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The Verge
19-07-2025
- General
- The Verge
The tech that the US Post Office gave us
When you crack open your mailbox, it's almost as if your letters just appear. Long before the days of speedy, overnight mail deliveries, postal service workers meticulously sorted through letters by hand and transported mail on horseback. For more than 250 years, the US Postal Service has worked behind the scenes to build a faster delivery network, and this mission has quietly pushed it to the forefront of technology. 'Most people treat the Postal Service like a black box,' USPS spokesperson Jim McKean tells The Verge. 'You take your letter, you put it in a mailbox, and then it shows up somewhere in a couple of days. The truth is that that piece of mail gets touched by a lot of people and machines and transported in that period of time — it's a modern marvel.' One of its big breakthroughs took place in 1918 with the introduction of airmail. The USPS worked with the Army Signal Corps to use leftover World War I aircraft to launch the service, and the planes were as barebones as they could get. An excerpt from a 1968 issue of Postal Life called the early aircraft 'a nervous collection of whistling wires' with 'linen stretched over wooden ribs, all attached to a wheezy, water-cooled engine.' At the time, pilots literally risked their lives delivering mail — 34 of them died between 1918 and 1927. 'There was no commercial aviation, no airports. There was no radio. There was no navigation,' USPS historian Stephen Kochersperger says. 'The Postal Service had to develop all of those things just for getting the mail delivered.' Once the USPS established that it could reliably deliver mail by plane, Congress allowed it to contract airmail service to commercial aviation companies, laying the groundwork for the major airlines that we know today, like American Airlines and United Airlines. Along with getting paid for delivering mail, contractors found that they could make even more money by carrying passengers with their cargo. 'That was where commercial aviation took off,' Kochersperger says. Airmail routes gradually began to expand internationally, first to Canada and then to Cuba. But a couple decades later, the USPS experimented with a novel form of delivery: mail-by-missile. In 1959, the USPS and the US Navy loaded a Regulus I missile with two mail containers that had 3,000 letters in total. The missile traveled 100 miles in around 23 minutes, successfully landing at a Navy base in Mayport, Florida, with the help of a parachute. Despite its success, the idea never took off. It turns out missiles just can't carry that much mail. And overall, this rather ridiculous demonstration was more of a stunt to show force during the Cold War, according to the Smithsonian. Back on the ground, the USPS set its sights on improving the speed of mail processing. Though it began experimenting with a mail canceling machine in the 1920s, which put a mark on used postage, it wasn't until the 1950s that it deployed an electromechanical sorting machine. Instead of manually sorting mail using the 'pigeonhole' method, in which workers would insert pieces of mail into different compartments inside the post office depending on the address, the machine could do that for them. 'The Postal Service is a driver of technological change.' The Transorma multi-position letter sorting machine measured 13 feet high and was split across two levels. It carried mail on a conveyor belt from its lower level to a group of five postal workers at the upper level. The clerks would then use a keyboard to enter information about their destination. Based on the inputted information, the machine would then transport letters to different trays and drop them into chutes that brought them back to the lower level. But as the volume of mail increased in the years after World War II — going from 33 billion pieces of mail per year to 66.5 billion between 1943 and 1962 — the USPS needed a way to keep up. For years, the USPS had depended on clerks to memorize dozens of delivery schemes that they would use to sort letters, preparing them for carriers to distribute throughout town. 'That changed dramatically in 1963, [with] probably the biggest innovation the Postal Service has ever rolled out, called the ZIP code,' Kochersperger says. 'For the first time, mailing lists could be digitized in computers and sorted in new ways.' The ZIP code — short for Zone Improvement Plan — uses its first digit to indicate which region of the US a parcel is headed, the second and third to signal a nearby major city, and the final two to indicate a specific delivery area. The pace of innovation at the USPS ramped up following the introduction of the ZIP code, with many subsequent innovations building on its foundation. That includes the USPS's adoption of optical character recognition (OCR), a widely used technology that converts written or printed words into machine-readable text. In 1965, the USPS began to send large volumes of mail through OCR machines, allowing a 'digital eye' to recognize addresses and automatically sort letters. If the machine couldn't make out a person's handwriting, the USPS would send an image to a remote encoding center (REC) for human review. At one point, the USPS had as many as 55 RECs, but now only one remains in Salt Lake City, Utah. 'As our computer systems have gotten better at recognizing handwriting, we've gotten to the point where it's significantly reduced the number of letters that have to go to remote coding,' McKean says. Today, the USPS's OCR technology can read handwritten mail at nearly 98 percent accuracy, while machine-printed addresses bump its accuracy to 99.5 percent. That's thanks to advances in machine learning, which the USPS, too, has been using in the background for more than 20 years; it first started using a handwriting recognition tool in 1999. The USPS is currently in the middle of a 10-year modernization plan, which includes investments in technology, such as AI. However, the plan has faced criticism for raising the price of stamps and causing service disruptions in some areas. 'The Postal Service is a driver of technological change,' McKean says. 'It's hard to overstate the amount of technology that the Postal Service has been involved in either popularizing or innovating over the last 250 years.'
