They just have so many uses!

 Source

 DIXIE, Wash. —

A lost 12-year-old girl found a vacant cabin in the Blue Mountains and wrapped herself in the flag to stay warm until she was found.

Trisha Patterson of Camas was found Wednesday morning by ground searchers about 10 miles east of Walla Walla.

Blue Mountain Television reports she was checked by medics at a fire station at Dixie and reunited with her mother.

Trisha had became separated from her family during a hike Tuesday evening near her grandfather’s cabin.

Sheriff’s deputies searched overnight with help from volunteers on foot, ATVs, motorcycles and a helicopter.

So what exactly do the council have against the national flag?  The mind boggles.

From the Telegraph

Royal British Legion members in Calne, Wilts, have campaigned for months for the right to hoist the flag over the town hall, amid opposition from councillors.

They believed they had won the battle when the council agreed to consider handing over control of the flag to the Legion.

However, the Legion says the council has now produced a 50-point health and safety document which would prevent anyone with specified physical ailments from accessing the town hall roof.

The criteria rules out most members of the local Legion branch, as they are aged over 60. Younger members are employed and the Legion said they would not have the time to do maintenance and raise the flag.

John Ireland, a local councillor, who is also the Legion branch chairman, said: “We have fought bravely and many of us risked our lives in a world war so we are perfectly capable of going up a ladder a few feet to put a flag up on a roof.

“It is absolutely ridiculous to be talking about health and safety. All the council is trying to do is find excuses to stop us flying the flag.”

Accusing the council of “sneaky” behaviour, he added: “What they gave in one hand, they took away in the other, knowing full well that none of us are fit enough to match those rules.”

Margaret Russell, the Legion branch treasurer, said: “The whole point is that we want to show the people of the town and the brave families of those who died, and troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, that we are proud of them.

“The only thing which represents them is the flag and the town hall is the best place to put that.

“The council has tried to prevent us from doing this and the health and safety rules are just the latest hurdle they have put in our way.”

Last November, the 19-member council rejected Mr Ireland’s proposal to fly the flag permanently over the town hall.

Nude model faces jail over flag

1 hour ago

A model faces up to four years in jail in Peru for being photographed sitting naked on the nation’s flag, fashioned into a saddle and placed on a horse.

Patriots demanded that Leysi Suarez be punished. She insists she has not committed a crime.

“I love Peru and show it with my body and soul,” she said.

From the press association

This looks just awful, the Union jack is a pretty internationally recognised symbol, lets hope this is just some nonsense which will just fade away.

http://www.yourvale.co.uk/news/where-i-live/2008/07/16/welsh-influenced-union-flag-launched-at-llangollen-105722-21352602

A CONTROVERSIAL campaign to redesign the Union Flag with Welsh elements has been launched by an English flag fanatic at the International Eisteddfod in Llangollen last week.

Campaigner John Yates, from Milton Keynes, has amended the nation’s favoured flag to include the colours of the traditional Welsh flag, and is hoping the Welsh people will get behind his bold new design.

“It just came like a bolt out of the blue to me. With two crosses and two saltires in the four flags of the UK countries, it was an entirely natural design of flag,” said John, 60.

Mr Yates says the Eisteddfod, held last week at Llangollen’s Royal International Pavilion, was a natural place to garner support for his proposals, because it was exactly two years ago at the 2006 Eisteddfod when he came up with the idea for his creation.

“I had struggled with the idea of a new Union Flag for over 30 years but it was at the Eisteddfod that I saw someone selling the St David’s flags. It was like an answer to a maiden’s prayer.”

The new design mixes the three existing flags from the United Kingdom - England’s cross of St George, Ireland’s saltire of St Patrick and Scotland’s blue and white colours - with the black and yellow cross of St David, used by many as an unofficial flag for the Welsh nation.

Wales’ official flag, The Red Dragon, was not included in Yates’ design because it did not match the aesthetic embraced by the Union Flag.

Clwyd South MP, whose constituency includes Llangollen, said he welcomed the proposals.

“I fully support better representation of Wales on the Union Flag. I have signed a parliamentary petition supporting such a change along with several of my Welsh colleagues. The flag should mean something to everyone in the Union and instil pride in Great Britain as a whole.”

Yates says that along with parliamentary support, he has also received favourable comments from the Queen regarding the new design.

For more information and to support John’s campaign, contact 01908 606362.

Who knows, you might win a holiday there!

 From the associated press

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq has announced a competition to design a new national flag and is calling on Iraqis and artists and designers inside and outside of the country to take part.

Lawmaker Mufeed al-Jazairi announced the competition on Tuesday. He says interested people have until the end of September to submit their designs.

Al-Jazairi says a committee will select three designs to be presented to the parliament, which will vote on a new flag by the end of this year.

Earlier this year, Iraq’s parliament voted to strip the three green stars of Saddam Hussein’s toppled Baath party from the country’s flag. But parliament kept the script of “Allahu Akbar,” or “God is Great” in green.

The new forum can be found here: flagwire.net