John Wayne's Personal Items Are Up For Auction

Susan King wrote an interesting story about the placing of iconic actor John Wayne's personal items up for auction.

Though the actor most widely known for his westerns died of cancer in 1979 at the age of 72, his popularity remains unparalleled. A Harris poll released earlier this year listed Wayne as America's No. 3 favorite actor after Johnny Depp and Denzel Washington. Wayne won the lead actor Oscar as the wily one-eyed marshal Rooster Cogburn in 1969's "True Grit," and starred in some of the most respected films of the 20th century working with John Ford on such acclaimed movies as 1939's "Stagecoach," 1948's "Fort Apache," 1949's "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" and 1952's "The Quiet Man." He also appeared in director Howard Hawks' "Red River" in 1948, 1959's "Rio Bravo" and 1962's "Hatari."

You can read the rest of the story via the below link:

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-john-wayne-vault-20110907,0,723317.story

Al-Qaida Weakened, But Still Poses Threat, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta Says

By Karen Parrish, American Forces Press Service

NEW YORK, Sept. 6, 2011 - The terrorist attacks of a decade ago have in some ways strengthened the United States, and operations against al-Qaida have left it much less capable, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said today.

"As tragic as 9/11 was, we have drawn tremendous inspiration [from it]," the secretary told reporters after touring the National September 11 Memorial and Museum site here.

The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, brought the nation together in a commitment that such horror "will never happen again," Panetta said.

"Since 9/11, we have achieved significant success going after al-Qaida and ... [its] leadership," he said.

Of the top four al-Qaida leaders, three are dead, he said, and many lower-level leaders have been killed or captured.

"I think that has significantly undermined the command and control of al-Qaida, and their ability to plan the kind of 9/11 attacks that occurred here," he said.

The nation's domestic security is also stronger than it was 10 years ago, he said, crediting cooperation among intelligence organizations, the Department of Homeland Security and "a number of other agencies" with that improvement.

"Having said that, it's very important for us to also pledge, not only to the families of those that died but to all Americans, that we will forever remain vigilant," the secretary said.
The main threats emerging from al-Qaida now emanate from nodes such as those in Yemen and Somalia, he said.

"They continue to plan attacks, and I don't think we can take anything for granted," he said.

Yemen "has risen to the top of the list" of al-Qaida threats, and remains an important counter-terrorism focus for the United States, the secretary said.

The leader of al-Qaida in Yemen, Anwar al-Awlaki, "has continued to urge individuals to attack this country, and continues, himself, to represent a threat to this country," Panetta said.

On another front, Pakistani forces yesterday announced the capture of Younis al-Mauritani and two other senior al-Qaida operatives in Pakistan.

"This is ... particularly encouraging, because we thought [Mauritani] was someone who was a real threat," the secretary said.

Panetta said he is also encouraged by Pakistan's role in the capture.

"We have had that kind of cooperation [from Pakistan] in the past," he said. "We've had kind of a rocky relationship of late, but we have continued to urge the Pakistanis to work with us ... [against] terrorist targets, and this is an indication that they are cooperating with us in that effort."

Depsite gains made over the past decade, jihadist ideology remains an attraction to potential terrorists, and al-Qaida is still a threat to U.S. security, Panetta said.

"We have to continue the pressure on al-Qaida, but there is no question ... [on] the tenth anniversary of 9/11, that we have made significant progress," he said.

September 11th: Ten Years, With Former NYPD Detective And Writer Edward Conlon

The New Yorker asked their contributors to look back and comment on how their lives have changed since the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Edward Conlon, a former NYPD detective and author of  Blue Blood and Red On Red, offered his comments in the current issue of the magazine.

I was a new detective in a South Bronx precinct. That morning, I’d caught a case—a gunpoint bodega robbery from the night before—when the news came on the TV. The sergeant told us to put on our uniforms: “We’re at war. Let’s suit up.”

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2011/09/september-11th-ten-years-with-edward-conlon.html  

You can also read an earlier post on Edward Conlon via the below link:

http://pauldavisoncrime.blogspot.com/2011/07/writing-detective-retires-to-focus-on.html

On The Set Of Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy

Mick Brown at the British newspaper the Guardian offers an interesting behind the scene look at the making of the spy thriller Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.  

You can read the piece via the below link:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/8735266/On-the-set-of-Tinker-Tailor-Soldier-Spy.html 

Although I disagree with John le Carre's leftist, anti-American worldview, I think he is a fine writer and I think Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is his best novel.

I'm also a big fan of the 1979 Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy TV miniseries, which starred the late, great Alec Guinness as le Carre's character, George Smiley.

I'm not sure the film version of le Carre's thriller can compete with the miniseries, and although Gary Oldman is a fine actor, I'm not sure he can compete with Alec Guinness as Smiley.

