Google Maps Error Dispute Continues To Escalate Between Nicaragua And Costa Rica
from the the-map-error-that-starts-a-war dept
We recently wrote about a dispute between Costa Rica and Nicragua, after a Nicraguan military official and his troops accidentally "invaded" Costa Rica allegedly relying on Google Maps, which placed the border between the two countries in the wrong place (oops). However, what's amazing to me is that the story has continued to escalate. Even though Costa Rica has no standing army, it mobilized its police force to go to that area, and now both sides are being urged to back down. Obviously, Costa Rica feels that this was much more than a Google Maps error (since corrected, by the way). Nicaraguan officials are now claiming that they didn't actually rely on Google Maps (though, it was wrong) and that they didn't actually invade Costa Rica, but the Costa Ricans aren't buying it. And no one seems to be explaining why the Nicaraguans have stuck round the area... The whole thing sounds like some important details are being left out, but it would be quite an unfortunate story if it turns out that a Google Maps error leads to war.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: costa rica, dispute, google maps, nicaragua
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
Sounds like bringing a knife to a gunfight.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: police force vs army
However the whole thing is certainly a good way to get tourists to go elsewhere. How many tourists want to go to a country where war is brewing?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Hrm.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Google has very little to do with this
Google maps has nothing to do with it really. Ortega just wants the OAS and UN to concentrate on the wrong thing: the border, and ignore his autocratic move.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
But was it really an error.
But this does beg the question, why was an army using an internet map service anyway? Shouldn't they be relying on something that is based on their own government’s documentation? Maybe someone was looking for a fight.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: But was it really an error.
Yeah, I never understood this.
I get that the idea is that these intentional 'errors' are designed to be read as 'creativity' and thus gain copyright, but has this been upheld in the courts? Why would intentional errors in a collection of data be any more copyrightable than regular errors?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: But was it really an error.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: But was it really an error.
And shouldn't there be a disclaimer on such sets saying "There are X number of errors in this?"
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: But was it really an error.
Maybe we should just get rid of copyright instead.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: But was it really an error.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Wasn't this kind of settled and don't blame Google.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Some political sites are discussing the theory, apparently known from other circles, that Nicuragua with financial support from other states has intentions of building a competing crossing of the central-American isthmus to the Panama canal.
The river marking the border with Costa Rica would be part of the new crossing and therefore knowledge of it's geography and control of access to it becomes important.
Apparently international treaty puts the entire river in Nicuraguan hands with Costa Ricas border beginning on their side of it with gaurantees of Costa Rican access for transport rather than as one might otherwise expect the border running down the rivers center.
Nicuraga is reportedly dredging to improve navigation of the river (whihc would happen reagrdless of plans for a canal) and the soldiers which crossed the line were doing such work as well as surveying.
It may have just been people getting on with work disregarding the niceities of soveriegnty. Though some observers suspect the new canal plan creates pressure for asserting direct contrl over both banks of the river.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Microsoft Vs Google Ad
Google: Hi, I'm Google
Microsoft: I provide email, search, IM, and maps
Google: I provide email, search, IM, and maps, and lots more!
Microsoft: Like wars
Google: ...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
In Terms Of Stupidest Excuses Ever For A War ...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: In Terms Of Stupidest Excuses Ever For A War ...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
-----
It is of course well known that careless talk costs lives, but the full scale of the problem is not always appreciated.
For instance, a human (see Earth) named Arthur Dent who, because of a Vogon Constructor Fleet, was one of the last two humans in the Universe at the time, once said "I seem to be having trmendous difficulty with my lifestyle." At the very moment that Arthur said this, a freak wormhole opened up in the fabric of the space-time continuum and carried his words far far back in time across almost infinite reaches of space to a distant Galaxy where strange and warlike beings were poised on the brink of frightful interstellar battle.
The two opposing leaders were meeting for the last time.
A dreadful silence fell across the conference table as the commander of the Vl'Hurgs, resplendent in his black jewelled battle shorts, gazed levelly at the the G'Gugvuntt leader squatting opposite him in a cloud of green sweet-smelling steam, and, with a million sleek and horribly beweaponed star cruisers poised to unleash electric death at his single word of command, challenged the vile creature to take back what it had said about his mother.
The creature stirred in his sickly broiling vapour, and at that very moment the words I seem to be having tremendous difficulty with my lifestyle drifted across the conference table.
Unfortunately, in the Vl'Hurg tongue this was the most dreadful insult imaginable, and there was nothing for it but to wage terrible war for centuries.
Eventually of course, after their Galaxy had been decimated over a few thousand years, it was realized that the whole thing had been a ghastly mistake, and so the two opposing battle fleets settled their few remaining differences in order to launch a joint attack on our own Galaxy - now positively identified as the source of the offending remark.
For thousands more years the mighty ships tore across the empty wastes of space and finally dived screaming on to the first planet they came across - which happened to be the Earth - where due to a terrible miscalculation of scale the entire battle fleet was accidentally swallowed by a small dog.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Google is not that important
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
CR has loads of tourism income (and they're milking it for every dime they can demand!), Nicaragua appears to have much less, and consequently, more to gain in coming up with a new scheme.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Google map dispute with Nicaragua and Costa Rica
I recently found some money, and went to a bit of trouble to return it to the rightful owner. Several people have indicated they lost respect for me for not keeping it!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]