Peace, order and good government, eh?

Saturday night blues blogging

2014-03-09T01:03:00Z

It felt strange to type "Saturday night blues blogging" but I'll get used to it. Let's open with Katie Webster on Two-fisted Mama.

The video's fuzzy but the audio's clear enough. This is Francine Reed and the band performing Time Slips Away.

Here's a 1975 performance of I'd Rather Go Blind by Etta James. She always seemed to enjoy herself on stage and this is no exception.

And a bonus track: Bonnie Raitt with Something To Talk About. Have a good weekend.

A brief programming note

2014-03-08T02:04:49Z

Due to circumstances beyond, well, you know, ....Friday night blues blogging is moving to Saturday night. Please try to bear up under the strain. All three of you.

Belated blues blogging

2014-03-02T02:22:00Z

Guess I missed another Friday night. Sorry. Things have been a tad out of control the last couple of days (tho' nothing serious). This is Steve Dawson with an instrumental called Blind Thomas At The Crime Scene.

This is James Harman performing as part of a tribute to Little Walter with It's Too Late Brother. Remember to turn your volume back down when it's over or the last selection may come as a big surprise.

To close, here's the Dixie Chicks with a cover of Bonnie Raitt's Give It Up Or Let Me Go that seems to capture the spirit of the original. Have a good weekend.

Friday night: Change of pace

2014-02-22T01:56:00Z

Be advised: these selections aren't blues nor do they have anything in particular to do with each other aside from the fact that I thought they were interesting. The first is David Jacobs-Strain peforming solo on a twelve string. The song is Ocean or a Teardrop.

Ray Benson is best known as the front man for Asleep at the Wheel. Here he's performing Heartache and Pain with a band called MilkDrive.

And to close, this is Robben Ford performing an instrumental called Freedom. Have a good weekend.

Friday night blues blogging

2014-02-15T02:11:00Z

I'm going to throw different styles together this evening, starting with a solo acoustic number by Davy Knowles called Come Home.

This is Jim Byrnes with a song originally performed by the Mississippi Sheiks called Jailbird Love Song.

And to close, this is Harriet Wilson fronting the Barrelhouse Jazzband on Hard Drivin' Mama. Have a good weekend.

The Charter Of Values And Criticism Of Quebec

2014-02-11T23:08:00Z

The debate over Quebec's secular Charter of Values has been a heated one. The proposed Charter would restrict public servants from wearing conspicuous religious items such as burqas and niqabs, which many critics say infringes on the rights and freedoms of religious minorities in Quebec. Quebecers who support the Charter, in turn, have been accused of bigotry, especially by other Canadians, claiming that this is just another example of the racism that is supposedly so prevalent in that province, and the supposed ethnic nationalism of the Parti Quebecois.

As an Anglophone living in Alberta, I have to admit that some of these critics have left me scratching my head. I'm no fan of the Charter of Values, and I think that it would be a bad idea if implemented. What surprises and bothers me, however, is the fact that there's been so much criticism directed at Quebec from critics on all parts of the spectrum, while criticism of similar attitudes in other parts of Canada and the world usually only comes from the political left, when it even appears at all.

Other parts of Canada haven't always been welcoming to religious minorities who wear conspicuous religious items. Back in the 1980s, a young Sikh man had to get the RCMP to make an exception to its uniform code so that he could wear a turban while serving as a police officer, against the hostility of many Canadians who said that he should wear the same traditional uniform as everybody else. In the 1990s in Peel Ontario, a Sikh student had to fight for his right to wear his 'kirpan', or ceremonial dagger, in an Ontario school. In 2008, a Sikh man in Calgary, Alberta, was barred from entering a courthouse because of his kirpan. The comments on the news article, which describe how Alberta has decided to allow Sikhs to wear their kirpans in courthouses, show how much many readers disagreed with the decision.

Prominent Canadian conservatives are expressing views similar to the ones behind the Charter of Values. In 2011, Ezra Levant fiercely criticized the Toronto police service for allowing female officers to wear hijabs and other symbols while working for the secular police force. In 2012, federal Citizenship & Immigration Minister Jason Kenney spearheaded an initiative to bar women from wearing 'niqab' facial veils at Canadian citizenship ceremonies.

