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January 30, 2015

MSF report on Vaccine pricing

There are many obstacles to effective and proper access to health technologies (be them medicines, vaccines or diagnostic kits) high pricing being a major one; furthermore, lack of transparency of pharmaceutical markets and the disparity of prices offered from one country to another by pharmaceutical companies makes the bargaining process by State authorities much harder.
That´s why the second edition of MSF vaccine pricing report, released on January 20th is so valuable.We have included the accompanying text provided by MSF and uploaded the full report in the Reports sections. As usual, hyperlinks and background information from this blog, @OnadaExpansiva and other sources have been included at the end of the post.

New MSF report reveals countries struggle with skyrocketing vaccine prices amidst market shrouded in secrecy 

The Right Shot: Bringing Down Barriers to Affordable and AdaptedVaccines, shows that in the poorest countries, the price to vaccinate a child is now a colossal 68 times more expensive than it was in 2001, with many parts of the world unable to afford new high-priced vaccines like that against pneumococcal disease, which kills about one million children each year.

Read more »

 

January 21, 2015

Revisiting death from above

On July 2011 we started this blog with a post on the first reported use of drones to carry out a selective killing (an euphemism for a summary execution) by the US navy in Somalia. In Targeted killings and "surgical interventions", the automation of death (which we have updated with new material and info distributed through @OnadaExpansiva) we gathered more than a few stories on how unmanned aerial vehicles were gradually becoming the weapon of choice in the so called war on terror, most specially in those areas between Afghanistan and Pakistan (i.e West Waziristan) where Islamic militant groups seemed to hold territory.

 SourcePakistani family gives Congress an unprecedented account of effect of CIA drone attacks on their community Rupert Cornwell   The Independent October 30th 2013 

 

 

 

 January 16, 2015

NHS and the hydra of cancer drugs prices

We recover the January 13th 2015 editorial from The Independent regarding the high cost of some cancer drugs and criticizing,rightfully,the steps taken by the UK government not to heed to NICE advice analysis before adding new drugs to the publicly funded list. A rise in pharmaceutical costs which has more to do with pharma companies pricing and business strategies than actual therapeutic impact and is affecting most European countries. En la web de la No Gracias podeis encontrar tanto el editorial como otros materiales relacionados debidamente traducidos y analizados. As usual we have added some hyperlinks and provided further information on the issue from the blog, our twitter feed and elsewhere 

Picture from Insurers seek lower drug prices, forcing Big Pharma to swallow a jagged little pill The Guardian Jan. 15th 2015

Unhappy pills
Manufacturers of cancer drugs cannot expect to keep charging more for them without paying a price themselves
With a limited budget, the NHS cannot meet every demand – and new demands keep arising. As accident and emergency departments face unprecedented pressures, despite the relatively mild winter and an emergency cash injection from the Government, they suck resources from other parts of the service which, sooner or later, feel the squeeze. This week it is the turn of the cancer services.

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November 29 2014 

We recover this 2012 report from P4HR from the English and Reports-Informes-Recursos sections. Situation in the country has not changed and teargas continues being used massively against peaceful protesters.
More updated info on @OnadaExpansiva #Bahrain @P4HR

Weaponizing Tear Gas:Bahrain's Unprecedented Use of Toxic Chemical Agents Against Civilians by Holly G. Atkinson, MD, FACP Richard Sollom, MA, MPH

Activists in front of the South Korean embassy in London on October 25th, 2013 protesting against the (then) planned massive export of teargas from a South Korean company to Bahrain authorities. Picture from the Stop the Arms Trade campaign.

Full report (pdf) executive Summary

Richard Sollom's testimony to the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission (US Congress) on Bahrain's use of teargas against civilians.

