Truemors
Benjamin Franklin once said:
"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
The Pentagon said that Google (NSDQ: GOOG)'s Street Views is a threat to national security and made Google pull images taken on streets near U.S. military bases. Google complied with the governmental order, even though the images were taken from public streets. Freedom of information and security butt heads once again.
Personally, I think we need to support our government in protecting that which (if stolen, traded or bargained for) could harm our country and it's people in the long run.
Our military is looking at the big picture, while those individuals who would protest that their own freedom is being taken away.
If one weighs personal wishes against the country's security and protection - surely this should be a no-brainer.
Unfortunately it's not though, my view is an unpopular one as Americans scramble and continue to complain in all areas about our government and our military, year after year.
To me, this request is a different kettle of fish - entrances to military bases should be protected - and we must help them to protect whatever secrets they have, in order to protect the people in the long run.
Most people have lost faith in Bush and I have too, but not to the degree of calling for he and Cheney to be tried for war crimes, as has been touted in the news over the past few weeks.
We have to put things into perspective and attempt to separate government decisions against those of the military - we can't just say to hell with them all - we should not become a mob mentality calling for Bush and Cheney's head - that won't do anyone any good, least of all America at this point.
We need cohesiveness - not division.
The government was concerned
that the [Google] images, which included views of the entrances to military
bases, were a threat. Gen. Gene Renuart, head of the military command
responsible for homeland defense, said, "It actually shows where all
the guards are. It shows how the barriers go up and down. It shows how
to get in and out of buildings. I think that poses a real security risk
for our military installations."
But the images were taken from public streets,
where anyone could walk and take the same pictures and/or video and
post them to the Internet. The question remains whether the government
had the right to request that the images be removed.
I tried to take a photo of the Thai embassy because it was spectacular in it's colorful and bold architecture, however an official came out to ask me not to take a photo for security reasons. I was quite happy to comply, because it made perfect sense to me.
Google spokesman Larry Yu said, "We have been
contacted by the military. In those instances where they (the U.S
military) have expressed concerns about the imagery, we have
accommodated their requests."
Street Views has caused controversy from the
start. Many privacy advocates claimed that even though images were
taken in public places -- where no reasonable assumption of privacy
really exists -- people were being exposed doing things they might not
wish to have plastered on the Internet for all to see.
According to this Reuters
report, "a man was pictured exiting a San Francisco strip club. In
another case, a woman was shown sunbathing. Complaints have even
included a woman asking that a picture of her cat be taken down, a
request Google denied."
Of course if it's going to cause strife in his marriage, then he simply shouldn't be doing it - this is his problem.
As for sunbathing, where the heck was she when this happened - I'd like to see some evidence of that one.
Am I worried about the monopoly Google is acquiring as the years go by? Yes I am - their computers must have personal information on billions of people by now, including everyone's emails sent via G-Mail - which they keep by the way. No email is ever discarded, it just sits in the computer banks at Google forever as does anything that people use Google for, including all profiles etc.
THIS is what everyone should be worried about, not whether or not they're caught walking down the street. However, now with the advent of Google Streets, I must make sure to smile pretty and make sure that I wear lipstick when I go for a walk with my cocker spaniel!
~ Swan
Sources:
Information Week:
Google Caves to Pentagon Wishes by Eric Zeman
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