These stamps from the USA landed in my mailbox (on an envelope from an Ebay seller that I had bought stamps from).
200th Anniversary of the US Constitution Issued Aug. 28, 1987 Perf. 10 hor. on 1 or 2 sides Photogravure Booklet with 4 panes of 5 stamps printed in cylinders of 120 2355 A1720 22c |Multi-colored |Preamble to the US Constitution 2355 A1721 22c |Multi-colored |Preamble to the US Constitution 2355 A1722 22c |Multi-colored |Preamble to the US Constitution 2355 A1723 22c |Multi-colored |Preamble to the US Constitution [Source: 2003 Scott Stamp Catalogue Vol. 1]Classic Books Issued Oct. 23, 1993 Perf. 11 Litho. & Engr. Booklet with 4 panes of 5 stamps printed in cylinders of 120 2787 A2126 29c |Multi-colored |The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn* 2785 A2124 29c |Multi-colored |Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm** [Source: 2003 Scott Stamp Catalogue Vol. 1]
*The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel by American author Mark Twain that was first published in the United Kingdom in December 1884 and in the United States in February 1885. [From Wikipedia] **Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm is a classic American 1903 children’s novel by Kate Douglas Wiggin that tells the story of Rebecca Rowena Randall and her aunts, one stern and one kind, in the fictional village of Riverboro, Maine. {From Wikipedia]
The years are rolling by, and it has now been 23 years since the terrorist attacks that had claimed the lives of some 3,000 people in New York City, Shanksville (in Pennsylvania), and at the Pentagon.
Reporting from the Washington Post, above. That is Evan Gershkovich to the left of President Biden, hugging his mother Ella Milman. The prisoner swap with Russia ultimately involved 24 detainees and 7 countries. From CNN online: Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former US Marine Paul Whelan and Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva have landed in the United States, following a historic prisoner exchange between Russia and the West. The returnees were greeted with tears and embraces by their joyous families at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, where President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were also on the tarmac to welcome them after their plane touched down about 20 minutes before midnight on Thursday.
.. being President of the United States*— or to collect stamps. *President Biden sent a cease-and-desist letter of sorts to House Democrats today, telling them to support him in the election.
In the mean time it’s Christmas in July for me, because my latest two purchases from the UK landed on my porch today.
These are old labels used for registered letters or mail pieces in South Africa. (Obsolete: printed barcodes without the sending city or town’s name on the label, are used nowadays). I am still deciding if some of them will make it into one of my stamp albums. Look for the label VERWOERD- BURG 1 at the bottom of the picture. Verwoerdburg in Gauteng Province, now goes by Centurion. It was named for H.F. Verwoerd, prime minister of South Africa widely seen as the architect of apartheid. Verwoerd was assassinated in 1966. Then there is TECOMA— not to be confused with Tacoma, Washington State 😁— a post office in East London, Eastern Cape Province, that has been permanently shuttered.This is just part of a massive collection of mint issues from the 50s , 60s and 70s for South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia). I have almost all of these already, but some in my album are used stamps with heavy cancellation marks, and I can add a few control blocks to my collection (four stamps with the margins from the original printed sheet).
I watched the much-anticipated George Stephanopoulos interview with President Biden, and thought: no, that won’t do it. To the question “Did you ever watch the debate afterwards?” Biden’s answer was, “I don’t think I did, no.” About getting out of the race, Biden offered “If the Lord Almighty came down and said: ‘Joe, get out of the race,’ I’d get out of the race”. That does not do it for me, either.
Reporting from today’s The Washington Post. This piece ends with the following: The House returns to Washington on Monday, and Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) is looking to rally fellow senators to call for a change. Multiple people publicly vouching for Biden, at the behest of the White House and campaign, privately say there’s no path. His family is still with him. The race is still single digits. And Biden remains hopeful. As he likes to say, America can do anything if its people work together — “There’s not a single thing we can’t do.” But in private, people around him have detected some shift. He admits the danger now, can sound more somber at times. One person who spoke to him over the Fourth of July holiday said, “I think he is focused on recovering, but I personally think he’s still in the denial phase of grief.”
