September 2006
Articles, newsreports and Items of interest :enigma2000-owner@yahoogroups.com
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First, a quick update on a couple of items from E2k35, both of which on reflection afterwards seemed so unlikely that I thought I had been fooled by some clever comedy writing or satire. However, within a couple of days of E2K35 being posted I had confirmation that both stories were true, as if the Great Spirit in the Sky was saying "Its alright Pete, the real world really is more crazy than any scriptwriter could possibly imagine". First, the proposal to put a large tax on traditional tungsten filament light bulbs to encourage the use of those RF interference generators which happen to produce a great deal of light, known to the more technically minded among us as "compact fluorescents with a switch-mode electronic ballast". That this was a genuine news story and not just a product of the fevered mind of one of our more whacky comedy writers was confirmed when the financial section of the Mail on Sunday of 16-July had a piece by Tom McGhie headlined "Now Labour plans a tax on light bulbs", which began "A light bulb tax on families is being planned by the Government as part of its tough mission to lower carbon emissions.......In an effort to reduce household energy consumption the Government is considering a "green" tax on inefficient light bulbs, encouraging a switch to dearer, energy-efficient ones.......No details of the "light bulb tax" have emerged but the Government is keen to narrow the gap between the cost of an ordinary light bulb - about 70p - and energy-efficient ones that cost up to £5 each. The comment column in the Mail on Sunday said "If Governments could find a way to tax us for breathing they would....their ingenuity is endless....the latest scheme is a planned tax on ordinary light bulbs, supposedly to influence us into buying the more expensive energy-efficient types. Given the sevenfold difference in price, this tax will have to be pretty punitive to change the average household's bulb buying habits....It may be dressed in the deepest green but to most of us it will be just another goverment hand in our wallets."
The other story which seemed unlikely in the cold light of day was the one about the new-found friendship between the United States of America and Vietnam and the visit to that country by Donald Rumsfeld. Since I had only caught the end of this story on a TV news programme I really did wonder if this was a sketch from a satire show - a preview of something from the Edinburgh Festival "fringe" perhaps?. However, this too turned out to be a real news story because on 17-July BBC Radio 4 did a half hour programme in its "Crossing Continents" series on that very subject, presented by ace reporter Julian Pettifier who covered the Vietnam War for the BBC all those years ago and was back there four decades after his first visit interviewing a selection of Vietnamese people on their views on the USA. Seems like many older people who remember the war aren't too impressed by America but younger Vietnamese are quite taken with American culture, like young people everywhere. The programme opened with an introduction by the continuity announcer who said, ".....Donald Rumsfeld was in Vietnam recently and President Bush is set to go there later this year". Well there's a thing! It seems as if George Dubya is finally going to set foot in the country which he allegedly went to great lengths to keep away from when he managed to avoid being drafted there during the Vietnam War.
It is always good to hear that former political party leaders manage to find gainful employment and are not living on the breadline. The Mail on Sunday of 2-July carried a story about the latest career move by former Conservative Party leader Michael Howard. Headlined "Howard is accused of spy crimes" and by the paper's Whitehall correspondent says
"A corporate espionage company whose chairman is former Tory leader Michael Howard has been accused of impersonating MI6 officers to steal information from a business rival. The firm is also alleged to have engaged in fraud, deception, bribery and computer hacking. Mr Howard became chairman of Dilligence, set up by ex-members of the CIA and M15 last month. But in his first foray into the private sector since leaving office, he is at the centre of a US lawsuit. The writ, from Bermuda-based fund IPOC claims Dilligence "used fraudulent means" to obtain information on IPOC for Moscow based Alfa Bank. This included impersonation of US and British intelligence agents.....".
Mr Howard, asked if he was aware of Dilligence's activities and whether it was compatible with his political role said, "I have had to sign an employment agreement which obliges me as part of my contract to abide by the law in every country in which Dilligence operates".
Which just goes to prove what some of us already know, that you are never disappointed by our politicians, or ex politicians; they always behave as badly as you expect them to. Or as Daily Mail columnist Peter McKay put it on 3-July, "Don't you find it strange that former members of the CIA and MI6 were able to set up a corparate espionage company called Dilligence and to secure former Tory leader Michael Howard as its leader?" Commenting upon Howard's statement Mr McKay wrote "For all I know Al Capone required underlings to sign such a contract. Howard is a distinguished ex-MP, a Rt. Hon. and a member of the Privy Council. Surely he should have nothing to do with a firm which snoops on other businesses, no matter what gloss they put on it".
It would seem that being an Equal Opportunity Employer is all well and good but you have to draw the line somewhere! The Daily Telegraph of 4-July carried a story by their Home Affairs Editor with the headline "Radical Muslims apply to join MI5" and says,
"Radical Muslims have tried to infiltrate MI5 under cover of its huge recruitment drive aimed at fighting al-Qa'eda. Whitehall sources said yesterday that Osama bin Laden sympathisers were among the 100,000 people who expressed an interest in joining the service. MI5 is engaged in the biggest search for recruits in its 97 year history with the aim of a staff level of 3,500 by 2008 - twice what it was at the time of the September 11 attacks. The service is having to find a new building in London for the extra staff because the Thames House headquarters is too small........"We are very aware of the possibility of infiltration and do everything we can to stop it", said one official source. "We are aware that there are people with terrorist connections who have expressed an interest on getting people on the inside".
