10/09 is World Post Day

Submitted by enhydra lutris on Mon, 10/09/2023 - 5:00am

~~ US Mail

On October 9, 1874, the General Postal Union was created. Prior to that, international mail was based on bilateral treaties between countries. The treaty of Bern, which created the General Postal Union provided:

There should be a uniform flat rate to mail a letter anywhere in the world
Postal authorities should give equal treatment to foreign and domestic mail
Each country should retain all money it has collected for international postage.

In 1878 the General Postal Union was renamed the Universal Postal Union, a farsighted move readying humankind for the day when we finally use the postal system to mail something off planet. Since then, the UPU has instituted many modifications and changes and arguably some enhancements as well.

One of the many enhancements brought about by the UPU was the creation of World Post Day to memorialize and celebrate the October 9 signing of the Treaty of Bern and the importance of the postal service.

On October 9, 2006, the DPRK conducted its first nuclear test, GWBush (Bush the Lesser) suddenly decided not to invade it despite his previous declaration of war upon it. Years later, Obama would assure the world that it was all some kind of joke, but took no official steps to rescind the Bush Declaration. The DPRK, seemongly, did not buy his story.

**********

On this day in history:

1264 -- The Kingdom of Castile conquered the city of Jerez, the source of Sherry
1410 -- The first known mention of the Prague astronomical clock.
1582 -- Adoption of the Gregorian calendar eliminated this day in Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain.
1604 -- Somebody spotted Supernova 1604
1635 -- Roger Williams was banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony
1740 -- Dutch colonists and slaves began to massacre ethnic Chinese in Batavia
1804 -- Hobart was founded
1820 -- Guayaquil declared its independence from Spain. (Good yerba mate' down there)
1824 -- Costa Rica abolished slavery
1847 -- Saint Bartholemy bolished slavery
1854 -- The siege of Sebastopol began
1873 -- The U.S. Naval Institute was established.
1874 -- The Treaty of Bern created the General Postal Union
1934 – An Ustashe assassin kills King Alexander I of Yugoslavia and Louis Barthou, Foreign Minister of France
1936 -- Generators at Boulder Dam began cranking out juice
1950 -- The Goyang Geumjeong Cave massacre started, with South Korean police killing 153 unarmed civilians.
1966 -- The Binh Tai massacre in Vietnam by ROK marines.
1967 -- Ernesto "Che" Guevara was killed for attempting to incite a revolution
1969 -- The National Guard was called in to suppress demonstrations about the "Chicago Eight" trial
1970 -- US puppet Lon Nol's fascist "Khmer Republic" dictatorship was proclaimed.
1981 -- France abolished capital punishment. Texas struggled to pick up the slack.
2006 - DPRK conducted its first nuclear test, GWBush suddenly decided not to invade.
2012 -- The failed attempt to assassinate Malala Yousafzai took place.

**********

Some people who were born on this day:

If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there'd be peace.

~~ John Lennon

1201 -- Robert de Sorbon, the founder of the College de Sorbonne
1581 – Claude Gaspard Bachet de Méziriac, mathematician, poet, and scholar
1835 – Camille Saint-Saëns, composer and conductor
1837 -- Francis Wayland Parker, "the father of progressive education" - Dewey
1859 -- Alfred Dreyfus, as in Dryfus affair, as in J'accuse
1873 -- Karl Schwarzschild, physicist and astronomer
1890 -- Aimee Semple McPherson, religionist, founder of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel
1893 -- Mario de Andrade, author and poet
1899 -- Bruce Catton, author and historian
1901 -- Alice Lee Jemison, Seneca political activist and journalist
1908 -- Lee Wiley, jazz singer
1918 -- E. Howard Hunt, spook, plumber, criminal, all around asshole
1918 -- Bebo Valdes, pianist, composer, and bandleader, arranger for the Tropicana
1920 -- Yusef Lateef, multi-instrumentalist, blended jazz with eastern music
1922 -- Olga Guillot, singer, the queen of bolero
1934 -- Abdullah Ibrahim, pianist and composer, did Mannenberg
1939 -- O. V. Wright, singer, songwriter and producer
1940 -- John Lennon, singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer
1941 -- Omali Yeshitela, activist, founder of the Uhuru Movement
1944 -- John Entwistle, English singer, songwriter, bassist, moose, and producer
1944 -- Nona Hendryx, singer, songwriter, producer, and actress
1945 -- Taiguara, singer
1947 -- France Gall, ye ye singer
1948 -- Jackson Browne, singer, songwriter and guitarists
1949 -- Rod Temperton, keyboard player, songwriter and producer
1960 -- Kenny Garrett, saxophonist
1961 -- Kurt Neumann, singer, songwriter, guitarist
1975 -- Sean Lennon, singer, songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor

**********

Some people who died on this day:

Above all, always be capable of feeling deeply any injustice committed against anyone, anywhere in the world. This is the most beautiful quality in a revolutionary.

