8th Raleigh Spy Conference August 22-24

Dramatic Revelations: Castro, J. Edgar Hoover, Deep Throat, CIA Secrets From the Deep and the New Profile of Today’s Terrorist Fidel Castro had foreknowledge of the JFK assassination.

Who was the real J Edgar Hoover? Deep Throat's motives were not what the public thought. How did the CIA scoop a satellite 12,000 below the sea? What is the new profile of today's terrorist? These are the topics for the 8th Raleigh Spy Conference August 22-24 at the NC Museum of History, presented by top experts drawing on the latest in declassified information. And the public is invited to learn and ask question and get to know each speaker personally... 

The Raleigh Spy Conference was founded in 2003 by magazine editor and publisher Bernie Reeves to address the increasing flow of declassified information available since the end of the Cold War. The Raleigh Spy Conference is recognized as the top intelligence conference specifically for the lay public by the Association of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO). Three of the six conferences have been filmed and aired on C-SPAN. (more) (video)

"World domination. The same old dream. Our asylums are full of people who think they're Napoleon. Or God." - James Bond

NV - A Las Vegas tour company has launched a three-day, two-person Las Vegas bonding experience — as in James Bond.

The “Secret Agent 702” tour gives couples a chance to live the adventures of a spy, from soaring in helicopters to driving fast cars to zipping down wire cables.

The cost of being a secret agent: $6,800 for two people.

The package was developed by the Papillon Group, a Southern Nevada air tour operator that offers flights over the Strip, Hoover Dam and southwestern national parks. The tour company is partnering with Andre’s Restaurant and Lounge at the Monte Carlo, the Bank Nightclub at Bellagio, Dream Racing at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Flightlinez at Bootleg Canyon, the Light Group and Hotel32.

Secret Agent 702 “transforms mild-mannered Las Vegas visitors into sexy spies looking for the thrill of a lifetime,” company officials said in a release. (more)

CIA Launches New Museum Gallery

The Central Intelligence Agency launched an enhanced and redesigned online gallery to highlight the Agency’s museum and its holdings.

The enhanced museum virtual gallery provides new content and a fresh look at exhibits few members of the public get the chance to see because they are located at our headquarters compound.

 

The online exhibit shares how some technologies developed for CIA ultimately benefited the public. For example, battery-technology advances led to new and efficient means to power medical devices and consumer goods—like pacemakers and digital cameras—and technology developed to help analyze satellite imagery now aids radiologists in comparing digital x-ray images for the detection of breast cancer. (more)

Mobile users can see the new museum pages here.

Out of Bond - Spy Movie Web Site Just Launched

 via spymaniac.com...
"Spymaniac.com, the ultimate online guide to all your favorite spy flicks. 

What’s fact, what’s fiction? History or fantasy? Which are the best spy films and why? The outrageous duds? Did the James Bond movies have any impact on real life? And would Angelina Jolie’s Evelyn Salt have learned all those stunts at the Farm?

Get answers to these and other questions here. Share your faves and reviews on Spymaniac.com, and discover great films you may never have heard about. Spymaniac is your community for exploring and sharing spy films, which are rated from zero daggers (worst) to five daggers (best)." (more)

"Spy, the Secret World of Espionage" Now open in NYC

The mysterious cloak and dagger world of international espionage and its real-life heros and villains are exposed in a new exhibition, the first to be sanctioned by U.S. intelligence agencies. 

"Spy, the Secret World of Espionage," which opens at the Discovery Times Square on Friday, includes hundreds of artifacts, some from the vaults of the CIA and FBI and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).

They range from a World War Two-era collapsible motorbike that could be dropped by parachute and deployed in 10 seconds and a German ENIGMA machine to create secret messages to a camel saddle used by one of the first CIA agents in Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks to bugging devices, microdots and surveillance equipment.

"This is the first and only time these items will ever travel. It is kind of an unparalleled cooperation and collaboration with the CIA and FBI," said H. Keith Melton, author, intelligence historian and expert on spy technology who contributed items from his own collection. (more)

Spook Summer School Saturday

Spy School — a Tampa Bay History Center program specially designed for teens — will instruct youngsters about surveillance, information gathering and disguise

Agents and experts will teach children ages 12 to 18, offering tips on how to enter the espionage career field.

The program costs $60 per student but history center members get a $5 discount. Spy School begins Saturday and offers a guided tour with curator Rodney Kite-Powell.

The Tampa Bay area might not seem like an obvious spy hub. But many retired FBI, CIA and military members live in the area, and one of the nation's more high-profile spy court cases unfolded in 2001 in a U.S. District Court in Tampa. Also, United States Special Operations Command is based in Tampa.

For information on Spy School, call (813) 675-8960 or email Jennifer Tyson, the center's assistant curator of education, at jtyson @tampabayhistorycenter .org. (more)

P.S. This is part of the International Spy Museum's traveling road show, "Spies, Traitors, Saboteurs: Fear and Freedom in America." One of the show's features are historical artifacts on loan from Murray Associates / Spybusters, LLC; an APL Badge and ID Card (1917) carried by operatives of the American Protective League (APL) who spied on their fellow Americans on behalf of the U.S. Justice Department during World War I. (see them here)

Send your Kids to Camp this Summer... Spy Camp

 This isn’t your ordinary day camp—this is Spy Camp!

Somewhere deep inside the International Spy Museum in Washington DC is an elite group of 10-13 year old recruits, lurking in the shadows, preparing to take on top secret missions. No one really knows who they are, or for that matter, what they’re really up to. Now it’s your turn to join their ranks. 

Each day at Spy Camp is filled with top secret briefings and activities that will put spy skills and street smarts to the test. Aspiring KidSpy recruits will hone their tradecraft, learn from real spies, and hit the streets to run training missions. Develop a disguise for cover, make and break codes, discover escape and evasion techniques, create and use spy gadgets, uncover the science behind spying—all of this and more awaits young recruits! (Secret Briefing)