This new governing body of what they call "KKKanada" (no joke) have elected on their authority to rename a park inside Ontario Tech Uni because it’s currently named after a distinguished Jewish professor.
Here are some considered choices:
1. Martyrs’ Common
2. The People of Resistance
And what seems to be the clear “winner”...
3. Intifada Square
But you keep rooting for morons. Soon you'll be swearing even their farts don't stink.
Have you any idea as to who those Columbia protesters really are?
This might help:
"As the mob invaded Hamilton Hall in the early hours of April 30, a facilities worker was photographed pushing a demonstrator against a wall.
Later, it emerged that the protester was a 40-year-old trust fund kid named James Carlson, who owns a townhouse in Brooklyn worth $2.3 million. The man who tried to hold him back was Mario Torres, 45, who has worked at Columbia—where the average janitor makes less than $19 an hour—for five years..."
Trish, I’m about seven minutes into your “Truth Over Tribe” podcast episode, after you shared your lovely exchange with David Frum and I have two comments.
First, thanks for sharing it; I love the feeling of softening toward someone who I only know on the level of having intellectual disagreements with, such as my feelings toward Frum and his neocon/neolib worldview (yes, I think the neocons and neolibs have basically merged and form the ideology of CJ Hopkins’ GlobalCap but I digress).
Second, as a literary guy who loves alliteration and as a guy who seeks truth, even at the risk of losing my tribe, I love the phrase “truth over tribe.” Keep using it.
Having said that, the deeper message here, IMHO, is that Love is the real truth, or Love is the answer. We’ll never move past our disagreements, no matter how serious or petty, by staying in our heads. In fact, I don’t see how we move forward as a species unless we broaden, deepen and strengthen our hearts while reducing the influence we give to solving things with our heads. The many positions I have seen you take the past few years are, I believe, heart-centered ones.
Now, I don’t know the answer to how we solve the intellectual differences we have with the Frums of the world but I’m reasonably sure that loving these people, opening our hearts to them, is the way forward, not hating them and going to war with them. I suspect that by doing so, they’ll have some heart-opening which may then be the key to dissolve positions they hold that are heartless.
Anyway, thanks again, and to close on message, I love your show and the way you show up in the world!
Your intentions may be good Trish. However remember the issue isn’t the issue. The issue is always the Revolution. Please read about the beginning of Mao’s cultural Revolution and the “students” in the universities.
Trish, I'm sorry that you are being criticized for writing what, in my opinion, is a fair and well balanced piece. I have been following the Israel/Palestine conflict for 35+ years, nevertheless Oct 7th came as quite a shock.
I feel like l am going through the Covid pandemic all over again. The disinformation, the inability to have an adult conversation, the censorship, the protests, the labels and name calling and, of course, the needless loss of life, the suffering of innocent people and an overwhelming feeling of helplessness.
Thinking back, don’t you think the entire scenario on the Israel security front was kind of questionable? The many HOLES in security measures just don’t happen in a country as vigilant as Israel. And attention to that faded quickly. October 7 has many tangents.
I hear what you are saying. There were plenty of ex-IDF soldiers and ME experts that spoke up in the days following Oct 7th questioning how a bunch of rag-tag Hamas fighters with a handful of weapons, a few motorbikes and a bunch of hang gliders managed to get over the wall, pull this attack off and grab a bunch of hostages.
There have been numerous theories some of which have been proven to be fact including Egypts warning to Israeli intelligence that an attack from Gaza was imminent. Also IDF intelligence reporting these concerns to the top brass and being told it was "impossible" then allowing many IDF soldiers to take the Shemini Atzeret holiday off. I also heard that Israel had received "intelligence" that Hezbollah (Lebanon) were planning an attack on Isreal from the northern border so IDF command diverted troops away from Gaza northwards.
Relying on a skeleton group of PT soldiers may have been why it took so long for anyone to show up plus, they basically didn't know what they were doing, who was the enemy and they ended up killing their own people.
IMO there are two possible scenarios: The Israelis completely dropped the ball and f'd up big time, and the Israelis were facing humiliation or...
Netanyahu was being forced into a peace agreement with the Palestinians and deliberately scuppered the deal on Oct 7th so he could blame Hamas. Bear in mind Netanyahu was already on thin ice for trying to change constitutional law to give himself and the Likud Party more power and their supreme court (and the Israeli people) were taking him to task. What better way to remain as PM than to orchestrate a terrorist attack and redeem himself as a strong leader? He also knew that he would have unconditional support from Biden, Britain and the Western Media.
So, it's just my take. I hope the truth of the matter will eventually be revealled.
THANK YOU for responding! Yes! You’ve mentioned many aspects and are obviously well informed! Yes, all of that. There are some sniff tests that are difficult to reconcile.
The letter was signed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky as well as Senators Tom Cotton of Arkansas; Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee; Katie Boyd Britt of Alabama; Ted Budd of North Carolina; Kevin Cramer of North Dakota; Ted Cruz of Texas; Bill Hagerty of Tennessee; Pete Ricketts of Nebraska; Marco Rubio and Rick Scott of Florida; and Tim Scott of South Carolina.
Did you see that 12 Republican Senators sent a threatening letter to the Chief Prosecutor of the ICC saying "if you come after Netanyahu, we'll come after you".
Hi Laura. There is a cultural and historical illiteracy that is fueling this moment, in this way it is truly just like with Covid, as you pointed out. But the sameness ends there.
