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Why is the Gaza Strip blurry on Google Maps?

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

#591

Post by jakelazaroff »

sequoia wrote: post #589
jakelazaroff wrote: post #313

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because Gaza is, for all intents and purposes, a city-state, like Singapore or Hong Kong. It’s not really one part of a larger nation, so it doesn’t make sense to compare it to places that are. It’s also being blockaded by its neighbors, so there is no freedom of movement in or out. If rockets are fired at Bnei Brak, the residents there can flee to the rest of Israel. If rockets are fired at Gaza, the residents have…

> If rockets are fired at Bnei Brak, the residents there can flee to the rest of Israel. When rockets rain down on their homes, citizens of Bnei Brak can flee from their homes in car or on foot, go ??? somewhere (where exactly?) and hope they’re not blown to bits along the way. Wow, those privileged Israelis. The very lap of luxury.

Israel isn't big, but there are plenty of less likely (and less dense) targets than the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. Israelis can also leave the country. That's not "luxurious", but those are privileges that residents of Gaza don't have.

I'm not sure why you're responding so aggressively; you asked why Gaza is singled out as densely populated, and that's the answer.

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

#592

Post by three14 »

runarberg wrote: post #569
three14 wrote: post #442

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Whatever criticism Israel may or may not deserve over its current bombing campaign, you aren't going to convince anyone if you misuse phrases like "murdered in cold blood". That's just not what those words mean.

We like arguing in hypotheticals here on HN so lets bring a modified trolley problem into the discussion: This modified version has the trolley heading steady on course to the next station, there is nobody on the track and nothing will happen if you leave it alone. However you stand next to a lever, and if you pull the lever you will divert the trolley and it will hit 200 people (some are criminals but most aren’t).…

This is not a good-faith simplification of the situation in Gaza.

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

#593

Post by 3v1n0 »

woutr_be wrote: post #526
nroets wrote: post #480

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All Google products except the Google Translate App are blocked in China. So no Google maps. I spent 2 months cycling China from Hong Kong to Beijing. Despite only using Chinese characters, Baidu maps worked very well for me. I copied the characters I needed (Hotel, supermarket) into it from the translator. Here's my journal https://www.cycleblaze.com/journals/5000years

Regarding the “foreigners can’t stay here”, from what I know, this is because it requires extra work for hotels, they need to report your stay to the local police station, so usually smaller hotels, or the ones in non touristy cities just don’t do that. (And I believe that any tourist, needs to report their address to the local police station within a few days)

Something similar happens in Cuba as well.

There are cheaper places where only locals can go (and till some years ago, also the other way around was true)

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

#594

Post by bronzeage »

sequoia wrote: post #586
bronzeage wrote: post #562

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You mean that land which Israel withdrew from unilaterally, let it have a chance at prospering and instead of minding its own business they elected a terrorist organization, turned it into a millitary base and concentrated on firing rockets and kidnapping soldiers instead of showing they can responsibly control their land? Gaza is prime example of where Arabs and Palestinians tendencies lead them when left alone. Eve…

Downvoting because this is dehumanizing rhetoric, the kind used to rationalize all kinds of violence and oppression of a group of people. This kind of demonizing of one side or the other is exactly what I’m objecting to; both populations should be humanized and considered with empathy, neither side should be characterized as demonic or subhuman. No progress will ever be made in resolving this conflict if one side or…

But it is productive. It reminds you what happens if you are accidentally naïve enough to give Palestinians a chance to hurt you. They will take that chance at any cost and price because they do not care about their own wellbeing. And they did well in brainwashing the rest of their people into being bloodthirsty savages, the damage is already deep in their minds and hearts. Just taking a look at their schools and propaganda.

The Palestinians already chose to dehumanize themselves. They choose to teach their own children that nothing matters more than killing Israelis. They choose to raise their children into a brainwash of shahids. Nothing short of a massive generational counter-brainwash can fix this problem. It's damage rooted deep in the minds of Palestinians and no leader can fix it because no peaceful leader can arise and lead people who have been brainwashed into war since they were born.

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

#595

Post by oblak »

stewx wrote: post #576

TLDR: it used to be illegal under US law to distribute high-resolution images of Israel and Gaza. Now it's not. High-resolution images are available for purchase from satellite imaging companies but they haven't made it into Google Maps yet.

