Yahoo News wrote:
..A 75-year-old woman arrested for single-handedly cutting off the Internet in Georgia and Armenia on Friday tearfully insisted she was innocent and said she had never heard of the web.
In a case that has attracted worldwide interest, pensioner Hayastan Shakarian is accused of forcing thousands of people in both countries offline for hours after hacking into a fibre-optic cable while digging for scrap metal.
But Shakarian, a Georgian of Armenian origin, told AFP that she was just a "poor old woman" who was not capable of committing such a crime.
"I did not cut this cable. Physically, I could not do it," she said, repeatedly bursting into tears as she spoke.
Shakarian, who lives in the poverty-stricken Georgian village of Armazi, around 15 kilometres (10 miles) from the capital Tbilisi, said that she had only been collecting firewood.
"I have no idea what the Internet is," she added.
The pensioner has been charged with damaging property and could face up to three years in prison if convicted.
"My mother is innocent. She is crying all the time. She is so scared," said her son, Sergo Shakarian.
The Georgian interior ministry said that despite her claims to innocence, Shakarian had already confessed to cutting the fibre-optic cable.
The incident on March 28 provoked lengthy debates on global Internet discussion forums after it was widely publicised this week.
Around 800 people posted comments about the case on the Engadget technology website, some arguing that the authorities should show leniency because of Shakarian's age and her impoverished situation.
The company that owns the fibre-optic cable, Georgian Railway Telecom, said that the damage was serious, causing 90 percent of private and corporate Internet users in neighbouring Armenia to lose access for nearly 12 hours while also hitting Georgian Internet service providers.
But although Georgian Railway Telecom insists that the 600-kilometre (380-mile) cable has "robust protection", this was not the first time that it has been damaged.
Many Georgians' Internet connections were also briefly cut off in 2009 by another scavenger who hacked into the cable while hunting for scrap metal to sell.
...
No, seriously? I thought it was an Onion article. Is Georgia's internet cable such that:
1) A 75 year old woman can cut the cable? (probably by hand, although not explicitly stated)
2) This is the second time it happened?
Optic fibre lines in post-Soviet space are sparsely laid and it's easy to cut entire regions off the grid. A friend of mine who was working for the comm industry said he knew a place where you could cut off the entire Russian Far East off the grid. So the story is easily believable.
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Yep. I actually work for a telco and cable theft and damage is a major problem outside the First World. I think we traumatized the folks from Alcatel when were first setting up DSL here after they saw all of the problems .
Copper lines are often deliberately cut and stolen, as the lines are somewhat valuable even to a junk shop and relatively easy to steal. Fiber, not so much, but it's often mistaken for copper lines.
I've also heard horror stories from our technicians about rats having some kind of compulsion to chew on and eat fiber lines (or their casing, they're not sure). I haven't seen it first hand, but it's problematic enough that we've switched the casing to something hopefully more chew-proof.
We've actually also had a case wherein (almost) our whole country lost its Internet connection a couple of years ago - a submarine cable was damaged due to an earthquake and took out Internet access for most of Sout East Asia. Taking out a few key points in a network can really muck it up given the scarcity of redundant systems.
What are the chances of two different people cutting through the same cable?
I think she should be let off, if she's digging for scrap metal it's clear she's in a pretty desperate situation poverty-wise, plus she's old, and is clearly sorry for what she did, if she did it.
Has the government thought of maybe, I don't know, putting up signs? If they haven't done that then it's pretty much their fault.
Yeah, I've always taken the subtext of the Birther movement to be, "The rules don't count here! This is different! HE'S BLACK! BLACK, I SAY! ARE YOU ALL BLIND!?
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Destiny and fate are for those too weak to forge their own futures. Where we are 'supposed' to be is irrelevent.
Captain Spiro wrote:What are the chances of two different people cutting through the same cable?
I think she should be let off, if she's digging for scrap metal it's clear she's in a pretty desperate situation poverty-wise, plus she's old, and is clearly sorry for what she did, if she did it.
Has the government thought of maybe, I don't know, putting up signs? If they haven't done that then it's pretty much their fault.
Depends how the cable's route are marked and known. Also whether it's a fiber only route or there are classic copper cables laid alongside it. If fiber only, signs could work, if it isn't, people will try to steal those and accidentally cut or damage the fiber cables*. Damage by construction equipment accidentally or intentionally (hey which one is cheaper? trying to work our way around the cable or paying damages after that?). Hungary's biggest ISP and everyone using their backbone network had a major outage a few years ago when road construction cut a backbone cable in the boonies and for some fuckup reason knocked out their NOC in Budapest on one Sunday afternoon.
* fiber cable is more sensitive to disturbances, especially dilation due to temperature changes, vibrations and bending the cable more than it's allowed will snap individual cables. Thinner cables could be broken by hand if you are strong enough for it.
