European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 12, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday february 12, 1989 the stars and stripes Page 11 dear Ann Landers your comments about or. Kook been Ahn a gynaecologist who was convicted of raping a patient on the examining table yet continues to practice in a clinic in East Baltimore revealed alack of understanding that sur prised me. Generally you requite knowledgeable about the topic you cover. You asked Why Don t the de cent caring physicians out there ride Herd on these Sleazy leeches who Are a disgrace to the profession you and your readers need to know that decent caring physicians have no police Powers whatsoever. The american medical association and the state an local medical societies Are totally helpless in these mat ters. Hospital staffs May have some control Over what physicians do in the Hospital setting but they have nothing to say about what goes on in private offices or elsewhere. Physicians who have served on committees that disciplined a colleague for inappropriate conduct in the Hospital setting have often been sued for slander. Huge judgments were awarded against them. We must be careful. This is a problem for the legislators. I am really a fan of yours and often quote you words of Wisdom to my patients but this time you blew it. Ben Herndon m.d., Corona  or. Herndon thanks for your comments but i am not about to let you off the Hook so easily. Even though the decent caring physicians Don t have police Power they could be much More diligent about seeing to it that pressure is brought to Bear on col leagues who Are a disgrace to the profession. Surely you honorable doctors can band together and figure out How to get the state licensing boards to throw out the Rotten apples. If some Board members routinely look the other Way use your Power to throw those bums off the Board. How about putting some Lay people on those boards that would certainly make it less incestuous and More objective. I Don t buy into the concept that the Good Guys can to anything about this appalling situation. That s a cop out your profession is being tarnished by scum and you Don t need police Power to get rid of them. There Are other ways and you d better find them. Dear Ann Landers my parents were married 40 years. Three Days after my Mother died my father received a letter from some shrewd Little number he had never met. The woman read about mom s death in the obituary column an thought dad might be interested in meeting somebody new. You Only live once. Life is for the living. Blah blah blah it s bad enough when the widows and divorcees friends of mom show up with meatloaf and cookies but when a total stranger tries to get into the act i just want to scream. Ann please Tell those brainless biddies to cruise the Bowling alleys and cocktail lounges and leave the respectable men alone. Any decent Man who has just los this wife is not about to take the bait. Please print this letter in Case other Flea brains out there might think this is a Good . Thanks Ann. Disgusted in  Ohio Here s your letter. Any woman who connects with afresh widower through the obits will not get a bargain. Los Angeles times syndicated columnist Landers welcomes your  can write to her in care of the stars and stripes Apo 09211, . Forces european edition col Jeffrey m. Cook us commander editor in chief it col Suzanne l. Phillips Usan Deputy commander editor in chief Marie Kominicki Mert Proctor Deane b. Mcdermot 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  available for Purchase use or patronage without regard to race color religion sex writer s fears of lower cola addressed i be read that Cost of living allowances cola were recently lowered in Japan even though the Exchange rate for the yen has fallen to a 40-year Low. Guess what Europe will be next the rationale is that since the Exchange rate is Solow the service member and his her family Are spend ing More at the exchanges and commissaries rather than on the local Economy. Unbelievable i wonder if our foreign service personnel assigned to embassies and consulates Are being asked to endure the same cuts. Doubtful even though they re authorized commissary and Exchange privileges. Why then the Mili tary if Only our congressional representatives were a creative when it comes to balancing the Federal budget and solving the Many social problems that plague our nation. Is it too much to expect that when Exchange rates drop that cola be increased instead of lowered i think not when is the service member going to be treated equitably in pay matters instead of constantly being asked to bite the Bullet sgt. 1st class Joseph p. Torti Frankfurt West Germany editor s note sgt. 1st class Michael Dono Hue office of the Deputy chief of staff resource management he Usa eur replies first let me explain what happened in Japan. Rate for cola Are set by annual surveys of what military people overseas buy and where they make their Pur chases living pattern Survey and what everything costs Market Basket Survey. Concurrently Safe Sand the commissary system provide Cost data on their products. These surveys Are conducted every year in each country where uniformed personnel Are stationed. In Germany they Are conducted in october. These Basic rates Are