Hunting Nazi Gold with Google Maps

German hacking group No Name Crew earlier this month managed to hack the website of the far-right German political party the NPD. Someone has used the data to create a Google Map that lists the full names and addresses of 400 donors to the NPD.

The map contains a legend that says that it "might contain some errors..", which obviously does raise concerns that someone completely unrelated to the NPD could end up being targeted by a user of the map. I've therefore decided to not link directly to the map itself.

In 1998 the BNP, a far right group in the UK, similarly had its members' list hacked. A UK map developer also created a Google Map of the political party's members.



The map developer quickly took the map down, after realising that innocent people might end up being attacked. Instead he created a heat map of the UK, that didn't show individual addresses, but instead gave an overview of where in the country support for the BNP was stronger.

A similar approach from the German hackers or the creator of the NPD map would provide an interesting map of where support for the NPD is concentrated, without causing any risk to people's safety.

Via: taz.de

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London Bus Planners on Google Maps

There are around 7,000 red buses in London transporting passengers on over 700 different routes. BusIt London is a bus route planner that can help you navigate London's extensive bus network.

To plan a route just click on the Google Map to select your start and end points, or use the search box to find locations. BusIt London will then display your route on the map. If more than one route is available you can select from the alternatives given.

The sidebar explains where to catch your bus and which number bus you should get on. If you need to change buses on your route the stops where you need to change are also displayed in the sidebar.

BusIt London

Also See

• What Bus? - a Google Map of all London bus lines
• On a Bus - enter a London bus number and view the bus's route on Google Maps

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Wave Height & Direction with Google Maps

Meteo Mari e Venti

I think this is the first real-time wave height map that has been featured on Google Maps Mania. Meteo Mari e Venti is a Google Map that shows wave and wind height and direction predictions for the Mediterranean Sea.

There are four map views available on Meteo Mari e Venti, wave height and direction, period and wave direction, wind at 10m and wind gusts. Each of the maps show the current weather conditions. You can also view the forecasts for the next 120 hours using the buttons above the map.

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Deaths in Afghanistan by U.S. State

Afghanistan Casualties and Deaths by U.S. State

The Guardian has used Fusion Tables to create a map to show the number of casualties and deaths suffered by each U.S. state in the ten years of the war in Afghanistan.

The map lets you click on the map to view the details of deaths and casualties for the selected state. It is also possible to view a heat map for a number of different data sets.

The drop-down menu at the top of the map allows you to select the data for the number of soldiers killed in action, killed not in action, wounded in action and deaths as a percentage of state population.

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The Angling Trust's Google Map Campaign

Cormorant Watch

The UK's Angling Trust, has launched a new web site for anglers to record sightings of cormorants, goosanders and mergansers throughout the UK. The new site uses Google Maps to record user sightings of the birds in the UK.

The birds are having a major affect on UK fish stocks and the aim of the map is to gather data to help persuade the UK government of the need for action to protect fisheries. The map has been launched to coincide with the start of the coarse fishing season on rivers.

Anglers can record sightings and activity of cormorants anywhere in the UK, directly onto the map. Users can also use the map to view details of each recorded cormorant sighting and watch the real picture of cormorant predation in UK waters build up week by week.

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Custom Satellite View with Google Maps

Cartagen Warping Tool

The Google Maps API v3 has a great feature that lets you take and add your own Custom Street Views to Google Maps. Unfortunately it doesn't have a similar feature to add your own aerial imagery.

Step forward then Cartagen Warping Tool.

This tool allows you to upload your own aerial imagery and place it on top of Google Maps. The application includes tools that allow you to rotate and scale your images to fit the underlying map tiles.

In the unlikely event that you can't afford your own satellite you could always try and create aerial imagery with a kite or a remote controlled helicopter.

OK, the Google Maps API v3 actually does have a feature that allows you to add your own aerial imagery. You can use the Ground Overlay feature to place imagery on top of Google Maps. Using Ground Overlays though does mean that you will need to rotate and scale your own images.

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The World's Architecture on Google Maps

ArchMaps

ArchMaps is a Spanish language site that uses Google Maps and Street View to show the locations of great works of architecture.

ArchMaps has a very useful tagging system so that you can search for buildings by the name of the architect, by location, by date and by architectural style. Each building listed on ArchMaps can be viewed on Google Maps and, where available, can also be viewed in Street View.

World Architecture Map (WAM)

The World Architecture Map is a database of architectural information that uses Google Maps to show the locations of architectural interesting buildings around the world. It is possible to search for buildings on WAM by location, building type, architectural style or by tags.

Searching by location it is possible to view architectural maps for individual cities or by country. If you click on a building's map marker you can click through to a dedicated page about the building containing information, links and Flickr photographs.

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