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Google Honors Veterans Day, Finally
theodp writes "It took nearly a decade, but Google has done a turnabout and is honoring Veterans Day with a special holiday design for its famous logo. Users who log onto Google's home page are greeted with three World War I-era helmets capping the letters 'o' and 'e' in Google's name. The decoration is a marked departure for the company, which has come under fire from veterans' groups for ignoring American holidays such as Veterans Day and Memorial Day since Google's inception in 1999."
There needs to be a moderation system for editors.
) Human Kind Vs Human Creation
) It'd be interesting to see how many humans would survive to serve us.
I thought that part of the point of Google's honorary logos was that the holidays had to be:
1. Completely obscure and unheard of
or
2. A MAJOR (American) holiday
I don't understand why anyone would actively attack them over not including this particular one..
p.s. first?
-- lol pwned
Uh, November the 11th sort of is an internationally observed day - in most parts of the world it's called Armistice day or Rememberance day, though. Much as I hate to break up the nationalism party, the end of World War I did sort of affect more than just Americans.
BREAKING NEWS! Google updates logo for public holiday. HOLY SHIT!
Cos I was just thinking, we didn't have enough google (non)-stories on Slashdot...
I write bullshit
Althougth I do feel it was definitely a long time coming for the Vet/Mem Day logos, I do realize why they hesitated for such a long time. With such a wide user base, and remember folks, Americans are not the only ones that 'google' things, even referencing to soldiers or an American holiday based on the respectable if not questionable work of our men/women in uniform could cause some flak to head their way by folks who aren't so happy with our soldiers, despite all the respect we do owe them as a nation, others might not feel that way.
Regardless, kudos to google for seeing the light.
'We are trying to prove ourselves wrong as quickly as possible, because only in that way can we find progress.' RPF
couldn't we have picked a better source for the info? Yes, Google acknowledges Remembrance Day in Canada (as pointed out in this blog/whatever), but that doesn't mean they have to acknowledge Veterans/Memorial Day. Am I glad they did it? Sure. Do I believe they have to? No. Does World Net Daily have to go off on how Google is supposedly left leaning? Umm...no. I got to this part, and threw up a little in my mouth and called it a day.
"In addition, the company came under fire for an editorial decision giving preferential placement to large, elite media outlets such as CNN and the BBC over independent news sources, such as WND, even if they are more recent, pertinent and exhaustive in their coverage."
Who bloody cares? And "elite" media outlets? WTF does that mean? Independent news sources? How is the BBC not an independent news source? And what does this have to do with acknowledging Veterans Day? I would have preferred they simply said "Those commie pinkos in Silicon Valley aren't red blooded Americans for supporting Veterans." What a bunch of crap.
Here's the text from a google search and finding another blog carrying the text:
By Joe Kovacs
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com
Google's commemoration of Veterans Day 2007, the first time it has honored the U.S. holiday
It took nearly a decade, but Internet giant Google is finally honoring Veterans Day with a special holiday design for its famous logo.
Users who log onto Google's home page today will see three World War I-era helmets capping the letters "o" and "e" in Google's name.
The decoration is a marked departure for the company, which has come under fire from veterans' groups for ignoring American holidays such as Veterans Day and Memorial Day since Google's inception in 1999.
The firm, known for its widely used search engine, regularly modifies its logo to commemorate holidays, historical events and figures.
"Maybe all the pressure is paying off," said WND reader Donna Hunter of Philadelphia. "God bless all our soldiers!"
When the Los Angeles Times asked the California-based firm about the issue earlier this year, spokeswoman Sunny Gettinger responded, "Google's special logos tend to be lighthearted and often scientific in nature. We do not believe we can convey the appropriate somber tone through this medium to mark holidays like Memorial Day."
The Ledger newspaper of Lakeland, Fla., called that excuse "laughable."
As WND reported last year, Google had no problem honoring the war dead of other countries, creating a special logo with poppies for Remembrance Day in Australia, Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom. http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=52914
And for the ninth year in a row this past spring, Google declined to mark Memorial Day - something the company has done for the Chinese New Year, Valentine's Day, Halloween and other observances. http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55900
Just last month Google acknowledged an accomplishment of the communist Soviet Union, which launched the Sputnik space satellite 50 years ago.
With the surprise launch of Sputnik 1 in 1957, the Soviet Union leaped ahead in the race for space between the U.S. and the communist empire. Sputnik's success followed the failure of the first two Project Vanguard launch attempts by the U.S. http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=57982
Google also has given special honors for astronomer Percival Lowell, artist Edvard Munch and Louis Braille, inventor of the writing system for the blind.
Other days commemorated included National Teachers Day, Women's Day, Ray Charles' birthday, World Water Day and St. George's Day.
Besides overlooking Memorial Day and Veterans Day until today, it also has ignored Christmas.
Google has been criticized for its one-sided political contributions and content policies:
Rejecting an ad for a book critical of Bill and Hillary Clinton while continuing to accept anti-Bush themes
Rejecting ads critical of Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., while continuing to run attack ads against former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas.
Allowing the communist Chinese government to have the search engine block "objectionable" search terms such as "democracy."
In addition, the company came under fire for an editorial decision giving preferential placement to large, elite media outlets such as CNN and the BBC over independent news sources, such as WND, even if they are more recent, pertinent and exhaustive in their coverage.
As WND reported, 98 percent of all political donations by Google employees went to support Democrats, and as a matter of fact, Al Gore is now a senior adviser to Google.
Google CEO Eric Schmidt gave the maximum legal limit of donations to Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry and to primary candidate Howard Dean.
Schmidt also contributed the maximum amount to Sen. Clinton.
) Human Kind Vs Human Creation
) It'd be interesting to see how many humans would survive to serve us.
While it's amazing that this story is newsworthy... it's worth taking a look at the bigger picture: people take notice at Google's logo changes because they've kept an uncluttered appearance. On most websites, you probably wouldn't even notice a small logo change!
In general, the so-called Web2.0 revolution has brought about much more single-purpose tools, compared to the multi-tools of the past. This leads to deeper functional design and performance, instead of deep integration (which is only slowly coming along thanks to mashup-enabling technologies).
The message is clear: web designers, get to the point! Don't distract your users. Make every word and every image count.
--
NerdKits: Educational microcontroller kits for the digital generation.
Do these same veterans groups attack Yahoo, MSN, and Altavista for not decorating their logos with militaria on Veteran's Day? This is a non-news post about a bunch of whiners if you ask me. Google's decoration can be purely voluntary and random for all I care. --As a USMC veteran to all the whiners, shut up.
Celebrating one specific country's past abilities of blowing up other countries may not be beneficial for a company that operates globally.
should read:
World Nut Daily are a bunch of kooks, with a knife to grind. Getting listed in google news was a wet dream for them. Getting delisted ('cause they aint a news site), really pissed them off. They've had an anti-google axe to grind ever since.
There are shills on slashdot. Apparently, I'm one of them.
- Fantastic! Google has had its head up its search engine for more than 7 years!
- I'm glad to see the change of heart, and I'll use Google more often
- I still have major gripes with Google, but at least this is a small step in the right direction
- Looks like someone reminded people at Google they live in the U.S. and enjoy freedoms soldiers have shed blood fighting for
- 1 lonely logo for veterans since 1999? Whoopidy-freakin-doo!
- Google's logos are irrelevant
- Google only did it to get WND off its back
- Must have been the new guy who did the design. He's not hip to the anti-American company rules yet
- Google is still evil, and must be shunned at all costs
- Other
And I RTFA'd too. No, these people don't have any sort of bias against the Googles. . . Put this WorldNetDaily.com on your list of propaganda websites that are too stupid to even try to appear objective.Yes, they did. Because that "accomplishment of the communist Soviet Union" was a first for all mankind. Geez guys.
Anyways,
Did they this year? I didn't notice either Nov11 special logo, logging in from CA to the
Can we stick to the correct subject matter please?