Atlantic
10-07-2025
- Science
- Atlantic
The Light of a Man-Made Star
In 2003, the photographer Michael Light published 100 Suns, a collection of government photographs of nuclear-weapons tests conducted from 1945 to 1962. Each bomb test was given an innocuous name—Sugar, Easy, Zucchini, Orange—and then detonated in the desert or ocean. The Army Signal Corps and a detachment of Air Force photographers, working out of a secret base in Hollywood, photographed the tests. Light collected their work from the archives of laboratories such as Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore. The photos, he says, are part scientific study and part propaganda, a measure of America's technological progress and the power of its arsenal. They are also, in a way the Pentagon likely never intended, a disconcerting form of art: surreal balls of fire and ash set against barren landscapes; man-made stars, as Light described them, rising over the horizon. In 1963, President John F. Kennedy signed the Limited Test Ban Treaty, prohibiting nuclear detonations in the atmosphere, the ocean, and outer space. Bomb testing disappeared underground—but it didn't end. 'In all of these underground tests, there has been little to see and little to photograph,' Light wrote in 100 Suns. 'There is no record that helps keep an informed citizenry viscerally aware of what its government is doing.'
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Donald Joseph O'Connor, Youngstown, Ohio
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (MyValleyTributes) – Donald Joseph O'Connor passed away Friday, May 9, 2025. He was born on September 1, 1931, in Youngstown, Ohio, the son of John Francis O'Connor and Agnes Ann Carroll O'Connor and brother of Jack O'Connor. Find obituaries from your high school In 1938, his family opened a vacuum cleaner business in the basement of their home on Lowell Avenue on the South Side. Three years later, the family moved O'Connor Sales and Service to 3224 Market Street, where it has been operated for 84 years. Donald has been in the vacuum cleaner business since age 16, where he did whatever jobs his father needed to do. Donald served in the Army Signal Corps during the Korean War, where he was stationed in Japan. He was honorably discharged in August 1954 and returned to Youngstown to continue his career in the sweeper business. In the mid-1970s, his father, mother and brother died and he became the sole owner of O'Connor Sales and Service, where he worked for 77 years. He was a collector of new and old vacuum cleaners. Numerous models lined the walls of his store, including hand-pumped and friction-powered devices that were built as far back as 1910. He was also a car enthusiast and was the proud owner of four 1964 Oldsmobiles. He was a charter member of the Oldsmobile Club of America and an active member of the Youngstown Oldsmobile Club, where he participated in local and national car competitions. His collection received multiple awards for Best in Show and Best Restoration. He was a member of the Market Street Business Owners Association and a member of St. Dominic Catholic Church. The store closed in 2024 when Don moved into Austin Woods Long-Term Care Facility, where he remained until his death on Friday, May 9, 2025, at age 93. Don's passing was preceded by his father, mother, brother and his long-time companion, Luana Marie Jarvis. He leaves behind his family, including Robert and Lonnie Jarvis Lohfeld, Bob and Kristin Lohfeld, Amy and Steve Secrist and five great-grandchildren, all of whom live in Virginia. He also leaves behind his business manager of 47 years, Ron Brownlie. He will remain in our hearts forever. Private funeral services were held at Fox Funeral Home at 10:00 a.m., on Friday, May 16, 2025, with Rev. Frassati Davis, O.P. from St. Dominic Church. He was buried in Calvary Cemetery with his family, with military honors. Arrangements have been entrusted to the Edward J. Fox & Sons Funeral Home, 4700 Market Street in Boardman. To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Donald Joseph O'Connor, please visit our floral 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Express Tribune
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Modi confronts war at home amid painful soul-searching
As the Modi-led regime's war bravado crumbles under the weight of inconvenient truths emerging from the fog of war with Pakistan, a different kind of battle is now underway – one for the narrative, and perhaps, the so-called strongman's political survival. The ghosts of the 2017 Rafale deal have come knocking, with critics dredging up the old controversy to shame the government for what many are calling a historic failure. Journalists and analysts alike argue that India has forfeited decades of carefully cultivated international standing, squandered at the altar of jingoism and over-the-top theatrics. While the government has tried to muzzle dissent, social media platform X has become a pressure valve for public outrage. A once-unified commentariat now splinters into infighting, wounded pride, and even turning on its own, including the foreign secretary and Colonel Sophia Qureshi of India's Army Signal Corps. The veneer of control is cracking. India's image as a regional hegemon and self-styled Vishwaguru is in free fall. The fallout has spiralled to such an extent that India has been forced to beef up security for both the foreign minister and the foreign secretary, after a vicious online pile-on targeted the latter and his daughter. 