Pebbles and shells on the beach

Strolling along the edge of the ocean, I am picking up driftwood, starfish, and other little treasures from the flotsam, hoping not to be hit by a tsunami...

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Calling the Hamas "militant" is more than an understatement. It is like saying Stalin was an "outspoken activist." Hamas began about 1985 as a seemingly innocuous charity and religious group that even got the support of the Israeli government. However, when the first Intifada started, Hamas turned militant. They drew up their charter, which explains their views on negotiations and what might be called "the Jewish question." It is hard to imagine a more racist and terrifying document.
LINK

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Everything's topsy-turvy. A hardcore Islamist party wins a resounding victory in Palestine (can we finally drop the awkward and contrived "Palestianian territories" bullshit?) -- who is calm and who is upset? Not what you'd expect. Panic is unwarranted and counterproductive, but it strikes me that some Israelis are exhibiting an unseemly satisfaction at the results while Palestinians are genuinely aggrieved at the victory for Islamism. Who is the moderate here? Those Israelis who are quite pleased at the results think that it will draw the US even closer to Israel. Well, it's human to seize the advantage but hold the champagne.

Diana Moon's Letter from Gotham

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Bush pushes for elections, confusing them with democracy, but seems blind to the dangers of right-wing populism. At the same time, he continually undermines the moderate and secular forces in the region by acting high-handedly or allowing his clients to do so. As a result, Sunni fundamentalist parties, some with ties to violent cells, have emerged as key players in Iraq, Egypt and Palestine.

Juan Cole (Salon subscription) quoted by Diana Moon, previous note...

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The latest events can only be described as a political earthquake, both locally and regionally. Not only are these the first truly democratic and hotly contested elections in the Arab Middle East, but also the first time an Islamic party has come to power through the system and the popular will of the people.

To say we are entering a new stage is an understatement. Everyone knew Hamas would do well in these elections and that they would constitute a significant challenge to the ruling party. But this well?

Voters in Gaza were shocked.
"I cast a sympathy vote for Hamas but truthfully I did not expect them to win at all. It was a surprise to everyone; no one expected this to happen," a young college student said.Even Hamas members and supporters were surprised.

"We thought we'd get at most 50% of the votes," one Hamas insider told me.

"We didn't expect the security forces and the upper classes to vote for us, but it seems they might have tipped the balance. I guess we're more popular than we realised."

How the new government will take shape and whether western positions towards it will evolve have all yet to answered. It's likely that Hamas will form a kind of national unity government, or a coalition of some sort, with a mixture of other parties. The burden of the sudden and overwhelming responsibility for running a state and answering to their constituents' long and varied list of demands may be more than they can deal with alone at the moment.

(H/T 3 Quarks) The Guardian LINK; fifth in a series by

...freelance journalist and blogger Laila el-Haddad, who lives in Gaza City. Laila's blog, Raising Yousuf, is named after her two-year-old son. You can read her first post here, her second post here, her third post here and her fourth here.

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So... it's kind of interesting to monitor the reaction to the Hamas victory and the way officials and pundits are finding a "silver lining" in all of that (See my earlier post for the president's response). It reminds me of an aunt of mine who when you gave her some bad news, that you lost your job or your house was destroyed in fire, would always respond: "It's all for the best, dear." For believers there is the God Works in Mysterious Ways... And for Marxists and neocons it's -- how should I put it? -- dialectical thinking runing amok.

Global Paradigms

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Lessons to be learned at home?

Matthew Yglasias comments...

What Harry Reid Could Learn from Hamas
Anti-corruption is a good election issue, but to really pull off a sweeping political win you need to combine it with support for traditional religious values, toughness on national security, and economic populism. It's a sure-fire formula.

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(to be continued...)