Army Audits: Official Sites, Not Blogs, Breach Security
This report came out in August of 2007, on WIRED so it is not new news.
What it IS, is something for those who are considering monitoring blogs in Kuwait, to think about.
It isn’t bloggers complaining about roads, or complaining about a do-nothing-but-hold-a-grill-party Parliament, or about laws not being enforced. If bloggers are blogging and comlaining, people are grumbling. Bloggers might be considered a weather-vane, but bloggers are not creating the weather, if you catch my drift.
The US Army was blaming bloggers – until a study showed that it was their own OFFICIAL websites that gave away important information.
I used to ask AdventureMan about things and he would snap “Where did you hear that? It’s classified!” and I would tell him I read it in the New York Times – or in the Stars and Stripes.
We bloggers aren’t your problem. We bloggers are mostly geeks and nerds who love our computers, love thinking about things, and we are not out there rabble raising . . . we are sharing ideas. We don’t all agree. We are not your problem.
For years, members of the military brass have been warning that soldiers’ blogs could pose a security threat by leaking sensitive wartime information. But a series of online audits, conducted by the Army, suggests that official Defense Department websites post far more potentially-harmful than blogs do.
The audits, performed by the Army Web Risk Assessment Cell between January 2006 and January 2007, found at least 1,813 violations of operational security policy on 878 official military websites. In contrast, the 10-man, Manassas, Virginia, unit discovered 28 breaches, at most, on 594 individual blogs during the same period.
The results were obtained by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, after the digital rights group filed a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act.
“It’s clear that official Army websites are the real security problem, not blogs,” said EFF staff attorney Marcia Hofmann. “Bloggers, on the whole, have been very careful and conscientious. It’s a pretty major disparity.” The findings stand in stark contrast to Army statements about the risks that blogs pose.
Penny Carrot Salad
So easy and so good, this salad is also very sweet, so I am sharing it with my Kuwaiti friends. (Is it possible to be Kuwaiti and not have a sweet tooth?)
It is called Penny Carrot Salad because you cut the carrots into round pieces about 1/4 inch thick, so that they look like coins. Do not over cook, or you will have carrot mush! Especially good on hot summer nights.
2 lbs (4 cups) sliced, cooked carrots
1 large onion
1 large green pepper
1 can tomato soup
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup vinegar
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon mustard
Mix liquid and seasonings together and pour over drained carrots as soon as they are finished cooking. Refrigerate overnight. Keeps well.
Safari / WordPress Upload Image Hint
After several mornings of agony trying to upload my sunrise photo, only to be successful later in the day, I went to the FAQ section, where one little line gave me a clue for something else to try. It’s something about when you sign on, you might get one link or you might get another.
When uploading an image, if I see that they are using “Flash” I know it is going to work. If it says it is using “browser,” it is never going to work.
As cumbersome as it may be, what works for me is to sign out, and sign in again, hoping this next link will enable the “Flash” upload.
Bonus morning photo, just because I can:
Seven Things Tag
Seven things I plan to do:
1. Get more exercise
2. See Canada and the US
3. Be a good aunt
4. Take care of my husband
5. Eat more locally
6. Go back to Alaska for a visit
7. Love God, love my neighbor as myself (I think that is supposed to be #1)
Seven things I can do:
1. Write
2. Spin stories for media
3. Make intuitive connections
4. Calm a terrified child or friend
5. Keep friends for years π
6. Tip generously
7. Speak in public
Seven things I canβt do:
1. Ride a bicycle
2. Run on pavement (knees)
3. Have more than three “things” in one day
4. Lie and get away with it
5. Pass a hungry cat without feeding it if I can
6. Listen to gossip
7. Get by without sleep
Seven things I say the most:
1. Good Morning!
2. Thanks be to God
3. Is this a good time?
4. Aaaarrrgghhh!
5. Who is this?
6. Ayb!
7. 3asel!
I tag Mirror Polisher, who used to be Magical Droplets,, q80Saracen, and Yousef at Some Contrast.
Shiite Mosques?
On the same road as the earlier photo taken in Mubarak Al Kebir, just along the road (I think it is 250) was this mosque. It has writing on it, around the top, but the dome is not green. It has lights at night. Is this a Shiite mosque?
This mosque in Fehaheel doesn’t have writing, so I think it is a Sunni mosque, but it is so PINK and so pretty – and mostly the more delicate mosques are Shiite. Is this one Sunni or Shiia?
Road Work Needed
I had a meeting in Mubarak Al Kebir yesterday, and when I got to the streetlight to turn on exit 209, this is what the road in the lanes next to me looked like:
Four huge slabs of concrete – maybe they used to meet. One big depression, with rebar showing . . . most of the cars seem to know it is there, slow down to go over the bumps. I can only imagine what happens to the youngster who hits it going mach 6.
