ENIGMA 2000 Newsletter - Issue 33

March 2006
Articles, newsreports and Items of interest :enigma2000-owner@yahoogroups.com

News & items of interest

Before starting PoSW’s very popular ‘Items from the Media’ it will interest you to learn that ENIGMA 2000 have received notification of a very interesting blog. Before gadding off to read it might be an idea to go to ENIGMA 2000 Issue 13 [Nov 2002] and read the ENIGMA 2000 article penned by Major F Dalby, ‘Michael John Smith. Codename Borg.’

The URL for this most interesting site is:
http://www.parellic.blogspot.com/

The first post, dated 16^th January 2006, reads

“16 January 2006

My first post

I started this blog to try to resolve a number of issues that I have lived with for over 13 years now. It started with my arrest on 8 August 1992 for allegedly selling military secrets to the Russians. I was later convicted of 3 out of 4 charges under the United Kingdom's Official Secrets Act, but it was far from clear what I had actually done to deserve the 25 year sentence I received at my trial, even though this was later reduced to 20 years on appeal.

My arrest was as a result of an MI5 project called Operation Billiards. According to accounts, given at the time, this operation was linked to the activities and defection of a Russian intelligence officer called Viktor Oshchenko (also spelt Oschenko in some media documents). But was Oshchenko really the man behind my arrest, or was that something Vasili Mitrokhin was responsible for? The full story has never been revealed.”

Parellic , according to Mr Smith, was the name he was accorded by MI5. PLondon comments that there is reference to this case in the Mitrokhin Archive.

[This book, readers will recall, was co-authored by Prof Christopher Andrew. One has to ask if that was purely for literary assistance or had MI5 placed him to ensure that Vasili Mitrokhin did not disclose too much]?

Now – onto PoSW’s ‘Items from the Media’:

Items of Interest in the Media

There is so much going on within the general area of intelligence matters these days it is difficult to know where to begin. There was the story which broke in late January of the events in Moscow where British agents were caught using a modern, high-tech version of the dead letter drop which took the form of an imitation rock stuffed full of digital circuitry and was supposedly a device which could receive and store downloaded data from palm-top computers used by British agents as they casually strolled by. It was all reported to have been filmed by the Russian FSB security organisation, successors to the KGB as several papers pointed out. They also remined their readers that the main man in Russia, President Vladimir Putin is, as the Daily Express of 24-January pointed out, "a former general with the KGB.....he has massively stepped up intelligence operations by the foreign intelligence service" So perhaps we should all be looking out for lots more S06, E06, G06, M12 and M14 schedules in the near future. The story soon faded from the papers, perhaps with Russia emerging as an important supplier of natural gas to western countries now that North Sea production is in rapid decline and we seem to be heading for an energy crisis in the UK it was thought prudent not to upset the Russians too much.

The subject of the female Soviet agent codenamed "Sonia", who was the radio operator for a spy network which operated in England during World War 2 and after came up in an article in the Daily Express of 12-January. The piece by veteran writer on the subject of spying and related matters Chapman Pincher is based on new evidence released by both the Russians and M15. Sonia, born Ursula Kuczynski in Germany was a dedicated Soviet agent who established herself close to the university city of Oxford and transmitted stolen secrets throughout the Second World War and for several years after without ever being caught. Much of the inormation she handled had to do with research on the atom bomb then being developed handed to her by Klaus Fuchs, a scientist working on the project who was a Soviet agent. Pincher speculates that someone in M15 at the time was acting on Sonia's behalf to ensure she was not apprehended and that one day the Russians will identify the name of her protector. There is an article on Sonia in the Radio Society of Great Britain's publication "Technical Topics Scrapbook 1990 to 1994" which shows a circuit diagram of the transceiver used for her activities. It looks a remarkably primitive device for the important task of helping to overthrow the West, just three valves, shown as directly heated types which indicates a battery power source rather than the mains electricity supply, arranged on receive as untuned RF amplifier, regenerative detector and audio amplifier. On transmit the audio stage becomes a crystal oscillator / power amplifier stage although given the power supply arrangments the output could not have been very great. Regeneration is by means of a tap up from the earthy end of the grid tuned circuit fed back to the filament/cathode and controlled by varying the voltage on the screen grid by means of a potentiometer. This was a method much favoured by the late F.G. Rayer in his many designs in the Practical Wireless of the 60's although usually with indirectly heated AC operated valves with a seperate cathode and heater, and from personal constructional experience works as well as any regen arrangement and a battery supply would at least remove a couple of the annoyances with AC versions of this type of receiver, the shift in frequency of oscillation resulting in a change of note when receiving CW when the mains voltage changes by a few volts and the tendency to pick up mains hum from the heater wiring.

