Google Honors Veterans Day, Finally 693
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."
Rememberance Day? (Score:5, Informative)
And since it's been slashdotted... (Score:5, Informative)
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 [worldnetdaily.com]
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 [worldnetdaily.com]
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 [worldnetdaily.com]
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.
Re:KDawson (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Why is it a holiday? (Score:1, Informative)
In Flanders Fields (Score:5, Informative)
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.
Re:Rememberance Day? (Score:5, Informative)
Actually Armistice Day is the glorification of an end to a bit of needless destructive force being applied across most of Europe. Thanks for playing, though.
Two problems (Score:5, Informative)
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...
Re:Rememberance Day? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Rememberance Day? (Score:5, Informative)
Sure, that's the way it's supposed to be. But look at today's politicians marking the occasion with somber speeches and how important it is to never forget those who have fallen and we must have peace amongst nations and blah, blah, blah. Then the very next day they're back to beating their war drums and sending more people off to die. It's bullshit hypocrisy.
And it has turned into a glorification of war. It's stopped being a day of mourning and warning and is now just a day of honoring the soldiers. "Look how brave they were, just like today's soldiers who are even now going off to become men and saving us from the evil forces across the sea."
Re:Rememberance Day? (Score:2, Informative)
anyway, I imagine that when they were one google for the world it didn't make sense to highlight a relatively unimportant holiday. Now that there is one google per country it makes more sense. though Google in english is still the default site for most IT people I know.
wikipedia:
* Armistice Day in France and Belgium
* St. Martin's Day in the Netherlands, Germany, Flanders and Austria
* Veterans Day in the United States (called Armistice Day until 1952, when the name was changed, and the holiday was re-geared toward all military veterans)
* Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth of Nations, including United Kingdom, Australia and Canada.
* Twins Day (1987) in Taiwan: a festival for biological twins and other multiples. The eleventh day of the eleventh month (11-11) consists of the same numeral in pairs and symbolizes their characteristics.
* Poland - Independence Day (1918)
* Colombia - Independence of Cartagena, Colombia, from Spain (1811)
* Lplsis Day (1919) in Latvia: the official date for commemoration of Latvian soldiers, who had died for the country's freedom.
* Angola - Independence Day (1975)
* Opening of carnival season in Germany ("Karneval"/"Fasching" on 11-11, at 11:11), the Netherlands, and other countries
* South Korea - Pepero Day
Feast day of:
* Bartholomew of Grottaferrata in the Roman Catholic Church
* Martin of Tours in the Roman Catholic Church
* Saint Mina in the Roman Catholic Church
Re:Who cares... (Score:1, Informative)
Re:KDawson (Score:4, Informative)
Of course, it would be simpler if I could filter articles in akregator the same way I do with kmail.
Re:In Flanders Fields (Score:2, Informative)
What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?
Only the monstrous anger of the guns.
Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle
Can patter out their hasty orisons.
No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells,
Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,--
The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;
And bugles calling for them from sad shires.
What candles may be held to speed them all?
Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes
Shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes.
The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall;
Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,
And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.
Re:Rememberance Day? (Score:3, Informative)
BTW, http://google.com/ [google.com] doesn't have a special logo on it for me (in the UK) and I did override the automatic redirect to the UK page.
Re:In Defense of Google (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Nazi == National Socialist German Workers Party (Score:5, Informative)
How does this differ from Liberalism/Socialism? Or Hillary Clinton's famous "We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good." [signonsandiego.com]
As far as I can tell, the one difference between Nazi's and Communists were their stances on private property - Nazi's believed in Private Property insofar as it did what the state directed it to do. VW didn't come up with the Volkswagon themselves.
'Racial Superiority' was part of the Nazi's idealogical arsenal, however it was not and is not the chief defining characteristic any more than anti-Zionism is Communism's.
And Socialism has precious little to do with 'working cooperatively' and everything to do with wealth redistribution. I guess it depends on which side of the equation you're on, eh?
The face of "progressivism" (Score:2, Informative)
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".
Re:World Nut Daily (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Nazi == National Socialist German Workers Party (Score:2, Informative)
Hitler had always been hostile to socialist ideas, especially those that involved racial or sexual equality. However, socialism was a popular political philosophy in Germany after the First World War. This was reflected in the growth in the German Social Democrat Party (SDP), the largest political party in Germany.
Hitler, therefore redefined socialism by placing the word 'National' before it. He claimed he was only in favour of equality for those who had "German blood". Jews and other "aliens" would lose their rights of citizenship, and immigration of non-Germans should be brought to an end.
In February 1920, the NSDAP published its first programme which became known as the "Twenty-Five Points". [..] To appeal to the working class and socialists, the programme included several measures that would redistribute income and war profits, profit-sharing in large industries, nationalization of trusts, increases in old-age pensions and free education.
[..]
In an attempt to obtain financial contributions from industrialists, Hitler wrote a pamphlet in 1927 entitled The Road to Resurgence. Only a small number of these pamphlets were printed and they were only meant for the eyes of the top industrialists in Germany. The reason that the pamphlet was kept secret was that it contained information that would have upset Hitler's working-class supporters. In the pamphlet Hitler implied that the anti-capitalist measures included in the original twenty-five points of the NSDAP programme would not be implemented if he gained power.
Hitler began to argue that "capitalists had worked their way to the top through their capacity, and on the basis of this selection they have the right to lead." Hitler claimed that national socialism meant all people doing their best for society and posed no threat to the wealth of the rich.
Also please read
http://atheism.about.com/b/2005/10/31/hitler-socialism.htm [about.com]
http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/L-hitler.htm [huppi.com]
Re:And since it's been slashdotted... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Severe lack of nuance (Score:1, Informative)
Re:Rememberance Day? (Score:2, Informative)
Ahem. World War I led to the end of the Ottoman Empire and the creation of the British Mandates of Mesopotamia and Palestine,. The former became Iraq. With the later, the British cut backroom deals where they double-crossed the Arabs living in Palestine and promised the land to the Zionist movement [wikipedia.org]. A bit relevant today, no?
WWI created the conditions for the Russian Revolution and formation of the Soviet Union. The treatment of Germany at its end set the stage for WWII; the aftermath of WWII lead to the Cold War between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R., which led to U.S. support for Iraq and the Taliban...
We are still in the aftershocks of World War One. Indeed, I would not be surprised if future historians just call the period from 1914 to, maybe, 2064 as "the World War Age" or something. (Assuming, and hoping, that there will be human historians far enough into the future to get perspective on it all.)
Re:And since it's been slashdotted... (Score:3, Informative)
And a hell of a lot more people are NOT suffering because of the consequence."
I was alluding more to the loss of states rights to the greater Federal govt. powers....
I'm guessing you're alluding to slavery, which while I'm grateful is overwith....that is not what Lincoln was out to reverse. If he could have kept the Union with slavery, he'd likely have done that. Slavery was horrible, but, don't kid yourself that it was the prime reason for the Civil war in the US.