Google Assists In Arrest Of Indian Man

An anonymous reader writes "After a Google user posted a profane picture of the Hindu saint Shivaji, Indian authorities contacted Google to ask for his IP address. Google complied. He was arrested and is reported to have been beaten by a lathi and asked to use the same bowl to eat and to use in the toilet. Not surprisingly, Google is a keen to play this down as Yahoo is being hauled over the coals by US Congress for handing over IP addresses and emails to the Chinese Government which resulted in a Chinese democracy activist being jailed." Readers are noting that these are 2 unrelated cases — the latter is several months old.

Wow...

[CarAnalogy]

I don't usually complain about badly written summaries, but this one made my head explode.

Do no evil doesnt stop 'aiding evil do bad things'

[PC and Sony Fanboy]

Well, I'm glad that google abides by the law here in canada. Clearly their motto of 'do no evil' is region specific; on one hand, I applaud their help in stopping crime, on the other hand, I detest the violation of privacy.

I guess I'm safe so long as my government respects my rights (because google will only go as far as the government seems deem 'right')

compliance, not judges

[caffeinemessiah]

What happened to this man is despicable. However, we need to remember that Google is a company, not a judge in a court of law. It is not their place to decide if a court-issued subpoena is "worth" complying with or not, especially not in a democratic country (eat trolls, eat!). The big question is if they were responding to a court order in the first place, or the lean of some jackass in the government.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

[OglinTatas]

US Telecoms are demanding immunity for assisting unlawful federal wiretaps.

Hypocrites

[Anonymous Coward]

So when the FBI can demand personal information from places like libraries, and arrest anybody who even discloses that such a disclosure has taken place; and when the NSA can perform warrantless wiretaps on the USAmerican public; and when telecom corporations get retroactive immunity for aiding in those wiretaps... I don't think the USA is in any position to call Google evil for this. Get your own house in order first.

India is to blame

[esocid]

For having an outrageous law like the one this man was arrested for. Google owned or ran the site in question so they had to comply with the local law. I'm not saying I like it, but the blame should be shifted to India for having a law on the books that allows them to toss anyone in jail for posting in "vulgar language" about some politician. Democracy my ass.

Dont be evil

[Brain-Fu]

The motto is not "do no evil," it is "don't be evil."

Not that it really matters, "evil" is a sloppy, ill-defined, and personally relativistic concept to begin with.

And of course, having an intent doesn't guarantee the ability to realize that intent, let alone to perpetually avoid any deviation.

And of course, loudly publishing such a motto doesn't actually mean that those at the top have any intention of living up to it. The perception of benevolence is what is really useful.

Re:Hypocrites

[Anonymous Coward]

Unfortunately, at the moment, we have a president who seems to think he can become president for life just by signature statements. He and his chronies appear to be busy trying to dismantle the current government and usurp all of the powers of congress and the supreme court to the executive branch.

We'll get back to you after his attempts fail... If they fail...

Re:compliance, not judges

[bryanp]

If they're not going to try and make a judgement call about what is evil then they should drop their (now obviously) hypocritical slogan.

Re:Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

[adpsimpson]

This really gets to me.

Of all the British citizens sent to Guatanamo Bay, those sent back to Britain to handle have been released with no charges. There is very good evidence to say that many, if not most, held there are entirely innocent. None have yet received any form of trial, with some having been held for 6 years.

On top of this, the PATRIOT act (which has everything to do with undermining the constitution and nothing to do with true patriotism) now makes it possible to send US citizens to Gitmo.

On top of this, nearly all US phone companies are implicated in spying on US citizens illegally, allowing the FBI/CIA etc who-knows-what access to every phone call handled.

On top of this, the president wants to grant these telecoms retroactive immunity from prosecution, since he asked them to do it.

And on top of all this, Americans have the nerve to get their knickers in a twist when another American company Obeys the laws of a country in which they do business?

By all means campaign to change the attitudes of those in power in repressive countries. Please, do. But remember Google was (presumably) obeying a court order.

