Colombia probes reported military spying of peace negotiators

Again one more piece i thought was interesting on the subject of walkie talkie detonator’s, what would you need to do if i didn’t post this ehh? you’d have to find the initial article, the chances you found it would be slim, so deem yourself fortunate that i have shared this glorious piece with you.

Colombian military intelligence operatives intercepted phone communications of the government’s negotiating team at peace talks with Marxist FARC rebels, a newsweekly said on Tuesday, prompting the interior ministry to announce a probe of the reported espionage.

Interior Minister Aurelio Iragorri said the government appeared to be the victim of the surveillance. President Juan Manuel Santos and his Cabinet ministers had never ordered the interception of phone communications, Iragorri told Caracol two Way Radio.

Colombia began peace talks in Cuba with the FARC, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, in November 2012, weeks after Santos announced he had been holding secret talks with rebel leaders.
The negotiations have surfaced as a campaign issue ahead of elections in May in which Santos is running for reelection.
Semana weekly magazine said the cellular phones of peace negotiators Humberto de la Calle, Sergio Jaramillo and Alejandro Eder were intercepted, as well as leftist politicians like former Senator Piedad Cordoba.

Data from text messages were collected, but telephone calls were not listened to, it reported. The espionage was conducted from a Bogota restaurant and adjoining Internet center set up as front for the operation.
The government peace talks with the FARC guerrillas are conducted in secrecy, which both sides have held to, except for brief communiqu豠about their progress.

This is the first spy scandal to emerge since the government intelligence agency known as the DAS was shut down after revelations of wire-tapping during the government of former President Alvaro Uribe.
The government and FARC have fought for five decades.
The peace talks, while mostly popular, have some detractors, like Uribe and his party’s choice as candidate for president in May, Oscar Ivan Zuluaga.

The aim of the military intelligence operation, code named “Andromeda,” was to garner as much information as possible about what was being discussed at the peace talks in Havana, according to a source cited by Semana.
Commenting on the Semana report, Interior Minister Iragorri said, “The most important is to carry out an internal investigation because this government at no time, no minister or the president, have given any instructions to interfere with communications of anyone.”

“In this case we are more the victims than the victimizer,” he added.
Semana said it spent 15 months investigating the spying and spoke to as many as 25 sources before publishing.
For a link to the Semana story, please see URL:
here (Editing by W Simon)

The History Of The Two way radio

This short article is posted by the faithful authorization of two way radio janesville mn.com, which is the original site. please get agreement from that site before reposting this article.

The walkie talkie, also known as the handheld transceiver has a rich history and has been instrumental in developments in the military sphere. Fundamentally they are a hand held way to communicate with anyone else who has a similar device. Their history can be traced to the Canadian government who during the Second World War designed the device in order that military operatives had a ready form of communication for operational activities.

The first walkie talkie device was the Motorola SCR-300. First being released in 1940 it was not as handheld as modern variants; at this time the smallest devices still required the user to carry a backpack. However development occurred quickly and in the latter stages of the war a handheld device was released being labelled the ‘handie talkie’ by troops. The term walkie talkie, although being used describe all modern devices during the war referred to the backpack model rather than the handheld. The handie variety however suffered in terms of operation because of its reduced size.

Development after the war was rapid with improvements to both range and size evident amongst the allied nations. However the walkie talkie still had its limitations. Due to the power restrictions, normally only a few watts, the communication applications were somewhat poor. Most handheld devices of the post war era, even up to the seventies operated poorly in built up areas where buildings restricted the transmission of radio waves. As a result, military personnel often had to utilise a highly mounted ‘repeater’ that vastly improved the range of the device.

Today the Walkie Talkie is still a frequently used device in the military although modern models are far smaller and usually integrated in the form of headsets and mouthpieces. The devices however are not purely used in the military sphere, applications today include the public sector, outdoor activities and security personnel, in fact anywhere where constant communication is needed, a walkie talkie is regarded a standard piece of equipment. Other developments have improved the durability of the devices making them shockproof and waterproof. Some developments have focussed on the size of the devices; modern electronics have allowed light and small models to enter the market. Additionally, designers have incorporated scrambling devices in order for operatives to have private communications; this type of development has been especially useful in the construction of police radios.

The walkie talkie has also become a popular toy for children. Predominantly these are low power devices that do not require a licence because they operate in a specific frequency range and do not have the power to communicate over long distances. Normally the components used in the construction of these toys are far cheaper than ‘adult’ varieties meaning that they are not applicable for uses in business. In addition, while more expensive models have a separate microphone and speaker, the children’s models use one speaker for both purposes. One use that is not normally present on adult variants is the inclusion of a code button on kid’s devices. While this is included for the use of Morse code messaging, it is usually used to annoy parents.

The walkie talkie has come from a military background, created to ease the tasks of those in warfare to a device that can be used by children as a toy. This shows that it has entered many different sections of society and has become integral to many different communication requirements. Without the invention of this device, short range communication would not be as easy; the role they play in security, law enforcement and safety procedures cannot be underestimated and most probably form the most important developments the walkie talkie has brought us.