At any rate, I think it's safe to say that next year WND will be bitching about Memorial Day and Columbus Day. And if they got logos for those it would be Reagan's Birthday and the day they pardoned Oliver North. You can't win with these whiners. It's a freaking logo, this is the stupidest controversy in history.
I'm not going to defend Google from the position of a fan, but only to say how I would feel if I were in that same position.
If I had to design logos for my company based on holiday themes, what do you think I would do when I came across Veteran's Day? I can't think of any appropriate way to symbolize veterans without displaying something explicitly national or military. The holiday doesn't really have any symbols other than American flags and stuff, and that's not too great for public relations as I'm showcasing a particular country's role in a major war. War means killing people. Lots of people. Lots of people whose dead relatives and ancestors (on the other side of the conflict) are now customers of mine.
Personally, I'd want to sweep this one under the rug. Google couldn't do that because of all the bad press it was getting, so they finally drew some army helmets. Sure, it's military equipment, but at least helmets save lives and rarely (if ever) end them. Also, the green little helmet doesn't have to identify any single nation, even though it's an American holiday.
Why is it a holiday? Looking after the nation's pets and livestock is a necessary job, but hardly worth an anual holiday, let alone a Google logo.
And what have WWI helmets got to do with it anyway?
ccalam - acoustic versions of new songs.
I do remember the outcry from some us-senators when google has put the Sputnik on its logo.
Just as I thought, some US-Americans (unfortunately, many of them hold some power in the country) desperately want to forget and deny the simple fact, that it was the Soviet Union who made it first - Sputnik, first manned space journey, first space station - and not their precious US of A.
[offtopic]I bet, none of them even knows what communism means, they believe it's for "big bad evil with GULAG inside"[/offtopic]
Flame me all you want on this one, but I find the demands for acknowledging veterans day are both quite US centric and utterly unsensitive to the rest of the world.
What if I would DEMAND that Google also include the Dutch "Queen's day" for the rest of the world to see? That wouldn't make sense at all. But at least it's not as insensitive as rubbing salt into the wounds of Iraqi or Afghan or Vietnamese or Japanese people who visit Google (and the list will keep growing for a while). I'm sure those people will be thrilled to know that the killers of their lost family are being honored on this special day.
As for traffic from other countries being redirected to their respective national google site- that doesn't hold for those of us who go to http://google.com/ncr to have access to the latest goodies that Google has to offer.
Visit http://ringbreak.dnd.utwente.nl/~mrjb/growingbettersoftware to download your free copy of the book
Well, here I was thinking it was commemorating the release of Call of Duty 4. Well, either way, it works for me.
I am a recent United States Navy Disabled Veteran, I was very happy to see this little design.
Most people think veterans day is just "another day", but to the people serving in the military, and fighting for your rights, it means a lot. Each and every time I see anything that honors veterans, it really makes my day.
Shit, I cry during the National Anthem and the Pledge because, as a former military member, those words really do mean a lot more to me.
What if I would DEMAND that Google also include the Dutch "Queen's day" for the rest of the world to see? That wouldn't make sense at all. But at least it's not as insensitive as rubbing salt into the wounds of Iraqi or Afghan or Vietnamese or Japanese people who visit Google (and the list will keep growing for a while). I'm sure those people will be thrilled to know that the killers of their lost family are being honored on this special day. If you actually check, google is only putting this out on the US version of the site, ie www.google.com a quick look at www.google.co.uk will clearly show the helmets are not there.
Try doing some research before making stupid demands to the search engine gods.
I wonder how they would make a caricature of Freddie Mercury embedded in the Google logo?
The first thing I noticed on the WorldNetDaily site was a an ad for a cruise with G. Gordon Liddy and some hottie with a t-shirt saying, "I survived Roe V. Wade." Seems reasonable that they'd want Google to honor the blowing up of those other, freedom-hating peoples.
oO0Oo
Care to tell me why Google should feel "bad" about not celebrating (if you can call it celebrating) a holiday nobody outside the US cares about? Or rather, why should they be "forced" to consider some national holiday important?
Halloween, ok. It's more or less international by now. Christmas? Ok, as long as it's done in a way that isn't Christo-centric and includes other religions' celebrations (you know it's actually Midwinter, right? It's not like the Pope invented that one). I can see Chinese new year, as it's celebrated by Chinese people all over the world and not just by people in the PRC. Even the Sputnik launch makes sense, less in a commemoration of the achivements of the Soviet Union as rather a stunning achivement in technology (personally, I don't give a rat's behind who does something great as long as someone does it).
But memorial day (or whatever it is)? Hello? Ask anyone in Europe when that day is and you get a "What's Memorial day? Did they move our national holiday again?"
So what's next? Will we get pressure from other special interest groups to celebrate "their" holiday on Google? A special Ramadan frontpage? And one for Martin Luther King day? Hey, I'm quite pissed there was none for our great national holiday! Rant! Whine! Tantrum! I want one!
Could we concentrate on holidays that at least a sizable portion of the planet cares about?
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Really, not even religion makes people as dumb as patriotism. Those who have nothing to be proud of (neither brain, nor trouser contents) have to be proud of their country. Disgusting.
Most world war 1 vetrans would slap the crap out of these people for whining.. They died to defend our right to freedom.
And then they would slap the crap out of the rest of us for letting our country turn into the clusterfuck it is today.
Maybe you're the one that needs to do a little bit of research. A tiny bit, like noticing that ".com" is not ".us", and is in fact an international site rather than a "US version". This is clearly demonstrated by the fact that every other national Google home page (e.g google.co.uk) has a link "Go to google.com" on it, which they obviously wouldn't do if google.com was intended to be a "US version".
I am very offended in seeing the tag "whining" attached to this article. Soldiers of all nationalities give their lives, often dying gruesome deaths, so that war profiteers and other unscrupulous chickenhawk fatcats win big.
Pull the troops out IMMEDIATELY.
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
Google is an AMERICAN company, founded in America.
We celebrate American holidays.
If an EU company decides to built a massive search giant and put their nations holidays into cool little logo's, more power to them. Why bitch and moan about an American company not being respectful to the people we were at war with. Hell I'm surprised germany, vietnam, and japan aren't still pissed that we have based and make them take english as a manditory subject! That's more offensive than a fucking logo FFS.
but thats just IMO.
The article doesn't say which veterans' organizations have been putting pressure on Google, but I bet it was the American Legion, and if it was, and I were Google, I would refuse to put up a special logo for the sole purpose of spiting them. The American Legion is a nasty, greedy, warmongering organization. None of the vets in my family or circle of friends will have anything to do with them. Remembrance Day here in Canada (I'm a dual citizen and have lived in both countries) has a very different feeling from Veterans' Day in the US.
I am ashamed you are a countryman of mine. Iraq back then was part of the Ottoman empire, so didn't even exist back then. Japan was on the "allied" site. Vietnam was a french colony, so on the same side as the US (when the americans finally got involved).
The 11th of november is remembered in the western nations that took part in WW1, this includes the US, canada, great britian, france and belgium at least. It is NOT a US day. It is also not a celebrations, it is a remembrance of those who died. Not a glorification of killing but a rememberance of the loss.
It is similar to our 4th of may, we remember those who died, ALL who died, in conflict. This includes those on the other side. No we do not lay reefs at site of nazi war criminals, but the graves of german soldiers are tended too and they too are remembered.
Frankly most soldiers from these past wars have learned to forgive but never forget, they can talk with their former enemies, why can't you get over it.
As for google displaying a bit of pride in the US, it is a US site. Let the afghans and iraqies and anyone else with a beef against the US go on their own internet and use their own search engines.
As a dutch person surely you must have noticed how everything turns orange around queens day? How should people from Suriname feel about that? Enslaved by dutch forces, to pay for the dutch empire, about this day?
