The commonality of loyalty and tolerance

Darnell F. Hawkins (ed.), Violent Crime: Assessing Race and Ethnic Differences Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2003, pp. 448.     

How Does the Business of News Influence Terrorism Coverage? Evidence From The Washington Post and USA Today

Observers argue that the business of news is responsible for worsening the coverage of terrorism, but exactly how economic considerations influence coverage is controversial. Based on an analysis of over 1600 articles from The Washington Post and USA Today, we find that concerns about the effects of economic pressures on terrorism reporting are exaggerated. The business climate affects coverage, but the long-term impact of market pressures on coverage is modest. Articles about terrorist violence are increasingly prominent, but coverage of counterterrorism remains robust. Efforts to inoculate the press against the worst excesses of the market are unnecessary.     

On the Crimes Subject to Prosecution in Military Commissions

The Military Commissions Act 2006 seems to have a much broaderapplication than the 2003 Military Commission Instruction Number2, or MCI2. None of the 28 specific crimes listed in 950v(b)of the 2006 Act mentions a nexus with armed conflict. This Actraises a number of questions. In particular three issues arerelevant: (i) Congress intended to act under its constitutionalpower ‘to define offenses against the law of nations.’In so far as some of these offences are not violations of thelaw of nations, they fall outside the field of legislative competence;(ii) the Military Commissions are given excessive discretionin the field of sentencing. There are no terms of imprisonmentprovided. In many cases the death penalty is allowed. Otherwisethe Commissions may impose any sentence they wish. This degreeof discretion arguably violates the Eighth Amendment against‘cruel and unusual punishment’; (iii) there mightbe a violation of the principle of equal protection: is it constitutionalto impose a special regime on suspects simply because they are‘aliens’?     

Incidental findings in CT colonography: literature review and survey of current research practice

Incidental findings (IFs) of potential medical significance are seen in approximately 5-8 percent of asymptomatic subjects and 16 percent of symptomatic subjects participating in large computed tomography (CT) colonography (CTC) studies, with the incidence varying further by CT acquisition technique. While most CTC research programs have a well-defined plan to detect and disclose IFs, such plans are largely communicated only verbally. Written consent documents should also inform subjects of how IFs of potential medical significance will be detected and reported in CTC research studies.     

Conflict Stalemate in Morocco and Western Sahara: Natural Resources,Legitimacy and Political Recognition

This article addresses the role of natural resources in the protracted conflict between Morocco and Western Sahara. Drawing from literatures of political ecology and political science, the article argues that natural resources have been deeply implicated in the conflict over time, with resource-related developments lending legitimacy to each party in different ways. The complex political economy of resource exploitation and the associated geopolitical enjeux have led to the de facto recognition of Morocco's occupation, and the symbolic aspects of natural resources have lent the Sahrawi cause legitimacy and an important node around which allies can be mobilised. That sovereignty is contested has facilitated a discourse in a different, more powerful way than when it is not in question, particularly in the Sahrawi's capacity to invoke international law to support their case. Drawing on the cases of South Sudan and Indonesia, the article ends with a brief discussion of the potential of the region's high-value resources for peace-making activities.