As I have written on many occasions in the past, we have ‘terrorism on the brain’. I wish I could write otherwise, but in a world where something happens somewhere on almost a daily basis it would be disingenuous of me to say that terrorism is not a frequent scourge, and hence it is on […]
If you start a social movement and want to recruit new members it is probably a good idea to be confident. No one would join a group that advertises itself as “We’re # 45!” You gotta go big or go home. If you are a terrorist or violent extremist group the same advice applies. Show […]
Every month or so a bunch of us who used to work together in the security intelligence community in Canada meet at a local watering hole to quaff a few pints and rib each other for an hour and a half. We are all retired more or less so the risks of disclosing sensitive/classified information […]
This piece appeared in The Hill Times on March 18, 2019. One of the many beauties of living in a liberal, secular democratic society is the freedom to disagree and debate. There are always many sides to an issue and we have the liberty to express our opinions without the fear of being arrested. Many […]
Categories
You offended God. You must die
My late mother taught me a lot and left me with advice that has stood the test of time. One of the things she told me was that it was rarely a good idea to engage in talks about politics or religion. Both are often very personal and very important to people’s identity. We are […]
As the nation which suffered the single greatest terrorist attack in history – 9/11 – the US has a vested interest in developing a counter terrorism policy so that these events do not happen again, especially in the US. To be honest there is also a completely understandable desire for bringing the perpetrators to justice, […]
Categories
Tit for tat terrorism
Of all the analysis on the terrorist attack in New Zealand which an Australian white supremacist slaughtered 50 innocent Muslims at prayer, including a three-year old boy, what has surfaced on occasion is the fear that this incident will inspire others to carry out similar heinous acts of violence: copy cat crimes if you will. […]
If there is one activity that humans engage in that is worse than genocide I’d like to know what it is. Genocide is the deliberate intent to wipe an entire people off the face of the earth. The UN defines it as: “any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or […]
This piece appeared in The Hill Times on March 11, 2019 We have laws for a reason, right? Over the centuries the Western world has developed a series of traditions such as presumed innocence, the need to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, the right to be tried before one’s peers, the right to a […]
As we still try to process the horrific attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, by an Australian white supremacist we are also immersed into a debate, less fruitful than many think in my opinion, over whether far right extremism presents more of a menace than Islamist extremism. I and many others have taken […]