There was a time, not so long ago, when U.S. governmental hypocrisy on human rights and corporate interests was at least acknowledged. But now it seems that the Bush administration has so degraded society's standards, and Big Business so routinely claims that it is bound by no ethical standard except to make money and follow the law — even as it aims to define that very law, and then frequently flouts the remaining legal restraints — that the hypocrisy is no longer even acknowledged. At his news conference yesterday, George Bush angrily said they he could not and would not meet with the new President of Cuba, Raul Castro, because of Cuba's human rights record. Then, eight minutes later, he explained how excited he was to visit China for the Summer Olympics — a visit during which he will meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao.
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