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The Fine Line Between Listening and Eavesdropping

During the Middle Ages, eavesdropping was illegal in England, but overheard conversations could be used as evidence in court. Today, the internet, cell phones and reality TV make it difficult not to pry into the conversations and private lives of friends or strangers. In a new book, linguistics professor John Locke argues that eavesdropping is actually a good thing. Prying has helped humans stay away from danger, find food, identify mate mates, and assured us that we are not alone. (New Hampshire Public Radio audio report)

By on 10/11/2010

This Week in Spy News

Real Life
• The Georgian special services arrested 15 people today accused of spying for Russia. (more)
• The highest-ranking CIA officer ever convicted of espionage was expected to plead guilty to additional charges that he tried to collect money from old contacts in Russia while in prison, a newspaper reported Thursday. (more)
• Freed U.S. hiker Sarah Shourd says she doesn’t know if she’ll return to Iran to face espionage charges with her two companions still held in prison there. (more)
• Authorities in Norway have launched an investigation into whether the United States conducted illegal surveillance in the Nordic country, the Ministry of Justice told CNN Thursday. (more)
• Officials of the US embassy in Copenhagen may be illegally collecting data about Danish citizens, they find suspicious, the Politiken newspaper reports. (more)
• Taiwan got another spy shock recently when they arrested two men who were spying for China. The shock part came from the fact that one of the men, Lo Chi Cheng was an army colonel. The other was an unnamed Taiwanese businessman who had business in China and spied on China. Then came another shock. The other guy was really a double agent, who had recruited the colonel, who obtained classified information that was then delivered to China. (more)
• Northrop Grumman’s ginormous experimental spying blimp is progressing rapidly… The Army awarded Northrop a $517 million contract in June to develop a trio of unmanned, seven-story, football-field sized mega-blimps called Long Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicles. If successful, the blimp will stay in the air for up to three weeks at a time, using 2500 pounds’ worth of “sensors, antennas, data links and signals intelligence equipment” to capture still and video images of civilians and adversaries below and send the pictures to troops’ bases. (more)
Art Imitates Real Life
• Though based on a true story with a well-known outcome, Doug Liman’s “Fair Game” is as suspenseful as any fictional thriller — and considerably more tragic. Based-in-truth thriller about CIA spy Valerie Plame. With Naomi Watts, Sean Penn. Director: Doug Liman (1:44). PG-13: Language. At area theaters. (more) (trailer)
• NBC is scrapping J.J. Abrams’ spy series “Undercovers…” …middling reviews and declining ratings made the show increasingly destined for the chopping block. Wednesday night’s airing delivered only 5.8 million viewers. Three more episodes will air in the coming weeks. (more)
• Like Aaron Eckhart? Spy dramas? Then perhaps you’ll like THE EXPATRIATE. Former Bat villain Aaron Eckhart (THE RUM DIARY, RABBIT HOLE) has been cast as an ex-CIA agent in the spy drama from German director Philipp Stölzl (NORTH FACE, BABY) and newcomer scribe A.E. Amel. xists, his coworkers are gone, and his assistant is really a trained operative out to kill him. Production begins next year Belgium and Montreal. (more)

By on 07/11/2010

Don’t tell Mrs. Quaid. It will just upset her.

John McTiernan, director of the movie “Die Hard,” was sentenced to one year in prison for lying about his association with a private investigator, Anthony Pellicano, to illegally wiretap a movie producer. (more)

By on 02/11/2010

"Used car… or ‘copter, Mr. Bond?"

Three James Bond sports cars – and one helicopter – will be auctioned Oct. 27 at RM Auctions’ Automobiles of London sale at the Battersea Evolution arena.
The highlight of the lot is a 1964 Aston Martin DB5 driven by Sean Connery in “Goldfinger”. There’s also the green 1998 Jaguar XKR driven by the villain ‘Zao’ in “Die Another Day” and the 1969 Lamborghini Islero GTS driven by Sir Roger Moore in “The Man Who Haunted Himself”.

The helicopter at stake is a 1960 Hiller UH -12 E4, which was flown by actress Honor Blackman in her role as Pussy Galore. (Its first time on film was for a 1963 movie called “The VIPs”, which starred Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.) RM says the chopper will likely go for nearly £400,000. (moore, Roger Moore)

By on 13/10/2010

Time to Recycle the Quote of the Century

“The growing use of the electric automobile, with its many advantages of simplicity, ease of operation and noiselessness, has resulted in a demand for some means of conveniently charging the batteries.” — GE Bulletin No. 4772, September 1910.

By on 13/10/2010