Malta

European Journal of Political Research -     

Prisoner Dilemmas: The American Obsession with POWs and Hostages

For centuries, the issue of American hostages and POWs has had incredible emotional and political resonance. Driven by a combination of idealism, wrath, and concerns over reputation, the status of captive Americans can become a national obsession. While deeply moral in many respects, this intense focus can encourage risky rescue operations, deepen conflicts, and lead to more Americans being captured abroad. Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan both suffered grave political damage from hostage crises, and the recent capture of an American by Somali pirates highlights the continued danger that a hostage crisis could overshadow the presidency of Barack Obama. U.S. officials should publicly downplay the issue of hostages and POWs, and work quietly behind the scenes to free the men and women concerned.     

Gift aid applies for a passport: Hein Persche v Finanzamt Ludenscheid (C-318/07)

The lack of a common understanding of what a charity is, andthe general refusal of relief for cross-border gifts, can distortthe charitable "market" by favouring local charities over thoseestablished in other countries. Territorial restrictions ontax incentives frequently add to the administrative costs ofgiving to charity, by forcing donors to use local charitiesas conduits for cross-border gifts. They may even dissuade apotential donor from giving at all. All of this may be aboutto change—at least within the EU. We now have the opinionof Advocate General Mengozzi in the Persche case, which concernsthe argument that territorial restrictions on tax incentivesfor charitable giving contravene the provisions of the EU Treatyregarding the free movement of capital.     

Biological and DNA evidence in 1000 sexual assault cases

Using a Filemaker-based database (DNA Pro-FILES, Synchrone Infosystème Inc.), we have conducted a large-scale study on 1000 sexual assault (SA) cases where a standardized kit was submitted to our laboratory alone or with other types of exhibits. We looked at the likelihood of obtaining good quality DNA evidence, allegedly from the assailant, according to a number of parameters.The overall proportion of SA cases with DNA evidence is nearly 50%. A little more than 30% of SA kits provided DNA evidence while for 16% of cases DNA evidence could be obtained only from other exhibits.The likelihood of obtaining DNA evidence is approximately 50% in teenager and adult SA cases, but much lower for children 10 years old or younger (15%). In children cases, profiles were found mostly on clothing or skin swabs.The likelihood of obtaining DNA evidence from vaginal swabs remains good for up to 3 days after the assault (from 35% on the first day to 23% on the third day). A DNA profile was obtained from approximately 22% of anal/rectal swabs and 41% of skin swabs taken less than 1 day after the assault. Less than 10% of oral washes provided DNA evidence, all having been collected within 24 h of the assault.We found that in bodily samples, a negative result for acid phosphate (AP) is a poor predictor of the likelihood of obtaining good quality DNA evidence. Approximately 15% of vaginal swabs and 8% of anal swabs negative for AP nevertheless provided good quality DNA evidence.     

The sexual distribution of benefits and burdens in the household: Adolescent experiences and expectations

An examination of self-reported contributions to housework and use of resources in the home by 1296 Scottish 16- and 18-year-olds revealed sharp differences between the sexes in both areas. In only one area of housework sampled, household repairs, did boys contribute more often, and in only one area of resources, use of space for friends, did girls benefit more often. Moreover, with respect to housework, sexual inequality was inversely related to social class. Beliefs about sex roles were broadly egalitarian, but weakly related to housework done; among both male and female, contributing to more areas of housework was associated with more egalitarian beliefs. Neither access to resources nor contributions to housework were related to financial contributions made to the household. Generally, the results indicate that sex was the most powerful determinant of both housework and use of resources. It seems that young people are already extensively prepared for inequality in adult sex roles within the family by their own direct experience, if not their sex-role beliefs.     

A simple DNA extraction method for marijuana samples used in amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis

As a first step in developing a molecular method for the individualization of marijuana samples, we evaluated a plant DNA extraction kit. The QIAGEN plant DNeasy method uses a spin column format for recovery of DNA and is effective for obtaining high molecular weight DNA from leaf, flower (bud), and seed samples of marijuana. The average DNA yield was 125-500 ng per 100 milligrams of fresh plant tissue. The recovered DNA was of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) quality as measured by the ability to generate reproducible amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) profiles. AFLP is a technique used to create a DNA profile for plant varieties and is being applied to marijuana samples by the authors to link growers and distributors of clonal material. The QIAGEN plant DNeasy method was simple, efficient, and reproducible for processing small quantities of marijuana into DNA.