Re:Hypocrites

[hansraj]

I don't think the USA is calling Google Evil. It is just a reporter who doesn't represent the official stand of the US. Also, even though the majority of Slashdotters might be from USA (I have no idea), it has a pretty international reader base.

The whole world and everything under the sun does not revolve around the US. Stop talking about US all the freaking time!!

I suppose the focus of the story should have been "Rights in India" as opposed to "Google is Evil". Anyway, no harm still focusing on India and leaving US out of something that doesn't involve it.

PS: I am an Indian national.

Re:Do no evil doesnt stop 'aiding evil do bad thin

[neuromancer23]

>> Well, I'm glad that google abides by the law here in canada.

Well they abide by the law in India and China too which is why they put people in prison.

Re:compliance, not judges

[zappepcs]

This is the best question to ask for both the Google and Yahoo issues. While some information is known, even in North America, companies are expected to play by the rules of the law. When the judge says give up the info, you are supposed to do so, not ask what they are going to do with it.

Now, that can have bad consequences in some countries, and that is painfully clear. I would like to see the detailed information about what was asked of who, exactly, and how it was asked and by whom. Those details could clearly wash away the cloudiness of who did evil.

typical, say one thing to sell, then do otherwise

[evolutionary]

As much as Google may toot the phrase "Do no harm" every business seems to have a sales pitch, then break it when convenient. Whether India is a "Democracy" (and this terms gets used misued) or not, the idea of contributing to someone's arrest and torture for doing nothing more than saying something the government doesn't like is against our definition of democracy is supposed to protect different opinions. (Although under Bush its questionable that it exists in the US anymore). Who would have thought MS would be the only major search engine to hold up a Google slogan. Yahoo, now Google. Regardless of the country you expand into, if you believe in something you defend it. Google, clearly doesn't. At least Yahoo and MS never made the claim.

Re:Do no evil doesnt stop 'aiding evil do bad thin

[morgan_greywolf]

I applaud their help in stopping crime

Crime? You sure you want to word it that way?

What this man was convicted of may have been a crime in his country, but in the United States, Europe, Canada and most other places in the free world what he did would be protected under freedom of speech.

He was arrested for nothing more than saying something like "Fuck George Bush" or "Hillary Clinton is a stupid cunt licker" or "Barack Obama can go fuck himself" or "John McCain is an asshole." (There, equal opportunity. :)

Tastelss? Perhaps. Illegal? Not where I live.

Re:Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

[adpsimpson]

Dang, hit 'Submit' instead of 'Continue editing'...

My point (not very well made) was that Google are caught between a rock and a hard place by obeying repressive laws in the countries where they do business, while in the US most telecoms and the government simply ignore the laws designed to protect people in order to be every bit as oppressive.

Pot, meet Black Kettle.

Sloppy Definition? maybe...

[Holi]

But, I would have to say, when you actions lead to someone being beaten, jailed, and forced to use the same dish to eat and shit, then you can be sure your action was evil.

What the hell is wrong with the world?

Re:Do no evil doesnt stop 'aiding evil do bad thin

[Applekid]

I applaud their help in stopping crime...

Juicy tidbits from TFA:

22-year-old IT professional Rahul Krishnakumar Vaid. His crime was writing in an orkut community named "I hate Sonia Gandhi." Sonia Gandhi is a prominent politician in India . . . he created a profile and then posted content in vulgar language about Sonia Gandhi in the community.

. . . If he's convicted, he can be imprisoned for up to five years and may have to pay a fine up to Rs one lakh.

Still applaud that? This isn't Google catching a thief or embezzler or rapist. This is Google turning in someone who said something that someone else who is powerful doesn't like.

Profit-seeking animals

[barocco]

Corporations are profit-seeking animals. If you expect any level of morality from them, you will find it near the stockholders' buy/sell margin or on accountants' govt tax deduction page.

Re:Sloppy Definition? maybe...