Another article by the redoutable Mr. Pincher appeared in the Express of 16-January and was on the subject of John Stonehouse, a disgraced Labour Party MP who faked his own disappearance by leaving his clothes on a beach in Florida in 1974. He subsequenly turned up in Australia, was afterwards tried on fraud charges connected with several business scams in which he had been involved, was jailed and died in 1988. According to Chapman Pincher's article it has now been confirmed, following information contained in recently released archives of the Czech Intelligence Service, that Stonehouse was an agent for the Czechs and also for the Soviet KGB supplying them with information on all sorts of technical developments to which he had access due to the posts he held in government departments concerned with aviation and technology. In particular he is said to have supplied the Soviets with the technical secrets of the Concord which enabled them to build their own supersonic airliner. However, I think it could be argued that Stonehouse did the Russians no favours with this piece of espionage; it was the Russian supersonic transport which broke up and crashed after doing a few tight turns at the Paris Airshow.

The Daily Express of 19-January - strange that the Express of all papers should suddenly be coming up with all these interesting spy related articles when they only ever have three different headlines on the front page, namely "House price boom on the way", "House price crash on the way" and "Who killed Princess Diana?" - carried a review of a new book, "Historical Dictionary of British Intelligence", compiled by one Nigel West which I believe is the nom-de-plume of Mr Rupert Allason, former Member of Parliament, former London policeman, a genuine Rupert of course and author of a number of books on intelligence related subjects. The article gives a brief sample taken from the contents A to Z ranging from "Amies", Sir Hardy, the Queens couturier who headed sabotage networks in Belgium during the Second World War, to "Zeppelin", German Zeppelin L-32 was shot down over Essex in 1916 from which an important codebook was recovered. The entry for the letter "D" caught my eye, "Dollis Hill", Post Office research station in North London home to highly innovative work including the development of phone-tap equipment, along with "V", "Voluntary Interceptors", wireless enthusiasts recruited in 1939 as intercept operators to monitor enemy wireless traffic. "Historical Dictionary of British Intelligence" is published by Scarecrow Press at £45 - which is expensive for a book. I'm counting on it turning up in the remainder bookshops for about a tenner in a year or two's time!

The Daily Mail of 11-February contained a short article headed "New Bletchley Park to fight terror", a report on a speech made by Mr. Gordon Brown, former left of centre socialist and like Benito Mussolini and Pierre Laval in an earlier age who travelled the same route but with more style, albeit they both ended up being executed as a result, now right-wing authoritarian and usurper of the civil liberties of a once free people, and of course, Prime Minister in waiting. The article is based on a speech made by Brown of the intention to set up "a new Station X to tackle terrorism modelled on the codebreakers of Bletchly Park". The centrepiece of the plan is to spend "tens of millions of pounds" in a bid to emulate the success of the top-secret Bletchley Park, known as Station X. "In the same way that during the Second World War we brought Britain's most skilled mathematicians and codebreakers together he believes we must create a specialist centre". Then there is a whole load of stuff about how financial institutions are going to be required to report on suspicious transactions. Well, I will make a prediction, namely that the number of Muslim terrorists caught by this new set-up will be very small indeed; there is no willpower or desire anywhere in the British Establisment to offer any real opposition to the spread of militant Islam in the UK, to do so would go against the ingrained principles of "multiculturism" which all the main political parties espouse. The people who will find themselves on the wrong side of Brown's new snoopers are likely to be small businessmen caught fiddling their taxes.

