When Sergey Brin came up with Google's all-embracing corporate philosophy — "Don't be evil" — two things became inevitable. First, that the search engine founder had established a moral standard impossible even for a company as saintly as Google, and with all the whitewash that fabulous search advertising profits can buy. Second, it should also have been obvious that, for years to come, the phrase would become a tired staple of every newspaper article about the cute search engine's loss of innocence. See here, on Google News. For the cliche taken to its most ludicrous extreme, take a look at the front page of today's San Francisco Chronicle. The groanworthy lead: "For a company that pledged to not be evil, Google makes a lot of enemies." The illustration: an approaching octopus, with what looks like the head of an amphibian, presumably intended to convey menace, but succeeding more in generating mirth.

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