97 thoughts on “Strangely, I am not scared.”

  6. *sings* IDF IDF IDF, IDF IDF IDF.

    God I have so much respect for these guys 😀 Keep up the good work!!

    My friend Noam is coming over from Israel to see me soon. He lives in such a cool country 🙂

  8. magazine defiently hasnt been fitted correctly and frankly his aim for cam and concealments rubbbbbish.

    TWT

  10. the goofy looking magazine is attached to another magazine, which is properly attached. it’s convenient.

    regardless of whether or not war is proper or justified, the guys in the IDF are heroes.

  11. The magazine’s fine, he’s using an IDF-issue mag carrier. The carrier’s upper section locks into the rifle’s magwell, and the mag snaps into the socket that forms the lower section of the carrier. That rifle is currently unloaded, but loading is very fast.

    #8, he isn’t trying to aim, he’s posing for the camera.

    Only problem: His finger’s on the trigger.

  12. i don’t know why he smiles, I mean is he posing with a huge gun and smiling? He think’s its cool?Do you?.
    Is killing cool too?
    I think he’s an asshole and he shouldn’t be allowed to carry a gun

  13. Wait, no, his finger’s not on this trigger. It’s bent as if it was, but it’s below the trigger guard. I’ve never seen that before.

  14. To those who don’t understand, military service in Israel is an obligation to those between the ages 18-21. The picture of Moosh holding a gun doesn’t mean we’re in a war situation, it was taken just for fun, I guess.

  17. No one with a fucking gun is a hero and guns arent sexy especially in this context. They are ALL terrorists. *takes a virtual SHIT on this picture*

  18. Shannon, if it does, you’re a much bigger asshole than Moosh. 🙂 I’ve never fired one of those…

  19. so if hes an asshole for carrying a gun (not in this context as a picture but in general) then he should what, put his gun down and be shot to death?? reality doesnt = everyone can put their guns down, someones always going to have one and as soon as the others disarm then oh we have someone trying to conquer the world again and nothing to stop them?

  21. P.S.

    I think he has no fucking choice but to carry a gun.

    And guns are sexy… almost as sexy as a chick with a gun.

  24. All you ignorant fuckes make me sick to my stomach. “Guns are evil, guns are stupid, guns should be banned buhuu* WRONG! Some people are evil and/or stupid, but guns don’t harm anyone before you add an idiot with bad intentions to the mixture! Guns are just pieces of different materials put together, the rotten apples are to find among humans.
    Even if there were no such thing as guns or military people would still kill each other, but randomly and with rocks, cars, sticks, what ever you can harm someone with. Wake the fuck up and realize that we aren’t called homo militans because everybody are so nice to each other!

  26. wow, i would have expected more fomr someone that isn’t even american, look at venezuela(sp?) war is not a basic human instinc neither is violence, it’s conditioned into us by culture, go read some Singer, Marcuse, Marx, its all there
    this war is stupid and a complete blindfold to the popele and what is really going on in the world, like genocide, hunger, and disese
    its time epople pulled there head out of there ass and fucking woke up to the fact that war is not neccessary the same way guns are
    Stop the war!!!
    Stop the genocide!!
    End hungar!!
    Empty the cages!!!

  27. might not neccesary but has always been part of the human condition, even at the start man killed each other for something

    wars are never going to be stopped its completely naive to think so

    and what does ‘ not even american’ meant to mean, somehow America is all pro war? im british and im not pro war but its fucking reality, to end this stuff you need power and power corrupts.

  28. If there was a nice visible mod to comment on then I think people would comment about it. But its not. It’s an Israeli soldier with a gun. It’s not at all mod blogish and is rather offensive to pacifists and those who disagree with Israeli military policy.

    Normally the possibly offensive stuff is relevant. Like the bin laden tattoo. But this I just don’t get. It seems to make pretty big political statement. ‘Guns are cool’ and ‘the Israeli military is cool’. And I think a lot of mod blog fans and BME peoples will disagree.

  30. (however, #28, he doesnt have a VISIBLE mod, but read shannons caption/check out his bme page…. this can be seen as relevant since yknow… he is part of the community)

  32. 26# No, it’s time to forget about commie propaganda and realize that communism only works in theory OR if it is forced. Just look at the communistic countries that still exist, it’s the most depressing places on earth! It’s a very fun experiment and all, but it doesn’t work in real life and there is a very simple reason: the “geniuses” behind the theories are naive enough to assume that everyone feels, thinks and acts like them selves in a given situation, and refuses to acknowledge that people aren’t the same.

