Linky Not something you hear about every day! Spies are something which I, personally, always figured were still around in most countries but I never really expected for that to be proven, and not so stereotypically as Ruskies in the US. Somewhat scary, really. Anyone else a little worried? Figure it's stuff that happens all the time except we don't normally hear it? Believe it's all hoax/setup/conspiracy?
Knowing, not just thinking or assuming, but knowing that there really are spies out and about in the world trying to glean information from my country's government. And then wondering just how many more there are, since I know it's possible, and just what secrets those others might be looking for. There might be spies out to gather information such as military secrets and plans. And what's more, these aren't terrorist spies, these are Russian spies. They may not be as friendly to the US as the UK (I'd be sh**ing bricks if a British spy was caught, though I'm guessing Irish is more likely ) but still, it's a little unnerving to think that even peaceful countries are still out and about spying.
You call that /almost/ hot? Damn, shes smokin'! Anyway, spying is a traditional form of information recovery, and its not necessarily sinister, just proactive
COMMIES We (the US) probably have thousands of agents in their country, we just know enough not to send our finest women behind enemy lines.
Anyone watch Spooks? I actually think that the stuff that happens in that programme is almost on the button for what happens in real life. I would be surprised if even the UK and US didn't spy on each other. I also believe the Chinese will have spies everywhere. The only thing that surprised me about this story was that they were caught and it made the news.
Just read about the Alexander Litvenko case in the UK and it will scare you far more than this. The Russians carried out state sponsored nuclear terrorism on UK soil.
It isn't just state espionage that we have to worry about. Industrial espionage has been a big thing for a long time, and there are "spies" out there who seek to steal technology/knowledge from other companies, on behalf of others. It's pretty amazing the lengths some companies will go to, to protect their assets from industrial espionage, and also the lengths some companies will go to to gain information. With the shift in the balance of power from the communist eastern bloc to Asia, there has been an upsurge in industrial espionage too. I read a book on the subject a year or two ago, and it was a real eye opener.
The question is, is this a group of spies, who are Russian, or is this a group of "Russian spies" - given the Russian govt will deny it til their last breath, we may never know. The other question I can think to levy is "are we now seeing hints of who the US is going to war with next?!"
Assuming the information that article is talking about is correct, they're "Russian spies". What I wonder... is this simply the most amazing advertising campaign ever for some World in Conflict sequel?
I think it's curious that this news broke in such a big way only a day or two after the big announcement that the US and Russia were mending its ties. The whole spy vs. spy thing has been going on forever, and the fact that all the major superpowers are spying on each other is probably the worst kept secret in the world. I've heard apocryphal stories about the construction of the US embassy in Moscow. According to the tales, when the US contractors inspected the building materials they found bugs and wires everywhere. Across the street was a church in which people were constantly seen peering out the windows with binoculars. It became known colloquially as Our Lady of the Eternal Observation, or something like that. Stuartpb makes a good point regarding industrial espionage, too. Spy stories are as old as the hills.
