WWF Siberian tiger maximum card #2 (Russia)

WWF Siberian tiger maximum card #1 (Russia)

I created a new Zazzle stamp (personalized stamp): MAHATMA

http://www.zazzle.com/mahatma_postage-172351046568969129?rf=238693463283865848

If you think that the stamp color scheme that I have chosen evokes the flag of the Republic of India (Hindi: भारत गणराज्य Bhārat Gaṇarājya) - you're right.

Mohandas K. "Mahatma" Gandhi's statue in front of the Embassy of India, Washington, D.C.

Yes, he spoke softly (but convincingly).

And yes, he was carrying a long stick - but not for violent purposes.

No Kendo fighting, and no "attitude adjuster" purpose.

Unfortunately, there are many times and places where non-violence just DOESN'T WORK.

"Watcha gonna do, watcha gonna do

When they come for you?

Bad boys, bad boys..."

Then you find a method that works.

"The only way to beat a BULLY is to be a bigger BULLY" - said Muhammad Ali, my most favorite boxer.

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Year of the Tiger Shark - look carefully at this

shark(s) image below (click on the image):

I want you to notice that the bait was grabbed by a tiger shark ("THE BULLY"), and then he himself was grabbed by a much bigger tiger shark ("THE BIGGER BULLY").

Yeah, same species, but hey! Nothing personal - just business (hunting for food).

Reality check: survival of the "baddest". The "best" during the decisive moment.

Human society is no different. Or is it?

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A phenomenal female guitarist:

"Orianthi Panagaris, known mononymously as Orianthi, is an Australian singer and guitarist. Orianthi is best known for being Michael Jackson's guitarist for his comeback concert series, This Is It. Her debut single "According to You" has peaked at #6 in Australia and #21 in the US, and her debut album Believe was released throughout the last three months of 2009 worldwide."

"Orianthi was born in Adelaide, South Australia, of Greek descent. She suffered against bullies in her schooling years and had to change schools a number of times.^{[citation needed]} She eventually attended the prestigious school Cabra Dominican College where she found herself happy and bully free."

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

http://www.orianthi.com/player/default.aspx?meid=5339

http://www.orianthi.com/splash/

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=orianthi+panagaris&search_type=&aq=1&oq=orianthi

Maximum card: brown bear (Ursus arctos) - Romania

Romania has all the Top 10 [Eurasian] brown bear fur trophies in the world, according to http://evz.ro.

Now, from wikipedia.org http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunting_in_Romania:

"Romania has a long history of hunting. The country remains a remarcable hunting destination, drawing many hunters because of its large numbers of brown bears, wolves, wild boars, red deer, and chamois. The concentration of brown bears (Ursus arctos) in the Carpathian Mountains of central Romania is [the] largest in the world and contains half of all Europe's population, except Russia.^[1]"

"World's foremost trophy record book of Rowland Ward mentions Romanian lands as provider of world records for stag (by local and foreign sportsmen), chamois (by Frederick Selous) and Eurasian Lynx (by the Prince of Liechtenstein)."

"Bear hunting (vanatoare de urs). Romania has the highest number and density of brown bears in entire Europe, second only to Russia and is one of the only few countries to allow its hunting. The population is so large, that many bruins are encountered in suburban areas feeding of waste, yet the big ones are to be encountered solitary in the sub-alpine forests. According to CIC, the world record Eurasian brown bear trophy skin (687.79 CIC points) was shot in Romania in 1985, and for the skull trophy, Romania has 2nd place (69.30 points), while 1st place (70.0 CIC points) was shot in Kamchatka, Russia. Around 250 permits are issued yearly for two bear hunts: fall season (Sep. 15 - Dec. 31) and spring season (Mar. 15 - May 15). Methods used are spot and stalk, waiting, game drives and under special permit, over bait; anything else, like trapping, shooting from blinds or elevated stand or use of archery are illegal. Recommended are large caliber rifle magnums, with a 7x64 mm minimum necessary. Good populations are in Gurghiu, Vrancea, Fagaras and south-east Carpathians. In Romanian cynegetical tradition, bear baculum is regarded as unconventional trophy."

