Search: “tourist”

If there is one shining light in the aftermath of the Arab Spring it is Tunisia.  Not that the competition is very tough.  Egypt went from an elected Muslim Brotherhood (MB) government to a military one under General Sisi.  Bahrain’s short-lived revolution is no more.  And as for Syria, well I really don’t think I […]

July 1 is of course an important day for Canadians.  We may not wear our patriotism on our sleeve as often as out southern neighbours in the US, but July 1 – Canada Day – is an exception.  Average Canadians drape themselves in the national red and white flag, paint maple leaves on their cheeks […]

Residents of London have undergone yet another terrorist attack.  The nation that survived countless IRA attacks and threats in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and which saw the carnage of July 2005 and the attempted beheading of a military member in Woolwich in 2013 is reeling from yesterday’s events where a man ran over people […]

People react in different ways to terrorism.  Some panic.  Some lash out at what they think are those responsible (Muslims, people with head coverings, places of worship).  Some take it all in stride – Keep calm and carry on – aware of the fact that terrorism, irrespective of what media images tell us, remains a […]

It is obvious that a lot of people are worried about terrorism.  The news is full of stories of attacks, both successful and thwarted, and sometimes really alarming accounts like the news out of France that the government suspects that there are 15,000 French residents radicalising.  More than 70% of Americans think more terrorist attacks […]

Yesterday the world was forced to face yet again the possible spectre of terrorism.  An EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo suddenly plummeted into the Mediterranean near the border between Greek and Egyptian airspace, after having taken some unexpected turns.  The cause of the accident remains unclear. I have long argued against what I call […]

Canadians remember the 1988 Seoul Olympics when “our” sprinter Ben Johnson won gold in the 100-metre dash.  Celebrations turned to sorrow quickly, however, when accusations began to surface that Ben doped up before the race (it turned out he had been doping up for years).  A hero became a pariah. What was interesting, however, about […]

As US officials and others struggle to understand why Mohammod Youssuf Abdulazeez shot and killed five Marines in Tennessee before he himself was shot to death by police, we are left with the usual potential suspects.  He had mental issues (depression).  His father was a radical (he was once on a US terrorist watch list). […]

This has been a very, very disturbing day. An attack – including a decapitation – in France.   Tourists slaughtered in Tunisia.  Shia Muslims killed by a suicide bomber at their mosque.  After prayers.  This evokes the senselessness of the massacre last week in Charleston, South Carolina. I’ve always advocated keeping things in perspective and […]