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Why is the Gaza Strip blurry on Google Maps?

bbc.com

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Re: Why is the Gaza Strip blurry on Google Maps?

#231

Post by sequoia »

Kranar wrote: post #160
sequoia wrote: post #134

Tangentially related but where does this come from and why is it so widely repeated (as in this article): > ...Gaza, one of the most densely populated places in the world I've seen this claim (both in the "one of the most..." and " the #1 most..." forms) many times and I don't know where it comes from. What am I missing? Here[0] wikipedia says Gaza Strip has ~5,046/sqkm. I thought maybe Gaza City was meant, it's dens…

Can you find a single reference stating that it's the most dense city or area in the world? I tried looking for one but failed. There are well over 10,000 cities in the world and Gaza City is likely among the top 500 for population density, which would put it in the top 5%. Do you generally call things out as being untrustworthy for claiming that the top 5% is among the highest in a rank?

Here is a single reference: https://www.middleeastobserver.org/2016/07/12/pcbs-reports-g...

"Do you generally call things out as being untrustworthy for claiming that the top 5% is among the highest in a rank?"

The reason I consider this claim "misleading" is that I never see the "one of the most densely populated..." phrase on stories about Paris, Kathmandu, Seoul or any of the hundreds of more densely populated areas, yet I constantly see it in reference relatively much-less-densely-populated Gaza. When I start seeing news stories that read "The mayor of Hoboken NJ, one of the most densely populated areas of the world, opposes a measure that would increase affordable housing..." then the phrase won't make me scratch my head anymore.

Why does this phrase always come up in relation to Gaza and not the hundreds of other cities/regions that are more densely populated?

If we're trading references, can you show me some where the BBC refers to Paris as "one of the most densely populated places in the world?"

Re: Why is the Gaza Strip blurry on Google Maps?

#232

Post by karmicthreat »

acomjean wrote: post #180
jrochkind1 wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My memory says that US government GPS at one point intentionally introduced reduction in accuracy/resolution as well, but they stopped, which was part of what led to the commercial GPS revolution (along with cheaper tech of course). Let's see... Wikipedia seems to confirm: > During the 1990s, GPS quality was degraded by the United States government in a program called "Selective Availability"; this was discontinued o…

When I was a civil engineer last century gps accuracy was an issue because people wanted to use gps for surveying. They came up with a system that would use 2 receivers and a radio between them to get much higher accuracies. https://www.e-education.psu.edu/natureofgeoinfo/book/export/... I think the US Government can also shut it off at a moments notice.

Those two radio systems are still used. Just that many states have CORS sites that post correction information.

Re: Why is the Gaza Strip blurry on Google Maps?

#233

Post by jtsiskin »

ComputerGuru wrote: post #211
kzrdude wrote: post #187

It's usually called satellite imagery, but isn't most of the high-resolution, closest photos actually aerial imagery, not from satellites? In that case I would understand if there isn't that much coverage.

No; at least per the providers, actual low-orbit satellite imagery is available to the (paying) public at 50cm resolution.

That’s a little scary. If those covered the globe, you could see and track anyone anytime they left their house. This gets dystopian fast. Imagine the ad targeting. Or “sorry, we notice you haven’t been to the gym all month, we have raised your insurance premiums 10%”

Re: Why is the Gaza Strip blurry on Google Maps?

#234

Post by khuey »

nurgasemetey wrote: post #183
jrochkind1 wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My memory says that US government GPS at one point intentionally introduced reduction in accuracy/resolution as well, but they stopped, which was part of what led to the commercial GPS revolution (along with cheaper tech of course). Let's see... Wikipedia seems to confirm: > During the 1990s, GPS quality was degraded by the United States government in a program called "Selective Availability"; this was discontinued o…

As I recall, it was due to plane crash and US h̶a̶d̶ decided to make precise GPS available to public

After KAL007 was shot down by the Soviet Union in 1983 Reagan announced the fuzzy GPS signal would be publicly available. The US government didn't turn off Selective Availability until the late 90s.

Re: Why is the Gaza Strip blurry on Google Maps?

