The German postal service is set to issue a stamp reminding Germans that 2,000 years ago Jesus underwent circumcision as an eight-day-old baby, a ritual religious practice that a German court has controversially banned in part of the country.

The stamp, marking the 200th anniversary of the German Bible Society on 11 September, shows a page from the New Testament that includes a description of Jesus being circumcised.

The Bible Society says the stamp’s design was finalised well before the heated debate over circumcision began, but it does not intend to delay the date of issue.

Read more: German postal service issue circumcision stamp amid heated debate – Europe – World – The Independent.

From USPS News Link:

As part of its ongoing efforts to increase operational efficiencies and reduce costs, the Postal Service is proceeding with several organizational changes, effective Aug. 25. These changes include:

• Continuing activities related to mail processing operations at Processing and Distribution Centers and Post Offices affected by Phase Iof the network consolidation plan.
• Consolidating the Computerized Forwarding System.
• Re-ranking and aligning Network Distribution Centers with Area offices.

With these changes — and as part of the Postal Service’s Reduction in Force avoidance plan — USPS is making a Voluntary Early Retirement (VER) offer to more than 3,300 EAS employees with a December 31, 2012 VER retirement date.

USPS notified impacted employees this week and has given them detailed information with a timeline of events to help them make decisions.

Senior leadership roles in the districts that are important in ensuring continuity of operations and managing change are not eligible for this VER offering.

Frequently asked questions related to the Reduction-in-Force (RIF) and the VER are available on the Organizational Change website or the Workforce Connection website on LiteBlue. Employees should check both sites often for updates.

Linn’s Stamp News reporter Bill McAllister reports that the US Postal Service has deleted a statement on its web site that said that it would be honoring living persons on future stamps. The Postmaster General had announced last September that the USPS was changing its policy of only honoring individuals who had been dead for at least five years.

The change apparently didn’t sit well with members of the USPS Board of Governors- Linn’s reported last month that at least one BOG member, James Miller, opposed the idea, and that questions had been raised by two other members.

Domestic Lettermail volume declines nearly 5% in the quarter

OTTAWA, Aug. 27, 2012 /CNW/ – The decline in core Transaction Mail volumes continued in the second quarter of 2012, contributing to financial losses that add impetus to the need for Canada Post to transform its business and to address its labour costs without delay. Read the rest of this entry »

Postcom responds to Ruth Goldway’s “cash cow” comment:

Here’s a quote: "The Postal Service has been a kind of cash cow for the federal government for the last 40 years," says Postal Regulatory Commission chairman Ruth Goldway." Now, let’s improve on the message. No, it isn’t the Postal Service that has been Congress’ cash cow, it’s been the customers of the Postal Service, and business mailers in particular. THAT’S where the Postal Service’s money comes from. In short, for several years mailers have been paying more in postal rates than what actually is necessary to keep the Postal Service self-sufficient. When government dips into the private sector’s pocket for reasons of its own, it’s a TAX, plain and simple.

From: PostCom: Postal News and Information from Around the World.

The Republican Party’s proposed platform suggests that the US Postal Service is in need of “restructuring”. Not surprisingly, the restructuring involves privatization. The brief item starts with one of the most time-honored postal cliches: “mail delivery from the era of the Pony Express cannot long survive”. (I don’t know about you, but my mail is delivered from a mail truck. And the Pony Express didn’t “survive” the nineteenth century, never mind the twentieth!)

The plank concludes “In light of the Postal Service’s seriously underfunded pension system, Congress should explore a greater role for private enterprise in appropriate aspects of the mail-processing system.”

Most readers will know that the USPS pension system is actually better funded than most private pension systems, but then, you don’t read party platforms for reasoned analysis of the issues. When it comes to privatizing, which is a matter of faith for the GOP, any excuse will do.