Search: “CSIS”

What threats and concerns should be at the top of Canadians’ lists? Well, according to interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose the answer is clear.  It is Islamic State.  The terrorist group, in her view, poses “the greatest threat to humanity” (I really need to support this statement with a citation otherwise people will think I […]

The Southern Poverty Law Centre is an oddly named institution that gives little indication of what it does.  No, it is not some legal aid agency for poor people.  It is one of the most influential and comprehensive bodies that looks at hate and extremism in our southern neighbour, the US.  The SPLC looks at […]

I see that the only person convicted in the 1985 Air India bombing has been let go on strict conditions.  The Canadian government had little choice as he had served two-thirds of his sentence and was eligible for statutory release (see story here). On the one hand, all kinds of people are granted statutory release […]

We know that terrorism is an all too common occurrence these days.  It seems sometimes that there are attacks everywhere all the time.  In the past ten days alone we saw successful plots in Istanbul, Jakarta and Burkina Fasso – in the latter two seven Canadians were killed. In light of all this, what is […]

In the wake of the attacks in San Bernardino the gun debate veered down the usual path. Guns are bad. Guns are good. Obama wants your guns. We need new laws.  We need to apply the laws we already have.  We should get rid of all laws.  Etc.  Etc. Etc. As well, calls for better […]

The new Liberal government sure has made some rapid changes to the practices of the previous Conservative government.  The long-form census  has been restored.  Scientists have been unmuzzled.  And there is a sense, as stated by the PM himself, that “Canada is back”, meaning that the ideas and values most often associated with the majority […]

I was listening to CBC’s Writers and Company earlier today while driving down the QEW towards Niagara.  This particular programme dealt with Shakespeare’s works and the differences in the plays he wrote during the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras.   The interviewee, James Shapiro, did an amazing job of situating some of his plays in contemporary […]

Two recent attacks in the West have gotten a lot of press attention.  A man in Philadelphia shot a police officer in his vehicle before being shot himself and arrested.  He claims to have acted on behalf of Islamic state (see story here).  Across the “pond”, police in Paris were able to neutralise a man […]

Those who have followed my blog in 2015 or have heard me speak at conferences know that I am not a fan of predictive modeling.  I  do not own a crystal ball and I don’t know anyone else who does – besides, those that do exist do so as ornaments, not windows on the future. […]

Like in most fields of study, terrorism analysis has made great contributions to our understanding of this violent phenomenon.  Whether it is in-depth examinations of the ideology or longitudinal data on whether or not de-radicalisation programmes work, we are better off than we would be in the absence of this knowledge. Unfortunately, however, terrorism analysis […]