Sweet Home Chicago

Back in Chicago for a few days - sure is nice to have a break from the DC Humidity!

News of Interest

Library confrontation points up privacy dilemma
July 19 2008

By JOHN CURRAN
Associated Press Writer
RANDOLPH, Vt. (AP) -- Children's librarian Judith Flint was getting ready for the monthly book discussion group for 8- and 9-year-olds on "Love That Dog" when police showed up.

They weren't kidding around: Five state police detectives wanted to seize Kimball Public Library's public access computers as they frantically searched for a 12-year-old girl, acting on a tip that she sometimes used the terminals.

Flint demanded a search warrant, touching off a confrontation that pitted the privacy rights of library patrons against the rights of police on official business.

"It's one of the most difficult situations a library can face," said Deborah Caldwell-Stone, deputy director of intellectual freedom issues for the American Library Association.

Complete Story
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Invasion at Potters Field!?!


Alien ship crashes into Potters Field? Movie stunt, promo, invasion... no one is quite sure what the deal is with this 'exhibit' over in Potters Field in London.
Gizmodo report

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US Exclusionary Rule - Time for Modification?

The Times has an interesting article on the US exclusionary rule and its lack of counterpart in foreign legal systems, and how the US uniqueness in automatically excluding evidence could come to an end next year when the Supreme Court hears a case to challenge Mapp v. Ohio.

New York Times Article

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Across China, Security Instead Of Celebration
Police Crack Down on 'Hostile Forces,' Apply New Safety Measures

By Edward Cody
Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, July 19, 2008; Page A01
YENGISHAHAR, China -- Shortly after dawn on July 9, the local government here bused several thousand students and office workers into a public square and lined them up in front of a vocational school. As the spectators watched, witnesses said, three prisoners were brought out. Then, an execution squad fired rifles at the three point-blank, killing them on the spot.

The young men had been convicted of having connections to terrorist plots, which authorities said were part of a campaign aimed at disrupting the Beijing Olympics by the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, an underground separatist organization here in the vast Xinjiang region of western China. The group has long fought for independence on behalf of the region's Muslim Uighur inhabitants.

The public execution of the men was a dramatic example of the massive, unforgiving security operation that has been mounted in China to protect the Beijing Games from what Communist Party authorities describe as an urgent threat of violence and anti-government protest.

Full Story

U.S. Capitol

Alright, so this post is a little touristy - but hey - how many people get the great pleasure of seeing the inside of our Nation's Capitol - especially with all the security now a days.

The building itself is amazing and the artwork, paintings, even the tile - is simply beautiful.

For More Info on the Tile Click Here

For More General Information Click Here

Wasabi and Finger Clippings

We shall start with the Finger Clippings... As you may or may not know, the mass transit system here in DC, WMATA, or METRO does not allow food or drinks on any of the subway trains, stations, or buses - if you get caught it is a $100 dollar fine.

So today, while I was on the metro a metro employee came walking by and proceeded to stand by the doors of the train. Then he took out his key ring from his pocket and began clipping his nails.. not just one NAIL as in a hang nail but ALL of his fingers.. all ten of them... and just let the clippings fall to the floor... So apparently eating and drinking are not allowed, but citizens and visitors of DC feel free to CLIP AWAY...


The good news, today I ate at Wasabi, the 'Americanized Japanese' place... The neat thing.. they have a conveyer belt that the sushi/food goes around on - when you see something you want you simply grab it off the line... Hmm.. wonder if that idea could work in a bar setting...

If you don't get the visual - then check out this video I took...

Still Fascinated with the iPhone

As more applications continue to poor out for the iPhone 3g, I continue to be amazed... for example, check out this application called Shazam - video below



I am also happy to report that MobileMe is now fully functional - making my life MUCH easier..

New Website Layout

Testing out a new format here at Roszaks.com

A few kinks, but hopefully everything will be smooth sailing in the near future...