[Sancho]

The problem is that the world can't agree on morality. The problem is that dictators (some of them democratically elected) don't believe in civil rights. The problem is that human beings abuse power (and even those who think that they never would tend to do so when given power.)

Re:Hypocrites

[adpsimpson]

You forgot to mention the torture metted out in Guatanamo Bay and prisons in Iraq (Abu Graib amongst others), kidnapping, rendition and transfer of prisoners for torture in Eastern Europe, North Africa or the Middle East. All of which can now also be applied to US citizens.

It's not the contrast between the application of corrupt laws in India or China and the corruption of the law in the US that is the most shocking, it's the fact that both end in the same abuse and, frequently in the US and China's cases (I'm not up to spead on India), execution or death under torture.

I really can't tell if you're joking.

[Fross]

They refuse to join the US in Iraq. You really think that's a bad idea? Pretty much every country involved in that "peacekeeping" operation now wishes they'd never got involved. Including the UK, and even the US. They hold a rally supporting the oppressed people who've been subjected to an invasion, abduction of their spiritual leder, systematic destruction of their culture and history. This is a BAD thing? And in your third link, to quote "...Delhi's insistence on using diplomacy to resolve the Iranian nuclear controversy". Heaven forbid we do something other than run in, kill a million of them and destroy their country. Topping it off with "everything's a commie plot". Nice one. You're either a very good tongue in cheek troll, or the type of american I'm most scared of.

Re:compliance, not judges

[Quixote]

Wow.. when Yahoo did this (respond to a court-issued subpoena), everyone here was all up in arms.

And when Google does the same thing, everyone nods approvingly.

What a bunch of brainwashed people.

Here are some highly-rated comments on Yahoo's story, to refresh everyone's memory: 1 [slashdot.org], 2 [slashdot.org], 3 [slashdot.org].

Keep drinking that "don't be evil" koolaid!

Re:India is slowly losing my respect

[Dog-Cow]

Ah, you must be a Bush supporter. Democracy is great! As long as you vote my way.

Re:India is slowly losing my respect

[ZwJGR]

Why should India waste their time, money and resources, and degrade themselves in the eyes of their people and other countries by supporting US/Western (I'm assuming that's what us refers to) foreign policy on Iraq, Iran and China?

The USA started the Iraq war, they can finish it themselves, it was a fucking disaster from day 1, and should never have been allowed to happen, India would be be imbeciles to join the US's failure.
Tibet is (currently) past of China, not part of India, not India's problem. The linked article is frankly irrelevant, few genuinely care if a handful of folks get in trouble over a minor march before the Olympic one, and the march or lack of it makes 0 impact overall.
Iran has nothing to do with India whatsoever, and saying that the fact that they are not especially bothered about a military solution to Iran is indicative of undemocratic tendencies is laughable. The story linked states that they prefer diplomacy to useless handwaving in the UN security council/US military interference, which is eminently sensible. Pacifism and discussion is better than killing of innocents, even if you don't personally approve of their government or society, etc.

Furthermore if you really think that Iran is going to make nuclear bombs and start trying to toss them at the US, then you need to turn the TV off. The leaders of Iran are *not* idiots.

Beaten and imprisoned based on an IP address...

[RandoX]

This is why I refuse to be an exit node.

Re:Hypocrites

[Dekortage]

If American history is any indication, they will fail eventually even if it involves gunfire.

On the other hand, we didn't have television during any of the internal battles over our nation and its states... we might all rather sit on our butts and vote for the next American Idol instead.

Re:compliance, not judges

[Ostien]

Judges are overrated in my opinion. One should disobey a law that they know to be unjust. Laws can be wrong, just as easily as humans can be wrong, and just because something is written does not make it fact, and certainly does not mean it should be followed.

Re:compliance, not judges

[pluther]

... even in North America, companies are expected to play by the rules of the law. When the judge says give up the info, you are supposed to do so, not ask what they are going to do with it.

And that's a scary, scary thought.

