Australia - The Federal Government agency Emergency Management Australia said it had a number of contingency plans in place if the craft, which contains dangerous materials, failed to fully burn on re-entry and hit Australia. ...
"It's expected to land somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, and that's a big space," Ms Joseph said. "Mind you, Skylab was supposed to land in the ocean." The 78-tonne US space station's crash to earth in 1979 spread debris across the south of Western Australia. The Shire of Esperance slapped the US Government with a $400 fine for littering. (more)
Jay Mariotti of the Chicago Sun-Times kicks off...
Patriots: Just another American phony?
In our tangled world, is perfection even possible without a stain? Is anything believable, from airbrushed models to corrupted CEOs to the $125 Kobe steak flown in this morning from Japan? When we want to celebrate absolute flawlessness, won't there always be a zit on Jessica Alba's face, a tee-shot shank by Tiger Woods, a dent on the door of a Pagani Zonda Roadster?
This should be a singular night in history, the coronation of the New England Patriots as pro football's first 19-0 champion, which would further confirm them as an all-time American dynasty if not for a recurring problem. We're not sure if they've been honest about their business, making this the potential Enron of sports if all the gathering dirt doesn't come out in the eventual wash.
On the eve of what presumably was an unprecedented Super Bowl story line, new allegations surfaced about the Patriots and their illegal methods of gaining competitive edges via covert videotaping operations. You thought Snoop Dogg Belichick and his video spies cheated only once, last September? Turns out, according to a report in the Boston Herald, that the episode might have been merely Son of Spygate. (more)
The Boston Herald reported Saturday that the Patriots taped the Rams’ final walkthrough before Super Bowl XXXVI. (more)
Senator wants to know why NFL destroyed Patriots spy tapes
With the Super Bowl fast approaching, a senior Republican senator says he wants the NFL to explain why it destroyed evidence from the New England Patriots cheating scandal.
"I am very concerned about the underlying facts on the taping, the reasons for the judgment on the limited penalties and, most of all, on the inexplicable destruction of the tapes," Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., wrote Thursday in a letter to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. (more, with video)
Forrmer Patriots video assistant hints at team's spying history
(more, with video)
History - September 22, 2007 - A long flash-to-bang.
"The Patriots have fully cooperated and complied with the requirements of the commissioner's decision," the (NFL) statement said. "All tapes, documents and other records relating to this matter were turned over to the league office and destroyed, and the Patriots have certified in writing that no copies or other records exist."
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello wrote that the reason for the destruction was "so that our clubs would know they no longer exist and cannot be used by anyone."
Aiello was also asked if there was evidence of the Patriots using the tactics in their Super Bowl wins. He declined to comment. (more)
From the Security Scrapbook files... (more)
Get the T-shirt.
From the UK Sunday Times...
Question: "Like many sixthformers I have a Facebook account. Some of my friends have created groups which refer to our school; none of these groups is critical of the school. Our teachers spy on us using false profiles and have told us off for creating these groups. Can teachers spy on us and then discipline us for these activities?"
Answer: "Depending on the privacy settings, Facebook groups can be viewed by anyone accessing the site. What you write could in effect be for public consumption. If the comments posted reflect badly on the school, then the head teacher can, education lawyer Jack Rabinowicz tells me, take action to defend the school’s reputation." (more)
UK - There are CCTV cameras everywhere, and we are the most watched nation in Europe.The more cameras that stop street crime, possible terrorist threats and muggers down dark alleyways the better.But what about your local council, bank or tax office bugging your calls or monitoring your emails? How does that make you feel? ...And did you know we had an Interception of Communications Commissioner by the name of Sir Paul Kennedy? (more)
South Korea - A pilotless South Korean spy aircraft crashed Thursday near the border with North Korea and there were no casualties on the ground, the South Korean military said. The aircraft from the 5th South Korean Army Corps went down near a factory in Pocheon, about 25 kilometers (15 miles) south of the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, shortly after it took off for a regular mission...
Some windows of the factory were broken but no one was injured on the ground.
The aircraft type was not immediately known, but Yonhap news agency said it was believed to be the locally developed RQ-101, which is 4.8 meters (16 feet) long and weighs 250 kilograms (551 pounds).
The US Treasury said Wednesday it had blacklisted the chief of Zimbabwe's Central Intelligence Organization and a nephew of Robert Mugabe, the African state's president.
The Treasury identified Zimbabwe's spy chief as Happyton Bonyongwe in a statement which also announced that Leo Mugabe, a nephew of the country's president, would also be subjected to targeted US financial sanctions.
"The US financial system is closed to Robert Mugabe, his cohorts and their businesses," said Treasury official Adam Szubin, who runs the department's Office of Foreign Assets Control. (more)
Anywhere it wants to! (rim-shot)
Did 'ya hear about the 'American Fallen-Idol' star?
It never made it to the Heavy Metal Band! (rim-shot)
How about 'The Spy Who Slagged Me?' (rim-shot)
The U.S. military is developing plans to deal with the possibility that a spy satellite expected to fall to Earth in late February or early March could hit North America. (Ok, I'll stop the jokes.)
Air Force Gen. Gene Renuart, head of the U.S. Northern Command, said Tuesday that the size of the satellite suggested some pieces would not burn up as the orbiting vehicle re-enters the Earth’s atmosphere and would hit the ground.