An aftermath of 7/7;- way back in early July last year BBC Radio 4 began a two-part dramatisation in their Sunday afternoon Classic Serial slot of "Greenmantle" by John Buchan, a piece of fiction in the "Ripping Yarn" style set in the First World War centered on an Imperial German plot to foment a Muslim uprising in the Middle East and turn it against the Britsh, and the work of a fine upstanding Englishman to prevent it. No sooner had the first episode been broadcast when the bombings of 7- July took place and the BBC, always wary of offending minorities, declined to broadcast the second part. They finally found the courage to do so in December, putting out both episodes on two succesive days although it was in the afternoon between the Christmas and New Year's holidays and without much in the way of publicity. It was something of a surprise that the BBC would have anything to do with the writings of John Buchan in the first place since his works reflect the views he held in the civilising influence of the British Empire, the superiority of Western culture and in particular the British variety over all others which must be anathema to the Guardianistas who run the BBC.And as an added bonus a week or so before the first part of "Greenmantle" was originally broadcast there was a half hour programme consisting of a general appraisal of John Buchan's works by no less a person than Frederick Forsyth.

A final thought;- was there a not-too-subtle hand of one of the intelligence agencies at work behind the recent discomforture suffered by the leadership of the Liberal Democrat Party?

The leader of several years standing felt obliged to resign when he realised that the press were about to publish details of his battle with the Demon Alcohol, rumours of which he had been denying for some weeks previously. It seemed to some of us that it was a bad thing if a bloke was not permitted to take a drink or two but the reported alleged consumption of a bottle of Scotland's finest export per day did seem to be somewhat over the top. There was then an admission by the most likely candidate for the post of leader that he too was not without his vices, namely that despite his attractive wife and two children he was much given to disporting himself with a member of the Rent Boy profession. And then a third party member tipped for leadership suffered considerable embarrassment when it emerged that he too was a worshipper at the Temple of Sodom. So was someone working away to bring all of this into the public domain to discredit the party and if so what might the motive be? Well, whatever one thinks about the Lib-Dem's policies they are the only one of the opposition parties which actually try and oppose the Government although their relatively small number of MPs means they can't achieve much. Unlike the main so-called opposition party the Lib-Dems have consistently opposed the two main Blairite policies, i.e. British involvement in Iraq and compulsory identity cards, both of which had the whole hearted support of the Conservative party although they now try and pretend otherwise because they sense that public opinion has turned against both. If it was a "spoiler" operation run on Blair's instructions then it didn't work; the Lib-Dems won the recent Dunfirmline by-election capturing what had been up until then a safe Blairite seat.

[Thanks PoSW and now onto DoK’s words of offer to the Govt and a social warning]:

DoK’s offer

Recently It was announced by Prime Minister Heir Presumptive Gordon Brown that *he* was setting up an organisation like war time Bletchley Park; its purpose to recruit persons to crack terrorist codes etc.

I wish to make it known that I am ready, willing and able to be called up, together with a number of other ENIGMA 2000 members with the right service backgrounds.

Words of warning for the E2k Promenaders

But! A word of warning to those members who may be considering a holiday in the United States [God Bless America]:

If you are known to be involved in work carried out as a member of ENIGMA 2000 or any similar group you may be arrested as a terrorist/spy/subversive and disappear like the ‘Count of Monte Christo’.

You could also be arrested in the UK, taken to court where evidence has been brought against you, and, under the new agreements be extradited. Needless to say this is a one-sided agreement and does not allow for Americans to be brought to trial in this Country. Where, one might ask is that well known human-rights lawyer Cherie Booth! It should be worth noting that the agreement appears to be between Mr Bliar and Mr Bush, the agreement not having been passed through US Congress to make it legal. To date Mr Bliar was questioned by a British TV host and it seems to have been inferred that our PM takes his instruction from God. PLondon once remarked to me that when someone talks to God it is called praying. However, when God talks to you it is usually referred to as schizophrenia.

[Tnx Dok]

Cuban Academic and wife arrested for spying in America

A Cuban Academic and his wife arrested for spying in America. Their defence is that they did not spy against US but Cuban nationals in the US. In a variety of reports it has been stated they used encrypting devices and short wave radio for communication with their masters. Also talk of PC disks too – much sounding like Ana Belen Montes.

US Attorney Frazier said they admitted to using high- and low-tech methods to communicate with Cuba's Directorate of Intelligence and several of its "handlers". Among them: an antenna in their backyard, a shortwave radio, a five-digit code, encrypted computer disks and local post office boxes.

