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Groom Lake Desert Rat 25
The Groom Lake Desert Rat Issue #25 is posted here with the permission of the
athor, Glenn Campbell.
Posted by, Michael Curta
***NOTE***
This file has been edited from 2 parts into one, but nothing has been removed.
***
THE GROOM LAKE DESERT RAT. An On-Line Newsletter.
Issue #25. April 15, 1995.
-----> "The Naked Truth from Open Sources." <-----
AREA 51/NELLIS RANGE/TTR/NTS/S-4?/WEIRD STUFF/DESERT LORE
Direct from the "UFO Capital," Rachel, Nevada.
Written, published, copyrighted and totally disavowed by
[email protected]. See bottom for subscription/copyright info.
In this issue...
FREEDOM RIDGE CLOSED
FUNDAMENTALS OF DEMOCRACY
AREA 51--THE MOVIE
TIKABOO HIKE MAY 13
INTEL BITTY KITTIES
[Note: This issue has been sent in two parts. The first ends with
a "CONTINUED" notice and the second ends with "###".]
----- FREEDOM RIDGE CLOSED -----
END OF AN ERA
The Freedom Ridge and White Sides viewpoints have finally been
closed by the Air Force, ending the opportunity for tourists to
view the "nonexistent" Groom facility from the comfort of their
four wheel drives. Now, anyone who wants to see the secret base
is going to have to work at it. Tikaboo Peak and other distant
mountain viewpoints remain open, but because a rigorous hike is
required they are likely to attract far fewer visitors.
Restricted area signs and orange marker posts appeared along the
new border on April 10, the same day that the public land order
authorizing the withdrawal was published in the Federal Register
(60 FR 18030). We had hoped to hold an "End of the World Party"
on Freedom Ridge before it was closed, but we didn't have
sufficient warning and, frankly, we were growing a bit weary of
"could be closed any day now" events. The saga of Freedom Ridge
had run its course, and its final closure was appropriately timed
to shift the story to a higher level.
White Sides Mountain appears on maps and was known to UFO watchers
since shortly after the Lazar story broke, but Freedom Ridge was
more subtle on the landscape and was discovered only shortly
before the withdrawal process began. Glenn Campbell stumbled
across the viewpoint on June 30, 1993, while hiking along the
border south of Groom Lake Road. He says he had little interest
in the base itself, only in the fact that this site made the view
accessible to everyone. "I looked at this ridge and saw families
and grandmothers coming here," says Campbell. "It was an easy
hike, and there was the potential for a road all the way to the
top. This made a great difference for publicizing the base."
As the first known visitor to the hill, Campbell chose its name.
"It was common knowledge at the time that a land seizure was
coming, and I knew that the name was important to help define the
battle. I tried putting a lot of different words together, and
Freedom Ridge is the one that stuck. We would fight to the death
to save it! The real victory for me was when I heard the Cammo
Dudes call it Freedom Ridge on the radio."
What was lost by the public? Objectively not much--only two
relatively small parcels of land that few people had ever heard of
until the military decided to take them. The hills were closely
monitored by the Cammo Dudes, and whenever a visitor was spotted,
word was radioed back to the base that "Watchdog is in effect,"
presumably suppressing secret operations. It was like the light
inside the refrigerator but the other way around: Whenever you
were on the hill, nothing secret seemed to be going on at the base
below.
The significance of Freedom Ridge was mostly political. The
withdrawal became a symbol of the old Cold War way of doing
things. The Air Force ignored the public, answered no questions
and hid behind the tired "National Security" label. Whichever
side you may be on, the withdrawal cannot be called a triumph of
Air Force public relations. The land application itself became a
"hook" that made Area 51 a legitimate news story, reinforcing the
claim of hazardous waste abuses which happened to hit the press at
about the same time. The suit by workers exposed to toxic fumes
was certainly a more important story, but it was difficult to
report in the popular media. Freedom Ridge, on the other hand,
was made for TV. Where once there were only a handful of UFO
buffs and the fringe publications that follow them, suddenly the
big time media was turning up in droves.
