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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 26-Jan-2011
26-Jan-11 News -- Anger grows over release of the 'Palestine Papers'

Web Log - January, 2011

26-Jan-11 News -- Anger grows over release of the 'Palestine Papers'

Britain shocked by negative GDP report

Anger grows over release of the 'Palestine Papers'

For the past couple of days, we've been reporting on the massive leak to Al-Jazeera of ten years' worth of previously secret Fatah/Palestinian Authority documents on the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

On Tuesday, I continued listening to the commentary on Al-Jazeera English, and the anger appears to be growing in all directions.

In the previous two days, the themes of the commentators were criticisms of America and Israel, and also criticisms of the Palestinian Authority for giving up too much to the Israelis in negotiations.

Those themes were advanced on Tuesday, but with the element of Hamas added to the comments. And it was very clear that the al-Jazeera commentators were taking the side of Hamas versus the PA/Fatah.

Here are some of the comments that I heard:

Commentators were shocked! shocked! to learn that Fatah had collaborated with the Israelis against Hamas. I don't know where these guys have been, but they apparently have forgotten that both Fatah and Israel have fought individual wars against Hamas in the last five years, so it's hardly surprising that the Israelis and the Palestinian Authority sometimes cooperated with one another.

One commentator said that the Palestine Paper revelations were "explosive," but then said that there is a phone in the office of the PA security services that's a direct line to Israel's security force. So it's openly admitted and obvious that the PA and Israeli security services cooperate with each other, so it's not clear to me why this commentator thought that this kind of cooperation was "explosive."

Britain was also a target of the commentators, since the administration of former Prime Minister Tony Blair had approved funding to help the Fatah security forces. Some of that money went to the Palestinian Preventative Security Services (PPSS) and the General Intelligence Service, Fatah organizations that have been accused of torture. So Britain is being accused of supporting torture.

One commentator was angry that during the negotiations, Israel said that they would not agree to have a Palestinian state unless the Palestinians promised that they would have no army or air force.

Another commentator was angry that the Palestinian Authority has been preventing Imams from providing Jihadist teachings in the mosques of the West Bank.

On the other hand, there's a major split growing between al-Jazeera and the Palestinian Authority.

PA president Mahmoud Abbas was given a hero's welcome when he arrived in Ramallah on Tuesday, with hundreds of demonstrators criticizing al-Jazeera for publishing fake documents.

Chief PA negotiator Saeb Erekat also got a hero's welcome in a rally. He was loudly and bitterly critical of al-Jazeera for "dirty tactics," and the "worst smear campaign in the history of journalism." He also suggested that the government of Qatar, the country that sponsors al-Jazeera, is supporting Hamas versus Fatah/PA.

As before, American and Israeli officials kept their mouths shut, except to answer questions by saying that the Palestine Papers have not yet been verified.

Britain shocked by negative GDP report

Britain's Office of National Statistics (ONS) reported on Tuesday that the country's GDP contracted by 0.5% in the last quarter of 2011, after growing by 0.7% in the previous quarter. London analysts had expected the fourth quarter GDP to grow by 0.1-0.7%, according to the Guardian.

Economists said that the figures were much worse than expected, even taking into account the harsh wintry weather that gripped Britain in December.

The center-left Guardian says that the austerity program being put into effect by the 8 month old center-right Conservative government will now be under fresh scrutiny.

The entire bailout strategy being followed by the European Union is based on the assumption that the European economy is going to grow rapidly so that only minor austerity programs will be necessary, and the debt will be paid off by growth. This is essentially the belief that the credit bubble of the mid-2000s decade will be reflated, and that's impossible.

Dhaka (Bangladesh) Stock Market bounces up

Dhaka Stock Exchange - One year preceding January 25, 2011

Dhaka Stock Exchange - One year preceding January 25, 2011

The Dhaka (Bangladesh) Stock Exchange reopened on Tuesday for the first time since last week on Thursday, when the stock exchange closed after five minutes. (See "21-Jan-11 News -- Bangladesh stock market crashes 9% in 5 minutes.")

The stock index rose 8% during the five hour session, and might have gone higher if it hadn't been for "circuit breakers" imposed on individual stocks, according to the Dhaka Financial Express.

The government has tried various things to try to "stabilize" the stock market, according to the Wall Street Journal (Access).

The regulators made it cheaper to borrow money to invest in stocks, but that only created a larger bubble. The regulators have tried various circuit breakers and trading halts as well.

Investors will be "crossing their fingers" on Wednesday, when the Dhaka Stock Exchange reopens for trading.

Additional links

Suicide bombers attacked Shia Muslims in Pakistan's two largest cities, Lahore and Karachi, killing 12 people and wounding dozens. AP. Pakistan's intelligence officials and police officials are saying off the record that "some foreign forces are openly funding the terrorist organisations including the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to destabilise nuclear-armed Pakistan as the security forces are at war to flush out militants from the country’s soil." The article doesn't mention who the foreign sources are, but we can assume that they mean India. The Nation (Pakistan)

Hundreds of immigrants, mostly from northern Africa, began a hunger strike in Greeece, citing discrimination and demanding to be legalized. Greece has recently been cracking down on immigrants who come into Greece as a gateway into the rest of Europe. Greece has recently threatened to build a fence along the border with Turkey, saying that it would be similar to the border fence between the US and Mexico. Associated Press

Tens of thousands of young anti-government demonstrators filled the streets of Cairo, Egypt, on Tuesday, and clashed with police, calling for the resignation of Hosni Mubarak, who has been Prime Minister since 1981. The demonstrations were inspired by the demonstrations in Tunisia, and were fueled by continuing high food prices. Many commentators pointed out that these demonstrations were previously unheard of in Egypt. VOA

(Comments: For reader comments, questions and discussion, see the 26-Jan-11 News -- Anger grows over release of the 'Palestine Papers' thread of the Generational Dynamics forum. Comments may be posted anonymously.) (26-Jan-2011) Permanent Link
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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 26-Jan-2011 26-Jan-11 News -- Anger grows over release of the 'Palestine Papers'

Anger grows over release of the 'Palestine Papers'

Britain shocked by negative GDP report

Dhaka (Bangladesh) Stock Market bounces up

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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 26-Jan-2011
26-Jan-11 News -- Anger grows over release of the 'Palestine Papers'