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In what sense is the UK like Russia?
Right now? People across the UK are getting a small taste of what Leningrad felt like in the winters of 1942 and 1943.
Female spies of MI6
141–150 of 182 posts
Re: Female spies of MI6
#142Earlier quoted context omitted.
These Spies “Run Agents”: recruit, train, hand hold, interview, debrief and analyse, pay/bribe and present the information from the traitors, drug smugglers, or other people with nothing much to lose. I’m sure there may be dangerous jobs but these days much of that can be done from friendly countries or even the office. [edit] list of roles from MI6 site: https://www.sis.gov.uk/intelligence-officers.html
How does the first step of recruiting the agents/local traitors happen? Most of the official spies who are on diplomatic visa are tracked 24x7 in countries like China/NK/Russia.
A lot the most famous Cold War spies were "walk-ins", meaning they were Soviet citizens who turned against the Soviet Union (often on ideological grounds) and then literally walked into the US embassy in Moscow or another Soviet state. If they were onsite they'd be debriefed by the CIA personnel there to determine if they were sincere or a plant, and then assigned a handler.
Often times that handler was on a diplomatic visa and they'd have a KGB tail, so one part of tradecraft was learning to lose a tail so they could go dark and meet up with their contact or pick up documents/photo negatives at a dropsite.
There were plenty of US walk-ins as well who walked into the Soviet embassy in Washington. They seem to have typically been motivated by financial goals.
According to the Wikipedia page (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_War_espionage#Known_spies...) on Cold War spying, it doesn't look like there are cases of spies being sought out and turned within the Soviet Union. Although, it does mention that some came over to the US when they were Soviet officials assigned to posts outside the USSR, so it's possible they were sought out then.
Now that there are business cases to be in China and Russia, we might have non-offical cover agents in those countries without any links to the embassy, but obviously that's just speculation.
Re: Female spies of MI6
#143> why women often make the best spies for our times When I worked as a secretary, I was amazed at how unguarded men are in front of women in the workplace, particularly those of us in lower status roles. They seemed to think we had no capacity for thought or language, and were safe background decor for any conversation. I really worry that foreign service clerical staff are treated appropriately.
We experienced a surreal scene at one of our workplaces. We were subcontractors and therefore lower status than full employees. It was an open floor plan, next to it was a meeting room. One guy left the room while on the phone, went straight to where we were working, and said "Ok I left the meeting to isolate myself, what did you want to say?". As if we simply didn't exist.
Re: Female spies of MI6
#144Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not me. I just want them to cut my hair. No talking, just cut.
ἀδολέσχου δὲ κουρέως ἐρωτήσαντος αὐτόν, “πῶς σε κείρω;” “σιωπῶν,” ἔφη. When a talkative barber asked him [Archelaus, king of Macedonia], ‘How should I cut your hair?’ he said, ‘In silence!’ — Plutarch
Oh yes :-)
There have not been enough "HN moments" recently but here we are ... following a thread on spies, we perfectly segue into a quote from Plutarch, that is not only on point and unforced, but in the orignal Greek.
You have restored my lost faith in social media, my recently-signed-up friend - long may you enjoy our weird corner of the internet. We have cookies.
Re: Female spies of MI6
#145Re: Female spies of MI6
#146Earlier 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.
Do you really think 100% of hairdressers LIKE to make smalltalk for 8h per day? Probably rehashing some news event with 4 different people?
I like to talk to people I'm friends with, so far that has not included any of my hairdressers, so I sit there in silence, answering when spoken to and being generally friendly, but not initiating any conversation.
Re: Female spies of MI6
#147Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
I treat my barber like family........ i need to look good!
Re: Female spies of MI6
#148The propoganda vibes are pretty high for me.
Maybe so, but theres a very telling line in the article about assault and how the agency helped them recover. Propaganda or not, this is still exceptionally dangerous work. Potential recruits need to seriously consider if they can tell themselves it was worth it on both sides of such an event. If Britain continues its self destructive slide into irrelevance, that may not be a good deal.
Re: Female spies of MI6
#149Earlier 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.
Right near the CalTech campus, there was a barbershop owned and operated by a sole older gentleman. You’d sit down, tell him what you wanted, and he’d give you a magazine (often Scientific American) and cut your hair in silence. It was perfect.
Re: Female spies of MI6
#150Earlier 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.
Do you really think 100% of hairdressers LIKE to make smalltalk for 8h per day? Probably rehashing some news event with 4 different people? I like to talk to people I'm friends with, so far that has not included any of my hairdressers, so I sit there in silence, answering when spoken to and being generally friendly, but not initiating any conversation.
For 5yrs my friend was a barber by trade and I would always go to him (wherever he worked regardless of price) and would sit in silence while he did his job. He appreciated the silence as, like you say, most of his clients would make smalltalk about the same current affairs. Sometimes the prices were outrageous but my friend was only an employee, and loyalty was far more important.
After the cut we often used to go out for a meal and then we'd chat for hours.
The cut was a business transaction, the meal was between friends.