European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 3, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                The stars and stripes Page 11 a Fin an Tefis dear Ann Landers i was a Model student in High school Well behaved no sex and no drugs. When i was 19, fell in love with Pete. We became intimate after six months and went together for a year. We were in love and i thought i knew him Well. After the split we remained friends but i never slept wit him again. Three months ago Pete called me up and said i think i ought to Tell you i have  i was tested immediately and thank god it was negative. The test was done at planned parenthood and the Counselor was very supportive. He gave me a Load of Reading material and helped prepare me for what might lie ahead. I will have to be tested every six months. Waiting for the results is Plain hell the Point i want to make is this no matter who you Are or How Well you think you know someone you can t be too careful. After we split up i Learned that Pete was bisexual. This came As a Shock because he appeared to be a straight As any Guy i had every met. I m 21 now and this one affair will Shadow my life for Many years to come. Pete is getting sicker every Day and i am frightened for him. I am also frightened for myself and for All the Young people who think it can t happen to them. If i can help educate just one person about the Long term consequences of unprotected sex i will be amply rewarded for the pain it took to write this letter. Is the pleasure of sex Worth dying for i wish i had asked myself that question before i got intimate with Pete. A condom May not be romantic spontaneous or even comfortable but it beats dying by a Long shot. Learned too late in Californi adear California thanks for telling us your Story. You Are awfully Young to be saddled with this kind of worry and i la keep my fingers crossed that everything turns out of. A condom you should know is not 100 percent Protection against aids but As i be said before 90 percents a lot better than nothing. Good Luck dear. Dear Ann Landers i am enclosing a copy of the note my Friend sent when her daughter failed to Send thank you notes for wedding gifts. I think it s terrific and so do the other mothers i have talked to. What do you think Here tis we regretfully acknowledge our daughter s irresponsibility in not sending thank you notes for her wedding gifts. We want you to know that we appreciated your attendance and gift for this occasion an express a Heartfelt thank you " Marianna  Marianna i m sure the Mother who sent that barbed message enjoyed the sweetness of revenge but i can assure you it did t enhance her relationship with her daughter. Compare that with the gracious note that i received inthe mail recently thank you for remembering Sara and Jamie with a Lovely wedding gift. They will be writing you to acknowledge your thoughtfulness when they return from their honeymoon. Names of Bride s parents names of Groom s parents los Angeles times syndicated columnist Landers welcomes your letters. You can write to her in care of the stars and stripes Apo 09211, . Forces the european edition col Jeffrey m. Cook. Usa commander editor in chief it col Suzanne l Phillips Usan Deputy commander editor in chief Marie Kominicki Mert Proctor Deane b. Mcdermott production manager managing editor circulation manager this newspaper is an authorized unofficial publication for members of the military services overseas. Contents of the stars and stripes Are not necessarily the official views of or endorsed by the . Government the department of defense or the . European command. The appearance of advertising in this publication including inserts or supplements does not constitute endorsement by the department of de sense or the stars and stripes of the products or services advertised. Everything advertised in this publication shall be made available for Purchase use. Or patronage without regard to race color religion sex policy on cola adjustments explained i have been in Italy since january 1986, and i be been amazed at the rapid loss of our Cost of living allowance cola. When i arrived cola was about $93 a month for an e-6. The lira rate at that time was Between 1,500 and 1,600 to the Dollar. The rate has fluctuated continuously since then. Now with the slow Rise of the Dollar the cola has dropped to a new ridiculous Low. My september cola was $43. How can the cola drop below the level it once was if the lira rate is still lower than the previous rate used to calculate the cola rate the difference Between january 1986 and septem Ber 1988 on the lira rate is still 150 lire to the Dollar but the cola rate is $50 a month lower than the january 1986 rate. How is the cola rate determined How come there is a difference Between 1986 and 1988 rates have we gotten that far ahead of the inflation rate i m sure there is someone out there that can give some Type of an answer. We might not understand it but it would be Nice to know what Type or what kind of formula is used to determine cola payment. I just Hope we Don t get any further ahead of inflation. Ican t afford it. Staff sgt. Don a. Ballard Camp Darby Italy during the past couple of months our cola de creased when the Exchange rate was 1.90 Marks to the Dollar. During september and october the rate dropped to 1.75 Marks to the Dollar. I anxiously waited to see How Long it took for the cola to be raised. It seems they Are much quicker taking the Money than returning