Eritrea & Djibouti, on the coast line of the Red Sea

Flag of Eritrea

Eritrea & Djibouti are two African Nations at the nexus point between Asia and Africa. Both Eritrea and Djibouti have coast lines along the ancient and mystical Red Sea.

You can think of the Red Sea as balanced with Black Sea, like a cosmic checkerboard. The Black Sea is the private sea between Asia & Europe, while the Red Sea is a private sea between Asia & Africa. But the Mediterranean Sea is balanced with all three: Africa, Europe, and Asia.

Flag of Djibouti

The similarity of their flags is sublime. They both have a triangle of different proportions extending into the middle. The upper half of Djibouti is blue and the lower half is green, while in Eritrea the upper half is green and the lower half is blue. Eritrea's triangle is mostly red with a yellow wreath and an standing olive branch, while Djibouti's triangle is mostly white with a red star.

With respect to faith, the people of Eritrea are equally divided with half using the Holy Bible as their spiritual text while the other half reads from the Holy Koran. But Djibouti is mostly Islamic at over 93% in Islam.

Antarctic Flags Twins: Chile and Argentina

Chilean Flag of Antarctic Region
1997

Currently two nations have created flags for their territories in Antarctica: Chile and Argentina. Amazingly the colour and patterns are remarkably similar. Both employ blue, white, and orange of slightly different tints. Chile has the southern Cross pointing downwards to the lower right, while Argentina has the Southern Cross pointing upwards to the upper right.

Why would these two nations design such similarly jagged blue, white, and orange Antarctica flags?

Argentina Flag of Antarctic Region
1999

Perhaps there is some kind of weird collective unconscious connection to the two most prevalent flags already designed for Antarctica?

The first vexillological Antarctica flag was designed by an American in 1978. The American Antarctica flag uses orange as its primary colour. More than twenty years later, another Antarctica flag was released upon the masses that was designed by a British Citizen in the 1996. The interesting coincidence to note is that the Chile and Argentina Antarctica flags seem to be fusion of these these two flags designed by established vexillologists.

1978 Whitney Smith
Antarctica Flag

1996 Graham Bartram
Antarctica Flag

PLUS

USA DESIGNER

UK DESIGNER

Pictairn & Tristan da Cunha

Flag of Pitcairn
yellow & green mantling

Pitcairn and Tristan da Cunha are two remote UK isles tucked away in the two great oceans of the planet. Pitcairn is isolated in the deep South Pacific while Tristan da Cunha is far far away in the remote South Atlantic.

Flag of Tristan da Cunha
blue & turquoise mantling

As you can see they are both in the family of Ensign British Blues (like Australia & New Zealand).







But the key elements of symmetry are the 'frog knight' helmets, on top of the shields.






They also have elegantly designed mantling. Pitcairn has green-yellow leafy mantling, while Tristan da Cunha has blue-turquoise mantling.

Mantling

Mantling
Mantling originally had two main purposes: identity & sun protection. You can think of mantling as being like a football jersey for knights in shining armor. Mantling made sure you knew who it was fighting under the armor and it kept the knights from being cooked from the inside out on hot sunny days.

Another Yin and Yang object is the sail of Tristan da Cunha balances with the anchor of the Pitcairn. These are two complementary devices of the boat that work 180 degrees apart, in two different directions, one down the other up.


Sails soar high and dry in the air, to fight the current and catch a breeze, on the magnificent seven seas. But anchors are dropped and plopped in the water with no precision, but to hold the ship's current position.

Finally two items of religious significance are on the flags. Pitcairn has a white Bible above the anchor, while Tristan da Cunha has a white streamer with "Our Faith Is Our Strength."

White Book is the Bible

France and the Netherlands

Flag of France

The shining lights of Western Civilization reach star studded brilliance with these two, the Netherlands and France. The respect for art, culture, history, and food permeates in the most general degree of the masses.

France and the Netherlands were of the ancient explorers to seek out new life and go where no man has gone before, imploring every nook and cranny of the earth to reveal itself. They would also seed small populations here to there across the known universe.


The Netherlands was the grounding cultural architect to New York (New Amsterdam), imbibing the United States with a keen way of doing things the quick and efficient Dutch Way. New Orleans was originally an outpost of France giving America an intense love with the sound of music and rich knowledge to hidden dimensions within taste bud universe.

Flag of the Netherlands

The Caribbean has left over colonies still attached to these mother lands. Dutch still have Aruba and several small islands while France has quite a few islands; Martinique, Guadeloupe.

But the best example is the worlds smallest divided isle, Saint Martin which is just a little east of Puerto Rico. It is in the Caribbean where French soil touches Dutch Soil! Ironically it is the French who are NORTH and the Dutch who are SOUTH. The French spell it Saint-Martin, while the Dutch spell it Sint Maarten.
Historically they were at times enemies and others friends, their relationship can be summed up as 'FRENEMIES.' But since the end of WWII, they have learned to co-exist, peacefully. It seems almost impossible now, that they would ever make war upon each other.

After WWII both nations found the tables turned as they were imperial powers fighting the local freedom fighters in the 1950s. There was the Vietnam-French and Indonesia-Dutch Wars. Both nations would loose their colonies.

A large swath of the enlightenment thought originated on their shores, yet all was not well with their treatment of 'primitives' in aboriginal America native Africa. But the better spirit of enlightenment would prevail and bring them to a higher and better place.

Belgium and Germany

FLAG OF BELGIUM

The colours are in a slightly different order but make no mistake the harmony is obvious. The pairing of these flags represents a reunion of Charlemagne's sons.

These two nations are a union of North-Western Europe in the highest degree. In Belgium they speak French, Dutch, and a wee bit of German. While in Germany there is a wee tiny portion that speaks Danish and Polish.

