Syrians Using Donkeys Instead of DSL After Gov't Shuts Down Internet

abhatt writes "Rebelling Syrians are using all possible alternate methods to pass information to the world amidst a total blackout on the internet by the Government. Believe it or not, Donkeys are a part of the revolution now. From the article: 'To get the news out, activists have been smuggling videos to Jordan through the desert and across a nearly 80-kilometer border Jordan shares with Syria. Some risk approaching the border with Jordanian cellphones to report to the outside world and send clips. It's a dangerous task because the Syrian and Jordanian armies traditionally have the area under heavy surveillance to prevent the smuggling of drugs and weapons into the kingdom or further to the Gulf states.'"

Comments

Re:The internet

[migla]

More than Internet revolutions, all these revolutions are Al Jazeera revolutions.

Just good old fashioned journalism now available (much more so than internet connectivity) in the region.

Or so I've heard.

Bandwidth of an motorcycle

[140Mandak262Jamuna]

My friend owns a company in Chennai, India that does some kind of very heavy video processing/analysis for a major sports league. He ends up collecting hard disks full of video-data fro the ISP's undersea-fiber optic link office and transporting them on a motrocycle across town. He estimates the bandwidth of the motrocycle works out to some 1 DVD per second!

Re:I have only one question

[Tacvek]

The most likely case is that he is sane, although sheltered from some of the harsh realities of civilian life. He also most likely does not actually have absolute control, and at times, especially when ill, decisions have been made by other people, and may be inconsistent with the decision he actually makes.

The government is also excessively secretive about him, helping to fuel rumors and conspiracy theories. The end result could easily be the appearance of insanity, despite being perfectly sane.

Really only somebody who has had extended interaction directly with him, could have much hope of knowing for sure.