European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - November 30, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday november 30, 1686 the stars and stripes Page 3 a throng of customers descends through the doors of a department store in a suburban Nashville mall on Friday to take advantage of the Post thanksgiving Day bargains. Crowds hit stores As Christmas Rush begins by the associated press shoppers armed with credit cards an Cash Hue launched inc Holiday gift buy ing season Rushing to mails and Down town department stares to Stock up on such items As laser guns and Pink Fla Mingo toilet plungers. Retailers began their Christmas Offen Sive in Earnest Friday with Many stores opening As Early As 7 . To draw customers in for special sales and other events on what is Radil tonally inc bus Iest shopping Day of the year. This is what everybody docs and i like to follow the people said Mike Nohl 25, of Elgin 111., one of the thou Sands of shoppers jamming slate Street in Chicago. The decorations put me in the Holiday  we feel like we re 4 years old said a beaming John chins taking in the scene at the . Schwan toy store in new York with another 22-year-old Prince ton n.j., resident Carolyn Kuenne. Retailers around the country said High tech stuffed animals that speak and infrared Light guns were among the hot test items. Also popular were perennial favourites such As clothes and electronics. I be read about consumer debt being High but right now they re sure buying said William Tobin. President of Kaufmann a the largest department store in Pittsburgh. Some shoppers went to greater lengths than others Bermuda residents Louise Daniels her husband daughter and a Friend strolled into Jordan Marsh in bos ton on Friday As part of their annual five Day Christmas shopping trip. In Bermuda everything costs three times As much As this she said. Regional economic setbacks did deter Many shoppers who were buying big ticket items As Well As smaller goods. People get what they want not what they can afford said Scon wallers manager of video concepts at North Park mall m Dallas. Thai s Why we have monthly payments so we can All have what we can t  the usual big demand for toys Cen tired on infrared weapons. Larch tag by worlds of wonder inc. And photon by Len toys ltd., which shoot infrared Light beams for a space age Gam of lag were tabbed by re Lailer and Indus try analysis to be among the hottest toys of the season despite Short supplies. I sold 36 Lazar tag pieces in about 30 seconds after i unlocked the front door said Randal Lou Allan manager of he Zayarc department store in Nashville. Toys Pius in Western Little Rock ark., rationed la or tag at two sets per Cus Tomer. Lazer tag sold out Friday morn ing at a a today in the Short Hills mall in Short Hills no. Shoppers in los Angeles were More Lidback lion s toys manager Steve Melton said he had t seen any overwhelming de Mand for photon or Lazer tag. Also big were inc various species of talk ing animated stuffed animals with Teddy Ruppin apparently remaining the King of the furry Jungle despite Competition from talking wrinkles puppets. Cock cd the talk ing baby doll and a talking big Bird. , Schwan in Midtown Manhattan Drew crowds for $2,000 stuffed Polar bears a s12,500 Gas powered mini Ferrari and a actress Clad in Cav woman garb promoting Dinosaur theme toys and clothing. Shoppers also were looking for cloth ing but not just the typical sweaters neckties and bedroom slippers. Well sell a lot of Feather Boas and g Springs said Debbie Boss assistant Man Ager of the Ravis Sant lingerie shop in the Woodland mall in grand rapids Mich affluent Neiman Marcus shoppers at Houston s galleria were buying tequila and Margarita cakes while customers at Saks fifth Avenue s flagship Manhattan store were going for items of Ostrich and exotic animal skins store Uff kills said. And in Boulder. Colo Mcgiuckin s hardware was moving ultrasonic humidifiers and Pink flamingos. In began a year ago Asa joke but no we even have Pink Flamingo Christmas tree lights and Flamingo toilet plungers said co manager ran Ransom. Less exotic but no less popular were electronics videotape recorders com pact disc players microwave ovens an radio controlled toys. Vars went really Good said Paul Sandvig assistant manager at a 1c Mart in Helena Mont. They flew out the  Over he Christmas Rush in shopping centers across the nation is. Of course. Santa  might lift 2 tons of kids today said Dana King preparing for his first Day of the season As Santa at the malt in Nash Ville. It s a Good thing they weigh Only about 40 pounds apiece. It s going to be  sting paralleled top level Iran arms shipments new York a while High level Reagan administration officials were secretly shipping arms to Iran the . Customs service set up an elaborate Sling that snared 17 people on charges of smuggling weapons to that nation according to a report published saturday. The new York times reported that sources close to Federal prosecutors said customs and the . Attorney s office were unaware of the administration s weapons shipments when the Case was filed and that the sanctioned shipments might undercut the Case. Obviously the right hand did not know what the left hand was doing said William Kunstler defense lawyer for los Angeles businessman Nico Minardos one of those indicted in the Case. Those indicted in april in Federal court in Manhattan included a retired israeli general German and French businessmen and Samuel Evans an Ameri can lawyer who lived in London. They have pleaded innocent and have contended that the . Government had approved of the arms shipments. The times reported that sources said that Evans also was the lawyer for Adnan m. Khash Oggi a saudi arabian arms dealer who had arranged the tale of some weapons to Iran for the Reagan administration. Khash Oggi arranged for Minardos a former member of his arms shipping company to meet Cyrus Hashemi a Cousin of  Hashemi Rassan Jani the speaker of the iranian parliament the times said Minardos said Cyrus Hashemi asked him last fall to help obtain arms for Iran the newspaper said. It reported that other defendants in the Case also said Hashemi contacted them. However the times said Hashemi indicted in 1984 for trying to ship arms illegally to Iran had secretly turned state s evidence with a Promise of leniency. The newspaper said the government Sling involved an account at chemical Bank in new York in the name of Gal Axy an iranian company set up by Hashemi to obtain arms for Iran. The Bank said the account had been set up by the customs service and secret service apart of the Effort to catch arms dealers the Bank reported. The secret service denied involvement the times said. Cyrus Hashemi died in a London hos Pital july 21 of leukaemia complicated by a stroke according to a Coroner s report. Hashemi s brother Djamshid Hashemi claims his brother was killed because he was the government s key informant in the Case