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Syria Reportedly Back On the Internet

Posted by timothy on from the back-to-your-scheduled-programming dept.

angry tapir writes "The Internet in Syria was back on Saturday, a day after it was reported that two-thirds of Syrian networks had been cut off from the rest of the world in the wake of civil unrest in the country."

47 comments

  1. Ahhhh... so Slashdot is hosted in Syria by thomasdz · · Score: 5, Funny

    That explains all the:

    Error 503 Service Unavailable
    Service Unavailable
    Guru Meditation:
    XID: 258631157
    Varnish cache server
    over the past couple of days.

    This explains everything!

    --
    Karma: Excellent. 15 moderator points expire sometime.
    1. Re:Ahhhh... so Slashdot is hosted in Syria by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well played, sir...

    2. Re:Ahhhh... so Slashdot is hosted in Syria by DigiShaman · · Score: 1

      OT, I know. But because we haven't heard an official statement from Slashdot on this matter, can someone please tell me why we're having so many of these Varnish cache server errors? What is it, some problem with the cluster environment? Regardless, this all seems to have started with the new format roll-out.

      --
      Life is not for the lazy.
    3. Re:Ahhhh... so Slashdot is hosted in Syria by ColdWetDog · · Score: 1

      OT, I know. But because we haven't heard an official statement from Slashdot on this matter, can someone please tell me why we're having so many of these Varnish cache server errors? What is it, some problem with the cluster environment? Regardless, this all seems to have started with the new format roll-out.

      I'm surprised by all this Varnish stuff. That's old technology. I'd think that Slashdot could at least spring for some cheap polyurethane coatings.

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    4. Re:Ahhhh... so Slashdot is hosted in Syria by mangu · · Score: 1

      I'm surprised by all this Varnish stuff. That's old technology. I'd think that Slashdot could at least spring for some cheap polyurethane coatings.

      The code in Slashdot is so primitive it's still in the linseed oil stage.

    5. Re:Ahhhh... so Slashdot is hosted in Syria by wulfmans · · Score: 1

      Yesterday I posted a story about the 503 error to slashdot. I knew they would not post it. censorship is alive here.

    6. Re:Ahhhh... so Slashdot is hosted in Syria by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The problem was most likely with Feedburner. I got those same errors when trying to access /. stories from iGoogle but, no problems going directly to /.

    7. Re:Ahhhh... so Slashdot is hosted in Syria by Sulphur · · Score: 1

      OT, I know. But because we haven't heard an official statement from Slashdot on this matter, can someone please tell me why we're having so many of these Varnish cache server errors? What is it, some problem with the cluster environment? Regardless, this all seems to have started with the new format roll-out.

      I'm surprised by all this Varnish stuff. That's old technology. I'd think that Slashdot could at least spring for some cheap polyurethane coatings.

      Maybe its unvarnished. Then again, maybe it needs a second coat.

  2. Re:Syria Reportedly Back On the Internet... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    What is their country code? .sy? I wonder if gettingbu.sy is taken..

  3. Re:Syria Reportedly Back On the Internet... by Fluffeh · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Syria left the internet, and nothing of value went with it.

    Syria came back, and pretty much nothing of value came back with it

    Think not of what you do for the internet, but what the internet does for you.

    Sure, there might not be smash hit websites hosted in Syria, but considering that many people in Syria use the internet no differently to Europeans or Americans (or Canadians like yourself) and it is part of their daily lives, you should be happy for them that it is back. Rather than trying to work out the value that a person puts into the internet, why don't you try to see what value the internet makes to their lives, their freedoms and their quality of life.

    --
    Moved to http://soylentnews.org/. You are invited to join us too!
  4. Re:meanwhile by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Nobody cares.

  5. Re:meanwhile by Opportunist · · Score: 0

    Both is made up, make believe stuff that looks kinda realistic if you want to believe.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  6. What's the excuse? by Opportunist · · Score: 1

    C'mon, we all know that the true interesting story is how they explain the outage. Since it cannot be censorship, what was wrong with the internet in Syria?

    Betting pool anyone? I call "atlantic cable".

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    1. Re:What's the excuse? by grantek · · Score: 1

      Betting pool anyone? I call "atlantic cable".

