Georgian woman cuts off web access to whole of Armenia

kicknhorse

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I heard this on the radio this morning, but I know some of you prefer a source otherwise it is not classed as truth...

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/0...cuts-web-access

QUOTE said:
An elderly Georgian woman was scavenging for copper to sell as scrap when she accidentally sliced through an underground cable and cut off internet services to all of neighbouring Armenia, it emerged on Wednesday.

The woman, 75, had been digging for the metal not far from the capital Tbilisi when her spade damaged the fibre-optic cable on 28 March.

As Georgia provides 90% of Armenia's internet, the woman's unwitting sabotage had catastrophic consequences. Web users in the nation of 3.2 million people were left twiddling their thumbs for up to five hours as the country's main internet providers - ArmenTel, FiberNet Communication and GNC-Alfa – were prevented from supplying their normal service. Television pictures showed reporters at a news agency in the capital Yerevan staring glumly at blank screens.

Large parts of Georgia and some areas of Azerbaijan were also affected.

"It was a 75-year-old woman who was digging for copper in the ground so that she could sell it for scrap," said a spokesman for Georgia's interior ministry said yesterday.

Dubbed "the spade-hacker" by local media, the woman – who has not been named – is being investigated on suspicion of damaging property. She faces up to three years in prison if charged and convicted.

A spokesman for Georgia's interior ministry said the woman was temporarily released "on account of her old age" but could face more questioning.

The damage was detected by a system monitoring the fibre-optic link from western Europe and a security team was immediately dispatched to the spot, where the woman was arrested. The interior ministry said she had no accomplices.

The cable is owned by the Georgian railway network. It is heavily protected, but landslides or heavy rain may have exposed it to scavengers.

Pulling up unused copper cables for scrap is a common means of making money in the former Soviet Union. Some entrepreneurs have even used tractors to wrench out hundreds of metres of cable from the former nuclear testing ground at Semipalatinsk in Kazakhstan.

I bet they still have faster internet than we do here in England...


EDIT: As per one of my comments below, I heard on the radio that she will not go to prison because of her age, so please do not judge Georgia on this.
 

coolness

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lol the best news of the day
biggrin.gif
 

cosmiccow

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Man, that's hilarious. Best news of the day indeed =)

But three years in prison is too harsh if it was just an accident (granted digging for scrap metal is not a capital crime over there)
 

kicknhorse

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cosmiccow said:
Man, that's hilarious. Best news of the day indeed =)

But three years in prison is too harsh if it was just an accident (granted digging for scrap metal is not a capital crime over there)

Yes, it is quite harsh. What I heard on the radio though was that she had been let off any prison sentence due to her age.
 

ProtoKun7

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kicknhorse said:
cosmiccow said:
Man, that's hilarious. Best news of the day indeed =)

But three years in prison is too harsh if it was just an accident (granted digging for scrap metal is not a capital crime over there)

Yes, it is quite harsh. What I heard on the radio though was that she had been let off any prison sentence due to her age.
And the possibility she won't live through the sentence?
ninja.gif
 

Deleted member 473940

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1 Cable and 90% of internet gone?
I wonder how many people use internet in Armenia o.o.
Dont they have other ways to access the net? Just that one fibre optic connection o.O
 

Shockwind

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The woman is released from prison because of her old age.
unsure.gif
And the woman is searching for copper cables to sell and ended up cutting off the web access of the whole Armenia. Wow.
ohmy.gif
 

CyborGamer

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So... basically people lost the internet for 5 hours and everyone freaks then decide to charge an old lady with a 3 year sentence? It's perfectly reasonable to fine someone for property damage or something but a jail sentence?

It's a good thing the internet didn't exist in the medieval times, heads would roll.
 
Z

Zorua

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Wow, a 75 year old gets a 3 year sentence just because she cut off internet access to Armenia for 5 hours and that too by mistake! What the hell is wrong with people these days?
 

Bladexdsl

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Zorua said:
Wow, a 75 year old gets a 3 year sentence just because she cut off internet access to Armenia for 5 hours and that too by mistake! What the hell is wrong with people these days?
they must not have anything else better to do in Armenia except use the net...
 

Guild McCommunist

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If anyone was a drum kit please read the following and do a comedic drum roll after each.

Women, huh?

They touch any electronics and they break!

If they can't get the internet back up, they sure can take it down!

Looks like some copper got her some coppers!

Insert sexist joke here!
 

CrimzonEyed

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Guild McCommunist said:
If anyone was a drum kit please read the following and do a comedic drum roll after each.

Women, huh?

They touch any electronics and they break!

If they can't get the internet back up, they sure can take it down!

Looks like some copper got her some coppers!

Insert sexist joke here!
this one?
smile.gif

http://www.ilovewavs.com/Effects/Music/Sou...-%20Rimshot.wav
 

DSGamer64

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You know it's also not cheap to repair internet access if a cable is damaged right? Gotta pay a crew to go out, find all the locates for various other services in the ground, get the equipment to dig it out and pay the guys to install a new one, not sure what wages are like there but I am sure construction crews get more then the average joe.
 

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