Word: flags
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...third largest carrier by revenue, was hailed as an example of capitalism invading the country's tightly controlled airspace. China Eastern was entertaining an offer by Singapore Airlines to buy 24% of the company for $920 million when a rival bidder, China National Aviation Corp. (CNAC), parent of flag carrier Air China, swooped in with a promise to beat that offer. In an uncharacteristic move, airline-industry regulators in Beijing said they would allow China Eastern's shareholders to settle the matter...
That's how Saddam Hussein's flag came to be on my wall. It may bear the dictator's evil imprint, but it reminds me of a brief moment when Iraqis were able to put Saddam behind them and look forward to a better life...
...told him what the lettering really said, and he looked over at the crowd of now hostile Iraqis. He turned pale. "Oh s--t man, I didn't know" he said. "Can you explain that to them?" He thrust the flag into my hands and ran back indoors. So there I was, holding Saddam's flag and facing an angry Iraqi mob. I could sense that their resentment at the soldier was being transferred...
Relieved, I handed the flag to an old man in the crowd - he was dressed like a tribal sheikh and had a kindly, weathered face. Through my translator, I told him that the flag belonged to Iraq, not Saddam. The old man turned to his neighbors and had a quick, whispered conversation. Then he gave the flag back to me. "You saved the flag," he said, in Arabic. "So you should have...
Luckily, my translator had a booming voice, and he shouted at the crowd to calm down. He explained that it had all been a big mistake, the soldier had not intended to insult their national flag, he had merely been misinformed by his Kurdish translator. To my relief, the Iraqis were mollified. Some laughed, others made wisecracks about Kurds...