~~ Che Guevra

1943 -- Pieter Zeeman, physicist
1967 -- Che Guevara, physician, politician, commandante
1978 -- Jacques Brel, singer, songwriter and actor
1987 -- Clare Boothe Luce, author, playwright conservative activist **
1999 -- Milt Jackson, Vibraphone player
2004 -- Jacques Derrida, philisopher
2007 -- Enrico Banducci, founder of the hungry i
2014 – Carolyn Kizer, poet and academic

** Ms. Luce, upon once arriving at a doorway at the same time as Dorothy Parker stepped aside and motioned her through saying "Age before beauty", to which Ms. Parker blithely replied "Pearls before swine" and walked on through.

**********

Some Holidays, Holy Days, Festivals, Feast Days, Days of Recognition, and such:

Independence of Guayaquil from Spain in 1820 (Ecuador)
World Post Day

**********

Today's Tunes

Jerez

The General Postal Union (Two-Fer)

Che

Aimee Semple McPherson

Mario de Andrade

Lee Wiley

Bebo Valdes

Yusef Lateef

Olga Guillot

Abdullah Ibrahim

O. V. Wright

John Lennon

John Entwistle

Nona Hendryx

Taiguara

France Gall

Jackson Browne

Rod Temperton

Kenny Garrett

Kurt Neumann

Sean Lennon

Jacques Brel

Bonus:

Yusuf Lateef

The Moose

Jackson Browne

**********

Ok, it's an open thread, so it's up to you folks now. So what's on your mind?

Cross posted from http://caucus99percent.com

Open Thread, Sherry, Che, Lon Nol, Dryfus, Aimee Semple McPherson, World Post Day, Milt Jackson, Jacques Brel, Jackson Browne, Rod Temperton, Yusuf Lateef, John Entwhistle, John Lennon, Sean Lennon, Abdullah Ibrahim, Derrida, Banducci

Tags:

Open Thread

Sherry

Che

Lon Nol

Dryfus

Aimee Semple McPherson

Vote

Comments

Submitted by Lookout on Mon, 10/09/2023 - 7:14am

Sadly TPTB still want to privatize the US mail...

In one sense, there is no legal requirement that only the government deliver the mail. The USPS does use private contractors on a regular basis. However, there is a constitutional snag for private ownership. Under Article I, Section 8, only Congress has the power to “establish Post Offices and post Roads,” the latter meaning mail routes.

There is no provision in the Constitution for Congress to abdicate its responsibility and leave the regulation of mail to private interests, even down to the level of deciding what facilities could process the mail. It would take an interesting twist by constitutional originalists to interpret the original intent of the framers to include such a choice.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/eriksherman/2020/08/17/7-reasons-privatizin...

Those who want to privatize say...

...the USPS has lost more than $50 billion since 2007, and will likely continue losing money unless there are major reforms.3 One problem is that Congress stymies USPS efforts to improve efficiency. It impedes USPS plans to close unneeded post office locations, even though the bottom 4,500 rural locations average just 4.4 customer visits a day.4 It blocks the consolidation of mail‐processing centers, and it blocks USPS plans to end Saturday delivery. Private businesses make such adjustments to their operations all the time as demands for their products fluctuate.

USPS’s costly union workforce is another problem. USPS worker compensation is substantially higher, on average, than for comparable private‐sector workers.5 Collective bargaining agreements—which cover more than four‐fifths of the USPS workforce—make it more difficult for management to make cost‐saving changes, such as increasing part‐time work. And, in some cases, unions have resisted the automation of postal functions.

The postal system’s financial challenges stem from first‐class mail volume falling from a peak of 104 billion pieces in 2001 to 62 billion pieces in 2015, a decline of 40 percent.6 The decline is driven by the rise of email, Facebook, Evite, and Internet bill paying; the decline of printed magazines; and the rise of online advertising as an alternative to bulk print advertising.

