Since it's been a while since we had an Israel/Palestine thread...

[droid]

Yeah, Im sure the Turks are over the moon. This must've been exactly what they had in mind when they pushed for Israel's admission into the OECD last month.

 

[scottdisco]

i think Erdogan wants to play out all the angles, Ankara are still interested in the EU, they've got that new free trade zone w Lebanon, Syria and Jordan, they may look to make a regional grab for hearts and minds by playing up a bit more against Israel in future so that those in the region look to Turkey and are impressed (crucially, from Ankara's pov, look upon Turkey more favourably than they do on Iran, say). and as Droid says, the OECD thing w Israel: well, that doesn't cost Turkey anything, and it's a favour. all good from the Ankara pov.

he seems quite the politician.

rather OT but hey, since we're here.

 

[scottdisco]

BTW, just tbc in my last post, that was a rather OT seeing the angles thinking-aloud re Ankara ramble.

i'd hope it doesn't sound like i was soft-soaping a massacre; y'all know me and can take it as red i wouldn't do that. (neither was Oliver, i'd say.)

i just meant, Ankara will obv want action over this whole tragic shitstorm, but i think Erdogan has been thinking more creatively recently about how to expand his soft Islamist base and wants to be looking down the line - naturally, he's the leader of a large regional power - to counter-balance Iran, and in the course of day-to-day events, if something infamous and globally-resonant like the flotilla attack is thrown up, he'll use that too. w a heavier heart than if it were arguments about, say, fishing rights or natural gas, i'm sure, but, he's still good to go.

so, as i say, largely OT, but i am quite into my Turkish scene watching...

 

[vimothy]

Obviously, some people will benefit from this, and it's hard to imagine that those people will be Israelis.

 

[vimothy]

BTW--it doesn't seem like the video above shows someone being executed.

 

[vimothy]

Actually, I should qualify that statement. I can imagine that some Israelis will benefit, but it is hard to see this as being in Israel's collective best interest.

*****​

Anyway, Walter Russell Mead has a blog.

That's pretty cool, I think, but then I go to read it and I see this stupid post: http://blogs.the-american-interest....il-and-the-future-of-american-foreign-policy/

Er, Walter...?

Daniel Larison makes some good points here: http://www.amconmag.com/larison/2010/06/07/terrible-analysis/

 

[droid]

BTW--it doesn't seem like the video above shows someone being executed.

Uh-huh. Its probably someone being shot in the head at point blank range with a 'non-lethal' round - which btw, probably makes it a lethal round, just as the high velocity tear gas canisters the Israelis use at protests are classed as 'live' ammunition as they can kill and maim if shot directly at people (as we all know by now).

There was Turkish forensic expert who claimed that wounds from 'non-lethal' rounds may have caused at least one of the deaths... reminds me of that Israeli stone throwing machine which they were pushing as a 'non-lethal' response to the Intifada - it shot out stones at about 80mph.

 

[droid]

http://mondoweiss.net/
http://maxblumenthal.com/
http://www.promisedlandblog.com/

All essential reading on this. The comments on mondoweiss are particularly good.

 

[vimothy]

Apparently the paint-ball guns (modified M1s) used by the US army can kill.

Anyway, you'd still get a flash, surely.

 

[droid]

Apparently the paint-ball guns (modified M1s) used by the US army can kill.

Anyway, you'd still get a flash, surely.

Apparently not. Believe me, Ive been reading a lot about this from both sides. Also, muzzle flashes are surprisingly hard to capture on camera, especially when the front of the barrel is hidden.

What is clear is that he reloads immediately after what looks to be a discharge of the weapon. There's a much better video out there - that ones a bit dodgy

 

[vimothy]

Link?

 

[vimothy]

http://mondoweiss.net/
http://maxblumenthal.com/
http://www.promisedlandblog.com/

All essential reading on this. The comments on mondoweiss are particularly good.

I've been reading Harry's Place. Some of the threads there are awesome!

 

[droid]

I've been reading Harry's Place. Some of the threads there are awesome!

LOL God help you. Id rather go to LGF tbh. The posters there are far more rational.

 

[droid]

Link?

BTW, the coroner’s report noted that one of the dead had what appeared to be pellets in his brain, which could have come from a crowd control weapon

 

[vimothy]

LOL God help you. Id rather go to LGF tbh. The posters there are far more rational.

I never realised what an anti-semitic jihadist bootlicker I was.

 

[droid]

I never realised what an anti-semitic jihadist bootlicker I was.

LOL. Yeah, been there.

According to these guys Im a zionazi apologist: http://whatdefuck.com/news/idf_video/newspage.html

 

[Mr. Tea]

Haha, "whatdefuck.com" - now there's a URL that screams 'balanced, intelligent commentary', innit bro.

Good news about the partial lifting of the blockade at any rate, although what that translates to in real terms remains to be seen, I guess.

 

[vimothy]

Shoes, shaving foam and jam?

 

[Mr. Tea]

Shoes, shaving foam and jam?

I bet someone who *really* knew what they were doing could make that into a bomb.

 

[droid]

Oh Hamas, you silly pranksters:

Shaving Cream Door Bomb
Fill a manila envelope with shaving cream, then place the open end of the envelope underneath your victim's door and stomp on it as hard as you can. It will explode all over the inside of the room.

http://pranksite.com/c_7_20/DoorPranks.html

Lets see you clean your carpets now zionist pigs!