Yes, it is easy to forge email headers. No, it doesn't require hacking into the military network. Yes, that is a real problem for families of service members. Ironically enough, Bruce Schneier (a real security expert, even without a Ph.D.) wrote on his blog on another issue just today "The headers on an e-mail are not a good authenticator of its origin."

On the other hand, if I received an email from someone claiming that a previous email with nearly identical headers wasn't really from them I'd 1) ask them how I could be sure the denial was really from them, 2) insist that they always use some form of strong authentication when communicating with me in the future, such as that provided by PGP or its free variant GPG and 3) insist on a face to face meeting to exchange the necessary keys for PGP. Once an email has been either forged or denied no further email from that address can be trusted. Without action by Col. Boylan to fix the situation all further email from that address has to be assumed to be fake. This unreliability in Col. Boylan's email communications should be published as widely as possible

As far as the larger problem that exists, for families of service members and everyone else who uses email - the internet was never designed to be secure (hence spam and other nasties). If you want security you actually have to use the additional tools.

...when he described Petraeus as "an ass-kissing little chickenshit" and then said, "I hate people like that"

Would a person of any wisdom or integrity choose a semi-literate fool like Col. Boylan as their spokesperson?

****************

U.S.-IRAQ: Fallon Derided Petraeus, Opposed the Surge

By Gareth Porter*

WASHINGTON, Sep 12 (IPS) - In sharp contrast to the lionisation of Gen. David Petraeus by members of the U.S. Congress during his testimony this week, Petraeus's superior, Admiral William Fallon, chief of the Central Command (CENTCOM), derided Petraeus as a sycophant during their first meeting in Baghdad last March, according to Pentagon sources familiar with reports of the meeting.

Fallon told Petraeus that he considered him to be "an ass-kissing little chickenshit" and added, "I hate people like that", the sources say. That remark reportedly came after Petraeus began the meeting by making remarks that Fallon interpreted as trying to ingratiate himself with a superior.

@2:10, RMP. and a 9:37 whizz! And non-sizzle, 9:42, GG's addresses his normal idiosyncrasies? A style, a fun joyful contest-Cockhayahag, 7:08, or NO, @ 8:04- may-heh, at-@-at a 2:10 and O, just love 'um? non-sizzle. mjsphdrea, -~`~- a what goodies.

o, 2: 10, gO.

A "IDIOSYNCRATIC STYLE MAKES YA'S LOVE 'UM?

I Wang to send a corny-delivery? okay, wee need to talk of Norman Podhoretz? ~--~ on PBS? on-line? A chimney sweep? A moon scam scared-dared, @ an lunar eclipse? O, a case of Miller Light can-can- canned beer, for a White House Billy goat? Hi, Hi, sand Hi's. heh, and tsk.

Owen, Ive not checked your Mental condition, yet. You Hy-din? Juan Sebastian .com. com. a-come-Back? Yer Hy-din and pissing ya's britches with Rush Limbaugh? You hid behind a Wolfgang Handel? You a violin concerto-freak? You a kook-kook? Yer crave a cheat Miller Light? Ya's lady drag a trollop's wheeled-lobby a Senator's over-nighty, one-day-boom-boom, dragged wheeled luggage?

Yer want a creamed s*it on a dry, soggy, rye bread toasted shingle fer b-fast or wait until brunch?

Yer a Juan Sebastian ~.~ com, com--Bach lover? I ETS. huh?

I feel a heart-throb. A AK- crack? a hole to the heart? A human heart pumping a foot-forth, outward? Throb. A drop to the jungle Earth! A person may crawl into the bushes to moan, scream, and croak...

I need a violin handle, a Bach, a beautiful cantata... a actress ordering me to read Oliver Twist. okay. I met her today. I trying with AOL, and all my heart to GO away, Be Silent! I must sense peace. A felt a AK, a m-16, a direct 'hit to the heart.

O, to watch a shy creature crawl, drag 'um self into a bush, and then "give forth up- a spirit...O, wow-okay. Hear. O, a loud,

A loud crack-sound, and a human-scream, a shout, a blood-curl yell, a m-16 round to the heart ~-~ O, oh, ah, and does it sure-enough-does hurt. A man down, and a fellow human-being crawls into the jungle bushels, and he dies. He gasp. He is dead. Curled up in a bush.

O, Bach, help? Om, O, hay!

Do I smell bean rice soup?

Yea, NO want to be a goner.

Yea, a Buddha gal, a Mufi, o, belly button dance? yea, and okay.

O, charlie v.c. (no venture capital) need some peace and rest, okay.

_

O, grow a disguise. Okay, I'll sport a green dye beard, and get a dog named, Punk-Rock Dog Wonder Bread? okay. yea.

Send the dawg to Law School? Hen: Attend a Mid evil theological, monastic class, and NO let them call a law flunk damn "lib" a flunky.

O, sue Martin Luther for NOT plugging up the holes and for the heinous crime of plagerized-a-name, and poor O, Mr. Martin Luther.

Martin never plugged the Wittenberg church doors nail-s. He told the Pope sensuality was not a venal or mortal sin. Gads. Great!

O, shad up. It is a gather a flower, and a green ball walnut looking nut. Who ever heard of brownies, with no crunched walnuts?

O, I forgot what I was gonna say, today. I try to wean again and no turn on a electric' gadget' ever, crack, crack, ping, a bullet round, wing, and down-dead.

A dead. A last squirm. A groan, and it's all over...duh, dead as a door's ding, knock-knock, nsa?fbi?Glenn?DoD?

O, gads.

O, some sauvage vinegar on good greens?

O, okay.

Call: 202-452-7468.

No get brain tumor.

Bottom line: it is a federal offense to impersonate an officer. I know that. Col. Boylan must also. Why isn't he calling for a federal investigation?

What Col. Boylan and a newly politicized military are doing, as pointed out by others, fits a pattern of intimidation to silence dissenting voices. The idea of a dominant military in our government has a nightmarish quality to it.

As if this weren't bad enough, there is another front in this battle: media consolidation, led by FCC chair Kevin Martin. Those who can't be intimidated can be bought out. What Martin, Rupert Murdoch, Sam Zell (Tribune Co.) et al aim to do is to own as much media as possible, from the most local to the national level. With this level of ownership no dissenting voice can be heard loudly enough to make a difference.

It makes no difference to Mr. Martin that an earlier attempt to do this was beaten back by the public, Congress and the courts. He is at it again, damn what the people think, and couldn't give a fig for the wishes of the people he supposedly serves. And if he succeeds it will be exceedingly difficult to do the things that matter to us the most: ending this war, returning to a sane foreign policy, and using our treasure not to enrich the war-profiteering elite, but to look after our own people

For more, see on DemocracyNow.org:

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/10/22/1415254