President Claudia Sheinbaum says lawsuit has been filed after US lawmakers voted on name change

Mexico has sued Google for changing the Gulf of Mexico’s name to “Gulf of America” for Google Maps users in the United States, Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico’s president, said on Friday.

“The lawsuit has already been filed,” Sheinbaum said at her morning news conference, without saying where and when it was submitted.

On Thursday, Republicans in the House of Representatives approved legislation to codify Donald Trump’s policy of renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America”.

  • ShittyBeatlesFCPres@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    As someone who lives near it, I’ve never heard a single person — even Trump supporters — call it anything but “The Gulf” or “Gulf of Mexico.” Google should let locals decide the name and not some effete New York dandy who has probably never even gone fishing, much less participated in the Grand Isle Tarpon Rodeo.

    • futatorius@lemm.ee
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      2 days ago

      Google should never have grovelled, and instead should have gone to one of the official geographic societies for correct nomenclature.

      not some effete New York dandy who has probably never even gone fishing

      There is no chance that Trump could outwit a fish.

    • Whats_your_reasoning@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      Fishing, a hobby reliant on both skill and luck, where practioners must be patient for long periods of time…

      Yeah, I just don’t see Trump doing that. Even if somehow he were roped into a fishing event, he’d probably make someone else hold his fishing rod and do all the work. He’d still take credit if that person made an impressive catch, of course. But if they didn’t catch the absolute Biggliest fish? He could simply deny having taken part in the activity.

      Now that I’m thinking about it, I wonder how many Trump voters would change their mind if Trump joined regular, working class people for a day of fishing. No, seriously. Although I don’t fish, my dad’s an outgoing fisherman, who chats up everyone with a rod out at the lake. I can imagine lots of fishers being excited to have Trump around - at first. But his boasting, his impatience, and his loud voice scaring fish could become very grating very fast. He’d probably have no idea how to hold a flopping fish, a skill that most fishers figure out while still kids, sometimes through the peer pressure of laughter… Which makes it easy to imagine Trump’s illusion of “strong masculinity” shattering the moment a slimy fish tail flails across his orange face (go ahead - take a moment to picture it. You deserve a treat.) People would laugh, Trump would feel his ego bruise, and he’d react the way we all know he would - like a toddler.

      Yeah, some voters would walk away with their opinions unchanged, but it would be very eye-opening for many.

    • garbagebagel@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      I am from the Gulf coast and have always said, when describing where I’m from “the Gulf coast”, but since all this bullshit I’ve been making it a point to say I’m from “the Gulf of Mexico”, cause fuck that guy. But also it’s fucking dumb, it’s all just sea, who gives a shit. Next thing you know he’ll be saying the “pacific of America”

  • atzanteol@sh.itjust.works
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    4 days ago

    I hate the move to rename it as well but… Good luck with that. I can’t see why any court would even entertain such a suit.

    • adarza@lemmy.ca
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      4 days ago

      “All we want is for the decree issued by the US government to be complied with,” Sheinbaum said.

      “The US government only calls the portion of the US continental shelf the Gulf of America, not the entire gulf, because it wouldn’t have the authority to name the entire gulf,” she added.

      this suit pertains to google’s renaming of the entire body of water instead of just the bits over the u.s. continental shelf; or essentially the u.s. eez–which is no more than 200nm from land, less where it runs into another nation’s eez.

      that region extends roughly due east from the southern tip of texas to 200nm from flordia’s gulf coast, then south until it runs into cuba’s eez where it’s then split between the two countries.

      • atzanteol@sh.itjust.works
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        4 days ago

        But what law has been broken? Google can label it “The Gulf of Space-X Debris” and violate no law.

        • futatorius@lemm.ee
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          2 days ago

          Corrections should be submitted to Google naming it “The Gulf of Trump Can Lick My Taint.”

        • orcrist@lemm.ee
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          3 days ago

          Ask the article’s author. They could have linked to a PDF court filing but of course they didn’t, because they suck at journalism.

