European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 14, 1978, Darmstadt, Hesse                                5 que on the Square monday August 14, 1978 the stars and stripes Page 1 new two Way a free of to raises problem of privacy invasion new York not George Orwell prophecy of an advanced electronic society m 1964. In which the television set mayan sch As Well As be watched could be Ful fled right on schedule. In the next five Oft years a substantial part of the country my be served by a form of two Way Cable television that is linked to a set of compute these computers sweeping each sub bribing household every six or seven Sec ofe can take orders for merchandise Pur dated during television commercials wide burglar and fire alarm Protection read Gas and water meters take pub Imp Inion polls and deliver to the Teiei Tion set new movies and other types of programs the viewer might choose to  desirable As these services May be and most of them Are already being offered in Columbus Ohio on Warner communications futuristic Cable system known As que the form of television bit provides them raises some difficult questions in a free society. For the computer also records what every household i watching and buying and How each House bold votes in a pol to the extent that computerized television watches the household even As the viewer is watching the screen it presumably can be regarded As invading a citizen privacy. A political candidate would find his other Campaign devastated for example if computer records that fell into the hands of opponent should reveal excessive View lag of erotic or pornographic  found no solution to the privacy Msten Gustave Hauser president Anda Annan of Warner Cable and the moving Fate behind que maintains that his com ploy keeps the viewing records under tight warily and uses them internally Only Forn Rutt analyses and audience research  who buy the service will simply we to accept that they give up a bit ofor privacy for it. Beyond that Well try to protect their privacy All we  letters to the editor president s visit and tax Money n a Tut armed form fam Tel an wort Mykal 011111. Sid a rpm Art not Mcnutt Adcul a Sitf 8wwwxhi, a of trunk to dmm or cd Imam. To Pix Tim the Flat to 9 ill lure inn minium my lung Jug a Stan Mil no turn common cd the privacy problem and others raised by the new communications technologies have brought a note of caution to the Plano some Washington officials to eliminate most Federal regulations so that the new developments might compete uninhibited by in an open Market with the established commercial television system. Charles d. Ferris chairman of the fed eral communications commission and an advocate with reservations of open com petition said that although he believed que added a fascinating dimension to television he was uneasy about How the polling capability of the two Way system might change the political process. People will be giving their opinion seven before they Are informed on the is sues and no senator or congressman is go ing to go against what becomes publicly known about the consensus of his or he constituency Ferris pointed out. Can you imagine if the whole country had ube How the voting would have gone on the Panama canal treaties some in Public office find it disturbing that pornography May be brought int Homes on a Large scale through video Cas settes video disks and the new forms of pay television that permit viewers to buy the individual programs they  fear that an open communications Market i the 1980s, one that give television equal Freedom to the print me Dia will be a kind of electronic anarchy i which political propaganda of every sort will flow freely through the television  another concern is that the owners of Cable television systems will have excessive control Over electronic communications in their communities. Although system such As que gives the viewer the ability to talk Back to television by pressing buttons on the console the fact will remain that those who own the sys tems will control the questions asked. Partly for this reason Henry Geller the new assistant Secretary of Commerce for telecommunications and chief adviser tothe White House on communications is sues proposes that new Laws be adopted to prohibit Cable operators from making any programming  would have Cable systems oper ate As common carriers like the Telephone or Telegraph divorcing those who control the technology from the messages conveyed. Under this plan the Cable Compa Nies would have to lease the channels on first come basis to those who wish to pre pm very Strong on this  Gelle remarked. If we Don t separate the owner from the broadcast we will have to have regulation. When the Structure is right and working for you. Then you Don t need the government s involvement and that s de , who describes himself As a staunch advocate of first amendment principles says he is not troubled by the Prospect of pornography expanding to the Home Market through the new Media. In his View people who would want to  be permitted to As As ills not forced on  View is far from Universal however and a debate is looming Over How free the new Media should be. Storm Cora easing off Miami Upil Hurricane Cora Down graded earlier to a tropical storm became More disorganized reducing the danger tothe puerto Rico Virgin islands area. Cora s winds had fallen to 55 Mph and Thad a disorganized circulation with Gale Force winds extending 100 Miles to the North and 