Google Earth

[njgtr82]

anyone ever check this site out? I was reading about the British catching insurgents in Iraq with maps printed out from his site and using it as reference for attacks on their bases and I can see why. I can't believe how readily available these satelite images are available. I was looking at different military bases that had B-1's, B-52's, AWACS a/c all just clear as day. Then i looked at iraq and could see the tent/FOB I was living in for 9 months, glad I didn't know that this site exsisted while i was there. Amazing.

[T-Bird76]

I use Google Earth all the time. Its great when you travel and you want to find a landmark near where you have to go. As for sensitive areas some places are blurred out but Earth Orbit is free territory. So if you have the funds you can launch your own imaging Sat.

[njgtr82]

I totally agree, they can send as many as they would like. But I wish that they could be a little more careful, especially being they are an American company. I'll even give them the benefit of the doubt that they had no idea that theres a boat load of little bases over there, but now that theres evidence that they're using this against us, maybe they should take a second look at what they are revealing over there. Using here in the US, I agree with you completely about how useful it can be.

[nwafan20]

I have actually used it to find several spotting locations around DTW! :D

[T-Bird76]

You bring up an interesting point of debate. Being that outer space is free and that the company is American owned where is the line in the sand? One could argue they have the right to show whatever they want but on the other end of the debate one could also say for the protection of our interests they should censor sensitive areas. I tend to side on the let them show all side. The nations of the Earth decided that Space is completely free then this company should be allowed to show what they want.

[Matt Molnar]

This thing is being blown out of proportion. To read these stories you'd think Google Earth was broadcasting live images of the whole planet.

[nwafan20]

Gotham is right, you could fly over it at 35,000 in a commercial plane and have better pictures (if there was no cloud cover)


That raises a question for me, how does Google Earth get around cloud cover?

[njgtr82]

Well I did a little more looking into it and found the following article that was written that shows evidence that google may be taking steps to help the situation. And like I said in the first post. I can see the tent I was living in, and we frequently were shot at with mortars/rockets. So it just made me feel a little uncomfortable to see this readily available.

http://www.ogleearth.com/2007/01/did_google_cens.html

I'm all for freedom. I lost a friend while there and just hope that anything that can be done to prevent anyone else from the same fate should be done. Lives are worth more then people being able to see what Iraq looks like, and sometimes restrictions are for the better. I would be happy to show anyone who wants to see pics. Please don't take this as me being an ass or angry. I'm not, we just happen to see things a little different and thats not a problem with me at all.

[njgtr82]

i've seen images with low level clouds in it partially blocking some things, so they wern't totally able to avoid them all

[hiss srq]

the images are fairly old I am guessing because I have had my dormer on the house here for over 2 years now and our house is imaged without the dormer. I was pretty stoked to find my school I went to in Jamaica with that bad boy.

[Nick]

Before my sub ran out I had pin's for damn near every CONUS USAF base.

[Matt Molnar]

It's not as if Al Qaeda has the ability to drop precision bombs based on these photographs. The best they can do is lob an IED or drive a truck bomb into it, and I don't think their ability to get these photos would change the process of keeping a camp secure.