The USPS’s financial challenges have been compounded by a requirement passed in 2006 to pay down the company’s large unfunded liabilities for retiree health care.7 USPS defenders complain that private companies are not required to pre‐pay retiree health costs. But the vast majority of private firms do not even offer retiree health coverage. Also, since traditional mail faces a long‐term decline, it is better to tackle these costs now than to leave them to taxpayers down the road under a possible federal bailout of USPS.

I like the idea of turning post offices into local banks, but not likely since that might compete with other banks.

Ironically there's no mail deliveries today...

Columbus Day, the second Monday in October, is one of the most inconsistently celebrated U.S. holidays. It’s one of 11 official federal holidays, which means federal workers get a paid day off and there’s no mail delivery. Because federal offices will be closed, so will most banks and the bond markets that trade in U.S. government debt. The stock markets will remain open, however, as will most retailers and other businesses.

Beyond that, Columbus Day seems to be fading as a widely observed holiday, having come under fire in recent decades from Native American advocates and others, who’ve argued that Christopher Columbus isn’t an appropriate person to celebrate.
...
several states have moved away from Columbus Day. California and Delaware dropped the holiday entirely in 2009, the latter swapping in a floating holiday for state workers. Maine, New Mexico, Vermont and D.C. all renamed the day Indigenous Peoples’ Day in 2019, while retaining it as an official holiday.

Thanks for the OT and all the music!

—

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Submitted by enhydra lutris on Mon, 10/09/2023 - 11:05am

Goog morning Lookout, thanks for reading. It was

@Lookout

once felt that communication was important enough that it should be a universal service, and mostly, even in the US, a government service. I'm always amused by the crap about how much money the postal service "loses", as if it were ever intended to make a profit. Think about how much the State Department "loses", or the Dod. Why Single out the poor old Post Office?

be well and have a good one

In one sense, there is no legal requirement that only the government deliver the mail. The USPS does use private contractors on a regular basis. However, there is a constitutional snag for private ownership. Under Article I, Section 8, only Congress has the power to “establish Post Offices and post Roads,” the latter meaning mail routes. There is no provision in the Constitution for Congress to abdicate its responsibility and leave the regulation of mail to private interests, even down to the level of deciding what facilities could process the mail. It would take an interesting twist by constitutional originalists to interpret the original intent of the framers to include such a choice. https://www.forbes.com/sites/eriksherman/2020/08/17/7-reasons-privatizin... Those who want to privatize say... ...the USPS has lost more than $50 billion since 2007, and will likely continue losing money unless there are major reforms.3 One problem is that Congress stymies USPS efforts to improve efficiency. It impedes USPS plans to close unneeded post office locations, even though the bottom 4,500 rural locations average just 4.4 customer visits a day.4 It blocks the consolidation of mail‐processing centers, and it blocks USPS plans to end Saturday delivery. Private businesses make such adjustments to their operations all the time as demands for their products fluctuate. USPS’s costly union workforce is another problem. USPS worker compensation is substantially higher, on average, than for comparable private‐sector workers.5 Collective bargaining agreements—which cover more than four‐fifths of the USPS workforce—make it more difficult for management to make cost‐saving changes, such as increasing part‐time work. And, in some cases, unions have resisted the automation of postal functions. The postal system’s financial challenges stem from first‐class mail volume falling from a peak of 104 billion pieces in 2001 to 62 billion pieces in 2015, a decline of 40 percent.6 The decline is driven by the rise of email, Facebook, Evite, and Internet bill paying; the decline of printed magazines; and the rise of online advertising as an alternative to bulk print advertising. The USPS’s financial challenges have been compounded by a requirement passed in 2006 to pay down the company’s large unfunded liabilities for retiree health care.7 USPS defenders complain that private companies are not required to pre‐pay retiree health costs. But the vast majority of private firms do not even offer retiree health coverage. Also, since traditional mail faces a long‐term decline, it is better to tackle these costs now than to leave them to taxpayers down the road under a possible federal bailout of USPS. I like the idea of turning post offices into local banks, but not likely since that might compete with other banks. Ironically there's no mail deliveries today... Columbus Day, the second Monday in October, is one of the most inconsistently celebrated U.S. holidays. It’s one of 11 official federal holidays, which means federal workers get a paid day off and there’s no mail delivery. Because federal offices will be closed, so will most banks and the bond markets that trade in U.S. government debt. The stock markets will remain open, however, as will most retailers and other businesses. Beyond that, Columbus Day seems to be fading as a widely observed holiday, having come under fire in recent decades from Native American advocates and others, who’ve argued that Christopher Columbus isn’t an appropriate person to celebrate. ... several states have moved away from Columbus Day. California and Delaware dropped the holiday entirely in 2009, the latter swapping in a floating holiday for state workers. Maine, New Mexico, Vermont and D.C. all renamed the day Indigenous Peoples’ Day in 2019, while retaining it as an official holiday. Thanks for the OT and all the music!

