Honor roll

At the last minute, the United States announced that it will boycott the Durban II conference on racism (actually, an antisemitic hatefest), which opened today in Geneva. Israel, Canada and Australia had already said they would not attend; Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden will also stay away.

The United Kingdom, Ireland and the Czech Republic will be represented, but only at a junior level. Belgium is busy trying to round up EU members to attend, while France has announced that it will be there "in order to articulate its standpoint on human rights issues," according to a French spokesman. The French will have to compete with Holocaust denier and would-be Israel-destroyer Iranian President Ahmedinejad, the featured speaker on opening day.

In 2001, the United States and Israel were alone in walking out of the first Durban conference. This time, the United States made its decision "with regret," and despite "deep dismay" on the part of the Congressional Black Caucus. (Thanks to Jihad Watch.)