# Police shoot U.S. student's laptop upon entry to Israel **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 16, 2009, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-shoot-u-s-students-laptop-upon-entry-to-israel/521458 "2009-12-16T05:37:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-shoot-u-s-students-laptop-upon-entry-to-israel/521458/1 "2009-12-16T05:37:07Z")
[http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1135243.html](http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1135243.html) Isn’t this just a bit over the top? Sure doesn’t inspire me to want to go there with my laptop, as mine is currently free of bullet holes. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-shoot-u-s-students-laptop-upon-entry-to-israel/521458/2 "2009-12-16T06:13:33Z")
I feel bad for the girl, and hope she gets her laptop replaced without serious problems, but it is kind of funny. “I’m sorry. We had to blow up your laptop.” ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-shoot-u-s-students-laptop-upon-entry-to-israel/521458/3 "2009-12-16T06:52:17Z")
That grouping looks a bit wide. I thought the IBP were better trained in marksmanship. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-shoot-u-s-students-laptop-upon-entry-to-israel/521458/4 "2009-12-16T06:57:52Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > That grouping looks a bit wide. I thought the IBP were better trained in marksmanship. > > Stranger Intentional. One through the middle of the hard drive, one through the CPU and one through the RAM. A perfect job. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-shoot-u-s-students-laptop-upon-entry-to-israel/521458/5 "2009-12-16T06:59:10Z")
ZOMGISRAELZIONISTEVIL…da JOOOZ! Da JOOOOOZ! ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-shoot-u-s-students-laptop-upon-entry-to-israel/521458/6 "2009-12-16T07:13:42Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > ZOMGISRAELZIONISTEVIL…da JOOOZ! Da JOOOOOZ! Ah; so commenting on Israeli police vandalizing an expensive computer apparently out of paranoia ( at best ) is antisemitism? ---
**Author:** ![Tabby\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tabby\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabby_Cat)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-shoot-u-s-students-laptop-upon-entry-to-israel/521458/7 "2009-12-16T07:22:00Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > Intentional. One through the middle of the hard drive, one through the CPU and one through the RAM. A perfect job. The article seems to say that she recovered her hard disk, though? ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-shoot-u-s-students-laptop-upon-entry-to-israel/521458/8 "2009-12-16T07:26:16Z")
Sorry Tabs, I was kidding. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-shoot-u-s-students-laptop-upon-entry-to-israel/521458/9 "2009-12-16T07:37:04Z")
Jeez, how many times do I have to say this? Israelis don’t like Macs. (We also don’t like “protest tourists”; call us odd, but we have no time for people who come to the country for the sole purpose of stirring up shit. One Rachel Corrie was enough. Destroying her computer was probably a bit overkill, though). ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-shoot-u-s-students-laptop-upon-entry-to-israel/521458/10 "2009-12-16T07:50:10Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > We also don’t like “protest tourists”; call us odd, but we have no time for people who come to the country for the sole purpose of stirring up shit. I wonder why people never go to Saudi Arabia or Iran to do this? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-shoot-u-s-students-laptop-upon-entry-to-israel/521458/11 "2009-12-16T07:51:19Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > (We also don’t like “protest tourists”; call us odd, but we have no time for people who come to the country for the sole purpose of stirring up shit. One Rachel Corrie was enough. > Destroying her computer was probably a bit overkill, though). You think? If they “don’t have time” for “people who come to the country for the sole purpose of stirring up shit”, then perhaps they should refrain from doing the stirring all by themselves without assistance like this. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-shoot-u-s-students-laptop-upon-entry-to-israel/521458/12 "2009-12-16T07:54:33Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > I wonder why people never go to Saudi Arabia or Iran to do this? Because no one would care or be surprised if something obnoxious or nasty happened? They aren’t the ones that propagandize about how much more civilized they are than their neighbors. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-shoot-u-s-students-laptop-upon-entry-to-israel/521458/13 "2009-12-16T07:59:45Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > You think? If they “don’t have time” for “people who come to the country for the sole purpose of stirring up shit”, then perhaps they should refrain from doing the stirring all by themselves without assistance like this. Oh, we have plenty of protestors of our own, both Jews and Arabs. We don’t need any more - particularly Americans. No offence, but Americans are crazy. I’d like you to remember 2 things: 1. They’re going to reimburse her for the Mac. 2. The INS would have acted much, much worse. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-shoot-u-s-students-laptop-upon-entry-to-israel/521458/14 "2009-12-16T08:02:06Z")
