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          PROJECT CENSORED Top 25 Censored Stories

          (From the *Project Censored* 1994 Yearbook)



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NUMBER 25 -- EPA Fiddles While Illegal Incinerator Pollutes 

Ohio==> In spite of campaign promises by Bill Clinton and Al 

"Ozone Man" Gore to block operation of the Liverpool, Ohio, 

hazardous waste incinerator, it continues illegally burning 

hazardous wastes to this day. Waste Technologies Industries (WTI) 

operates the incinerator. Could the $100,000 campaign 

contribution by WTI founder Jackson Stephens to the Bill Clinton 

presidential campaign have anything to do with why Clinton/Gore 

did *not* keep their campaign promise? {*The Nation*, 9/27/93}



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NUMBER 24 -- Setting the Fox to Guard the Chickens==> California 

has adopted a new environmental policy where it has turned over 

the responsibility for protecting endangered species to private 

corporations and developer-friendly local governments. {*This 

World, San Francisco Chronicle*, 9/19/93}



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NUMBER 23 -- The Biggest Drug Bust of All==> DARE (Drug Abuse 

Resistance Education) is the nation's leading drug education 

program. Yet, it doesn't work. Since 1987, studies conducted at 

more than 100 schools in the U.S. and Canada have produced the 

same results: "[There were] no statistically significant 

differences between experimental groups and control groups in the 

percentage of new users of... cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, 

alcohol, marijuana." {*USA Today*, 10/11/93, *Prevention File*, 

Fall 1993}



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NUMBER 22 -- Stinger Missiles Sting Taxpayers Twice==> Now that 

the Cold War is over, the CIA is desperately trying to buy back 

hundreds of the surface-to-air Stinger missiles that it secretly 

gave Afghan guerrillas only a few years ago. {*Chicago Tribune*, 

12/6/92, *Santa Rosa Press Democrat News Services*, 7/24/93}



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NUMBER 21 -- EPA Ignores Its Own Toxic Experience==> Despite 

tests performed by private laboratories and *by the EPA itself*, 

which indicate a link between chemicals found in new carpeting 

and health problems, the EPA still sends out brochures that say 

carpeting poses no risks to the health of consumers. But the EPA 

notes that more research is needed. {*In These Times*, 7/26/93, 

*Public Citizen Health Research Group Health Letter*, March 1993}



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NUMBER 20 -- Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith -- An 

Oxymoron?==> The Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith (ADL), 

established eight decades ago to combat anti-Semitism, has itself 

been charged with civil rights violations, involving domestic 

spying on a massive scale. The ADL collected secret files on some 

1,000 political organizations and 12,000 individuals. Groups 

allegedly targeted include Greenpeace, the KKK, the ACLU, the 

American Indian Movement, the Aryan Nation, the NAACP, the United 

Auto Workers, the American Nazi Party, ACT-UP, the National 

Lawyers Guild, and Project Censored. {*Lies Of Our Times*, 

July/August 1993, (Other sources listed in 1994 Project Censored 

Yearbook)}



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NUMBER 19 -- Big Business Corrupts the Judicial System by "Buying 

a Clean Record"==> In a sophisticated legal scam, corporations 

are now using a *vacatur* process to undermine justice. Basically 

the *vacatur* process allows a corporation found guilty in a 

lower court action to make a settlement with the plaintiff so 

that the case will not be appealed to a higher court. Both 

plaintiff and defendant request that the presiding appeals judge 

"vacate" the decision and strike the previous finding from the 

record, ultimately eliminating the precedential value of the 

ruling. {*Multinational Monitor*, July/August 1993}



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NUMBER 18 -- The Silent Slaughter in Bangladesh==> One of the 

most horrifying acts of mass murder in recent years continues to 

go unreported in the U.S. and international press. On April 10, 

1992, an estimated 1,200 tribal men, women, and children were 

massacred in Logang village, Bangladesh, by a group of Bengalis, 

Bangladeshi soldiers, and paramilitary troops. Almost all of the 

victims were herded and locked into their homes and the houses 

were set ablaze. {*The Guardian*, 5/8/92, *Survival 

International*, 4/5/93}



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NUMBER 17 -- Clinton's Option 9 Plan==> The Clinton plan for the 

ancient forests of the Pacific Northwest, known as Option 9, sets 

up "riparian corridors" -- areas in old-growth forest reserves 

not necessarily off-limits to logging. A forest reserve is 

generally defined as an area where no logging is permitted. 