Pretty asinine if your claim about it being illegal in the pas is true. Making it illegal to know the truth about genocide... That's on a whole new level than turning Manning into Chalsea for revealing to the world how much US army cares for the conquered people

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

#596

Post by runarberg »

three14 wrote: post #592
runarberg wrote: post #569

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We like arguing in hypotheticals here on HN so lets bring a modified trolley problem into the discussion: This modified version has the trolley heading steady on course to the next station, there is nobody on the track and nothing will happen if you leave it alone. However you stand next to a lever, and if you pull the lever you will divert the trolley and it will hit 200 people (some are criminals but most aren’t).…

This is not a good-faith simplification of the situation in Gaza.

I know its not, that was sort of the point here. I made sure to qualify this with arguing in hypotheticals before coming up with the scenario.

Starting this sub-thread with a debate about what makes a cold blooded murder is another way of taking the debate into arguing hypotheticals and is not a good-faith tactic. What I did here is simply taking the bait and continuing to the logical next step.

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

#597

Post by banannaise »

throwaway5412 wrote: post #437
sequoia wrote: post #242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Looking at the country list, I see Israel is the #5 most densely populated country in the world. And Bnei Brak is the #5 most densely populated city, far more densely populated than Gaza. Bnei Brak was hit by rockets this week. Can you link me to some articles that refer to "Hamas firing rockets on Bnei Brak, one of the most densely populated cities in the world"? Or "on israel, one of the most densely populated coun…

> If not, my question for you is: why do we see this phrase so commonly in reporting on Gaza but not on other more densely populated areas? One difference is that most of its residents aren't allowed to leave, from my understanding.

On top of that, most of its residents, whether they are allowed to leave or not, are also stateless, which essentially locks them out of much of the developed world.

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

#598

Post by sequoia »

sofixa wrote: post #500
sequoia wrote: post #416

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just to clarify: these are the neighbours that expelled all their Jews leaving them refugees in Israel and also tried to destroy the country and many of which have not stopped trying for its entire history. Getting along takes two.

> Just to clarify: these are the neighbours that expelled all their Jews leaving them refugees in Israel and also tried to destroy the country and many of which have not stopped trying for its entire history. Getting along takes two Sure, if you decide to start there. If you start a little further away, around WWI and before WWII, you have Jews settling lands where they were a small minority en masse , and after WWII…

> Sure, if you decide to start there.

You seem to imply that the ethnic cleansing of the Jews from Arab Muslim countries was “caused” by earlier events. Are you suggesting that the ethnic cleansing of Jews in all Arab-Muslim states was justified by some other Jews buying land?

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

#599

Post by f430 »

hereme888 wrote: post #550
f430 wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure about sides here but if you launch rockets into cities indiscriminately and then the building where you keep your weapons, communication center using human shields after warning residents well ahead of time that the building will be blown up, actually gets taken out who is at fault here? Why are people even defending Hamas???! Does Israel not have right to defend itself? Is Israel like South Korea who gets a…

It's crazy how you got downvoted. Shows how much bias and misinformation exists even in HN. What you said is plainly obvious. If US mainland were ever attacked, no one here would object to a similar response.

There's a certain country that competes with US that has interest in stroking flames in a very clear cut rules of engagement. That said country also invests in YC companies hence the censorship against criticisms of that country on HN. I know dang is just doing what he's being told so I don't put this on the moderators.

If you attack Israel, don't be surprised when you get hit back. It's not like I'm oblivious to the sufferings of Palestinians either. They are in a bad place and paying the price of Hamas suicidalism.

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

#600

Post by sequoia »

jakelazaroff wrote: post #591
sequoia wrote: post #589

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If rockets are fired at Bnei Brak, the residents there can flee to the rest of Israel. When rockets rain down on their homes, citizens of Bnei Brak can flee from their homes in car or on foot, go ??? somewhere (where exactly?) and hope they’re not blown to bits along the way. Wow, those privileged Israelis. The very lap of luxury.

Israel isn't big, but there are plenty of less likely (and less dense) targets than the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. Israelis can also leave the country. That's not "luxurious", but those are privileges that residents of Gaza don't have. I'm not sure why you're responding so aggressively; you asked why Gaza is singled out as densely populated, and that's the answer.

I’m responding with derision because you’re so casually hand-waving away attacks on Israel as no big deal or not the same because they are “able to flee” (you still haven’t specified where is the safe place they can flee to). Have some empathy for Israeli civilians, just as you have empathy for Gazan civilians.

As for the technical question of “most densely populated“ or “more densely populated“ I don’t know why people keep bringing up stuff like supposed “ability to flee“ “bordered by other countries or by the sea or surrounded by countryside“ when arguing about population density. None of these things change the population density. Otherwise I could say “Hawaii is extremely densely populated by virtue of the fact that it’s really really really far from continental mainlands“ which makes no sense.

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