ON THE TRAIL OF TWISTERS

The report on twisters and their destructive and moviemaking qualities was superb [SCIENCE, May 20]. Many Americans don't understand why tornadoes occur. Cover stories and movies at this time of the year, when tornadoes are prevalent, will make more people realize the terrible power of such storms. GREG HOLESTIN Covington, Virginia Via E-mail

I actually got to look inside a twister on June 21, 1992, when I was fishing at Skagway Reservoir, east of Cripple Creek, Colorado. Around noon, I saw dark skies building to the west, and people smarter than I started leaving. Shortly after 2, a wild cloud formation appeared about half a mile to the west. Great white fingers developed from the left and right and flowed quickly toward a black, horizontally rolling cloud, which lifted to reveal a huge, whirling black vortex coming straight at me. I threw myself to the ground but couldn't help watching. The outside of the tornado was spinning so fast my eye couldn't follow it, but the inside was rotating almost lazily. I could see a thousand feet up inside it. Tiny fingers of lightning lined the hollow tube. The tornado grew until it covered three-quarters of the sky, then slammed into the gravel 30 yds. away, bounced across the lake and tore up some trees. Drenched and pelted by golf ball-size hailstones, I ran for my truck. By the time I reached it, there was only a gentle drizzle falling, and the birds were singing. DENNIS MCCOWN Austin, Texas

You discussed in great depth the technical aspects of a tornado, but you barely touched on the emotional impact that a twister can cause. I was an avid lightning and storm watcher before a building I was in was hit by a small tornado. Although I escaped without any physical injury, I doubt I'll ever again enjoy a lightning display without wondering if there is a tornado with my name on it lurking in the storm. I wonder if Sheriff Donnie Joe Yancey, who played tug-of-war with a tornado in Arkansas, feels the same way. DAN STEWART Ashburn, Virginia Via E-mail

Growing up in a small town in the Texas Panhandle, I often saw the symbol for tornado watch in the lower right-hand corner of our TV screen in the spring. When the warnings seemed especially serious, my family would spend a few nervous hours in the dirt crawl space beneath our living room. I felt somewhat immune because of a local myth that the tremendous pressure at the oil refineries in our town of Phillips would keep tornadoes away. However, in the 1980s, after I left the area, the town was leveled; not a house was left standing. But it was not a tornado that wiped out the town. As part of an aggressive expansion plan, the oil company uprooted all occupants and moved their houses to neighboring communities. Today when I go back "home," all I can find on the street where my girlhood house used to be is a wire fence with pipe stored behind it. SUSAN KILKUSKIE LUCREZI Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

You mentioned the tornado that hit Beatrice, Nebraska, but you failed to convey the full impact it had on our town. The bleachers in our stadium are ruined, softball fields are no more, houses are gone, trees are uprooted and the roof was blown off our middle school. It was a lot worse than you made it appear. AMANDA GOWEN, age 11 Beatrice, Nebraska

Film reviewer Richard Schickel seems to imply that the movie Twister is unrealistic because, in his words, "Old Bossy is the only living creature we see suffering from nature's wrath." But the movie is full of images of homes, farms and businesses completely destroyed by tornadoes. Coming from Oklahoma, I have seen firsthand the economic and personal suffering that results from twisters. The damage can be immense, and the movie shows this very realistically. Because tornadoes are common in this state, we are taught how to protect ourselves from harm. The portrayal of the consequences of a tornado is excellent in this film, and I recommend it as a scary but lifelike view of what those who live in "Tornado Alley" endure every spring. REBECCA PLAYFORD Ponca City, Oklahoma Via E-mail

My friends and I did not go to Twister to see "authentic human interest" or creatures suffering. We can watch the news for that. We went for fun and relaxation, and that's what we got. Why do good special effects without much story carry movies to "insane profitability"? Because people find them entertaining, and that's what movies are supposed to be. Besides, it made us feel a lot better about living in earthquake country rather than tornado country. KATHEE LAFFRANCHI Lancaster, California Via E-mail

Mention of the movie Twister appeared in your article, along with a review and sidebar, but I saw no indication that the movie is from Warner Bros., another unit of your parent company Time Warner. Clearly a TIME cover story on twisters running coincidentally with the release of the movie is a great publicity boost for your sister company. Though perhaps a small detail, the connection should have been disclosed. LLOYD P. TRUFELMAN New York City Via E-mail

THE PERILS OF PARENTING

I think the criminal-justice system has gone way too far in fining Susan and Anthony Provenzino for their 16-year-old son's criminal acts [LAW, May 20]. Do judges really think penalizing parents will help straighten out juvenile law-breakers? Or is this the result of the inability to come up with a saner solution? It seems quite contradictory to try teenagers as adults and then turn around and punish their parents as well. Yes, the way a parent rears a child does have an impact on the choices that child makes. But do parental mistakes necessarily make the parents criminals? SHARON BASS Easthampton, Massachusetts

At last someone's feet are being held to the fire for rearing an irresponsible child. This should be a political issue. BENJAMIN F. HAFER Hilo, Hawaii Via E-mail

