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Box ID

give every post (mail) box a unique ID number
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the whole anthrax thing has got me thinking, a reason the post is such a good way to send out the spores is that it's so anonymous, hence i propose a box ID that is put onto every letter posted in a box. i have noticed (in the UK at least) that there is rarely ever more than one postbox in a postcode area, so if a mechanism could be invented to stamp on a box unique ID number (possibly postal code) so at least it would be easier to find out where a letter was posted. maybe to preseve privacy this could be done with some of that ink that only shows up under IR light or something.

yes i know that people could still post a letter in a non local box but it could always work in conjunction with a motion sensor and camera to get a picture/filming of every person to post in the box

the mechanism wouldnt be too hard to make i dont think, put the letter into a slit on the postbox over a pressure sensor, when the sensor detects a letter, a stamp comes down, stamps the letter and then the surface is tipped to drop the letter into a whatever letters go into in a letterbox

dekoi, Oct 18 2001

Politics and the English Language http://www.resort.c...8/Orwell/patee.html
George Orwell [pottedstu, Oct 18 2001, last modified Oct 04 2004]

(?) For PeterSealy http://www.ireland....storical/chron4.htm
Close... [Guy Fox, Oct 18 2001, last modified Oct 04 2004]

For historical / mythological precedent http://www.piney.com/Baberraishum.html
It's an old, old, old, old, old story. [Guy Fox, Oct 18 2001, last modified Oct 04 2004]


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       Or... have a small and cheap (*ahem*) gas chromatograph and DNA sequencer unit in every post box. The unit would sniff envelopes and packages as they enter the box, and any which appear to be biohazards or explosive will be diverted into a strong airtight container. A slightly cleverer post box could even e-mail the police when this happens. A really clever post box would e-mail the police and fire a net to entangle the evil-doer until they arrive.
Skinny Rob, Oct 18 2001
  

       They have cameras on every ATM, so why not? (em, money?)
pottedstu, Oct 18 2001
  

       There is evidence to suggest some (if not all) of the anthrax carrying mail was sent from outside the US. I haven't followed the story for a few days so I can't be sure.   

       If that's true, then what do we do? Ooh, I know. We force all countries to comply with the BoxID system through tough economic sanctions! That'll stop those nasty terrorists.
sdm, Oct 21 2001
  

       why not make the sorting offices of the world stamp the country of sending on them so then if something bad is found in the envelope all george bush needs do is find out where it's from and bomb the entire country, come on, it makes a good excuse for him to kill MORE innocent people, and that's what he does best
dekoi, Oct 21 2001
  

       Actually, the evidence points to the source being in New Jersey somewhere, Trenton, I think.

dekoi: Do you have some better notion of how to deal with the terrorist situation? I sure hear a lot of complaining but no ideas. It's so easy to complain.
bristolz, Oct 21 2001
  

       well to be honest i think the "terrorist situation" could quite easily have been avoided by america being less (and no offence here) STUPID.
i just dont see how Bush (america) killing however many innocent afghans is ANY different from the Terrorists bombing the World Trade Centre. you can say that the only targets are military or strategic targets but a strategic target can be anything from a TV station to a large office (isn't that what the world trade centre is?)
[disclaimer] i am not UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES playing down the tradgedies of Sept 11th i'm simply stating that a life is a life regardless of whether they live in an MEDC or an LEDC
dekoi, Oct 21 2001
  

       Saying you intend no offense by calling an entire nation of people stupid (in all caps, no less) seems rather disingenuous. How about if we can the rhetoric, or migrate it to a more appropriate Internet venue? I'm sure there are planty of chat rooms eager to hear your views.
snarfyguy, Oct 22 2001
  

       when i say America, i mean America politically not as a nation of people, in a purely POLITICAL sense America deserved sept 11th, once again, before i get assasination threats, i would like to reinforce the fact that the people who died in the tradgedy did not deserve anything.

snarfyguy: hey yeh, use big words..... confuse me why don't ya? not everyone has the vocabulary of a dictionary (heehee that rhymes)
dekoi, Oct 22 2001
  

       On behalf of pretty much everone in the US, I'd like to invite you to play hide and go fuck yourself.   

       Thousands of innocent people killed by some low-budget pig-porking asshole whose only crime was going to work deserved it HOW?   

       I -really- want the troll filters now.
StarChaser, Oct 22 2001
  

       starchaser: didnt i just fucking say that the people didnt deserve it, America politically deserved it, i tell you what, i'll explain it in S-I-M-P-L-E english
i say america deserved it politically as they have been pretty much asking for it by things such as the Esso thing (if you dont know about this check out www.stopesso.com) and allowing themselves to be a target for capitalism haters. I DID NOT SAY, that the people who's only crime was...... etc whateveryou said, deserved it.
deserving POLITICALLY means that the country of america deserved something of that magnitude its just the people who got killed/caught up in it, or anyone in the country for that matter. i did have second thoughts on throwing my two pennies in on this subject cos i know there are people, such as you, who dont actually relise the point i'm trying to make

and blissmiss: poor grammar bears no (little) relation to ignorance of politics and related stuff

and to think this started as an innocent idea........
dekoi, Oct 22 2001
  

       and what the buggery bollocks is a troll filter?
dekoi, Oct 22 2001
  

       //and blissmiss: poor grammar bears no (little) relation to ignorance of politics and related stuff//
If you're going to speak on something important, you should probably employ immaculate spelling and grammar. It adds credibility to your argument.
  

