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Calif. Politican Thinks Blurred Online Maps Would Deter Terrorists

Posted by timothy on from the fuzzy-logic-feels-warm-and-soft dept.

Hugh Pickens writes "California Assemblyman Joel Anderson plans to introduce a bill to force Google Earth and similar services to blur images of so-called 'soft targets' like schools, hospitals, churches and government buildings to protect them from terrorists. 'All I'm trying to do is stop terrorists,' said Anderson. 'I don't want California to be helping map out future targets for terrorists.' Concerns that detailed satellite imagery and photographs available on Web services could help terrorists plan attacks are not new, with reports that terrorists have used such imagery to carry out attacks in Iraq and Israel, and an Indian court is considering a ban on Google Earth following reports that its imagery played a part in the Mumbai terrorist attacks." "Security expert Bruce Schneier recently wondered what other things legislators might consider banning to prevent terrorism: 'Bank robbers have long used cars and motorcycles as getaway vehicles, and horses before then. I haven't seen it talked about yet, but the Mumbai terrorists used boats as well. They also wore boots. They ate lunch at restaurants, drank bottled water and breathed the air,' wrote Schneier. 'Society survives all of this because the good uses of infrastructure far outweigh the bad uses, even though the good uses are — by and large — small and pedestrian and the bad uses are rare and spectacular.'"

30 of 597 comments (clear)

  1. I agree with Bruce by Pope · · Score: 5, Funny

    Ban bottled water, that stuff's a killer!

    --
    It doesn't mean much now, it's built for the future.
    1. Re:I agree with Bruce by Andy+Dodd · · Score: 5, Funny

      Boycott oxygen!

      99% of all now-dead lifeforms on this planet consumed oxygen for the majority of their lifetime. It is clearly a toxic substance that must be controlled!

      --
      retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
    2. Re:I agree with Bruce by causality · · Score: 5, Funny

      Boycott oxygen!

      99% of all now-dead lifeforms on this planet consumed oxygen for the majority of their lifetime. It is clearly a toxic substance that must be controlled!

      It's almost as dangerous as dihydrogen monoxide!

      --
      It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education. - Einstein
  2. Why stop online? by gnick · · Score: 5, Funny

    If we just blurred all maps, the terrorists couldn't even find their targets!

    --
    He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.
    1. Re:Why stop online? by darkdaedra · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Agreed. Plus, GPS devices should be outlawed -- terrorists could use them to navigate in lieu of maps. Actually, history books, almanacs, encyclopedias, these all tell terrorists what we care about. Those should be outlawed too. Plus the internet, which allows them to communicate, and possibly phones, the mail system, UPS, FedEx and other courier services. Then maybe we can finally feel safe!

    2. Re:Why stop online? by BarryJacobsen · · Score: 5, Funny

      If we just blurred all maps, the terrorists couldn't even find their targets!

      You're thinking too small - if we blurred out our name whenever we talk to them - they wouldn't even know who to attack, let alone find them!

      --
      Track your TV Shows with your iPhone - FREE
    3. Re:Why stop online? by Iamthefallen · · Score: 5, Funny

      Silly, just blur the terrorist bases and let the problem solve itself.

      --
      Wax-Museum Fire Results In Hundreds Of New Danny DeVito Statues
    4. Re:Why stop online? by GMFTatsujin · · Score: 5, Funny

      I don't believe in the second world war.

      That doesn't stop the second world war from believing in me, though.

    5. Re:Why stop online? by mabhatter654 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Seriously, stuff like this is what we used to poke fun at the Soviets for back in the good ole' Cold War days when Regan was prez and high schools still had gun target practice as an extra curricular activity. One of the things the US prides itself on is the open and free access to public data and the freedom to publish it. Maps are one of the key centerpieces that we measure our open society by...

      Guy's and idiot and should be forcibly ejected from the country.

