Google denies Oz-blurring black op

Internet world superpower Google has denied conducting an Oz-blurring black op with its client state the US of A, which appears to have thrown out of focus swathes of Sydney ahead of the forthcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. For those of you not up to speed on APEC, the Lucky Country will from 2 …

[Trevor Watt]

Panoramio Photos

I am sure the Panaramio Photos still on Google Earth will be much more valuable to anyone planning anything than a simple overhead air-photograph.

[Anonymous Coward]

True or False

If this is just the result of a commercial spat, then we can expect to see new hi-res images credited to a different supplier, possibly before the conference is over.

But if the old hi-res images just magically reappear after the junket ends...

If I was the copyright holder of the original images, I'd be seeking redress from Google for trying to pass on the blame.

Now why is that blacked-out limo following me?

[Aaron Rae]

It still Hi-Res

If you look on http://maps.google.com.au/ its still there in HI-RES.

[Magnus Egilsson]

Blurrns Ball anyone?

Looks to me like the difference between Google and the US government is a bit on the blurry side. Is the Internet Megalith just another puppet on a string for those boffins in Washington or is it simply searching for new meaninngs of No Evil?

Google's spokesperson sounds more like a muppet from old cold war Kremlin.

Why would anyone want to bomb Bush, it would only result in a lot of crap around Sidney.

[Anonymous Coward]

they're lying and its easy to prove!

in mid-Oz summer Google did an aerial flyover in Sydney to update the images of our loverly city...

the new images of Mosman Bay showed Nelson, the massive 52m sailboat parked at the T-head on the northern end of the bay. last week the image reverted back to that of 2 30-40 foot motorised yachts from earlier in 2006.

some coincidence feh

[Anonymous Coward]

Enough Already..

Why don't they just remove GE and Google Maps and have bloody done with it?

The futility of censoring images and b) blatantly lying about it is incredulous.

A simple Google search brings up plans of the bloody place:

http://images.google.co.uk/images?num=20&hl=en&safe=off&q=sydney+opera+house+plan&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&um=1&sa=N&tab=wi

What's next? censor all web searches?

[Anonymous Coward]

Commercial Issue....

A comercial issue meaning someone else is selling hi-res images and has complained that google giving them away free is uncompetative, hence google took the padded envelope* from the reseller and removed the hi-res images.

If you or Mr Terry Wrist want them you to can buy them from the reseller.

*allegedly!

[bob_blah]

Horse bolted?

If they have in fact decided to blur the images to appease the US government, that doesn't bother me nearly as much as the fact that the US government would expect it to make a difference.

Do they honestly beleive that attackers would be so badly prepared that they needed to quickly look up Google Maps this late in the game? That illusion of security they have been trying to sell me for years is starting to blur a little.

[Anonymous Coward]

re: Horse bolted?

Of course they honestly believe attackers would be so badly prepared.

Look at the shoe-bomb man, the recent "attacks" in in the UK, etc.

Maybe they've finally awakened and realised that if a competent terrorist *REALLY* wants to do damage, they'll find a way regardless.

It's only the idiots you can stop.

[Chris]

Theyre right to be worried...

Someone seems to have nicked the lancaster (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/01/09/google_lancaster/)

[Dillon Pyron]

Images?

You mean they wouldn't have been there last year for on site reconn? And what are they going to do, drop bombs on it from 10,000 feet?

OTOH, the "terrorists" could be as dense as the guy who was googling safe cracker instructions while I was on site.

[Glen Turner]

Of course, you could always just use the government's photos

We don't need no stinking Google Earth when the state is printing its own satellite photos of the APEC meeting site.

http://www.smh.com.au/images/apecclosemap.jpg

[Anonymous Coward]

How To Hunt A Bush Pig

Well, if Bush is coming to Sydney, maybe we'll see those six missing rocket launchers the bike gangs nicked earlier this year get put to good use... :)

[Anonymous Coward]

If they can get all mobile phones in Sydney CBD shutdown...

I'm sure it's no big deal to get Google to temporarily change a few fiddling photos when they have the power to get all mobile phones in Sydney CBD shutoff for the duration.

Not to mention the mass street closures, rail closures and the all-but-essential restriction of civilian traffic into the city. You'd think we were living in 1963 Poland, not 2007 Australia.

[Richard Freeman]

Lucky Country ????

Oh yes Sydney is about to descend into even more chaos than usual - How Lucky we are.

We have had Blackhawks thundering up Pitt St on anti- terrorist exercises then turning around and thundering down the other way again.

At the moment we have some other helicopter (looks like a police logo on it) Flying around Circular quay and up Pitt st doing goodness knows what.

I am sure we are in more danger from these Helicopters (and so called anti-Terror exercises) than from Terrorists - of course if I was a Terrorist I would not muck about with explosives and stuff I would string a few steel cables between buildings down Pitt st and just wait for one of the Helicopters to run into them or if you wanted to be a bit more sophisticated and still have something go bang throw the cables across when ...... Oh hang on don't want those Terrorist nut-cases to get any ideas.....