Geopolitical Journey, Part 6: Ukraine | STRATFOR

Geopolitical Journey, Part 6: Ukraine | STRATFOR

I will post later some  minimum, not maximum cards from Ukraine, from a partner/friend (he affixed whatever stamps he wanted onto his postcards).

I was told that it's illegal for a postal worker in Ukraine to postmark a stamp on the picture side.

Somehow, I'm not convinced. My investigation is ongoing. :)

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UPDATE

Geopolitical Journey, Part 4: Moldova | STRATFOR

Please read: Geopolitical Journey, Part 4: Moldova | STRATFOR

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My opinion is that "MIGHT makes RIGHT", so the Empire called The Soviet Union grabbed and annexed lands and nations as much and as long as it could.

Moldova, as dirt-poor as they say it is, belongs to Romania, for all the historical and cultural reasons. And much more.

Despite all the deportations to Siber-space [Siberia] and the forced Russification, Moldova will remain forever a Romanian land, struggling with its enemies at the crossroads of history.

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

Consider this my e-postcard for today's blogpost: National Library of Moldova, in Chisinau:

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

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Happy PFF (Postcard Friendship Friday)!

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

Danube, Donau, Dunaj, Dunav, Duna, Дунав, Dunărea, Дунáй (Dunay), Tuna River - a heraldic journey

The most important river in Europe, and the second-longest after Volga, is the Danube.

"Since the Norman conquest of England, the English language has used the French word Danube. In the languages of the modern countries through which the river flows, it is:

• Croatian: Dunav
• Bulgarian: Дунав (transliterated: Dunav)
• German: Donau
• Hungarian: Duna
• Romanian: Dunărea
• Serbian: Дунав, Dunav
• Slovak: Dunaj
• Ukrainian: Дунай (transliterated: Dunai)"

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

Let's take a quick (modern national heraldic) journey on the Danube, for some historical spots along the way.

I'll show you some very nice maximum cards from Romania, produced by Romfilatelia.

I don't have the souvenir sheet (with Germany) from the first stamp series of Danube's Coats of Arms, so I'll show it from the Romfilatelia's website (please visit http://www.romfilatelia.ro/marci/colectia.php?ContentID=505&Year=2010 and http://www.romfilatelia.ro/marci/colectia.php?ContentID=534&Year=2010)

):

Now a simple postcard from the Danube port of Regensburg, Germany:

Bratislava Castle, Slovakia:

Melk Abbey, Austria:

Parliament Palace, Budapest, Hungary:

Ilok [ILOK] Fortress, Croatia:

Ram Fortress, Serbia:

Dramatic Theater, Ruse, Bulgaria:

Navigation Palace, Galați ([ɡaˈlatsʲ]) , Romania:

"Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu" University, Cahul, Rep. of Moldova:

"Assumption of the Virgin" Church, Izmail, Ukraine:

Thank you again, my dear friend Teodor Ghiata-Melnic (Romania), for these great MCs, like hundreds of others that I got from you over the years! :)

Now, a quick info on the Danube Delta:

"The Danube Delta (Romanian: Delta Dunării; Ukrainian:Дельта Дунаю, Del'ta Dunaju) is the second largest river delta in Europe, after the Volga Delta, and is the best preserved on the continent ^[1]. The greater part of the Danube Delta lies in Romania (Tulcea county), while its northern part, on the left bank of the Chilia arm, is situated inUkraine (Odessa Oblast). The approximate surface is 4152 km², of which 3446 km² are in Romania. If the lagoons of Razim-Sinoe (1015 km² of which 865 km² water surface; situated in the south, but attached to the Danube Delta from geological and ecological perspectives, as well as being the combined territory of the World Heritage Site) are to be added, the considered area of the Danube Delta grows to 5165 km²."

"Situated on major migratory routes, and providing adequate conditions for nesting and hatching, the Danube Delta is a magnet for birds from six major eco-regions of the world, including the Mongolian, Arctic and Siberian. There are over 320 species of birds found in the delta during summer,^[4] of which 166 are hatching species and 159 are migratory. Over one million individuals (swans, wild ducks, bald coots, etc.) winter here."

