Someone is trying to assassinate the internet...

I'd like to see evidence of anything more than the 5 cables cut that I've heard about. But, despite that, even 5 cables cut is really suspicious.

Is it headed this way?

GOD-ZZZZIIILLLAAAAAAAAA!!!

I guess my question is...does cable damage happen more than we know because it's not an often-reported thing?

My first reaction was knee-jerk, then the continuing stories rolled in and I started getting paranoid, but isn't that exactly the way it happened with shark attacks, for example?

GAT_00: I'd like to see evidence of anything more than the 5 cables cut that I've heard about. But, despite that, even 5 cables cut is really suspicious.

Especially in an era of cheap, reliable GPS controlled navigation. Kinda makes you wonder what the hell is going on sometimes.

Kome: Someone is trying to assassinate the internet...

Stay away from the internet...

as long as fark works, it really doesn't affect me. cutting a few undersea tubes to nowhere is not nearly as tragic as the dreaded beer-spill on the fark servers. perspective people. yeeesh

/vulgtlagln Cthulhu uln kn'a naflee y'hah

I think we all know what the real culprit is.

I don't think I ever access anything overseas, so a cable cut would not harm me here in the U.S. As long as I can get to fark.com, cnn.com, bankofamerica, amazon, and slickdeals.

I do agree this is suspicious. But wasn't there an article posted earlier that said a 5 ton anchor was responsible for the first?

You crusaders pissed the Scientology guy off.



He's calling in the heavy stuff.

Q314: I guess my question is...does cable damage happen more than we know because it's not an often-reported thing?

Yes, apparently this happens a lot. There is a fleet of 20 ships that do nothing but run around the planet and fix these cables.

Why we are hearing about it now? Who can say.
Slow news week is my guess.

dillenger69: Yes, apparently this happens a lot. There is a fleet of 20 ships that do nothing but run around the planet and fix these cables.

This. See the last paragraph in this article (pops). There were about 50 cable cuts in the Atlantic alone last year. The traffic outage in the mid-east story is making news because of the service impact it had. There is not enough redundancy in the area.

Wait, this doesn't add up as coincidence.

1. It appears to be one.
2. It is on Fark, greenlit.
3. It does not have an tag, and there is no raging debate over the fact that it is not actually ironic, but merely a coincidence.

Therefore, by elimination, it must be enemy action.

When will the government assess and react to the very real and dangerous threat of cat/spider hybrids who evolved to breathe underwater and are now chewing our internet cables??

Once again, the Bush admin drops the ball.

does not want

nashBridges: Outtaphase: This. See the last paragraph in this article (pops). There were about 50 cable cuts in the Atlantic alone last year. The traffic outage in the mid-east story is making news because of the service impact it had. There is not enough redundancy in the area.

I came in to say the same thing. When I was living overseas cable cuts weren't exactly uncommon, and depending on what country I was in service could be drastically affected.

The cuts aren't very suspicious, just that these 5 happened to lines running significant traffic to particular countries. Hell, the US would lose half the damn internet if the Northern Virginia area had a power outage lasting longer than a few days.

Here's a graph of traffic worldwide by bandwidth. Assume more than one line for any traffic going across an ocean and you get quite a lot of cables.

This. cables get cut all the time. the news is just making mountains out of molehills again.

wanted for questioning:

Ah, undersea cables.

Anybody else remember the story about the US Navy, during the Cold War, that read the traffic on an underwater cable going across Vladivostok? Because it was a landline, the Soviets transmitted things in the clear on it. We found it by one guy seeing a "no anchoring: underwater cable" sign on a shore, and reasoned that if we needed such things, the Soviets would too. So we sent a sub into the harbor, found the signs, and then located the cable. Then we began sending subs in regularly with recording devices that collected the data on the cable.

I love that story.

Just wanted to point out that February is a sweeps month. And there has been a writer's strike.