Venezuala speaks

Venezuala has sniped at us Brits by demanding we hand the Falklands back to Argentina. It would appear that Mr Bliar responded by suggesting that he would sooner see Cuba, Venezuala’s main ally function as a true democracy. Here it comes………………According to reports Venezualan President branded Mr Bliar as ‘a pawn if Imperialism’ and ‘the main ally of Hitler’, a reference to Dubya.

If Saint Tony had been on the ball and aware of matters in the area he could have told Mr Chavez to stop harassing the Guyanese Defence Force on the Essequibo, Orinoco and Cyruni rivers [There’s also the Surinam problem on the Corentyne River too - lot of Dutch influence on either side of the river – another place PLondon has been].

Wonder if the Argies are considering another invasion – would they face problems this time of would St Tony hand it back rather than offend Argy human rights, be politically correct and because he has our armed forces kicking about in Iraq.

Laser weaponry

An interesting piece appeared in ‘Metrocosm’ – page 13 Metro 12^th Jan 2006 informing us, “Get ready to be zapped. The Americans are developing a new breed of laser guns……..” They were of course talking about Directed Energy Weaponry and are suggesting the devices are shiny new and an American Development.

Totally untrue; an original British development with the first laser dazzle weaponry being deployed during the 1982 Falklands War. Questions were later asked in Parliament on the legality of such a device [reported Daily Telegraph].

This footnote [112] taken from http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/cst/occppr10.htm outlines such development, albeit eight years after the use of the device.

112. In 1990, the U.K. Ministry of Defense acknowledged that it had developed and fielded a laser dazzle system, manufactured by Irwin Desman Ltd., for use by the Royal Navy’s Broadsword frigates and Type-42 destroyers. Although reported deployed to the Arabian Gulf for anti-small boat defense, industry sources assess it as capable of deterring a kamikaze style air attack. The system reportedly uses a low-power blue laser that does not cause permanent eye injuries. At a nominal range of 2.75 kilometers, an UWB microwave system would not only appear to be more effective, it would also preclude any concerns with violations of Protocol IV to the United Nations Conventions on Prohibitions on Conventional Weapons. A. P. O’Leary, ed. Jane’s Electro-optic Systems 1997-1998
(London, UK: Jane’s Information Group, Ltd. 1998), pp. 11, 31-31.

So here we go – another lost leader from Great Britain PLC which we will probably buy back from the US and a massive profit to them. No wonder the Yanks have all these wars to contend with, all this new ordnance to test you see.

Triumph of British ingenuity………….

Not a return to the Cold War but certainly reminiscent was the news that the FSB has observed British Diplomats addressing a rock, or rather being addressed by a rock, that had information uploaded into it, apparently by Russians working for SIS. Four diplomats have been recognized by the FSB, have been named and in some British newspapers, shown without digitization across the face.

Although this discovery was being done to death by the British Media Mike mndbs posted a message to Group drawing members attention to the Sky News URL then saying,

“Why would such a crude device be used when as we all know secure communications can be made via much more sophisticated and covert means. Surely having various spies liaising with a rock placed on a street with little or no cover would be inviting attention?

With memory chips that can hold many megabytes of data being easily and cheaply available and only measuring a few cm's would it not be more likely that these would be passed in a busy street between the operatives? After all they are walking about with PDA's so a chip would not be out of place. Probably less likely to draw attention than holding said PDA above a rock!”

There were replies to that and IW suggested a good reason for doing it that way and like PLondon also recognised that the power supply would have to capable of doing the job is poor temperature conditions.

Looking at this image from Russian TV the construction is almost obvious.

Probably a tinted concrete type mix over a base similar to that used in the Isopon car repair kit.

The mass of the ‘rock’ is probably due to the power source.

Perhaps there is a complete quarryload of these spread all over Russia!

The best explanation comes from an Anon source on how this Rock was achieved and used:

(Using low power Wireless LAN in the 2.4GHz or 5.4GHz bands, and switched to low power (to save batteries / increase availability / lessen detection by DF...would only have a range of a few tens of metres anyway, as can't see any dishes stuck on the Rock...)

Using Wireless LAN an FTP Server is set-up on say a Compaq / HP iPAQ Pocket PC. As the agent passes by, the agents Pocket PC / iPAQ "logs in" to the Rock iPAQ and data is transferred in an automated way. (No key pressing etc to achieve transfer).