Zinegata wrote:Signs are nice in theory. But we've found it's best not to assume that all of the people trying to steal a fiber cable can read signs :p.
How about a person with a spade, cutting through a cable, with an arrow pointing to a mushroom cloud and a skull? That should keep the peasants at bay
Yeah, I've always taken the subtext of the Birther movement to be, "The rules don't count here! This is different! HE'S BLACK! BLACK, I SAY! ARE YOU ALL BLIND!?
- Raw Shark
Destiny and fate are for those too weak to forge their own futures. Where we are 'supposed' to be is irrelevent.
Zinegata wrote:Signs are nice in theory. But we've found it's best not to assume that all of the people trying to steal a fiber cable can read signs :p.
How about a person with a spade, cutting through a cable, with an arrow pointing to a mushroom cloud and a skull? That should keep the peasants at bay
That assumes they bother to even look at the signs. I know the local power company has many issues with people going up to the power lines and trying to either steal cables or get an illegal electical connection.
People have died doing this, and the power company has tried various measures to warn people off, but they still keep doing it.
Poverty can drive people to do pretty desperate things.
Zinegata wrote:Yep. I actually work for a telco and cable theft and damage is a major problem outside the First World.
It's fairly frequent in the first world, too - I think last year my county had three or four deaths from people electrocuted while attempting to steal copper cable.
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Now I did a job. I got nothing but trouble since I did it, not to mention more than a few unkind words as regard to my character so let me make this abundantly clear. I do the job. And then I get paid.- Malcolm Reynolds, Captain of Serenity, which sums up my feelings regarding the lawsuit discussed here.
If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich. - John F. Kennedy
It's disturbingly common everywhere else as well.
There's only a few main cables around the world, so one foolishly dropped anchor, or earthquake, and you can kiss your donkey porn goodbye for a few hours
Yeah, I've always taken the subtext of the Birther movement to be, "The rules don't count here! This is different! HE'S BLACK! BLACK, I SAY! ARE YOU ALL BLIND!?
- Raw Shark
Destiny and fate are for those too weak to forge their own futures. Where we are 'supposed' to be is irrelevent.
Captain Spiro wrote:What are the chances of two different people cutting through the same cable?
I think she should be let off, if she's digging for scrap metal it's clear she's in a pretty desperate situation poverty-wise, plus she's old, and is clearly sorry for what she did, if she did it.
Has the government thought of maybe, I don't know, putting up signs? If they haven't done that then it's pretty much their fault.
Depends, the cynic in me suspects that "scavenging" is a polite way of saying "stealing" and she's only sorry she got caught.
She could have been legitimately looking for scrap, but cable theft is common enough that I'm suspicious.
Zinegata wrote:Signs are nice in theory. But we've found it's best not to assume that all of the people trying to steal a fiber cable can read signs :p.
How about a person with a spade, cutting through a cable, with an arrow pointing to a mushroom cloud and a skull? That should keep the peasants at bay
There was a case last year in my state (which I can't seem to find the details via google). The man tried to climb some abandon relay power station or some such to steal copper. Despite giant warning signs erected about it. He was not illiterate. He was electrocuted and required his legs to be amputated. He won the right to sue the government utility, presumably for negligence. I haven't heard what the outcome was, so presumably it might not have been heard in court yet. Of course he should also be hit hard for trespassing.
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Captain Spiro wrote:What are the chances of two different people cutting through the same cable?
I think she should be let off, if she's digging for scrap metal it's clear she's in a pretty desperate situation poverty-wise, plus she's old, and is clearly sorry for what she did, if she did it.
Has the government thought of maybe, I don't know, putting up signs? If they haven't done that then it's pretty much their fault.
Depends, the cynic in me suspects that "scavenging" is a polite way of saying "stealing" and she's only sorry she got caught.
She could have been legitimately looking for scrap, but cable theft is common enough that I'm suspicious.
Yes, "scavenging" is often a form of stealing, but it is possible she was looking for scrap, and yes, stealing portable items, with no intention of either hitting that cable or causing such disruption.
Of course, there's the questionable morality of a society that cares so little for the elderly that they are reduced to scrapping, but since my own nation is infamous for its neglect of the poor and needy within its own borders it's not like my own society is any better in that regard. I mean, hey, I'm hauling a half a pick up truck worth of scrap to my local recycling yard about every two months, main difference being I don't even think about going after cable - too many risks, regardless of the legality of it all (and I pride myself on being law-abiding on top of everything else).
A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory.Leonard Nimoy.
Now I did a job. I got nothing but trouble since I did it, not to mention more than a few unkind words as regard to my character so let me make this abundantly clear. I do the job. And then I get paid.- Malcolm Reynolds, Captain of Serenity, which sums up my feelings regarding the lawsuit discussed here.
