National Security Memorandum on Improving Cybersecurity for Critical Infrastructure Control Systems

"Protection of our Nation’s critical infrastructure is a responsibility of the government at the Federal, State, local, Tribal, and territorial levels and of the owners and operators of that infrastructure.  The cybersecurity threats posed to the systems that control and operate the critical infrastructure on which we all depend are among the most significant and growing issues confronting our Nation.  The degradation, destruction, or malfunction of systems that control this infrastructure could cause significant harm to the national and economic security of the United States.

Section 1.  Policy.  It is the policy of my Administration to safeguard the critical infrastructure of the Nation, with a particular focus on the cybersecurity and resilience of systems supporting National Critical Functions, defined as the functions of Government and the private sector so vital to the United States that their disruption, corruption, or dysfunction would have a debilitating effect on national security, economic security, public health or safety, or any combination thereof. 

Sec. 2.  Industrial Control Systems Cybersecurity Initiative.  Accordingly, I have established an Industrial Control Systems Cybersecurity Initiative (Initiative), a voluntary, collaborative effort between the Federal Government and the critical infrastructure community to significantly improve the cybersecurity of these critical systems.  The primary objective of this Initiative is to defend the United States’ critical infrastructure by encouraging and facilitating deployment of technologies and systems that provide threat visibility, indications, detection, and warnings, and that facilitate response capabilities for cybersecurity in essential control system and operational technology networks.  The goal of the Initiative is to greatly expand deployment of these technologies across priority critical infrastructure..."
Cybersecurity and infrastructure 

The Slaves of the White House Finally Get to Have Their Stories Told

"President Barack Obama might be the first black president to serve in the White House, but he certainly was not the first black person to live there. Yet the history of the original black residents of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue has been sparsely reported on, as Associated Pressreporter Jesse J. Holland discovered when he began researching his latest book, The Invisibles: The Untold Story of African American Slaves in the White House. The Invisibles—a smart sketch on the lives of these men and women in bondage—is intended to serve as a historical first take. Holland’s goal writing about the slaves who resided alongside 10 of the first 12 presidents who lived in the White House is to start a conversation on who these enslaved people were, what they were like, and what happened to them if they were able to escape from bondage..."
Slaves and the White House

Join the White House Fall Garden Instagram Meetup

"Today, we're excited to announce an opportunity for our Instagram followers to take a special tour of the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden, the Rose Garden, and the South Lawn, including the  White House Kitchen Garden on Sunday, October 27th.  
Interested in joining? Be sure to follow @WhiteHouse or @MichelleObama on Instagram..."
White House Fall Garden meetup

United States National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security

"The goal of this National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security is as simple as it is profound: to empower half the world’s population as equal partners in preventing conflict and building peace in countries threatened and affected by war, violence, and insecurity. Achieving this goal is critical to our national and global security.

Deadly conflicts can be more effectively avoided, and peace can be best forged and sustained, when women become equal partners in all aspects of peace-building and conflict prevention, when their lives are protected, their experiences considered, and their voices heard.

As directed by the Executive Order signed by President Obama entitled Instituting a National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security, this Plan describes the course the United States Government will take to accelerate, institutionalize, and better coordinate our efforts to advance women’s inclusion in peace negotiations, peacebuilding activities, and conflict prevention; to protect women from sexual and
gender-based violence; and to ensure equal access to relief and recovery assistance, in areas of conflict and insecurity...

White House Announces 2011 Fall Gardens and Grounds Tours

"The White House will open its gardens and grounds to visitors on Saturday, October 15th from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and on Sunday, October 16th from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Visitors can view the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden, Rose Garden and the South Lawn of the White House. The Kitchen Garden will once again be accessible to tour guests.

The Garden Tours are free and open to the public; however, a ticket is required for all attendees (including small children). The National Park Service will distribute free, timed tickets at the Ellipse Visitor Pavilion located at 15th and E Streets on each tour day beginning at 8:00 a.m. Tickets will be distributed -- one ticket per person -- on a first-come, first-served basis..."