Borealis Threat & Risk Consulting
Episode 272 – What will the German government decision to label the AfD backfire? That extremist/terrorist groups can form political parties – and in some cases actually govern – is not unknown. Hamas ran Gaza until the Israeli invasion in October 2023, Hizballah controlled much of southern Lebanon and even ISIS created a so-called ‘Caliphate’ […]
Season 2 Episode 33 Back in the saddle after a short last week, the guys delve into the undermining of the US intelligence community by the Trump administration, the dangers of accepting airplanes as ‘gifts’ and why Latvia is helping its citizens identify Russian spies. And lots of golden references…. Former FBI Director James Comey […]
Episode 271 – Why practitioners can make good writers Yes I am biased – as a 32-year veteran of intelligence – but I do think (ex)-practitioners have a lot to say when it comes to national security and international affairs. Those who were ‘at the coalface’ have a lot to say and have the advantage […]
Spies Like Us Season 2 Episode 32 Unfortunately, Phil decided to swim in 10 degree Celsius water this week and as a consequence the episode is much shorter than usual. The guys weigh in on the vehicular attack in Vancouver. ‘Tragedy all around’: Murder charges follow Vancouver festival attack that killed 11 | National News […]
Episode 270 – Is drone warfare changing how we see armed conflict? If the war in Ukraine is teaching us anything it is that drones – both surveillance ones as well as those that fire missiles at the enemy – are changing the landscape. Their small size, cheapness (i.e. they are not expensive to build […]
Episode 269 – Post October 2023 Hamas attack violence against Jews is growing The Hamas incursion into southern Israel on October 7, 2023 was a horrendous blow to that nation and proportionately bigger than 9/11. And yet, unlike the attack on the US, it was celebrated by many in the West as a legitimate action. […]
This piece first appeared in The Epoch Times Canada on March 15, 2025. Ah, the internet and social media! Thanks to one of the greatest developments in communications history, we have at our disposal a series of tools that should, in theory at least, have led to the promotion and sharing of a near-infinite treasure […]
Spies Like Us – Season 2 Episode 31: the election episode In the guys’ election episode they talk about where the debate on national security has been during the campaign (hint, hint: nowhere) and why you should not mark your ballot with the eraser end of the pencil. Also why Spies Like Us is ‘inSITEful’! […]
Episode 268 – France appears to suffer from a much higher terrorist threat than other Western nations Of all the nations normally associated with the ‘West’, France is the one which seems to dominate the headlines when it comes to terrorism. Bataclan/Stade de France (2015), Nice (2016), Charlie Hebdo, teacher beheadings…the list goes on and […]
Episode 267 – How do prime ministers deal with national security crises? Sir John A Macdonald was Canada’s first Prime Minister and a ‘Father’ of Confederation. And yet a figure of that importance has suffered a great deal in recent years over his role in the residential schools system for First Nations children, with statues […]