Saturday, February 26, 2011

New Flag for Libya?

The flag of the Kingdom of Libya was adopted when Libya gained independence in 1951 from Italy. It consisted of a white crescent-and-star on a triband red-black-green design, with the central black band being twice the width of the outer bands. Today, the former flag is being used as a symbol of resistance to the government of Muammar al-Gaddafi during the 2011 protests and by the Libyan opposition abroad.

The design was based on the Senussi flag, which consisted of a black field and crescent-and-star design. The red represented the region of Fezzan, while the green came from the banner of Tripolitania. The red could also symbolise the blood of the people, and the green the colour of Islam and a symbol of prosperity. The crescent and the star is a traditional symbol in many Arabic Muslim countries. It was unanimously voted on by all the different tribes in Libya. This flag is used by some of the protesters taking part in the 2011 uprising against the rule of Muammar al-Gaddafi.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Utah Corrects its State Flag


Utah almost has a new state flag. Actually, it is the old state flag approved back in 1913 — but a mistake by a flagmaker in 1922 altered it into the design that most people have seen and known for decades.
“We’re fixing an 88-year-old mistake,” said Rep. Julie Fisher, R-Fruit Heights, who speeded HCR2 through both houses of the Legislature Wednesday. Then, because the bill is not in the official form required for signing, Gov. Gary Herbert did a ceremonial signing as scores of elementary school children watched the process as a civics lesson.
Fisher said that back in 1922, Dolly McMonegal made a finely embroidered copy of the flag for the state at a time when most flags were handmade. But McMonegal either made the shield on it too small or the word “Utah” within it too big — leaving no room in the shield for “1847” – the year when the Mormon pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley.
So she put the “1847” beneath the shield, even though the law required it to be in the shield, Fisher said. Facsimiles became popular, and no one ever corrected the mistake.