Still, I'm interested in seeing the film.   

Before James Bond: A New Book On Ian Fleming's World War II Commandos

MI6 - the James Bond web site, not the British Secret Intelligence Service - announced the publication of a new book about Ian Fleming's wartime experiences in British Naval Intelligence and his creation of an elite group of naval intelligence-commandos called the 30 Assault Unit.

You can read the MI6 piece on Nicholas Rankin's Ian Fleming's Commandos (Faber & Faber) via the below link:

http://www.mi6-hq.com/sections/articles/literature_ian_flemings_commandos.php3?t=&s=&id=02937

I interviewed Craig Cabell, the author of a previous book on Ian Fleming and the 30 Assault Unit called Ian Fleming's Secret War (Sword & Shield).

You can read my GreatHistory.com interview via the below links:

http://greathistory.com/the-secret-war-of-james-bonds-creator-ian-fleming.htm

http://greathistory.com/the-secret-war-of-james-bonds-creator-part-2.htm

You can also read my piece on Ian Fleming and the James Bond phenomenon via the below link:

http://pauldavisoncrime.blogspot.com/2010/06/casino-royale-revisited-film-that.html

ATF's Operation Fast And Furious: Screw Up, Move Up, Cover Up

Michelle Malkin wrote an interesting column that appeared in National Review Online that covered how  Obama administration officals involved in the bust of an operation called Fast and Furious are being given new government positions.

There are now enough Operation Fast and Furious officials playing hide-and-seek in the Obama administration to fill a “rubber room.”

That’s the nickname for taxpayer-subsidized holding pens — such as the ones in the New York City public schools — where crooked employees are separated from the system and paid to do nothing. Perhaps the White House can stimulate a few construction jobs by adding an entire rubber room annex for “reassigned” scandal bureaucrats at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. It’s getting mighty crowded.

You can read the rest of the column via the below link:

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/275928/screw-move-cover-michelle-malkin

You can also read an earlier post on Operation Fast and Furious via the below link:

http://pauldavisoncrime.blogspot.com/2011/08/how-atf-delivered-assault-weapons-to.html

There ought to be some firing, in my view, beginning with Attorney General Holder.

Akamai Technologies Employee Pleads Guilty To Foreign Economic Espionage

BOSTON—A Brookline man pleaded guilty on August 30th, 2011 to foreign economic espionage. This is the first prosecution in Massachusetts for foreign economic espionage and only the eighth in the nation.

ELLIOT DOXER, 43, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Denise J. Casper to one count of foreign economic espionage for providing trade secrets over an 18-month period to an undercover federal agent posing as an Israeli intelligence officer.

The parties stipulated in an agreed statement of facts that on June 22, 2006, Doxer sent an e-mail to the Israeli consulate in Boston stating that he worked in the finance department of Akamai Technologies, Inc., and was willing to provide any information that might help Israel. In later communications, Doxer said that his chief desire “was to help our homeland and our war against our enemies.” He also asked for payment in light of the risks he was taking.

In September 2007, a federal agent posing as an undercover Israeli intelligence officer spoke to Doxer and established a “dead drop” where the agent and Doxer could exchange written communications. From October 2007 through March 2009, Doxer visited the dead drop at least 62 times to leave information, retrieve communications, and check for new communications.

Included in the trade secret information that Doxer provided the undercover agent were an extensive list of Akamai’s customers; contracts between the company and various customers revealing contact, services, pricing, and termination date information; and a comprehensive list of the company’s employees that revealed their positions and full contact information. Doxer also broadly described the company’s physical and computer security systems and stated that he could travel to the foreign country and could support special and sensitive operations in his local area if needed. Because Akamai’s information was disclosed only to an undercover agent from the beginning, the information was never in danger of actual exposure outside the company.

The Justice department acknowledges the government of Israel for their cooperation in this investigation, and underscore that the information does not allege that the government of Israel or anyone acting on its behalf committed any offense under U.S. laws in this case. The Justice Department also acknowledges and thanks Akamai Technologies, Inc., for its assistance throughout all stages of the investigation and prosecution.

Doxer was arrested on October 6, 2010, on a complaint charging him with wire fraud.

That charge will be dismissed at the end of this case as part of the plea agreement. The charge of foreign economic espionage carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, a three-year term of supervised release and a $500,000 fine. Judge Casper scheduled sentencing for November 30, 2011.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Boston Field Office made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys William D. Weinreb and Scott L. Garland, respectively in Ortiz’s Antiterrorism and National Security Unit and Cybercrimes Unit, and by Trial Attorneys Kathleen Kedian and David Recker of the Department of Justices’s Counterespionage Section.