Category: Perspectives

One of the great Canadian novels of the 20th century was Two Solitudes by Hugh MacLennan.  It is the story of the troubles between Canada’s two European founding nations – the French and the English (both had been preceded by the First Nations thousands of years earlier).  The phrase “two solitudes” has entered Canadian English […]

Surprisingly, if there is one issue many people differ on it is what constitutes terrorism.  There are so many different definitions and in some places, like my country (Canada), it is not even spelled out in law (the Canadian Criminal Code outlines what a terrorist act is, not terrorism per se).  You would think that […]

Woodstock, Ontario, a small city just up the road from where I grew up, is having a tough time of it.  A nurse has just been accused of killing at least eight elderly patients over a seven-year span by giving them lethal drugs.  She is already being called one of Canada’s worst serial killers even […]

In 1866 the Société Linguistique de Paris included in its constitution the notice that it would not entertain any more research on the tricky question of the origin of language.  At that time there was a lot of speculation on this issue, much of it iffy at best, and it was decided that linguistic science […]

The fight against terrorism is multi-faceted.  As we are seeing in Mosul as I write, forces from a number of countries, including Canada, are heavily involved in an effort to take back Iraq’s second largest city from Islamic State.  Security intelligence agencies such as my former employer, CSIS, play a vital role in carrying out […]

One of the main reasons I like to lecture at universities is that I find young people a breath of fresh air.  They are not as jaded as old farts like me and are not afraid to ask questions and challenge assumptions.  They may not be that knowledgeable on any given topic but they are […]

Terrorist groups are really good at telling a story.  This skill contributes to what we call narrative: a worldview that explains why a group does something, provides meaning and helps to draw others in.  Islamist extremists in particular have crafted what we call the “Single Narrative”, a wide historical and current canvas in which the […]

I have a fear of heights.  This fear makes it hard for me even to climb ladders. I know it sounds silly and irrational but that is what fears often are – irrational.  Yes, some fears are valid and they do serve a purpose – for example a fear for snakes and spiders as some […]

If there is one thing we know about terrorism it is that what we do – or what we don’t do – has a real chance of effecting what terrorist groups do.  For terrorist groups are really good at telling the world why they use violence and usually place the blame for their carnage on […]

Big data is everything these days.  There is absolutely no question that there is more information out there than ever before and more ways to collect it.  Everyone from companies to police forces are getting into the game with a view to earning more money or making their jobs easier and more efficient. Nor is […]