Bush later raised this amount to $35 million, which was less than that $40 million he plans to spend on the four-day extravaganza marking coronation. That $40 million is funded by private donors, making the combined public and private cost of this shindig is over $51 million. This is a lot of money to celebrate the stealing of another election, but worth it. The rich will get richer while the poor will blame the "liberal elite" for the fact their lives are getting worse due to the policies the Bush Junta imposes. So perhaps that $50 million is value for money after all...
It should also be noted that $35 million is also what the US spends in Iraq roughly every 3-4 hours. It is also what Dick Cheney put in his own back pocket by ditching his Halliburton stock.
What a message to send. Bush is telling the largest Muslim nation on Earth that the massive destruction in Aceh is worth less than the US spends on occupying Iraq every day (and not worth breaking his holiday for). What was the matter? Was Bush pissed off that nature has killed more people than he has managed to (so far)? One thing is true, the rest of the world treated the US much better than this after September 11.
Shamed by the amounts pledged by the EU, the Junta has raised the amount to $350 million. Which is better but to get it in context, this is the cost of 38 hours of operation in Iraq. Even $1 billion would have represented only about five days of combat operations in Iraq.
Which sums up why capitalism need to be replaced by a better system, one which places people before power and planet before profits. The response of the people of the world to the horror in Asia shows that such a world is not only necessary but that it is possible.