Steyn and the Tsunami Wave

Mark Steyn is putting everything into perspective, as he always does:

But whoa, hang on. It turns out those pushy Yanks are doing way too much, at least according to Clare Short, formerly Britain's international development secretary (until she stormed out of Tony Blair's Cabinet to protest the Iraq war). President Bush roused her ire by announcing Washington would coordinate its disaster relief with Australia, India and Japan. To Miss Short that had a whiff of another "coalition of the willing." "I think this initiative from America to set up four countries claiming to coordinate sounds like yet another attempt to undermine the U.N.," she told the BBC. "Only really the U.N. can do that job. It is the only body that has the moral authority."
   
"Moral authority"? Hey, maybe now that the Oil-for-Fraud gig's dried up, Kofi Annan's son could head the relief effort.
    
But Miss Short has usefully clarified what it means when the world says "America" isn't "giving" enough "aid." It means the government isn't giving enough money to Jan Egeland's U.N. office. That's the only "giving" that counts. That Pfizer has given $35 million, which is more than most G7 governments have chipped in, doesn't mean anything. That Amazon.com's customers donated more than $6 million in 48 hours doesn't count. The ships and troops send by America are of no consequence. What Jan Egeland means when he talks of "stinginess" is you're not ponying up enough taxpayer bucks to his departmental budget. That's the only measure of global compassion that matters, and he doesn't want to have his time wasted with a lot of chit-chat about any of this other stuff: It's my way or the highway, he says — if, indeed, such a thing is said in Norwegian. Anyway, it's Norway or the doorway. As it happens, the United States pays 40 percent of Mr. Egeland's budget. But, even if the budget was tripled and the U.S. paid 70 percent of it, that wouldn't be enough.

America can never give enough, and when we try, it's too much. You can never win with these asshats. The sooner the United Nations are dissolved of all opportunity to steal, kill, rape and enable dictators and terrorists the better. People are starting to notice!