A surprising number of Canadians in general either support the Charter of Values, or something similar to it. National Post writer Paul Russell was surprised by the number of readers who wrote in expressing support for the Charter, or even criticizing it for not banning facial coverings. A Global News poll revealed that while many Canadians outside Quebec did not like the Charter of Values, they did support bans on burqa veils and kirpans.

Such attitudes exist in other English-speaking countries, too. In 2013, an Irish court ruled that Sikhs could not wear their turbans while working for the country's police force. In 2010, one of Great Britain's first Sikh judges criticized schools and other public places for barring entry to Sikh people wearing kirpans. Multiculturalism and immigration have been controversial in Britain in general. Araminta Wordsworth wrote that conservative politicians are scoring political points by attacking immigration, even as some Britons feel their 'Britishness' is being overwhelmed by immigrants who won't integrate. Other critics write that Britain's common values are being undermined by immigrants who refuse to integrate and stick to values that the critics say force women into secondary roles in society.

And just for the record, support for the Charter is not unanimous in Quebec, even among the separatist movement. Prominent separatists such as Lucien and Gérard Bouchard, Jacques Parizeau and Bernard Landry have all called for the Charter's bans on religious garb to only be extended to people with coercive state powers, such as judges, police officers and prosecutors, which is exactly what commentators like Levant were calling for. Other separatists, such as Jean Dorion, head of an organization that calls for an inclusive Quebec separatism, has spoken about how the Charter goes against Quebec history, and the need to welcome as many Quebecers as possible for independence to be viable.

Anybody who thinks that the attitudes behind the Charter of Values are restricted to Quebec is kidding themselves. Certainly there are critics who will oppose the Quebec Charter and also decry similar attitudes and actions in other parts of Canada and the world. My problem isn't with them, but with those critics who, for some strange reason, insist on singling out Quebec and Quebecers as somehow being more racist than other Canadians for supporting the Charter.

Why are those Quebecers who support the Charter somehow more racist than people in other parts of Canada and the world, when similar attitudes exist not just in other Canadian provinces, but foreign countries like Great Britain and Ireland? Why is it somehow ethnic nationalism when francophone Quebecers want to impose some restrictions on religious garb, but not the likes of Ezra Levant and Jason Kenney when they decry police officers wearing veils and turbans, or ban the wearing of facial coverings in court proceedings or citizenship ceremonies?

Why is it alright for Anglophones to express concern when immigrants who refuse to integrate and adopt local values, while it's supposedly bigotry when Francophones do the exact same thing?

I honestly don't get it, I really don't.

This article was originally published on February 9, 2014 on Michel Bolduc's blog, "Chronicles Of A Pure Laine." It is available online at http://chroniclesofapurelaine.blogspot.ca/2014/02/charter-of-values-and-quebec-criticism.html.

Friday night blues blogging

2014-02-08T02:39:00Z

This is Lucky Peterson with Noel Johnston on second guitar performing at a jazz festival in Vienna in 2009. The song is Dead Cat on the Line.

This one goes all the way back to 1971: Champion Jack Dupree with King Curtis performing Poor Boy Blues.

Now fast forward to 2011 in Vancouver. This is Shakura S'Aida with Donna Grantis on guitar (and a cameo by Colin Linden) on Geechee Woman. Have a good weekend.

Tax Cuts Come With A Price

2014-02-07T02:53:00Z

Tax-filing season, everybody's favourite time of year, is once again upon us in Canada. It's that time of year that we get to see just how much of our money our provincial and federal governments are taking to spend on seemingly wasteful things that nobody is supposed to care about. It's also the perfect time of year for the politicians to start talking louder than usual about cutting taxes and eliminating unnecessary spending.

