European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 21, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday november 21, 1991 the stars and stripes b Page 7electric shocks part of Shriner initiation suit says Lexington by. A Michael g. Vaughan says he went to the shrine Temple to learn the secrets of the universe. What he Learned he says is that the fraternal orders initiation rites involve electric shocks and the humiliation of having ones underwear filled with strawberries and whipped Cream. Now his lawsuit against the shrines has become cloaked in nearly As much secrecy As the rites themselves. A judge has ordered All participants in the lawsuit not to divulge details of the Case. The Case file has been sealed. Only those directly involved with the lawsuit know when and where to meet for the trial dec. 9. The lawsuit was filed last year by Vaughan a 44-year-old Brick Mason who claims he was knocked unconscious and suffered other injuries during initiation rites in 1989 at the Oreika shrine Temple in Lexington. He seeks an unspecified amount for medical Bills lost income and punitive damages. Before circuit judge George Barker issued a gag order last summer Vaughan said in interviews that he wanted to become a Shriner because the group promised spiritual and emotional fulfilment. The ancient arabic order of the Nobles of the Mystic shrine has about 725,000 members in the United states Canada and Mexico. The group is renowned for its philanthropy its charitable foundation runs 19 orthopaedic and three Burn hospitals where needy children Are treated free of charge. A i assumed that the shrine As the word would imply was like gods highest secret order where a great secret would be Learned once you got in a Vaughan said. In 1989, he and about three dozen other initiates stood before an audience of shrines and began a series of tests which included walking on an electrified mat sitting on an electrified Bench and getting a Jolt of electricity to their Bare buttocks the lawsuit says. At one Point the lawsuit says Vaughan s shorts were taped to his legs and he suspected a nearby sinful of strawberries whipped Cream and ice Cream was to be poured into them. This last humiliation was not carried out it says because a table fell Over and took him with it. The lawsuit says Vaughan hit his head on the floor and was knocked unconscious. His lawsuit claims that the activities were painful and harmful and that he needed medical treatment because of them. He accuses the supervising shrines of assault and  court documents the Temple denied several of the allegations but acknowledged that shocks Quot of less than one second Quot arc administered during  orders . To Stop returning refugees to Haiti by the Washington Post Washington a a Federal judge in Miami ordered the Bush administration tuesday to Stop returning haitian refugees to their Homeland leaving More than 1,000 refugees circling the Caribbean on coast guard ships. Administration officials from several agencies and the National Security Council scrambled tuesday night to find a Way to void a temporary restraining order by . District judge Donald l. Graham but Legal experts said there was Little Chance they would succeed. Such an order generally May remain in effect for As Long As 20 business Days. It cannot normally be appealed unless the government can show that certain rights will be a irretrievably lost a a Legal Standard that experts say is especially difficult to meet. Graham scheduled another hearing on the matter for monday. The administration earlier this week ordered that the haitians fleeing their Island in the weeks following a coup against president Jean Bertrand Aristide must be returned. Officials feared an uncontrollable flood of tens of thousands of haitians to South Florida. But Graham a Bush appointee who took the Bench last month and was sitting in for a judge normally assigned to the Case halted the return in an order tuesday afternoon. It came just 90 minutes after a coast guard Cutter returned 314 refugees to Haiti s capital port a Prince. Another 224 were transported there monday. About 53 who appeared Likely eligible for . Asylum have been escorted to the United states. About 450 haitians remained at the . Navy base at Guantanamo Cuba and 1,100 others were aboard coast guard ships according to a state department spokesman. Stunned administration officials saw one Way to resolve their problem in an announcement by the organization of american states that Aristide would meet with haitian legislators in Colombia on Friday. The Oas has imposed a Trade embargo against Haiti since the sept. 30 military coup there. A we Hope the negotiations Between president Aristide and haitian legislators. Will move to a rapid Resolution of this crisis and the restoration of constitutional government to Haiti Quot a state department spokesman said tuesday night. A the sooner the objectives of the Oas Resolution Are achieved the sooner the embargo can be addressed a and the refugee matter settled. Grahams action Canie in response to a lawsuit by the haitian refugee Center inc. That said the administration s procedures failed to adequately protect the refugees rights. Admiral reprimanded for jokes by the Washington Post Washington a a three Star Admiral whose official newsletter featured five reasons Why Quot Beer is better than women Quot has been admonished by the Navy for Quot inappropriate behaviour. Among Beer s Superior qualities according to the newsletter Are that a Beer never has a  vice adm. Jerry o. Tuttle 56, said he regularly has put jokes in his newsletter on space and electronic warfare to enhance the a readability Quot of a subject that is Quot dry As  observers described the episode As the latest in a series of embarrassing collisions Between old and new military cultures. Traditional terms of humor and conduct have run afoul of the Navy s attempt to bring its treatment of sexual harassment to current standards. The newsletter incident followed a Las vegas convention in september at which five women complained of sexual abuse by Drunken Navy aviators. This month the Navy fired rear adm. John Snyder from a top Job in naval aviation after he failed to act on a complaint by an aide who said she was among the victims. Tuttles newsletter a distributed to 249 fellow Flag officers a has become something of an institution Tor its authors entertaining style. A senior civilian Navy employee took a letter of complaint to adm. Frank a Kelso ii. The chief of naval operations after seeing the newsletter. Tuttle said he was summoned to the office of adm. Jerome l. Johnson Kelso s Deputy. �?o1 could Tell he was t Happy Quot Tuttle said. A a Young haitian who Hud a cyst removed by medics receives a Lollipop from a . Coast guardsman aboard the Cutter Confidence off Guantanamo Bay Cuba. Dod to Widen health study into biological arms work Washington a t he defense department has agreed to a wider study on whether its biological weapons research program endangers Public health according to a lawsuit settlement filed in Federal court. Quot now finally these people will know what s going on in their Hack Yards around the country Quot said attorney Andrew Kimbrill of the foundation of economic trends a private group that monitors genetic technology issues. The group filed suit against the Pentagon last car. The lawsuit was settled tuesday. I he study is intended to assess the risk of accidental or deliberate releases of deadly organisms from the research facilities the foundation said. I he Pentagon completed an Overall Miro mental assessment of its biological weapons research program in May 198h in response to a previous lawsuit by the foundation. In the settlement the defense department agreed to file draft environmental assessments for research at five facilities including the army medical research Institute of chemical defense at the Aberdeen proving ground Aberdeen my. The Pentagon also agreed to Complete an environmental Impact statement us ready under Way Oil the biological Aero sol test facility. Ill addition it agreed to pc hum Viivi Ron Mcintu assessments on i Meihei no other projects invoking dangerous biological materials. Officials Al the Del Csc department said tuesday that they could not immediately comment on the settlement