Spy agencies brief people in power. We brief you. Each week we’ll bring you one story that matters, plus a few that don’t!
Your Brief for September 8, 2024: Starliner returns, a 2,000-year-old mosaic, the Great Lego Spill, and more!
News
Starliner Returns
Boeing's Starliner spacecraft returned to Earth yesterday at roughly 11 pm MDT, 73 days later than planned. The vehicle's crewed mission to the International Space Station (ISS), which launched on June 5, was intended to last eight days. Onboard were astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore. However, a series of technical malfunctions have meant the astronauts are still aboard the ISS. During its approach to the space station, five of Starliner’s 28 thrusters misfired, with later testing suggesting a swollen Teflon seal may have blocked the fuel flow. To add to Boeing’s troubles, engineers later discovered a helium leak in the vehicle’s propulsion system, forcing NASA and Boeing to make the cautious decision to delay the return mission. The crewless Starliner safely parachuted back to Earth, landing in the New Mexico desert. The stranded astronauts will catch a ride back home on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft in February.
Image Credit: iStock/ima_zel
Quirky
The Great Lego Spill
Why are thousands of Lego pieces washing up on the shores of England?
In 1997 a rogue wave struck the Tokio Express cargo ship, sending 62 containers, including nearly five million Lego pieces, overboard into the ocean. Lost to sea were 33,427 black dragons, along with many other objects and figures that have been lost to the depths ever since! Coincidently, many of the pieces were maritime-themed! The incident became known as the “Great Lego Spill”, and for years, these colorful Lego pieces have been washing up on beaches, sparking fascination among beachcombers like Tracey Williams.
Initially intrigued by her children finding pieces on Devon beaches, it wasn’t until Williams moved to Cornwall and saw Lego washing ashore there that she realized the significance of the "Great Lego Spill". Inspired by her beach finds, and the odd nature of the situation, Williams created the social media community, Lego Lost at Sea, where people share finds. From tiny octopuses to dragons, beachcombers from all over have reported discoveries in the UK, France, Belgium, and Ireland! The spill is possibly the largest toy-related disaster to date. Scientists have yet to understand the scale of damage to marine ecosystems but are confident that plastic pieces can be mistaken as food by marine life and cause harm. The incident has raised awareness for plastic pollution, and the Lego Lost at Sea community has helped grow beach cleanup projects; the possibility of finding a rare piece of Lego might add to the appeal!
True Spies
Network Request
Do you think before you click?
Surrendering your secrets to a foreign power is risky business, and depending on the foreign power it’s generally ill-advised. But there are certain circumstances in which becoming a foreign asset has its appeal, and according to many intelligence professionals, there are four primary motivations for an individual to betray their country: money, ideology, coercion, and ego (MICE). The MICE acronym, popularised in the 70s/80s, aims to categorize motivations for why people commit espionage. But not every individual becomes an asset by choice, sometimes coercion gets swapped out for compromise…
For over two decades, in various roles for the US government, former Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) officer J.T. Mendoza routed out insider threats, perpetrators who might bring about harm from the inside. Mendoza made a career of getting inside the heads of those who betray their companies and countries. His bread and butter? Catching foreign agents before they could wreak serious damage on the US government! That’s exactly why the case of American traitor Kevin Patrick Mallory landed on his desk.
Mallory, a former CIA agent, was recruited via the social network for professionals, LinkedIn, by a hostile foreign power and seduced by at least two MICE motivations. He turned against the US and went to work for the People's Republic of China; though not coerced or blackmailed, money and ego played a leading role in his decision! Not exactly the smoothest spy; the way Mallory sought information set off alarm bells at the CIA, particularly when he began asking operational questions about individuals he knew were cooperating with the US in spying against China. Enter J.T. Mendoza, and a sprawling team of intelligence officials working to catch Mallory in their net! The Chinese had told the turncoat spy they were using software to delete his messages after some time, but that was far from the truth.
Join former DIA officer J.T. Mendoza on a cross-agency collaboration to take down Kevin Patrick Mallory in this week's podcast selection, ‘Network Request’.
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Spy Objects
War Games
What secrets are hiding under the bed?
For the Portuguese artist and sculptor, Joana Vasconcelos, a troubling inheritance of deceit lay lurking in wait in her late grandparents’ apartment. Vasconcelos is lauded the world over for her spectacular large-scale sculptures, and her piece War Games deals in part with her country’s history of surveillance. It’s a piece inspired by family history and made, in part, using her first car, a Morris Oxford from the 1960s. Portugal in the 60’s was a time of great cultural change; the final years of the Salazar dictatorship that had defined the nation for four decades, and Joana was born just as that dictatorship was collapsing.
Her grandfather, on her mother’s side, had worked for the military under Salazar’s rule. Though he died just before she was born, Vasconcelos heard of his life from her grandmother who survived him. Described as a special man, just and intelligent, whose advice was sought by many. Her grandmother also told stories of lavish parties organized for him, but for Joana, something didn’t add up… Her grandfather’s military rank didn’t justify the grandeur described, and it was only after her grandmother's passing that more clues came to light.
Upon moving her grandmother's mattress, Joana, and her cousin, discovered more about his story; the bedframe was full of medals! Not just any medals, but a collection of the most important medals from the Portuguese and Spanish governments. What had her grandfather done to earn them? Why did no one in her family tell her? Joana dug for answers, pressing relatives for information, and a clearer picture emerged. He was a specialist in ballistics and tactical military advisor to both Salazar and the dictator of Spain, General Franco, furnishing them with intelligence to facilitate violent acts of oppression… oppression against his people.
Listen to Joana Vasconcelos, in this podcast selection, as she discusses the dark journey of her discovery and the powerful work of art it inspired.
What artifacts and stories remain hidden beneath our feet?
In Shropshire, a ceremonial county in the West Midlands of England, the remnants of the Roman Empire continue to surprise! Recent excavations at Wroxeter, one of the best-preserved Roman cities in Britain, uncovered a 2,000-year-old mosaic, buried for centuries. The dig was centered near the city’s forum, uncovering this mosaic along with the remnants of a painted plaster wall, parts of which have survived the test of time! The mosaic, depicting fish and other sea life, is made from vibrant green, blue, yellow, and red tiles. Wroxeter, known as Viriconium in Roman times, was founded in the 1st century AD and once rivaled Pompeii in size and significance! At its peak, the city boasted over two hundred houses, a civic bathhouse, a marketplace, a county hall, and a judicial center. Despite its historical importance, much of Wroxeter remains unexcavated.
Image Credit: English Heritage
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Could this extinct reptile be the earliest vertebrate to have evolved powered flight?
Until now, it’s been debated whether the largest pterosaurs, with wingspans reaching 10 meters, could even fly! Well-preserved three-dimensional fossils of two large pterosaur species, including a new species to science, have helped settle this debate. A new study, published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, has shown that some large pterosaurs flapped their wings to fly, while others soared gracefully! The fossils, dating back to the Cretaceous period (72-66 million years ago), were unearthed from ancient Afro-Arabian coastal environments.
Using CT scans, researchers analyzed the internal structure of the wing bones. One of the pterosaurs, Arambourgiania philadelphiae, had a 10-meter wingspan, and its wing bones showed spiral ridges similar to those of modern vultures, suggesting it was built for soaring. The other, Inabtanin alarabia, a newly discovered species with a five-meter wingspan, had completely different wing bone structures, suggesting a different flying style, possibly based on flapping. These differences in bone structure hint that these giant reptiles may have used various flight techniques to navigate the ancient skies.
Image Credit: Terryl Whitlatch
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