The Ottawa Citizen from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada • 33

The Citizen, Ottawa, Friday, April 6, 1979, Page 3 People Doonesbury i ACTTON DR. MAM, ABOUT H0U1 FAR CAN WE EXPECT new mno take the EXPULSION OF THE OLD WESTERN PRESENCE? line 77S S0METHIM5 UE CANHOT ecru rrt it urn be comm. compromise oh! western uhat? hull Be tow. the mcES and customs wvb personam imcmnvoFWR fStsSmtSSm- seen CULTURE HAS NO PLACE ATED! OFFENDERS HM AL- THIS? 7MJ066ERS. READY BEEN PUT 10 DEATH! 1 cjf -jil By Roger Appleton Inflation Watchdog Committee.

i ACTION LINE solves problems, gets answers, cuts red tape and stands up for your rights. Call ACTION LINE at 828-9188 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Please phone that number and do not call the Citizen directly.

If you prefer, mite to ACTION LINE at The Citizen, 1101 Baxter Box 5020, Ottawa K2C 3M4. We will answer as many inquiries as possible, but regret we will not be able to deal with them all. Please send photostatic copies of bills, receipts and other documents; not the originals. Geoff Johnson Swearing for special occasions tk metre above the garage opening. The skis splintered into a dozen pieces, wrecking the rack and denting the engine cover.

To the uncontrolled merriment of his wife, the driver, a man not normally given to swearing in front of her, peppered the damp cold air for a good two minutes with blinding hot oaths (some of them remarkably original). He presented a ludicrous sight, too, jumping up and down on the shards of laminated wood and kicking the fender of the innocent VW, but he figured he was entitled to every precious moment of it. I know all this to be true. I was there. Some of history's most gorgeous moments just wouldn't have been the same without swear words.

In his hilarious book Bring On The Empty Horses, David Niven, the actor, relates an incP dent that involved the Hungarian director Mikej Curtiz. Curtiz was working on a film called The Charge and his difficulty with the English langu-j age "was a joy to us all," writes Niven, particu- larly to a certain raucous, hard-swearing Austra- lian gentleman by the name of Errol Flynn. When the unfortunate Curtiz, intending to sig- nal the entrance of 100 riderless horses, called 1 out, "Okay, bring on the empty horses," Flynn doubled up with laughter. "You lousy bums," Curtiz roared. "You andj your stinking language.

You think I know (bleepX let me tell you, I know (bleep) all." a Grey Cup final wouldn't raise librarian's eyebrow these days. What's a person to do, for example, when the hammer drives his thumb instead of the nail into the woodwork? There is simply no satisfaction, no sense of relief, to be had from breathing fire on the aforementioned hammer. He might just as well exclaim: "Oh gosh, look I've flattened my thumb." When the transmission quits on the Queenswa'y in a snowstorm in the rush hour on the way home from having $400 worth of work done at the dentist, what is there left to say? "Golly gee, ain't life unfair some times?" Swearing should be treated like a bottle of good wine: uncorked only on special occasions, in very select company, and emptied at one sitting. For example, there is the true story of the man who was skiing at Vorlage with his wife some years ago when freezing rain sent everyone scurrying for home. i The man hurriedly loaded the skis on the rack of the little VW and skated off towards Ottawa.

It was a harrowing, exhausting three hour trip. The freezing rain came down in torrents. Vehicles collided, fell in ditches, refused to go up hills. The bless its little rear engine, ducked and weaved and made it all the way home unscathed. With a huge sigh of relief the frazzled driver turned into his driveway and steered carefully into the garage, forgetting for a split second that the skis in their rack extended at a least a Swearing is getting out of hand.

Once upon a time kids were seen and not heard. Now they are obscene and heard all the time. Gone are the days when youngsters nipped round the back of the wood shed to spread the naughty word. These days some of them pepper their language with expressions that would make a prime minister blush, and parents and teachers appear to have given up trying to do anything about it. Half the trouble is that they are hearing it from those very same adults and teachers.

They are also hearing it on TV and radio. 'Since kids aren't nearly so gullible as adults, they don't believe for a minute that what Trudeau actually said in the Commons was fuddle duddle. On Battlestar Galactica even the space-bound heroes have a habit of dropping an earthy-sounding "Frack" into the conversation. Some folk in the company of heavy swearers seem to feel it's incumbent upon them to proffer profanities, so that their companions won't be made to feel uncomfortable. There are others who seem to feel they are not "liberated" unless they punctuate every sentence, no matter how formal, with obscenities.