The funny thing about this, though, is that many of the people who call for cuts to taxes and spending are all for it until the cuts affect something that they themselves benefit from. When that happens, people start getting mad that something they depend on is being cut back. It's not a coincidence that some of Canada's most prominent politicians, such as Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, have both promised that they can cut taxes and balance budgets without affecting the essential services Canadians have come to rely on. Money would be saved through finding efficiencies and cutting deadwood, rather than affecting frontline staff and services.

Try telling that to many of Canada's veterans, who are furious with the federal Conservatives for closing so many Veterans' Affairs offices, and who have taken the government to court for cutting their disability benefits. Try telling it to small business owners and individual citizens who go through hoops trying to call the Canada Revenue Agency or Service Canada. Try telling it to Canadians who now have to work two extra years before they can now collect their pensions, or who have a harder time collecting from the EI fund they've paid into. The Parliamentary Budget Officer was quite blunt when he noted that the Harper government's cuts were directly affecting frontline services.

In Toronto, Rob Ford promised that the subways would be built with private money and no tax increases, and that essential services wouldn't be cut...even though the private money never appeared and Torontonians are looking at a tax increase to pay for the subway line, even as Ford tried to close libraries and other core services.

In both cases, the Harper and Ford governments broke specific promises they made about balancing the budget without cutting essential services. Apparently we could have all the services we wanted without having to pay for them. Compare this to 20 years ago, when prominent conservatives like Preston Manning, Mike Harris and Ralph Klein were blunt about what had to be done to balance the books, and that everyone was going to be affected.

Before we start cheering tax cuts or criticizing spending increases, we ought to think about what it is we're willing to give up in terms of government support and services to pay for those cuts. Our taxes pay for everything from infrastructure to education to veterans' services. Simply cutting arts grants, public service salaries and welfare programs likely won't balance our books by themselves.

So what, as Canadians, are we willing to give up?

This article was originally published in the St. Albert Gazette on February 1st, 2014, and can be found online at http://www.stalbertgazette.com/article/20140201/SAG0903/302019974/-1/sag09/tax-cuts-come-with-a-price.

Friday night blues blogging

2014-02-01T01:07:00Z

I wanted to note the passing of Pete Seeger earlier this week, but I thought it called for more than just taking a few minutes in the midst of a busy week to score three clips of his performances and put them up. So I'd like to come back to it at a later date — though not too much later — with something a bit more substantial. For now, here's some blues starting with I Know by Frog & the Beeftones.

This is Jimmie Vaughan on Austin City Limits performing Motorhead.

And finally, this is one of those performances from the Crossroads Guitar Festival that has several recognizable faces on stage. The guest of honour in this case is Hubert Sumlin and the song is Killin' Floor. Have a good weekend.

QOTD: On CSEC

2014-01-31T21:51:55Z

Ron Deibert, the cyber-security expert quoted in the CBC story I posted about last night, has an op-ed in today's Globe and Mail. It's all worth a read but he sums things up pretty nicely in this paragraph. In reference to the most recent revelations concerning CSEC's activities:

The revelations require an immediate response. They throw into sharp relief the obvious inadequacy of the existing "oversight" mechanism, which operates entirely within the security tent. They cast into doubt all government statements made about the limits of such programs. They raise the alarming prospect that Canada's intelligence agencies may be routinely obtaining data on Canadian citizens from private companies - which includes revealing personal data - on the basis of a unilateral and highly dubious definition of "metadata" (the information sent by cellphones and mobile devices describing their location, numbers called and so on) as somehow not being "communications." Such operations go well beyond invasions of privacy; the potential for the abuse of unchecked power contained here is practically limitless.

Yup. And I trust that the opposition parties will take every opportunity to climb all over the government on this. Right, Tom? Right, Justin?

A trial run

2014-01-31T04:03:00Z

CSEC used airport Wi-Fi to track Canadian travellers: Edward Snowden documents

A top secret document retrieved by U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowden and obtained by CBC News shows that Canada's electronic spy agency used information from the free internet service at a major Canadian airport to track the wireless devices of thousands of ordinary airline passengers for days after they left the terminal.

After reviewing the document, one of Canada's foremost authorities on cyber-security says the clandestine operation by the Communications Security Establishment Canada ( CSEC) was almost certainly illegal.

