BUZZ KILL: Remember all those stories about multiple incidents of mysterious swarms of small aerial vehicles that enveloped some U.S. Navy ships off Southern California in 2019? There was a lot of speculation that they might be an infestation of extraterrestrial aliens checking out the fleet. Well, not quite. The website TheDrive.com launched a FOIA request aimed at the Pentagon and got their hands on documents that indicate the mysterious objects were drones that were launched from an unresponsive Hong Kong-based civilian ship called the MV Bass Strait. TheDrive’s story includes Navy deck logs, photos, emails, and power point charts. The documents say some of the drones reached altitudes of 21,000 feet above sea level. Others came within 200 yards of Navy ships. A Navy briefing slide stated that the Navy assessed that the commercial cargo ship was likely conducting surveillance on Navy vessels using drones, or unidentified aerial vehicles (UAVs). A draft public affairs statement characterized the behavior of the drones as dangerous and not in accordance with the “rules of the road” or “internationally recognized maritime customs.” Bottom line – not nice – but not aliens.
TALK ABOUT A CRAPPY JOB: Merde! It was a scoop first reported in Paris Match but was quickly picked up by the New York Post. The tabloid was in its element rolling out puns and bathroom humor about how (allegedly) when Vladimir Putin travels aboard, his elite FSB has the unenviable task of boxing up their number one’s number twos. According to the report the Federal Protection Service agents are charged with collecting Putin’s poop and putting it into special briefcases for repatriation to Mother Russia. Maybe they should be rebranded as “Fecal Protection Service.” Apparently, this is not a new phenomenon but a long-standing practice of making sure Vlad’s output doesn’t fall into the hands of foreign intelligence services who might analyze it and learn his health secrets – or something. Putin’s shaky health has been the subject of lots of scrutiny of late. In another story this week, the British tabloid the Daily Express posted video of Putin at a Kremlin ceremony giving an award to a Russian filmmaker. The video shows Putin standing at a lectern with his legs undulating oddly back and forth. It could be a sign of some neurological issue – either that or he just needs that FSB briefcase — right away.
THAT’LL LEAVE A MARK: We can’t verify the accuracy of this – but we saw it on Twitter, so it must be true. Canadian academic Michael MacKay reports that Kyiv was founded in the year 482, and that in the year 1147, the Grand Duke of Kyiv issued a decree founding Moscow. But MacKay also reports that just this year, the Kyiv City Council rescinded that decree saying it was due to a “historical misunderstanding.” So, if we get this right, they’re saying Moscow no longer exists.
MUAMMAR’S MISSING MILLIONS: No, make that “billions,” maybe hundreds of billions. There is an interesting piece in Vanity Fair by Adam Ciralsky about an ongoing treasure hunt to find hidden assets left behind by quirky kleptocrat Muammar Qaddafi. There are lots of people looking for the riches that the Libyan leader stashed away. An organization called the Libyan Asset Recovery and Management Office (LARMO) is hot on the trail of the liberated loot. Ciralsky says an unnamed U.S. defense contractor made a deal with the Libyan provisional government to search for hidden stolen assets, in exchange for a cut of what they find. The contractor reportedly “unleashed a team of CIA, DIA, IRS and NSC veterans in support of the effort.” It is a long, convoluted story full of anecdotes about pallets of stolen cash and museums full of pilfered antiquities. But it sounds like quite a search party.
THIS HAS “FUTURE MOTION PICTURE” WRITTEN ALL OVER IT: While not yet optioned (as far as we know), word is that author Ronald Drabkin has landed a book deal with William Morrow to write “Beverly Hills Spy,” the story of Frederick Rutland, a dashing British World War 1 flying ace who moved to California after the war and was big on the Hollywood social circuit. According to some accounts, Rutland flipped and became a spy for Japan, providing intelligence that contributed to the attack on Pearl Harbor. The book is said to be based on recently released FBI files and freshly translated Japanese documents. Some of the background on the story was published in The Hollywood Reporter earlier this year. Among the nuggets in that story was that Rutland was a friend of actor Boris Karloff, which seems somehow appropriate.
POCKET LITTER: Dead Droplets and bits and pieces of interesting /weird stuff we discovered:
WHEN YOU CARE ENOUGH TO SEND THE VERY BEST: Want to send a message to invading Russian forces in Ukraine? According to a Ukrainian Telegram account, you can do so by donating at least $40. If you do, Ukrainian forces will write your message on an artillery shell before firing it at the “Orcs” (a derogatory term they use for Russians.) According to Vice, there is a volume discount – you can get two artillery shells and messages for just $70. Operators of the shell game promise to send you a photo of your message suitably inscribed – in case you want to wish someone a happy Father’s Day or something. But assuming the shells are actually fired, and explode, the Russians are going to have a devil of a time reading them – but we guess it’s the thought that counts.
ARTIFICIAL UNINTELLIGENCE: The Pentagon recently welcomed their first “Chief Data and Artificial Intelligence Officer” Craig Martell, who was brought in to energize DoD’s data and AI efforts. Just to make sure that Martell didn’t get the idea that whipping the bureaucracy into shape was going to be easy, he told the DoD Digital and AI symposium, that after three days of trying, he still had not been able to obtain a “common access card” – the ID card necessary for Pentagon civilians and military personnel to access the building. So, he spent part of his initial time in office standing in the visitors’ entrance line. Go figure.
THE FEW, THE PROUD, THE…ARMY? We are guessing that some staffer working for Senator Bill Hagerty (R, TN) had the best of intentions when they put together a tweet congratulating the U.S. Army on its 247th birthday. Some eagle-eyed observers noticed however, that the congrats had three accompanying photos, the most prominent being the famous flag raising scene on Iwo Jima. Sticklers noted that that image is generally associated with the U.S. Marine Corps. Shortly thereafter, Hagerty replaced the iconic Iwo shot with one of some soldiers saluting in front of a static flag. At least we think they were soldiers.
HAPPY ARMY BIRTHDAY, SHIPMATES: In case you were wondering what to get your friends at The Cipher Brief to help celebrate the Army anniversary, Aim High. Make History. Send your news tips to TheDeadDrop@theCipherBrief.com. Semper Fi.
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