There is some amazing television this summer on PBS. Last night’s performance at the White House featuring Paul McCartney was one of the best.


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Dave Grohl singing Band on the Run (the intro is weak but wait until Dave starts rocking!)

As a Canadian I keep asking myself: why can’t our public broadcaster give us more quality programming like PBS?

McCartney was receiving the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song and performed many of his hits, along with musical friends Dave Grohl, Jack White, Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock, EmmyLou Harris and others. You have to sing for your supper when at the White House apparently.

The show was a transcendent moment. Here was the voice of our generation singing of love and peace, being introduced by the first black president. Both Obama and McCartney knew they were kindred spirits. This was the dream of the baby boomers, the world trying to move towards a better, kinder and more gentle space.

Top magical moments were Paul serenading Michelle Obama with Michelle,the duet with Stevie Wonder on Ebony Ivory, Eleanor Rigby, Let It Be (insert tears welling up on that one), Yesterday and a rousing Hey Jude with everyone joining in.


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Top guest moment had to be Dave Grohl who gave McCartney a rocking run for his money screaming Band on the Run. Stevie Wonder was great on We Can Work It Out. The moment on Ebony and Ivory was great but we sure miss Michael Jackson.

The Jonas Brothers were right on with Drive My Car and obviously appealed to the President’s daughters.

Jack White was disappointing. Every Mother’s Son is an odd song and his performance was flat. EmmyLou Harris was flat on For No One and so was Faith Hill on Long and Winding Road. Faith Hill used to have a great set of pipes but she was holding back last night.

Lang Lang on Celebrations was confusing. Was he trying to impress us with some crazy improvisation. Herbie Hancock improvised Blackbird with Corinne Bailey Rae but he didn’t lose his way. We suffered through Elvis Costello bellowing Penny Lane. That man is plain dreadful.

The criticisms don’t detract from the overall entertainment value of the 90 minute show, except Lang Lang and Elvis Costello which made nice bathroom/kitchen breaks.

The show airs tonight and on into August so check the schedule and turn on your PVR. We watched the end on one PBS station and then found it starting minutes later in HD.

PBS are being tight lipped about posting more than excerpts and a few videos until the premiere run of the show is over. The show was taped June 2nd, 2010.

CBC Canada’s public broadcaster

More and more we find ourselves tuning into PBS for decent television. We’ve seen a Neil Young documentary, a re-broadcast of No Direction Home about Bob Dylan in the past week along with a Merle Haggard documentary.

Except for their deadly dull talking head news shows, PBS night-time broadcasts blow the doors of CBC with it’s weak line-up.

Why can’t the CBC do more documentaries about Canada and Canadians? We should be getting more shows about Canadian artists and not stupid interviews by Peter Mansbridge of Gordon Lightfoot.

Sample Mansbridge question, “How do you ever think up all those songs?” Duh!

Click HERE to read more columns by Stephan Pate

The Canadian Soccer Association announced today that its two September Men’s International Friendly matches in Toronto and Montréal will be broadcast live on Rogers Sportsnet. In the first of their two match home series, Canada faces Peru on Saturday 4 September at BMO Field in Toronto. Three days later Canada will travel to Montréal to take on CONCACAF rival and 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ participant Hondruas at Stade Saputo on 7 September. Both matches will be carried live across the nation on all four Sportsnet channels.

“It is our pleasure to announce that this September’s men’s national team matches will be enjoyed both by our supporters in the stadium and by fans from coast to coast,” said Canadian Soccer Association General Secretary Peter Montopoli. “Following the strong following by Canadians of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™, we are excited to bring world class international soccer to Canada. We look forward to providing this country’s passionate soccer fans an opportunity to see Canada on home soil.”

The two matches will mark Canada’s return to international action following the completion of this summer’s 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™. Canada’s most recent matches featured two South American opponents, first falling to FIFA World Cup™ quarter-finalists Argentina before drawing with Venezuela in May.

The Toronto match will be Peru’s first under new head coach Sergio Markarian. The Uruguayan was recently hired in July of this year and has been charged with leading Peru in the 2011 Copa América and the qualification process for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™. Tickets to the upcoming Canada-Peru soccer friendly are available through Ticketmaster (Ticketmaster.ca or 416.872.5000). The match, presented by Sony, will kick off at 17.30.