Having fun with my new iPhone - as you can see from the video below



Have a good one, and stay tuned for more site updates

I Got Mine... How Bout You?

Not Only did I get the iPhone 3G today - I was also the FIRST to get the iPhone - which lead to a series of interviews... Below is the video of me being interviewed by DC NBC News 4 followed by a news story from the Washington Times



Additionally, I made it into the Washington Times -

D.C. lines up for new iPhone
By Jessica Lipowski, THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Friday, July 11, 2008

Washingtonians gathered outside the AT&T retail store in Chinatown as early as 4:30 a.m. Friday to purchase the new phone. People brought Starbucks coffee, laptops and friends to help keep them awake, waiting for the doors to open at 8 a.m.

D.C. resident Andrew Roszak, 28, was the first one to arrive. Mr. Roszak said he didn't know what to expect, so he showed up at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Thursday night, eventually returning at 4:30 a.m. Friday morning.

"No other phone gives you this many features," Roszak said. "It's just a great phone."

One hour later, Sarah Hale showed up with friends at 5:30 a.m.

"I liked the old one, and I didn't like the idea of not having the newest, so I had to come get it," said Miss Hale, 25, who took several pictures of herself with her friends to stay entertained.

Sixteen-year-old Leon Young arrived at 6 a.m. with a laptop in hand, hoping to sell his spot in line for $50.

In preparartion for the launch -- and in an effort to avoid the pandemonium experienced during last summer's debut of the original iPhone -- AT&T representatives at the Chinatown were trained on managing crowds in addition to learning the features of the new phone, said Colin Martin, AT&T's executive director of sales for D.C. and Northern Virginia. The store had about 25 to 30 people staffed on Friday, Mr. Martin said.

Complete Story - Click Here

The Day is Finally HERE!

After months of waiting, the day is finally upon us... iPHONE 3G Releases TODAY at 8am!

Gizmodo was on top of the story all day Thursday - for complete coverage visit the GIZMODO Website

Unfortunately, a meeting scheduled for 8:30am prevents me getting one first thing in the morning - but I will be attempting to get one later in the day...

The iPhone 3G went on sale on Thursday in Australia - and apparently they are selling VERY WELL.. and the reviews so far have all been very good- it looks like the White iPhones are not as popular as previously thought - (below from Gizmodo)

t looks like, at least in Australia, nobody wants the white iPhone. People in line in Sydney who are pretty far back are being told that they may have to go with a white 16GB model, as they're quickly running out of black. Ruh roh, it looks like nobody wants to get stuck with a white iPhone! How pissed will you be if you wait in line for a couple of hours only to be stuck with a choice between a white iPhone or no iPhone at all - complete story from Gizmodo here

Updates:
Thursday - 8pm - No Line Yet
Friday - 12:30 am - No Line Yet

Obama at the Gate

Here I am at the Brandenburg Gate - May 2008


Obama at gate splits German pols

By NICHOLAS KULISH and JEFF ZELENY
Link to Story - Click Here
The New York Times

BERLIN — With its pillars looming in the background, the Brandenburg Gate may have seemed the perfect campaign stop on Sen. Barack Obama's highly anticipated European tour, an ideal spot to burnish his foreign-policy credentials.

Instead, the plan — dissected in the German news media but never confirmed by the Obama campaign — has exposed fissures in the German government, with the conservative chancellor, Angela Merkel, strongly criticizing the proposal and the Social-Democratic vice chancellor and foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, favoring it.

The uproar has underscored the hazards Obama faces by taking his campaign overseas.

Merkel disapproves of having this symbol of German division and reunification pulled into the U.S. election fight.

"To use the Brandenburg Gate in some ways as a campaign backdrop, she has a limited sympathy for this and expresses her skepticism over pursuing such plans," spokesman Thomas Steg said Wednesday. "No German candidate for high office would think to use the National Mall or Red Square in Moscow for a rally, because it would be seen as inappropriate."

But then the normally staid government news conference turned into a German political faceoff.

