldn't mind a Hillary White House. But now I am seriously starting to rethink my voting stance and not only due to her lack of popular support (or her Husband's open distaste for Lukashenko). If Obama would seriously state during a time of scrutiny and tension that he was interested in communication over economic fascism as a means to solve problems, he would have indeed, as the article stated, learned a lot and earned my write in vote while he was at it.

I want peace and mutually beneficial options for all of humanity and not just for the privileged few who can afford it. Monitoring the real possibility of nuclear terrorism can just as easily be accomplished during peaceful relations as they can in times of antagonism. Yea, I know there would be a lot of people who would be horrified of the thought of an American president shaking the hand of the President of Belarus, or with Hugo Chavez' or even Ahmadinejad's, a guy I personally would have a really hard time with. But I say we need to be looking at potential leaders with open and (for a change) functioning minds if there even is to be a future for humanity.

I say we have had enough of the axiom that war begets peace or that force begets agreement. We need to start solving the real problems of our world. I think we should get back to thinking about ecology, food and housing. I think we need to address the issue of reasonable population control and allowing for global opportunities. I for one would rather not look ahead to the lives of our children and think that they should never know a day of peace because our legacy was that we destroyed any possibility of its existence.

If Mr. Barak Obama would be willing to unlock The US side of the double door, I would say we would be looking at a much brighter possible future.

Six years of this...

I have not been writing lately. I am speaking about this blog. It has probably been several months since I specifically wrote something for here. Today I am though because it is May 15th, and of course May 15th is the anniversary of Zaremba running into me with his car.

But there are several real reasons for my having stopped witting blog essays. Firstly, and probably the biggest reason is that I simply lost interest in writing about either my current situation or how it might relate to Poland's taking away a year of my life. There is probably a good argument which says that all of my original motives were economical: i.e., I wanted (and still want actually) some severe and real compensation from the Poland and American governments for what they did to my life. This, both directly, because of how screwed up things were for me after Poland, and for the public justice of it all. But on the other side I needed whatever money I could find because of how screwed up things were.

And, this little internet space did provide a little help from time to time. This is not to say I got rich off of this. Absolutely no way- I never even cracked ½ minimum wages. Hell, I didn't even crack food stamps. More than likely it was that doing this offered some hope for me; a way out or at least the thought that something righteous could come of it.

And I guess I should also really say that there have been a lot of things other than financial that have happened because I am here and have this web space that I never have written about. Just today in fact I was involved in two separate affairs that came about because I was contacted and asked to help. So I can't say that it was nothing to me and that I have thrown it away because I found something better.

But this last year I finally found my way around any number of detractors, local and the foreigners who paid them off, and finally got my gig together here. And this is really why I haven't been following up on the writing. I mean, I am very, very busy these days and what I have to do takes up a lot of my time and energy and so there simply just hasn't been the need to push on.

And then there is also that I simply don't want to "use" my daily exploits here. Maybe this is about having respect for one's self or for the privacy of one's social circles or maybe it is just that I really never was the sort of person who wanted all that much attention. Or maybe it is all just basic practicality. We are after all speaking of six years ago and I don't know how many people have pointed out that the horse I have been endlessly beating might already be dead. In any case, it has just been really hard to get up for writing an essay.

I have been writing though. I have two projects I am working on in addition to my daily chores. One is a compilation of my current teaching method and the other is a memoir of the time leading up to this year. The first should end up to be a text book and other might be titles being had II, or something equally creative. I would like to think of all of this as a "you can't keep a good man (Goodman?) down", but I have a hard time putting that particular adage in my pocket. Perhaps this is because of all of the people I no longer talk to- there has been a lot of baggage accumulated over time and just like my family, I myself can hold a grudge with the best of them. I also wouldn't call the memoir a "tell all" book, but just like I did with "BEING HAD", I didn't change any names or use initials. Hopefully there might be some interest in the story and you never know, something might come of this.

