[RACooper]

I'm still wondering how Canada is going to get the 40000+ citizens out of Lebanon (Israeli evacuation really isn't an issue)... including some 11000 in the south were communication is extremely difficult, and movement more so...

From the emails I've gotten from friends working on digs in the south things are really bad - landline phones are almost all down, cellphones and radios are being heavily jammed, no fuel to be had as the stations have all been bombed or shelled, in fact their only real method of communication is via a satelite hookup to their laptops... but that'll last only as long as the generator. Their immediate concern beyond their saftey is the food and water situation - which is really tight after having their host's house was destroyed... so far the locals have been generous with some food and water, as well as a gift of some batteries and supplies from a Hezbollah group passing through.

As for the other group of students on the other side of the border, things have gone alot better - the Israeli military was very efficient in getting them out of the immediate area (well to set up a arti-bat) and last I heard the spent the night outside of Hiafa at the Carmelite convet before heading further south to get out of the country.