Someone I greatly admire and respect, Fraser Spiers had an interesting point about the British coverage of the US want …

BBC and Katrina:
In the eight months since the Boxing Day Tsunami, I don’t recall ever seeing an article like “Why should we send money to a corrupt government like Sri Lanka’s?”, or “Why should we send aid to Indonesia when they’re violating human rights in East Timor?”. In fact, I barely recall reading more than the odd mildly disapproving phrase about the failures of governments affected by the Tsunami. On the other hand, as soon as America gets hit, BBC reporters and sub-editors descend with teeth bared to sink them into every aspect of the disaster.

Make no mistake, everyone who screwed up deserves to be hauled over the coals in spectacular fashion, but the asymmetry between the sympathetic reporting of the Tsunami and the vicious and sneering coverage of Katrina is as barefaced as it is sickening.