Mistake

Even in the world of diplomacy, there are times when language has to be clear and unmistakable – like after a flag is mistakenly displayed in a way to imply there is a state of war. The Philippine flag was displayed upside down behind President Benigno Aquino III when he met with President Obama and other leaders of the Assn. of Southeast Asian Nations on Friday. “This was an honest mistake,” Rebecca Thompson, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Embassy, said in a statement posted on the Official Gazette, edited by the Philippine president’s office.

Tina Marie Machado has lost her Miss Hawaii USA crown after less than a week. Pageant officials said she is too old at 25 and won by mistake. Machado was told Tuesday to step down in favor of Toni Leimomi Costa, 18, runner-up in the pageant last week. Pageant director Gay Zuercher said Miss Hawaii USA entrants must be under 25 and it was an error when Machado--who turned 25 in November--was allowed to enter.

Lady Luck or Lady Liberty? Las Vegas edged out the Big Apple on a postage stamp that bears the likeness of Sin City's diminutive replica of the New York City landmark instead of the original. It wasn't intentional, U.S. Postal Service officials said, but there are no plans to correct the mistake. Though 2 billion of the stamps were issued Dec. 1 -- and 3 billion were printed -- the agency learned of the discrepancy only last month. "A stamp collector looked at the image and noticed that's not the original, that's the replica, the Las Vegas version," said Roy Betts, manager of community relations for the Postal Service in Washington.

Lamar Odom's second stint with the Clippers is getting off to a shaky start. The season is only four games old, but so far he has made just five of 17 shots for what would be a career-low shooting percentage of 29%. He has also committed eight fouls and six turnovers while averaging just 12.3 minutes per game. The Clippers' first-round draft pick from 1999 is trying to work his way back from a bone bruise in his left foot that caused him to miss the final five preseason games.