Time's Up...

Part 2 of Laura Flanders interview with Micha Kurz.

Now that the Midterms have come and gone. And, it's all over but the crying. The Peace Farce stumbles along...

And, Biibi was right on cue...

Israel has "desire" for talks, Palestinians should too - Benjamin Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Wednesday called on the Palestinian leadership to not look "for excuses" to avoid direct peace negotiations and to drop their preconditions for such talks, DPA reported.

Defending his policies in a special Knesset session called by the opposition, he also blamed the Palestinians for not wanting to recognize Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state.

"I know we have the desire to advance (the political process)," Netanyahu told the Israeli parliament. "I hope that the Palestinian Authority will also demonstrate such a desire, and that they are not looking for excuses to avoid talks." [...]

Apparently referring to his demand that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state, Netanyahu said on Wednesday that "the cost of an agreement is first and foremost to recognize that we will be here."

"We have not seen these conditions ripen," he added.

If the recently launched direct talks failed, Netanyahu said, then it will be "because of an assumption made by the Palestinian Authority that perhaps they could circumvent or avoid the need for direct negotiations by moving straight on to international dictates."

"...first and foremost to recognize that we will be here."

Wtf is that noise...?

Really, I do think the Palestinians do know that you're there...! Every waking hour of their miserable lives even...!

Today, Abu Mazen had this to say about the US midterms and Bibi...

Abbas: US trying to restart peace talks

Continuous efforts have been made by US mediators to bring stalled peace talks back on track, President Mahmoud Abbas told the Kuwait News Agency KUNA on Wednesday.

As PA officials insist that the midterm elections - which took seats in the nation's congress away from President Barack Obama's Democratic party - will not harm the process, Abbas said officials from all parties involved were continuing efforts.

Beyond American involvement, he told the agency, Arab officials and representatives of the Middle East Quartet - made up of EU, US, UN and Russian delegates - were in dialogue with Israeli and Palestinian negotiators in efforts to secure an end to settlement construction on Palestinian lands.

"If we achieve nothing from these talks we will search for other solutions with the support of the United States and the [UN] Security Council," Abbas told the paper.

Haaretz had this to say about the midterms...

U.S. midterms: AIPAC lauds re-election of pro-Israel stalwarts

The spokesman for the Israeli Embassy in the United States told Haaretz yesterday that support for Israel in Congress is "strong and bipartisan."

Republicans, who took control of the House of Representatives and made gains in the Senate Tuesday, are expected to take a tougher stance on Iran and to put pressure on the Obama administration to ease up on Israel.

In a statement, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee said, "It is abundantly clear that the 112th Congress will continue America's long tradition of staunch support for a strong, safe and secure Israel and an abiding friendship between the United States and our most reliable ally in the Middle East. Many of the strongest friends and supporters of the U.S.-Israel relationship were reelected on Tuesday. In particular, AIPAC congratulates Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV ), Reps. John Boehner (R-OH ), Nancy Pelosi (D-CA ), Eric Cantor (R-VA ) and Steny Hoyer (D-MD )."

*gah*