European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 18, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 2 a a the stars and stripes tuesday december 18,1990big business for by Randy Pruitt Middle East Bureau diva Juan saudi Arabia some people like to get things off their Chest. Not Al Blunt lies just the opposite. In saudi Arabia he a transforming soldiers civilians and himself into walking billboards front and Back. Blunt you see deals in to shirts. Not just any to shirts mind you but the desert shield variety. In a climate where its 80 degrees at High noon in december they re hot items. Quot its a to shirt country because of the weather a Blunt says. Shop windows almost patriotically display the Cotton garments emblazoned with colourful designs and slogans spun off the Soldier in the desert theme. Blunt though is merchant. He a not out to make a dime. All profits arc being channelled Back to the people he cares most about the soldiers. This Christmas gis confined in military hospitals in saudi Arabia will be watching televisions that Arentt there now. A my goal is to put to sets in As Many military hospitals As i can in saudi Arabia a he said. can pick up armed forces radio and television service programming As Well As English language shows broadcast by saudi Arabia and Bahrain. The tie in Between tvs for the Hospital and to shirts is quite Pun intended fitting for Blunt. He supervisor for the 400-Ned Hospital on the Aramco compound in Dhahran saudi Arabia. A a fac been out to some of these military hospitals and seen these kids laying on cots with tvs Stu Cit in their arms. They re so bored. They have nothing to do while in Beds a Blunt said. His foray into the to shirt world began following a visit to a base Camp in september. Blunt a 13-year.Aramco employee his Friend Bob Cashel and their wives look some gifts to a group of soldiers. Quot we had some of these desert shield to shirts on and the soldiers expressed an interest in getting one a said Blunt 47. A. One week later they returned with about 100 Quot nuke Iraq shirts. Quot we sold them to the Guys for what we paid for them a he said Quot when we got Back thought about How much they enjoyed them the to shirts so 1 decided news update Powell bows out Atlanta a the chair Man of the joint chiefs of staff has decided not to serve As grand marshal of a Parade honouring Martin Luther King or. After some cd vol rights leaders questioned his selection a a a Quot a .7. Can. Colin l. Powell said in a letter to Kings widow Sorelta Scott King that he Felt his presence might detract from the Jan. 21 event. He also said events in the persian Gulf might require that he be in Washington then. Some civil rights leaders had said Powell a presence could create an awkward situation at the Martin Luther King or. Center for nonviolent social change Powell the first Black chairman of the joint chiefs of staff is a longtime admirer of King and often quotes the slain civil rights Leader in his speeches. Mrs. King said she accepted Powell a withdrawal adding she is strongly opposed to . Military involvement in the Gulf. Just to continue doing he enlisted a saudi Printer and soon Blunt was to x is s # a a. A is amps Lynda Davidson Al Blunt an Aramco Oil company employee displays some to shirts he a Selling to americans in saudi Arabia. Sending his lunch hour delivering and picking up lists. He also devoted Many evenings and weekends the project. Cashill and George Deacon both Aramco employees sell the to shirts to the soldiers at Cost a 25 riyals $6.75 military persons Are charged 30 riyals $8down to in stores charge $ 10 to $ 12, Blunt peddles his wares from his garage he reaches troops in the desert by arranging for soldiers in convoys to transport and sell the to shirts for him. His Only advertising is word of Mouth. To Date he has sold More than 8,000 to shirts netting $3,000 profit. Not Only do soldiers buy the to shirts some units come up with their own designs. Blunt keeps no records on the creations but said some Are original while others Are modified versions of existing designs or Are based on political cartoons. Quot everyone has a it a he says. Big Sellers include a crossed american and saudi flags with Quot desert shield 1990�?