Afghanistan
19 November 2003
To say that the political situation in Afghanistan is a mess is an
understatement. But this isn't "Eric Blair's World of Political
Predicaments," so let's review the flag!
The current flag — which contains three equal vertical bands of
black, red, and green — features in its field an emblem of a
temple-like structure encircled by a wreath on the left and right and by a
bold Islamic inscription above.
Afghanistan's old flag. |
Because of its political instability, Afghanistan has had more flags in
recent history than any other country in the world. The new flag is an
improvement, namely because it better highlights the emblem. I also like the
introduction of red as it boldens the overall image.
Some interesting non-geographical facts about Afghanistan:
• "Afghanistan" and "Afghan/afghan" are the only words
in the English language with "fgh" in a row (incidentally, FGH is accepted
acronym for "female garden hose").
• In an alphabetical list of all the world's countries,
Afghanistan comes first.
• "Afghan" is also used to describe a kind of shawl and
a particular type of hound.
Rating: 
Next time: Lebanon
South Korea
5 November 2003
The flag of South Korea is white with a red-and-blue yin-yang symbol
surrounded by four black trigrams from the I Ching. The symbols, called
Kwae, represent the principles of movement and harmony. Each Kwae consists
of three bars that can be either broken or unbroken. A broken bar stands for
yin while an unbroken one stands for yang.
Specifically, the trigrams on the flag are: Kun or "heaven" (three
unbroken bars), Yi or "fire" (unbroken, broken, unbroken), Kam or "water"
(broken, unbroken, broken), and Kon or "earth" (three broken bars).
Everything on this banner is in total balance. And I mean that from both
the design sense and from the spiritual one. Few flags can achieve this
combination properly. And few flags get a four-star review from Eric
Blair!
Incidentally, I find the country's naval ensign quite amusing. A naval
ensign is a flag flown by naval vessels and often at naval bases. Naval
ensigns often take the form of the national flag in the canton of either a
plain coloured flag or a simple cross flag. South Korea's ensign employs the
yin-yang symbol in its canton with two anchors penetrating it. The tops of
the anchors, though, look like the torsos of stick people. Probably not the
designer's intention, but amusing nonetheless.
Rating: 
Next time: Afghanistan
American Samoa
15 October 2003
American Samoa is a group of small islands located in the South
Pacific about halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand. In fact, if you
drew a triangle from Hawaii to New Zealand to Tahiti, you'd find Samoa
right in the middle. Of course, drawing such a triangle would be overly
labourious. You'll just have to take my word on it. An 1899
treaty granted control of the Samoan archipelago to Germany and the
United States. The U.S. had formally occupied its portion — a
smaller group of eastern islands with the excellent harbor of Pago Pago
— the following year. The flag of American Samoa pays
tribute to its American connections, using the familiar colours of red,
white and blue and featuring an American bald eagle flying toward the
hoist side. Clutched in the eagle's talons are two traditional Samoan
symbols of authority, the staff and the war club. As I said in my
review of Zambia's flag earlier this year, "Any flag with a bird on it
gets an additional half star." So with that in mind, the flag of
American Samoa gets three-and-a-half stars.
Rating: American Samoa 
Next time: South Korea
 Spain
1 October 2003
Spain has some of the most interesting and colourful regional flags in
the world. (Please refer to www.flags.net for pictures of all the flags.) Too bad
Spain's national flag doesn't contain the same imagery.
Aragón, Asturias, Basque, Canary Islands, Castilla-León,
Galicia, La Rioja, and, in particular, Valencia, have beautiful banners with
bright reds, blues, greens and yellows and sharp icons. The castles and
The flag of Valencia. |
lions of Castilla-León are priceless. Look close at the detail of
Andalusia's emblem: What is that man (or woman?) doing with those lions,
anyway? Asturias has a yellow cross on a blue background with an "A" and a
"W" hanging from it. The castle on the Balearic Islands flag is a formidable
fortress. And those dogs look pretty excited on the Canary Islands flag.
But the best of the regional flags is Valencia. Simple, yellow and red
stripes on the right, an intricate blue and yellow border on the left, and
bits of green and red icons in between spells a four-star flag in my
book!
