SpankyMcFarland

I would concede there is a case to be made for torture in the ticking bomb scenario (which is why Dershowitz makes it) but I don't see any awareness of the slippery slope here that would give the green light to all sorts of cases. The punishment for breaking the rules would have to be severe.

The Khadr case is a good example of stupid torture. There was no possibility of a ticking bomb there.

Unscrupulous interrogators will jump this chasm as often as they can. Once you open up that crack, it will widen rapidly.

You could ask that about CEOs as well. The pool of people willing and able to run a large hospital is small. You're handling bad news publicly all the time. In my own province, we had to recruit from Ontario in at least one instance and offer a better package than the person was already getting.

One problem there is that you don't know what a suspect knows, so torture could be justified against many suspects that have an exceedingly low probability of being involved in such a plot. It would not be a big step from there to torture every terrorist suspect until he signs the confession and then send him to court to be sentenced.

Canada is doing very well with its treatment of cystic fibrosis. Our patients have among the world's highest life expectancy. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/health/canadians-with-cystic-fibrosis-living-longer-than-a-generation-ago/article21567116/

It is harder but a lot more fun. Apparently, you don't have to pay people that much to run a country. The old vanity kicks in there. BTW the guy who runs the big city hospital often earns a lot less than some of the specialists in that city.

How religious does this girl sound?: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/paniz-khosroshahy/mcgill-cycle-sexual-violence_b_9778676.html Most of that could have been written by any 'old stock' young Canadian Anglo female.

This is a remarkable tale, apparently a world first, about a woman with cystic fibrosis whose lungs were so infected they were going to kill her. The doctors removed her lungs and kept her going for six days on an artificial lung before doing a double lung transplant. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/25/canada-doctors-remove-lungs-transplant https://www.thestar.com/life/health_wellness/2017/01/25/toronto-doctors-save-dying-womans-life-by-removing-her-lungs.html She is recovering well and may soon get a kidney transplant from her mother. Artificial organs seem to be making big strides. The lungs would be fairly simple compared to some but, still, this is quite the leap forward.

Credit to Trump for using the word 'torture': https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jan/26/donald-trump-torture-absolutely-works-says-us-president-in-first-television-interview

Sharkman, have you tried it yourself? This talk of 'enhanced techniques' is creepy, like 'enhanced screaming'. There's no need for Orwellian euphemisms.

I think the town halls are a great idea that other leaders should copy. Robust feedback is good for them and democracy.

That would be a local news story. I am aware of the problems there. Some of my family live outside Detroit. This is a thread about one aspect of Mr. Trump. I spend much of my internet time on other websites in other countries so my attention span on the US is limited, frankly.

Well, this is the US politics section of a political website. We are here to express our opinions about such things. It will take years to know whether Trump succeeds or not, obviously. Can he get that 4% annual growth that washes away all sins? No idea. What is clear is that he has just started off at a sprightly pace but a grueling marathon awaits. I heard some expert say we are now running a trade deficit with the US which is good news in the Age of Trump.

The highest paid doctors, e.g. ophthalmologists, radiologists, cardiologists, are generally fee-for-service and are not on the list.

I would consider Iranians to be 'white people' which makes the comments odder - at least Caucasian, by and large, apart from a small Oriental component e.g. Uzbeks, Hazara refugees etc. And aren't most of us racist to some extent? Don't we prefer the company of our own tribe? Some manage to control that impulse better than others but it surely exists in nearly everyone. Can anyone say they have never had a racist thought? BTW a Kurdish Muslim friend of mine takes the kosher option on planes. He considers it more reliably free of culinary crimes than the Muslim food on offer.

Trump would know how jailing employers breaking immigration law would act as a deterrent. He just needs to think back to those Polish workers.

Churchill had multiple strokes during and before his second term as PM and his poor medical condition was concealed from the public. That's what I wish to remind Mr. Trump of. The recent British series 'The Crown' does allude to Churchill's declining condition in office which surprised me. Men over seventy have generally not been a good bet as leaders. Writing books (with help) is a lot easier than running a country.

That Churchill bust should remind Trump what can happen to older leaders. His cardiovascular system is going to be tested as never before.

Would you prefer no media instead? Or perhaps media controlled by the leader?

The best solution to the large scale employment of illegal immigrants would be to prosecute, convict and jail the employers. That would dry up demand for such workers pronto. But some of these employers are big donors so that makes it awkward.

Isn't that basically the system now? Apart from the direct elections bit.

The conflict of interest problems are not going away.

One can do both, you know. The US affects the world and Canada to an extreme degree. That's one reason why we give a damn about it.

Now YOU'RE going on about the election, just like Trump. It's over.