Google is asking shareholders to reject a proposal by the St. Scholastica Monastery, the Comptroller of New York City and pension funds for a whole bunch of radical unions like cops, teachers and firemen. What's contained in the proposal that so shocks Google management?

Below are the six simple rules by which Google is being asked to abide.

1) Data that can identify individual users should not be hosted in Internet restricting countries, where political speech can be treated as a crime by the legal system.

[In other words, don't let the Chinese authorities ferret out folks they'd like to persecute.]

2) The company will not engage in pro-active censorship.

[In other words, don't try to be even harsher than the Chinese government in a craven attempt to curry favor.]

3) The company will use all legal means to resist demands for censorship. The company will only comply with such demands if required to do so through legally binding procedures.

[In other words, don't give people up to the thought police without putting up at least a semblance of a fight.]

4) Users will be clearly informed when the company has acceded to legally binding government requests to filter or otherwise censor content that the user is trying to access.

[In other words, tell your users when their government is trying to prevent them from finding out the truth.]

5) Users should be informed about the company's data retention practices, and the ways in which their data is shared with third parties.

[In other words, be honest with your users about what happens to their data.]

6) The company will document all cases where legally-binding censorship requests have been complied with, and that information will be publicly available.

[In other words, don't leave your users twisting in the wind.]

One more thing Google won't do: explain itself. The board recommends voting against this proposal without deigning to comment.