Noisy public hearings were held, and citizens flocked to the
viewpoints for a "last glimpse" of the forbidden. News crews were
detained and video tapes seized by a sinister security force and
its local stooges who could have all been provided by Central
Casting. The withdrawal process gave birth to a unified and
broadly-based public movement to expose the base that would
probably have never existed had the Air Force not attempted such a
poorly explained and devious appearing action. "For the public
safety and the safe and secure operation of activities" was the
vague explanation that will tag this action in the history books.
In this paranoid age when more people than ever suspect they will
be screwed by the government, the bumbling brass played into those
fears precisely. "This issue is the withdrawal of freedom, not
just Freedom Ridge, but freedom," intoned one conspiracy proponent
at the Las Vegas hearing [DR#4], and many previously disinterested
citizens came to feel that they were being cheated out of
something that was their natural right.
The withdrawal helped breath life into Psychospy, the Area 51
Research Center and the Groom Lake Desert Rat. It provided an
energy source upon which these entities could feed and grow, like
the parasitic alien creature in a bad sci-fi movie. In a minor
engagement like the Battle for Freedom Ridge, it is not the
outcome that is important but the process. The journey from
application to the final closure may have been unstoppable, but
some high-quality publicity and a legitimate policy debate was
generated in the interim--all of it fueled by the apparent
evasiveness of the Air Force. Had the applicant stated the real
purpose of the withdrawal--to keep eyes off Groom Lake--and maybe
given some journalists a tour of the base cafeteria, there would
have been not nearly so much hoopla. The American public is still
patriotic enough that it will usually support national defense
when offered at least a plausible explanation, but the absurd
nonexistence of the Groom base, mitigated only by vague AF press
releases about possible "facilities" in that vicinity, made the
taxpayer feel he was being ripped off and gave rise to endless
perceived conspiracies.
"It is all part of the plan," the conspiracy buffs insist. The
Air Force deliberately botched the Freedom Ridge withdrawal to
draw attention to Groom Lake when nothing secret was really going
on there. The flying saucers, Aurora aircraft and hideous medical
experiments have all been moved to other states while Campbell and
his government handlers create a diversion here in Nevada. The
flaw in this theory is that when one secret base gets a lot of
publicity, all the others receive some limelight, too. When one
facility becomes as romanticized as Area 51 has, military and UFO
enthusiasts in all fifty states start looking for secret bases of
their own, and they have less inclination to keep quiet about what
they find now that the national enemy is no longer clear.
The closure of Freedom Ridge may discourage casual tourists but it
won't defuse the hard-core fanatics who are rapidly hacking away
at the secrets of the "Test Site." On Freedom Ridge, the military
could at least keep track of where the watchers were. Now, the
amateur spies have been forced to spread out; they could be on any
of a dozen difficult-to-monitor peaks overlooking the Restricted
Zone. The Groom base itself may no longer be easy to see, but
there are probably other sites and activities in the Test Site
that the government does not want observed. Nothing that flies in
the air is secure anymore, and the blanket respect that most
people used to have for government secrets is fading fast.
..... WHAT WENT WRONG .....
In its handling of the Freedom Ridge withdrawal the Air Force has
failed Public Relations 101, and the costs in the long run could
be significant. In the post-Cold War world, defense has to
compete with other government services for limited funds, and
keeping in good terms with the public is becoming an essential
skill. As a natural result of its rigid, top-down culture, the
military is generally ill-prepared to handle this challenge. A
soldier's job is to follow orders. If you work for the public
relations "directorate" in a military organization, your function
is to read statements prepared by your superiors. The superiors,
in turn, take their orders from the generals, who are usually
better skilled at moving hardware around than attending to the
subtleties of image.
The military is not a democratic organization, so managing the
components of democracy like the media is not its strong point.
Career soldiers seem to be of two minds: They praise free speech,
liberty, individual rights and all those other buzzwords of
democracy, claiming that these principles are what they are
fighting to defend. Yet, they have also chosen, as individuals,
to live in a closed environment that is not free at all, and they
expect the rest of society to support this totalitarian structure
without question. The career soldier sees no need to respond to
questions about military expeditures or policy on the grounds that
it might give away our position to the enemy. He tends to see the
world in black and white: His organization is right and its
opponents are wrong, and there is no need for negotiation or
explanation in between.