"What are they going to do with it?" should be exactly the question asked when anyone is asked to give up personal information.

And when the answer is "we're going to imprison him and mistreat him for speaking an opinion we don't like", the response should be "No."

Yes, this would cause problems with China. They might threaten to fine them, or even to kick them out of the country. And Google can respond by threatening to close their data centers in China or to leave the country.

Sure, fighting back's not the easiest route, nor the most profitable, to take, but certainly the only one in keeping with their slogan of Don't Be Evil, which is now being shown to be increasingly meaningless.

And, as for "...even in North America..." I don't know the law in Canada, but in the US and Mexico there is a great deal of law and legal procedure that can be used to protect people in cases like this. In the US especially, mindless obedience to authority goes against the most important founding principles of the country.

Re:compliance, not judges

[BlackSabbath]

The fact that German companies complied with Nazi government decrees and laws was not a shield to prosecution at Nuremburg.

Which US firm will be the first I.G.Farben?

Re:compliance, not judges

[Frosty Piss]

However, we need to remember that Google is a company, not a judge in a court of law.

Was that the case as well for the manufacturers of Zyklon [wikipedia.org]? Do you feel the same about "defense contractors" involved in the production of Nuclear Bombs? If it where still illegal for blacks and whites to marry, would you be OK with rounding 'em all up because after all, "it's the law"?

Businesses should not be free to ignore moral and ethical issues simply because something is the law where they do business. This is not to the benefit of society as a whole. If a company does not benefit society, they must go.

Indian Man

[priyank_bolia]

I think this is irrelevant post, and there is no analogy between China & India. As a Indian this is my opinion. India is a fully democratic, secular and sovereign state, and people should not mix democracy supporters in China & Myanmar with anti social elements profaning about religious goods and creating communal tensions. People should understand that India have a large number of Muslims and christens and such incidents can create communal tensions, and is a danger for the whole country peace and harmony. We are already suffering from heavy terrorism from neighboring countries.

Re:Do no evil doesnt stop 'aiding evil do bad thin

[Noexit]

Homeboy ought to move to where you live. However, as he lives where he lives, the laws of where he lives were enforced, not the laws where you live. That, unfortunately, is the Way Things Are.

Re:compliance, not judges

[FishWithAHammer]

Are you so trapped in an idealistic, geek fantasy world that you don't realize that a company slogan is not legally binding?

Of course it's not legally binding. It is, however, morally binding.

Do you not understand that when a company goes public, it is responsible to its shareholders, not to its slogan?

I realize it. I also don't care. Hypocrisy is bad.

So if they changed their slogan to "Make more money!" and continued ratting out foreigners to their governments, you'd be perfectly happy?

I wouldn't, but at least they'd be honest about it.

Re:Wow...

[mikael]

Even worse, one of Google's employees provided the IP address of the wrong user. So an innocent man was beaten, and punished for no crime.

I hope his compensation claims is successful and for a substantial amount of money - and that the sloppy Google employee is fired.

Re:Dont be evil

[Artuir]

You know, if you examine *anything* in the English language closely enough, you will find that all of it is basically an ill-defined hodgepodge of concepts. Anything when looked at too closely loses meaning, and you're just trying to find witches to hang I think. I don't see what that has to do with anything.

They couldn't come right out and say, "we won't be dicks, promise" for their motto now could they? They've done a good job with things so far, I think, given how most companies turn out when they get to be Google's size.

Besides, I don't exactly see Google trumpeting the damn thing. Maybe I'm missing something. It's just the slashdot crowd that keeps picking it up over and over again and repeating it like it's some kind of god-fearing mantra. Google, as best as I can tell, has it on two of their pages. How is that "trumpeting it loudly"..? Aren't you over-exaggerating? Again, maybe I missed something, but who really gives a crap?

Re:Do no evil doesnt stop 'aiding evil do bad thin

[Anonymous Coward]

on one hand, I applaud their help in stopping crime

According to that second article, they arrested the wrong person because his ISP screwed up the IP address search. So not only was this man arrested and tortured, he wasn't even the person that offended his government. Nice going Google.