The British Army continues to be much put upon in both Iraq and Afghanistan, much comment in the press concerning the shortages of suitable equipment for the harsh conditions in which they find themselves, having to use soft-skinned Land Rovers due to a shortage of armoured vehicles for example and a lack of helicopters. A letter in the Daily Mail 10-July from a reader residing in Woodbridge, Suffolk said "The British Army in Afghanistan gets into a firefight and wonders where its wonderful Appache attack helicopters are. The Apaches are whizzing at a very low level between Wattisham and Woodbridge airbases. No doubt they're getting ready for the invasion of Iran". As it happens, an acquaintance of mine who resides in the county of Suffolk, although further south near the border with Cambridgeshire, had just a few days earlier mentioned the increased number of helicopters flying around his locality, although his description of them as "The big ones with a propeller at each end" must be Suffolk Man's description of the twin-rotor Chinook. The current build-up of British forces in Afghanistan began earlier this year and was covered in some detail by our local TV news outlets because some of the first soldiers to be sent there were from a base near Cambridge and were specialists in building and construction, their task being to build the accommodation for the troops who followed later. They were filmed hard at work soon after their arrival in Helmand province digging foundations, mixing cement, laying bricks and doing all the other stuff that builders do. The general impression was that these were buildings of a permanant nature, not just your pre-fabricated quick to put up and take down huts of the porta-cabin variety which suggests that Tommy Atkins is going to be in Afghanistan for some considerable time to come. Things seem to be hotting up in that part of the world, in mid-August there have been reports of clashes between the British troops and a resurgent Taliban which has been described as some of the fiercest fighting in with the British Army has been involved since World War 2.
Home construction of electronics still popular in Pakistan; - I think it would be generally agreed that home construction of radio and electronic equipment is pretty much a thing of the past in the UK except perhaps among a handful of diehard enthusiasts. The extinction of constructor oriented magazines such as Electronics Today International, Radio Constuctor - which evolved into Radio and Electronics World in the 'eighties, then vanished, Wireless World, and Practical Electronics in its original form, together with the demise of the once mighty Heathkit company is offered as evidence of this. However, the soldering iron is still being wielded in Pakistan, albeit to bad effect, if the piece in the World News section of the Daily Telegraph of 29-July is anything to go by. The article by Ahmed Rashid in Kabul - well, I guess he ought to know - is headlined "Intelligence officers widen the net in hunt for Taliban". It begins
"A crucial intelligence war is going on in Afghanistan, where American, British and Canadian troops are trying to glean better information about the Taliban while attempting to persuade Pakistan to close Taliban command centres and camps. The efforts follow the failure of the American-led coalition and Nato to predict the ferocity and numbers involved in the Taliban offensive that started in the middle of last month. So far 600 people have died.......Intelligence officers from several western countries said the Taliban preparations took place through the winter in and around Quetta, the capital of Balochistan, in Pakistan......The Taliban have driven more than 100 Toyota Landcruisers across the border from Balochistan in recent weeks to mount attacks against British troops. At the same time the Taliban are creating a lethal new cottage industry on the Pakistan side; the manufacture of improvised explosive devices. The components of the devices - electronic panels, triggers, explosive materials and the casings are manufactured by households which then send them to Taliban fighters to be assembled".
The Daily Telegraph of 8-August carried a short piece headlined, "Military sites put on the map at last", and says
"The secret locations of military bases and other intelligence establishments are to be shown on Ordnance Survey (OS) maps for the first time. The Cabinet Office decided to stop censoring the locations of "sensitive sites" earlier this year on the grounds that internet mapping has made attemps at secrecy obsolete. Sites, including a nuclear warhead plant at Burghfield near Reading, which was previously shown as an empty field, will appear on the new maps as will a vast underground munitions dump at Glen Douglas in Scotland. A rocket - testing range at Wyre Forest and signal interception aerials at RAF Digby are also expected to be shown for the first time. Known as the Sensitive Sites Register, the list of locations mostly includes Ministry of Defence establishments.......during the Cold War, Martin Furnival - Jones who became head of MI5, even wanted oil refineries, gasworks and railway bridges removed".
