Disposable Razors, Spys and Secrets
Disposable blade straight razors
Razors which are similar in use and appearance to straight razors but which use either a standard double edged blade or specially made blades are available.
Many razors of this type are referred to as "shavettes" although this name was originally restricted to a razor manufactured by Dovo in Germany.
Disposable bladed straights have many of the advantages of straight razors without needing the stropping and honing of ordinary straight razors. They are also popular in travel wash kits as a means of avoiding difficulties with airport security.
Safety razors
The first safety razor, a razor where the skin is protected from all but the very edge of the blade, was invented in the late 18th century by a Frenchman, Jean-Jacques Perret, who was inspired by the joiner's plane. In 1875 it was marketed by the Kampfe Brothers as "the best available shaving method on the market that won't cut a user, like straight steel razors."
In 1901, the American inventor King Camp Gillette, with the assistance of William Nickerson, invented a safety razor with disposable blades. Gillette realized that a profit could be made by selling a razor with inexpensive disposable blades. This has been called the Razor and blades business model, or a "loss leader", and has become a very common practice for a wide variety of products.
There are also safety razors that are made of inexpensive materials that are meant to be wholly disposable. One such device was patented in the late 1950's by American entertainer and inventor Paul Winchell.
There are many different brands of safety razor blades manufactured today including: Gillette, Wilkinson Sword, Merkur, Astra, Treet, Big Ben, Racer and Feather. Blades are made in a wide variety of different countries including: Germany, England, Russia, India and Japan. Safety blades can be purchased cheaply when compared to the per blade cost of multiblade cartridges. Safety blades cost between $.08 and $.50 compared to approximately $3.50 for a cartridge blade.
As of late manufacturers of modern safety razors have been involved in a race to the top, or better put, who has the most blades on a razor. This is seen by many to be fueled primarily by marketing concerns, and has triggered a small resurgence in popularity of more traditional shaving methods often involving the use of double-edged safety razors.
Spys
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it is known that the information is in unauthorized hands.
See clandestine HUMINT for the basic concepts of such information collection, and subordinate articles such as clandestine HUMINT operational techniques and clandestine HUMINT asset recruiting for discussions of the "tradecraft" used to collect this information.
Incidents of espionage are well documented throughout history. The ancient writings of Chinese and Indian military strategists such as Sun-Tzu and Chanakya contain information on deception and subversion. Chanakya's student Chandragupta Maurya, founder of the Maurya Empire in India, made use of assassinations, spies and secret agents, which are described in Chanakya's Arthasastra. The ancient Egyptians had a thoroughly developed system for the acquisition of intelligence, and the Hebrews used spies as well, as in the story of Rahab. Spies were also prevalent in the Greek and Roman empires.[1] During the 1200s and 1300s the Mongols relied heavily on espionage in their conquests in Asia and Europe. Feudal Japan often used ninja to gather intelligence. More recently, spies played a significant part in Elizabethan England (see Francis Walsingham). Many modern espionage methods were well established even then.
The Cold War involved intense espionage activity between the United States of America and its allies and the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China and their allies, particularly related to nuclear weapons secrets. Recently, espionage agencies have targeted the illegal drug trade and those considered to be terrorists.
Different intelligence services value certain intelligence collection techniques over others. The former Soviet Union, for example, preferred human sources over research in open sources, while the United States has tended to emphasize technological methods such as SIGINT and IMINT. Both Soviet political (KGB) and military intelligence officers were judged by the number of agents they recruited.
Detectives
A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators (P.I.s or "Private I's", hence the play-on-words, "Private Eyes"). Informally, and primarily in fiction, a detective is any licensed or unlicensed person who solves crimes, including historical crimes, or looks into records.
In some police departments, a detective position is often appointed, rather than a position achieved by passing a written test. Prospective British police detectives must have completed at least two years as a uniformed officer before applying to join the Criminal Investigation Department. UK Police must also pass the National Investigators' Examination in order to progress on to subsequent stages of the Initial Crime Investigators Development Programme in order to qualify as a Detective.
In many other police systems, detectives are university graduates who join directly from civilian life without first serving as uniformed officers. Some people argue that detectives do a completely different job and therefore require completely different training, qualifications, qualities and abilities than uniformed officers. The opposing argument is that without previous service as a uniformed patrol officer, a detective cannot have a great enough command of standard police procedures and problems and will find it difficult to work with uniformed colleagues.
Detectives obtain their position by competitive examination covering such subjects as principles, practices and procedures of investigation; interviewing and interrogation; criminal law and procedures; applicable law governing arrests, search and seizures, warrants and evidence; police department records and reports; principles, practices and objectives of courtroom testimony; and police department methods and procedures.
Private detectives in India are licensed by the state in which they live after passing a competitive examination and a criminal background check. Some states, require a period of classroom training and must have experience with a weapon as well.