284 replies to this topic

[MkB]

Wow, I want a Super Aviator for my birthday!

[danslittlefinger]

Wow, I want a Super Aviator for my birthday!

After that Cat Cap Con offer, I thought about taking your name off the list, but I didn't.
It will be on your doorstep, just make sure you don't trip over it.

[danslittlefinger]

http://www.dailymail...ing-fleets.html

The bullet-proof 'Batmobile' set to wreak havoc on the Japanese whaling fleets

It's sleek, it's fast, and it's reinforced with a ton of bullet-proof Kevlar armour.

The mean-looking Ady Gil is the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's newest weapon in their ongoing battle against Japanese whalers.

The trimaran - previously known as Earthrace - recently set the world powerboat record for circumnavigation.





Described as a ‘wave piercer’ which can submarine up to 23 feet underwater, the craft completed the round-the-world trip using 100 per cent renewable biodiesel fuel, with a net zero carbon footprint.

The 24,000 nautical mile journey took just 60 days, 23 hours and 49 minutes, smashing the previous record by over two weeks.

Now the newly-renamed vessel has been unveiled as the Sea Shepherd's new weapon in the organisation's sixth campaign against whaling, Operation Waltzing Mathilda, which will launch from Australia early next month.

The boat was relaunched in LA last month.



Earthrace was renamed as a tribute to the ship’s benefactor, Hollywood businessman Ady Gil, who donated two thirds towards the $1.5m cost.

The craft, which is capable of up to 50 knots, will be used to intercept and physically block harpoon ships from illegally slaughtering whales.

In preparation for its journey, a ton of Kevlar armour has been added to the Ady Gil to limit damage caused by the Antarctic ice – technically making it bullet proof too.

Captain Paul Watson, who is the Sea Shepherd President and Founder, told the Globe and Mail: ‘It looks like the kind of boat Batman would drive.'

Skirmishes have broken out between Japanese whalers and the group in the past, more often involving stink bombs than bullets.

But Sea Shepherd is upping the ante with the Ady Gil.

It will be joined by the group’s flagship, Steve Irwin (which is capable of 19 knots), as they head to the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.

‘We’re very excited that the Ady Gil will be joining the Steve Irwin in Antarctica this campaign,' Captain Watson said.

‘With these two ships, we will mount the most ambitious and aggressive effort to date to obstruct the slaughter of the whales in the Southern Ocean.’

Chuck Swift, deputy CEO, said: ‘The Ady Gil gives us the speed necessary to catch and stay with the Japanese whaling fleet.

‘We are very optimistic that with these two ships, and some other surprises, we will shut down whaling in the Antarctic Whale Sanctuary.’

Watson added: ‘Our objective is to literally sink the Japanese fleet – economically. To bankrupt them, and we’re doing pretty well on that.

‘They haven’t made a profit in three years.’

The Ady Gil and the Steve Irwin are the two remaining ships in the Sea Shepherd Society’s fleet. A third vessel – the Farley Mowat – was sent to protest against Canadian seal hunting last year and was seized by officials.

[MkB]

A car that you can "tele-drive" with a mobile phone... I'm surprised it was developped in Berlin and not Hamburg!

http://news.bbc.co.u...ogy/8358562.stm

I find it surprising that they use Wifi as the protocol, though.

[MkB]

Outstanding! This guy definitely acts (and looks) like crazy, megalomaniac Bond Villain...

Gaddafi preaches to Rome beauties

A group of party girls got more than they bargained for when they were recruited to attend a posh do in Rome on Sunday night.



Instead of canapés and cocktails, the 200 young women found themselves being encouraged to become Muslims.

It turned out the host was Libya's leader, Col Muammar Gaddafi, in town for the UN food summit.

He spoke of the wonders of Islam and assured his guests it was not anti-women, as some critics argue.

The selection process had been rigorous; the identity of the host, a mystery.

The girls had to be beautiful, between 18 and 35 - and at least 1.70m tall.

The dress code was strict: plunging necklines and short miniskirts were most definitely out.

Two-hundred women passed muster and were bussed to a plush residential corner of the Italian capital.

Security scanned and shown into an imposing reception room, they were then left waiting, as several complained, without so much as a glass of water.

An hour later, their host's identity was finally revealed.

Col Gaddafi proceeded to preach the benefits of Islam, taking particular pains to assure his guests that it was not misogynistic, and encouraging them to convert.

Two hours later, the women left, looking a touch bemused, 50 euros ($75; £45) better off and clutching a copy of the Koran

Source: http://news.bbc.co.u...ope/8362525.stm

[Eric Stromberg]

What a whacko. This would've passed for a Moore-era villain, perhaps.

And what happened to Gaddafi's face? Good Lord. It looks like he was hit with one of those cruise missiles packed with weapons grade "ugly."

Still got his virgin female bodyguards in place I see...
http://www.dailymail...ous-menace.html

[MkB]

And what happened to Gaddafi's face? Good Lord. It looks like he was hit with one of those cruise missiles packed with weapons grade "ugly."

My sources tell me that he underwent plastic surgery, and is now attempting to prove himself the heir to the title "Comte de Bleuchamp", for a reason that all the best analysts fail to understand.

But you know... don't ask - don't tell...

[danslittlefinger]

http://www.thesun.co...eat-Escape.html

Brit POW’s diary describes Great Escape

FOR years they lay forgotten, gathering dust in a drawer.

But now a war hero's diaries recording the daring plot that inspired epic film The Great Escape have been revealed for the first time.

Flight Lieutenant Ted Nestor spent 18 months in the notorious Stalag Luft III compound in Poland, from where brave Allied troops carried out their legendary bid for freedom.

And during his long captivity, the RAF navigator from Stockport, Gtr Manchester, recorded his moving and often humorous experiences.


Ted Nestor

Prison ... Stalag Luft III
Hulton Archive


Ted had been captured after his Stirling bomber was shot down during a raid over Nuremberg in August 1943. He was sent to Stalag Luft III just seven months before the famous escape bid of March 1944.

Based in hut 103, Ted sketched and penned his entries just yards from the secret tunnel under hut 104, through which 76 prisoners would eventually escape.

To foil detection, he used codes to make tentative diary records but added pictures and more specific information after the escape succeeded.