These are from my small collection of US stamps.
These coil stamps were still printed with engraved plates. Nowadays the vast majority of American-issued postage stamps are printed by using offset-lithography.
Flag Over US Supreme Court Coil stamp Issued Dec.17, 1981 Perf. 10 vert. |Engraved |No Watermark 1895 A1281 20c Black, dark blue and red
Flag Over Capitol Dome Coil stamp Issued Mar.29, 1985 Perf. 10 vert. |Engraved |No Watermark 2115 A1498 22c Blue, red and black
Flag Over Mt. Rushmore Coil stamp Issued Mar.29, 1991 Perf. 10 vert. |Engraved |No Watermark 2523 A1878 29c Blue, red and claret [Source: Scott 2003 Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue, Vol. 1]
From the Washington Post staff: Former presidents are immune from prosecution for their official actions taken while in the White House, but they don’t have immunity for unofficial acts, the Supreme Court ruled Monday. “A former president is entitled to absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions within his ‘conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority,’ ” the ruling says. “There is no immunity for unofficial acts.” It seems highly unlikely that the 45th president will go to trial on charges of trying to subvert the 2020 election before voters cast ballots in this year’s presidential contest, in which Donald Trump is the presumptive Republican nominee.
So .. what is an ‘official act’, and what is not? The Supreme Court did not say and Chief Justice John Roberts acknowledged it could raise “difficult questions.”
The reality is that this Supreme Court with its three Trump-appointed justices has already provided de facto immunity for Trump prior to the November election. The Court dragged its feet as long as it possibly could, before issuing this ruling, thereby delaying the start of Trump’s other three criminal trials (the Jan. 6 case, the documents case, and the Georgia election interference case) by at least six months.
We drove up to Port Townsend from Hansville today— about an hour’s drive.
Port Townsend (pop. 10,148) is a city on the Quimper Peninsula (on the greater Olympic Peninsula) in Jefferson County. [From Wikipedia]The view this morning from Hansville on the Kitsap Peninsula across Hood Canal at low tide. Across the canal is the Olympic Peninsula, with the Olympic mountains in the distance.Crossing the Hood Canal Floating Bridge (constructed in 1961) to get to the Olympic Peninsula.A quick stop at the Chimacum Corner farmstand and nursery, on the way to Port Townsend. These are Sunny Days Ruby Echinacea, basking in the sun.We stopped by Saturday’s farmer’s market in Port Townsend.This little marina is by Sea J’s Cafe just south of Port Townsend’s downtown.This is the beach at Point Hudson, with Whidbey Island in the distance.The pebble and stone beach at Point Hudson also features a few uprooted trees and driftwood.For thousands of years before the settlers came to Port Townsend, the S’Klallam (“strong”) people lived in villages along the north coast of the Olympic Peninsula.These little wildflowers by Point Hudson are mallows (Malva sylvestris).The Mount Baker Building in downtown Port Townsend was built in 1889 and renovated in 1999. It was sold in 2020 for $6.8 million. At the time of its construction, negotiations were underway for the railroad to link Port Townsend to the rest of the country. Real estate price skyrocketed, the population of the town doubled, and Port Townsend dubbed itself “The Inevitable New York.” The railroad never arrived and the boom went bust. As a result, Port Townsend was left with many spectacular buildings and residences, some of which were never finished.The James & Hastings Building with its carved stone trimmings from the Victorian era was built in 1889, and restored in the 1990s and early 2002. It is at the corner of Tyler Street and Water Street.The ornate N.D. Hill Building (constructed 1889) at 635 Water Street was designed by noted Seattle architect Elmer H. Fisher. It is principally Italianate in design, but also shows Grecian and Romanesque influences.Here is the elegant four-story Hastings Building at 839 Water Street— built in the Victorian style, and completed in 1890.
Juneteenth is a day of remembrance dedicated to the last enslaved Black Americans, who were freed in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, more than two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by President Abraham Lincoln.
On June 17, 2021, President Joe Biden signed into law the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act making Juneteenth a federal holiday. It was the first federal holiday to be added to the calendar since Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983.
