Canada bends over backward again.

If the day gets any better, I'm going to start behaving badly. From re-reading this post, I am starting to think it's too late.

Browsing through the news, I came across the tidbit that Canada, in its diplomatic training manual, names Israel and the US as human rights abusers, specifically in reference to the torture of prisoners.

Canada created the manual after the Arar disaster in 2002. Live in a bubble? Well, to boil it down, the US detained a Canadian citizen who was flying through the US (as a terror suspect) and shipped him to Syria, where he was tortured. The US didn't do it all by themselves, though-they had help from the RCMP. It was a great big mess for all countries involved.

After that, the government thought it should educate its diplomats before sending them out into the world to represent our country. A little manual was written, all about the countries that procure information "by any means necessary" from those they detain. Seems like a good idea, eh?

Apparently not, when you put your neighbour on the list. Especially when that neighbour is irritable, prickly, overly sensitive, possesses a superiority complex, and has a MUCH larger army than you do. Not to mention nuclear weapons and the Stanley Cup. Particularly when the OTHER nation you mention is one of the most powerful, loved, hated, supported, and attacked nations in the Middle East.

Alan Baker is angry. David Wilkins is angry (but that's no surprise; if he's not demanding that Canada apologize for something, it's time to start worrying). The Canadian government scurries about, apologizes and says that the manual will be changed right away. Oh no, we can't offend anyone!

I don't find it amusing that we may or may not be mislabeling certain allies. According to the UN, what the US and Israel do may in fact violate human rights. What I find amusing is that certain topics, when they concern certain nations, are entirely off-limits.

The United States of America is mired in a crusade against terror, aka fundamentalist Muslims. However you want to sugarcoat it, that's what it is. You can agree with it, or not. Israel is also involved in a thousand year religious battle with Palestine (not that this dispute can be simply distilled into one sentence, but I don't have that much space). You can agree with it, or not. You can take sides, feign ignorance, or ignore it until it all goes away. These countries may have rules and regulations in place, but you and I have both seen enough cheesy Hollywood thrillers to know that rules are really just for throwing out the window when the going gets tough.

This isn't about torture, though. This is about religion.

Heaven forbid that you criticize either of these nations, or their actions. On the other side of the coin, heaven forbid you question religious organizations in developed countries about the messages they may be preaching (Christian, Islamic or otherwise). Politicians? Armed Forces? Nope, can't criticize them either. As Dawkins says, anything is fair game except religion. Well, he says it much more eleoquently than that, but that's what he means.

I'm allowed to tell you I think cheering for the Ottawa Senators is the epitome of insanity. I'm allowed to question you if you reveal your questionable obsession with Bon Jovi. Perhaps you'll even allow me to debate your staunch position on gun control. However, we are all supposed to tiptoe around the whole "God" issue.

You like the Senators? Fine. I don't like them. You can sing along to every song on "Slippery When Wet"? Wow. I really don't care. You believe that an army has the right to kill someone because they believe something different than what you have been taught is right since childhood? Well, I don't. GASP!

Why get into atheism in a post about a diplomatic manual? For one very simple reason. We aren't allowed to question our allies about their interrogation practices, because questioning either of those nations about any of their practices is eventually taken to be a criticism of their religion.

It's the ultimate schoolyard tactic (no, I'm not saying either of those countries are childish). I wish I could put it to better use in my own life. A fight starts. Words get thrown around, mothers get insulted, fists may fly. However, all the nerdy kid has to say, in the aftermath, is that the other party slandered his or her religion in some way.

DING! On go the labels. Game over.

It is just another example of how this road we're on gets more dangerous and confining every day.