—

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Submitted by QMS on Mon, 10/09/2023 - 8:22am

Honor thy Natives

Good morning -

Just bought a roll of "freedom" stamps. $66.00. Would better be called the inflation stamp.
I see some congress critter is trying to investigate Commisar De Joy, head of the USPS
again. It has been pretty obvious the guy is as crooked as a blank stamp for awhile now.
But these crooks are never held to account. Instead, they are rewarded by being
shielded from negative publicity in the MSM.

Submitted by enhydra lutris on Mon, 10/09/2023 - 11:09am

Good morning QMS, thanks for reading. I don't understand

@QMS

why De Joy was allowed to stay on in the first place. He was originally given the job of destroying the PO and should hav been let go and the first Admin change.

be well and have a good one.

—

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Submitted by mimi on Mon, 10/09/2023 - 10:42am

ok, it is the World Post Day - I better hurry and write a letter

to God. I ask him to grant to all the people the mental peace to forget everything they want to forget.

It is not the day today to live through. So let me forget what I want to forget and help me not to hear what I never wanted to hear.

Too sad of a day, today.

peace and love to all of you.

Submitted by enhydra lutris on Mon, 10/09/2023 - 11:11am

Good morning mimi, thanks for reading. I sympathize with

@mimi

your proposed letter, but, OTOH, how would we learn if we didn't recall our mistakes.

be well and have a good one

—

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Submitted by mimi on Mon, 10/09/2023 - 2:10pm

hmmm, do we really learn anything anyhow?

@enhydra lutris @enhydra lutris

I am too confused and too angry about everything, so that I have given up to believe I can learn anything.

In this picture Netanyahu looks like a joker. May be is one, a bad actor of a joker.

I am pissed and say good night from here in Northern Germany. Tomorrow I try to buy a globe. Those youngsters in my family confuse the heck out of me when they say LA (in the US) is on the same Latitude LN with Hamburg in Northern Germany (where I am living for the time being). I need a globe and no youngsters around me.

Grrrr....

Submitted by enhydra lutris on Mon, 10/09/2023 - 9:08pm

They're pulling your chain. Here's a link to a world map.

@mimi @mimi @mimi https://geology.com/world/world-map.shtml

Los Angeles is on the same latitude as Fez, Morocco; San Francisco is on the same latitude as Grenada, Seville, and Athens; New York City lines up with Madrid, and Naples. Hamburg is about 4 degrees north of Vancouver, Canada.

be well and have a good one

edited to add the map link

—

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Submitted by mimi on Thu, 10/12/2023 - 6:03am

Thank You ! /nt

@enhydra lutris

Submitted by kelly on Mon, 10/09/2023 - 10:44am

Nona!

thanks for posting that. Love the video. Pajama Cardinals are special.
Nona showed me the time of my life about six years back.
She seems to like inviting people up to sing at the end of shows.
Realizing lately what her relationship was to the Sun City record.
Just awesome.
thanks!

Submitted by enhydra lutris on Mon, 10/09/2023 - 11:16am

Good morning Kelly, thanks for reading.

@kelly

Glad you enjoyed the video.
be well and have a good one

—

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Submitted by QMS on Mon, 10/09/2023 - 11:33am

Hi EL

somehow your replies are double posting?
something about postal day I assume

Submitted by enhydra lutris on Mon, 10/09/2023 - 11:49am

I just returned to the computer after posting that last reply

@QMS

(to Kelly) and briefly saw doubles, which then vanished. I have no idea what's up, but will see what happens with this one. Thanks for the tip.

be well and have a good one

—

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Submitted by QMS on Mon, 10/09/2023 - 12:09pm

'tis the ghost of postal delays

@enhydra lutris

come back to haunt us

Submitted by JtC on Mon, 10/09/2023 - 12:15pm

The server burped...