Word of the day: baculum. You don't have the foggiest idea what it means? Click on it. Wikipedia will tell you.

Maximum card from China: Siberian (not South China) tiger (Panthera tigris altaica)

Siberian (not South China) tigers maximum cards from China.
I like very much these maximum cards, 
especially the bottom one :) .
It just so happens that each of them was created with a real, commercial postcard.
Would it bother me if this "postcard" were, instead, a cut-out from a folded postcard ("greeting 
card"), book, magazine, or calendar?
No. Not at all.

Maximum card: gray wolves (USA)

They say Homo...homini...lupus. [No, it's not about gays.]

But wolves were wolves (not werewolves) to wolves?

Or rather wolves are brothers (or enemies) to other wolves, as needed.

--------------------------------

ALPHA MALE: For now, lay your troubles on my shoulders, brother. Your head, too.

But remember: I am the Alpha Male, until proven otherwise.

BETA MALE: That day will come... Enjoy while you can!

ALPHA MALE: I heard that there is a gorgeous She-Wolf in Italy, called Lupa Capitolina. She adopted two human puppies, Romulus and Remus.

BETA MALE: Well, I heard there's another great one, in the Hollywood Wilderness: Lupa Angelina. She adopted many more humans.

ALPHA MALE: Yeah, she would be a great ALPHA FEMALE in our wolfpack, but I hear that she is involved with a Hill Billy Bob Cat...no, with a Great Dane Cook...no, with an Inverted Jenny (no, that's a rare stamp)...no! With a glorious non-basterd (purebred) American Pitt Bull, a cum laude braduate of The Fight Club Chez Vicks.  Lupa Angelina is "out of our forest". Furrrrr-getaboutit!

My only stamp (or any other object) from Haiti, apart from a stamp series with birds (I forgot about them) :)

A lot of blood has been spilt on the soil of Haiti, during history...
When Haitians fought for the independence of their country, about 100,000 of them died in battles.
Then...hurricanes
Then...earthquakes.

The crab in the stamp is red...like the blood of hundreds of thousands of Haitians - fighters and victims.

Priests say that God can do anything and everything.
How about giving the Haitians a break from further "acts of God"?
--------------------------------------------
Napoleon Bonaparte vs. Haiti:
"Independence When the French government changed, new members of the national legislature, lobbied by planters, began to rethink their decisions on colonial slavery. After Toussaint l'Ouverture created a separatist constitution, Napoleon Bonaparte sent an expedition of 20,000 men under the command of his brother-in-law, General Charles Leclerc, to retake the island. Leclerc's mission was to oust l'Ouverture and restore slavery. The French achieved some victories, but within a few months, yellow fever had killed most of the French soldiers. ^[17] Leclerc invited Toussaint l'Ouverture to a parley, kidnapped him and sent him to France, where he was imprisoned at Fort de Joux. He died there in 1803 of exposure and tuberculosis ^[14] or malnutrition and pneumonia. In its attempt to retake the colony, France had lost more than 50,000 soldiers, including 18 generals. ^[18]

Battle between Polish troops in French service and the Haitian rebels. Some Polish soldiers became sympathetic to the natives' cause and joined the Haitian rebels. ^[19]

Slaves, free gens du couleur and allies continued their fight for independence after the French transported L'Ouverture to France.

The native leader Jean-Jacques Dessalines – long an ally and general of Toussaint l'Ouverture – defeated French troops led by Donatien-Marie-Joseph de Vimeur, vicomte de Rochambeau, at the Battle of Vertières. At the end of the double battle for emancipation and independence, former slaves proclaimed the independence of Saint-Domingue on 1 January 1804,^[20] declaring the new nation be named Haïti, to honor one of the indigenous Taíno names for the island.
Haiti is the only nation born 
of a slave revolt. ^[14] Historians have estimated the slave rebellion resulted in the death of 100,000 blacks and 24,000 of the 40,000 white colonists. ^[21]"

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




Read "Haiti: Survivor stories" and shed a tear, or more:


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8459090.stm

The postcard was printed in Germany; I have a few more stamps from this Haiti issue, with Audubon drawings of birds.

