Why A Good Sense of Humor is Useful in Dealing with Contemporary International Affairs

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said some critical things about Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech at the Durban-2 conference calling for Israel's destruction and questioning whether six million Jews were murdered by the German Nazis and their collaborators. Ki-Moon said he regretted that the Iranian president's speech tended "to accuse, divide and even incite."

In response, Iran's regime has lashed Ki-moon for "double standards."

Iranian U.N. Ambassador Mohammad Khazaee condemned the UN and its officials for having allegedly "remained silent on [the] Israeli regime's abhorrent crimes against the innocent Palestinians, and on the threats, allegations and distortions made against...Iran by the Israeli regime."

Now, I don't have the stomach for it but some of you readers could easily total up the percentage of its time and the proportion of its money (much of it from U.S. taxpayers) and resolutions the UN has devoted to bashing Israel. Indeed, the entire Durban-1, Durban-2, and no doubt Durbans 3-through infinity conferences have been and will be devoted almost exclusively to this purpose.

And it was Iran's president who, according to the official translation, called for wiping Israel off the map at the same time as he's developing the nuclear weapons which might conceivably make some progress toward that goal.

Moreover, Iran and its friends were allowed to run the conference's preparations and word the resolution. The UN has ignored all the Iranian regime's human rights' violations and expressions of hatred toward several groups of other peoples and religions. Its treatment of the Bahais alone should get Iran mentioned perhaps in a resolution about religious persecution, right?

You'd think Tehran would be a bit grateful to the UN for white-washing it and ignoring its repressive behavior.

All kidding aside, the arrogant attitude, aggressive manner, and endless threats and demands of regimes like those of Iran, Syria, North Korea, and Libya make them their own worst enemies. (They should have much worse enemies among democratic states and their potential victims but that's a matter for another article.)

Given their frequently self-inflicted wounds, these regimes and their ideologies are certain to lose. Memo to Ahmadinejad: prepare your bunker and suicide note now for future use.