� in English on top and the same words in arabic script below. A Quot hard Luck cafe is stencilled across a Sun like Cir Csc ringed by stacks of Dollar Bills and Oil Wells. Below Are the words Quot Kuwait City Kuwait under new v a Quot Guif War Iii written in Large bold letters like a movie advertisement below in smaller print Quot a Saddam Hussein production starring George Bush Margaret Thatcher Helmut Kohl Hosni Mubarak. Based on a Book by Francois Mitterrand and Bob Hawke. Screenplay by Mikhail Gorbachev . Security Council. Directed by James a cartoon character Bart Simpson wearing a Battle helmet. The caption a to Saddam i m Bart. In a on the Back of the same shirt is the ruler from Baghdad on horseback being chased by two helicopters. Quot you can run but you can to hide a reads the caption 7. A a a. Blunt wants no credit when he delivers the new televisions to the hospitals. Attached to each will be one card that reads Quot merry Christmas from americans who May raise corrections the military counselling network is in Krastev Germany about .40 Miles West of Wiesbaden. A Story recently gave incorrect info. Matron on the punishment for desertion and missing a troop movement. The maximum sentence for desertion is a dishonourable discharge and five years confinement. The maximum sentence for missing troop movement with the intent of avoiding Maneu vers or Field exercises by design is a dishonourable discharge and two years it Mary net ii a a a a. Staft writer higher Telephone Bills and a yearly fee for freeway us May be in the offing for residents of won t have to worry about paying for Highway use year however. A there will be no decision on the l fee before the end of 19.91,�?� said Dionys Jobst a Christian Democrat who Heads the parliaments traffic committee. Other details such As whether americans would have to pay the fee Haven to been worked out Jobst said. The Highway tax and phone rate increase Are two of 14 suggestions made last week by finance minister Theo Taigel for beefing up the German Federal Bud get. The minister introduced his proposals in negotiations among three parties to form a new coalition government. The parties a the Christian democrats the Christian socialists and the free demo erupts a also formed the old government. The parties Are looking for ways to raise Money to finance the rebuilding of Eastern Germany without raising income taxes. The phone and autobahn suggestions generated Surprise inside the government and heavy criticism on the outside. Quot we Are completely in the dark a said 3 spokesman fur Tele Kom the division of the German phone company that handles telecommunications. Quot there is no Way we can comment on any change of rates at this the Federal postal minister Christian Schwarz Schilling Wasny to consulted before the proposal was made Public the spokesman spa representative Klaus daubers Hauser called the Quot head tax for Drivers ludicrous and socially unjust. Other spa members labelled the plan Quot a dupe of the a Quot ,7. During the fall Campaign Chancellor Helmut Kohl promised that reunification would carry no jump in Germany a already stiff income tax but he did say increased fees were a possibility introduction of fees such As the autobahn charge would be an indirect tax increase to finance German Unity said Matthias Platzeck the environmental minister in the German state of Brandenburg. Under Wai Gejo a plan Drivers would pay an annual fee for use of the country a freeways a Windshield sticker would be proof of payment without one freeway travel would be heavily fined. According to German press reports a minimum annual charge of 100 Marks $69 for passenger cars and 1,000 Marks $690 for trucks was first proposed. Later these planned fees. Yvere doubled the German Magazine Bunte reported. Jobst said the Money collected would be used to bring traffic networks in the reunited states up to Standard. This is not however the first time a charge for travel on the country a autobahn has been considered a Jobst said Quot such discussions go Back four years or so. One major setback in these attempts has been the failure of other common Market countries particularly the Netherlands to support Stich fees Jobst said citizens of these countries frequently drive through Germany on their Way to actions in the South. Quot in the meantime Jobst noted Quot German Drivers must pay to travel French and italian highways a both countries charge toils for Drivers who use their superhighways. 7 a Aigel a proposal on Telephone fates involves the amount of Money that Tele Kom contributes to the Federal budget by Law the Federal Telephone company must turn Over 10 percent of its income to the governments Treasury each year. In 1990, that amounted to about $4 billion. Under a restructuring of the German postal and Telephone system the amounts were to be reduced in the coming years giving the Poser Blitz of a drop in rates. Taigel would turn this around and ask for an additional $3.5 billion annually for the next four years. This would increase the Telephone company a contribution to the Federal Treasury to around $7,5 billion a year. Taigel said the higher rates would Cost Telephone users Only about 7 More mark3, a month a Quot not much of a Tele Kom officials however have sail t h at t he p Ropps Al Wro u id Hurt germ any a standing in International communication Competition. In july the . Federal communications commission protested the High rates being charged for Calls from Germany to the United states. J