However, under Option 9, the system of reserves are considered to 

be neither inviolate nor permanent. Every reserve would be open 

to thinning operations and timber salvage sales. {*Lies Of Our 

Times*, November 1993, *The Nation*, 8/23/93}



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NUMBER 16 -- Tropical Rainforests -- More Endangered Than Ever 

Before?==> Today, "Save The Rainforest" T-shirts, posters, 

calendars, etc. are everywhere. Yet, in the face of the media 

blitz, in late September, 1993, an Associated Press wire story 

reported that satellite photos show the number of fires burning 

in Brazil's vast Amazon rain forests has increased by nearly 50 

percent over the last year. As industrialized nations become more 

concerned with protecting their own environment, oil companies 

and other corporations are moving into deserts and rainforests in 

the Third World. Here are some of the major culprits: Georgia- 

Pacific, Alcoa, Amoco, Arco, Chevron, Exxon, Maxus Energy, Mobil, 

Occidental Petroleum, Texaco; also the International Monetary 

Fund and the World Bank play key roles in rainforest destruction.

{*Z Magazine*, May 1993, *Green Magazine*, December 1992}



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NUMBER 15 -- Thousands of Cubans Losing Their Sight Because of 

Malnutrition==> A rare malnutritional ailment, called optic 

neuropathy (which can lead to blindness), has affected at least 

45,000 Cubans to date. Cubans are losing their eyesight because 

of an almost total lack of meat, milk, cheese, and vegetables in 

their diet. A number of them are also suffering from beriberi, an 

illness related to Vitamin B1 deficiency that attacks muscles and 

nerves and can lead to paralysis. One of the prime causes of 

malnutrition in Cuba is the U.S. economic blockade of that 

island. {*Philadelphia Inquirer*, 4/16/93, *The Cuba Advocate*, 

May 1993}



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NUMBER 14 -- Public Relations, Legalized Manipulation and 

Deceit==> Journalists have been replaced by the public relations 

flacks of Madison Avenue. Altogether, in 1991, the top 50 U.S.- 

based "Public Relations" firms charged more than $1.7 billion for 

manipulating public opinion. As Johan Carlisle noted in 

*CovertAction*, "One of the most important ways public relations 

firms influence what we think is through the massive distribution 

of press releases to newspapers and TV newsrooms." A study by 

Scott M. Culip, ex-dean of the School of Journalism at the 

University of Georgia, revealed that 40 percent of the news 

content in a typical U.S. newspaper originated with "public 

relations" press releases, story memos, or suggestions. 

{*CovertAction*, Spring 1993}



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NUMBER 13 -- Public Input and Congressional Oversight Locked Out 

of NAFTA==> The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was 

created during highly secretive trade negotiations. Researcher 

and author Jeremy Weintraub reports, "From the beginning, 

negotiations were conducted clandestinely, documents classified, 

and statements veiled, all because, according to Administration 

officials, NAFTA was far too complex, too dense for the average 

member of Congress." It makes sense to ask, if NAFTA is so 

complex, then how can "the average member of Congress," let alone 

his or her constituents, make an intelligent decision on the 

agreement. Although citizens were barred from the negotiation 

process, one industry expert after another was called in to 

participate. {*The Progressive*, January 1993, *Rolling Stone*, 

10/28/93, *The Texas Observer*, 6/18/93}



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NUMBER 12 -- The Grand Jury That Wouldn't Take It Anymore==> A 

special grand jury impaneled in Denver in August 1989 found that 

Rockwell International, owner of the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons 

