One of the greatest challenges a society has to face with respect to the delicate balance between privacy and freedom of thought and national security has to do with when organs of the state are allowed to take an interest in the activities of its citizens when those activities are believed to constitute a threat […]
Search: “Terrorists”
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When having a beef leads to death
All too often the word terrorism is associated with a Muslim, or a group of Muslims, or even a whole organisation of Muslims, who carry out acts of despicable violence against civilians. Paris. Nigeria. Sinai. Pakistan. Somalia. Beirut. The list goes on and on. It is important to note that there are a great many […]
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How NOT to defeat terrorism
It is natural in the wake of a catastrophic attack for people to be upset and angry and even vengeful. Emotions are raw and there are immediate calls to “do something”. Problems that have been around for a long time suddenly get more attention, but rather than a sober, measured response, we leap towards knee-jerk […]
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The fallout from airstrikes
I have said it before and I will repeat it here: I am not an expert in military affairs. Hell, I am not even a well-informed John Q Public when it comes to things military. When I talk about the military I am bound to sound dumb. So, here it goes: my take on why […]
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The reach of Islamic State
I have gone on record several times to state that Islamic State (IS) does not pose an existential threat to anybody. It can certainly cause havoc and mayhem and destruction but there is no way that this motley crew of extremists is ever going to threaten the world. Yes, it has a state – sort […]
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Refugees and terrorism
The debate on refugees has taken a nasty turn in Canada and the US. Some US Republican Presidential candidates have repugnantly suggested that the country take in only Christians. Several governors have refused to take in any refugees from Syria. In this country, several officials, including Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall, have called on the Trudeau […]
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How safe are we?
In the wake of the attacks in Paris in November 2015, which were merely the latest in what must seem to many Canadians as a never-ending series of murders and bombings, many are asking why and when this scourge will end. Several have commented publicly – including at least one provincial premier – that we […]
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Terrorism begins at home sometimes
In the wake of the Paris attacks and continuing developments, we have been inundated with dire warnings that everything has changed. These attacks were the harbinger of a “new wave” of terrorism now that Islamic State has left the confines of Syria-Iraq and decided to spread its carnage elsewhere (Egypt, Lebanon, France…). So much […]
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Terrorism and life
As we sift through the carnage and horror of last Friday’s terrorist attacks in Paris we are already seeing the ugly underside that humans all too frequently exhibit. Republican candidate Donald Trump calls for American mosques to be closed. Other presidential hopefuls, and several state governors, have stated that will stop Syrian refugees from being […]
We live in an age of instant information. This is largely a good thing. We can learn about what is happening around the world almost instantaneously. What used to take weeks or months to come to our attention now takes minutes. That is a very good thing when it comes to human tragedy. Earthquakes, […]