Kerry Spot    [ jim geraghty reporting ]
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Egeland changes his tune:

Egeland backtracked today saying his comments had been misinterpreted and had not referred to the response to from the United States or other countries to the Asian tidal waves.

"The international assistance that has come and been pledged from the United States, Europe and countries from the region has also been very generous," Egeland told reporters.

"I have been misinterpreted when I yesterday said that my belief that rich countries in general can be more generous. This has nothing to do with any particular country or the response to this emergency in the early days. The response so far has been overwhelmingly positive."

The AP fleshes out his earlier comments: "At Monday's news conference, Egeland complained that none of the world's richest countries gives even 1 percent of its gross national product to international assistance, and many give just 0.1 percent or 0.2 percent."

One still wonders if Egeland gives 1 percent of his gross personal income to charity.

It has been mentioned elsewhere, but the U.S. government gives all kind of aid that doesn't show up on the balance sheet. How much piracy in international waters is prevented by the U.S. Navy around the world? How much does the tracking of hurricanes help other nations in the Caribbean? How much economic activity in low income areas do U.S. military bases around the world spur?

UPDATE: Reader Patrick observes, "another example that I always use is GPS. The U.S. developed it and operates it, and gives it away free to the whole world. Citizens around the world use GPS capabilities for navigation, fishing, hiking, driving, etc..... yet there is no "tax" (the GPS devices don't pay any initial, nor a recurring fee). So this is an annual multibillion dollar gift to the world."

[Posted 12/28 01:47 PM]