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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Microsoft is anti Nazi |
| 2004-02-13 |
| Well maybe not. But they did remove a certain symbol and for balance, also removed the Star of David. Microsoft today released a critical update to remove "unacceptable symbols" from Bookshelf Symbol 7 font. Just 58-odd years after the Red Army hoisted its standard on the roof of the Reichstag on 30 April 1945, effectively ending the European war, MS has finally flushed the swastika from its last hiding place - an otherwise innocent font shipped with Office 2003. This has hardly been a Blitzkrieg on Microsoft’s part. The company has been aware of the presence of the Mark of the Beast since December. At the time it promised an immediate utility to remove the characters. It also passed the buck onto the hapless Japanese (from whose happy land the font apparently originated), and launched a damage-prevention campaign by contacting Jewish organisations before the whole thing got out of hand. Which is interesting, because the update has taken the airbrush of history to another well-known character: [the Star of David]. What does it mean? Well, we leave it to the black helicopter brigade to construct a conspiracy theory around this one. In any case, it would be a bit rich for El Reg (Motto: We put the "typO" in "typographical") to get sniffy about font outrages. Older readers may recall the scandal which saw us spread profanity and filth across cyberspace by using Wingdings in a headline to spell out our opinion on conspiracy theorists in a plug for a new Cash’n’Carrion t-shirt. What we didn’t know, however, was that the font would not render in some browsers, thereby displaying the original word in all its glory to millions of innocent women and children. Suffice it to say the reaction was similar to that caused by Janet Jackson’s nipple jewellery on prime-time TV. Mind you, our t-shirt sales went through the roof, so some good came of the fiasco. We hope Microsoft can gain something equally positive from its gaffe. Still, it’s all fixed now, and ten weeks is precious little time for white supremacists to exploit Bookshelf Symbol 7 for the promulgation of neo-Nazi ideology. Pity the poor old Buddhists, though. How in future will they represent the footsteps of the Buddha if not with Microsoft’s help? Suggestions on a postcard please to Sir Bill Gates of all the Microsofts. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #10 I saw the symbol in Nam at Monasterys. I thought it weird to see but it is a religious symbol. The Dimmycrats, even as we speak, are probably looking at holding an investigation because of this flap, especially since the Whitehouse uses Microsoft Products.. |
| Posted by: dataman1 2004-2-13 2:38:56 PM |
| #9 one way's said to be "male" and the other way "female", as i've seen it expounded upon in various esoteric texts. makes you wonder which gender's reputation Hitler trashed. Funny thing was, even Europeans were using it as a good luck symbol up until the Nazis figured it would bring their party luck as well... |
| Posted by: Querent 2004-2-13 1:10:43 PM |
| #8 The Nazi swastika has arms that radiate clockwise from the "+" center (think of a windmill with streamers on the end as it rotates counter-clockwise). I haven't seen that the Hindu or Lakota symbols are necessarily the opposite all the time, though. |
| Posted by: Dar 2004-2-13 12:16:10 PM |
| #7 Which way is Hindu and Lakota and which way is ro'Hitler's version? |
| Posted by: Steve from Relto 2004-2-13 12:03:54 PM |
| #6 IIRC, the Lakota and Far East symbols are backward from the NAZI symbol, with the arms bending left instead of right. Of course, most people don't pay enough attention to see that... |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2004-2-13 12:02:14 PM |
| #5 One important note is that the Buddhist symbols are backwards from the swastika, so should not really be too confusing to everybody except the easily outraged... |
| Posted by: Carl in N.H 2004-2-13 11:53:24 AM |
| #4 The swastika is also an American Indian symbol as well--at least, a Lakota symbol, IIRC, for the sun. The Alex Johnson hotel in Rapid City, SD, has several swastikas imbedded in the tile and lobby decor from when it was built in the 20's. I'm sure the staff has addressed many questions and complaints in that regard since the mid-30's. In any case, it's pretty much a universal symbol. |
| Posted by: Dar 2004-2-13 11:23:09 AM |
| #3 I thought that the font was Far Eastern. In Taiwan and Vietnam, the Buddhist temples are plastered with swastikas. My hosts tell me that they are good luck symbols. It's an interesting case in cultural conflict. What do you do when when culture's good luck symbol is another culture's symbol of hatred and genocide? Plus one use is a couple of thousands or years old while the other dates back only a few decades. |
| Posted by: 11A5S 2004-2-13 11:13:33 AM |
| #2 Bah. I remember a few years ago when some Wingdings font turned "NYC" to a skull and a Star of David, so of course there was a flap that this "intentionally" demonstrated Microsoft promoted death to all Jews in NYC. *yawn* I'm sure you could have typed in "Poughkeepsie" and, if sufficiently baked with some of Saddam's stash, translated the result to find out where Jimmy Hoffa is, how the '86 World Series was fixed, and how the oil companies are suppressing 100+ MPG carburetors. |
| Posted by: Dar 2004-2-13 10:46:14 AM |
| #1 Microsoft is anti Nazi Don't try telling that to the Macintosh User's Group unless you really want to see a jihad. |
| Posted by: Steve 2004-2-13 10:39:36 AM |