Start looking a little closer at home before you start blaming other countries.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
This holiday is actually the anniversary of the end of WWI. It is celebrated in several countries as armistice day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armistice_Day. The Google logo was quite appropriate for this. If the USA want to celebrate their veterans that day, fine, but that's no reason to forget the origin of the holiday. To us in Belgium it's a holiday about peace, not about war (or those who wage it).
Looks to me like people are remembering the wrong thing. On November 11, one should commemorate fallen soldiers. But one should also remember the political and social issues that caused millions to die in WWI and WWII in the first place, the international cooperation it took to win in those conflicts, and the dangers of right wing populism, nationalism, and militarism.
It seems to me those lessons are getting lost, in particular among the right wing nuts that complain about Google not having a special logo for Veterans Day.
Why do you want a logo for J Edgar Hoover and his ilk? For that matter why do they even get a holiday?
1) There's separate Google sites for non-American users, so recognizing Memorial Day doesn't have to offend anyone outside of the US.
2) 11/11 isn't just an American Holiday. There were several nations involved in WWI. Most (on the winning side) recognize Armistice Day (last I checked), in some form or another. Hence the WWI style flak helmets on the logo, which are rather appropriate. In the US and most Commonwealth countries they have since extended the Holiday to honoring all Veterans, though...
Maxim: People cannot follow directions.
Increases in truth directly with the length of time spent explaining them
Make no mistake: if we are talking about the "Veterans Day" what is usually meant is the day in which Americans honor their veterans. Most other nations don't honor their veterans on this day (none that I know of) and sure as hell not nations such as Vietnam, Guatemala, Laos, Cambodia, Nicaragua, Lebanon, El Salvador, Grenada, Bolivia, Iran, Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq or any other country where troops were/are deployed to the dismay of the local population.
I have no problem with people honoring their (violent) ancestors, because obviously without their tribute and sacrifice these certain people might not be here. Yet, not everybody wants to honor those ancestors as a collective on a specific day, some may choose to honor them in their own way, some may choose not to honor them at all and some, as mentioned, don't have any reason whatsoever to honor them to being with.
I guess one way to narrow down the number of pissed off people today would be to confine these 'Veterans Day reminders' to viewers with US IPs (well, and those for the US military abroad, obviously). As far as I can tell they are actually implementing this.
And when you gaze long enough into the code, the code will also gaze into you.
covered in AIDS.
LOL shows how much you know about history. This day is celebrated over whole of europe you ignorant american
I routinely stick it in the "whole of europe." She's starting to get really loose though, i think she's cheating on me with a black guy :
I'm beginning to suspect that there is some game to be the person that gets the stupidest story accepted by slashdot, and Google is the trump card. Yesterday we had a story saying that some IVR systems use a sound that indicates that they're still on the line and processing, and so does GOOG-411! And then a story that mentioned that sometimes people who announce that they're quitting sometimes get booted from the building and sometimes those people are quitting so they can go work for Google! And today a story about inoffensive changes one company made to the banner graphics on their web site, and that company is Google!
Well played, I guess.
Am I part of the core demographic for Swedish Fish?
Not quite prospecting for or exploiting underground resources quite yet, but many a career has started at the pump...
But seriously, for a company with a truly global customer base (not forgetting that infamous motto either) celebrating militaries must have been a difficult decision to make, although geotargetting obviously alleviates some of the obvious issues here. I mean, most of the world doesn't probably see the US military with admiring eyes at the moment, or even in recent decades. Despite being a pacifist a heart and considering war as the final, brutal alternative when a nation or people and their lives and freedoms are under the threat of extinction, I do have respect for the veterans and volunteers who've put their lives on the line to protect their people (or even other peoples!) or their rights and values against outside aggression.
Sometimes it is easy to know, given access to realistic historical and contemporary information, who were the aggressors (and invaders and colonizers) and who merely defended their rights, freedoms and lives. Unfortunately wars and their reasons are often obfuscated in political fog and extremely selective scripting of history. Even after the WWII most wars and invasions have been wars of choice and of political and/or territorial expansionism. The five UN veto-wielding former and current colonial powers have all used their position, power and military in the WWII-era to impose their will or rule upon other smaller nations. How many of those wars has been purely to help free a people from foreign (or even unpopular domestic) occupation or dictatorship?
I'm not keen on honouring veterans anywhere who've helped invade a foreign country for their own regime's political or material gain, without either absolute necessity or clearly altruistic and humanitarian reasons. Therefore it is all but impossible for a non-jingoistic person to celebrate a veterans' day in a large and powerful country with a "militarily active foreign policy". Meanwhile smaller countries tend have their own clearly defined independence or uprising remembrances (even if in places such remembrances are strictly and brutally suppressed, such as the March 10th (1959) in Chinese-occupied Tibet) which are based on defensive struggles.
Perhaps instead of celebrating the power of war and its tools, we should all start remembering that there are still too many unrepresented nations and peoples in our modern world. With some peoples under genuine genocidal occupation, who's going to support their rights and freedoms? While the West or the democratic world in general still has some financial and political edge over the rising authoritarianism we could even try using non-military means in support of freedom and liberty. Besides, I'd even feel some guilt celebrating my own people's day of freedom while my nation actively collaborates and trades with regimes engaged in violent expansionism and/or domestic dictatorship, thereby denying such freedoms from others suffering under ongoing oppression.
Should invading one's peaceful neighbours be opposed, or rewarded with trade deals?
Let's just make sure that everyone gets that before this goes too far. It's also the work of one man, so let's not go pretending that it's an authority on anything.
Who the hell cares?
The article reads like a republican rag. "OMG Google doesn't even recognize Christmas and honoured the commie satellite launch"
Bullshit, I remember seeing a christmas theme on Google and that's down here in India, it was nice and all. Also it's funny these people go into so much detail trying to portray Google as a traitor for recognizing the 50th year we (humans) launched a satellite into pace. They can't seem to let go and insist on trying to portray technological admiration as social sucking up which they are so good at.
They actually also carry on whining about how google ranks BBC and CNN over their shitty site for news that they claim they broke earlier and more thoroughly than them. Bitches.
ps: I like that the captcha for this post is opiate.
Nationalism is in many ways a religion, with the country playing the role of church. Sometimes the leader will be revered as a prophet, sometimes (as in the case of North Korea) something more akin to a god.
... but then, so are the desert cults infecting the planet with their memes generation after generation.
Almost every religion makes people stupid. Such stupidity can express itself in many forms (racism, sexism, ethnocentricity). Nationalism, as a particular class of cult doesn't seem to do this any more or less harm than the rest of the cults. Which is to say, it is toxic as hell, and profoundly destructive to a society and to humanity at large
The Future of Human Evolution: Autonomy
A day for warmongering pigs to stand upon the corpses of their victims and wave flags around.
Fuck all of you smash capitalism and imperialist war with international socialist revolution.
You're right, I don't know a lot about history. And I'm an ignorant Canadian. instead of talking to thousands of europeans to find out their opinion - I just read the article, and used wikipedia.
I feel so ignorant.
"As WND reported last year, Google had no problem honoring the war dead of other countries, creating a special logo with poppies for Remembrance Day in Australia, Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom." -- I guess this ISN'T the day celebrated all over europe. Sorry.
"Veterans Day is an American holiday honoring military veterans. Both a federal holiday and a state holiday in all states, it is celebrated on the same day as Armistice Day or Remembrance Day in other parts of the world, falling on November 11, the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I." - Wikipedia
I'm sorry I believed everybody but you and read the article.
I feel very ignorant.
Ace
Rather sad that this got modded 'funny'. Not sure whether I feel more sad or angry. Millions of people died in terrible conditions, millions of people suffered for years afterwards. I don't think that's "Funny". Shame on you folks. Take just ten minutes out of your lives to read up on the grim reality of Word War One.
