Main page and Index of Breeds
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Great Dane Index Main page and Index of Breeds |
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not of enough value to mail a letter any more, so to remedy the situation, the local Post
Offices have taken blocks of five "old" printed stamps and overprinted them with
a new image and a new value. This overprint is from the local Russian state of
Ashmayana. These stamps come in a
set of five different colored stamps all with the same overprint. Last time that I got in
some overprints, I assumed that they would remain available. I was wrong and I never
saw more copies of those. I expect these to be equally as rare and collectable. There
is no telling how many of the overprints they produced (not many), since they were never
designed to be sold on the world market. They are of value only for a short while until
the actual stamps can be printed.
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The Great Dane stamp shown above on the right is one of these "Russian
Overprints" from Sakhalin. These stamps come in a set of five different
colored stamps all with the same overprint. On the left is the stamp
that was ultimately issued
with the Great Dane image from the overprint, put out by Kalmykia.
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bananas and a wide variety of other fruit and vegetables. Some of its beaches,
specially Grand Anse, a dazzling two-mile stretch of white sand, are very fine,
but the rest of the island is just as beautiful, rising from a generally rugged
coast to a spectacular mountainous interior. The island is green, well forested
and cultivated and is blessed with plenty of rain in the wet season. Grenada is
the most southerly of the Windward Islands. In contrast to other Windward Islands
which have had a similar history of disputed ownership between the French and
English, the French cultural influence in Grenada has completely died out. The
population is very young; 38% are under 15 years old and nearly 26% are in
the 15-29 years’ age bracket. Grenada has two dependencies in the
Grenadines chain, Carriacou
and Petit (often spelled Petite) Martinique.
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After three decades as part of the UN Trust Territory of the
Pacific under US administration, this westernmost cluster of
the Caroline Islands (Palau one of the islands) opted for independent status in 1978
rather than join the Federated States of Micronesia. A Compact
of Free Association with the US was approved in 1986, but not
ratified until 1993. It entered into force the following year
when the islands gained their independence.
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Annexed by Russia between 1865 and 1885, Turkmenistan became a Soviet
republic in 1925. It achieved its independence upon the dissolution
of the USSR in 1991. President NIYAZOV retains absolute control over
the country and opposition is not tolerated. Extensive Hudrocarbon/natural
gas reserves could prove a boon to this underdeveloped country if
extraction and delivery projects were to be expanded. Turkmenistan is
on the east side of the Caspian Sea, just above Iran. It is slightly
larger than California in size. Its terrain is flat-to-rolling sandy
desert with dunes rising to mountains in the south; low mountains
along border with Iran; borders Caspian Sea in west. The religion is
Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2%. The capital is Ashgabsat.
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300,000 opponents; Guerilla war and human rights abuses under Milton
OBOTE (1980-85) claimed another 100,000 lives. During the 1990's the
government promulgated non-party presidential and legislative elections.
Uganda is located in eastern Africa, west of Kenya. The climate is
tropical; generally rainy with two dry seasons (December-February,
June to August). Uganda is landlocked; fertile, well-watered country
with many lakes and rivers. English is the official Language, taught
in grade schools. The capital is Kampala. Coffee is the major export
crop and accounts for the bulk of export revenues.
