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"Code Name Blue Wren: The True Story of America's Most Dangerous Female Spy and the Sister She Betrayed" by Jim Popkin is a book that explores the life of Ana Montes, a spy for Cuba who was convicted and served over twenty years in prison. The author provides a narrative of Montes' background, including her Puerto Rican roots and career in the U.S. Intelligence Community. Montes' motivation for spying was ideological, and she provided information to her Cuban handlers that is believed to have led to an attack in El Salvador. The book also discusses the counterintelligence investigation that eventually led to Montes' capture and conviction. Overall, the book offers insights into the world of espionage and the impact it had on Montes' family and the nation. [Extracted from the article]

Ken Conboy's book, "Spies on the Mekong: CIA Clandestine Operations in Laos," provides a historical account of the CIA's espionage operations in Laos from 1954 to 1975. The book focuses on the CIA's station in Vientiane and its interactions with various Laotian factions during the Vietnam Wars. Conboy's narrative is largely chronological and provides insights into the CIA's successes and failures in Laos. The book also highlights the importance of Laos as a diplomatic and intelligence battleground during the Cold War and sheds light on the careers of prominent CIA officers. Overall, "Spies on the Mekong" offers a well-researched and credible history of the CIA's activities in Laos. [Extracted from the article]

"Sleeper Agent: The Atomic Spy in America Who Got Away" by Ann Hagedorn is a book that tells the story of George Abramovich Koval, an atomic spy for the Soviet Union during World War II. Koval, a Jewish American from Sioux City, Iowa, was recruited by the Soviet intelligence agency, the GRU, and sent back to the United States to gather information on America's atomic secrets. The book explores Koval's background, his time in the United States, and his contributions to the Soviet atomic bomb program. It also discusses the controversy surrounding Koval's actions and the recognition he received from the Russian government. [Extracted from the article]

Scholars are increasingly aware of the ways in which popular culture, particularly spy fiction and film, mediates public understanding of the clandestine world of espionage and intelligence. This article uses the 1954 Petrov Affair as a case study to argue that spy fiction and representations of espionage performed a mediating and framing process for the Australian public during the early Cold War. The events surrounding the defection of Soviet embassy Third Secretary Vladimir Petrov and his wife, Evdokia, to Australia in April 1954 were shocking and unprecedented; with little experience of the extraordinary events beyond the thrilling espionage narratives of popular culture, the Australian media began to frame the event using the familiar formula of spy fiction. By making the “story” of the Petrov Affair a recognisable narrative, rendering the events understandable and the mysteries decipherable, the media transformed Australia’s unsettling involvement in the world of international espionage into entertainment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Great powers use others' territory for spying. Existing work shows that hosts of spying sometimes enjoy high leverage over great powers in exchange for their cooperation. At other times, hosts wield less leverage. Why? This paper points to the quality of intelligence that great powers glean from a host's territory and the availability of alternatives to account for this variation. In U.S. spying on the Soviet Union from Iran, changes in these factors during the 1960s caused Iran's leverage over the United States to increase. U.S. concessions enabled the Shah's excesses. But the United States retained access to extraordinary intelligence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Arabidopsis thaliana glycosyl transferases SPINDLY (SPY) and SECRET AGENT (SEC) modify nuclear and cytosolic proteins with O-linked fucose or O-linked Nacetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc), respectively. O-fucose and O-GlcNAc modifications can occur at the same sites. SPY interacts physically and genetically with GIGANTEA (GI), suggesting that it could be modified by both enzymes. Previously, we found that, when co-expressed in Escherichia coli, SEC modifies GI; however, the modification site was not determined. By analyzing the overlapping sub-fragments of GI, we identified a region that was modified by SEC in E. coli. Modification was undetectable when threonine 829 (T829) was mutated to alanine, while the T834A and T837A mutations reduced the modification, suggesting that T829 was the primary or the only modification site. Mapping using mass spectrometry detected only the modification of T829. Previous studies have shown that the positions modified by SEC in E. coli are modified in planta, suggesting that T829 is O-GlcNAc modified in planta. