Category: History

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Tuesday/ stamps from Belgium 🇧🇪

There were several stamps from Belgium on the outside envelope from my Ebay vendor in Antwerp, and I looked them up in the Scott stamp catalogue.

P.S. —The stamps that I buy on Ebay from overseas still come through without getting a tariff slapped on them. The de minimis exemption* for goods purchased from overseas suppliers will end soon, though.

*Historically, the US has had a de minimis exemption that allowed goods valued below a certain amount (currently $800, subject to change) to enter duty-free. However, the US eliminated the de minimis exemption for products from China and Hong Kong on May 2, 2025, and plans to eliminate it for all countries on August 29, 2025.
– Google AI Overview

1989 Belgium: Young Philatelists
Issued Oct 9, 1989
Perf. 11½ |Photogravure |No watermark
#1328 A575 9Fr Multicolored |Mr. Nibbs
*”The Adventures of Nibbs” is a Belgian cartoon series that was also adapted into a Brussels cartoon mural by the cartoonist Marc Sleen.
1991 Belgium: Tourism
Issued Jun. 17, 1991
Perf. 11½ |Design: Jacques Doppée & Paul Deweerdt |Photogravure & Engr. |Engraving: Patricia Vouez & Guillaume Broux |No watermark
#1406 A603 14Fr Multicolored |Neptune’s Grotto, Couvin
2016 Belgium: Qualifying Education (from minisheet of 5)
Issued Mar. 14, 2016
Perf. 12 |Design: Bart Van Leuven & Wim Vandersleyen |Litho. |No watermark
#2791a A1370 1.00€ Multicolored |Dredge near island, Abu Dhabi
[Sources: stampworld.com, Scott 2018 Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue, Vol. 1]
1976 The 25th Anniversary of King Baudouin’s Regency
Issued Jun. 26, 1976
Perf. 11½ |Design: Anton Luyckx |Photo. |No watermark
Se-tenant pair from mini-sheet
#952a A374 20Fr Yellow-green |King Baudouin, in profile
#952b A374 30Fr Prussian blue |King Baudouin, in profile
[Sources: stampworld.com, Scott 2018 Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue, Vol. 1]
1999 Belgium: Greeting Stamps
Issued Jan. 23, 1999
Perf. 11¾ |Design: Karl Meersman |Photogravure & Engr. |Engraving: De Schutter |No watermark
#1722 A738 17Fr Multicolored |Heart-shaped head on woman ‘Happy birthday Mama/ Long live Mama’
#1723 A738 17Fr Multicolored |Heart-shaped head on man ‘Long live Papa/ Happy birthday Papa’
[Sources: stampworld.com, Scott 2018 Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue, Vol. 1]
2005 Belgium: Greeting Stamps
Issued May 9, 2005
Perf. 9 ¼ on 2 or 3 sides |Booklet panes of 10 |Design: Myriam Voz & Thierry Martin |Photogravure |Engraving: Offset |Self-adhesive |No watermark
#2095 A915 0.80€ Multicolored |Doves and wedding rings
#2096 A916 0.80€ Multicolored |Wedding rings
[Sources: stampworld.com, Scott 2018 Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue, Vol. 1]

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Sunday/ it’s World Lion Day 🦁

World Lion Day is celebrated annually on August 10th. 

It’s a day dedicated to raising awareness about the challenges lions face in the wild and supporting their conservation. The day was founded in 2013 by Derek and Beverly Joubert to highlight the declining lion populations and the threats they face, such as habitat loss and poaching. 

