NorthStar Flags

It seems that our involvement in Iraq will be the rehashed subject that will dominate the campaign and presidential election in November. There is no doubt that Americans abhor the death of countless American soldiers that were sacrificed to further the democratic ends of the country. But can we really help it, can the next president renege on our duty to the international community?

Except that its main industry is oil, do we really know Iraq? The most important symbol of the country is the Iraq flag composed of three horizontal bands red, white and black with the Takbir (God is great) in green Arabic script is at the center of the white band. The design is based upon the Arab Liberation colors and approved by the Council of Representatives as a compromise and temporary replacement for the Ba’athist Saddam-era flag.

Iraq was part of the Ottoman Empire, but was occupied by Britain in the course of World War I; in 1920 it was declared member of the League of Nations, a mandate that placed it under direct UK administration. Iraq finally attained independence in 1932, then it became a republic in 1958, but such declaration was a sham because it was a series of strongmen that ruled the country until 2003. The last of such rulers was Saddam Husayn.

The history of Iraq is embroiled in hostilities, for eight long years it fought a costly war (1980-88) with Iran because of territorial disputes. Then in 1990 it annexed Kuwait, but was later on repulsed by the US-led, UN coalition forces during the Gulf War of January-February 1991.

Then on March 2003, the US-led invasion toppled Saddam Husayn, because of his refusal to allow the UN-led nuclear inspection team.

The coming presidential election is turning out to be really close and heated. Who would have thought that McCain could even the voting preference at 45% (based on recent survey) and the remaining 10% as undecided? During the close of the primary, Obama was leading by 12 percentage points, and now just days before the national party convention, the chances are about even.

At the party convention expect each candidate to throw everything in and project an image that will appeal to voters. And a dose of anything patriotic will be the order of the day, from giant American flags, to fan flags, to mini flags at the convention venue and to custom car flags that will adorn each candidate’s entourage as they move along roads and highways.

Who would be able to satisfy the American psyche will have the advantage – meaning the one that can show his moorings as more American. Or are we faced with the three pronged assault in our internal security, can our candidates handle the delicate situation in Georgia, that is aside from the downslide in the country’s economy, unemployment, health care, and the question of immigration among others.

As I see it, whoever wins the presidency will have his hands full in order to address the various concerns that affect the whole cross section of society and maintain our stature as the true patron to be relied on by the world community.

To be president of the United States of America in this phase of our history will never be easy, because as the world changes, our continued leadership will always be put to the test. This is no job for the fainthearted, not even superman.

I always follow world events, particularly news that involves the sending of our troops to hotspots around the globe. Though I’ve heard a lot about Afghanistan, it never entered my mind to look more deeply into the historical events that define the country.

The country is known for its symbol, the Afghanistan flag composed of three vertical bands, black, red and green. A national emblem in white is at the center overlapping the side bands and it features a mosque with pulpit and flags on either side and below is a solar year 1298. Further the emblem is framed by sheaves of wheat, by an inscription (Shahada – the Muslim creed) at the upper center, and the rays of the sun in its lower center.

In 1747, through Shah Durrani founded Afghanistan by unifying the Pashtun tribes and it served as buffer between the British and Russian Empires, it declared independence in 1919. A coup in 1973 ended a brief experiment in democracy, then a 1978 communist counter-coup was staged. To support the fragile communist regime at the time, the USSR invaded Afghanistan in 1979.

The USSR eventually withdrew in 1989 after a long and disastrous war with the anti-communist mujahedin rebels and it was followed by bloody subsequent civil wars, which was finally won by the Taliban, a hard line Pakistani sponsored movement. Under the Talibans, anarchy followed and no end of oppression is in sight.

But through the United Nations political reconstruction was started, a new constitution was put into effect, a president was elected in 2004 and the elections for the National Assembly was made in 2005. But, the Talibans resurfaced continuing the saga of insurgency.

And to protect the emerging democracy, soldiers around the world were dispatched to help.

The past Olympic was not just about winning, but more of inspiration. This is best expressed on the performance of Somalia’s 200-meter dash runner Samia Yusuf Omar. She finished the race about 7 or 8 seconds after the winner of her heat crossed the finish line, a really poor performance, not one expected from an Olympian.