Democracy is a mystery to most soldiers, and frankly it is also
confusing to us here in the Research Center. We, too, carry the
banner of truth, justice and the American Way, but we are using it
against the military in this case, trying to make it more
accountable. We argue that the military's secret operations would
be more efficient and ultimately more effective for defense if
stronger democratic controls were in place. We quote this gospel
so often that sometimes we forget what democracy really means in
practice. Democracy is free citizens voting in fair elections for
the candidate who has the best hairdo. Democracy is the O.J.
Simpson trial overruling all other news coverage. Democracy is
millions of absolute morons each having exactly the same vote as
the tiny minority with half a brain and the skills to make an
intelligent decision. The more you think about democracy, the
more frightening it seems and the more you wonder if the soldier
might be right.
As we ponder the loss of our Freedom Ridge--how the land was taken
essentially by fiat with only an illusion of democratic input--it
is useful to return to the underlying issue. What is democracy,
and what good is it?
----- FUNDAMENTALS OF DEMOCRACY -----
It is a curious form of social organization. Politicians make
speeches and promise the people anything they want. The people
then go to the polls and vote for the candidate with the best
media management. The winners, in turn, make critical decisions
for our society or, more often than not, make no real decisions at
all. Society continues to spiral down whatever road to Hell it is
already traveling.
We are fortunate, at least, that the majority doesn't get to vote
on every national and local decision. Most people make decisions
based on superficial emotional cues. Here in Nevada for example,
the word "nuclear" has already polarized the electorate in regards
to the Yucca Mountain waste storage project [DR#24]. Ask Nevadans
whether they want a HAZARDOUS NUCLEAR WASTE STORAGE FACILITY
within their state, and they would certainly vote against it.
Yet, the pile-up of nuclear waste, like the problems of drugs,
crime and the national deficit, will not go away on its own;
somewhere along the line an unpopular decision has to be made.
That is why we hire our leaders for extended terms, elect them on
a general platform then let them use their best judgment on
specific issues until the next election. The trouble is,
politicians worried about reelection still don't like to make
unpopular decisions. Although they are not as fickle as the
general public on minor issues, they are loathe to go out on a
limb on the most contested and memorable ones. To avoid offending
the voters, politicians tend to fill the air with rhetoric while
putting off as long as possible any controversial action that
might raise the ire of a vocal portion of their electorate. Thus,
elected leaders rarely make strong, preemptive management
decisions; they accomplish only feeble, reactive ones, usually too
little, too late to solve our most pressing social problems.
If you thought democratic processes control our society, you are
wrong. Our elected leaders don't direct the course of our history
any more than the figurehead does on the bow of a ship. If you
ask who really controls our society, the conspiracy buffs will
tell you it is the secret New World Order, Trilateral Commission
or Council on Foreign Relations. Behind all of our world leaders
is a sinister association of Rockefellers and Masons who have
ensnared the executives of every major corporation, newspaper and
TV network in their web of enforced alliances. If any significant
event takes place, like the JFK assassination, the AIDS epidemic
or Larry King coming to Rachel, it must have had the direct
approval of the secret "Committee."
The alternative explanation is even more frightening: Maybe there
is NO ONE controlling our society. Maybe shit just happens. The
real course of history could be pushed along by random winds that
no one on earth has a handle on. For example, technology is not a
democratic process. If someone invents a useful new device, like
the light bulb, telephone or World Wide Web, it can spread
throughout society almost overnight, and its effects upon our life
on earth, both good and bad, can be far more profound than any act
ever promulgated by Congress. At best, Congress will only react
to the new idea after its effects are already obvious, but by then
the process is usually unstoppable.
In a strict hierarchical organization, as under communism,
dictatorships or our own honorable military, a measure of real
control can be exercised. The leader says jump, and the whole
organization does it simultaneously. Democracy, in contrast,
offers little more than the illusion of control. It is a form of
chaos. Much lip service is paid to the wisdom of the people, but
as we learned in the last Lincoln County elections [DR#18], the
people are rarely wise and usually do not see anything beyond the
buzzwords of an issue. Their election of representatives every
couple of years is often cited as the cornerstone of the healthy
functioning of our society. In fact, who the citizens elect has
very little bearing one where our society goes. Politicians of
any party are only responding to events that have already
happened. Their hands are usually tied by the superficiality of
politics, so one elected leader is pretty much as effective as any
other.
