Naval Observatory (fmr. Cheney Residence) Returns from Google Map Obscurity

[NYC_SKP]

DUers may have read that Dick Cheney (we think) had satellite views of his temporary home, the US Naval Observatory, obscured in Google Maps and Google Earth.
Why? Because he was super secret and just so much better than you and I, I guess, the rat-fuck.

Well, I just checked and it's back, un-obscured, just like before, like your house and my house!

:bounce: :applause: :bounce:

See for yourself: 1 Observatory Cir NW, Washington, DC 20008

Some background from a July 23, 2008 "wired" article:
Update:

The official word from Google is that they are not hiding Dick Cheney's house on purpose. Or more precisely, everybody is hiding Dick Cheney's house. How's that for a conspiracy? Google notes that if you look at the high-resolution imagery of Cheney's personal bunker, I mean, house, on Yahoo Maps, it's also blurred, as well as on Microsoft Live. "Our imagery generally comes from third-party suppliers, some of which may blur images before they provide them to Google," a Google spokesman tells me. "We strive to publish the best data possible, and take into account many elements when determining what imagery is optimal, such as imagery date, resolution and clarity. We may elect to show imagery that contains blurred elements where we determine that the image quality overall is the best."

One of the problems with comparison, as has been noted by many, is that these services don't always time stamp the images or make it clear if it's an earial image or satellite photo. I haven't done the comparison on Microsoft Life yet, but it would appear at first glance on Yahoo Maps that the residence is indeed pixelated, but only when you get down to the sharpest resolution, which I would presume is an earial photo. Google Map's burred image is marked as a Digital Globe satellite photo.

None of this answers the question of who is blurring the imagery, and why? Government-provided imagery, which services like Google Earth use, may indeed come pre-blurred over sensitive sites, but the commercial satellite providers say they only fuzz up their images in response to government regulations on resolution (which does not include any special treatment for the VP, Bush, or anyone else. When I get some time next week, I'll continue with this interesting question based on some of the "blurred" locations sent to me by DANGER ROOM readers.
http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/07/what-is-google.html

:bounce: :patriot: :bounce:

[lynne]

1. Since the Naval Observatory is the home of the VP, I would think it was done for security reasons -

- So, now it's so clear we can see Biden in the bathroom, huh??? Security should LOVE that!

[NYC_SKP]

2. Ah, true, but it wasn't done to the White House, or Ft. Knox, or anywhere else..

..that I'm aware of, which is what made it so peculiar.

[arcadian]

11. Actually, Google used outdated material for those photos.

n/t

[RollWithIt]

3. Honestly, on this one I have questions, seems like the VP House would warrant security concerns...

But I do trust the Secret Service to provide proper security.

[NYC_SKP]

6. See comment #2. The White House was never blurred on Google.

Or the Pentagon or CIA headquarters.

I see nothing more special about the Naval Observatory than these places.

I'm thinking it was just captain weird, D. Cheney.

[arcadian]

4. I have pics of that place.

[NYC_SKP]

5. Thanks for the pic!

I'm glad it's no longer treated like secret private property.

Last time I checked, it was OUR observatory (and vice-presidential residence).

:patriot:

[traxster]

8. He was such a strange man!

I used to think that he wasn't as bad as people thought he was. And when he started the "Legacy Circuit" I realized that he really, really, was.

[NYC_SKP]

10. What was up with that "Man-Sized" Safe in his Office???

:wtf:

"The Post reveals that he has a "man-sized" safe in his office to keep the ordinary working papers out of reach of the National Archives and Records as provided by federal law. When the Archives demanded access to the papers, he tried to abolish the agency for daring to seek access to his documents.

The biggest charge against Cheney is that he has transformed the executive office into one of unlimited and unaccountable power. "Cheney has viewed recent American history as a struggle between the imperial presidency necessary in a brutish world and the naïve, undependable and in some cases disloyal constraints of Congress," said Mr Blumenthal."

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/cheney-master-of-stealth-readies-himself-for-the-final-act-of-imperial-vicepresidency-455154.html

:hi: And, welcome to DU!

[That Is Quite Enough]

12. Well, knowing Cheney...

It probably served as an icebox to store the bodies of people he wished 'disappeared.'

Or else it contained his Above Top Secret documents.

Or maybe it contained a portal to the future so that he could travel back to SkyNet for repairs.

The mind wobbles at the possibilities, really.

[arcadian]

9. It used to be the residence of the Chief of Naval Operations

n/t

[LiberalFighter]

7. It got blurred because they shot the photos when Cheney was on top of the roof

naked sunbathing.


Just be thankful we didn't get to see that or we all be blind like Al Bundy in "Married with Children".

[seaker]

13. Maybe

it was one of the secret houses now revealed by order of our new President!

[leftstreet]

14. At least it's still there. Chernobyl is, like, gone

Wouldn't have surprised if they'd had to quarantine the place