PE THE spits Politics GAMes @nd Sports By TOM MORRIS “Keep politics out of sport,’’ wails the daily press reacting to the decision that the island of Taiwan in fact isnot China. ‘“‘A sad day for the Olympic ideal,’’ Lord Killanin says. What, then, was “‘unpolitical’’ about the display July 12 when a bevy of Cabinet Ministers accompanied Trudeau to a service organized by something called The Canadian Committee to Memorialize the Eleven Israeli Athletes Slain at the Munich Olympics? “Pure provocation’” was how the Quebec Palestinian Committee described the event. Its spokesman, Rezeq Faraj, told the press his group deliberately refrained from similar activities so as not to provoke pro-Israeli sentiment on the eve of the Games. “We'll invite Mr. Trudeau to our next commemorative service for Palestinian victims and see if he comes,”’ he said. Mr. Faraj added that a service could be held for the 101 persons who died aboard the Lebanese airliner shot down by Israeli fighter planes in 1972. It could also be added that commemorative services could take place for the Palestinians killed by Israeli troops on the West Bank some weeks ago, for Ugandans killed during Israel’s airport raid July 4 or for countless other victims. * * * More on “‘keeping politics out of sports’’. .. Canada is party to the IOC agreement to bar racist South Africa from the Olympics. We’re also party to many United Nations’ declarations calling on states to refrain from sports connections with South Africa. The Olympics faces a boycott by several African countries over the issue of New Zealand’s participation because that country permitted its rugby team to tour South Africa. But on the very eve of the Games we have the disgraceful spectacle of a South African cricket team touring Canada. No official protest, no daily press outcry, not a peep. Fortunately, and understandably, the protests and outcry have come from the people — and not officialdom. So far this team has been forced to cancel its game in Edmonton due to public pressure. In Toronto 33 people were hauled off to jail most charged with petty trespassing by the ‘‘Members Only’’ Toronto Cricket Club. To add insult to injury, the South African cricket team will travel to Montreal, unimpeded, to play a game on the opening day of the Olympics. * * * MONTREAL — Eight athletes to a one-bedroom apartment — one toilet. Twelve to a two-bedroom apartment — one toilet; and-15 to a three-bedroom apartment. “No, it’s not crowded, it’s overcrowded,”’ Soviet team spokesman told the press. Due to appalling conditions at Montreal’s Olympic Village several teams have already, one week before opening day, decided to move some of their people out of the city. This, they say, will allow some semblance of decent living conditions for those athletes remaining in the village. The GDR track team has gone to Sudbury; the West Germans trekked off to Trois-Rivieres, the Bulgarians went to Quebec City and almost half the Soviet team sought accommodation facilities else- where. And so you think that COJO, as hosts, are in the least embarrassed? Not on your life! ‘‘Personally we don’t care,’’.said Alain Guilbert a COJO spokesman. ‘‘... it’s a private arrangement between these countries and the places they. want to stay at.’’ He went on, ‘‘They don’t have to go through us. We don’t supply any transportation, funding, security or anything like that ...* Great hospitality. With typical COJO arrogance, the world’s best athletes are now being told to either live in lousy conditions or be cut loose. No doubt, when the accounting takes place over the next years and all the wheel- ing and dealing is seen, Canadians will have a better idea of where the hundreds of millions were spent. Certainly the athletes came last in this event. * * * Readers who may look for live coverage of the Games by this paper should know that the Tribne has been refused press accreditation by COJO. We applied for credentials on Sept. 17, 1975 and, after an exchange of letters, were turned down. According to Alain Bellefeuille, Accreditation Coordinator, creden- tials are “‘restricted to a very specific group, that is the daily sports press...’’ That simply won’t hold water. Hundreds of journalists will be there from around the world — many working for magazines, weeklies and other media formats. Many will have assignments to do “color stories’’ on topics not only related to sports itself. And, on July 15, COJO granted press credentials to Radio Free Europe (that well-known sports station) to cover the Games. Some weeks ago the Soviet press warned that the CIA was attempting to use RFE as a cover for its work during the Games. It also agreed with Canada Gazette that the IOC should not let this happen. Well, it has: happened. How’s that for politics? COJO’s refusal to grant the Tribune press credentials can be termed nothing other than political. The cry, then, to ‘‘keep politics out of sports’’ depends on whose politics are to be kept out. PACIFIC TRIBUNE—JULY 23, 1976—Page 