But I do seem to have stopped typing for this space. Truthfully, none of this has been a very natural act for me. I got accused again lately of having done all of this just to get some extra attention. Probably this is a reasonable argument but I did not make this weblog to draw attention to myself; I made this for retribution, to force and admission of guilt and because I wanted to put some negative attention on Poland where it was needed and belonged. The corrupt Polish system was the one who needed to be cleaned out and especially those rather filthy criminal elements from the Police and prosecutor's office and I just wanted to tell both about what they did, how they did it and what kind of results what they had done had had on my life. .

This is without mentioning those well meaning "let's look after our own" types at the US embassy who may or may not have been behind the whole thing from the start- well, at least as far as the after-the-incident dog and pony show.

And I do think I have been reasonably successful. Somewhere between a quarter and third of a million people have opened my pages and reason might dictate that I might have influenced a few of them to think more harshly than they otherwise would have about going to Poland or about doing business with them. And yea, I would be proud t know that a couple of million dollars in tourist money might not have found its way over of if it has become just a little harder for the Justice people to screw over the citizenry than it used to be. And as I still get a lot of angry Polish crank letters, I can take some comfort in knowing that it has not all been for naught.

And let me make this clear: I came here because I wanted to and I have stayed despite all of the "extra" pressure not to. And I will say this again: I stayed despite the antagonism not because of it. I suppose I could say why, but to me a better argument is really "why not?"

You must understand that I really don't see any difference. I have a life here because I built one. I had a life in New York before September 11th because I built that one too. But you must understand that there is no difference. I had some extra money sometimes in New York but I was never rich and frankly, was never on any sort of path to even be rich. I was in the bike business and just like I do now, I did everything I could think of to be in that business. I didn't have anybody working for me then and I really don't have anybody working for me now. Any "success" I might feel here is simply because I might take a moment and admire a particularly beautiful piece of work. Maybe take some pride in it would be a better way to say it, but in any case, it is all the same to me.

Well, this is not true. Here I have some family as well. This I didn't have in America. I have my daughter and my time with her is everything plus the bag of chips. I also like what I am doing these days. I like it a lot. And I have land. I love our garden. That's funny actually because I used to call it a farm but now I see it as a garden. But I didn't have this in America either.

So you know, people still ask me which is better and I still answer the same way; there is good and bad in both places. Obviously there is more money which can be made in America, but then again everything costs more and the pace is different. Here can be pretty bad sometimes but it can also be pretty cool as well. Sometimes it can be great actually. Really.

So basically I guess I would have to say that I have stopped because I just don't know what to say anymore or why I should say it. Or maybe the real truth is just that I live in Belarus, or that I have finally begun to really have a life here. I had to live without one for a long time and perhaps finally having one really changes my perspective on things for me. I guess I just have not been sure lately if blogging has a place in that life for me anymore.

But of course I have been keeping the flame going, even if I have not been writing. I just completed the 307th Being Had Times and will shortly add a few more items into the polish Scandal files.

And so that's the news for the 15th of May, 2008, officially six years since Zaremba and Wiesniakowski; Since Zurovska and Borus and Stolte; Since Drazek and Kat and Maka and Betty and all the Warsaw bikers; Since Ostrow and Uladsimir and Vitali and George and Andrew and Julia and Eva and her family. It's been six years since Pod Kablukom or writing BEING HAD at the internet café in Pinsk. I don't know, I guess I am still doing it after all. And of course I am still here. I'm just not writing so many essays about it any more.

Happy 18th Birthday Sarah...

Happy Birthday Pop!

Polish football...

