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Female spies of MI6

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Re: Female spies of MI6

#131

Post by jll29 »

etrevino wrote: post #108
morrbo wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

with all due respect, youve now just basically told an entire anonymous message board that someone in your family is/was related to the security services. This is basically the example why you dont tell people this stuff. The entire article reeks of bs...everyone who has even remotely been involved in any of this knows exactly what youre meant to say if anyone asks you...and its sure as shit not "ok tell everyone x,…

That's old and "expired" data from over thirty years ago and the family member I'm discussing is open about it, now. What needs to stay quiet (in this instance) is operational details, not that this person did the work. So your point doesn't really stand. I felt it was useful information and it was information that was safe for me to share, so I did. The Financial Times article is, of course, intended to promote the…

In the UK, the government has a firm grip on the media, and that is enshrined by law; that's why The Guardian broke the Snowden story from their U.S. office, where freedom of speech is (more) protected. The author is a former security correspondent, and was perhaps chosen as someone known and trusted.

The article is a recruiting piece targeting well-educated females; but the same (Oxbridge) females can earn six digits in finance and stay safe, instead of earning 22k and getting shot in Kandahar or stabbed in Najaf. One wonders if that combination of compensation and dangerous job spec attracts reckless or idealists personalities.

Anyone interested in the history of the British SIS can be referred to K. Jefferey's (2010) "MI6: The History of the Secret Intelligence Service 1909-1949" (London: Bloomsbury), which is detailed but of course suffers from selection bias due to the nature of the topic and the fact that the book was commissioned (if I recall correctly) by the organization it describes.

Re: Female spies of MI6

#132

Post by dmix »

blep_ wrote: post #116
hallway_monitor wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Obligatory "I'm sure you're fun at parties". Honestly though why would anyone have this attitude? It seems like having a conversation with someone while getting your hair cut has zero downside, and the guaranteed upside both of you being a little more entertained. Possible upsides are actually getting into a meaningful conversation or stumbling on a new opportunity. Seems like a win-win to me.

Because I... don't like talking to people? It's not entertaining to me, it's excruciating.

I don’t talk to cab drivers either.

My girlfriend always finds a way to start conversations with ever driver but I rarely ever do unless I’m in some peppy mood.

The pressure to talk to barbers seems much higher though.

Re: Female spies of MI6

#133

Post by 082349872349872 »

heywherelogingo wrote: post #119
sicp-enjoyer wrote: post #23

The propoganda vibes are pretty high for me.

Quoted post unavailable.

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/48612/48612-h/48612-h.htm#Pa...

> The lower down the echelon, the nearer the armies of the world came to standardizing psychological warfare organization. They did this for the same reason that they all organize into regiments instead of centuries, cohorts, or tribes. Modern war is a self-standardizing process if the enemy experience is to be copied, enemy techniques improved, allied assistance accepted, and military practice kept up to world standards. Psychological warfare units needed printing and radio sections; to service these sections they all needed intelligence and analysis offices; to distribute their materials they all needed agents and liaison. Black propaganda organization varied more than did white, but it was amazing to Americans, uncovering Japanese subversive-operations units, to see how much the Japanese organization resembled their own.

Re: Female spies of MI6

#134

Post by pugworthy »

I would not be too surprised if some took offense to the imagery, especially of the svelte woman in the elevator with her one piece black outfit and shades. Too much Hollywood/Black Widow.

For me, I'd recommend watching "The Night Manager" some time. Specifically, Olivia Colman's role as Angela Burr. Hugh Laurie and Tom Hiddleston certainly broke a few preconceptions for me, but she was the one I thought deserved some accolades for her character and how she portrayed it.

Re: Female spies of MI6

#135

Post by sensitivefrost »

thefounder wrote: post #9

>> When her children were teenagers, Rebecca decided to tell them that she was a spy. “They were super sensible, and I judged the information wasn’t going to be a burden for them, that they wouldn’t tell everybody.” Is Rebecca still working there?

Literally two paragraphs down it says she has since retired from MI6.

Re: Female spies of MI6

#136

Post by Reason077 »

northwest65 wrote: post #115
hallway_monitor wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Obligatory "I'm sure you're fun at parties". Honestly though why would anyone have this attitude? It seems like having a conversation with someone while getting your hair cut has zero downside, and the guaranteed upside both of you being a little more entertained. Possible upsides are actually getting into a meaningful conversation or stumbling on a new opportunity. Seems like a win-win to me.

As somebody with that attitude, it's because I find it quite zen just to relax and be groomed by a professional. I won't shut down conversation, but I won't initiate it either. The other thing is that decades of motorcycling without ear plugs has rooted my hearing, so talking to people with thick accents (I'd say 50% of hairdressers here are immigrants) can't be tiring, which is the opposite of why I actually enjoy g…

> "rooted"

Aussie?

In any case, you may not have good hearing, but at least you have good hair!

Re: Female spies of MI6

#138

Post by signatoremo »

medo-bear wrote: post #66
Georgelemental wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

China has a lot of figureheads and rubber stamp officials. For example, their >1K legislature is a rubber stamp no real de facto power. So the female representation in de jure leadership might not match the female representation in actual leadership.

im not talking about merits of chinese political system. but the thesis that communist-party-ruled societies are more favoured toward men than it is the case in most western governments is false. also according to statistics rwanda and cuba are world leaders in terms of % women holding office

Huh? This is just false. What is the basis for your opinion?

There is no woman in the 24-member Politburo, the highest body of Chinese leadership. None. It had a single woman in the last cycle 2017-2022. The Standing committee, the top echelon with seven members has never had a woman as member. Of 205 members of the Central Committee, only 5% are women.

https://amp.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3196848/abs...

Re: Female spies of MI6

#139

Post by phone8675309 »

hallway_monitor wrote: post #110
PenguinCoder wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not me. I just want them to cut my hair. No talking, just cut.

Obligatory "I'm sure you're fun at parties". Honestly though why would anyone have this attitude? It seems like having a conversation with someone while getting your hair cut has zero downside, and the guaranteed upside both of you being a little more entertained. Possible upsides are actually getting into a meaningful conversation or stumbling on a new opportunity. Seems like a win-win to me.

Sitting at the barber's getting my hair cut is one of only a handful of times that it feels like I'm spending time just for me. So I'd like to keep that time for me and let my brain wander.

Re: Female spies of MI6

#140

Post by harry8 »

Reason077 wrote: post #136
northwest65 wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As somebody with that attitude, it's because I find it quite zen just to relax and be groomed by a professional. I won't shut down conversation, but I won't initiate it either. The other thing is that decades of motorcycling without ear plugs has rooted my hearing, so talking to people with thick accents (I'd say 50% of hairdressers here are immigrants) can't be tiring, which is the opposite of why I actually enjoy g…

> "rooted" Aussie? In any case, you may not have good hearing, but at least you have good hair!

Gotta love the way australians think being polite and couth is achieved by using another word for f&^k that literally means f^&k.

"The gearbox is totally f&^ked! Oh, sorry Cheryl, didn't see you there. I mean it's rooted."

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