 Labels  Bahrain, English, Impunity, IVth fleet, physicians for human rights, reports, repression, riots, teargas

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 November 18, 2014
The Role of Health Professionals in Detainee Interrogation

We recover a piece by Santiago Wills  originally appeared in The Atlantic in November 2012 on the responsibilities held by US health professionals (specially psychiatrists but also nurses and medical doctors) in military interrogations which could be considered under universal standards as torture.We inserted further hyperlinks and embedded a November 2013 Democracy Now video on the issue and a trailer for the Doctors of the dark side a documentary by Martha Davis  . As usual we have added some background and updated info from this blog, our twitter (@onadaexpansiva) and external sources.

A teenager tortured at Guantanamo, and the stalled legislation to ensure clinicians "first, do no harm"

 

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 October 26th , 2013

Brussels Business. Who (really) runs the European Union?

"TheBrussels Business" is a  2012 documentary film directed by Friedrich Moser (@friedrichmoser) and Matthieu Lietaert ( @notsocrazyprod) about the lack of transparency and the influence of lobbyists on the decision-making process in Brussels, the European Union capital

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 October 28th 2013
Drug Price Guide and TB report

On this occasion we would like to share a couple of materials made available  in the last few weeks that  might be of interest for public health professionals, academics and other interested parties

An example on how the guide works out the price of a given medicine More info at International Drug Price Indicator Guide

Firstly, the International Drug Price Indicator Guide (hyperlinked)a joint collaboration between Management Sciences for Health (MSH) and the World Health Organization (WHO). It is a tool seeking to " make price information more widely available in order to improve procurement of medicines of assured quality for the lowest possible price " . Worthy mentioning   the explicit acknowledgemennt granted  to various national and sub-regional actors responsible for the procurement  and management of health technologies in the Americas, specifically:

Barbados Drug Service
Bolivia Ministerio de Salud y Deportes 
Costa Rica Gerencia de División Médica,Gerencia de Operaciones y  Departamento de Farmacoterapia de la C.C.S.S.
El Salvador Ministerio de Salud Pública y Asistencia Social
Dominican Republic Central de Apoyo Logístico Programa de Medicamentos Esenciales (PROMESE/CAL)
Guatemala Dirección Normativa de Contrataciones y Adquisiciones del Estado
Honduras Secretaría de Estado en el Despacho de Salud
Nicaragua Unidad de Adquisiciones del Ministerio de Salud
Peru Ministerio de Salud (DIGEMID)
Sub-regionals
Caribbean Organization of Eastern Caribbean States Pharmaceutical Procurement Service (OECS/PPS)
Central America Sistema de Integración Centroamericana(SICA)

Note Communication elaborated by Jaume Vidal distributed through  ECONMED in November  2012

Cover of the updated reprot on Availabilty of DR-TB drugs by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) (Access Campaign)and the  International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease

Secondly, a report, prepared by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) (Access Campaign) in collaboration with the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease on sources and prices for TB Drugs with a focus on the increased number of patients showing signs of resistance (and multiresistance) to traditionally prescribed medicines and the challenge posed to public health authorities. It is  the second edition, updated, of the DR-TB Drugs Under the Microscope. Sources and prices for drug-resistant Tuberculosis medicines, addressing topics such as the relationship between market size (available sources ) and drug prices as well as the current state of research and development (R & D) of new drugs, providing a complete perspective on the Discovery-Development-Delyvery cycle . Finally, it provides indicative prices for products such as Amikacin, Kanamycin, Capreomycin, Moxifloxacin, Levofloxacin, Ofloxacin and others.

October 26th  2013
A Secret Subsidy – Oil companies, the Navy and the response to Piracy. Platform London October 2012

British oil companies are promoting a ‘fight against piracy’ to get a vast hidden military subsidy. In the process they have got an unprecedented amount of influence over UK military policies. Oil companies have talked up the risk from piracy to justify the use of Navy frigates, drones and helicopters to protect corporate oil assets in the seas. They are demanding increased spending on military hardware at a time of major public cutbacks.

