April 2, 2009

It's Thursday, April 2nd.

After a visit to Guantanamo, the Venezualan-born Miss Universe described the notorious prison as "A lot of FUN!" and claimed that she "didn't want to leave, it was such a relaxing place, so calm and beautiful."

Currently, she added that she couldn't wait for some big waves so she could go waterboarding.

This is The Current.

Abdelrazik

We started this segment with some tape from Abousfian Abdelrazik. For the last 11 months, he has been sleeping on a cot in the lobby of the Canadian Embassy in Khartoum. He's a Canadian, originally from Sudan. And he's been stranded in Sudan for the last six years ... accused at first of supporting Al Qaida and jailed twice. He says he was interrogated by officials from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the F.B.I. He also says he was tortured by Sudanese officials.

Since then, both the RCMP and CSIS have cleared him of any wrong-doing related to terrorism. But he can't come home because the federal government hasn't issued him the documents he needs to travel.

Until now, we've heard Abousfian Abdelrazik's story from government officials, lawyers, security experts and human rights activists. But this morning, we wanted to hear it directly from him. Yesterday afternoon, he spoke to Amir Attaran, a lawyer and professor at the University of Ottawa. We aired a clip with what Abousfian Abdelrazik had to say.

Amir Attaran is a lawyer and a professor at the University of Ottawa. He's familiar with this case and he was in Ottawa.

We did make requests to speak with someone from the federal government about Abousfian Abdelrazik's case. We were told that Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon is traveling and not available. Deepak Obhrai, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, was not available either. And the Prime Minister's Office did not return our phone call.

G-20: China and the U.S.

The leaders of the world's biggest economies have gathered for the G-20 Summit in London, England. And their task is simple but daunting -- find a way out of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. On the table, tougher regulations for financial institutions, greater stimulus spending and more assistance for poorer nations through the International Monetary Fund. Finding agreement on all three terms is proving to be difficult.

The summit is also U.S. President Barack Obama's first major foreign trip. And yesterday, he took the opportunity to try to foster a sense of interdependence among his counterparts there. We aired a clip.

But despite President Obama's "All for One and One For All" sentiment, there is something else at stake. To many watching this, China appears to be looking for a bigger role in steering the global economy. And that has some wondering if we're witnessing a shift in the balance of power between China and the United States.
For a sense of the dynamics at work, we're joined by Linda Yueh. She's a Fellow in Economics at Oxford University and she was in London, England.

G20 - IMF

As world leaders look for ways out of the global economic crisis, one of the institutions they'll be turning to is the International Monetary Fund. That's also one of the places where China and the United States will be jostling for influence. And that battle comes at a time when the IMF is re-thinking how it does its work.

Susan Schadler is an economist who worked for the IMF for more than 30 years. Her last post was Deputy Director of the European Department. And she was in Washington, DC.

Letters

Today is Thursday and that means it's time for the mail. Nancy Wilson joined Anna Maria Tremonti to read some of your letters. She anchors the midday news on both CBC TV and CBC Newsworld and she is our Friday host for the next couple of weeks.

Twice Lost Documentary: Last week we aired a documentary by the CBC's Alison Myers called Twice Lost. It was about a brother and sister named Ron and Kerry whose relationship was almost destroyed by Ron's experience with Huntington's Disease. And after hearing that documentary we received some mail from our listeners.

Elves: On last Friday's show we did a story about the belief in elves among people in Iceland and how it may be affecting the economy. When preparing to build a smelter in Iceland the aluminum corporation ALCOA took those beliefs seriously enough to pay for an external verification that it wouldn't be trespassing on land occupied by elves. To find out more about the belief in elves, we spoke with Magnus Skarphedinsson, the headmaster of the Icelandic Elf School. We received a lot of mail in response to that story.

Friday's segment about Elves is certainly not the first story we have done that involves cultural beliefs about the supernatural or unseen. And it probably won't be the last. But some warn that the media shouldn't legitimize stories like this. We heard from James Underdown, executive director of the Center for Inquiry in Los Angeles.

But before giving up on the idea of covering stories like this one, we thought we should talk with Wade Davis. He is an anthropologist, author and Explorer-In-Residence at National Geographic. And he was in Washington, DC this morning.

Radical Thrift: Yesterday we pulled a bit of an April Fools prank on you in part three of the show. Anna Maria spoke with journalist and author Judith Levine about saving money during a recession. Not everyone loved the segment, but a whole lot of you sent letters of appreciation. We shared a couple.

Well having racoon on your plate is something of a treat for some ... Every year the town of Gillette, Arkansas puts on a "Coon Supper" to raise funds for the community's schools. Frank Wolfe is a retired rice farmer who cooks raccoon at the supper. He was at his home in Gillette, Arkansas.

Last Word - John Crosbie

We have one more thought about the 60th Anniversary of Newfoundland and Labrador's entry into Canada. Yesterday, we spoke with former Newfoundland premiers Brian Peckford and Brian Tobin, as well as Newfoundland Senator George Baker. We wanted to leave you with some thoughts form John Crosbie. He is one of the province's most well-known politicians ... a cabinet minister under Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and now Newfoundland and Labrador's Lieutenant Governor. John Crosbie was 18 when Newfoundland and Labrador joined Canada. And we ended the program with his memories of that day.