What makes democracy work--better than most dictatorships at
least--is that it protects and encourages chaos. Democracy
renders its leaders mostly ineffective, freeing society to
actually be ruled by a marketplace of ideas. In any dictatorship,
at least among humans, the powers of control which were granted
initially to get the job done inevitably become used instead to
suppress the political opponents of the leadership. Smart
individuals with useful new inventions that might change the
structure of the organization are usually firmly discouraged. In
a real-life democracy, the leaders do not have that kind of power.
Our "free press" assures that no personal flaw will go unnoticed,
and the fickleness of the electorate guarantees a regular turnover
of leaders so that no single person or party gains too much
control. Chaos prevails, and the society follows by default its
own irrational myths and the compelling ideas of a few unelected
inventors.
It would be a pleasure to work in an organization where the
leaders are chosen based only on their proven ability and not for
politics, slavishness or who they are connected to. In real
organizations, especially large ones with low turnover like our
boys in blue, this ideal is rarely achieved. Promotions are
awarded to those who follow orders and don't rock the boat, who
would stand proudly with the ship as it is sinking. This is a
problem in any mature organization: Selection by superiors tends
to promote those employees who support the status quo. People
with true leadership ability, who would make preemptive and
potentially unpopular decisions instead of responding to crises
only after they occur, tend to clash with management early on and
are weeded out. The Peter Principal says that in any
organization, an employee tends to rise to the level of his
incompetence, and the organization grows stale as a result.
Democracy deals with this problem by regularly disrupting
organizations and enforcing chaos, which eventually gives
unelected power to those with ability and allows good ideas to
emerge.
Due to its lack of uncontrolled entrepreneurs, a highly
disciplined and hierarchical organization usually has difficulty
changing with the times. The military, the saying goes, is always
fighting the last war, not the next one. It responds to conflicts
only after they become intractable, and it can never escape from
its own straight-line methods. In the case of the Freedom Ridge
withdrawal, a path was plotted from "A" to "B" long before the
withdrawal was applied for. The special assault forces of the Air
Force Real Estate Directorate marched toward the goal through
thick and thin, past bullets and land mines, with unwavering
loyalty and disciplined precision for however long it took to
capture "B" and plant the flag. Trouble is, by the time the goal
was achieved, the war had changed. "B" was already irrelevant and
not worth the enormous cost of securing it.
----- AREA 51--THE MOVIE -----
From The Hollywood Reporter, April 12, 1995 (courtesy of
[email protected])...
<begin quote>
CARRADINE FILM SIZES UP "AREA"
by Kirk Honeycutt
A Japanese-financed, independent film will fictionally examine a
real-life mystery that now exists in the Nevada desert. "Area
51," written by Mike Gray -- Oscar nominated for co-writing a
similar muckraking feature, "The China Syndrome" -- and directed
by actor Robert Carradine, is slated to start production in June
in Rachel, Nev.
The science-fiction thriller will focus on a government facility
in Nevada known to UFO groupies as Area 51 or Groom Lake. Until
recently, the Air Force denied the very existence of the site.
Thanks to considerable media attention, hundreds of people in
recent weeks have converged on the perimeter of the site, located
90 miles northwest of Las Vegas on Nellis Air Force Base. There,
they are convinced, the Air Force is reproducing a captured flying
saucer.
Last weekend, CNN aired a story on the mysterious Area 51.
International Mondo Entertainment, a subsidiary of Mondo Corp., a
major real estate and development company headquartered in Tokyo,
will finance and Naofumi Okamoto, president of Apricot
Entertainment, will produce the film.
Okamoto said the film's budget will be somewhere between $5
million and $8 million "depending on the special effects."
The story concerns a female TV news producer trying to get to the
bottom of the mysterious site.
Carradine, who makes his feature directing debut with this film,
describes "Area 51" as a "detective story with a documentary sense
of reality."
