The bombing of The King David Hotel, July 1946

On 22 July 1946, the Irgun Zvai Le’umi (National Military Organization), a Jewish terrorist organization opposed to Britain’s continued rule of Palestine, bombed Jerusalem’s King David Hotel. The incident has always been controversial given the fact that the facility was not an ordinary hotel, but also the nerve center of British rule over that country — housing its military headquarters, intelligence stations, and government secretariat. Further, at the time it was claimed that warnings were issued to evacuate the hotel that British officials callously ignored. This article addresses three key three questions surrounding the bombing: Was the King David Hotel in fact a legitimate military target? Were warnings in fact given to evacuate the hotel? And, if so, why wasn’t the hotel evacuated? The answers, while critical in reaching an accurate accounting and factual understanding of a highly controversial event, interestingly also shed light on the efficacy and morality of terrorism as an instrument of national liberation and agent of political change.PostprintPeer reviewe

Terrorism in History

The central question addressed in this collection is: in what circumstances did terrorism act as a "driver of history," exerting a major impact on international and national events, and why was it able to do so? To answer this question, this article focuses on three levels of analysis: first, using the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914 as a case study, it explores terrorism’s monumental power to change the course of history. The second, which takes as its reference point the case of the Fenian dynamiters’ campaign in Britain during the 1880s, examines terrorism as a tactical weapon that achieves profound changes in governmental organization and policy to counter this menace. Finally, it discusses terrorism as a strategic force, re-calibrating international politics and affairs, and catapulting to prominence (and to an extent, power) hitherto unknown or inconsequential movements, such as the Palestinian fedayeen after the 1967 Six Day War. Each of these offers an important lesson from the past for our understanding of terrorism today, namely, how what may appear to be completely new and novel in the present often has a significantly relevant historical precedent. Indeed, all three cases presaged some later, important development in terrorist tactics or strategy: in the first case, the emergence of state-sponsored terrorism; in the second, attacks on subways (in London) and other mass transit, that also led to the formation of new security forces in response to the threat; and third, the "cult of the insurgent" that has enormous resonance in Iraq, with bin Laden, and in America’s war on terrorism today

Assessing the threat of incel violence

In recent years, increasingly serious incidents of violence have been committed by young men predominantly in the United States and Canada who self-identify as incels (involuntary celibates). Although these attacks often specifically target women, the principal source of their animus, men as well as children have been among the casualties in the series of shootings and vehicular homicides that have occurred at universities, high schools, and on city streets. Although, the incel worldview is not obviously political, its core ethos entails the subjugation and repression of a group and its violence is designed to have far-reaching societal effects. Accordingly, incel violence arguably conforms to an emergent trend in terrorism with a more salient hate crime dimension that necessitates greater scrutiny and analysis—especially as it spreads to Europe and shows similarities to and has nascent connections with other terrorist movements.PostprintPeer reviewe

Biology and use of nibbi heteropsis flexuosa (ARACEAE) the source of an aerial root fiber product in Guyana

The aerial roots of Heteropsis flexuosa (Kunth) Bunting, a hemi-epiphyte, are harvested by indigenous communities in Guyana for a developing wicker furniture market. Nibbi roots have potential as a sustainably harvested product, but there is little data to guide management. I examined nibbi biology, harvest response, product yield and use at several forest sites. H. flexuosa is a relatively abundant plant and 35% of trees (≥ 10 cm dbh) in plots were hosts. Stems exhibited mean growth rates of 1-3 cm per month. Aerial roots grew a mean 156 cm per month and some reached maturity within 6 months. With present methods, harvest does not decimate populations because 97% of colonized trees possess few harvestable roots. But, only 28% of cut roots re-generated in experiments. For indigenous harvesters at Manawarin village, nibbi harvesting is a primary source of cash income and is important in daily subsistence

Using bacterial biomarkers to identify early indicators of cystic fibrosis pulmonary exacerbation onset

Acute periods of pulmonary exacerbation are the single most important cause of morbidity in cystic fibrosis patients, and may be associated with a loss of lung function. Intervening prior to the onset of a substantially increased inflammatory response may limit the associated damage to the airways. While a number of biomarker assays based on inflammatory markers have been developed, providing useful and important measures of disease during these periods, such factors are typically only elevated once the process of exacerbation has been initiated. Identifying biomarkers that can predict the onset of pulmonary exacerbation at an early stage would provide an opportunity to intervene before the establishment of a substantial immune response, with major implications for the advancement of cystic fibrosis care. The precise triggers of pulmonary exacerbation remain to be determined; however, the majority of models relate to the activity of microbes present in the patient's lower airways of cystic fibrosis. Advances in diagnostic microbiology now allow for the examination of these complex systems at a level likely to identify factors on which biomarker assays can be based. In this article, we discuss key considerations in the design and testing of assays that could predict pulmonary exacerbations