Saturday, December 4, 2010

Geopolitical Journey, Part 7: Poland | STRATFOR - and a horse maximum card from Poland

Geopolitical Journey, Part 7: Poland | STRATFOR

I like very much not only WHAT George Friedman has to say, but HOW he says it.
"Le style c'est l'homme".
Meaningful and enjoyable reading! :)

========================================================
This is the only maximum card that I have, so far, from Poland. But there are so many more interesting Polish stamps, postmarks and postcards that could be used to create interesting  maxicards...:)
Is it the same breed of horse on the stamp and on the postcard? I don't know. Do you? Only an expert could say. Anyway, I like it as it is, even if there might be different breeds. What I wouldn't like, though, would be if the breeds are clearly VERY different - then it would look awkward. :)



Friday, December 3, 2010

"From Africa, with Love": Good Samaritan Hippo saves wildebeest, zebra babies - see this YouTube sensation

Hippo saves wildebeest, zebra babies: "Videos showing a hippo rescuing a wildebeest calf and then a zebra foal from drowning in a strong-flowing river are causing a sensation."

Beware, safari-goers!
"Aggression

Hippopotamuses are by nature very aggressive animals, especially when young calves are present. Frequent targets of their aggression include crocodiles, which often inhabit the same river habitat as hippos. Nile crocodileslions, and spotted hyenas are known to prey on young hippos.[50] Hippos are very aggressive towards humans, whom they commonly attack whether in boats or on land with no apparent provocation.[51] They are widely considered to be one of the most dangerous large animals in Africa.[52][53]
To mark territory, hippos spin their tails while defecating to distribute their excrement over the greatest possible area.[54] Hippos are retromingent, likely for the same reason.[55]
Hippos rarely kill each other, even in territorial challenges. Usually a territorial bull and a challenging bachelor will stop fighting when it is clear that one hippo is stronger. When hippos become overpopulated, or when a habitat starts to shrink, bulls will sometimes attempt to kill infants, but this behavior is not common under normal conditions.[49] Some incidents of hippo cannibalism have been documented, but it is believed to be the behavior of distressed or sick hippos, and not healthy behavior.[8]"
"Adult hippos cannot swim and are not buoyant. When in deep water, they usually propel themselves by leaps, pushing off from the bottom. They move at speeds up to 8 km/h (5 mph) in water. Young hippos are buoyant and more often move by swimming —propelling themselves with kicks of their hind legs. Adult hippos typically resurface to breathe every 3–5 minutes. The young have to breathe every two to three minutes.[8] The process of surfacing and breathing is automatic, and even a hippo sleeping underwater will rise and breathe without waking. A hippo closes its nostrils when it submerges."

"Even though they are bulky animals, hippopotamuses can run faster than a human on land. Estimates of their running speed vary from 30 km/h (18 mph) to 40 km/h (25 mph), or even 50 km/h (30 mph). The hippo can maintain these higher speeds for only a few hundred meters.[8]"




Well, not faster than "a human"; faster than SOME humans, I would say.




I don't have maximum cards with the regular hippo species, so here are MCs with Pygmy Hippopotamus species:




==================
Happy PFF (Postcard Friendship Friday)!


Thursday, December 2, 2010

Asian Black Bear (Ursus thibetanus) also known as the Moon Bear or White-Chested Bear - WWF maximum cards about Pakistan


"Asian Black Bear

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  (Redirected from Himalayan Bear)

The Asian black bear (Ursus thibetanus), also known as the Moon bear[2] or White-chested bear[3] is a medium-sized species of bear, largely adapted for arboreal life, which occurs through much of southern AsiaKorea, northeastern China, the Russian far east and Honshū and Shikoku islands of Japan."

There are many dangerous "entities" lurking in the wilderness of "The Pure Land" (a.k.a. Pakistan). This one here is NOT the deadliest. So don't shoot this innocent animal - it has no hidden agenda and it just wants to satisfy...bear necessities.

Oh, wait - killing may not be the worst thing that can happen, even to a bear!


"Animals Asia Foundation (AAF) is a Hong Kong-based charity that seeks to end cruelty to animals in Asia.

The AAF was founded in 1998 by Jill Robinson, who felt compelled to create the organisation after learning of the plight of the Asiatic Black Bear known as the “Moon Bear” because of the yellow crescent on its chest. Moon Bears are farmed throughout Asia for their bile, which is used in traditional Chinese medicine. The methods used in bear bile farming involve bears living up to 25 years in crush cages with metal catheters inserted into their abdomens for bile extraction or open wounds through which the bile drips.[1]"
"In February 2009, Animals Asia rescued a dozen malnourished, diseased Asiatic Black Bears from abusive bile-harvesting farms in southwest China. The bears were given to Animals Asia under an agreement made in 2000 with the government to save sick bears from state and illegal farms. The animals went to the foundation's Moon Bear Rescue Center outside Chengdu, which has handled 260 freed bears since the agreement was signed. [5]"

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Top 30 Stamp Collecting Blogs, by guidetoartschools.com

#2:
"Dorincard: Blogger Dorin C is a stamp and postcard fanatic, and luckily he's more than pleased to write prolifically and charmingly about his obsession. He has a particular bent for stamps with wild mammals on them, but his blog demonstrates an affinity for stamps of all forms and backgrounds, as long as they offer a special narrative that's worth sharing with his readers.


  • Source: http://www.guidetoartschools.com/library/best-stamp-collecting-blogs#ixzz1KirbuA4p
    "

    Some feedback received about me and my blog here

    [DORIN'S NOTE: There are over 100 million websites.]

    From alexa.com traffic rank site

    "There are 1,699,250 sites with a better three-month global Alexa traffic rank than Dorincard.blogspot.com.
    About 43% of visitors to the site come from France, where it has attained a traffic rank of 152,077.
    About 80% of visits to the site consist of only one pageview (i.e., are bounces).
    Dorincard.blogspot.com's visitors view an average of 1.5 unique pages per day.
    Visitors to the site spend roughly two minutes on each pageview and a total of three minutes on the site during each visit."



    inkling (Enthusiast)

    The best use of this site is Other.

    Likes
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    Comments:
    Postcards and stamps, mainly featuring mammals and birds but Dorincard also has other creations
    and interests he likes to share.
    His enthusiasm for Maximum cards (a postcard and a similar themed stamps sent through the
    postal system) shines through.
    He shows how he gets the right card, stamp and postmark together.
    Visiting his site you will also learn things about the natural world told with a dry sense of humour,
    possibly with a play on words, and a unique style of headings.
    Topical and informative both for the enthusiast and casual visitor.
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