[Cryptography] How to prove Wikileaks' emails aren't altered

[John Gilmore]

> The post office doesn't keep a copy of every piece of paper mail that
> passes through the system, after all.  People would be shocked and
> offended by the idea that it ought to.

Prepare to be shocked and offended by the post-9/11 idiocy of government
bureaucrats:

  Post office photocopies envelopes of all mail sent in the US, says NY Times
  http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/new_york_times_post_office_photocopies_envelopes_of_all_mail_sent_in_the_us/
  Jul 03, 2013 06:40 pm, by Martha Neil

  It isn't just when using the Internet and making cellphone calls that Americans should assume what used to be considered private information may be known by corporate and/or government entities.

  In what started as an effort to combat anthrax threats, the U.S. Postal Service photocopies the envelopes of all mail sent in this country, the New York Times (reg. req.) reports. It isn't known how long the government saves the images of the 160 billion or so pieces of mail sent annually, or exactly how they are stored and used.

  The Mail Isolation Control and Tracking program had been secret, but
  was revealed by the FBI last month in discussing an investigation of
  ricin-tainted letters reportedly sent to President Barack Obama and
  New York City's mayor, among others.

  "In the past, mail covers were used when you had a reason to suspect
  someone of a crime," Mark D. Rasch told the newspaper. He previously
  served as director of the federal Justice Department's computer
  crime unit.

  "Now it seems to be 'Let's record everyone's mail so in the future
  we might go back and see who you were communicating with.' " Rasch
  said. "Essentially, you've added mail covers on millions of
  Americans."

	John

PS: So if you send a postcard, they have saved all the "content" as
well as the "envelope" information...