Which brings me to my point: With so many interesting bits and pieces to
choose from, why does Spain have a plain yellow flag with small red stripes
Anyone care for some gum? |
at the top and bottom? The coat of arms, which is used for all occasions
outside of Spain, helps. But remove it and the flag looks a bit like a
chewing gum wrapper.
Rating: Spain 
Next time: American Samoa
 Nepal
30 July 2003
Sorry friends, it's been a while. I apologise profusely. Are you
satisfied? Then let's review!
Nepal is small, landlocked country located between China and India in the
Himalayas. In fact, it contains eight of the world's 10 tallest mountains,
including Mount Everest.
The flag of Nepal is truly unique and is one of my favourites. Instead of
the standard rectangular shape, the flag is two overlapping right triangles.
The upper triangle bears a white stylised moon and the lower triangle (which
is slightly larger) bears a white 12-pointed sun.
Until the flag was updated in 1962, the sun and moon had human faces. The
flag is said to express the hope that Nepal will endure as long as the sun
and the moon. The blue border symbolises peace.
More countries ought to look at non-rectangular-shaped flags. I've always
thought a circle would be a good flag shape, but it probably wouldn't fly
too well. Same goes for the cube flag. A friend of mine from Ipswich (go
Ipswich Town!) once spent a week designing a one-dimensional flag.
Unfortunately, it was very hard to see ...
Rating: Nepal
Next time: Spain
 Antigua and Barbuda
27 June 2003
Antigua (pronounced An-tee'ga) and Barbuda are located in the middle of
the Leeward Islands in the Eastern Caribbean, roughly 17 degrees north of
the equator. To the south are the islands of Montserrat and Guadaloupe, and
to the north and west are St. Kitts and Nevis. If you don't know your
Caribbean geography, I suggest you take a class. If you can't take a class,
click this map. Feel better? On with the review!
The Siboney were the first to inhabit the islands of Antigua and Barbuda
in 2400 B.C., but it was the Arawak and Carib who populated the islands when
Columbus landed on his second voyage in 1493. The British established
control in 1667 and used slaves to run Antigua's sugar plantations. Slavery
was abolished in 1834 and the islands became an independent state within the
British Commonwealth of Nations in 1981.
Antigua and Barbuda have a population of roughly 68,000 residents (about
the size of Gosport or Tamworth) and its capital, Saint John's, is located
on Antigua. Saints are very popular here as all six parishes are named after
them: Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mary, Saint Paul, Saint Peter, Saint
Philip. Barbuda is considered a dependency, as is Redonda, a small island
east southeast of Antigua.
The flag was officially adopted in 1967. It is colourful and bold,
featuring a black, blue and white inverted isosceles triangle against a
backdrop of red. A yellow rising sun sits in the center of the black
field.
The sun is said to represent the dawning of a new era, the red indicates
the energy of the people, blue is hope and the black represents its African
ancestry. The "V" shape is said to symbolize victory and the overall
combination of yellow, blue and white represents the sun, sand and sea.
It's a pleasant flag to look at and features many symbols dear to the
people of the islands. I only wish that more countries had flags like
this!
Rating: Antigua and Barbuda
Next week: Nepal
 Normandy
6 June 2003
Fifty-nine years ago today, the United States, United Kingdom and Canada
launched an early-morning invasion of German-occupied Europe in the French
region of Basse-Normandie (Normandy). To commemorate this event, I am
reviewing the flag of Normandy. (I shall review Antigua and Barbuda next
week.)
The flag of Normandy features two lions against a backdrop of bright red.
And yes, they are the same lions featured in the British Royal Standard.
Starting with Richard I, all of the monarchs of England (and after them the
monarchs of the United Kingdom), have used a banner of their arms as their
royal standard. In the case of Richard I his arms (and those of his
predecessor Henry II) were three golden lions against a red background. The
lions reportedly represented England, Normandy, and Aquitaine. In today's
standard, the lions are featured in two panels of a four-panel banner.