plant in Colorado had failed to "obey the law. Indeed the plant 

has been, and continues to be, operated by government and 

corporate employees who have placed themselves above the law and 

who have hidden their illegal conduct behind the cloak of 

'national security'." A plea bargain was arranged which called 

for Rockwell International to pay a fine of $18.5 million. That 

might have been the end of it, except this particular grand jury 

refused to participate in a cover-up and contacted a Denver-based 

alternative weekly newspaper (*Westword*) with their story. On 

November 20, 1992, the grand jurors went public charging that the 

Justice Department prevented them from fulfilling their oaths to 

pursue wrongdoing regardless of the consequences. {*Denver 

Westword*, 9/30/92, *Harper's Magazine*, 12/92, & other sources 

listed in the Project Censored 1994 Yearbook}



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NUMBER 11 -- Maquiladoras In Silicon Valley==> Silicon Valley is 



home to some of the nation's dirtiest, most dangerous jobs. A 

large part of the problem is that these jobs are handled by 

subcontractors. The big *Fortune 500* dynamos of Silicon Valley, 

whose employees enjoy flextime, elder and child care, 

sabbaticals, paternal leave, profit-sharing, employee swimming 

pools, and fitness centers, benefit enormously from the use of 

subcontractors and their sweatshops. {*The Nation*, 4/19/93}



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NUMBER 10 -- Haiti: Drugs, Thugs, the CIA, and the Deterrence of 

Democracy==> Few Americans are aware of our secret involvement in 

Haitian politics. Both before and after the bloody 1991 military 

coup which ousted duly-elected President Aristide, high ranking 

military officials in Haiti have been on the CIA's payroll. 

Indeed, some of these military officers were involved in the coup 

itself. According to a confidential Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) 

report, Haiti is "a major transshipment point for cocaine 

traffickers" who are funneling drugs into the United States. The 

DEA report also revealed that the drug trafficking is taking 

place with "the knowledge and active involvement of high military 

officials and business elites." {*New York Times*, 11/1/93, other 

sources listed in *The 1994 Project Censored Yearbook*}



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NUMBER 9 -- There's a Lot of Money to be Made in Poverty==> 

Investment in "Fringe Banks" (a.k.a. pawn shops and check cashing 

outlets) are one of the latest ways in which some large U.S. 

corporations are profiting from the cycle of poverty. The Fall 

1993 *Southern Exposure* magazine documents how huge national and 

international corporations own and finance a growing "poverty 

industry" that targets low-income, blue-collar, and minority 

consumers for fraud, exploitation, and price gouging. Other 

corporate investments (besides "fringe banks") include second- 

mortgage companies, used-car dealers, finance companies, rent-to- 

own stores, trade schools, and debt collection agencies. 

{*Southern Exposure*, Fall 1993}



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NUMBER 8 -- America's Deadly Doctors==> The trust Americans put 

into their doctors may be sorely misplaced. According to 

estimates, 5 to 10 percent of doctors could be hazardous to your 

health. Experts cite two major reasons why some doctors are 

dangerous: They've become physically or mentally impaired (e.g. 

alcohol abuse, drug abuse, mental illness), or they were poorly 

trained or incompetent to start with. {*Woman's Day*, 10/12/93}



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NUMBER 7 -- The Ecological Disaster That Challenges the Exxon 

Valdez==> The ecological disasters caused by the oil spills from 

the Exxon Valdez in 1989, and the Braer, off Scotland's Shetland 

Island in 1993, pale when compared with the chronic environmental 

nightmare being wrought by selenium-contaminated drainwater 

flowing from irrigated lands in California and 13 other Western 

states. Man-made "lakes" and ponds saturated with selenium from 

agricultural run-off are threatening our drinking water and 

wildlife. {*Sports Illustrated*, 3/22/93}



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NUMBER 6 -- U.S. Army Quietly Resumes Biowarfare Testing After 

