Identification and analyses of female civilian victims of the 1991 war in Croatia from the Glina and Petrinja areas

Introduction

The process of recovering and identifying human remains from individual and mass graves has proven to be the most effective method of resolving the fate of missing individuals in the former Yugoslavia. These efforts have two primary objectives: medicolegal—to identify the cause of death, and humanitarian—to bring closure to living family members, thus supporting the human rights of both the living and the deceased. From 1996 to the present, the remains of 388 individuals killed during the 1991 War in Croatia were recovered from the Glina and Petrinja areas (Sisa?ko–Moslova?ka County). The purpose of this paper is to report on the demographic and taphonomic characteristics of the recovered remains, and identify factors responsible for the discrepancy in the identification ratios.

Methods

To identify factors potentially responsible for the noted discrepancy, data were collected on the taphonomic characteristics of the recovered remains, the types of burials, as well as the factors responsible for positive identification. These factors included: forensic DNA testing, dental criteria, special signs (healed fractures, etc.), clothing and personal artifacts.

Results

The age distributions between males and females in the sample are significantly different. The mean age-at-death for males is 51.6 years, for females 67.0 years. In both sexes the majority of identifications (62.9% in females and 45.9% in males) were established through a combination of biological and non-biological features. In terms of the types of graves from which the bodies were recovered, positive identification in both sexes was lowest in mass graves (61.2% for males, and 84.2% for females). Females from mass graves were, however, better preserved than males—36.6% of males recovered from mass graves were completely skeletonized, while the same was true for only 19.3% of females (χ² = 7.06, P < 0.029). Completely skeletonized remains were identified in only 65.1% of cases, while partially skeletonized and saponified bodies were identified in 80.1% of cases.

Conclusion

Since positive identification in both sexes is strongly correlated with preservation of the bodies, the reason why female identification frequencies in the Glina and Petrinja regions are higher than male frequencies lies in the fact that females recovered from mass graves were better preserved than males recovered from mass graves. Identification of the factors responsible for this is a challenge that needs to be resolved in future studies.     

社区禁毒工作思路探析

毒品问题是我国乃至世界所面临的一个重大的社会问题。禁毒冶理是一项规模宏大的社会性综合治理工程,关系到国家的长治久安,而社区禁毒是其中的一个重要组成部分。在科学发展观的指导下,充分利用社区的组织、人力、文化、教育等资源,全方位、多角度地开展禁毒斗争,是禁毒的有效途径。     

中国抗战与日本南进政策的选择

二战中日本选择南进政策的根本动因何在？从全局上看,日本选择南进与中国抗战有必然的联系。正是中国抗战促使日本放弃了北进,而不得不贸然南进。南进既是日本帝国主义的无奈之举,又是破釜沉舟之策,由此注定了日本的最终失败。从这种意义上说,日本帝国主义的失败始于侵华战争。     

Comparing Putin’s and Brezhnev’s Policies toward the Middle East

This article compares Moscow’s and Washington’s foreign policies toward the Middle East in 1982 and 2008. In 1982, Moscow and Washington each had a distinct set of friends and foes. In 2008, Washington still has a distinct set of friends and foes, but Moscow has relatively good relations with all governments and most major opposition movements in the region—the only exceptions being Al Qaeda and its affiliates. It is argued that Putin’s policy toward the Middle East is not really aimed at displacing the U.S. in the region, but protecting Russia and Russian interests from Al Qaeda and its allies. Indeed, a continued American presence in the region serves to protect Russian interests in the region.

从科索沃战争看冷战后美国的军事战略

科索沃战争作为美国推行其全球战略的一个重大步骤,从一个侧面反映了冷战后美国军事战略的内容与实质。这场战争初步暴露了冷战后美国“塑造、反应、准备”新军事战略的主要矛盾。“新干涉主义”则已成为推行其全球战略的一种新形式。     

鸦片战争前后的汉奸问题初探

汉奸问题曾一度成为鸦片战争前后中国一个较为突出的社会问题。从受外国侵略者驱使出卖祖国利益的不同行径看,鸦片战争前后的汉奸大致可分成五类即转卖鸦片者、接济逆夷者、煽惑百姓者、充作内应者、贿夷乞降者。清政府对汉奸的防范措施主要有加强对出海民船的管理;严格军队营门管理,实行暗号制度;加大暗查力度等。清政府对汉奸的处置措施主要有就地正法;递回原籍,责令地方官严加管束;“化奸为良”等。     

DNA analysis of the last Brazilian unknown soldier’s remains buried in Pistoia (Italy)

During World War II, many nations took part in the war. Among the supporters of the Alliance there was also Brazil. In August 1944, under the leadership of President Getúlio Vargas, Brazil declared war on Nazi Germany and took part in the Italian campaign by sending many troops to support the Allies in the Central Italy. Once the conflict was over, the deceased Brazilian soldiers were buried in Pistoia, a few kilometers from Florence. But only in 1960 the Brazilian government authorized the transfer of the dead soldiers to their homeland. Five years later, during the building of the Brazilian Military Votive Monument, still in the Pistoia cemetery, a last body was found but could not be identified: so he was buried as an “unknown soldier”. In December 2012, the Brazilian Embassy in Italy asked for performing forensic genetics analysis for identification purposes on the remains of this last unknown Brazilian soldier. After almost 70 years a complete short tandem repeats (STR) profile was obtained, useful for any relatives searching.Key points:

• Identification of the last Brazilian Unknown Soldier buried in Italy.
• DNA analysis on 70 years old skeletal remains.
• Brazilian soldier’s history during World War II.

     

文化冷战与华侨华人:美国对东南亚华侨华人的宣传渗透

美国在冷战时期对华侨华人的文化冷战是冷战国际史学界最新的一个研究领域,是美国对外宣传史、华侨华人史、中美关系史三个领域交叉的产物。美国对华侨华人的文化冷战经历了从中国政策向东南亚政策的转变,以香港美国新闻处为核心宣传机构实行遥控指挥,并把《今日世界》杂志为代表的书刊纸媒作为主要传媒手段。美国对华侨华人文化冷战的主题和项目主要集中在四个方面:利用传统文化促进台湾声誉,利用文学作品进行反共宣传,用华裔美国人的形象宣传美国价值观,和台湾合作与中国大陆争夺侨生教育。美国对华侨华人的宣传主要并不集中在对政治、外交事件和美国政策的报道和阐释上,而是把重点投注在意识形态、价值观和情感的塑造上,其根本观念以及核心的宣传思路是直接诉诸塑造华人身份认同,把冷战意识形态建构为华侨华人身份认同的一部分,此举于今仍有影响。研究美国对华侨华人的文化冷战,对认识和理解当前的中美关系和大国竞争态势可以提供一定的镜鉴。     

Inhabiting Death in the Presence of the Body: Challenges of Exhumation in the Case of the Malvinas War

This article explores how a group of relatives of fallen soldiers of the Malvinas War inhabited death from the immediate aftermath of the conflict to the identification of the bodies in 2017. From a perspective borrowed from the anthropology of death and the body, it discusses how the status of these bodies shaped their relatives' representations of these deaths, understood as holy, heroic and sacrificial and inhabited through the performance of various mourning rituals. Finally, it demonstrates how the prospect of exhumation provoked resistance and fear, due to the unpredictable agency of the ‘corporeality of the dead’ in social life.