-Caveat Lector- from: http://www.aci.net/kalliste/ <A HREF="http://www.aci.net/kalliste/">The Home Page of J. Orlin Grabbe</A> ----- Spy vs. Spy 'Rogue' Spy Publishes MI6 Names on the Internet Ex-spies are not supposed to fight back. Jeez. A RENEGADE MI6 agent was believed last night to have posted the identities of a large number of serving British intelligence officers on the Internet in one of the worst security breaches for years. Richard Tomlinson, a former officer with the Secret Intelligence Service who was jailed on secrecy charges two years ago, is thought to have used an American web site to gain his revenge on his former bosses. As the Government strove to have the web site closed down, appeals were issued to British newspaper and media outlets not to divulge its address or contents. Publishing such details "could put lives at risk", said Rear Adml David Pulvertaft, the secretary of the defence, press and broadcasting advisory committee that advises the media on national security. The affair has shown the difficulties that governments face in preventing publication of highly sensitive material in the Internet age. Web sites can be set up in a matter of minutes and can then be read anywhere in the world. The Government has managed to close two other sites operated by Tomlinson - in Switzerland and California - on which he threatened to publish information he had gathered while at MI6. Last month the Treasury solicitor obtained an injunction against him and he closed down his site in Lausanne rather than risk a violation. A week later he launched a California-based site, on GeoCities, on which he promised to post a map of all the MI6 offices worldwide. Again, it was closed after an appeal from the Government. At the time of his trial, part of which was held in camera, newspapers were asked not to use photographs of Tomlinson for fear of jeopardising undercover intelligence operations. Intelligence sources said that the new site contained information that could prove "very damaging". One insider said that it was not all accurate or up to date and nor was it explicitly the work of Tomlinson. "But the suspicions are very strong," he said. David Shayler, the former MI5 officer whom Britain tried in vain to extradite from France last year, told Channel 4 News: "I know from seeing the site myself that he has been threatening to do this. I think the Government is running a great deal of risk because it has in some ways persecuted Richard Tomlinson." The investigative journalist Duncan Campbell said that he had been in e-mail contact with Tomlinson, a 37-year-old New Zealander, for three months. A fortnight ago "he said he was going to do this - he wouldn't say where". Mr Campbell said: "He was getting very angry and he also believed that MI6 had somehow or other planted viruses in his computer to try to destroy it first. I think he is out to do damage because of the way he feels." Mr Campbell said Tomlinson believed that MI6 was acting to ensure he was thrown out of every country he tried to settle in. He said: "By making an international pariah of him they perhaps have driven him to the wall." Mr Campbell said that other Internet users in the United States were already offering to display Mr Tomlinson's information on their web sites in an attempt to beat what they saw as censorship. Tomlinson's solicitor, John Wadham, said that he had no direct knowledge about whether his client was involved. But he said that last weekend Tomlinson had claimed: "I will eventually find a web site that will accept me, even if it has to be China." Some time ago Tomlinson began setting up web pages in which he threatened to publish the synopsis of a book on his MI6 career. It was that synopsis, which he sent to an Australian publisher, that led to his being jailed for a year in 1997, two years after he was sacked by the Secret Service. He was charged under Section 1 of the Official Secrets Act, which forbids any unauthorised disclosure by a serving or former officer of the security and intelligence services. Tomlinson was freed on probation after six months and has been pursued around the world since by a series of Government injunctions. He joined MI6 in 1991 and served in Bosnia, Russia and the Middle East. He has nursed a grievance since being sacked. He tried to take his case to an industrial tribunal, but was prevented from doing so. Tomlinson has made a number of unsubstantiated claims, including allegations that MI6 tried to assassinate the Yugoslav leader, Slobodan Milosevic, seven years ago. He has also used the Internet to taunt his former employers. One web page carried a picture of a man - presumably himself - wearing a Viking-style hat, with the top of his face blotted out. The photograph was superimposed on a picture of the Secret Intelligence Service's headquarters