So how is that Google's fault?

Re:Even the Post Title

[laserbeak43]

would you prefer the title be "American Man" or something like that before you take it seriously?

Re:Please...

[iNaya]

I've got a good idea, let's take out all the Greek, Latin, French, Spanish, etc. that is in English too...

Oh, wait a minute. I think it would just be easier to add 'lathi' to my vocabulary.

Re:Sloppy Definition? maybe...

[Martin Blank]

Did they have reason to believe that the man would have been treated this way? I don't know much about the conditions of jails in most other parts of the world. I suspect that jails in, say, Belgium are fairly clean and suspects' rights are generally respected. I believe that Egyptian jails are probably pretty dirty and it's dangerous to be a suspect. These are, however, based on very limited knowledge, and I have no idea of the conditions for a jail in India. It's even possible that the conditions vary significantly based on the region, with some clean and respectful and others slums that should be torn down and the local police drawn up on charges.

Re:Wow...

[ShieldW0lf]

That, apparently, depends on which country you're talking about.

Re:Do no evil doesnt stop 'aiding evil do bad thin

[D-Cypell]

the last occasion of note was some play about Jesus being gay that upset Mary Whitehouse (not the porn star, the other one) back in the 70s.

I am fairly certain that there were people trying to invoke these laws when they showed 'Jerry Spring - The opera' on BBC, which had similar content.

it's no place of Google's to assist in the application of unjust law.

It is no place for Google to make judgements on which laws are unjust and which aren't, it is not their responsibility. The only option open to them is not to do business in countries where *they* (asterisked because, 'who are *they* exactly?') believe the laws to be unjust. If they choose to operate in India they must follow the local laws and regulations. If they operate in a country, and then refuse to obey the laws in that country then their directors risk punishment under the local laws.

The real culprit in this case is the Indian government themselves, who consider it acceptable to treat their citizens this way.

Re:Sloppy Definition? maybe...

[omeomi]

And the problem is that India and China are huge countries. Google and Yahoo don't want to take a chance of being banned in a country of that size, so they do whatever the governments of these countries want.

Re:Do no evil doesnt stop 'aiding evil do bad thin

[Locutus]

Having said that, you're right - it's no place of Google's to assist in the application of unjust law.

so businesses don't have to obey laws outside of the country they're from? Cool, I'm incorporating and gonna start stomping on all those MS OOXML idiots around the world who voted for it.

Like it or not, this is a story about the laws of India and not about Google going anything "evil". See how long the thread lasts if it were about Google not pulling out of India because of this incident. What makes me sick is how many think this is a Google issue and not an Indian human rights issue.

LoB

Re:Sloppy Definition? maybe...

[clampolo]

Did they have reason to believe that the man would have been treated this way?

Who cares? Why are they giving out people's info ? "Don't be evil, unless there's ca$h in it."

Re:Wow...

[rundgren]

what is the problem? Libel and slander are illegal everywhere you go...

Not against a fantasy figure.

Re:Do no evil doesnt stop 'aiding evil do bad thin

[Main Gauche]

Approximately 99.99% of Slashdotters can describe the Prime Directive, and how it works in a land of make believe.

A significantly lower percentage sees how it would apply in current-era Earth.

Re:Even the Post Title

[laserbeak43]

what more detail do you need? the main is eating shit out of a bowl cause he posted a picture of a god online.

Re:Sloppy Definition? maybe...

[xSauronx]

lets play a game and replace "country[ies]" with "market[s]" to get a better idea of how google views India and China

Re:Do no evil doesnt stop 'aiding evil do bad thin

[element-o.p.]

Whether or not that was the law where this person lives, that doesn't make it right for Google to have cooperated in this case.

be specific

[poot_rootbeer]

There seem to be three separate and distinct issues being conflated here:

1. India has laws that make it a crime to post "vulgar content"
2. Google provided information to Indian police in conformance with the law
3. Indian police are alleged to have badly mistreated a suspect

Be outraged about #1 and #3 if you wish, but I see no malfeasance inherent in Google's actions #2.

