Dead Drop: January 7

THE CHINESE ARE BAD ACTORS:  Not just the government – but also their actors. The Chinese news agency Xinhua released a 4 minute and 41 second English-language spoof video that mocks British and U.S. intelligence.  The Guardian provided a copy – and if you have five minutes to waste – give it a look.  The Chinese call it “No Time to Die Laughing” but rest assured there is no danger of you doing so. The film features a British spy dubbed “James Pond” AKA “Agent 0.07” and a female CIA officer they call “Black Window.” (The reasons for this must have been lost in translation.) Real world MI6 chief Richard Moore responded by thanking China for the “free publicity” referring to a speech he made last year calling Beijing his agency’s “greatest priority.” The Chinese may pose a military and cyber security threat to the West – but Hollywood has nothing to worry about.  We asked the CIA what they thought of the spoof but they didn’t respond.  They were probably too busy laughing.

BYE NUNES:  This week, Devin Nunes (formerly R-CA) resigned from Congress to become CEO of Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG.) He is, of course, familiar to Dead Drop readers as the colorful and controversial former chairman (and then ranking member) of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI.)  House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has named Representative Mike Turner (R, OH) as the new ranking member of HPSCI. Given the narrow split between the parties and the common occurrence that the party of out power gains seats in mid-term elections, that means that Turner has a decent chance of becoming HPSCI chairman in the session of Congress that will begin a year from now in 2023.  Turner is a former mayor of Dayton, Ohio (home of Wright Patterson AFB) and, according to Politico – is “considered more of a pragmatist than his predecessor.”