iPhoto on start-up plus menu-bar problem

Right click on the iphoto icon and the dock and you should see that 'Launch on Startup' has been checked. Click that option again and it should stop launching on startup. If its not checked, make sure you don't have a camera or card reader with a memory card plugged in when you turn the computer on, as iphoto will usually automatically start when it detects those things.

As for your issue with the flag in the menu bar, open up the system preferences panel and select international. Click on Input Menu, then clear the checkbox to 'show input menu in the menu bar' down at the bottom of the screen.