We've been reading in the papers about football in Poland
And how the corruptions and betting have taken their toll and
There've been under-the-table bribes and match fixing
It's a massive scandal, sportsman and criminals mixing;
Coaches, players and refs getting busted
Even Football in Poland cannot be trusted

All things Polish seem only theft and lies
Having a position of trust means wearing a disguise
And really, who wins and who loses
When the only reality is scandalous abuses

And me? I just cannot understand
Why my simple demands
To allow that some reality
About that case they laid on me
A year of my life taken away
My credibility, my trust; even the words I say
I mean, it all makes sense to me
I would think it would be pretty clear by now, anyone can see
That the Polish landscape is an empty scene
Of endless corruption and dirty schemes
You want an oxymoron? Here, please:
How about the words "Polish integrity"?

Social distortion, lack of belief
I mean, they can't even trust their own police
I ask for justice and get Wiesniakowski and Zaremba
A bribe seeking prosecutor and a police pretender
But no matter how much information I might submit,
The lying bastards never admit
They what they did was wrong; morally, ethically, legally
State sponsored thievery, this is what I see

I say it's time for a little relief
I say it's time we call a thief a thief
How about a little changing
A reshuffle, a rearranging;
A couple of new rules, one or two go to jail
A new social forum agreeing that life's not for sale?
And it's got to be now
I mean, for six years I drag this cow
This phony charge, this fake sentence
I want an end, I want some repentance
Because they have got to admit it
They have to say that it was them that did it
Because coming clean is the only path
That inevitably leads us out of the trash
And really this is why I scream and shout
That's what BEING HAD'S really all about
It's about rebuilding what is broken; making a new start
And just like we all should, I do my part
But Jesus, it's like banging your head against the wall
And now, the Polaks can't even trust their own football
You want to say that it's all just a game
I say it's a mess, a farce and a lowdown dirty shame
But really, does this news come as any suprise?
I mean, haven't we already heard all about these guys?
Well, now even Polish football has a corruption scandal to face
Ladies and Gentlemen: This is Poland; I rest my case

Being Had: 465 pages of relentless insanity courtesy of the Polish judicial system...

On May 15th 2002, former New York City bike messenger Adam Goodman was attacked on the streets of Warsaw by an off duty cop. When he attempted to confront the cop for driving his car into him, a corrupt Polish legal system took his passport away and prosecuted him on false charges. Despite plain evidence that he was innocent and even more evidence that the police were using the situation as a means to extort money, he was nevertheless held without bail and made to stand trial- a process that lasted for a year.

BEING HAD follows Mr. Goodman's story from the moment of the original incident, through the inner workings of the Polish justice system and all the way to the end of the trial. The complete story of legal manipulation, corruption and deceit- all simply to avoid a corruption scandal has been captured in this unique book. BEING HAD is a non-stop odyssey about courage and conviction and a boundless and unquenchable desire of one man simply to do the right thing.

BEING HAD is a one-of-a-kind, insider perspective of Eastern Europe few would ever believe possible and a unique reading experience from beginning to end.

To download an e-copy of BEING HAD in either WORD.doc or PDF form, just click the icons below.



The book itself is free of charge to anyone who wishes to read it. Donations to the cause however are greatly appreciated.

For questions and or comments, please just drop me a line at : beinghad_mail@yahoo.com and please hit the Pay Pal while you are at it.

Chilly S live ...

What more can I say...



www.whoischillys.com

I chatted with Chilly S after I got the notice of this video and I thought I should print the conversation here as well.

I want to ask you about making this video and selling the book and all. I appreciate the shout out, but what brought on the inspiration?

Chilly S: Listen - you did the first ever chilly s interview - you gave me an outlet to be heard and I just wanted to return the favor. Besides, your story needs to be heard. There aren't many Americans in your situation. I think people can do more good by exposing human rights violations one story at a time rather than contributing money to some charity. See something - say something.

The song ("gas mask?") is very angry and cynical and seems to be about how social realities have become dysfunctional as a result of bureaucratic corruption and mismanagement. You urge us not to believe what we see and hear. Where did the inspiration for this song come from?