The key findings of A Secret Subsidy – Oil companies, the Navy and the Response to Piracy are:

• The shipping industry presents itself as under attack but even at its height, less then 1% of tankers travelling through the Gulf of Aden were hijacked – the number is now much lower.
• Oil and gas companies are demanding a military subsidy to protect their profits at a time of public spending cutbacks.
• The EU’s anti–piracy operation has had Merchant Navy Liaison Officers from BP and Shell seconded to it. This means oil companies are helping determine exactly where European naval resources are deployed.
• The Chamber of Shipping and Shell are lobbying the government for vessel protection detachments of military personnel to commercial ships. This would mean British naval officers acting as private security guards, while commercial vessels would be transformed into warships. Shell has actively lobbied for increased spending on warship construction at a time of existing cutbacks to military budgets.
• In effect, private multinationals have used their powerful position to secure a hidden subsidy from the public purse, in a context of heavy austerity measures.

Download the report (pdf)

More from Platform 

• DIRTY WORK: Shell Security Spending in Nigeria and Beyondby Ben Amunwa, Platform. August 2012 Platform, Justice in Nigeria Now (JINN), SpinWatch
• Shell's security spending in 2008: mapped Lisa EvansThe Guardian Data Blog  August 2012

 In the web

• The Rise of Private Maritime Security Companies David Isenberg Huffignton Post  May 2012
• Pirates and privateers: managing the Indian Ocean's private security boom  James Brown  Lowy Institute for International Policy September 2012

Downloadable map showing private counter-piracy forces -  Lowy Institute.

@OnadaExpansiva  tweeter

#Piracy How #Oil companies are stoking hysteria to line their pockets http://www.newint.org/blog/2012/10/26/platform-pirates-oil-military/ … @newint v @PlatformLondon pic.twitter.com/p1hk5H5J

 January 7, 2013

The Law in these parts

Can a modern democracy impose a prolonged military occupation on another people while retaining its core democratic values? 

The Law in these parts Ra’anan Alexandrowicz (Israel, 2012)

Since Israel conquered the territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the 1967 war, the military has imposed thousands of orders and laws, established military courts, sentenced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, enabled half a million Israeli "settlers" to move to the Occupied Territories and developed a system of long-term jurisdiction by an occupying army that is unique in the entire world. 

August 24, 2012

 

 Where is Prageeth Eknaligoda?  An Urgent Action by Amnesty International

Prageeth Eknaligoda, a Sri Lankan journalist and political analyst, went missing on January 24, 2010, shortly after leaving work at the Lanka-e-News office in Homagama, near the capital Colombo. Local residents told the Sri Lankan press of seeing a white van without number plates close to his house around this time. His wife, Sandya Eknaligoda, was taken into custody when she went to lodge a complaint with the Homagama police on January 25, 2010; she was subsequently released. Mr. Eknaligoda had previously been abducted on August 27, 2009 by a group who arrived in a white van; he was released the following day. Since 2006, at least 14 media workers have been killed in Sri Lanka, with no one held accountable for these murders. Numerous journalists have been detained while others have left the country after receiving death threats

Silencing dissent.Media workers under attack in Sri Lanka 2010 Amnesty International Report.

Take Action 

 July 28, 2012

A timely op-ed in the New York Times on what the Olympic games are about, beyond medals and athletic prowess: corporate profit, security build-up and gentrification.We have added pictures,some hyper-links and background info.

    Not an Olympic discipline just yet: Sreet Art in East London Source Blouin Artinfo on Tumblr

Olympian Arrogance
By JULES BOYKOFF and ALAN TOMLINSON
Published: July 4, 2012

WHILE Europe roils in economic turmoil, London is preparing for a lavish jamboree of international good will: in a few weeks, the city will host the 2012 Summer Olympics.
But behind the spectacle of athletic prowess and global harmony, brass-knuckle politics and brute economics reign. At this nexus sits the International Olympic Committee, which promotes the games and decides where they will be held. Though the I.O.C. has been periodically tarnished by scandal — usually involving the bribing and illegitimate wooing of delegates — those embarrassments divert us from a deeper problem: the organization is elitist, domineering and crassly commercial at its core.