      I'll bet "there was no outage"

    2. Re:What's the excuse? by the+entropy · · Score: 1

      I'm in Syria, and they said 'security reasons', actually, they were quite forthcoming with this. People know what's happening and they're not dumb, the government knows this too and it doesn't try to fool them on these issues. Instead, they're betting on people being too scared of the crackdown and/or being too scared of the country turning into Iraq or Egypt so they'll not ask for change.

      So far, this approach is working in Aleppo(which is where I am) which is mainly why this city has remained calm. Aleppo's economy is mainly one of trading and industry(As it's close to the border of Turkey). It is also home to the Sunni elites who are allied with the government. The recent events have hurt its economy really badly as trade routes are closed off and people and companies have cut back spending on almost everything while things unfold. Thus, people here are scared of change and instability so, so far, they haven't joined into the protests.

  7. It does appear to be... by SomePgmr · · Score: 4, Interesting

    ...and the videos coming out are pretty awful.
    http://mashable.com/2011/06/04/syrian-internet-restored/
    You've been warned.

  8. Holy shit! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    n/t

  9. Re:Syria Reportedly Back On the Internet... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Another typical rush to judge us by our worst.

  10. Re:Syria Reportedly Back On the Internet... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    The only thing more ignorant than his post is your post assuming that he is American.

  11. better info by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 2, Informative

    renesys: info about network
    saturday's news: Syrian forces kill 6: protesters - Government eases internet stranglehold
    current news: Syrian forces kill 35 in fresh crackdown: report

    'Be patient Syria, the victory is written by the blood,'

    --
    Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
    1. Re:better info by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh you mean like the blood that is will be required by US civilians soon when their Internet access gets shut down? The Extended Patriot Act needs some support! Please vote again in 2012 like we did in 2008!! Liberty for all! We just need some more "whitehats" first.

      US agencies are currently getting support for "War on Cybercrime" note all the links on Slashdot from a single day!
      http://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/06/02/0032245/North-Korea-Training-Cyberwarriors-Abroad
      http://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/06/01/2213236/Canada-Seeking-Cyberspace-Security-Input
      http://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/06/01/2118251/Google-Uncovers-China-Based-Password-Collection-Campaign
      or
      FBI Hacked!
      http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2386411,00.asp
      Nintendo Hacked!
      http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2386428,00.asp
      Sony Hacked!
      http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/web/06/03/sony.pictures.hacked.mashable/
      Sony Hacked Again!
      http://uk.ibtimes.com/articles/147751/20110518/psn-playstation-network-sony-hack-again-second.htm

      No, I don't condone these asshole hackers, but I think they may have had a little help from Sam.

  12. Re:Syria Reportedly Back On the Internet... by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

    Syria left the internet, and nothing of value went with it.

    Syria came back, and pretty much nothing of value came back with it

    That is very much a matter of perspective.

    For example, for an average Chinese, if all US servers were to implode tomorrow, nothing of value would be lost, either.

  13. Re:Syria Reportedly Back On the Internet... by Rakshasa+Taisab · · Score: 2

    Applying the same logic to the OP, let's disconnect him from the internets as he brings no value to it.

    --
    - These characters were randomly selected.
  14. I find it interesting that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'll give Syria credit for lowering its Big Brother attempt to suppress information. But, thanks to the same internet, any intelligent person can see that days after Syria murders 1,200 of their own protesting citizens, "suddenly" hundreds of students are brought in on buses to the border, cut through a border fence and several wind up dead.
     
    Houdini was the master of misdirection. This is a sad attempt to distract its citizens ("Look what tha evil Joos did!!!")
     
    Also interesting is that fact that this coincidentally happens on the same day that theSyrian army killed 38 Syrian protesters.

    1. Re:I find it interesting that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Of course, the simple Syrians and Palestinians couldn't possibly have their own personal interest and motivation in returning to the land that they were expelled from. They are just pawns of Syria and Iran!

      I suppose you also think that black people in the US weren't really interested in civil rights and the folks involved in that movement were bussed in by the Soviets just to make the USA look bad.

      Racist pig.

    2. Re:I find it interesting that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nice rant. If you actually bothered to read what I wrote instead of just immediately hitting the generic response you did, you would see that I was NOT asking why Syrians would protest Israel - that's obvious. Mainly, I was pointing out that "suddenly" right after the government murders 1,200 of her own citizens, it also buses women and children to a border and BY SHEER COINCIDENCE this protest turns into the deadliest in decades! After years! What a "lucky break" for the Syrian government! Phew!