Canada will host 2010 FIFA World Cup™ participant Honduras on Tuesday 7 September at Stade Saputo in Montréal. Canada last faced Honduras at the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup in the quarter final stage. Honduras won 1:0 on a penalty kick goal. In 2010, Honduras was one of three CONCACAF nations that participated in the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™.

Fans can purchase tickets for the Canada-Honduras International Friendly via Admission at www.ADMISSION.com or 1.800.361.4595. Group rates are available in select sections with the purchase of 10 or more tickets. The match, presented by BMO, will kick off at 19.30.

For Canada and head coach Stephen Hart the focus now turns to the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™. The two upcoming international friendly matches will be part of Hart’s early preparations in advance of the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup (schedule also yet to be announced).

One thing about the human condition, we're adaptable and we gradually accept new realities as normal over time. Only when you provide a stark contrast to past practice do we see just how far we've come, or regressed as the case may be with this government. Bullying, strong arming the public service, rampant dysfunction and persistent disinformation, all standard practice in today's Ottawa, it's just the way of things. If you actually compare where we sit at this moment with what was considered acceptable years ago, you'd be shocked at how much the climate has changed.

Susan Delacourt's post yesterday, addresses the new reality and frankly the thesis deserves much more attention. It's time to wake up, the Harper government has fed off voter apathy, and like a thief in the night, made off with acceptable practice for any self respecting DEMOCRACY. People like Clement, under direction from the PMO, are able to put out patent mistruths and the only recourse for the public service, resignation. How SAD is that, manipulation, wherein the real casualty is honesty and truth?

Delacourt makes a fascinating point, relating to the Governor General, as part of her wider theme:

A very shocking revelation, you have a situation where officials are not focusing on their responsibilities, but distracted by fear of recourse and a certain potential for payback. The question is now raised, did the GG accept Harper's prorogue because she weighed the constitutional arguments, or was her view influenced by what she felt the government would do in retaliation, if Harper was rejected? Public servants shouldn't have to operate under fear and intimidation, that is simply ludicrous in this country, in today's times.

Weaving back to the census debate, that a well respected man's only recourse is resignation to protect his integrity- something is clearly wrong and disturbing. We now have a host of completely independent examples, wherein this government uses intimidation, innuendo, bullying, to silence their critics and even mis-represent their positions. That these tactics have become standard fare in Ottawa, alarming, but also a testament to passive acceptance. 

There is a wiff of totalitarianism here, somewhat analogous to the idea of "purges", strong men using threats and intimidation to solicit compliance. This paranoid and vindictive government, that seeks out enemies where none exists, has transformed our political reality. When you actually step back, what an ugly picture, how far we've evolved backwards. In Canada, I would have never believed it, if you asked me a few years ago.

Many pro-choicers wish for a world without abortion. The difference between them and most antis is that the former wants to get rid of abortion the right way; by abolishing the patriarchy, gender norms, and stereotypes. They want rape to be conquered and domestic violence to be a thing of the past. These are individuals I respect. I do respect them, but I do not agree with them.

 

While I want to abolish the patriarchy, gender norms and stereotypes and all the negative consequences that stem from them, I don't really care if abortion is ever "gone." I think of abortion like appendectomies. I feel bad for the patient because any invasive medical procedure sucks (trust me, I know), but I don't differentiate between abortion and any other medical procedure. Removing fetal tissue is the same, to me, as removing inflamed tonsils or an infected appendix. 

 

If we get to a point in society that we no longer have a need for abortions, great. We've reached a point where we no longer have a need for blood-letting. But I don't care if we ever reach that point. Abortions are a medical procedure and they have a use in our society and they should not be treated any differently from any other medical procedure. This latter point is an important one.

 

Abortions have been relegated to the back alleys of medicine, even if they are legal. Many OB/GYNs refuse to learn the procedure because performing abortions, especially in the USA, has become dangerous. The more we continue to differentiate between removing unwanted fetal tissue and removing inflamed tonsils, the more danger we put doctors in. The more pro-choicers "care" about abortions occurring or not, the more danger we put doctors in. Doctors, nurses and support staff do not deserve to be threatened for performing medical services.

 

Join me in not caring whether abortions are performed. Join me in bringing abortion medicine back to the mainstream. Join me in saving the lives of doctors.