As you may have already guessed, the British Royal Standard was in fact
derived from the two-lion banner of Normandy. There is a myth that William
the Conqueror had two lions for Normandy and added a third when he took
England in 1066. However, the heraldry simply didn't exist in the 11th
century.
Through thick and thin, Normandy has flown this flag and, having a soft
spot in my heart for tradition, I give this flag a favourable review. One
would be hard-pressed to find anything more "traditional" in the flag-flying
world.
Rating: Normandy
Next week: Antigua and Barbuda
  Monaco/Indonesia
29 May 2003
The world is full of conflict. Fathers argue with mothers, brothers fight
with brothers, and even motorists get steamed at each other, particularly
when some nasty lorry driver cuts you off on your way to the office to write
your all-important flag column! According to the National Defense Council
Foundation, 59 countries are experiencing some kind of violent conflict,
whether it be internal or with another state. Now that's a lot of
conflict.
Most of this documented violence is the result of long-standing ethnic or
political disputes. But there is one international controversy that has the
potential to explode onto the world stage. I'm talking, of course, about the
flag tiff between Monaco and Indonesia.
You see, the flags are practically identical. Both feature an
evenly-divided banner of red (top) and white. The only difference is that
Monaco's flag is more squarish. (Poland's flag confuses the situation
further as its flag features a bicolor with white on top and red on
bottom.)
The flag of Poland. |
So who has the right to fly this red-and-white banner common to three
countries? Let's disregard Poland's flag since it's technically different
and concentrate on those of Monaco and Indonesia.
Monaco has been flying a similar flag since the 14th century (the one
seen today was officially adopted in 1881); Indonesia adopted its flag after
the end of World War II. So Monaco "wins," right? Well, to paraphrase the
thoughts of U.S. President George W. Bush, "Might makes right."
What could little Monaco do to fight a country of 230 million people on
the other side of the globe? They don't even have military. Its defence is
the responsibility of France. Herein lies a solution that should please
President Bush, his "strategerists" and even the U.N.
We could kill two birds with one stone by allowing a French/German-led
"coalition of the willing" to take on the evil-doers of flag-stealing
Indonesia. This would solve the ongoing flag dispute and help repair
relations strained due to the war in Iraq. The British and Americans could
even convince the Philippines, with the help of maybe $100 billion or so, to
allow the coalition to use Philippine military bases.
Operation Save Flag Face would result in only a few years of actual
fighting, but it would be worth it for two reasons. First, those Indonesians
would learn a valuable lesson: Don't steal someone else's flag! And second,
we could have all the petroleum, tin, natural gas, nickel, timber, copper,
coal, gold and silver the country has to offer. (Of course, at least 5
percent of the profits made from such endeavours would be given back to the
Indonesian people. After all, that's a lot more than that flag-stealing
government is giving them now.*)
E-mail President Bush today at president@whitehouse.gov and tell
him that if he were a real patriot, he'd endorse Operation Save Flag Face
today! As always, tell him Eric sent you.
Rating: Monaco , Indonesia 
Next week: Antigua and Barbuda
* This is not an actual fact.
 South Africa
9 May 2003
My brother-in-law, who hails from South Africa, has been harassing me for
some time to write a column on his homeland's flag. I believe he'd like to
see a four-star review. May I remind him that a Mr. Eric Blair is still
writing this column!
Description: Two horizontal bands of red and blue separated by a
central green band which splits into a horizontal "Y," the arms of which end
at the corners of the hoist side; the "Y" embraces a black triangle from
which the arms are separated by narrow yellow bands; the red and blue bands
are separated from the green band and its arms by narrow white stripes.
First of all, let me say that if one must take up that much space
describing a flag, it's probably too busy. However, the South African banner
may deserve an exception. Let me explain.
History: South Africa's most recent history is, shall we say, a
little complicated. Settled by the Dutch (the Boers) in the early 18th
century, conflict broke out not only between the Dutch and the indigenous
Khoikhoi and San tribes of lower Africa but also between the Dutch and newly
arrived British, who were given control of the Cape Town area by the Treaty
of Vienna. The Boers moved north where they fought and defeated the Zulus.
