In the July 12, 2004, edition of Ethics Newsline:

1. Statline:

A Status Check on U.S. Race and Ethnic Relations

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=7/12/2004&;id=0712041725152

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2. Commentary by Rushworth M. Kidder:

Why 'Groupthink' Doesn't Explain the CIA

Last week, when the Senate Intelligence Committee released its scathing report on the CIA's intelligence failures concerning the Iraq war, it reinjected a dangerous and ethically complex attempt at explanation -- the term "groupthink" -- into the global political discourse....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=7/12/2004&;id=07120417254416

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3. What They're Saying:

Educating Him

"Jiang Yanyong, as a soldier, recently violated the relevant discipline of the military. Based on relevant regulations, the military has been helping and educating him."

-- The Chinese government, responding to a "Washington Post" inquiry about the recent detention of Jiang Yanyong, the "elderly physician who exposed the government's cover-up of the SARS epidemic." Jiang, a semi-retired surgeon in the People's Liberation Army and a critic of the government's killing of pro-democracy protestors at Tiananmen Square in 1989, is under 24-hour supervision until he "changes his thinking" and "raises his level of understanding" about the Tiananmen crackdown, sources told the "Post."...

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=7/12/2004&;id=0712041726145

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4. World Court Says Israel's Barrier Wall is Illegal

THE HAGUE

The United Nations' highest court last week ruled that Israel's West Bank barrier is illegal and should be removed, with reparations paid to Palestinians whose lives have been disrupted by the partition....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=7/12/2004&;id=07120417265557

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5. European Human Rights Court Rejects Legal Rights for Fetus

STRASBOURG, France

Saying the matter was not theirs to decide, the European Court of Human Rights last week rejected an appeal asking the court to declare that a human fetus should be given full legal rights....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=7/12/2004&;id=07120417273153

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6. Official who Blocked Medicare Figures Did Nothing Illegal, Report Says

WASHINGTON

A former government official who threatened to fire a subordinate if the worker provided Congress with realistic but unfavorable estimates of Medicare costs broke no laws, an internal report concluded last week....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=7/12/2004&;id=07120417282599

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7. Portland Archdiocese Claims Bankruptcy, Seeks Court Protection from Lawsuits

PORTLAND, Oregon

The Catholic archdiocese in Portland last week declared bankruptcy, becoming the first archdiocese to seek U.S. court protection from expensive lawsuits accusing the church of complicity in hiding sex abuse by priests....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=7/12/2004&;id=07120417290493

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8. Former Enron Head Kenneth Lay Indicted

HOUSTON

Insisting on his innocence, former Enron chairman Kenneth Law last week pleaded not guilty to 11 criminal counts accusing him of helping mastermind the fraud that collapsed the high-flying, free-wheeling energy firm....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=7/12/2004&;id=07120417294419

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9. Adelphia's Founder and One Son Convicted on Multiple Fraud Counts

MANHATTAN

Adelphia Communications founder John Rigas and his son Timothy were convicted last week of conspiracy, securities fraud, and bank fraud....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=7/12/2004&;id=07120417300899

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10. DuPont Faces Fine over Failure to Report Chemical Studies

WASHINGTON

The Environmental Protection Agency last week said it will levy a large fine against DuPont, the nation's No. 2 chemical firm, for failing to provide data on possible health threats posed by a chemical used in making Teflon....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=7/12/2004&;id=07120417304772

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11. European Nations, Philip Morris Agree on $1.25 Billion Anti-Smuggling Deal

BRUSSELS

U.S. cigarette maker Philip Morris last week agreed to pay $1.25 billion to ten European countries over the next 12 years to settle allegations that the company was complicit in cigarette smuggling....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=7/12/2004&;id=07120417311444

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12. Research Report:

Gallup Measures Race Relations in the United States

From the Gallup News Service:

"Gallup's annual 'Minority Rights and Relations' survey ... finds that the American public has mostly positive perceptions of relations between blacks and whites, as well as between other racial and ethnic groups in the country today...."

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=7/12/2004&;id=07120417315097

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13. Quote from the Ethics File:

Progress

"All progress is initiated by challenging current conceptions, and executed by supplanting existing institutions."

-- George Bernard Shaw (British (Irish-born) author, 1856-1950)

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