The New York Philharmonic will be performing in Pyongyang, North Korea on 26 February. The Philharmonic’s conductor and music director Lorin Maazel wrote a response to critics who charged that playing for Kim Jong-il would only lend credibility to a human rights abusing regime:

“People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw bricks, should they?” demanded Mr. Maazel. “Is our standing as a country — the United States — is our reputation all that clean when it comes to prisoners and the way they 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.”

This topic is well covered at OneFreeKorea and The Marmot’s Hole, but I will add my two cents for the record; Maazel (who can be contacted here) is either glaringly ignorant or morally bankrupt. Since he has some knowledge of the situation in North Korea as evidenced by his response, I must conclude it is the latter. He should spend a month at Camp 22 before he is allowed to open his apologist mouth again.