Satire
It's Thursday, September 7th.
The Conservative Party is instructing some departments to replace the term "Government of Canada" with "Canada's NEW Government."
Currently, the "new" slogan narrowly beat out the runner-up: "Canada's Government: So far, pretty much scandal free."
This is the Current.
Secrets Behind 9/11
Major anniversaries often come in five year intervals--which is why next Monday has added signifigance this year. Five years ago on that date, four U-S commercial planes, commandeered by terrorists, plowed into the World Trade Centre, the Pentagon, and a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, killing almost three thousand people in total.
Since then, the U-S and its coalition forces have brought war to two countries--a retaliatory move that includes Canada, as it continues its controversial stint in Afghanistan. But what more do we understand about that fateful day? And, most importantly, could those attacks have been prevented?
Today we devoted the first half hour of the Current to trying to answer those questions, which are among the many the CBC's Terence McKenna addresses in his new documentary "The Secret History of 9/11". Terence joined Anna Maria from our studio in Montreal.
Terence McKenna's documentary called, “The Secret History of 9/11”, airs this Sunday at 7 p.m. on CBC Television.
Listen to The Current:  Part 1
(Due to various rights issues some segments may be edited for internet use)
The Current: Part 2
Letters
For the next month, our Friday host will be Jim Brown. Jim is, of course, the host of The Calgary Eyeopener -- the early morning show in Calgary -- and from time to time he has been a familiar voice here on The Current. Jim joined Anna Maria from Calgary this morning to help get through the mailbag.
Music Bridge
Artist: The Bills
Cut: CD 5 "When the Bucket runs Dry"
CD: "Let em Run"
Label: Borealis Records
Spine #: BCD164
Hockey Arena - Pangnirtung
For the rest of the program we headed back up north, to continue our survey of the negative and positive effects of climate change in the Arctic.
We went first to where global warming is putting a dent in daily living. Pangnirtung is a small Baffin Island hamlet on Cumberland Sound just shy of the Arctic circle. And for years residents have relied on a natural ice arena for games and tournaments. But now hockey season too is on thinning ice.
We heard from David Killabuck, a long time hockey coach from Pangnirtung, Nunavut.
The Road to Nowhere
While climate change continues to affect social, political and cultural life in the north, there are some residents who probably wouldn't mind a break from the constant cold. After all, we are still talking about life near the Arctic Circle and in the dead of winter it is cold. Very cold.
And then there's all that snow that often accompanies howling blizzards. In fact, in the Iqaluit subdivision known as The Road to Nowhere, residents are launching a formal complaint about monster snow drifts big enough to swallow entire houses.
One solution is to put up snow fences. And in a moment, you'll meet Doreen Follet at a public meeting in Iqaluit. Her house is often the worst hit by the monster drifts. But to get to the meeting, our translator, Mary Nashook had to negotiate a rather infamous stretch of road.
The snow fences will be tried again this year... though Doreen and her neighbours aren't too convinced they'll work.
To view pictures from Anna Maria's trip to the north, click here.
Listen to The Current: Part 2
(Due to various rights issues some segments may be edited for internet use)
The Current: Part 3
NW Passage Documentary
Here are some not-so-chilling statistics. This summer, the temperature in Iqaluit reached twenty degrees. Even the natural ice arena in Pangnirtung probably won't be ready until January, and by some predictions, it will likely melt by April. This is not the Arctic that Franklin, Hudson or Amudsen braved when their ships negotiated the treacherous ice. Because while the Arctic is warming, so is the sea ice.
But it's still awe-inspiring, full of the history of the Inuit and of the explorers who sought to carve a passage between the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean. This summer, while writing an article about sovereignty, James Raffan sailed through the Northwest passage aboard the ice breaker the Louis S. St. Laurent. He kept an audio diary for The Current and he prepared a documentary called "Breaking The Ice".
James Raffan is a freelancer writer and broadcaster based in Seeley's Bay Ontario.
Last Word: Road to Nowhere
Well, all this talk about melting ice rinks and slushy rivers seems to have made writer Mike Ward a little jealous. He's a contributor to McSweeney's, a satirical internet site, and last year he decided to write an open letter to Global Warming itself. Apparently Mike had some things to get off his chest about the environmental scourge.
Earlier on the program we told you about a little subdivision just outside the town of Iqaluit called The Road To Nowhere. Every year, homes there are buried under a relentless blanket of Arctic snow. Well, "Road to Nowhere" is also a popular song by the Talking Heads, a band once helmed by David Byrne --who, by the way, is also a frequent contributor to McSweeney’s.net.
And for the past few years, Mr. Byrne has been raising money and awareness about the issue of global warming in his concerts and on his blog. In a recent entry, he passionately endorsed Al Gore's global warming documentary called "An Inconvenient Truth", urging every American to go out and see it.
We ended the show today with the Talking Heads song "Road to Nowhere".
Music
Artist: Talking Heads
Cut: CD 9, "Road to Nowhere"
CD: "Little Creatures"
Label: Sire Records
Spine #: 9 25305-2
Listen to The Current: Part 3
(Due to various rights issues some segments may be edited for internet use)
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