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Publication: European Stars and Stripes Wednesday, September 14, 1977

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   European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 14, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday september 14, 1977 the stars and stripes Page 11 Russell Baker new York during my recent korean visit i called upon whoopee bag Blak whose generous Cash donations to congressmen Over the years have made him a notorious figure in Washington. Bla bag whoopee to give him the americanized name by which All washing ton knew him in those Days had been a neighbor of mine for several years in the nation s capital and i found him Hurt and astonished at the allegations now being levelled against him. When i arrived at his House he first insisted on going through the ancient korean Money ritual which consists of an exquisite Tea service ending with the presentation of $10,000 in $100 notes. Naturally i insisted upon returning the Cash but whoopee would not hear of it. In Korea he explained such a gesture amounted to an insult to one s Host Compa Rable in the United states to announcing after dinner that the mousse was not prop Erly chilled. Rather than offend custom and korean sensibilities i accepted the $10,000 while assuring him that i would not keep the Money for my own purposes but would place it in my wife s custody. Whoopee dismissed this show of Occi dental delicacy with a smile. Who will Ever understand the inscrutable West he murmured. But i was not to be charmed out of pursuing a Tough line of interrogation. Why were you giving Money to con Gressmen i demanded. Giving Money to the needy is an old korean custom he explained. I objected that congressmen could hardly be called needy and whoopee replied by handing me $5,000 in Cash. I m not needy i said. Of course not he said but your rela Tives  his intelligence sources were amazing but i warned him he could t buy either me or my relatives for $5,000. How about an other ten thousand he suggested. I told him i was deeply offended but he said he would be even More deeply offended if i did not take the Money since there would be an overt suggestion that his Char Ity was not Worth receiving. To spare him i accepted the Money while assuring him that it would be placed in the custody of my relatives. We were talking about needy Congress men i reminded him. There Aren t  that s what everyone in America thinks he sighed. And the congressmen european edition col. Billy e. Spangler Usa. Editor in chief it. Col. J. C. Taylor. Usan. Deputy editor in chief Mert Proctor. Managing editor Elmer d. Frank. Production manager Henry s. Epstein. Circulation manager this newspaper is an authorized unofficial publication for . Armed forces overseas. The stars and stripes is published in conjunction with the armed forces information program of the department of defense. Contents of the stars and stripes Are not necessarily the official View of the . 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Poor Fellows Are much too proud to let their countrymen know of the wretched Ness and penury in which they  As he talked i recalled the old Days when we were Washington neighbors and How the Long lines of men used to form at his Back door in the hours after Midnight. They wore their collars turned up and their hat brims turned Down and in the darkness it had been impossible to recognize faces but they had always emitted the Musty smell of legislation. I had always assumed they were hoboes who subsisted on pickings from the Capitol garbage cans and came to whoopee s House for a predawn bowl of soup from the whoopee Kitchen. Those said whoopee were starving congressmen too proud to let their country men know they needed welfare payments. In korean culture it is an unforgivable offence against nature to let a Congress Man starve. What else could i do when i Learned of their plight so you bribed them whoopee was so offended by this crude question that he immediately thrust $10, 000 into my jacket pocket. I immediately thrust it out again since it was ruining the shape of my suit. Whoopee then thrust it into my suitcase where it fitted without causing the slightest bulge although i told him i intended to put it in the custody of my Safe Deposit Box in Switzerland. All right whoopee i told him. You re not buying your Way out of the Tough questions. So you were secretly handing the Cash Over to congressmen to keep them from having to beg on Street Corners is that it exactly he said. I pounced for the kill. And where were you getting All this Money whoopee from you he said. You Don t think we poor koreans have that kind of Cash i  famous for Christian Charity he had reasoned americans would not object to keeping their congressmen from starving if middlemen could be found to give them Money so there was no Nasty govern ment handout involved. He whoopee had undertaken to be the middleman. Congress voted to tax me for Money for Korea which Korea then re turned As Charity for needy congressmen. You see he explained it is you not or. Whoopee who have committed the  i saw All right. Come across with the rest of the dough whoopee i said. He looked at my Roscoe. I be Only got $50,000 on hand. Should i have the Congress vote some More he inquired. I settled for Cash in hand and ran. But Why Settle for peanuts shouted whoopee and As i flew to the Andes i heard him murmur a these inscrutable occident  c new York times Australia s Camel lady completes trek across desert Sydney Australia a a 28-year old Sydney Model known As the Camel lady travelling with a caravan of four camels and a dog has completed a 621 mile trek across Australia