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since its establishment in the mid-1920s, Latvia’s national security service paid close attention to the country’s Jewish community and its haters among local nationalists. Some Jews were considered a security threat after becoming pro-Soviet communists; others boycotted German goods and defied British anti-Zionist policy, thereby de facto damaging Latvia’s foreign relations. Latvian far-right activists were deemed dangerous not only due to their preparations for an uprising but also because of their readiness to harass Jews, destabilizing the fragile ethnopolitical balance in Latvian society. The work of Latvian secret agents against these threats is described in the current article in unprecedented detail. Evidence suggests that it was quite successful and free of expressions of anti-Semitic sentiment. While preventing Jews from joining the communists and publicly protesting the anti-Jewish behaviour of Berlin and London, the Latvian security service also protected the local Jewish community from possible violent actions of homegrown Nazis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an historic moment in Dutch politics, the entire cabinet left the House of Representatives during a debate due to extreme right politician Thierry Baudet's conspiracy-laden speech. After espousing a variety of conspiratorial claims, Baudet accused the Minister of Finance, Sigrid Kaag, of being a secret agent for a global Deep State since her studies at Oxford. The accusation prompted Kaag and the entire cabinet to exit the chamber. While some MPs defended Baudet's right to speak, others supported the chair's decision to silence him for violating the rules. These events showcase the divisive potential of conspiracy accusations in politics, causing polarised reactions. Our analysis delves into the dynamics of conspiracy accusations, their impact on polarisation, and the role of intended audiences (as opposed to general audiences) in both advancing accusations and shaping responses thereto. We argue that Baudet's tactics aimed at capitalising on the polarisation his accusations generated. We argue further that dismissing conspiracy accusations too hastily can deepen public distrust in elected officials, emphasising the need for caution in handling such claims. Ultimately, we highlight the broader pattern of conspiracy accusations being employed to fuel political polarisation, raising questions about their role in democratic deliberation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most semi-quantum secret sharing protocols are suitable for the application with three participants. Based on the n-level states, a multiparty semi-quantum secret sharing protocol is proposed. Compared with similar protocols, it has the merits as follows. (1) The dealer only needs to prepare the single photon sequence without using any product state or entangle state. (2) To share a secret, the classical parties need not have the ability of measurement. They only need to reorder the photon sequence and send it to the receiver. (3) The dealer knows nothing about any agent's secret shadow. Therefore, it is infeasible for the dealer to impersonate the classical participant to pool the secret shadow during the secret recovering phase. (4) Theoretically, the qubit efficiency of the proposed protocol is asymptotically 100%. The protocol is secure against famous attacks such as intercept-resend attack, measurement-resend attack and entangle-measure attack. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This contribution shows that women played influential roles in medieval warfare not as soldiers on the battlefield but as key figures in communication networks. Two crucial aspects in times of military crisis are gathering information about the enemy and communication between allies. Existing historiography of medieval espionage usually attributes such tasks to men. This article demonstrates, however, that cities systematically used the services of women carrying letters around the front lines and gathering intelligence services about the enemy army. The case study of this article is the war the Flemish cities waged against Emperor Frederick III and his son Maximilian of Austria in 1488–1489, a conflict in which dozens of women as spies and messengers tried to influence the course of the war. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Miguel de Cervantes had firsthand experience with spying techniques in North Africa, first as a captive in Algiers and later as a royal envoy on a secret mission in Oran. In this paper, I examine how the author articulated his knowledge on espionage in "La gitanilla" ("The Little Gypsy") (1613). Firstly, I propose that, by 1610, Cervantes found himself in an auspicious geopolitical context to bring to light, in the fictional realm, his knowledge on intelligence. Secondly, I argue that, in his novella, a group of Gypsy girls reveal practices and skills commonly associated with real seventeenth-century spies. Also, I claim that Preciosa and Andrés can be understood as ideal informants. In this way, I conclude that, although Cervantes had little direct participation in the Spanish intelligence services, his proximity has left important traces on his fictional work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In June of 2010, a Canadian couple, Donald Heathfield and Tracey Lee