52% intelligent. 9% modest. More monkey than bear.

Thursday, December 30, 2004

take one bite now, spit out the rest

Britain has bumped up the Disaster fund from £15m to £50m.

This is fantastic news. Why do I feel that this is a cynical gesture brought about solely as a response to the fact that the British public has raised £25m? Feeling a bit embarrassed by this spontaneous generosity in the face such a massive human tragedy were you Tony? Slightly ashamed that your bluff has been called by the public response? Feel that your hand has been forced? Made you look a bit mean, didn't it? And the longer it went on, as the money kept pouring in on the phones, and into banks, and via the internet, the meaner it made you look.

Still.

All the politics of this are beside the point; this is £35m extra that will help ease the suffering, that will provide food and shelter where it is desperately needed, and that's what is really important here.

So come on Dubbya - when are you planning to see Tony's £50m and raise him?

If a pissing contest means that more money will be sent to the scene of this terrible tragedy, then so be it..... over to you George.

2 Comments:

  • At 5:48 am, Blogger Aravis said…

    I can just see it now... *G*

     
  • At 9:32 am, Blogger John McClure said…

    Tim Bradbury (who I was sure was ITV's "Royal Correspondent", but seems to have been promoted to ITV's "Snow-esque disaster swingometer man") pointed out last night that the £18m of aid pledged by the US represented 0.023% of what it has spent on the war in Iraq so far.

     

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