The Lion Hotel in the city of Springs in South Africa, advertising Lion Beer, circa 1954. Lion Beer would later become Lion Lager. Lion Lager is a popular choice for various gatherings and social events to this day. It’s often enjoyed during braais (South African barbecues), sports matches, and family celebrations.
Lion safety matches. There was a time in the ’50’s in South Africa when an entire little box of 50 matches could be bought for one penny.
I had been to Botswana with my family for more than a dozen times by 1993, and even by then had never seen a lion in the wild from up close there.
When we were there in July 1993, though, one of the locals came to tell us of a lion that they had spotted nearby. Seven or eight of us piled into an open-top Jeep ( ! ), and I took this picture through the mopane leaves with a telephoto lens.
2018 Austria Copper €5 New Year’s ‘A Lion in Winter’ coin.
Artwork by David Pollack, used in Jell-o’s campaign of printed ads in LIFE magazine and others in the 1950s. The lion and a plate of Jell-O appeared in the ads, with the words
“When I’m eating Jell-O, I wish I were a lion .. because then I could roar for more of my favorite dessert! (Jell-O, of course!)”
I took this picture in New York City in 1999.
The Pleistocene Epoch, often referred to as the Ice Age, in Alaska, as with the rest of the world, extended from approximately 2.6 million years ago to 11,700 years ago.
Look at the center of the picture for the lions that once roamed in North America.
The North American lion, also known as the American lion, became extinct around 10,000 years ago along with several other large mammals.
[Picture taken inside University of Alaska Museum of the North, Fairbanks in 2023]
A ‘Hungry Lion’ fast food franchise in Stellenbosch, South Africa, in 2017.
A pride of lionesses inspect a remote controlled camera buggy.
I believe the photographer is Chris McLennan and that the pictures were taken in 2019. I’m sure it is in Africa, but I don’t have the specific location.
On a South African bank note from 1992: lionesses at the water hole, and a regal stare from the king of the beasts.
Luggage locker in Tokyo Station, Japan.
Lion figurine (model #17107) by toymaker Schleich.

 

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Wednesday/ off Gough Island 🪨

Check out this cool 1979 envelope.
It was mailed paquebot off Gough Island, with all kinds of outrageous postmarks on the envelope.

Paquebot cancellations on postage stamps indicate that the mail was posted on a ship at sea and canceled at the ship’s next port of call.
The term paquebot is French for “packet boat” (steam ship, steam vessel) and signifies that the mail was handled according to international regulations for mail posted on vessels. These cancellations are distinct from regular postmarks and are often sought after by collectors. 

Postmarks and stamp on envelope—
S.A. Agulhas is a South African ice-strengthened training ship and former polar research vessel. She was built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Shimonoseki, Japan, in 1978. S.A. Agulhas retired from Antarctic service in April 2012 when the replacement vessel, S. A. Agulhas II, was commissioned. She was transferred to the South African Maritime Safety Authority as a training ship.
Mailed paquebot off Gough Island on Nov. 2, 1979.
Penguin and Gough Island coordinates. Gough Island is home to northern rockhopper penguins (Eudyptes moseleyi).
Neutron research postmark from University of Potchefstroom in South Africa. The main scientific station on Gough Island is a South African weather station, which has been in operation since 1956. The Physics department at Potch University studied cosmic rays. Cosmic rays are primarily composed of high-energy particles, with about 90% being protons (hydrogen nuclei). Neutrons are secondary particles that are knocked out of atoms in the earth’s atmosphere.
The blue helicopter postmark is most likely a commemorative or mission-specific cachet used on mail handled during the 1979 Gough Island expedition. The 22 might refer to a flight number or a team identification.
The Cape Town postmark of Nov. 17, 1979 likely marks the arrival of the vessel there, at which time it was dispatched to the street address in Stellenbosch.
The 4c stamp is from South Africa’s Third Definitive Series
Issued May 27, 1977 |4c Protea longifolia |Perf. 12½ |Photogravure |Fluorescent paper |No watermark
Look at the bottom of this map for Gough Island.
The island is also known historically as Gonçalo Álvares, and is a rugged volcanic island (area 35 mi²) in the South Atlantic Ocean.
It is a dependency of the Tristan da Cunha island group and part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha.
Nobody lives on Gough Island except for the workers of a weather station, which is usually six people. The South African National Antarctic Programme has maintained the island with British permission since 1956.
[From Wikipedia]
[Map in Lambert azimuthal equal-area projection by Rand McNally and published in 1984 in an atlas by Encyclopdia Britannica]
One of these stamps would have fitted the envelope perfectly.
Unfortunately, it would be 18 more years after 1979 before these stamps featuring the Antarctic skua would be issued.

South Africa Sixth Definitive Series (Endangered Fauna, Redrawn)
Issued Aug. 27, 1997 |R1.20 Antarctic skua (additional value to series first issued in 1993) |Perf. 14×14¼ |Lithography |Coated paper |No Watermark

 

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Tuesday/ a check with a revenue stamp 💷

As part of the ever-expanding scope of my collection of South African stamps, I have started to collect revenue stamps of the South African colonies.
(Before the establishment of the Union of South Africa in 1910, South Africa consisted of four British colonies: the Cape Colony, Natal, Transvaal, and the Orange Free State.)

