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Buddhist terrorism? You’re kidding, right?

There are times when you work in the (counter) terrorism space that you come across a story and say: WTF? This is one of those times. In early January, a Sri Lankan court sentenced a hardline Buddhist monk named Galagodaatte Gnanasara to nine months in prison for insulting Islam and inciting religious hatred. The remarks […]

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It Would Be a Mistake to Label Syria an Ex-terrorist Haven Just Yet

This piece first appeared in The Epoch Times Canada on December 9, 2024. Assad is gone from Syria. Hip hip hooray. Actually, let’s wait a minute before celebrating. Any time a dictator who has abused his nation’s citizens—jailing them, torturing them, and even using chemical weapons against them—is forced to flee has to be a […]

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At what price freedom of expression?

You do not have to go that far back in human history to have seen people burned at the stake, hung, drawn and quartered and otherwise treated very badly for having ‘blasphemed’ (although my favourite blasphemy scene is still from Monty Python’s Life of Brian where John Cleese plays a rabbi calling for the death […]

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Protecting National Security Takes More Than Just Adding a Group to the Terrorist List

This piece first appeared in The Epoch Times Canada on December 3, 2024 In the post 9/11 period, a new tool was made available for the Canadian government in the ill-named “war on terrorism.” It is not as if we had not experienced terrorism before that fateful day (the FLQ crisis in 1970 and the […]

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What if there are no (easy) answers to terrorism?

One of the things you notice about kids, especially younger ones, is their proclivity to ask ‘why’. At times, this habit can get a little annoying as the little tots seem to question the reason behind just about everything. As a grandfather of a 3-yr old boy, I can attest to how many ‘whys’ come […]

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Southport Stabbing Spree: Good Intel Comes to Those Who Wait

This piece first appeared in The Epoch Times Canada on November 5, 2024. As many have noted, we live in a world of instant information. Thanks to the internet and social media, we can learn about what is happening in real time. Images are shared as events are unfolding, and anyone with a cellphone can […]

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Demonstrating in Support of Hamas on Anniversary of Israel Attack Constitutes Supporting Terrorism

This piece first appeared in The Epoch Times Canada on October 6, 2024. Imagine the following scenario. A group of people who are angry at U.S. foreign policy and the government’s continued meddling in the Middle East decide to host a series of mass demonstrations across the United States, and even around the world, to […]

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Transplanted homeland violence is fodder for the anti-immigrant fringe

Many years ago, I was in a relationship with a woman whose parents had emigrated to Canada from Europe shortly after WWII.  The reasons for their move had to do with conflict in their homeland and the search for a better life abroad.  Canada offered them that better life. Nevertheless, the woman’s mother hated everything […]

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Wiretaps Are Serious Law-Enforcement Tools and Are Not Handed Out Easily

When it comes to the tools law enforcement use to help keep us safe a little education is needed to keep the public informed.

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Yes, there are Uyghur terrorists

While it is important to reject China’s claims that Islamist terrorism is rampant in Xinjiang province that does not imply that there are no Uyghur terrorists