Cheney promoting it, folks practicing it blowing the whistle. Drives a stake through the heart of the "isolated instances" defence parroted by our conservatives, doesn't it.

"The Bush administration has consistently maintained that it is not U.S. policy to abuse prisoners. But Bush has threatened to veto the entire appropriations bill if it contains McCain's language—all in an effort to preserve the right to treat prisoners in whatever way the president decides is necessary. Last week Vice President Dick Cheney, with CIA Director Porter Goss in tow, met with McCain to try to persuade him to exclude the CIA from any restrictions."

While Lincoln said that you could fool some of the people all of the time, after a while folks who are fooled so much must be regarded as seriously challenged in their ability to understand abstract concepts.