On Political Terror during the Soviet Expansion into Lithuania, 1918–1919

This article deals with a noticeable anomaly of Bolshevik expansion in Lithuania during 1918–1919: the refusal of the Soviet authorities to resort to terror to subdue the local population in order to export the world revolution. The author argues that the Soviets avoided political terror in Lithuania because they did not treat the Lithuanians as a nation capable of sustaining their own state. In fact, anti-Bolshevik forces employed more terror than the Bolsheviks in their attempt to drive out the Reds and uproot Lithuanian support for the Communist regime. The Lithuanian left-wing government of Mykolas Sle?evi?ius sought to contain its radicalized military and to preserve a soft-handed relationship with the local Bolshevik government.     

Amniotic fluid embolism-apropos two consecutive cases

Amniotic fluid embolism (AFE) is a sporadic, unpredictable, and usual fatal obstetric complication. The paper deals with two cases of maternal deaths because of AFE verified by medicolegal autopsy. In both the cases, several known risk factors associated with AFE, such as increased maternal age (41 and 35 years), diabetes, augmented labor, and cesarean delivery, were identified. Clinical features were typical, including sudden onset of cardiovascular and respiratory symptoms. In the patient who survived longer, both clinical and autopsy signs of disseminated intravascular coagulopathy were present, while they were absent in the case where death occurred rapidly. This paper describes briefly the particular features to look for at autopsy and stresses the importance of histology examination and staining techniques.     

Losing the Power of Parliament? Participation of the Bundestag in the Decision-Making Process Concerning Out-of-Area Military Operations

The article analyses the role of the German Bundestag in decision making on out-of-area military operations since 1994. It is framed by the research question whether the power of the parliament has been weakened by the building of international rapid reaction forces such as the European Battle Groups or the NATO Response Force. In the first part, the position of the Bundestag in the decisions since 1994 is explained. The second part is mainly focused on the decision-making process pertaining to the 2006 EUFOR operation in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In 2006, the German Battle Group was not sent to Congo due to domestic constraints. On the basis of this incident and a more general analysis, the article underlines the crucial role of the Bundestag in the decision-making process. It disputes the claim that the Bundestag is losing its power in favour of the government.     

Factors affecting simulated jurors' decisions in capital cases

Abstract

Previous psycho-legal research has claimed that the process of selecting death-qualified jurors for capital cases creates conviction-prone juries. The studies on which these claims are based have employed simulation methodologies to examine the relationship between subjects' death-penalty attitudes and verdict decisions, as well as the effect of the death-qualifying voir dire itself. Despite admitted weaknesses of simulations in general, this method was employed in the present research so that conceptual comparisons to past findings could be drawn. Two experiments were designed to examine the issue of death-qualification and biased juries in a context of other potentially highly influential factors, namely, the strength of evidence and the degree of heinousness. Our results failed to find any of the relationships between death-penalty attitudes and verdict decisions that would be predicted from past research. Instead, the subjects' decisions were influenced, virtually exclusively, by the strength of the evidence presented in the case, as is legally prescribed. In the light of these findings, the discussion focused on the questions of reliability and external validity of simulation research, the potential problems caused by method-specific factors in determining the outcome of such methodology, the attitude-behavior link, and the danger of premature and un-warranted application to the legal system of findings from simulations.     

Image of China in Slovakia: ambivalence,adoration, and fake news

Asia Europe Journal - The paper looks into the image of China in Slovakia. Following the period of relative disinterest of the media in majority of topics connected with China, media are starting...     

Fatal Hemorrhage from an Arteriovenous Fistula

In this study, we present two cases of sudden deaths of people with end‐stage kidney with arteriovenous fistulas for long‐term hemodialysis treatment. This procedure is associated with a number of known complications. While stenosis, thrombosis, and infection are well known, lethal hemorrhage from arteriovenous fistula is much less commonly encountered. Inspection of the bodies at the scene of the death by a medical examiner suggested that the deaths were due to exsanguination. Autopsies revealed visible defects on the front wall of the arteriovenous fistulas. Microscopic examination showed wall necrosis with infiltration of various inflammatory cells. Deaths were due to exsanguination from the ulcerated arteriovenous fistulas in patients with chronic renal failure. Further investigation revealed that complications in the area around the arteriovenous fistulas were known and were being treated until a sudden rupture of the vessels and hemorrhage from the arteriovenous fistulas resulted in the deaths.