Location of the Orange Free State c. 1890 [Source: Wikipedia]
From 1854 to 1902, the Orange Free State was an independent Boer-ruled sovereign republic under British suzerainty* in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century. It ceased to exist after it was defeated and surrendered itself to the British Empire at the end of the Second Boer War in 1902. It is one of the three historical precursors to the present-day Free State province in South Africa.

*A suzerain is a person, state or polity who has supremacy and dominant influence over the foreign policy and economic relations of another subordinate party or polity, but allows internal autonomy to that subordinate.

This yellow revenue stamp with green ink from the Cape Colony is affixed to a checque (using the queen’s English— Queen Victoria) that was issued in 1897 by the Harrismith branch of the National Bank of the Orange Free State.

The Revenue Stamp
First issued in 1865 by the Cape Colony | Perf. 14 |Rotogravure
One penny (1d) | green on yellow paper| Queen Victoria’s profile in classical style* surrounded by grapevine and vine leaves in the corners, symbolizing the Cape Colony’s viticulture | Crown at the top, denoting British authority
*Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, queen from 1837 until her death in January 1901.

The Cheque
Written by the treasurer (Charles Truter) of the Dutch Reformed Church on Nov. 9, 1897 to Esquire J. Theron. (Esquire here is the title of a young nobleman).
The cheque is from the Harrismith branch of the National Bank of the Orange Free State, written for an amount of 11 Orange Free State pounds*, 8 shillings, 6 pennies.
*Like the South African pound, it was divided into 20 shillings, and a shilling into 12 pennies.
On the far left of the check is the coat of arms of the Orange Free State.
The cheque was printed by William Brown & Co. of Old Broad Street in London.
Security features at the time included the fine print at the bottom of the check, and so-called fugitive printing, that would use ink that would change, fade, or disappear under specific conditions, if it was tampered with.
The revenue stamp was affixed to the cheque on Nov. 15.
The check was stamped ‘Paid’ on Nov. 19. It seems Esquire Theron had the amount of the check paid into his account at the African Banking Corporation Ltd. in the town of Worcester in the Cape Colony.
A hole was punched in the check to also indicate it has been cashed.

The signature of Esq. J. Theron on the back of the checque.
Let’s take a closer look at the coat of arms of the Orange Free State printed on the far left of the check.
VRYHEID (freedom) at the top, and GEDULD EN MOED (patience and courage) on the ribbon.
IMMIGRATIE (immigration) at the bottom, presumably a call to Europeans, or settlers from other South African colonies to emigrate to the Orange Free State colony.
The livestock look like cattle (the OFS coat if arms image on Wikipedia shows sheep).
The lion on the right must mean ‘courage’, right?
The ox wagon signifies the trek that the pioneers made from the Cape Colony to escape British rule, to establish their own independent Orange Free State republic.
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Friday/ Nelson Mandela International Day 🕊️

Happy Friday.
It is Nelson Mandela International Day— the annual international day in honor of Nelson Mandela, celebrated each year on 18 July, his birthday.

Inauguration of President Nelson Mandela (May 10, 1994)
Issued May 10, 1994
Perf. 14½x14 | Des. Liza van der Wal | Litho. | No Watermark
882 A293 45c | Photo image of Mandela
[Source: 2021 Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue, Vol. 6A]
50th Anniversary of the Rivonia Trial
Issued Nov 26, 2013
Perf. 14¾x14½ | Des. Marie Vermeulen‑Breedt | Litho. | 12 Booklet panes of Rivionia trial defendants with 1 stamp each | No Watermark
1510 A547 Standard Postage (R2.80) | Photo image of Mandela as defendant at Rivonia Trial
[Source: 2021 Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue, Vol. 6A]
P.S. From Wikipedia: The Rivonia Trial was a trial that took place in apartheid-era South Africa between 9 October 1963 and 12 June 1964, after a group of anti-apartheid activists were arrested on Liliesleaf Farm in Rivonia. The farm had been the secret location for meetings of uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK), the newly-formed armed wing of the African National Congress.
Speaking in the dock of the court on 20 April 1964 during the trial, Mandela said: During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.

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Monday/ stamps from Venda 🐘

The stamps of last of the four South African homelands that issued stamps, made it into my album: those of Venda.  (A sample below).

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s parents were of the Venda ethnicity. The Venda people reside primarily in the Limpopo province of South Africa, near the border with Zimbabwe. They have a rich and distinctive culture, including a unique language called Tshivenda or LuVenda (I see it is simply called ‘Venda’ on Google Translate). 

