WARNING: Before reading The Dead Drop, note that the following content contains humor and sometimes pronounced snarkiness that might not be suitable for people who are unable to occasionally laugh at themselves or their preferred political party.
SOMETHING TO BE THANKFUL FOR: 47.5 months to the next presidential election.
SOMETHING TO NOTE: The biggest losers in the 2020 presidential election are likely pollsters. Over the last couple of cycles they have demonstrated the precision of Baghdad Bob. Of course, predictions are hard – especially if they are about the future as (choose one: Niels Bohr, Sam Goldwyn, or Yogi Berra) once said. Some polls – looking backwards – can be interesting, however. For example, the exit polls which show the breakdown of people who have voted. The 2020 exit polls showed that 52% of voters who had served in the U.S. military at one time voted for Donald Trump. Joe Biden got 52% of the non-vets. In 2016, Trump won the votes of 61% of the electorate with past military service. Hillary Clinton got 50% of the non-veteran votes. So, it looks like Trump’s support from vets shrank over the past four years. Wonder what caused that?
NOW, HE TELLS US: In what may be the least surprising turn of events in recent years, Edward Snowden has applied for dual Russian citizenship. The fugitive former NSA contractor announced that he and his wife (who are expecting a son) have made the application. In a tweet, Snowden said: “After years of separation from our parents, my wife and I have no desire to be separated from our son. That's why, in this era of pandemics and closed borders, we're applying for dual US-Russian citizenship.”
ATLAS SHRUGGED: Maybe White House Coronavirus Task Force advisor Dr. Scott Atlas should have asked Snowden what the initials “RT” stood for before granting the outfit an interview. In late October, Atlas did a lengthy interview with the news organization formerly known as Russia Today. He claimed not to know who he was talking with and later tweeted: “I recently did an interview with RT and was unaware they are a registered foreign agent. I regret doing the interview and apologize for allowing myself to be taken advantage of. I especially apologize to the national security community who is working hard to defend us.” An unclassified DNI report from January 2017 described RT as “the Kremlin’s principal international propaganda outlet” and part of “a Kremlin-directed campaign to undermine faith in the US government and fuel political protest.” Administration officials told CNN that Atlas agreed to the 27-minute interview on his own without White House approval. Dr. Atlas’s comments during the interview seemed to be interview malpractice. In it, he suggested that government lockdowns kill people, he denigrated the effectiveness of masks and disputed models showing a high death total in the US from coronavirus in the coming months. It is a toss-up whether the biggest problem was what Atlas said – or who he said it to. Cipher Brief experts, including retired Admiral James Stavridis noted on twitter that if you are going to be giving interviews without knowing to whom you are dealing with you might as well be talking to “Borat.” Speaking of which – on election day, Rudy Giuliani (who famously DID appear in the most recent Borat picture) gave an interview to RT.
CAN YOU HACK IT? The U.S. Cyber Command is sponsoring what sounds like a fun event from November 17-19. Along with the Maryland Innovation & Security Institute, they have acquired a 150,000 SQ ft, two-story office building in Annapolis - full of critical automation and IT systems – and they are inviting folks to “Hack the Building.” They have created a fictious digital manufacturing and engineering company and will use it for organizations to showcase their offensive and defensive cyber skills. It is too late to sign up to join the attackers or defenders – but the organizers are planning on creating a documentary about the event.
POCKET LITTER: Bits and pieces of interesting / weird stuff we discovered:
MAYBE THEY RAN OUT OF NERVE AGENTS: Prominent Russian figures seem to regularly meet their demise by getting poisoned by nerve agents or falling out of windows – but this is a new (or possibly very old) means of exit. Vladimir Marugov, a Russian oligarch who owned the country’s large meat-processing plant and was nicknamed “The Sausage King” was murdered in his outdoor Sauna on Monday with a crossbow. This brings lots of questions to mind. Including: “outdoor sauna”?
GHOST HUNTERS: Just in time for Halloween, Stars and Stripes told its readers about a club at the Yokota Air Base in Japan called the “Yokota Ghost Hunter Club.” Apparently, spooky things happen there a lot – otherwise, how would you explain their more than 900 members listed on Facebook? Some of their stories sound pretty benign – knocking noises and beds that strip themselves of blankets and sheets.
NOT DESPICABLE AT ALL: When Air Force personnel are not busy chasing ghosts – they are having fun for Halloween. Ten airmen dressed up as yellow minions from the movie “Despicable Me” and were videoed marching aboard a C-17 in Qatar. Why? Who knows.
JUST IN TIME FOR NEXT HALLOWEEN: The Army Museum Enterprise has announced that it is offloading tons of excess artifacts from its holdings. "The Army Museum Enterprise is reviewing everything from tanks and howitzers to uniforms and canteens over the next five years,” according to Stefan Rohal, AME Historic Materiel Division chief. Unfortunately, they will be making the stuff available only to other museums, veterans organizations, national parks and state and local governments. Years from now, we expect the USAF equivalent organization will be giving away excess yellow minion uniforms.
ISN’T IT GOOD, INDIANA WOOD? Join the Navy and see the TREES? You learn something every day (or at least should try to.) Recently, we learned that the U.S. Navy maintains a forest of white oak trees in the middle of Indiana. It turns out, it is part of the supply chain for maintaining “Old Ironsides” aka the USS Constitution. The ship, which is still in commission, was launched in 1797, and, like anything 223 years old, from time-to-time, it needs repair. When the hull needs a new hunk of white oak to remain afloat, the Navy foresters in Indiana collect the needed supplies.
WOOD YOU HELP KEEP THE DEAD DROP AFLOAT? You could be on deck if you send your news tips to: TheDeadDrop@theCipherBrief.com.
