The Librano Tsunami Fraud

Mark Steyn in the Washington Times;

As the grotesque charade Mr. Voinovich and his Democrat chums have inflicted on us demonstrates, all the so-called “multilateralists” require is that we be polite and deferential to the transnational establishment regardless of how useless it is. What matters in global diplomacy is that you pledge support rather than give any. Thus, John Bolton would have no problem getting nominated as U.N. Ambassador if he were more like Paul Martin.
Who? Well, Paul Martin is prime minister of Canada. And in January, after the tsunami hit, he flew into Sri Lanka to pledge millions and millions and millions in aid. Not like that heartless George W. Bush back at the ranch in Texas. Why, Prime Minister Martin walked along the ravaged coast of Kalumnai and was, reported Canada’s CTV network, “visibly shaken.” President Bush might well have been shaken, but he wasn’t visible, and in the international compassion league that’s what counts.
So Mr. Martin boldly pledged $425 million in Canadian tsunami relief. “Mr. Paul Martin has set a great example for the rest of the world leaders” raved the LankaWeb news service.
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You know how much of that $425 million has been spent so far? Just $50,000 — Canadian. That’s about $40,000 in U.S. dollars. The rest isn’t tied up in Indonesian bureaucracy; it’s back in Ottawa. But, unlike horrible “unilateralist” America, Canada enjoys a reputation as the perfect global citizen, renowned for its commitment to the U.N. and multilateralism.
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And on the beaches of Sri Lanka that and a buck will get you a strawberry daiquiri. Canada’s contribution to tsunami relief is objectively useless and rhetorically fraudulent.