at Vauxhall Cross, London. As the site switched on, the theme to Monty Python's Flying Circus was played, an allusion to the fact that the spectacular Thames-side building is known as "The Circus". Issuing his warning that he intended to disclose the location of MI6 offices around the world, Tomlinson wrote on the site that MI6's objective was "to steal the secrets of other countries". He said that MI6 officers working abroad often used the "cover" of British diplomats. He said: "If you want to find out who is breaking the laws of your own country, just click on the map below to find your nearest M16 office!" The London Telegraph, May 13, 1999 Spy vs. Spy A World Wide Web of Betrayal "My government trained me good." RICHARD TOMLINSON, the renegade MI6 officer suspected of placing a list of the names of Secret Intelligence Service officers on the Internet, appears to have chosen the "nuclear option" to exact revenge on his ex-employers. The intelligence community was last night aghast at such a potentially damaging security breach. Although not all the information is accurate or up to date, it is sufficiently comprehensive to cause serious difficulties for MI6, according to insiders. Tomlinson, now believed to be living in Switzerland, was jailed in 1997 for offences under the Official Secrets Act. He pleaded guilty to unlawfully disclosing information gained during his four years as an intelligence officer. He provided publishers in Australia with a synopsis for a book on his time with the Secret Intelligence Service and threatened to place it on the Internet. Tomlinson, a Cambridge graduate with a first-class degree in aeronautical engineering, joined MI6 in 1991 and worked under cover in Bosnia. He was also posted to Moscow and the Middle East. But he was sacked four years later as "unsuitable". He tried to take MI6 to an industrial tribunal but was refused permission to do so. He went to live in Spain and contacted British newspapers, writing articles under the cryptonym "Agent T" but MI6 obtained an injunction preventing further disclosures. When Tomlinson returned to Britain he was arrested amid fears that he was about to travel to Australia to pursue his book venture. He was jailed at the Old Bailey for six months and has since lived in Europe, pursuing his antipathy towards MI6 with a series of disclosures. At one stage, he teamed up in Paris with David Shayler, the former MI5 agent who escaped extradition when a French court rejected the request. Tomlinson was behind the bizarre and unfounded allegation that Dominic Lawson, the editor of The Sunday Telegraph, was "a paid asset" of MI6. The claim was vehemently denied by Mr Lawson and the Foreign Office. If Tomlinson is responsible for the Internet list, it is likely to strain the loyalty of even his closest supporters. While he has argued that some secrets should be out in the open, revealing the identities of serving officers is beyond the pale. The last MI6 agent to be tried on official secrets charges before Tomlinson was George Blake 37 years ago. His crime was to disclose the names and whereabouts of agents to the Russians. It was said he placed as many as 40 lives at risk. Although the Internet site was not explicitly the work of Tomlinson, one source last night said the suspicions were "very strong" that he was behind the latest disclosures. The source added: "This sort of information is not picked up by accident. Normally only people who have worked for the organisation would have access to details like this. There are no central membership lists that can just be hacked into. If the list is accurate then a very serious criminal offence has been committed." But with Tomlinson in Europe and the information posted on an American website, the intelligence services are left shutting one door only to find there is another opening. At the end of his trial, questions were still unanswered about the whereabouts of computers on which he stored sensitive and encrypted information. Tomlinson had maintained a web site hosted by IP worldcom in Lausanne, Switzerland. Last month, the Treasury Solicitor's office obtained an order against Tomlinson, who removed the site. But he then launched another site, this time at California-based GeoCities, where he promised to post a map of all the MI6 offices worldwide. Last week, however, GeoCities' legal department closed that site as well after an approach from Britain. The use of the Internet to post the information confronts MI5 and MI6 with a new security headache. A website in America or Europe may breach British laws and be available in this country but it is difficult, if not impossible, to seek redress. Foreign courts, as was seen in the Shayler case, are reluctant to uphold security - or defamation - laws elsewhere. Even if "whistleblowers" use British