Tech.SGT.JOE COLEMAN/USAF

Scientists claim to have solved mystery of Gulf War illness

STORY BY STEPHEN J. THORNE

A team of American scientists claims to have solved the mystery of Gulf War illness in a detailed genetic study that points the finger of blame at sarin nerve gas.

The researchers at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center’s epidemiology division in Dallas not only found that veterans exposed to sarin during the Persian Gulf War were more likely to develop problems associated with the illness, they also discovered the risk was regulated by a gene that can enable some people’s bodies to better break down the nerve agent.

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Matti Blume/Wikimedia

The Parliament bombing of 1966

STORY BY SHARON ADAMS

On May 18, 1966, a lone man left the public galleries of the House of Commons during a debate and went to the men’s washroom on the third floor. Then he lit the fuse on a dynamite bomb.

But Paul Joseph Chartier had miscalculated exactly how long it would take the wick to burn. Instead of his likely intended victims—politicians on the floor of the House—the 44-year-old accidentally blew himself up.

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Photo credit:Wikimedia/Free Denizen

Global military expenditures eclipse  US$2 trillion in 2021 for first time ever

STORY BY STEPHEN J. THORNE

The fiscal ravages of the pandemic had little practical effect on worldwide military spending in 2021, as it passed US$2 trillion (C$2.5 trillion) for the first time, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute reported on April 25.

The list of the five biggest spenders bore no surprises: the United States led the way, followed by China, India, the United Kingdom and Russia. Together, they accounted for 62 per cent of all military spending, said the institute.

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Photo credit:Wikimedia/Royal Navy

HMCS Uganda: the ship that voted           its way home

STORY BY SHARON ADAMS

The only Canadian ship to fight against the Japanese in the Second World War, HMCS Uganda also had the distinction of being the only ship to vote itself out of that war.

Uganda was one of the mightiest ships in the Canadian navy, 169 metres long, armed to the teeth with nine six-inch guns, eight four-inch guns and many smaller guns, plus torpedoes. Its crew of 907 officers and men were chosen from every province of Canada and the Dominion of Newfoundland. Captain Edmond Rollo Mainguy was in command.

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