The data would be encrypted before transfer, during and whilst stored on the Rock.

When John Doe (or his brother Marc) passes by, he again logs into the Rock, this time uploading or collecting the data. Again encrypted before, during and after transfer. Sort of dead letter box without touching the box.

Only time there would be a risk, is when dropping or picking up the Rock for battery maintenance, or catching an agent, in act of walking past the Rock, with a Pocket PC, switched on, with data on the Pocket PC.

The agent, if caught, could argue that the data on the pocket PC is his work data, and therefore he is "entitled" to be in possession of it. After all he wasn't to know if the UK would be "sniffing" on a Wireless LAN for any passing users, and automatically downloading all the data.

This then raises the issue that it just maybe that the British (if it is their rock~ Gibraltar II ?) could have observed a number of people, walking past the same site each day, and having a Pocket PC. The "target" could have been a paid agent, or someone who is just a victim of British Intelligence gathering.

This sort of Data Transfer Technology is used widely in Industry for Automated data transfer during manufacturing processes and in Grand Prix Racing ~ Telemetry Data between Car and pits. (The data is not small amounts, but megabytes of data, and so they need to use wide band, high capacity data links). Closer to your neck of the woods, LU use a similar system called censored to get information about prevailing weather conditions on the track. Data is recorded on a track side PC (Compaq iPAQ), stored, and as each train passes by, uploaded to the trains PC. Then when the train enters a station, the data is downloaded and sent on to the central management unit, as well as the emergency response unit in Baker Street. [Tnx Anon]

Mention of this method reminded PLondon about the countdown boards that indicate to the waiting public how long they have to wait for a bus before it arrives at their stop. A box on lampposts sends out a signal in the microwave region to identify a waypoint. A unit aboard the bus counts the wheel revolutions between stops and against unit time and given that speed = distance/time. Of course any delay in the buse going from one point to another and the promised 1 min before you tender your fare becomes progressively longer.

So well done S&T branch. Wonder if this rock was tested in Regents Park or wherever? The Metro newspaper was one of those that printed a diplomats image, but it also did a 'make your own fake rock to spy on people with'!

Look at this sell off…………………and the faults [and there’s even more]……

The Tories are often blamed for privatisation of services and the selling off of untilities. Well here’s a belter of a sale on a £1.1bn float – no other than the previously named Defence Evaluation Research Agency, or as it is better known nowadays, QinetiQ. HMG own 56% of shares, US private equity group, Carlyle, 31% and Management and workers 13%.

Whilst all this is going on an interesting article in the Daily Express 13^th January declared, “The 92 equipment failures that put our troops at risk.”. The piece was accompanied by two images representative of the problematical kit; and there’s no surprises for at least one piece, The SA80. Also showed is the Warrior APC but surprisingly the most complained about kit was ‘the Army’s Land Rovers which logged 22 Serious Equipment Failures and 967 Equipment Failure Reports. The main armoured fighting vehicle, the Warrior, logged 24 SEFs and 419 EFRs.’

Not surprisingly a ministry spokesman [MoD] stated British troops were among the best supplied in the world and added “We take very seriously the need to ensure they are properly equipped.” [With spin like that and what is actually happening one can see he was probably hand picked by Tony Bliar for the job]. I was looking forward to adding, “The Yanks are so much better supplied and looked after so much better” when I took time to read the review of ‘Jarhead.’ I thought it would illustrate on film how the Yanks had won yet another war, without assistance, just like WW1, WW2, Korea, Vietnam, Somalia, Gulf War 1 & 2, Agincourt, Battle of Britain and Hastings.

Then I read ‘An impressionistic account of the first war in Iraq, Jarhead is not about gung-ho heroics or courage under fire. Instead, it depicts a crazy world of faulty equipment, obscure objectives, expendable civilians and leaders who act like tough guys rather than real people.’ So it seems the US Forces may well have to suffer the same nonsense British Forces suffer and it seems that those who send American young men to war are like ours [to paraphrase], “all blood and guts,” which in fact means Politicians’ guts, the Servicemans’ blood.

[See HJH E2k watch too].

Not missing a chance for some war poetry: Suicide in the Trenches

I knew a simple soldier boy
Who grinned at life in empty joy,
Slept soundly through the lonesome dark,
And whistled early with the lark.

