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Wednesday, January 21, 2009
A historical document from an era now passed….
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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‘Every Israeli shell is a vote for Hamas’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Israeli editor Bradley Burston, writing in the newspaper Haaretz, assesses the impact of Israel’s invasion of Gaza and reviews Israel’s role in creating and fostering Hamas. He is not pleased:
“In the often acrid debate over how best to deal with Hamas, a curiously unifying theme has underscored arguments across the whole of the political spectrum, from the hardline Jewish right to the anti-Israel left:
In its war in Gaza, Israel has played directly into Hamas’ hands.
A contention as old as Hamas, now entering its second generation, it remains a argument with a great deal of validity. In fact, its validity predates Hamas itself.
It held as early as the 1970s, when Israel began to effectively foster Hamas’ precursor, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin’s ostensibly apolitical Gaza-based branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. It held for much of the 1980s, when IDF Civil Administration occupation officials hoped to see Yassin’s social welfare institutions.
It held when Israel spared Hamas institutions in Gaza in the early years of the Second Intifada, battering into oblivion key institutions of Yasser Arafat’s Fatah-led Palestinian Authority and bolstering Gazans’ reliance on Hamas for education, health care, and other basic social services.
It held when Israel, in effect, acted as Hamas’ campaign manager for the Hamas-Fatah elections in 2006, and has since refused to recognize Hamas, blockaded Gaza, and simultaneously denigrated Mahmoud Abbas and his Palestinian Authority.
The axiom also holds that every Israeli shell is a vote for Hamas, and every thousand pound bomb 10,000 votes. There is every reason to believe that the adage is as true as ever.”
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Time to get to work, President Obama
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Lest anyone underestimate the seriousness of the situation, bad financial news from major banks overwhelmed whatever optimism might have been generated by inauguration of a new president Tuesday.
Markets fell around the world by 2 percent or more, and Wall Street had its single worst Inauguration Day in history. In London, Lloyds Banking stock fell by 31 percent, and the pound fell by 5 percent against the yen.
Here at home, Bank of America, once considered the strong among the weak, fell by 29 percent. Regions Financial fell by 24 percent. State Street, also considered relatively strong until now, fell more than 50 percent.
“Problems with overseas banks contributed to weakness in U.S. stocks, said Alan Valdes, a floor trader with Hilliard Lyons. “It’s an aberration — I think we’re going to get an Obama honeymoon rally,” he said.
Traders see few banks that can survive without more government intervention. After performing as one of the best large banking stocks in 2008, Wells Fargo declined 24%. …
“At this time, a retest of the November lows appears inevitable,” said Ryan Detrick, senior technical strategist at Schaeffer’s Investment Research. “We had the false breakout on the S&P 500 above 920 two weeks ago, and since then the bears have been in complete control. Couple that with the fear that no bank is safe, no matter how much money the government throws at them, and we are once again in a ‘sell first, ask questions later’ environment,” Mr. Detrick said.