'The police are also reviewing their security cover for Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, and at least 25 leaders from the BJP, including Union Ministers, MPs and Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta,' The Indian Express reported on Wednesday. Tacit admission by the Indian Air Force (IAF) It all began as international media and independent reports trickled in, steadily chipping away at the frenzied Indian media narrative, bursting one propaganda balloon after another. The government's response swung between deafening silence and evasive half-answers, doing little to stem the tide. The final blow came when even the military couldn't feed the war drumbeat or satisfy the Zionist-style fervour at home to wipe Pakistan off the map, leaving nationalist hawks with sabres rattled, but no battle to show for it. 'The Modi government is welcome to spin this any way it likes – i.e. that it is the Pakistanis who went running to the US saying 'save us', that India accomplished all that it set out to – but the reality is that Modi did something that has produced an unsavoury but quite predictable end result. Pakistan now believes J&K is back in play as an international issue and the US is also saying this,' said Siddharth Varadarajan, founding editor of The Wire. 'The Indian side has suffered military losses that it is reluctant to quantify because doing so will be to the 'advantage of the adversary' – an admission that these losses are non-trivial,' he added. Varadarajan also observed that Modi's right-wing zealots are disillusioned, accusing him of lacking the backbone to carry out his own rhetoric. 'The truth is that Modi knew all along that there is no military solution. Driven by his own political calculations, he recklessly embarked on a dangerous, 'Balakot x 9' course of action hoping that the consequences could be easily managed. But events proved him wrong.' Even as an IAF officer tried to downplay the damage — 'losses are a part of combat' — the remark was seen as a tacit nod to the widely reported downing of a Rafale jet. For many Indians, a burning question remains: what, exactly, did Operation Sindoor achieve? If deterrence was the aim, this looks more like a strategic misfire. In his commentary, Varadarajan continued to cut deep. On the IAF's vague accounting of its losses, he noted: 'This is a significant admission, and the sad fact is that the IAF's refusal to provide specifics will continue to lend credence to Pakistan's claims of having shot down multiple Indian aircraft.' 'Everybody knows 'all our pilots are back home' is not the same as 'all our planes are back home'. The refusal to acknowledge losses stems from the Modi government's political compulsions because the resulting cost-benefit analysis may alter public perceptions about the utility of Op. Sindoor.' Myth of Indian superiority shattered The fog of war has cleared to reveal another unsettling truth: a handful of militants just pushed a nuclear power of billions to the brink of crisis. Military analyst and journalist Pravin Sawhney argued that Operation Sindoor has dismantled the longstanding myth of Indian military superiority over Pakistan, a myth deeply tied to national self-worth. As Washington pushes for de-escalation and hyphenates India with Pakistan once more, the symbolism is not lost. 'India worry of hyphenation with Pakistan is evidence that India does not believe in Global South nations thinking which it wants to lead,' Sawhney said. 'Their [Global South] thinking is about win-win, equality of nations big & small & development for all. This explains why Modi govt does not want to be close to BRICS & SCO. India's security & foreign policy need course change after this operation!' 'India weak link in BRICS' Echoing this, in a separate post on why international media is 'turning hostile' to India, Arnaud Bertrand, a commentator on economics and geopolitics, opined that much of it stemmed from India's recent geopolitical positioning. Its strategy of multi-alignment – engaging both the Global South and the West – is intended to appeal to both sides, but the outcome, as seen in global reactions to its altercation with Pakistan, has been quite the opposite: India is increasingly perceived as hedging its bets rather than standing on principle, ultimately breeding distrust from all quarters instead of the support it seeks to cultivate. 