    6. Re:Why stop online? by cmr-denver · · Score: 5, Insightful

      That mentality existed through the fall of the Iron Curtain. When I lived in Europe in the 80's, a friend of the family worked in military intelligence (an oxymoron, I know). He couldn't give a lot of details, but one of the classic stories he'd tell was about Soviet military training exercises--back in those days, they wouldn't even tell a convoy where they were going. Their standard operational procedure was that only the commander would know, and he'd be in the first vehicle in a convoy. Any time they needed to turn, they'd drop off a soldier at the intersection, and he'd then direct everyone else and get back into the last vehicle of the convoy. This would be repeated over and over until they reached their destination.

      Now, when the intelligence guys wanted to find out what was going on, we'd simply ask the guy at the intersection. He, predictably, would say that he couldn't tell them, and they'd reply that of course they knew they weren't allowed to follow the convoy, and that to ensure they didn't, they had to know which way the convoy was going, so they could go a different direction and not get into trouble with their superiors.

      With that impeccable logic, the soldier would generally point out where the convoy was headed, allowing the intelligence guys to speed off in that direction...

    7. Re:Why stop online? by radtea · · Score: 5, Insightful

      In 1941, maps of the Soviet Union available to Germany showed a major highway going from Moscow to very nearly the border.

      The Soviet Union continued to obfuscate maps available to civilians up until its demise. A friend who lived there in the '70's commented that he wasn't supposed to take pictures of bridges and the like, either.

      I was viewing Moscow the other day on Google Earth and thinking what a wonderful world we live in. An open world, more free than we were back then.

      I'd like to think that the US isn't going to adopt the same kind of silly things that their old enemy did, which didn't work at the time and will work even less well today.

      --
      Blasphemy is a human right. Blasphemophobia kills.
    8. Re:Why stop online? by blg42 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Blur out all Starbucks. The terrorists will quickly run out of resources trying to attack them all...

    9. Re:Why stop online? by morcego · · Score: 5, Insightful

      precision of GPS data is intentionally downgraded

      Yeah because, you know, terrorism is all about finesse.

      --
      morcego
  3. Yep. by Shadow+Wrought · · Score: 5, Funny

    Terr'st1: "Are you ready to hit the school and strike a blow against the evil US?"
    Terr'st2: "Yes! We must stand up against the Great Satan!"
    Terr'st1: "Good! Grab the map."
    Terr'st2: "It's... it's blurred! This cannot be!"
    Terr'st1: "Curses! We are foiled."
    Terr'st2: "You outsmarted us this time Great Satan! But we will be back."

    --
    If brevity is the soul of wit, then how does one explain Twitter?
    1. Re:Yep. by g4pengts · · Score: 5, Insightful

      This is quite similar to this, replacing security with blurred map. Reality rarely works out the way people imagine.

      --
      Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government.
    2. Re:Yep. by alexborges · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Funny thing is... only americans have ever targeted american schools...

      Well its not "Funny", its interesting how "attacks on schools" are such a cliche against foreign terrorism, when its just never ever happened that way, maps or no maps.

      --
      NO SIG
    3. Re:Yep. by apoc.famine · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Of course, the terrorists wouldn't be smart enough to follow the giant train of large yellow things at 7:30-8am. Nor the hordes of small Americans, all walking the same direction.

      A more effective plan would be to build big underground bunkers, and not let the children ever come out.

      --
      Velociraptor = Distiraptor / Timeraptor
  4. Blurring only targets makes them easy to pick out. by mr_mischief · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Why in the world would you want to tell people, "These fuzzy-looking buildings are the ones we really care about the most. Targeting these would cause us the most grief"?

    Either you want all the details fuzzed or none of them. The address of a building can be deduced pretty easily once you've pointed it out to them on the map. From there they can get public records of building plans or do their own surveillance planning. Why narrow the search to the most vulnerable or most valuable targets for them?

  5. Now, to stop corrupt politicians! by RobertB-DC · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The guy is brilliant. We need only follow his example to rid us of another pesky problem -- one that has afflicted our country several times since 9/11. Corrupt politicians.

    It is a proven fact that politicians are corrupted by money. Absolutely proven!

    Therefore, we should immediately ban all political contributions. Not just by fat cats, but ALL political contributions. Oh, and none of this "I'll use my own money" -- we must also ban all political expenditures as well. No campaign ads, no flyers, no paid push pollers.