Re:compliance, not judges

[kabocox]

However, what the people of China believe due to large-scale brainwashing is really not that interesting to the subject of Evil, because of its very subjectivity. The very fact of the cultural brainwashing that instructs the Chinese to do as they are told is Evil by our standards in the Western world, where we value individuality and choice.

And we in the west aren't brainwashed by our public education, cable TV, various churches, and internet? Our brainwashing is just different from theirs brainwashing. I tend to call it our culture is different than their's though it's much more polite.

Figure it out, Sergey

[argStyopa]

Information brokers - what Google is, essentially - are going to need to figure out what they're trying to do.

If they continually ACT as if they are responsible for the content that's connected by them, then they are going to be continually TREATED that way.

Nobody would even consider suing a phone book for the number they listed for a mass murderer.

Politicians (apparently across the world) don't understand that Google is little more than a well-linked phone book, and that despite all the cool stuff you can get, ISP's are not much more than a phone company.

This will continue to bite them in the ass until they say "Look, we're data-neutral. We don't give a crap what we index, if it's out there, we index it. You don't like it? You're going to punish us for what we link to? Fine, we'll just stop serving IP's from your country."

Re:India is to blame

[Barraketh]

Democracy my ass.

Actually, there is no inherent reason why a democratic society should be any more tolerant than a dictatorship. We (the U.S.) keep focusing on the democracy part, and bringing democracy to the world, when in fact what makes the U.S. special is the constitution that protects the right to free speech and equal treatment by law. Without a well drafted constitution, democracy is just two wolves and a sheep voting on what's for dinner.

Re:Even the Post Title

[Anonymous Coward]

what more detail do you need? the main is eating shit out of a bowl cause he posted a picture of a god online. ...and it's all thanks to Google!

NO.

[xant]

Google is to blame for complying with an oppressive, anti-human-rights law, just like Yahoo is. They've stood up to the American government, I'm baffled why they wouldn't stand up to the Indian government, but it makes them no less in the wrong. There are standards for human rights, no company should obey laws that violate human rights just to operate in the country where they are violated. India SHOULD be punished for having this law on the books, and the punishment should take the form of Google's refusal to obey its laws. If the Indian government tries a reprisal against Google, then the punishment should take the form of Google ceasing to do business there.

The only argument you can make against this is that it would hurt Google's bottom line, and that's no argument at all.

Re:Wow...

[janrinok]

Sucks that the wrong guy got apprehended. Other than that... what is the problem?

Other than the fact that he was beaten for no good reason? Don't you think that is bad? What would you say if it had happened to you?

Re:Sloppy Definition? maybe...

[Solandri]

And the problem is that India and China are huge countries. Google and Yahoo don't want to take a chance of being banned in a country of that size, so they do whatever the governments of these countries want.

That just begs the question. Do you believe civil rights and freedom would be promoted in India and China if Google and Yahoo were banned there? Need I point out that the government of China is working on a (government-controlled) search engine like Google and would like nothing more than for Google (and Yahoo and Wikipedia) to disappear from their neck of the Internet. This is pretty much the same issue that's been debated ever since Nixon normalized relations with China. Do you wait until a rogue country changes its political ideals to sufficiently match yours before you conduct business with them? Or do you partially compromise your ideals and conduct business with them in the hopes that it will accelerate those changes?

Google and Yahoo may be trying to walk a fine line between offering the citizens of those countries access to information, while simultaneously trying to avoid getting banned. That is, this is probably not a case of there being a clear evil choice (turn over the IP address) and a not-evil choice (don't turn over the IP address). If refusing to give the IP address would've gotten them banned from providing service, then turning over the IP address may in fact have been the lesser of two evils.

Re:Sloppy Definition? maybe...

[Martin Blank]

Concealment itself is not evil. An intention behind concealment may be evil, but the act itself is not.