Actually, I seem to recall a Google logo that was orange and had a crown on one the the 'o's. I can't finds it on Google's list of holiday logo's, however. I also remember a christmassy logo, and can't find that anywhere either, so maybe I'm just imagining things.
Google is an American company. All this nonsense about "which veterans should they honor" is just stupid.
How can this by any stretch of the imagination be "stuff that matters"? Google are under no obligation to observe all the bloody holidays in existence. They do it as a bit of fun, not out of any patriotic duty. Goddamn, theodp is as much of a fucking nut-job as the website where that "article" came from. Off with his head.
http://www.google.com/holidaylogos.html
Considering that Jewish and Islamic comunities are NOT the ones you would want to piss off - Google's got some balls. Like the ones for world cups 2004 and 2004.
And we all know how finicky those Muslims are about their cartoons. Google better shape up...
.
.
.
Wait... just a moment... I am just informed that this whole talk is about a doodle on a google logo.
Those little, one-day cartoons that most people don't even get to see since they are using their google-bars and whatnots...
.
.
OUUKAAY... moving on to something that might be a story... oh look... Up above... on the top of the slashdot page... a new story...
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
... US, UK and it former colonies, yes it is.
There are plenty of countries in which is a normal day like any other.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
Why does the author say "Users who log onto Google's home page", when users can just go to the Google home page (and need not "log onto" anything)? This "log onto this" and "log onto that" poor writing style must stop here and now.
Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
I kind of resent the implication that veterans day is a political holiday. I oppose
the war in iraq, I do not read WND but Veterans day is important.
The reason it was changed from armistice day to veterans day in the US was to honor the
veterans of world war II and Korea.
Maybe we could put aside the crass partisan catcalling for a day and remember that.
But Mexicans and Canadians are Americans.
Joe Llywelyn Griffith Blakesley
[This post is in the public domain (copyright-free) unless otherwise stated]
Stupid git.
I don't know what you guys are all talking about. I visit The google main page today and I see the same old logo. May be they see that I am using Firefox with NoScript and AdBlock and used that info to decide I am not likely to be some kind of liberal leftie whacko and decide not to offend me with all that soldier stuff on the logo?
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
All wars kill innocent people. As such, no war should be taken lightly, and the cost to innocent lives should always be on the forefront of our minds.
I would much rather see a holiday that honored the millions of innocents slain in all the wars the US has engaged in in the 20th century (as well as the recent Afghanistan and Iraq wars), rather than honor the instruments of the taking of those innocent lives.
Is it unpatriotic of me to want to honor the innocents rather than the soldiers? If "patriotism" means the slaughter of innocents, then I will be "unpatriotic" every damned time.
Unless they are landing on our shores, we shan't be fighting wars.
And now, let's see if humanity can aspire to being something better than the animals they currently show themselves to be.
Ruby Neural Evolution of Augmenting Topologies
And the rest of the world gives a fsck about the American veterans? I don't see any European or Asian remembrance days!
I could not care less about Vetereans day - and I'm an American USMC veteran (six years active duty, combat, got all the fruit salad to wear, thanks...). A Federal Day off (in the US) is worth nothing to me. I would be happy if the civilian leadership (that's you, voters) would bother to learn from history and maybe learn about the world outside the US borders, so there might be fewer Vets in need of remembrance or memorial and more walking around pulling air and enjoying the good life we seem to take for granted and by right.
/Rant
Why should Google placing a helmet or other cartoon on their home page mean anything, and why should I care?
Sorry, it is *that* day.
... because we lack a sense of humor?
The Mexican government declared war on Germany and the axis powers as a consequence of the attack on Mexican oil tankers.
The most important Mexican contribution was the "Escuadron 201" a group of Mexican pilots that combated under the command of the US forces in the Philippines, Taiwan and Japan towards the end of the war
During their short participation (a couple of months):
- They flew 50 missions.
- Dropped 181 tons of bombs.
- Shoot 104000 rounds of ammunition caliber 0.50
- 5 pilots died in combat and 2 in training.
Mexico antagonized fascism long before other countries, President Lazaro Cardenas helped Ethiopia by sending some money and ammunition when they suffered Italian aggression and annexation as well as helped the Spanish Republicans against Franco's fascists and welcomed numerous Spanish immigrants after the war.
Given the modest contribution of Mexico to WWII and also given the fact that Mexico engagement was in the Pacific, yesterday is not noted at all in the Mexican calendar 11-11 is a date significant in the Western European Front).
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
Whoever thinks Google "ignored" holidays is reading too far into this. There's lots of holidays Google doesn't make images for, but this doesn't mean the search engine giant is "ignoring" the holiday. Far be it from me to belittle Veteran's day or Memorial day, but I think getting offended by clever manipulation of an image is ridiculous.
I guess Google could be politically correct and post a "The views of the Google logo do not reflect the views of Google or its employees".
... and forgetting history.
So don't be so suprised when people get all hot under the collar when remembrance is the only thing exercising some nutters.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
Sorry, forgot that 11-11 is about WWI, not WWII.
:-)
That should give you an idea about how relevant 11-11 is for Mexicans
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom,
Boom, Boom, Boom,
Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom,
Boom, Boom, Boom
Private S. Baldrick
The GP is correct, though fascism is really somewhat of a subset of socialism. The full name of the Nazi party translated as the National Socialist German Workers Party. They were socialists, not communists, though. "Fascist" is just a convenient shorthand for their authoritarian, nationalist practices, and makes for better pro-democracy propaganda.
http://web.archive.org/web/20070820040423/http://www.e-sheep.com/Saturnalia/
Remember "News for Nerds, Stuff that Matters"? Help make it a reality again! http://soylentnews.org
Actually, in Germany it's the beginning of the carnival session, with people putting on costumes and getting drunk in the streets in the morning (at 11:11 am, November 11th = 11/11, something about the "craziness" of the numbers), cf. Wikipedia. This custom precedes the two world wars, and it's not celebrated by everyone, but if you ask someone about November 11th in Germany, this will most likely be what they think of.
Germany has a Volkstrauertag, which is also in November.
Why not, then, does Google not have some memorabilia for ANZACS Day, or The Queen's Birthday, or even Melbourne Cup Day?!
The fact that Google is a US company is no excuse to ignore the fact that they are a part of the global community, and to treat all users of the Internet with respect, not just whinging US war veterans (sorry, but I had to say it, with all due respect to them). This does not mean that Google has to cater for everyone's customs, events and political agendas, but they could be at least mindful that not just Americans use the Internet.
And this goes for other US companies too... I'm sure!
--tonza
You fight for your government.
Both things are not always on the same side, I am sorry to say.
WWII yeah, sure.
Bosnia, Yugoslavia, yeah, sure.
First Gulf War, yes.
Afghanistan: most likely yes.
WWI: mmmmhhh, maybe, not entirely sure.
Korea: no.
Vietnam: no.
Iraq: no.
Nevertheless I respect people that have the balls to become soldiers, at least in a democracy it is possible to somehow punish the asses that on occasions lead such lions like you buddy. You deserve better that the people leading you today, but don't be mistaken, in occasions these people ask you to make sacrifices that have nothing to do with anybody's rights.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
I think the real problem is Google bothers to celebrate anything. Where I work they were considering doing this but I advised against it since the entire calendar is filled with holidays for people from different countries and backgrounds. It's just too hard to make everyone happy. The only way to be fair about it is to not celebrate anything at all. I'm sure Google will have to fire their sole designer at their company and all their pages will look even worse than they do now (he'll get hired at yahoo! then)
"During My Service In The United States Congress, I Took The Initiative In Creating The Internet." -Al Gore
How do you defend freedom by forcing people to fight against their will?
Even you should see some contradiction there....
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
It would be just fine if it were armistice day, and it would encourage a few people to realize what veteran's day is about. The unfortunate part of the WND daily article is that they, somehow, actually got the facts right.