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

The first 2 minutes of this -> "The Waves of Danube" song.

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Happy PFF (Postcard Friendship Friday)!

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

BBC: "US signals new economic push" and "China's leaders meet to plan economic future" - the rich are getting too rich, while the middle class gets "Standard & Poor" :)

BBC: "US signals new economic push"; my message to US: "Pu-push it real good!".

We need a faster recovery! :)

BBC: "China's leaders meet to plan economic future"; my message to China: "That's the way, aha, aha..."

We are glad that "political reform will even be on the meeting's agenda, after Premier Wen Jiabao recently issued a call for openness.

Mr Wen told US broadcaster CNN earlier this month that calls for "democracy and freedom [in China] will become irresistible".

In August, he said: "Without political reform, China may lose what it has already achieved through economic restructuring."

"The BBC's Martin Patience in Beijing says China wants to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor, which has grown in order to prevent strikes and disputes over pay, which have led to social unrest in the past."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11548789

The Roman Empire resorted to PANEM ET CIRCENSES to distract the large crowds of unemployed, unrested and unruly citizens.

Crowd Control Techniques.

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Now, back to the ranch, in USA.

"Democrats must know high unemployment in America has little or nothing to do with China. Yes, China should allow the yuan to rise further against the dollar. But China’s under-valued currency isn’t the reason we’ve lost 15 million jobs since the end of 2007. No, the tax code shouldn’t reward companies for relocating jobs there. But this tax break is barely relevant to the situation we’re in.

Our jobs crisis is due to the collapse of demand in the U.S. after the housing bubble burst. No longer able to borrow against the rising value of their homes, the vast American middle and working class can no longer spend enough to keep the economy going.

If Democrats (or Republicans, for that matter) want to blame something, blame America’s record level of inequality – an almost unprecedented concentration of income and wealth at the top, and a smaller proportion for the vast middle."

http://robertreich.org/

Filthy rich, beware! Don't let 99% of the population get desperate, just because you can.

Amassing [wealth] may be hazardous to you, eventually. Read and learn from history.

You may rich reach :) the critical mass...or rather a mass of people critical of you.

:)

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Happy PFF (Postcard Friendship Friday)!

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

Maxicard from Romania: "Castelul Alexius și Georgius Bethlen" from Criș village, commune of Daneș, Mureș County, Transylvania, Romania

Some say that this is "the most beautiful Renaissance castle in Transylvania".

http://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cri%C8%99,_Mure%C8%99

http://www.bethlen.eu/?lang=en&page=gallery

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Happy PFF (Postcard Friendship Friday)!

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

Vive La France! Fragment from http://www.squidoo.com/dorincard, translated into French

This is the chosen fragment, in English:

Maximaphily

Maximaphily is a branch of philately, or stamp collecting, that means collecting maximum cards.
I do NOT make a strict distinction between Philately and Stamp Collecting, despite "academic belief" that there is.  I'll detail that in another post.
Generally, a maximum card is a postcard, with a stamp and a postmark on the picture side. Ideally, all these 3 elements should be concordant, but not identical.

Anybody can collect them, just like collecting simple stamps. But that's too passive.
The fun and challenge are in CREATING YOUR OWN maximum cards! Then you can exchange some with partners/friends from around the world!
I do that, and it's very interesting! :)

The traditional way is to comply with the rules of FIP (International Philatelic Federation). http://www.maximaphily.info
The non-traditional way, as I call it, is to follow nobody's rules! Unless YOU want it, of course.
I call DORINCARD any postcard that was personalized by adding a stamp and a postmark, on the picture side of the postcard. Traditional way, or not. :)

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With translate.google.com, and edited by me:
English to French translationShow romanization