Venda, officially the Republic of Venda, was a Bantustan that was declared independent by the apartheid regime of South Africa in 1979. (In the far north of South Africa on the map).
On 27 April 1994, independent Venda ceased to exist as it was reintegrated into South Africa to became part of modern-day Limpopo Province.
Venda’s stamps were still valid for postage, though— the 16c stamp below on the last page has a 1997 cancellation.

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Saturday/ stamps from Bophuthatswana 🐆

My set of Bophuthatswana stamps are in the stamp album.
Below are the first two pages of stamps, including the colorful set of first definitives that feature stylized African animals as totems for Bophuthatswana clans.

Bophuthatswana was a homeland in South Africa that gained nominal independence in 1977.
Its citizens suffered a number of political crises during its existence (see below).
By 1994 the homelands experiment was over, and Bophuthatswana was reincorporated into South Africa along with all the other homelands.

•  Self-government 1 June 1972
• Nominal Independence 6 December 1977
• Coup d’état 10 February 1988
• Coup attempt 1990
• 1994 Bophuthatswana crisis
• Dissolution 27 April 1994

Also see a previous post for Ciskei.

Bophuthatswana (lit. ’gathering of the Tswana people’), officially the Republic of Bophuthatswana (Tswana: Repaboleki ya Bophuthatswana; Afrikaans: Republiek van Bophuthatswana), and colloquially referred to as ‘Bop’ was a Bantustan (also known as “Homeland”, an area set aside for members of a specific ethnicity) that was declared (nominally) independent by the apartheid regime of South Africa in 1977.
However, like the other Bantustans of Ciskei, Transkei and Venda, its independence was not recognized by any country other than South Africa.
[Source: Wikipedia]

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Wednesday/ stamps from Ciskei 🦉

I have expanded my South African stamp collection to include the four Bantustans (homelands) that had issued postage stamps from 1976 to 1994. Technically these are not stamps from South Africa.
Although these stamps were denominated in South African Rand, they were not valid for mail that was sent from outside the homelands.

Below is a sampler of pages from my collection for Ciskei.

First, a little history. This is what South Africa looked like before the first democratic election of 1994. The four main provinces were established in 1910, and the Bantustans (homelands) were established by the South African apartheid government.
After the 1994 election, the Bantustans ceased to exist, and were reincorporated into South Africa.
Nine new provinces were established: Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, North West, and Western Cape.

[More from Wikipedia: Bantustan]- 
A Bantustan (also known as a Bantu homeland, a black homeland, a black state or simply known as a homeland) was a territory that the National Party administration of the Union of South Africa (1910–1961) and later the Republic of South Africa (1961–1994) set aside for black inhabitants of South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia), as a part of its policy of apartheid.
The government of South Africa declared that four of the South African Bantustans were independent—Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda, and Ciskei (the so-called “TBVC States”), but this declaration was never recognized by anti-apartheid forces in South Africa or by any international government. Other Bantustans (like KwaZulu, Lebowa, and QwaQwa) were assigned “autonomy” but never granted “independence”.

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Saturday/ U.S. warplanes strike Iran 💥

U.S. warplanes strike three Iranian nuclear sites in sweeping attack
The bombing is a major escalation by President Donald Trump, tethering the United States to a conflict with no clear end in sight.

While the U.S. and Iran have fought deadly proxy battles for nearly a half-century in Lebanon, Yemen, the Strait of Hormuz and elsewhere, Trump’s action was the first significant U.S. military strike on Iranian soil since the 1979 overthrow of the U.S.-backed Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

Trump’s decision to enter the conflict raises immediate questions about how Iran or its proxies may react, even as scores of Israeli strikes have left Iranian military capabilities diminished. Iran has threatened to retaliate against U.S. troops, tens of thousands of whom are deployed throughout the Middle East in countries such as Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

-An extract from Dan Lamothe, Warren P. Strobel and Karen DeYoung’s reporting for the Washington Post

Tens of thousands of U.S. troops are stationed in the Middle East.
Al-Asad Air Base, an Iraqi installation 150 miles west of Baghdad that is operated jointly by the Iraqi and U.S. air forces, houses thousands of American troops, the largest U.S. deployment in the country.
Iran and its proxies have in recent years attacked it repeatedly.
[Map and reporting from the Washington Post]
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Saturday/ the charade 🪖

On his 79th birthday, President Trump spent more than three hours on Saturday taking in the scene at a military parade commemorating the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army.

The event, which was officially billed as a tribute to service and a showcase of American military history, was hailed by the president’s supporters as a show of strength and a savvy recruitment tactic.