websites they are difficult to bring to book. A website can be set up through an Internet service provider using cash and a false name, so even if a site is shut down the source of the information might never be found. Efforts were being made last night, more in hope than expectation, to see what could be done. "Officers are examining how the damage of this disclosure can be minimised," said one insider. The Internet is increasingly seen as the gravest risk to national security since it is virtually beyond the control of domestic authorities and laws. Even before the Internet, however, preventing the publication of potentially damaging secrets abroad proved impossible. Internet providers are increasingly aware that they might also find themselves liable for action in British courts if they have a UK-based operation. Recent legal cases have established that providers are responsible for defamatory material posted on a newsgroup that they host and, in theory, could also face secrecy charges if they knowingly published material that was damaging to national security. The London Telegraph, May 13, 1999 Russian Follies Yeltsin Sacks Primakov Sergei Stepashin is 4th prime minister in 14 months President Boris Yeltsin yesterday plunged Russia into renewed political turmoil by sacking Yevgeny Primakov, the popular prime minister, and his entire government. Mr Yeltsin said Mr Primakov had failed to tackle Russia's mounting economic problems with sufficient dynamism. He replaced him with Sergei Stepashin, the first deputy prime minister. Mr Stepashin, 47, a hawkish interior minister, becomes the fourth Russian prime minister to be appointed in the past 14 months. The Communist-dominated Duma, the lower house of parliament, which had strongly supported Mr Primakov, expressed outrage at the government's dismissal and threatened to block Mr Stepashin's appointment. It passed a non-binding resolution calling on Mr Yeltsin to step down and said it would press ahead today with a debate on impeaching the president. The prices of Russian shares and bonds tumbled amid the uncertainty. The rouble, which has been held within a stable trading band since February, came under renewed selling pressure. Doubt was also cast over Russia's tentative agreement with the International Monetary Fund on the provision of $4.5bn of fresh credits. The fund reiterated yesterday that several tax-raising laws must be enacted by parliament before new funds could be disbursed. The domestic chaos appeared to upstage talks yesterday between Igor Ivanov, Russia's foreign minister, Victor Chernomyrdin, the country's Balkans envoy, and Strobe Talbott, US deputy secretary of state, on the Kosovo crisis. But Nato said the departure of Mr Primakov should not derail diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis. In a television address Mr Yeltsin praised Mr Primakov for helping stabilise the political situation following the financial crash in August but chided him for a lack of economic reforms. "The premier's caution, his readiness to take only those measures that get maximum approval are beginning to cause damage," Mr Yeltsin said. "I am confident that he [Stepashin] can give fresh impetus to the work of the government and make it more dynamic." Grigory Yavlinsky, leader of the liberal Yabloko party, said Mr Primakov had performed a useful function but had relied too heavily on the Communists and had exhausted his political potential. "Not one decision has been made on a single economic problem or concept," he said. There was a mixed response to Mr Primakov's departure from Russia's powerful regional leaders. Some said Mr Yeltsin's drastic action had been prompted by a desire to pre-empt impeachment proceedings against him. Yuri Luzhkov, Moscow's influential mayor who is seen as a strong candidate to succeed Mr Yeltsin, said he regretted the government's dismissal but added that the decision was constitutional. Mr Yeltsin named as first deputy prime minister Nikolai Aksyenenko, the railways minister. The Financial Times, May 13, 1999 US Treasury Pizza Boy Takes Over from Rubin Why not? Goldman Sachs has already gone public. Robert Rubin, one of the two pillars of U.S. economic policy in the 1990s, will resign as Treasury secretary and be succeeded by his deputy, Lawrence Summers, President Bill Clinton said Wednesday. Along with Alan Greenspan, the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, Mr. Rubin has been credited with providing a basis for the U.S. economic expansion that is likely to complete its eighth calendar year in 1999. The two, along with Mr. Summers, also have been praised - as well as criticized - for the handling of the global economic crisis that began in Asia in 1997. Mr. Rubin was widely known to be weary of Washington, and rumors of his resignation have circulated