It is exactly this sort of tirade which causes us to lose respect for members of the military.
Or did they limit that to google.us? News flash: there's actually a world outside the country that you erroneously call "America".
I routinely stick it in the "whole of europe." She's starting to get really loose though, i think she's cheating on me with a black guy :
A post ago I commented how "patriotism" is often an excuse for what really is racism and xenophobia. Thank you for confirming that.
Visit http://ringbreak.dnd.utwente.nl/~mrjb/growingbettersoftware to download your free copy of the book
For all you haters out there they could make a "Sh*t on America" logo but then again you do it 365 days a year so what would be the point? It's easy to be a smug "know it all" when someone else's ass is being shot at to protect your liberty.
"God fights on the side with the best artillery." - Napoleon, Marshal of France - speaking truth to power
Since discovering the newer ask.com, I quit using google. I like it much more than google.
Absolutely not. There is not 'law' requiring them to recognize it.
;)
That said, if their users and constituents desire it and they want to continue pleasing said users. Than 'yes' they are required to do so. Not by any law, simply by economics.
I am in germany. My webpage is www.google.com (not www.google.de, not www.google.de/search?hl=en). It is the US site. And I don't see any thing. I have tried logging out and in again, deleting cache etc.) I guess they are filtering the requests on the basis of IPs.
Use of the work "fuck"?
Those people are fucking insane.
Check!
Abuse of the word "fascist"?
Idiotic, fascist keyboard warriors.
Check!
Expressions of violence and murder?
I hope they all die painfully.
Check!
Excessive guilt-by-association with a bonus condoning of rape?
And honestly... anybody who links them should get raped by a spool of razor wire.
Check!
This is what "progressives" have become. All of you. I cast you out. You are not me. You are not anti-racist. You are not humanist. You are evil.
It's fucking awful.
I agree with you. We merely disagree on the "it".
I don't make the rules. I just make fun of them.
-1: I want to punch you in the face. I fought for the rights of every man, woman, and child in my country and every man, woman, and child in the world.
I love my country and those who help lead it, despite the fact I don't agree with many of them. I know where I have been, and I know that I have helped those in need.
You are just a little weasel who doesn't appreciate the sacrifices those before you have made. Regardless, I still fought to give you a better life also.
Socialism and National Socialism are completely opposite ideologies.
... ahem ... acquired.
That is entirely black-and-white thinking to say that socialism and the Nazi idology are "completely opposite" ideologies. Only a Nazi or a Communist would say such a thing, since both of then were fighting each other for who would be the totalitarian slave-lord of Europe. Do you think "slavery" is too harsh a term to describe the Communists? Read the Gulag Archipeligo and get informed as to who performed the work in the GULAG (what was a "zek"?) and how they were
In truth, both the Nazi ideology and the Communist ideology are anti-individual and thus evil ideologies which deserve to be utterly destroyed. I demand nothing less than complete and unconditional surrender from both of them.
If you hate individualism, then you'll probably see my last comment as somewhat extreme. In that case, you would be a prime candidate for Nazi/Communist proselytizing.
I don't make the rules. I just make fun of them.
Given Google is very selective about picking the cream of the crop as their employees, you'd expect their employees to be disproportionately liberal.
So much for "progressives" being about the "common man"! Thanks for validating it.
"Progressives" represent the wealthy, the white, and the privileged.
I don't make the rules. I just make fun of them.
Man, can you imagine what would happen if they didn't have a Martin Luther King day logo? The libs would be out for blood... Now that the people who gave these fools the freedom to voice their ridiculous opinions have a Google holiday logo, the libs are going to be coming out of the woodwork to get Google to change its logo for an entire MONTH during Black History Month, as if there are no liberals to honor on Veteran's day as well. I hope Kerry dies in a fire, but I still appreciate what little he has done for our country as a veteran. Isn't it funny how people in this country are so opinionated and foolish that they are blind to the people and events that gave us what we have today? It's truly sad. -Phearox Sergeant, United States Marine Corps
condoms to children
A bit late, isn't it?
I have comes from personal struggle or through our combined efforts to exploit others.
Ask a "progressive" what "exploitation" is and you'll get a bunch of hot air. This is the best definition I can come up with:
exploit (vt): to act against the goals of global "progressivism".
There is nothing to be proud of of your country. Patriotism is a plague.
I am a gay American, and I am very proud of my country. There are many attitudes in my country that I am ashamed of, and many parts of my history that I am ashamed of (especially considering that I am a Southerner). Your attitude is one that many of my countrymen share, and it's one of those attitudes that I'm ashamed of. But individual freedom of conscience permits it. And I am glad I live in the USA and not in any other country in the world. No, not Canada, not the UK, ni la France. It is the individual rights to life, liberty, and property (slowly eroding, but it's still better here than anywhere else) which has enabled our culture of self-flourishing and rampant capitalism, and I love it and I'm proud of it. I mention that I'm gay because I, of all people, ought have something to bitch about. And yet I don't. So I think you're a pussy. And I'm allowed to think that about you, given individual freedom of conscience, and I'm proud of that right.
I don't make the rules. I just make fun of them.
A company with a long history of bad behavior finally gives one ounce of respect to the troops, and a left-wing nut who's got editor controls tags it "whining, whiners, insane".
Meanwhile, it celebrates the Religion of Hate's "eid" festival at the end of ramalamadingdong, but won't so much as put up a christmas tree.
Google has some SERIOUS issues. And that's not even counting the number of times they've flagged anti-terrorism videos and film expose's of terrorists as "hate speech" and other bullshit stuff on their google video and youtube sites, while allowing pro-jihadist propaganda to stay around.
Hell, they allowed an islamic death threat against a UK politician to stay up for a week.
That's the current image of the US in most of the world. Thank Bush for that.
Certain media outlets in wealthy, liberal countries also had a big hand in projecting that image. But no, "the fish rots from the head" and all that, so let's put blame where it is Truly(tm) due.
I don't make the rules. I just make fun of them.
Do you never think however that it would possibly be a much more effective service of said country by defending it from Bush?
Absolutely not.
I mean, I don't support anything Bush has done. Anything at all.
And yet, I'm not a Bush-derangement-syndrome-riddled psychopussy like you. Yes, Bush is a lousy politician (note that I didn't say what my politics are, so don't assume). That doesn't mean I share your paranoia and think that Bush is a "fascist" who is going to turn this country into a "totalitarian theocracy". And I think you're batshit crazy if you disagree with that.
Personally, I think Islam is a greater threat than George Bush, and that's one of the reasons why I think Bush sucks. That's also a reason why I think "progressives" suck, because they are falling over each other in a stupid "tolerance dick-sizing contest" in regards to Islam. Pure accommodation and appeasement. It's sickening.
I don't make the rules. I just make fun of them.
The fact that a company doesn't have a separate logo for one particular day is offensive? This is like some comic book world, what's going on?
So what you are saying is that merely by commemorating that particular day, they are being DISRESPECTFULL to you ?
I say go fuck yourself.
Sums this site up perfectly.
Ask any European or European colony... Then again, given the moral decay I doubt anyone in Europe gives two shits for the lost generation..
Thanks I was going to mention it was an International holiday. I am afraid that history education in most countries is pretty lacking. On the eleventh hour, eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918 WWI ended. It was a bloody war that took millions of lives. I think it is a day well worth remembering.
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
WND doesn't claim as it's mission to organization and "make accessible" the world's information. Google does. I think that most people here would agree that Google has some moral responsibility to be objective and fair as it controls the flow of ideas and information. If a news search includes ridiculously biased left-wing blogs with much less credibility than even WND, most rational people would expect it to include WND as well.
Waaaaa, Global Community, waaaaaaaaa. How come when it's the US celebrating something inherently US, we get slap for being insensitive to the Global Community. But when another country does it, it's OK because they are celebrating their heritage?
