Israeli security shoot MacBook

[viscus]

Then they asked me to wait. Since they had asked for friends and families phone numbers I assumed they might be calling to verify my answers to questions or confirm I really had extended family in Tel Aviv. An announcement played over the sound system, interrupting my break in the sunshine. First in Hebrew, then Arabic, then in English. It was something along the lines of, ” do not to be alarmed by gunshots because the Israeli security needs to blow up suspicious passanger luggage.”

I went inside to check on my bag. I had left it unattended, where they instructed. It was still there so I went back outside.

Moments later a man came outside and introduced himself as the manager on duty. And then, “I’m sorry but we had to blow up your laptop.“

Full Story

It's definitely not the worst thing Israelis with guns have done to anyone, but what exactly is the point of pumping three rounds into someone's laptop? Not the proper way to deal with a suspected bomb, I would think.

[Still Jack]

I don't dig why a religion deserves a country anyway. It's like giving a country to people who are big fans of bbq ribs.

[Not Tha Duckman]

I can't blame them, I've wanted to shoot a few Macs in my time.

[Despanan]

Originally Posted by Still Jack

I don't dig why a religion deserves a country anyway. It's like giving a country to people who are big fans of bbq ribs.

Yeah, but remember when Sizzler took those six-million fans of BBQ ribs, and had them arrested, stripped of their property, forced into work camps, starved, and then systematically executed with the intent of ridding the earth of people who loved Chili's baby back ribs (BBQ sauce)?

I remember. It totally wreaked the 2004 McRib for me.

[Still Jack]

Yeah, granted, but if we're going by that logic, we can give seals their own country too. Fuck that.

[Despanan]

Seals aren't people.

[JCC]

There were five instances of mass immigration to the area that would become Israel to escape antisemitic attacks in the few decades preceding the Second World War, to the point where that area was almost totally Jewish. After Hitler decided he wanted to systematically exterminate Jews, the Jews were just like "Aight fuck this, we've been asking for a homeland for like fifty years and now we feel like we deserve it" so it was given to them. I mean, you have to understand that historically, Jews have been fucked over worse than any other ethnic group, and the formation of Israel was very important in aiding Jews in migration and legitimising Judaism and the freedom to practice.

[Still Jack]

Ok, bad example. Going by that logic we could give countries to jehovah's Witness, Poles, homosexuals, Slavs, gypsies, mentally handicapped, physically handicapped, trade unionists, communists, anarchists and political dissidents in general.

why do the Jews deserve a country more than the others.

[Still Jack]

I can understand that it was very important in that it gave Jews the freedom to practice Judaism. I just feel that it's the illegitimate bureaucratic child of the British empire and the Judaism, kind of buttfucking the Palestinians in the Process.
Also the way the Israelis have been treating the Palestinians seems to be a tad hypocritical. "We were placed in ghetto's and persecuted, so let's go to our stolen country, and then bulldoze the homes of innocent people". Yeah that makes sense...

[JCC]

The actions of the current Israeli administration don't make Zionism any less legitimate. I mean, it's a difficult issue, but the formation of Israel was necessary, in my view.

[Still Jack]

I agree with concept of Zionism, I however do not agree with the oppression of other people to achieve it. And I find it largely hypocritical of Israelis to want a country and freedom from persecution and oppression, and then go and do exactly that. For me that absolutely revokes all legitimacy in the country, as it's basically replacing what they were trying to fight against.

[Despanan]

Jack,

Lets say, you were brutally beaten by one of your roommates, to the point where you were nearly killed. Lets say all your other roommates watched it happen, and did nothing, some even egged him on. He went to jail, served his time, and was released, supposedly "reformed". The other roommates say they're sorry, but still mumble about wanting to kick your ass under their breath.

For your own safety, the superintendent moved you into another apartment. There was already a tenant in there, but they had no other space, so they asked him to move over, and gave you half the apartment. You tried to get along with him, and just asked to be left alone, but lets say, as soon as the super left, the other roommate got his friends and attacked you for "stealing his space". Lets say, you'd had enough and you'd fought them off. You'd love to go somewhere else, but there was nowhere else to go, and even though you'd beat them, they still hung around, flexed at you, and talked about killing you in your sleep.

Don't you think you'd be an overreacting dick as well? I

[Cosmicgaunt]

Israel's will get it's just deserts eventually.
/thread

[Still Jack]

Originally Posted by Despanan

Jack,

Lets say, you were brutally beaten by one of your roommates, to the point where you were nearly killed. Lets say all your other roommates watched it happen, and did nothing, some even egged him on. He went to jail, served his time, and was released, supposedly "reformed". The other roommates say they're sorry, but still mumble about wanting to kick your ass under their breath.

For your own safety, the superintendent moved you into another apartment. There was already a tenant in there, but they had no other space, so they asked him to move over, and gave you half the apartment. You tried to get along with him, and just asked to be left alone, but lets say, as soon as the super left, the other roommate got his friends and attacked you for "stealing his space". Lets say, you'd had enough and you'd fought them off. You'd love to go somewhere else, but there was nowhere else to go, and even though you'd beat them, they still hung around, flexed at you, and talked about killing you in your sleep.

Don't you think you'd be an overreacting dick as well? I

I can understand that, but bulldozing peoples homes isn't exactly going to make people NOT kill you in you sleep. It's not really the most endearing act I can come up with. I mean, like, actually making an effort to live with other people would be a start, instead of going "They don't like us, BULLDOOOZZEAAAAA BAAAWWWWW!!!" They could say "Well, let's get to the root of the problem why they don't like us and see if we can actually life in peace without having to stick a ten foot wall 'round the outside of our country"

I can see what you'd mean by your example, but then that would be me vs. people that want to kill me. But I don't represent a population of 7,5 million people or a world religion.

