Operation Binnacle: British plans for military intervention against a 1965 coup in Kenya

In April 1965, the rumour of a potential Kenyan coup was brought to British attention. This was a moment of raised tensions in the government of President Jomo Kenyatta, who secretly asked the British government for a military commitment to support his government if a coup was attempted by Kenyan Vice President Oginga Odinga. The British military responded by making an extensive military plan to intervene, code-named Operation Binnacle. They sent ships to Mombasa and put troops on alert. This article assesses these plans as a case study of the logic, and limits, of British military interventionism in the years after decolonization. It highlights the importance of studying plans, even when not carried out, and of taking seriously the attitudes and fears of contemporaries. Although a coup was highly unlikely, British reactions are revealing of their concerns about independent Kenya, including possible Soviet involvement. Operation Binnacle was a serious British response to the threat, as they saw it, which a coup would cause to their interests. These were extensive enough that the British government was prepared to intervene militarily, during a brief moment when military interventionism in Africa was still seriously considered as a possible policy choice.This work was supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council [grant number AHU/AHRC2011/000180788]

Investigation of the attitudes of normal siblings and of parents toward their mentally retarded family member

In view of the fact that recent studies have been focusing considerable attention on families that include persons who are mentally retarded, this study was undertaken for the purpose of investigating the attitudes of the normal siblings and the attitudes of the parents toward their mentally retarded family member

The unusual distribution of molecular gas and star formation in Arp 140

We investigate the atomic and molecular interstellar medium and star formation of NGC 275, the late-type spiral galaxy in Arp 140, which is interacting with NGC 274, an early-type system. The atomic gas (HI) observations reveal a tidal tail from NGC 275 which extends many optical radii beyond the interacting pair. The HI morphology implies a prograde encounter between the galaxy pair approximately 1.5 x 10**8 years ago. The Halpha emission from NGC 275 indicates clumpy irregular star-formation, clumpiness which is mirrored by the underlying mass distribution as traced by the Ks-band emission. The molecular gas distribution is striking in its anti-correlation with the {HII regions. Despite the evolved nature of NGC 275's interaction and its barred potential, neither the molecular gas nor the star formation are centrally concentrated. We suggest that this structure results from stochastic star formation leading to preferential consumption of the gas in certain regions of the galaxy. In contrast to the often assumed picture of interacting galaxies, NGC 275, which appears to be close to merger, does not display enhanced or centrally concentrated star formation. If the eventual merger is to lead to a significant burst of star formation it must be preceded by a significant conversion of atomic to molecular gas as at the current rate of star formation all the molecular gas will be exhausted by the time the merger is complete.Comment: 13 paper, accepted my Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Societ

The Qui Tam Question: Proper Pleading Requirements for Relators Under the FCA

The article offers information on the provisions of the False Claims Act in the U.S. including its history and complexities relating to lawsuits and pleading requirements

Cal Poly and the Wayward Field of Home Economics

Since its establishment in 1901 California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo has gone through a number of identity crises. What began as a progressive institution that aimed to educate the state’s future blue-collar workers has matured into a recognized academic institution. As the school grew, its faculty and administrators had to decide which features of Cal Poly fit into their vision of its future, and which should be left behind as the university progressed. Many aspects of Cal Poly’s curriculum were scrapped somewhere between rural-secondary school, and comprehensive polytechnic university. The now defunct Department of Home Economics falls into this unfortunate second category