Type a few words into the search field on Google's home page and the engine automatically returns a helpful list of popular, similar searches for the words you've typed in so far -- a convenient way to find the right information.

Enter "Christianity is" and you'll find results that, while offensive, at least indicate common discussions on the Internet. Likewise, type "Judaism is" and Google suggests other, potentially offensive searches such as "Judaism is false" and "Judaism is not a race."

But type "Islam is" into the search engine and Google's auto-results pane mysteriously vanishes, leading some to conclude that Google, whose mantra is "don't be evil," is censoring its search results.

According to Google's Web site, the query suggestions that appear as you type are drawn from from searches you've done (if you're logged in), searches done by users all over the world, sites in the search index and ads in Google's network.

The company also explains that "We try to filter out suggestions that include pornographic terms, dirty words, and hate and violence terms. If you encounter a term that should not be suggested, please let us know by posting in the Google Web Search Help Forum."

Perhaps the returned results are so inappropriate that all results have simply been turned off, an option some Internet users label 'cowardly.' After all, search for hot-button items such as "scientology is" or "Muhammad is" and the results are even more offensive.

A Google spokesman explained that the weird absence of results is just a software problem: "This is in fact a bug and we're working to fix it as quickly as we can." But the company would not respond to requests for clarification.

An intriguing corollary: Google offers search suggestions for future tense queries as well. Ask "Christianity will" and Google suggests "Christianity will end, it will disappear," and "Christianity will end." Ask the same about Islam and Google notes that "Islam will dominate the world" and "Islam will destroy Europe."

The Christian Institute, a "non-denominational Christian charity", wanted to pay Google so that whenever the word "abortion" was typed into the popular search engine, its link would appear on the side of the screen.
The link would have read: "UK abortion law - news and views on abortion from the Christian Institute. http://www.christian.org.uk.
But Google refused the advert because it said it had a policy of declining sites which mixed the issue of abortion with religious views.
Its Dublin-based advertising team replied: "At this time, Google policy does not permit the advertisement of websites that contain 'abortion and religion-related content'."
Google does, however, accept adverts for abortion clinics, secular pro-abortion


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z0cFhk2ASD

this really blows my mind...I know they give "partners" of google preferencial traetment in placement of ads...but the non-evil company is filtering results to favor one group and bash another...I am so sick of Christian bashing I could just puke...from this day hence~forth I am not using google any longer and will delete all my accounts and removing links with them officially by 6:00pm today...

But achieving collaboration is not easy, in part because private companies do not trust the government to keep their secrets and in part because of concerns that collaboration can lead to continuous government monitoring of private communications. Privacy advocates, concerned about a repeat of the NSA's warrantless interception of Americans' phone calls and e-mails after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, say information-sharing must be limited and closely overseen.

"The critical question is: At what level will the American public be comfortable with Google sharing information with NSA?" said Ellen McCarthy, president of the Intelligence and National Security Alliance, an organization of current and former intelligence and national security officials that seeks ways to foster greater sharing of information between government and industry.

"Google’s responses continue to generate more questions than they answer," he said in a statement. "Now the question is how it may have used -- and secured -- all this private information."

Blumenthal, who is running for Sen. Christopher J. Dodd's seat, also said that attorneys general from 37 states and the District of Columbia have officially joined the probe, including those from Texas, Florida, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri and Massachusetts. Eight states would not be identified because their laws bar them from disclosing investigations, he said.

The office of California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown has not yet responded to a question about whether the state is a participant.

"As we've said before, it was a mistake for us to include code in our software that collected payload data, but we believe we did nothing illegal," a spokesperson for Mountain View, Calif.-based Google said in a statement. "We're continuing to work with the relevant authorities to answer their questions and concerns."