The Compatibility of a Federal Magistrate\u27s Final Judgment With Nonmutual Issue Preclusion

This Note examines the propriety of issue preclusion as applied to a magistrate\u27s factual determination by providing an overview of section 636(c) of the Magistrate Act of 1979 and the decisions holding its provisions constitutional. It briefly looks at the expanded use of issue preclusion, which is largely due to the elimination of the mutuality agreement. After reviewing the policies that are promoted through the use of issue preclusion in such a manner, the Note concludes that nonmutual issue preclusion should apply to a magistrate\u27s determination in a civil trial only if the parties are aware of the consequences that may result when they consent

Walls, enclaves and the (counter) politics of design

This paper focuses on the political role of urban design in the transformation of urban and rural, central and peripheral, formal and informal landscapes in Israel. Based on design anthropology methodology, the political role of urban design in the production of aesthetic objects and landscapes that signify the control over individuals and communities will be explored. As this paper suggests, such a new form of political influence is hidden beneath an aesthetic and user-oriented façade, making it even more dangerous than previous more direct actions, such as gated communities separated from public space by stone walls. The paper’s interdisciplinary approach that is rooted in anthropology, design, architecture and politics will also point out some similarities between specific sites that are often considered different, namely Tel Aviv’s global and privatized gated communities on the one hand and the unrecognized Bedouin villages in the peripheral Negev region on the other. It will be argued that these similarities are the product of the politics of militarization, privatization and social fragmentation that are translated into urban design practices from ‘above’ via state and municipal planning policy as well as formal design, and from ‘below’ through informal and often unauthorized construction initiated by marginalized communities

Past as prologue? The risk of adoption of chemical and biological weapons by non-state actors in the EU

There have been relatively few serious incidents of chemical or biological terrorism in Europe; however, there is growing concern over how non-state groups might exploit chemistry and biology for hostile purposes in the future. This article uses the historical record of past incidents of chemical and biological weapons (CBW) adoption by non-state actors to inform understandings of the current and future risks. To achieve this, the article analyses six interlinked clusters of factors that can be seen as important in assessing the risk of whether or not to adopt such weapons. These are: the perceived relative advantage of CBW and their utilities; the complexity of such weapons; their ideological compatibility; the role of organisational structures; the visibility and ‘fashionability’ of such weapons; and the wider environmental context. Drawing from past cases of CBW adoption and the present European context, an analysis of these factors suggests that sophisticated CBW with gigantic effect are possible, but unlikely; however, the adoption and use of scruffy low-level chemical weapons is a distinct possibility. Accordingly, European public health agencies need to prepare for the possibility of a variety of CBW, not all of which are likely to be weapons of “mass destruction”

Corruption and water governance in the Mekong River Basin

The six countries sharing the Mekong River Basin have governance systems that reinforce corrupt behaviour. This affects choices for regional cooperation on natural resource governance

Descriptions of all female stages of the maple mealybug, Phenacoccus aceris (Hemiptera: Coccoidea: Pseudococcidae), with notes on its biology

The adult female and all wingless nymphal stages of the maple mealybug, Phenacoccus aceris (Signoret), are redescribed and illustrated. The second-instar nymphs of both males and females produce a felt-like cover, which is secreted by numerous dorsal tubular ducts. A key is also provided to separate wingless immature stages of Ph. aceris, based on morphological features. The life cycle and biology of the mealybug on three different plant hosts, i.e., Acer negundo L., A. pseudoplatanus L. (Aceraceae) and Fraxinus excelsior L. (Oleaceae) over two years is presented and compared. Ph. aceris displayed similar developmental rates on all three host plants. Ph. aceris has one generation per year in Ankara, Turkey, and overwinters as third-instar females and male prepupae and pupae in hidden places on the trunk and branches of its host plants. The longest nymphal stage on all host plant species was the third-instar female and the male prepupa and pupa stage. In both sexes there were differences in the periods of occurrence of each developmental stage amongst years that may relate to variation in field temperatures

Who Turned the Filet Mignon into Chopped Meat?

Being enmeshed in the New York rat race—or guinea pig race, since we seem to be a laboratory of sorts, undergoing experiments in problem-solving—I find it easy to tune in to the surging crises that envelop us and threaten, even, to destroy us

A Funny Thing Happened to the Common Heritage on the Way to the Sea

In December 1970, with no dissenting votes, the United Nations General Assembly declared that the resources of the sea bed beyond national jurisdiction are the common heritage of mankind. We dreamed of pooling these resources for the service of mankind, and they include an estimated 2.25 trillion barrels of oil (possibly amounting to half of the total world reserves) and enough nodules containing manganese, cobalt, copper and nickel to supply the world for thousands of years. In 1970, after several years of preliminary backing and filling, the United Nations decided to call a world conference, generally known as the Law of the Sea Conference, for the purpose of implementing this dream. Almost 150 nations met in Caracas, Venezuela, from June 20 to August 29, 1974. The results were amazing