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Pepe | a The Herald, Thursday, February 12, Wa}

.
IE HER NCE RELIVING

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:,. therein lies
the horror

” By Bruce Levett
_. Have they gone too far?
- That there was a need for

_.@. translation machine

seems beyond doubt. The
buman~ variely was
creating havoc.

— Forinstance, a soft-drink
firm exported its slogan to
Taiwan —- Come Alive With
Pepsi -— only to have it
emerge in the Orient as
Pepsi Brings Your An-
eestors Back From the
Dead.

"General Motors meant to
ativertise Body by Fisher
but, with the help cf the
‘ranslators, it became
Corpse by Fisher in a
number of countries.

No, the time was ripe for
a no-nonsense machine to
do the job and Ottawa has
come up with something. It
took 15 years to perfect
and, so far, has been used
solely to translate govern:
ment weather reports.

However, a shudder of
apprehension is being felt +
in the land that, just
possibly, the thing is
already out of control.
.:Hiddel deep in the bundle
of leaked informationis the
chilling phrase “it can
analyse sentences.”’

‘- Therein lies the horror. ~
iF -:What we have here is a

device
to analytic

‘Fe ehanical
. dedicated

ef candor. The prospects are
*. frightening.

Ne more will Flora

>. MacDonald have to furrow

‘her brow as she asks Ex-

ternal Affairs Minister
_ Mark MacGuigan:

“Which of these two

: reports is being given
“tongue in cheek? Which is
. being stated as rhetorical?

*. Can the minister tell us

. - whichof these two versions _

is true?”

Flora will merely have to

_ - Phone up the weather affice

for permission to rum the
-: puzzling statements

; “through the translation’
- machine
vj analysis.

for instance

There are still bugs to be
worked out, of course, and
il will take time.

As reports from Ottawa
state:

“The machine can
translate only unam-
Higuous texts employing
relatively simple grammar

. and. a limited vocabulary,

and this is likely to be the
limit of its achievement for
the next 10 years."
Aba — with phrases such
as “simple grammar" and

: “limited vocabulary,” it

becomes clear that it’s the
politicians the machine is
after.

And it’s that sentence
analysis bit thal’s in-

Does this mean that no -

longer will a politician be
able to emerge from a
smoke-filled back room
and .dazzle us with such
ponderous statements as:

: “We have engaged in a

meaningful dichotomy?"
Pop that into a machine

‘ capable of instant analysis
- and:

Whrrrr, Click. Buzzz.
“They voted 3-2 with one
abstention for chicken
salad sandwiches all
around. Hold the mayo.”

The next step, of course,

is for mass production to
‘put the sinister little
machine into the reach of
the man on the street.

“Just speak into this
microphone here, dear,
and tell me where you were
inti] 3. o'clock this mor-
ning. ..

“! was sitting up with a :

sick friend.”

Whirrr. Click. Buzzz.
“He was out drinking with
those no-goods down at the
Dutchman's.”

“Who programmed this

~ thing? Your mother?”

No, mankind may not be
ready for the translation
machine.

On the other hard, it may
be a bit early to panic.
Alter ail; how often do
those weather reports work
out according to the script?

4
LETTERS WELCOME )

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Allletters to the editor of general public interest
will be printed. We do, however, retain the right
to refuse to print letters on grounds of possible
libel or bad tast®. We may also edit letters for
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publication must be signed.

——

‘ees

by RICHARD GWYN

XL

. OTTAWA—When, in a speech in London a
fortnight ago, New Brunswick Premier
Richard Hatfield warned that before the
constitutional crisis is done, ‘‘Canada could
becomea republic,” reactionsranged from a
mild, “unreal, by Justice Minister Jean
Chretien, to editorta! | laughter and scorn.

More or less typically, The Toronto Star
headlined its story of a second speech by
Hatfield In which he repeated his warning
that the monarchy might be endangered,
“Hattleld Does It Again’. -

. One detail then unknown was that among
those listening to Hattleld’s second speech,
although anonymously so, was the Queen's
private secretary; Sir Philip Moore. Also
unknown was that Moore, ina remark which

' Since has made its way back to Ottawa, later
commented to an official that he was glad
Hatfield had spoken out.

This concern that the way Prime Minister
Trudeav is going about changing the con-
stitution could end up with the most fun-
damental constitutional revision of all —
Canada’s transformation from a monarchy
into a republic — still does seer far-fetched.