– From the Seattle Times
Initially set for June 5, D-Day was delayed due to poor weather. With a small window of opportunity in the weather, Eisenhower decided to go—D-Day would be June 6, 1944. Paratroopers began landing after midnight, followed by a massive naval and aerial bombardment at 6:30 a.m. American forces faced severe resistance at Omaha and Utah Beaches. Despite challenges, including mistaken landings and fierce opposition, Allied forces established a critical beachhead in Normandy.
– Text from the National WWII Museum’s website
There are 9,388 graves in the American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer high above the beaches of Normandy.
Most are marked by white Latin crosses, with a handful of them Stars of David commemorating Jewish American service members.
Sergeant Mullins, who now lives in Garberville, California, took a moment this week to kneel at his buddy’s grave in the American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer. In 1944, a few days into the fighting that had started on D-day, Mullins looked up from his foxhole and, two foxholes away, saw Pfc. William H. Lemaster, peeking over the edge. It proved to be the last act of this young man from West Virginia. A German sniper’s bullet killed him instantly. [Photo by Laetitia Vancon and text from reporting by Roger Cohen, for the New York Times]
These UK stamps arrived on the outside envelope of my latest order of South African stamps from a seller in Great Britain.
150th Anniversary of Metropolitan Police Issued 1979, Sept.26 Perf.15×14 Phosphorised paper 1108 585 |15p |Grey-black, magenta, brown, slate-blue, deep brown & Greenish black |River Patrol Boat [Source: Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue Part I British Commonwealth Volume 1]Christmas 1979 Issued 1979, Nov.21 Perf.15×14 Phosphorised paper 1108 585 |15p |Orange-vermilion, steel blue, drab, grey-black, deep blue-green & gold |The Annunciation [Source: Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue Part I British Commonwealth Volume 1]Christmas 1989— 800th Anniversary of Ely Cathedral. Issued 1989, Nov.14 Perf.15×14 One phosphor band 1462 924 |15p |Gold, silver and blue |14th-century Peasants from Stained-glass Window [Source: Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue Part I British Commonwealth Volume 1]Queen Elizabeth II Definitives Issued 2002, Feb.6 Re-issue of 1952-54 definitive series stamps of Dorothy Wilding portrait of QE II Booklet sheets w. new values & syncopated perforation (elliptical holes) 522 T157 33p Brown |George Knipe design 525 T158 37p Magenta |Mary Adshead design 530 T160 1st Class |Green |E. Dulac design [Source: Stanley Gibbons Great Britain Concise Stamp Catalogue 2009]
A jury in Manhattan convicted Mr. Trump of 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree, a crime that under New York State law carries a possible sentence that ranges from probation to four years in prison.
-Reported by William K. Rashbaum for the New York Times, May 30, 2024
Artist John Cuneo’s “A Man of Conviction”, artwork that will appear on the cover of an upcoming The New Yorker magazine.
So Trump is now a convicted felon.
His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Jul. 11, four days before the start of the Republican convention.
(Will the Republican Party nominate a convict for President?)
Even if Trump is given jail time (possible* but not likely), his lawyers will keep him out of jail by starting a lengthy appeals process, and posting bail money.
*His Secret Service detail will go to jail with him, basically. They are required by law to protect him 24/7.
Graphic by the Washington Post showing the dates and types of business records that Trump used to defraud the American people in the 2016 election. As for calling it a ‘hush money trial’ : it was actually an ‘election fraud conspiracy trial’, which is why the falsification of these business records were charged as felonies.
South African Constitution (1996) Art. 47.1.e.
1. Every citizen who is qualified to vote for the National Assembly is eligible to be a member of the Assembly, except ..
e. anyone who, after this section took effect, is convicted of an offence and sentenced to more than 12 months imprisonment without the option of a fine, either in the Republic, or outside the Republic if the conduct constituting the offence would have been an offence in the Republic, but no one may be regarded as having been sentenced until an appeal against the conviction or sentence has been determined, or until the time for an appeal has expired. A disqualification under this paragraph ends five years after the sentence has been completed.