      • jago@lemmy.ca
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        4 days ago

        …the u.s. eez–which is no more than 200nm from land…

        200 nanometres is 0.002 centimetres. That converts to 0.00078 inches (a bit over 3/4096", if you prefer fractional representation). Surely that can’t be correct.

        • Nelots@lemm.ee
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          4 days ago

          I made the exact same mistake in my head before remembering the word nautical exists.

        • Fushuan [he/him]@lemm.ee
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          4 days ago

          Sorry for being pedantic but, regardless of your misread of the nm unit, 200 nanometers are 0.00002 centimeters. 1 centi is 1e⁻², and 1 nano is 1e⁻⁹.

    • Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      It’s a petty thing that eats the available bandwidth of Trump’s lawyers. I’m all for it. Overload them with court cases.

    • Smoogs@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      You say that but there are some political judges that would jump at the chance to win against this one though

  • PeterisBacon@lemm.ee
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    4 days ago

    I would like to join the lawsuit. As an American in a deeply red state, this name change had caused me emotional distress. I would like to sue the US too, for them being flat out stupid.

  • pleasegoaway@lemm.ee
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    4 days ago

    We live in the stupidest timeline. What’s next?

    Trumpifornia? Yomerica National Park? New Trumpsico? The American Ocean?

  • Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    I appreciate the fact that she’s filing another law suit to eat up maga lawyers time with their own bullshit.

  • Siegfried@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    This is so stupid. I understand the feeling, but having “china” in it’s name does not give china a right over the china sea. It is just a name. The same goes for the gulf of Mexico.

    • Xanza@lemm.ee
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      2 days ago

      Hate to point it out, but it’s an entirely different scenario.

      43 USC §364.e: With respect to geographic names the pertinent decisions and principles issued by the Secretary shall be standard for all material published by the Federal Government. The United States Board on Geographical Names in the Department of the Interior created by Executive order, is abolished, and the duties of said Board are transferred to the Board herein created, and all departments, bureaus, and agencies of the Federal Government shall refer all geographic names and problems to the said Board for the purpose of eliminating duplication of work, personnel, and authority.

      We didn’t rename the Gulf, but the way its referenced from within the federal government (and its agencies) was changed by EO. Since Google is a government contractor, they’re contractually obligated (and legally obligated) to follow the nomenclature expressed by the US board on geographical names or they risk losing all of their government contracts.

      So did we change the name of the Gulf? No. Is it shown different to US residence now? Yes. Google additionally released a statement saying;

      “a longstanding practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources.”

    • futatorius@lemm.ee
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      2 days ago

      If you want to see how insane people can be driven by nationalism, look at how bent out of shape the Greeks got over a country in the former Yugoslavia daring to call itself Macedonia. People think names have magic powers, even some nitwits here in Baja Scotland.

  • Rose56@lemmy.ca
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    4 days ago

    That’s the right thing to do! International laws exist, and therefore to be used for anyone who needs it.

  • Buffalox@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    Obviously Trump’s rename of Gulf of Mexico was stupid, but this is ridiculous, how does Mexico imagine they have a right to decide what others call things?
    This is stupid meets stupid.

    • lsibilla@lemm.ee
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      4 days ago

      Respectfully, I disagree. They have maps border and place names tailored for each country they deserves.

      There is a single country in the world that recognises the name « Gulf of America ». Yet they show that name in all countries, wether that name is recognised or not.

      As a European, I don’t care how Trump names that body of water and it pisses me off each time I see that name, in French to make it even more ridiculous.

      • Buffalox@lemmy.world
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        4 days ago

        Yet they show that name in all countries,

        No, from the article this is the issue:

        for Google Maps users in the United States

        As a European they show both as Mexican and American in my language.
        The latter is of course moronic, because as you say it is not an acknowledged name in my country, but how would you suggest it is illegal in USA?