Tragically only three of the escapees avoided recapture and 50 were later executed by the Nazis.

Ted's daughter, charity worker Sharon Cottam, is immensely proud of the role he played in the brave effort which formed the basis of the 1963 movie classic.
Bravery

And 20 years since Ted's death from emphysema, she has released details of his fascinating account to pay tribute to the bravery of all servicemen imprisoned at Stalag Luft III.



Log of war ... Ted Nestor charted his time at Stalag Luft III with diary entries and sketches

Sharon, 50, from Stockport, says: "My dad never talked about the war. As a child I remember asking him about his experiences, but he just said to read his diaries.

"I enjoyed looking at the pictures and his funny anecdotes, but only recently have I come to appreciate their importance as a historical document.

"Dad was part of the camp's intelligence corps, and although he didn't dig the tunnel he was fully briefed on its progress under the hut next door.

"That information was closely guarded because the Germans sent spies to keep an eye on prisoners.

"Among Dad's drawings is a detailed retrospective sketch of the escape tunnel, which contrasts with his coded first mention of the escape being put into action."

Ted warily recorded the plot using horse-racing terminology: "Memorable Friday. 22:00 hrs. Start of spring handicap. 100% acceptance - 80 odd persons came under starters order - 10 fall at first fence - remainder going strong."


In a later entry, labelled The Escape, Ted detailed the size of the tunnel, the location of the exit and how he heard the news that many of the escapees had been killed.


Plans ... notes on the trouble with barbed wire


His diary entry read: "On May 25th, the cremated remains of 29 of the deceased officers were returned to camp."

Sharon says: "I'm certain if Dad had been given the opportunity to escape along the tunnel he'd have jumped at the chance.

"But a pecking order was established to help decide who should go.

"It depended on things like rank, whether you could speak German and how long you were in the camp.

"Many prisoners had been there for much longer than Dad."

Although Ted often complained about the accuracy of the movie based on the escape, Sharon admits he loved watching his comrades being portrayed by a string of cinema greats including Richard Attenborough and Steve McQueen.


She says: "During The Great Escape on TV, Dad couldn't keep quiet. He'd shout out that this wasn't right or that didn't happen. Deep down he loved the film."

One of the main characters, Roger Bartlett, played by Attenborough, was based on Roger Bushell, the pilot who organised and led the freedom bid - and who also features in Ted's diary.


Treasured record ... Ted Nestor's diary


Sharon says: "Dad writes of Roger skating on the camp pond but falling through the ice and coming up soaking wet. After organising and leading the escape, Roger was shot by the Gestapo, so I think Dad appreciated his pal's bravery being immortalised on film."

Although life was generally miserable for the inmates of Stalag Luft III, Ted's diaries remain positive. Within six weeks of his arrival he'd set up a home-brewing kit to provide the men with a much-needed tipple.

One diary entry states: "Hell of a good Kriegie Brew. Passed out 10:30pm. I can assure you the result was a faster and more powerful hair raiser than anything I've ever drank."

Ted also drew several cartoons, including one of inmates distilling alcohol and several of PoWs exclaiming how hard it would be break free.

But some parts of the diary never fail to leave Sharon deeply moved.



Tunnel ... illustrated in Ted Nestor's notebook

She says: "Dad kept a detailed record of the daily temperature. In the winter it dropped as low as minus 17°C and the men huddled together in their huts. At Christmas he says, 'Regret to admit that I could not finish my dinner. My stomach must have shrunk badly'."

Unlike many of those held captive in Stalag Luft III, Ted's story has a happy ending. As the Russians advanced, the Nazis abandoned the camp and marched the surviving prisoners needlessly for hundreds of miles, finishing at Spremberg in Eastern Germany.

Many perished during the trek but Ted persevered and on May 4, 1945, after being liberated by the Allies, prisoner 2628 wrote just one word in his diary: "Repatriated".

Emotional

Sharon says: "Getting back to England was the happiest day of Dad's life. He said the best thing of all was the taste of a fried egg.

"Eventually he settled down and began working as an English and maths teacher. He married Mum, Barbara, now 81, and besides me they had three children - Kevin, 61, Michelle, 58, and Lisa, 43."

Sharon recently made an emotional visit to the location of Stalag Luft III for a BBC documentary.

She says: "We worked out roughly where hut 103 would have been and I sat taking in the atmosphere where my dad would have sat all those years ago. That was very emotional."

During filming, researchers uncovered an entry in the diary of Australian airman Lionel Jeffries, who piloted the plane her dad was shot down in and credited Ted for saving his life.

Sharon adds: "In Lionel's diary he wrote about Ted Nestor, who wouldn't jump to safety before he had secured the pilot's parachute.

"He said that without Dad he wouldn't have survived. That made me so proud.

"I wish I could have come back from Stalag Luft III to talk to my dad about it.

"But at least I returned with even more evidence of his actions as a true wartime hero."

[danslittlefinger]

http://www.dailymail...tal-flight.html

Splashdown! Rocket Man Yves Rossy crash lands in the ocean in failed attempt to fly from Africa to Europe

The pilot dubbed as 'Rocket Man' has crash landed in the Straits of Gibraltar after a failed attempt to make aviation history.

Yves Rossy was attempting to complete the first intercontinental flight using just a jetpack.

He was soaring through the skies between Morocco and Spain today when he ditched, parachuting into the ocean.

He was being rescued by helicopter this afternoon.


Help: Yves Rossy bobs about in the waves as he waits for rescue after ditching mid-flight over the Straits of Gibraltar today

Swiss Yves Rossy, left, with his sponsor, Stuart Sterzl, president of Webtel, and his equipment.

The professional Swiss pilot has made a name for himself as a daredevil who soars through the skies with a jet-propelled wing strapped to his back.

He rocketed into the record books last year with his crossing from Calais to Dover - racing through the skies at 125mph and touching down in England after a journey of just 15 minutes.

Mr Rossy was hoping to make aviation history again with the 23-mile crossing between Tangier in Morocco and Tarifa on the south-western tip of Spain.

'It is going to be historic,' he said yesterday. 'No one has ever done this before.'