Ann Foley, was arrested in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as the KGB "sleeper agents." These KGB agents (Andrei Bezrukov and Elena Vavilova) lived in Canada since 1992, and in the United States since 1999, working for the Russian intelligence as "a sleeper cell" of the Russian spies. This story became an inspiration for the American TV show The Americans (2013–2018). Using the reviews of this TV show from the United States and Russia, the interviews with the real participants of the events of 2010 and with the retired KGB officers, the KGB documents from the SBU Archive in Kyiv, Ukraine, this article is an attempt to study how the special KGB/FSB operations in the USA, portrayed in one American TV series became an object of fascination and "fictionalization" on the both—American and Russian—sides of the geo-political conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a book titled "A Cambridge Spy: Jan-Willem Van Den Braak: Hitler's Spy against Churchill" by Nigel West. The book explores the life of Jan Ter Braak, a Dutch journalist and Nazi sympathizer who spied for the Germans during World War II. The author debunks myths surrounding Ter Braak's identity and actions, revealing that he was not a German spy, assassin, or murderer as previously believed. The book also examines the failures of MI5 in apprehending Ter Braak and highlights missed opportunities in the investigation. [Extracted from the article]

"Sven Felix Kellerhof and Bernd von Kosta: Capital of Spies: Intelligence Agencies in Berlin during the Cold War" is a book that explores the activities of intelligence agencies in Berlin during the Cold War. The book is divided into two parts, with the first section focusing on Western intelligence services and the second section covering the Stasi and Soviet activities. However, the book lacks an overall analytic framework and fails to provide a comprehensive understanding of the events and changes that occurred during this period. The authors also overlook important topics and make errors in their analysis. Overall, the book offers some interesting stories but falls short in providing a thorough examination of the subject matter. [Extracted from the article]

The purpose of this study is to show how the church public received the process of uncovering the past in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hungary in 2005, which is centred on the secret agent activities of those church members who collaborated with the communist-socialist system. One of the objectives of the political authorities was to eliminate, or at least weaken, the religiousness and the internal activity and social influence of the churches. The presentation and critique of the fact-finding work will focus on the testimonies of those who, as descendants of those involved, have been closely confronted with the disturbing revelations and who have seen the process of fact-finding from a particular perspective. The study points out the complexity and difficulties of fact-finding work, without losing sight of the conviction that reconciliation with the past is always justified. A unique feature of research on church collaboration is the examination from the perspective of descendants, which is the focus of this st [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The essay deals with the law and revenge issue, questioning the fundamental assumption according to which the law, by its own nature, should act as a substitute for vengeance. Provided that both law and revenge have their common grounds on the different, and at times conflicting, feelings of resentment and loyalty, the paper maintains that law can prevent revenge only if it is trusted by the victims, being itself a part to a bond of loyalty. Graham Greene's 1958 "entertainment" Our Man in Havana is chosen as a reference scenario. The paper analyses the characters' attitudes towards the law, their resentments, and their bonds of loyalty, and investigates the emotional scenario behind the two revenges mentioned in the novel. Finally, the essay maintains that each person's degree of trust in the law, and therefore their willingness to renounce revenge, depends on that person's own choices and inner feelings about themselves and the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Research on written newspapers of the Saxon period has been ongoing for several decades. By looking at the avis from the perspective of their editors and purveyors, we get a fuller picture of the mentality of society. Elżbieta Sieniawska, née Lubomirska (d. 1729), Wife of the Castellan of Krakow and one of the most enterprising magnates at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries, collected information through her intelligence services. Had it not been for their efforts and every attempt to provide the Krakow castellan with news, it is likely that Sieniawska would have had serious problems keeping her knowledge of the country and the world up to date. Distinguishing in the article the profiles of spies, postal workers and newspaper editors, the author shows not only previously unpublished facts from the life of the information services, but above all points to the dependencies between their services.

