Category: Perspectives

Charitable institutions are usually seen as good things in society.  Ones we normally think of – the Red Cross, Amnesty International, the Canadian Cancer Society, etc. – play a very important role in raising money and spending it on the most needy: people suffering in war zones, prisoners of conscience, those suffering from serious disease.  […]

Alex Jones is many things.  A social media star.  A conspiracy theorist.  An inspiration to many.  A passionate defender of free speech.  A king-size jerk.  A very dangerous man.  I suppose which one of these descriptions of him appeal to you will depend on whether you support what he does.  Put simply, what he does […]

You gotta hand it to MBS, the power behind the throne in Saudi Arabia.  Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman, son of the current king, has sure made a name for himself of late.  Letting women drive.  Promising a new future for his country with shiny impressive technological cities and the like. Corruption has been nipped in […]

Shortly after I joined CSIS (Canadian Security Intelligence Service) in January 2001 I attended a presentation by a friend who was working at the Canadian embassy in Kenya in the late 1990s.  He related that he was at home on August 7, 1998 when a massive blast took him and a colleague off their feet […]

This piece appeared in The Hill Times on July 30, 2018 In the wake of an attack, whether it be terrorist in nature or a mass shooting/stabbing/vehicle ramming incident, we often read comments and statements such as the following: no one saw this coming it was completely unpredictable (and by extension unpreventable) who would have […]

I was reminded this week how old I am.  I was engaging clients on the issue of 3-D printable guns and whether or not they needed to worry about them for their business line.  In the throes of our back and forth I brought up that famous line from The Graduate, where Dustin Hoffman’s character, […]

Before I get into the thesis behind this blog I must state that the title I chose should not be interpreted as dismissiveness over shootings.  Anytime innocent people are killed or wounded by someone with a firearm is tragic.  Not only are lives lost or compromised but the impact on family, friends and communities is […]

It is never a good idea to get into a debate on the US Constitution’s Second Amendment – the one that talks about the ‘right to bear arms’ – because it is pointless.  Gun advocates seldom have any interest in discussing their God-given freedom to carry a weapon, any weapon including some very powerful automatic […]

An edited version of this piece appeared in The Hill Times on July 23, 2018 Is Alex Neve, the secretary-general of Amnesty International Canada insane? Full disclosure: I have been a supporter of Amnesty International and its work for decades.  I admire the positions they adopt and the advocacy they employ in the interests of […]

I have always believed it important to own up to an error, especially an error in analysis.  A good analyst is ALWAYS open to learning, to considering new information, and to changing his or her mind in the face of that new info.  A bad analyst sticks to his or her guns irrespective of new […]