[Despanan]

I highly doubt the Israelis ran into their new country screaming "AWWE YEAH! Let's bulldoze us some GODDAMN HIZOUSES up in heah!"

Never the less, I'm not arguing that the Israelis have been shining examples of humanity. Bitches done some fucked up shit.

However, comparing what is quite possibly the most persecuted group of people on the planet to rib enthusiasts isn't going to help the peace process.

[Still Jack]

I'm quite fond of mocking religious groups, and I don't think it would be fair to not include them in my repertoire. But I do actually agree that it's not going to help the peace process...

[Apathy's_Child]

Yeah, let's keep it productive, people. The Palestinians are counting on the people of gnet to broker a peace deal.

I'm with Jack on this one - doesn't have to be about Zionism in itself, so much as the way the Israeli government have exercised their power. It's really no surprise the Palestinians think they're the devil's spawn. It's no longer just about whether the Jews deserved a place to go - it's what they've done with it since then that has Palestinians lining up to fuck with their shit.

[Renatus]

Actually I'm guessing they didn't shoot it with a gun but rather with some sort of focused explosion which is used by bomb disposal experts to target a specific vital portion of a bomb in order to disable it. If you look at the holes in the laptop they seem to be a bit too big to be from bullets.

[Still Jack]

Depends on what calibre they shot it with. If they used an assault rifle, those should be pretty acceptable holes.

[Despanan]

Originally Posted by Apathy's_Child

Yeah, let's keep it productive, people. The Palestinians are counting on the people of gnet to broker a peace deal.

Fair enough.

However, I do think Jack's "Ribs" argument is indicative of a prevailing attitude among young liberals, ie: the tendency to write off the Jews claim to a homeland as unjust due to a gross oversimplification of the situation.

Also, claiming that the Jews do not deserve a homeland because of "X" is, by definition, about Zionism. Whether it is due to the actions of their government today, or because you don't like the idea of an religious/ethnic group having their own homeland.

It's also important to note that time and again It has been Israel extending the olive branch to the Palestinians and time and again, the Palestinian leadership has rejected it (despite widespread support on both sides for a two-state solution):

Originally Posted by wikipedia

In July 2000, U.S. President Bill Clinton convened a peace summit between Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. Barak reportedly offered the Palestinian leader approximately 95% of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, as well as Palestinian sovereignty over East Jerusalem...President Arafat rejected this offer. President Clinton reportedly requested that President Arafat make a counter-offer, but he proposed none. No tenable solution was crafted which would satisfy both Israeli and Palestinian demands, even under intense U.S. pressure. Clinton blamed Arafat for the failure of the Camp David Summit.

And, if the current actions of Israel negate their right to a state, then the Palestinians have also lost their right to a state in which case, I suppose the solution is to nuke them both until there's nothing left but glass.

[Still Jack]

Actually, Nuking both of them seems like a fun prospect. Or just give Palestine lots of guns, it's not like Israel don't have a thriving weapons industry.

[Corpsey]

While I have some sympathy for both sides, I would just like to point out that initially the Israelis weren't bulldozing houses, they were going into camps and shooting the crap out of Nomadic camps and committing terrorist acts in order to speed up the process of the Palestinians moving out of the area, and shooting at the British defence forces while doing so.

I would like to see a single other ethnic group try this under the nose of the U.N. and see how they react.

[Despanan]

Can I see a source on that Corpsey? I find it hard to believe.

[gothicusmaximus]

Originally Posted by Still Jack

Yeah, granted, but if we're going by that logic, we can give seals their own country too. Fuck that.

Wow, Jack. That was such a masterful implementation of syllogistic reasoning that I lost my balance and the beach ball fell off my nose. Will you-- will you shake my flipper?
An ethnic homeland, or a lack thereof, is at the core of what it means to be a Jew. Our culture defines us, and we are largely conceived by others, not as a group united in a similar trait, but as a people-- a people from somewhere. I won't pretend to trace the numberless sources of antisemitism to a single factor, but, in modern history, hatred of Jews has manifested in much the same way as that of, for instance, Mexicans manifests in contemporary America: "You don't belong here. You're messing up the way things are supposed to be. Go home." Until the foundation of Israel, we were eternal exiles, the unwanted children of a ghost nation. Although I'm still staggered beyond expression that you were able to not only cogitate this remark, by contrast with which xjin's past indiscretions seem like Invisible Man, but actually render it in words while maintaining that you don't oppose Zionism, the sad truth of the matter is that, for a long time, pinnipeds had it better than the Jewish people. If, in 1933, you dove into Artic waters and started fucking with Leopard Seals, you'd get what was coming to you. The same couldn't be said with regard to us.
Only a brazenly partisan douchebag would assert one side of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict to be unequivocally in the 'right'. Both governments have conducted themselves shamefully, as have certain members of both civilian populations. Consider, though, how swiftly the people of the United States might be condemned were one allowed only our country's foreign policy as enacted in the last ten years by which to judge. Most Israelis, as well as most Palestinians, do favor a two-state solution. The situation is complicated, and I am not apologizing for Israel, but the humanitarian records of fledging states in hostile territory are rarely spotless-- this country, in my opinion, hasn't forfeited its right to exist.

[Not Tha Duckman]

Originally Posted by Rodney King

Can't we all just get along?

Jewish chicks are hot.