Off to sell the cable for scrap

/giggidy

Tatsuma: When will the government assess and react to the very real and dangerous threat of cat/spider hybrids who evolved to breathe underwater and are now chewing our internet cables??

Once again, the Bush admin drops the ball.

This just proves the J00s are behind it. How much are your reptilian masters paying you to spread these lies?

Police are searching for a giant water tentacle that looks like Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio

akula: Ah, undersea cables.

Anybody else remember the story about the US Navy, during the Cold War, that read the traffic on an underwater cable going across Vladivostok? Because it was a landline, the Soviets transmitted things in the clear on it. We found it by one guy seeing a "no anchoring: underwater cable" sign on a shore, and reasoned that if we needed such things, the Soviets would too. So we sent a sub into the harbor, found the signs, and then located the cable. Then we began sending subs in regularly with recording devices that collected the data on the cable.

I love that story.

That was copper, to get data off the fiber lines you have to splice a device into it.

/or just get into the switch rooms, which is what they really do.

Just got in. any douchebags blame Bush yet?

Thankfully, I know that a few cables cut wouldn't affect too many Internets. You see, when Internets get cut, it's like a truck getting in to a crash. And when these trucks crash they can take detours, like using different roads, or tubes as they call them in the Internets.

Uncle Karl: This just proves the J00s are behind it. How much are your reptilian masters paying you to spread these lies?

No need to pay us, we just love to spread destruction, chaos and poison wells!

Mwahaha. First, we prevented Ron Paul from saving America, and now we're cutting the Middle-East off the internet.

Pfft... Cables are cut weekly... if not several times a week. It's a non-story now. Can we please stop greenlighting these?

Aha, I knew if I read far enough into that article I'd find the part where he blames the Jews.

Jews. Is there anything they can't do?

Use a better example of the tinfoil hattery next time, submitard. When I have to physically assault the wall of text, the first half of which is pure, unadulterated fact, to find what the hell you're going on about, you have failed in your mission.

seriously guys, they're just letting the cables sleep.

I heard something about this on NPR.

crazynickstyle beat me to it. I heard a bit on NPR about this a few days back and immediately started laughing. It really is a series of "tubes." Granted, not in the fashion that our Congressman happened to intend...

Come on, we all know they're emo cables, and they just like to cut themselves.

/stole that joke from some other farker yesterday

Damn Mynocks.

wanted for questioning...

//obscure?
///such a bad movie it was hilarious
////one of my favorites

Dil Doe: Jews. Is there anything they can't do?

Pay a decent tip?

But, I thought it was just a series of tubes.

Tatsuma: When will the government assess and react to the very real and dangerous threat of cat/spider hybrids who evolved to breathe underwater and are now chewing our internet cables??



WAHHHH! Someone criticized Israel! I better act all passive-aggressive and victimized!

here's some books that the author of that article has written
Link (new window)

I'm ashamed at how thin my tin-foil hat is compared to this guys!

Dil Doe: Jews. Is there anything they can't do?
Eat bacon?

it's the squid people.

It's the invaders From Mars of course!

For those that would like to check them out, here is a recent map of the cables...pretty interesting stuff.

http://www1.alcatel-lucent.com/submarine/refs/World_Map_2007_LR.pdf

/nerdy, like's to check out network maps
//works in the WAN world

Yeah.

Non-story. Nothing to see here.

If the USA does have the capability, it would make sense to first 'tap' the cable, listen in on whatever we want. If the team is unable to tap it, it would be stupid to cut it, as that would arouse suspicions. Better to just give up, try again later at a different spot.

Oooh scary. The end of the Internet.

There were about 50 cable repairs in the Atlantic alone last year. That's about 1 per week.

simpsonfan: If the team is unable to tap it, it would be stupid to cut it, as that would arouse suspicions. Better to just give up, try again later at a different spot.

Trouble is, the best way to insert a tap is to actually splice the cable. The USA actually has a submarine that can do this: the USS Jimmy Carter. Furthermore, it is possible that the cuts were made to cover the insertion of a tap at another point.