A ticker tape of statistical figures races to keep pace with the cataclysms pulsing nonstop through the landscape, through its inhabitants. A sharp rise in the number of limbs lost by soldiers this month. The population of New Orleans cut in half nearly overnight. “That city could be bulldozed,” responds the leader of the US Congress. Roll titles: Extreme Makeover, Shock and Awe Edition. Tah-dum! After twenty years, suddenly a white majority presides over the city council.