The Martyrdom of Embarrassed Canadians Seeking Universal Justice

"He who is compassionate to the cruel
will ultimately be cruel to the compassionate."
-- Midrash Tanhuma Metzora 1; Yalkut Shimoni I Shmuel 121


Chapter 1:

Canada lost its latest bid for a seat on the 15-state UN Security Council. The politics of Canada's minority Conservative coalition not to the liking of some mighty voting blocks:

"Put simply, Canada offended a lot of people. It lost African votes by redirecting foreign aid to Latin America; it annoyed China by criticizing the country's human rights record and delaying a high-level visit to Beijing for more than four years; and it irritated Middle Eastern governments by backing Israel more fervently and scaling back aid to Palestinian refugees. And on top of it all, Canada has scaled down its peacekeeping commitment in recent years."

Here is a nice report on the unsuccessful wriggling done by State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley:

"Washington challenged suggestions that it had not backed its military ally at the United Nations. Responding to unsubstantiated rumors that the United States may have voted against Canada, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley demurred, noting that such votes are held in secret. But he assured Canada that the United States remains fond of its northern neighbor, despite a humbling loss by the American hockey team to the Canadians in the Vancouver Olympics.

"We love Canada. We support Canada-except in the Gold Medal Game," Crowley said. "I'm still remembering the Sidney Crosby goal. I am not going to get over that for a while."

"So that's why you voted against them?" a reported asked.

"Again, all I can tell you is that, you know...we did vote, but I'm not going to go any further," Crowley said. "We have the opportunity to work with Canada in many contexts-bilaterally, multilaterally. We love Canada. We support Canada. And we do great and productive work with Canada."

"Let the record reflect that you are blushing," the reporter noted."

In response to criticism:

"As I've said before, our engagement internationally is based on the principles that this country holds dear," Harper said. "It is not based on popularity."

He added the government's decisions are based on shared Canadian values — freedom, democracy, human rights, the rule of law, justice, development, and humanitarian assistance for those who need it."

Chapter 2:

Here is how one Canadian received the news*:

"The Harper minority Conservative government immediately blamed Michael Ignatieff, Leader of the Opposition, because of some remark he made, as if any of the voting countries would have even known, and their supporters blamed a horde of other people. I, of course, absolutely believe it was their own fault. They've embarrassed us every time they've appeared on the world stage. I've gotten so I dread hearing they're attending another international meeting.

But the reason I'm grateful to President Obama and the USA is because there are rumours that they shot down the attempt by the Harper government to get a seat. If so, good for them.

It's not that I wouldn't want Canada to have a seat. I just don't want that loathesome crowd representing us. I'd rather wait until the next opportunity, when we have a decent government."

Here is it is again:

"I just don't want that loathesome crowd representing us."

The " loathesome [sic] crowd" being a government that alienated countries with the most gruesome violations of human rights by sticking up for what is right. A crowd whose critics can make the following kind of allegation without having the decency to blush:

“Let me just clarify then: Are you suggesting that Canada’s Israel policy could leave young Canadian women in limbo?”
Pardy: “Yes.”

The aforementioned comment was made by a Canadian poster whose record I'm quite familiar with. She takes great pride in her own heart-rending worry about the human rights abuses perpetrated against the young Jihadi Canadian at Guantanamo Bay, Omar Khadr, about whom I wrote here. Here is how she expresses her great concern for Khadr's Via Dolorosa:

Hope hope. Canadian media is full of speculation on a plea deal. The case has been put off again for no known reason. I'm of mixed feelings about whether he should accept. It would mean pleading guilty when he's not guilty of anything except being recruited into a war by his father, as a 15 year old, when a foreign military invaded the country he mostly grew up in.

But, if it gives him some chance for a life, finally, after all the abuse he's suffered at the hands of his family and government, maybe it would be worth it. He would sure need a lot of rehabilitation to overcome what he's been through.

Chapter 3:

Well, she has a right to her emotions and her selective pity. With such judgment, who in his right mind would solicit her compassion any way? It's just that I recall how, a few years ago, she threw a tantrum when I mentioned Canada's "none is too many" policies against Jewish immigration, angry that I chose to remind her and other readers of that shameful history.

So I wonder if she is the embodiment of that grotesque Indecent Left mea culpa, which tries to atone for the unspeakable antisemitic sins of the past by directing their greatest concerns towards those they consider today's equivalent of persecuted Jews, like Khadr. In other words, trying to make up for silent and passive complicity in the genocide of the Jewish people by embracing with such trembling love and compassion a tried and proven proponent of Jihad, weaned on the idea that the genocide of Jews is an Islamic tenet, a commandment from Allah (it's not his fault, poor thing; what fifteen year old can distinguish between good evil? His parents drummed this into his mind.)

When you think of it in light of such a record of positions, said poster's gratitude towards Obama's administration for blocking Canada's UNSC seat makes perfect sense. The last thing a Canadian government should do is stand up explicitly and unswervingly for its friendship with the Jewish people's only state in the world. The embarrassment is too excruciating to bear.

Update: Khadr's plea deal

Goerge Jonas of Khadr's worthless confession

UpdateII: Harper teaches Canadians about decency

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* Comments found on an Internet message board; links saved in my files.