Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - April 20, 1990, Winnipeg, Manitoba Free press april Page focus Lithuania stands alone by Ilya Gerol special to the free press this weekend newspaper readers in Lithuania will not be Able to learn what kind of sanctions Moscow is going to apply against their the reason the newsprint is no longer Avail the Supply of newsprint was abruptly Cut off by Mikhail Gor Baches administration As a part of a gradually introduced package of it was followed by severe cuts in the Oil and Gas a Small detail escaped the Atten Tion of foreign reporters in Moscow among the Active participants in the sanctions is the fraternal Republic of the question of whether its participation Latvia is one of the largest producers of newsprint has been an expression of dissatisfaction with Lithuania speedy style of breaking away from the soviet Union or whether Latvia just succumbed to Gorbachev de Mand to fall in line is still to be it is that the economic blockade of Lithuania has commenced without protests from the other both Moscow and Vilnius Are determined to prove their Gorbachev candidly believes in what he said during his unsuccessful visit to Lithuania several months ago that without being a member of the soviet Lithuania could not sustain according to can any of the 15 soviet the economic which is being introduced gradually but has been designed by Gorbachev thin tank with the purpose of teaching Lithuania and other potential breakaway republics a crucial lithuanian at least those who Are not connected with the reformist communist see the looming economic confrontation with Russia As a sort of Battle of if they the myth of the soviet unions might and its determination to keep the Empire together will be finally each faction of the convulsive soviet political spectrum has an interests in the outcome of the Antisemitic the Ultra russian one of Valentin a Well known Antisemitic and anti minorities has recently be come a member of the presidential Are pushing Gorbachev to wards the Iron fist it is not that they Are worried about losing one of those is lands of what they really want is to Force Gorbachev to take Steps which would unwittingly bring him into the conservative the inter regional group of the supreme soviets deputies led by professor Yuri Afanasyeva and Boris Yeltsin this group Proba Bly will soon proclaim themselves the social democratic party insists that Lithuania should be set according to their state Only free and Independent republics could in future form a Commonwealth which should re place the outdated in some the calculations of the Ultra liberals resemble the ones of the ultraconservative and they want Gorbachev to reach the Point of no according to could bring the soviet president also unwittingly into the Liberal the communist parties in the republics and the government officials there want the president to reach a Compromise with Lithuania which would keep the Republic in the Union while granting it full sovereignty in running its Economy and internal even the nationalistic communists in Latvia and Estonia agree to this to the great dismay of the lithuanian we Are very carefully studying developments in Lithuania and Eastern european says Yanis a functionary of one of the two latvian communist and we arrived at a rather shocking conclusion Independence Means that All reformist or Are Sim ply being thrown out from political and that is despite the fact that it was the reformist communists who facilitated the democratic the top commanders of the so Viet armed who Are playing an increasingly Pivotal role in dealing with the ethnic unrest in different parts of the have gone Public in their demands to restore Law and order in the so Viet Union before introducing any including the planned re form of the soviet army according to the sketchy news from the commanders of the soviet land troops and the rapid deployment forces set their Headquarters in the suburbs of Vil a journalist from the eve Ning a daily newspaper in the lithuanian said to me that he and some of his colleagues received letters from the Newles to abolished information Centre of the military the letters stated that the con Cessions offered by the lithuanian government in its conflict with were just cheap designed to gain time and to involve the West in the the journalist asked to remain unidentified quite an unusual request in this time of glasnost in the and the blossoming Freedom of press in Summit worries Gorbachev and his devoted for eign Eduard Shevard Are trying to answer one More question will president George Bush cancel the important Summit that is to open on May 30 should the economic blockade and the limited use of the military Force crush the Hasty lithuanian leap towards full Independence it looks As if the soviet analysis of Bush intentions is based on the Assumption that Washington is pre pared to limit its reaction to Moscow crackdown on Lithuania with some harsh rhetoric combined with private assurances that the East West rapprochement will continue As if nothing has Hap Lithuania has been left alone by the friends and foes not a Novelty in the political world which is used to putting All emotions aside in the name of so called one can also Call it the word betrayal would also Canadian artists wow Washington Washington when Christopher Plummer got an award for his contribution to classical theatre at a dinner this week in one of this cites most spectacular building he was one of several examples of Canadian culture to which washingtonians Are being exposed this at the old pension near the Canadian Plummer got the third annual will Given by the Shakespeare theatre at the Folger for having made a major contribution to classical theatre in the United not everyone knows of the Canad an connections of visiting artists such As a Washington Post gossip columnists mention of his for called him a Veteran shakespearean stage and film without referring either to his country of origin or his acting triumphs at the Shakespeare Festi Val in there was no mention of Winnipeg opera Singer Tracy Dahl Canadian background when she de lighted audiences and critics in a recent Washington opera production of the opera die Fleder maus by Johann Rene the Washington embassy Veteran cultural usually makes sure audiences know the origin of what they Are watching or plenty is going this for Folk sing ers Bruce Sylvia Tyson and Jane Siberry took part in a live performance of West Virginia Public radios Mountain stage last Nova Scotia Mer maid theatre appeared at washing tons Kennedy the cultural Palace overlooking the Potomac River that was named for John Kennedy and that locals Call the shoe the Nova Scot ians per formed their puppet show and comic fantasy the red As part of their current three month tour of the United next the Western Canadian film Bye Bye written and directed by Anne will be the opening feature in the washing ton International film after that it will move to a washing ton Cinema for commercial show popular show on Friday next the 66strong choir of Ottawa Christ Church Ca thedral will sing at the embassy comfortable during one of the embassy free lunch hour events that Are As popular with office workers As with the next the choir sings at then at sunday service in the Washington National which