The New York Times has an amusing article about how kisses are seen in different cultures and over time. The Germans and Chinese seem to be at opposite ends of the spectrum:

The German language has words for 30 different kinds of kisses, including nachküssen, which is defined as a kiss “making up for kisses that have been omitted.” (The Germans are also said to have coined the inexplicable phrase “A kiss without a beard is like an egg without salt.”) […] To this day, public kissing is still seen as indecent in many parts of the world. In 1990, the Beijing-based Workers’ Daily advised its readers that “the invasive Europeans brought the kissing custom to China, but it is regarded as a vulgar practice which is all too suggestive of cannibalism.”

Do you want salt with that kiss? The Chinese perspective seems like a cross between Freud and Darwin. More interesting, I think, is that the article tries to tie the emotive/relational character of a kiss to the success and safety of commuters.

Whatever its origins, kissing seems to be advantageous. A study conducted during the 1980’s found that men who kiss their wives before leaving for work live longer, get into fewer car accidents, and have a higher income than married men who don’t.

Interesing article by Felberbaum about the risks of blogging as a soldier:

In one incident, a blogger was describing his duties as a guard, providing pictures of his post and discussing how to exploit its vulnerabilities. Other soldiers posted photos of an Army weapons system that was damaged by enemy attack, and another showed personal information that could have endangered his family.

“We are a nation at war,” Warnock said by e-mail. “The less the enemy knows, the better it is for our soldiers.”

It’s not a good sign when a guard thinks it is ok to post details about vulnerabilities of his position on a blog. Hmmm….

On the other hand it is important to remember that information also can be used to fake out the enemy. Perhaps the most interesting recent example was when rubber aircraft and tanks were deployed before D-Day. Could there be blogs setup to fool the enemy?

Knowing that German intelligence would be trying to find out more, double agents planted stories and documents with known German spies. US General Patton was supposedly commander of the non-existent force. Pretend radio transmissions were broadcast, just as if a large army were busy being organised.

Also, hopefully not all blogs are restricted when the foolish ones are being shut-down. It would be nice if bloggers from the conflict could share information about soldiers learning to live in peace with the Iraqis (since there is no timeline for their withdrawl). I remember a blog some time ago (lost the link, unfortunately) that had images of a children’s playground in Iraq made by Americans from used Hummer parts including wheels and springs. Although it was sad to see the results of an overwhelmingly dire situation (destroyed Hummers, destroyed playgrounds), the ray of humanity was nice.