‘Fools Rush In: A True Story of War and Redemption’

August 11, 2008

In the midst of all the pandemonium surrounding the Russia-Georgia conflict I had a chance to chat with my wife’s friend, a Bosnian Muslim, who asked me if I had ever read the book ‘Fools Rush In’ by Bill Carter.  We were chatting via Skype (the preferred method of communication for many aid workers) when […]

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Conflict in Georgia finally mapped

August 11, 2008

Stefan Geens over at OgleEarth.com has the scoop on an effort by Catholicgauze to map the war between Russia and Georgia.  It was only a matter of time before the Google Earth community started churning out the KMZ files.  It is a bit rough but I am sure in the next few days we’ll begin […]

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Aid organizations shifting into high gear

August 11, 2008

Just about every organization has now managed to post an update regarding their activities in Georgia.  Over the weekend the International Rescue Committee (IRC), Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Save The Children (SAVE), CARE, United Nations High Commision on Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have all issued statements.  Some organizations […]

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EU Gives 1 Mln Euro Humanitarian Aid for South Ossetia – Reuters

August 11, 2008

The Reuters Alertnet ticker is reporting that the European Union is ready to provide 1 million Euros for humanitarian operations in South Ossetia. Tweet

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“It still very difficult to get a call anywhere around the country right now.” – NPR

August 11, 2008

NPR’s Ivan Watson reports that Russian planes are continually bombing cell phone towers in an effort to knock out telecommunications networks and what’s left of the GSM network in the country only works sporadically.  Also, he reports that the INTERNET in Georgia has been compromised by a cyberattack.  This was reported earlier in the day […]

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3G woefully inadequate in South Ossetia and Abkhazia

August 10, 2008

Given that now more than ever aid organizations are relying on GPRS and 3G data cards to stay connected it is a bit disconcerting to see that both South Ossetia and Abkhazia have limited network coverage.  As I mentioned before the GSM network coverage is lacking in South Ossetia.  Now that the Russian Navy is […]

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World Vision and WFP assisting IDP’s in Tblisi, Georgia

August 9, 2008

World Vision From the World Vision site: World Vision began assisting displaced people in partnership with the World Food Programme (WFP) in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi on Saturday August 9. World Vision provided essential food and non-food items such as bars of soap, toilet paper, wet napkins, towels, bed sheets, large woolen blankets, and essential […]

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Thuraya global coverage map – South Ossetia covered

August 9, 2008

As a follow-up to yesterday’s post here is Thuraya’s global coverage map.  South Ossetia is close to the center of the the Thuraya-2 satellite’s footprint.  For those agencies deploying to the region it may make sense to pack a Thuraya or Iridium phone as it looks like there may be an issue with GSM coverage […]

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Limited GSM coverage in South Ossetia?

August 9, 2008

After a little digging over at GSM World I came up with a coverage map for Geocell which maintains, I am guessing, Georgia’s largest GSM network.  Compare that map to the BBC’s map of South Ossetia below and it looks to me like it is Thuraya time. It appears that there is almost no coverage […]

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International Medical Corps preparing to deploy assessment team to South Ossetia

August 8, 2008

Late word out of Santa Monica is that the International Medical Corps is preparing to deploy an assessment team to the conflict zone in South Ossetia.  No word on when they will arrive but it looks like they’ll be there soon.  Anyone interested in what IMC is up to should check out their website for […]

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