Berliner Mauer

Berlin was 70% destroyed in World War II. Berlin was in shambles for years after the war. The country was divided into sectors controlled by England, France, USA and the Soviet Union. The area occupied by the Soviet Union is known as East Germany. Although Berlin was in East Germany, it was also divided into sectors. On August 13, 1961, the sectors controlled by the Allied Powers were walled in by East Germany. On June 13, 1990, the official dismantling of the wall began.

The wall (Berliner Mauer) no longer separates political boundaries. Today the wall is synonymous with history, tourism and graffiti (as well as many other extrinsic tropes). This wall is unique from other historically significant walls for its continual importance. Berliner's (and tourists) are legally allowed to express themselves on the wall. The wall is a true palimpsest to the last 50 years of history and will continue to be so.

Israel-Palestine Conflict

First time, shame on you.
Second time, shame on me.
The 5,000th time shame on .... ?

David defeated Goliath with a stone throwing sling.
Now adversaries use M16's and RPG's, and neither side wins.

Wendell Berry, author of the Failure of War, writes

"In a modern war, fought with modern weapons and on the modern scale, neither side can limit to “the enemy” the damage that it does. These wars damage the world. We know enough by now to know that you cannot damage a part of the world without damaging all of it. Modern war has not only made it impossible to kill “combatants” without killing “noncombatants,” it has made it impossible to damage your enemy without damaging yourself."

I can think of hundreds of creative and peaceable ways to stop six boats from entering a port operating through a strong modern Navy. Dropping out of a helicopter, Rambo Style, onto the deck of a floatilla loaded with people that hate me is not one of them.

To understand what happened on May 31, 2010 between Turkey and Israel ask yourself two questions...
1. What were the contemporary circumstances that caused this situation?
2. How long has there been a situation?