New Google Maps On North Korea Show Monuments, Nuclear Complex, Gulags

Map of Camp 22 shows previously unidentified structures -- such as guards compounds or the office of director.

North Korea On Google Maps: Monuments,Nnuclear Complex, Gulags -- CNN

(CNN) -- Ever wondered how to drive from the center of Pyongyang, the showcase capital of North Korea, to Yongbyon, the location of the secretive regime's main nuclear complex?

Well, a recent update to Google Maps has the answer for you.

It has filled in the big, largely blank space that previously lay north of the well-mapped South Korea with streets, towns and landmarks.

Users curious to virtually explore one of the world's most reclusive states can zoom into the heart of Pyongyang and pull up photographs of the Kumsusan Memorial Palace, which houses the bodies of the revered former leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il.

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More News On Google Maps Providing More Details On North Korea

North Korea Streets and Gulags: Google Maps Reclusive Nation -- ABC
Google Maps North Korea -- Wall Street Journal
Google Maps’ New Target: Secretive North Korea -- New York Times
Google unveils its new maps of North Korea -- L.A. Times
Google adds detail to North Korea map -- The Guardian
Google Unveils Detailed North Korea Map -- Voice of America
Locate the Gulags: Google unveils more detailed North Korea maps -- RT
Google Maps Extends Coverage Through North Korea, Includes Gulags -- Red Orbit
Google Maps presents North Korea through a new lens -- Christian Science Monitor
Google Fills In Some Blanks on Its North Korea Map -- Austin Ramzy, Time
Google Maps North Korea With Crowd-Sourced Data -- PCMag
Beyond the Google Map of North Korea -- Evan Osnos, The New Yorker

A Gallery Of Top Secret Australian Military Sites As Seen By Google Earth

Google Earth via news.com.au

Secret Australian Military Bases Revealed By Google Maps [PHOTOS] -- Business Insider

As an ode to Australian and British foreign and defense officials meeting in Australia today to discuss stronger military ties, Australian news site NEWS.com.au has compiled a gallery of top secret Australian military sites as seen by Google Earth.

Previously aviation historians have discovered that the U.S. flew highly classified Global Hawk spy drone missions from a base in South Australia, but we've never seen such a comprehensive look at the secret installations where Australia does classified work and collaborates with other governments.

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My Comment: It appears that you cannot keep a secret nowadays.

51 Things You Aren't Allowed To See On Google Maps

Blurred Out: 51 Things You Aren't Allowed To See On Google Maps -- ITSecurity

Depending on which feature you use, Google Maps offers a satellite view or a street-level view of tons of locations around the world. You can look up landmarks like the Pyramids of Egypt or the Great Wall of China, as well as more personal places, like your ex’s house. But for all of the places that Google Maps allows you to see, there are plenty of places that are off-limits. Whether it’s due to government restrictions, personal-privacy lawsuits or mistakes, Google Maps has slapped a "Prohibited" sign on the following 51 places.

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My Comment: I expected a longer list.

Ex-CIA Analyst Is Baffled By What China Is Building In The Desert

Photos Google Earth

What Did Google Earth Spot in the Chinese Desert? Even an Ex-CIA Analyst Isn’t Sure -- Danger Room

Late last month, former CIA analyst Allen Thomson was clicking through a space news website when he noticed a story about a new orbital tracking site being built near the small city of Kashgar in southwestern China. Curious, he went to Google Earth to find it. He poked around for a while, with no luck. Then he came across something kind of weird.

Thomson, who served in the CIA from 1972 to 1985 and as a consultant to the National Intelligence Council until 1996, has made something of a second career finding odd stuff in public satellite imagery. He discovered these giant grids etched into the Chinese desert in 2011, and a suspected underground missile bunker in Iran in 2008. When the Israeli Air Force destroyed a mysterious facility in Syria the year before, Thomson put together an 812-page dossier on the so-called “Box on the Euphrates.” Old analyst habits die hard, it seems.

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More News On A Mysterious Complex In China

The Chinese Google Earth mystery: Ex-CIA analyst spots strange buildings in the middle of the desert on satellite images -- Daily Mail
Mysterious Structures Shown In Chinese Desert By Google Earth Stump Former CIA Analyst -- Business Insider
What did Google Earth spot in the Chinese desert? -- Yahoo News
Mysterious structures in China raises suspicion -- Smart Planet
I spy: Another mystery uncovered by Google Earth -- Herald Sun

With Threats Of War And Sanctions .... This Is What Concerns Iran

Iran threatens to sue Google for not labeling Persian Gulf on its maps Photo by Google Maps

Iran Threatens To Sue Google For Leaving Persian Gulf Nameless -- Haaretz

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman says internet giant could face 'serious damages'; Tehran takes offence to some Arab states' insistence on calling the body of water the Arabian Gulf.

A senior Iranian official said Thursday that Tehran could sue Google over dropping the name of the Persian Gulf on Google Maps.

The threat comes after the famous search engine left the body of water between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula nameless on its online map service.

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My Comment:I guess Iran does not care about comments like this one.

How Social Networks And Google Earth Are Being Used In Libya's Civil War

How Social Media Users Are Helping NATO Fight Gadhafi In Libya -- Globe And Mail

Every morning at 7:30 a.m., in the picturesque woodlands of rural Ontario, a retired auto shop manager named Janice Clinch helps her grandson get ready for school and fires up her computer for another day of battle in the Libyan desert.

The 59-year-old has never met anybody from Libya. She has not visited the Arab world; chronic pain makes it hard for her to get around. But from her home near Seeley’s Bay, 40 kilometres northeast of Kingston, she joined a committed cadre of social media users who have become, in effect, volunteer intelligence analysts. On Twitter, Facebook and other services, they discuss satellite images, vessel tracking data and the latest gossip from their sources inside the country.

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More News On How Social Networks And Google Are Being Used In Libya's Civil War

Google points way for Libyan rebel artillery in fight against Gaddafi -- The Australian
Libyan rebels use Google Earth to target enemy -- British Forces News
Libyan rebels harnessing Twitter and Google Earth for insurgency -- The Drum
Libyan opposition turn to Google Earth, Call of Duty in battle against Gaddafi forces -- News.com.au
Google Earth, an iPhone compass and experience playing 'Call of Duty' have been vital to Libya's rebel war plan -- The Australian
Nato, Twitter And Air Strikes In Libya -- The Guardian
Nato using Twitter for airstrikes on Libya -- CBR Online
Anti-Gaddafi forces add Twitter to armoury -- Financial Times
Twitter Now a Part of the Intelligence Community's Toolbox: NATO -- TMCNet

Bin Laden's Compound Already Mapped on Google

Click On Image To Enlarge

Osama Bin Laden's Compound Already Mapped on Google -- The Atlantic

Less than an hour ago, President Obama addressed the nation in a special press conference held to announce the death of Osama Bin Laden. The September 11 mastermind was hiding out in a mansion in Abbottabad, Pakistan, about 80 miles north of Islamabad.

Bin Laden's compound is just north, as you can see below, of a hospital for women and children and a cinema. About 800 feet to the west is the Cantt Police Station. There's little information available about the station online, but a Flickr photo taken in February 2007 shows it in rough condition. The station, at that time, was "included in the demolition list of the provincial government works department," the caption claims.

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My Comment: I suspect that a lot of people will be passing by this compound out of curiosity in the next few days.