1. Statline:

Countries Ranked by Perceived Corruption

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=10/25/2004&;id=10250417013953

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2. Commentary by Rushworth M. Kidder:

Refusing Orders in Iraq: Moral Courage or Disloyalty?

When sergeants Larry McCook, Michael Butler, and 16 other U. S. Army reservists refused to drive fuel convoys along ambush-prone Iraqi highways, were they heroically calling attention to a fatal flaw in U.S. military operations? Or were they avoiding danger by offloading their mission to other drivers who later made the trip? One thing is clear: They disobeyed direct orders in wartime, a very serious charge. Was theirs an act of moral courage or a display of disloyalty?...

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=10/25/2004&;id=10250417034090

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3. What They're Saying:

What is or is Not a Conflict

"We're not saying the company doesn't have a right to be concerned about the ethics and the off-duty behavior of its reporters. But they have to meet a standard. We can't allow a company to subjectively decide what is or is not a conflict."

-- Newspaper Guild executive officer Mike Sweeney, responding to the suspensions of two reporters at the "St. Paul Pioneer Press" (Minnesota). The investigative reporters, who attended a "Vote for Change" concert headlined by Bruce Springsteen, said their attendance was within company ethics policies; management disagreed, slapping the reporters with unpaid suspensions. The Guild is working to have the punishment overturned....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=10/25/2004&;id=10250417075942

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4. Qwest Settles Bookkeeping Fraud Charges for $250 Million

DENVER

Qwest Communications, the nation's fourth largest regional phone company, agreed last week to pay $250 million to settle charges that it engaged in what the Securities and Exchange Commission alleged was $3.8 billion in "massive financial fraud."...

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=10/25/2004&;id=1025041708410

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5. Economic Crime Costs the U.K. Billions: Survey

LONDON

White-collar crime costs U.K. businesses about $73 billion each year in outright losses and preventative measures, according to a new report endorsed by the U.K. government and a leading business group....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=10/25/2004&;id=10250417091497

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6. Fraud Alleged in Effort to Outbid Paralyzed Teen for Gun Company

JACKSONVILLE, Florida

The winning bidder in a fight over a bankrupt gun company was accused last week of using fraud and funneled funds to secure ownership of the company, with a Florida court asked to invalidate the sale....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=10/25/2004&;id=10250417094359

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7. Court Clears Couple who Let Drunk Guest Drive, Killing Others

NANCY, France

Ending a widely watched case that could have set an important legal precedent, a French court last week cleared a young couple of all responsibility for failing to stop a dinner guest from driving drunk and killing a family of four....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=10/25/2004&;id=10250417101386

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8. Canadian Mining Giant Says Rushed Too Fast into Mining Project

TORONTO

The CEO of Canadian mining giant Inco Ltd., Scott Hand, has admitted that the company was not sensitive enough to the concerns of local communities and the government of French-owned New Caledonia, where they had planned two years ago to begin the massive Goro nickel-cobalt mining project....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=10/25/2004&;id=1025041710405

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9. Dallas Police Abused Trust, Breaking the System, Investigators Conclude

DALLAS

In Texas and New York, police misconduct made the headlines last week with conclusions and convictions drawn in drug cases that went awry....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=10/25/2004&;id=1025041711088

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10. Nation's Schools Look to Corporate Logos to Ease Budget Strain

BROOKLAWN, New Jersey

In an effort to prop up shrinking school budgets, a growing number of the nation's schools are seeking infusions of cash from the corporate sector, offering naming rights and logo placements to the highest bidder, according to a feature last week in the "New York Times."...

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=10/25/2004&;id=10250417113495

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11. Research Report:

Corruption 'Rampant in 60 Countries': Transparency International

From Transparency International:

"'Corruption in large-scale public projects is a daunting obstacle to sustainable development, and results in a major loss of public funds needed for education, healthcare, and poverty alleviation, both in developed and developing countries,' said Transparency International (TI) Chairman Peter Eigen today at the launch of the TI Corruption Perceptions Index 2004...."

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=10/25/2004&;id=10250417121832

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12. Quote from the Ethics File:

Human Kindness

"Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough."

-- Franklin D. Roosevelt (32nd U.S. president (1933-1945), 1882-1945)

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