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Politician Wants Google To Blur Street View Images Of Buildings; Next Up: Blurring Reality
from the oh-come-on dept
A California politician has introduced some legislation that would require companies like Google that offer "street view" photographs of certain areas to blur images of certain buildings, including schools, gov't buildings, churches and hospitals. The argument is that such photos allow terrorists to plan attacks. Next up, we're wondering if Assemblyman Joel Anderson will also demand that we blur reality. Anyone can walk by these buildings in public (like Google did) and take a photo. Unless he's going to force all cameras to take blurry images, it seems pretty ridiculous to think that this law makes sense. If terrorists are going to attack a building, they'll figure out a way to do so whether or not some of the images are online (and, as some have pointed out, most of these buildings have photos online already... on their own websites). It's really getting ridiculous seeing politicians freak out about a technology just because it could be used for terrorism.
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Yes, this looks typical, and I'd bet Mr. Anderson doesn't really care whether his proposal ever becomes law, as long as it gets him votes.
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other terrorist tools
Voice over IP
Instant Messaging
Email
Encryption of any type.
Snail Mail
Cars
Cameras
Web pages
Payphones
Pagers
We should probably try to ban all of these as soon as possible.
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the taliban loves i-phones
Someone needs to arrest Steve Jobs for furthering terrorist agendas. We also need to make i-phones illegal because the terrorizers use them.
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Why is anybody surprised by this?
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Bah..
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What a tool!
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Will it never stop?
Maybe a ban on ignorant politicians, I believe they do more good for the terrorsts than any other single group.
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Thomas Jefferson
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Re: other terrorist tools
Bleach
Gasoline
Glass bottles
Baby powder (the fear is the tool, not what white powder you might use)
Cigarettes (drop one to cause a wildfire)
LEDs and wires (woman arrested in airport for a light-up T-shirt, advertising campaign cripples Boston)
Peanuts (what if someone claimed the salmonella contamination had been done on purpose and threatened to do it to hamburger?)
Bicycles (small ones withdrawn because of lead laws)
Batteries
Backpacks
. . . .
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Re: Thomas Jefferson
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Just delete it.
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Once the technology to selectively do so makes it even remotely feasible, they will try..absolutely they will. You watch.
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Re: other terrorist tools
disposable cameras
long range optics
batteries
cash
wire transfers
soldering irons
box cutters
copper wire
hand held radios
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Next election I'm voting twice for this guy. Man, that's what I call visionary leadership.
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Thank you
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lmfao!!
next thing you know they will be posting interactive attack vectors on their facebook page using the google maps api.
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If they don't like it - they should lead by example.
Are the politicians standing for the people, or have they lost their way.
They haven't lost their way at all - they have just found various methods to make more money and get more control - and that's what they are doing.
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Yes - there's one thing they will never, ever have to ban - that's common sense in politics... because, you can't ban what doesn't exist.
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Leaky faucet
Most have no idea what they talk about, and make more problems then they solve.
Ask the people, we got you there, and we know more!!
The wishes of the people far out rule the greed of the politicians.
In a perfect world.
Sorry if I am off the ball, just my little gripe.
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Just another moron
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This is just good practice, people.
All politicians' photos should be blurred out to thwart any terrorist attempts on them.
You're welcome.
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Kalifornia
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Neandrethal
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I agree
I like what one response said, that all politicians photos should be blurred to thwart any terror attacks on them. Expand on that and also blurr out their names on the voting ballots.
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Just log everyones IP that uses google earth, and track down whoever looks are your important buildings too long. Im gonna go load it up zoom in on the white house and leave it running for a few days :D
HAHA i should be a politician
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Thank You
Thank you so much for the listing of modern tools in these comments with which we can rain destruction down on your shaven unclean heads.
The most helpful thing is when American Politicians make a big deal out of how technology can be used for terrorism. We're not really that well informed but when there is such hue and cry we really can't miss it.
I must now go, peace be upon you. Death to America!
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Actually, Bin Laden and his high-level planning staff can't walk by in public because they can't get into the country. Yet they can still research the buildings up, down and sideways thanks to Google.
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Re: other terrorist tools
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Russian Maps
They managed to plan Sept. 11th. without Google Earth and Pearl Harbor too.
Of course the Government, actually a lot of Governments and the big corporations will still have high resolution mapping and geographical data. Regular people won't. We'll just pay for it.
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-sigh-
Anderson: I'm not against the technology; it's fantastic. But we're in an evolving world and we have to change our course as it changes. I'm all for online mapping, but knowing where the air ducts are in an air shaft is not necessary for me to navigate in the city. Who wants to know that level of detail? Bad people do." --cnn.com
This is ridiculous. /I/ like to know where air ducts are. Not because I'm a /terrorist/, because I'm /curious/. Human curiosity is the beginning of all things good. It's hardly fair to rob the rest of us perfectly normal people of our highly detailed maps because of one terrorist. I read Anderson's argument that "I hear the argument that, "Yeah, I want to also ban cars because cars are used in robberies." Look, cars have other commercial uses..." Perhaps not cars. Guns? Explosives? I can't imagine much use for grenades outside of military zones except for outright killing.
Point? I vote to keep my virtual maps clear and sharp as only Google can make them.
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the end
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blurring Google Earth
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and all terrorists are overseas
If only the pol's knew that before Oklahoma City, or Atlanta, we could have prevented all that loss of life.
Google Earth is a fantastic tool, Anderson is a much-less fantastic tool.
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Mr. Anderson just made Terrorism Mapping easier!
If they blur/smudge whatever, all the government buildings, schools churches and what have you on the Google Maps, then any U.S. Educated terrorist will just target.... well, THE SMUDGES.
DUH.... You just made it easier for them to find you.
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Re: other terrorist tools
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Baning any and every thing .
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Stupid California Politicians
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I Live in Fear!
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He has a point
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He has a point
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Lets ban too
with education, terrorist can learn how to use all sort of materials to bomb politicians...
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Most of L.A. is already blurred like a bad case of astigmatism.
The blurring is such that large business signage cannot be clearly read from across the street and architectural details are mostly indiscernible. You certainly can't read addresses. From what I've seen residential neighborhoods are better, but in most cases there is not much reason to look at them.
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