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UK spy claims mothers make ‘bloody good spies’

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Oceander:

--- Quote from: EC on March 31, 2014, 06:15:55 pm ---They are perfect for pick up and drop off. No one even sees them.

As for not sending them off on their own - it's a cultural thing. Perfectly normal to see 7 year olds running errands in a lot of places. Africa, you see them running around unsupervised as young as 4. You tune them out and they listen without being noticed. Betting the un-named source in the original article has used that to her benefit multiple times.

Distractions - hell yes. Kid starts screaming and crying, everyone looks. They can't help it - it's hardwired. Yet no one thinks much of it. If you go to the shops and a kid is crying, you will look. Pay attention for a few seconds to see if it is serious or you just need to silent judge the parents. Then you forget about it completely.



--- End quote ---


for short go-fers, fine; but kids are not always the best at staying on-focus, so a longer mission would, I think, be too risky.

EC:

--- Quote from: Oceander on March 31, 2014, 06:17:00 pm ---
for short go-fers, fine; but kids are not always the best at staying on-focus, so a longer mission would, I think, be too risky.

--- End quote ---

You have to work within the limits. Kids can concentrate for hours - IF it is something they find interesting or if it has a pay-off (Kids are very mercenary  :laugh:). In the camp in Jordan, for example, I had to find the guy who can get things. He's not exactly got a store front. Asked the kids, they found him and lead me to him within 12 hours. This was in a place with nearly a quarter million refugees. It happens time and again. Everyone misjudges children's capabilities, memory and acumen.

Even negative information is good. If some kids are playing near a cafe and get shooed away by a patron, it could be he doesn't like kids. It also could be he doesn't want little ears in range.

There is also the camouflage effect. Walk down the street on your own - people may notice. Walk down the street with two kids, especially if you are a woman, and people smile or sympathize. Need a secure drop? Employee toilets. Pretty much no small store will say no to a harried Mom or Dad with a child that needs to go "right now!"

olde north church:
The Achille's Heel of this strategy is trying to get the women to stop talking long enough to listen.



I'm also reminded of the Monty Python episode where the Pepperpots had the whole street under surveillance.

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