CNN Thinks Google Earth 'Blurred Out' Times Square After Attack
On CNN, discussing the attempted Times Square bombing, anchor Don Lemon asked former FBI Assistant Director Tom Fuentes why the area was "blurred out on Google Earth because of this security alert." Fuentes, ignorantly, said it was a security measure.
It is somewhat depressing that both men — a prominent news anchor and a former FBI Assistant Director of International Relations — think that Google Earth is real time, and subject to being 'blurred' by the NYPD. Someone eagle-eyed at Geekosystem, spotted the ludicrous exchange and posted it:
Lemon: My question to Mr. Fuentes would be: what does that mean? What should we garner from this when this area is even blurred out on Google Earth because of this security alert?
Fuentes: I think they don't want you to see exactly what kind of work they're doing, and also they're searching other parts of the area just to be safe.
Sigh. Or, you know, it could be that Google doesn't in fact have satellite cameras following every inch of the earth 24 hours of the day, and the image was just a bit slow to load.