But his critics argued that the event was a further politicization of the military, especially after of a tense week in which Mr. Trump deployed the Marines in Los Angeles to quell protests.
– Zach Montague reporting from Washington D.C. for the New York Times

A picture is worth a thousand words.
The cover of the upcoming Jun 23 The New Yorker magazine.
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Saturday/ South West Africa’s first definitives 🚂

The stamps to complete my 1931 set of South West Africa’s* first definitive stamps arrived in my mailbox today, and I promptly added them into my album.

*Namibia, since 1990. Namibia’s history spans from the arrival of hunter-gatherers like the San and the Bantu-speaking peoples to European colonialism and finally, independence.
Key periods include it as a German colony (1884-1915), a South African mandate (1915-1990), and the struggle for independence during that time, culminating in the nation’s independence on March 21, 1990.
[Source: Google Search Labs | AI Overview]

The 1½ penny was issued later (1937), but I included it in the set .. why not?
I have a mint 1½d pair coming, but the used ones that I have now with OTJIEWARONGO and GROOTFONTEIN postmarks are cool, too.
What’s unusual with this set is that the country name is in a different font for each denomination. Usually, the lettering for the country name is identical for all the stamps in a definitive set.
The 20 shilling stamp denomination at the very end of the set is an extremely high value and must have been intended for very heavy or very large parcels. (20 shillings translates to a modern currency value at least 10x than the highest denominated modern stamps!).
Furthermore: The “Okuwahakan Falls” depicted on the 1931 20-shilling stamp of South West Africa is something of a mystery. Despite its prominent appearance on the stamp, there is no well-documented waterfall in present-day Namibia known by this name, either historically or currently.
Chat GPT says it is possibly a former or obscure name for a known waterfall:
One candidate is Ruacana Falls on the Kunene River (the border with Angola).
Another is Epupa Falls, further downstream on the Kunene. Both are among Namibia’s only notable large waterfalls.
It is speculative, but “Okuwahakan” could be an old or alternate indigenous name for one of these falls.
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Friday/ another week 💔

Happy Friday.

It’s the 81st D-Day Anniversary today.
The wars in Ukraine and Gaza are dragging on.
And we are left with the smoldering wreckage of the Trump-Musk bromance.

‘I HATE MY X!‘ ‘says’ Trump of Musk on the cover of today’s New York Post .. and ‘Big, beautiful break-up—Trump-Elon bromance explodes into insults, threats*.

*X is formerly Twitter, now owned by Musk, from where he flung insults and allegations. (Trump fired back on his social media platform, called Truth Social). The big, beautiful is a reference to the The ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’, the massive and garbage federal bill proposed by Trump and his Republicans that includes tax cuts for the rich, debt ceiling increases, and changes to social programs. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates that by Fiscal Year (FY) 2034 the bill would increase America’s debt by nearly $3 trillion.

Reporting from the New York Times. One wonders if Trump took even one turn at the wheel of this Tesla Model S. (Definitely not on a public road, but presidents ARE permitted to drive on private property, such as golf courses or within controlled estates.)
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Thursday/ an e-bike ride⚡🚲

Four amigos met at the Seattle waterfront this morning.
We rode our e-bikes along the bike trail to Elliott Bay marina where we met up with a fifth amigo for lunch.

I took the G-line bus along Madison Street to the waterfront. There goes my bus, actually, but it does not matter. It’s only 6 minutes between buses, so there is no need to even look at the schedule, or worry that you might miss your bus and wait a long time for the next one.
It’s a short walk from the 1st Avenue bus stop to Colman Dock, also called Pier 52, the primary ferry terminal in Seattle.
That’s the Kaleetan ferry, just leaving for Bainbridge Island. The Kaleetan went into service in early 1968 serving the Seattle-Bainbridge Island route. Over the years it has been upgraded and it has also served the Seattle-Bremerton route and the Anacortes-San Juan Islands route.