The existence of an extradition treaty between the Governments of the UK and the USA was in the news a few weeks ago. It was supposedly put in place to make the extradition of those accused of terrorist crimes between the two countries easier. However, the said treaty has been used to extradite British citizens to the USA not for terrorism but for other alleged offences, most notably fraud, and in particular the three merchant bankers (not Cockney rhyming slang, we are assured), and commonly known by their collective epithet as "The NatWest Three", who were recently rounded up and put on a 'plane and, under the watchful eye of a couple of US marshals, shipped out to the USA - Dallas, Texas, I think - to answer charges connected with the "Enron" financial scandal in America. There was a lot of anger over this in the press, centered on the fact that the treaty was being used for a purpose for which it was not intended. It was also pointed out that the treaty is one-side because the Americans have always refused point blank to send over to the UK the considerable number of Irish Republican Army front men known to be residing in cities such as New York and Boston and who are alleged to have organised funding and the purchase of weapons for the IRA over the thirty years or more of the "troubles" in Northern Ireland and their extension to the British mainland. This is said to be because of the powerful Irish - American lobby in the USA which every politician seeking high office has to avoid upsetting and who have strong links with several high-ranking influencial personalities, the most famous of which is Senator Edward Kennedy. Which reminds me of a story concerning Senator K. At the height of the "troubles" in Northern Ireland back in the seventies the Senator showed up in Belfast. It was just before an election of some kind back home and he had a whole load of press and TV reporters in attendance to make sure that his concern for the Old Country was fed back to his electorate. In the process of promenading down the main street in Belfast he saw an Army patrol coming down the road towards him. He crossed over to intercept the patrol and addressing the Sergeant said "Hey, British soldier, why don't you go back to your own country, eh? Can you tell me that? Why don't you go back to your own country?". Whereupon the Sergeant, replied, "This is my country. It's part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Why don't you f**k off back to yours and stop trying to stir up trouble here". And the Senator, being part of what is in reality one of America's several Royal Families and certainly not at all used to being spoken to in that way, was lost for words. This extradition law with Uncle Sam was compared by several observers of the political scene with a little-known piece of legislation called the Visiting Forces Act which was passed in a hurry during World War 2 and has been changed and amended several times since. This was done at the insistence of the American government when the build-up of US forces was getting under way and they didn't want any miscreants among their personnel to be subjected to British law when they were on UK soil but tried under US law, which was what the Visiting Forces Act provided for. One of the effects of this was that offending American servicemen were sometimes subjected to harsher punishments under the American system than they would have received had they been convicted under British law, in particular the case quoted by several newspapers was that of three black American servicemen who were hanged at Shepton Mallet prison for the crime of rape which did not carry the death penalty under British law.
I hadn't heard much of former British intelligence operative and whistle blower David Shayler for a while but he showed up as the guest on Talk Sport Radio's James Whale Show phone - in on 2-August. Unfortunately The "I am the voice of reason" Whale was not appearing in his usual night time slot but was standing in for the regular presenter on the late morning shift. As a result I missed the first twentyfive minutes or so and since I was at my business QTH I was not able to pay as much attention to the remainder as I would have liked. Nevertheless, Mr. Shayler was in fine form and conversed with many callers on a variety of subjects, including the Israeli incursion into Lebanon and the American - British involvement in Afghanistan with reference to the oil and gas pipelines which the US has long wanted to build running from the oil and gas fields of the Caspian Basin, in what we used to call Soviet Central Asia, down through Afghanistan to a port somewhere on the coast of Pakistan, the events of 9/11 having given America the chance to establish a presence in Afghanistan. One caller also put forward a theory , which I have heard before, that MI5 infiltrated the Labour Party and the Trades Unions in the seventies and eighties in order to move them to the right and that the Blair premiership is the culmination of this. The scenario suggested here is that much of the union militancy of the 'seventies was caused by agents provocateurs who appeared to be extreme left wingers but were in reality controlled by MI5 and succeeded in their aim of discrediting the unions beyond redemption. I must say, I can think of a couple of what we then called Trade Union "Barons" who were well known for their militancy in the 'seventies but who disappeared from public view with the Conservative victory of 1979, both re-emerging a few years afterwards as prosperous businessmen, one in property and one as an antiques dealer, not on the face of it typical career options for a pair of callused-handed sons of toil.
The Daily Telegraph of 8-August reported the death at the age of 79 of actor Patrick Allen, remembered by some of us from our school days as the star of the TV series Crane in which he appeared with actors Sam Kydd, Gerald Flood - and, as the Telegraph puts it, the voluptous Laya Raki as the barmaid. But Mr. Allen was also famous as the narrator of the British government's Protect and Survive instructional videos, designed to inform the population how to survive in the event of a nuclear war. I remember extracts from these videos being shown on various television programmes in the early 'eighties when it really did look as if Reagan and Thatcher were going to find an excuse to go to war with the Soviet Union. And, in the words of the Telegraph, "Some of his lines from the series were incorporated in the single Two Tribes, a No 1 hit for Frankie Goes To Hollywood". Frankie Goes To Hollywood? A popular beat combo of the nineteen eighties, M' Lud."
[PLondon, like Peter, grew up when Mr Allen portrayed Crane. It is interesting to note that Gerald Flood and Sam Kydd both predeceased Mr Allen. According to IMDB the most memorable Laya Raki is still alive and like a few others I remember the spread she did in ‘King Magazine’ only 5/- and confiscated at school as being disgusting.
