Two of my favorite bloggers praised Australia today. Most of us tend to have fond thoughts of the Land Down Under
, with it's fascinating wildlife and colorful characters like Steve Irwin and Paul Hogan. But now it is time to consider how important Australia is as an ally.
Angel, of Woman Honor Thyself, tells us about Aussie PM Kevin Rudd's condemnation of Iran.
The Australian government is preparing to prosecute Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the International Court of Justice for inciting hatred against Israel.
Australia is the only country in the world pursuing Iran’s leader for allegedly “inciting genocide” and denying the holocaust.
Great Satan's Girlfriend brings us Aussie Homage.
Great Satan's crazy cool cuzzes from down under yonder pretty much blew through dissing smokescreens and pointed out yet another smoking raison d' etre' for the nom de guerre of Great Satan. It's very sweet to know that in these crunk and disorderly times - the spiritual sons of Gallipoli and El Alamein are with us all the way.
She goes on to quote this article.
The need to paint Americans as a greedy, selfish, war-mongering superpower cannot be disturbed by facts. It matters not that, in the year before the tsunami, the US provided $2.4 billion in humanitarian relief: 40per cent of all the relief aid given to the world in 2003. Never mind that development and emergency relief rose from $10 billion during the last year of Bill Clinton's administration to $24 billion under George W. Bush in 2003. Or that, according to a German study, Americans contribute to charities nearly seven times as much a head as Germans do. Or that, adjusted for population, American philanthropy is more than two-thirds more than British giving.
There is a teenaged immaturity about the rest of the world's relationship with the US. Whenever a serious crisis erupts somewhere, our dependence on the US becomes obvious, and many hate the US because of it. That the hatred is irrational is beside the point.
(...)
No country has as many or as strident critics - internally and externally - as
the US. The US actually promotes such debate. But just occasionally we should
moderate that criticism when circumstances demand a dose of fairness.
Indeed, why not break into a standing ovation every now and again? As more US
C-130s and helicopters stand waiting on Burma's doorstep, desperate to help a
shattered populace and stymied only by an appalling anti-US regime, this is one
of those times.
Let's hear it for America.
And Australia.