In the late 19th century, the remaining Zulus were defeated by the British,
who then set their sights on the Boers. The Boers were defeated by the
British in the 1899-1902 Boer War, which led to the creation of the Union of
South Africa under a policy of apartheid, or separation of the races. Under
apartheid, various laws restricting the rights of the non-white population
were passed. Violence, diplomatic isolation and economic boycotts brought
the end of apartheid in the early 1990s.
Review: As you can see, many different people are part of South
Africa's past. Its flag is thus represented by colors of the African
National Congress (black, green, yellow), and the Dutch and British flags
(red, white, blue).
The old mess. |
At first glance, I'm not a fan of the giant "Y," but I think as part of
the entire design it's rather appropriate. This flag has grown on me and
will probably continue to do so. Few countries have such a rocky past. The
flag is good reminder of what has happened and offers some hope for the
future.
Orange you glad it changed? |
The old flag: The old South African flag was a real mess. Using
the old Dutch colors of orange, white and blue, the center of the flag
features three small flags: the British Union Jack, the Orange Free State
flag (which existed from 1854-1904) and the Transvaal flag (1857-1902).
Transvaalicious! |
It
looks like it was designed in about two seconds. While it offers a nod to
the past, the new South African flag accomplishes this much better.
Rating:
Next week:Indonesia/Monaco
 Arizona
The last state of the lower 48 to be admitted to the Union, Arizona
finally "got in" in 1912. The current flag was adopted five years later.
The 13 rays of red and gold are said to represent both the 13 original
colonies of the United States, and the rays of the setting sun. Red and gold
were also the colors carried by Coronado's Spanish expedition in search of
the Seven Cities of Cibola in 1540. The bottom half of the flag has the same
colour blue as the American flag. Since Arizona was the largest producer of
copper in the nation, a copper star was placed in the flag's center.
I like the rays and the blue, but the copper star gets a little lost in
the background. It really should be brightened up. Considering that most
U.S. state flags are nothing more than a seal on a blue background, Arizona
is clearly a winner.
While doing my Arizona research — which included a week's stay in
Phoenix and the Grand Canyon (and you thought I didn't do any real
research!) — I discovered a list of "famous" Arizonans. Among them were
Lynda Carter, Barry Goldwater, Linda Ronstadt and Kerri Strug.
As a tribute to Strug and native Arizonans everywhere, I've included this
inspirational essay written in 1996 by someone described as a "college
counselor":
"I am at best a tepid fan of the Olympics. Too hyped, too political, too
magnetic for violence. But one rainy evening in Western Maine during my
summer hiatus from teaching, I put down the book and turned on the
television. There was Kerri Strug, pacing the padded warm up area, moments
away from the stardom that now clings to her like a second skin. No one knew
this was coming, of course. The guest show appearances. The Wheaties box.
Well, Kerri might have known, but it was never her style to talk up her
dreams. A year earlier she sat in the second row of my English class where
it was rarely her inclination to talk at all. I edged my chair a bit closer
to the I screen. Not every day one gets to see a former student on
television, after all. But I was about to see much more than that. I was
about to see the protoplasm of national consciousness shaped in the air
between one gutsy take off and a strobe lit landing…
"One piece, they said. Just one! But no." |
"Kerri. She wouldn't even eat that piece of cake when the class
celebrated the last day of school. One piece, they said. Just one! But no.
That day, like every day, Kerri had to leave campus early to engage in a
regime so precise and demanding and tenuously balanced it could not tolerate
a piece of cake. Kerri avoided superfluous things almost as if she could not
afford to waste the energy. This put me at a disadvantage. It is through all
sorts of superfluities that a teacher comes to know his students. But I
sensed, as teachers will, the many things Kerri was really saying no to when
she happened to be looking at that piece of cake. I suppose she was looking
ahead to the vault that would come along one of these days, the nature of
which was only clear to her.
"I challenge students from time to time to think hard about what makes
someone a hero. Adulation, accomplishment, courage — there have been
plenty of tyrants throughout history who have met that criteria. Just what
is a hero, anyway? What if Kerri's spin through the air that night had been
just an inch or two off and the landing came out wrong. You can almost hear
the announcers — "Oh, and she didn't quite stick it, did she?"
