1. Statline:

Top U.S. Corporate Contributors to Tsunami Relief Efforts

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=1/10/2005&;id=01100517194212

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2. Commentary by Rushworth M. Kidder:

WorldCom, Cendant, Enron: Three Kinds of Moral Blindness

A surprising number of ethical collapses arise directly from a lack of moral awareness. Of the many ways that people get morally blindfolded, three of them -- lethargy, ignorance, and hypocrisy -- are on display in recent news....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=1/10/2005&;id=01100517231588

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3. What They're Saying:

Like Nothing We've Seen

"The support from corporations has been tremendous, like nothing we've seen."

-- U.S. Fund for UNICEF spokeswoman Marissa Buckanoff, speaking to "USA Today" about a record $12 million in donations received two weeks ago to aid victims of December's tsunami. Companies gave nearly $6 million of that week's donations to the group, according to the paper's profile of corporate relief efforts....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=1/10/2005&;id=01100517250521

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4. Former WorldCom Board Members Take $18M Personal Hit in Fraud Settlement

NEW YORK

In a move that could cool interest in joining corporate boards, 10 former directors of WorldCom Inc. last week agreed to pay $18 million out of their own pockets for their failed oversight of the bankrupt telecom firm....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=1/10/2005&;id=0110051726025

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5. Corporate America Takes Aim at Sarbanes-Oxley Reforms

WASHINGTON

In a push to make national policy more closely reflect corporate priorities, several of the nation's powerful business groups have announced plans to attempt to dismantle parts of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and stump for President Bush's conservative judicial nominees....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=1/10/2005&;id=01100517264320

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6. Government Paid Commentator $240,000 to Promote Bush Education Agenda

WASHINGTON

Repercussions echoed through the media and on Capitol Hill last week after "USA Today" revealed that the Bush administration paid well-known black conservative commentator Armstrong Williams $240,000 to promote the government's education policies....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=1/10/2005&;id=01100517272674

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7. SEC Targets Powerful Mexican Executive for Alleged Self-Dealing

WASHINGTON

U.S. regulators last week took aim at the chairman of Mexico's second-largest TV broadcaster, accusing him of concealing $109 million in self-serving deals from the company's investors and board members....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=1/10/2005&;id=01100517281655

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8. U.S. Forces and Justice Nominee Face Continued Questions about Torture

WASHINGTON

From the Capitol to Cuba, the treatment of prisoners captured during the U.S.-led war on Iraq spawned numerous stories with ethical threads last week. Among the developments...

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=1/10/2005&;id=01100517284619

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9. House GOP Moves to Limit Ethics Investigations

WASHINGTON

Kicking off the new season in Congress, Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives last week pushed through a measure effectively making it harder to investigate alleged ethics breaches by elected officials....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=1/10/2005&;id=01100517293221

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10. Whistle-Blower Raises Questions about Testing of AIDS Drug

WASHINGTON

Calling into question both past research and present practice, a fired employee of the U.S. National Institutes of Health last week said the agency's research into a widely used anti-AIDS drug was seriously flawed....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=1/10/2005&;id=01100517301049

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11. U.K. Businesses Warned on Lack of Progress for Women

LONDON

Despite a few small improvements, workplace equality for Britain's women appears to be stalling and may soon warrant government intervention, according to an annual government review....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=1/10/2005&;id=01100517310379

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12. Pentagon Announces Plan to Tackle Sexual Assaults

WASHINGTON

After facing blistering criticism for failing to address widespread sexual assault among the armed services, the U.S. Defense Department last week announced plans to tackle the problem at its military posts worldwide....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=1/10/2005&;id=01100517314417

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13. Research Report:

U.S. Charities Raise $324 Million for Tsunami Victims

From the Chronicle of Philanthropy:

"Donations have streamed in to relief organizations that are providing aid to victims of the deadly earthquake and tsunamis in South Asia. American relief charities have raised [figures as of January 7, 2005] more than $324 million, with much of the money coming in online. The total amount raised from private sources is now getting closer to the $350 million pledged by the U.S. government...."

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=1/10/2005&;id=01100517321899

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14. Quote from the Ethics File:

Charity

"The spirit of the world has four kinds of spirits diametrically opposed to charity -- resentment, aversion, jealousy, and indifference."

-- Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet (French bishop, 1627-1704)

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