Okamoto said he and Carradine mutually came up with the idea for
the film after seeing a half-hour documentary on Fox and reading
stories about the site in several publications, including the New
York Times and Popular Science.
Newsweek then reported in its Feb. 20 issue that five former and
current government employees and the widow of a sixth have filed a
lawsuit charging they were exposed to burning toxic wastes at the
secret Air Force facility.
The widow, Helen Frost, has charged that poisonous fumes from
plastics and chemicals thrown into open pits and doused with jet
fuel contributed to her husband's death in 1989.
However, the workers' attorney has been stymied by the
government's refusal to reveal the name of so-called "operating
location" on the base. Without an officially recognized name, the
suit cannot proceed.
What is known about the site is that it has been used as a testing
ground for the U-2 spy plane and the F-117A Stealth.
Okamoto, who has headed Apricot Entertainment since its inception
in 1989, said the company previously produced a film called
"Illusion," which starred Emma Samms, Heather Locklear and
Carradine.
The investment by International Mondo marks the company's first
foray in the movie business, Okamoto said. International Mondo's
Fuminori Hayashid will serve as the film's executive producer.
<end quote>
Writing a female TV producer into the script solves the most
awkward problem of any Area 51 movie: How to insert the requisite
babe-ola into a male-dominated environment. Writer Mike Gray took
a hint from the Desert Rat [#10] in that the babe is the smart
producer, while the on-air reporter is your typical blow dried
meat puppet.
We also understand that a Campbell-like character may appear in
the film, giving advice to the male lead (Carradine) on how he
might penetrate the secret base to rescue the heroine. This
quirky desert character, the actor for whom has not yet been
selected, lives in a mobile home in a nowhere town not unlike
Rachel. No word yet as to whether he is feuding with the
propriators of the local bar.
----- TIKABOO HIKE MAY 13 -----
The third of our free monthly hikes will be to Tikaboo Peak, which
still offers a legal but very distant view of the Groom Lake base.
The tentative meeting time is 9:00 am on Saturday, May 13, 1995,
at Milepoint LN 32.2 on US-93, about 86 miles north of Las Vegas.
Those who wish to attend should confirm the meeting time a couple
days ahead by calling the Research Center (702-729-2648) or
consulting alt.conspiracy.area51.
After meeting at the highway, we will drive inland on a good dirt
road (suitable for any vehicle if you don't mind a lot of bumps)
about 25 miles to Badger Spring. From there we will make the
rigorous 1-1/2 hour hike to the summit. You need to be in good
shape to attempt this hike. Those who get regular exercise should
have no difficulty, but the hike is not recommended for couch
potatoes, smokers or those carrying excess poundage. The
elevation will be about 7000 feet climbing to 8000. The terrain
is pleasantly forested, and the summit offers an impressive 360-
degree view of southern Nevada.
If bad weather comes, it will probably take the form of fierce
winds, which would limit our stay at the top. Otherwise, we will
lounge around and pray to our chosen deities at the summit, where
there is a small religious shrine dedicated to "Our Lady of the
Black Budget." If you choose, you may bring a votive candle, some
incense and any religious figurines you are willing to part with.
(Attention all Catholics!)
Hikers need to be prepared for extremes in temperature: Bring
both shorts in case it is hot and long pants, a warm jacket and
hat in case it is windy. Sturdy hiking shoes are important, and
you need to bring at least 2 quarts of liquid for the hike. You
also need to bring enough food for however long you wish to stay.
Telescopes are essential for viewing the base, but there should be
enough of them among the group that not everyone needs to bring
one.
To reach the meeting point from Las Vegas, go north on I-15 (Salt
Lake City direction) for about 20 miles to the US-93 exit, then go
north on US-93 for 66.8 miles to milepoint LN 32.2. (Mileposts are
marked every mile by small while signs on the side of the road.)
The meeting point is an unmarked dirt road between the Lower and
Upper Pahranagat Lakes in the Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge.
This location is about 0.3 mile past the well-marked entrance to
the refuge headquarters. If you arrive later, we will leave
instructions at the meeting point for how to find us, but there is
no guarantee you will catch up.