Consider:

Is placing a witness to mafia crimes in the Witness Protection Program to safeguard his life and the lives of his family an evil act by the government? By your definition, this conceals information from someone (the mafia), and therefore it is evil, despite the fact that their lives would be in danger otherwise.

On a more mundane level, is concealing one's home phone number by declining to have it listed in the white pages evil? By your definition, it is, though it may allow someone to avoid easy contact from people he or she would prefer to avoid (perhaps an problematic ex).

Re:Even the Post Title

[Scrameustache]

who gives a fuck? It's just an imaginary fictional character anyway.

Who? Those who convince others to obey them for fear of that character.

If people start proving the character is impotent and most likely imaginary, then they'll lose their revenue stream! So: Let them eat shit!

Re:Do no evil doesnt stop 'aiding evil do bad thin

[c6gunner]

A moral person (and at it's core, Google is simply a group of individual people working for a common cause) must refuse to cooperate with authorities when asked to do something unjust. "I was just following orders," is not and should not be justification for doing something immoral. Ever.

You're given the choice: "Shoot this dog, or we kill your entire family".

What do you do?

Stop pretending that right and wrong are so easily definable. In order to make the right decision, it's important to weight the positive and negative effects of your actions. EVERYTHING you do leads to some negative results. Driving your car to work increases violence in the middle east. Eating meat results in the killing of animals and the inefficient use of arable land. Eating soya and tofu leads to rain forests being burned to create plantations. BREATHING releases greenhouse gases!

Life is a series of trade-offs - the best we can do is to try and minimize our negative impact, while maximizing the positive.

Re:Sloppy Definition? maybe...

[Mr. Beatdown]

Concealing is a tool, just like violence.

Re:Do no evil doesnt stop 'aiding evil do bad thin

[Mr. Beatdown]

His actions might not be so protected in Canada as you may think. Mark Steyn [slashdot.org] is up for a hate crime for denigrating Muslims.

Re:Even the Post Title

[aliquis]

I must add that after posting that a small bit further down in the same thread I found information that Shivaji wasn't an imaginary person but a real one living 1627-1680 and considered a hero in India according to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shivaji [wikipedia.org]

Just to get the facts straight. (And I'm willing to admit that Jesus as a person probably was real aswell, not as a son of god thought... And neither are god, regarding mohammed I don't know the story so I can't tell.) I just expected this Shivaji to be some sort of indian god.

I can see how behaving bad against an oldtime hero of the country don't make you popular, thought getting beaten with sticks are a little to much of a punishment for it. Some religous people probably think behaving bad against a godess are even worse, they are just wrong ;)

In any case I think it's ok to bash all official characters, and most private ones aswell ;D

Re:Sloppy Definition? maybe...

[KoRnhornio]

Wait wait wait... this man's GOVERNMENT is making him use the same dish to eat and shit, and GOOGLE is the bad guy?!?

Re:Wow...

[Hellpop]

Surely I am not the only one asking, "How is this a crime?" People who take offense of drawings of their immaginary friends not being the way they picture them are just childish. That's the kindest way I can put it.
Mischief, maybe. Tasteless, possibly. Crime, no fucking way! People like this, living in the Dark Ages need to get with the program. And people have the gall to criticize the U.S.?
Correct this crap, then maybe you have some right to criticize us. Glass houses? Hell, theirs are made of rice paper compared to ours...

Someone will invariably mistake my outrage for trolling. I'm OK with that, I can take it. They have a right to speak freely too...

Re:Do no evil doesnt stop 'aiding evil do bad thin

[Cro Magnon]

You're given the choice: "Shoot this dog, or we kill your entire family".

What do you do?

Wrong analogy. It's more like, "If you want to do business with us, shoot that dog". We know what Google will do in that situation.

Re:Even the Post Title

[Anonymous Coward]

So what do you call a Chinaman without being raked over the coals by the PC Police?

