I certainly do not blame Bush for thr tragic fiasco; but at the end of the day there are some serious questions the federal authorities need to answer about the over all preparedness for the aftermath of the mother of all blow jobs - pass the tissues please, just want cut it.

In the wake of 9/11 it was a lame, poorly coordinated response. But it does go to show that when it comes to problem solving if they cant shoot at it the Americans are at a bit of a loss as to how best manage a disaster; putting aside all the jurisdictional duck shoving the nation got it wrong.

The other issue is the fact that the breeze blew the scab off and exposed the inadequacy of the the USA in its capacity to reasonably nurture a civil society. There seems to be fewer brave and fewer really free people over there than they would have us believe.

Sorry Ben, I'm a little confused. "Authority to issue evacuations of elements of the population is vested in the mayor." (I went and had a little squiz at the Charter too), wasn't the order to evacuate issued? Or did umpteen million New Orleans decide to go on vacation on the same day, thankfully just before hurricane Katrina hit!

While you're checking out US emergency procedures, you might want to look at the Office of Homeland Security website. It deals with national catastrophes, which I think most US citizens would agree the recent hurricane is.

While you're sprouting opinion polls, you might want to acknowledge Bush's latest approval rating - 40%. Oh dear! That's the lowest for a second term of a president since Nixon's 34% approval rating after Watergate (and what did he do after that?). You're right, the polls do reveal that people are waking up.

Our good friend Bush ran an election on across the board tax cuts "it's your money folks!"

Yeah well its also your infrastructure folks - too bad if a disaster management plan for New Orleans did not figure in the budget.

New Orleans has been a city suffering from an underinvestment in social infrastructure (currently running a murder rate at ten times the national average) for a very long time. Social cohesion in this city, which had largely dropped off the Federal radar, was lacking well before the Hurricane. Beyond endorsement for playing fast and loose with their capital punishment what they have gotten SFA from this government.

Enjoy the spectacle of human deprivation and victim blaming as people engaged in what was largely subsistence based looting by a people who had lost faith in the centre. I wonder why.

There are bigger questions of social policy underpinning the disaster beyond what the mayor did and did not do. Or do you just not like journalists to ask questions?

I think everyone has good points there.

The sad fact of the whole episode is that is reveals how truly fragmented and sick American society has become. THere is no sense of unity of communtiy bending many people together, and there is little consideration of trust for one other.

I just pray to god that little Jonny Howard's attempts to steer us in the same direction as the USA dont work, god forbit our society should become like that (although I dare say its already on the way).