Interesting: Pentagon Review of UAV Mishaps

Unmanned aerial vehicles are so hot right now. With UAVs quickly taking over in importance from manned airplanes in the U.S. military, this new Pentagon study outlines the challenges they pose to mission control. Communications, for one thing, are more critical than for manned planes. They are thus subject to attack or disruption by natural elements.

As Wired reports in this story, another U.S. military drone crashed in Pakistan a few days ago. Various drones have suffered 85 "class A" mishaps - accidents that cost a million dollars or more. As the U.S. ramps up attacks in Pakistan, expect more such mishaps. Thanks to Secrecy News, a publication of the Federation of American Scientists, for info for this post.

TAGS: military

Grants: Atkinson Deadline on Jan. 11

Don't miss the upcoming Jan. 11 deadline for the Atkinson Charitable Foundation's Fellowship in Public Policy for Canadian journalists. See more on this prestigious award and other Atkinson grants at the charity's website. See other grants for journalists in my blogroll under "Awards & Grants."

TAGS: grants, awards

Investigations: Most Medical Advisors on Vaccines Had Financial Conflicts

Here's the latest in the saga of conflict of interest in the health field: The New York Times reports in this interesting piece that nearly two-thirds of medical experts on advisory panels to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control had potential financial conflicts that were either not disclosed or unresolved. The experts advised on vaccines for the flu and cervical cancer. Some of the experts were legally barred from considering the issues, according to The Times, but they did so nonetheless. The Times story is based on this report from the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services. See more on the growing scandal about medical conflicts in this post.

TAGS: health, detailing, conflict of interest