Smart Stamps - Government tracking your mail

Perhaps it should not come as a surprise that the U.S. Government is doing everything in its power to suppress and monitor the American people. George W. Bush is often criticized as running a regime similar to Hitler¹s, and his support in the polls continues to dwindle below 48% approval. The rest of the world is shunning the American Government and people who are blinded into submission and are dubbing the USA as the greatest threat to peace of today. Activist groups increase, and the misdoings of the Government are more accessible today than ever before in history. It makes sense, then, that the powers-that-be would attempt to stifle and oppress its people to maintain control over them so that they can pursue their own agendas. With the passing of the Patriot Act, our “civil liberties” have been reduced to almost nothing, and we have been tricked into being thankful for the theft of our freedom in the name of “Homeland Security”. But, like all greedy regimes, they are not finished yet... they now have legal ways to spy on our emails and internet use, library records, and phone conversations, but that is not enough - they also want to monitor the US Postal Service with “smart stamps”, stamps that will monitor and track all correspondence through the USPS.

If the smart stamp plot actualizes, anyone buying stamps would be required to show identification and the anonymity of the mail system will become obsolete. The colorful and unintruding stamps we now know would be replaced with a barcode stamp that would contain the senders identity, date and place the postage was paid. This method is already in use by the popular postage website stamps.com.

popular postage website stamps.com. The rationale for this new scheme is, of course, national security. Anthrax-tainted letters have cost the post office an estimated five billion in equipment damage, clean-up and lost revenues, and they are looking for a way to protect themselves and their profits, no matter what the cost to consumers, privacy or freedom. A postal service worker admitted that the service was “aggressively looking at virtually everything thats out there” to increase security. The USPS wants to be able to track and identify every person who is sending mail, when they are sending it, and who they are sending it to.

Other benefits that are given for smart stamps include the fact that law enforcement authorities would gain new investigative tools in the event of a mail related terrorist attack, that it would make people accountable for the mail they are sending, and that it would reduce costs associated with undeliverable mail which totals over $1.9 billion each year.

Meanwhile, the FBI is already allowed to photocopy the outside of unopened letters and packages sent or received by “suspected criminals” to monitor their communications.

Privacy advocates are fuming and see this new technology as a repression and attack on civil liberties. An “intelligent” mail system using smart stamps would enable the FBI to build huge databases tracking communication on a broad scale. It would also stifle free speech and would enlarge the government¹s monitoring powers. “We have a long history in this country of anonymous political speech,” said Ari Schwartz, associate director of the Center for Democracy and Technology. Any change that removes anonymity from the public mail system is "making a major change to political discourse in this country,” he said.

Meanwhile, major high-tech companies, including Canon, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Lockheed Martin, Pitney Bowes, Symbol Technologies and Stamps.com, are pushing the Postal Service to adopt intelligent mail systems. Each participates in a special committee on intelligent mail run by the Mailing Industry Task Force, a cross-industry group formed in 2001 with the support of Postmaster General John Potter

The US Postal Service is in severe financial trouble and is constantly raising their prices while their service declines. Many people have switched almost entirely to email or alternative mailing services such as FedEx or UPS because the USPS is becoming more unreliable and expensive. Creating smart stamps will certainly not help the USPS in the public relations department or sales. Perhaps we will be forced to resort to private messengers, coded messages or faxes for our communications.



			Smart Stamps Track Your Mail: Increased Government Surveillance by Rachel Naba Perhaps it should not come as a surprise that the U.S. Government is doing everything in its power to suppress and monitor the American people. George W. Bush is often criticized as running a regime similar to Hitler¹s, and his support in the polls continues to dwindle below 48% approval. The rest of the world is shunning the American Government and people who are blinded into submission and are dubbing the USA as the greatest threat to peace of today. Activist groups increase, and the misdoings of the Government are more accessible today than ever before in history. It makes sense, then, that the powers-that-be would attempt to stifle and oppress its people to maintain control over them so that they can pursue their own agendas. With the passing of the Patriot Act, our “civil liberties” have been reduced to almost nothing, and we have been tricked into being thankful for the theft of our freedom in the name of “Homeland Security”. But, like all greedy regimes, they are not finished yet... they now have legal ways to spy on our emails and internet use, library records, and phone conversations, but that is not enough - they also want to monitor the US Postal Service with “smart stamps”, stamps that will monitor and track all correspondence through the USPS. If the smart stamp plot actualizes, anyone buying stamps would be required to show identification and the anonymity of the mail system will become obsolete. The colorful and unintruding stamps we now know would be replaced with a barcode stamp that would contain the senders identity, date and place the postage was paid. This method is already in use by the popular postage website stamps.com. popular postage website stamps.com. The rationale for this new scheme is, of course, national security. Anthrax-tainted letters have cost the post office an estimated five billion in equipment damage, clean-up and lost revenues, and they are looking for a way to protect themselves and their profits, no matter what the cost to consumers, privacy or freedom. A postal service worker admitted that the service was “aggressively looking at virtually everything thats out there” to increase security. The USPS wants to be able to track and identify every person who is sending mail, when they are sending it, and who they are sending it to. Other benefits that are given for smart stamps include the fact that law enforcement authorities would gain new investigative tools in the event of a mail related terrorist attack, that it would make people accountable for the mail they are sending, and that it would reduce costs associated with undeliverable mail which totals over $1.9 billion each year. Meanwhile, the FBI is already allowed to photocopy the outside of unopened letters and packages sent or received by “suspected criminals” to monitor their communications. Privacy advocates are fuming and see this new technology as a repression and attack on civil liberties. An “intelligent” mail system using smart stamps would enable the FBI to build huge databases tracking communication on a broad scale. It would also stifle free speech and would enlarge the government¹s monitoring powers. “We have a long history in this country of anonymous political speech,” said Ari Schwartz, associate director of the Center for Democracy and Technology. Any change that removes anonymity from the public mail system is "making a major change to political discourse in this country,” he said. Meanwhile, major high-tech companies, including Canon, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Lockheed Martin, Pitney Bowes, Symbol Technologies and Stamps.com, are pushing the Postal Service to adopt intelligent mail systems. Each participates in a special committee on intelligent mail run by the Mailing Industry Task Force, a cross-industry group formed in 2001 with the support of Postmaster General John Potter The US Postal Service is in severe financial trouble and is constantly raising their prices while their service declines. Many people have switched almost entirely to email or alternative mailing services such as FedEx or UPS because the USPS is becoming more unreliable and expensive. Creating smart stamps will certainly not help the USPS in the public relations department or sales. Perhaps we will be forced to resort to private messengers, coded messages or faxes for our communications. Sunnyside Home - The Earth Center Home