"I do like your new hat. where the (bleep) did you buy it?" What saddens me about this is that it devalues obscenities, and obscenities have their place in the language. A real "stinger" that once upon a time would have been capable of turning every "head at Someone may be tapping your phone Note to Norm and John if one of you is not tapping a prominent politician's telephone, someone may be tapping yours. If neither is true, your telephone system is in disorder and your confidential phone calls are being overheard by members of the public. I am a bit reluctant to write this item.

However, I can think of no other way to bring a potentially serious matter to the attention of those involved. I know mainly first names, which Norm and John used during a telephone call. I do know one last name but, from the context, believe it is not a name which should be revealed publicly for reasons of national security. I suspect that either Norm, or John, or both, are lawyers with the federal solicitor general's department or the department of justice. They also might be lawyers working with the RCMP.

The strange story began shortly before noon on April 3. I wanted to speak to a member of the house of commons and telephoned his office. The telephone did not ring. Instead, there were a number of strange clicks on the line and I found myself overhearing a conversation between two meri. I was sure neither was the politician or a member of his staff.

The conversation, at that point, was about the RCMP and the McDonald Commission RCMP inquiry. Specifically, it was about the, way in which the United States and Great Britain handled inquiries about acts such as break-and-enter and mail opening by their national security forces. In my opinion, it was definitely not the sort of conversation which John and Norm would want a private citizen to overhear. On four occasions I tried to break into the conversation to warn John and Norm that their conversation was not private. While I could hear every word they spoke clearly, apparently they could not hear me.

I listened to the end, hoping they would give some clue to their identities. That happened, as they revealed their first names only when ending the conversation at 12:03 p.m. "Got to go, now, Norm. Goodbye. So long, John." The politician I called has a busy telephone.

It is a serious security leak if wiretaps or bad phone systems are opening private conversations to anyone who dials his number. People Lightfoot to be honored AJ m. iu Am sr. i 1 A i f0 am1 since Viscount Monck in 1867 have been invested as priors of the order and all lieutenant-governors as Knights of Grace. The order was founded in Britain during the Crusades in 1096 and now conducts first-aid training classes.

Three new appointments have been made to the board of governors of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). The external affairs department announced Tuesday the new governors are Gelia Castillo df Los Banos, Philippines; Carl-Goran Heden of Stockholm, Sweden; and Manuel Ulloa of. Peru. The department also said Pierre Bauchet of Paris has been re-appointed. The IDRC, based in Ottawa, was created by Parliament to aid research by scientists in poorer countries.

The board of governors has 2 1 members, 1 1 of them Canadian citizens. Bauchet is professor of political economy at the University of Paris; Castillio is professor of rural sociology at the University of the Philippines, Heden is a professor at the Swedish Medical Research Council; and Ulloa is chief executive officer of Faucette Airlines, Peru's major domestic airline. Actor John Wayne, recovering at his home in Hollywood from Singer-composer Gordon Light-foot and three other Canadians will receive honorary degrees at Peterborough's Trent University's spring convocation, the university has announced. Lightfoot, a native of Orillia, has recorded 14 albums. He is a companion of the Order of Canada and a Vanier Award winner.

Mary Northway, former research director of the Institute of Child Studies at the University of Toronto, Kenneth Hare, former president of the University of British Columbia and director of the environmental studies institute at the University of Toronto, and Harry Williams, a botanist who teaches near Peterborough, also will receive honorary degrees. Govenor-General Edward Schreyer followed vice-regal tradition Thursday when he was invested as Prior of the Most Venerable Order of St. John of Jerusalem, an 883-year-old monastic order better known to Canadians as St. John Ambulance. Schreyer was invested by Lord Grey of Nauton, one of the highest-ranking members of the order in the Commonwealth, and in his first official function as prior invested his wife Lily as Grand Dame of Grace.

A Government House spokesman said all governors-general Return offer meets legal obligations I discovered the new car I bought had been in a minor accident, probably on the dealer's lot. One tire was damaged and a bump on the right rear corner had been repaired. The dealer apologized and offered to take back the car and return my money and my trade-in. I demanded another car instead. The dealer refused.

I said I would consult a lawyer. The dealer then called me ungrateful and said the damage was my tough luck and I was stuck with the car forever. Name withheld I think you both have things to learn from this unnecessary little fracas. You should learn that an offer of a complete return of the purchase price usually meets all legal and moral obligations arising from an unsatisfactory deal. The purchaser has no right to demand a new deal on something else instead.

