Niagara Falls in winter - maximum card/maxicard from my good friend Terry (USA). Also, please support Wikipedia.org!

You could read yourself about Niagara Falls, if you really want.

Or I could give you the bottom line, in my subjective opinion, from my most favorite website in the world: wikipedia.org.

Or from other source.

But I want to invite you to read this, and contribute at least $1 (one). Or more, if possible.

Mark Zuckerberg, please contribute $1 followed by many zeroes. Facebook should not be followed by many "zeroes"...Reading and learning increase the IQ, in general.

Bill Gates, please write this binary code on a check file payable to Wikipedia: 1000000. Then sign. Or Melinda can do it. Es una linda señora y benefactora [I'm winging it -  I don't know Spanish :) ].

Martha Stewart, please craft an artistic check file to Wikipedia. It would be a good recipe for you to get good karma and stay away from that place with "bar exams" from angry soyezlesbiennesvenues...

Warren Buffet, please open an All You May Need Buffet at your designated banks, where each worthy recipient may get a check from you, for the dollar amount needed. Invest in education, not just in stock market.

Wikipedia is a "Book" faced by almost as many users (400M) as Facebook (500M).

"From Wikipedia Founder Jimmy Wales

If everyone reading this donated a dollar, our annual fundraiser would be over in just a few days.

Not everyone can or will donate. And that’s fine, because each year just enough people support Wikipedia with a small donation. If you feel it's your turn, please make a small donation of $10, $20, $35 or whatever you can to keep Wikipedia free.

Most people don't know this, but I'm a volunteer.

I don't get paid a cent for my work at Wikipedia, and neither do our thousands of other volunteer authors and editors. When I founded Wikipedia, I could have made it into a for-profit company with advertising banners, but I decided to do something different.

Commerce is fine. Advertising is not evil. But it doesn't belong here. Not in Wikipedia.

Wikipedia is something special. It is like a library or a public park. It is like a temple for the mind. It is a place we can all go to think, to learn, to share our knowledge with others. It is a unique human project, the first of its kind in history. It is a humanitarian project to bring a free encyclopedia to every single person on the planet.

Every single person.

We're a small organization, and I've worked hard over the years to keep us lean and tight. We fulfill our mission, and leave waste to others.

To do this without resorting to advertising, we need you. It is you who keep this dream alive. It is you who have created Wikipedia. It is you who believe that a place of calm reflection and learning is worth having.

This year, please consider making a donation to protect and sustain Wikipedia.

Thanks,

Jimmy Wales

Wikipedia Founder"

http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/WMFJA032/en/US?utm_medium=sitenotice&utm_campaign=20101217JA036&utm_source=20101217_JA027A_US&country_code=US

Theme: Breastfeeding. Maximum card mailed to me as a postcard by my friend "Luxi" from Luxemburg

The theme/subject of this custom-made UNICATE (only 1 in the world) maximum card is breastfeeding, as a concept.

It's not strictly about Luxemburg, although the stamp and the postmark are from there.

It's not strictly about Africa, although the postcard depicts a Himba mother with child.

"The Himba are an ethnic group of about 20,000 to 50,000 people^[1] living in northern Namibia, in the Kuneneregion (formerly Kaokoland) Recently they have also built two villages in Kamanjab which have become tourist destinations. They are mostly a nomadic, pastoral people, closely related to the Herero, and speak Otjihimba, a dialect of the Herero language."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himba

That's why I have approved Luxi's proposal to create this maximum card for me.

Breastfeeding, as a concept.

For those puritans who might object to any public image of naked breasts, here's an example from the official [State] Flag of the Commonwealth of Virginia, USA:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Virginia.svg

"The obverse of the seal is the official seal of Virginia and is used on all the official papers and documents of the Commonwealth's government, as well as on its flag. On this side, a female figure personifying the Roman virtue of Virtus was selected to represent the genius of the new Commonwealth. Virginia's Virtus is a figure of peace, standing in a pose which indicates a battle already won. She rests on her long spear, its point turned downward to the ground. Her other weapon, a parazonium, is sheathed; it is the sword of authority rather than that of combat. Virtus is typically shown with a bare left breast; this is commonly recognized as the only use of nudity among the seals of the U.S. states.

