Wednesday SNB

Human rights, shmuman rights: The U.K. is perfectly fine with backing an economic pact between Syria and the EU in spite of its “concerns” about Syria’s human rights violations. Because after all, the almighty Euro is more important than the lack of freedom, right? Mind you, America is right down there with the coddling of nations that are serial human rights abusers. It’s called “realpolitik,” right? School of realists? The Walt and Mearsheimers of the world? Yeah, that is some great school. It gives us cases like North Korea, Iraq, and Iran, to name only three of the world’s worst human-rights abusers. (Iraq under Saddam, not sure what it’s like anymore.) Of course, the fact that the U.K. stopped selling military parts to Israel on the pretense that too many civilians were killed does not mean in the least that the U.K. is hypocritical, or heaven forbid, anti-Israel. Nope. Not at all. You see, they really do care about human rights. But only if they can’t blame the problems on Jews.

If an army has to be there for your swearing-in, are you really the “elected leader”? Robert Gibbs said yesterday that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is the “elected leader” of Iran, in spite of the fact that he had to have 5,000 security forces at his swearing-in ceremony, the opposition boycotted it, and his mentor, the Ayatollah Khameini, didn’t give him the victory kiss of congratulations the other day. Sucks to be you, Mad Mahmoud. (As for that “Smartest administration EVAH” thing—I’m thinking not.)

Billy Jeff goes to North Korea: President Clinton came through with the goods and got two American journalists out of the hell that is North Korea. As I am simply glad that he got them back, there is not much to snark about. Oh, of course there is. The North Koreans rejected the Obama administration’s first choice for mediator: Al Gore. Do you think it was the gasbag effect, or the Gore Effect? The good news is that Clinton didn’t do to Obama what Jimmy Carter did to him, and go off the reservation. We’re still paying for that trip.

News I really don’t care about: Paula Abdul is leaving American Idol. The fact is I have watched, perhaps, a total of ten minutes of the show since it first aired. The only “reality show” I’m finding myself at all interested in watching is Wipeout, because you get to go “Oooh!” “OW!” “That had to hurt!” and “No way are you going to make it!” at the TV when you watch it. Plus, it’s fun to watch people get knocked into the water over and over again. I can’t explain why. But it really is.