This year, general elections will be held in South Africa on 29 May to elect a new National Assembly as well as the provincial legislature in each province.
It’s been 30 years since Nelson Mandela was elected South Africa’s first democratic president. The African National Congress has in been in power all this time.
Let’s just say that after Mandela left office in 1999, the ANC has not exactly covered themselves in glory.
Jacob Zuma (elected in 2009) and his ANC cronies in particular, engaged in racketeering, money laundering, and fraud on a grand scale.
Zuma spent time in jail 2021, but only two months of his full sentence of 15 months. This was due to a ‘remission’ program approved by the current president, Cyril Ramaphosa (the equivalent of a ‘pardon’ in the US).
Now 82 years old, Zuma is back in politics. He wants to become president again.
South Africa’s election court ruled that he cannot be disqualified by the 12 month rule in Art. 47.1.e. of the South African constitution.
Cartoon of an imagined phone call between candidates for presidential elections in America and in South Africa. Zuma broke from the ANC and is the de facto leader of a brand-new political party called uMkhonto weSizwe (abbr. MKP, and meaning ‘Spear of the Nation’). Here’s Antony Sguazzin reporting for bloomberg.com: Support for South Africa’s ruling African National Congress is plunging and a party backed by former President Jacob Zuma may become the country’s third-biggest after next month’s election, a new opinion poll shows. The ANC, which has ruled South Africa since the end of apartheid, may garner just 37% of the vote on May 29, while Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe Party, or MKP, may get 13%, the Social Research Foundation said in comments sent to Bloomberg on Wednesday, citing a poll it carried out this month. [Cartoon by Niel van Vuuren for Beeld newspaper]
I spent a few hours on my South African stamp collection today, poring over my Scott stamp catalog to find the fine— but distinct— differences between the various issues of the ubiquitous 1 p Dromedaris stamps issued in 1926, 1932, 1940 and in 1951 (shown below).
A little history first: On April 6, 1652 (372 years ago), Jan Van Riebeeck landed at the Cape of Good Hope in what is called South Africa today, with three ships; the Reijer, the Dromedaris, and the Goede Hoop. He was accompanied by 82 men and 8 women, including his wife of two years, Maria. Van Riebeeck was requested by the Dutch East India Company to undertake the command of the initial Dutch settlement in the future South Africa.
About this stamp: From the First Definite Series of the Union of South Africa (a redesign of the original 1926 version, issued in 1951) Photogravure printing Perf. 15×14 Wmk. Multiple Springbok head 49 A6 1 p carmine & black Afrikaans-English se-tenant pair (’51, size 18x22mm) of Jan van Riebeeck’s ship, the Dromedaris [Source: 2021 Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue Vol. 6A]
Here are pictures and reporting from the New York Times that document the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse: The ship, a 948-foot-long cargo vessel called Dali, was about a half hour into its journey toward Colombo, Sri Lanka, when it hit a main pillar of the bridge. All crew members are safe, according to the ship’s owners. (The mayday alert from the ship allowed authorities to stop traffic from crossing the bridge just before the impact. Eight workers on the bridge fell into the water. Two were rescued from the water and six are still missing). The Francis Scott Key Bridge was opened in 1977 and carried more than 12.4 million vehicles last year. The bridge was one of the three major ways to cross the Patapsco River and formed part of Baltimore’s beltway.
Another batch of stamps from South Africa that I had ordered online, landed on my porch.
Here is one of my favorite sets, presented on a miniature sheet.
I feel ‘Planet of the Apes’* vibes, looking at it.
*Originally a 1963 novel by French author Pierre Boulle.
Origins of Humans Issued 2006, Nov. 10 Serpentine Die-cut Perf. 11½x11¾ No Wmk Self-adhesive C77 AP20 R3.80 Sheet of 4 a. Paranthropus robustus b. Australopithecus africanus c. Homo heidelbergensis d. Homo ergaster [Source: Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue 2021, Vol. 6A]Homo heidelbergensis is an extinct species or subspecies of archaic human which existed during the Middle Pleistocene. It was classified as a subspecies of H. erectus in 1950 as H. e. heidelbergensis.
