Dead Drop: March 31

WAIT, MAGAZINES HAVE MAGAZINES?  We recently learned that The Economist has its own magazine – called “1843” named for the year The Economist was founded.  (Technically, The Economist calls itself a “newspaper” which never made a lot of sense to us because it looks like a magazine.)  But in any case, 1843 last week, ran a very interesting article on the CIA’s defector resettlement program. You can access the piece here (IF you are a subscriber to The Economist.) If not – don’t despair The Cipher Brief delved into many of the same topics in 2019 in a two-part interview with Joe Augustyn, the former head of the Agency’s National Resettlement Operations Center (NROC).  (Part one here.)  (Part two here.)  _Augustyn (a Cipher Brief expert) is featured in the 1843 piece, too.

AS GOOD AT MATH AS HE IS AT MARTIAL ARTS:  Steven Seagal, who was born in Michigan, reportedly told the Russian government news agency Tassthat he now considers himself “one million percent Russian.”  He claims to be teaching hand-to-hand combat for new military recruits in Moscow – a skill which may come in handy since the Russians are said to be sending troops to the front in Ukraine without weapons other than shovels.  If you under the impression that Seagal is a genuine martial arts expert you might want to check out this video from a few years back. The video apparently was assembled by a “bullshido” expert – i.e. – someone skilled at fighting BS.