Did you know, for instance, that there are 50+ Islamic or Muslim majority states on our globe, vs. only one little Jewish state? Have you considered re. allegations of genocide that there is a population of 5 million in Gaza, and the maximum, benefit-of-the-doubt civilian death toll is 20K? Do you know that no other nation has faced a terrorist adversary that uses their own civilians as human shields, as a matter of de facto practice on the battlefield? Did you know that al-Assad is responsible for the murder of 550,000+ civilians in Syria, his own people, since 2011, and that this war continues to this day, with no mention of "genocide" because, I guess, there's no Jews involved? Did you know that Hamas established a "pay for slay" agreement to support the families of "martyrs" who kill themselves in order to kill Jews (google wikipedia "pay for slay")? Have you read the Hamas Covenant of 1988, aka the Hamas Charter, which you can find here: https://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/hamas.asp ??
You might read it through. These lines stands out for me: "Our struggle against the Jews is very great and very serious. It needs all sincere efforts. It is a step that inevitably should be followed by other steps. The Movement is but one squadron that should be supported by more and more squadrons from this vast Arab and Islamic world, until the enemy is vanquished and Allah's victory is realised..." You'll note that they refer to Jews, not Israelis, not Zionists, but simply, Jews.
So Laura, I'm just getting started, but I'll pause here, and answer me truthfully, please: Are you up on all of the above? Do you really understand the history (https://catholicherald.co.uk/islams-problem-with-jews-goes-back-millennia/) and the circumstances, on the ground? Or are you just buying the hype (financed largely by Qatar, Iran, and Saudi Arabia) via social media, just like the Covid crazies?
And I'm sure you've seen all this (www.thisishamas.com) but maybe you don't believe it's real? Maybe you are convinced the holocaust wasn't real, or that it was a Zionist plot? And that Jesus was a Palestinian? Maybe you believe that to call into question xenophobic Islamic extremism is to be Islamophobic? Maybe you haven't noticed that for most countries now in the EU their way of life is increasingly threatened by the spread of Islamic fundamentalist extremism vs Western values? And that the Scandinavian countries started expelling these people in troves, years ago, in order to save themselves? Maybe you haven't noticed that the Arab and Muslim world shun the Palestinians and consider them vagabond dogs too dangerously radicalized to be allowed entry or citizenship in their own states?
Just wondering, Laura, what do you know, actually, and what don't you know, and how that all shapes your position, sitting comfortably in Toronto, while Jews fight literally for their lives, and for their right to a safe homeland, again? Why is it noble for others to fight for sovereignty, just not Jews?
Some people on this thread need to be reminded that your podcast is called Trish Wood is Critical. It's what I value about the work you do, Trish. I expect that you will analyze the current narrative and you always stay true to your word. The demonization of student protests in the past week has been alarming, not to mention seeing riot police throwing students around, many the same age as my son. I shudder to think about what is being set in motion right now for young people — a very clear line in the sand about what is forbidden speech and action. To think that there is any question about anyone protesting a massacre of innocent civilians in Gaza — which doesn't help the Israeli hostages one bit — is alarming. Thank you for doing the good work you do, Trish — keep it up!
Well, after pondering here's my take and it's OK for any of you to disagree, that's why we are supposed to use free speech.
I am all for peaceful protesting, BUT how things have changed over the generations.
Whining elite students, whom locked themselves into a faculty building, didn't think ahead. Damaging the building interior whilst at it. Demanding vegan, gluten free hot food and beverages.
Is this really what we have to look forward to, leading nations in the near future? We are doomed if so.
Any war, any attack on innocent civilians anywhere in the world we live in I fiercely condemn. Pitting people against each other is what the so called "leaders" want.
The US is so in debt, and by taking a leaf out of history, wars are on the rise - get ready.
It is the governments around the world that need to be dismantled and changed. Their systems, corruption and lies are too powerful and the more we buy into their narrative agendas the longer we are enslaved with dislike, hate and fear, wake up and smell the dying roses people! We must forge on and continue gathering allies. We aren't the enemy, they are.
Thank you Trish as always, for speaking your truth, as I have just done.
May be time to rethink your view of what’s going on. This is so NOT about what’s going on in Gaza. This is now about bringing down western civilization. The US in particular.
Brilliant piece. Thank you for expressing so well what I am struggling to come to terms with, i.e., how can so many who supported our brave trucker convoy movement now endorse a similar kind of tyranny as Trudeau's? Indeed, some of these confused souls are actually clamouring for the same kind of crackdown against peace activists!! "Arrest these terrorists!" they scream. "They arrested Tamara Lich for far less!"
I despair for humanity when I see such cluelessness.
And on the other side, plenty of deluded progressive types who fail to see that locking people in their homes, depriving them of medical care and force-jabbing them all while censoring all dissent is what has paved the way for their own persecution.
Let me be the Tin Foil Hat Wearer to mention that David Icke has spoken and written mountains about Israel/Jews/Palestine. Not that solutions are to be found there. A larger older deeper exploration of the conflict is good.
Here’s some recent vids:
How Does This Tiny Country Get Away With Mass Murder Year After Year? - David icke Dot-Connector Apr 4, 2024https://banned.video/watch?id=660ec322b0f994f1e408f5d6
Hi Everyone: Good discussion. I got an email from someone noting that I am "liking" comments I would obviously disagree with. I will keep doing it on this piece to show solidarity with free speech and my willingness to host people who think I'm wrong. Also to show that I am reading everything bit by bit. There have been some bad faith assumptions made that are distressing and accusations of antisemitism which I expected because of the subject matter -- still somewhat painful to read but I am a big girl.
I remember sitting in a cafe in Jerusalem in 1991 during the second intifada and being accused of PLO affiliation because Yasser Arafat used to go there. We had a Pal and an Israeli fixer on that shoot and I saw in microcosm the tension but also the shared humanity. I hope one day we can have these discussions without that word being tossed about. Sadly -- a bill is being passed that equates all criticism of Israel with antisemitism - which has been my fear from the start of the post October 7th world. Does this apply to Jewish people who make such criticisms? No government, no country should be above scrutiny and debate.