Nice view: Mr Rossy soars over the Swiss Alps in 2008

Clothed in a flame-retardant suit, he leapt from a plane at 6,500 feet and engaged his four-cylinder jet pack to power the eight-foot carbon fibre wing strapped to his back.

The journey - conducted at 130mph - had been expected to take less than 15 minutes.

Fortunately, Mr Rossy was being followed throughout the attempt by a team of paramedics in a helicopter - just in case.

A camera crew was following as the flight was broadcast live over the internet.

Hate it when that happens.

[MkB]

I bet Ian Fleming could have done a wonderful novel around this manual!

Source: http://news.bbc.co.u...cas/8380329.stm

Secret CIA 'magic' manual from Cold War era on sale

A CIA manual instructing US agents on the use of magic tricks during the Cold War has gone on sale.



It was written in 1953 by magician John Mulholland for a fee of $3,000 (£1,800) - considerable at the time.

It includes deceptions such as spiking drinks, pocketing small objects and tying shoelaces to communicate in code.

The CIA ordered copies destroyed in the 1970s, but one survived. It has been republished as The Official CIA Manual of Trickery and Deception.

The material - now unclassified - was uncovered by espionage historian Keith Melton, and Bob Wallace, a former CIA director.

'Paranormal research'

Among several deceptions detailed in the book, it instructs spies on how to tie their shoelaces to signal other spies - "I have information", "Follow me", or "I have brought another person".

It also shows operatives how to conceal a doping pill in a matchbook, then covertly drop it into a person's drink while distracting them by lighting their cigarette.

In the foreword, deputy CIA director John McLaughlin writes that "magic and espionage are kindred spirits".

"Mulholland's writing on delivery of pills, potions and powders was just one example of research carried out back then in fields as diverse as brainwashing and paranormal psychology," he writes.

The guide was part of a larger CIA programme, called Project MK-Ultra, aimed at countering the Soviet mind-control techniques of the Cold War era.

But Mr McLaughlin says that to the best of his knowledge, the drink-spiking techniques "were never actually used"

[danslittlefinger]

http://www.dailymail...-look-like.html

One giant leap for ocean exploration... what the world's first 'space station of the sea' will look like.

It looks more like the Starship Enterprise sinking in the sea - but this huge vertical vessel could be the future of ocean exploration.

Called the SeaOrbiter, the huge 51m (167ft) structure is set to be the world's first vertical ship allowing man a revolutionary view of life below the surface.

Although currently only a prototype its inventor Jacques Rougerie thinks his international oceanographic station will soon be setting sail.


Out of this world: This is what the SeaOrbiter will look like - its inventor wants it to be a space station of the sea.

Mr Rougerie wants the ship to be a space station for the sea giving scientists an insight into the little-known world under the sea.

'At the moment, they [oceanographers] can dive only for short periods before they have to be brought back to the surface. It is as though they were taken to study the Amazon jungle and then helicoptered away again after an hour,' Mr Rougerie told The Times.

“SeaOrbiter will provide a permanent mobile presence with a window to what is under the surface of the sea.”

The architect, whose home and office are houseboats, wants to launch half a dozen of the vessels.

At the moment he says he has half the €35 million (£32 million) that it will cost to build the first one, and is confident of finding the rest.

The SeaOrbiter would also be a useful tool for studying the link between global warning and the oceans.



Mr Rougerie, 64, said: “It’s only in the last 50 years that we have found out that there are seasons under water, with plants flowering, with deserts, forests and an intense life. The food and medicines of the future will come from the ocean. We’re now starting to realise that oceans have a major role in the fragile equilibrium of our planet.”

When it does first set sail there will be six crew members, six scientists and six more people on board - these may be astronauts training in extreme conditions or doctors studying submarine human behaviour.

The SeaOrbiter will drift silently across the ocean - navigation tools, communications equipment and a lookout deck will rise above the surface of the sea.

Under the water level the will be a pressurised deck for divers to undertake daily missions over a period of months.

“There will be a gym, because it’s very important to practice sport, entertainment with a video player above each bunk, and nice food. I’ll do the cooking myself and I’m a good cook", Mr Rougerie added.

The ship's anti-collison system is based on the one used by the International Space Station.

Mr Rougerie is confident that the ship will be built. “A year ago, it was 50-50,” he said. “Now I would say it’s 90 per cent certain.”

The project was mentioned by President Sarkozy in a keynote speech this summer and has won the backing of companies such as DCNS, the shipbuilder, and Thalès, the defence electronics group.

[danslittlefinger]

http://www.dailymail...len-MoD-HQ.html

Laptop containing secret data is stolen from MoD HQ

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 4:03 PM on 12th December 2009

A laptop containing secret data has been stolen from the Ministry of Defence's headquarters, it was disclosed today.

The laptop, with an encryption key for unlocking sensitive files, was taken from the the MoD building on Whitehall in Central London in late November.


The laptop, with an encryption key for unlocking sensitive files, was taken from the the MoD building in late November

An MoD spokesman said: 'An investigation by MoD police is ongoing and it would be inappropriate to comment further.'
According to the Sun newspaper the laptop was left in the headquarters by a high-ranking RAF officer.

He was removed from the building and posted to another station while the incident is investigated.

Shadow Defence Secretary Liam Fox said: 'If true this is an extremely worrying development.

'This goes way beyond the careless loss of a laptop or lapses in personal security that we have seen in recent times.

'I'll be seeking clarification from the Secretary of State as soon as possible.'

Maybe they should check the pubs outside of Pinewood Studios. Isn't that where 'top secret' things are found?

[danslittlefinger]

http://www.dailymail...ury-sleigh.html

For a chap who relies on astonishing speed to deliver presents to every child in the world in just one night, the traditional sleigh and reindeer combination seems a bit old-fashioned.

So, with the world's expanding population making Santa's timetable ever more hectic, motoring designers have created for him a choice of souped-up snowmobiles that, sadly, mean giving Rudolph the sack.