Flashbulbs would have flickered out. Someone else's anthem would have
played. We would have a whole new Wheaties box. But would Kerri's
accomplishment really have been any different? That ankle would have hurt
just as much. That leap would have taken just as much courage. The
assimilation of training and sacrifice and vision would have been just as
apparent in her flight. But that wayward inch or two. Somehow I can't
believe that's how we measure our heroes – by inches.
"The convergence of qualities that make this young woman remarkable had
coalesced long before she took a plane to Atlanta. And if such qualities
have something to do with the substantive definition of a hero, then such a
designation is nothing new for Kerri Strug. The point is that the heroic
among us ought not to be dependent on a delayed telecast for the recognition
they deserve, and that we who learn from their example must realize that
heroes are often a lot closer than we might think. In fact, sometimes
they're no further away than the second row, next to all that uneaten
cake."
Rating:
Next week: South Africa
 Rwanda
4-4-03
If such an award existed, Rwanda would win a nod for "most improved
flag." Changing from a red, yellow and green flag with a capital R in its
centre to an eye-pleasing green, yellow, and blue flag with a golden sun was
a brilliant move.
Launched Dec. 31, 2001, the new flag was designed by Rwandan artist
Alphonse Kirimobenecyo, and symbolises the country's natural resources
(green), economic development (yellow), and happiness and peace (blue). The
sun and its golden rays symoblise unity.
Rwanda's old flag. |
Government officials said the change was made (along with a new coat of
arms and national anthem) because the old symbols were seen as
representative of the previous Hutu-dominated regime responsible for the
massacre of 800,000 people in 1994.
Rwanda is the most densely populated country in Africa, with some 8
million residents in an area slightly larger than Wales. Nine out of 10
Rwandans rely on agriculture as their means for survival. Life expectancy
for a man is 39 and 40 for a woman. Less than 3 percent of the population is
over 65.
If you're interested in helping, see the Rwanda
Development Trust page. Click "Details of Projects" then "Ways of
Giving."
On a lighter note, you can visit Rwanda. Kigali, the capital, has
a fair amount of nightlife with various restaurants and clubs. You may want
to visit the genocide memorials at Nyamata and Ntarama, but be warned: these
aren't memorials in the polished, symbolic sense, rather they are the bare
bones of places that bore witness to the 1994 butchery.
Other attractions include the 3,500-meter-high Nyiragongo volcano, the
swimming beaches of Lake Kiva, Akagera National Park, the Nyungwe Forest,
and the mountain gorillas of the Parc Nacional des Volcans.
Of course, just by being in Rwanda, you run the risk of catching such
diseases as malaria, cholera, hepatitis, typhoid, HIV, Rift Valley Fever
and/or yellow fever, but hey, it's worth it.
Rating:
Next week: Arizona
 Panama
3-14-03
From the time of its breakaway from Colombia in 1903 to the end of the 20th century, Panama and the United States were joined at the hip. The country contained the Panama Canal, and the Canal Zone was an important strategic area for America in the Western Hemisphere. Thanks to an agreement signed in 1977, the Zone was turned over to Panama in 1999.
The flag of Panama, which was adopted in 1925, is divided into four, equal rectangles. The top quadrants are white with a blue five-pointed star in the center, and plain red; the bottom quadrants are plain blue, and white with a red five-pointed star in the center.
It is a general misconception that the Panamanian flag's colours are derived from the American flag. In fact, the blue and red stand for the Conservative Party and Liberal Party; the white is for peace; the blue star is the purity and honesty of the life; and the red star is for authority and law.
I like this flag because of it's clean design and colours, and because it's so instantly recognisable.
Incidentally, a friend of mine who served in the 49th Public Affairs Detachment during Operation Just Cause (the American invasion of Panama in December 1989) recently shared this anecdote with me:
"We got down to Panama and it was dark. Real dark. I couldn't see a foot in front of me. Our unit was hooked up with the 108th Finance Support Unit. They didn't have any guns, just computers and calculators and stuff. Lucky thing we didn't have to do much shooting.