'Let's be real: in the Global South people almost universally see India as the weak link in the BRICS, the country trying to undermine collective South-South cooperation whenever it conflicts with its parallel ambitions of being embraced by Western powers.' He added that India's Islamophobia alienates much of the Muslim-majority Global South, while in the West, Modi's domestic record and ties with Russia make India seem like a misaligned, hard-to-identify-with player. He pointed out that India's economic stage, culture and historical context differ sharply from the West, fuelling a persistent undercurrent of othering, marked by colonial condescension mixed with strategic interest. Add to that India's toxic media climate and the combative nationalism seen online, and it becomes clear there's a stark disconnect between how India views itself and how others perceive it. He stopped short of being prescriptive, but noted: when people say "the international media is viciously against Bharat," they might consider whether this is the natural consequence of a multi-alignment strategy that serves no one's interests but India's, and whether the reflexive victimhood narrative is blocking honest self-reflection. 'Hugely disappointing' In his scathing review of the Indian DGMOs' press briefing, Sawhney said it was 'hugely disappointing'. 'Worse, it betrayed a sense of own war appreciation gone wrong.' 'NO mention of air war on night 6/7. And making the incredible remark that IAF hits inside Pakistan sovereign space were meant to kill terrorists & not fight Pakistan military - showed little thought had gone even in organising this media interaction whose proceeding the world would have watched with utter disbelief!' He questioned the disproportionate focus on Indian air defences: 'For sure, it was clear that Pakistan military employed unexpectedly large numbers of drones, loitering munitions & so on along the whole border with India.' Meanwhile, columnist Brahma Chellaney — seen as aligned with the mainstream — raised sharp concerns: 'Why did India, under US pressure, abruptly halt a military campaign against Pakistan just as its armed forces had seized the upper hand?' He noted how New Delhi terminated the operation within three days, just after a phone call from JD Vance to Modi. 'The root cause of the conflict was left unaddressed, even as Washington shielded Pakistan from the consequences of its actions. The result? Donald Trump — the real estate mogul who has fancied acquiring Greenland, the Panama Canal and even Gaza — has now turned his gaze to Kashmir, while remaining conspicuously silent on the cross-border terrorism that India continues to face.' The remarks were particularly striking coming from Chellaney, a known hawk who usually toes the establishment line. Calls for resignation Journalist Raju Parulekar minced no words, blaming Modi's 'irresponsible, jingoistic pseudo-nationalism' for squandering India's diplomatic gains. 'Modi hasn't learned from his past mistakes. Like Demonetisation, Pulwama, the current military response ('free-hand') seems to be a MONUMENTAL MISMANAGEMENT, a BLUNDER.' He suggested Modi walked straight into a trap set by those seeking to provoke a nationalist overreaction — one that brought no diplomatic advantage. 'Modi has always evaded responsibility in 11 years of his being the PM on any matter of governance. How can a PM repeatedly fail to submit himself to account in Lok Sabha and continue in Office of the 1.4 billion strong Democratic Republic like India.' Before 2014, India pursued a clear Pakistan strategy — quiet diplomacy, strategic retaliation, and isolation of Islamabad on the global stage. But Modi's politicisation of Pakistan and Kashmir, Parulekar argued, has upended that playbook. He warned that the Pulwama airstrikes may have helped the BJP electorally, but they damaged India's international credibility. 'Modi should be removed from his Office and made to face the detailed scrutiny of Law for denting India's image and posing a serious threat to its sovereignty.' 'More lessons to come' Regarding the vicious trolling of Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, Faran Jeffery, deputy director and head of the South Asia desk on terrorism at ITCT, wrote a detailed post on X. 'If they do that to their own Foreign Secretary, you can imagine the rest,' he noted. He observed that while the focus so far had been on the military dynamics of this Indo-Pak round, the real fallout for India would emerge in other domains. The world had been watching—and what it saw, he said, was a complete horror show. Perceptions have shifted dramatically: the media's credibility is in the gutter, the supposedly independent journalists turned out to be little more than government propagandists and a diplomatic mess unfolded with Iran, driven by a media narrative run amok. There was mass censorship, websites were blocked and social media accounts were restricted. Government messages bombarded the public, urging them to trust only official propaganda, while both TV and social media teemed with fake news and wild claims. In a twist, it became easier to get more accurate information from the Pakistani side. Pakistan even lifted the ban on X during the conflict, which surprised many. 'Forget others,' he wrote, 'many foreigners who praise India publicly have been joking about it privately'. He concluded that this was a major reality check for India, one that should, in theory, help bring its arrogance down a notch or two. But, he added, that seems unlikely. More lessons, it appears, are yet to come.