Land Rover Laplander: Features laser-guided present delivery system and 3D sat nav with chimney recognition software

Vauxhall Clausa: Electric motor avoids waking children when it idles on the rooftop as driver disappears down the chimney

Bentley Flying B: Sadly, speedsters lack of boot room means the sack of presents has to be towed behind, risking mid-air damage

Ford ES-SACKS: Pop-out silver snowboards are sleek and practical. Tinted windows keep Santa's identity under wraps

Jaguar XM-AS: This bright-red scooter, with room for a lady passenger, is the ultimate answer to Father C's mid-life crisis

Nissan SC01: This Star Wars-style sleigh is designed for speed to ensure all presents are delivered to deadline

Rolls Royce: The simple, classic lines of the sleigh demonstrate the elegance of a 'Roller'

Not Bond like news but sort of in a seasonal way.

[danslittlefinger]

http://www.dailymail...ening-path.html

What on Earth?! Russia may send spaceship to knock threatening asteroid off course.

It sounds like the script of a Hollywood blockbuster, but Russia is considering sending a spacecraft to knock an asteroid off its path and stop a collision with Earth.

The head of the country's space agency, Anatoly Perminov, said a mission was being discussed, and other agencies would be invited to join the project.

Nasa says there is no chance of the 270m (885ft) asteroid Apophis smashing into Earth in its first flyby in 2029, and only a 1-in-250,000 chance of a collision in 2036.

But Mr Perminov insists the asteroid is a potential menace. He was vague about the evidence of a possible hit but said he had heard from a scientists that the asteroid is getting closer.

'I don't remember exactly, but it seems to me it could hit the Earth by 2032,' he said.


Be prepared: Russia's Federal Space Agency chief Anatoly Perminov thinks a spacecraft may be needed to knock a large asteroid off its path

'People's lives are at stake. We should pay several hundred million dollars and build a system that would allow us to prevent a collision, rather than sit and wait for it to happen and kill hundreds of thousands of people,' Perminov said.

Scientists have long theorised about asteroid deflection strategies.

Some have proposed sending a probe to circle around a dangerous asteroid to gradually change its trajectory. Others suggested sending a spacecraft to collide with the asteroid and alter its momentum, or using nuclear weapons to hit it.

Mr Perminov wouldn't disclose any details of the project, saying they still need to be worked out. But he said the mission wouldn't require any nuclear explosions.

Hollywood action films Deep Impact and Armageddon, have featured space missions scrambling to avoid catastrophic collisions. In both movies space crews use nuclear bombs in an attempt to prevent collisions.

'Calculations show that it's possible to create a special purpose spacecraft within the time we have, which would help avoid the collision without destroying it (the asteroid) and without detonating any nuclear charges,' Mr Perminov said.



'The threat of collision can be averted.'

Boris Shustov, the director of the Institute of Astronomy under the Russian Academy of Sciences, hailed Mr Perminov's statement as a signal that officials had come to recognize the danger posed by asteroids.

'Apophis is just a symbolic example, there are many other dangerous objects we know little about,' he said, according to RIA Novosti news agency.

http://www.dailymail...iced-bread.html

Burned or underdone toast could soon be a thing of the past thanks to a new glass toaster - which lets you see your bread as it browns.

Bread is placed between two sheets of heated glass and cooked in full view so you can eject your slice at the perfect moment.

No longer will you need to put the bread back down and run the risk of burning your breakfast.

A traditional timer dial caters for users who are too busy to keep an eye on their bread.

The kitchen appliance has a chrome base and neatly cut glass, meaning it should not look out of place in any modern kitchen.

Melinda Hart, from product developer Inventables, said: 'This transparent toaster allows you to see bread while it is toasting so you're never surprised by toast that comes out too dark.

'This idea is based on a transparent heating glass technology.' The current design only fits one piece of bread at a time, and as one online reviewer notes: 'I bet the glass is a right sod to keep clean.'

Not Bond like but what the hell.

[Mark_Hazard]

http://www.dailymail...ening-path.html

What on Earth?! Russia may send spaceship to knock threatening asteroid off course.

It sounds like the script of a Hollywood blockbuster, but Russia is considering sending a spacecraft to knock an asteroid off its path and stop a collision with Earth.

The head of the country's space agency, Anatoly Perminov, said a mission was being discussed, and other agencies would be invited to join the project.

Nasa says there is no chance of the 270m (885ft) asteroid Apophis smashing into Earth in its first flyby in 2029, and only a 1-in-250,000 chance of a collision in 2036.

But Mr Perminov insists the asteroid is a potential menace. He was vague about the evidence of a possible hit but said he had heard from a scientists that the asteroid is getting closer.

'I don't remember exactly, but it seems to me it could hit the Earth by 2032,' he said.

Be prepared: Russia's Federal Space Agency chief Anatoly Perminov thinks a spacecraft may be needed to knock a large asteroid off its path

'People's lives are at stake. We should pay several hundred million dollars and build a system that would allow us to prevent a collision, rather than sit and wait for it to happen and kill hundreds of thousands of people,' Perminov said.

Scientists have long theorised about asteroid deflection strategies.

Some have proposed sending a probe to circle around a dangerous asteroid to gradually change its trajectory. Others suggested sending a spacecraft to collide with the asteroid and alter its momentum, or using nuclear weapons to hit it.

Mr Perminov wouldn't disclose any details of the project, saying they still need to be worked out. But he said the mission wouldn't require any nuclear explosions.

Hollywood action films Deep Impact and Armageddon, have featured space missions scrambling to avoid catastrophic collisions. In both movies space crews use nuclear bombs in an attempt to prevent collisions.

'Calculations show that it's possible to create a special purpose spacecraft within the time we have, which would help avoid the collision without destroying it (the asteroid) and without detonating any nuclear charges,' Mr Perminov said.

'The threat of collision can be averted.'

Boris Shustov, the director of the Institute of Astronomy under the Russian Academy of Sciences, hailed Mr Perminov's statement as a signal that officials had come to recognize the danger posed by asteroids.

'Apophis is just a symbolic example, there are many other dangerous objects we know little about,' he said, according to RIA Novosti news agency.

007 - sorry, Sean Connery - has already averted this disaster (in 1979), for the results watch Meteor.

[danslittlefinger]

http://www.dailymail...ecret-site.html

Cold War? I'll say it was!
British spook tells how KGB heavies 'debagged' him at minus 27 for snapping secret site

A British spy endured the frostiest treatment the Soviet Union could deliver at the height of the Cold War.

The naval attaché was pounced on and debagged at minus 27 degrees by KGB agents who spotted him spying in Leningrad.