In winter trenches, cowed and glum,
With crumps and lice and lack of rum,
He put a bullet through his brain.
No one spoke of him again.

You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye
Who cheer when soldier lads march by,
Sneak home and pray you'll never know
The hell where youth and laughter go
[George Sassoon]

Not by Strength, By Guile

British readers and feasibly many others will be aware of the armed Securitas raid in Tonbridge Kent where the actual haul was £53,116,760. A number of villains, some dressed as police officers, held 14 security officers at gunpoint whilst the manager and his wife and child were like held hostage.

One of those arrested is a millionaire SBS man [Naval equivalent of the SAS upon which the US Seals and Delta Force are modeled – we are told].

Anyway the newspaper bit about this SBS bloke says he is ‘said to be a ladies man with a knack for making money.’ Lucky bugger on both counts!

On the BBC London early morning programme at 0540z PLondon heard the presenter ask, “Why is it ‘Good on them’ when large sums of money are stolen?” As PLondon continued his walk to the station [140 paces to the minute – 17.5mins to the station 1.4miles] he ruminated on this and it’s obvious. Most working people in this country are ripped off by the Govt [it doesn’t matter which], we’re even taxed after death on what we leave behind – so yes, good on ‘em. Pity they got caught, but that’s an occupational hazard when you thieve.

It’s good to know the ex-soldier has used the skills he was given by the military. Not many capitalise on such training [why does this bloody pc keep inserting the letter zed where an ‘S’ should be used?], in fact PLondon has just finished reading a book on linguists as trained up in the JSSL in the Cold War. ‘Secret Classrooms’ is an excellent book – and Radio 4 prog – and shows how the students of Russian, ‘kursanty’ carried on past their National Service into civilian life and became successful. It’s a good read.

Freedom of Expression?

A stroppy student who called a Police Horse ‘Gay’ was arrested for making Homophobic comments’. The Crown Prosecution Sevice dropped the case.

Mayor of London, Mr Livingstone who came out from a party made a quip to a Mr Finegold [a reporter with the ‘evening news’] likening his job to that of a concentration camp guard and is deeply in the mire. Upset horses you get away with it, Bad mouth Brits you get away with it, Bad mouth someone with claimed Jewish links and you don’t. It’s a massive nonsense designed to cause problems. Wonder what would happen if Mr Livingstone, who said he won’t apologise because he wouldn’t mean it, likened Mr Finegold to a Hamas bomber? Watch out – Mr Bliar is said to be developing the thought police.

Iran is stepping out of line

Looks like ‘Team America’ is pointing its crosshairs at Iran as it disobeys the edict from outside its borders – thou shalt not do atomic research [especially bombs]. Why not? Israel did and look what happened to the whistleblower Mordecai Vananu. No problems from the US there.

Well here’s a strong word of advice for you before you push up Petrol prices Mr Ahmadinejad – if you continue you may receive a really nasty letter from the UN Security Council and a threatened visit from Hans Blix. [Ah! Hans Brix, you’re breaking my balls Hans].

News release from the United States Department of Defense

No. 055-06 IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan 20, 2006 Media Contact: (703)697-5131

Public/Industry(703)428-0711

US Installation Realignment in Belgium Announced

The Department of Defense announces today the decision to inactivate and return three microwave radio relay sites to Belgium.

The sites are: Houtem, Westrozebeke and Flobecq.

The United States no longer requires these sites since the service provided by the radio relay system installed in 1996 will be replaced by higher-capacity, lower cost commercial communications service.

These actions will permit more resources to be focused on other U.S. Air Forces Europe (USAFE) mission requirements and to realize Efficiency and cost savings. Closure of these sites will result in an estimated annual savings of over $84,000 based on a comparison of the current annual operations and maintenance costs to an annual replacement commercial communications cost.

These returns are part of the US European Command's continued transformation efforts.

As with all stationing actions, the US has coordinated with host nation officials prior to this public announcement.

Greece, the Airfix 12, the Marconi one and the Mobile Phone corporation!

First we had the hapless aircraft spotters arrested in Greece for spying, then we were contacted by a ‘mobile’ numbers enthusiast who traveling to Greece with his radio who demanded to be called the Marconi One should he be arrested.

