CLAWS FOR CONCERN: While the administration has spent a lot of time talking about waste, a government watchdog outfit called “Open the Books” quietly did the math on the Pentagon's September spending spree - and let's just say the fat, in this case, was in the Alaskan king crab. According to the outlet, the Defense Department dropped $2 million on Alaskan king crab, $6.9 million on lobster tail, and $15.1 million on ribeye steak in a single month and The Daily Beast and other media outfits were quick to bite on the story. The Pentagon spent more than $93 billion in September 2025 - the highest single-month total since at least 2008. In part, the spending spree was said to be driven by federal "use-it-or-lose-it" rules that push agencies to burn through their budget before year's end or risk getting less next year. The Daily Beast quoted one industry insider calling it "Amazon Prime Day" for the federal government. But wait there’s more. It is not just chow on the menu. Also picked up at the end of the year was: a $98,329 Steinway grand piano for the Air Force chief of staff's home, a $26,000 violin, and $3,160 worth of Paw Patrol and similar stickers. Whether DOGE, which made a sport of canceling $50,000 DEI contracts with great fanfare, had anything to say about $6.9 million in lobster tail remains, somehow, an open question. We understand it quietly disbanded toward the end of 2025. Perhaps they had a farewell party of lobster tail and Steinway tunes.
SPY NOVEL COMES IN FROM THE COLD: The Peacock and the Sparrow - the acclaimed debut spy novel from former CIA operations officer I.S. Berry - may be headed to the big screen. According to Variety, producers Scott Delman (Station Eleven) and Zanne Devine (I, Tonya) have optioned the book, which is set during the Arab Spring in Bahrain and follows a CIA operative whose mission unravels amid murder, conspiracy, and revolution. Loyal readers of The Cipher Brief will remember the book got a “four trench coat” review in 2023. Berry spent six years as a CIA operations officer and lived in Bahrain during the Arab Spring, lending the story serious bona fides. The novel swept the 2024 mystery awards circuit, winning the Edgar, Barry, Macavity, and International Thriller Writers awards for Best First Novel. No cast or director yet, but this one has all the ingredients.
FRESH PRINCE OF KATHMANDU: As readers of The Cipher Brief’s March 3 Global Intelligence Report know, the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Nepal, wedged between the world's two most populous nations, just handed its government to a political party led by a former rapper. Balendra Shah, a 35-year-old rapper-turned-politician, is headed for the prime minister's office after his Rastriya Swatantra Party swept Nepal's first parliamentary election since last year's Gen Z uprising toppled the old government. Shah trained as a civil engineer before breaking through as one of Nepal's most prominent rappers, releasing music targeting corruption and inequality that later became anthems of the protests. Why should you care? Well, Nepal may not dominate your morning intelligence brief, but it sits at one of the most strategically contested crossroads on earth. Both Beijing and New Delhi will now have to figure out how to conduct high-stakes great-power diplomacy with someone who used to drop mixtapes. And in honor of the occasion, The Dead Drop (with a little assistance from AI) crafted a rap (add your out beat):
Xi and Modi show up with gifts and chai, wondering ‘who IS this new guy?’ He beat a Communist and a Congress hack, with a civil engineering degree and a rap. Try to gaslight him? Good luck with that - he spent years calling out corrupt fat cats. From the booth to the briefing room, mic to the throne, Nepal's got a new beat - and the vibe is his own.
OK, we’ll keep our day jobs.
BANK RUN: Seven men, two armored cars, $80 million in cash and a few gold bars rolled into Budapest in two armored cars recently and Hungarian authorities say it looked a bit too much like the opening scene of a spy movie. Hungary says authorities are investigating possible money laundering and seized both the men and the money. Ukraine says it was simply a bank transfer that was hijacked by Viktor Orbán’s henchmen. Either way, it’s the sort of financial transaction that tends to attract attention at border crossings. According to the Associated Press, the Ukrainians were released on Friday but the Hungarians kept the cash. Shocker, we know. The good news is we’re not rapping about it.
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