Chilly S: You probably missed it cuz this is the part where the audio was poor and the DJ was talking over me - but when I lifted the gas mask up i said "Chilly S could not be here today - so I came instead". My whole "act" is that I come out in a gasmask on stage (look at first episode of Chronicles). Why I do this, will be made more clear in future episodes. That night I was performing but I was also filming footage for the internet show - I was interviewing other artists and asking them questions, the final question was "Do you know who is Chilly S"? obviously most of them did not know me. So the funny part was that even after my performance people were not sure if I was Chilly S or not.

The song is called Transurfing with Vadim Zeland. It's about nothing and it's about everything. Vadim Zeland is someone I discovered about a year ago and everything I've been doing with Chilly S is heavily influenced by his books. It's too much to go into but if you're interested you can check out - http://transurfing.newmail.ru/e_book1.htm. His books have not been translated to English yet (due out this fall). My whole deal with trying to wake people up and turn them on to Reality Transurfing in hopes that it will change their life for the better as it has changed mine. Future episodes will deal with Transurfing in more detail with a few surprises here and there. Stay tuned.

I asked you this before, but do you think your soviet dissident background plays a role in your distrust of power?

Chilly S: I was too young (9 years old) when I left Russia - so I didn't really feel any of the oppression of communism. But maybe I have some of that distrust implanted in me genetically - that is if the Illuminati didn't get to me first ? ;-)

Ok, but seriously, I can't believe you did this. It was so cool. I just stared at it while the titles were rolling and it was like "what the fu…" When are you coming to Belarus? Me Casa su casa.

Chilly S: We'll see... we'll see...

more soon...

Filip Mikolajewski wrote a letter…

I have a new fan. Mr. Filip Mikolajewski is apparently an extremely well educated gentleman from somewhere in America who has chosen to write me several angry letters over the last weeks. His first two were very political in nature, both attacking the Belarusian government and the first suggesting that my living here was in itself a political statement. I believe he added that he was more socially conscious than me for not having left the US for Iran despite his disagreements with the policy making of George Bush.

Here is his latest letter to me and my late night reply to him.

Mr. Goodman

I'm one of those "evil Polaks", and the fact that my last name tells you that am Polish only tells me how racist and CRAZY you are...I could also refer to your surname and what it tells me, Mr. Goodman... I'm aware that you are probably a paid KGB (as you know Belarus is the only former Soviet republic that kept "KGB" as the official name of the Ministry of the Interior) agent and I've informed the Polish government regarding your pro "Soviet" statements and your anti-Polish remarks, lies, and propaganda. If you do not cease your vicious activities there will be serious consequences. Say hi to the KGB from me. How well do they pay you to write this bullshit?

PS I did my homework and have two degrees in Political Science, and no, not from a Polish Uni.

Mr Mikolajewski,

You are not the first person to point out that Being Had has taken on over the years a generally anti-Polish theme. And I am not denying that this is true.

However, you seem to be missing he point that I did not create this blog to make Polish joke or to espouse racism, but rather to expose a remarkably corrupt country for being exactly what it is. Also, my opinion of Poland did not arise by itself but was rather thrust into my consciousness on May 15th 2002 when the entirety of the Polish justice system conspired to deprive me of my time, credibility and money. They made a rediculous case against me and kept me for a year and I in turn saved all of the documents and posted them on the internet so everybody could see who they were. That's why I am here. This blog therefore has not been a racist rant but rather a reciprocal present for Poland's taking that year of my life. And even more specifically, all I have really done is to use the same sort of logic that they used against me in my farce of a court case (is it possible that the damage to the car could have been caused by a hand?) and returned the favor in kind with a similarly employed style of logic: Do you think it is possible that the polish judicial system was capable of being licentious and corrupt?

Can you see my point?

And as of the moment, it seems that this capacity for corruption and heartless ugliness is not only true for the Polish constabulary, but it is also true for the general population, both for those who stayed in Poland and those who ran away. And, I have posted, as of the moment, about 510 pieces of evidence proving this point.