Germany and Belgium are rather divided from within. The effects of East Germany and West Germany since the Cold War still have their cultural divisions, likewise North Dutch speaking Belgium and South French speaking Belgium are divided by tongues.

FLAG OF GERMANY

Both nations were rather late in the imperial game, Belgium was able to scramble in for one last colony in Africa, the Congo, while Germany made a distinguished effort at Namibia and Tanzania. However both nations would loose their African Colonies.

Germany was the first white imperial power to loose out on her African colonies, because of white on white disagreements. The rest of Europe would follow Germany but by different means, because of black on white disagreements. Just as the Civil Rights 'African-American' era in USA was taking off so too were the people of Africa ridding themselves of the 'yoke' of European Colonialism.

After the age of Imperialism Germany was destined to make the greatest leap in understanding the error that nations can make in the wake of the War of Endless Tears.

(World War II in the West and the Great Patriotic War in the East)

Likewise Belgians are aware and repentant of their mishandling of the native peoples in the Congo Basin.

Germany and Belgium are Europe's humbled giants who carry Titanic wisdom that all nations should appreciate.

Albania & Montenegro; Siamese Eagles

Siamese Golden Eagle of Montenegro

Albania and Montenegro are nations of the Balkan Peninsula. Or as my old history teacher called it, "Europe Minor". Europe Minor is right next to Asia Minor.

Both of their flags have the doubled headed eagle, or rather a 'Siamese Eagle.'

Black Siamese Eagle of Albania

The Siamese Eagle originally meant the dual power of Rome's two strongest cities in the Eastern and Western Empire, Rome and Constantinople.

In an American perspective you think of a Siamese Eagle representin' NYC and LA, the old established East meets the new age West (see below).



The Siamese Eagle is so appropriate for Albania and Montenegro since they are at the cross roads of East and West. Islam and Christianity were both able to root themselves in these nations, more so for Albania.

The Siamese Eagle is an accidental metaphor for these two wonderful religions. Both Islam and Christianity have the same root body; as they accept "Old Testament" (Hebrew) teachings, but on a fundamental literal role, their faiths are very difficult to reconcile. Islam believes that Jesus was simply a blessed 100% human Prophet born of a Virgin, while Christianity sees Jesus as a multilateral avatar of God and Son of God at the same time, which Islam thinks is ridiculous. Obviously these two ideas do not make a harmonious blend from a rational point of view.

"But ya gotta rememba' dat da notrious and all mighty big 'G' is the ultimate master of things irrational and rational, ya dig? You gawtz memories from da' mostly irrational Jreem World and memories from the mostly logical wakin' world, right? In the end its all just memories!
Don't worry about what dose not make sense in your puny logical human brain, da' one in charge has it all figured out, so have a little faith, shut yo mind off and get into the gap"...Snoopy Dog.

However, Islam and Christianity have found a home in the nations of both Albania and Montenegro, thus the double headed Eagle is so appropriate. Recently both nations flirted with Communism to no avail.

Also hidden within their names are the colours black and white. Albania/Albino-land & Montenegro/Mountain-negro

American Siamese Eagle
'Union of East Side and the West Side'

St. Kitts & Nexis with "West Congo"

Flag of St. Kitts and Nevis
a nation in New World

Both of these flags have the pan-African traffic light colours of red, green, and yellow. St. Kitts and Nevis's flag is reflective of night with a black inner stripe with two white stars (St. Kitts and Nevis) while "West Congo's" yellow stripe is all yellow like the daytime sun.

Flag of West Congo

a nation in the Old World

Both nations have rich populations of African heritage. West Congos' is due to a natural indigenous aspect while St. Kitts and Nevis' was due to European Slave trading. But its a darn good chance a few of the people in St. Kitts and Nevis have some 'West Congo' heritage, only genetic screening can confirm this statement.

St. Kitts & Nevis was 'battle born' during the Cold War in 1983 as a newly independent nation.

Long long before the Cold War, St. Kitts became one of England and Frances' first colonies to disrupt the Spanish monopoly in the Caribbean. France and the UK shared the island so as to compete with the Spanish.

It'd be like Wendy's and Burger King teaming up on McDonald's to compete with McDonald's in the International Market. Basically Micky D's is like Spain right now while BK and Wendy's only gets little bites of those 'international fries.'

Congo was 'adopted' by the French during the imperial era. Thus France has become a state language. Like Vietnam and many other French colonies, Congo developed an astounding dislike of the West in the 1960s which lead to bump in Commie power until 1991, when Communism itself underwent a meltdown in Russia.

I refer to to Congo as West Congo because there are two nations with 'CONGO' in it. Greater Congo and Little or Lesser Congo would have been nice but Greater Congo has a connotation that the Little or Lesser Congo is not as great. The Congo that was a part of France, has less territory is in fact by the tiniest degree more westward than the other Congo (that was a part of Belgium and has more territory).

So Western and Eastern Congo is the more neutral and relatively more 'PC' label. But the irony is that West Congo was the Communist while East Congo was not, unlike Germany! Although both nations speak French to some degree and live along the Congo River, it is very unlikely that they will ever unite into a super state known simply as 'Congo'. Using official names is rather confusing since we have the Peoples Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo, and Democratic Republic of Congo. It's quite (1980s flashback) CONGO BONGO! ((CONGO BONGO
was created in 1983, in the game you can see the Congo River...remember in 1983 Congo's vexillological partner gained independence from the UK in 1983))

However no Congo has ever referred to itself as East or West Congo! They prefer the verbally confusing political prefixes. Maybe some day there will be a Constitutional Republic of Congo, Peoples Republican Republic of Congo, or Democratic-Whig National Peoples Common Wealth Republic of Congo?