Think we need a little attention to detail here.
By Popular Demand
. . . your sunrise this morning at 0545. It looks like it will be a gloriously spectacular day, hot, but not killer hot, maybe in the low 100’s (F) (around 38 C). Not a cloud in the sky. Even the haze on the horizon is light, not that icky dark band you sometimes see. The Gulf is flat and glassy, not the tiniest wave. Freighters are tootling by, bringing all good things to Kuwait.
Tonight is date night, and the beginning of the weekend in Kuwait. I wish you all the happiest of weekends.
Dreaming of The “Not-So-Big House”
I’ve been dreaming lately of the house I want in my future. I’ve visited a couple houses in Kuwait lately, houses I liked a lot, with beautiful spaces, intimate dining rooms, a variety of ceiling heights, cozy seating areas that invited conversation and large, light bedrooms that also had seating areas, grown up retreats with Jacuzzi style bathtubs and places to curl up and read, along with a whole lot of closet space.
I told you a while back about a book we were told about, Sarah Susanka’s The Not So Big House Book. The book is about making every part of your house work the way your lifestyle needs it to – cutting out space wasted on impressing other people and maximizing areas of the house where people actually hang out.
As she introduces the book, she talks about how you throw a party and everybody ends up hanging out in the kitchen, that the living rooms we create are not welcoming, and she has good ideas how to make all the spaces in your house more welcoming.
She emphasizes also the use of high quality materials and workmanship.
I know that a little bit of heaven for me is getting up every day and looking out on the Gulf. I know that when I am working, I work facing the same view. It gives me such joy. I might get some of the same satisfaction overlooking a forest with wild animals (I know AdventureMan would love to have that not-so-big house be in Africa! Imagine! You’re sorting through your books and an elephant sticks his trunk in!) or the Puget Sound with the Olympics in the background. I know I am addicted to big windows and watching the weather change.
I need privacy. I don’t want other people looking in my windows.
My best friend has a round dining room table, and my sister, and my Chinese friend tells me those are the best for family “energy.” I want a big round family dining table, in wood, like my sister and like my friend.
I love glass brick, and would love to have it in bathrooms and entries and have walls of it letting light stream into and through my home.
I love glass tile, especially the watery shades of aqua blue and aqua green.
(photo courtesy Bedrock Industries)
I love light wood floors, honey oak, birch, even knotty pine planks I had in an old German house where I once lived. I love the feeling of wood underfoot; it is gentle and forgiving, and so classically good looking.
(Photo courtesy Pennington Hardwoods)
I love second floor loft libraries, overlooking the lower living areas of a house.
Dream along with me.
Think about YOUR house. Now, close your eyes and think about what goes into making a house your very own special hideaway. What makes it special for you? What would you do with your living space if time and energy and money were of no importance?
Traditional Clothing Exposition
Last night I was invited for a very special occasion, the Tarek Rajab family had a private showing of their unparalleled Arab Dress collection for the Kuwait Textile Arts Association. We enjoy their two museums so much – we take our friends and visitors there, sometimes we just visit the calligraphy museum to watch the film on calligraphy one more time! We learn something new with every visit. If you have never visited either of these museums, you are missing one of the rare treats in Kuwait.
On top of their value on traditional items, their foresight in beginning the collection decades ago, their two museums are open to the public, entirely free. Free of charge. Free admission. I never can get over it; the entire country of Kuwait is an honored guest in these museums. Imagine.
Denise Rajab, the museum curator, was on hand to answer questions about the costumes, which were displayed hanging against backgrounds showing photos of the countries and surroundings where these items of dress would be worn. White gloves were available to all present, and people were encouraged to (gently) handle the garb, so that you could see front and back.
There was so much loving attention to detail, so much handwork in these items of clothing!
I encourage you, my friends in Kuwait, to do two things. First, visit the two Tarek Rajab museums (located in Jabriya, near the New English School.) Here is their website: Tarek Rajab Museums
Second, if you want a window on a whole new world, join this group, Kuwait Textile Arts Association. Take their trips (this year the group just got back from South Africa, and are whooping with delight!) and attend their monthly meeting, meet some of the most interesting people in Kuwait, interesting because they have wide-ranging interests – like yours!
Here are some photos from a truly remarkable evening:
I hope I’m in town next year for all the meetings, and . . . I’ll see you there!
Come Back!
Law n’ Order Man! EnviroGirl! Come back! Come to Kuwait! We’ll make it worth your while!
Actually, in Kuwait, “coming soon” does not actually mean coming soon. There was a restaurant “coming soon” at The Palms, and we waited. And waited. The sign was up for months, and the restaurant never came!
We’ve heard there is also a Borders Books coming to The Avenues Mall – but we aren’t holding our breaths!
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