    28# It does say something about the army, government, and their view on bodymods I guess. It appears that he has stretched lobes, but no jewelry in.. Good or bad I don’t know, it could be both.

  33. there’s really no reason for this to be on a bod mod website.
    a very poor choice of post.
    all it has done is provoke a lot of very poorly-informed vitriol.
    is that what modblog is for these days?

  34. The no. 28 post was very insightful. good for you will. I know I’m not part of the “community,” but I would like to vote PredatorDK off modblog.

  35. will/digger — I posted it because it’s a photo of a long-term IAM/BME member in an atypical context; go to his page and you can see that his stretched lobe jewelry has been removed for this (which you can also see in the picture, which is why I commented on it as such in the entry).

  36. #31 me too =)
    predatorDK ok forget marx(i agree about communism, good on paper but just can’t work) what about singer and marcuse both wern’t commie and have the same idea that i think has been proven time and again people are naturally good and benevolent, look at what pualdiel wrote about the rescuers in the consentration camps of WWII, and cuba has one of the lowest crimes rates in the worl and has one of the high literacey rates as well i don’t think it could be all bad i am sure it has its rough aresa like any country does i mean look at america it has pleanty of problem zones,
    war is stupid and can be stoped there is nothing niave about that !!
    its possible if every one tried, but the problem is almost no one is willing to try

  37. Arrrrgh I just feel sick when people comment about things they have no idea about and write so much bullshit!!!
    I live in Israel, and I have n-o-t-h-i-n-g against palestinians and no desire to kill them! and believe it or not – MOST of the Israeli people agree with me!
    The guy in the picture IS young, because we HAVE to serve in the IDF at the age of 18 as someone wrote, and not in order to fight palestinian people, but in order to contribute to our country! Did you know the IDF is the only army with an “Education” division to help the community? I served in it for two years and did what I can for my country.
    Did you know most of the soldiers are not combat soldiers and most of ‘em would love to be without the guns?
    So you saw one stupid picture of a soldier with a gun…. so what?! he’s probably at the base on a saturday morning, bored out of his senses and wishing he was home with his family and friends and mods too…. it’s not like he’s holding a bleeding head! Put things in proportions…

    And now about the mods – it’s a shame the army makes us remove all mods for the entire service… (2 years for girls, 3 tears for guys)… Hey, but they can’t take our tattoos (-;

    Have a grat day everybody.
    And don’t hate what you don’t understand.
    That’s true no matter where you’re at.
    Peace from Israel.

  38. oh come on people.. Moosh is a great guy. he did have to take his piercings out for the army, and you can see his stretched lobe in the picture, so it does belong on modblog. and as someone said, military service is an obligation in Israel, so him posing for a picture with a gun doesn’t make him a bad person or say anything about his views on war.

  39. I hate it when people are anti-troops. Just because you may be a pacifist doesn’t mean that you have to be against the people who have to join the military. He didn’t willingly enlist, it’s required there. And it’s not like the troops decide where to go, the government does and they have no choice but to comply. If it weren’t for the troops protecting that country then other countries would have walked all over them.

    And for the love of god, if you don’t know shit about guns then don’t comment! YES, his gun IS put together correctly, magazine and all.

  40. He. didn’t. willingly. enlist. Have the argument with someone who did, people.

    Of course it’s relevant for Modblog… this guy’s an IAM member, and I thought a major part of BME/IAM was a sense of community? Interesting pics of the lives of other IAM members is great material for Modblog for that reason. What, are your brains going to implode if you don’t see an “extreme” mod or a sexy woman in the picture??

  41. #37,
    it’s funny there was actually a pro-palestinian rally this weekend in DC, and some of my arab friends were surprised at how many jews were there.

    but, in the end, it’s not a matter of whether or not israelis have problems with palestinians or not, it’s the fact that members of the idf tend to abuse their power, and having a picture of an idf soldier with a gun with no real visible mods, doesn’t make sense for a blog dedicated to body modification.

    salam, shalom, peace.

