European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 23, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday december 23, 1991 the stars and stripes b Page 17today s tip Novell inc., the largest . Supplier of office network software for personal computers said it inadvertently allowed a software virus to slip into copies of a recently _ shipped Diskette the new York times reported last week. In a letter to about 3,800 customers wednesday Novell based in Provo Utah said the Diskette shipped earlier this month was accidentally infected with a virus known by computer experts As a stoned Iii a the newspaper said. A computer virus is a program with a self replicating glitch that could potentially destroy data. The times said the company had received a number of reports from customers that the virus had invaded their systems although there have been no reports of damage. Conversion rates London up fridays rates for the . Dollar to other currencies. Figures Are expressed in dollars to the British Pound other local currencies in dollars Gold was quoted at s35b.25 an ounce Silver at $3.87. Dec. 19 dec. 20 British pound.1,8330 1.8595 German Mark. 1.5570 1.5350 French franc.5.3805 5.3205 dutch guilder.1.7573 1.7350 belgian franc.32.09 31.65 Kalian lira.1,188.70 1,178.40 Swiss franc.1.3850 1.3940 greek drachma.180,93 178.50 turkish lira.5,084.50 5,063.20 saudi arabian riyal.3.7499 3.7499 Spanish peseta.99.78 99.20 portuguese escudo.138.97 137.71 Canadian dollar.1.1466 1.1545 austrian schilling.11.0725 10.95 norwegian krone.6.1860 6.1280 danish krone.6.1185 6,0580 these Are commercial rates and can be related Only to the use of foreign currency by . Forces for official business. The Only official rate concerns the Sale of German Marks to . Personnel for personal use and this will be 1.52 on monday based on fridays noontime  firm wins Pentagon contract Al Segundo Calif. Up computer sciences corp. Said Friday that to has been awarded a $744 million contract from the department of defense to develop a massive computer information system for weapons parts. Computer sciences Stock skyrocketed on the news gaining $2.25, to $70.25, in Early Friday afternoon trading on the new York Stock Exchange. Computer sciences beat out rival Xerox corp. For a contract on a computer system linking 245 military Sites across the United states. The firm has 12 years to Complete the project called the joint computer aided acquisition and logistic support Scals. It is designed to function As an umbrella system for various computer programs at different branches of the armed services. Computer sciences said Scals will enable the services to a build maintain and support weapons systems and reduce the amount of traditional paperwork such As technical manuals and engineering drawings. The company said Scals will also introduce digital technology to help design select and Purchase  matters groups Are corporate wolves in sheep s clothing activists say Washington up american past two years irom Industry. Washington up american corporations Are using Quot front groups with deceptive names or misleading goals to confuse the Public and win benefits through lobbying a consumer advocate group said saturday. Essential information a non profit organization in Washington said the groups use names that suggest a scientific background or a sympathetic viewpoint such As National wetlands coalition which includes two dozen Oil companies. Quot every Day groups with deceptive sounding names groups that represent major american corporate Powers arc seeking to convince journalists and the american people that the groups represent something other than the usual corporate interests Quot the group said in a report. A the reason is simple a it s easier to believe disinformation when the disinformation is coming from an apparently disinterested  Mark Megalli a researcher with the group said the trend of corporations to set up such groups has been on the Rise for the past 20 years ballooning in the past two years Quot these groups stand to gain and lose a considerable amount of dollars a a Megalli said referring to the lobbying efforts designed to weaken regulations or create a More favourable regulatory environment. The report profiles three dozen groups such As consumer Alert a group of manufacturers seeking to defeat consumer Protection Laws and citizens for sensible control of acid rain a Utility group seeking to weaken acid rain regulations. A a this is a new tactic the corporations have devised Quot Megalli said in an interview. Quot a couple of big corporations started doing it and a lot of others began to follow  Quot Many corporate groups were founded in response to the consumer citizen and environmental movement which advanced a political and legislative Agenda under a common Banner. At the time corporate groups had