Abstract

In Fact…

The article presents news briefs related to current events. The Abu Ghraib scandal has faded from Washington's radar screen--to the President George W. Bush Administration's presumed relief. Seven low-level soldiers have been prosecuted in military court, but the people in charge, starting with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, have avoided legal scrutiny. In an attempt to remedy this breakdown of justice, the Center for Constitutional Rights filed a criminal complaint with the German Federal Prosecutor's Office against Rumsfeld and other senior U.S. officials, accusing them of war crimes connected with Abu Ghraib. Henry Waxman of California said in a report that government documents kept secret included those about the prison abuses at Abu Ghraib, communications between the Department of Defense and Vice President Dick Cheney's office regarding Halliburton contracts in Iraq, and memorandums revealing what the White House knew about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. The United Church of Christ has produced a television advertisement featuring muscle-bound bouncers determining who may or may not attend church. Because this commercial touches on the exclusion of gay couples and other minority groups by other individuals and organizations," CBS announced, "and the fact the Executive Branch has recently proposed a Constitutional amendment to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman, this spot is unacceptable for broadcast on the CBS and UPN networks."