February 12, 2008 -- The New York Philharmonic was set to hand North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il a propaganda coup when it tours the tyrant's economically and morally destitute realms later this month. And then Lorin Maazel opened his mouth - and made things worse. Maazel, the Philharmonic's music director, was explaining things to the Associated Press before the troupe left for its three-week Asian tour, which ends Feb. 26 in Pyongyang. "People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw bricks, should they?" he said. "Is [America's] standing as a country . . . is our reputation all that clean when it comes to the way [prisoners] are treated? Have we set an example that should be emulated all over the world? If we can answer that question honestly, I think we can then stop being judgmental about the errors made by others." One hardly knows where to begin. The Hermit Kingdom's brutal record is as long as it is clear: North Koreans caught trying to escape their unhappy land are subjected to appalling torture, then killed; the regime holds tens of thousands of political prisoners in brutal conditions. Seven percent of North Koreans are literally starving (37 percent are chronically malnourished), while the government spends fully a third of the country's GDP on its military, according to Freedom House. Pyongyang is apparently a major exporter of nuclear technology, sells nuclear-capable missiles on the global market and routinely threatens Japan through economic subversion and outright military intimidation. Americans aren't allowed to be "judgmental" about any of this? The Philharmonic's visit was always ill-advised - a starry-eyed attempt at "sunshine" diplomacy by State Department idealists even as Kim's been coy about whether he truly plans to abandon his nuclear program as promised. But until Maazel ran his mouth, one could at least still hope the farce would be limited in effect. Not anymore. It's time for all New Yorkers to know the visit for what it is. A disgrace.
