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Perspectives

When citizens report radicalisers we all win

What is the duty of a citizen? How far should a taxpayer go in the interests of public safety? Are we obliged to cooperate with security intelligence and law enforcement agencies when we come across information that may relate to threats or crimes? Or is it ok to ignore what we see or hear, preferring […]

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Perspectives

The problem with ‘expertise’ and definitive statements

We all want to be right. It sure beats being wrong. When we are wrong we make bad decisions that could cost us dearly. So unless you are some kind of masochist I wager that you would prefer to get things correct more often than not. Of course none of us is right 100% of […]

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Perspectives

Yes CSIS should be on university campuses and yes university students should cooperate

Here we go again. Another day another article on how Canada’s spy agency, CSIS, is intimidating, cowing and harassing university students while on ‘fishing expeditions’ on the nation’s post-secondary campuses. This practice has some concerned that Muslims in particular are ‘under the microscope’ and can lead to embarrassing situations that can effect their lives down […]

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Canadian Intelligence Eh! Podcast

Podcast 15 – Ask Phil (part 1)

In this episode, we will address some of the questions you sent our way. Stay tuned for part 2!

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Perspectives

Sins of the father – redux

It has been a while since I have had legitimate occasion to quote the great New York Yankee catcher and inveterate mangler of the English language, Yogi Berra, but today is one of those days where I really need to lead off (get the baseball analogy??) with him. Of all the phrases he uttered over […]

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Perspectives

When states delay calling acts of violence terrorism

Governments often do whatever they can to control messaging that reflects poorly on their mandates. This should not be of surprise to anyone as, like ruling parties, most of us do not want information that casts us in a negative light to gain wide exposure. With states it is a little different as these are, […]

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Perspectives

The power of terrorist propaganda

Years ago I had the pleasure of meeting Brian Jenkins at a conference in Washington. For those who are not familiar with Mr. Jenkins’ work you would be hard pressed to find a terrorism scholar and analyst more seasoned than him. He was examining and writing about terrorism well before 9/11 and is still active. […]

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Perspectives

Far right vs Islamist terrorists: who is more dangerous? This is the wrong question

Sigh. Another day another mass shooting in the US. Except that this time there were two mass shootings, back to back. On August 3 in El Paso, Texas a man opened fire in a Walmart, killing 20 and wounding 26 and a day later in Dayton, Ohio a gunman killed nine people. More needless deaths […]

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Perspectives

Why we must hold back on using the terrorism label

This piece appeared in The Hill Times on July 29, 2019. July 22 marks a somber anniversary in Canada. A year ago a large crowd was enjoying a summer’s evening on Toronto’s Danforth Ave., sitting in cafes, having dinner, spending time with friends and family. Around 10 PM a lone gunman was seen walking down […]

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Perspectives

The death of another bin Laden and what it might mean

Here we go again. After more than 1,000 blogs on terrorism it is inevitable that my readers will encounter some repetition. While I have tried to keep my writings new and fresh it is perhaps – I hope! – understandable that some topics will rise to surface more than once. After all, there are simply […]