But as more and more detalls of what’s
been going on emerge, thanks to some
“mole’’ buried deep in the vitals of
Trudeav’s own office, Hatfield's worry,
although still over- blown, has edged into the
realm of the possible. ©

It’s possible, for instance, that a major
crisis in British-Canadian relations soon
may break out. The cause of this crisis could
be the refusal of the British Partiarnent to
pass Trudeau's constitutional package. To
break this deadlock, ts then entirely
possible that Trudeau will resort to an
election. using as his Issue Britaln’s
colonial’ treatment of Canada.

The Queen would be Involved personally
because she Is at one and the same time
Queen of Britaln and Queen of Canada. The
monarchy in general would be invalved
because It's the most visible remaining trace
of Canada’s colonial past — not counting the
double-decker London buses that trundle

_tovrists around Ottawa to watch on
Parliament Hill a faded trans-Atlantic echo
of the Changing of the Guard.

It’s now clear that Trudeau “sand-
bagged” Britlsh Prime Minister Margaret
Thatcher fast June, when he got her cam-
mitment to, in effect rubber-stamp his

constitutional package, he didn’t then warn ,

her of the likely extent of provincial op-
position, nor of the ambitious scope of his
constitutional changes which Thatcher, with
“surprise,” only realized last October went
far beyond simple patriation to encompass,
among other things, a Bill of Rights. — .

Since then, Trudeau has claimed that his
constitutional package would be approved,
quickly and automatically, by the
parilament.at Westminster.

Here, Trudeau has decelved Canadians.
Since November, It now turns out, he’s been
warned by a succession of British cabinet

ministers that his constitutional package ©

faced ‘appalling difficulties,’ In the phrase
of British House Leader Sir Francis Pym.

Personality and principle seem to be at the
root of these difficulties, British leaders have
never been particularly Impressed by
Trudeau. far less so than Americans. They
regard his lofty talk about North-South
dialogue as pure grandstanding. Add to this
the effectiveness of the provincial lobbies in
London, particularly that of Quebec.

The principle at stake Is that British MPs,

quite unlike
way they think they ought to vote rather than
the way their party tells them to. Thatcher

“cannot dellver ta Trudeau her own Con-
servative back-benchers, let alone the
Labour and Liberal ones.

On their own therefore, British MPs have
begun to re-think Trudeau's demand that
they pass his constitutional package, “while
holding thelr noses,” as he put it in one of his
typically infelicitious phrases, More and

_ more British MPs have concluded that to do

anything other than just to patriate the
constitution, and $0 fo leave aside the Bill of
Rights, would be to Interfere In a domestic
Canadian, federal-provincial, squabble.
“There Is a serious danger that the
Canadian Parliament is being directed on a
collision course with the British

’ Parliament,” British High Commissioner Sir

John Ford warned at a press conference this -
week at which he denied accusations he had °
been “lobbying’’ New Democrat MPs to
change their minds about supporting

_ Trudeau.

Because he’s near the endof his diplomatic
career,
diplomatically to the NOP. MPs than he
should have. Much more probably, though,
the Liberals seized on the issue to raise the:

spectre of “colonialism”. (They had leaked —-.

the story to reporters before the NDP taised
it in the Commons.}

By his single-minded obsession with his
constitutional package, Trudeau now has
enlarged his war with the provinces ta a two-
front one with Britain as well. Thatcher
stands by her commitment, but It Is far from

certain that her backbenchers will say,

“Ready, Aya, Madame.” A collision between
these MPs and thelr Canadian Liberal

_ counterparts whom you can take for granted |

will say ‘Yes Sir” to Trudeau, now is a real
possibility. .

DUKE, NOW THAT 2° THE
SHOP STEWARD WHAT Do I

rs SIMPLE. , JUST MAKE, |

Sure THE COMPANY JOESNT.
lOLATE THIS LITTLE CONTRACT.

ee

Q:

ve IN LINE WITH. THESE

PRECEDENTS»
f_)

_ Fick Keatley, the paper's diplomatic. correspondent :

‘anadian MPs, offen. vote the, _id_2 expatriate Canadian, reported.

; “Such a fuss’
from dull
old Canada

LONDON (CP) — Labor MP Bruce George was
denied permission Wednesday for an emergency
debate in the British House of Commons on the
“very critical deterioration” in Anglo-Canadlan ;
‘relations.

