The world's flags given letter grades

ahpc-jp30.st-and.ac.uk ^ | N/A | Josh Parsons

[swilhelm73]

The world's flags given letter grades

Introduction

Some time ago, browsing through my friend's atlas, I realised that there are significant differences in quality between the flags of different countries. Some are good, some are bad. Some countries have clearly taken care in the choice of colours, layout, and design. Others have been lazy, stolen the flags of their neighbours, or just designed flags that are clearly supposed to cause pain to those who look at them.

To my surprise, there is no international body responsible for upholding simple standards of vexillilic aesthetics. Nor do the UN or Interpol have the power to call in and punish those responsible for such atrocities as the Brazilian or Cypriot flags. I suppose there is probably a conspiracy of rich western nations (those with permanent seats on the UN security council, no doubt) to prevent such crimes from being brought to justice; however, in the meantime I am giving letter grades to the existing flags of the world.

You can read about the methodology I used. You can read the results alphabetically, by country name, or by grade, or broken down by grade:

• A grades,
• B grades,
• C grades,
• failing grades.

[armed_in_sydney]

With the exception of the flaming homosexuals,Sydney should be nice and cool around June.

[Petronski]

That is so gay.

[LibKill]

This was for a short time, the flag of a nation, and I think it's pretty good looking.

[shaggy eel]

,,, and you think China will keep going ahead at the pace it is without adopting western codes? They've recently started serious discussions leading to recognising property rights. If you want to see capitalism in action, you're more likely to see it in Shaghai than a number of places in the US. I'm not pushing the boat for China in saying that.

[general_re]

,,, and you think China will keep going ahead at the pace it is without adopting western codes?

No, no - that's exactly my point. They'll have to adopt western-style reforms at some point in order to keep advancing. Look, the problem the Chinese have is a larger version of the problem the Euros have. The Euros could be as wealthy and powerful and influential and the United States, if they wanted. The trouble is, to do that, they have to out-American the Americans, to be more American than we are, and adopt the sort of culture and institutions that we have. They can beat us, but only by becoming us. And if the Chinese try to "beat" us by opening up and becoming a western-style capitalist democracy...well, I can live with that sort of "loss", because we invented that game, and we can still play it as well as anyone ;)

[shaggy eel]

,,, it appears to me that the US is being reinvented into what Europe is - big government, getting bigger all the time; subsidies and tariffs galore and open borders for all. The America you're talking about is fading fast, in my opinion.

[armed_in_sydney]

....and what's your opinion on where Australia and New Zealand are heading?

[general_re]

It's a rich country, and for the moment we can afford to make mistakes - it's a funny irony of the world that only capitalist societies can really afford to be socialists, and even then only just temporarily. Social Security, Medicare, all those Euro style safety-net programs - those things are on the edge of death, because people here won't pay the amounts of money they'll have to pay in order to maintain them over the next two or three decades. People don't know it yet, but the bill will be coming due soon enough, and then the free ride will grind to a halt. It's a bitch that some people here had to figure out the hard way that socialism doesn't work, but better that they figure it out now, when we can afford the hit, than later on, when the Chinese have really got their s*** together.

Things looked pretty grim in 1978, too, and here we are. It's not inevitable that we'll succeed and carry on - we can still screw it up if we want. But if we want, there's nothing invincible about the yellow menace, that says they must inevitably turn the rest of the world into client states of the Chinese Empire. We'll see, I guess ;)

[shaggy eel]

,,, once we get Brash into the hotseat, we'll be back on track in a trans-Tasman alliance as we were. You'll hate us when we do you in rugby and cricket and we'll take losses with dignity, as usual - some things never change.

On the business front, I know Brash won't waste his time with a company tax rate equal to yours - he'll go for the throat and make it lower. You've got yourself a decent economy, but ours can turn on a dime.

Armed forces? It can only get better. Klark has worked so hard to put a meaningful wedge into relationships with the US and Aussie. There's considerable discontent over this aspect here... combat pilots have been trained over the years and they were snapped up by the Brits and Aussies very quickly when Klark dismantled the squadrons and gave money to the "arts" voting bloc.

I almost forgot - an ANZAC dollar for common currency. I doubt it. I suspect we'd go to using the $US, if anything over the medium to long term. If we used the $AU or moved to a common currency with Aussie, we'd be a slightly bigger fish in the pond and that's it. Using the $US stacks up in my view.

There's more flights than ever across the Tasman now, so exporters are covered well either way. What we need is a snap election here.

[shaggy eel]

ping

[Chuckster]

I wonder how this one would rate. I sure like it.

[Tuco Ramirez]

Japan has the coolest flag; Marvin the Martian uses it in Looney Tunes (when he claims the moon for Mars).

White background, red planet (sun) in the center...

[general_re]

Ha! You see, you know exactly what to do to stare down the yellow menace. If NZ and the US are possessions of the Chinese Empire in a hundred years, it'll be because the likes of Klark and John F'in Kerry made it happen. Fight the good fight, O my brothers! ;)

[shaggy eel]

,,, as much as Klarke loathes the democratic process, it's suckers who vote to place her where she is. We have ourselves to blame.

[general_re]

This is true. It's not enough to vote against bread and circuses - we must educate our neighbors about why they shouldn't want "free" panem et circenses ;)

[ArrogantBustard]

Rates an A+ with me.

[maui_hawaii]

,,, and you think China will keep going ahead at the pace it is without adopting western codes?

Actually, yeah...

They will adopt some things...but thats just it. Some things.

[shaggy eel]

,,,can you see a variance in provincial governments and their ways of doing things as the old regime's key players catch cabs? I'm thinking Hong Kong and Taiwan styles emerging more within China on the basis of how it is now in Shanghai.

[KangarooJacqui]

My father (New Zealander by birth but has lived in Australia most of his life) thinks Australia and New Zealand should be one country. In many ways, they are similar, but try telling the Kiwis that - I'm sure you'd hear the screams all the way to Maine :-)

IMHO, it'll never happen. Australia will become the fifty-somethingth State of America first... and New Zealand will just be another State of the Union. What timeframe this happens in is anyone's guess.

[KangarooJacqui]

Australia's flag only got a C? Oh, I'm heartbroken. It's because we took the corner from the Brits, isn't it?

Would you prefer we went with this, then?