CoL49: propaganda & espionage philately

[David Patty]

"Perhaps we should take a moment to define the difference between a
propaganda parody and an espionage forgery. In the former, one government
will take the stamp of an enemy or occupied government and change the stamp
in such a way as to make a political statement and perhaps cast aspersions
at and ridicule enemy leaders or occupation forces. These stamps are
designed to be recognized for what they are, an attack on the enemy. In the
case of the espionage forgery, one government has produced a stamp that is a
perfect imitation of the enemy stamp to be used to mail propaganda or
instructions to people in the enemy or occupied country. These stamps are
part of a secret operation and not meant to be recognized. "  --SGM Herbert
A. Friedman (Ret.)

Which leads one to wonder:  did Pynchon have these distinctions in mind when
he wrote CoL49, and to what degree?  To what extent does this alter our
perception(s) of the Trystero?

Full article available at:
http://www.psywar.org/stamps.php

(Be gentle--  the site may be getting heavy traffic as a result of
BoingBoing.)

-- 
http://picasaweb.google.com/navan.ghee/Rev_D#
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