it. Name withheld Augsburg West Germany when we arrived in Germany in april and found housing on the Economy we were told we would receive a ceiling of 1,519 Marks to cover our rent an utilities. Over the past two months our overseas housing allowance Oha has been reduced by almost $85 and our cola has been reduced by around $40. We were expecting some reduction in our August paycheck since on aug. 12 it was 1.89 Marks to the Dollar. However when we received our september paycheck the Oha and cola were even less than the previous month. We would like to know who figures the amount of Oha and cola that is to be received since on sept. 12 it was 1.82 Marks to the Dollar. Overall for the past three to four months the Mark has averaged 1.85. This fluctuation every month in Oha and cola without a change in the Mark rate at the end of the month is causing a lot of hardships on those of us who live on the Economy and must pay outrageous rent an utilities. Name and location withheld editor s note sgt. 1st class Michael Dona Hue office of the Deputy chief of staff resource management he Usa eur replies of All the letters i be answered in three years this subject presents the biggest Challenge. There is a common misconception that Oha cola increases Are implemented slowly while decreases Are just the opposite. In fact allowances Are adjusted biweekly to compensate for fluctuations in Exchange rates in order for soldiers to maintain their relative Purchas ing Power. The Dod per diem travel and transportation allowance committee pm tatar is the Agency charged with the responsibility of adjusting overseas station allowances for currency fluctuations. Twice each month the pm tatar staff reviews Exchange rates for countries where uniformed personnel Are assigned and where warranted makes adjustments to Oha and cola. The review and adjustment proce dures employed by pm tatar Are intended to ensure soldiers neither gain nor lose on the purchasing Power of these allowances based solely on Exchange rate fluctuations. Pm tatar uses a computer based computational procedure algorithm to determine changes. Each week the average weekly Market Exchange rate is divided by the rate at which allowances Are currently computed pegged. The result is expressed As a percentage. When the result is positive soldiers Are temporarily enjoying enhanced purchasing Power when compared to their counterparts in the Continental United states. I negative the opposite is True. This percentage is then added to the cumulative per cent difference encountered in prior weeks. When the cumulative percent differences reach 10 percent either plus or minus new pegged rate is established. This new rate is designed to eliminate these accumulate differences within an eight week period. Unfortunately the currency markets do not always cooperate and do fluctuate after a new pegged rate is established. When the Dollar fluctuates after the rates Are set the Market average will be lower or higher than the allowance rate just adopted. This situation requires an additional adjustment during the next review period. When Exchange rates keep dropping this creates the appearance that necessary adjustments Are too slow incoming. I recognize this explanation is both lengthy and de tailed however it Points out the complexity of the prob Lem faced by pm tatar. The algorithm now employed is much More responsive and precise plus less Subjec Tive than the previous system. Your observations rep resent a frequent and i might add valid complain against the old system. Additionally this Headquarters and has Safe and Nav eur communicate frequently with pita tac. For example when cafes raised Gas prices substantially last year we sent a special message to pita tac to Alert them to this fact since the annual cola Survey which includes Gas costs was then being proc Essed. In Italy the command finance officer challenged the sept. 1, 1988, Oha and cola rates. Pm tatar was Able to show that the lower cola resulted from Nec Essary adjustments to reduce differences accumulate during May and june. I have mailed to each of you through the stars and stripes a More detailed analysis of the system which includes the algorithm. For other readers the usar eur command information officer is preparing a re lease for each Usa eur Community. Pen pals please publish my name in your pen pal column. I am 33 years old. My hobbies include read ing crossword puzzles and cooking. Marjorie b. Lacson 4035 b Culdesac Road Edison ave. Pm. 14 South super i Way Paranaque metro Manila Philippines i would like to have pen pals. I am 25 years old. My hobbies include sports Reading and listening to music. I speak arabic French and Spanish Aswell. Abdellah Bel Ouadi 12rueemira.e.k. W a l n temo Chent 46000 Algeria i would like to have pen pals. I am 14 years old. I enjoy artistic work and love drawing. I also Model. Elizabeth Helfried it. 3, Box 162 Decatur Ala. 35603 please publish my name in the pen pal column. I am an american girl living in Germany and seem to be lost in the masses. I enjoy travelling. I want to vist cafes and Heaters in London and museums in Paris. My favorite play is   car 2405 . 09175 National origin age marital status physical Handicap political affiliation or any other non Merit Factor of the purchaser user or Patron. Military address the stars and stripes. Apo 09211. International mail the stars and stripes. Postrach 11 14 37. D-6100 Darmstadt 11, Germany. 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