But, this is not the end of it, as she continued to run her heat the crowd of around 45,000 at the Bird’s Nest Stadium, stood up, cheered and egged her to finish the race, a kind of warm welcome reserved only for the winners. When interviewed later, she confided that the gesture was uncalled for, but it made her doubly proud to be a Somali and brought tremendous popularity to her home country, particularly in the eyes of the world.

Her country maybe poor, and ravaged by the ongoing civil war, but it instilled in her hopes that her country would one day be united again, and peace would reign. Only two athletes was sent by the government to the Olympics, and both lagged behind in their heat because they were ill-prepared with no formal training and the absence of good training facilities. Besides how can one succeed when they still have to scavenge even for their daily subsistence?

Standing on the track and seeing the Somalia flag waving side by side with the other flags of the world, gave her the notion that in this part of the world all are equal and no country claims dominion. And her pride being a Somali swelled, even for just a fleeting second, an experience she will cherish the rest of her life.

As expected a brilliant display of fireworks precluded the closing ceremony of the 29th Olympiad in Beijing, a tribute to the people who invented gunpowder. Then after the introduction of IOC members and Hu Jintao, the Chinese national flag was hoisted with the singing of the Chinese National Anthem.

What followed was cultural presentation staged by Chinese actors, after which athletes entered the stadium. As part of the usual practice, medals were awarded to the last event of the Olympics, the marathon, then speeches followed and ending with Jacques Rogge, the IOC chairman as he closes the spectacular staging of the summer spectacle.

Also signifying the continuation of the games in 2012, the England Flag was hoisted with the playing of the National Anthem “God Save the Queen,” again announcing to the world that the next Olympic games will be in London.

As customary, the Olympic Flag was lowered with the Olympic Anthem played, symbolically handing over the Seoul Olympic Flag by the Mayor of Beijing Guo Jinlong to its counterpart, the mayor of London Boris Johnson. The final presentation was then capped with fireworks that were designed to represent the Olympic rings. Additional display of spectacular fireworks could be seen outside of the Bird’s Nest National Stadium as the games went to a close.

Well despite the smog that plagued the city of Beijing, the Chinese authorities has seen to it that visitors to the summer spectacle will experience what they came here for. Kudos should be extended to the men and women of China who provided the world the best of the culture, from authentic foods, to ethnic costumes and even the arts.

Thank you China.

Throughout the history of the Olympic Game the opening ceremony is crucial, because it portends the extent by which it is presented. The one held weeks ago in Beijing is a spectacular and spellbinding display and took a total of four hours, and at a cost of around 100million dollars to produce.

The opening of the Olympics in China was timed to coincide 08,08,08, that is August 8, 2008 and at approximately 8:08pm, the number is associated with prosperity and confidence inherent in the Chinese culture. Then it was followed by various cultural presentations, highlighting among others paper, an invention of the Chinese.

Then the parade of nations came in carrying their own country flags, the only difference in that they were not in alphabetical order but based on each country’s Chinese character. Thus Guinea entered the stadium after Greece while the Australian flag was at the tail end just ahead of the Zambia flag. As usual, the host country’s contingent and colors entered the stadium last.

Amidst the speeches of Olympic dignitaries, the Olympic flag was brought in, carried by eight former Chinese athletes and was later turned over to the soldiers of the Liberation Army, hoisted and the Olympic Anthem was sang. Then the Olympic flame that symbolically emanated from Athens entered the stadium as a continuation of the Beijing relay and was finally passed to Li Ning, a former gymnast champion suspended in the air, wired as he lit the Olympic cauldron.

Sad to say the opening ceremony was marred by hitches. There was the opening ceremony rehearsal leakage; a girl was caught lip-synching the “Ode to the Motherland;” then the computer-simulated fireworks. Amidst it all the presentation was a huge success.

This is the predicament, “to have or not to have” that met us as we came out of the conference room with top executives of our company. We are actually a medium scale company engaged in the business of selling brand new cars and as such we were asked to study the viability of a new outlet.

The new showroom was an old warehouse located along the main thoroughfare in Austin. Being on a drab neighborhood, if we open, we are to transform the place into a top of the line car dealership complete with service facilities. Our main worry is not on the renovation of the structure because professionals were hired for the job, but the marketing push necessary to appeal to customers.