But Conservative MP. Jonathan Aitken wos
Planning to try te urge Prime Minister Margaret
Thatcher during question period today to. meet
Prime Minister Trudeau to take some of the heat
out of the Cana constitutional debate. ‘

Mearwhile, Brifish newspapers continued their
valiant attempts today to explain how a normally
Gull country such as Canada can.be the source ¢f
such afuss,

“Tt is a pleasant change to be able to. report
politieal machinations concerning Canada, a nation
normally regarded by headline-hungry news editors
as one of the most dismally unproductive corners of
the earth, at least since Margaret. Trudeau took
Hight in search of a gayer life,” said one item in The
Times London Diary. -

The flare-up of interest has been caused maisly
by reports on: the leaked Telex messages
fmunications with Oitawa were probably tapped,

The controversy over Sir John Ford, Britain's

high commissioner in Ottawa, and his apparent

attempts to sway a couple of NDP members away

from supporting the federal government's

patriation plans, also accounts for the Increased
- interest.

The Wadds allegations of phone tapping caused
“some discreel‘mirth” in government circles, The
Daily Telegraph reported in a front-page story to: .
day.

“The Canadian constitution has hitherto been
regarded as a rather sporific issue and charting the
secret course of Ottawa’s strategy over Its-patri-.
ation has not been top of the list for the intelligence
services,” the diplomatic correspondent wrote. .

The Daily Telegraph, which devoted hall its front:
page to the constitution story Wednesday besides
another story on the back page and a log editorial, .
scored another first today by publishing the first .
cartoon on the subject. .

It shows Prime Minister Trudeau engaged in a- ’
Iog-rolling contest with British Foreign Sceretary.
Lord Carrington. :

In a front-page story, The Guardian reported that .
the leaking of Wadd's Telex messages to Ottawa has
shaken confidence here in the authority of the.
Trudeau government.

_ “British ministers will now. think twice before
they commit anything to paper for transmission to
Ottawa on the highly charged political issue,”’ Pat-

- The Financial: Times carried.a long: background
piece on its editorial page by its specialist on
Canadian affairs, N.L. Leulkens. _

Entitled Trudeau Plays it Rough, the situational
concludes: The truth of the matter is that existing:
law provides no unequivocal basis for proceeding or.
for. — rejecting Trideau’s § ambitions: -

‘A political step is required, and at the moment:
there is‘no visible basis for the consensus without
which such a political step could prove dangerous to
the unity of Canada. ~

“Mr. Trudeau's determination — or his ability to
change his mind on al? but basic principle — must “
soon come into play.” ‘
- Radio, television and the tabloid press have also: .
taken an unwual interest in the story in the lndt.-
couple of days.

Wadds’s bugging allegations are “symptomatic -
of the hysteria that is bedevelling BritishCanadian
relations,” said Conservative MP Aitken on BBC .
television's Newanight program Wednesday. ~~

eee ae

Ford probably did speak less ~

F

' s t it
ODD, isn’t it?
TACOMA, Wash. (AP). — The Pierce County
sheriff's office was caught red-handed using a piece
of missing property — a runaway supermarket
shopping cart — to wheel evidence around at the

County-City Building.

“It was a case of oversight,” Sheriff Lyle Smith’
said Wednesday. “We had an identifiable piece af.
property that should have been delivered to the |
proper agency.”

in fact, the county has a whote “fleet” of uw
claimed carts, he said.

*  “[Fany otheragency can identify their cirts, they
aré free to come and get them,” thesheriffsaid. “: -
Smith said his officers called the supermarket to
tell the truth about the cart after someone spotted a -

county employee using it.

The county gat the cart after a resident asked ©
officials to pick it ip from his backyard when the"
food store did not retrieve it, Smith said. = +

Deputies simply picked up the cart, which “sort of
fell into the fleet,” Smith said. -

i

“DENVER, Colo, (AP) — Michael Hudson knows .
how man's best friend lives, authorities say, He was -
in a doghouse when police tracked him down. ;

Police following footprints in the snow froma:
doughnut shop that had been robbed founda manin »
a doghouse Wednesday. They arrested Hudson for
investigation of aggravated robbery, cuthoritiog
said.

A clerk in the doughnut shop reported that aman ~
ordered doughnuts from the drive-is window, pulled

a “big gun,” demanded money and fied with the ‘-

‘cash and the doughnuts, police said:

Moments later, a passing patrot car stopped at |
the shop and began hunting for the robber. The
police did a little tracking and nabbed Hudson in the ,

, police said.

‘Jusi how the man pressed his 6-foot-1 190-pound
frame through the narrow door of the doghouse was
a mystery.

wee