February 18

 
Joseph McCarthy has been accused of 'witch hunts'
1954: McCarthy hunts 'army Communists'
England have

The Secretary of the US army has ordered two generals,subpoenaedby anti-Communist senator Joseph McCarthy, to ignore the summons.

The move by Robert T Stevens came on the first day of the hearings into communist activity in the US army.

Mr Stevens said he would speak on behalf of the army provided the session was in public.

His announcement came after a former army major summonsed by Senator McCarthy - head of the Senate's Permanent Investigations³ sub-committee - refused to answer questions.

Irving Peress, now a dentist, took advantage of the Fifth Amendment⁴ in the US' Constitution - the right to avoid self-incrimination - to justify⁵ his silence.

Mr Peress cited his honourable⁶ discharge from the army as proof of his "honest and loyal service" to his country.

Senator McCarthy has accused Mr Peress of communist activities at an army camp and has demanded that army authorities revoke⁷ his honourable discharge and court martial⁸ him.

The Wisconsin senator has also called for a list of all officers and civilians⁹ who had anything to do with Mr Peress' promotion¹⁰ and honourable discharge.

"Either the army will give the names of men coddling Communists or we will take it before the Senate," he said.

However, Mr Steven's stand makes it unlikely a list will be forthcoming.

It is a rare challenge to the controversial senator who was virtually unknown before he took up the cause of rooting out Communists four years ago.

In a speech in West Virginia in February 1950 Mr McCarthy claimed to have the names of 205 "card-carrying Communists" in the State Department.

However, he later scaled down the list to 57 and was willing to name only four of them.

His critics say he has never produced real evidence to back up his claims and accuse him of "witch hunts" which have often destroyed the careers of those accused.

But in March 1951 Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted for passing atomic secrets to the Russians and this helped fuel popular support for his campaign.

Joseph McCarthy's committee works parallel to the House of Representatives' Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC).

In 1947 the HUAC's high-profile investigation² of the entertainment industry led to prison sentences for 10 Hollywood writers and directors who refused to answer questions and "blacklisting" for hundreds more.
 
 
 
 
 
Lulu has had several hit singles
1969: Lulu ties knot with Bee Gee
 
Artificially 1969:
The Hundreds of people have clamoured to see the marriage of popstars Lulu and Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees¹¹ in a Buckinghamshire church.
Lulu, 20, had hoped to keep her wedding plans secret but around 1,000 people - mostly women and girls - filled the grounds of St James' Church in Gerrards Cross.

Several children were hurt as the crowd - that had waited for an hour - surged forward when Lulu arrived in her green Rolls Royce, 20 minutes late.

Wearing a long, white, mink-trimmed coat with fur hood¹² and a white, silk mini-dress, Lulu - born Marie McDonald McLaughlin - begged onlookers¹³ to let her through, saying, "Please let me in, please let me in."

As police formed a cordon¹⁴ to allow the bride to reach the church, Maurice Gibb - also wearing white - waited inside with his best man, twin brother Robin¹⁵, who was married only three months ago.

The third Gibb brother, Barry, arrived 10 minutes later, after earlier objecting to the wedding saying the couple was too young.

The Bee Gees and the bride were the only celebrities¹⁶ at the small, family wedding.

After a half-hour service - presided over by Reverend Gordon Harrison - the newlyweds were trapped in the church for another 10 minutes until a path had been cleared to their waiting car.

They spent a few minutes at the 19-year-old groom's parents' house in Gerrards Cross before travelling to London for their reception.

After a one-day honeymoon¹⁷ Lulu plans to return to work on her BBC television series.

She says she wants to cut down on her work-load to concentrate on her family and wants lots of children.

The daughter of a Glaswegian butcher, Lulu has already enjoyed a successful singing career for five years - beginning with number one single, Shout.

She will represent the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest in March.
 
 
 
 
Vocabulary:
 
subpoena¹: serve or summon with a subpoena（传呼；索取）