I have a copy of the Protect and Survive videos but also recall that Mr Allen also did the voice overs for the Barratt Homes videos as he was ferried about in a Helo. Thanks to being in Guyana at the time I missed the Obituary of an actor whose performances were entertaining and whose other skills were utilised in the films that would have instructed us Brits to chop our houses up, to lean doors against inner walls, to protect ourselves against atom bombs. In the words of a well known actor in ‘Bridge Over the River Kwai’ – madness, sheer madness]!.
From the Sunday Express magazine section of 6-August;- 12 across, "Oscillator containing a tetrode in which the screen grid is more positive than the anode, causing the anode current to decrease as its anode voltage increases", 8 letters. Well, I thought I knew everthing there was to know about tetrodes, beam tetrodes anyway, along with diodes, triodes, pentodes, hexodes and odd odes. I also thought I knew all about oscillators, L -C, quartz crystal, Colpitts, Hartley, phase shift - you name it; but I didn't know the answer to this! I had to wait until the following week to find that the answer to 12 across was "Dynatron". And I will bet that not more than a handful of readers of the Express, like most of the mass - circulation press aimed increasingly at what they call the "aspirational" 18 to 34 year old readership, had the slightest idea of what a tetrode, a screen grid or an anode might be.
"Null null null" "Peter of Saffron Walden"
Thursday, 24-August
Thanks PoSW – and now onto our continuing NEWS & ITEMS of INTEREST penned by KW and a variety of others:
PLondon was recently asked if this fountain of immediate wit and venom was a real person. The answer is a resounding Yes.
Dave was an ex-Guardsman who PLondon spent many a happy journey on the 0608 train and 0635 route 52 discussing the world ills. Dave took the NL and was marginally interested in the intercept business but liked the politicals better [There you go KW not everyone was cribbing about you].
Dave retired in June and although known to PLondon for many years it is not likely our paths will cross regularly. So, yes, Dave does exist.
As is typical having written about our paths not crossing PLondon was accosted by the very man at 0558 02/08 who was making his way to Goodwood. Old times and discussions – Dave took the time to point out the Daily Mail headline of the day that summed up Tony Blair’s lifestyle with that of our soldiers who are being killed with some regularity in Afghanistan and Iraq . The population of Britain didn’t want either of these wars [against terror and US orchestrated] and Blair it seems enjoys the life of a statesman whilst our troops are wasted in the sand and shite of two countries where we shouldn’t be, except for the whim of Mr Bush and pet. [Thanks Dave – don’t forget to give me a ring re the item we discussed].
Thanks to E we are aware of the use of the Friends Reunited by spies who use sophisticated trawling programs to seek and assess others. The Sunday Times dated 06/08 carried the story ‘Spies trawl Friends Reunited for terror whispers.’ Its worth a download.
We’ve held this over waiting for the series to return but it looks like a pulling of series:
PLondon received a phone call from DoK to remind him that our sometime Eastender Grant Mitchell, sometime thug, sometime bar staff and possible Neanderthal bros of Phil Mitchell had once again put his papers up and joined the SAS for five weeks. Derek also reminded Paul that a certain newspaper had stated that Ultimate force was known as ‘Ultimate farce’ amongst those who know about such things. Paul laughed and Derek reminded him that E2k had been referring to it as Ultimate farce since the show had begun.
The first 2 hour stretch on 29/04 was titled ‘The Changing of the Guard’.
In this rip-roaring episode Red Troop are sent to a former Soviet state where a ruthless group kidnaps the young daughters of a newly arrived diplomat.
Not only that but Henno ‘Grant – can I talk freely Boss’ Garvie loses his control over the Troop as they are joined by a Rupert, who takes sole control - Captain Patrick Fleming. [Any relation to Bob ‘cough’ Fleming one must ask]. There’s also a Scot, Trooper Finn Younger, who is a trained sniper who also joins them.
To ruthlessly paraphrase the story; Henno doesn’t like the Rupert; his trusty troop expect Henno to get shot of him soonest. In the plane Finn boasts he can take a bloke out with a single shot at 1000M and is also disliked – he’s not one of us. Whilst enroute to a training mission with GSG-9 [German equivalent] in a Hercules the two daughters of diplomat are captured by what appear to be Spetsnaz troops. Our fearless Red Troop parachute in from the Herc on static line. [Just think the makers could have lost half hour if a HALO jump was shown]. You even get to see Henno touchdown. Mind you, he hasn’t actually jumped – plainly obvious a crane or winch is in use. He was going so slow that he didn’t have to fall over to break the fall– but he did and probably out of boredom!
Once on the plot Capt Rupert Fleming – cough cough – leaves Henno behind to look after the fort whilst they track the girls and their captors. Luckily the diplomat has given one of the girls his – wait for this one – diplomatic watch. Not only does it tell the time and have more dials than the flight deck of Concorde but it has a GPS enabled device to allow easy tracking via a laptop under Henno’s care as he gets left behind.
Whilst in base camp Henno discovers a traitor whilst the others, aided by the girls diplomat father [what twaddle that was – such LOB it made the diplomatic watch and Star Trek suddenly feasible] track the girls and their captors overcoming claymore mines and at a later stage a sniper. Enter Finn; sets up, has a spot around, sees Ruski sniper and pops a round off. ‘Just like Saving Private Ryan’ the shooting Scot’s aim is so good the round hits the sniperscope but instead of carrying on through the Ruski’s skull it bounces off causing a flesh wound.[It’s Labour cut backs, we’re buying curry puffs again].
