This great image appears in the Guardian today accompanying a considered and intelligent comment piece by Jonathan Freedland (who I often struggle to agree with). The article emphasises the fundamental part that racial discrimination and the contraction of state involvement in social welfare has played in the unfolding NewOrleans tragedy. If one good thing could come out of all this - it would be a further dilution of the corrosive current of racism (witting and unwitting) and inequity that affects just about everything that the US does, both nationally and internationally - tackling racism and inequality requires serious resource backed intention - maybe, just maybe things will start to improve for America's poor black population.