U.S. Post Office lets us see the images they capture of our letters.

[ThePythonicCow]

I just received an email offer today, from the United States Postal Service (USPS), our national post office, inviting me to sign up for a free email, to be sent out each day that new letters to me are sent, which would contain images of the letter(s) that I will be receiving shortly.

So ... obviously ... the US Post Office is imaging every letter that's sent.

Here's the email offer I just received:

http://thepythoniccow.us/USPS_Informed_Delivery.jpg

[Foxie Loxie]

Oh my word!! :facepalm:

[norman]

The question.

Do they only do it for the people who sign up for the service, or do they do it to all mail ?

The 2nd Question.

If it's only for the people who want the service, is it a cover for setting up the tech' to do it to all mail ( then lie about it ) ?

[ThePythonicCow]

Is that even legal...?
I don't see any legal problems with imaging the outside of letters. Indeed, the Post Office has been using Optical Character Recognition scans to read and route mail for quite a while now.

Note - it's just (so far as the Post Office will ever admit) the outside of the letter that is imaged.

¤=[Post Update]=¤


The question.

Do they only do it for the people who sign up for the service, or do they do it to all mail ?

The 2nd Question.

If it's only for the people who want the service, is it a cover for setting up the tech' to do it to all mail ( then lie about it ) ?

I assume that the USPS has been imaging the outside of all mail for a while, to read the address if nothing else, and storing those images for nearly as long.

[enfoldedblue]

Hi Paul, This is just an image of the letter as it would appear in transit...i.e. you would just see the envelope right or box. Obviously they are not opening mail and packages and sending a digital version of the contents. Just checking...

Cheers

[sanma]

I had heard this a few years ago, no way to verify it.
The machines that read addresses certainly look like they could contain a camera in their innards as well.

Iirc the story was that letters & packages were photo'd as they came in which would imo be logistically more difficult than later at the sorting machine in the distribution center. Unrealistic also imo to photo at the receiving post office which is what one would assume from that notice. I'll ask my friendly postal lady.

Could it be that this is a limited hangout response to recent revelations about other agencies? IE, "we set up these cameras *for this project* of providing an extra service to consumers." "What? The nsa/cia/etc have all these photos? Heavens! That's shocking!" [someone inserts a clip from the movie Casablana here. -- "Gambling? I'm shocked, SHOCKED!" ]

[sanma]

Here it is:

SjbPi00k_ME

[ThePythonicCow]

Hi Paul, This is just an image of the letter as it would appear in transit...i.e. you would just see the envelope right or box. Obviously they are not opening mail and packages and sending a digital version of the contents. Just checking...

Cheers

Yes - correct.

The place where a few sparks flew off my tin-foil hat was the implicit acknowledgement by the Post Office that they store these images for later use(s), which I presume include surveillance as well as sending us that helpful email.

[ThePythonicCow]

I had heard this a few years ago, no way to verify it.
The machines that read addresses certainly look like they could contain a camera in their innards as well.

Iirc the story was that letters & packages were photo'd as they came in which would imo be logistically more difficult than later at the sorting machine in the distribution center. Unrealistic also imo to photo at the receiving post office which is what one would assume from that notice. I'll ask my friendly postal lady.
Yes - the address reading machine is almost certainly a camera, connected to some optical character recognition software.

I presume that sortable first class email (aka "letters") are imaged at the same time that they first enter an automatic sorting machine, and that reading the address and capturing the image of the outside of the envelope are all done using the image captured by one and the same camera.

[JRS]

No wonder they keep losing money! Is the CIA/NSA paying for this?

[Fellow Aspirant]

WTF???

Surely they're only going to be showing the envelope, and not the contents!?!? Aren't they? But even if it's "just" the envelope, you're right - this reveals a scanning, 'reading' via an AI program, and linked online communication capability that really has no right to exist, let alone be deployed. Very disturbing development

B.

[Alan]

I'm sure the reason they do this is to enhance CIA/NSA monitoring of our every activity. 1984 is real.

[Lifebringer]

Welcome to our world. They were following a guy from CO who used a random address next to where he solod drugs and to try sending it through, they happened upon my disabled hubbyVet, slamming his deteriorating back disc(7of them) and arthritic shoulders w/spurs into hell on floor.
I was not home when they wrongfully smashed our door in before he could reach it from back kitchen, throwing him to the floor,ripping muscles that support him where he required two shots a week to sleep.
I say this because there is a seizure benefit for cops and watch out, still thinking of suing.

[Lifebringer]

Lists of family and business contacts.
Snoop squads/paddy rollers/McCarthy days ahead, all depends on the leaders associates paranoia/fear, with everyone else caught in the sweep.

¤=[Post Update]=¤

10 billion pentagon tax dollars to snoop public and head off prosecutions for corruption/"cya" program..

[Pam]

I would definitely read the small print and every other word of the 'agreement' before I signed up.

[Desire]

maybe it is also a way for us to be aware of what mail we should be receiving so we can check on those that never reached us!

[Bayareamom]

Russell Tice revealed awhile back during an interview on RT that, indeed, the U.S. Postal Service scans ALL mail and has been doing so for quite some time. Tice also stated during this same interview that 'items of interest' are earmarked during this process, and any such type mail is, at times, set aside in 'bins' or 'pulled' from its route, during this process. I almost fell off my chair when I heard Tice state this. I will reveal (for the first time on record) that my father has had an affiliation with a certain intelligence agency since his time served in the Navy. Several years ago, I sent my father several letters, which detailed shall we say certain items of interest which were at that time, happening to my family. I mailed these letters directly to his business address (where he had worked for over 50 years). He stated at some point later on that he had never received any of those letters. They had all been intercepted.

According to Tice, 'they've' been doing this for a very long time.

[Bayareamom]

Here is a portion of what Tice stated during this interview I've mentioned in my recent comment:

..."It’s been disclosed recently that the post office is now doing a cover on every tangible letter that goes to the post office. They’re taking the picture of everything. They’re looking at the return address and they’re looking at the main address at who is mailing something. And that is also being digitally stored. So every means of communication in this country, everything is being watched by the federal government. And that is Orwellian and that is a trademark of a police state."


Here is the transcript of Tice's full interview and the video of same:

http://whowhatwhy.org/2014/01/16/transcript-another-nsa-whistleblower-russell-tice/

[ThePythonicCow]

I wonder if the private shipping companies (the major ones in the US are UPS and Fedex) are watched so closely by the intelligence agencies.

[norman]

I don't want to write here the method I use to communicate with people the watchers would like to know about, but, if I told you, you'd fall on the floor laughing.