  43. he looks like an average 18 year old to me
    bunches of piercings, pictures of graffiti, bottles of liquor, girls with his name written on their boobs
    i’d hang out with him
    mandatory military service is something we don’t have in this country
    so everyone (who’s american) should be happy about that.
    the army is allowing neck tattoos now and their recruitment numbers are better every month so the military isn’t getting any smaller
    you can say peace all you want
    maybe you should start puttin in work for a new foreign policy
    and getting the hell out of the UN

  44. 34# Of course you would. Because that is the correct and democratic way to solve disagreement: censorship of all that don’t agree. A very enlightened statement, Ms. Vanity.

    36# I disagree. Not on that war is a stupid and unnecessary way to (try to) solve anything, I support that statement. But to think that wars can be stopped simply by choosing not to fight anymore is naïve. I’m sure that the poor people that suffer would like to save their families and their own asses. The only problem is that they in most cases they are not the ones creating the trouble. Just take a look at North Korea and see how far off the track that commie insane asylum is..
    Second, a lot of people have been brainwashed to fight for things that I can’t even see any logic in. Religion has, and will always be an excuse for fighting and killing. If you want everybody to be friends and live in harmony, you first have to convince a whooole fucking lot of intolerant fundamentalist that what they do is against human nature and only leading to problems. And that I am pretty sure is impossible.
    Third, I don’t believe that humans only posses a good side. Some are good, some are bad but most of us are somewhere in between. We can feel love, happiness and want to give, but we can also feel anger, hate and the urge to destroy. It’s not a black and white; we are all somewhere in the grey area. Some more black or white than others.

  45. He looks so young, I feel like he couldn’t be older than me (19). He looks like a good soldier and I’m glad he is proud of what he does.

  46. don’t you mean occupied palestine?

    ak47 beats m16 every time.

    what this has to do with body modification, i don’t really know.

  47. “What does this have to do with body modification?”

    Sweet fancy fucking Moses. If anyone asking this had read the post, you’d have noticed that it clearly states that he’s an IAM member, and makes mention of the fact that you can see he’s got stretched ears from which he’s had to remove jewelry for his military service.

    Look, I’m Jewish (technically). I don’t support the Israeli government in much of anything. But Christ, just spouting “free Palestine!” does absolutely nothing to address the complexity of the issue at hand. Whoever was discounting charges of naivety regarding the idea that, “war is over if people just stop fighting” is absolutely wrong; nothing is that simple — especially this bullshit.

    Regardless of what you think of war or whatever, joining the military is one of the more noble (or, at the very least, selfless) decisions a person can make. Defending one’s country is a fucking brave thing to do, and that is hardly up for debate. Not to say that all soldiers have the most virtuous of intentions (or engage in the most virtuous of actions), but on the whole, faulting troops themselves for the faults of their government is often entirely unfair and inappropriate.

    As far as Moosh goes, as has been noted, he’s Israeli and, thus, does not have a choice regarding his military service. The fact that he’s smiling in this picture is not disgusting or terrible — it’s *great* that a fucking kid who’s been forced into the most hellish of circumstances can manage a goddamn smile at all.

  49. just to be clear because i think i was rather lacking in this area, i don’t hate this kid or what he is doing i support the troops, its not there choice, they are sent places and told what to do and have no choice, i think that is accctually really great that the IDF has an education unit in it if america couldn’t ever get rid of its army i think that would be a wonderful thing too incorparate into it.
    predatorDK: no i agree its nothing that can be just haluted not by one bit i completely agree its a long process but i think it a process that is better started now then later, about north korea your spot on, that is something that needs to be paid more attention to for sure, as for religion yeah its lead to countless (and i mean that literally) deaths look at the 100 years war any aryan attack such as the oklahoma city bombing, the holucaust just to name a few, i couldn’t agree more about the fundamentalists, i don’t think everyone who is religious(of any kind) would agree with the majority of the religions decisions, like the oklamhoma city bombing for example, not to many christians would agree that that was a smart move for the betterment of the religions image or cause, as for the natural good in people yeah there are “bad apples” and i agree for sure that its not a black and white issue but it is totally possible for every one to get along there just needs to be more education on the subject and it to will not be a quick process either i mean look at when the slaves were freed it to the majority of the population to accept them as people years and years and the same thing again in the sixties, these are all things that will take a long process as i have said befor but as the wepons advace and technology grows we are just headed for a bridge that once we cross we will not be able to cross back over due to the serious ramimfications using such technology

  52. why would you lighten up when more and more people are being klilled everyday for no reason??
    that seems almost villanis

  53. I personally don’t like the war. Any war. I also have a gun collection. I shoot at the range…it’s a skill and a hobby.