Duccio Colombo's book, "The Soviet Spy Thriller: Writers, Power, and the Masses, 1938–2002," explores the genre of Soviet spy fiction and its relationship to the state's counterintelligence agenda. Colombo argues that spy fiction in the Soviet Union was primarily propagandistic and ideological, serving the official objectives of Soviet domestic and foreign policy. The book also highlights the dangers faced by writers in this genre, as they had to navigate an atmosphere of suspicion and paranoia. While Colombo's work provides a comprehensive overview of Soviet spy fiction, it is criticized for its reliance on already published materials and lack of archival research. Nonetheless, the book sheds light on the prevalence of xenophobia and conspiracy thinking in the genre, which has persisted even after the collapse of the Soviet Union. [Extracted from the article]

CLPB is a mitochondrial intermembrane space AAA+ domain-containing disaggregase. CLPB mutations are associated with 3-methylglutaconic aciduria and neutropenia; however, the molecular mechanism underscoring disease and the contribution of CLPB substrates to disease pathology remains unknown. Interactions between CLPB and mitochondrial quality control (QC) factors, including PARL and OPA1, have been reported, hinting at dysregulation of organelle QC in disease. Utilizing proteomic and biochemical approaches, we show a stress-specific aggregation phenotype in a CLPB-null environment and define the CLPB substrate profile. We illustrate an interplay between intermembrane space proteins including CLPB, HAX1, HTRA2, and the inner membrane quality control proteins (STOML2, PARL, YME1L1; SPY complex), with CLPB deficiency impeding SPY complex function by virtue of protein aggregation in the intermembrane space. We conclude that there is an interdependency of mitochondrial QC components at the intermembrane space/inner membrane interface, and perturbations to this network may underscore CLPB disease pathology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article asks why no comparable spy ring to the Cambridge Five developed concurrently at Oxford University and argues that, based on an updated and comprehensive review of primary and secondary sources, holding out hope for a new revelation of one may be waiting for Godot. We argue that whilst structural and institutional factors played a significant role in the creation of a mid-20th century Cambridge spy ring, the role and agency of individuals was paramount, and Oxford was missing comparable personalities. Specifically, the galvanising effect of an intellectual authority figure in the person of Cambridge Don Maurice Dobb, the greater attention, talent, and strategy by Soviet intelligence recruiter Arnold Deutsch, and the higher level of ideological commitment and social reinforcement on the part of the Cambridge Five themselves—as a ring—were of greater significance. Not all these factors were present in Oxford and casts increasing doubt on whether an equivalent Oxford spy ring ever existed. Recently declassified files reveal that Oxford did produce Soviet era spies, but never a collective akin to that of the infamous Cambridge spies, who remain a unique historical and cultural touchstone to the present day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a reciprocal relationship between epilepsy and reproductive endocrine disorders. Seizures and anti-seizure medications (ASMs) can contribute to reproductive and endocrine dysfunction and reproductive dysfunction may exacerbate seizures. Epilepsy via neuroendocrine mechanisms affects the hypothalamic–pituitary-ovarian (HPO) axis, disrupting the regulation of gonadotropin secretion, and resulting in dystrophic effects on the ovaries and early menopause. Anti-seizure medications have endocrine-related side effects on sexual function and bone health. Long-term use of ASMs may result in menstrual irregularities, sexual dysfunction, anovulatory cycles, polycystic ovaries, and reduced fertility. Some ASMs also interfere with bone metabolism. Epilepsy patients treated with ASMs are at risk for bone loss and fractures. This article explores the endocrine and hormonal effects of seizures and ASMs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protein O-glycosylation is a nutrient signaling mechanism that plays an essential role in maintaining cellular homeostasis across different species. In plants, SPINDLY (SPY) and SECRET AGENT (SEC) posttranslationally modify hundreds of intracellular proteins with O-fucose and O-linked N-acetylglucosamine, respectively. SPY and SEC play overlapping roles in cellular regulation, and loss of both SPY and SEC causes embryo lethality in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). Using structure-based virtual screening of chemical libraries followed by in vitro and in planta assays, we identified