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In the June 14, 2004, edition of Ethics Newsline:

1. Statline:

While Still Modest, Horizon Expands for U.S. News Viewers

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=6/14/2004&;id=06140416185945

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2. Commentary by Rushworth M. Kidder:

Desmond Tutu and the Language of Love

"Concern for others is the best form of self-interest." Coming from a management consultant, those words might raise skeptical eyebrows. But coming from retired Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Anglican prelate who was central to the abolition of apartheid in his native South Africa, they seem perfectly natural....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=6/14/2004&;id=06140416193668

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3. What They're Saying:

Hard Questions

"When hard questions of domestic relations are sure to affect the outcome, the prudent course is for the federal court to stay its hand rather than reach out to resolve a weighty question of federal constitutional law."

-- U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, writing this week's unanimous ruling upholding the inclusion of the phrase "one nation under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. The ruling, which comes exactly 50 years after Congress inserted that phrase into the Pledge as a swipe against "godless communism," sidestepped the entire question in front of the court: whether the added language implies an unconstitutional government endorsement of religion. Instead of deciding that issue, the Supreme Court overturned the case on a technicality, saying the lead plaintiff -- a father in a protracted custody dispute with his ex-wife -- lacked the legal standing to bring the case on behalf of his daughter. ("Supreme Court Preserves 'God' in Pledge," AP, June 14)

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=6/14/2004&;id=06140416203020

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4. First Lawsuit Filed over Alleged Abuse in Iraqi Prisons

SAN DIEGO

Two U.S. companies were sued last week for allegedly participating in the abuse of Iraqi prisoners, marking the first lawsuit to derive from mounting evidence of physical assaults and killings by captors....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=6/14/2004&;id=06140416210290

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5. Bush Administration Denies Acting on Memo Authorizing Abuse

WASHINGTON

The Bush administration went on the defensive last week after the Wall Street Journal published a confidential administration memo suggesting that the president could subvert legal prohibitions against the torture of captured prisoners....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=6/14/2004&;id=06140416214448

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6. Bill Would Let Churches Use the Pulpit for Politics

WASHINGTON

A handful of Republican lawmakers last week appended a major jobs bill with a tiny unrelated rider that would make it easier for churches to endorse political candidates without losing their tax-exempt status....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=6/14/2004&;id=06140416230111

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7. Voting Machine Maker Diebold Bars Top Officials from Making Political Donations

NORTH CANTON, Ohio

Diebold Inc., a firm that manufactures voting machines, last week announced that it has adopted a new policy barring top officials and many employees from making political contributions, following controversy over pro-Bush remarks by its CEO last year....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=6/14/2004&;id=06140416234732

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8. Landmark Embezzlement Trial Begins in China

HAIKOU, China

China last week kicked off one of the country's largest-ever fraud trials, putting 25 people on trial for allegedly embezzling roughly $3.15 billion in a securities scam that ended in 2002....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=6/14/2004&;id=06140416242999

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9. Canadian Private-Sector Pension Plans in Serious Financial Condition

TORONTO

The "Globe & Mail" is reporting that almost 60 percent of defined pension plans in the Canadian private sector are in deficit position, according to a report by the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=6/14/2004&;id=06140416250049

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10. Four More Star U.S. Athletes Warned of Doping Suspicions

WASHINGTON

Four star athletes of U.S. track and field, including the world's fastest man, were warned last week that they are under suspicion of using illegal steroids, a move that could lead to their disqualification from the U.S. Olympic team....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=6/14/2004&;id=06140416255768

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11. Coach Fired for Giving $6,000 to Basketball Recruit in 1999

COLUMBUS, Ohio

Ohio State University fired head basketball coach Jim O'Brien last week after learning that he gave $6,000 to a recruit five years ago -- a rules violation that the coach says was based on compassion, not competition....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=6/14/2004&;id=06140416263527

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12. Research Report:

'News Audiences Increasingly Politicized'

From the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press:

"Despite tumultuous events abroad, the public's news habits have been relatively stable over the past two years. Yet modest growth has continued in two important areas: online news and cable news. Political polarization is increasingly reflected in the public's news viewing habits. The public's evaluations of media credibility also are more divided along ideological and partisan lines...."

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=6/14/2004&;id=06140416272453

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13. Quote from the Ethics File:

Worthy of Love

"There is no way under the sun of making a man worthy of love, except by loving him."

-- Thomas Merton (U.S. religious thinker and author, 1915-1968)

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Full issue available here: http://www.globalethics.org/newsline/members/currentissue2.tmpl

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