H. heidelbergensis is placed as the most recent common ancestor between modern humans (H. sapiens or H. s. sapiens) and Neanderthals (H. neanderthalensis or H. s. neanderthalensis).
Paranthropus robustus is a species of robust australopithecine (primate) from the Early and possibly Middle Pleistocene of the Cradle of Humankind, South Africa, about 2.27 to 0.87 million years ago.
Homo ergaster is an extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans who lived in Africa in the Early Pleistocene.
Whether H. ergaster constitutes a species of its own or should be subsumed into H. erectus is an ongoing and unresolved dispute within paleoanthropology.
Australopithecus africanus is an extinct species of australopithecine (primate) which lived between about 3.3 and 2.1 million years ago in the Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene of South Africa. The species has been recovered from Taung, Sterkfontein, Makapansgat, and Gladysvale.
My package with blank stamp album pages, from a supplier based in the town of Otterup in Denmark, arrived today.
They stock Leuchtturm products (the best) and get it to me within a week via DHL.
Good stuff.
The supplier Nordfrim knows their clients love stamps, so they throw a few complementary stamps into the package before it is shipped out the door. I love stamps, and I love maps —and I love stamps with maps on. Stamps with maps on is a good idea for a thematic collection of stamps. Here is the catalogue information for this one: Issued 2013, Nov. 7 —Trade Treaty Between Denmark and France, 350th Anniversary Die-cut perf. 13 ½ x 13 ¼ Self-adhesive Litho. & Engr. 1663 A552 8k Rose & blue, Map and compass rose with ship at right [Source: Scott 2018 Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue, Vol. 2]
Ever a grifter and a fraud, and one day after that $355 million plus interest ruling against his company, here he is on Saturday at Philadelphia’s Sneaker Con*, peddling gold metallic high-top sneakers with a T on the side. (T for Tacky?). The crowd was jeering and booing. A deranged woman made it onto the stage, and leaned into the microphone, sobbing and pointing at Trump. ‘He’s a good man!’ she said. *Sneaker Con is a global traveling event for sneakerheads of all ages. Seattle is hosting a local Sneaker Con event this Saturday. [Photo from the Philadelphia Inquirer]
Today’s excursion into Lima took us to Lima Main Square (Plaza de Armas) with the Lima Cathedral just adjacent to it.
We also stopped by the Basilica and Convent of Santo Domingo.
On the way back to Callao and the cruise terminal, we stopped at the Parque Domodossola in Miraflores for a look at the Pacific Ocean and the playas (beaches) below.
Colorful housing in Callao. We again drove through Callao (where the cruise terminal is) to get to central Lima.There are lots of street vendors to be seen in Callao, but also on the city streets in Lima.Lima Main Square (Plaza de Armas). Unfortunately we could not really walk around the square since preparations are underway for a major celebration.The Municipal Palace of Lima building that borders the square. The ornate wooden window frame is made from wood from Central America.Inside Lima Cathedral that also borders the main square. It is a Roman Catholic cathedral. This third and current Cathedral of Lima was built between 1602 and 1797.Several very ornate and Baroque-style altars are found in coves inside the church. This is of Mary Magdalene holding a golden rose.The bones of Francisco Pizarro are interred in the Lima Cathedral. Pizarro, Marquess of the Atabillos, was a Spanish conquistador, best known for his expeditions that led to the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. Born in Trujillo, Spain to a poor family, Pizarro chose to pursue fortune and adventure in the New World. He was assassinated in 1541 by Spanish soldiers. [Wikipedia]This is a beautiful and historic private house a stone’s throw away from the square that we toured. I did not write down the name of the family that owns it.Inside the Basilica and Convent of Santo Domingo.Looking towards the south from Parque Domodossola .. .. and looking north.Another viewpoint from the park, showing the cliffs along the shore. Peru lies outside the infamous ‘Ring of Fire’ series of fault lines, and do get earthquakes and tsunamis from time to time.