The incident in February 1979 was deemed so sensitive that confidential reports, including references to the removal of the attaché's trousers, were sent to the then Prime Minister, Jim Callaghan.


The spy who came a-cropper in the cold: Lieut-Cmdr Aubone Pyke in Moscow in 1977. His file has been released under the 30-year rule

Cabinet papers released by the National Archives under the 30-year rule this weekend show how the episode involving Lieutenant-Commander Aubone Pyke was hushed up before a visit to Moscow by the Duke of Edinburgh.

Speaking for the first time about the incident last night, the retired officer said the KGB had been watching him after he had notched up intelligence coups including obtaining details of a new MiG fighter, a battle tank and a top-secret submarine.

The career military officer, an assistant attaché at the British Embassy in Moscow and a Russian speaker, had also irritated the Soviets by driving around in a battered blue Volga car with the number plate '007'.

Lieut-Cmdr Pyke said he had taken a newly arrived colleague, Lieut-Cmdr Ian Clapham, and their wives on a tour of Leningrad, now called St Petersburg, which was a centre for warship and nuclear submarine construction.

They strolled along taking innocent photographs of tourist attractions. But when Lieut-Cmdr Pyke decided to snap a sensitive military installation, a group of 'heavies' surrounded them.

Speaking at his home in Dorset, he said: 'We'd had a lot of success as agents, so I knew that the Sovs wanted to make a point. Ian Clapham had just arrived in Russia so I was showing him the ropes. In fact we were just taking tourist snaps.

'Then we saw something unusual at a military boatyard and took a photo. In hindsight, I think the KGB put it there to trap us.

'Next thing, about 25 goons were on us and they pulled my trousers straight down. It was to stop me running away or struggling and it was very effective. I can tell you it was bloody cold and my wife was very worried about the obvious effects.

'Three women among the KGB team took care of our wives. We were hustled off to a nearby hall and held for some hours until they processed 18 films they'd taken from us.

'Then an officer looked at each one in turn, dismissing them as "everyday pictures" until the last film, when he declared "military object".

'We were eventually released and expected a diplomatic incident, but it never materialised. Instead everything was smoothed over.'

His wife Judy said: 'I was worried for Aubone and I was frightened about what was going to happen, because I had three young children back at home in the Embassy.'

One of those children is their daughter Charlotte, a successful actress who trained at the St Petersburg Academy of Dramatic Art. She recently played a Russian agent in the BBC series Spooks, in which the modern equivalent of the KGB plans a nuclear attack on London.


Irony curtain: Lieut-Cmdr Pyke's daughter Charlotte plays a Russian agent in Spooks

Her father, now 66, said: 'It is a delicious irony because, as a child, she was held twice by the KGB with her mother as part of their harassment of diplomatic staff, which was constant and often serious.'

In a secret communiqué seen by Mr Callaghan, the British Ambassador, Sir Curtis Keeble, said the four 'observers' had been 'thrown to the ground and robbed'.

A Foreign Office assessment of the diplomatic implications, requested by Mr Callaghan, said the incident was 'an exceptionally large-scale and carefully planned operation'.

But the note added that the Soviet authorities were 'keen not to play the incident up', probably because the Duke of Edinburgh was visiting Moscow the following week on Equestrian Federation business connected to the Olympic Games.

[MkB]

The career military officer, an assistant attaché at the British Embassy in Moscow and a Russian speaker, had also irritated the Soviets by driving around in a battered blue Volga car with the number plate '007'.

Priceless... You have to admit that bloke asked for it... it must be the lousiest number plate an undercover British spy can dream of!

[danslittlefinger]

http://www.newsandst...ound-up_1_50001

Chilly start to new year for Carlisle's James Bond

His life in Carlisle could hardly be more different to that of the luxury-loving hero whose name he has adopted.



James Bond, 27, who changed his name by deed poll after friends likened him to Ian Fleming’s legendary, fictional spy, spent a freezing New Year’s Day huddled beneath his duvet.

He said he had to spend the day in bed at his Borland Avenue home in Botcherby because it will take up to three weeks to find an engineer to connect his gas supply.

He moved into the property on December 21, but since then his only source of heat has been an expensive portable electric fire.

James has blamed his miserable plight on his landlord Riverside, formerly Carlisle Housing Association.

He said: “The electric heater costs a fortune to run so I’ve been staying in bed to stay warm until midday and then going to see a friend.

“I blame the repairs department of Riverside. I got in touch with them when I moved in and they said they couldn’t get anybody to connect my gas supply for two or three weeks.

“I told them I was staying with Eon but it didn’t make any difference.

“When they told me that I was so disgusted I hung up on them. So I’ve basically had no heating over Christmas and the New Year.

“I’m already on medication for depression and this is obviously not helping. I feel annoyed at what’s happened.

“I moved over here from Newcastle and changed my name by deed poll because my mates all called me James Bond.

“That was my nickname. My mates reckoned I was good with lasses.

“But it’s not been a very good Christmas and New Year. I’ve been coming home to a freezing cold house.”

A spokeswoman for Riverside, said: “Riverside has no record of Mr Bond contacting us to arrange for his gas to be uncapped prior to the date of 1st Jan 2010 when he called our out of office number.

“Mr Bond is claiming that he spoke to us on 21st December and was informed that he would have to wait three weeks. This would not have been the case as the estimated time scale that he should have had to wait would have been two days.

“When Mr Bond called on 1st Jan we were not able to action immediately as we were only dealing with breakdowns at that point in time. The call was logged however and we will be contacting the tenant as soon as possible today to arrange a convenient time to complete the work.”

She added that engineers would be unable to reconnect the gas before today.

Not Bond related as such but quite a sad state of affairs.

[Marcato]

Well, I try to give this thread another chance (really, I'm sure we could come up with something both funny and creative this way!). Maybe this should be in the fan fic forum, though, since all these news are potential plot inspirations...

Diamonds produced from tequila

A method of producing synthetic diamonds using tequila - Mexico's favourite alcoholic drink - has been discovered, scientists there say.

Isn't it a priceless, sooooooo Fleming, piece of news? Can't you imagine how it could fit in a Bond story?