Our rendezvous point for starting the bike ride was Molly Moon Ice Cream up ahead.
I’m stopping for a moment to admire Buster Simpson’s public artwork called “Anthropomorphic Dolos*”. 
Dolosse* is a South African invention, first deployed in 1964 on the breakwater of East London, a South African port city.
* A dolos (plural: dolosse) is a wave-dissipating concrete block used in great numbers as a form of coastal management. It is a type of tetrapod. Weighing up to 8 tonnes (8.8 short tons), dolosse are used to build revetments for protection against the erosive force of waves from a body of water. [From Wikipedia]
We pedaled northbound along the Waterfront bike path and the North bike connection.
[Sources: Seattle Department of Transportation, Elliott Bay Connections, Seattle Office of the Waterfront and Civic Projects. Esri, Google, Chris Kaeser / The Seattle Times]

Look! No Alaskan Way Viaduct in sight. We’re on our way, on the bike path along Alaskan Way (originally Railroad Avenue, until 1936), and the major north-south street that runs along the Elliott Bay waterfront.
I don’t have my own e-bike, so I picked up a Lime bike for rent that was on the sidewalk near Molly Moon Ice Cream. ($1 to unlock plus 43 cents per minute).
Irises in the flower beds that line the promenade on the waterfront.
This is further up north along Alaskan Way, just past Pier 66 on the left. The construction work (of the overwalk and the aquarium extension) along Alaskan Way has been completed, but not all the paving work for the intersections and bike lanes.
A brief stop by Myrtle Edwards park with its 1.25-mile winding bike and pedestrian paths along Elliott Bay, offering beautiful views of the Olympics Mountains. There’s a Carnaval cruise ship in the distance at the Pier 91 cruise terminal. It was scheduled to depart at 3.30 pm for its ‘Alaska Inside Passage Glacier’ round trip.
We reached our destination: Maggie Bluffs restaurant with its outdoor patio with views of Elliot Bay Marina.
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Tuesday/ South Korea’s new president 🇰🇷

Headline and photo from the New York Times

South Korea is in a vastly better place now that former President Yoon Suk Yeol has been replaced— the president that declared martial law during a televised address on 3 December 2024.

Here is Choe Sang-Hun reporting from Seoul for the New York Times:

If there is one characteristic that defines Lee Jae-myung, South Korea’s new president, it’s that he is a survivor.

He has survived criminal charges, a near-fatal stabbing attack and the martial law enacted by his fiercest enemy, former President Yoon Suk Yeol. Now he is taking on what may be his toughest test yet. He must lead a deeply divided nation through daunting challenges, both at home and abroad.

Mr. Lee, who won South Korea’s presidential election after his opponent conceded early Wednesday, takes office as one of the most powerful presidents that South Korea has elected in recent decades. Much of South Korea’s political power is concentrated in the presidency, and Mr. Lee will also wield considerable control over the National Assembly, where his Democratic Party holds a large majority of seats.

But long is the list of problems that Mr. Lee faces.

​The political turmoil set off by Mr. Yoon’s short-lived declaration of martial law and his subsequent impeachment and removal​ has exposed a country deeply fractured between the left and right, between generations and between genders. South Korea is ​facing ​mounting pressure from its sole military ally, the United States, even as the nuclear threat from North Korea grows. President Trump has not only slapped South Korea’s export-driven economy with heavy tariffs but also demanded that it pay more to keep American troops on its soil.

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Monday/ you got mail— official mail 📩

I found this set of envelopes on Ebay, and I “had” to buy it.
It has South African stamps with OFFICIAL overprints on that I was still missing in my collection.
I guess I will put the envelopes as is in my album.
My policy is not to remove stamps from an envelope with significant labels, postmarks, and markings.