#235

Post by klyrs »

ComputerGuru wrote: post #215
iamacyborg wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can’t help but be excited by the possibilities of tech like Planet, so many interesting applications for their data.

Excited? Maybe I’m just getting old but it terrifies me.

Agreed, and the terrifying use-cases aren't hypothetical, they're the raison d'etre. There are some good "plowshares" type projects out there, but I'm not sure those ends justify the original and ongoing ones

Re: Why is the Gaza Strip blurry on Google Maps?

#237

Post by sequoia »

Kranar wrote: post #168
djhn wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That sounds like "technically correct with caveats".

So does OPs entire post. Gaza is, by all reasonable accounts, among the most densely populated areas in the world. There's no real reason to start questioning the credibility and trustworthiness of a news organization over the fact that Gaza is referred to as such, it's a very bizarre thing to fixate over.

Your point about my argument regarding BBC's credibility based on this one point is fair, I can see how my argument can reasonably be considered overstated.

Your point about "fixating" (assuming you're referring to me) is not fair. If you want to accuse someone of being fixated on this point, please direct your critique at the BBC and other media outlets who repeat the phrase about Gaza and only Gaza (not all of the other more populous places) constantly.

Re: Why is the Gaza Strip blurry on Google Maps?

#238

Post by slg »

DSingularity wrote: post #161
Trias11 wrote: post #135

The questions are: - Does Google deliberatly blurring Gaza strip? - Who benefits by artificially degraded quality of Gaza maps? - Does Google quietly taking political sides?

- Yes. - Israel. - Yes, see how they took a position on the heart of this issue — the occupied territories themselves. They literally erased Palestine from the map.

>- Yes, see how they took a position on the heart of this issue — the occupied territories themselves. They literally erased Palestine from the map.

The US government doesn't recognize Palestine. Therefore displaying the occupied territories as a distinct state would be the more politicalized option compared with displaying them as they currently do. Either way, it just goes to show that the idea of a company being apolitical becomes more difficult as it grows and eventually becomes impossible when you reach Google's size. There is no potential choice here that isn't going to be viewed politically.

Re: Why is the Gaza Strip blurry on Google Maps?

#239

Post by mtrovo »

betterunix2 wrote: post #141
rowanseymour wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the failure to establish a functional Palestinian state or government. Wonder whose fault you think it is that the Palestinians who currently live under what HRW and several Israeli human rights organizations consider apartheid, don't have a state.

I think it is the fault of Hamas, which derailed the peace process 15 years ago after running a political campaign that delegitimized the peace process itself (they claimed that it was actually terrorism, not diplomacy and negotiated deals, that had caused the Israelis to withdraw from Gaza). As I said, their first move after taking control of Gaza was to murder political opponents. They fought a civil war against Fa…

Sure, because life on Gaza strip on 2006 was all moonlight and roses. Hell even going back 30 years ago you wouldn't find much difference [0]. I wonder what political force or nation could be benefiting from this constant chaos.

[0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestine_(comics)

Re: Why is the Gaza Strip blurry on Google Maps?

#240

Post by stormbrew »

sequoia wrote: post #231
Kranar wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you find a single reference stating that it's the most dense city or area in the world? I tried looking for one but failed. There are well over 10,000 cities in the world and Gaza City is likely among the top 500 for population density, which would put it in the top 5%. Do you generally call things out as being untrustworthy for claiming that the top 5% is among the highest in a rank?

Here is a single reference: https://www.middleeastobserver.org/2016/07/12/pcbs-reports-g... "Do you generally call things out as being untrustworthy for claiming that the top 5% is among the highest in a rank?" The reason I consider this claim "misleading" is that I never see the "one of the most densely populated..." phrase on stories about Paris, Kathmandu, Seoul or any of the hundreds of more densely populated are…

Are Paris, Kathmandu, Seol, or Hoboken under blockade by a government that claims their land but makes the people on that land stateless, and also periodically bombs their urban infrastructure?

It's possible that the density of gaza is in some way relevant to the current events taking place there in a way that it might not be for the other places you've listed.

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