I am afraid of heights. Even climbing a ladder scares me. I also don’t like amusement park rides. You could say that both of these things terrify me. I am not ashamed of that. So, if I read a few columns lately by Doug Saunders and Allison Hanes correctly, I should call high places and […]
Years ago I attended an International Studies Association (ISA) conference in New Orleans and found myself in a small room at a hotel listening to a former CIA guy give a talk on something or other under the rubric of the ‘Intelligence Studies Group’ (or something to that effect). I do not remember what his […]
In the immediate aftermath of the incident in Edmonton Saturday evening I quickly found myself caught up in a battle of words on social media (Twitter, FaceBook, LinkedIn) over my use of the word ‘terrorism’ to discuss what had happened. The truth be told I was in one way merely following the lead of Edmonton […]
It has now been almost 24 hours since a man in a Chevy Malibu drove up to an Edmonton police officer doing traffic duty outside a CFL game, struck him at some speed, knocking him in the air, and proceeded to stab him several times before fleeing. The suspect later was stopped in what appeared […]
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A week of terrorism in Canada
If you were to ask most people around the world about my country I am pretty sure that few would respond “Canada? Oh it is a hotbed of terrorism!” This is not to say that there have not been any terrorist acts over the years – in fact many forget that the single largest act […]
Three cheers for Saudi Arabia! The conservative Kingdom has ruled that women can now drive and no longer need to be accompanied by a mahram (essentially a male guardian) when they are in a car. Many are celebrating this decision although some conservative killjoys have accused the government of ‘bending the rules of Sharia’. Some […]
In the wake of the recent storms that ravaged the eastern Caribbean and Florida a lot of Canadians were stranded in resorts and hotels and undoubtedly were suffering under horrible conditions, life-threatening ones even. Many savaged the Canadian government and Canadian airlines for not acting more quickly to get them home and out of harm’s […]
Well this is a strange move by the Trudeau government. It was announced yesterday that Canada’s police, intelligence and border agencies – i.e. the RCMP, CSIS and CBSA respectively – can use “torture-tainted information” in efforts to stop a terrorist act from occurring. The allowance was not unlimited however, as these organisations cannot “disclose information […]
This post is a little longer than normal. It is my contribution to a forthcoming paper to be written collectively and coordinated by a friend of mine in Singapore. With the apparent increasing popularity of deradicalisation programmes for convicted terrorists and (perhaps) those on the pathway to violent extremism in a number of countries what […]
They don’t call BC the ‘left coast’ of Canada for nothing I suppose. Our wonderfully beautiful Pacific side is known for its somewhat socialist views, greater tolerance of marijuana and progressive environmental positions, a lot of which is indeed admirable. It is also acquiring a reputation as the province that is ‘soft on terrorism’. A […]