Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Monday, July 25, 2011

The Route Map for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch Relay in the Mainland of China

Nice Postcard Showing : The Route Map for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch Relay in the Mainland of China



Domestic leg

The torch passing through Shenzhen. China: The torch returned to China for the first time since April. The torch arrived in Sanya, Hainan on May 4 with celebrations attended by International Olympic Committee (IOC) officials and Chinese big names like Jackie Chan. The entire relay through Mainland China was largely a success with many people welcoming the arrival of the torch along the way.

Some notable incidents are:

During the Fujian run, the relay carried a cross-strait theme since the province is geographically across from Taiwan. The Beijing Organizing Committee invited people from Taiwan to witness the torch relay, but the organisers offered no further details.
On May 8, a simultaneous run of the torch was done as part of the summit on Mt. Everest.
A 28-year old man in Jiangsu known as "Tang" was arrested for spreading rumors online he would go to Nanjing (the May 27 leg) to grab the torch.
The last leg of the Fujian run was gloomily shadowed by the May 12 Sichuan earthquake. As a result, the relay began on May 14 with a moment of silence as the torch made its way through the province of Jiangxi. From May 19 through 21, the relay was suspended as the State Council designated these three days as national days of mourning for the victims in the earthquake. The relay through the province of Sichuan was postponed.
On May 23, the relay began in Shanghai. Tens of thousands gathered at the famous People’s Square and the Bund along the Huangpu River to welcome the torch. It passed through Pudong, the crown-jewel of Shanghai’s districts and PRC’s financial capital. The two-day Shanghai leg concluded in Anting, an automobile hub in Shanghai’s suburbs, and home to the city’s Formula One Shanghai International Circuit. There was no interruptions.
On June 21, the relay began in the Tibet Autonomous Region. The originally three-day run was cut short to only one day, likely due to the controversy surrounding the relay because of China's harsh response to the Lhasa riot and the other protests that swept the Tibetan plateau between March and May, and also the delay to the relay due to the devastating Sichuan earthquake. Xinhua, China's official news agency, claimed that organizations such as the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) and the Tibetan Women's Association (TWA) threatened to "sabotage" the relay, but there is no evidence to support this and it contradicts statements from the organizations themselves. Meanwhile, the other Olympic flame rejoined the Olympic flame used in the main torch relay route in Tibet after ascending Mount Everest. Zhang Qingli, the Communist Party Secretary in Tibet, drew criticism from the IOC who wrote to BOCOG, saying that they "regret the political statements" made by Zhang during the relay, after he claimed that they could "totally smash the splittist schemes of the Dalai clique".
On July 7, the torch was lit in Jiayuguan (the Western end of the Great Wall of China).
On August 3, the torch relay started in Sichuan after a devastated earthquake that killed almost 70,000 people in May. Sichuan was the last stop before returning to Beijing for the opening ceremony.
On August 8, the torch reached Beijing for the opening ceremony. After a spectacular art show and the parade of nations, the flame entered the stadium. The Olympic torch was relayed by 7 torchbearers before it was passed on to former Olympic gymnast Li Ning. Li, who was suspended by wires, then appeared to run horizontally along the top of the stadium and lit the Olympic cauldron. After it was lit, a spectacular firework show followed, signaling the official beginning of the 29th Olympiad

Saturday, July 23, 2011

UAE : 2008 Beijing Olympic Stamps

Emirates post issued Souvenir Sheet containing 4 Stamps to commemorate 2008 Beijing Olympic Games

Stamps Available for Swap, Please drop me a Line.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

UAE : The 18th Arabian Gulf Cup

To commemorate the historic victory of the UAE Football Team in the 18th Arabian Gulf Cup, Emirates Post has issued a set of commemorative stamps in two denominations (Dh. 1 and Dhs. 3), along with a souvenir sheet.



The 18th Arabian Gulf Cup - Abu Dhabi 2007
The Arabian Gulf Cup Championship generates great excitement among football lovers and fans in the Arab world in general and in the GCC in particular. This tournament attracts football teams from all GCC countries, in addition to Yemen.

The Arabian Gulf Cup championship is held once every two years. It has developed into one of the biggest football tournaments in the region, since its modest beginnings in Manama, Bahrain, generating interest among soccer lovers across the Arab world and getting wide coverage in the media.

The Gulf Cup was launched in 1968 during the Summer Olympic Games in Mexico. The countries that took part in the first tournament were Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The first championship was held in Bahrain.

As a result of the rising popularity of the event, the 18th Gulf Cup, held in the national capital of Abu Dhabi, attracted a huge number of spectators and soccer fans from across the region. The national football team of the United Arab Emirates Won this prestigious tournament for the first time in its history, unleashing waves of celebrations across the country.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

UAE Stamps : 2009 FIFA Club World Cup

Emirates Post has issued special stamps to mark the hosting of the FIFA Club World Cup played recently in Abu Dhabi. The special commemorative stamps, issued in denominations of AED 1 and AED 5.





The 2009 FIFA Club World Cup was a football tournament played from 9 December to 19 December 2009. It was the sixth FIFA Club World Cup and was played in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Australia, Japan and Portugal also placed bids to host the tournament, but Portugal later withdrew from the process.
The final was played on 19 December 2009 and was won by European champions Barcelona, who came from behind to defeat the South American entrants, Estudiantes, 2–1 after extra time. Mauro Boselli put Estudiantes ahead in the 37th minute, but Pedro equalised with one minute left in normal time before Lionel Messi scored the winning goal five minutes into the second half of extra time. This made Barcelona the first Spanish side to win the FIFA Club World Cup, and it also meant that they had won a total of six competitions in the 2009 calendar year, beating Liverpool's record five trophies won in 2001.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

UAE Stamp : 2010 Summer Youth Olympics

Emirates post issued a postage stamp to commemorate the first Youth Olympic Games. Singapore hosted the inaugural Youth Olympic Games from 14 to 26 August 2010.