       It’s probably not good referring to ESSOs irresponsible and myopic business practices as a ‘thing’. Similarly, linking to activist sites like ‘stopesso’, ‘s11’, or ‘mcspotlight’, are probably not going to convince anyone if you’re trying to make a *strong* point. The small but crazy and uninformed groups that latch on to these otherwise valid concerns give little credence to their cause and risk making you look like a ‘whining pinko lefty conspiracy theorist’. Trust me, I know from experience. <grin>   

       You must understand when you come here and are not so articulate in making these comments, particularly at this time to this audience you will inevitably be branded a Troll. Trolls are, to my understanding, people who insensitively start arguments over seemingly subjective topics.   

       Be a little more aware of your audience.
sdm, Oct 22 2001
  

       In defense of blissmiss's comment regarding poor grammar and ignorance: Poor grammar indeed does bear little relation to ignorant politics. However, poor grammar bears clear and immense relation to fools who spout anti-American rhetoric under the guise of being "political". The chemical sniffer idea is a good one.
pescedioro, Oct 22 2001
  

       // Poor grammar indeed does bear little relation to ignorant politics. //   

       "Now, it is clear that the decline of a language must ultimately have political and economic causes: it is not due simply to the bad influence of this or that individual writer. But an effect can become a cause, reinforcing the original cause and producing the same effect in an intensified form, and so on indefinitely. A man may take to drink because he feels himself to be a failure, and then fail all the more completely because he drinks. It is rather the same thing that is happening to the English language. It becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish, but the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts." -- George Orwell, "Politics and the English Language".
pottedstu, Oct 22 2001
  

       I stand corrected on that point, then.
pescedioro, Oct 22 2001
  

       A troll filter is something that would keep trolls from posting stupid things like "well to be honest i think the "terrorist situation" could quite easily have been avoided by america being less (and no offence here) STUPID. ".   

       Want to know what a troll is?   

       You said 'i mean America politically not as a nation of people'. What do you think got killed in those towers, and the Pentagon? Thousands of people killed and billions of dollars of damage done because some pig screwing little bearded weiner doesn't like my country's choice of friends. And while the Pentagon could legitimately be called a military target, the people in the civilian airplane could not in any sense of the word. The same goes for the people in the towers. Try and pretty it up as much as you like, you have said that they deserved to die because you don't like the way we do things. Adding 'disclaimer' does not make what you said any less offensive.
StarChaser, Oct 22 2001
  

       Pfft. I like my definition better.
sdm, Oct 23 2001
  

       Uhhhh...they do this already. Have you ever noticed a town name, postal code, or zip number on the stamp cancellation?
cameron, Oct 23 2001
  

       UnaBubba: I know.
StarChaser, Oct 27 2001
  

       I have a theory, that using the word "fuck" totally negates the intellectual value of a sentence. Bad grammar falls in there somwhere too.
mighty_cheese, Oct 28 2001
  

       Just thoughts(I'm not trying to provoke anything but conversation or argument or ideas... you could tell me that I'm wrong but please don't kill me)   

       The problem is it is dificult for people with no army to speak of to attack military targets and win... therefore they try other things... not that that makes them right or anything...   

       People might think that dropping bombs on cities is a good or stratagey (not me but thats not important) - it hapened in ww2. No-one retaliated against either England or Germany for that (except each other)... should someone have done? how would it be done?   

       Should the IRA be bombed by the RAF?... erm no I don't think so... In that case if no other the peace process seems to be working... or at least like it might eventualy work...
RobertKidney, Oct 29 2001
  

       to Hell with the future,
long live the past,
God will look down,
and smile on Belfast.
  

       I can't remember where I heard that one...
sdm, Oct 30 2001
  

       Be very careful of what you wish for follow americans...remember George Orwells big brother theorey
dragons_rider0, Oct 30 2001
  

       [Dragons_rider0] Let me be level with you - that was just a storey.
stupop, Oct 30 2001
  

       Sorta kinda but not quite, PS. The IRA killed fourteen men they suspected of being Secret Service agents - i.e. "spies". In retaliation, the Black and Tans opened fire on a crowd in a football stadium. (Caveat: I'm not well up on Irish history, so someone's probably just going to come along and correct this). The end result is still that, yes, indiscriminately slaughtering civilians is a tried-and-tested method of warfare.   

       Indeed, see second link for the one of the oldest stories of genocide on the planet, going back to a Babylonian deity whose name was originally translated as "Scorched Earth"
Guy Fox, Oct 30 2001
  

       that was the point of zip codes/post codes deppending where you live
brightspark, Aug 01 2004
  


 

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