As far as my being a racist, this probably has some truth to is but not by any American standards. I have been living in Eastern Europe for six years and in general it is pretty much understood that there is a division to the races and this is something that is within the mindset of people. We are not speaking of discrimination per se, only that people who live in non-ethnically blended cultures do see the world in more "black and white" terms. And also, I did come here at first because my ethnic background is from exactly here, so obviously, this had played a part in my decision making.

But basically, I am seeing your letters as being pretty much cranks. I posted one comment from you because I thought it had some relevance and pulled another because it was inappropriate for the post, which was about a letter from the sister of the Marine who was murdered (apparently) by his girlfriend and that the Polish Police (surprise, surprise) hasn't done much about it. But other than this, you seem to be the one with the problem. You haven't offered any evidence to the contrary to any point I have made or that you think I have made, you have not offered to engage in any reasonable dialogue and basically, Mr Mikolajewski, all I can see is that you have used my blog as a target for your own vitriol and hatred. I mean, don't you find it ironic that you have chosen to go after after my name as having some sort of (ethnic?) meaning while at the same time accusing me of racism? And by the way, what does my name mean to you exactly?

I am sorry Mr Mikolajewski, but all I can really think to say at this point is that you really are… you know… Polish. And, as it is technically illegal according to Polish law, to either call someone crazy or to assault by words or actions another human being, you are also, as of this printing and along with all of the others from your fine and well meaning part of the world who have been collected in these pages, a criminal.

Probably I would not have bothered writing to you but I have been up all night making a BHTimes and there was some time before I had to be at the day's chores and I was really bored. I guess I am also blogging the letters just so I don't feel that I completely wasted my time writing to you. I mean a point well made in one place is a point well made anywhere, right?

But in any case, thanks for the attention and for the reminder that I do in fact not only have something to say here, but that it really, really, really needs to be said. And of course thank you for reading me.

Oh, and by the way, thanks also for the invitation for expelled Jews to come back to Poland. I myself would, of course advise against the return. Not to be racist or anything but I believe the correct term which has been used in the region is actually "wealthy Jews" and, all things being equal, and I think Jan Gross might agree with me, it is rather evident that y'all haven't come all that far in your thinking in that last 100 years…

More soon...

No, the truth is that you can't trust the judiciary in Poland...

Just a few minutes ago I posted the 500th Polish Police and Administrative Corruption Story. Interesting accomplishment all things considered. I have gotten a couple of letters lately telling me that I should cease and desist "writing" stories about corrupt, inept or generally evil Polaks who have been abusing or betraying their positions, communities, host countries, clients, spouses, neighbors and of course, themselves. I could say something related to the fact that the letters all came from Polish last names. This could, in better world I suppose, relate to patriotism but more likely it was just from thoughtlessness and a lack of homework on their parts; isolating me for my spite, vitriol and vindictiveness without understanding that I am doing this because of what they did to me would pretty much seem to be par for the course. I mean, that was exactly the thinking that cost me a year, right?

Good to see they are progressing so well.

IN ANY CASE, there was a cool story sort of correlating to the big #500 from my favorite Polish news source, Polskie Radio:

Can you trust judiciary in Poland?

The Polish press reports on how the Poles evaluate the courts of justice in the country.

Generally, Poles don’t trust the judicial system in Poland, a poll in Gazeta Prawna reveals.

Almost 70 percent of respondents said that verdicts by Polish courts are too lenient and 67 percent negatively evaluated the impartiality of judges. The poll showed also that only 2 percent of Poles support restoration of the capital punishment – a figure much lower than is generally expressed to pollsters.

Dziennik daily has found that in a few day’s time Washington is to offer Poland help in modernising the Polish army. This is on of the conditions Poland’s government set in exchange for the country’s consent to deploy elements of antimissile shield on its territory. The next round of Polish-US negotiations is to take place on Friday.