Care to tell me why Google should feel "bad" about not celebrating (if you can call it celebrating) a holiday nobody outside the US cares about? Or rather, why should they be "forced" to consider some national holiday important?
Given that it has already been solidly established that the 11th of November is very much an international day of remembrance, seeing as it's the date of the end of World War I which happened to involve a few countries other than the U.S., whoever modded this idiot up needs to have their mod points revoked.
The "Ugly American" phenomenon is real, but it's weird to see it directed *against* Americans in quite this way.
Well, I and others, consider Veteran's Day AND Memorial day MAJOR American holidays because the United States Federal government and the majority of banks are closed on those days. Just because dot coms may be open those days, doesn't lessen the value of the holiday.
Just because you get modded "insightful" on Slashdot doesn't mean you actually are in real life.
Precisely. That's why we should learn to notice peace, and not war. Peace is our default state, and it's the good one. THAT's what's worth remembering, not the few bad times when we screwed up and forgot that.
If you ask me, google had it right the first time.
rj
In American English, "holiday" doesn't always mean a happy, festive day. Well, checking my Mac OS X dictionary it means "a day of festivity or recreation when no work is done" but I don't think that quite matches modern usage. Columbus Day is a holiday, but most workplaces remain open and I've never heard of a Columbus Day party.
It is a somber day, primarily. Here in Washington, DC there have been people reading the names from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial aloud all weekend. It's a time for reflection on war and the sacrifices made by our veterans.
Here's an archive of the Google holiday logos: http://www.google.com/holidaylogos.html
Notice that Independence Day is in there. You realize that's an American holiday, right? Right? Sheesh.
"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." - Mark Twain
With all their national socialism and communism that have fueled dictators' reign throughout the 20th century... oh wait...
Check this out. It sounds as though there was nearly another participant in WWI. Thank goodness it couldn't have worked.
I cried real tears when Li Mu Bai died.
Not only that, but it is more of a day of mourning than anything else. Maybe mourning is the wrong word, but it certainly is a somber occasion.
In the small town of France where I grew up, the local war memorial (which, for some odd reason, always reminded me of a toilet with a light bulb on top) had more entries for WW 1 than for WW 2. Nov 11th is a day to remember that WW1 was the ugliest and most pointless war that the continent had ever seen. People still shudder at the memory of news articles spinning the gain of a hundred yards as a major victory.
To get a sense of how messed up the war was, watch Noel (Christmas Day). It's the story of a spontaneous frontline truce on Christmas Eve. Yet, the next day, everyone went back to killing each other.
Those who can, do. Those who can't, sue.
Excessive guilt-by-association with a bonus condoning of "evil"?
First, I'm not slamming him for being associated with "progressives". I'm saying that "progressivism" itself is evil.
Second, you mis-used the world "condone". It means "to overlook". And I am certainly NOT doing that.
honestly, you're just as bad as that which you purport to 'cast out'.
First, I notice that you are castigating me for criticizing the "progressive" instead of objecting to what the parent wrote. Shall I assume that you approve of all of the "progressive" things which were written?
Second, how do you judge me "just as bad" as that which I cast out? Namely, where did I espouse the things for which I judged him evil?
if lumping everyone you disagree with under some stupid insulting banner is bad in the parent post, it's just as bad when you do it too.
I am not "lumping everyone I disagree with" under a stupid insulting banner. I am objecting to:
1. The overuse of profanity
2. The abuse of the word "fascist"
3. Expressing violence and wishing for murder
4. Excessive guilt-by-associating
5. Condoning of rape -- I take it back. He wasn't merely "condoning". He was actively wishing that someone be violently raped.
All of those were expressed in the parent post, and I see all of those and much more in most "progressive" writing today. I think that "progressivism" stands for all five of those things, and thus "progressivism" is evil. If you disagree, then please explain where I've gone wrong, you who saw no reason to object to what the parent poster wrote.
I don't make the rules. I just make fun of them.
I think you misspelled "republicanism".
A "progressive" wishes violent, painful death on his hated enemies and violent rape on those associated with his enemies.
I point this out and say that it's evil.
Your crazy response is to claim that I was actually talking about Republicans.
There is something seriously wrong with you. Can you not see that your "progressive" brother wished violent death and rape on huge swaths of people? Do you militantly refuse to see it? Do you even give a shit?
I don't make the rules. I just make fun of them.
Must... resist... goatse.. joke....
Endless arguments over trivial contradictions in books written by ignorant savages to explain thunder in the dark.
Not necessarily. Perhaps the Google hire-ers are disproportionately liberal, so they hire people that disproportionately think the way they do. Also, intellect has little to do with political alignment, even less to do with wisdom. I'm surprised you didn't think of this yourself.
I cried real tears when Li Mu Bai died.
Yes, I am a vet! Yes, I could give a ratsass whether or not Google created some logo for Veteran's Day. The Average American could care less about Veteran's or Veteran's Day, so Google is just representative of the average american mindset. Why flame them for it?
Awesome!
so... was the change yesterday? the googlogo is normal today. Who schedules a national holiday on a Sunday?
Humpty Dumpty was pushed.
The article is, sadly, wrong - and most of the posters are too.
The logo is celebrating Armstice Day - which originally celebrated the end of WWI and now celebrated all fallen soldiers. In the US, we commemorate the fallen on Memorial Day. Veterans Day is for the veteran, living or dead.
It amazes me you're not getting the same mod-bombing the grand-parent is getting, given your comment essentially turned an observation into a flame-war by essentially lying about what the GP was saying.
GP: "Google people are smarter"
You: "Liberals are white, wealthy, and privileged."
Huh?
Mod Parent Up!
...if our schools taught people that involuntary servitude, either military or not, is slavery and slavery is wrong.
Also, people should be forbidden to use the Internet if their spelling is as bad as yours.
Through changing your preferences here.
Although Mexico was technically neutral and recovering from years of bloody civil war and skirmishes with the US, they certainly were up to some skullduggery in the years leading up to WWI; google for "Zimmermann Telegram". It would have been an interesting time to be a spy in Mexico.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zimmermann_Telegram
And Mexico thought about siding with the Axis in WWII, but dropped their support after Hitler broke his nonaggression pact with Russia. Mexico finally switched sides in 1942 when Germany began sinking Mexican shipping, and by the end of the war a few Mexican citizens had served their country in the Pacific theater:
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/exhibits/ww2latinos/narratives/02PEREZ_GALLARDO.HTML
http://www.laprensa-sandiego.org/archieve/may09-03/pilot.htm
Give a man a fish and you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish, and he'll say "WHERE'S MY FISH, YOU IDIOT?"
When are they going to acknowledge Sept. 19th, Talk Like a Pirate day.
Now I've got stupid ALL OVER ME!
Thanks a lot, Slashdot!
Guaranteed! This comment 100% Anthrax free!
then I'm Mary, Queen of Scots.
I stand up to our "elected" politicians every day on behalf of FRIENDS AND FAMILY CURRENTLY SERVING, because they have to deal with the fucked-up bullshit of our "rules of engagement" that get more American military killed than anything else.
I gather care packages for the troops, whatever they ask for that they need, to make things more bearable for them. I'm there to welcome them home, and make sure they hear back frequently how they ARE APPRECIATED - maybe not by cunts like GW Shrub, maybe not by bitches like Sheila Jerkson Lee and John LIAR Kerry, but by the AMERICAN PEOPLE.
Now crawl back into the hole you came from, you commie terrorist-loving faggot.
Wow... you didn't even stop to breath before you fucked that one up, did you?
we're not commanded to "strike the necks" of unbelievers.
we're not given 72 virgins for ensuring that the infidels die.
we see the destruction of world historical artifacts, no matter what religion they are related to, as a TRAVESTY rather than a religious duty.
we don't insist that women be covered, and beheaded if they happen to show a few strands of hair from beneath the veil.
we don't believe that women are property to be collected like pokemon; we certainly don't go with the 'four wives and as many female slaves as you want' approach.