I can alreday hear bond saying:

But clearly Sir there is no need to bring Sand-stealing into our section ?

[danslittlefinger]

http://www.dailymail...es-aged-98.html

Nazi resistance fighter Freya von Moltke dies at the age of 98.


Freya von Moltke, a prominent member of the anti-Nazi resistance in World War II, has died at the age of 98, her son said.

Helmuth von Moltke told the Lebanon Valley News that his German-born mother died Friday after suffering a viral infection last week. She had lived in Vermont since 1960.

In her writings after the war, Freya von Moltke described her life in the resistance with her husband, Helmuth James Graf von Moltke, who co-founded the anti-Nazi Kreisau Circle and was executed for his activities.


To object and then to stand for what you believe in is one of the most important human activities to this day,' she told an interviewer in 2002.

Born into a banking family in 1911 in Cologne, Germany, Freya Deichmann met her future husband when she was 18. They were married in 1931 and both received law degrees.

The couple settled on his Silesian estate, Kreisau, located in present-day Poland.

In 1932, they moved to Berlin where Helmuth von Moltke set up an international law practice.

An opponent of Adolf Hitler's regime from its start, Helmuth von Moltke assisted Jews and other victims of Nazism in his early law practice.

Helmuth von Moltke was drafted into the German army in 1939 as a specıalıst in international and martial law, but during his military service he advocated the humane treatment of prisoners of war and civilians in German-occupied territories under the Geneva Conventions.

The von Moltkes formed the center of a resistance group that became known as the Kreisau Circle which included several dozen clergy, economic experts and diplomats.

Freya von Moltke hosted meetings in 1942 and '43 at the family estate at which the group discusssed plans for the democratic Germany they hoped would follow the collapse of the Third Reich.

In 1943, the group established contact with Col. Claus von Stauffenberg, the leader of the German military resistance and supported his failed attempt on July 20, 1944, to assassinate Hitler with a bomb.

Freya von Moltke later told an interviewer that she knew what her husband was planning with the group and fully supported him.

'I never advised him to stop, but rather encouraged him, because I was convinced that that was the right way for him to fulfill his life.'

Helmuth von Moltke was arrested by the Gestapo in January 1944 on unrelated charges of warning a friend that he was about to be arrested.

He was executed a year later in January 1945 for treason.

After the war, Freya von Moltke and her two sons returned to the family estate which was in territory ceded to Poland.

In 1947, she left for South Africa, where her mother-in-law had been born.

She worked as a social worker, but grew troubled by the apartheid regime and returned to Germany in 1956, where she began work on publicizing the activities of the Kreisau Circle.

She came to Vermont in 1960 to live with Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy, a Dartmouth College professor and social philosopher who had fled Germany after the rise of the Nazis.

After Rosenstock-Huessy died in 1973, she dedicated herself to promoting his works, in addition to those of her late husband.

Her transcriptions of her husband's letters were published in German in 1988 as 'Letters to Freya 1939-1945'.

Her memoirs, 'Memories of Kreisau and the German Resistance', were first published in 1997.
After the fall of communism in 1989, the von Moltkes' former estate was chosen by the German and Polish governments as the site of a reconciliation mass between the two nations.

It is now being used as a youth center and meeting place to promote European integration.

She later gave her blessing to the establishment of the Freya von Moltke Foundation for the New Kreisau to support the work being done at the estate.

A memorial service is scheduled for Friday at the Norwich Congregational Church, the Rev Mary R. Brownlow, the associate pastor, said.

RIP brave lady.

[danslittlefinger]

http://www.express.c...the-Nazi-spies-

SECRET WAR TO BEAT THE NAZI SPIES


Double agent Edward Chapman

Saturday January 23,2010
By Paul Callan

A SUSPICIOUS silence fell over the saloon bar of the small Kent pub when the young stranger walked in.

It wasn’t just that he was obviously not a local – everyone was known to each other in this village – there was also something odd about his clothes and manner. He was dressed in very new, well-cut tweeds, including baggy plus fours, giving him the appearance of a rich country squire. Around his neck he wore a striped old school tie.

However it was when he addressed the publican, busy polishing glasses behind the bar, that suspicions were really aroused. “Good evening mine host,” he said, in an English accent that was just too impeccable. “A jug of your finest ale, if you please.”

Normally the regulars would have laughed off this ludicrous scene, simply putting the man down as a harmless eccentric. But this was January 1940, exactly 70 years ago and, with the war a mere few months old, Britain was in the grip of spy phobia.

Th government had mounted a campaign to alert the public that there were Nazi spies in their midst and anyone or anything suspicious was to be reported to the police.

Thus it was hardly surprising that the pub landlord was soon in contact landed on the Kent coast earlier that day on his first – and what would prove to be his last – mission. Under interrogation, he revealed that, at Nazi spy school, he had been told to study the works of PG Wodehouse in order to learn how an Englishman dressed and behaved.

His fate is unknown but it is likely he was either hanged or offered a chance to be “turned” and become a double agent feeding his former Nazi masters misleading information.

The British could rightly pride themselves on a very high rate of capture when it came to German spies in wartime. The success was largely due to a combination of first-class intelligence work and the bungling efforts of the spies themselves.

In another documented incident, for example, an enemy operative newly landed on the coast and carrying perfectly forged papers that showed he was a Dutch national, was picked up by a lone constable – for cycling on the wrong side of the road. Another, having studied the English obsession with cricket, casually asked the man standing next to him in the bar what the latest Test score was. Not only had the Tests been stopped for the duration of the war it was also November at the time.

Spies were landed all around Britain’s coastline and one of the most notorious attempts occurred in 1940 when three highly trained agents were brought by flying boat from German-occupied Norway to the north-east Scottish coast between Muckle and Port Gordon. The agents, Robert Petter, Karl Drucke and Vera Eriksen rowed ashore in a dinghy, complete with luggage containing radio transmitters.

The trio had been instructed to cycle to London but the choppy waters swept their bicycles overboard. Petter posed as a Swiss national, Drucke claimed to be a French refugee and Vera Eriksen was supposed to be a Danish exile living in London.

Drucke and Eriksen arrived at Port Gordon station at 7.30am intending to catch trains south. But the porter and the stationmaster became sus picious, particularly when Drucke opened his wallet to pay for the tickets. It was crammed full of banknotes and he showed a complete ignorance of British money, laying down too much to pay for the fares.