Polska writes about the proposed changes in Polish law making it easier for patients harmed as a result of treatment to assert their rights in court. The project, prepared by the opposition Law and Justice, would also stipulate new, more rigid penalties for corrupt medics, including financial fines and restrictions on exercising a profession.

Pretty much tells us that my little sarcasm above is, you know, pretty much still the way it is even after several years of prideful participation in the wonderfully ever expanding European Union, staunch defenders of truth, justice and other people's democracies such as they are.

But even for those of you out there who really do believe that Donald Tusk was all that was needed to right all of the ongoing, obvious, inevitable and amazingly reliable "screw thy neighbor" dramas I get to print in my little media space here, it must be just a little obvious by now that I have a point to make. Of course there would have to be opposition to any point. All four of my Polish lawyers, the prosecutor and the three judges on the court's panel all thought that my story, that I was attacked by a lunatic while riding my bike in Warsaw, should be opposed and that a most-probably drunken psychopath with a criminal driving record should be allowed to, without evidence or a case, basically wreck my life and the lives of anybody who had believed in me. For money.

So really, as we approach the sixth May 15th anniversary, one would have thought that there would at least have been a little headway. I mean, does it all really have to amount to nothing? Don't they ever learn over there? Doesn't anything ever get better?

And as for my anti-BEING HAD readers out there, for those of you who can't or simply won't see the point; for all of you who fail to understand that recognizing simple human rights is not a political issue here in the 21st century, but rather an inalienable civic, social and community obligation, I beg your forgiveness but at the same time I also beg every potential traveler not to go there until they fix it. Don't go to Poland. Don't trust them. Just stay away or go somewhere else. It isn't worth it.

What the above story says is simply the truth: If you cannot trust those who are supposed to be in a position of power over you, you have no life. Out here they say that Polish is not a nationality, it's a profession. And I believe this. I mean you don't have to believe me if you don't want to. But basically, I didn't write any of those 500 Polish corruption stories. I just pulled them off the internet and made a blog about it. I mean, hey, don't kill the messenger.

See what I mean?

More soon…

Letter from Brianna Lawson…

Got a letter from Brianne Lawson, who is the sister of the late Aaron Lawson, a US Marine who was killed under mysterious circumstances in Warsaw, Poland, last January. In her letter, she tells of evidence which would seem to point towards Aarons then girlfriend and her two brothers. Police however, have been either unwilling or unable to move on the case. I am printing the letter here along with some backtracking links.

Hey Adam,

I am sorry that it has taken me a while to get back to you. I have been trying to pull some things together to give you a better story.

Do you know of any contacts in Poland's or Warsaw's Newspaper's? I am trying to get an article printed there, but perhaps it is worthless.

This is a news story about my brother from WJZ in Baltimore.

Note: The original internet article is available online on the Polish Police and Administrative Corruption page (See HERE).

Family Wants Answers In Marine's Suspicious Death

From: WJZ.com (two videos...)

Aaron Lawson, 28, died mysteriously in Poland eight months ago. Bruises marked the Marine reservist's head, neck, arms and legs.

An Anne Arundel family is on a crusade after their son, who served as a Marine, mysteriously died overseas.

Mary Bubala has reaction from family members who say he was murdered.

The family says medical reports show their son was beaten to death. But nearly a year later, foreign police refuse to search for a killer.

Loretta Lawson-Munsey has a heart full of steely determination--to get justice for her oldest son.

Aaron Lawson, 28, died mysteriously in Poland eight months ago. Bruises marked the Marine reservist's head, neck, arms and legs.

"He was a good guy, and he didn't deserve this," said Lawson-Munsey.

Nearly a year later, his family has virtually no answers about how Aaron died or why.

Polish police have ruled his death an accident, though the medical examiner's report shows Aaron likely died from blunt trauma.

"The police still won't rule it as a homicide," said Matthew Lawson, Aaron Lawson's father.

