WHERE'S THE RUSSIAN FLAG? The Cipher Brief Threat Conference was held in Sea Island, Georgia this week at the same location where former President George W. Bush held the G8 Summit back in June 2004. Yes, G8. As you might remember, the global gathering brings together leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US (and includes a visit from the EU) but it also used to include Russia. So, in the flag-lined Summit Room, there is a large photo of the world leaders walking the beach together and flags from each of their respective countries are carved into the wood table, where the group gathered to discuss global events. You might also remember that Russia got booted from the group after its 2014 invasion of Crimea (officially changing it back to the G7). We’re pretty sure the Russian flag is still carved into that table. However, one or more of the Cipher Brief attendees may have spent a little too much time contemplating whether it should stay that way. The ‘general’ consensus seemed to be: let it be.
SIGNS THAT WE ARE LIVING IN DIFFICULT TIMES: If you have any doubt that we are living in potentially dangerous times you probably have not been watching the news. The off-camera, remarks last week by President Joe Biden at a fundraiser, saying that we are closer to Armageddon than at any time since the Cuban missile crisis, got a lot of attention. And then, The Hill reported that the Department of Health and Human Services recently spent $290 million on a drug that is used to treat radiation sickness. But they just “coincidentally” timed the order, mind you. But not to worry – the media are here to help. This week, Newsweek published an article on the “Best Place to Survive Nuclear War in the U.S.” They don’t entirely fulfill the promise of giving readers that answer – they probably want to avoid a traffic jam. They do quote one professor as advocating “a rural area which is not downwind of an obvious target” and in a “valley where the hills would give you some protection from heat and blast from bombs which go off (miles) from where you are.” Well, that narrows it down.
WHICH WAY IS UP? It depends on who you ask. It is that time of year again when the Gallup polling organization reveals its findings on what Americans think about the performance of various federal government agencies and departments. In recently released findings, Gallup says the CIA and FBI bounced back somewhat from last year’s approval drop. For 2022, CIA got 52% excellent or good ratings, 27% “only fair” and 19% poor. The Bureau came in at 50% excellent or good, 21% only fair and 28% poor. The pandemic is not over for the Centers for Disease Control which continues to have pretty bad ratings. The Federal Reserve Board’s ratings are trending in an opposite direction of inflation figures, going down bigtime. The somewhat better numbers for CIA and FBI mask a continuing disconnect between the way the organizations are viewed by the two main political parties. The FBI gets a major thumbs up from 79% of Democrats but just 29% of Republicans. The CIA’s comparable numbers are 69% positive from the D’s and 38% positive from the R’s.
SURVEY SAYS: A story in the Wall Street Journal by Jessica Donati, says an internal State Department survey revealed that nearly half of the employees of the Department reported experiencing “discrimination, bullying and harassment in the workplace.” Presumably the other half were DOING the discriminating, bullying and harassing. Ouch.
THERE IS A DIFFERENCE: It seems like every election cycle, one or more political campaigns screws up by using images of Russian military personnel or equipment in advertisements that are meant to depict U.S. forces. This year’s entry in the Hall of Shame comes from the campaign of Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake. Her campaign ran an advertisement saying, if elected, she plans to deploy the Arizona National Guard to the Mexican border to protect her state. Unfortunately, to depict the Arizona guard, her ad team used stock footage of Russian soldiers marching in a victory parade (something they have not had much of lately.) And it’s not just politicians screwing up. A whole bunch of news organizations just wished the U.S. Navy a happy birthday in social media postings that featured an image of Russian ships.
WEIRD STORY GETS WEIRDER: Remember when we told you in our September 2nd Dead Drop collection about Inna Yashchyshyn, a Russian-speaking, Ukrainian-born, woman (recently from Illinois) who allegedly snuck into Mar-a-Lago pretending to be a European heiress from the Rothschild family? Yeah, that old ploy. Well, a man named Valeriy Tarasenko, who was allegedly “closely associated” with the fake Rothschild woman, and who reportedly had met with the FBI and (according to reporting in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) “turned over a host of documents and photos that are tied to an investigation into (the woman and) her trips to the former president’s estate,” - was shot last week in Canada at a resort favored by Russian tourists. Tarasenko reportedly had a falling out with the woman some time ago. It’s unclear who shot him or why, but we’re pretty sure it was not a member of the Rothschild family. The New York Post says Tarasenko told them last month, that Yashchyshyn was “a Russian spy.”
OMG! NOT BTS! The Associated Press says members of the Korean K-pop supergroup “BTS” are subject to be drafted for military duty in their country’s armed forces. Some of the band’s seven members may get called up soon under South Korean law, which says that all able-bodied men must require 18 to 21 months of military service. There are exemptions for athletes, classical and traditional musicians, and ballet and other dancers who have won certain awards. Whether the pop group should also get deferments is quite controversial. Some people refer to BTS as a “Boy Band” but since its members are approaching 30 years of age – perhaps that’s not the best moniker anymore. Seems to us calling them up makes sense since, as we understand it, the name “BTS” is derived from a Korean phrase called “Bangtan Sonyeondan” which translates to “Bulletproof Boy Scouts.” Sounds like a good skill for future soldiers.
POCKET LITTER: Dead Droplets and bits and pieces of interesting /weird stuff we discovered:
SALUTE-TATIONS: We spotted an article in Military Times titled, “7 legitimate uses for the ‘yes sir’ emoji” and one thought immediately sprang to mind, there is a “yes sir” emoji? Apparently so. Admittedly, we were a little behind in our emoji-ology and this was a new one on us. Turns out, there’s a website called “Emoji-pedia” that tells you much more than you ever wanted to know about such images. The saluting guy reportedly was approved in 2021. And the image looks different depending what kind of phone/tablet/computer you use. On an Apple device, for example, it appears as a snappy right-handed salute but only half a face. Why there is only half a face evokes a shrug emoji from us. The version on Twitter looks more like someone patting a yellow chap on the head, but at least that one has two eyes and an entire face.
WE SALUTE DEAD DROP CONTRIBUTORS: Want to generate a smiley face with us? Send your tips to TheDeadDrop@theCipherBrief.com.