a SPY O-fucosyltransferase inhibitor (SOFTI). Computational analyses predicted that SOFTI binds to the GDP-fucose–binding pocket of SPY and competitively inhibits GDP-fucose binding. In vitro assays confirmed that SOFTI interacts with SPY and inhibits its O-fucosyltransferase activity. Docking analysis identified additional SOFTI analogs that showed stronger inhibitory activities. SOFTI treatment of Arabidopsis seedlings decreased protein O-fucosylation and elicited phenotypes similar to the spy mutants, including early seed germination, increased root hair density, and defective sugar-dependent growth. In contrast, SOFTI did not visibly affect the spy mutant. Similarly, SOFTI inhibited the sugar-dependent growth of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) seedlings. These results demonstrate that SOFTI is a specific SPY O-fucosyltransferase inhibitor that can be used as a chemical tool for functional studies of O-fucosylation and potentially for agricultural management. Structure-based virtual screening and experimental validation identify chemical inhibitors of the plant O-fucosyltransferase SPINDLY. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is concerned with the links between intelligence professionals and spy novelists in France. It focuses on the prolific, popular pulp writer Gérard de Villiers, and his numerous links with intelligence services. The prominence and significance of these are often overshadowed by his racist and misogynistic writing, and the trashy quality of his books. This article documents the multifaceted relationships between Gérard de Villiers and the covert world, from long-lasting friendships between top intelligence officials and the writer, to de Villiers' personal involvement in intelligence work as an honorable correspondant, for the SDECE and the DGSE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The olefinic dithioether (Z)-1,4-bis(pyridin-2-ylthio)but-2-ene Z-PyS(CH2CH=CHCH2)SPy (L) was prepared by the treatment of cis-ClCH2CH=CHCH2Cl with in situ generated potassium pyridine-2-thiolate Py-SK and analyzed by IR and NMR spectroscopy. To investigate the chemistry of polynuclear iodobismuthate complexes, two equivalents of BiI3 were reacted with L in the MeOH solution to afford the anionic tetranuclear title compound (C14H15S2N2)2(C9H10SN)2[Bi4I116] with a N-protonated (Z)-1,4-bis(pyridin-2-ylthio)but-2-ene as a counterion. Compound 1 was characterized by IR and UV spectroscopy; the formation of a tetranuclear framework was ascertained by a single-crystal X-ray diffraction study performed at 100 K. Furthermore, an unusual Bi(III)-meditated cyclization of one Z-PyS(CH2CH=CHCH2)SPy ligand occurred, affording the bicyclic pyridinium salt 3-vinyl-2,3-dihydrothiazolo[3,2-a]pyridinium bearing a terminal vinyl group, compensating the second negative charge of the Bi4I164− cluster anion. The SCXRD characterization was completed by a Hirshfeld surface analysis, revealing some secondary interactions occurring in the crystal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is a book review of "Spies: The Epic Intelligence War between East and West" by Calder Walton. The reviewer criticizes the book for presenting inaccurate information and perpetuating myths about Cold War espionage. Examples of inaccuracies include claims about Kim Philby sabotaging an investigation and Klaus Fuchs being warned by Philby. The reviewer also points out errors in the author's understanding of the VENONA decrypts and the British code-breaking efforts during World War II. The review concludes that the book makes it difficult for readers to distinguish between fact and myth. [Extracted from the article]

Throughout the 1940s and into the early 1950s, the British government sought through various means to curtain the activities of a journalist and a self-described private intelligence officer named Kenneth de Courcy. The objective of this consorted campaign was to discover de Courcy's sources and to limit his influence on current affairs. The methods employed in this pursuit were unethical, conspiratorial, and at times illegal. They represent a form of governmental malfeasance that hitherto has rarely been noted in the existing historiography covering the period. This overlooked episode calls into question the long-standing narrative that British authorities of the time considered communist spies as the primary threat to continued governmental secrecy, especially because few suspected Soviet agents were investigated and harassed to the same degree as this dedicated anticommunist and self-described committed patriot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asen Georgiev was a Bulgarian lawyer and diplomat who confessed to working for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) between 1957 and 1963. In a show trial staged in 1963 in Sofia Bulgaria, prosecutors alleged that he had been paid nearly $200,000 for his services and accused him of undermining the interests of the entire socialist camp by handing over Soviet secrets to the Americans. This article offers a comprehensive de novo analysis of the Georgiev case based on the extensive records of the Bulgarian State Security Service and individual declassified CIA documents. This study demonstrates that Georgiev's intelligence about Nikita Khrushchev was crucial for calling the Sino–Soviet split in 1960 and raises the possibility that he played unacknowledged roles in other international crises in 1961 and 1962. