Nick Cater has a different view on Clare Short’s tenure as international development secretary.
I listened yesterday to a number of horrific reports on the discovery of mass graves in central Iraq. BBC correspondent Stephen Sackur was particularly eloquent and audibly shaken by what he had seen.
What astounds me is there seems little practical response by the occupying powers. Whatever I might think about the war (I was against), I’d like to see a healthy Iraq emerge. The BBC report above notes the concern human rights organisations have that evidence may be lost as desperate relatives comb this and other uncovered sites. Surely the US and Britain should mobilise to send teams of forensic experts immediately.
This would have the advantage of documenting evidence, but also begin the painful task of identifying the thousands of “disappeared”. If we can help grieving Iraqis discover the truth of what happened to their family members, we can demonstrate in a substantive way that the US and Britain have their interests at heart.
Tom Friedman takes up the same points today.
Richard Gayle provides the most concise and cogent explanation of the dynamics of the pharma industry I’ve read. There’s a wealth of valuable insight in his post, but I particularly enjoyed his characterisation of people who go into the life sciences: “Biology tends to select for optimistic types with healthy egos. Pessimists do not do biology. You fail so much of the time, for no obvious reason, that if your outlook is not generally sunny, you will find another profession. We love problems because they can lead to interesting and novel developments. Decisions allow us to solve problems. A bad decision can easily be fixed.”
That sounds like a template for a healthy field.