Fine so we spend money for people not to see unintended swastika from the air like it makes any difference really. As for the airport that isn't like any swastika I have ever seen maybe a half swastika or maybe a little man doing a dance with a bird mask on which makes it almost appropriate for an airport.

I have to ask - how did the architect fail to see this when designing the building?

Perhaps Hitler decided to take his artistic talents into the building sector? :P

Ummm, who cares? Honestly. It's a waste of money. It's been around for 50 years, and only now does someone say something about it? Who cares. It's not that big of deal. Anybody who wants to get all up in arms over something so stupid needs to just simmer down and go away.

Think about how many starving children would be fed for months on this remodelling...

What does remodelling the building achieve anyway? Shuts up a few whingers. All they need to do to fix it is put an awning up in one section with the same colour as the roof. I'll bet that can be done for much less than $600K.

1. Who cares what the building looks like from a satellite!? (if it has speakers embedded in the walls giving out subliminal messages, they'd have a point).

2. The symbol was hijacked by some git, Sisxty-years ago and we still haven't gotten over it!

3. It is an ancient religious symbol that you see all across India and other parts of the world - when I was in Bangalore last year, I saw some people with mini-swasticas tattooed to their foreheads and it wasn't offending anyone... I suppose if that guy got transfered to the US, he'd be asked to have it removed at immigration...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika

It may well have been designed by Albert Speer. I believe he got out of Spandau around then.

yeah i agree a waste of money. the symbol also used to represent good luck in some asian cultures.. so why change it

Doesn't mean people have to listen. So there's some dork on the radio calling the navy nazis. Ignore him. It's been there for decades and the money could be better spend.

The swastika, as we know it, dates back for millennia.

It's only as recent as 90yrs (ish) ago that it was high-jacked by the Nazi party, and come to symbolize everything they stood for.

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika

Enough is enough. It's time we stopped letting them (the long dead Nazi's) rule over us. It's time we put our irrational 'fear' of this religious symbol to rest. It's time we just let it go, and used such money to do good in the World.

The Woman Formerly Known As Mrs Larrington - herself an architect - and I have long maintained that Hitler was doing a bit of architecture on the side. Proof of this can be found in the swastika motif in the windows of the Walthamstow Assembly Hall.

Just because a bunch of egotistic frog marching extremists hijacked the swastika back in the 30's for a few years should not delude people from its true original meaning when it was first used some 3000 years ago. Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika

That - before the Nazis took the symbol - that the swastika was considered a good-luck symbol? Kipling used it on the covers of all his books pre-nazi; as did Baden-Powell's medal of honour for scouts.

It's a *shape*. Does it really matter?

> Think about how many starving children would be fed for months on this remodelling...

<JAMES EARL JONES VOICE>

This is the United States government. We're not into that sort of thing.

</JAMES EARL JONES VOICE>

Next they'll paint roads green and orange, as white and black is offensive to black folks.

I don't know the current PC term for "them". I just think of us all as people anyway.

When I went to the Carlsburg brewery (Copenhagen, Denmark; very tasty!) a couple of years ago they some of these similar figures carved in stone on the the sides of some of the walls. They had pre-dated WW2 by quite some time, when the figure was "more fashonable". That silly crazed leader of Germany a while back really screwed it all up.

Of course, if one wants to look for symbols, there are reverse sides (tails) of pre 1945 USA dimes ($.10) that have the facist symbol of an axe wrapped in a bunch of sticks. I don't see them recalling those (most are in the hands of collectors, or melted for silver content). Oh, well. Live and learn!

Honestly, what a stupid waste of time and money! What sort of a world do we live in where people being "upset" over some buildings can change things to the tune of $600,000. Why can't that money be put into school systems to educate people not to be offended at every little thing!

I imagine the architect probably designed the four L-shaped buildings as four L-shaped buildings in a nicely symmetrical pattern. If you take out the trees etc in the middle, it looks a lot more like four separate buildings.

Must have been quite a forehead-slapping moment when he realised what it looked a little bit like. If he ever did.