over the past year. Mr. Rubin, formerly co-chairman of Goldman, Sachs & Co., is a multimillionaire whose wife has never moved from New York. Mr. Greenspan released a statement saying that he was ''saddened by the resignation of my friend Bob Rubin,'' whom the Fed chairman described as ''one of the most effective secretaries of the Treasury in this nation's history.'' Giving a nod of approval to his designated successor, Mr. Greenspan continued: ''Fortunately, the president has chosen Larry Summers to succeed him. He is a person of extraordinary talent and judgment who will continue the important work Bob Rubin initiated.'' Financial markets fell when reports of Mr. Rubin's departure, scheduled for July 4, began to circulate Wednesday, but the deep declines were brief. The Dow Jones industrial average, down more than 200 points at one time, recovered to close 25.78 points lower at 11,000.37. The Nasdaq composite index finished nearly 40 points higher. The dollar also had a brief setback before recovering to trade mixed. Even the bond market, which has been weak in recent sessions, was higher after an initial decline. ''Only the specific timing of Mr. Rubin's departure is a surprise,'' said Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist of High Frequency Economics in Valhalla, New York. ''It has been clear from the rumor mill for some time that he would not stay the course to the end of the Clinton administration.'' Mr. Clinton, in formally announcing the resignation, praised Mr. Rubin for having helped build ''the strongest economy in a generation, perhaps ever.'' He also had warm words for Mr. Summers, whom he described as ''brilliant, able'' and ''deeply'' knowledgeable. ''Rarely has any individual been so well-prepared'' to take over the reins at the Treasury Department, he said. The resignation of Mr. Rubin may actually be a good sign for investors. He may have felt unable to depart while the threat of the global financial crisis lingered, but with recent forecasts that the world would return to economic growth, albeit at modest rates, his departure could be read as an indication that he feels the problems have abated. Mr. Shepherdson said there would probably be little change in the Treasury's approach under Mr. Summers. ''As a key architect of the strong dollar policy and the Asian crisis-management process, Mr. Summers will take the same line that Mr. Rubin did on all key issues,'' Mr. Shepherdson said, although Mr. Summers is ''more pugnacious'' than Mr. Rubin. Jim O'Neill, a currency analyst at Goldman Sachs in London, said the dollar had recovered because of the widely held presumption that ''Larry Summers is there because Rubin supported his nomination, and he'll carry on in the same manner.'' But in the longer term, the change at the Treasury could lead to a subtle shift in the U.S. dollar strategy, Mr. O'Neill contended. While Mr. Rubin was a businessman first and foremost who made his reputation on Wall Street, Mr. Summers is an economist by training. It is one of the most widely held beliefs among economists that a strong currency exacerbates a country's current-account deficit. With the U.S. deficit heading toward a record of more than $250 billion a year, ''I would guess that Summers will have some of that thinking in his head,'' Mr. O'Neill said. In a similar vein, Senator Charles Grassley said on television that Mr. Summers was likely to be confirmed by the Senate for the Treasury job, but the Iowa Republican indicated some discomfort with his views. Mr. Summers, he said, ''has problems in the area of international financial crises.'' He said Mr. Summers had backed International Monetary Fund programs that encouraged devaluations of Southeast Asian currencies, as a result of which middle classes in affected countries ''were wiped out,'' leading to social instability. Mr. Summers ''believes the function of the federal government is to redistribute wealth,'' Mr. Grassley said. ''But we will accept that.'' He noted that Mr. Summers had previously gained Senate confirmation for his position as Mr. Rubin's deputy. Stuart Eizenstat, undersecretary of state for economic, business and agricultural affairs, is also expected to be confirmed by the Senate as deputy to Mr. Summers. Despite his desire to leave Washington, Mr. Rubin has been widely rumored as a possible successor to Mr. Greenspan at the Fed. Mr. Greenspan was named Fed chairman by President Ronald Reagan, and it is thought that if Vice President Al Gore succeeds Mr. Clinton, he may not want to reappoint a Republican nominee to head the country's central bank. International Herald Tribune, May 13, 1999 ----- Aloha, He'Ping, Om, Shalom, Salaam. Em Hotep, Peace Be, Omnia Bona Bonis, All My Relations. Adieu, Adios, Aloha. Amen. 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