names like the tobacco Institute american Petroleum Institute and the chamber of Commerce. While these groups remain a Batch of new groups have been formed in Many eases receiving support irom Industry. In the report the group found Many leading corporations such As Exxon. Ford Philip Morris and at amp to donate to several Quot front groups Quot listed in the study. The report said corporate groups use scientific sounding names a tactic of a Hermiea and nuclear companies to advocate an Industry position names that indicate a Quot general concern for the Public interest a used by groups seeking to sound a environmentally sensitive Quot or be Quot consumer advocates a a buzzwords such As Quot sensible Quot Quot responsible Quot or Quot sound Quot that conceal the real purpose and innocuous sounding names to hide any business connection. Quot these corporate front groups advertise hold conferences publish newsletters and reports write editorials and appear on talk shows in an Effort to Sway Public opinion toward the Industry viewpoint Quot the report said. I he report said efforts to ban cigarette smoking prompted Industry support for a dozens of National and regional smokers rights groups that Are Quot nothing More than fronts for the  . Toy store draws kudos in Japan Ami town Japan a Consumers passed up mom and pop shops and hockey to a huge american discount toy store on its opening Day last week after the path was cleared by years of . Pressure on Japan to open up its markets. Japan a first toys r us store delighting thousands of customers with Low prices and whetting their children s voracious appetites for anything that blinks beeps or begs to be cuddled. Quot i came to buy a Christmas gift for my daughter but she wants everything. She s got to decide on one Quot moaned Enriko Endo As she trailed her 2-year-old through the 45,1100-Square-foot store. A for a consumer this is great. I m thrilled Quot gushed Nobuyoshi Katsumata As he pushed a shopping cart filled with stuffed animals and other toys for his 3-year-old daughter. For toys r us it was the culmination of a Long Battle to break through Japan a often hermetic Trade practices japanese Consumers have Long been denied the deep Price cuts and massive selection of huge discount outlets by a retail system stuffed with middlemen and Small retailers who wielded their political clout to prevent Large stores from opening. But . Officials have argued that larger stores would be More Likely to Stock imports thereby helping reduce Japan s $41 billion Trade surplus with the United states a source of worsening tension Between the two countries. More than 40 percent of the 15,000 products in this toys r us Are imported Ken and Barbie. American games like a twister Quot baby bottles cribs. Pampers. Despite the abundance of . Brand names Many of the imports Are actually made in third world countries. Company officials claim prices on some items Are up to 30 percent cheaper than elsewhere in Japan because toys r us buys Many products directly from factories instead of following the local practice of buying from wholesalers. A Geoffrey the Giraffe toys r us Mascot welcomes customers during the grand opening of the discount toy chains first store on Friday in Ami town a suburb of Tokyo. Although the arrival of toys r us in the northeastern outskirts of metropolitan Tokyo Isnit going to wipe out the Trade deficit overnight the discount chains Success could revolutionize shopping in Japan As other retailers try to catch up. By the time the doors opened at 1 1 a.m., hundreds of shoppers already were in lines that snaked through the parking lot of the discount chains first outlet in Japan. Local children a groups performed and a band at the Entrance played Jingle Bells while employees dressed As stuffed animals worked the crowd. Larry d. Bouts president of toys r us International division said some sections of the store a mainly the More expensive items a had sold More than they had expected to sell in a week in just the first few hours. Quot some people said it was Folly to open such a huge store Here. I think they re going to have sad faces Quot bouts said. A this is  the discount Chain plans to open another store in Western Japan in Early january and their third store in the southwestern suburbs of Tokyo in March. It Hopes to eventually have at least pm stores in Japan. Loys r us three year Campaign to do business in Japan symbolizes Washington a Effort to convince Japan to change business traditions such As the Labyrinthine retail system that it says prevent americans from Selling their products in Japan. Tokyo agreed in Trade negotiations to set an 18-month limit on applications for Large retail outlets by revising Laus that allowed Small retailers to delay by up to a decade government approval Tor a store larger than 5,5011 Square feet