Haiti, a country of orphans - 38% of the population is under age 14, even before this earthquake

National motto of Haiti:
Motto: "L'Union Fait La Force"  (French)

"Unity Creates Strength".
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[On behalf of Haiti, if I may] THANK YOU TO ALL THE GOOD PEOPLE OF THE WORLD FOR YOUR HELP!
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"Haiti's regional, historical and ethnolinguistic position is unique for several reasons. It was the first independent nation in Latin America, the first post-colonial independent black-led nation in the world, and the only nation whose independence was gained as part of a successful slave rebellion. Despite having common cultural links with its Hispano-Caribbean neighbors, Haiti is the only predominantly Francophone independent nation in the Americas. It is one of only two independent nations in the Americas (along with Canada) that designate French as an official language; the other French-speaking areas are all overseas départements, or collectivités, of France."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haiti

Two tigers in the same postcard

I have just donated $10 to the American Red Cross – charged to my cell phone bill – by texting "HAITI" to "90999."

It's nice to send your "thoughts and prayers", but it's more effective to send immediate concrete help, and ...money can help a lot.

Sending clothes, toys, etc. can wait.

Right now, the desperate Haitian earthquake survivors need "Urban Search and Rescue" teams, WATER, FOOD (especially UN-type high-energy biscuits that require no cooking), and MEDICAL ATTENTION.

I've just donated $10 to the American Red Cross – charged to my cell phone bill – 

by texting "HAITI" to "90999."

Please help the people of Haiti!

http://www.whitehouse.gov/haitiearthquake

It's not much, but it sure adds up quickly.

From the American Red Cross, today:

"We have received more than $3 million as of 9 a.m. EST – through a third party mobile fundraising effort to support our relief efforts in Haiti.

100% of the donations will go to support the Red Cross relief efforts in Haiti.

• The mobile fundraising effort launched on January 12, approximately three hours after the earthquake struck Haiti. The program is powered by Mobile Accord and the MGive Foundation in coordination with the U.S. State Department as part of its ongoing support of this disaster response.
• We are grateful this mobile fundraising opportunity, and for the support of the State Department and other government leaders to draw attention to this important program (and thousands of tweeters!)
• The needs in Haiti are tremendous and we want to thank the people who continue to donate and help the American Red Cross meet that need. Raising this amount of money $10 at a time is a true testament to the American spirit.
• People who want to help those affected by the Haitian earthquake can also make a donation to the American Red Cross International Response Fund at Redcross.org or by calling 1-800-RED-CROSS.
• Donors using this technology may opt in to receive future updates, but will not be solicited again without this consent nor will their personal information be shared with other organizations.
• An average of 91 cents of every dollar the American Red Cross spends is invested in humanitarian services and programs."

http://redcrosschat.org/2010/01/14/your-mobile-giving-by-state/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+RedCrossChat+(Red+Cross+Chat

From previous funds/donations: "American Red Cross Releases $10 Million to Help Haiti"

From my county (Fairfax County, Virginia, USA):

"VATF1 Deploys to Haiti January 13, 2010

Virginia Task Force 1 (VATF-1), Fairfax County's urban search and rescue team was activated by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Tuesday evening, January 12, 2010, to the earthquake near Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The task force is composed of 72 personnel, 6 search and rescue canines, search and technical rescue personnel, physicians, paramedics, structural engineers, other support personnel, and approximately 48 tons of rescue equipment and supplies. The team is self-sustaining for approximately 14 days. The task force left from the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department’s Academy at 8:15 a.m., January 13, 2010. The team will depart from Dulles International Airport late morning today. The task force deployed to the Haitian town of Petionville, near the capital of Port-au-Prince for a school collapse in November of 2008. The task force has also deployed nationally to the Oklahoma City Bombing, The Pentagon, Hurricanes Katrina and Isabel. Additionally, they have deployed internationally to the bombing in Kenya, earthquakes in Turkey, Taiwan, and Iran. Additionally, as a part of the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department, the task force maintains constant operational readiness, and is a local resource for residents of Fairfax County." Thank you, and best wishes to everybody!