According to Haaretz, Israel’s Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz says that since its electoral victory on Wednesday Hamas has been “behaving responsibly.” The big debate in the Israeli government is now whether to pass the tax revenue to the (new) Palestinian Authority on schedule.

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The other day I recommended selling Google stock on moral grounds; today maybe it’s more pragmatic than that. From a Hiawatha Bray column in the Boston Globe:

Umbria Inc. a market research firm in Boulder, Colo., that tracks blog postings about businesses, has detected ”a huge peak in activity” related to Google, according to Howard Kaushansky, Umbria chief executive. Kaushansky said a sudden burst of online comments could mean trouble for the world’s leading Internet search service.

Another aspect of the Google controversy I have not seen raised very much is the issue of “modeling.” While our country goes around trumpeting democracy as the keystone of our foreign policy (and our values), our flagship companies (Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, Cisco) wink slyly and say “just kidding – we really want to make a profit first.” There are a million rationalizations, but that’s what it comes to. The fact that there are work-arounds doesn’t cut if for me. What you do is what you are.

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Sartre famously wrote that “Hell is other people.” Until now, he may have had a point. But indisputably today: Hell is Gaza.

From the AP:

Thousands of angry activists from the defeated Fatah Party demanded their leaders’ resignations, Palestinian police stormed a parliament building in Gaza and other security forces clashed with Hamas gunmen – signs of growing instability following Hamas’ victory in parliamentary election.

Fatah gunmen climbed on top of the Palestinian parliament building in Ramallah, fired in the air and posted a picture of the late leader Yasser Arafat on the roof to cheers and whistles from hundreds of supporters below. Dozens of armed police officers briefly stormed the building in Gaza City and demanded an immediate trial for Hamas members who killed police in fighting in recent months.

And then there’s this:

About 2,000 Fatah members marched in the West Bank city of Nablus, led by dozens of gunmen from the Fatah-allied Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, who fired in the air from the back of a truck.

“We are now no longer part of the cease-fire,” one of the gunmen, Nasser Haras, told the crowd. Palestinian militants groups agreed last year to a cease-fire with Israel.

In Bethlehem, about 400 activists, including dozens of gunmen, took over the party’s local office and demanded the resignation of party leaders. In Tulkarem, gunman Ibrahim Khreisheh warned against cooperating with Hamas.

“Whoever will participate in a government with Hamas, we will shoot him in the head,” he said.

Okay, that’s not Gaza – that’s the West Bank. Shall we extend the definition of Hell? [Gaza has lots of Mediterranean beach front. Couldn't they build a resort?-ed. There's a thought.]

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Hillary Clinton’s move to join the anti-Alito filibuster is a dumb political move, as is this accompanying bit of bloviation:

“History will show that Judge Alito’s nomination is the tipping point against constitutionally-based freedoms and protections we cherish as individuals and as a nation,” Clinton wrote in a statement during a fundraising stop in Seattle.

Good thing she just wrote it down because saying something that inane out loud would provide a perfect soundbite for Republican commercials in years to come. Clinton does not nearly have the sophisticated political ear of her husband. There’s a time to hold ‘em and a time to fold ‘em. The time to fold ‘em came a long time ago on the Alito nomination. Only big time losers like Kerry don’t seem to know better. By aligning herself with the likes of Prince John the Hairful, she’s heading in the opposite direction from the Oval Office. I thought she and Bill were talking to each other again. Maybe they’re not.

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From the Financial Times:

Despite persistent disillusionment with the war in Iraq, a majority of Americans supports taking military action against Iran if that country continues to produce material that can be used to develop nuclear weapons, a Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll has found.

The poll, conducted Sunday through Wednesday, found that 57% of Americans favor military intervention if Iran’s Islamic government pursues a program that could enable it to build nuclear arms.

It seems the man with the unpronounceable name has managed to convince American he’s for real. He certainly has me.

Meanwhile in Tehran:

Hundreds of Tehran’s Collective Bus drivers, technicians and workers have been arrested, since yesterday, following the issuance of a notice of strike. The protest action is to start from Saturday early morning and should affect most of the ten transit areas of the Greater Tehran.

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From Reuters, Al Aqsa promises to “liquidate” any Fatah members who join Hamas. Meanwhile, Haaretz is reporting only five wounded in demonstrations so far. [Are those fatah-lities?-ed. I knew you had potential as a comedy writer.]

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Iran’s mission to the UN says “more study” is needed to prove the Nazi Holocaust. [Yes, they saw "Schindler's List," but then they saw "Munich" and changed their minds.-ed.]

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Among all those wondering what to make of the Hamas victory, Jordan’s Abdullah may be the least happy about the possible developments. Follow any or all of these scenarios: Hamas supporters attack Israel, Fatah supporters attack Israel, Fatah and Hamas supporters attack each other and Israel… what happens? Israel is dealing with some kind of violent state on its eastern flank and acts in self-defense, pushing out to the most natural of all security walls, the Jordan River. The normally sane and reasonable Abdullah has several million crazed refugees on his hands. Jordan is a mad house. That’s what he woke up with the other morning.

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Old media rules at the World Economic Forum, according to Fortune:

Justin Fox reports: For members of the Old Media, Davos remains stuck in a blissful time warp where they still matter and there’s no Matt Drudge or Instapundit or Daily Kos around to cause trouble. Genius that he is, World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab long ago swept the people who run the world’s newspapers, magazines and TV networks into a tight embrace, and he’s not letting go, at least not yet.

Not to put too fine a point on it — who cares? [You do. There's good skiing.-ed. Oh, yeah, I forgot about that.]

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Neo-neocon, continuing her groundbreaking serious on political change, begins installment six with a quote from Trotsky: You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you. (PS: You may enjoy the photo over on PJ.)

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