The lady-killer Agent X has announced his tentative plans to
attend this hike, as have [email protected], Campbell and another
member of the original "Interceptors" featured in the March 1994
Popular Science. Although the Cammo Dudes are invited to attend
like everyone else in the world, none are expected since this is
far outside their usual territory. The hike will be entirely on
public land many miles from the military border.
CAMPING: Although this is intended as a day trip that can easily
be done from Las Vegas, some people may wish to camp here on
Friday or Saturday night. You need to be prepared for nighttime
temperatures in the 40s. There is a free and scenic campground
(no services) along the shore of Upper Pahranagat Lake (a lake
with water!) about a half mile north of the meeting point on US-
93. The Tikaboo trailhead near Badger Spring also makes a good
camping spot, but unless you have the Area 51 Viewer's Guide, you
may want to save this location for Saturday night when you know
where it is. This is probably where we will build a campfire on
Saturday night and tell scary stories. Oscar Mayer wieners, as
well as buns and--but of course--Grey Poupon, will be provided
free of charge, although supplies may be limited [DR#21]. On
Sunday we may mount another expedition or work project, to be
decided on Saturday.
OTHER ACCOMMODATIONS. The meeting point is 55 miles from Rachel,
so a visit there may be difficult. There are two motels in Alamo
(both at 702-725-3371) about 5 miles north of the meeting point.
Free swimming is available at the BLM (unfenced) portion of Ash
Springs (bath-water temperature, about 13 miles north of the
meeting point across from R-Place gas station). If you are coming
from Southern California, the casino hotels at Stateline are a
reasonable place to stay. Rooms on Friday and Saturday nights are
about $32 (including two free tickets on the world's highest
roller coaster), but reservations are important (800-367-7383).
As usual, you are responsible for your own safety on this hike,
and the organizers accept no liability for any loss or injury.
----- INTEL BITTY KITTIES -----
THREE AREA 51 KITTENS were born underneath the Research Center
around April 1. The father was one of those love-'em-and-leave-
'em types who remains unidentified at present. One kitten
resembles her mother, but the other two are a smoky gray, which is
very strange since there are no gray tomcats in Rachel. (Are you
thinking what we are?) We have named one of our grays "Jarod 3."
===== SUBSCRIPTION AND COPYRIGHT INFO =====
© Glenn Campbell, 1995.
This newsletter is a copyrighted and may not be reproduced without
permission. PERMISSION IS HEREBY GRANTED FOR THE FOLLOWING: For
one year following the date of publication, you may photocopy this
text or send or post this document electronically to anyone who
you think may be interested, provided you do it without charge.
You may only copy or send this document in unaltered form and in
its entirety, not as partial excerpts (except brief quotes for
review purposes). Except when authorized in writing, any
reproduction for sale or profit, alone or in a larger compilation,
is strictly forbidden. After one year, no free reproduction of
this document is allowed without permission; however, these terms
may be amended (or the time extended) by notice published in later
issues of the Desert Rat [most recently in DR#21].
Email subscriptions to this newsletter are available free of
charge. To subscribe (or unsubscribe), send a message to
[email protected]. (Available in the standard full length
version or table of contents only.) Subscriptions are also
available by regular mail for $15 per 10 issues, postpaid to
anywhere in the world. (Make checks payable to "Area 51 Research
Center.")
Back issues are available by internet World Wide Web:
http://seamonkey.ed.asu.edu/~webster/psychospy/home.html Also
available by internet FTP to ftp.shell.portal.com, directory
/pub/trader/secrecy/psychospy.
We apologize for typographical errors. Some typos are likely in
the first mailing of each issue. These will be corrected when
found, and the corrected version will be available at the WWW and
FTP sites.
Email correspondence regarding the content of this newsletter
should be sent to [email protected]. For breaking news, watch the
internet newsgroup: alt.conspiracy.area51.
A catalog that includes the "Area 51 Viewer's Guide", the Groom
Lake patch, hat and vehicle pass and publications relating to
government secrecy and UFOs is available upon request by email or
regular mail.
The mail address for Psychospy, Glenn Campbell, Area 51 Research
Center, Groom Lake Desert Rat and countless other ephemeral
entities is:
HCR Box 38
Rachel, NV 89001 USA
###
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