    The guy’s an AIM member, he’s modified and has taken his jewelry out for a required duty by the citizens of his country. No more and no less.

  54. I must say, that picture of you with the Barrett does make you an asshole, Shannon. I want to shoot one of those. 😐

    .. Even though it’d probably shatter my shoulder bone.

  55. I skimmed the comments and I saw a bunch of standing on the soapbox crazy shouting about “the war.” Military service is mandatory in Israel and I only caught one person mentioning that.

    Let’s all be happy we don’t need an eight meter tall cement wall between each other to prevent suicide bombings.

  56. posing with a gun does not make you an asshole, but to force people to kill other people, turns every government into killers.
    there is no sacred war or fair or unfair war, there is only war or peace.

  57. Wow, people are assholes.

    Empty gun, finger not on trigger, guy smiling as he does his country a service.
    What’s the big deal?

  58. I think he’s more ‘showing’ the gun that posing like he’s gonne shoot. If he was he would be pointing it more AT the camera, wich he clearly is not…

    I really think it’s an appropriate post, it really puts my feet back on the ground.

    An as far for the ‘service for the country’… I live in Belgium… the war and the Bush-stuff didn’t make lots of friends in Europe. The general thought about America here is that it sucks. I have my own mind, I don’t follow the crowds. I just wanted to mention this. So for all the non-americans, this picture displays something else…

  60. Maybe if this accompanied an article or something about the way the military treats mods. But like this it was bound to lead to a big argument about guns and Israel. Can we have a nice picture of him with plugs in those ears and his other mods showing to put it in context?

    And if you can find one I want a nice picture of a Palestinian freedom fighter/terrorist with a rocket launcher on his shoulder and a hole in his ear. Just in the interest of being fair. Failing that maybe a picture of a different kind of hole. Let’s find an IAM member who has been shot just to see what’s the other side of guns.

  61. Every single comment bashing Moosh was obviously made by an ignorant ass, as he has no fucking choice whether or not to be there. Just to make you feel very silly perhaps shannon should post a picture of a blown up modded guy after a suicide bombing? Where would all the “free palestine” pacifists be then?
    The fact Israel isn’t even in the Gaza strip, or any other palestinian territory at this moment, isn’t relevent right? Yet rockets seem to be getting aimed at the innocent people of Sderot anyway.
    I have a great idea, how about we “free Palestine” in your own respective countries? They’re such a civilized and cultured people, albeit currently murdering each other senseless over who will be in control (such a bright future I see for their country).

    Christ, Israelie pacifists and peace activists somehow make sense to me, they actually feel the struggle and choose to hold these opinions, but sitting safely behind your monitor in europe, or america, or where ever you are, and spouting “free Palestine” is just being a hypocrit.

  62. There’s an interesting idea: A Hamas, etc, terrorist with an earring. Would such a thing even exist, or would someone like that find himself looking at the sharp end of a fatwa?

  63. #47: noble? did you actually use the word noble? do you have the fortune of living in a location with an overwhelmingly high number US soldiers? If so, I don’t understand how you could use the word “noble” to describe anything about their person. most kids are forced or coerced into joining by economic pressures. Oh, that GI bill does sound tempting, doesn’t it???? Bullshit.

    “Dulce et Decorum est Pro patria amori”

    fuck that

    [i didn’t want to get angry. reading this post I was thinking that people were getting way to emotionally involved in a blog post, but jesus, NOBLE!!!!!!!!!! even to describe a decision.. whew.]

  64. I’m so glad to see so many enlightened, accepting, forgiving, and caring people in the Pacifist camp. It warms my heart to know that someone actually cares about people, instead of throwing biased, unsabstantiated comments in every direction. Way to go folks!

  65. Hamas and the other Palestinian freedom fighter/terrorist groups are Islamic. So I doubt we will see one with stretched lobes or a tattoo.

