First:
http://www.cupe.ca/humanrights/CUPE_National_statemCUPE did not vote to support a boycott of Israel. The Ontario Division of CUPE did.
Second: search that site for "Afghanistan" and "Iraq". You will find that CUPE opposed the bombing of Afghanistan and the invasion of Iraq. There have been CUPE contingents at every demonstration against the invasion and occupation of Iraq that I have attended.
Third: Canada has not committed war crimes in Afghanistan. FUCK YOU. Many Canadians oppose Canada's involvement in Afghanistan, for varying reasons, but it is NOT an invasion and it is NOT an occupation and NO WAR CRIMES HAVE BEEN COMMITTED BY CANADIANS. A serious issue Canadian forces are having to deal with, that has arisen very recently, is what to do with people who have been apprehended whom they are required to turn over to Afghan forces, when it is apparent that the Afghan troops present plan to kill them. Canadians have held onto prisoners and refused transfer until they can do it in a way that they determine to be safe. Hey. COMPARE THAT TO SABRA AND SHATILA, eh? I would also note that it is really quite incorrect to refer to Canada's presence in Afghanistan as an "occupation". Really.
Fourth: how the fuck does a Cdn trade union boycott Canadian goods? Outsource lunch? Has any political pressure group ever successfully boycotted its own country's goods? What idiocy is this supposed to be?
People exert pressure on their own governments through their own political process, and through various methods of appealing to and attempting to influence public opinion. Boycotts are a tool used to attempt to influence governments (or other entities) over which someone has NO control.
There is no universal criterion capable of describing the boycotters' decision to target Israel rather than the United States.Hey, bub. You may not have noticed, but there is no universal criterion capable of "describing" anyone's decision to do anything at all. Assuming that he means a criterion by which someone's decision to do something may be made or judged, he might want to recall that people have been trying to come up with such criteria for as long as there have been people, and no one has succeeded. Categorical imperative ...
But heck. I suppose that if someone gets some comfort out of comparing himself favourably to the US when it comes to who has slaughtered and made homeless and impoverished how many without justification, I won't begrudge him his small pleasures.