While America fights in Iraq a little black girl waits...

So America, the richest nation on earth, occupiers of other sovereign nations around the globe can't save New Orleans. The news here in the southern hemisphere showed the devestation, the crowds chanting help help help and the (American) commentary helpfully told us that these were the poor people who couldn't get out of the city. They didn't seem to be able to bring themselves to articulate the obvious point, they seemed ALL to be black. Institutionalised racism seems to extend to evacuation plans?!?! After the news, Red Cross runs ads advising us of the 0800 number to donate for flood relief, and the footage is pretty compelling. But as I reach for the phone I remember where Louisiana is. It's part of the richest nation on earth. This is not the tsunami, this is not the devestation of Nauru, Southeast Malakula or the Cook Islands. This is America. We are also told of the looting. We would have to define this in most cases as a survival tactic surely? Since people need food, water and housing, and Bush seems reluctant to provide, people are looking to their own needs. As for the rapes and shootings, we can't condone them, but we can understand desperate times result in desperate acts. Leave people in crowded dirty uncomfortable environments, limit their access to basic human requisites of decent food, water and shelter, slap them in the face with the insult of sending in troops before food, and what do you expect to happen?