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Labels Al Jazeera, Alan Tomlinson, BBC, Corporate, Der Spiegel, English, Etcetera, G4S, Jules Boykoff, London, Maria Cristina Rosas, New York Times, Private Military Companies, Tarak Barkawi 

  November 14, 2011    

Mexico: War on Drugs and Human Rights. A crave for justice.  

On November 9th Human Rights Watch issued an extensive 212-page report, Neither rights nor security, on the human rights consequences of the War on Drugs in Mexico, officially (greater involvement of the Mexican Army) in its sixth year. In the wake of the death of Mr. Francisco Blake Mora, Mexico's Interior Minister   in an apparent helicopter accident and the widening of the ATF gun running  sting operation (Fast and Furious)scandal in US Congress. The report examines the rising numbers of  enforced disappearances, arbitrary killings and torture cases attributed to State  forces (both Police and Military), also noting violence exerted by Non-State actors against civilian population. 

While HRW officials were able to meet Mr.Felipe Calderon, Mexico's president, to voice their concerns, Mexican NGO and social movements, who have been systematically  denouncing the high price that Mexican Society (latest example, asking the ICC to look into President Calderon's responsibility) is paying in the current climate of violence have not been heard. Additionally it shall be noted that the extent and depth of US involvement in the Mexican situation (notably through DEA, CIA and DOD) is essentially kept away from the public. We reproduce the report´s  executive summary adding underlining, highlights, hyperlinks, video, graphics  pictures. .Related material at the end.

Killing on the name of...The so-called war on drugs being waged by Mexican military and police forces has translated into thousands of civilian deaths. US authorities have yet to publicly reprimand or express concern about the  widespread  human rights violations happening right now south of their border. Source Voice of Mexico 

Informe en Castellano  Ni Seguridad, Ni Derechos 

Neither Rights Nor Security 

Killings, Torture, and Disappearances in Mexico’s “War on Drugs”

It has been nearly five years since President Felipe Calderón declared “war” organized crime in Mexico. In the time since, the country has experienced a staggering rise in violence. After declining steadily for nearly two decades, the overall homicide rate grew by over 260% percent from 2007 to 2010. 

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  October 28, 2011

Democracy and redistribution of wealth. The real (State-sanctioned) class warfare

A good piece by Eugene Robinson in the Washington Post, a timely reflection on the current debate on tax rebates and spending cuts. Added cartoon, hyperlinks and some context material regarding budgetary issues and the Occupy Wall Street movement. 

Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis at Gocomic

The study that shows why Occupy Wall Street struck a nerve 

Eugene Robinson

The hard-right conservatives who dominate the Republican Party claim to despise the redistribution of wealth, but secretly they love it — as long as the process involves depriving the poor and middle class to benefit the rich, not the other way around.

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September 13, 2011

The power of nightmares. The rise of the politics of fear. BBC 2004 documentary

                                             4-minute trailer uploaded by tracrunner13

The power of nightmares. The rise of the politics of fear is a three-part documentary by Adam Curtis which BBC aired in 2004. Following the influence of two opposite characters, Political Philosopher Leo Strauss, a major referent for the US neo-conservatist movement  and Mr. Sayyid Qutb, one of the founders of modern political Islamism the film traces on one side the rise of an agenda-driven  set of public officials in the US and the inception of an armed Islamist movement known as Al-Quaeda, with the two parties intertwining during the CIA-supported war in Afghanistan against the Soviet Union invasion and occupation.

The film deconstructs the  so called war on terror rethoric, showing how it has been used by governments and other actors as an excuse to curtail liberties and freedoms while using fear as a control tool.

