Dipl¥mée en avril 2011 du baccalauréat en musique jazz l'Université du Manitoba, la chanteuse de jazz franco-manitobaine de 22 ans, Rayannah Chartier-Kroeker, prendra pour la première fois la vedette du Mârdi Jazz au Centre culturel franco-manitobain (CCFM), le 14 février prochain.

"J'ai déj participé au Mârdi Jazz comme artiste invitée, mais encore jamais comme téte d'affiche," se réjouit Rayannah Chartier-Kroeker. "Ce sera une très bonne opportunité pour me lancer en musique!"

Elle sera accompagnée sur scène de Karl Kohut la contrebasse et de Will Bonness au piano.

"Ce sont des musiciens très impliqués dans la scène musicale et de jazz de Winnipeg, avec qui j'ai déj joué plusieurs fois, mais on ne forme pas un groupe," explique Rayannah Chartier-Kroeker. "Notre spectacle sera unique au Mârdi Jazz. On prévoit un programme assez inattendu et varié car on a tous des influences différentes."

The prophet Muhammad is certainly one of the most influential figures in history. Michael H. Hart, in his book, The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History, puts Muhammad at the top of the 100 most influential personalities.

More than a billion people across the world follow Muhammad and take him as their guide, mentor and leader. Muslims' respect, love and reverence for Muhammad are deep and genuine. Out of regard, Muslims always say "Peace be upon him" every time they invoke his name. Muhammad's legacy is far-reaching and permeates every aspect of Muslim life.

Today, Saturday, coincides with the birthday of Prophet Muhammad. Interestingly, this day isn't celebrated as a religious day. In some Muslim countries it is an official holiday; in others it isn't. The birthday of Muhammad doesn't have the same religious significance as the birthdays of other religious figures. This is partly due to the teachings of Prophet Muhammad himself, who taught his disciples not to glorify him and only refer to him as the "servant of God."

Prophet Muhammad is unique among historical figures. Many aspects of his private and public life have been recorded by his disciples. Things as simple as the number of grey hairs in his head, how he smiled, how he walked, what type of foods he liked, etc., have been recorded with great detail. His rulings, sayings and precedents are the foundations of Islamic jurisprudence.

La jeune Franco-Manitobaine de 29 ans, aujourdhui installée à Montréal, Paulette Taillefer, sest fait une place dans lhistoire du roller derby. En effet, elle a participé, du 30 novembre au 3 décembre dernier à Toronto, à la toute première compétition mondiale de roller derby, la Roller Derby World Cup.

"Il y avait déjà eu quelques tournois internationaux ici et là, mais cétait la première compétition vraiment mondiale," souligne-t-elle. "Il y avait 13 équipes représentant tous les continents, sauf lAfrique et lAsie."

Outre la fierté de faire partie de léquipe Canada pour cette première mondiale, Paulette Taillefer et ses coéquipières se sont distinguées en arrivant deuxièmes du classement général.

"On savait que léquipe des États-Unis était très forte donc on nespérait pas trop la première place, mais par contre on est très contentes davoir battu lAngleterre," se réjouit-elle. "Elles étaient aussi très fortes."

OTTAWA -- The elderly man sat in front of me, his rheumy eyes and round, ruddy face giving me no inkling of what he was thinking. His hands were neatly folded in his lap. I had been told he was a home boy and I, a kid reporter at the Winnipeg Tribune, was supposed to interview him.

I'd been given half an hour to look up home children in the Tribune's library. Apparently, they were orphans and other children brought over by charities to stay with Canadian families and work as domestics or on farms. Some of them were as young as five.

I only learned later that Alex, the home boy I was supposed to interview, had been harshly treated in various homes; that he had been told endlessly to sit quietly with his hands folded; that his keepers -- all devoted Christians, I'm sure -- had drained most of the joy and vitality out of him.

I asked some questions; he answered quietly in monosyllables. The interview was a failure because I wasn't prepared.

Bride of New France

By Suzanne Desrochers

Penguin Canada, 224 pages, $25

This is a moody, beautiful piece of historical fiction, casting Louis XIV's Paris as a grey and Gothic city, pitiless toward its poor and dark with imperial desires.

Decent people should be offended by the fact that a national agency will permit the reading of a terrorist manifesto next weekend at the Plains of Abraham in Quebec City as part of a series of readings to commemorate the 1759 battle that altered the course of Canadian history.

The manifesto in question was issued in October 1970 by the Front de Liberation du Quebec following the kidnapping of British diplomat James Cross and Quebec cabinet minister Pierre Laporte, who was subsequently murdered. The FLQ was responsible for more than 200 bombings in Quebec during the 1960s, causing the deaths of at least five people. It was all done in the name of creating an independent Marxist Quebec.

The National Battlefields Commission, the same group that cancelled plans for a major re-enactment of the battle because of fears of a violent backlash, a decision for which it should be ashamed, has said it will allow the reading of the FLQ Manifesto, but was quick to point out that it does not endorse the document. That kind of courage is admirable, although it's unfortunate it was not in evidence when the commission backed down from plans for the historical re-enactment.

Decent people should be offended that the manifesto will get a public airing at the commemorative event -- Montreal singer and sovereigntist Luck Mervil has even been asked to perform the reading -- but it would be a violation of Canadian values to ban it from the stage.

CARMAN -- Which of these sights doesn't belong along Manitoba highways?

a) golden wheat

b) shimmering blue flax

c) canary yellow canola