U.S. Blurs High-Tech Washington Images

[Systematic Chaos]

By TED BRIDIS, AP Technology Writer

WASHINGTON - The government is selectively blurring some of its highest-quality aerial photographs of Washington to hide objects in plain view on the roofs of the White House, Capitol and Treasury Department.

<snip>

Experts said they feared the unusual decision reflects a troublesome move toward new government limits on commercial satellite and aerial photography, a booming industry driven by recent technology advances and including some major companies based outside the United States.

Some commercial satellites already can snap photographs almost as detailed as those images shot from airplanes ordered blurred by the government.

Some experts also questioned the effectiveness of blurring one set of government-financed photographs. Tourists can see the roofs of the White House and U.S. Capitol from dozens of tall buildings downtown, and the Web site for the National Park Service shows a June 2002 photograph of the White House from atop the Washington Monument.

Complete Story

[rfranklin]

1. This is typical of why they will not be successful in combating terror...

They are too freaking stupid.

[rfranklin]

4. Kerckhoff's Principle says they will fail...

"Every secret creates a potential failure point...something likely to make a system prone to catastrophic failure.,,"

Great article about why all the Homeland Security measures are doomed to fail and fail badly:

http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2002/09/mann.htm

[SharonAnn]

11. Great article - thanks for the link. I hadn't seen this before.

Really good stuff here, it's part of what's sometimes called the "male" vs "female" approach. The "male" approach is to get a bigger hammer, i.e. stronger cryptography. The "female" approach is ask "what are we trying to accomplish and what are the various things we can do?" and considers ideas that are outside previous approaches.

Please, no flaming. I know it's stereotypical but it was a shorthand description i once heard and it made a certain amount of sense.

Kind of like, preventing war might not be just having bigger weapons, it might be trying to find other ways to prevent war.

[flamingyouth]

2. I read this in the paper this morning

And was thinking, :wtf: I mean, like this article points out, can't most people see these particular structures from other high-rises? Once again, the mind reels.

How much do you want to bet that the Photo-Blurrers-Association is a major GOP contributor? :evilgrin:

[MostlyBlackCat2]

3. wow, a new career path for me!

given how much I suck at photoshop, I should apply for a job as a photo blurrer. it would be fun just to tell people that's what I do!!

[Systematic Chaos]

5. ROFL

You sound like your skills are "good enough for Gubbernmint work"!

:)

[rfranklin]

6. Gaussian blur of about 20 pixels...

Looks just like the old nudist magazines where they blurred the private parts.

[Pale_Rider]

7. Keyhole imagery is still sharp ...

... with no degradation as of yet. Still can make out cars behind the Capitol Building.

http://www.keyhole.com

[Onward]

8. No, Wait

I thought the world was a safer place, now.

[DBoon]

9. Maps in the Soviet Union?

Weren't street maps in the Soviet Union similarly restricted for national security reasons?

So who actually won the Cold War?

[mbperrin]

10. News flash! "All buildings and monuments in DC

to be miniaturized to one story" and "Local residents need to report for mandatory blindings."

Yes, more valuable work for *Bush family and friends!