Just kidding.\u00a0 Life in the \u201cfast lane\u201d it is not.\u00a0 You get a text at 8 PM from the producer asking if you can be on at 6 AM the next morning.\u00a0 You say \u201csure\u201d because that is what you publicist told you to do.\u00a0 After all, you are trying to sell a book.<\/p>\n
So, I say \u201cyes\u201d, iron my clothes, and get everything ready for the morning.\u00a0 After about five hours of restless sleep the alarm wakes you up at 4:15 AM.\u00a0 No lingering in bed this morning \u2013 got to get up and be awake.\u00a0 You can\u2019t mess up on live TV.<\/p>\n
The limo shows up at 4:45 AM, and you hop in with breakfast for the day: Three raw carrots and a cup of not very good instant coffee.<\/p>\n
We arrive at the studio at 5:30 AM, just to have enough time for some makeup and to get wired for the mike.\u00a0 By the way, the CNN building in Atlanta is first rate, and the studios and other facilities are state of the art.<\/p>\n
Thank goodness, this time I will be in studio right with the anchors, Victor Blackwell and Cristi Paul.\u00a0 The alternative is to be in a room by yourself talking to a camera.\u00a0\u00a0 I hate that!\u00a0 Note that every time you see a split screen or multiple talking heads, they are in different locations all by themselves.<\/p>\n
The topic, of course, is once again Russian spying and their alleged attempts to penetrate the Trump campaign.\u00a0\u00a0 Well, at least this time I can contribute with some expertise.\u00a0 This was the case in the old Soviet Union, and there is no reason to believe it changed:\u00a0 When you do business with the Russian government or large Russian companies (pretty much controlled by the government), you will invariably be in contact with Russian Secret Service personnel (whether they are full time or part time volunteers).\u00a0 Over time, there will be a dossier about you, and some analysts and senior agents at the SVR, GRU, or FSB (successors of the KGB) will try to figure out how best to make use of what they know about the target.\u00a0 Very often the attempts stop at trying to influence the target in some way and feeding them false information.\u00a0 Direct recruitment of Americans would obviously be the ultimate target, but that is done, if at all, very carefully.\u00a0 After all, you do not want to alert a useful person and lose them altogether.\u00a0 However, if there is a \u201chook\u201d (primarily money problems and a skeleton in the closet that can be used for blackmail) it will be used.\u00a0 Bottom line, if you do business with a dictatorial country (China, Russia, Cuba) limit your activities to business, and for God\u2019s sake keep your nose clean to stay out of trouble.<\/p>\n