If you are interested Trish, l found this short but succinct TicTok video entitled 19 myths of Israel. In light of Netanyahu's condemnation of Al Jazeera, #11 addresses the journalists that have been unalived.
Speaking truthfully and sincerely now, no sarcasm, no jokes, Trish.
When you broke free of CBC and went independent to counter their bs and hegemony, you won me over as an early fan. You clearly came with the old school journalist chops so desperately needed, in my opinion, to rescue the new game of journalism, at a time when we desperately needed just that.
You may recall how it was an imperative of sound journalism to not fall in with the general consensus, in fact to be wary of such forces, and how it is necessary to gauge the truth with impartial impunity rather than being corralled by on the ground forces. You were able to dissect the real sickness of Covid by doing just that. As one example.
Now you have chosen to paint yourself into a corner, assuming a moral/ethical allegiance that conforms with a human wave of ignorance that easily matches what we saw fueling the Covid crazies. You'll notice for instance that masks maintain a dominance among the terrorist supporters.
All this to say, I find it sad, for you certainly, but for me as well, to watch you go the way of such goons. I can only hope that you have some idea of what you are actually supporting? A future of in your face and in your neighbourhood Islamic extremism that will counter all the liberal values you have come to take for granted. But don't take my word for it. Listen to Mosab. Ask an Iranian. Talk to a Hungarian. They know better than you.
Wow, it's the 1st of September and Trish just released a brilliant piece on Free Speech. She mentioned she took some flack on a previous piece and l'm guessing it was this one.
Hi Darren, I'm trying to reconcile your words with the shared views we had over the Covid catastrophe. Your comments on this thread remind me of the Facebook exchanges I had with folks in my community who were LIVID with me for not supporting PH. There was no nuance and no generosity in exploring what was at stake. I'm seeing that in your words, even though you were a voice of reason in many of those very same FB conversations on my page. It's curious, isn't it? That we are divided, like a pie, once again and now you and I are on opposite 'sides'. I feel like the divide and conquer element of these years should be enough of a clue to at least give each other the benefit of doubt as we navigate this incredibly bizarre and terrifying political terrain. I don't hear that in your words. Trish has been true to her words of being a critical thinker. I come here for someone who challenges the narrative, and the narrative right now is that the student encampments demanding divestment are anti-semetic at the core — the classic playbook of demonizing dissent. It's the same kind of demonization that took place with Covid-19 protests and especially the Freedom convoy. I think we have to be on our toes to parse through the minutea of attacks on protesters, because at the same time this is happening, we are facing sweeping anti-free speech laws — all rolled out just like the covid lockdowns were. All of this landing at the very time we need free speech and the right to protest. This is the thread connecting covid protests to demands for ceasefire in Gaza. Watching students getting their heads bashed in over the last week has been horrifying — you and I both have kids who will be navigating the new abnormal political world. It is surreal to watch how kids and youth took the brunt of harms from covid-19 policy and are now taking it again for protesting the massacre of children and youth in Gaza — I know you don't like to call it a genocide, so I'll call it a massacre. What I'm seeing is a very clear demarcation: there will be NO challenging Big Pharma OR the Military Industrial Complex at this moment in history. I hope you channel some of your rage towards Trish into your own Substack writing.
Sorry if this is a repost? Not sure if I dropped my reply in the correct place to respond to you, so just in case...
Hi Laura. There is a cultural and historical illiteracy that is fueling this moment, in this way it is truly just like with Covid, as you pointed out. But the sameness ends there.
Did you know, for instance, that there are 50+ Islamic or Muslim majority states on our globe, vs. only one little Jewish state? Have you considered re. allegations of genocide that there is a population of 5 million in Gaza, and the maximum, benefit-of-the-doubt civilian death toll is 20K? Do you know that no other nation has faced a terrorist adversary that uses their own civilians as human shields, as a matter of de facto practice on the battlefield? Did you know that al-Assad is responsible for the murder of 550,000+ civilians in Syria, his own people, since 2011, and that this war continues to this day, with no mention of "genocide" because, I guess, there's no Jews involved? Did you know that Hamas established a "pay for slay" agreement to support the families of "martyrs" who kill themselves in order to kill Jews (google wikipedia "pay for slay")? Have you read the Hamas Covenant of 1988, aka the Hamas Charter, which you can find here: https://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/hamas.asp ??
You might read it through. These lines stands out for me: "Our struggle against the Jews is very great and very serious. It needs all sincere efforts. It is a step that inevitably should be followed by other steps. The Movement is but one squadron that should be supported by more and more squadrons from this vast Arab and Islamic world, until the enemy is vanquished and Allah's victory is realised..." You'll note that they refer to Jews, not Israelis, not Zionists, but simply, Jews.
So Laura, I'm just getting started, but I'll pause here, and answer me truthfully, please: Are you up on all of the above? Do you really understand the history (https://catholicherald.co.uk/islams-problem-with-jews-goes-back-millennia/) and the circumstances, on the ground? Or are you just buying the hype (financed largely by Qatar, Iran, and Saudi Arabia) via social media, just like the Covid crazies?
And I'm sure you've seen all this (www.thisishamas.com) but maybe you don't believe it's real? Maybe you are convinced the holocaust wasn't real, or that it was a Zionist plot? And that Jesus was a Palestinian? Maybe you believe that to call into question xenophobic Islamic extremism is to be Islamophobic? Maybe you haven't noticed that for most countries now in the EU their way of life is increasingly threatened by the spread of Islamic fundamentalist extremism vs Western values? And that the Scandinavian countries started expelling these people in troves, years ago, in order to save themselves? Maybe you haven't noticed that the Arab and Muslim world shun the Palestinians and consider them vagabond dogs too dangerously radicalized to be allowed entry or citizenship in their own states?
