An article in today's New York Times notes that Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign is "holding a fundraiser today in Kazakhstan, despite concerns about its human rights record." "Concerns" is putting it mildly. The Human Rights Watch 2007 World Report notes that Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev has not only effectively shut down the main opposition party, but has also passed a new media law giving him "unlimited power to close independent and opposition media outlets." Democracy promotion, anyone?  

Hypocrisy and bad judgment are not new tools in the Giuliani repertoire, as evidenced by his long and checkered association with Bernard R. Kerik.

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