Face Values

"Here in Quebec we receive and we give services with our face uncovered"

And with that simple declaration, the Province has tabled a bill requiring Muslim women to show their faces in all government locations, including schools, hospitals and daycares.

This basically bans the niqab from much of public life.

The hijab - a partial veil - and other religious symbols like crosses and the Star of David are not a part of this initiative.

Why has Quebec stepped over the fences of political correctness to do this?

"...because they disrupt personal interactions, and makes it hard to identify and communicate with people."

The Premier, Jean Charest, says that this is an issue of secularism and gender equality.

I salute him.

Robert Culp

He was so peculiarly himself, that you either liked him or you didn't.

I thought he was a terrific actor and I always enjoyed watching him.

Although he achieved his most popular fame and exposure on the "I Spy" TV series, it was his 1972 movie "Hickey and Boggs" that I thought was among his best work.

Culp directed the film and co-starred again with Bill Cosby.

The movie was uneven, but it was gritty and daring and beautifully acted by the two principals and a very young James Woods.

Culp was the kind of signature actor that if you knew he was in something, you made a point of getting out the house to go and see it.