Just wondering, Laura, what do you know, actually, and what don't you know, and how that all shapes your position, sitting comfortably in Toronto, while Jews fight literally for their lives, and for their right to a safe homeland, again? Why is it noble for others to fight for sovereignty, just not Jews?
I'm focused on what it will take for a ceasefire to be implemented after 7 months of bombing civilians in Gaza. And what it will take for all of us to move closer to peace — imagining it, living it, bringing it to fruition. And how to exit from the tidal wave of chaos that is being unnecessarily foisted upon people on this planet. Imagining Peace, feels like the only way forward.
Lastly, Laura, as for "what it will take" to move closer to peace...
Whatever happened to demanding that Hamas terrorists free the hostages, and surrender? If Islamic extremists did anything similar in say Denmark, or Sweden, would you be calling for that country to go easy on the terrorists, just let it pass, they were only doing what they had to do in order to seek justice for their immigrant brothers? I don't think so.
Can you imagine any other country fighting domestic terrorism where the terrorists hide, organize, and battle from civilian homes, hospitals, schools...?
That's how we know that it's Jew hate fueling this moment, nothing to do with justice, nothing to do with peace.
Who do you mean when you say "all of us to move closer to peace..."?
Have you been convinced by the hype that allowing Hamas to rebuild and return is somehow good for peace? Good for Palestinians?
Calling for an Intifada on Jews brings us closer to peace? Giving Islamic extremism the excuse they have been waiting for to dismantle our "peaceful" way of life and values? Who is actually wreaking more havoc on world peace than Islam? Do you believe that Israel and Jews are actually responsible? For spreading nihilism and terrorism in the world? Have you actually bought that one?
You have the privilege to focus on peace because you have known no war in your life, nothing even close. Israelis live with the prospect of war or mortal threat every single day. Now it's diaspora Jews ... again. The stalemate between the West and extremist Islam that has given your life a passage of relative peace has been broken. And you helped. So we will see how this goes. I suspect you will all reap what you have sown, before long. If you think this is just about Jews, you've got a surprise coming your way. Canadians are so ignorant and pastoral, they don't have a clue what they are up against.
"Hamas aims at controlling the narrative of what’s going on as it happens, winning admirers and gaining new supporters and recruits, who commune together in a worldwide social media loop of Jew-lynching, backed by proof that it is really happening."
For your information, this site keeps track of Islamic terror attacks around the world, historically, and in real time. So, for instance, in the last 30 days alone, "there were 127 Islamic attacks in 24 countries, in which 473 people were killed and 399 injured. Most of these incidents are terror attacks. A handful are honor killings or Sharia executions."
And by the way, that is excluding any death tolls in Israel or Gaza.
And yet, you have been duped to believe that it's Jews (or Zionists or Israel) that is responsible for terror in this world. Just as Covid crazies were convinced that a lab-leaked virus was going to kill them.
Why would it matter what this guy says? Even those whose politics and ideology I hate have the right to live. Their children have the right to live. We all see the horror being perpetrated by Israel. It is unconscionable for anyone with moral fibre.
If we lived in a fantasy world I would not hesitate to agree with you. But we live in the real world, and war is, unfortunately, a thing. It is horrible and sad, it is perhaps the greatest sin and tragedy of mankind. But still, it goes on.
And of all the wars on the globe right now, this one gets all the attention, because Jews are involved. One tiny Jewish state, surrounded by 50+ Islamic and Muslim majority states, all of which have expelled their Jewish populations over the past centuries. And 'this guy' happens to have been born into the kind of extremism that is due to wreak havoc in your own world, eventually. So go ahead and dismiss his warnings, at your own peril. You'll watch your own kind taking to the ground facing Mecca in prayer to Allah, chanting death to Jews (and Christians, etc.) coming soon enough to your very own neighborhood.
I supported Mandela & the anti-apartheid movement in my 20’s, the Palestinian fight for freedom and respect in my 30’s onward, the anti-war movement as an 8 year old through to marching in Vancouver as one with the biggest worldwide pre-invasion anti-imperialism protest in 2003, the Idle No More movement in my 50’s, the trucker convoy in my 60’s … we all have our own journey through life and for me, a common theme in every protest was standing up against power that seeks to divide, including and especially the media/social programming telling us who is worthy to live and who we should hate. You are working to unite across these divisions Trish - keep going and let’s break through the programming!
A fellow traveller. I guess I'm just calling for people to have the right -- no matter how they feel about the cause. I'm critical od media obviously because I've seen this tactic before. It is the same every time. And thank you.
The video linked to by Matt Orfalea (https://twitter.com/ZaidJilani/status/1782926074114170979) seems to be deleted. Just another example of Xitter's new "free speech policy".
Yes, it's all about freedom.
Check out this link ( https://twitter.com/DahliaKurtz/status/1788202032362332317 ) to view a screenshot from one of your venerated campus infiltration groups on WhatsApp.
This new governing body of what they call "KKKanada" (no joke) have elected on their authority to rename a park inside Ontario Tech Uni because it’s currently named after a distinguished Jewish professor.
Here are some considered choices:
1. Martyrs’ Common
2. The People of Resistance
And what seems to be the clear “winner”...
3. Intifada Square
But you keep rooting for morons. Soon you'll be swearing even their farts don't stink.
A different point of view, from a different sort of journalist.
https://roxannehalverson.substack.com/p/trudeaus-inaction-on-hateful-protests
Have you any idea as to who those Columbia protesters really are?
This might help:
"As the mob invaded Hamilton Hall in the early hours of April 30, a facilities worker was photographed pushing a demonstrator against a wall.
