NATO's Cynical Cam Scam On April 12, 1999, a NATO jet fired two rockets at a bridge over the Juzna Morava River south of Belgrade, hitting a civilian train and killing 14 civilian passengers. NATO Supreme Commander General Wesley Clark quickly called a press conference, telling the world that the speeding train appeared from out of nowhere and the accident, while regrettable, was unavoidable. To bolster his argument, Clark showed a chilling video taken from a camera mounted in the rocket's nose. On January 6, reporters at the Frankfurter Rudschau revealed that Clark's presentation was a fraud - the video (which was seen around the world) had been shown "at triple its real speed." A NATO spokesman in Mons, Belgium admitted to Agence France-Press that the images had been alterd by "a technical problem." A US Air Force spokesperson told the Frankfurter Rudschau, "We did not deem it useful to go public with this information after we noticed it."

The Wrong Lesson California-based Applied Materials and the national Do Something youth leadership organization came up with a plan to honor the memory of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. They invited kids across the US to participate in a "Kindness & Justice Challenge." The idea was to encourage youngsters to "stand up for what they believe in" and share stories of good deeds on Do Something's website [www.dosomething.org]. It could have been a good exercise in promoting compassion. Unfortunately, Do Something did something incredibly clueless: It promised that schools posting the most kind acts would "receive national recognition and are eligible to win prizes." Nothing like the promise of fame and fortune to bring out the spirit of selflessness.

No Foundation in Truth Berkeley-based KPFA, the country's oldest listener-supported "free-speech" radio station, spent its 50th anniversary with its staff locked out and armed guards beating the station's supporters in the streets. The secretive Pacifica Foundation triggered the confrontation when it booted a popular station manager without explanation and then fired several veteran staffers who tried to report the foundation's actions. In February, more than 40 freelance news reporters went on strike to protest Pacifica's relentless censorship. Pacifica Executive Director Lynn Chadwick (notorious for her unwillingness to respond to employees or the press) broke her silence with this unique take on the First Amendment: "The issue here is freedom of the press. And the press here is Pacifica. Pacifica, the organization, has the right to make its own editorial decisions."

Nowhereland On February 5, President Clinton once again ruled that the secret weapons base known as Area 51 was exempt from the rule of law. The no-longer-secret base near Las Vegas was decreed "off-limits to national, state [and] local environmental laws." Several former workers suffering from exposure to toxic wastes at Area 51 have sued the government for damages. The US Circuit Court of Appeals, citing national security concerns, has ruled that neither the workers nor their widows are entitled to know what they were exposed to at Area 51.

How the Fir Flies It was Adolph Hitler who observed how "Through clever and constant application of propaganda, people can be made to see paradise as hell, and also the other way around." The Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility newsletter, PEER Review, offers the following collection of forest industry phrases used to describe (very obscurely) the process of clearcutting: "Forest utilization," "tree density reduction," "horizontal landscaping," "re-establishing even-age stands," "landscape management," "enhancing landscape diversity," "shade intolerant tree regeneration," "gap-phased dynamics," "light forest retention," and "temporary meadow."

No Fries with That McDonald's advertises that its fries are cooked in "100 percent" vegetable oil, but that claim applies only at the point of purchase. McDonald's corporate representatives admit that their potatoes are pre-fried in factories before shipment to franchises. Furthermore, the pre-fry obtains its "natural flavor" by using ... beef tallow. Vegans are outraged. Lawsuits are in the works. [Joanna Fernandes, 1010 25th St., NW #510, Washington, DC 20037, (202) 625-6726.]

Army Burner Cooked the Books Employees at the US Army's Tooele Chemical Weapons Incinerator in Utah are turning whistleblower in record numbers. The General Manager, the Hazardous Waste Manager, the Chief Safety Manager and the Chief Permitting Manager have all accused site operators of "reckless incompetence and deliberate deception." In January Chief Permitting Manager Garry Harris told investigators that the incinerator's safety guarantees were "meaningless and worthless." In a sworn deposition, Harris claimed that the Army: knew the incinerator could not destroy mustard and nerve gas agents; covered up critical failures; falsified trial burns; manipulated data; withheld damaging information; improperly dumped residues off-site and failed to provide proper safety gear for workers. Harris claimed that he had been threatened with firing if he failed to falsify data. Chemical Weapons Working Group Director Craig Williams [PO Box 467, Berea, KY 40403, (606) 986-0868] declared that "Workers are being exposed, dangerous agents are being emitted, and government agencies are conspiring to cover up the mess. The Tooele plant should be shut down immediately."

Mole Nip To the Catalina Island Conservancy, which approved the slaughter of 75-100 wild goats on the famous island off southern California. More than 120 goats had been successfully relocated in November 1999 but the Conservancy ruled that relocating the remaining animals to the Goats R Us animal sanctuary in Orinda, California, would be too costly. An "anonymous donor" (rumored to be a dissident member of the Conservancy board) offered to pay the relocation costs. The offer was refused and the goats were shot.

What Riverfrontery Last year, the St. Louis, Missouri Riverfront Times ran an interview with Peter Raven, the director of the Missouri Botanical Garden (MBG), that asked about his support of genetically engineered crops. MBG officials subsequently accused the Times of mounting a "sleazy" attack on Raven "without having interviewed him." Riposted the Times: "Of the roughly 40 direct quotes from Raven, all but three came straight from his own lips." The rest were clearly sourced. The MBG may have been disturbed by the article's revelation that the facility's major sponsor is the biotech giant Monsanto. Raven was also asked about his feelings regarding his wife's employment: She works an executive at Monsanto. Raven insisted that there was no conflict of interest.

Mole Nip: To the National Ignition Facility (NIF) in Livermore, California. Promoted as a means to permit nuclear weaponeers to design "virtual" bombs without violating nuclear testing treaties, work on NIF is overbudget and behind schedule. US Representative Ellen Tausher (D-CA) dismisses NIF's glitches, insisting that "Technically, NIF is very sound." Au contraire, responds Tri-Valley CAREs, a local watchdog group. CAREs' analysts point out that NIF's designers still have no idea how to build the "BB-sized pellets that will hold the frozen radioactive fuel that NIF's laser beams are supposed to blast into thermonuclear ignition." Nor do the scientists know how they would load the fuel into the tiny targets. They have yet to create the critical diagnostic tools "needed… to understand what is actually going on." According to CAREs, "NIF is a bit like buying a car and finding out the engine and tires are extra." Energy Department Secretary Bill Richardson insists: "The project is sound. It's just badly managed." A Mole Kiss: To Tri-Valley CAREs, on general principles.