But you tell me - what would you call a religion in which the principle command is to "hate what allah hates"??? Here's a hint: it begins with I and ends with slam.
if slashdot's going to start linking to worldnetdaily, I'm outta here.
And while they're at it, let me remove Roland Articles too.
(I have the no-roland script, but it seems to have stopped working.)
Usually, people whine incessantly about KDawson posting anti-conservative articles (things like the articles related to Scooter Libby). Now, he posts about Google doing a special logo for Veteran's day (and posting about it through a conservative news site), and people are angry again?
Really, is it possible for him to ever please people here? I'm expecting that if he were to post an article about New Years Day falling on January 1st, people would still complain about him being a partisan hack.
Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
Let's face it, most other countries of the world would probably not have produced a Google. I think it's appropriate for the company to honor the political and social conditions that allowed it to thrive, and I think it's possible to do so in a way that does not offend other nations.
Strange I thought it was a volunteer army, when did they draft you?
I was watching the Conservative T-Shirt add with the "Re-defeat communism"...
Do they really know what is communism? Have they studied history?
Do they belive their own distorted reality?
"Because reality has a well-known liberal bias [dailykos.com], educated and informed people tend to be more liberal"
Why on earth do you think that what you posted proves anything other than what GP said?
You linked to a dailykos article, about a comedy show, as though it demonstrates something. I'm going to let you in on a secret, you just made GP's point better than he could.
So when someone posts an article about "Parents of troop protest Bush." and someone files it under "Whiners, whining, etc..." you think no one here would get mad? "Support the Troops, end the war!" "Support the Protesters, End the PROTEST!" I think Heinlein once wrote that the best way to tell if a deal was honest was to turn it around and see how you still felt about it. That's the problem with these types of issues. People don't turn it around.
One congressman flirts with a page, but doesn't do anything illegal. He resigns because his own party refuses to support him due to his actions. Technically nothing wrong done, morally a really questionable act. A sitting president does an intern in the oval office, his party (including his wife, who should have had the backbone to file for divorce that day!) stands up for him and refuses to punish him for his actions. If the president of my company got caught dipping his pen in the company ink, you can guarantee he'd be crucified by the women's movement the same day. And probably fired the next. But it's a different rule if you're a Democratic "leader."
I'll be honest here. I would be about 100% more likely to vote for Hillary in 2008 if she would have had the backbone to divorce that jerk years ago. If she's that much of a battered woman complex, do I REALLY want her to control the nukes in this country? After all, they tend to go back into abusive relationships, so we can start to understand why she wants to felate the the terrorists for her party.
We went into Kosovo, no one complained. We bombed aspirin factories and not a single word was said. We watched helicopter pilots dragged through streets and it was barely a blip on the radar. Yet we take down the Taliban and Saddam Hussein and give millions of people a chance to live free, and it's nothing but a screamfest of "WE SHOULDN'T BE THERE!" How come taking down Kosovo was a necessity, but taking down Saddam wasn't? Both held mass murders. Both tried ethnic cleansing. Did you really just object to what color the cleansing was in Kosovo? Did it maybe not bother you nearly as much when Saddam did it because it was "little brown people killing little brown people?" Is that why the Libs seem to LOVE Castro and Chavez, Saddam and Mao, and yet hate Christopher Columbus, George Washington, and other white heroes? Is it only a problem when a Caucasian kills a dark person?
If you all are REALLY the moderates you say you are, turn it around before you post it and ask yourself what you would think if the words were the other way around. If it was a post about YOUR group instead of the dreaded OTHER. That's one reason why I'm still a Republican (couldn't you tell?). At least they TRY to censure their own people. David Duke was repudiated by the Republicans for being in the KKK. Robert Byrd is celebrated by the Democrats. That right there tells me a lot about how the PARTY works. Not the individuals, but the party.
- No matter how subtle the wizard, a knife between the shoulder blades really cramps his style.
After posting, I realized that some people may feel I'm directing these rants at the parent poster. I'm not. His question was answered in the first paragraph. The rest was just venting my spleen on people that like to call themselves moderates, yet prove on a regular basis that they are not. Or on people that can't step aside from their personal feelings when placing articles or comments into categories. I don't mod down a post talking about Al Gore just because I believe that Global Warming is junk science. Nor if I were the editor would I place it under the tag of "Science Fiction" even if I believe it belongs there. Editors are supposed to leave their personal feelings at the door. If they can't be impartial they should leave the job and look for something else. Maybe be a paid mouthpiece for someones campaign.
- No matter how subtle the wizard, a knife between the shoulder blades really cramps his style.
It's very "progressive" to suggest that we all convert to a fundamentalist religion in order to avoid the fundamentalists killing us all. It's also "progressive" to tolerate such a suggestion. That's why you'll see that post at the Daily Kos, which is a very "progressive" site.
I don't make the rules. I just make fun of them.
I ignore assholes on the Internet. Someone goes off about rape and razor wire and such? They go onto my mental blacklist. To condemn them would be to acknowledge them -- and that's more than they're worth.
That's admirable of you. In short, you're reserving your attention for things that you believe are more important and worthy of your time. I understand that view, and it has its place.
The reason that I do what I do is because some people ("progresssives", namely) have become so bitter and so angry that exhortations of violence and outright hatred have become literally commonplace. If no one calls them on it, then who will? There needs to be a "progressive" reformation, a re-imagining from within, so that they can heal and become forces for good in our society instead of forces of evil (which is what they are, presently).
If I choose to ignore them, then they don't see that as the punishment that you wish it to be. Instead, they see nothing from me. They don't feel snubbed at all. They feel empowered because they were able to say something evil and they got away with it. They deserve social opprobrium for their evil wishes and I'm going to one who gives it to them. I will never stand by and watch someone glibly wish for painful death and violent rape on someone else. I am condoning evil if I say nothing in protest.
If you disapprove of my actions, then I suggest you take your own advice and snub me. Believe me, I won't mind.
I don't make the rules. I just make fun of them.
The US military is a VOLUNTEER army.
In case you're still too stupid to get it, they CHOOSE TO JOIN, OF THEIR OWN VOLITION, IN NO WAY FORCED BY ANYONE.
Kill yourself before you spread your genes.
But we don't care. You can thank being well adjusted for that.
And honestly, neither you nor "the rest of the world" has the slightest inkling what a redneck really is, which serves to emphasize why we don't care about your opinion.
The post makes a point many of you need to hear.
Not nearly as much as was halted.
Which speaks to your real problem quite clearly.
Because others used them in your place. Which you'll never admit, but is completely true. At some point someone used force to secure your ability to choose not to use force.
And that, in a nutshell, is MY problem with people like you. You think the ridiculous, petty objections you've rationalized into being actually matter, while simultaneously refusing to honor those people who WERE willing to fight to secure your right to object at all.
It's takes a particularly callous individual to take advantage of freedoms won with life and blood while backhandedly denouncing the very same souls who secured your right to denounce them.
It's your right to do it, but it makes you seem very small and out of touch with reality.
Presumably you're from the USA so you haven't experienced a modern war on your soil. Wake up, this isn't the nineteenth century any more.
> ... not just whinging US war veterans ...
We don't "whinge" here in the USA. We whine.
If you disagree with me on social issues, then it's pretty clear that you are a narrow-minded bigot.
Err? I'm not sure how either of those really answer the question. What I was really trying to get to is this large amount of anger that people direct at KDawson. I think its interesting that this time, when he posted an article that basically went the opposite direction of most of the ones he's posted, people still want his head served on a platter for being a partisan hack.
Similarly, I recall when the questions were posted for "Ask Rob Malda anything" for the slashdot 10th anniversary, one question that was very quickly modded up was "why haven't you fired KDawson?". I just think its interesting how much anger is directed at this one editor, even when really only a fraction of the articles that he posts are at all connected to politics.
