By SOPHFRONIA SCOTT GREGORY

The Latest Triumph of Russian Science

The threat of speeding tickets has spurred the swift development of RADAR-EVASION technology--and not just in car-crazed countries like the U.S. and Japan. The military-communications journal Signal reports that at a military laboratory northeast of Moscow, scientists are conducting a new kind of applied research: painting their automobiles with the stealth coatings designed to protect Russia's high-performance aircraft from detection by radar. Invisible to radar guns, the lab docs expect to zip along the roads ticket-free.

On the Naughty List

While Casper Weinberger and five other suspects in the Iran-contra affair got pardons for Christmas, the Santa in the White House was not so generous to everyone. CLARK CLIFFORD, 85, the onetime Defense Secretary indicted for helping the Bank of Credit & Commerce International secretly buy two U.S. banks, received coal in his stocking. He was up for consideration, but counsel C. Boyden Gray recommended against a pardon, and Bush agreed. Reason: Clifford's indictment suggests he reaped a bundle from his B.C.C.I. connection.

Exclusive, Members Only, Sort Of...

It doesn't always pay to plan ahead. Back in August the Clinton for President Committee rewarded faithful donors with "CLINTON TEAM" lapel pins, individually numbered. The pin and number would supposedly serve as a security pass to a "members only" Inaugural victory celebration. About 115,000 folks donated $13 million, and many of them got psyched up for the big party. But the promise was forgotten. After complaints started coming in, invites were finally sent out to the special event: the opening ceremonies at the Lincoln Memorial. It's so exclusive that it's only open to the public.

Here's One That's Going Well, Bill

George Bush will bequeath Bill Clinton messes in Bosnia, Iraq and Somalia, but the outgoing President hopes to have one situation pretty well cleaned up. Before leaving office, he may be able to lift the long-standing economic embargo against VIETNAM. Behind-the-scenes negotiations are under way, and Vietnam has already made commitments on some remaining critical issues, including access to POW/MIA records. Dissolving the embargo would enable U.S. companies to compete in the Vietnamese market with the Japanese and Australians already doing business there. If Clinton wants it, diplomatic relations could resume within six months.

Double Helix II

JAMES WATSON, co-discoverer of DNA's structure, is hard at work on an autobiography, and the science world expects it to be every bit as frank and irreverent as The Double Helix, his acclaimed account of his Nobel-prizewinning work. In the sequel, there may be some choice words about Bernadine Healy, his former boss at the National Institutes of Health. Disputes between the two helped lead to Watson's resignation as head of the mammoth project to map the human genome.