tagged w/ border police
-
The cliched advice with so many computer problems is to turn the machine off and then on again; the laptop that offended the Israeli border police has certainly been turned off but is very unlikely ever to fire up again.
The laptop belonged to an American student, Lily Sussman, who had been travelling widely in the Middle East and, a fortnight ago, was crossing into Israel at Taba after a stay in Cairo.
According to her blog the security guards spent two hours questioning her, hand-checking every single item in her luggage, and questioning her about whether she had an Arab, Palestinian or Egyptian boyfriend. They checked images on her camera – which included anti-Israeli graffiti – and asked about the map of Jerusalem drawn for her by a friend.
She then heard an announcement "along the lines of 'do not to be alarmed by gunshots because the Israeli security needs to blow up suspicious passenger luggage.'"
She rushed to check her unattended luggage, left where she had been instructed, and was relieved to find it untouched. "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.'"
The laptop had not so much been blown up as executed by firing squad, its screen shattered by three bullets.
According to the Haaretz newspaper, the Israeli airport authorities responded: "A check performed on the lady's luggage signalled the need for security personnel to follow procedure."
The hard disk survived, and Sussman hopes to win compensation. However, many comments on her blog post were startlingly hostile. Mike Hunt wrote: "To hell with this pathetic wretch and her ventilated Macbook, she is a whiny little wannabe who should go back to Egypt get a netbook and have a nice day sympathising for the poooooor Palestinians." Others suggested it was her own fault for using a Mac instead of a PCThe cliched advice with so many computer problems is to turn the machine off and then... more
-
-
Connecticut Convention Center was filled with Connecticut National Guardsmen and their families, as they were about to embark on deployment to Afghanistan and Iraq. The Connecticut Guard was sending 700 brave men and women to support the troops in both areas.Connecticut Convention Center was filled with Connecticut National Guardsmen and their... more
-
-
While the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London was sponsoring Refugee Week in the UK, the management of this well known international university were hosting an immigration raid on campus. The hypocrisy was not lost on students who quickly occupied directorate offices in opposition to the arrest and detention of nine so called ‘illegal’ cleaning staff by border police. WORLDbytes reporters spoke to students at an impromptu rally and inside the occupied offices. As one migrant cleaner from Columbia, Alberto Durango says in the report: “We need to resist... This is happening in the City of London. This is happening all around London…But it’s up to us to fight back.” Student’s opposition and speedy action has already brought results. SOAS Principal Paul Webley was forced to make a request to the home secretary to grant all the cleaners leave to remain in the UK. So far, his demand has fallen on deaf ears, but SOAS chiefs may not be so quick to cooperate with the government’s anti-immigrant agenda in future.While the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London was sponsoring... more
-