6 MOVIES ‘The biggest flop of the year By JOHN LAMONT Missouri Breaks is undoubtedly the biggest movie flop of the year. It illustrates the perfect example of how not to make a movie: take two over-priced stars and a direc- tor with an unbroken chain of hits, get them a script and start counting the cash. The. trouble arises when star Jack Nicholson just plays himself, Marlon Brando over acts terribly and director Arthur Penn at- tempts a social commentary out of what is really a comedy. Missouri Breaks is really three movies all going in different directions. The movie monopolists are still attempting to push the “‘star’” syndrome of the big studio days. Time after time they lose their in- vestments by throwing their “stars’’ into junk pictures and ex- pecting the film to recoup the vast sum of money paid to the “‘star’’. Missouri Breaks is just another example of this type of film. It is supposedly a tongue-in- cheek story of the conflict be- tween good guy horse thieves and bad guy law enforcement forces in frontier Montana. A “‘hanging’’ judge who is also a big land owner fails to break the gang of thieves led by Jack Nicholson. The judge hires Brando, the “‘Regulator’’, who begins to get rid of the gang members one by one ina series of bizarre murders. This appears to be standard stuff for a Western, but it fails badly. Director Penn, famous for Bonnie and Clyde, Little Big Man and Alice’s Restaurant,.: fails to understand the visual humor in the script and has to deal with the two runaway stars. Nicholson plays himself throughout the film. This would have been successful had it been sustained as the major role of the movie. But it wasn’t. Enter Bran- do, with an assortment of accents and costumes, and the movie dis- integrates into chaos. Penn loses control, and his sub- tle, atmospheric style is trampled in the biggest battle of egos since Godzilla met King Kong. Penn has kept close to the his- toric atmosphere of the late 1900’s on the American frontier. Sprin- kled throughout the movie are scenes of the grinding poverty of the workers and farmers. In one scene, a.10-year old boy, dressed in mining gear, helps one of. bu oe Nicholson’s gang. The boy is black with dust, just coming off shift, and the scene illustrates the exploitation of the people on the American frontier and why the horse thieves chose that occupa- tion. The judge and the ““Regu- CNTU HEAD SAYS MOBILIZE WORKERS MONTREAL — Norbert Rod- rigue, newly-elected president of the Confederation of National Trade Unions, said July 13 that the CNTU’s response to a supreme court ruling upholding the legiti- macy of the. Anti-Inflation Act, ‘does not change our attitude to- wards this law.”’ He said the 165,000-member CNTU had never believed the Supreme Court was a forum where the workers could defend their point of view. ‘‘What is important is not the Supreme Court but the mobilization of the workers,’ he said. Nicholson and Brando in Missouri Breaks. “The biggest battle of eg? since Godzilla met King Kong,” says reviewer Lamont. P De lator’ are clearly the villians } pe this film. N Alas, this is not enough tom ™ commend the movie. It is a worth $3.50. Save your money! © a less muddled and more entél ; taining fare. il QUEBEC NURSES FACE TOUGH LAW QUEBEC — The Bouras | government was expected July } to legislate an end to a three-we™ ¥ strike by 5,500 nurses who alo q with the radiologists are the 1a hold-outs in the social affalf) ' sector of the year-long servic! contract talks recently settled. The president of the Queb# Hospital Association earlier in t week called for back-to-w0 legislation providing jail set tences and union de-certificatio™ The government, by refusing ® appoint a mediator and negotialé in public, has let the situation d@ teriorate so that it can app!) draconian measures, the nurs _ say. TEAMSTERS SIGN TV WORKERS PULL READY-MIX PACT OLYMPICS PLUG TORONTO — About 1,500 striking Ready-Mix Concrete drivers. and maintenance em- ployees in Toronto, Hamilton and the Windsor areas, members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, returned to work July 12, ending a two-week strike. The final settlement (an im- provement over an earlier pro- posal the previous week which the drivers had rejected), included a $1.60 an hour wage boost with 20¢ an hour toward the employer- financed welfare fund.’ An im- provement in the dental plan and a reduction of the stand-by period for a call into work, were also included. MONTREAL — Teleglobé Canada technicians, members 9 the Canadian Overseas ‘Tel@ communications Union, decidé to extend their 24-hour walkol! July 12, into a ‘‘continuol? strike,’’ jeopardizing trade mission of Olympic television a?! 4 radio programs to areas beyon North America. There have been no talks in thé contract dispute since July 5 when the company told union 0 ficials its last offer, made mot than a month ago, was final. Teleglobe is offering a 12% wage increase in a oneryear com tract, while the union is seeking # 21% raise.