50 Miles to the South. I am a . Armed forces  importantly. I am a United states citizen who along with Many others Conti Bute to the National budget by Way of the annual april 15 payment of income , Federal Revenue is supported through Many other vehicles but income tax still remains the number one contributor and Middle class americans Are still the number one target when establishing the tax base of America. One area in which tax Money is allocated and a very Large area indeed is towards the National de sense. While i strongly believe in the Mantai Nence of a healthy National defense budget the presidential War recently con ducted at fort Hood Texas is in my Opin Ion a Gross misappropriation of Federal tax Money $3.5 million for a realistic fire Power  joined the army some is months ago very much intent on making it a  each passing Day however i become More and More disenchanted with army life and the people associated with it. From the co Down to the Al. And since we Are a peacetime army stagnation of oneself is easily accomplished especially if you have the misfortune to be stationed in an outlying Battery or Are with air defens Earty Ada. Well it appears to me that the Pentagon was also becoming a place of idleness so the few certain warmongers of that institution decided to wage a mini War All in the name of National defense and prepared Ness and in Honor of the president More simply just for something to , the Crux of my opinion is this. Can t these top brass think of More Realis tic ways to spend taxpayers Money my  stationed in Europe these Days is not easy sometimes it is even  Are outdated and badly in need of repair. Worst of All they Are often Over crowded which contributes a great Deal to the two most prevalent problems confront ing the army today. They Are drug abuse and racial differences. I speak from first hand experience and any commander who states that this is not so is Only fooling him self. As  sidelight washers and dryers Are in a constant state of disrepair or Mal function. In my unit alone we have at anyone Given time two washers and two dry ers serving a Battery of approximately 130-140 individuals i ask again Why can t Money be spent in a More realistic mannerly the army three and a half million dollars is a Lotof Money and As a . Citizen i wholly disagree and i m appalled with this latest demonstration of blatant misuse of govern ment funds. Funds which were provided bythe working populace of the United states and by the Many crowded frustrated an disillusioned armed forces members stationed All Over the  funds would have been better spent upgrading the living conditions of Sarteur soldiers and at the same time raise the already Low state of mind of the United states Soldier stationed overseas. Those funds should have been spent constructively not destructively in the Many army communities not Only in Europe but at any one of the Many posts around the world which would have appreciate the Opportunity to have that Little extra funding to use where commanders deemed necessary to help make life a Little less miserable for the  is wrong people something is amiss. Three and a half million dollars has been spent and All we have to show for it is the empty Shell casings. I for one Amnot going to stand by while Money is fired Down the gun barrels Are you it must have been an impressive Dis play nonetheless. Too bad Only a few had the Opportunity to enjoy their Folly. Name withheld Stuttgart German editor s note u. Col Wade w. Ladue chief Public information division replies thank you or your recent letter. The total Cost for the Pesu Entla visit to fort Hood Texas was w7.0m, not the s3.s million cited in your letter. President Carter told newsmen after the training demonstration that it was Worth the expenditure of funds just for my own Educa Tion because every Day i m faced with a requirement to approve or disapprove expenditures of funds for these kinds of weapons or others that might replace toe ones we have he went on to say i want our country s mends allies and potential adversaries to know i have this intense in Terest in maintaining this level of training and the capability under which our armed forces Are operating i can assure you that keeping costs to a minimum was a prime consideration forthe commander in chiefs first visit to an army  a Challenge to rename the clubs it has come to my attention that thence pm clubs Are ignoring the existence of some individuals at least that is my perception. The noncommissioned officers enlisted men s club makes no mention of the female soldiers in today s army. May i be Kobold As to ask Why this is at one time the women s army corp was a separate corps and probably had its own club system however integration has once More occurred and it s High time to integrate our  Nave observed three clubs in the South Ern Bavaria area and All have been patronized by female soldiers in one Way or an  Don t know if club managers have the authority to make a decision in reference to naming or renaming their clubs. But my Challenge goes to them to consider my of All letters to the editor Mast coat outfall printed name and address of the writer Aad most be signed. Unsigned letters will not be oms dered for publication. Writers Are encouraged to include Phon number and Economy address especially if they desire a fast reply. Nerva ions and see if they could rename their club so As to at last acknowledge every Soldier s  Frank r. Wilson Bamberg Germany