Georgia (the country) alleges scavenger, 75, shut down Internet

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) - An elderly Georgian woman who allegedly shut off Internet service in her country and neighboring Armenia while scavenging for copper cable is facing charges that could lead to three years in prison.

Authorities say 75-year-old Aiyastan Shakaryan severed a fiberoptics cable on March 28, shutting off the information highway in much of Georgia and all of Armenia for several hours. The cable ran parallel to a railroad track in eastern Georgia where she was allegedly scavenging.

Georgian Interior Ministry spokesman Zurab Gvenetadze said Thursday she has been charged with property destruction, which carries a sentence of up to three years, but it's probable she would get a lighter sentence because of her age.

Shakaryan on Thursday told television channel Imedi that she isn't guilty.

Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20110408/D9MFITLG1.html

[HopeHoops]

1. I saw that story a few days ago and laughed my fucking ass off.

I know I shouldn't have laughed, but I did - long and hard.

[texanwitch]

2. It isn't really funny but it is.

She really had no idea what she did.

Bless her.

[DRex]

3. No way she should do any time....

What kind of bullshit would that be? She's already reduced to scavenging at her advanced age, and she could have had no idea what the cable was even if she did come across it.

Hopefully she doesn't come before the Georgian equivalent of a Repub judge.

[harmonicon]

7. So what crimes are justifiable?

Plenty of people scavenge for metal in vacant houses in the US. Lets say you own a house, have to move for work, and your house lays vacant because it won't sell in a low market. In the meantime, people break in and steal all of the copper out of it (wiring, plumbing, etc.) destroying much of the inside in the process. You wouldn't want them to be charged, would you? After all, they were "reduced" to it, right?

[DRex]

8. A natural reply, sure...

but I am talking about this case in particular. She will have to stand in front of a human being who will decide her fate and I just think that person should exercise compassion in this case.

[harmonicon]

9. why?

Imagine how easily someone's lively-hood could be destroyed be not having internet access for a few hours. This could screw up banking, communication, and any other types of transactions. I'm not saying that this woman deserves to go to prison, but I also refuse to accept that people should not be held responsible for their actions; ignorance isn't really a defense.

[DRex]

11. You may not be saying she deserves to go to prison...

I'm going one further and saying she does not deserve to go to prison.

And ignorance is a defense. It's the difference between a complete accident and criminal negligence.

It's the difference between a cyber-warrior bringing down the internet, and a little old lady desperately scrounging for survival. She should not go to jail. I'm not absolving her of all personal responsibility, I just think jail is way too extreme.

[harmonicon]

12. I think prison is too extreme for almost all crimes.

It really should only be used for people who can not be expected to function in any useful way in society. Regardless, how is ignorance a defense? For what crimes would that be ok? "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know that what I was doing was wrong. I just figured I could have six drinks and drive home. Sure, I killed some people, but I didn't know that getting smashed would cause that." Even if someone thinks that, it's not a defense.

[BobTheSubgenius]

4. What a robust network they must have!

This is unbelievable. ONE piece of cable serves almost 40,000 square miles and 8,000,000 people? Not only do they apparently lack any form of redundancy whatsoever (which is what the net was based on and designed for), they have no security, either?

OK, they can't have a soldier or policeman every 100 yards, but how could a 75-year old woman gain physical access to it to begin with? Shinny up some poles?

[bengalherder]

5. Actually, we will probably see more of this

as people get poorer and other means of revenue dry up. People illegally scaveging metals is already a problem in many places in the US as well.

Our civilization and technology are probably just hanging by a thin skein of copper. How long will the infrastructure of our system outlast any real long-term economic emergency? Perhaps losing the internet or other comforts in such a way will wake the ones who are still complacent...or maybe not.

Unfortunately what they'll probably do to solve this problem is to fence more of the commons off and post people to guard this stuff rather than give a poor person shelter and a liveable minimum income so they don't have to scavenge.

[madinmaryland]

6. It was a fiber optic cable that she cut, not copper. Copper does not

support the higher transmission speeds required for internet access. Even copper cabling that is buried is installed in PVC piping giving it protection.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

10. I was in Tanzania in 1999...

and I asked our host why they were installing microwave towers between two sites rather than using ISDN (which was locally available) or running their own line. It was explained to me that scavengers had dug up and stolen the entire line twice. And while they didn't rule out the possibility of the microwave towers being stolen it seemed less likely.

[Posteritatis]

13. A lot of developing countries leapfrogged right into cell phones and the like because of that. (nt)

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

14. Unfortunately for the more technically advanced parts of Africa

That began deploying broadband networks in the 90's the wireless technology wasn't there yet, when a (then) world class 64kbs ISDN network was implemented in Tanzania in 1996-1997 the biggest challenge was keeping assholes from ripping it out of the ground as fast as it was being installed!

That might outlast the old transatlantic telephone cables or survive a nuclear war seeing as it was ultimately first sealed in pipe, set in concrete and buried many feet in the ground and completely unmarked.