Ten-year Hiatus==> The U.S. Army has brought biological warfare 

testing back to a site (Dugway, Utah) it declared unsafe a decade 

earlier. One tiny air leak could result in a catastrophic release 

of deadly diseases. Since re-opening, the Dugway Proving Ground 

has been cited for 22 violations of state hazardous-waste 

regulations, ranging from inadequate record-keeping to improper 

dumping of poisonous chemicals. In September 1993 the biowarfare 

oversight committee that advises the governor of Utah on 

biological defense testing matters at Dugway voted to make itself 

off-limits to the public. {*The Salt Lake Tribune*, 1/27/93; 

7/28/93, other sources listed in *The 1994 Project Censored 

Yearbook*}



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NUMBER 5 -- The Hidden Tragedy of Chernobyl Has Worldwide 

Implications==> The Chernobyl accident was *not* the result of 

operator error but was caused by major flaws of design present in 

15 other Soviet reactors that are still in operation. Author 

(*Chernobyl: Insight from the Inside*) and nuclear physicist 

Vladimir Chernousenko insists that not 31 volunteers but between 

*7,000 and 10,000 volunteers* died from exposure to radiation in 

their efforts to contain the emissions. Chernousenko further 

charges that the accident released the lethal contents of 80 

percent of the reactor core rather than the 3 percent figure 

announced to the world. The radiation released was roughly 

equivalent to the explosion of 1,000 Hiroshima bombs. {*The 

Nation*, 3/15/93}



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NUMBER 4 -- The Real Welfare Cheats: America's Corporations==> 

Five major areas of government giveaways to corporations include: 

(1) Research & Development (R&D) money flows from the government 

to universities and private firms. If R&D gets results, these 

same universities and private corporations are allowed to keep 

the patents and the profits on products developed. For example, 

AZT was developed with public funds, yet Burroughs Wellcome Corp. 

now owns the patent (*given* to it by the FDA) and has earned 

over $300 million in sales over the last 2 years from AZT; (2) 

Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code allows solvent corporations to 

jettison "debts" (e.g. toxic site clean-up costs, retirement 

benefits owed to employees, etc.), and then go on with business 

as usual; (3) Companies are allowed to mine federal lands for 

valuable metals and minerals without paying a cent in royalties; 

(4) U.S. government continues to subsidize the nuclear power 

industry; (5) Undervalued timber sales (annual loss to U.S. 

taxpayers, $1 to $2 billion) from over 192 million acres of 

forest lands that are managed by the U.S. Forest Service and 

Department of Agriculture. The largest recipient of these 

subsidies is Louisiana-Pacific. {*Multinational Monitor*, Jan/Feb 

1993}



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NUMBER 3 -- The Sandia Report On Education: A Perfect Lesson In 

Censorship==> One of the most thorough investigations into public 

education did not produce the expected results and instead, ended 

up being censored. In 1991, Sandia National Laboratories released 

its first findings on the state of public education. The results 

did *not* reveal a seriously deficient educational system in dire 

need of profound changes. The report was suppressed. {*Phi Delta 

Kappan*, May 1993, other sources listed in *The 1994 Project 

Censored Yearbook*}



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NUMBER 2 -- Why Are We Really In Somalia?==> Was the recent 

preponderance of tragic images of starving Somalis all over the 

major media outlets merely a refined and cynical method of 

selling another (post-Kuwait) war for oil? If the U.S. has not 

consistently acted in an altruistic manner toward starving people 

in Africa, why did it make a special case with Somalia? {*Los 

Angeles Times*, "The Oil Factor In Somalia," 1/18/93}



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NUMBER 1 -- The U.S. Is Killing Its Young==> The United States 

has become one of the most dangerous places in the world for 

young people -- and it is getting worse. (1) Nine out of ten 

young people murdered in industrialized countries are slain in 

the United States; (2) The U.S. homicide rate for young people 

ages 15 to 24 is five times greater than that of Canada, its 

nearest competitor; (3) The U.S. poverty rate for children is 

more than double that of any other major industrialized nation; 

(4) Over the past 20 years, while other industrialized nations 

were bringing children out of poverty, only the United States and 

Britain slipped backward. {*Dallas Morning News*, 9/25/93, *USA 

Today*, 6/16/93}



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