And Tim's absolutely right. It's a disgraceful waste of $600,000. How many robotic pack mules could be developed with that kind of cash?

Actually much longer than 50 years, but Hitler made it more well-known to the Western world. It's actually an ancient symbol of luck. And if you think of it like that, Hitler purposely turned it from a "left-facing" swastika to a right-facing/turning (i'm not sure how to call it) one. It could then be interpreted as turning your luck.

I once was at a Buddhist meeting where the swastika (left-facing) was openly displayed. I was quite new there and of course immediately thought about the infamous Nazi symbol. It (the swastika) was one of the first subjects addressed by the speaker, who explained a bit of history about it to us. Quite interesting. Even the right-facing version is still used, and most of the times totally unrelated to the Nazis.

It's a very practical shape.

Centrally connected, lots of windows looking over gardens.

I suppose they could turn it upside-down, left facing swastikas seem to be 'ok'.

They would be far better off spending that 600,00 dinars on murdering another few towel-heads to defend democracy.

Does Godwin's law apply here?

It was called the goose-step, you insensitive capitalist invader !

And this is the Internet, made specifically so that people who want to "get all up in arms over something" have something to get all up in arms over.

So, who wants to get all riled up about goose' rights ?

As the swastika comes from the Sanskrit स्वास्तिक meaning "well being" and was only miss represented by the Nazi party I do not see the problem.

The symbol itself represents a beautiful concept in many major religions so in essence it is as you know our concept of it that causes individuals such as Dave vonKleist to misinterpret the symbology so directly.

Don't forget that until Hitler effectively took over the Nazi party, it, and the symbol that represented it (swastika), was a very well considered and respected party. It counted members in more countries than just Germany and had quite a following in the UK as well as France, Poland, etc. In fact, my grandfather was a member of the UK Nazi party, wore a swastika symbol a ring and had a few other choice items. Didn't stop him fighting in a couple of wars, one of which was WWI.

So it's not just the swastika symbol that was tainted by a psychotic little man.

Wasn't either the flame or the 5 ring logo of the olympics revived by the Nazis for the 1936 Berlin olympics? If so, why has this not been outlawed? Can't be bothered to google it.

"And if you think of it like that, Hitler purposely turned it from a "left-facing" swastika to a right-facing/turning (i'm not sure how to call it) one."

Popular claim, but bollucks. The Swastika as used in many European cultures was the 'wrong way' around long before Hitler aledgedly turned it around, indeed the German Hooked Cross was itself a rip off of the Gammadian cross which has been the 'wrong way' around since just after the Roman Empire became christianised.

Incidently in Hinduism the symbol was use facing both ways before Buddhism adopted it.

I wonder how much it would cost to re-tile the floor of the Amiens cathedral, afterall, we wouldn't want people to get offended now would we. And to think that 700 years ago western cathedral builders were turning the symbol the wrong way round, presumably to bring bad luck on people who prayed there, for shame!

Couldn't they just paint two of the opposing L-shaped block roofs black? That would break up the visual impact enough to stop it looking like a swastika to the casual eye.

I agree it's a bit of a shame to make a mountain out of a molehill. It's a convenient shape for a building like this, as it allows maximum window space for a relatively small area. It's not as if anyone visiting the building instantly absorbs psychotic neo-nazi tendencies.

What a ****ing waste of money. The world has gone from politically correct to politically mad.

There's still a Swastika, Ontario, north of Sudbury on the Trans-Canada Highway

The US NAVY is building a for profit theme park on the site. Here is the real story!

http://anemicroyalty.wordpress.com/2007/09/27/hitler-is-alive/

"The offending structure can be found at Bougainville Road, US Navy Exchange, San Diego"

What?

It's Bougainville Road, at NAB Coronado, in Coronado, CA. Across the bay from San Diego.

Y'all do know that black is the standard military copter color? It comes that way and camouflage, etc. is optional.

"Couldn't they just paint two of the opposing L-shaped block roofs black?"

The way these renovation things are hideously expensive here in the US, that's probably all they can do with the 600 grand anyway...