@enhydra lutris
and caused a series of double posts which I deleted when I noticed them.

"Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!"

Submitted by humphrey on Mon, 10/09/2023 - 1:34pm

As the stenographers in the MSM change their coverage from

Ukraine to Gaza we will likely see the biased reporting continue.

A little perspective.

This! https://t.co/rA4ueyaF03

— ayden (@squatsons) October 9, 2023

Not to link everything back to the Russia-Ukraine war (my attentional center of gravity), but the # of civilian casualties in the Israel-Palestine conflict per day really puts into perspective how much worse the Ukraine war could be if Putin was indifferent to civilian casualties

— Tom (@tom_username_) October 9, 2023

HMM! This might have interfered with Bibi's rehabilitation of his image in the eyes of the west.

BREAKING — Egyptian Intelligence Minister called Netanyahu ten days before Hamas attack and warned him of "something unusual, a terrible operation" that was about to take place from Gaza.

Egyptians were "surprised by the indifference shown by Netanyahu".

— Yedioth Ahranoth pic.twitter.com/7AcIkSmKnB

— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) October 9, 2023

Submitted by lotlizard on Mon, 10/09/2023 - 2:52pm

How do ya say “All right, you’ve covered your a— now” in Hebrew?

@humphrey
https://www.salon.com/2006/06/20/911pdb/

Submitted by humphrey on Mon, 10/09/2023 - 2:12pm

Get used to it as there will be no shortage of MSM propaganda.

Give her an Oscar! https://t.co/Ed65n2iZ09

— Mohammed El-Kurd (@m7mdkurd) October 9, 2023

Submitted by on the cusp on Mon, 10/09/2023 - 2:37pm

In honor of the day, I will

post something.
Just did, feel better now.
Take care of yourself, El.

—

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

Submitted by enhydra lutris on Mon, 10/09/2023 - 3:04pm

Good afternoon otc, thanks for reading, thanks for the

@on the cusp

post and thanks for the good wishes. I am taking very good care of myself, and, really, it's a bit of a drag.

be well and have a good one

—

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Submitted by dystopian on Mon, 10/09/2023 - 4:21pm

Monday Monday

la da da, la da da,
Hi all, Hi EL!

Hope its all good out there.

In case you didn't see this... major window kill event along lakeshore in Chicago. An ebird report I saw from a dude trying to count stuff as it flew by southbound after sunup had THIRTY THOUSAND EACH of Palm and Yellow-rumped Warbler, 4000 thrush sps. etc. I see Catbirds and Canada Warblers in one tray at the news story.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/nearly-1-000-migrating-songbirds-perish-aft...

Windows are probably second only to cats for annual bird mortality by non-natural methods.

The first actual cold front of fall hit a few days ago, a couple weeks plus late, but took the burn and drippy out of the air. The Ruby-throated Hummers were over a hundred here late last week, and as soon as the post-frontal blow began, so did departures. There might be a dozen left today. That extra free 20+mph from the northerlies added to their airspeed is huge. They're doing nearly 50mph on it!

That is a world class great Entwistle album. He got to do Heaven and Hell the way he intended, not all bombastic as the Who version is.

Thanks for the tunes and history!

Stamp collecting is a hobby where you see how much you can spend on a little tiny used square of paper that someone once licked. Ask me how I know.

be well all!

—

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

Submitted by enhydra lutris on Mon, 10/09/2023 - 4:55pm

Good afternoon Dysto. Yeah, windows are deadly, but they

@dystopian

can be made safer if people and companies make the effort.

Last week saw household FOS butterbutt and WCSP. A mocker tried to take over the scrubbies favorite tree, I think they have a truce but it was fun, the mocker was up there singing his brains out and then the Scrubbie let out with a major STFU!

be well and have a good one

—

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Submitted by enhydra lutris on Mon, 10/09/2023 - 4:49pm

This was posted in error, so it will now be more Moose

be well and have a good one

—

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Submitted by Mickt on Mon, 10/09/2023 - 9:18pm

Sherry

According to my halloween candy wine pairing chart, Sherry pairs well with Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

Submitted by enhydra lutris on Tue, 10/10/2023 - 11:47am

I didn't know there was such a chart, but it sounds like a good

@Mickt

combo, perhaps a nice Amontillado.

be well and have a good one

—

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --