European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 18, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 16 b the stars and stripes Money matters tuesday May 18, 1993 today s rates following arc fixed rates at which Community banking and credit Union facilities will sell for eign currencies to . Personnel for personal use. Gorman Murk 1.57 British Pound 1.50 dutch Guilder .1.75 greek drachma 212.5563 note Tho rates above apply within Tho Host country. Figures Are expressed n dollars o Tho British Pound Othor currencies to the Dollar following arc Interbank rates that fluctuate and should be regarded As the approximate value of the . Dollar to foreign Curren cies italian lira 1,468.25 turkish lira 9,972.20 Spanish peseta 122.69 portuguese escudo 154.68 austrian Schilling 11.2875 saudi rial 3.75 Bahrain Dinar. 0.3768 Kuwait Dinar 0.3007 norwegian Krone 6.81 danish Krone 6.169british Pound 1.5362 German Mark 1.6115 Swiss franc1.4585 French franc 5.417 dutch Guilder 1.7981 belgian franc. 33.09 Canadian Dollar 1.2756n note figures Are expressed in dollars to Tho British Pound Othor currencies to Tho Dollar Gold quote $370.00 an ounce. Silver quote $4.47 an ounce. At Tad drive to show a world of High tech consumer marvels new York a most people find it hard to believe that doors can be opened by the sound of a voice. But new ads created for at to make such advanced technology a Little easier to Pic Ture. At to s to ads ask have you Ever and show viewers situations like sending faxes from the Beach or opening a door just by speaking. The spots end with the message you  the ads which also will appear in print Media arc the first to illustrate to a mass audience the changes in people s lives that result from the convergence of computers communications Media and con Sumer electronics. See related Story on Page 12. Where we be always been the company that kept people in touch in the past in ways that people Are used to in the future we re also going to keep people in touch but in different ways said Paula Horii an american Telephone & Tele graph co. Spokeswoman. The products and information Power  the $40 million and Campaign Ivill be widespread in the next three to fwd years Horii said. Some like sending faxes from the outdoors Are Here now. At to s ads will help familiarize con Sumers who arc often wary of new technology with the future said people who follow High tech trends. They want to make it seem like a Happy thing said Charlotte Wolter Edi Tor of video technology news in Santa Monica Calif. They re going to be Deal ing with a lot of  she said her conversations with friends less familiar with technology show her what companies will be up against when they try to Market products like go any where communicators and 500-Channel tvs. The dominant reaction is a Little bit of intimidation Wolter said. Andrew Blau associate for telecommunications policy at the electronic Frontier foundation in Washington said people generally come to grips with new technology in the workplace or through friends. The advertising still in some ways has a Buck Rogers feel to it Blau said. From my experience the Way people actually develop a connection with technology is in much More mundane  but Warren Baunach an at Tveter an who is now associate Dean of the Busi Ness school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill said the ads Are very  in addition to reaffirming the notion that at to is a Leader in communications Baunach said it sets up the Public to be a user of these products not just be amazed by  at to the nation s largest Long Dis Tance company is involved in a number. Of alliances with other companies to develop multimedia and personal communications. For instance it is a partner with time Warner Matsushita and Mca in 3do corp., which is developing an interactive game device. It also backs to co., which is expected to begin Selling hand held computers this year and general magic which is developing standards for such devices. Nonetheless at to s senior executives reviewed the ads to make sure they did t Promise too much Horii said. At to is spending a sizable chunk of the Campaign s budget trying to reach 18 to 34-year-Olds by placing the ads on Fox and mtg in magazines like rolling Stone and allure and for the first time in movie Heaters. But Horii noted the ads also appear in newsmagazine and on network news broadcasts. We re not just appealing to the younger crowd she said. Tar Iff i if Ted from Nissan Pathfinder Washington a a judge has ruled that imported Nissan Pathfinder should not have been subject to the 25 percent Tariff imposed on trucks because they were intended for use As passenger vehicles. Although Only about 20,000 vehicles Are directly affected by Friday s ruling the Case could Hurt efforts by . Auto makers to get the government to classify As trucks All imported multipurpose vehicles including minivans and sport Utility vehicles. The court has Little doubt that the Pathfinder is principally designed for the transport of persons wrote judge Jane a. Restani of the court of International Trade in new York where decisions by the government to impose duties can be appealed. Her ruling reverses a decision made by the Treasury department in 1989. The customs service originally Classi fied multipurpose vehicles or Mevs As trucks for purposes of collecting tariffs. About a month later the Treasury department chanced the listing for four door Mevs allowing them to pay the lower Tariff