Borealis Threat & Risk Consulting
Episode 330 – Government pronouncements on counter-terrorism success need to be taken with a grain of salt When it comes to terrorism, some groups are simply more successful than others. There are those which skyrocket to fame only to wither and disappear: the FLQ in Canada in the 1960s and early 1970s comes to mind. […]
Season 3 Episode 24 – Hey Gorka! Canadian (foot)balls are bigger than US (foot)balls! With Al’s triumphant return from wherever he was – don’t ask, don’t tell! – the lads weigh in on Canada’s joke of a citizenship removal system despite obvious fraud and terrorism links, the US counter-terrorism ?strategy? that somehow missed all the […]
Quick Hits Episode 276 – Is the Alberta referendum on separation open to influence from outside powers or not? Canada is sorrily used to talk of separation. We went through two referendums (referenda? neverendums?) on Quebec independence in the 1980s and 1990s and are now faced with a possible vote to split in Alberta. That […]
Episode 329 – How easy is it to create a terrorist group? You would think the world already has enough terrorist groups. While jihadi ones like Al Qaeda and Islamic State – and their affiliates, provinces and wannabes – predominate, there are others out there as well. And in what is an interesting development, new […]
Spies Like Us Season 3 Episode 23 – Mark our words: China is a big threat to Canada! After a short hiatus the Al-less boys – does this make us a duet – are back and it’s all about China. Neil and Phil talk with Canada’s top Sinologist (that means China watcher for you non-China […]
Episode 328 – Violence abroad rarely stays abroad Well, the world is in a state these days, isn’t it? War in Iran. War in Gaza. War in Lebanon. Closure of the Straits of Hormuz. An ongoing civil war in Yemen. And that is just the Middle East! When it comes to terrorism in the West, […]
Episode 275 – Why we need to take government claims of counter terrorism success with a grain of salt Terrorist groups come and go, like just about everything else. And yet, some seem to last a long time, pronouncements of their deaths notwithstanding (I want to channel my inner Mark Twain here but…). Boko Haram […]
Episode 327 – Will Ireland see the resurgence of nationalist violence? For decades, the one Western nation that seemed most beset by terrorism was Ireland, as the IRA (Irish Republican Army) was bent on using violence to coerce the six counties of the north to join the Republic. The Troubles, as they were known, stretched […]
Episode 274 – Why in heaven’s name is a convicted unapologetic jihadi being released from prison? Prisons serve several purposes, or so it seems to me (I am not a incarceration specialist). First and foremost it is a system that can help keep the public safe from truly dangerous people. Second, it is part of […]
Episode 326 – What kind of intelligence does the US President consume and does it make a difference? Imagine you are the one on the hotseat who has to tell the President of the US what is happening in the world – on a daily basis. What do you tell him? Where do you get […]