Steinmeier's spokesman, Jens Ploetner, disagreed, saying the foreign minister would welcome Obama or his Republican rival, Sen. John McCain, to speak at the gate, calling it "an expression of the vital German-American friendship."

The gate stood behind the Berlin Wall for nearly three decades, becoming a symbol of Europe's division during the Cold War.

Berlin was a regular stop for U.S. presidents, most famously PresidKennedy, who won the hearts of locals by declaring, "Ich bin ein Berliner," though not at the gate itself. But it was here that President Reagan gave a famous speech June 12, 1987, ordering, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall."

"The Brandenburg Gate was often a forum; why shouldn't it be for Obama?" said Johannes Mueller, 72, of Berlin, out for a bike ride Wednesday evening. "I also listened to John F. Kennedy at the Schoeneberg town hall in the '60s, and if I will be around, I'm sure I will stop and listen to Obama."

Obama is unusually popular in Germany. In some ways, he's a victim of his own popularity.

Political circles have been buzzing about the expected visit for a week, and the prospect that he could draw an enormous crowd, from neighboring countries as well. But because Obama is not the president — only a candidate for president — he runs the risk of appearing presumptuous rather than presidential.

While Obama spent his Fourth of July holiday in Montana, a member of his advance team was in Berlin to meet with politicians, including the mayor, Klaus Wowereit, who Tuesday expressed support for Obama's speaking at the gate, if he chose to do so. The city government has the final say.

No plans have been finalized for Obama to speak at the Brandenburg Gate, according to campaign aides. The site is one of several possible locations, aides said, and the decision would not be influenced by the comments of Merkel.

For more information about the Brandenburg Gate Click Here (Wiki)

An Interesting Day

Today was off to an interesting start. To start things off, I had a 8:30 Breakfast meeting and a 12:00 noon lunch meeting - So I was wondering how best to plan my eating schedule today - as it turned out it worked out fine and moderation is key.

On the way to the lobby this morning the elevator stopped at the 9th floor – a 40-50 year old woman pulling a wheely bag got on. I smiled and wished her a good morning. This is a fairly uncommon practice as it seems that most people in DC do not talk to the other people on the elevator – I am continuing to attempt to break this trend, after all these people are my ‘neighbors’.

When I got to the lobby I took my laundry to the front desk for the laundry service to pick up - our laundry comes on Tuesdays and Thursdays - or so I thought. When I attempted to give my laundry to the front desk they looked at me like I was crazy - and promptly said that laundry is on Monday and Thursday. Since when I asked - oh since last Thursday - July 3rd. Oh my well how was I to know?! Apparently they switched laundry providers this week but didn't bother to notify anyone. Odd. There was additional confusion because I had taken a few wire shirt hangers and hung up my dirty clothes on them – in an attempt to ‘be green’ and recycle the old wire hangers instead of just throwing them away. The lady at the front desk was somehow convinced that I was giving her clean laundry. I finally asked her –lady why would I give you CLEAN laundry – that doesn’t make any sense… Oh well..

Anyways I make my way to the Metro and miss the first train by mere seconds – thanks to a woman who was in front of me with a HUGE bag. As I am standing waiting for the next train the lady from the elevator (with the wheely bag) walks by and next thing I know I hear a large thud – a very large thud considering I heard it over my iPod. The poor lady had slipped and fallen on the Metro platform and her bag went spewing away from her - luckily she was okay and the bag didn’t fall off the platform. I raced over to help her and see if she was okay. She was – and we jumped on the train and went on our merry way.

When I reached Dupont Circle – I was rocking to my iPod – as I was going up the escalator I heard this terrible noise – I turned off the iPod and realized it was people playing Cannon by Pachelbel - oh my only in DC – see video below.



