Lou Reed passed away last Sunday at the age of 71. Here are a few tunes to remember him by. This performance of Dirty Boulevard is taken from an episode of David Sanborn’s Night Music in 1989. One of Reed’s best known songs is Sweet Jane. This performance is from
Continue readingAuthor: pogge
Peace, order and good government, eh?: Campaign capers: As Del Mastro’s day in court approaches…
The key question in the investigation into alleged overspending by the Dean Del Mastro 2008 election campaign has been the amount of campaign-related work performed by a company called Holinshed Research. Del Mastro has always claimed that the firm did a small amount of telephone work early in the campaign
Continue readingPeace, order and good government, eh?: It’s business as usual at CSIS
The Postmedia article reporting it describes it as part of a shakeup in the ranks, but the announcement that Michel Coulombe has been formally named as director at CSIS looks like more of the same to me. Five months ago, when Richard Fadden was moved over to the DND, Coulombe
Continue readingPeace, order and good government, eh?: Friday night blues blogging
This is Sonny Landreth playing a solo instrumental and showing off his technique. Just Got Back From Baby’s is originally a ZZ Top tune from their first album. This is Buddy Whittington. And here’s Buddy Guy performing at a show held in Austin, Texas as a tribute to Stevie Ray
Continue readingPeace, order and good government, eh?: So Flaherty’s spying on us too
FINTRAC collecting too much info on innocent Canadians Canada’s privacy watchdog is blasting a federal agency that is supposed to be gathering financial intelligence on suspected terrorists and money launderers, but has also collected personal banking records of thousands of ordinary Canadians not suspected of anything. … [Privacy Commissioner Jennifer]
Continue readingPeace, order and good government, eh?: Friday night blues blogging
This is Tab Benoit performing at the 2007 Blues Music Awards. He loves him some gumbo. This is taken from a show that featured a number of harp players paying tribute to Little Walter. Sugar Ray Norcia performs Mean Old World. And to close, this is the Royal Southern Brotherhood
Continue readingPeace, order and good government, eh?: Out of sight, out of mind
That unprecedented “bunker-style” session of the Supreme Court was held on Friday. Judges and lawyers, sworn to secrecy, gathered in an undisclosed location to consider evidence used to justify security certificates. If there’s been any reporting on it, or even a mention of it, in the media since Friday I
Continue readingPeace, order and good government, eh?: Friday night blues blogging
This is fun. This is the Guy Forsyth Band performing 105. Eventually there’s tuba. Now that we’re warmed up, let’s get mellow. This is the Grateful Dead with Sugaree. Up tempo again. Seriously. This is Death Letter Jubilee by The Delta Saints. Have a good weekend.
Continue readingPeace, order and good government, eh?: "a substantial substitute for full disclosure"
Is there a precedent in the making here? A lawyer for the federal government argued before the Supreme Court of Canada yesterday that there is such a thing as “a substantial substitute for full disclosure” and that the security certificate process, as currently constituted, meets that standard. So when someone
Continue readingPeace, order and good government, eh?: Friday night blues blogging
To begin, here are George Thorogood & the Destroyers with Bottom of the Sea. This is from a concert held to celebrate the 25th anniversary of CBC Radio 2’s Saturday Night Blues show. This is Colin James, with a little help from Colin Linden, performing Limelight. And this one is
Continue readingPeace, order and good government, eh?: Mission accomplished (iv)
Four professors involved in researching income inequality in Canada took a close look at the National Household Survey and what it appeared to tell us, and then put it into context. According to the NHS, many of the census tracts where low-income people live have seen their average incomes rise,
Continue readingPeace, order and good government, eh?: Mission accomplished (iii): Collateral damage
I’m prepared to believe that when Tony Clement eliminated the manadatory long census form prior to the 2011 census, he didn’t actually intend to make rural communities in the western provinces disappear. After all, rural communities in the west would be a big part of the CPC’s base of support.
Continue readingPeace, order and good government, eh?: Friday night: Covers
This is Davy Knowles at a music festival in Colorado a couple of years back covering Cream’s version of Outside Woman Blues. The Delta Saints began playing together as college students in Nashville in 2007. They’re covering the Beatles. And here’s Gov’t Mule covering Pink Floyd’s Money at a festival
Continue readingPeace, order and good government, eh?: Doesn’t this mean the terrorists are winning?
Government defends security certificate process in high court submission The federal government says suspected terrorists and spies detained under national security certificates do not have a right to full disclosure of information in the case against them. That’s the lead paragraph for a story about the federal government’s submission in
Continue readingPeace, order and good government, eh?: Campaign capers: Be careful what you wish for, Dean
A few months ago, Dean Del Mastro expressed his impatience with the Elections Canada investigation into his campaign spending. Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s parliamentary secretary is demanding that Elections Canada put its cards on the table after more than a year of unresolved allegations concerning his 2008 campaign expenses. I
Continue readingPeace, order and good government, eh?: Electoral reform watch: Mulcair antes up
Thomas Mulcair, NDP running on electoral reform in 2015 Last night, in Toronto, Opposition Leader Thomas Mulcair joined Toronto-Danforth MP Craig Scott at “Democracy Day on the Danforth,” a meeting jointly held by Fair Vote Canada and the riding’s NDP association, to discuss changing the way Canadians vote. Mulcair announced
Continue readingPeace, order and good government, eh?: Friday night blues blogging
Good evening. Here’s a young Johnny Winter performing Mama, Talk to Your Daughter (h/t to Moose). There’s a slight skip in the first minute of this clip. It’s a small price to pay to watch Junior Wells have fun with a long version of Little Red Rooster. And to close:
Continue readingPeace, order and good government, eh?: Mission accomplished (ii)
Hamilton neighbourhoods vanishing from new ‘census’ The death of the long-form census has left Hamilton full of “black holes” of neighbourhood data, leaving out many of its poorest areas. According to a new report from the Social Planning and Research Council, that could lead to bad policy choices and inappropriate
Continue readingPeace, order and good government, eh?: Friday night blues blogging
Have some pops from the past. This is Lightnin’ Hopkins with Couldn’t Be Satisfied. Otis Spann began playing piano when he was 7 and by the age of 14 was already playing with bands around his home town of Jackson, Mississippi. This is Ain’t Nobody’s Business. I don’t think I’ve
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