Searching for coherence
A Fall Update
By
It looks like I’m returning yet again after far too long of an absence. And again, I apologize to the infinitely patient readers of The Turn. As well, I welcome the many new subscribers that have joined us since my last update. And a special thanks to those who have taken out paid subscriptions, or who continue with their monthly plan in spite of my lack of publishing here. You are all very much appreciated.
Before I get started, it should go without mentioning that the bulk of my writing is published on Woke Watch Canada (please do subscribe there if you haven’t yet). Every week I publish multiple articles and essays to Woke Watch Canada - written by myself and others. I’m assuming that the patience extended to me from the stellar group of readers here, is at least partially due to the consistent editorial output over at Woke Watch Canada. Indeed, most of the subscribers here are also signed up over there.
Returning to The Turn, I try my best to do what Terry Glavin does with his The Real Story Substack. It is one of my favorites. Terry regularly publishes columns in the National Post and the Ottawa Citizen. His Substack is a mixture of extra commentary around his NP and OC pieces, but with enough additional analysis to keep the most voracious of readers busy. With Terry’s unique linguist flair, he forges relentlessly through the journalistic depths of the vastly intricate subject matter he expertly covers. He also highlights and shares the work of other writers and researchers that either he finds interesting, or informs his work in some way. His subject matter is heavy. Consider yourselves warned.
Terry is one of the greatest journalists we have in this country. Because he’s quite bright, and been at it for quite awhile, his knowledge of the material he tackles… is vast! Spend a few hours with The Real Story and you’ll see why I wish to emulate Terry and his approach (we all must have our pipe dreams).
Speaking of Terry Glavin. My friend, Professor Frances Widdowson (if you’re not sure who that is…start with Why Is Situation Widdowson So Compelling? Then go here…then here…then here), recently invited Mr. Glavin to appear on her Youtube podcast The Rational Space Disputations. They discussed the unmarked graves hoax and the inept Canadian (and international) legacy media largely responsible for it.
During the conversation Terry and Frances also briefly discuss the remarkable email list / informal Indian Residential School research group that myself and Frances are part of. In some of his past writings, Terry has referred to us as “the Dorchester Group” - after the Dorchester Review (an exceptional Canadian journal run by Chris Champion, one of the 25 or so IRS researchers who exchange IRS research and analysis in multiple emails every day).
On October 2nd I wrote about “the Dorchester Group” of researchers, historians and journalists who make up the email list, and also a new website launched by a faction of “Dorchester Group” die-hards. My piece was called, The Indian Residential School Research Group: A catalyst for change. Please take the time to read about this exceptional group of Canadians that include such heavyweights as Tom Flanagan, Barbara Kay, James McCrae, Brian Giesbrecht, and many more notable academics and public figures. True Canadians, every single one of them!
And since we are talking about the Indian Residential School researchers, here is the new website, Indian Residential Schools Research Group | IRSRG created by the diehards mentioned above, and here is another called Indian Residential School Records created by the brilliant and prolific IRS researcher, Nina Green. For anyone wishing to do their own research into the history of Canada’s Indian residential school system, these are two of the best resources.
And below is the Rational Space Disputation episode featuring Terry Glavin and Frances Widdowson:
Moving on. The most important writing I have done since my last update for The Turn is a four-part essay series on the History of the Israeli-Palestinians conflict called The history of Jews, Palestinians and Israel (click through to access Part 1, the bottom of each piece has a link to the next). However, I recommend starting with my introduction essay, Israel, Islam and Settler Colonialism.
On October 23rd I appeared on The Richard Syrett Show on Sauga 960 AM for a special hour-long segment to talk about my Israel essay series (I usually do a weekly ten-minute segment called the Anti-woke Book Club). You can hear the discussion between Richard and I here.
Coming soon exclusively for The Turn, a full version of my four-part Israel essays, with an extra ten to twenty thousand words. For those who read the series, you may have noticed that many important events and periods in the contentious history of the Middle East were left out. The full version will contain more on the ancient history of the region, more on Theodor Herzl and Zionism, more on the 1950s period (Suez War), a section about the Yom Kippur War, and more.
