President Bush comes out swinging at the United Nations

So glad to see him on his game again! Anything Bush says about human rights violations is met with a chorus of "What about Iraq?" And yet everything he said to the UN, in particular about their need to take greater responsibility on human rights and democracy, desperately needed to be said by an American president.

As expected, Bush announced more US sanctions on Burma. And he sharply criticized the UN Human Rights Council:

"... for failing to speak out against violations in the world, ranging from Cuba to Venezuela and North Korea and Iran, while turning its attention "excessively on Israel."

"The American people are disappointed by the failures of the Human Rights Council," Bush said.

Bush also had sound practical advice for helping Africa, urging Congress to back initiatives to purchase agricultural products from African nations instead of simply shipping in food from the US to address hunger.

"This would help break the cycle of famine in the developing world," Bush said.

All quotes are from Earth Times; here's the rest of their summary of Bush's speech.