then reviewed adjusted As required twice a month to compensate for changes in the value of the Dollar the per diem travel transportation allowance committee pm tatar indicated the Japan surveys simply were poorly done. For example sailors on a embarked aircraft Carrier were tasked to Complete the Survey but could not factually and adequately state what their families were spending at Home. Therefore As a result of the Survey pm tatar adjusted their col downward. Due to command interest however that sur vey will be done again. Could what happened in Japan happen in Europe Idon t believe so. Within Europe cola surveys Are a joint Effort Between has Usa eur Safe and a Veur. One Headquarters has the Lead in each country and the other Headquarters support  believe an adequate system is in place in Europe and in the Long run cola has kept Pace with currency fluctuations. Completed surveys Are always compared to past surveys to identify any potential problems before being forwarded to pm tatar. However the surveys and the amount of cola we receive Are Only As Goodas the Effort the command puts into them. Your observation that declining Exchange rates cause Afes and commissary usage to increase is essentially Correct. As a consequence cola does decrease. How Ever trying to compare military cola to civilian cola is like comparing apples to oranges. They Are significantly different. For example the military system compares outside of the Continental United states Uconus costs to average Continental United states conus costs while the civilian system compares conus costs to Washington ., Only military cola begins prior to and changes More frequently than civilian cola. But each system does strive for equity i.e., lower rates for areas with Exchange and commissary facilities. The Bottom line is that cola does respond to de Clining Exchange rates but Only to the extent that other factors such As what and where we buy do not offset the decline. Only local Economy purchases Are and should be supported by cola where warranted by prevailing Exchange rate inequities. Reader favors closing overseas bases our stateside bases Are empty because we have Halfa million troops overseas. Pease fab n.h., is obsolete because it is so susceptible to submarine attack the say. If this is True so Are Groton Conn. Norfolk naval base a. Myrtle Beach fab . Charleston feb . Around the Florida Peninsula All of the Gulf of Mexico and West coast installations. The submarine attack reason is a false  Norton fab Calif. George fab Calif. And Mather fab Calif., Are obsolete for similar false premises proximity to los Angeles traffic can t re Cruit in the area Etc. This is All prime real estate much of it is part of american history All of it our legacy past present and for future generations to come. I can see real estate developers perched ready to swoop and buy it All at bargain basement prices to build High rises and condominiums at $100,000 each. How about closing nato bases and laying off Ger mans englishmen spaniards italians greeks turks pen pals dutchmen and portuguese civilians instead of the americans Back Home. How about moving the 401st tac fighter Wing from Torrejon a Spain to pea seab n.h.? american taxpayers have spent billions to build operate and maintain Torrejon since 1953. Now Spain s government says get out so we plan on spend ing billions on a Remote italian site All Over again to House this nato committed fighter Wing. Meanwhile we re closing installations at Home and laying off thou Sands of the very taxpayers who built Torrejon. No the greeks Are saying go. Let s go fire All the greek civilians working for Uncle Sam and move those forces to these obsolete . Bases. After 40 years if Western europeans can t hold theline on nato Well be in Europe another 40 years. Close overseas bases fire overseas local hires and keep our american military real estate intact. We May need it Down the Road. John Canty Rota Spain i am 19 years old and would like pen pals. My hobbles Are listening to music Reading the Bible eating dancing singing and collecting friends. Iam a Catholic. Marietta luengas289 Bonifacio St. Davao City Philippines i would like my name placed in the pen pal column. I am 22 years old. I like singing dancing and writing letters. Eva Emperado 27 real St. Daro Dumaguet City Philippines i am 20 years Oki and would like to have some pen pals. My hobbles Are dancing typing Reading and writing Fetters. Jocelyn banosing27 real St. Daro Dumaguet City. Philippines please let me hear from some pen pals. I am28 years old and a radio speaker in . I like to play chess. I like folklore and professional Thea Ter. Mustafa Yuncer 1876skno.35/31sikapt.karsiyaka 35600, Izmir Turkey please publish my name in your pen pal column. I am 30 years old. My hobbies include play ing chess Badminton singing and playing guitar. Maria Gilda c. Corrasco Lourdes a Drugda zone 9 Bulla Bagayan de Oro City 9000 Philippines i am 24 years old and would like to have pen pals. My hobbies include music Reading swim Ming and dancing. Flora Basing new Rago Rozera  Beach Dumaguet City Philippines National origin age marital status physical Handicap political affiliation Orang other non Merit Factor of the purchaser user or Patron. 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