Sorry, I missed all the Israeli propagandizing about how great they supposedly are. As an American who has lived his entire life in America - growing up around a lot of Jews, no less - I don’t think I have ever witnessed a single bit of Israeli propaganda. I’ve had people return from visits to Israel saying how great it was. Of course, I’ve had people say the same for lots of countries. Never have I ever encountered propaganda FROM Israel, advocating how great “they” are. Where exactly is this pro-Israeli propaganda, from Israel, being disseminated? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-shoot-u-s-students-laptop-upon-entry-to-israel/521458/15 "2009-12-16T08:08:29Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I’d like you to remember 2 things: > > 1. They’re going to reimburse her for the Mac. Pretty irrelevant from a public relations viewpoint; no one will recall or care. If they had apologized maybe that would do some good; as it is they look like enablers for trigger happy goons. > [@Alessan](#): > > 1. The INS would have acted much, much worse. Irrelevant even if true since this isn’t about them. Do you mean INS or TSA? The TSA would have stolen it not shot it. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-shoot-u-s-students-laptop-upon-entry-to-israel/521458/16 "2009-12-16T08:13:08Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > Never have I ever encountered propaganda FROM Israel, advocating how great “they” are. Where exactly is this pro-Israeli propaganda, from Israel, being disseminated? From their Congressional allies on down? I notice you tried to carefully define “Israeli propaganda” so narrowly that almost any likely source of propaganda wouldn’t qualify. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-shoot-u-s-students-laptop-upon-entry-to-israel/521458/17 "2009-12-16T15:14:17Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Jeez, how many times do I have to say this? (We also don’t like “protest tourists”; call us odd, but we have no time for people who come to the country for the sole purpose of stirring up shit. One Rachel Corrie was enough. > Destroying her computer was probably a bit overkill, though). At least they didn’t run it over with a D9. > [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > I wonder why people never go to Saudi Arabia or Iran to do this? The Followers of the Prophet tend to behead people that protest too loudly rather than shoot their property. > [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Do you mean INS or TSA? The TSA would have stolen it not shot it. I disagree. TSA agents aren’t that competent. They would have dropped it, stumbled over it, picked it back up with a pair of oven mitts, dropped it again, shoved someone else’s luggage off the belt in order to run it through the scanner, stood around in a group of no less than six pointing at the monitor for at least eight minutes, and finally handed it back in non-operable condition. Meanwhile, three Arabs with “Allah Akbar!” tattooed on their foreheads, several known members of the New Red Army Faction, and a troupe of midget Neo-Nazis shouting, “Death To Clevelend!” walked right through an empty but open security gate. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-shoot-u-s-students-laptop-upon-entry-to-israel/521458/18 "2009-12-16T15:38:09Z")
This is just too bizarre to even take seriously. I mean, what possible reason could anybody ever have to shoot a laptop? Much as I understand the occasional urge to do so, what chain of events would have to transpire before you, in a calm and collected manner, as if it was a completely non-insane thing to do, pull a gun at a laptop and shoot it – three times!? Was it just being uncooperative? Was it made an example of for the other laptops in holding (‘See what happened to your friend over there?’)? Did it, perhaps, flash a blue screen of death at the officers in a threatening manner? The whole premeditated aspect of it is weird, too – I just can’t concoct any plausible scenario where a group of people, after some deliberation, come up with the idea that the only reasonable course of action to follow is to shoot the laptop – and then proceed to make an announcement and actually go through with their plan, without anybody during the whole process ever stopping dead in their tracks, going, ‘wait a minute, that’s actually a _completely insane_ thing to do!’. …On the other hand, I desperately want the officer putting the laptop into permanent sleep mode to have gone through a _Taxi Driver_ ‘You lookin’ at me?’-routine beforehand, so who am I to talk about what is and isn’t an insane thing to do. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-shoot-u-s-students-laptop-upon-entry-to-israel/521458/19 "2009-12-16T15:47:11Z")
If they thought it might actually contain explosives, wouldn’t they actually blow it up - as in pile it up with sandbags, put a small charge on it, then detonate? Isn’t that what actual bomb squads do with suspected explosives? Shooting something you think might be a bomb won’t reliably detonate it, or disarm it. We need **Tripler**. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-shoot-u-s-students-laptop-upon-entry-to-israel/521458/20 "2009-12-16T15:48:57Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > This is just too bizarre to even take seriously. I mean, what possible reason could anybody ever have to shoot a laptop? Maybe the laptop had a picture of a gun. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-shoot-u-s-students-laptop-upon-entry-to-israel/521458.md?page=2)