    I was just thinking that if both sides were shown then it would keep the comments about the body mods and not the politics. Anything showing an Israeli in military uniform with a big fucking gun was bound to bring out all those sympathetic to the Palestinian cause and their comments would lead to the pro Israel arguments. And this becomes a big political debate with nothing to do with body modification.

    If it had been any other picture of the guy then I don’t think there would be any of this. Because I’m sure he is a great guy. It’s the gun the uniform and the lack of an interesting mod that has led to this whole debate.

    I think a pic of him out of uniform would be nice. And a big peace sign tattoo to showing the pacifists of BME.

  66. #24 “Even if there were no such thing as guns or military people would still kill each other, but randomly and with rocks, cars, sticks, what ever you can harm someone with.”

    Exactly. Lack of guns and militaries arent going to make death or killing go away, but it probably would not be going on in mass numbers for reasons misunderstood or completely unknown to those doing it.

    Unlike cars and rocks and sticks, guns were designed exclusively to kill with, no matter how much you goons out there want to say that there is some kind of “sport” to it.

    #28, my thoughts exactly, alll this does is make the IDF (and all armies for that matter) look cool and happy and friendly or something…

    #37, #55 i dont have anything against Israelies and i know military service is mandatory in Israel, that doesnt make it right, nor should it be glorified. Obviously not everyone in Israel supports what its military is doing, or is a bloodthirsty soldier or anything, and i have immense sympathy for those that are forced to serve against thier will, but the Israeli government is just as much a “terrorist force” as any of the “terrorists” they’re fighting. Anyone remember how they destroyed Lebanon last year, killing 900+ Lebanese, many of them civilians, after a very minor attack, and then cutting off aid to the Lebanese people still in the region??

    Nice counterpart to the “war is murder” graphic on the front page.. HA HA HA..

  68. I sense a “you’re either with us, or against us” atmosphere reading the comments.
    We’ve all seen that this oversymplifying in the Dubya-style has ruined the worldreputation of the US in the past few years.

    Personally, i detest the fact that Israel-bashing is bon-ton nowadays as much as I dislike Leon Uris’ rewriting of history. I don’t wanna choose a side, but I’m not that naive as the 1994 Nobel Prize committee.
    After decades of action-reaction attacks I don’t believe there will ever be piece. This is a perpetuüm mobilé.

    Let’s face it:
    Both sides are armed, both sides use war-propaganda to influence or indoctrinate their children and the outside world.

  69. hi, #61,
    last time i checked, israeli forces are still in the west bank which according to international law IS palestinian land.

    not to mention the settlers, which are illegally settled there. 🙂

    and being muslim doesn’t automatically mean you won’t have piercings or tattoos. technically, jews aren’t supposed to have piercings or tattoos either – something which moosh has. so let’s not generalize 🙂

  70. “ak47 beats m16 every time.”

    I believe that would be an M4 he’s holding 😛

    And I refuse to add my voice to the useless political ranting crap this post has caused.

    Good luck Moosh, may your time in service go smoothly.

  71. this all thread is totally hillarihus 😛
    can’t stop laughing.

    first you make all these stupid assumptions about moosh… then you decide that this picture was taken during war, when it’s obvious it was taken during routine training, for FUN. and then you call him an asshole for holding a gun, which he is obligaded to carry as part of serving his country.

    you don’t live where we live, you don’t face this everyday situation and you are in no position to judge.

    i wish you’d honor him for what he’s contributing.

  74. Why stop here? Why not have a go at the teachers, and the tour leaders, and the youth group leader in Israel who are forced by law to carry a gun to protect the children in their care?

    And I would like all of you to stop watching BBC 1, flick over to a non anti-semetic news channel, and see the death and destrustion caused by the palestinians in Israel.

    And after you have seen an Israeli soldier comforting a child who is soaked in the blood of her dead mother, after a suicide attack, I dare you to criticise the work that these brave soldiers do.

    To join the army, whether compulsary or not is such a brave thing to do. Dropping your guns and refusing to fight is not brave, it is idiocy, and endangering the lives of your whole country.
    Think back to the Israel-Lebanon war last summer. I was in Haifa when it was happening. Thankfully I was not harmed, and no one with me was either, but if the soldiers fighting tuned away, I have no doubt I would be dead.