s desolate Gibson desert. Robyn Davidson and her camels slipped quietly into the Small town of Wilna at the Western Edge of the desert picked up a few provisions and some fan mail and then de parted an australian news Agency reported. Dawn priddis wife of Wilna s chief Constable said Davidson camped and watered her camels at a Homestead outside the Small town before continuing her Jour Ney the news Agency reported. Russ Pale oncologist Dies Moscow up Leo s. Davitashvili founder and director of the Institute of palaeontology of the georgian Academy of sciences has died at the age of 82, a georgian newspaper reported. Leffers to the editor get on the Ball sooner an told this is to express my dissatisfaction of an to s late broadcast of monday night  if at All possible i would like to know Why an cannot show the monday night baseball and football games at an earlier hour in the evening so us sports fans can enjoy the games without having to stay up All night and most of the Early morning to watch the games. Come on an. Don t forget that the majority of us sports fans Are the men that must get up Bright and Early in the morn Ings to go to work. How do you think we feel after we stay up until 1 . Or later to watch the games and then get up at 5 . To go to work not so Good. I ask you to please give us a break and show the games earlier in the evening. I am sure that it would t upset the non sports fans just one night a week. William r. Clark Darmstadt Germany editor s note an an spokesman replies it would certainly be possible to sched ule the monday night sports at an earlier hour but this of course would mean that the present monday programming would have to go on after 10 30 . All indications we have  this would create More viewer dissatisfaction than it would cure. A recent poll of approximately 2,210 viewers shows that 49.5 per cent would like sports in prime evening time 82.3 per cent said they wanted Detec Tive adventure shows Kojak is there now and 75.6 per cent said they wanted comedy such As the current monday night re a and what s happening. An schedules sports on saturday and sunday and could also place the monday game there. The last time we did that however viewers accused us of being nuts for running monday night sports on sunday. So rather than irritate a Clear majority who seem to prefer entertainment during the evening Well leave monday night sports at 10 30 . Monday nights unless we get a groundswell of opinion wanting the games late saturday or sunday afternoons. If viewers would care to comment on this possibility write an television Apo 09757." an s euphemistic warnings there is a difference Between saying that a show is recommended for mature audiences and not recommended for children. The latter withholds what the former bestows a Patent albeit limited approval. The recent letter on dirty television shows made a valid Point about euphemistic warnings to viewers. The an reply to the Issue was a sad reminder to parents not to rely on an value judgements. Maj. Willia a. Carleton or. Ramstein a Germany editor s note an an spokesman replies we think you re avoiding the main Issue which is that an goes out of its Way to Alert concerned parents that program material might possibly contain words phrases ideas or scenes offensive to a minority of viewers. All such program have been seen nationwide in the states Many of them with out such an accompanying warning. Our standards in this regard Are considerably higher than those of the major american networks and we try to put in a warning if in our opinion there is the slightest doubt about the program s Content being Offen Sive to some. Perhaps the warning As you say is euphemistic but it is purposely so. Our schedule reflects what is currently telecast in the . We neither approve nor disapprove instead an rightly we think leaves censorship where it belongs in the hands that control the on off switch at  reactions to movie a disgrace last week i went to the Mcnair theater in Frankfurt to see voyage of the damned a movie about the jews who were transported to Cuba from nazi Ger Many then returned to Europe when Nei ther the cuban nor the american governments would accept them. The movie was not without flaws but Overall it was a fairly Good account of a tragic chapter in the history of the twentieth Century. What bothered me is the Way Many of the people in the audience reacted to the film. As the Story unfolded there was much laughter and giggling along with Many snide comments which brought More laughter. Must i remind these people who reacted in this childish manner that millions of reminder All letters to the editor must con Tain full printed name and address of the writer and must be signed. Unsigned letters will not be considered for publication. Writers Are encouraged to include phone number and Economy address especially if they desire a fast reply. Because of the Large volume of mail this column receives daily letters that Are Brief and to the Point have a much better Chance of being published. Jews went to their deaths but a Mere 30 years ago and that this movie was an at tempt to portray some of the horrors they  was so funny 1 would like to know about the brutal beatings the jew received at the hands of the a is the attempted and accomplished suicides the insanity and the fear that gripped those poor Refu gees on Board that ship As i be said the voyage of the damned was not a great movie but it certainly did not deserve the reaction of Many of those in the audience who to my mind Are a disgrace to themselves to the army and to the human race. What an absurd world we live in Jarrell c. Junkman Frankfurt  
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