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September 8, 2011

Troy Davis. A life in the brink. Urgent Action by Amnesty International 

An urgent action by Amnesty International has been distributed regarding the fate of Troy Davies, currently in death row in a Georgia State Penitentiary despite a large ammount of exculpatory evidence in his favour. Mr. Davies' case offers a glimpse about a criminal justice system which disproportionately prosecutes, jails and punishes minorities and people living in poverty. We have added hyperlinks and background material, including what you (yes, you) can do to help Mr. Davies

Troy Davis, in death row since 1991

Troy Davis was convicted of murdering a Georgia police officer in 1991. Nearly two decades later,Davis remains on death row — even though the case against him has fallen apart.

The case against him consisted entirely of witness testimony which contained inconsistencies even at the time of the trial. Since then, all but two of the state's non-police witnesses from the trial have recanted or contradicted their testimony.

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August 31, 2011 

Public Health and Diplomacy. Wikileaks lays bare US priorities.

More on the wikileaks saga. Good piece by Knowledge Ecology International relayed through IP-Health ( Vol 16, Issue 18 ) on the latest cables to be made public, regarding data exclusivity, one amongst several chief  features of TRIPS + like rules with serious implications for Public Health. Meanwhile, Bradley  Manning remains in jail, in harsh conditions. We shall not forget.

240 Wikileaks cables on pharmaceutical data exclusivity

The following are the cables identified in an August 29, 2011 search of the wikileaks cables, from http://cablesearch.net, using the search terms data exclusivity and pharmaceutical. This search identified 240 cables. Some 40 countries are mentioned in the cables. More than half of the cables involve 5 countries: Turkey (76), Taiwan (21), El Salvador (11), Honduras (11) and Tunisia (10).

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August 27, 2011

War on Democracy. 2007 John Pilger's documentary on US foreign policy in the Americas

A good documentary (in high definition)  by Australian filmmaker John Pilger on Americas recent history. Focuses on developments in Guatemala, El Salvador, Venezuela, Bolivia and Chile.

Pilger interviews several ex-CIA agents who purportedly took part in secret campaigns against democratic countries . Establishes the role and responsibility of the US-based School of the Americas in training and providing guidance for military forces in such countries as El Salvador, Guatemala, Colombia, Chile and Argentina.

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August 23, 2011

Education refom in the US. Cheating to survive 

A good NYT piece on Monday August 22nd on Michelle Rhee, former DC Public Schools Chancellor, and one of the most vocal proponents of the need for reform of the education system in the US with a strong anti-union approach. 

Education reform (notably through school vouchers and charter schools) in the US is not only the ultimate philantrophist playing field with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Warren Buffet and Facebook´s founder pouring considerable ammounts of money into alterantives to the traditional public education system but also part of a wider narrative around the role of governments and unions in times of deficits. Worthy noting the presence of such actors as Private Security companies (Caveon) and PR executives (Anita Dunn White House Communication Director April-November 2009) close to the Obama administration in the effort to counter the backlash from cheating scandals in several US education districts. Added cartoon, hyperlinks and context material.

Reliance on test data, key element  of the No Child Left Behind initiative,  to asses students and teachers performance has  contributed to the reported increased of cheating cases in several US school districts. Source crooks and liars

Eager for Spotlight, but Not if It Is on a Testing Scandal

Ms. Rhee, the chancellor of the Washington public schools from 2007 to 2010, is the national symbol of the data-driven, take-no-prisoners education reform movement. 

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  August 19, 2011

Zizek on 2005 riots in France's banlieues. A politically incorrect (and timely necessary) reflexion.

A short piece from November 2005  by Slovenian professor Slavoj Zizek on urban violences and social decomposition in France (extendible to western societies and to certain degree US). Included in the special issue Les émeutes urbaines de Novembre 2005 put together by Multitudes (revue politique, artistique et philosophique) with contributions from Angela Davis and Tariq Ramadan  (with a piece on UK perceptions). No edditing. Added some pictures, hyperlinks and related materials. 