QUESTIONS ABOUT QANA

Was the attack on the U.N. compound at Qana [WORLD, May 20] deliberate? The question is moot. Israel has killed and mutilated thousands of civilians in Lebanon. In the 1982 invasion, 10,000 artillery rounds were fired into the city of Beirut daily. Subsequent incursions with screaming jets, cluster bombs and other forms of military terror have driven hundreds of thousands of Lebanese from their homes. Civilian targets were destroyed without a qualm and with callous efficiency. These brutal attacks employed the latest U.S. technology, with a winking U.S. approval. In exchange for the powerful support of the Jewish lobby, American politicians promise it just about anything it wants for Israel. Our submissive Congress votes $5 billion to $6 billion a year for tiny Israel, which has a population about that of Chicago. Was the attack on Qana deliberate? The real question is, How long will U.S. taxpayers blindly continue to fund these deliberate atrocities? CARL C. LAMB Seattle Via E-mail

Blaming Israel for the Qana bombing ignores the traditional Arab tactic of hiding soldiers behind women and children. Throughout the '70s and '80s, U.N. refugee camps were used as training bases for the P.L.O. Israel continually emphasizes the necessity of avoiding needless killing. It uses tactics designed to lessen "collateral damage." But these facts are overlooked. The Arab public-relations machine has done its job of turning terrorists and murderers into media saints. CRAIG CANTER San Jose, California Via E-mail

The refusal of certain groups to admit defeat and go home to build a new life for their families guarantees continued hostilities in the Middle East. People have allowed themselves to be so consumed by hatred that they put the lives of their own civilian countrymen at risk. Instead of standing up to their perceived enemies in the open, they hide behind civilian apron strings. These men are not soldiers. They are cowards and terrorists. WILLIAM F. MADDOCK St. Louis, Missouri Via E-mail

LEADERSHIP IN THE BALKANS

In his article "Backsliding in Bosnia," Richard Holbrooke described the implementation of the military provisions of the Dayton accords as an "overwhelming success" [VIEWPOINT, May 20]. He expressed grave misgivings about implementation of the civilian aspects of the peace treaty, suggesting that removal of the two Bosnian Serb leaders, Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic, is essential. I could not agree more, but this requirement clearly highlights the links between the civilian and military components of Dayton. These two war criminals should have been arrested long ago.

After the Dayton accords were signed, the U.N. Security Council authorized the international force in Bosnia to arrest people indicted by the International War Crimes Tribunal. However, the force commander on the ground, Admiral Leighton Smith, has repeatedly insisted that arresting war criminals is not within his mandate. What needs to happen is for U.N forces to apprehend those indicted. Only a swift move by the President can prevent the Administration's greatest foreign policy triumph from becoming its greatest failure. JOANNA WESCHLER, U.N. Representative Human Rights Watch New York City

Holbrooke's piece is akin to Robert McNamara's and Henry Kissinger's self-serving pronouncements and Monday-morning quarterbacking as to their roles in Southeast Asia. The real, original tragedy labeled Bosnia is the bumbling dismemberment of formerly confederated Yugoslavia. A worldly wise Swiss friend of mine, who has lived in both the Balkans and the Middle East, made an interesting comparison: In Lebanon an imperfect but very livable and prosperous Swiss-type status quo prevailed for years, providing Christians, Muslims, Druzes and others breathing space and give-and-take ethnoreligious integrity. But recently that harmony has ceased to exist. Yugoslavia too had gone a long way toward evolving into the Switzerland of the Balkans, until Germany, the Vatican and a naive U.S. decided to unravel the Yugoslav federation in the name of chauvinist 'self-determination' rights. (The Rev.) GREGORY C. WINGENBACH Louisville, Kentucky

CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY

It is encouraging to see companies praised for treating their employees well [BUSINESS, May 20]. It is absolutely possible for firms to be both profitable and socially responsible. But you should have mentioned the importance of employee ownership in companies you cited, including Springfield ReManufacturing, Starbucks and Procter & Gamble. Although the Clinton Administration has not been active in supporting the concept, employee ownership continues to quietly transform the face of American business. Approximately 15 million employees now own stock in more than 14,000 companies, representing a diverse group in terms of size and industry.

Employee ownership offers a unique way to address the apparent contradiction between maximizing profits and treating employees well. It can help make companies more productive and efficient at the same time that it provides employees with a substantial benefit and a way to share in this productivity. EDWARD J. CARBERRY Director of Communications National Center for Employee Ownership Oakland, California

Your article may have left readers with the impression that our program Hannadowns, through which we donate used clothing to needy children, is no longer in existence. On the contrary, it is still an integral part of the way we do business. In the past four years we have donated 400,000 pieces of clothing to children. Customers send us the "Hannas" that their children have outgrown, and they get a 20% credit toward their next purchase. The children who receive our clothes are able to hold up their head a little higher. When a company is forced to reduce its work force, it does not automatically follow that it will also abandon social programs, even if they cost money. GUN DENHART Founder and Chairman of the Board Hanna Andersson Corp. Portland, Oregon