Sent by registered mail from Pretoria, South Africa, to Folkestone, England.
Folkestone is on the English Channel just to the south of Dover).
A postmark on the back from the Folkstone post office is dated Apr. 27, 1936.
The lettering at the top says ‘In Sy Majesteits Diens’ / ‘On His Majesty’s Service’.
‘His Majesty’ would be King Edward VIII, at the time king only since Jan. 1936. He would abdicate in December of that same year, to marry American divorcée Wallis Simpson. George VI then became the next king of England.
Sent by registered mail from Pretoria, South Africa, to Minchinhampton, England.
Minchinhampton is south of Gloucester in the Stroud District.
A postmark on the back indicating the arrival date shows Jul. 10, 1933.
Sent by registered mail from Johannesburg, South Africa, to New Cross in London, England (postcode district SE14) on Dec. 23, 1931.
It looks like it arrived 19 days later on Jan. 11, 1932, just about the time it would take for a ship to sail from Cape Town to Southampton in the early 1930s. 
Official souvenir cover from the Johannesburg National Philatelic Exhibition. Sent on Oct. 28, 1950 to Indonesia.
It looks like official stamps were offered for sale to collectors at the exhibition.
(Stamps with the ‘Official’ overprint are designated to be used by government departments and agencies for official correspondence.)
Another envelope, just a plain one, sent from the Johannesburg National Philatelic Exhibition.
It was sent on Oct. 24, 1950 and just to Cape Town.
The customized registered mail postmark mentioning the exhibition is unusual.
Sent registered mail and airmail from Johannesburg to the town of Gomersal in West Yorkshire, England (southwest of Leeds).
It was sent on May 4, 1948. The 1947 stamp on the left features King George VI.
That uniform he is wearing looks like a navy uniform (he served in the Royal Navy as well as the Royal Air Force; was the first member of the British royal family to be certified as a fully qualified pilot).
Sent in 1938 from Johannesburg to Cape Town by registered mail, with official stamps.
I love this 1936 stamp that depicts the mine shaft machinery of a Johannesburg gold mine. Also on the stamp, the mine dump of excavated earth, and the skyscrapers of Johannesburg behind it.
Envelope for registered mail, printed by De La Rue & Co. in London, England, with an embossed 5½ penny preprinted stamp on the flap (depicting King George V) and official stamps added.
The letter was sent to King’s College Hospital in London SE5 in August 1935.  The hospital was established in 1909, and is a major teaching hospital and major trauma center today. It is referred to locally and by staff simply as “King’s” or abbreviated internally to “KCH”.
Registered letter with official stamps and very nice air mail label, sent from Johannesburg, South Africa, to an address in Southsea (literally on the English Channel, in Portsmouth) on Jul. 14, 1951.
The coat of arms with the leopard on the rock and motto “Lux in Tenebris” (“Light in Darkness’) is that of Nyasaland— a British protectorate, later part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, and now the country of Malawi.
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Monday/ Memorial Day 🇺🇸

It’s the last Monday of May, and Memorial Day in the United States— the day for honoring and mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces.

Red poppies from a garden in the Capitol Hill neighborhood in Seattle.
The red poppy is a nationally recognized symbol, worn to honor and remember all those who have served. 
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Wednesday/ South Africans in the White House 🏛️

South African daily newspaper ‘Die Burger’ (‘The Citizen’) reporting about the meeting in the White House between the South African delegation, led by President Cyril Ramaphosa. 
I added in some translations for the Afrikaans.
This newspaper, and the BBC’s reporting, says that Ramaphosa ‘survived’ the attacks against him by not fighting it too vociferously, and by staying calm and by  making a joke about offering a plane to the US.
P.S. Trump formally (openly, brazenly) accepted the $400 million dollar jet gifted to him from Qatar today*.
Does that make it official that he is the most corrupt president in America’s history— or was he that already, long before this?
*The Foreign Emoluments Clause (Article I, Section 9, Clause 8) states: “No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.”

Here are the other South Africans that came with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to the White House today.

John Steenhuisen: South Africa’s Minister of Agriculture, who clarified political affiliations of individuals featured in a video presented by President Trump.
Ernie Els (nickname “The Big Easy”) and Retief Goosen: Professional South African golfers who were part of the delegation and contributed to the discussion during the meeting.
Johann Rupert: A prominent South African businessman who emphasized the broader issue of violence affecting all South Africans and proposed technological solutions to improve safety.
Zingiswa Losi: A trade union leader who stressed that crime in South Africa affects all demographic groups, not just whites.

Here’s Erica L. Green and Zolan Kanno-Youngs writing for the New York Times:
The encounter in some ways echoed the February visit to the Oval Office by President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine. Mr. Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Mr. Zelensky in front of TV cameras, cutting short a visit meant to coordinate a plan for peace.

The meeting with Mr. Ramaphosa on Wednesday was also striking because of the ways in which Mr. Trump dismissed attempts to push back on his fringe claims by those who knew most about them.

Mr. Trump scowled and dismissed Mr. Ramaphosa and his delegates during the meeting, including a Black woman who tried to explain that brutal crimes happen to Black people in the country as well.

By contrast, Mr. Trump joked around and listened attentively as Mr. Els, Mr. Goosen and Johann Rupert, a white South African billionaire, said crime was prevalent across the board in the nation, not just against white farmers.

Mr. Ramaphosa entered the meeting seemingly optimistic about maintaining a cordial conversation with Mr. Trump. He offered olive branches to Mr. Trump, including a book about golf. He complimented Mr. Trump’s décor in the Oval Office.

He even tried to joke with the president, who had become irate when a reporter asked him about a free plane from the Qatari government.