    3. Re:I find it interesting that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Of course, the simple Syrians and Palestinians couldn't possibly have their own personal interest and motivation in returning to the land that they were expelled from. They are just pawns of Syria and Iran!

      Of course they do, and for some reason, hundreds of them just jumped up and rushed the border TODAY! RIGHT NOW! BECAUSE IT JUST MAKES SO MUCH SENSE TO DO IT RIGHT NOW!!!! NOW! NOW! NOW!

      Makes "perfect sense".

      By the way, it is pretty certain that none of them were expelled from the land. Their parents, or more likely their grandparents, were expelled by the Arab leaders so they wouldn't get in the way of the Arab armies coming to slaughter the Jews. The "problem" is that it didn't quite work out the way they expected.

      Racist pig.

      I'm afraid there is a problem of ignorance. Maybe you could try reading this excerpt, or better, the whole thing:

      1948, Israel, and the Palestinians: Annotated Text

      What makes these Jewish efforts all the more impressive is that they took place at a time when huge numbers of Palestinian Arabs were being actively driven from their homes by their own leaders and/or by Arab military forces, whether out of military considerations or in order to prevent them from becoming citizens of the prospective Jewish state. In the largest and best-known example, tens of thousands of Arabs were ordered or bullied into leaving the city of Haifa on the AHC’s instructions, despite strenuous Jewish efforts to persuade them to stay.[37] Only days earlier, Tiberias’ 6,000-strong Arab community had been similarly forced out by its own leaders, against local Jewish wishes.[38] In Jaffa, Palestine’s largest Arab city, the municipality organized the transfer of thousands of residents by land and sea;[39] in Jerusalem, the AHC ordered the transfer of women and children, and local gang leaders pushed out residents of several neighborhoods.[40]

      Tens of thousands of rural villagers were likewise forced out by order of the AHC, local Arab militias, or the ALA. Within weeks of the latter’s arrival in Palestine in January 1948, rumors were circulating of secret instructions to Arabs in predominantly Jewish areas to vacate their villages so as to allow their use for military purposes and to reduce the risk of becoming hostage to the Jews.

      By February, this phenomenon had expanded to most parts of the country. It gained considerable momentum in April and May as ALA and AHC forces throughout Palestine were being comprehensively routed. On April 18, the Hagana’s intelligence branch in Jerusalem reported a fresh general order to remove the women and children from all villages bordering Jewish localities. Twelve days later, its Haifa counterpart reported an ALA command to evacuate all Arab villages between Tel Aviv and Haifa in anticipation of a new general offensive. In early May, as fighting intensified in the eastern Galilee, local Arabs were ordered to transfer all women and children from the Rosh Pina area, while in the Jerusalem sub-district, Transjordan’s Arab Legion likewise ordered the emptying of scores of villages.[41]

      As for the Palestinian Arab leaders themselves, who had placed their reluctant constituents on a collision course with Zionism in the 1920’s and 1930’s and had now dragged them helpless into a mortal conflict, they hastened to get themselves out of Palestine and to stay out at the most critical moment. Taking a cue from these higher-ups, local leaders similarly rushed en masse through the door. High Commissioner Cunningham summarized what was happening with quintessential British understatement:

      You should know that the collapsing Arab morale in Palestine is in some measure due to the increasing tendency of those who should be leading them to leave the country. . . . For instance,

    4. Re:I find it interesting that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not a sheer coincidence, June 5 is the anniversary of the six day war when Israel began occupying and cleansing the West Bank, Golan Heights, Gaza, and East Jerusalem. The protest has been planned for quite some time. Good try though.

    5. Re:I find it interesting that... by burris · · Score: 1

      June 5 is the anniversary of the six day war, a.k.a. "Naksa Day." The protest had been planned for weeks/months and it isn't the least bit surprising that the day was chosen for protest.

      People who aren't allowed to return to their homes have been expelled. If their home is in Israel, how could it be anyone's fault but Israel's that they can't return? Humans have a right to return to their homes and not be expelled so their homes/land can be given/leased to different ethnic group. Do you consider non-jews to be human?

    6. Re:I find it interesting that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nice try yourself. Try explaining why there weren't 20 people killed in 2010's anniversary, 2009's anniversary, 2008's anniversary, 2007's anniversary, 2006s anniversary, 2005's anniversary...