If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich. - John F. Kennedy
Broomstick wrote:Of course, there's the questionable morality of a society that cares so little for the elderly that they are reduced to scrapping, but since my own nation is infamous for its neglect of the poor and needy within its own borders it's not like my own society is any better in that regard.
Welcome to the wonderful wold of pauperized post-soviet successor states, with a side order of oligarchaic dictatorship for government.
Heck, Turkmenistan's then strongman Saparmurat Niyazov abolished 1/3 of all and reduced 200,000 people's pensions back in 2006 when he needed the cash.
Niyazov was batshit crazy. He basically wrote his own holy book, destroyed the Soviet education system (which was a good secular education system) and made the country a Dark Age nightmare. He also erected a giant golden statue of self that is always facing the sun, using a rotation mechanism under the sculpture.
If people say Qaddafi was "insane", they should look no further than Turkmenistan and Qaddafi would seem a Human of the Enlightment compared to that piece of shit. Incidentally, no one did anything to stop this small, but resource-rich nation from reverting back to a Middle Age level of just about everything. Russia's capitalist masters, and the world with them, welcomed it. It meant lots of cheap Turkmeni oil and gas for everyone, after all.
Other post-Soviet despots, crooks, liars and thieves are more cunning and less crazy. This only makes them more dangerous.
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Just to add a few lines for the "people steal copper" issue:
Some time ago in south Italy, there were a few trains that got stranded since some fucker (more likely a group of) stole their suspended electric (copper) wires. They had to wait for a diesel-powered locomotive for hours with broken air-conditioning (that was broken from the beginning of the voyage anyway).
Hilarity ensued.
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Stas Bush wrote:Niyazov was batshit crazy. He basically wrote his own holy book, destroyed the Soviet education system (which was a good secular education system) and made the country a Dark Age nightmare. He also erected a giant golden statue of self that is always facing the sun, using a rotation mechanism under the sculpture.
If people say Qaddafi was "insane", they should look no further than Turkmenistan and Qaddafi would seem a Human of the Enlightment compared to that piece of shit. Incidentally, no one did anything to stop this small, but resource-rich nation from reverting back to a Middle Age level of just about everything. Russia's capitalist masters, and the world with them, welcomed it. It meant lots of cheap Turkmeni oil and gas for everyone, after all.
Except for Russia, I don't think any other nation in the world can really be condemned for not stopping him. Refusing to do business with batshit crazy dictators doesn't make them less crazy, just less rich. And military intervention in a country surrounded by Russia, Iran, and Afghanistan... physically possible maybe, but not something I can imagine anyone wanting to do without Russian consent.
Russia- well. They at least had the physical capacity to do something.
I've also heard horror stories from our technicians about rats having some kind of compulsion to chew on and eat fiber lines (or their casing, they're not sure). I haven't seen it first hand, but it's problematic enough that we've switched the casing to something hopefully more chew-proof.
I can confirm this, at least with my rabbit: she thinks that cables on the floor are twigs. In nature, rodents of all kinds grind their teeth on twigs on the floor if nothing more tempting presents itself.
So yeah, I can believe that rats chew cables. I heard a similar incident happening with one of my relatives and their escaped hamster.
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Zinegata wrote:Yep. I actually work for a telco and cable theft and damage is a major problem outside the First World.
It's fairly frequent in the first world, too - I think last year my county had three or four deaths from people electrocuted while attempting to steal copper cable.
Just yesterday 2000+ customers were shut off when some jackwipe stole the copper cable leading into their holler.
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Two days ago, they stole 1 mile of grounding wire of Austrian's Railway. (850 kg copper total)
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Ok, so someone digging accidentally cut a cummunications line. Other than the age of the person doing the digging and cutting,what the fuck makes this news worthy? Line breaks like this happen a lot, guys. Next thing I know we're gonna have a thread because some useless twat with a journalism degree decided to write a piece about the sky being blue.
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Mr. Coffee wrote:Ok, so someone digging accidentally cut a cummunications line. Other than the age of the person doing the digging and cutting,what the fuck makes this news worthy? Line breaks like this happen a lot, guys. Next thing I know we're gonna have a thread because some useless twat with a journalism degree decided to write a piece about the sky being blue.
What makes it newsworthy is that she managed to break the Internet connection of two small countries by cutting the cable- I for one would not have thought she could take down that much network that easily.
Highlighting the problem of cable theft/damage is always a good thing for us telcos. As is the vulnerability of most Internet networks.
Because, as I often joke, many Internet networks are held together only by little bits of tape and a smattering of good fortune. But when it goes down, lots of people get pissed and don't understand why they suddenly can't browse their porn sites.
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