Later, it emerged that the protester was a 40-year-old trust fund kid named James Carlson, who owns a townhouse in Brooklyn worth $2.3 million. The man who tried to hold him back was Mario Torres, 45, who has worked at Columbia—where the average janitor makes less than $19 an hour—for five years..."
https://www.thefp.com/p/exclusive-columbia-custodian-trapped
A little more about the kind of protestor you seem to relish. You dumb dupes.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/violent-columbia-protester-is-heir-to-ad-empire-has-mansion-model-babymama-and-long-rap-sheet/ar-AA1o8IrP
Trish, I’m about seven minutes into your “Truth Over Tribe” podcast episode, after you shared your lovely exchange with David Frum and I have two comments.
First, thanks for sharing it; I love the feeling of softening toward someone who I only know on the level of having intellectual disagreements with, such as my feelings toward Frum and his neocon/neolib worldview (yes, I think the neocons and neolibs have basically merged and form the ideology of CJ Hopkins’ GlobalCap but I digress).
Second, as a literary guy who loves alliteration and as a guy who seeks truth, even at the risk of losing my tribe, I love the phrase “truth over tribe.” Keep using it.
Having said that, the deeper message here, IMHO, is that Love is the real truth, or Love is the answer. We’ll never move past our disagreements, no matter how serious or petty, by staying in our heads. In fact, I don’t see how we move forward as a species unless we broaden, deepen and strengthen our hearts while reducing the influence we give to solving things with our heads. The many positions I have seen you take the past few years are, I believe, heart-centered ones.
Now, I don’t know the answer to how we solve the intellectual differences we have with the Frums of the world but I’m reasonably sure that loving these people, opening our hearts to them, is the way forward, not hating them and going to war with them. I suspect that by doing so, they’ll have some heart-opening which may then be the key to dissolve positions they hold that are heartless.
Anyway, thanks again, and to close on message, I love your show and the way you show up in the world!
Your intentions may be good Trish. However remember the issue isn’t the issue. The issue is always the Revolution. Please read about the beginning of Mao’s cultural Revolution and the “students” in the universities.
Trish, I'm sorry that you are being criticized for writing what, in my opinion, is a fair and well balanced piece. I have been following the Israel/Palestine conflict for 35+ years, nevertheless Oct 7th came as quite a shock.
I feel like l am going through the Covid pandemic all over again. The disinformation, the inability to have an adult conversation, the censorship, the protests, the labels and name calling and, of course, the needless loss of life, the suffering of innocent people and an overwhelming feeling of helplessness.
Thinking back, don’t you think the entire scenario on the Israel security front was kind of questionable? The many HOLES in security measures just don’t happen in a country as vigilant as Israel. And attention to that faded quickly. October 7 has many tangents.
I hear what you are saying. There were plenty of ex-IDF soldiers and ME experts that spoke up in the days following Oct 7th questioning how a bunch of rag-tag Hamas fighters with a handful of weapons, a few motorbikes and a bunch of hang gliders managed to get over the wall, pull this attack off and grab a bunch of hostages.
There have been numerous theories some of which have been proven to be fact including Egypts warning to Israeli intelligence that an attack from Gaza was imminent. Also IDF intelligence reporting these concerns to the top brass and being told it was "impossible" then allowing many IDF soldiers to take the Shemini Atzeret holiday off. I also heard that Israel had received "intelligence" that Hezbollah (Lebanon) were planning an attack on Isreal from the northern border so IDF command diverted troops away from Gaza northwards.
Relying on a skeleton group of PT soldiers may have been why it took so long for anyone to show up plus, they basically didn't know what they were doing, who was the enemy and they ended up killing their own people.
IMO there are two possible scenarios: The Israelis completely dropped the ball and f'd up big time, and the Israelis were facing humiliation or...
Netanyahu was being forced into a peace agreement with the Palestinians and deliberately scuppered the deal on Oct 7th so he could blame Hamas. Bear in mind Netanyahu was already on thin ice for trying to change constitutional law to give himself and the Likud Party more power and their supreme court (and the Israeli people) were taking him to task. What better way to remain as PM than to orchestrate a terrorist attack and redeem himself as a strong leader? He also knew that he would have unconditional support from Biden, Britain and the Western Media.
So, it's just my take. I hope the truth of the matter will eventually be revealled.
THANK YOU for responding! Yes! You’ve mentioned many aspects and are obviously well informed! Yes, all of that. There are some sniff tests that are difficult to reconcile.
The letter was signed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky as well as Senators Tom Cotton of Arkansas; Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee; Katie Boyd Britt of Alabama; Ted Budd of North Carolina; Kevin Cramer of North Dakota; Ted Cruz of Texas; Bill Hagerty of Tennessee; Pete Ricketts of Nebraska; Marco Rubio and Rick Scott of Florida; and Tim Scott of South Carolina.
Did you see that 12 Republican Senators sent a threatening letter to the Chief Prosecutor of the ICC saying "if you come after Netanyahu, we'll come after you".
Read the full report at Jurist.org GB.
Hi Laura. There is a cultural and historical illiteracy that is fueling this moment, in this way it is truly just like with Covid, as you pointed out. But the sameness ends there.
Did you know, for instance, that there are 50+ Islamic or Muslim majority states on our globe, vs. only one little Jewish state? Have you considered re. allegations of genocide that there is a population of 5 million in Gaza, and the maximum, benefit-of-the-doubt civilian death toll is 20K? Do you know that no other nation has faced a terrorist adversary that uses their own civilians as human shields, as a matter of de facto practice on the battlefield? Did you know that al-Assad is responsible for the murder of 550,000+ civilians in Syria, his own people, since 2011, and that this war continues to this day, with no mention of "genocide" because, I guess, there's no Jews involved? Did you know that Hamas established a "pay for slay" agreement to support the families of "martyrs" who kill themselves in order to kill Jews (google wikipedia "pay for slay")? Have you read the Hamas Covenant of 1988, aka the Hamas Charter, which you can find here: https://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/hamas.asp ??
