Another example. It costs, say, €1 for me to buy a litre of milk at the local store. If I wanted to get my milk from a specific cow and have it bottled/packaged especially for me, it would be very expensive. But I don't: I buy 'universal' milk at a 'universal' price from a non-specific cow.
Stamps are like milk from the local store -- one price fits all even though it makes no difference if my letter is sent to the next village or the other side of the country. If the price of stamps was truly distance related, the economics of the mail would be very different...but the universal obligation negates this.
The State will not whither away, in spite of Marx and Engels' arguments. There will always be a State, and there will always be some form of postal service as part of this. If some national postal services whither away and become FedEx-type sevices, then there will be an even stronger need for the UPU (or a similiar body, but what's wrong with the one that we have got?) to perform the vital, postal, international function of moving letters, packages,postcards, etc from country A to country B.
But some countries will choose not to go this route -- and remember that in many countries there is still not free and open communication, rather state censorship of as many forms of communication as possible (hence their problems of controlling the Internet). In this context it is seen vital to a state's interest to control not only what is said, written, broadcast, etc but also even what is thought, and what is sent by the post.
For an example, we need to look no further than the problems we have in sending Mail Art to China.
The cost of a single item of post is also important. I can afford to send 30 or so items of Mail Art a week because I benefit from the what I suspect are heavily subsidised and cross-subsidised rates of the French postal system (which is linked to banking, freight, and many other things). If I had to pay a realistic commercial rate, the price would be much, much higher, and I would be priced out of the system. 'Divided' in another way, no less.
Val, is this it? About the next generation? It is already "buried" as it was in the blog by DeVillo Sloan"Received: Mail Art Generation, from Ruud Janssen..." (you have it in your upper section on your "page"...it is GOOOOD! Happy New Year! oops in several doses, as I am told i cannot exceed 200 chararcters ;-0
here is a copy:
Bifidus and Katerina debate the future of postal services. Let me make a small contribution.
I think that as long as there is a 'Digital Divide' -- in which some people are on line, and others are not -- there will always be a postal service of some sort. Even when everyone is on-line (what a horrible thought!) and everything is digitised (even more horrible!) there will still be a societal need to transport goods (as opposed to services) from A to B.
We are the privileged, rich ones, part of the electronic First and second Worlds. But there are billions of our fellow human beings who do not have access to all the technology that we have, and most likely have never made a phone call or seen a computer in their life. In terms of (societal) evolution, they are today where our Western societies were, say, 150 years ago -- dependant on much simpler technologies to meet basic everyday requirements.
The future of the postal service can be looked at in two ways.
Nationally, it seems increasingly less likely that it will remain as part of a nation state's 'core business', and will be privatised. As a result of this, the universal postal obligation (mail delivered anywhere within a territory at a uniform price) is likely to be sacrificed at the altar of Mammon.
Internationally, this will not happen in all countries -- most likely only in the richer ones that seek to become even richer. UPS, FedEx etc can take over the postal services in these countries, and co-operate amongst themselves along the lines of the original Universal Postal Union....
Thank you, thank you, thankyo, Val! TWO envelopes came in today's mail. Well, one I did open and the other was now quite nicely marked "EMPTY". (Nice new eraser stamps, buddy!)
Both are full of wondrous details...'love the "vintage" penmanship on the one envelope, and the old mail boxes too! YOUR "Top Model" pics are excellent, too. Oh, yes, I can spend hours looking at this mail art. Many thanks! xxx
...and takiing the Russian stamps over to post at our "Postal History" group.xxx
At 2:32pm on December 29, 2010, Ruud Janssen said…
At 6:11pm on December 28, 2010, Ruud Janssen said…
Hahahahaha - I'll find it eventually. Been trying to find time to see what was happening with the digital novel for a while now but haven't found any. This was a good way to get myself over there. ;)
Hi Mark! Clafoutis= is a kind of French cake that I learned to make when I was a jeune fille au pair in St.Cloud. 05 because that was the year that I discovered language exchange sites. Mais est ce que vs parlez français quand même? J'ai pensé qu'ils on jettés les anglais de la France, il y a des siècles!! Mais non, ils ont rétourné et ils ont devenu Père Noël!! Etonnant!
Thanks a lot but you did send me a card with British stamps. Did you understand that I sent the Queen Elizabeth card to continue the thread of the subject?
Kalispera Val, did you see what the CrackerJack Kid did with my ol' Greek blue envelopes...er, I mean: "sepolevne"? Well, after 6 months of back and forth across the Atlantic they have returned to Greece...with amazing art and poetry. Me thinking to send them on the France, IF you are considering a "sepolevne" exhibit from others as a side-show to your 365 envelopes-a-day-to-yourself. Me is a thinking, let me know. ;-)
Yes, Val, that north wind from Siberia blew in and we have 0oC at night...although for our friends in Minnesota and Wisconsin in the USA, 32oF is not cold :-) But you know how it is when we rarely see water on the streets freeze. Snow it allowed only on the Greek mountain tops!
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3rd part..grrrr.
Another example. It costs, say, €1 for me to buy a litre of milk at the local store. If I wanted to get my milk from a specific cow and have it bottled/packaged especially for me, it would be very expensive. But I don't: I buy 'universal' milk at a 'universal' price from a non-specific cow.
Stamps are like milk from the local store -- one price fits all even though it makes no difference if my letter is sent to the next village or the other side of the country. If the price of stamps was truly distance related, the economics of the mail would be very different...but the universal obligation negates this.