The police were called and PC Robert Grieve arrived. Immediately he demanded to see identity cards and noticed that, although they claimed to be refugees, there were no immigration stamps on their cards.

But the biggest giveaway was the continental style of writing on the equipment and a list of RAF bases. Eriksen’s purse contained £72 in Bank of England notes and Drucke’s wallet contained £327, also in Bank of England notes (worth about £3,000 and £13,000 today). Petter was arrested in Edinburgh with a radio transmitter.

The final clue that led Petter and Drucke to the gallows was the discovery of a half-eaten German sausage – a delicacy unheard of in wartime Britain. Eriksen escaped the noose and was imprisoned for the duration of the war.

The British were also successful in “turning” German spies. The machine codes used by the German intelligence service had been broken early in the war. This meant that MI5 knew just about every enemy spy who landed on our shores. Those who were captured were offered a choice – double cross or face execution. Inevitably, most accepted the former. Others fooled the Nazis into believing that they were willing to work for them.

One of the most successful of these was Dusko Popov, a Yugoslav-born playboy who convinced the Germans that through his social connections he could provide them with valuable information. The Nazis enthusiastically sent him to London. But Popov, who despised the Germans, instantly offered his services to the British.

He was swiftly summed up by the case officer attached to him: “He is an adventurer who is very partial to the fleshpots of the world and he realises that a person of his type can enjoy the fleshpots better under democratic rather than under totalitarian conditions.”

British counter intelligence sent him to Lisbon, from where he sent the Nazis fictitious reports about minefields along Britain’s east coast. At the same time he indulged in countless affairs, so much so that his code name became “Tricycle”, apparently because he boasted about bringing two women to bed at the same time.

His German controllers however were so impressed with his work that they sent Popov to the US in 1941 to set up an espionage ring, where he again provided only useless information, culminating in March 1944 with bogus intelligence of Allied landing plans in France.

Edward Chapman was even more colourful. Codenamed Zigzag he had been a pre-war deserter, burglar and safe cracker. In 1940 he was in a Jersey jail when the Nazis arrived and immediately he offered his services to German intelligence.

He was trained by them as a saboteur and spy and was so popular with Nazi officers that they toasted him with champagne when he left to be parachuted into East Anglia.

However he soon gave himself up to the British and was run for the rest of the war by the intelligence services’ Twenty Committee, so called because the Roman numerals for 20 – XX – form a double cross.

Chapman continued to “work” for the Nazis and staged a mock explosion at the de Havilland aircraft plant in Hatfield, Hertfordshire. His German spymasters were completely deceived by the fake explosion and resulting damage.

But his spying career ended when he told a girlfriend about being a double agent and MI5 could not risk sending him back. They paid him handsomely and quashed his criminal convictions.

However the Germans were not entirely unsuccessful in infiltrating Britain. Wilhelm Morz was believed to be the only Nazi spy in Britain who evaded capture. After a reported sighting of him in the capital, police spent months hanging around London nightclubs and hotels searching for Morz who, like Popov and Chapman, fitted the spy template as a fun-loving socialite.

A note from intelligence officer Dick White (who would later be knighted and become MI5 chief) read: “In the course of the police duties they have to visit many restaurants, cafés and nightclubs with the result that we are now faced with a rather formidable bill of costs and, I am afraid, still without any Wilhelm Morz.”
(I bet that was hard. )

It is believed that Morz, real name Werner Mikkelsen, successfully escaped and was last known to be living in Frankfurt. But in the espionage battle fought over the duration of the Second World War between this country’s secret service and the Nazi agents who came here, Morz was the exception to the rule.

[MkB]

Under interrogation, he revealed that, at Nazi spy school, he had been told to study the works of PG Wodehouse in order to learn how an Englishman dressed and behaved.

I feel for the German spy... Going through life dressed and acting like Bertie Wooster must have been tough!

[danslittlefinger]

Under interrogation, he revealed that, at Nazi spy school, he had been told to study the works of PG Wodehouse in order to learn how an Englishman dressed and behaved.

I feel for the German spy... Going through life dressed and acting like Bertie Wooster must have been tough!

How'd I miss that nugget
Damn speed reading.

[Eric Stromberg]

Definitely the coolest thing to come out of Sweden since ABBA...these stealth corvettes have got to show up in the next Bond installment.

http://www.wired.com...weden-build-wo/

[danslittlefinger]

http://intransit.blo...no_interstitial

January 21, 2010, 4:19 pm
NASA Announces Designs for Personal Flying Suit


Forget the Segway. Leave that jet pack behind. NASA is working on a personal flying suit.

Conceptual designs for the experimental vehicle, called Puffin, were introduced by Mark D. Moore, an aerospace engineer at NASA’s Langley Research Center, at a meeting of the American Helicopter Society on Jan. 20 in San Francisco. The Puffin is designed to be 12 feet in length, with a total wingspan of 14 and a half feet; it would weigh in at 300 pounds (without a pilot).

Two major elements distinguish the Puffin suit from the jet packs of ’50s-era sci-fi flicks. First, it is completely self-contained: the pilot would actually step into the suit, which has a cockpit-like area and helicopter-style blades, allowing for high-altitude flying (unlike those sci-fi jet packs).

Second, it is designed to be powered by electric motors, making it relatively quiet, lightweight and more reliable (electric motors have fewer moving parts than conventional ones), and with a low environmental impact.

Of course, the Puffin is just a theory at the moment. It might be best used for covert military missions or rescue operations. But if it does emerge as an option for conventional flight, traffic jams might take on a whole new meaning.

Great for beating the early morning traffic. Almost reminds me of the Harrier Jet on take off.

[MkB]

I like this story! A Soviet-era military ghost town in Latvia, former anti-missile radar base uncharted on the Soviet maps... auctioned to a Russian firm...

The Latvian privatisation agency deems that "It is positive that property which has been empty for a long time and where there has been no economic activity has been sold"... I say it's positively fishy!

If you ask me, it could be a good starting point for a Bond story!


Source: http://news.bbc.co.u...ope/8501487.stm

Latvia auctions off military ghost town for $3m

Latvia has sold an entire town once used by the Soviet military as a base.

The deserted town formerly known as Skrunda-1 was auctioned off to a Russian firm for $3m (£1.9m) - about 10 times its list price, officials said.

The lot includes 45 hectares (111 acres) of land, 10 apartment blocks, two nightclubs, a shopping centre, kindergarten, barracks and a sauna.

The town was abandoned after Russian troops withdrew from Latvia in 1994, following the collapse of the USSR.

The town, about 150km (93 miles) west of Riga, was sold to the Aleksejevskoje-Serviss company, Latvia's privatisation agency which carried out the auction said on Friday.

"It is positive that property which has been empty for a long time and where there has been no economic activity has been sold," the agency said.

It did not say what the property would be used for.

Skrunda-1 was a closed settlement not marked on Soviet maps because it was used as anti-missile radar base.

The base was pulled down in the late 1990s.

[Attempting Re-entry]

Great thread, very interesting stuff. Thanks to all the posters.

[danslittlefinger]

Great thread, very interesting stuff. Thanks to all the posters.

Love your screen name.

[danslittlefinger]

It was something straight out of a James Bond film: A team of alleged killers in a swank Dubai hotel, some of them scoping out their target in an elevator while dressed in tennis clothes and carrying rackets and backpacks.
http://animalnewyork...eader-in-dubai/
Video link
"Last month at a hotel in Dubai, a Hamas leader was taken out inside the hotel by a team of assassins. After the killing, authorities used local surveillance footage to determine that it was carried out by 11 Israeli agents, and today they released a downright prosecutorial video detailing exactly how it was done. Frankly, it’s riveting. As Gawker’s John Cook put it, it’s “like Munich, but real.”


I watched this video and it's absolutely surreal watching assassins work.
The murder is not shown and I wouldn't post it if it was anyway.
When the execution team leaves in the lift afterwards, it downright eerie.
One thing though, did none of the assassins, who were captured, not realize they were on camera everywhere?

http://news.sky.com/...315551316?f=rss

Police there have named 11 Europeans, including six Britons and three Irish nationals, suspected of killing Mahmoud al Mabhouh in a luxury hotel last month.

But the Foreign Office said the UK passports involved were "fraudulent" - and officials in Dublin said they had "issued no passports" in the names of three people using Irish identities.

Details such as the names, numbers and dates of birth on the suspect passports matched the originals. However, the photographs and signatures differed.
The Foreign Office has invited the Israeli ambassador for a meeting tomorrow to discuss the use of faked British passports by the alleged assassins.

Earlier, the Prime Minister said: "We are looking at this at this very moment.

"We have got to carry out a full investigation into this. The British passport is an important document that has got to be held with care."

He also told London's LBC Radio: "The evidence has got to be assembled about what has actually happened and how it happened and why it happened.

"And it is necessary for us to accumulate that evidence before we can make statements."

Israel-based Melvyn Adam Mildiner, 31, said he had never been to Dubai, adding he was "angry, upset and scared".

Kent-born Paul Keeley, 42, a builder who has lived on a Kibbutz in northern Israel for the past 15 years, said he had not left Israel for two years.

He said: "I am in shock. What do you mean what do I think about it? I am in shock. I think I need to check with the consul. What is going on here?"

And a third Briton, Stephen Hodes, said: "I do not know who is behind this. I am simply scared. These are very powerful organisations."

Hamas has pointed the finger at Israel, blaming the country's secret service Mossad for carrying out the hit.

And Dubai's police chief Lieutenant General Dhahi Khalfan Tamim said it was possible that "leaders of certain countries gave orders to their intelligence agents to kill" the Hamas militant.

Liberal Democrat Menzies Campbell, a member of the House of Commons foreign affairs committee, said answers were needed over "speculation" about the involvement of Mossad.

He said the Israeli ambassador should be summoned to the Foreign Office - but it said it had "not made any official representation to the Israeli ambassador about the case".

The hit squad allegedly flew into Dubai on separate planes and booked into different hotels wearing wigs and fake beards to disguise their appearances.

At least two of the alleged gang watched the Hamas commander check-in to the hotel and booked a nearby room, it was claimed.

Around five hours after setting foot in the emirate, al Mabhouh was ambushed and killed. It is not known if he opened the door to his alleged killers himself.

All of the suspects left the United Arab Emirates within 19 hours of their arrivals, it was also claimed.

Hamas officials have not yet said why their commander was in Dubai, amid suggestions he was on his way to Iran.

[danslittlefinger]

http://abcnews.go.co...tory?id=9853725

James Bond, meet Fred Rustmann. A former CIA agent, Rustmann now runs a "corporate intelligence" firm that helps companies spy on each other. Like many veterans of the Central Intelligence Agency, Rustmann's spying tricks are in high demand by the private sector.

When one of Rustmann's clients wants to find out about, say, its competitors' upcoming product line-ups, it pays him to conduct undercover interviews with unsuspecting employees and dig through their garbage.

"You can find out all kinds of good stuff in the trash," says Rustmann, founder of CTC International, who spent 24 years in the CIA's clandestine service breaking into embassies and wiretapping foreign government officials.
Because it's illegal in the United States to trespass in order to retrieve trash, Rustmann says he often gets cleaning crews to sell him the garbage they collect. While the practice raises eyebrows among some in the rapidly growing "competitive intelligence" industry, Rustmann says he never breaks the law.

"Sometimes you have to go the extra yard for your client, without stepping over the line," he says.


Rustmann says his phone started ringing with job offers almost immediately after he retired from the CIA, where he served clandestinely in many countries, including Vietnam, Cambodia, France and Ethiopia. Companies are keen to tap CIA veterans' expertise with psychological analysis, undercover research and high-tech eavesdropping.

"Nobody is better at collecting information than the CIA," says Rustmann.

One of his favorite tactics is calling unsuspecting employees at a target company, indentifying CTC as a "research firm" -- which it is -- and then asking all kinds of juicy questions. As long as CTC doesn't lie about its identity and doesn't ask for trade secrets protected by the Economic Espionage Act of 1996, the practice is perfectly legal.

It's not just former CIA agents who do this type of work. Current operatives sometimes moonlight for private companies in order to earn some extra cash.