How can they tell?

No surprise to hear that the PA, suffering from incompetence, graft, outright theft, and broken promises from Arab nations, is going broke:

International envoy James Wolfensohn said the Palestinian Authority faces financial collapse within two weeks now that Israel has cut off tax transfers in response to Hamas’ election victory. Even if the Palestinian Authority survived with emergency funding, the financial crisis could bring violence and chaos unless the Quartet of major peace mediators developed a long-term funding plan once a Hamas-led government is in place, Wolfensohn said in a letter released on Monday.

What took me aback in this little quotation is that Wolfensohn is worried that less money will bring "violence and chaos." And in this regard, I have to echo Dorothy Parker who, when she heard Calvin Coolidge was dead, said "How can they tell?" Considering that violence and chaos are the norm under Palestinian rule, I'm not seeing any big changes being threatened here. UPDATE: Well, we can all rest easy without the threat of "violence and chaos." The EU has decided to pay protection money to get the PA and its Muslim cohorts off its back. Always a wise move to submit to blackmail, that's what I say. Talking to Technorati: Palestinian Authority, Palestinians, European Union, Israel