Google Logo Tweak Sends Critics Into Orbit

Los Angeles Times ^ | October 9, 2007 | Jim Puzzanghera

[kellynla]

WASHINGTON -- Should the world's most-used search engine be more of a Yankee Google Dandy?

Google Inc. occasionally features light-hearted doodles on its colorful home-page logo to commemorate special occasions. But now they are drawing criticism from conservatives for not being more patriotic.

The Mountain View, Calif., company bathes its logo in stars and stripes every Independence Day, but last week's decision to honor the 50th anniversary of the Sputnik launch -- the second "g" in Google was replaced with a drawing of the Soviet satellite -- is being blasted by some conservatives.

Not only did Google honor an achievement by a totalitarian regime that was our Cold War enemy, they griped, but it did so without having ever altered its logo to commemorate U.S. military personnel on Memorial Day or Veterans Day.

"It's a kick to your belly," said conservative blogger Giovanni Gallucci, 39, a social media consultant from Dallas. "I understand these guys are scientists and engineers and they have their quirks and want to make sure people are recognized who might not normally be recognized . . . but why not celebrate the struggles that we've come through as a people?"

[kellynla]

“Oh, come on. This is crazy. Sputnik was a great achievement for all mankind, not just the USSR. I can’t believe anyone with sense is really upset by the logo thing?”

Did you ever serve in combat?

[zencat]

You just don’t get it, do you?

Yeah, we just don't get it. We're having Communism by the drink. Who knew a bunch of Freepers would be rallying around anti-military Leftists?

Try not to throw things, and hide under the bed as needed.

[cgk]

PING

[Post-Neolithic]

"Without the Russian launch of Sputnik, we may never have had the reason to make the effort to get to the moon."

And if not for the military men and women who faught and died in world war I and II sputnik would never have been launched in the first place. In fact I dare say that the Russians would be speaking German right about now, that's if Hitler didn't exterminate them.

But yet Google designs and celebrates the Sputnik launch and not Memorial day. Yep, Google is sure even handed huh? In the grand scheme of things, Memorial day is a hell of a lot more important then the launch of the Sputnik. And not just to us either.

[kellynla]

I get tired of repeating myself so just read my post #54

[discostu]

The Google ignore Memorial Day thing was completely and thoroughly debunked last week:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1906343/posts#2

[discostu]

That’s the idiotic post I replied to. And all your “points” in it are stupid. The first man made object put into orbit was an amazing achievement regardless of the nation that did it. And it deserved to be celebrated, as it was by a lot more people than Google.

[zencat]

Nobody could seriously suggest that the Soviets gave a darn about “exploring” space.

Right, and Gagarin went up so they could drop paratroopers on us with ICBMs.

Your mistake is misunderstanding your enemy.

[Rockitz]

Use dogpile- http://www.dogpile.com

or clusty- http://clusty.com

[ChurtleDawg]

yeah....Google are a bunch of Marxist-leninist propoagandists determined to destroy capitalism forever, despite being a multibillion dollar corporation

[ChurtleDawg]

I agree. I would say that the launch of Sputnik was one of the greatest milestones of human scientific achievement

[Post-Neolithic]

Guess I am missing something them, because after your statement I just went through all google’s logos(in the USA), and did not see one Memorial Day logo. Might you point me in the right direction?

[Post-Neolithic]

The Soros foundation is also a multi-billion dollar corporation. I fail to see your point.

[trumandogz]

As I understand it, Google is a private company and has as much right to its own editorial opinion as the New York Times, FNC or Rush Limbaugh.

[BenLurkin]

I recall reading a history of the WWII eastern front written by a German tank general. He stated that the Russians would usually occupy and fight to hold the high ground — even if was not important in the context of the larger battle and even if it meant the Russians would sustain unnecessary casualties.

Space is the ultimate high ground in warfare. It seems to me that the Soviets understood that.

[B-Chan]

Combat? No. But I spent many happy hours in the Gulf of Sidra in April of '86 waiting for Khadafi to send a missile my way. And that's not counting the days of fun I passed tooling around the Med while looking right down the pipe of the forward armament of the Soviet cruiser that followed us everywhere we went. Did you know that thing sometimes got close enough that I could see the rifling in the barrel? And all at the height of the Cold War! What larks, Pip.

What does that have to do with space exploration?

B-chan
Former MM3
USS ENTERPRISE (CVN-65)

GONAVY

[discostu]

Ooops I messed up the link, check post 4 in that thread. Of course it doesn’t matter one way or the other. Regardless of what American holidays they ignore Sputnik is a worthy achievement, first man made object in orbit is a pretty cool thing.

[WhistlingPastTheGraveyard]

The Google ignore Memorial Day thing was completely and thoroughly debunked last week

Good lord, do you even read the threads you link to?

The soldier graphic was a (non Google sponsored) contest entry. If you browse your link, you'll find another link to a page of Google holiday logos, which completely and thoroughly proves Google has never acknowledged Memorial Day.

Google's official policy is to not acknowledge the holiday because it's too much of a downer for their happy logo. Their mealymouthed press release on the matter can also be found within the link you provided.

[WhistlingPastTheGraveyard]

No, because he’s dead wrong. Google ignores Memorial Day as a matter of official company policy. The graphic he’s referring you to is a contest sponsored by an independent web site in an attempt to make Google reconsider that policy.

[discostu]

My mistake. Doesn’t matter though. It’s two different discussions really, no matter what stuff Google doesn’t recognize and should the 50th anniversary of the first man made object to orbit the earth is worthy of recognition.