Good luck with that whole Katrina thing.

From the point of view of an Australian, it has been shocking to realise that the reaction to the Boxing-Day Tsunami in places like Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India have been a lot better organized and run than in the US.

It has also been disappointing to see that unnamed US authorities have stopped Australian consular staff from entering New Orleans to help Australians. That has played quite badly on Australian television, especially compared to the response of Indonesia, which – despite not always having close relations with Australia – had no problems letting Australian officals go where ever required after the Tsunami – even to actual war zones like Ache.