Finally at a convenient point, right across the Russian border the remaining girl [the other having been previously wounded and sent back to base in Tpr Dave Woolstons capable hands] is driven away in a red Lada hastily chased by our fearless SAS troop on foot. Tpr Finn takes time to shoot out the tyres of the Lada, stopping it dead. Then climbing to higher ground he takes out the remaining hostage taker – one round. Good shot Finn, now you’re accepted into the Troop along with the Rupert. Noteable twaddle was the Diplomatic watch and personal comms working on 2.4GHz but which allow worldwide comms.
Nearly forgot to say; there was a traitor. He was discovered by Henno with the help of Dave Woolston. After experiencing a little audio feedback whilst he was on his Thuraya sat Phone to the hostage captors the game is up. [Always happened in the van that – calling for assistance or giving commentary and the bloody Storno’s fed back]. He was in the latrine when this happened and cut his way out through the sight screen. Knife, sharp, Hessian Screen, cutting for the use of!
He is caught by Henno on a motorbike and made to talk after an initial one sided interview with Mr Browning [I thought it was a Glock] and a discharge into the thigh. Of course the Ruski traitor spills the beans on threat of becoming a 9mm gelding. When the man’s CO comes to find out what’s what he is met by Colonel Dempsey [last seen in BBC ‘s Holby City being given a little euthanasia by his wife]. “You’ve got a traitor here,” he says, “Our Henno’s been doing a bit of housekeeping for you!”
The Russian Colonel states in a well fake accent, “He says you tried to shoot his manhood off;” to which our hardened pub landlord replies, “I missed, I’m not very good with small targets.” Episode ends with Finn Younger and the Rupert being accepted. Good leadership and s good single shot slotting. Diplomatic watch my arse! [“Get on to Cheltenham and have them activate the tracker will you?”].
Second episode is called ‘Charlie Bravo’
Red Troop must train a hapless group of Colombian soldiers in time to attack a cocaine facility – as in McNab’s ‘Immediate Action’. The difference is this lot has no special skills – as one of Red Troop states, ‘More like Special Needs.’ Another memorable mention of their capabilities was, “They couldn’t mount sheep let alone an operation!”
After a good firefight with the enemy, SSSSS my arse!, the enemy are quashed and we discover the troops are so piss-poor because the Colombian Authorities want them and the SAS wiped out to add weight for a call for more money from the Americans. By way of comment Crossroads ‘Benny’ [Paul Henry] wouldn’t have looked out of place amongst this bunch of military retards.
Anyway sooner than see this bunch of no hopers die our heroes go and sort out the enemy with a mescaline besotted Louis to make things even more interesting [it didn’t].
All’s well that ends well and our troopers come back in one piece in time to reveal the traitor and the fact that he wants the dosh.
There was also a romantic interlude between the lone female SAS trooper ‘Becca’ and Sniper Finn in the Rupert’s hotel room.
After, we see Finn being systematically worked over – should I say squeezed into submission – for lying to Becca that he was leaving the Troop. Remember readers, “Vigilant at all times.”
After these episodes PLondon and a few of his old cronies said they thought the jungle scenes were filmed at a certain training area in Norfolk – it was the tree trunks that did it for them. However, we have received information the actual filming was done in Windsor, home to HRH Queen and only just around the corner from her castle. Imagine the security alert a speedboat sailing round a bend full to the brim the a dozen thesbian mercenaries armed to the teeth would have caused.
Episode 3 did not appear as hoped on 13/05 and gave way to some crap from a geezer called Denis Norden – like just about all progs on TV it was not interesting, not informative and in the words of Pete the Chippy, ‘A right load of crap for the mental munters and mindless morons’.The next week 20/05 the slot was filled with a veritable load of crap: Eurovision Song Contest 2006 and the Prince’s Trust 30th Birthday – Live [and who really wants to know about this fund raising time waster]? Well we have waited patiently for any episodes and it looks like its been pulled – bloody shame it was, at least, entertaining rubbish.31st July 2006.
[When we were in ‘ Norfolk’ our Sgt let off a thunderflash or three. Pity that because he set a load of pine needles or whatever they were alight. ‘I’d bet he can remember Maidment’s advice today, “I wouldn’t throw those about Sarge its tinder dry here.” “Shut up Maidment!” Wonder what the Fire Brigade wallahs thought – wonder what their report stated? We can’t seriously name the aforesaid hapless sarge either, it wouldn’t be right, would it Mr Sholes…………… Ooops sorry Sarge, no harm done eh]!
Afghanistan, not tamed in the 18th Century, not tamed by the Russians who might or might not have been kicked out by the Mujahudeen and which now causes the forces of the UK and US no small problems.
British Army Chiefs have asked for more equipment and the media reports a ‘blank cheque’ from Tony Bliar.
