Torture is terrible, it causes horrific damage to both torturer and subject. 2 or more people, suffering for the rest of their lives because of it. Our renditions have repeated this over and over for maybe a few thousand people. I believe at least some of them were innocent of any crime, which is the worst part.

Okay, now the other side. 3,000 people died on September 11th, would it be worth it to have tortured one person to stop it? 10 people? How about an extreme: is it worth the cost to torture one person to save the lives of every American (e.g. a biological attack)? I say yes.

Is it worth it to torture ten people to save the lives of your parents? What about someone else's parents? I don't like the Bush Administration, I don't trust them, but I think they include these calculations in their policy decisions, and I think the Democrats should too.

Torture is terrible, but it is not as bad as murder.

The ice in the North and south poles is not going anywhere. It is a function of orbital dynamics. They receive less light, therefore less heat. It won't all melt. Therefore the sea levels will not rise 20 to 40 feet, not in a hundred years, not in a thousand years. Major geological change is necessary for that to happen. I think mitigation is by far the best course for any climate change. Maybe the people of Vanuatu were unwise in settling on a very low island, and maybe those of us in New Orleans need to find another home.

"Assuming, for a second, that Parvez was killed because she refused to wear a head covering, this seems a terribly sad example of religious extremism. But using her death to make a larger argument against the hijab seems willfully misguided and oppressive in its own right. If we were to proscribe anything with the possibility of being oppressive -- without making a distinction between actual and potential oppression -- we would have very little left in this world."

Tracy, you're completely wrong about this one. It's not about the hijab at all. A Muslim immigrant father and brother killed this 16 year old girl. Tragedy right? Not if you subscribe to the belief that a father has this right, and unfortunately many extremist Muslims do. This is Islamic extremism, right in Mississauga. I don't object to the hijab at all, it's just a headscarf. What I object to is the consequences for taking it off. This girl was murdered for doing something all the girls around her were doing. The difference is she was in close contact with Islamic extremists, and they killed her for it. In itself, not a societal problem, but extremist Islam is more and more prevalent in western countries. We have to confront it.

"The only active player known to have cooperated with Mitchell was Jason Giambi, who did so only under threat of punishment speaking out of turn -- for saying what Mitchell's report eventually concluded, that everyone in baseball was to blame for the steroid mess."

King, not sure what you're saying here, is there a "for" missing? I thought Frank Thomas was the only one who cooperated. How the hell did Mitchell get this info and the list without player cooperation?

I have to look at this, but at first glance it's a bunch of hearsay.

Tracy,

"Shades of gray"?!?! You've gone blind with your shades of gray, instead of seeing at least 2 sides, black and white, all you see is a monocolor. The Catholic church won't let women become priests, that's gray, and so is a Muslim man killing his wife for being alone in a room with a non-family member man. Both are gray, both are equally oppressive, right? Where's your goddamn moral compass? Are you serious? Where's your outrage, your feminism? Lost in a monocolor palette of moral relativism, you have no objective view of right and wrong, black and white. Shades of gray? You see and know nothing, provide cover for those who enslave, rape, and kill women, and do it all while congratulating yourself on your moral superiority. I despise you.

Ms. Clark-Flory,

Is it really "Shockingly good news", or unexpected lessening of bad news? I swear western feminists have a whole new meaning for double standard when it comes to the middle east versus western politics. How about "Woman reprieved from unjust, oppressive patriarchal punishment by head patriarch, oppression still intact, mercy covers greater sins."

It's funny how "merciful" mistreatment of women in Saudi Arabia shows less justice than the mistreatment of Ellen Degenere's dog, yet western feminists are grateful for it.

"By all means, celebrate the pardon"

----What the hell happened to ass-kicking feminazis? Why won't you help break the chains that bind other women?

I can't stand the Redskins (because of the name and Mark Rypien, a former Cougar), but now that he's left them I can finally appreciate Joe Gibbs as a class act.

Like the man said, change the name to Washington Rednecks and we'll all cheer for them.

"Iseman is blond, buxom and three decades younger than the Arizona senator, but nobody except Cindy McCain should resent their alleged affair."

Just couldn't resist, could you Joe? Your holier-than-thou attitude, not stooping to discuss the alleged affair, yet you throw in comments like this one. I guess expecting principles from a journalist is akin to expecting them from the politicians they cover.

Everyone knows what you're doing when you put in a comment like that. Knock it off.