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January 18, 2005

Higher Officials Unlikely to Be Tried | CBS Moves Fail to Quell Critics of Bush Guard Report | Love of Sports Began Rare Bond for Bush, Rice, and more ...

HIGHER OFFICIALS UNLIKELY TO BE TRIED Los Angeles Times, Jan. 16 -- "I've seen no convincing evidence that higher-ups authorized the forms of abuse that made Abu Ghraib the story it is," said Peter D. Feaver, a Duke political scientist and author of "Armed Servants: Agency, Oversight and Civil-Military Relations." Full story --Also, ABC's Good Morning America: Army Reservist Charles Graner Prisoner Abuse Trial (Duke law professor Scott Silliman; transcript upon request to eduke@duke.edu.) CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports: Analysis of Graner's Conviction (Silliman) Full story

CBS MOVES FAIL TO QUELL CRITICS OF BUSH GUARD REPORT NPR's All Things Considered, Jan. 14 -- Sim Sitkin, the faculty director of Fuqua's Center of Leadership and Ethics, says people often learn whether they can trust an organization by how it reacts to crisis. He commented on CBS's handling of the Bush National Guard report. Full story

LOVE OF SPORTS BEGAN RARE BOND FOR BUSH, RICE San Jose Mercury News, Jan. 18 -- Sanford Institute Director Bruce Jentleson, who served in the State Department during the Clinton administration, discussed the close bond between President Bush and Secretary of State nominee Condoleezza Rice. . Full story

OP-ED: RACE, THE GENOME Boston Globe, Jan. 17 -- As the genomic revolution unfolds, we should heed Martin Luther King's words and "resist new temptations to view the races as sharply distinct categories," says Huntington F. Willard, director of Duke's Institute of Genome Sciences & Policy. (Also in the Contra Costa Times of Walnut Creek, Calif.) Full story

WORDS SPOKEN, SUNG FOR MLK's LEGACY (Durham) Herald-Sun, Jan. 17 -- Bernice Johnson Reagon, a historian, former museum curator and a founding member of the a cappella ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock, was the keynote speaker at a university service honoring Martin Luther King, Jr. Full story --Also, Herald-Sun: Activist Gives Blistering Address at King Celebration Full story (Duke) Chronicle: Davis Stresses Human Rights to Mark MLK Day Full story

OP-ED: BAN RELIGION FROM PUBLIC SQUARE? Orlando Sentinel, Jan. 18 -- Reflecting on the attempt of a Sacramento physician to block the offering of a Christian prayer at President Bush's inauguration, Divinity School professor David C. Steinmetz says the Constitution mandates a state neutral, but not hostile, to religion. (free registration) Full story

HOW LONG IS TOO LONG FOR THE COURT'S JUSTICES? New York Times, Jan. 16 -- Law professors Paul D. Carrington of Duke and Roger C. Cramton of Cornell are circulating a proposal they call the Supreme Court Renewal Act to give Supreme Court justices lifetime appointments to the federal judiciary, but not specifically to the court. Full story

ANIMALS SEEMED TO SENSE TSUNAMI Sacramento Bee, Jan. 14 -- No solid evidence exists that animals have a "sixth sense" that alerts them to dangers such as a tsunami, said Margaret Clarke, a professor and researcher in animal behavior at Duke. Rather, some may have a heightened ability to hear, see and feel sensations that humans cannot. Full story

A NEW WAY TO BOOST SCORES ON COLLEGE-ADMISSIONS TESTS Wall Street Journal, Jan. 18 -- Students increasingly hedge their bets by taking both the SAT and the ACT. Christoph Guttentag, director of undergraduate admissions, explains why Duke accepts both entrance exams. (Link for subscribers; article e-mailed upon request to eduke@duke.edu.) Full story

REPLICATING REHNQUIST American Prospect Online Edition, Jan. 12 -- It's unclear "whether the Democrats will be willing to try and block Supreme Court nominees," says Duke law professor Erwin Chemerinsky. Full story

LIMIT WHETS APPETITE (Raleigh) News & Observer, Jan. 14 -- Girl Scout cookie time sets loose our pent-up desire. Gavan Fitzsimons, an associate professor of marketing at Duke, explains what drives it. Full story