The Observer of 12/02 reported that ‘Vodaphone faces fines over Greek bugging scandal.’

Apparently its network [it is claimed] allowed eavesdroppers to spy on Greece’s political and military elite including Costas Karamanlis, the Prime Minister. This follows an admission by Vodaphone’s Greek chief executive that a Vodaphone employee may have played a role in installing and activating the surveillance software used in the bugging.

It appears that between June 2004 and March 2005 [A year!] phones belonging to the PM, leading politicians, military chiefs, left wing activists and a few Arabs based in Greece to boot.

A Greek poll suggests the US are thought to be behind the bugging whilst only 8 percent blame the British. Anyone seen and Bluetooth rocks lying about in Greece?

Together 800 [is the name of the recording]

It's amazing the items that reach our newspapers! The News of the World has not only printed a story showing British troops *apparently* abusing Iraqis but has seen fit to release a video showing British troops manhandling and giving Iraqi youths a beating. What you don't get to see is what happened before that initiated that behaviour. Look at the video in perspective - rioting and mortars over the wall. Youths are caught and receive some rough justice from those not expected to do it.

When the Brits were in Aden circa 1967 such scenes were seen on the streets of Maa'alla, Steamer Point and Crater and regularly made TV and the newspapers, yet no complaints were heard to be publicly made. Housewives carried Stirling Machine Guns [SMG’s] whilst out on their own, having been qualified to do so. [Some bloke from Epsom did write into the Daily Mail recently complaining about what he had seen in Aden when Brits engaged the elements of FLOSY and the NLF. Whilst he stated he found the actions of the Brits abhorrent he forgot to mention that dead servicemen were found in the street with throats cut and a broomhandle inserted right through their body via the nether regions – he found himself in Aden he states, but, no one just ‘found themselves there’ it was never a holiday destination. P&O and Castle Lines used to call there regularly though].

Take a read of McNab's Bravo Two Zero and see what treatment he received from his Iraqi captors. [He recently signed copies of his latest book at an RGJ depot - no names no pack drill here - after giving a very decent talk on matters military]. On the other hand Chris Ryan, another member of B20 who penned 'The One that Got Away' - because he did - damns the baton exuberant squaddies out of hand. Amazing! Because we just don't know what prompted this action. [Note that whilst Andy McNab – ex RGJ [yet another chosen man] – shys from publicity Chris Ryan has appeared in such TV shows as Ultimate Farce and his pic has been in the newspapers].

So, apart from the 40 years between Iraq and Aden what is the difference? It is the technological ability to show such events. Anyone who thinks such events have never happened before has led a very cosseted life.

Judas got 30 pieces of silver – wonder what the sales were for the NoTW and the financial return for the whistleblower, perhaps his name will be made known to the Light Infantry at some stage in due course. Note how these four abused Iraqis have now presented themselves to the British Forces to secure compensation after keeping quiet for over two years.

These beaten Iraqis may well have been responsible for the mortar attacks on the British Compound and received rough justice as a result. No, its not generally done – but lets have the perspective. Most reading about this sit at desks all day worrying about what’s on TV that night. Most have never served in the forces or experienced such danger. There are some of us on this Group who have served in a variety of the Armed Forces and some others not only in the Armed Forces but also in Police services nationwide; we cannot condone the behaviour but we can understand it. Those at their desks may well have little inkling and will condemn out of hand. Then we have a later Aussie release of further abuses by Americans upon Iraqis from Abu Ghraib prison.

Casino Royale

The book was written in 1953, the film with David Niven appeared in 1967 after being filmed in Killin and a few other Scottish places. Now it’s being remade [another remake!] and the story updated. Fleming wrote of Bond being abused with a carpet beater but in this latest offering a leak on the script brings claim that Bond kills a suspected bomber only to find he’s got the wrong man. Nothing wrong there – guess what? There is if your surname in Menenez and and your relative was topped on the London Underground because he resembled a known and wanted terrorit. [See front cover of EyeSpy! Magazine Issue 35]. A couple of listeners to the Nick Ferrari show on 97.3MHz suggested they were fed up with it – especially the pulling out of the public purse to compensate. Quite so!