charged on car imports. That left Only two door Mevs paying the 25 percent duty As opposed to the 2.5 percent duty paid on each car import. Rustani s decision against the govern mint Likely will translate into millions of dollars returned to Nissan for the excess duty it paid. Republicans say chamber chief too soft toward Clinton policies Bojoh Cunniff a business analyst new York Richard l. Lasher has run the . Chamber of Commerce for nearly two decades with a Strong defense of business. Now he s in a fight with conservative republicans who say he s no pro business enough. The Brawl could reshape the effective Ness of the chamber one of the most influential business lobbies in the nation. It also could Hurt Republican Solidarity in resisting the Clinton administration s economic Agenda. Perhaps most important it involves accusations that Lasher has embarked on a course that May not represent the views of chamber members who Range from Fortune 500 behemoths to neighbourhood hardware stores in Small town America. This Story has elements of a drama uncommon even in Washington where much of it has played out. At  is a challenging Republican letter to the chamber accusations of lying broken personal relationships and firings. The hostility is the More remarkable because the chamber and republicans have Long shared similar views on matters such As taxes spending and regulation of business with one group almost speaking for the other. That however is part of the problem. Leshor head of the chamber since1975, says a group of conservative House ringleaders is trying to dictate the group s positions. In his View they want the chamber to oppose the Clinton administration not work with it. Where do they get the right to Tell us How to run our affairs he asked in an interview. Lasher said his goal is to remain Wel come at the White House the better to present chamber views. He said the chamber s Board supports him unanimously. Well work with the Clinton administration on some Issue Sand Well fight like cats and dogs Over other things he said. The hostility surfaced a few months ago in a letter from rep. Robert h. Michel r-i11., House minority Leader to Ivan w. Gorr chamber chairman. The letter denounced what it viewed As Lesher s inappropriate friendliness to presi Dent Clinton. It was signed by five other High profile conservative republicans Newt Gingrich of Georgia Dick Armey of Texas Bill Mccollum of Florida Tom delay of Texas and Henry Hyde of Illinois. The chamber s current posture is disturbing it read. Your current postures  it rebuked Lesher for the chamber s apparent unwillingness to adopt an aggressive posture in regard to the administration s leadership which has called for a mix of higher taxes and reduced spending. Given the urgency of the situation and potential consequences we wanted to warn you again o the stakes involved in your current position the letter concluded. Lesher said he viewed that As a threat but at least one of the signers denied that it was. Dick mischaracterize me said Armey. I never intended to dictate  still Armey said he thought Lasher s position toward Clinton is misguided. I think he made a mistake. I think he is on the wrong Side of issues and that it will be hard for the chamber  Back from the embalm  Tony Blankley press Secretary for Gin Grich said he also thought Lesher was making a tactical error that was backfiring with chamber members some of whom appear to be increasingly Disen chanted with Clinton. This administration goes against our values and is hostile to the free Market place said Blankney. They the Cham Ber Are not gaining the objectives  Gorr responded with a letter to Michel on March 31, explaining that chamber directors approved Lesher s strategy of working with Clinton. At the same time he said the chamber remains Active and outspoken in pursuing business inter ests. We infer from various statements in your letter that if we do not adopt positions acceptable to you we will suffer the consequences " Gorr wrote. He called that deeply  Gorr called it ironic that a Small group of legislators who espouse the principle of limiting government integer ence in business is attempting to. Inter Fere in the democratic policy making pro Cess of a business  american chinese group reportedly tries to buy part of Chanute fab Commerce and Community affairs Thi show the project to be one of the Large t Chicago up1 a consortium of american and chinese investors report edly is trying to Purchase 100 acres of Chanute fab to build a sprawling executive training Center for chinese and other asian managers. Cram s Chicago business reported monday that Amer invest International inc. Has been involved in about 18 months of negotiations with the Penta gon the Federal general services administration and the City of Rantoul about 100 Miles South of Chicago. The 2,500-acre base is scheduled to shut Down sept. 30. The report however said All plans for conversion of the base to civilian use have been held up until Federal agencies sign off on a master plan for the entire facility. Grain s said Amer invest officials declined to discuss details of their plans or to reveal who their chinese partners Are however it said it obtained materials presented to the Illinois department of � � h-1 j w v v v a w w i envisioned for Chanute. The report describes Amer invest an International investment and trader. Concern and said officials  their plans for the 100 acres in the North West quadrant of the base. 11