On the other hand the CIA closes ‘Alec Station’ by disbanding its personnel. The reason being that al Qaida is not as hierarchical as it once was.
Its analysts have been reassigned within the CIA Counter-terrorist Centre [Thank God – I feel much safer already]! Alec Station? Forgot to say, it was charged with looking for Osama bin Laden and his senior lieutenants.
As we ready to go to press there have been a number of reports concerning the wasting of British Soldiers’ [plural here] lives. RIP blokes.
Police arrested a director of Italy 's military intelligence agency on Wednesday on suspicion of helping the CIA in the alleged kidnapping of a terrorism suspect in Milan, judicial sources said.
It is the first Italian official has been linked to the 2003 abduction of Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr, also known as Abu Omar. Nasr says he was flown to Egypt and tortured.
An Italian court has issued arrest warrants for 22 suspected U.S. agents over the abduction, but no Italians had been sought until now.
[AnonI - thanks]
As has been covered before there is a big clearout and refurbishment going on in the old Iraqi Embassy; the latest occurring on 11/07.
Two or three lorryloads of unwanted contents, desks, chairs, seats and other like bits and bobs, including a single bed and mattress left the site. Not surprisingly SiH managed to pass the site after being alerted by PLondon.
The stuff in the image was taken from the communications room – there was a punched tape inserted in the tty and the item on the right was of Olivetti manufacture. Both keyboards had English characters and SiH got into conversation with the senior bloke there, a Christian Iraqi.
The way the devices were used for Arabic was by the placing of a specially prepared mat with Arabic Characters. These are easily available to anyone who wished to purchase. With a PC all one would have to do would be to load the relevent alphabet for just about any language. SiH asked headbloke when they expected the new Embassy to open but the bloke stated that he was not sure the building was going to be an Embassy ever again.
What was interesting was the sign that SiH had photographed in the mews behind stating about the required use of a main entrance there stated that the building was indeed going to become the Iraqi Embasy again – if not why bother upsetting those awfully nice Mews folk about an enterance there?
Whilst all this clearing away was going on SiH contacted PLondon [via the 446 discrete channel] to give some detail of a Diplomatic car, whose occupant was also paying casual attention – or not. The car was from the Israel Embassy [187D nnn] and it was obvious the driver was actually waiting for someone from a nearby hotel! [SiH get a life…]
Workers at the new GCHQ building near Cheltenham are apparently forced to share desks after a massive recruitment drive. Since the bombings on 7th July, 2005 and additional 1200 staff have been recruited making the staff numbers rise above the design figure of 4000 persons.
HMG is attempting to block a C4 TV prog which details how to tackle the threat of radical Islam [Is there a threat]? Wonder if they replaced it with some intro to Islam by Peaches Geldoff………………?
Did you know that MI5 has secret dossiers on one in 160 adults! Cor! A new status symbol to claim in the local Stabroks – ‘Did you know I have a 70 page file in the Registry?’ ‘Only 70, I have one open in D4 and a copy has been sent to ***** ******* House too!’ ‘Wow, I do wish I was as popular as you.
272000 individuals actually have files held on them. That could be me, you or any E2k member – what station have you been reporting lately? Shami Chakrabati says ‘We need to be sure that MI5 officers are not keeping files just for the sake of it, Resources should be concentrated on gathering information on those who pose a real threat to the country.’ Bet they’ve got a massive one on her and the other well known Human Rights lawyers in the face of the public. Intelligence expert Ruper Allason [Nigel West] believes information should never be thrown away. The Home Office was, of course, unable to comment.
Mind you events in the last month have proven that MI5 [and MI6 and GCHQ] are still the mutts nuts at the business – and who really cares if they have a file at Squirrel HQ?
According to ‘The People’ – wait for it – terror moguls planned to strike at Princes Charles, Andrew and Edward and Camilla. These evil men were thwarted when an elite squad of MI5 agents and anti-terror cops prevented ‘the bloodbath’ when they swooped on a suspected killer as he arrived in Britain recently. Apparently the British born Muslim man was carrying a suitcase believed to have contained equipment for making explosives and anthrax bombs. [Perhaps the B&Q Home bacillus anthracis weaponisation kit]. Computer equipment was also seized along with maps of their homes. If the PC’s were running Win98OS then they’re looking for trouble anyway ‘cause Mr Gates has stopped support for anything below Win2000 – includes ME [pretty useless].. Updates and downloads available until July 2007.
Anyway, the Job have this bloke banged up safe as they reckon he is linked to the very heart of the al-Qaeda terror network.
There I was mixing with the hoypolloy when a message came through that the UN post in Beirut had been mobbed by Lebanese who were more than a little pissed off with being bombed by Israel . [No! We are not going to comment on Israel’s actions, Hezbollah, Hamas, The Irgun or the Stern Gang, hangings in the Orange Grove, the bombing of the King David Hotel and the loss of 91 lives, nor make any comparison of the IRA and a like bombing campaign by the RAF on Northern Ireland. This is not the place for this and there will be no discussion on the many lives of innocents that are being taken by Israeli actions to suppress rocket firing. No mention either of the bigotry of the US which sends Condoleeza ‘what a handle’ Rice to chip a ceasefire agreement sometime in the future after Israel’s done its stuff whilst it sends HAZMAT transport via a Prestwick refuel stop and Mr Bliar suddenly realises the nation of Britain are fed-up with his shambles as he backs America. In the words of George Galloway ‘Israel is doing America’s will’. No discussion here].