"About 4 a.m., we were ordered to 'move out.' We surrounded Noriega's palace. Resistance was pretty light. Some of the guys in the Finance detachment actually had to take care of some looters in the city. That was pretty funny.
"We busted into one of the buildings on the compound and found this old Panamanian woman rocking back and forth in a corner. She was mumbling something. After we secured the building, I got up real close to her so I could hear what she was saying."
My friend's voice became coarse and crackled as he recited her repeating message:
"Yeah, we're runnin' a little bit hot tonight, I can barely see the road from the heat comin' off of it. You reach down, between my legs, ease the seat back. She's blinding, I'm flying right behind the rear-view mirror now. Got the feeling, power steering, pistons popping, ain't no stopping now.
"Panama. Panama. Panama. Panama …"
Rating:
Next week: Rwanda
 Québec
03-10-03 Adopted in 1948, the Québec flag features a
white cross with a fleur-de-lis in each corner. The
fleur-de-lis is a centuries-old symbol that was once the royal
seal of French monarchs. Very beautiful indeed!
Adopté en 1948, le drapeau de Québec comporte une
croix blanche avec une fleur-de-lis dans chaque coin. La fleur-de-lis
est un siècle-vieux symbole qui était par le passé
le joint royal des monarques français. Très beau!
(Because Québec is officially a bilingual state, we must
include translations for our French friends.)
(Puisque Québec est officiellement un état bilingue, nous
devons inclure des traductions pour nos amis français.)
Of course, anything French is very unpopular now. In fact, one
restaurant owner in South Carolina recently changed the name of French
fries to "Freedom Fries."
Naturellement, quelque chose français est très
inpopulaire maintenant. En fait, un propriétaire de restaurant en
South Carolina a récemment changé le nom des pommes frites
en "fritures de liberté."
I say all of this because Quebecers have nothing to do with this Iraq
business. So next time you hear someone speaking French and want to
confront them, remember: they could be Quebecers!
Je dis toute la ceci parce que Québeçois n'ont rien
à faire avec ces affaires de l'Irak. La fois tellement prochaine
vous entendez quelqu'un Français parlant et voulez les
confronter, vous rappelez: ils pourraient être
Québeçois!
Rating (Estimation):
Next week (La
semaine prochaine): Panama (Le Panama)
 Libya
2-28-03 I can't begin to say enough bad things about this
flag. Where's the imagination? (Oh, that's right, Col. Muammar Qadhafi
is behind this monstrosity.) I'm not a big fan of green as it is, but an
entire flag of it … with no emblem or stripe … not even a
speck. Terrible. Terrible, I say! After an Italian occupation
that lasted from 1911-1943, Libya was administered by Allied armies
until the United Nations granted its independence in 1951.
Libyan flag circa
1951. |
The country adopted the Arab revolt tricolor with a white crescent and
star in the middle. The stripes represented the three constituent
provinces of Cyrenaica (black), Fezzan (red) and Tripolitania
(green). The Colonel took control during a 1969 military coup,
and in 1972 the country entered the Federation of Arab Republics with
Egypt and Syria. All three used the red/white/black horizontal tribar
with a gold hawk of Quraish in the middle. Libya gave up this flag
during the so-called "Green Revolution" of 1977. (Syria reinstituted two
green stars in its middle stripe in 1980, and Egypt altered the bird to
an eagle in 1986.) The Colonel is an interesting man. During the
1970s and '80s, he espoused his own political system — a
combination of socialism and Islam which he calls the Third International Theory. Viewing himself as a
revolutionary, he used oil funds to promote this ideology. However, his
military adventures failed and UN sanctions were imposed in 1992. Those
sanctions were suspended in 1999 after it was determined that Qadhafi
was heir to the KFC fortune. Now using a blend of Marxism, the
Third International Theory and Sandersism, the Colonel has found a new
way to destroy the capitalists. Instead of blowing up airplanes and
funding terrorist organisations, he's discreetly killing Westerners by
filling them up with fried chicken and biscuits. The nutritional time
bomb is ticking! Rating:
Next week: Quebec
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