The dealer should learn that it can be expensive to, in effect, threaten a customer with reprisal for consulting a lawyer. See that lawyer now. The matter stands where it did at first an automobile sold to you as new was damageed. The later arguments do not change that basic fact. The most you will likely get is what you were freely offered in the beginning, return of your trade-in plus the money you paid.

There is, I think, a good chance the judge will order the dealer to pay your legal bill as fitting treatment for trying to pcnalyze you for seeking legal counsel. But 1 doubt it will get that far. If a writ is issued on your behalf I think common sense will prevail and the dealer, to avoid wasted time and court costs, will make his original offer to you once again. I suggest you take it this time. UPl photo WILDLIFE PLIGHT: Cheryl Tiegs poses in Kenya with Masai tribesmen while there for filming an ABC Television special concerning the African wildlife which is being herded into too little space in the national parks.

once served almost three years in an Israeli prison on charges of smuggling guns for Palestinian guerrillas, has visited Syria and Iran recently to help promote Palestinian causes. The Israeli government, res- ponding to a direct appeal from Pope Paul VI, released Capudji in 1 November, 1977, on the condition that he would not return to the Middle East. gall bladder and cancer surgery in January, is expected to be present for special recognition at Monday night's Slst annual Oscar presentation. Controversial Greek Catholic Archbishop Hilarion Capudji arrived in Rome on Thursday amid expectations that he will be received by Pope John Paul. The Syrian-born prelate, who Art Buchwald Herman i -i i Putting it on line for Middle East i a fj'T mm jtmm.

Mi. But in fairness to all three, they took risks that no other anchor persons had ever taken before in trying to get the parties together. When Waiter decided to go to the Middle East with President Carter, in a final last-ditch effort to save the peace, his advisers at CBS were almost all against it. "It's okay for Carter to one of them told him, "he has nothing to lose. But if you go, Walter, and come back empty-handed, your credibility as the most trusted man in the United States will be joepardized, and your rating in the polls could plummet." Walter was adamant.

"The peace means more to me than my popularity. I know the chances are slim, but I have some new ideas for Begin and Sadat which could mean a breakthrough." ABC had mixed feelings about Barbara Walters. Since it was still Nq. 3 in the nightly news' Nielsens, the feeling was that if an agreement failed, Walter would get most of the blame, and then Barbara's stature would go up. But if there was the slightest chance of success, both Begin and Sadat would insist on giving up equal time with Cronkite.

Besides, Barbara didn't even discuss it with her bosses. She was on a plane the minute Carter announced he was going. Chancellor also insisted he would rather come back from the Middle East empty-handed than not go at all. He had NBC draw up a new map for him, which he hoped might break the deadlock between the Egyp-, tian and Israeli leaders. We may never know the roles these three played in bringing about the White House signing, but at our house, where we watched these three shuttling back and forth between Cairo and Jerusalem, standing in front of the Wailing Wall and broadcasting on the banks of the Nile, Cronkite, Walters and Chancellor were our only source of information on what was going on.

When they were up, we were up. When they were doww, a black cloud descended ove our TV screens. I don't want to take anything away from President Carter or Anwar Sadat or Menachem Begin, but it is inconceivable to me that these three men would have come to a meeting of the minds if they weren't aware that Cronkite, Walters and Chancellor were waiting outside to report on their negotiations. It was one thing for these three leaders to report back to their constituents that they had been unable to reach a peace agreement. But none of them had the nerve to walk out of the meetings and look Walter Cronkite in the eye and say, "We failed." If nothing else, each of them shoujd at least be giv-en a pen.

Times-Post Nts Service WASHINGTON It was the media of the decade. The signing of a peace treaty between Israeli Prime Minister Menachim Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, with President Carter sitting at the table on 'the lawn of the White House. And yet there was something missing. Suddenly I realized what it was. Walter Cronkite, Barbara Walters and John Chancellor were not up there to initial the treaty.

How, I thought to myself, could be there peace in the Middle East when these three television newscasters were not part of the agreement? For over two years I had gotten all my news about the negotiations from Cronkite, Walters and Chancellor, as had everyone else in the United States. President Carter occasionally made a statement. Begin and Sadat were constantly being interviewed by their own press, but night after night it was the role of the American TV commentators to give us the good and bad news of the negotiations. There were evenings when Cronkite looked very discouraged, and I got the feeling he wanted to break off the negotiations. There were times when Ms.

Walters was almost in tears because she couldn't put the peace package together. Chancellor, I must say, was the most optimistic. I could never tell watching him when he was throw in the towel. "Mommy can't see very well. Xyou wanna swap seats?".