You’ll recall that, in last week’s post on Iran, I mentioned the intractability of these two countries on the UN Security Council:

“Impose crippling sanctions. This can only be done with the approval of the UN Security Council’s five permanent members - of which Russia and China comprise two seats.”
[…]
“It isn’t too much of a stretch to say that the fate of Israel may lay in the hands of China and Russia - hands greasy-slick with Iranian crude. That’s a pretty shitty place to be.”

The UK’s Times Online fills us in on their latest shenanigans:

“China and Russia last night thwarted a year-long diplomatic drive by Britain to impose United Nations sanctions on the perpetrators in of the violence in the Darfur province of Sudan.

The two powers, joined by Qatar, used their position on a UN sanctions committee to block the imposition of a UN travel ban and asset freeze on four unnamed Sudanese, including one government official, proposed by Britain.

The United States, which backed the British initiative, reacted angrily by threatening to call a public vote of the 15-nation Security Council that would force Russia and China into making a formal veto.”

Lovely people, those Russo-Sino communists. We should all be grateful that they serve as the final arbiters of security and decency on this earth.