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a book review of "Ace of Spies: Benny Morris: Sidney Reilly: Master Spy" by Joel Brenner. The book explores the mysterious life of Sidney Reilly, also known as the "Ace of Spies." Reilly was born in Odessa, a city with a diverse population including Orthodox Russian and Ukrainian Christians, Tatars, Moldovans, Greeks, Armenians, Germans, and a significant Jewish community. Reilly's life was filled with espionage, romance, and adventure, and he played a significant role in British intelligence during World War I. The book provides a concise and well-researched account of Reilly's life, separating fact from myth and highlighting the anti-Jewish sentiment of the time. [Extracted from the article]

Transient noise appearing in the data from gravitational‐wave detectors frequently causes problems, such as instability of the detectors and overlapping or mimicking gravitational‐wave signals. Because transient noise is considered to be associated with the environment and instrument, its classification would help to understand its origin and improve the detector's performance. In a previous study, an architecture for classifying transient noise using a time–frequency 2D image (spectrogram) is proposed, which uses unsupervised deep learning combined with variational autoencoder and invariant information clustering. The proposed unsupervised‐learning architecture is applied to the Gravity Spy dataset, which consists of Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational‐Wave Observatory (Advanced LIGO) transient noises with their associated metadata to discuss the potential for online or offline data analysis. In this study, focused on the Gravity Spy dataset, the training process of unsupervised‐learning architecture of the previous study is examined and reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study is to show the impact on the descendants of some clergypersons who collaborated as secret agents with the communist-socialist regime, one of whose objectives was to eliminate or at least weaken religiosity and the internal activity and social influence of the churches. The resource material was semi-structured interviews with children and grandchildren. The study aims to show that, beyond the personal traumas and ethical dilemmas, the main concern of the descendants was to preserve and, if necessary, rebuild the parent-child relationship. The pathways to this were different for each of those involved. Their differences were often influenced by previous transgenerational family patterns and influences. The examination from the perspective of the descendants is unique in the research on church collaboration and is the focus of this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional conceptions of state-sponsored cyber economic espionage suggest that countries with different product profiles should experience high levels of espionage between them. However, this is not what we observe empirically. Incidence of economic espionage tends to be prevalent between countries with similar product and manufacturing profiles. This suggests that we may be missing critical parts of what drives state-sponsored cyber economic espionage. To help unravel this puzzle, I develop a novel theoretical framework that proposes that because attackers seek to maximize the expected utility of stolen information, they target countries that possess similar productive capabilities as themselves. Consequently, countries with dissimilar product profiles should avoid targeting each other for espionage. I test this argument using data on states' product complexities and cyber economic espionage for a global sample of countries in a dyadic analytical framework. The results robustly show that for any pair of countries, as the complexities of their products diverge, they become significantly less likely to aim espionage attempts at each other. This study thus contributes new insights to explain why cyber economic espionage appears restricted to only a small number of advanced economies. It also illustrates the utility of large-N dyadic approaches in studying state-sponsored cyber espionage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In