Hooray for Canada, standing up to George W. Bush once again. After snubbing Bush's call for a commitment of troops for Iraq, Canada underwent a crisis of confidence in its leader, Jean Chretien. Chretien retired under a cloud of disapprobation for standing up to Bush, with many Canadians wanting to re-establish good ties with their neighbor to the south. Chretien's replacement, Paul Martin, won the subsequent election promising to bow down and kiss Bush's cowboy boots. But when Bush insisted that Canada sign on to the US's billion-dollar Star Wars missile defense boondoggle, Martin balked. He leads a minority government that rules by the grace of opinion polls, and the majority of Canadians couldn't care less if a missile hit Washington DC (neither do I, for that matter). So Canadian Foreign Minister Pierre Pettigrew solemnly delivered the blow last Thursday: Canada will opt out of the program. Not bad, eh?--Maria Tomchick

One of the sickest things I've read in a long time involves the US government's use of "stress positions" in its interrogations of detainees in Iraq. Folks might remember the Abu Ghraib photo scandal, which included a series of pictures of US soldiers posing with a dead Iraqi whose body was packed on ice. This poor guy, it turns out, was tortured to death by CIA interrogators using a stress position known as "Palestinian Hanging." The man's hands were cuffed behind his back, then he was hung by his wrists. An autopsy showed that the victim sustained broken ribs and suffocated to death, as well as suffering severe bruising and lacerations from whatever other Bush administration approved interrogation techniques were used on him.

In case you were wondering, "Palestinian Hanging" got its name from the Israeli military's use of it as a torture technique on Palestinian detainees. As if we needed more evidence that CIA personnel have trained with Mossad. The European Court of Human Rights ruled it an illegal torture technique in a Turkish case brought before the court. The UN has also condemned its use in Israel and the Occupied Territories. And we shouldn't be under any illusions that "stress positions," as defined by this US administration, are harmless, or anything less than outright torture, both dehumanizing and potentially lethal.--M.T. Source: "Iraqi Died While Hung From Wrists," Seth Hettena, Associated Press, 2/17/05.

From the Kitchen: We could use a little more help here in the ETS! kitchen, both in preparing and serving our meals. First of all, we'd love to get more voices in the paper (especially women's voices--there are plenty of guys with opinions already represented in the media). Particular gaps we're looking to fill include environmental issues and local stories. Submit your stories to editorial@eatthestate.org.

Speaking of gaps, we're also looking to fill some gaps in our distribution area, including Queen Anne, Beacon Hill, Broadway (Capitol Hill), Green Lake, Roosevelt/Ravenna, and Phinney Ridge/Greenwood. If you can volunteer an hour or two every two weeks to help us extend our reach, please contact Lance at info@eatthestate.org or 206-632-2162. --ETS! kitchen crew