These games were a smaller version of the Olympic Games where young athletes – aged between 14 and 18 years – competed in 26 sports in accordance with international standards. Events and projects closely connected to the Games included cultural and educational programs expressing the Olympic values of Excellence, Friendship and Respect. Singapore competed with Moscow as a host for the Youth Olympic Games and beat Moscow in the final by 53 votes to 44. The Youth Olympic Games received some 3,200 athletes and 800 officials from the 205 National Olympic Committees.

Note: I have Few Extra Souvenir Sheets of this issue. Interested collecters can email me.

Monday, July 18, 2011

1St UAE Olympic Gold Medalist-Athens 2004 : Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed Hasher Al Maktoum


The legendry ace shooter's achievements were crowned with Olympic achievements at the Athens 2004. It represented a string of achievements for Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed Hasher Al Maktoum, as he not only became the UAE's first gold medalist, but he also beat the rest of the competitors by leading the qualification with 144 out of a possible 150 hits, and his total score of 189 equaled the Olympic record. In the trap shooting he secured the fourth place, missing his second medal by just one hit.

To commemorate the outstanding sporting triumphs of the outstanding sportsman and shooter Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed Hasher Al Maktoum, Emirates Post has issued a set of commemorative stamps in the denomination of Dhs. 3.

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Legend of Baseball : Lou Gehrig

This is last stamp of "Legend of Baseball" issued by USA. Therefore my day's post is last one of the this sereis. Enjoy..................

Henry Louis "Lou" Gehrig (June 19, 1903 – June 2, 1941), nicknamed "The Iron Horse" for his durability, was an American Major League Baseball first baseman. He played his entire 17-year baseball career for the New York Yankees (1923–1939). Gehrig set several major league records. He holds the record for most career grand slams (23). Gehrig is chiefly remembered for his prowess as a hitter, his consecutive games-played record and its subsequent longevity, and the pathos of his farewell from baseball at age 36, when he was stricken with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Gehrig was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939. In 1969 he was voted the greatest first baseman of all time by the Baseball Writers' Association,[3] and was the leading vote-getter on the Major League Baseball All-Century Team, chosen by fans in 1999.

A native of New York City, he played for the New York Yankees until his career was cut short by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), now commonly known in the United States and Canada as Lou Gehrig's disease. Over a 15-season span from 1925 through 1939, he played in 2,130 consecutive games, the streak ending only when Gehrig became disabled by the fatal neuromuscular disease that claimed his life two years later. His streak, long considered one of baseball's few unbreakable records, stood for 56 years, until finally broken by Cal Ripken, Jr., of the Baltimore Orioles on September 6, 1995.

Gehrig accumulated 1,995 runs batted in (RBI) in 17 seasons, with a career batting average of .340, on-base percentage of .447, and slugging percentage of .632. Three of the top six RBI seasons in baseball history belong to Gehrig. He was selected to each of the first seven All-Star games (though he did not play in the 1939 game, as he retired one week before it was held), and he won the American League's Most Valuable Player award in 1927 and 1936. He was also a Triple Crown winner in 1934, leading the American League in batting average, home runs, and RBIs



2,130 consecutive games :
Seven of the American League's 1937 All-Star players, from left to right Lou Gehrig, Joe Cronin, Bill Dickey, Joe DiMaggio, Charlie Gehringer, Jimmie Foxx, and Hank Greenberg. All seven would eventually be elected to the Hall of Fame.On June 1, 1925, Gehrig entered the game as a pinch hitter, substituting for shortstop Paul "Pee Wee" Wanninger. The next day, June 2, Yankee manager Miller Huggins started Gehrig in place of regular first baseman Wally Pipp. Pipp was in a slump, as were the Yankees as a team, so Huggins made several lineup changes to boost their performance. Fourteen years later, Gehrig had played 2,130 consecutive games. In a few instances, Gehrig managed to keep the streak intact through pinch hitting appearances and fortuitous timing; in others, the streak continued despite injuries. For example:

On April 23, 1933, an errant pitch by Washington Senators hurler struck Gehrig in the head. Although almost knocked unconscious, Gehrig recovered and remained in the game.
On June 14, 1933, Gehrig was ejected from a game, along with manager Joe McCarthy, but he had already been at bat, so he got credit for playing the game.
On July 13, 1934, Gehrig suffered a "lumbago attack" and had to be assisted off the field. In the next day's away game, he was listed in the lineup as "shortstop", batting lead-off. In his first and only plate appearance, he singled and was promptly replaced by a pinch runner to rest his throbbing back, never taking the field. A&E's Biography speculated that this illness, which he also described as "a cold in his back", might have been the first symptom of his debilitating disease.
In addition, X-rays taken late in his life disclosed that Gehrig had sustained several fractures during his playing career, although he remained in the lineup despite those previously undisclosed injuries. On the other hand, the streak was helped when Yankees general manager Ed Barrow postponed a game as a rainout on a day when Gehrig was sick with the flu—even though it was not raining.
Gehrig's record of 2,130 consecutive games played stood until September 6, 1995, when Baltimore Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken, Jr. broke it