this article, we use the film Bridge of Spies – which depicts the case of U-2 spy pilot Francis Gary Powers – and relevant primary sources, particularly Powers' letters from prison, to provide teachers with a case that can engage students with the complexity of the Cold War. Understanding USA–Russia relations is as important today as ever as we watch the tragedy unfold in Ukraine. Using primary sources to reflect on the Cold War can help secondary students understand the historical context of the war in Ukraine as well as how to evaluate and critique sources of information about the war. Design/methodology/approach: The film and personal letters provide insights often not available or obvious when we focus on the political or military history of an event or time period. The Cold War is frequently defined by the rhetoric of the USA and Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) governments – but everyday people and citizens had a wider range of views and experiences. The film and letters bring out the humanity of the Cold War. Findings: This article supports secondary teachers in incorporating film and primary sources as teaching tools to study the Cold War while more broadly thinking about these sources as ways to understand the past. The letters used, including those from U-2 spy pilot Francis Gary Powers, help us understand his time in a Soviet prison as well as the behind-the-scenes work to free him as part of a prisoner exchange. Originality/value: The U-2 Incident and other events of the Cold War provide important context for understanding the Cold War-like tensions between the USA and Russia today. The distrust between these countries has a long history. However, documents like the film and letters discussed here show that there is much more to the bluster of political leaders and the military chess game. There is an important human element to these events and an impact on individuals who are much more than pawns in international diplomacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is a book review of "Hitler's Spies: Secret Agents and the Intelligence War in South Africa 1939-1945" edited by Evert Kleynhans. The review praises the book for its thoroughness and interdisciplinary approach in presenting various aspects of military and intelligence issues during World War II. It highlights the role of German secret services in South Africa and the involvement of Portuguese and French colonies in German intelligence. The review also mentions the description of the U-Boat war around South Africa and the difficulties faced by civilians operating in intelligence organizations. The book also covers British counterintelligence efforts and the postwar hunt for collaborators. Overall, the review recommends the book for those interested in the era and intelligence operations during World War II. [Extracted from the article]

"SPIES AND SPARROWS: ASIO and the Cold War" is a book that explores Australia's struggle with communism during the Cold War and its impact on various individuals. The book focuses on the formation of the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) and its efforts to eliminate the influence of the Communist Party of Australia. The author sympathizes with the victims of government overreach but may have overstated the case against the Communist Party. Despite some criticisms, the book is praised for its readability and thorough research. Overall, "SPIES AND SPARROWS" humanizes the victims of the Cold War and sheds light on an often overlooked aspect of history. [Extracted from the article]

Micro robots with live audio and video streaming capabilities can help in tracking human beings during earthquakes and also perform underground surveys. This mini spy car can inspect very minute hole areas that are not accessible to humans. Hence these Micro-bots are essential to find people stuck under collapsed buildings due to earthquakes. These small micro-size robots are equipped with a camera that helps in spying or helps the army and intelligence system in collecting information and live video footage and activity on the enemy and terrorists. But designing such micro-sized SPY BOTs is very complicated. Hence the proposed design of micro-sized SPY BOTs size is not-longer than a small finger and can go easily in minute holes to collect the data. Robots have been making inroads to human life in almost all spheres. Spy bots can be immensely useful for unmanned surveillance and covert spying operations. If online streaming of the spied data can be made feasible, that would be an added advantage. In this paper, we propose an unmanned Spybot that can be controlled remotely from web-page based commands, using a WIFI network. It can also stream back the spied data that could be video or images, over the WIFI network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]