The al Houthi Insurgency in the North of Yemen: An Analysis of the Shabab al Moumineen

The Yemeni government has fought an insurgency in the north of Yemen against a group called the Shabab al Moumineen, (Believing Youth) since 2004. The insurgency is portrayed by the Yemeni government in the press as a localized phenomenon led by the single al Houthi family and state that their ranks have been decimated by near-continuous fighting. However, the al Houthi Insurgency, led by the Shabab al Moumineen, is far more than a localized uprising: it is a full-blown insurgency–and one that Yemen's government and people may not be prepared to combat. This article explains the origin of the Shabab al Moumineen and conveys the importance of this conflict in Yemen and its potential multiple impacts on the broader Middle East.     

Silent citizens: reflections on community,habit, and the silent majority in political life

This article identifies two different senses in which the concept of ‘community’ can be seen to underpin the norm of vocal participation in democratic politics. The first is a broadly liberal view of community – traceable to Alexis de Tocqueville – that promotes active, vocal, and autonomous citizens and acts as a buffer between the state and the individual. A second broadly conservative view of community in the writings, for example, of Edmund Burke and T.S. Eliot treats community as organic, passive, and largely silent. It valorizes habit and habitual relationships as supporting political life through obedience to the law and respect for authority. While these two traditions stand apart, what is striking about both views of community is the one point about which both agree: citizens' sense of community is in decline within liberal democracies today. Thus silence and silent majorities are problematic to both traditions, albeit for different reasons.     

European national news

The regular article tracking developments at the national level in key European countries in the area of IT and communications – co-ordinated by Herbert Smith LLP and contributed to by firms across Europe. This column provides a concise alerting service of important national developments in key European countries. Part of its purpose is to compliment the Journal’s feature articles and briefing notes by keeping readers abreast of what is currently happening “on the ground” at a national level in implementing EU level legislation and international conventions and treaties. Where an item of European National News is of particular significance, CLSR may also cover it in more detail in the current or a subsequent edition.     

European national news

The regular article tracking developments at the national level in key European countries in the area of IT and communications - co-ordinated by Herbert Smith LLP and contributed to by firms across Europe. This column provides a concise alerting service of important national developments in key European countries. Part of its purpose is to compliment the Journal’s feature articles and briefing notes by keeping readers abreast of what is currently happening "on the ground" at a national level in implementing EU level legislation and international conventions and treaties. Where an item of European National News is of particular significance, CLSR may also cover it in more detail in the current or a subsequent edition.     

Differentiation of methylenedioxybenzylpiperazines (MDBPs) and methoxymethylbenzylpiperazines (MMBPs) By GC-IRD and GC-MS

The substituted benzylpiperazines, 3,4-methylenedioxybenzylpiperazine (3,4-MDBP), its regioisomer 2,3-methylenedioxybenzylpiperazine (2,3-MDBP) and four isobaric ring substituted methoxymethylbenzylpiperazines (MMBP) have almost identical mass spectra. Perfluoroacylation of the secondary amine nitrogen of these isomeric piperazines gave mass spectra with differences in relative abundance of some fragment ions. However, the spectra did not yield any unique fragments for specific identification of one isomer to the exclusion of the other compounds. Gas chromatography coupled with infrared detection (GC-IRD) provides direct confirmatory data for the structural differentiation between the six isomers. The mass spectra in combination with the vapor phase infrared spectra provide for specific confirmation of each of the isomeric piperazines. The underivatized and perfluoroacyl derivative forms of the ring substituted benzylpiperazines were resolved on the polar stationary phase Rtx-200.     

Specifying Type and Location of Peer Victimization in a National Sample of Children and Youth

Much of the existing research on the prevalence and consequences of peer victimization focuses on “bullying” at school, often omitting from consideration non-bullying types of peer victimization as well as events that occur outside of school. The purpose of this study was to examine past-year exposure to peer-perpetrated victimization, occurring both within and outside of school contexts, among school-aged children in the United States. The study is based on a representative sample of 2,999 youth ages 6–17 (50% female; 45% non-white) from the 2008 National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence (NatSCEV). Findings revealed age, gender, race, and family structure variations in many forms of peer victimization and demonstrated significant independent and cumulative effects of six different types of peer victimization (physical assault, physical intimidation, emotional victimization, sexual victimization, property crime, and internet harassment) on trauma symptoms. Findings also showed that, although victimization at school is substantial, a considerable proportion of peer victimizations occur away from school contexts. The findings highlight the importance of comprehensive measurement of multiple forms of peer victimization that occur both at school and elsewhere, rather than focusing exclusively on traditional measures of school-focused bullying.     

The first international proficiency test on ketamine and norketamine in hair

This paper discusses the organization of the first international proficiency test (PT) programme on ketamine (K) and norketamine (NK) in hair samples. The primary objective of the programme was to evaluate the analytical capability of participating laboratories on hair analysis for K and NK via comparison of results. Authentic samples, instead of spiked samples were used in the programme to mimic the analysis of incorporated illicit drugs in real-life situations. Eight of the ten participating medical or forensic laboratories from Australia, France, Hong Kong, Italy, Singapore and the USA returned results to the organizer. Quantification methods from these laboratories were confined to GC-MS and LC-MS/MS. Performance assessment based on z-score indicated that only three laboratories achieved satisfactory results for both the analysis of K and NK. It was concluded that the overall performance of the participating laboratories was fair and there is still room for further improvement. Additional similarly designed PT programmes are recommended to be organized in order to encourage reliable measurements of illicit drugs in hair samples. Taking into account the substantial effect on the consensus values within limited number of data points, a recommendation on the provision of reference values assigned by accurate methods will be of benefit to small size PT programmes in the forensic field.