European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - October 12, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday. October 12, 1987 the stars and stripes Page 5 Sands of time in the stars and stripes 40 years ago today. Oct. 12, 1947 thl . Delegate to the United nations accepted in Prin Ciple he proposal for partition of pales Tine Riuo jewish and Arab nations. 30 years ago today. Oct. 12. 1957 tic slate depart ment warned the soviet Union the United states would Honor its defense commitments to Turkey i also urged soviet party Boss Nikita 5. Khrushchev to heed his own warning that War once started May not be confined to a specific area. 20 years ago today oct. 12, 1961 North vietnamese forces launched a heavy rocket mortar and artillery barrage against the embattled con thin outpost while ground troops attacked . Marine positions South or con thin. 10 years ago today. Oct. 12, 1977 the supreme court set aside a lower court ruling that struck Down stale Laws giving a preference to military veterans who apply for Public Jons. The lower court had said veterans preference Laws represented unconstitutional discrimination against women. $613 million in weapon sales can t be reconciled by Dod Washington Ai j Pentagon officials could not account for $613 Mil lion Worth of arms sales to More than 80 countries at the end of last year a con Gressional committee says. Repeated efforts by defense depart ment auditors since at least 1982 to reconcile the imbalances have been largely unsuccessful according to a report by the House committee on government operations. Copies were made available to reporters this weekend. For one country named in the report Only As country  Pentagon official arc said to have spent �88.4 million More than the value of the arms delivered to the Cui Lomer a source in the committee who spoke on the condition that ins name not be used said the coun try is saudi Arabia the amount for country a said to be Spain is j4i.7 million for country a Britain is 5.6 million country a Turkey si5.3 million and country Switzerland s9.2 million. No other examples arc Given. Since i9s2, unreconciled differences have varied dramatically and at one Point Billings amounted to ii.2 billion More than actual spending the report says. The Pentagon Sells about $14 bit lion Worth of arms and services annually to other countries. Some customer countries Are dissatisfied with the system but most arc apparently unaware of the discrepancies according to the report the Pentagon said no immediate com ment was available. The report was submitted oct. 1 to House speaker Jim Wright by rep. Jack Brooks both a Texas chairman of the government operations committee. It makes no charge of wrongdoing it says some of the differences arc due to delays in reporting deliveries but some Are be cause of erroneous of incompletely re ported transactions that have never been identified and  it notes that the Pentagon is testing a new accounting system to Clear up the figures but adds. The defense depart ment has Given Congress similar Assur ances of decisive action on this matter since at least 1980." it recommends that defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger give the new accounting system enough priority so that it will be in effect by the end of this year i also asks for annual audits to measure Progress on the discrepancies and to Sec that no new ones develop. Unless the figure arc finally reconciled the . Government May have to reimburse countries which bought the arms and Congress would have to find the Money the report warns. Since the Early 1970s, the defense do. Apartment has processed $34,8 billion Worth of foreign orders for arms and is still working on orders with a total value of More than $147 billion. Within the government 13 defense Agenda and the state department arc involved in i he agreements. Last year the committee complained of what it called faulty pricing practices thai overcharged some foreign customers and under charged Many More. Brooks said that As a result the Ameri can lamp Ayr is heavily involved in subsidizing foreign governments purchases of . Arms. Homosexuals March on d.c., hold mass wedding Washington a thousands of homosexual couples cheered and threw Rice at a mass wedding Cere Mony held in the Middle of a Street saturday As they protested religious and social barriers against their relationships the ceremony held in the Street Between the internal Revenue service building and the smithsonian s museum of natural history was one event during six Days of lobbying and protests by homosexuals in the nation s capital. This weekend Washington d.c., is ours the Rev. Troy Perry a founder of the metropolitan Community churches told the crowd. This is the Gay capital of the world police estimated 5.000 people gathered on Constitution Avenue for the Brief ceremony conducted by the Rev Diana Bachelor a metaphysical minister and hypnotherapist who stood on a platform beneath a swaying Arch of Silver White and Black balloons. This is a civil rights movement and we Are not sick said Robin Tyler a member of the steering com Mittee of he National March on Washington for Les Bian and Gay rights. A handful of Coumar demonstrators carrying Ameri can flags and banners quoting from the Bible stood on the Steps of the irs building and shouted at the crowd through a bullhorn. They were largely ignored except at one Point the crowd turned to them shaking their fingers and a hanging shame shame the site of the ceremony had no special significance. According o Arthur Scott a spokesman for the nation Al March. Scott said the area was chosen because that s where they could gel a  thousands participated in a March past the White House on sunday. On tuesday activists plan a non violent demonstration in front of the supreme court building. Later on saturday the labor task Force of the National March held a reception in the lobby of Afl-c1o Headquarters to Call for greater Unity Between organized Tabor and the homosexual Community. The task Force wants labor unions to push for clauses in collective bar gaining agreements that would bar workplace discrimination against aids victims and ensure that they receive health insurance Protection said Jean Bowdish a spokeswoman for the homosexual group. Two noun embrace after u mass Hom asexual  Al left is an India Luul identified As to. Fuji tests fail to tie agent Orange to health problems Washington a recent med ical examinations of volunteers participating in a 20-year study of the effects of the defoliant agcy Orange failed to uncover any unusual health problems among pilots or ground personnel who handled the chemical in Vietnam the air Force said. This follow up report concludes that Ili arc is not sufficient plausible or consistent scientific evidence at this time to implicate u causal relationship Between herbicide exposure and Adverse health in the ranch hand group the study team says in a 45-Page report. The i9k5 examination results pro vide reassuring evidence that the current state of health of the ranch hand participants is unrelated to herbicide exposure in  operation ranch hand was the code name for the Aerial spraying of agent Orange during the Vietnam War. The spraying defoliated Large sections of the Countryside to deny ground cout to communist forces. Sigh a the spraying some of agent Orange s chemical component such As Dimin have been identified As possible cancer causing agents. Some veterans groups contend that former scr vice non and their children have suffered health problems from exposure 10 the sub stances and have called for compensation from the government. In i9b2, the air Force launched a 20 car study to compare health and mortal Ity rates of 1,257 officers and enlisted men who worked on ranch hand with a group of More than 6,100 men of similar age occupation and background. A second round of examinations was conducted in 1985 and the results were included in the report released last week the study and periodic examinations arc 10 continue until Thi Star 2002