overlooks the entire City from mount this is a considerable Mark of respect for the Ottawa choir because this enormous built since 1908 but patterned on a 14thcentury English gothic is accustomed to hearing the Best choirs and organists in the beside the Entrance to the theatre of the Canadian embassy is the embassy Small in which it put on a memorable display last fall of paintings and Early photographs from the Era of exploration of Canadas this there will be an exhibition of 100 pieces of inuit Art which will be shown in the David Macdonald Washington editor embassy Large reception with its dramatic floor ceiling the gallery is showing 35 pieces of ecclesiastic and secular Silver and Gold from part of the collection of such pieces in be Musee de most of it is 18th with some from the 19th delphic sign the casual passerby on Pennsyl Vania outside the is supposed to be attracted into the gallery by a delphic utterance on a piece of cloth attached to the embassy outside it mentions months during which the exhibition is the name of the sponsor and shows the outline of an 18th Century Silver and Gold it does not say that there is an exhibition questions to a number of passers by produced no one who could guess what this strange advertisement was meant to Tracy in pulled in the crowds to the Kennedy Centre by sheer Force of during her recent her performance As one of the leading ladies in die Fleder maus was the talk of the the Washington posts informed and acerbic Joseph said Dahl was hilarious As the chambermaid of the other leading he went on Dahl act 2 show piece is the laughing song she performed it using a Well controlled voice that seems to know no upper limits but also a comic Talent that has inspired conductor John Demain to describe her As the Lucille Ball of she had the audience laughing out loud More than once for when she did a curtsy so deep that two men were needed to get her up off the she also made Adeles big act 3 number about How she wants to be an actress work More effectively than in any other performance i have Ever As much through her acting As her musical Plummer honoured one word can make big difference in news Story one word is often the difference Between accurate reporting and Brodovsky underlines that Point in a letter of complaint about a news Story april 7 about ongoing contract negotiations Between the Manitoba government and the Manitoba medical association which represents of the provinces the 10paragraph about the return of both sides to the bargaining said Manitoba doctors earn an average salary of it left readers wondering if that figure was Gross salary or net an Mma member but one who Hast taken an Active role or had anything to do with fee negotiations since the inception of medicare in wrote the figure 000 quoted represents the average payment to Manitoba doctors by the Manitoba health services which represents a Gross income from which overhead must be in my own for my last financial year which ended in my personal share of our partnerships expenses was i do not know Why the free press consistently misrepresents the average in come of but it in my either dishonesty or Igno none of which Are admirable qualities in a reporter Zena Olijnyk said she got the salary figure from previous Mma although the stories didst specify Gross annual she said she assumed that was the Case and should have made her Story clearer by using the Ana Buenos Tony Rodriguez he have said a Spanish version of Garfield inadvertently appeared in last saturdays coloured comics and i was expecting Reader Rodriguez was the his Giveaway greeting was followed by a pleasant then a comment and i want you to ombudsman Barry Mullin know that in not he it was a pleasant Surprise to see at least one comic in Spanish because i speak but i promised my wife id Call to find out Why this Garfield was in was it simply a slip or was that the Way it was supposed to be Rodriguez said he translated the comic strip for his who Speaks French and and i think she enjoyed it More than i assistant managing editor John Sullivan said when the Garfield strip arrived from United Media features in new York City it was sent straight to the composing room without being weekend color comics Are the Spanish Garfield want noticed until after printing was com at that Point it was too the run was Complete and we Swap the plate or substitute English for the Spanish in the Sullivan the he has prompted him to Institute a system to have All comics checked before being forwarded to the composing room where compositors Are More concerned with making certain the various color proofs line up than in the Content of the Well be Reading the comics now not Only to prevent this sort of happening from but also for their editorial Sullivan United features spokesman Nadine Campbell explained United prints peanuts and the born loser in both English and Spanish after its first set of proofs somehow went the free press requested another the replacement proofs were made from the Spanish plates for its our error and for that were at least a few readers appreciated the Spanish said Campbell after i explained to her that Spanish speak ing Manitoban appreciated the Rodriguez was so pleased to see a Spanish comic that he suggested the free press consider from time to a comic strip in other we live in a multicultural society it would prove popular with some of the minorities in on behalf of Spanish speaking he thanked the in of de d d d a news obituary about the death of inter nationally known designer and Model Frank who died last week at age appeared on last thursdays fashion the obit was prepared with the Best of in but those Good intentions became innuendo and Hurt for his Girlfriend Jezriah Kahn and scores of the designers the pain said Estelle his with the obits designer Janas dead and became More acute when the Story said cause of death was not Janas described use of the word dead As hard and i dont like euphemisms passes or slipped away for but dead seemed unduly with the Benefit of Dies would have been but a better Way would have been the old journalistic practice of putting obituary As an overline with the individuals name saying cause of death was not released was worse than saying nothing because that Lead readers to speculate on the actual cause of Kahn and Janas i would have gladly told you that my wonderful son had died of Bone marrow said added Kahn it was a totally inappropriate Way of handling it because Many readers automatically think the Kahn said that any death in the arts or fashion Industry leads people to speculate on whether aids was somehow that int the Case but the Way your newspaper handled it made it seem that that the Way it and that was it must be noted that the obituary of Janas didst contain the cause of his death and editors made a decision not to subject the family on the Day of the funeral to Telephone Calls in order to ask about cause of its easy now to see what could have been done to spare the family needless added perhaps society concern about and awareness of aids will Lead to the cause of death being Given More frequently in Obi that would be one Way of putting some suspicions to doonesbury by Garry Trudeau i Only to buy a Hotdog the books in uhf feb in one of Hope you your Micati th5k56055 another Kath iookh5s wsakjn6 iooka7 ;