Cold War Ignited

We’ve probably all by now heard the recent news that there is once again Russian spies in America.

And good on them. For generations the Soviet’s were Hollywoods traditional bad guys – let’s face it, the James Bond franchise wouldn’t have existed without them.

But since the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989, and more recently September 11, Hollywood has shunned the fair skinned, ample chested soviet baddies for the caramel skinned and black haired baddies of the Middle East.

With the Cold War supposedly over, the US has done an old school style spy swapping deal. Which leads me to the point. What on EARTH is the big deal?

That swap clearly means that the CIA has people sneaking around the former USSR.  The KGB, CIA, MI6, IRA, ASIO (which really needs to get a better abbreviation) and other countries secret services have all been in and out of each others regions for years. Collecting info on each other.  Doing deals. Keeping each other honest all the while looking glamorous in well cut suits and evening wear.

I for one am rather pleased that there are still good old spies out there. Not terrorists – but spies, living undercover and collecting information whilst getting the opportunity to see the world.

Not a bad deal.

RT @ MI5 You’re Sacked

I’ve recently been watching Series 3 of Spooks and once again wishing that ASIO had accepted my application to become a spy.

It seems like such a glamorous and interesting life.  Much better than the standard 9-5 desk job that slowly suffocates you.  You very rarely see and ugly spy, and if they are less than smoking hot, they always seem to possess a killer sense of humour.

Add this to the extra passports, expense accounts and hefty pay packets (well how else does 007 afford those Bentleys?) and it seems like a pretty awesome gig.

What is interesting however, is that not even the age-old glamorous profession of spying is immune to the changing world. 

According to The Daily Telegraph, there have been a large number of redundancies amongst MI5, because aging spooks can’t get a grasp of the internet.

Poor things. Never mind that they can speak multiple languages, track down terrorists or drive expensive cars at speed through urban centres – it seems that what matters is if they can get what twitter is all about.