U.S. Public Has Poor View of Oil and Tobacco Companies

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=4/18/2005&;id=04180522042493

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2. Commentary by Rushworth M. Kidder:

Moral Murk and the European Constitution: A Czech Morality Play

Judging from the crowds swirling through Prague Castle last month, tourism is booming in the Czech Republic. Prague no doubt owes some of its surging popularity to the Czech Republic's entrance into the European Union in 2004. The move from second-world status into equal partnership with its Western European neighbors gives extra comfort to skittish travelers. So Czechs should be fans of the EU, eager to ratify its proposed constitution, right? Until last week, it might have seemed so. Then, in a morality play on how one person's ethical fumbling can change the world, the shoe dropped....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=4/18/2005&;id=04180522054796

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3. What They're Saying:

A Natural Selection

"He never lost power, even though he stepped down from Boston. In any other corporation if you lost your rank and left, you'd lose your power and you'd be stripped of your title. (But) here he is in Rome, still as powerful as he was before."

-- Bernie McDaid, an alleged victim of sexual abuse by a Catholic church official, criticizing the Vatican's decision to let former Boston Cardinal Bernard Law play a prominent role in presiding over a funeral mass for Pope John Paul II...

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=4/18/2005&;id=04180522062110

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4. In Aggressive Move, Feds Accuse 15 NYSE Traders of Criminal Fraud

NEW YORK

Federal prosecutors last week hit 15 current and former New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) traders with criminal charges for allegedly cheating clients to enrich themselves and their employers....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=4/18/2005&;id=04180522065949

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5. Equitable Life Sues 15 Former Directors for $3.2 Billion

LONDON

British insurance giant Equitable Life last week filed suit against 15 of its former directors, accusing them and accounting firm Ernst & Young of negligence and breach of duty for failing to warn the firm of financial problems that nearly caused the company's collapse in 2000 ....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=4/18/2005&;id=04180522072783

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6. LexisNexis Says Data on 310,000 People May Have been Stolen

LONDON

Data broker LexisNexis last week revealed that thieves may have stolen personal data on 310,000 people, upping the number of potential victims tenfold from an earlier estimate and sparking renewed calls for legislated reforms....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=4/18/2005&;id=04180522081162

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7. Japanese Firm Admits $1.37 Billion Accounting Fraud

TOKYO

A Japanese firm being bailed out by the government revealed last week that it had inflated profits by $1.37 billion over the past four years in what may be the country's largest accounting fraud involving a non-financial firm....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=4/18/2005&;id=04180522085271

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8. Japan Criticizes China after Violent Demonstrations over Textbooks

BEIJING

Freedom-of-expression issues took a front seat in China last week, where the government was accused of both sanctioning and suppressing violent demonstrations. Among the developments...

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=4/18/2005&;id=0418052209210

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9. Holocaust Heirs Awarded Nearly $22 Million for Bank's Betrayal

BROOKLYN

A Brooklyn judge last week awarded nearly $22 million to a woman whose family was stripped of its assets by a Swiss bank during the Holocaust -- the largest payout to date under a $1.25-billion settlement....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=4/18/2005&;id=04180522095318

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10. Italy Rushes to Stem Violence by Soccer Fans

ROME

Saying urgent action was needed after a week of violence by soccer fans, Italian authorities last week quickly adopted a series of measures designed to punish soccer teams for their fans' misbehavior....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=4/18/2005&;id=04180522102753

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11. In Bid to Shine Light on Problems, Nike Discloses Locations of All Factories

BEAVERTON, Oregon

Nike Inc. last week published the names and locations of the more than 700 factories used to make the company's popular athletic shoes and apparel, conceding that working conditions are far from perfect but saying disclosure of their factory locations may enable independent observers to monitor operations....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=4/18/2005&;id=04180522110263

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12. CBC Says United States May Have Had Two Mad Cow Cases in 1997

WASHINGTON

The CBC has reported that the United States may have had two cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly called mad cow disease, in 1997, but the U.S. Department of Agriculture may not have performed adequate testing of the animals' brains....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=4/18/2005&;id=04180522113445

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13. Research Report:

U.S. Public Believes Drug Makers Put Profits Ahead of People

From the Kaiser Family Foundation:

"Americans believe prescription drugs are improving their lives, but most also say that the drug industry cares more about profits than people, according to the latest Kaiser Health Poll Report issued by the Kaiser Family Foundation...."

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=4/18/2005&;id=04180522121225

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14. Quote from the Ethics File:

The Worth of Honor

"I have a lantern. You steal my lantern. What, then, Is your honor worth no more to you than the price of my lantern?"

-- Epicetus (Greek stoic philosopher, ca 55 - ca 135)

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