As the blueprint of the plans were handed to us, it is clear that everything has been thought of, the facade is truly eye catching with gold colored aluminum cladding and generous areas of glass that makes anything inside visible. We only made suggestions on the visual contrasts created by our company name against the imposing backdrop.

Our car dealership includes some of the known brands in the industry, Lexus, BMW’s, Benzes, Lamborghini’s, Lincoln’s and so on. We find it hard to accommodate all of these in the facade, so we decided to advertise our products using large twirler flags.

We hired the services of NorthStar Flags and Poles to duplicate the logo’s of car brands and design the custom twirler flag for us. We placed a series of custom twirler flags 500meters before and after our showroom. I guess our recommendations made an impact because we have stayed afloat even with the high cost of gas.

August 2008 is a red-letter day in my calendar, not because it’s the Olympics, but the College I came from will celebrate the centennial foundation anniversary. This will be a grand celebration as all who had its share in the glorious history of the college will be around to join in the festivities.

Some graduates of the college are already part of the mainstream labor force, 4 are company chairmen, maybe a dozen are COO’s and CEO’s, 2 are two term members of congress, while one holds the distinction of a Senator, and hopefully in the future one intends to join the primary to select a candidate for president.

I called the celebration secretariat and offered to provide the necessary banners, for both our company banners that will be hanged interspaced with the customary college flags. I even sent our company personnel to help the celebration committee in the arrangement and decoration of the venue and the placement of the banners as well.

When the weeklong celebration began, the majority of the alumnus of the College were present and congratulatory messages were extended to the successful graduates, particularly in the field of business, public service and the academe.

The college on their part welcomed all alumni’s like their long lost child. For who could deny the fact that when one graduates, it is seldom that one could have the time for a visit. It is only on rare occasions like this centennial foundation celebration that the majority will be around, and the guests becomes a veritable who’s who from all sectors of society.

What about you? Have you joined any of your alma mater’s festivities lately? Be there and be counted, its fun.

After eight long years of disappointing losses in international tournaments, the United States Redeem Team has finally captured the Olympic Gold Medal in basketball. But the road to the gold medal has not been easy, because all are members of the elite NBA basketball franchises and to make them jell and work as a team is any coach’ nightmare.

The preparation actually started some three years ago and each mythical member of the Redeem Team were asked to commit. And every summer or during breaks from the NBA games, basketball training and clinics were injected into the players retinue. Even after three summers and various tune-up games, the team could still not move as one.

The true test of the team was the elimination tournament in Las Vegas where the top two finishers will automatically have a seat to the Beijing Olympics. And when finally faced with a two-edged sword, the American Redeem Team made us proud by winning the tournament handily.

In the qualifying round, the American Team beat every other team’s bracketed with them and in the semi-final round it demolished Australia and the 2004 gold medallist Argentina. Then it had a ride with destiny as it met Spain for the gold.

The finals game was a bit lethargic, because they came with a mission and they could not afford any slip-ups. Many came to the game and they wore the American tricolor and waving American miniature Flags.

In the end the American as expected came out victorious and is once again the force to reckon with in basketball. We cheered when the American Flag was hoisted as members of the team received the gold medal.

As the bus I was riding home took the right turn, I was full of anticipation as the park that I grew up with was just around the bend. You see I’ve been away for some time, since my work as an accountant kept me saddled at my office in Lower Manhattan, New York City. This will be actually my first trip back home.

As the park came into view, disappointment crept in, the place looks just like the way I left it. The park equipment are still few and rusting, although the trees have grown so big that it gave the area enough cover during the dry season. The park benches are practically placed at the areas I can remember most and a few strollers are lazily moving about, and the rest are busy reading their daily paper.

Just then, I saw the American Flag waving gaily at the pole, as if in salutation and welcome for my trip home. Then I smiled, what happened to the love of my life? My first girlfriend, we used to frequent the park and made our vows, our dreams and promised just about everything right at the foot of the commercial flagpole. We were a twosome at the time, and everybody thought we were made for each other.

But fate intervened, his family moved to Wisconsin and that was the end of it. Although we had a few letters, the distance may have taken its toll because eventually we parted. I moved to New York to study and took my first job seriously.

As for my first love, we never saw each other again.