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

Four years later, drones have become a regular feature in the different theaters where the US  and other western countries (notably France and the United Kingdom)  have intervened (surgically, yet another euphemism) or are waging wars by proxy as would be the case in Somalia, Mali or more recently swaths of Syria and Iraq.  Even though criticisms regarding eventual collateral damage (there is nothing collateral in the death of civilians) has grown and serious ethical and moral concerns have been raised the military use of drones shows no signs of abating in the foreseeable future. What is more worrisome, stalled discussions regarding the control of  production and use of fully autonomous weapons (known as killer robots) could spell the next step towards indiscriminate carnage in battlefields and beyond

From @OnadaExpansiva

• #Afghanistan A Dubious History of #US "Targeted Killings" http://spon.de/aeo0g @SPIEGELONLINE v @ricardcolorado cc @TBIJ #drones  Dec 29 2014
• #Burkina Why #BurkinaFaso matters to #US #counterterrorism efforts in #Africa http://ow.ly/DL3sl @ryanlenorabrown @CSMWorldDesk #drones Nov 4 2014 
• #summaryexecutions Confessions of a #drone veteran:What govs. r not telling http://bit.ly/XuHdQc @Salon v @vicparsons_ @TBIJ #drones Nov 6 2014

NHS and the hydra of cancer drugs prices

We share 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.

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.