Maximaphilie
Maximaphilie est une branche de la philatélie, ou la collectionnement des timbres, cela signifie collectionner des cartes maximum.
Je ne fais pas une distinction stricte entre la philatélie et à la collectionnement des timbres, en dépit de la «croyance académique» qu'il existe. Je vais detailler dans un autre article.
En règle générale, une carte maximum est une carte postale, avec un timbre et un oblitération de la poste sur le côté image. Idéalement, tous ces 3 éléments doivent être concordantes, mais non identiques.
Chacun peut les collectionner, tout comme collectionner des timbres simple. 
Mais c'est trop passive.
Le plaisir et le défi sont la création de votre carte maximum propre! Ensuite, vous pouvez échanger avec quelques partenaires et amis du monde entier! Je fais cela, et c'est très intéressant! :) La voie traditionnelle est de se conformer aux règles de la FIP (Fédération internationale de philatélie). http://www.maximaphily.info
La manière non traditionnelle, comme je l'appelle, est de suivre les règles de personne! Sauf si vous le voulez, bien sûr.
Je nomme DORINCARD chacune carte postale qui a été personnalisé par l'ajout d'un timbre et d'un oblitération, sur le côté de photo de la carte postale. 
Manière traditionnelle, ou non. :)

Contribute a better translationHere, Eric Contesse kindly gave a better translation:[Please visit Eric's blog, very informative, interesting, in French and English: http://timbredujura.blogspot.com/ ]"Bonjour Dorin,
here is an exact version in French of your post :

La Maximaphilie est une branche de la philatélie, ou de la collection de timbres, qui consiste à collectionner les cartes maximum.
Je ne fais pas de distinction stricte entre la philatélie et la collection de timbres, en dépit de la «croyance académique» qui existe. Je détaillerai cela dans un autre article.
En règle générale, une carte maximum est une carte postale, avec un timbre et une oblitération apposés sur le côté illustré de la carte. Idéalement, ces 3 éléments doivent être concordants, mais non identiques.
Tout le monde peut les collectionner, de la même façon qu'on collectionne des timbres. Mais cela manque de créativité.
Le plaisir et le défi consistent à créer vos propres cartes maximum ! Vous pouvez ensuite les échanger avec quelques partenaires et amis du monde entier ! C'est ce que je fais et c'est très intéressant ! :) La voie traditionnelle est de se conformer aux règles de la FIP (Fédération internationale de philatélie). http://www.maximaphily.info
L'autre façon de procéder, est de ne suivre aucune règle ! Sauf si vous le souhaitez, bien sûr.
J'appelle "DORINCARD" toute carte postale qui a été personnalisée par l'ajout d'un timbre et d'une oblitération, sur la face illustrée de la carte postale. 
En faisant appel aux règles traditionnelles, ou non. :) "

Joint-issue stamps France-Romania about "Constantin Brâncuşi (Romanian pronunciation: [konstanˈtin brɨnˈkuʃʲ]; February 19, 1876 – March 16, 1957) was an internationally renowned Romanian sculptor whose works, which blend simplicity and sophistication, led the way for numerous modernist sculptors."

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

These are from Monaco, not France, but they still are in the francophone and francophil world, n'est-ce pas? :)

Merci, Bartholdy et France! "Je me souviens..."

"France is a member state of the European Union, the largest one by area. It is also the third largest in Europe behind Russia and Ukraine. It would be second if its extra-European territories like French Guiana were included. France has been a major power for several centuries with strong economic, cultural, military and political influence. During the 17th and 18th centuries, France colonised great parts of North America; during the 19th and early 20th centuries, France built the second largest empire of the time, including large portions of North, West and Central Africa, Southeast Asia, and many Pacific islands."

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

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Philately (stamp collecting) in general, and maximaphily in particular, as a confluence of domains: learning, writing, web design, business administration, etc.
http://dorincard.blogspot.com
http://dorinco.webs.com
http://www.squidoo.com/dorincard
http://www.delcampe.com/stores/dorinco
http://www.zazzle.com/dorinco*/
http://s289.photobucket.com/albums/ll201/dorincard/

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Happy PFF!

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

Le Château de Fougères - postcard from France, that I'd like to make into a maximum card! :)

This is an example of a wonderful postcard that could be made into a maximum card.

Did France ever issue a stamp with this castle? Let me know. :)
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Update: my philatelic partner/friend Eric Contesse says YES, France issued this in 1960:

Thank you, Eric! :)
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Visit Eric's very nice and educational blog:
http://timbredujura.blogspot.com/
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Now, the tough question is: who can create such a maximum card for me? :)
If not, I might have to go there in person. Oh, well...:)