“I am sorry I don’t have a plane to give you,” Mr. Ramaphosa said to Mr. Trump.

“I wish you did,” Mr. Trump replied. “I’d take it. If your country offered the U.S. Air Force a plane, I would take it.”

Mr. Trump seemed more intent on relaying the talking points from leaders of Afrikaner lobbying groups, who have traveled to the United States repeatedly over the years to gather support for their claims of persecution. When one of those groups met with Mr. Trump’s top aides this year, the White House identified them as “civil rights leaders.”

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Monday/ stamps from Great Britain 🇬🇧

These stamps were on the envelope that landed in my mailbox today, mailed from the suburb of Northwood to the northwest of London.
(The Trump tariffs do not seem to affect my purchases of stamps on Ebay from overseas vendors. These are just envelopes with stamps in, though. I’m not sure what will happen if I order new albums and pages from overseas that come in a proper package).

Clockwise:
Merry Christmas
Issued Nov. 2, 2004
Perf. 14½x14 | Design: Raymond Briggs | Engraving: De La Rue | No Watermark
2238 BPD1 1st Class | Multicolored | Santa with red suit looking at sunset
25th Anniversary of Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme
Issued Aug. 12, 1981
Perf. 14 | Pair of stamps with gutter | Design: P. Sharland | Phosphorized paper | Litho. | No Watermark
1163 638 18p Greenish yellow, magenta, pale new blue, black, cobalt & gold | Woman at pottery wheel (“Skills”)
Folklore
Issued Feb. 6, 1981
Perf. 15×14 | Design: F. Wegner | Phosphorized paper | Litho. | No Watermark
1144 620 18p Dull ultramarine, lemon, lake-brown, bright green, black & gold | Morris dancers ‘A Merry May’
British Wildlife
Issued Oct. 5, 1977
Perf. 14×15 | Design: P. Oxenham | ‘All-over’ phosphor | Litho. | No Watermark
1043 522 9p Reddish-brown, grey-black, pale lemon, bright turquoise-blue, bright magenta & gold | Badger (Meles meles)
Millennium Stamps— Life and Earth
Issued Apr. 4, 2000
Perf. 14¼x14½ | Design: Post office artists | Engraving: De La Rue | No Watermark
1837 BBX 2nd Class | Multicolored | Ecos Nature Park, Ballymena, Northern Ireland
[Sources: Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue Part 1 Volume 1 British Commonwealth 1998, stampword.com]
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Thursday/ a postcard from Japan 🇯🇵

These days, stamps from Japan is one of my favorite searches on EBay.
I couldn’t resist this beautiful postcard and stamp from 1921 that was offered for just a few dollars.

 

50th Anniversary of the Establishment of Postal Service in Japan in 1871
Issued Apr. 20, 1921
Perf. 13 x 13½ | Uncoated paper | Engraved
164 A47 3 sen violet-brown Ministry of Communications Building, Tokyo
____________
Translation of the Japanese text on the postage stamp:
At the top 貳拾五年紀念奉祝 (Nijūgo-nen Kinen Hōshuku) – “50th Year Commemorative Celebration” 
At the bottom 日本郵便 (Nihon Yūbin) – “Japan Post”
三銭 (San sen) – “3 Sen” (Sen is a sub-unit of the yen, used until 1953. Following World War II, the yen lost much of its pre-war value as Japan faced a debt crisis and hyperinflation)
Bottom right: 大日本帝國政府印刷局製造 (Dai Nippon Teikoku Seifu Insatsu-kyoku Seizō) – “Manufactured by the Printing Bureau of the Government of the Empire of Japan”
[Sources: stampworld.com, Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue 2017, Vol. 4, Chat GPT]
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Thursday/ the new Pope ⛪

VATICAN CITY — Habemus Papam! The world’s 1.4 billion Catholics have a new leader — Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, the first American-born pope.
Prevost, 69, is originally from Chicago and has chosen the papal name Leo XIV. He was most recently the head of the dicastery responsible for the appointment of bishops and the archbishop emeritus of Chiclayo, Peru.
– Senior Reporter Alexander Smith writing for NBC News

The new pope on the balcony in Vatican City.
[Still image from NBC News]
A 2018 tweet from Cardinal Cupich, archbishop of Chicago at the time, that was retweeted in 2018 by the new pope.
At the time in 2018, Robert Prevost was bishop of Chiclayo, a city in Peru. He became an archbishop in January 2023, and a few months later pope Francis made him a cardinal.