      But SUDDENLY(!), *just* when Syria's totalitarian government needs it's citizens to be distracted... Bingo! The "Zionist Pigs" decide to shoot protesters that, for some strange reason were bussed out to the border by the Syrian government, and HAPPEN to storm the fence for the first time in 40 years! Israel never killed 20 protesters on any of the other anniversaries, but I suppose they felt the need to help Syria just when it was looking really silly for that silly little video on the net showing them torturing that 13 year old boy to death.

      Wow! What a lucky break for Syria's despot that the Syrian's are distracted from the images of 13-year old Hamza Ali al-Khateeb's mutilated body and are now focussing their attention on "those evil JOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOS!!!"

    7. Re:I find it interesting that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You seem to forget that Israel has as much claim to the Golan Heights as Iraq ever had to Kuwait or Germany ever had to Poland and France. In case you are unsure about this, you can reread UN Security Council Resolution 497 and many others that have been flagrantly ignored by Israel over the decades.

      Conquest, colonization, and ethnic cleansing are evil no matter who is doing it. It is sad but a matter of fact that it happens to be Jews doing it. Go ahead and blame the victims though, we see right through your sickening racism.

    8. Re:I find it interesting that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Again, nice try at a boring/generic "down with Israel" tirade. My post was about the obvious distraction that Syria has engaged in. You have absolutely no valid counter argument, so you go into a rather unintelligent "Those Jooooooos are evil ethnic cleansers!" rant.
       
      yawn. i'm done arguing with what is likely a 15 year old idiot who just quotes the same tired slogans he reads on websites.

  15. And this is why we have the 2nd amendment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ***WARNING* Extremely graphic video below.

    You know, I understand that people die in war. It's a fact of life. Poor guys, I hope it was quick. As for these SOBs that kill their own civilians and smile and laugh about it. That shit right there makes me angry. I sure as hell hope this particular group gets waxed in a hurry!

    http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/2011/06/gruesome-video-of-syrian-soldiers.html

    1. Re:And this is why we have the 2nd amendment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Which monkeys are the good guys? The ones with the guns or the dead ones on the ground?

    2. Re:And this is why we have the 2nd amendment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe neither group is the good guys?

      The media runs the Syrian leadership into the ground, but what I've heard from firsthand sources is that this is more of a small (ie. 50,000 - 100,000 out of 21,000,000) group of armed militants trying to forcibly kick the government out of power. These sources (which may also not be reliable) have claimed that the vast majority of the population (~90%) supports the current government and a natural flow of reform.

      What we could well be seeing in these videos are the extremists from both camps. The military extremists who are used to having their own way killing the anti-government extremists who are provoking violence, perhaps as a justification for their actions, perhaps for some other reason.

      I'd suppose that the important thing is that these situations can rarely be viewed in black and white.

    3. Re:And this is why we have the 2nd amendment by tehcyder · · Score: 2

      I'd suppose that the important thing is that these situations can rarely be viewed in black and white.

      Armed people killing unarmed people in cold blood are always the bad guys.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    4. Re:And this is why we have the 2nd amendment by Yvanhoe · · Score: 1

      These sources (which may also not be reliable) have claimed that the vast majority of the population (~90%) supports the current government and a natural flow of reform.

      Heh, that's why you want elections and democracy. If he had just resigned and made a nationwide election, he could have been elected with a nice score apparently.

      The fact he didn't probably means that the current leadership do not believe these numbers.

      --
      The Wise adapts himself to the world. The Fool adapts the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the Fool.
  16. Re:FP by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wow.....

  17. outsourced to ... by sourcerror · · Score: 2

    With so many meditating gurus, I thought it was outsourced to India.

  18. Why did they disconnect? Why did they reconnect? by lpress · · Score: 1

    Syria was off the Net for 28 hours. Did they disconnect because of world wide revulsion at the YouTube video showing the tortured and mutilated body of 13-year old Hamza Ali al-Khateeb? Did they reconnect because they realized that it was a futile effort? Was it the cost to the economy, the "dictator's dilemma?" See http://cis471.blogspot.com/2011/06/net-is-back-up-in-syria-why-did-they.html for discussion.

  19. hi by fastformation · · Score: 0

    You like this http://tinyurl.com/4yn3fuq