After our first meeting, we Metro’d back to Union Station. During this process we began to ponder what the Capital of Pennsylvania was – Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Hershey, Erie etc… Hmm I wished my little sister was there because I knew that she would have known immediately. So we finally get on the Metro and all of a sudden this announcer comes on – and he sounds British. (See video Below) I was wondering – what is going on here, is this some type of job-swap with the folks from the Underground or what… I was honestly waiting for him to call out Piccadilly Circus as the next stop. I have often pondered what it would be like to be a Metro driver – I think I would make up different voices just to goof around – one day I am British, the next day I am Eric Cartman. Oh my… Quite a Day



Well that is all for now – and just in case you are wondering – the Capital of Pennsylvania is Harrisburg.

Polish in Baltimore

Baltimore used to have a thriving Polish population. However, as the prices started to climb the Poles slowly moved out. I did not find any Polish beer while visiting - however there is a Katyn Massacre Memorial in Baltimore - information about the Massacre is below.

The Katyń Massacre
In 1918, Poland regained her independence after enduring three partitions and domination for 123 years by Russia, Prussia, and Austria. Barely 21 years later, on September 1, 1939 Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the west, triggering the Second World War. On September 17, the Soviet Union, in cooperation with the Nazis and without a declaration of war, invaded and occupied eastern Poland. Thus, Poland was partitioned a fourth time. In spite of having been only partially mobilized because of strong pressure from its Allies, England and France, Polish forces valiantly fought both invaders for weeks before being overwhelmed and forced to lay down their arms.

Both occupiers ruled by terror against the Polish people. The Soviets deported some 1.5 million Polish citizens to Siberia. They seized some 250,000 Polish military personnel and sent over 20,000 army, navy, air force and frontier-guard officers to three prison camps in the Soviet Union: Kozielsk, Starobielsk, and Ostashkov. Most of these officers were reservists: doctors, professors, school teachers, lawyers, judges, civil servants, priests, ministers, and rabbis. They were Poland's leaders and thinkers, the flower of Polish intelligentsia. They were men of all faiths; but to hardened Communists they were class enemies and, therefore, enemies of the Soviet Union.

Through the severe winter of 1939-40, the prisoners defied political indoctrination and endured interrogations by the Soviet secret police (NKVD) about their backgrounds and their political views. In March they were ordered to gather their belongings and were told they were being returned to Poland. For the next few weeks, day after day, 200-300 of them were taken away by train. They were then transferred to special prison buses, locked singly into cramped cubicles and taken deep into the Russian forests. There, each victim's hands were tied behind his back and, if he struggled, he was bayoneted and sawdust was thrust into his mouth to subdue him. His greatcoat was pulled over his head and a second cord was tied around his neck. The cord was passed down the back, looped around the bound hands, and tied again at the neck so that every move of resistance only tightened the noose. Then, one-by-one, each prisoner was murdered with a pistol shot to the back of the head.

It was not until the collapse of the Soviet Union that the truth was acknowledged. In 1989, the head of the Communist Party broadly admitted Soviet guilt. In 1991, other mass graves were uncovered near Kharkov and in Mednoye. These graves contained the bodies of the murdered officers from the Starobielsk and Ostashkov camps. In 1992, the Russian President released to Poland secret documents, including the death sentences signed by Stalin and by the head of the NKVD at the time of the atrocities. The world finally knew the truth after 50 years of lies and deception.


For More information CLICK HERE

Wiki-Article

Baltimore, Maryland

Enjoyed the day in Baltimore - and then headed off to Little Italy for a fantastic dinner. For more information on Baltimore CLICK HERE

Fireworks Time!

Videos


Photo Gallery - Click here

Happy 4th from the Nation's Capitol!

Happy 4th of July! Here are a few pictures taken at the parade this morning.

More Pictures Here

Hello from Alexandria, Virginia

Headed down to Alexandria, Virginia for an afternoon of fun. Wonderful history - Robert E. Lee's Childhood home, a bar that was frequented by George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, and a beautiful view of the river. For more information check out the links below:


Wikipedia Link

City of Alexandria Virginia Website

So Long New Mexico!

Had a great time here in New Mexico - heading back to DC now for the 4th of July