Officials in the small city of Kiryat Yam have filed an official police complaint to force Google to settle in its favor an Arab-Israeli land dispute.
(Update: Google tells me it's not their job. See below.)
At issue is this user-generated notation placed on the image of Kiryat Yam that is visible via Google Earth:
This is one of the Palestinian localities evacuated and destroyed after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. For basic information about this locality, including brief history, the 1948 events, its current status, pictures and statistics, visit: www.palestineremembered.com.
The notation is labeled Arab Ghawarina.
Kiryat Yam officials contend that the passage is patently false, according to this Arutz Shiva report:
Those who see Kiryat Yam on Google Earth are told that the city was built on the ruins of an Arab town from which innocent civilians were expelled. In fact, officials said, the city was built by Holocaust survivors on land that was completely barren and had not been settled in the past. The false information was placed as part of a deliberate attempt to hurt the city's interests, they said.
I've been unable to ascertain whether the city approached Google directly for relief - one would presume it did - or how Google replied. I have a request in to the Google press office.
(Update, Google's reply:)
While we recognize that some may find the user generated content objectionable, we are careful to balance the integrity of an open forum with the legal requirements of local governments. It looks as though this particular user-contributed annotation does not breach our Terms and Conditions nor is it in any way illegal.
The Google Earth community layer is a place where people can tag their knowledge or opinions of a location. Their comments are clearly indicated with the 'I' icon and this layer can easily be switched on and off.
We believe the majority of people use the community positively to share their expertise and experiences. In most cases, our users increase the utility of the product and provide a more meaningful and robust experience for each other with their contributions to the Google Earth community.
The matter was first brought to my attention by the author of Israel-On-Blog, who tells me via e-mail that the story was featured on television news there today, so it has the makings of a genuine international incident, of which Google seems to attract more than its share.
(Update 2: The International Herald Tribune has more details, including comment from the man responsible for the dispute notation. He says he's amenable to moving the notation if it is proven incorrect.)
(Update 3, Feb. 15: Seems Google has another cartographical controversy on its hands, this one having to do with its decision to rename the Persian Gulf. ... They can do that?)
Welcome regulars and passersby. Here are a few more recent Buzzblog items. And, if you'd like to receive Buzzblog via e-mail newsletter, here's where to sign up.
Blackberry outage endangers Valentine's Day.
'Reform' may kill EFF's 'Patent Busting Project.'
Get $500 just for going on a job interview. (No, really.)
Scott Adams on giving away Dilbert via widget: 'risky,' but 'fun'
My brother's brush with Vespa bandits.
Top 10 Buzzblog posts for '07: Verizon's there, of course, along with Gates, Wikipedia and the guy who lost a girlfriend to Blackberry's blackout.
8 can't-miss tech predictions ... for 1998
This year's "25 Geekiest 25th Anniversaries."
|
|
Very confused people
Google Earth has at least hundreds of thousands of user-generated layers, none of which are checked for accuracy. I could just as easily make a user layer with a placemarker that says, "This is where the Apollo moon landings were staged." This has nothing to do with Google, and everything to do with someone with a POV, and someone else that doesn't no how to read the instructions to their software.
Understand what the tool is.
Don't go to a public forum and expect to only see things that you agree with. I would no sooner block this mans ability to voice his opinion that I would block yours to voice your disagreement.
Cartography politics can be
Cartography politics can be interesting. During the Beta's of windows 95, the time-zone selector highlighted the time zone that you had selected. This was a nice visualization of the time zone (and most people can recognize where in the world they are). Good stuff.
Until either Pakistan or India objected to a few pixels near kashmir (sp?). Because of that border dispute, Microsoft didn't want to be seen as taking sides (as they really didn't have any opinion on the matter), and didn't want to alienate either potential market. So they removed that feature.
feel sorry for people that sue google for that
poor people when real war and disputes about real territories is not enough, lets start virtual ones about some virtual maps. We can not cure that, the religion disease has gone to deep into their brain
Please stay on topic
This space is for discussion of Google Earth and the disputed notation, not the underlying issues of religion, history and politics. I am deleting comments that stray. Thanks.
Arab Ghawarina
In this case the poster is wrong, and it's an error that could be avoided by doing some simple research. According to the British-sponsored PEF map from 1880, Arab Ghawarina is a marked as a region east of Acre today populated with Arabs and there is no evidence of any population in the area marked by Darby. Arab Ghawarina is a Bedouin tribe which, being nomadic was in many places, today settled in Jisr A' Zarka, Israel.
Unfortunately, Google does not accept posts for the Earth Browsing category to enable commenting, so basically they are not being impartial in this case and their response does not reflect reality.