WELL, IT HAPPENED ONCE: The CIA reminded folks on President’s Day that George H.W. Bush is the only CIA Director who also become president. Now, sources say Mike Pompeo is drawing up plans to be the second. Pompeo also has “ex-Secretary of State” on his resume. Salon.com says recent filings with the Federal Elections Committee suggest that Pompeo is getting ready to start raising money for a 2024 run. He will have to get busy since he has just $13,665.85 in his campaign coffers at the moment, but the former spy chief has made little secret of his ambitions. While he was SECSTATE, Pompeo hosted lavish “Madison Dinners” with lots of fat cats as guests – so there is little doubt he has a mailing list handy in case he wants to write to them. And if his guests want to write back (including a check perhaps) they may be armed with branded specially engraved pens (we like to think of them as “swagger sticks”) that Pompeo passed out at the dinners. “CREW” (Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington) says Pompeo spent more than $10,000 in taxpayer funds for 400 pens which were custom embossed with the Madison logo and expedited to Foggy Bottom from China (of all places) to be passed out as party favors.
AVALANCHE OF BAD INFORMATION: There were massive floods recently in India’s Himalayas. Water rushed down mountainsides and killed dozens of people and destroyed two hydroelectric plants. Some locals think they know the cause: the CIA. No really. According to Forbes, the theory relates to a 1965 incident when the Central Intelligence Agency and Indian officials reportedly tried to install a nuclear-powered surveillance device on top of a mountain to spy on China. But in the aftermath of a snowstorm, the plutonium-powered device fell into a crevice – never to be seen again. Some locals believe that, 55+ years later, the device is still working – emanating heat and melting snow and causing avalanches. Experts say there is no chance that that is the explanation of disaster – but it makes a pretty good story.
LOGO NO GO: Negative reviews keep coming in about the redesigned CIA website and odd black and white re-designed logo. An opinion piece in Bloomberg.com led with the notion that the rebranding was unveiled “a few days before insurrectionists stormed the U.S. Capitol.” We are not aware of any connection between the two events, but that doesn’t sound like a compliment. While the logo has been receiving brickbats – we have been hearing from a number of folks that a more serious problem is that the re-designed Agency website is far-less user friendly than the old, less creepy, version.
NOT AGAIN: It must be a slow news week. One of the most common crutches for editors these days is to find a former CIA officer and get them to rate and rank spy movies. Latest to lean on this trope is “Insider.com” which chatted up Michele Rigby Assad who they identify as a former CIA “agent.” The story says Assad served undercover for ten years focusing on counterterrorism and is now a “corporate consultant and keynote speaker.” She is also the author of Breaking Cover: My Secret Life in the CIA. Give the Insider some credit, however, for putting a little effort into the project. The article comes with a video in which they show scenes from eleven movies and TV series episodes and Assad talks about what she likes and doesn’t about each. She is a tough grader. A scene from the TV series “Alias” gets a 1 out of 10. Argo does best, earning a 9 out of 10 in Assad’s eyes.
PRECIOUS MEDALS FOR SALE: The Mirror newspaper in the UK says that CIA officer Jim Fees masterminded a scheme in the late 1970s to acquire a Soviet-designed MiG-23 to be used to train U.S. pilots on how to defeat the Soviets should they ever meet in aerial combat. For his efforts during his career – Fees is said to have been awarded a Distinguished Intelligence Medal and two Intelligence Medals of Merit. But the former Agency officer concealed them “in a custom-made frame in his home – behind a picture of the Middle East.” Fees died in 2017 and his daughter, who lives in England, is auctioning them off. Initial estimates were around £3,000.
POCKET LITTER: Bits and pieces of interesting /weird stuff we discovered:
ROSES ARE RED, VIOLETS ARE BLUE: Are you sure this is what a spy agency is supposed to do? On February 14th, the CIA posted a tweet wishing its followers a happy Valentine’s Day using the well-worn “roses are red” verse. The reactions ranged from: “huh?” To: “yuk.” Criticism came in from the usual suspects (e.g. RT) and from less political outfits who just felt – well, sort of weirded out.
MAKE YOUR CRIB: Continuing with the “perhaps trying too hard” category – there is news that retired Navy Admiral Bill McRaven is adapting his best-selling book Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life…and Maybe the World and will be coming out with a kids version on October 12th. The pint-sized edition will be called Make Your Bed With Skipper the Seal. No word on whether it will include anything about the Bin Laden raid.
HAVEN’T WE SUFFERED ENOUGH? The Russian Federation has delivered more than its share of misery to the world – but they are not done. Last week, to “honor” something called “Diplomats Day,” the Russian Embassy in Canberra, Australia posted a music video on YouTube called “The House of the Russian Emb.” The tune is based on “The House of the Rising Sun,” made famous in 1964 by the British rock group “The Animals.” It is a toss-up as to whether the singing or the modified lyrics are worse. But at least these Russians were busy knocking off songs instead of dissidents.
♫ THERE IS A THING CALLED LACK OF LEAKS: And it — is no damn fun. It’s been the ruin of many a website… and God, don’t let this be one. ♫
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