You might read it through. These lines stands out for me: "Our struggle against the Jews is very great and very serious. It needs all sincere efforts. It is a step that inevitably should be followed by other steps. The Movement is but one squadron that should be supported by more and more squadrons from this vast Arab and Islamic world, until the enemy is vanquished and Allah's victory is realised..." You'll note that they refer to Jews, not Israelis, not Zionists, but simply, Jews.
So Laura, I'm just getting started, but I'll pause here, and answer me truthfully, please: Are you up on all of the above? Do you really understand the history (https://catholicherald.co.uk/islams-problem-with-jews-goes-back-millennia/) and the circumstances, on the ground? Or are you just buying the hype (financed largely by Qatar, Iran, and Saudi Arabia) via social media, just like the Covid crazies?
And I'm sure you've seen all this (www.thisishamas.com) but maybe you don't believe it's real? Maybe you are convinced the holocaust wasn't real, or that it was a Zionist plot? And that Jesus was a Palestinian? Maybe you believe that to call into question xenophobic Islamic extremism is to be Islamophobic? Maybe you haven't noticed that for most countries now in the EU their way of life is increasingly threatened by the spread of Islamic fundamentalist extremism vs Western values? And that the Scandinavian countries started expelling these people in troves, years ago, in order to save themselves? Maybe you haven't noticed that the Arab and Muslim world shun the Palestinians and consider them vagabond dogs too dangerously radicalized to be allowed entry or citizenship in their own states?
Just wondering, Laura, what do you know, actually, and what don't you know, and how that all shapes your position, sitting comfortably in Toronto, while Jews fight literally for their lives, and for their right to a safe homeland, again? Why is it noble for others to fight for sovereignty, just not Jews?
I look forward to your response.
Some people on this thread need to be reminded that your podcast is called Trish Wood is Critical. It's what I value about the work you do, Trish. I expect that you will analyze the current narrative and you always stay true to your word. The demonization of student protests in the past week has been alarming, not to mention seeing riot police throwing students around, many the same age as my son. I shudder to think about what is being set in motion right now for young people — a very clear line in the sand about what is forbidden speech and action. To think that there is any question about anyone protesting a massacre of innocent civilians in Gaza — which doesn't help the Israeli hostages one bit — is alarming. Thank you for doing the good work you do, Trish — keep it up!
Well, after pondering here's my take and it's OK for any of you to disagree, that's why we are supposed to use free speech.
I am all for peaceful protesting, BUT how things have changed over the generations.
Whining elite students, whom locked themselves into a faculty building, didn't think ahead. Damaging the building interior whilst at it. Demanding vegan, gluten free hot food and beverages.
Is this really what we have to look forward to, leading nations in the near future? We are doomed if so.
Any war, any attack on innocent civilians anywhere in the world we live in I fiercely condemn. Pitting people against each other is what the so called "leaders" want.
The US is so in debt, and by taking a leaf out of history, wars are on the rise - get ready.
It is the governments around the world that need to be dismantled and changed. Their systems, corruption and lies are too powerful and the more we buy into their narrative agendas the longer we are enslaved with dislike, hate and fear, wake up and smell the dying roses people! We must forge on and continue gathering allies. We aren't the enemy, they are.
Thank you Trish as always, for speaking your truth, as I have just done.
Wishing everyone a blessed peaceful weekend.
May be time to rethink your view of what’s going on. This is so NOT about what’s going on in Gaza. This is now about bringing down western civilization. The US in particular.
The US Empire and Great American experiment is about to fail unless they dispense with the uni-party system.
Brilliant piece. Thank you for expressing so well what I am struggling to come to terms with, i.e., how can so many who supported our brave trucker convoy movement now endorse a similar kind of tyranny as Trudeau's? Indeed, some of these confused souls are actually clamouring for the same kind of crackdown against peace activists!! "Arrest these terrorists!" they scream. "They arrested Tamara Lich for far less!"
I despair for humanity when I see such cluelessness.
And on the other side, plenty of deluded progressive types who fail to see that locking people in their homes, depriving them of medical care and force-jabbing them all while censoring all dissent is what has paved the way for their own persecution.
Let me be the Tin Foil Hat Wearer to mention that David Icke has spoken and written mountains about Israel/Jews/Palestine. Not that solutions are to be found there. A larger older deeper exploration of the conflict is good.
Here’s some recent vids:
How Does This Tiny Country Get Away With Mass Murder Year After Year? - David icke Dot-Connector Apr 4, 2024https://banned.video/watch?id=660ec322b0f994f1e408f5d6
Losing The Narrative - If Your Spine Is Strong Enough https://banned.video/watch?id=6605d5c6b0f994f1e4af4654
"Poking Iran In The Chest" - The Goal Of WW3 Is Becoming Ever More Blatant -
https://banned.video/watch?id=66178253f0fe30606526afcc
I’m not into bibl prophecy but I see a spiritual war betw Judaism and Islam. I doubt college protestors get that.
Thanks for the article.
Seems many only care about their tribe and therefore those who want to divide us like the billionaire class and governments win.
As I said elsewhere:
Left, right or centrist: who cares as authoritarians come in all shapes, sizes and political parties.
UK: you got conservative authoritarians.
Canada: you got liberal authoritarians.
Germany: you got green and social democrat authoritarians.
Hi Everyone: Good discussion. I got an email from someone noting that I am "liking" comments I would obviously disagree with. I will keep doing it on this piece to show solidarity with free speech and my willingness to host people who think I'm wrong. Also to show that I am reading everything bit by bit. There have been some bad faith assumptions made that are distressing and accusations of antisemitism which I expected because of the subject matter -- still somewhat painful to read but I am a big girl.