During the research for the Israel pieces, my friend, regular National Post columnist, Barbara Kay, who has been publishing analysis about Israel for years, shared with me some great resources for studying the Israel-Palestine conflict and Middle East politics in general. Here are a some of those great resources for any interested readers:
Middle East Forum (meforum.org)
PR for Israel| Facts and Logic about the Middle East|FLAME
There is enough evidence based material found in the above to keep students of the Middle East busy for years. (Note: Terry Glavin’s The Real Story also contains many insightful pieces on Middle East issues).
An article on the Gaza Strip that Barbara sent me the other day blew my mind. It is written by Michael Oren, former Israeli ambassador to the United States, a member of the Knesset, and a deputy minister for diplomacy. Oren, being a former IDF soldier and diplomat, and a historian, has a perspective informed by years of direct hands-on experience from many different sides of the conflict. In other words, his is a rare perspective, considering most commenters on the conflict have never advised an American president about terrorist threats to Israel, or dealt directly with Hamas in Gaza as an Israeli soldier.
I recommend reading the entire piece called How Gaza Became Israel's Unsolvable Problem. Here is a shocking section that paints a picture of the madness, chaos, and pure evil found within the sphere of Hamas:
Elections, meanwhile, were held in the Palestinian territories. As I recall it, Israelis watched with horror the campaign ad of Hamas candidate Maryam Farhat, also known as Umm Nidal. She invited viewers into her home and showed them a gold-framed photograph of a young man in a Hamas military outfit. “This is my eldest son who martyred himself by blowing himself up on a Jewish bus and killed eight Jews,” she exulted. “It was the happiest day of my life.” She then displayed another photo of a young Hamas terrorist. “This is my second son who blew himself up attacking Jewish soldiers,” she claimed. “It was the happiest day of my life.” Finally, Umm Nidal introduced her seventeen-year-old son, also uniformed and bearing an M-16. “He’s about to go out to martyr himself now, and this is the happiest day of my life,” she declared while kissing him. He then went out and, attempting a terror attack, was killed by Israeli soldiers. (The claims about her first two sons appear to be inaccurate. The first didn’t murder by blowing himself up but rather by guns and grenades, and the second was killed before he could accomplish his mission.)
Another piece (also sent by Barbara) made me raise an eyebrow several times. Is Israel’s “Siege” Denying Water and Food to Gaza? Just the Facts | CAMERA by Alex Safian, PHD, is a fact-based disputation covering some of the more pervasive myths concerning access to water, food, energy and other vital resources in Gaza, during the various IDF military campaigns.
One section explains how Gazans are destroying the southern part of the Coastal Aquifer which has been the source of fresh water in Gaza for many millennia:
“...because the water table is very high, many Gaza residents, especially farmers, have drilled wells wherever they want, leading to vast overuse and saltwater infiltration from the nearby Mediterranean, severely damaging the aquifer’s water quality. When Israel ruled Gaza it tried to preserve the aquifer by preventing such drilling, but Hamas made no effort to stop illegal drilling until 2021, after much damage had already been done to the aquifer’s water quality.”
Alright, I think it’s about time to wrap it up. Let me just say that I hope the writing on Israel, and the sharing of resources like the ones above, helps clear up some of the moral confusion felt by so many Westerners. Yes, as Westerners, we seek to find common ground and peace with others. But what we don’t always understand about some ancient Old World cultures (like Islam), is the lack of reciprocal desire to pursue peace and common ground, or anything that can be qualified as commensurate with the principles and traditions of Western liberalism. I’ll have more to say about Islam soon.
So, coming soon to these pages, please do look out for the super deluxe extended edition of my essay series on the history of Israel. Also, I have decided to repost some of my older Woke Watch Canada essays. Not all of them. Just a handful that I really like, or think are important in some way. To date, I’ve published 359 articles on Woke Watch Canada (not all written by me), meaning, many of the better ones have become somewhat lost in the heap. I’ll have the first one up in a few days. Until then, thank you all for the support. If you are in a position to upgrade to a paid subscription, or to make a donation to my donor box, I promise it is money well spent as every dime buys more time to dig into the research and write up the hot takes 🙂
The search for coherence continues. Until next time, friendly readers.
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