These MBEs in the aftermath of 7th July

The Daily Mail of 16th February 2006 carried the front page headline 'Betrayal of a Hero.' It was futher supported by the strapline 'In an age when tinpot celebrities are showered with honours, the Government decides that DC Oake - stabbed to death saving colleagues - will get nothing.

Other newspapers mentioned only four persons whe took an MBE, Ambulance, Nurse Police and Tube workers. The rest were apparently in the upper echelons of a variety of offices and well safe.The Mail makes the point that toiling away underground saving people or working in the service of the nation counts for little. Apparently a high ranking Police Federation officer stated that Stephen Oake, who PLondon had the pleasure of knowing professionally for 5 years, would have had a Knighthood in the post if he had made a £100,000 donation to the Labour Party. The father of the 25 yo WPC Nina Mackay, stabbed to death in 1997, a retired Chief Superintendant echoed this by stating to the paper

'You can play a good game of cricket or rugby and you will be honoured and feted at a reception given by Tony Blair. You can reckon on being honoured if you make a few hit records or star in a few plays. But do not expect to get anything if you die in the service of your country. The members of this committee should hang their heads in shame.'

Did you know that when the St John Ambulance offered help they were ignored [according to one E2k member].

Shocking, just shocking – and it takes a peak 4000A to rupture a 13A fuse!

Whilst reading an interesting article about the ‘Mail’s’ interview with Sir DigbyJones [CBI Director General] where he launched an attack on America accusing it of ‘hypocrisy’ and treating British firms like ‘aliens’ my gaze fell on another interesting article about force fields [‘Soneones put a force field around the Anastasia Digby! Aye Captain Dan, that’ll be the Mekon. Custard Comets! Digby – radio Sir Hubert and tell him to watch out for Treens’]. His remarks were in concert with the poor state of trade relations between the UK and America – or, to be blunt, America and all European Countries. [Has this bloke been asleep for the last 30 years? It’s damn near impossible to do business with America let alone make a profit from the process]. Sir Digby did say the problem was not Dubya’s [!!!] and that the problem is in Congress rather than the White House. Should we send Rt Hon Geo. Galloway back to sort this lot out, methinks?

Anyway, this other article in the Sunday Times was entitled, ‘Tanks to get anti-missile ‘force field.’

Apparently the MoD has signaled [?] that Great Britain’s next class of armoured vehicles will be protected by a force field of electrified armour that would vapourise RPG rounds, shaped charges and suchlike. Such a device, made from a trilayer metallic armour with ‘several thousand volts flowing through it’ would make big savings in weight with around 2 tons of this per vehicle rather than the 20 ton mass of this other stuff that is used noweadays [Chobham armour?].

Surprisingly the article mentioned how this layered armour works, using mention of a kinetic shell striking the armour and the following events. This force field vapourises the molten stream of metal in the same way as a fuse burns out [that’s what the article says]. E2k rather think it is more complicated than that!

It’s another wanger of an idea from the MoDs scientific research centre, a veritable British invention. Guess who gets to make it – Lockheed-Martin, an American Defence company. Bet they nick the idea from us and get it for zilch – or rather we’ll give it to them and buy it back.

The piece did mention the field was powered by the vehicles battery [poor design that – would have thought the power plant would deal with that unless damaged – must need lots of amps to start the type of reaction they claim. Anyone reading this ever tried to start an arc lamp with less than 40A? This must rely on plasma conversion.

Anyway, another great British invention that has to be built by a foreign company because the only real product in Great Britain occurs in the dealing rooms of the City. No Mines, automobile industries, shipbuilding, toolmaking and textiles. Britain PLC where we make nothing and finding a toolmaker, setter, miner, stevador, weaver and such like is harder than finding rocking horse shit. Which reminds me – the other spiffingly good article in the ST had the title and strapline, ‘How the wheels came off Britain PLC,’ followed by, ‘Tony Blair’s reform programme has all but ground to a halt…….Profligate spending has undermined the economy, amid growing signs that the new Labour experiment has failed.’ Part of the reason appears to be a huge wasteage of money – but then that’s to be expected. They just tax everyone heavily; money for old rope, pecuniary advantage by deception. You get told its to make Britain a better place, but its not. It’s given away wholesale with no thought of our just functioning NHS, Armed forces and the like – no we’ll give it to the international underdogs, its their human right to receive it!

Think it’s just a British disease – see HJH E2k Watch!