A U.S. official confirmed that the spy satellite, which has lost power and no longer can be controlled, was launched in December 2006 and could weigh as much as 10,000 pounds. (more) (video report)
Stay tuned for more news about the final ride of US 193 / NORAD ID: 29651.
Naaaahhh,
just kidding.
...or, maybe not?Duncan Wilson is a designer. He describes his invention this way..."Every object and surface in our environment has a whisper; subtle tremors and vibrations that are usually undetectable to the human ear, produced by the activity and movement of daily life.
What if these sounds were audible? How would that change our aural awareness, perception of space and attitude towards objects? Would it be possible to ‘compose’ our own soundtrack using our walls and objects as a new form of instruments? Madsounds is a proposal for a different appreciation of our environment, space and objects by making it possible to identify, combine and manipulate these sounds. 
We designed OTTO (Greek for ‘ear’); a device that makes hidden sounds audible. This is achieved via a thin polymer piezoelectric contact that senses weak vibrations and plays them as a sound through an integrated speaker. OTTO can be positioned on almost any surface through a combination of suction and magnets. By placing several units on different objects, one can select and create a new sonic experience and a form of ambient music appreciation, thereby utilising our space as a multidirectional audio platform." (more)
A Florida woman who believed she was about to get fired has been accused of deleting $2.5m worth of computer files to seek revenge on her employer.
Jacksonville Sheriff's officials say Marie Lupe Cooley, 41, used her own account credentials to access the server of Steven E. Hutchins Architects and delete seven years' worth of drawings.
Cooley went on her silent rampage after finding a help-wanted ad placed by her boss. It described an open administrative assistant position that sounded remarkably similar to hers.
As it turned out, the help-wanted ad listed a position available in the office of Hutchins's wife. Cooley's job was never under threat, though it probably is now. (more)
Disgruntled employees also sneak in and plant bugs to find out who will be sacked. When was your last eavesdropping detection inspection?
...from the manufacturer's web site...ChinTAHO TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.
Product Name: Mobile Phone Bidirectional Monitor
Model No.: MO-B-001 手機雙向監聽軟體
1. Not limited to any mobile phone2. Not limited in time3. Instant telephone alarm4. Instant news in brief alarm5. Outlying remote switch6. No record kept back7. Speedy and convenient modification
8. Installs in one minute
(more)
Why do I mention it?
So you know what you're up against.
UK - Britain is in danger of becoming a "surveillance state" as authorities including councils launch bugging operations against 1,000 people a day. ...The report, by Sir Paul Kennedy, the Interception of Communications Commissioner, has fueled fears that Britain is becoming a state where private communications are routinely monitored.It also found that more than 1,000 of the bugging operations were flawed. In some cases, the phones of innocent people were tapped simply because of administrative errors. (more) (+1-407-345-8010)
UK - A private detective who helped to spy on the Jimmy Choo shoe boss Tamara Mellon was jailed for 21 months today.
David Carroll, 60, from Highgate, north London, played a leading role in a City-based agency operation, Active Investigation Services (AIS), which specialised in computer hacking and telephone tapping. ...
Engineers later found that hundreds of made-to-order tapping kits had been installed across the country by a former engineer on the AIS payroll.
The court heard that Carroll's tenure at AIS saw him involved in efforts to spy on a waste management company's critics, tap the phones of a client's wife suspected of having an affair, and target Mrs Mellon.
The company charged £3,000 for phone tapping, itemised line billing was priced at £750 a month, while personal banking information could be bought for £2,000 and confidential medical records for £500. Hacking into a computer was available for £5,000. (more)
Princess Diana thought luxury store owner Mohamed al-Fayed was spying on her during her last voyage on his yacht before she died in a Paris car crash, her sister told the inquest into Diana's death on Monday. ...When asked by lawyer Ian Burnett if Diana had talked about being bugged, Sarah McCorquodale (Diana's sister) said, "She thought the boat was being bugged by Mr al-Fayed Senior." (more)
March 5, 2001 - Russia's Foreign Ministry has demanded details of a secret tunnel allegedly built underneath the Soviet Embassy in Washington for eavesdropping.
Present and former U.S. officials told CNN the tunnel -- under what is now the Russian Embassy -- was built by American intelligence services and packed with millions of dollars worth of sophisticated equipment. (more)
On a rainy day 52 years ago, the cover was blown on one of the biggest espionage plots of the Cold War. Soviet and East German forces announced that they had found a quarter-mile-long tunnel that the CIA had burrowed into East Berlin as part of a massive wiretapping operation.
Though the audacious project had come to a crashing end, news of the discovery generated unrestrained glee across the Atlantic at CIA headquarters. America's spymasters were thrilled by the world's response: admiration for the CIA's daring and technical prowess, and a general assumption that the agency had roundly snookered the Soviets.
The truth was much more complicated. Unbeknownst to the CIA, the Soviets had known about the tunnel all along. (more)
Book: Battleground Berlin: CIA vs. KGB in the Cold War
Jay Mariotti of the Chicago Sun-Times kicks off...
Naaaahhh,
...from the manufacturer's web site...
March 5, 2001 - Russia's Foreign Ministry has demanded details of a secret tunnel allegedly built underneath the Soviet Embassy in Washington for eavesdropping. 
On a rainy day 52 years ago, the cover was blown on one of the biggest espionage plots of the Cold War. Soviet and East German forces announced that they had found a quarter-mile-long tunnel that the CIA had burrowed into East Berlin as part of a massive wiretapping operation.