DOJ WRITES THE HISTORY: A recent press release from the Department of Justice caught our eye. The headline blared: “Former CIA Officer Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Espionage.” A troubling story indeed. The lead of the DOJ statement read, “Alexander Yuk Ching Ma, 71, of Honolulu, a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to gather and deliver national defense information to the People’s Republic of China (PRC).” It goes on to say that Ma – has an unnamed blood relative who also worked for the CIA and apparently is cooperating with the government. But the third paragraph says that starting in March 2001, “when he no longer worked for the CIA” Ma first met with representatives of the Chinese “Shanghai State Security Bureau” and he and his unnamed relative turned over “a large volume of classified” info. Prosecutors believe this continued for quite some time. So, what was Ma doing while not working for the CIA? From August 2004 to October 2012, he was working for the FBI. So, it seems that DOJ could just have easily titled their press release, “Former FBI Employee Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Espionage.” But the other formulation probably sounded better at Justice. According to the announcement, under a plea agreement “Ma must cooperate with the United States, including by submitting to debriefings by U.S. government agencies. The plea agreement, if accepted by the Court, calls for an agreed-upon sentence of 10 years in prison. Sentencing is set for Sept. 11.”
THOSE DOG-GUN CHINESE: The Chinese military recently took part in joint training with Cambodian troops in an exercise dubbed “Golden Dragon.” But they might have called it “Golden Retriever” since it featured robotic dogs equipped with automatic rifles. Perhaps the mechanical mutts’ bark was worse than their bite – because according to press reports they did not fire any shots during the exercise. It is unclear if/when Beijing will unleash its killer canines. Metal dogs that can gun down humans is the stuff of nightmares. Don’t share this item with Governor Noem of South Dakota.
MEN, UNCLE SAM WANTS YOU – AND WANTS TO MAKE IT EASY ON YOU: For many years, young American men when they reach the age of 18 are required to register for the draft. The U.S. hasn’t drafted anyone in over half a century but better to be prepared to do so if needed, right? Apparently a lot of individuals have either intentionally or by happenstance skipped the registration process. But now members of Congress are proposing new legislation which would authorize the Selective Service system to pretty much automate the process. By using existing federal databases, officials think they can come up with a comprehensive list of potential draftees. The proposal was included in the House Armed Services Committee’s draft DoD authorization bill. According to Defense News the language was approved unanimously by the committee but must go through the full House and Senate before becoming law. There has been resistance to some proposals to include young women turning 18 to the list. Meanwhile, in the UK, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has proposed that all 18-year-olds in Britain not just have their names added to a list – but be required to perform one year of mandatory public service. Some would serve in the military – but others would be required to spend one weekend a month “working for charities, community groups, or organizations such as hospitals, the police and the fire service.”
TURNABOUT IS UNFAIR PLAY: Those wacky Russian TV talking heads are at it again. And thanks to Russia Media Monitor Julia Davis, you can see some of their blatherings translated. In this week’s edition, Vladimir Solovyov is in quite a lather due to reports that Western governments are considering seizing Russian assets to help pay for Ukrainian war damage. He says foreign businesses that have invested in Russia should have their assets seized in return. But that is not enough, Solovyov returned to a frequent topic – why Russia should use nuclear weapons. Adding “We have to destroy all of the U.S. surveillance structures in the sky and in space, everything that operates in the interests of Ukraine’s Armed Forces.” He also proposes hitting drone bases in Italy and asked, “What are they going to do? Nuclear war is inevitable either way.” Why did our parents and grandparents spend all that money on nukes if we are not going to use them, he asked.
TOP GUN AUSTRALIA SHOT DOWN: The Dead Drop first told the story of Daniel Duggan about 18 months ago. The former U.S. Marine Corp fighter pilot had become an Australian citizen and was running a company called “Top Gun Australia” which provided adventure flights for tourists. But he got in trouble for also allegedly helping train Chinese pilots on how to land on an aircraft carrier. The Department of Justice has been trying to extradite him since late 2022. Now, a judge in Sydney ruled that Duggan was indeed extraditable – after spending 19 months in an Australian maximum-security prison. His lawyers are still fighting the ruling but it looks like Duggan’s time down under may be up.
LONG WALK LEADS TO STANDING O: Iranian screenwriter and film director Mohammad Rasoulof created a motion picture that set some things in motion. The film, called “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” was about a family caught up in the protests that were promted by the death of a 22-year-old woman held in Iranian custody for improperly wearing her head scarf. The film displeased the Iranian regime and Rasoulof received word he was bound for a flogging, fine and an 8-year prison sentence. So, he elected to hoof it out of Iran on foot through a secret mountainous route. But instead of just laying low – he showed up at the Cannes Film Festival where his flick was shown – and earned a twelve-minute standing ovation. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty posted a short video about Rasoulof’s trek to the red carpet.
POCKET LITTER: Dead Droplets and bits and pieces of interesting /weird stuff we discovered:
BREAK-IN NEWS: People are always inventing stuff we didn’t know there was a need for. Latest example – reported by Task and Purpose – an Air Force security team has developed some tools to help them break into Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities (SCIFs) in less than a minute. The highly secure rooms that are akin to bank vaults are (understandably) hard to get into. But these MacGyvers have come up with a backpack borne, battery powered tool that can rip the doors (which cost nearly $25,000 each) off a SCIF. Left largely unexplained in the article is exactly why someone (on the side of the good guys) would need to break into a SCIF that quickly. But maybe the owners sometimes forget the access codes.
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