    I am against the war, but I am fully behind the soldiers protecting our homeland, against the only country in the UN who did not feel that the Jews should have their own land after we were so brutally desomated in the second world war.

    So I say a very proud ”fuck you” to all those who can’t see what an amazing job these guys are doing, and don’t appriciate how hard it may be for them.

    Keep up the good work, Baruch Hashem you will be home and safe soon.

  78. i wish people will one day realize that critisizing something they have absolutely no knowledge about is a very embarrasing thing to do.
    that said, i wish many things that i know will never be…

    anyhoooo
    the first thing i thought when i saw this picture is that this kid could face jail time if his commanding officers somhow found out about this! it is *very* illegal to take pictures on military grounds! and especially posting them on the http://www...

    also, my personal experience with an M16 was far from pleasent, being attached to it day and night for a week.. so i dont get what hes smiling about! its heavy! and oily! and i preffer cold weapon anyway.

    i dont know you moosh, but good luck, i hope those 3 years go by quickly for you

  79. maybe i missed it but i don’t think any one has critizized him for what he is doing, i could be completely wrong though, i just whish that people could talk these things out because throwing a nasty work is alot less devistating then throwing a bomb

  80. Guns are neither good nor evil, they are simply a tool man has devised.

    Wars are neither good nor evil, only a manifestation of Human development.

    Every war that has ever been fought will supply tales of horrors and terrible acts of brutality. But after every war is over Humans find themselves (as a whole) a little bit farther along the path. Some suffer but the collective gains. This is how our present reality is.

    There is no such thing as good or evil, only an individual and personal sense of right and wrong, in your heart you know the difference. It’s up to each of us to choose our path. When enough finally choose wisely war will no longer be necessary for Humankind to advance.

  81. i don’t see any problem with this! all of you who think this is wrong and so forth, look at it in this light, if you were there, you’d be thinking different. if you had that gun for YOUR protection i’m sure you wouldnt be bitching. at least moosh has the balls to do something while you all sit pretty in your comfy homes eating your hot meals. give the kid a break.

  82. again i must say i don’t think any one is giving moosh a hard time just because some one doesn’t like guns or war doesn’t mean they hate him

  83. hey,

    to all those who are saying “free the palestinians,” have you given any thought to the fact that they wage war against israel constantly, and then bring the war upon their own people by using their own civilians as shields, by allowing terrorists to hide in homes with children and women? have you considered that palestinians are constantly waging a war of hate by spreading propaganda against jews and the very existence of israel? if all these other arab nations support palestinians so much, why won’t they allow palestinians to live in their countries? palestinians want jobs and homes in israel not only because it is considered the holy land, but also because the israelis have made it prosperous and successful. it is just a shame that israel is being constantly attacked on all sides.

    i support israel–you don’t have to, but get the facts before blindly swearing your alliance with either side.

    oh, and the guy in the photo is pretty cute 🙂

  85. I watched IDF soliders firing live rounds at kids in Palestine a few weeks ago, so I don’t find this post particularly entertaining. I have a bullet casing in my pocket as I type.

  86. and that is why i say stop war !!!! of any kind!!!, for any reason !!! life is not worth it not one single life is worth it can you even imagine what the trauma of seeing that pr being there or surving that would be its in explainable !!!
    STOP ALL FUCKING WARS !!!!!!!!!!!!

  87. 85, in my pocket, i have parts of a missile that landed in Sderot, aiming for houses with children in them.

    i served IDF for two years and i’m proud of it. and you know what? it’s kind of hard for me to believe that IDF soliders shot children in perpose.

  88. #11, actually, his finger isn’t on the trigger, it’s below the trigger guard.

  90. I thought this was a community of friends… what the hell… this is why I rarely visit this site any more. I like the picture… and for those of you that demand peace, instead of bashing one guy and his picture… do something real for the love of pete! Go to the goverments that start this crap… it’s not the guy in the field, or in this picture…. moosh… nice picture man!

  91. Well.. i think i’m going to be the different one when i say…wow…this guy is BEAUTIFUL. hahaha… this is the kind of hot guy you should be posting more often LOL.

  93. #24 Sorry to anyone that thinks differently but I agree quite hugly with you!!!!

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