Tyranny lies prostrate beneath the foot of Virtus, symbolizing Great Britain's defeat by Virginia. The royal crown which has fallen to the ground beside him symbolizes the new republic's release from the monarchical control of Great Britain; Virginia and New York are the only U.S. states with a flag or seal displaying a crown. The broken chain in Tyranny's left hand represents Virginia's freedom from Britain's restriction of colonial trade and westward expansion. The useless whip in his right hand signifies Virginia's relief from the torturing whip of acts of punishment such as the Intolerable Acts. His robe is purple, a reference to Julius Caesar and the Etruscan king of Rome, Tarquinius Priscus.

The motto selected for the obverse of the Virginia seal is Sic semper tyrannis, or in English, Thus always to tyrants. This is a derived quote from the famous events in Roman history, attributed to Brutus upon his participation in the slaying of Julius Caesar. (Caesar had been named perpetual dictator of Rome in the same year, and some Senators believed had ambitions to abolish the Roman Republic and establish himself as a monarch.)".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seal_of_Virginia

Listen to this interview from NPR, and read the abridged transcript, too!


 

A Breast Oncologist, Diagnosed With The Disease

http://www.npr.org/2010/12/14/131760656/a-breast-oncologist-diagnosed-with-the-disease

"Causes [of cancer]

"Definition of breast cancer: Cancer that forms in tissues of the breast, usually the ducts (tubes that carry milk to the nipple) and lobules (glands that make milk). It occurs in both men and women, although male breast cancer is rare.

"Cancers are primarily an environmental disease with 90-95% of cases due to lifestyle and environmental factors and 5-10% due to genetics.[4] Common environmental factors that lead to cancer death include: tobacco (25-30%), diet and obesity (30-35%), infections (15-20%), radiation, radon exposure, stress, lack of physical activity, and environmental pollutants.[4]"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancer


Estimated new cases and deaths from breast cancer in the United States in 2010:

	New cases: 207,090 (female); 1,970 (male)
	Deaths: 39,840 (female); 390 (male)"

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/breast

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Happy PFF (Postcard Friendship Friday)!

Please visit: http://thebestheartsarecrunchy.blogspot.com/

Who let the dogs out(back), Down Under? The Australian Dingo or Warrigal (Canis [lupus?] dingo) - maximum card/maxicard from Australia

"The Australian Dingo or Warrigal is an ancient, free roaming, primitive canine unique to the continent of Australia, specifically the outback. Its original ancestors are thought to have arrived with humans from southeast Asia thousands of years ago, when dogs were still relatively undomesticated and closer to their wild Asian Gray Wolf parent species, Canis lupus. Since that time, living largely apart from people and other dogs, together with the demands of Australian ecology, has caused them to develop features and instincts that distinguish them from all other canines".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dingo

Dingo pups in Berlin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dingowelpen_Berlin.JPG

In my personal, subjective opinion, The Dhole (Cuon alpinus) is the best (the ultimate) CURSORIAL hunter. Maximum cards (MCs) from Bhutan - Link and image from WWF Shop (I don't have these MCs!)

http://www.wwfstamp.com/oxid.php/sid/04f532520e273259575b86078de4ad4f/cl/details/anid/d744340da52d18294.95274776/listtype/search/searchparam/dhole

Someday, somehow, I will obtain these 4 maximum cards about this formidable animal...:)

Better yet, some philatelic partner/friend will cooperate with me in creating our own cool maximum cards. :)

Why would The Dhole be the best cursorial hunter?

Because "Though fearful of humans, dhole packs are bold enough to attack large and dangerous animals such as wild boar, water buffalo and tigers."

Print depicting a tiger being attacked by dholes from Samuel Howett & Edward Orme, Hand Coloured, Aquatint Engravings

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tigerdholes.jpg

"Before embarking on a hunt, clans go through elaborate prehunt social rituals involving nuzzling, body rubbing and homo [MY NOTE: "The name is BONDING. MALE BONDING." ] and heterosexual mounting.^[50] Dholes are primarily diurnal hunters, hunting in the early hours of the morning. They rarely hunt nocturnally, except on moonlit nights, indicating that they greatly rely on sight when hunting.^[51] Though not as fast as jackals and foxes, they can chase their prey for many hours.^[43] During a pursuit, one or more dholes may take over chasing their prey, while the rest of the pack keeps up at a steadier pace behind, taking over once the other group tires. Most chases are short, lasting only 500 metres.^[52] When chasing fleet-footed prey, they run at a pace of 30 mph.^[47] Dholes frequently drive their prey into water bodies, where the targeted animal's movements are hindered.^[53]

