5/21 News

Ex-Guantanamo prisoner testifies in Congress

Only a handful of legislators listened to German-born Murat Kurnaz’s testimony of his imprisonment yesterday. Kurnaz was arrested by Pakistani authorities while visiting the region in 2001. US authorities “purchased” Kurnaz for $3000 and incarcerated him in Guantanamo Bay for five years, despite being determined to have no terrorist links in 2002.

Yesterday, he traveled to Congress to testify about his experience there but after technical difficulties only about half a dozen lawmakers remained to hear his story. Kurnaz recently published a book about the experience, “Five Years of My Life: An Innocent Man in Guantanamo.”

Bush promises Saudi nuclear support

President Bush pledged Monday to continue to assist Saudi Arabia with their nuclear power program, including providing enriched uranium and even protecting oil reserves. President Bush has attracted criticism for a possible double nuclear standard regarding Iran, and even recently admitted the majority of 9/11 attackers were Saudis.

Israel and Syria come to talking point

Israel and Syria announced they resumed peace talks early this morning after an eight-year break. Identical statements released by Israel, Syria and Turkey confirmed that the talks began earlier through Turkish mediators.

Many problems exist between Israel and Syria. Syria has been isolated from world diplomacy and been called an “axis of evil” by President Bush. Israel is concerned about Syrian support of Hezbollah and Palestinian militants. The US is unusually not involved in the peace talks.

Obama is clear fundraising winner

Barack Obama added to his impressive total of $268 million dollars with April donations topping $31 million. The monthly amount was a slight decrease from March’s $40 million but Obama still has the overall financial lead. Hillary Clinton raised $22 million the same month, her highest during this campaign and brought her total to $262 million. Obama’s strategy focuses on millions of small donors, a model Clinton has had to adopt after her early donors maxed out.

Guantanamo prisoner
Saudi enriching
Israel and Syria
Obama fundraising