Looking for a political voice, somewhere near Paris at dawn in November 2005 Picture from La Banlieue en replay

Some politically incorrect reflexions on violence in France

  Slavoj Zizek

Two parallels are often evoked apropos the recent violent outbursts in France : the New Orleans looting after Katrina hurricane and May 68. In spite of significant differences, lessons can be drawn from both parallels. With regard to New Orleans, the Paris fires had a sobering effect on those European intellectuals who used New Orleans to emphasize the advantage of the European welfare state model over the US wild capitalism - now we know it can happen here also.

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August 12, 2011

Colombia. State's acknowledgement of responsibility in murder of Manuel Cepeda

 We have received a press release from the  Center for Justice and International Law ( CEJIL ) on the public ceremony of acknowledgement of responsibility by the Colombian State in the  targeted death of Senator Manuel Cepeda Vargas in  Bogota, Colombia on August 9, 1994.

An important step forward  in the fight against impunity in Colombia, resulting from the  first intervention of an international tribunal on the assassination of public figures, activists and supporters of the Colombian left in dirty war  episodes, especially the systematic  persecution of  Patriotic Union .  We have  translated and added hyperlinks to the statement and some more background information on the subject at the end.

Manuel Cepeda Vargas, Senator of the Patriotic Union (UP), was murdered in Bogota, Colombia on August 9, 1994 Picture from Semana

CEJIL Press release (Spanish)

Colombian State acknowledges  responsibility for execution of Manuel Cepeda

(...)

This act of acknowledgment of responsibility was  carried out in compliance with the ruling issued on May 26, 2010  by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR ), holding Colombian State authorities responsible  for the extrajudicial execution of Senator Manuel Cepeda.

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August 11, 2011

Luxury, hunger and fury.David Brooks in La Jornada

With UK's aftermath ( and PR work for State authorities) still in progress, a good piece on taxes and wealth in terms of increasing inequalities in the US Added picture, hyperlinks and more content from the same author/ issue.  

Lujo, hambre y furia Articulo en Castellano en La Jornada (Via Telesur)

Soon available in any location.

Luxury, hunger and fury

By David Brooks

From the Mexican newspaper La Jornada

The demand for luxury goods – from $800 shoes and cosmetic creams retailing for $1,300 to Mercedes-Benz cars prized at $200,000 – is enjoying a boom, while nearly 46 million Americans rely more than ever on federal assistance to buy basic foods and avoid hunger. That sums up the United States today.

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August 7, 2011

Five Myths about Africa

Departing words by Christian Science Monitor Africa's  chief correspondent Scott Baldauf after five years covering the continent. Interesting reading most specially when the Horn of Africa is  again  in the agenda of corporate media.  With the insight of five years on the ground and a summary of his travels around the continent; Mr. Baldauf proceeds to debunk five myths about Africa which shape international coverage of what happens in a 54-countries and 2,000 languages continent: "Africa is poor; Africa is violent;  Africa is technologically backward; Africa needs "our" help; and my favorite,  Africa is a country. " An interesting piece to improve our understanding of a huge continent of extreme contrasts.

Africa´s political map from Nationsonline

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August 5, 2011

BBC: US under fire for running 'little Gitmos'

An interesting BBC piece on Communication Management Units (CMU) jails in the United States. We have added some hyperlinks and other context materials at the end of the story. 
US under fire for running 'little Gitmos' By Paul Adams BBC News, Washington

At the CMU in Terre Haute, all telephone calls and mail are monitored Picture from BBC

The story - and the controversy - about the detention of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay is familiar and well-rehearsed.But less-known is the story of what some have dubbed "Gitmo the Heartland" o "Guantanamo North" - two prison units on the US mainland where other inmates in the wider "war on terror" are being held in conditions that civil liberties groups regard as another post-9/11 challenge to normal judicial standards.