Similar to what I said before, I think if he posted an article that demonstrated the existence of gravity, someone would jump up and down attacking him as a hack and complaining endlessly that he posts articles here. Though of course, as someone else pointed out, members do have the ability to view only slashdot articles from the editors that they like.
Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
I am rather disappointed that my money was used in this way. The United States did not fight any single war recently that in any form or shape protected or extended our rights. Actually, they were used as an excuse to restrict them. Sorry to say this, but I certainly didn't send you into those wars.
And since you joined up voluntarily, shame on you! You took active part in armed robbery, further undermining the reputation of this nation. When you see anti-American sentiment around the world, you should remember that the reason they hate us is you.
FUCK THE VETERANS
As a result of Google's action, Microsoft and Yahoo were forced to put up their own images for Veteran's Day, due to a preexisting agreement to battle Google. On the other side of the spectrum, Altavista and Lycos put up *two* images each, in a sign of solidarity against the Big Three. It is rumored that Ask.com has already surrendered to Myspace.
How did you end in here, then?
Goatse.
Uh, do you have to ask?
Yes, and I'm glad I did because your answer was very interesting.
People who believe they have their own value outside of a breeding couple (just joshin' ya, married friends)
No, you're not "just joshing" with that comment. You're a "progressive" person and thus you don't value the notion of "kept women" in marriage. Hence, you choose to denigrate marriage with the "breeding couple" comment. Should women be free to pursue whatever they want, or should they be forced into traditional gender roles which stipulates that a woman's job is merely to bear children for her husband?
And again, education comes into it: women with higher education - which correlates well with more liberal views - are more likely to delay marriage, staying longer in the "single" column.
While that is true, it doesn't speak to the fact that most women tend to get married, even those who choose to delay it. And, when they do, they tend to vote Republican after they get married. Why is that? There's no need to ask you because you answer it with your very next comment:
An additional factor is that single mothers also tend to rely more on the "social safety net", an issue that gives an advantage to Democrats.
And that's the sound of the hammer hitting the nail *SMACK* right on the head. Single mothers need more welfare. Hence, it's in a "progressive" interest to have more women giving birth and NOT getting married since, as you admit, it gives an advantage to Democrats.
So it's no small wonder you denigrate marriage: it makes women reliant upon their family, in particular, reliant upon their husband (if they choose to be a stay-at-home parent) instead of reliant upon government welfare and thus inclined to vote for Democrats. Is that untrue? If so, then why did you write the following:
I'd guess that most of the difference comes from conservatives putting more importance on mating
Here's your argument: "Evil conservatives merely want women to breed much like heifers than be fulfilled and educated women! Marriage sucks because it's only about mating!" It kind of rings hollow after you made the mistake of mentioning "single mothers" instead of "single women", because even liberals admit that a woman who has a child as a teenager has a much less chance of becoming successful than one who chooses to have an abortion.
I know you're going to want to pigeonhole me into a particular political belief, so here's an attempt to head you off at the pass.
1. I'm a gay man and a gay adoptive parent.
2. I've been a stay-at-home parent before.
3. I regard marriage rights as special rights for straights, and I don't support special rights for anyone.
I don't make the rules. I just make fun of them.
I mis-wrote in my last post, and I can't believe you were so gracious in your reply. It speaks volumes of your character.
What I had intended to write was this:
"I have no doubt that you know thousands of people who would have no moral issue with personally waterboarding Dick Cheney."
The way that I had written it made it sound like you were one of them and shared that particular belief. I didn't think that of you, and I didn't mean to imply that you were quite that vicious a person. I beg your forgiveness and thank you for responding so kindly to that unfortunate and accidental insult.
When you argue (what can be loosely interpreted as) "you progressives have turned into an evil bunch"
You pegged me correctly.
it groups the "evil bunch" in with the "progressives", increasing the cross-identification of the two groups, and leading all who consider themselves "progressives" to reflexively defend the group as a whole.
Are you sure you're not my long-lost twin? You're entirely correct, of course. People naturally respond to criticism by becoming defensive and resistant. My goal is not to convince people. My goal is to create what I would call "negative feedback" and thus inspire others to feel that it's acceptable to join me in rejecting what is outright evil (rape, murder, torture). No one's mind will be changed the first time around. In the long term, if more and more people start speaking against it, then, over time, social proof will work in my favor and minds will be changed. That's my hope. I don't know if it will work or not.
Would it not be better to take an approach which encourages progressives' fellows to excise those who are mistaken? "You have no right to call yourself a progressive" has the effect not only of providing a public reprimand, additionally as emphasizing to other people who consider themselves progressives that they can maintain that self-identification while ostracizing those who spread hate.
I can't rightly do that because I am not a "progressive". If people want to have different political beliefs, even ones that really offend me (such as general abrogation of individual property rights), then that's fine. It's the hate speech, the evil speech (rape, murder, torture) that I must strenuously object to and fight whenever I see it. That's the kind of speech that will have truly awful effects in people. The last thing I want to see is the "Left v. Right" in America become more like the "Left v. Right" in Europe. Their "Left" are Communist and their "Right" are Nazis. That's what's coming here if more and more people don't start standing up and demanding that the hate and demonization stop.
I hope that's not too grave for you. I do take this seriously, and I share it with you because I think you're a serious and introspective individual.
I don't make the rules. I just make fun of them.
http://www.google.com/intl/en/corporate/address.html
And as such I do not aggee with fancies for some national holiday of importance to only 5% world population. Unless it would show only on www.google.us [1] - that would be ok.
Martin
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.us
Because I am not a citicen of the US. Of course I don't case what google shows on http://www.google.us/ [1] but if the logo appears on http://www.google.de/ or http://www.google.ch/ I am pretty pissed (which day is it actually? - so I can check). I predict they get flamed big time if the logo shows on http://www.google.ru/ - the russians won't like it at all.
And then - last not least is http://www.google.com/ - which is [2] "Commercial entities (worldwide)" - notice the worldwide here?
Martin
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.us
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.com
1) When have you last used http://www.google.us? I ask because .com is dedicated "Commercial entities (worldwide)".
2) True, but I read "U.S. holiday" all over the place and this does produce some anger. And on the winning side as well - Nothing pisses the brits or rushians more off as when US tells the world they saved the day.
Martin
Suggested reading: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samhain. It's just sad what the US made out of it.
Martin
Only .com is dedicated "Commercial entities (worldwide)". See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.com. But still good to know it did not show up on national google sites.
Martin
I never realised people took things like that so seriously.
Good on Google for finally doing it though.
So what you are saying is that merely by commemorating that particular day, they are being DISRESPECTFULL to you ? Not disrespectful, just inconsiderate. I say go fuck yourself. After you.
Oh, and BTW, thanks for proving the point.
Your post is a tacit admission that you can't.
Please source your definition like I asked you to do already, it shouldn't be hard if it is in fact the true definition.
I asked for sources, not more of your ignorance and bigotry.
SOURCES
Got it?
Reminds me of an episode of the cartoon, er "Manga", "Bleach" series ("Adult Swim" on "Cartoon Network") where the principle and a secondary were both getting into one of those "I'm a 5 times stronger than I was before" "Well I'm 10 times stronger" "Well I'm 20", "I'm 100" ..1000, million, infinity "are not, "are too"....etc. I think the target audience for that particular show is aimed at teens (Which may not be far off the age of some of the posters -- especially if you are referring to mental age)...:-)
No genius, I didn't. That was someone ELSE, I took issue with your characterization, but NEVER made claims about what a "redneck" is.
If you plan to be an asshole, at least TRY to pay attention to who you're talking to.
You claimed I said this
"the GP's assertion that redneck means white, poor, and working class"
I never did.
But that "bigot" thing was a good attempt to save face, it's too bad your post was around for me to quote and prove you were full of shit.