Americans speak out against telecom immunity, urging Congress to stand up to the Bush administration and stop the spying. A video from People For the American Way and the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Alex hasn’t been himself lately. Now he’s talking on the phone with some chick about Tony Danza and baked ziti

Spy stories

The Spycraft Manual is unique. There has never been a book that reveals the secret tradecraft techniques used by spies the world over. Until now. Intelligence in the field of counter-terrorism is a different and, in many aspects, arduous and dangerous task. The lives of many agents are in continuous danger. The rules of the game are cruel—as moral and ethical considerations are negated by the bullet. There is no honor between rivals on the streets of Beirut or Baghdad—only the most quickwitted survive. A modern spy must blend in, live among the enemy, speak the language, befriend, and exploit the enemy at very opportunity. They are required to be streetwise, rough, tough, and ruthless.

The Spycraft Manual: The Insider’s Guide to Espionage Techniques

What people say about this spying manual:

1. I am writing this primarily as a counter to another poor review that expected more, and said that this was only for children and uninformed adults. How he decided that a real world example given in the book of a British operative seducing an Irish contact and having sex with her repeatedly to mine her for information on local IRA members, or an examination of using sexually compromising situations to recruit sources, or illustrations of how to seriously harm people and set booby traps is for kids is beyond me.

It’s true that this is intended as a introductory work, but it is pretty much spot on. I’ve been trained in some of the methods described in this book and the portrayals are accurate, if a bit simple. There’s a disclaimer early in the book warning that because of legal implications the author could only discuss things that already exist in the public sphere, and gives a bibliography of other private works as well as publically available military works for reference.

After reading this you will not be a secret agent able to HALO jump out of a Big Bird and infiltrate Damascus. You will, however, understand intellectually how it is done and might even have a leg up if you go to an agency or unit that does that kind of thing. This manual is good enough that when I was reading it in a cafe on a military base, (not a secret one) a Combat Diver NCO (read: special operator) in the US Army who happened by did a double take at the book and stopped to ask me about it.

2. well thought out layout and excellent attention to audience lead this book to the top of the pack. Great for anyone not taking 500-level espionage.

Good book for beginners spy The Spycraft Manual: The Insider’s Guide to Espionage Techniques

Should you spy on your cheating husband or wife? You believe you see signs of a cheating spouse. The need to know whether your spouse is cheating and EXACTLY what kind of cheating is taking place is often strong. There are a number of reasons why the drive to spy is powerful. Here are seven:

1. Trust is a big reason, not of your partner, but yourself. Probably for some time you have sensed something is different or questioned the change of behavior in your partner. Perhaps you confronted your cheating husband or cheating wife and it was met with denial. This created a huge dilemma for you because a part of you was screaming, Hey, this doesn’t fit! I don’t believe it! To deny this part of you, which KNOWS the truth, creates a tremendous internal turmoil. If the truth as you suspect it is confirmed, you can take a deep breath and at least know that you can trust yourself. You are NOT CRAZY! Spying is a way to confirm your suspicions and trust more fully your gut feelings.

2. Spying on cheating husbands or cheating wives often helps the person feel connected to the partner who seems to be steadily moving away. It is a way of maintaining contact and having some sort of connection to this stranger who once was well known. Isn’t it like the game of hide-and-seek we used to play as children? Sometimes there, sometimes gone. At least it is a game, and a game is at least some contact, some involvement. You miss the connection and try to find someway to maintain the ties.

3. Spying on a cheating spouse may be an honest attempt to bring resolution to the relationship. You want to know the truth. You sense something does not fit. You suspect there is a breach of something. You want to know what you are up against. You are not willing to stand pat and wait. You are a person of action. You want some sort of movement. You want to get on with the relationship. You want to get on with your life. You know that it is difficult maintaining your sanity when there might be this huge elephant that no one is talking about. You want to know the truth, face the truth, deal with the truth and be free.

4. Cheating husbands or cheating wives often, unfortunately, lead to the demise of marital relationships. If you strongly suspect this to be true for your situation you will want to protect yourself legally. If there is betrayal, lying and deception regarding a third party, other forms of deception may exist financially or in other areas of the relationship. Having “evidence” does have some impact in some court systems. Whether you need to protect yourself legally depends on the kind of affair facing you and the character of your spouse. Please read through my “7 Reasons For an Affair” to determine the situation that faces you. If your spouse is someone who can’t say no, doesn’t want to say no or is acting out rage, please make sure to take protective steps.

5. You may want to protect yourself medically if you suspect you have a cheating husband or wife. You might be concerned about sexually transmitted diseases. Your health may be at stake. And, of course, you need to know. Shame, guilt or self-absorption may be so powerful in your partner that it gets in the way of responsibly informing you of the medical dangers when another partner is sexually brought into your relationship.

6. Seeing signs of a cheating spouse often mean secrets. Secrets are work! There is not much written about the impact of a secret in a relationship, but believe me, in over two decades of working with strained relationships day in and day out, keeping a secret has a powerful impact. It is the proverbial elephant sitting in the room that no one dare talk about. People take extraordinary measures to tip toe around it, but it IS there. Emotionally, you can’t miss it. Secrets are a drain. If the secret persists, its impact is felt in subtle but insidious ways. People become physically ill, sometimes seriously so. People become depressed. People start doing crazy things. Children start acting out, stop achieving, become listless or exhibit a host of other symptoms. Children, or the next generation, often carry the emotional load. You want to spy because you don’t want to live with a secret. You want to discover the truth. You want to feel the freeing power of the exposed secret and the opportunity it offers for healing, resolution, a rich relationship and a productive life.

7. Some of us like drama. Soap opera scenarios and adrenaline based lives are a hallmark of our society. We get juiced or pumped up entering into emotional relational triangles that offer intrigue. Without adrenaline, life seems boring or mundane. Perhaps an unspoken reason for an affair may be to fan the fire? Or, you may spy on your cheating spouse to keep the sense of being alive a part of your life.

Dr. Robert Huizenga, The Infidelity Coach, has helped hundreds of couples over the past two decades heal from the agony of extramarital affairs and survive infidelity. Visit his website at: http://www.break-free-from-the-affair.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dr._Robert_Huizenga

Sometimes a Spy gets Spied!!! Spy shot of me & my bazooka lens

The new Google Maps zoom feature zooms all the way into my living room window. See cat on cat perch.

I’m all for mapping, but this feature literally gives me the shakes. I feel like I need to close all my curtains now. I’m going to look into whether it’s possible for a person to have pictures of their home removed from Google Maps. Meanwhile, I’m happy to show bb readers the photo in the interest of illustrating creepy privacy violations. Heck, the whole world can see him anyway.
Link. Dang, it’s so detailed, I can even see he’s a tabby!

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