You could try "him", "her", or even "person". What is the point in bringing up race or nationality (unless you are focusing on the fact that they are different from you)?

And why are China men offended by "Chinaman"

Intent.

...but English men aren't offended by being called "Englishmen" and Irish men aren't offended by being called "Irishmen?"

That depends largely on who is doing the talking and who is doing the listening.

Jesus Christ, if they have to ship a job that involves talking to Americans overseas couldn't they find some foreign assholes who actually know how to speak English?

That's a rather ironic complaint for an American, don't you think?

Re:Reason of Arrest

[Weedlekin]

"Apparently "being obscene" is a crime in India"

Being obscene is a crime in most places. The only differences are (1) what counts as obscenity, and (2) the penalties.

"India has many laws that are rooted in the prude thinking that is pretty much common there"

The same can be said for many countries when seen from the viewpoint of more liberal ones. Inhabitants of much of Europe for example regard the fact that women in the US can be arrested for going topless on public beaches as laws that are rooted in prudishness that appears to be extremely common there.

Re:Sloppy Definition? maybe...

[geekgirlandrea]

Only if you knew they would react that way, but the analogy fails regardless. You have a perfectly legitimate right to stop people from shoplifting in your store, whereas this guy didn't do anything wrong.

The chinaman is not the issue here, Dude.

[Leftist Troll]

Boo, shit-eating Indians!

Sure, give the Indians a hard time... but when it's two white girls with a cup, it's an internet sensation. Typical xenophobia.

Also, Dude, chinaman is not the preferred nomenclature.

Re:Wow...

[Anonymous Coward]

Crime in Finland. Crime in the UK.

Oral sex is a crime in some of the states.

A lot of things are crimes that shouldn't. The answer?

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed..."

Re:Even the Post Title

[Anonymous Coward]

i could not say it any better. i am dissapointed in google and if they keep this kinda of crap up i will ditch using google. betrayal

Re:Sloppy Definition? maybe...

[Anonymous Coward]

But it is so much easier to blame someone who will do nothing to you then to go confront those who are actually committing violent acts.

Defense of Google

[Anonymous Coward]

I have no problem with how Google reacted.

If you know the law of that country, are a citizen of that country, live in that country, and violate that law, you should expect to be prosecuted by that country.

If you operate in that country, know their laws, and expect to make money in that country, you should obey their laws.

If Google disrespected a country's laws and morals in that country, they might as well disrespect every countries laws and morals. Just think, in the US, they can advertise for drug dealers (its legal in amsterdam), sell your children into prostitution(a common occurrence in thailand), or blackout news that doesn't help a certain party(china).

IMHO, to do no evil means you act according to what you promised to do and live with your consequences.

Re:Wow...

[Yahweh Doesn't Exist]

>Surely I am not the only one asking, "How is this a crime?"

See your laws on marijuana. Some dumb fuck (in your case Harry J. Anslinger) gets pissed off by something and decides to launch a crusade against it, lies about it, forces their belief on others, and then nobody else has the bravery and/or intelligence and/or power to stand up to them despite all medical/social/scientific evidence, logic, or moral arguments.

>People like this, living in the Dark Ages need to get with the program.

I agree with you but America is hardly unknown for religious stupidity. Religion is ignorance in all places and at all times; nationality is largely irrelevant. Western secular societies are by far the lesser culprits though.

Re:Whole Lot of Nothing

[alexborges]

No no no, do NOT get all international on what constitutes democratic values and the philosophy where they derive from.

Sure, i too can get tolerant and accept that the Indian people have the right to institute in their laws things like hitting people for expressing their thoughts and then making people eat from the shithole.

There is nothing we can or should do to stop the Indians from doing whatever the hell they feel like with their own laws.

NOW, an AMERICAN company, HELPING a foreign government to do exactly what i depicted above, is NOT DOING A NICE THING.

They are doing an EVIL thing if we judge them from occident we can say certaintly and ethically say, we SHOULD say: fuck google and the horse they rode on.

Fucking assholes.