CSEC defends itself by pointing out that the data it's collecting is metadata:

...for example, the location and telephone numbers of all calls a person makes and receives -- but not the content of the call, which would legally be considered a private communication and cannot be intercepted without a warrant.

To return to the expert quoted above:

He says that whatever CSEC calls it, the tracking of those passengers was nothing less than an "indiscriminate collection and analysis of Canadians' communications data," and he could not imagine any circumstances that would have convinced a judge to authorize it.

If it didn't require the authorization of a judge, why not? Obviously we seriously need to review both CSEC's mandate and the real implications of metadata collection. Because this, apparently, was just the beginning.

The document indicates the passenger tracking operation was a trial run of a powerful new software program CSEC was developing with help from its U.S. counterpart, the National Security Agency.

In the document, CSEC called the new technologies "game-changing," and said they could be used for tracking "any target that makes occasional forays into other cities/regions."

Sources tell CBC News the technologies tested on Canadians in 2012 have since become fully operational.

Game changing. Who's running the game? And who's winning?

I look forward to a statement from Jean-Pierre Plouffe, the man responsible for leading oversight on CSEC. The last time a Snowden document mentioning CSEC was in the news, Plouffe sounded more like the head of CSEC's public relations department.

We have no real oversight here which is why the agency feels free to experiment with our privacy.

Friday night blues blogging

2014-01-25T01:05:00Z

It's Friday evening and Those Delta Rhythm Kings are here to ask the musical question: Let's Do It Like Monkies.

This is Harriet Nelson fronting a German outfit called the Barrelhouse Jazzband. The song is Fine and Mellow.

And finally, Lucky Peterson performs Every Day I Have the Blues. Have a good weekend.

Friday night blues blogging

2014-01-18T01:00:00Z

Allow me to present Robert Cray performing Love Struck Baby at a tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Vince Gill brings Keb' Mo' to the Grand Ole Opry. The song is Henry.

And finally, Buddy Guy is joined by John Mayer in a performance of What Kind of Woman is This. Have a good weekend.

There'll be no help from Mary Dawson

2014-01-17T16:03:00Z

Ethics Commissioner Distances Herself From Strahl Complaints

Mary Dawson, the Federal Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner released a statement today distancing herself from recent complaints filed as a result of SIRC Chair Chuck Strahl engaging in lobbying activities for Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines while serving in his appointed function as Canada's Spy Watchdog.

Commissioner Dawson states: "While we may advise caution in certain circumstances, it is the public office holder's responsibility to determine how to manage his or her private affairs in a way that does not give rise to perceptions of unethical behaviour, and risk bringing the institution of public office into disrepute."

Which just tosses the ball back to Chuck Strahl's court. It's up to Strahl to determine if there's a perceived conflict interest in lobbying on behalf of oil companies while heading up the Security Intelligence Review Committee which is responsible for oversight on CSIS. Dawson's role is limited to quietly advising him.

But if you look at Dawson's job description — at least the one that's published on the Commissioner's website — this isn't really surprising.

Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson is an independent Officer of Parliament responsible for helping appointed and elected officials prevent and avoid conflicts between their public duties and private interests.

Emphasis added. The way that's written, Dawson isn't responsible to us and therefore her priority isn't to protect our interests. Her priority is to help politicians and their appointees protect their own interests.

What an awesome system.

Friday night: RIP Phil Everly

2014-01-11T00:56:00Z

Phil Everly, the younger of the two Everly Brothers, who were among the first 10 artists to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, passed away last Friday. He was 74. Here are a few selections from among their many hit records.

Their first hit was Bye Bye Love and this is from a performance during a tour of the UK in 1985.

As the YouTuber who posted it wrote, this is a beautiful clip from 1960. It's also from a UK tour and includes two songs: All I Have To Do Is Dream and Cathy's Clown. The backup band was originally Buddy Holly's band, the Crickets.

Aside from liking the song, I like this clip of When Will I Be Loved because it shows just a bit more interplay between the brothers than the others do. Have a good weekend.