Australian prime minister says salute to US president was a joke

Australia's prime minister came under fire at home Friday over a playful salute he gave U.S. President George W. Bush at a NATO summit, which critics said seemed to suggest Australian subservience to Washington.

Australian television repeatedly broadcast videos of the gesture Thursday on the sidelines of the Bucharest summit and speculated about what it meant, while opposition lawmakers said it belittled Australia.

"We are not the 51st state of the United States of America and Mr. Rudd's salute carried a subservient connotation many Australians won't like," said Bob Brown, leader of the minor opposition Greens pary.

The salute revived …