News18
07-05-2025
- Politics
- News18
Two Women, A Kashmiri Pandit & A Strike Called Sindoor: Decoding India's Boldest Briefing Yet
Last Updated: The operation's name carried an intricate symbolism, which is now seen as a mark of feminine identity, power and also a retribution for killing civilians in front of their wives Two women in uniform—Colonel Sofia Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh—along with India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, a seasoned diplomat and Kashmiri Pandit—stood at the frontline of not just the country's military narrative, but a national moment. The government's decision to select the panel to hold the most crucial press briefing in recent times, and also carefully name the operation against terror hotbeds in Pakistan as Operation Sindoor, is a move that is rich with symbolism and strategic clarity. The representation itself spoke volumes without needing to say much. This was not just a routine military briefing, it was a calibrated and calculated assertion of power, identity, and narrative control. By placing women in uniform and a voice from the Kashmir Valley at the forefront, the government framed Operation Sindoor not just as a tactical success, but as a statement of inclusive strength—military, moral, and national. As they delivered the crucial press conference on details of Operation Sindoor, their presence was a powerful statement in itself. In a domain long reserved for men, the spotlight now belonged to women who had earned it through precision, discipline, and command. 'Sindoor' as Symbolism The operation's name—Sindoor—carried an intricately layered symbolism, which is now seen as a mark of feminine identity, protection, power and also a retribution for killing the civilians in front of their wives. The operation and the briefing were just not reflections of military success. It was also about the unveiling of a new chapter in India's strategic ethos, where women don't just serve—they lead and avenge as well. In the fog of heightened geopolitical tensions, the voices of two formidable Indian women pierced through the clutter with clarity and authority. Colonel Qureshi and Wing Commander Singh were selected to take charge of building a firm narrative. As the Narendra Modi government executed a decisive strike across the border, these two officers were entrusted with briefing the nation and the world, symbolising not only military prowess but also the growing role of women in India's strategic command. A Strategic Shift Colonel Sofia Qureshi, known as a seasoned officer from the Army Signal Corps and the first woman to lead an Indian Army contingent in a multinational exercise in 2016, brought composure and precision to the Army's narrative. Her way of briefing with details was a blend of operational and diplomatic firmness. She emphasised that the strike was a pre-emptive counter-terror operation targeting terror launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC). Her tone and presentation appeared firm and was devoid of rhetoric—it was a message of resolve, not revenge. Qureshi, calm and authoritative, stood as the quiet testament to the evolving gender dynamics within India's defence forces, where competence is commanding the room, not gender. Col Qureshi is a soldier by legacy and by choice as well. Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, a fighter controller with the Indian Air Force, echoed this balance of professionalism and power. With airspace violations a constant threat in cross-border conflict, Wing Commander Singh explained the precision and coordination that characterised the Indian Air Force's involvement. Her statements were crisp, technical, and infused with unmistakable confidence. A symbol of the new IAF, she also represented the generation of women who've moved beyond symbolic roles into the realm of real-time combat operations and decision-making. Together, both Qureshi and Singh did more than just brief the media—they embodied a narrative shift. India's military message was not just about retaliation, but evolution. By placing two women at the forefront of strategic communication during a critical military operation, India signalled that its doctrine of strength includes intelligence, inclusion, and transformation. In them, the nation saw not only warriors, but also architects of a new-era defence domain. A Kashmiri Voice At Helm Of Messaging India's foreign secretary Vikram Misri's presence on the panel carried quiet but unmistakable weight and also established the strength of India's foreign policy. A seasoned diplomat, who held substantial positions including deputy national security adviser (NSA), Misri is also a Kashmiri Pandit—his roots entwined with a history of exile, resilience, and unforgotten loss. In choosing him to frame the strategic narrative and diplomatic contours of Operation Sindoor, the Modi government signalled more than tactical resolve. It also invoked historical memory. Misri's calm, precise articulation with authority of India's position lent depth to the narrative—this was not just a response to terror, but a reaffirmation that those once silenced by violence now help shape the national response to it. Get breaking news, in-depth analysis, and expert perspectives on everything from politics to crime and society. Stay informed with the latest India news only on News18. Download the News18 App to stay updated! tags : Operation Sindoor Pahalgam attack pm narendra modi Vikram Misri Location : New Delhi, India, India First Published: May 07, 2025, 12:19 IST News india Two Women, A Kashmiri Pandit & A Strike Called Sindoor: Decoding India's Boldest Briefing Yet