The State will not whither away, in spite of Marx and Engels' arguments. There will always be a State, and there will always be some form of postal service as part of this. If some national postal services whither away and become FedEx-type sevices, then there will be an even stronger need for the UPU (or a similiar body, but what's wrong with the one that we have got?) to perform the vital, postal, international function of moving letters, packages,postcards, etc from country A to country B.
Sorry that was so long! The End. Val
2nd part:
But some countries will choose not to go this route -- and remember that in many countries there is still not free and open communication, rather state censorship of as many forms of communication as possible (hence their problems of controlling the Internet). In this context it is seen vital to a state's interest to control not only what is said, written, broadcast, etc but also even what is thought, and what is sent by the post.
For an example, we need to look no further than the problems we have in sending Mail Art to China.
The cost of a single item of post is also important. I can afford to send 30 or so items of Mail Art a week because I benefit from the what I suspect are heavily subsidised and cross-subsidised rates of the French postal system (which is linked to banking, freight, and many other things). If I had to pay a realistic commercial rate, the price would be much, much higher, and I would be priced out of the system. 'Divided' in another way, no less.
Val, is this it? About the next generation? It is already "buried" as it was in the blog by DeVillo Sloan"Received: Mail Art Generation, from Ruud Janssen..." (you have it in your upper section on your "page"...it is GOOOOD! Happy New Year! oops in several doses, as I am told i cannot exceed 200 chararcters ;-0
here is a copy:
Bifidus and Katerina debate the future of postal services. Let me make a small contribution.
I think that as long as there is a 'Digital Divide' -- in which some people are on line, and others are not -- there will always be a postal service of some sort. Even when everyone is on-line (what a horrible thought!) and everything is digitised (even more horrible!) there will still be a societal need to transport goods (as opposed to services) from A to B.
We are the privileged, rich ones, part of the electronic First and second Worlds. But there are billions of our fellow human beings who do not have access to all the technology that we have, and most likely have never made a phone call or seen a computer in their life. In terms of (societal) evolution, they are today where our Western societies were, say, 150 years ago -- dependant on much simpler technologies to meet basic everyday requirements.
The future of the postal service can be looked at in two ways.
Nationally, it seems increasingly less likely that it will remain as part of a nation state's 'core business', and will be privatised. As a result of this, the universal postal obligation (mail delivered anywhere within a territory at a uniform price) is likely to be sacrificed at the altar of Mammon.
Internationally, this will not happen in all countries -- most likely only in the richer ones that seek to become even richer. UPS, FedEx etc can take over the postal services in these countries, and co-operate amongst themselves along the lines of the original Universal Postal Union....
Hi Valentine!
Thank you very much your mail!
Cauli
Love the turban, Val! now for the New Year you look like some one from 1001 Arabian Nights...Journey to the East! Have a Happy 2011!
p.s.
...and you've got me singing" Bye, bye, Miss American Pie..."
Thank you, thank you, thankyo, Val! TWO envelopes came in today's mail. Well, one I did open and the other was now quite nicely marked "EMPTY". (Nice new eraser stamps, buddy!)
Both are full of wondrous details...'love the "vintage" penmanship on the one envelope, and the old mail boxes too! YOUR "Top Model" pics are excellent, too. Oh, yes, I can spend hours looking at this mail art. Many thanks! xxx
...and takiing the Russian stamps over to post at our "Postal History" group.xxx
Val, Enjoyed your postcard. Thank You. Glad you liked my enevelope!
peace........................................k
Hi Valentine! I'am OK...but a lot of work:) To much bussy.
I recived your mail art. Perfectly! Absolutly - ANY PENNY!
I will do Mail art for you!
Marry Christmass and happy hollyday!
Wish you a lot of health!!!
Hahahahaha - I'll find it eventually. Been trying to find time to see what was happening with the digital novel for a while now but haven't found any. This was a good way to get myself over there. ;)
How do I see page 10 of the digital novel? When I click on your name on Sean's novel page, it brings me back here. ;)
Hi Mark! Clafoutis= is a kind of French cake that I learned to make when I was a jeune fille au pair in St.Cloud. 05 because that was the year that I discovered language exchange sites. Mais est ce que vs parlez français quand même? J'ai pensé qu'ils on jettés les anglais de la France, il y a des siècles!! Mais non, ils ont rétourné et ils ont devenu Père Noël!! Etonnant!
cheryl
Heheheh Mark,
Thanks a lot but you did send me a card with British stamps. Did you understand that I sent the Queen Elizabeth card to continue the thread of the subject?
Etes -vous francophone en fait?
Cheryl
Hi Mark,
I found your name on the Mail-Art list.
You were the first person to return some mail art to me
Cheryl
Kalispera Val, did you see what the CrackerJack Kid did with my ol' Greek blue envelopes...er, I mean: "sepolevne"? Well, after 6 months of back and forth across the Atlantic they have returned to Greece...with amazing art and poetry. Me thinking to send them on the France, IF you are considering a "sepolevne" exhibit from others as a side-show to your 365 envelopes-a-day-to-yourself. Me is a thinking, let me know. ;-)
Not sure what his method is, but you can ask him as he's an IUOMA member! I just found that out myself!
Funny costume! Happy Christmas!
Yes, Val, that north wind from Siberia blew in and we have 0oC at night...although for our friends in Minnesota and Wisconsin in the USA, 32oF is not cold :-) But you know how it is when we rarely see water on the streets freeze. Snow it allowed only on the Greek mountain tops!
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