The person I was speaking to was an ex-head of that Beirut mission. On mention of this he said it was not the first time there had been boisterous behaviour at the Mission and that the unit had a direct line to Tel Aviv [transmitter hidden in a well known area] for immediate exfiltration should it be necessary. What was surprising was his take on Bush and Bliar – four words used by him spring to mind, ‘Master, Footstool, Poodle and Puppet’.
“One describes Bush, the rest Bliar” my associate stated. This man is no fool, he knows what he is talking about and then rounded his statement off with, “Every seriously thinking American knows this”.
Then I was introduced to a female American student – English Literature – ‘Whose English’ was the question I asked and she replied, ‘English?’
So then I aksed whose literature and she replied English and American. Well the ‘Catcher in the Rye’ was brought up. She absolutely lauded Salinger’s apparent masterpiece as a novel about a boy coming of age. Not very interested when yours truly said it was the most boring piece of rubbish he had read, qualifying that with its monotonal style of writing leading to a less than interesting train ride and a few other non-events.
Then our erstwhile student asked me when I had been to America – ‘Never!’ I proudly announced and she stated that ‘Everyone goes to America’. ‘Not so’ says I, “No intention of being photographed, fingerprinted and treated like a criminal when I enter the US ; nor will I knowingly put any of my money into US commerce”. She didn’t know what others have to go through to get into the US and she wasn’t aware that many of her countrymen [note I never used the term ‘septics’ J] travel as Canadians to avoid confrontation. She asked what my interests were and when I elucidated on my ‘radio’ interest she suddenly became very interested and asked some in-depth questions.
I lately found out that Air New Zealand’s profits are down 47% - they fly via the US . I must admit to wondering if persons are vying for the Far East route to avoid the stupid fingerprinting and other data collection on setting foot on US soil?
[If you think the meeting with this bloke was interesting PLondon can for once better it……when in Guyana recently he met Mr Bharrat Jagdeo.
Who? I hear you ask. Mr Jagdeo is the President of Guyana; his party, PPP was again voted into power on the 28th August with the end figures accepted [surprisingly] by the main opposition PNCR-1G. It is worth noting that the election proceeded well and without the usual mass off problems – although there was the odd incident reported. All things in Guyana are done on Ethnic lines and this is still reflected in the statistical analysis of the voting figures; without pre and post election problems one hopes the electorate will vote politically rather than ethnically as the Republic grows. PLondon was lifting water when the President’s motorcade stopped, no doubt to tell the affected viallgers that their defunct well was going to be replaced by a new well, to be sunk within a month. PLondon was amused to hear Mr Jagdeo address his sister in law (PLondon is one of four ‘Surabhai’) as Comrade, a term which reflected on the far left orientated government of Linden Forbes Samson Burnham and which ended when LFSB died. His body is entombed in the Botanical Gardens, Georgetown and in 1991 PLondon heard an Afro-Guyanese refer to Burnham’s death as the dorrway to a better life. Interesting because Burnham caused untold damage to Guyana, once the Jewel in the Crown of the Carribean Commonwealth countries, and certainly brought about the seething divide between the two main ethnic divides of a country that boasts six races in the motto under its national coat of arms. Blimey! I could get a degree on political analysis for stuff like this].
Whilst out and about I had a rather interesting conversation in Budapest with a Lebanese born lady. She mentioned her origins and when meeting her the next day I did so in Arabic – impressed? Not Half! Anyway over drinks the conversation came around to Hezbollah and the lady mentioned the Hezbollah organisation is a very secret one, where wives and brothers would not know if their relative was a member. One member is apparently not necessarily known to the other but the organisation has a glut of funding.
I asked about communication – viz E25 style – and the lady, who stated she knew little of radio, said that wireless use was more than likely since it would not allow a trace to made via records held.
Another member of the group stated that target cars were pinpointed by the Israeli’s use of radioactive powder in the same manner in which the STASI followed targets around E Germany. Just for info you understand……………………
Army wives get phone death threats from Iraq [Daily Telegraph]
By Sean Rayment, Defence Correspondent
(Filed: 25/06/2006)
Wives and family members of soldiers fighting in Iraq have received telephone calls, believed to include death threats, from insurgents, according to military documents seen by The Sunday Telegraph.
The "nuisance" calls have been made with increasing frequency over the past few weeks after insurgents managed to obtain home numbers from soldiers' mobile telephones.
The growing number of calls has led to an investigation by the Royal Military Police, which has issued a warning to all soldiers in Iraq to take great care when using mobile telephones to call home.
The extent of the problem emerged in a restricted Army document issued to soldiers of the London Regiment, a Territorial Army unit, which has soldiers from its ranks serving in Iraq .
The document warns soldiers preparing to take part in operations that insurgents in southern Iraq have managed to obtain the home telephone numbers of soldiers by using electronic intercept devices to hack into mobile phone systems.
It is understood that the threats range from claims that a husband or son is dead or will be killed fighting in Iraq , to verbal abuse. Many of those who have received calls say that they were made by people with a poor command of English or with a Middle Eastern accent.
The military document states that there have been "many instances in the last weeks of relatives and friends of personnel serving abroad on operations getting nuisance phone calls" from Iraq .
It adds: "Investigations indicate that the 'callers' of these nuisance calls have acquired the numbers from personnel using their own mobiles to phone. This is fairly easy using today's technology. It makes no difference whether the mobile is of UK origin or sourced abroad.
The MoD is keen to establish the extent of these nuisance calls, to determine whether there is a pattern to them. All ranks are to be aware of the possibility of receiving nuisance calls if using mobiles to phone home."
Since the start of the war in Iraq , a number of high profile soldiers are believed to have received death threats from opponents of the war.
Cpl Mark Byles, who won the Military Cross in 2004 after leading members of the 1st Bn of the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment in a bayonet charge, received a death threat after his story appeared in the press. Abu Baker Mansha was later sentenced to eight years imprisonment for plotting to kill the soldier.
The Ministry of Defence confirmed that families of soldiers serving in Iraq had received "nuisance calls", including people calling the homes of soldiers from Iraq then hanging up.
The spokesman said: "We would not describe this as sinister. We have no evidence of anyone receiving any death threats".
On 12th July E2k received an email concerning the splendid two part article penned by HJH 'The Smokey Dragon' which can be found in Issues 24 & 25.
We show the emails below:
12/07
Oh dear - this article on Mac and other items is so bad and iunnacurate- have you acctually researched or plucked your info from moonbeams?
http://www.cvni.net/radio/e2k/e2k025/e2k25article.html
bad journalism is no sub for the truth
a phillips
13/07
Hello Mr Phillips
The article was written by one who was involved on the periphery.
Perhaps you would care to offer an informed update after you state your qualification?
Regards
Paul
14/07
Hello Paul, I was researching different aspects of the Abergele incident for my website www.balchdercymru.com
and came accros it. I happen to know some of the former FWA, Patriotic Front and Mac members and am aware of the story. It is commonly believed that the target for the Abergele bomb was the Train tracks. The real target however was the government buildings in Abergele. the following needs correcting-
"MAC also placed a device in a left luggage locker at Queen Street Railway Station, Cardiff. This IED was one of the first described to me, during my police service, as being a classic in the "how not to do it" training course. A senior detective, long retired and now sadly deceased and who shall remain nameless, save for the hint that he had a slight speech impediment. [Caused by being shot in the mouth by a man he arrested and whom he did not search diligently enough]. Our readers have no doubt guessed what this officer's next actions were on being shown the suspect bag in the locker. He proceeded to open it, being a paid up member of the "it can't happen here!" school of thought. Fortunately, on seeing the wires and a battery, he stopped and closed the bag. The comments of the Army armament technical officer [ATO] who attended are not recorded, but he was quoted as saying, amongst other things, that had the bag been fully opened the railway station and certainly all of the police officers would have been destroyed."
A Sheffield university student - Robert william Trigg was responsible and he later in court claimed it had been intended as a hoax
You can find most of the information from Roy Clews book - To dream of freedom first published 1980 and revised in 2001
regards
adam
Hello Adam
With your permission I'll send this down to the author for him to view and put right when able.
Interesting this event is still being researched -- you have no doubt seen the rest of the newsletter from which you drew the 'offending' piece and you can see that our expertise actually lies with the interception of clandestine messages.
Regards
Paul
HJH was unable to make comment due to PC problems but has now made his reply:
As regards the queries raised by your corespondent, NONE OF THIS RESPONSE SHOULD BE CONSTRUED AS AN APOLOGY!!!:
- The arrest and conviction for (sic) "Being a male person did persistently importune for an immoral purpose in a public place" of JBJ is now a matter of historical fact and record. Neither of us can re write history, much as we would all wish to.
- As a member of the South Wales Police at the material time, I DO know what I am talking about. It is a matter of historical record, NOT a slur on a now deceased person who can no longer speak in his own defence, and I would never make such a slur.
- The Queen Street Station bomb is currently appearing in a text book on IEDs used by the Aviation Authority used for instructional purposes, and YES I have seen a copy.(If that was intended as a joke, it stretches even MY warped sense of humour!)
As far as political correctness goes, I care no more for that than the passing of Adolf Hitler!
No insult or slur is intended, but no appologies are offered if such is taken. The truth, as I have found to my cost, cares nothing for human feelings and frailities.
As you rightly pointed out Paul, Army and Police service do tend to mould one, and I make NO apologies for my feelings past or present. (Age could have something to do with it as well!!!)
Thanks HJH
[I agree with that last sentiment HJH, the acquired skills come in handy too].
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