"I did a horrible thing. I took pictures of my dead son with the funeral director showing me his marks because I knew someone killed my son," said Lawson-Muncey.

The Lawsons have made repeated pleas to the U.S. Embassy in Poland, the Marine Corps, the FBI and Congress for help.

They believe Aaron was the victim of a Polish Mafia hit possibly because he befriended a young woman who had Mafia ties and tried to help her leave.

"To them Aaron was just some guy on the street that may or may not have gotten in the way of their business and to us he was so much more," said Sam White, Aaron's best friend.

The circumstances surrounding Aaron Lawson's death are a source of endless pain and bitter frustration for his parents who want nothing more than justice for their oldest child.

"We just want somebody to help us. We want somebody that may know anything...to help," said Lawson-Muncey.

Police in Poland do not answer to the victims' families so the Lawsons are unable to communicate. They're currently working with Maryland Congressman Wayne Gilchrest to hopefully get some answers about how their son died.

Police records show Aaron Lawson's bank account was drained within hours of his death.

So here is what we have thus far. Please let me know if any of this makes sense.

When Joanna (Aaron's girlfriend in Poland) was initially interviewed by Polish police she said she had no idea that Aaron was coming into town April 20th. She also said she spent the night at girlfriend's house the night her was murdered and had since destroyed the SIM card to her phone (after) she heard of Aaron's "death".

In her interview with our lawyer back in January, she claimed that she did know Aaron was in town, (however, it seems clear) that after he was murdered, she took his ATM card out of his wallet, cleared out his account, and then put the card back in his wallet which was in his pant's pocket.

When I arrived in Poland, I asked the police to pull the video tapes to the ATM that the money had been withdrawn from to verify who it made the withdrawal. Unfortunately, to open this aspect in discovery almost 8 months later would of course be of no value to us now because after a certain amount of time, the tapes are re-recorded over.

Apparently the girlfriend also has one male friend and two male brothers. One of the brothers is a "security guard" which in Poland is a position better known as a murderer. Apparently this brother met Aaron and liked him but according to my brother, he only met the other brother, the one that did not work due to being mentally unstable (some sort of depression) and was therefore unable to work. I never knew of this "security guard" brother.

Joanna, the girlfriend…

As the story goes, Joanna worked as a stripper at the OAZA because she was just doing what she had to do to support her family. While he was alive, Joanna claimed she was pregnant by my brother. At the interrogation however, she claimed she was not. Aaron however didn't believe her at that time and thought she only wanted money. When I got to Poland, I took his SIM card out of his phone and gave it to Police to retrieve all of their phone conversations. All the police told me was that Joanna and Aaron had been arguing. That is all they will tell us as far as what their exchange was about. The last translation I have of theirs is her saying "What? Do you think it is that easy?" Referring to Aaron getting her an apartment in Warsaw so she would be safe and wouldn't to have to dance anymore.

Aaron was to have been on a flight two days after his death to go to Paris to meet friends. He was then going to go to Holland to see his son. Because there was no second ticket, he obviously had no plans of taking her or sneaking her out of Poland. Probably, all he was doing was trying to help her get out of her job which she claimed she hated doing so much.

Two forensic scientists have claimed that the injuries sustained by Aaron had to happen by an "aggressor(s)". The injuries are not consistent with how the police said he died, and there was a baseball bat indentation in his skull.

Obviously, you understand my conclusions…

I have another article and news report I can send to you as well. I have a picture of Joanna that I am sending. I can send you her last name and address as well. I am not sure how much you are looking for, or willing to publish. I am just so furious that she/and her brother /friend are still out there and nothing has been done. (Between you and I, and you will read in the newspaper article, we have DNA that is not Aaron's but right now, the police are saying they won't test the brother or the friend against this DNA.)

Let me know if you want more, have questions etc.

Thanks so much Adam,
Take care
Brianne Lawson