European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 18, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                The stars and stripes Page 11 Ann Landers dear Ann Landers i read a letter in your column recently from a woman who was caught in the welfare trap i am in the same fix and can t figure a Way out. I have three Small children All conceived in marriage. Their father refuses to pay the child sup port ordered by the court. He lives with a Girlfriend who works while he baby sits her kids. She receives child support from her sex husband and makes a Good salary. I feel that this woman is cheating my kids out of clothing shoes and nourishing food because if my sex goes to work she loses her baby Sitter. So she supports him while the government supports his kids. He brags about his fancy stereo equipment and a vacation Condo they bought six months ago. When t asked him to buy a Box of diapers for the baby to be used during his visiting time he refused. We Are Lucky to be in a decent Low income apart ment. This makes it possible for us to pay our Bills and cat. But my children go without so Many things they need because i Don t have a spare dime. 1 have a High school education and can Type so words a minute but the wages for mediocre typists arc so Low that 1 would end up paying my salary to a Day care provider. Also if i go to work my rent goes up my food Stamps go Down i lose medicaid and i d be much worse off financially. Also 1 would not be Able to spend time with my children As i do now. I talked to my caseworker and she Flat out told me to forget about a Job because i was much better off stay ing on welfare. When i asked about government help for further education she said there Are no funds in our county to pay for child care while i attend classes and i d better forget about that too. It s frustrating and degrading to be on welfare. When you meet a decent Man and he finds out you re on welfare he thinks you Are a Moocher or too Lazy to Goto work. Arc there any senators or congressmen out there who Are interested in hearing from those of us who sincerely want to get off welfare and be self support ing s.c., grand Junction Colo.  your senators Are William Armstrong and Timothy e. Wirth. Your congressman is Joel Hefly. Send � copy of this column to All three. Tell them the letter is yours and you d like some help. Please let me know what you hear. Dear Ann Landers i have a very close relative who visits me every year for several weeks. I give her a bedroom and Bath All to herself. Every Chance she gets she goes into my bedroom and goes through my Bills receipts correspondence and even the personal belongings in my drawers. Some times she helps herself to Little things  As postage Stamps and inexpensive jewelry and trinkets. I Don t care about the trifles but i care about her invading my privacy. I feel violated every time she comes to visit. I m beginning to dread having her in the House. How do 1 solve this problem Van Guys Calif. Dear Van Tell her in a no nonsense manner 1 you Are aware of her snooping 2 please stay out of your bedroom in the future and 3 if she wants something to ask for it. Air travellers right to know of threats considering the recent bombing of pan american flight 103, i would like to offer some thoughts concerning whether or not the travelling Public should be warned of air travel threat information. I debated this matter with Isac yes sat an israeli air travel Security consultant on the feb. 16 edition of Abc news nigh line. That format however did not allow enough time for a detailed treatment. Two weeks before the bombing of pan am flight 103 with the loss of 270 lives state department Federal aviation administration Faaland air port and airline officials were informed of the possibility of the attack. Those agencies contented themselves with notifying each other but not the travelling Public. Why was t the travelling Public notified will that Public be notified in the future what Agency will be responsible for the notification these questions must be answered and the travelling pub Lic especially those who frequently travel to and around Europe and the Middle East told what to expect or not to expect. Facts on . 5, 1988, a Man with a Middle East accent called the american embassy in Helsinki Finland and reported that sometime within the next two weeks there would be a bombing at tempt against a pan american aircraft flying from Frankfurt to the United states. The state department disseminated the information to the Faa airports and pan american and other applicable airlines but not the travelling pub Lic. The information proved to be chillingly accurate. However official agencies subsequently insisted that it was routine to get threat information they receive that stuff every Day and the information was not specific enough to warrant notifying the Public. Routine specific receive that stuff every Day then Why did the Faa Send out Only 23 Security alerts including two involving pan am flight 103 to airlines during the entire year of 1988? not specific enough intelligence analysts correctly equate the specificity of information with the probability of its accuracy and reliability. In this Case the specifics of the information should have caused one s hair to stand on end and raise chill bumps. The informant gave a time period within two weeks specific Carrier pan american and a route from Frankfurt to the United states. In the intelligence world that is specific. What Impact proponents for keeping threat information secret contend that Public notice of  in formation would dramatically reduce air travel. Even president Reagan concerning the flight 103 threat said a Public statement. Would literally have closed Down All the air traffic in the  that is simply not True. First a Public statement is no necessary. Only the travelling Public needs to be Noti fied of applicable threats. A new York times service Sun by of . Carriers to include pan american and travel agencies since the crash reveals that air travel to Europe remains Norma applicable trav Elers could be notified when buying a ticket during the interim or when arriving for departure. Let them decide second the vast majority of threats and tips arc so general that no reasonable action can be taken. Only specific threats should be considered and they arc very few. The state department announced that it issued 106 terrorist threat warnings during the four month period Between september and december 1988, but the Faa considered that Only 23 warnings for All of 1988 were applicable enough to Issue air travel alerts. Considering the stakes we could live with that level of activity. A pan american spokesman offered three reasons Why Public notification of threats would adversely Impact air travel Security and operations Security would be undermined by announcing to the terrorist groups How much the authorities know. Public notice could cause copy cat threats magnifying the problem. Airlines would suffer passenger cancellations even when the threat was not valid. Those reasons arc faulty. The first Rule of Security is to deter attacks. Experience shows that publicizing threat information causes prospective attackers to abandon plans. Euro Pean Security agencies follow  a procedure. For example on Jan. 22. 1989, the British government via the London sunday times announced uncovering an Irish Republican army plot to conduct mor tar attacks against Buckingham Palace the House of parliament and other targets. Then on Jan. 24 the Zurich police announced increased Security to coun Ter a reported group of terrorists carrying lebanese passports and planning attacks against american and British targets. Announcing threat information pre vents attacks fears that copy cats would create havoc with the system could be eliminated by notifying Only the travelling Public directly involved. Concerning cancellations alerted travellers May reschedule specific lights but will continue to Fly. Over time any Impact will be evenly distributed among air Linos. Who is responsible for notification no government Agency is currently responsible for notifying the travelling Public of terrorist threat information. Some contend that that verifies a policy of no notification regardless of the threat level. The following comments made after the pan am bombing reflect the situation Ray Sala Arfaa. The responsibility for publishing general threat advisories belongs with the state  Phyllis Oakley state department our focus is to Alert those responsible for doing something about Security. It s up to the airlines to take precautions they deem necessary for the safety of their  a pan Amer ican spokesmen stated that their hands were tied because state department threat advisories restrict distribution Only to Faa . Carriers and Airport Security personnel catch 22." White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater reflected the same confusion in stating in terms of notifying the general Public i would t try to pin responsibility. There Are any number of people who Are  then or. Fitzwater offered these Are very legitimate questions that have to be answered. The Public should be aware of the Gen eral threat lcvcl.",right on or. Fitzwater. Air travellers especially those travelling american airlines on High threat routes to and around Europe and the Middle East should be provided applicable threat information. Those most affected and least Able to avoid danger arc those military personnel and government employees required to Fly american carriers the number one targets. At least the government should say if it will share threat information with the travelling Public or not. Then let the travelling Public beware. Unlike so Many past air travel Security questions that simply faded away this time the if and who will pro vide future threat information to the Public demands answers William  Stuttgart West Germany european edition col Jeffrey Cook Usa commander de Ltd w Civet it col Suzanne l Phillips Usan Deputy commander editor in Chiel Maive Kominick Mert Proctor Diane b. 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