I am writing in response to Sarah Harward's Aug. 31 letter to the editor, "Double standard." The claim that the global community has turned a blind eye to our Gulf Coast's blight is false.
I recommend you actually check with the global community: try news.bbc.co.uk, or www.corriere.it, or www.theaustralian.news.com.au, or just about any other news organization based outside of the United States. You will find the latest about Katrina's wrath on every front page - at least I did.
I beg of you, which country with a base in the vicinity of the Mississippi and Louisiana coasts do you suggest send military and/or humanitarian aid?
Every nation who cuts back on its foreign aid promises and obligations rightly gets criticized for doing so. If you believe the United States just righteously gives away free money to the needy, no strings attached, no underlying agenda, I would like to suggest you have some more reading to do.
Elizabeth McNicholasgraduate studentSept. 1