Once large prey is caught, one dhole will grab the prey's nose, while the rest of the pack pulls the animal down by the flanks and hind quarters. They do not use a killing bite to the throat.^[26] They occasionally blind their prey by attacking the eyes.^[54] Serows are among the only ungulate species capable of effectively defending themselves against dhole attacks, due to their thick, protective coats and short, sharp horns capable of easily impaling dholes.^[55] They will tear open their prey's flanks and disembowel it, eating the heart, liver, lungs and some sections of the intestines. The stomach and rumen are usually left untouched.^[5] Prey weighing less than 50 kg is usually killed within two minutes, while large stags may take 15 minutes to die. Once prey is secured, dholes will tear off pieces of the carcass and eat in seclusion.^[56] Unlike wolf packs, in which the breeding pair monopolises food, dholes give priority to the pups when feeding at a kill, allowing them to eat first.^[6] They are generally tolerant of scavengers at their kills.^[57]"

^"On some rare occasions, dholes may attack tigers. When confronted by dholes, tigers will seek refuge in trees or stand with their backs to a tree or bush, where they may be mobbed for lengthy periods before finally attempting escape. 

Escaping tigers are usually killed, while tigers which stand their ground have a greater chance of survival.^[44][60] Tigers are extremely dangerous opponents for dholes, as they have sufficient strength to kill a single dhole with one paw strike. Even a successful tiger kill is usually accompanied by losses to the pack.^[61] Dhole packs may steal leopard kills, while leopards may kill dholes if they encounter them singly or in pairs.^[42] Because leopards are smaller than tigers, and are more likely to hunt dholes, dhole packs tend to react more aggressively toward them than they do with tigers.^[17] It was once thought that dholes were a major factor in reducing Asiatic cheetah populations, though this is doubtful, as cheetahs live in open areas as opposed to forested areas favoured by dholes.^[62]

Dhole packs occasionally attack Asiatic black bears and sloth bears. When attacking bears, dholes will attempt to prevent them from seeking refuge in caves, and lacerate their hind quarters.^[42]"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhole

Triple-concordant maximum card from a DEAD COUNTRY, in philatelic terms (TRANSKEI, an ex-bantustan inside Republic of South Africa): The African Wild Dog (Lycaon pictus), the second-best cursory hunter. The best (the ultimate) would be The Dhole, in my opinion.

Notice the cool, pictorial, concordant, detailed, clean and clear postmark.

If Transkei could do it (or their philatelic contractor...), then why couldn't ALL the "developed" countries do it? Too many awful postmarks are still being applied today, around the world. Wake up and smarten up, National Postal Administrations! Improve your business appearance, "will ya"? :)

See my previous blogpost for more maximum cards/maxicards with this phenomenal hunter.

The penultimate CURSORIAL hunter: The African Wild Dog (Lycaon pictus) - WWF maximum cards/maxicards/dorincards about Guinea (République de Guinée)

"The African Wild Dog, Lycaon pictus, is a large canid found only in Africa, especially in savannas and other lightly wooded areas. It is also called the African Hunting Dog, Painted Wolf, Cape Hunting Dog, Painted Dog, Painted Hunting Dog, Spotted Dog or Ornate Wolf."

"The African Wild Dog hunts in packs. Like most members of the dog family, it is a cursorial hunter, meaning that it pursues its prey in a long, open chase. Nearly 80% of all wild dog hunts end in a kill; for comparison, the success rate of lions, often viewed as ultimate predators, is only 30%. Schaller found that 9 of 10 wild dog hunts in the Serengeti ended in kills. ^[12]. Members of a pack vocalize to help coordinate their movements. Its voice is characterized by an unusual chirping or squeaking sound, similar to a bird. Wild dogs frequently kill larger prey via disemboweling, a technique that is rapid but has caused this species to have a negative, ferocious reputation."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_wild_dog

Taking Stock of WikiLeaks | STRATFOR - and a mapcard of USA maximum card/ maxicard

Taking Stock of WikiLeaks | STRATFOR

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Maximum card/ maxicard from Canada - The North Atlantic Right Whale (Eubalaena glacialis, which means "good, or true, whale of the ice")

The North Atlantic Right Whale (Eubalaena glacialis)

Life in the ocean is fiercely competitive, as the males of this species can TESTify...:)

Read my previous blogpost for more TESTimony.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Atlantic_Right_Whale

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Please visit:  http://smilingsally.blogspot.com/