DeClaw ponders (in reference to angry man hawkpee): "Are these people half the snarling dogs in real life as they seem online?"

In a word -- no. It's all Dragons & Dungeons, x-boxes, tattoos and angry poses. Not to worry, the most radical things the hawkpees of this world do is get a body or facial piercing ("Mom, m-o-o-o-o-m!! Lookat me!!"), wear a meaningful baseball cap (at least to them), or in a fit of spite, key some anonymous person's car . . .

Ok.

I don't think it is. Palestinian resistance groups have always been a source for Israel's achieving facts on the ground--going in militarily and changing social and political conditions in the territories to suit their latest plans for consolidating Palestinian territory, and marginalizing the population into ever smaller cantons. It has never been about the amount of damage a Palestinian attack can do. At best they can kill about 50 people in an operation that takes relatively large amounts of funding and planning, and thus cannot be sustained, or waged except periodically. Palestinian violence has never been a real threat to Israeli life, especially when taken in the context that Israel is an acknowledged war with a territory it militarily occupies. Looked at it from this perspective, Israel has a fairly light burden for having been contantly 'at war' for fifty years.

However, its obvious that the kind of repression that Israel wages on Palestine will engender violent (if ineffectual) reaction. Thus Israel is able to carry out its plans as "retaliations" in the territories, reshaping and molding the political and social landscape to suit its plans for annexing Palestinian land.

In this case, Gaza has been shaped into an Islamic ghetto by Israel, sure to produce angry resistance fighters and movements, which lend credence to Israel's existential fears. The reality is that Israel needs nothing from Gaza, except its handiness as a pawn in the game.

DeClaw ponders (in reference to angry man hawkpee): "Are these people half the snarling dogs in real life as they seem online?"

In a word -- no. It's all Dragons & Dungeons, x-boxes, tattoos and angry poses. Not to worry, the most radical things the hawkpees of this world do is get a body or facial piercing ("Mom, m-o-o-o-o-m!! Lookat me!!"), wear a meaningful baseball cap (at least to them), or in a fit of spite, key some anonymous person's car

This implies youth, yes? Do you think they are mostly young punks, the ignorant slobs addicted to Spike TV, G4, and mixed martial arts who spend most of their disposable income on crappy modifications for their Mustangs, or do you think they are older, salty burnout types?

This is what I mean by their "mystery." Not that I actually believe a single one is anything but a coward when push comes to shove, but that I am repeatedly gobsmacked at what kind of person writes things like that, and whether they are a fraction as ignorant in their real-life interactions.

My guess is just as ignorant, but hardly as bold.

Israeli Jews tpp still stubbornly refuse to embrace the war party thrown by so many. Many of them are Israeli military leaders, who have seen first hand the cruel destabilization that stupid militarist actions leads to in the name of 'toughness':

Yossi Alpher, a former official at Mossad and a military commentator, agreed that Israel was seeking a ceasefire on more acceptable terms. But he was critical of the tough economic blockade Israel has imposed on the Gaza Strip in recent years, limiting imports to humanitarian supplies and preventing all exports, a policy that has all but wiped out private industry and brought Gaza's economy to collapse.

"The economic siege of Gaza has not produced any of the desired political results," he said. "It has not manipulated Palestinians into hating Hamas, but has probably been counter-productive. It is just useless collective punishment."

He said that in future Israel would have to choose either to recognise Hamas was around to stay and to talk to the movement, however unpalatable that might be for most Israelis, or to fully reoccupy the Gaza Strip, topple Hamas and bear all the costs involved.

Some have even spoken publicly against the current bombing in Gaza. Tom Segev, one of Israel's most respected historians, has been particularly critical, arguing that the premise of bombing to secure a peace agreement was false.

"Israel has also always believed that causing suffering to Palestinian civilians would make them rebel against their national leaders. This assumption has proven wrong over and over," Segev wrote in yesterday's Ha'aretz newspaper. "Since the dawn of the Zionist presence in the land of Israel, no military operation has ever advanced dialogue with the Palestinians."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/29/israel-gaza-military-strategy

I'd hasten to point out that even if starving Gazans to death had some desired political effect, it would still be wrong, but like the best Bush Jr. administration policies, Israeli militarism can combine cruel deadliness with counterproductive idiocy in equal measure.

I watched kind of a 'year in review' or maybe it was a review of the entire history of the program the other night about Bryant Gumbles show Real Sports. There's a section in it about drunks at NFL games. I think the people spoken about and filmed in that specific expose' are probably a good sample/example of the Hawkpees of the world. If you have HBO and OnDemand you can find the show and watch it anytime over the next few weeks.

DeClaw ponders: "I am repeatedly gobsmacked at what kind of person writes things like that, and whether they are a fraction as ignorant in their real-life interactions."

No need to be gobsmacked. They've always been here, amongst us. There is a willing ignorance at work here, but also a sad, and really bent cunning. The boldness comes from the strength of the mob, and being able to hide in the pack. When cornered, they do as rats do -- attack viciously. Deny. Lie. But never, never assume responsibility. Youth? Alas, no.