I remember sitting in a cafe in Jerusalem in 1991 during the second intifada and being accused of PLO affiliation because Yasser Arafat used to go there. We had a Pal and an Israeli fixer on that shoot and I saw in microcosm the tension but also the shared humanity. I hope one day we can have these discussions without that word being tossed about. Sadly -- a bill is being passed that equates all criticism of Israel with antisemitism - which has been my fear from the start of the post October 7th world. Does this apply to Jewish people who make such criticisms? No government, no country should be above scrutiny and debate.
#truthovertribe
If you are interested Trish, l found this short but succinct TicTok video entitled 19 myths of Israel. In light of Netanyahu's condemnation of Al Jazeera, #11 addresses the journalists that have been unalived.
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMMt2KgX6/
Speaking truthfully and sincerely now, no sarcasm, no jokes, Trish.
When you broke free of CBC and went independent to counter their bs and hegemony, you won me over as an early fan. You clearly came with the old school journalist chops so desperately needed, in my opinion, to rescue the new game of journalism, at a time when we desperately needed just that.
You may recall how it was an imperative of sound journalism to not fall in with the general consensus, in fact to be wary of such forces, and how it is necessary to gauge the truth with impartial impunity rather than being corralled by on the ground forces. You were able to dissect the real sickness of Covid by doing just that. As one example.
Now you have chosen to paint yourself into a corner, assuming a moral/ethical allegiance that conforms with a human wave of ignorance that easily matches what we saw fueling the Covid crazies. You'll notice for instance that masks maintain a dominance among the terrorist supporters.
All this to say, I find it sad, for you certainly, but for me as well, to watch you go the way of such goons. I can only hope that you have some idea of what you are actually supporting? A future of in your face and in your neighbourhood Islamic extremism that will counter all the liberal values you have come to take for granted. But don't take my word for it. Listen to Mosab. Ask an Iranian. Talk to a Hungarian. They know better than you.
Wow, it's the 1st of September and Trish just released a brilliant piece on Free Speech. She mentioned she took some flack on a previous piece and l'm guessing it was this one.
Hi Darren, I'm trying to reconcile your words with the shared views we had over the Covid catastrophe. Your comments on this thread remind me of the Facebook exchanges I had with folks in my community who were LIVID with me for not supporting PH. There was no nuance and no generosity in exploring what was at stake. I'm seeing that in your words, even though you were a voice of reason in many of those very same FB conversations on my page. It's curious, isn't it? That we are divided, like a pie, once again and now you and I are on opposite 'sides'. I feel like the divide and conquer element of these years should be enough of a clue to at least give each other the benefit of doubt as we navigate this incredibly bizarre and terrifying political terrain. I don't hear that in your words. Trish has been true to her words of being a critical thinker. I come here for someone who challenges the narrative, and the narrative right now is that the student encampments demanding divestment are anti-semetic at the core — the classic playbook of demonizing dissent. It's the same kind of demonization that took place with Covid-19 protests and especially the Freedom convoy. I think we have to be on our toes to parse through the minutea of attacks on protesters, because at the same time this is happening, we are facing sweeping anti-free speech laws — all rolled out just like the covid lockdowns were. All of this landing at the very time we need free speech and the right to protest. This is the thread connecting covid protests to demands for ceasefire in Gaza. Watching students getting their heads bashed in over the last week has been horrifying — you and I both have kids who will be navigating the new abnormal political world. It is surreal to watch how kids and youth took the brunt of harms from covid-19 policy and are now taking it again for protesting the massacre of children and youth in Gaza — I know you don't like to call it a genocide, so I'll call it a massacre. What I'm seeing is a very clear demarcation: there will be NO challenging Big Pharma OR the Military Industrial Complex at this moment in history. I hope you channel some of your rage towards Trish into your own Substack writing.
Sorry if this is a repost? Not sure if I dropped my reply in the correct place to respond to you, so just in case...
Hi Laura. There is a cultural and historical illiteracy that is fueling this moment, in this way it is truly just like with Covid, as you pointed out. But the sameness ends there.
Did you know, for instance, that there are 50+ Islamic or Muslim majority states on our globe, vs. only one little Jewish state? Have you considered re. allegations of genocide that there is a population of 5 million in Gaza, and the maximum, benefit-of-the-doubt civilian death toll is 20K? Do you know that no other nation has faced a terrorist adversary that uses their own civilians as human shields, as a matter of de facto practice on the battlefield? Did you know that al-Assad is responsible for the murder of 550,000+ civilians in Syria, his own people, since 2011, and that this war continues to this day, with no mention of "genocide" because, I guess, there's no Jews involved? Did you know that Hamas established a "pay for slay" agreement to support the families of "martyrs" who kill themselves in order to kill Jews (google wikipedia "pay for slay")? Have you read the Hamas Covenant of 1988, aka the Hamas Charter, which you can find here: https://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/hamas.asp ??
You might read it through. These lines stands out for me: "Our struggle against the Jews is very great and very serious. It needs all sincere efforts. It is a step that inevitably should be followed by other steps. The Movement is but one squadron that should be supported by more and more squadrons from this vast Arab and Islamic world, until the enemy is vanquished and Allah's victory is realised..." You'll note that they refer to Jews, not Israelis, not Zionists, but simply, Jews.
So Laura, I'm just getting started, but I'll pause here, and answer me truthfully, please: Are you up on all of the above? Do you really understand the history (https://catholicherald.co.uk/islams-problem-with-jews-goes-back-millennia/) and the circumstances, on the ground? Or are you just buying the hype (financed largely by Qatar, Iran, and Saudi Arabia) via social media, just like the Covid crazies?
