Canada removes U.S., Israel from torture watchlist -- Reuters

Are you sure you know what "ironic" means? It's a big word, I know.

This has been an incredibly interesting day for the stock market/economy worldwide. Aren't you the economic guy? Can't wait to see your take on the stim pack.

I'm not sure whether or not the US should be removed from the torture watchlist. A compelling case could be made that US interrogation techniques constitute torture. What is clear is it took enormous courage on the part of the Canadians to remove the United States from this list. The Canadians no doubt faced tremendous pressure from the workd community to keep the United States on this list.

It makes absolutely no sense to have Israel on this list. Israel faces multiple existential threats. If the US or a Wesern European nation faced external threats of the magnitude that Israel faces, their interrogation techniques would be much harsher than those employed by Israel.

Israel's enemies are very powerful and they wield enormous economic and media influence. It took tremendouse courage on the part of the Canadian government to remove Israel from this watchlist. It also took tremendous courage to remove the US from this watchlist. If nothing else, the courage of the Canadian government is admirable here.