"News is what (certain) people want to keep hidden. Everything else is just publicity."
— PBS journalist Bill Moyers.
Your support makes it possible for True North to clear the fog of "publicity" — and keep you informed on what's really happening in the world today. Please send your donation to:
Carl Dow, True North, Station E, P.O. Box 4814, Ottawa ON Canada K1S 5H9.
______
Join True North No Gas Fridays and hit back at Big Oil price gouging. When enough drivers make the point that they’re “mad as hell and won’t take it anymore” Governments will act. You can count on it. Protect yourself with True North No Gas Fridays.
______
Take care, beware, don’t go near that thing on Friday . . . there’s a gouger lurking, with a very greedy eye on your hard-earned money.
______
‘What should be a gallon is not exactly a gallon’ — 369 words.
______
We’ve all seen awe-inspiring cloud formations and rainbows but few have seen one as moving as this. Above is a Fire Rainbow — the most rare of all naturally occurring atmospheric phenomena. This photograph taken on the Idaho-Washington border captured an event that lasted about an hour. Clouds have to be cirrus, at least 6,096 metres (20,000 feet) high, with just the right amount of ice crystals. The sun must hit the clouds at precisely 58 degrees. Call it God or call it science — it’s a show that would stop all in their tracks.
______
The Ontario Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform has recommended a new way to vote in Ontario. In a referendum on election day, Wednesday, October 10, we are asked to decide. — 432 votes.
______
A class of drugs commonly used to treat diabetes doubles the risk of heart failure, according to a new study. The findings, published in the journal Diabetes Care, are sure to increase the scrutiny given to thiazolinediones, or TZDs, which are among the world's bestselling drugs. Earlier this year, research showed that TZD sold under the brand name Avandia sharply increased the risk of heart attack and death from cardiovascular causes. — 503 words
______
‘'We must reorganise society before dwindling resources force us towards a society of restrictions . . . We have no alternative but to radically change the rules'
Green taxes on gas-guzzling cars, lower highway speed limits and eco-labels on supermarket food — French campaigners and businesses have a blueprint for a green revolution ahead of a high-profile environmental summit. — 316 words.
______
Tourists staying at central hotels in Mexico City will be able to request bicycles to move around the city through a program that municipal authorities have started. — 185 words.
______
Canada's future strategic environment is a threatening one. We live in a dangerous world of terrorism, climate change and natural disasters, and nations losing — and gaining — power. Are we ready? Most critically, how can Canada deal with the United States? — 775 words.
______
Recently, the American Psychological Association rejected a moratorium that would have prevented its member psychologists from participating in interrogations at U.S. detention centers at places like Guantanamo Bay and secret CIA "black sites" around the world. — 703 words.
______
Iran will sign a multi-billion dollar gas pipeline deal with Pakistan in the absence of India by the end of October, says a top Iranian oil official. — 346 words.
______
President Hosni Mubarak said on Monday that Egypt will not bow to foreign pressure in an apparent response to recent criticism from the United States about allegations that his government has increased human rights abuses. — 737 words.
______
A Lithuanian website is offering to unlock California-based Apple's new iPhone for use with local mobile service providers, says Baltic News Service. The hotly awaited mobile phone has not officially been released outside the United States, where they are tied by contract to the AT&T wireless network. — 330 words.
______
‘The retired four-star general confirmed that British intelligence "was worried" about passing the information along (to the Americans). "The Brits don't trust the Iranians," the retired general said, "but they also don't trust Bush and Cheney."’ says Seymour M. Hersh in The New Yorker — 4,863 words.
______
Every year when the moon reaches its brightest stage, the Chinese celebrate the Moon Festival (Zhong Qiu Jie), which dates back more than 3,000 years. The festival happens on the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, and is a celebration of the abundance of the summer harvest. This year's event happened last week. The Chinese celebrate the Moon Festival with dances, feasting, moon gazing … and mooncakes. — 835 words.
______
Canada’s first real estate board was set up in 1888 in Vancouver at a time when a commercial lot on Hornby Street near the Hotel Vancouver sold for $600. The Vancouver Board was active until the start of World War I, when operations were suspended. It resumed in 1919, and has been operating ever since.
Trivia compiled by Randy Ray and Mark Kearney. For all the books of this best-selling duo visit their Web site at: www.triviaguys.com
______
If you have any problems with accessing the newsletter or problems with your computer, send an email to Carl Hall chall2k5@gmail.com , and he will be more than happy to assist you.
______
Carl Dow, Editor and Publisher
Yvette Pigeon, Assistant Editor
Benoit Jolicoeur, Art Director
Carl Hall, Technical Analyst and Web Editor
Harold Wright, Contributing Editor
Randy Ray, Contributing Editor
______