And I'm sure you've seen all this (www.thisishamas.com) but maybe you don't believe it's real? Maybe you are convinced the holocaust wasn't real, or that it was a Zionist plot? And that Jesus was a Palestinian? Maybe you believe that to call into question xenophobic Islamic extremism is to be Islamophobic? Maybe you haven't noticed that for most countries now in the EU their way of life is increasingly threatened by the spread of Islamic fundamentalist extremism vs Western values? And that the Scandinavian countries started expelling these people in troves, years ago, in order to save themselves? Maybe you haven't noticed that the Arab and Muslim world shun the Palestinians and consider them vagabond dogs too dangerously radicalized to be allowed entry or citizenship in their own states?
Just wondering, Laura, what do you know, actually, and what don't you know, and how that all shapes your position, sitting comfortably in Toronto, while Jews fight literally for their lives, and for their right to a safe homeland, again? Why is it noble for others to fight for sovereignty, just not Jews?
I look forward to your response.
I'm focused on what it will take for a ceasefire to be implemented after 7 months of bombing civilians in Gaza. And what it will take for all of us to move closer to peace — imagining it, living it, bringing it to fruition. And how to exit from the tidal wave of chaos that is being unnecessarily foisted upon people on this planet. Imagining Peace, feels like the only way forward.
Lastly, Laura, as for "what it will take" to move closer to peace...
Whatever happened to demanding that Hamas terrorists free the hostages, and surrender? If Islamic extremists did anything similar in say Denmark, or Sweden, would you be calling for that country to go easy on the terrorists, just let it pass, they were only doing what they had to do in order to seek justice for their immigrant brothers? I don't think so.
Can you imagine any other country fighting domestic terrorism where the terrorists hide, organize, and battle from civilian homes, hospitals, schools...?
That's how we know that it's Jew hate fueling this moment, nothing to do with justice, nothing to do with peace.
Who do you mean when you say "all of us to move closer to peace..."?
Have you been convinced by the hype that allowing Hamas to rebuild and return is somehow good for peace? Good for Palestinians?
Calling for an Intifada on Jews brings us closer to peace? Giving Islamic extremism the excuse they have been waiting for to dismantle our "peaceful" way of life and values? Who is actually wreaking more havoc on world peace than Islam? Do you believe that Israel and Jews are actually responsible? For spreading nihilism and terrorism in the world? Have you actually bought that one?
You have the privilege to focus on peace because you have known no war in your life, nothing even close. Israelis live with the prospect of war or mortal threat every single day. Now it's diaspora Jews ... again. The stalemate between the West and extremist Islam that has given your life a passage of relative peace has been broken. And you helped. So we will see how this goes. I suspect you will all reap what you have sown, before long. If you think this is just about Jews, you've got a surprise coming your way. Canadians are so ignorant and pastoral, they don't have a clue what they are up against.
They sure do in Europe, though.
https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/the-global-pogrom
"Hamas aims at controlling the narrative of what’s going on as it happens, winning admirers and gaining new supporters and recruits, who commune together in a worldwide social media loop of Jew-lynching, backed by proof that it is really happening."
All the best.
p.s.
For your information, this site keeps track of Islamic terror attacks around the world, historically, and in real time. So, for instance, in the last 30 days alone, "there were 127 Islamic attacks in 24 countries, in which 473 people were killed and 399 injured. Most of these incidents are terror attacks. A handful are honor killings or Sharia executions."
And by the way, that is excluding any death tolls in Israel or Gaza.
And yet, you have been duped to believe that it's Jews (or Zionists or Israel) that is responsible for terror in this world. Just as Covid crazies were convinced that a lab-leaked virus was going to kill them.
Be sure to check it out:
https://thereligionofpeace.com/attacks/attacks.aspx
Trish, why not interview Mosab Hassan Yousef, the eldest son of Hamas co-founder Sheikh Hassan Yousef? Would make for a good interview, no?
Or could this undermine your own agenda? Tsk tsk...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9s02-7a-oM
Darren Alexander, l hope now that we are another four months into a genocide, you have reconsidered your stance.
Why would it matter what this guy says? Even those whose politics and ideology I hate have the right to live. Their children have the right to live. We all see the horror being perpetrated by Israel. It is unconscionable for anyone with moral fibre.
If we lived in a fantasy world I would not hesitate to agree with you. But we live in the real world, and war is, unfortunately, a thing. It is horrible and sad, it is perhaps the greatest sin and tragedy of mankind. But still, it goes on.
And of all the wars on the globe right now, this one gets all the attention, because Jews are involved. One tiny Jewish state, surrounded by 50+ Islamic and Muslim majority states, all of which have expelled their Jewish populations over the past centuries. And 'this guy' happens to have been born into the kind of extremism that is due to wreak havoc in your own world, eventually. So go ahead and dismiss his warnings, at your own peril. You'll watch your own kind taking to the ground facing Mecca in prayer to Allah, chanting death to Jews (and Christians, etc.) coming soon enough to your very own neighborhood.
I supported Mandela & the anti-apartheid movement in my 20’s, the Palestinian fight for freedom and respect in my 30’s onward, the anti-war movement as an 8 year old through to marching in Vancouver as one with the biggest worldwide pre-invasion anti-imperialism protest in 2003, the Idle No More movement in my 50’s, the trucker convoy in my 60’s … we all have our own journey through life and for me, a common theme in every protest was standing up against power that seeks to divide, including and especially the media/social programming telling us who is worthy to live and who we should hate. You are working to unite across these divisions Trish - keep going and let’s break through the programming!
A fellow traveller. I guess I'm just calling for people to have the right -- no matter how they feel about the cause. I'm critical od media obviously because I've seen this tactic before. It is the same every time. And thank you.