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July 21, 2011

Information shall be freed. Aaron Swartz and the Guerrilla Open access manifesto

 Access to knowledge is an essential part of  an informed citizenry, critical for a full-fledged democracy; obstacles and constraints of different nature to this access is one of the many factors feeding the digital divide, which in the age of the information keeps inequality painfully updated. 

Several recent developments have shown that those with the power and means to profit the most from the private use of information and knowledge are not  willing to relinquish this privilege.

Heavy Downloader, Aaron Swarts, co-founder of Demand Progress indicted by US authorities on July 19th accused of downloading thousands of academic papers and making them available to a wider audience Picture from Wikipedia

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July 16, 2011

The story behind the " detainee 001" story. John Walker Lindh´s dad piece in The Guardian

America's 'detainee 001' – the persecution of John Walker Lindh 

  by Frank Lindh, father of 'American Taliban' John Walker Lindh, explains why his son is an innocent victim of America's 'war on terror'

John Walker Lindh following his capture by US troops in December 2001. Photograph: Getty Images

John Phillip Walker Lindh, my son, was raised a Roman Catholic, but converted to Islam when he was 16 years old. He has an older brother and a younger sister. John is scholarly and devout, devoted to his family, and blessed with a powerful intellect, a curious mind, and a wry sense of humour.

Labelled by the American government as "Detainee 001" in the "war on terror", John occupies a prison cell in Terre Haute, Indiana. He has been a prisoner of the American government since 1 December 2001, less than three months after the terror attacks of 9/11.

John is entirely innocent of any involvement in the terror attacks, or any allegiance to terrorism. That is not disputed by the American government. Indeed, all accusations of terrorism against John were dropped by the government in a plea bargain, which in turn was approved by the US district court in which the case was brought.

Link to the complete article 

 July 13, 2011

Mexico court says troops should face civilian trials. An important step against impunity

A piece on Mexico`s war on drugs from BBC (we have added some hyper links for context and further info  on work by Mexican/ US Organizations)

  It is Worthy noting that a  ruling   based upon  human rights violations claims brought before courts during the "dirty war" waged by the Mexican Armed Forces  in the 60- 70`s  is to be implemented in the midst of the "War on drugs" waged by the same Armed Forces presumably under orders of President Calderon: 

Mexico's Supreme Court has said that soldiers accused of human rights abuses against civilians should be tried in civilian - not military - courts. 

Rights groups say violations by army personnel have risen sharply since troops were deployed against the drug gangs in late 2006.
Until now, soldiers have been tried by military tribunals.
Activists hailed the decision but highlighted shortcomings in Mexico's civilian courts.
The Supreme Court set out restrictions on the extent of the military code of justice in Mexico.
"Whenever a civilian's human rights have been violated by the armed forces, jurisdiction will be in civil courts," said Supreme Court Justice Arturo Zaldivar.
The justices agreed that "Mexican judges should apply the criteria of restricting military justice in future cases", a court statement said. Over the last few years, allegations of abuses by soldiers have become more frequent. In many cities in Mexico, the army has policing powers and direct contact with the population.
Soldiers have been accused of opening fire on civilians at checkpoints in areas where drug gangs operate, and of carrying out illegal arrests and searches.

Read more »

July 11, 2011

Targeted killings and "surgical interventions", the automation of death

 Last week The Washington Post and  The New York Times amongst other U.S. corporate media outlets reported on the first attack by U.S. unmanned aerial vehicles ( drones ) in Somali territory. The episode is the first known attack by the Pentagon in Somalia since the targeted assassination (followed by retrieval of ADN samples from corpses ) of Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, Sheikh Hussein Ali Fidow and other presumed high-ranked members of the al-Shabab armed group in an helicopter raid by U.S. commandos attached to the Vth  float in 2009 and the first use of a U.S. drone for offensive purposes in that country. Drones had been used previously in the country for surveillance and monitoring, including identification of targets for future attacks, one of them being shot down in October 2009.

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