Someone poisoned a former Russian spy, a new Bond movie just hit the cinemas, and two real British agents said in an interview for the BBC that they have no license to kill. And half of the world is laughing at the only secret service that is called Secret Service and whose agents failed to notice a thief stealing the purse of U.S. President George W. Bush's daughter while she was dining in a Buenos Aires restaurant.

In a certain way, the story of a Prague high school where students protested against the principal's decision to have cameras installed forms a part of this espionage mosaic. All of that has to do with a great issue of this decade: What chance do we have to protect our own privacy? In the electronic age, almost all the information about us is saved in virtual space. And it is getting tougher to secure information that shouldn't be seen.

Two stories from real life: A real estate agent was boasting that life is easier now, because he can check up on any client, simply by calling his friend who works in a bank — a quick look at the client's account reveals almost all about him. If you are bored, you can "research" your neighbors. Just enter the online version of the land registry; you only need the house number. Try it and you'll realize that protection of privacy is a topic not just for activists.

And what kind of information do the secret services have access to? Not long ago, the White House was outraged by a newspaper article stating that American agents were able to look into almost every international financial transaction. The digital age is not the only reason why barriers protecting our privacy disintegrate. This is also the age of terrorism.

In the end, this can bring something positive. In some countries, they don't use window curtains — everyone can have a look to see that "I have nothing to hide." The same works for private information. But to uncover that someone's reputation has been tarnished will be a lot easier. Officials and spies will both enjoy that, Rybář writes.

Pre-World War II Czechoslov-akia was the world's third-biggest sugar producer after Russia and Germany, but today we may be forced to import sugar, Jiří Franěk writes in Právo Nov. 23.

Eastern Sugar, owner of the major Czech sugar mills, is preparing to leave the country, taking with it the production and growing quotas granted by the European Union. Some 200 Czech sugar-beet growers gathered to protest the other day. They are right to feel injustice has been done, but are unlikely to change anything. Another quota may come from Brussels, but it amounts to defending a lost position. The sugar beet is soon to vanish from all European fields, possibly as early as in 2009, when Czechs chair the European Union; we expect a fight over farm subsidies.

Beet sugar was a bargain product in the days when labor was cheap. Today, it's expensive, and it is only thanks to subsidies that sugar beets are grown in Europe. Farmers welcome them but they keep prices high. The world's full of cheaper sugar. Americans, and even Hungarians, have long been producing sugar from corn. It can't be helped; money talks.

As beet growing becomes history, those who count on it today already are getting a good headstart. I understand the farmers' feelings, but they will have to look for another product. Maybe the aforementioned corn, Franěk writes.