    Actually, that sounds like a great idea... I'm starting to believe my own sarcasm. How sad is that?

    --
    Stressed? Me? Of course not. Stress is what a rubber band feels before it breaks, silly.
  6. Priorities by lobiusmoop · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Isn't California running out of money, spare electricity capacity and (most importantly) fresh water? In terms of imminent threats, I'm surprised terrorism is even on the horizon.

    --
    "I bless every day that I continue to live, for every day is pure profit."
  7. Re:Welcome to California!!! by Pope · · Score: 5, Funny

    I think Sacramento has something in the water.

    Must have been those damn terrorists!

    --
    It doesn't mean much now, it's built for the future.
  8. I've got a better idea by cat_jesus · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Why don't we just ban terrorism instead?

  9. Re:blur California Assemblyman Joel Anderson's nam by Lord+Fury · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If he really cares about California he should blur his name on the next election ballot.

  10. decaying orbit by timmarhy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    it's like the USA has been in some kind decaying orbit for the last decade. just when you think the sepo's can't get worse they drop another notch.

    --
    If you mod me down, I will become more powerful than you can imagine....
  11. Help Google Identify the Targets by flaming+error · · Score: 5, Funny

    So that California doesn't have to update Google whenever soft targets change, I propose that California paint the roofs of sensitive locations fluorescent orange, then add satellite-visible concentric black circles to clearly indicate to Google that the building is a target.

    California could also inform Google of the site's importance, by painting a large black number representing a score from 1-10.

    Then, just in case the terrorists still find the place, outside the site we should post a large warning sign saying "Terrorism Prohibited at this Site."

  12. Re:Cough Up Some Hard Evidence, Buddy by mcgrew · · Score: 5, Insightful

    And all I'm asking you to do is show me the increase in terrorist attacks since Online Maps have become available

    We had one terrorist attack on US soil so far this century that cost almost 3,000 lives. Meanwhile, 45,000 die violently on US highways every single year, and another half million die horribly from cancer.

    Our politicians are not only gutless cowards, but they're STUPID gutless cowards with no sense of proportion whatever.

    --
    Free Martian Whores!
  13. Re:Blurring only targets makes them easy to pick o by triffid_98 · · Score: 5, Insightful
    There's no need to go to that extreme, we can just blur the addresses out.

    As others have mentioned, terrorism is the new bogeyman to

    1. to keep people distracted from domestic issues
    2. fund more military and/or homeland 'security' spending
    3. justify more idiotic legislation like this one

    I'm not afraid of Terrorists. I'm afraid of the idiots who believe that Terrorists are our biggest problem, thereby keeping these jackasses in power.

    "they" could look up the address in a phone book, we better make publishing the address of the schools (or other buildings) illegal.

  14. At least blur them during school days by janwedekind · · Score: 5, Funny

    Reminds me of a German politician who suggested an innovative solution against kids browsing porn: Porn sites must be offline until 10 pm!

  15. Re:Blurring only targets makes them easy to pick o by JCSoRocks · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm not afraid of Terrorists. I'm afraid of the idiots who believe that Terrorists are our biggest problem, thereby keeping these jackasses in power.

    Is anyone anyone really afraid of terrorists? Crackheads probably kill more people in America than terrorists do. Terrorists are dedicated enough to this to commit suicide in the process of doing it. They are not going to be deterred by the small amount of extra work necessary to survey a building rather than consulting google maps. All this does is narrow down the list of targets and piss everyone else off.

    --
    You are using English. Please learn the difference between loose and lose; they're, there, and their; your and you're.
  16. Actually... by Peter+Simpson · · Score: 5, Interesting

    "Is anyone anyone really afraid of terrorists? Crackheads probably kill more people in America than terrorists do."

    The reason they're called terrorists, is because they try to cause terror -- unreasoning fear is their goal.

    We kill 40,000 of ourselves (in round numbers) in traffic accidents *every year*:
    http://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/Main/index.aspx

    That's approximately 10 times the current US death toll in Iraq. Every year!

    Now, every life is precious, and no one should die needlessly. But it's good to keep terrorism in perspective.