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Canadian Intelligence Eh! Podcast

Can the state call a popular political party an ‘extremist’ organisation?

Episode 272 – What will the German government decision to label the AfD backfire? That extremist/terrorist groups can form political parties – and in some cases actually govern – is not unknown. Hamas ran Gaza until the Israeli invasion in October 2023, Hizballah controlled much of southern Lebanon and even ISIS created a so-called ‘Caliphate’ […]

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Perspectives

Canada Must End Foreign Interference on University Campuses

This piece first appeared in The Epoch Times Canada on February 20, 2025. The Chinese philosopher Confucius is of course a household name for many. He may have lived 2,500 years ago, but many of his sayings still reverberate today. Here is a sampling relevant to the topic at hand: “Study the past if you […]

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Perspectives

The Five Eyes Intelligence Alliance Should Remain Intact

This piece first appeared in The Epoch Times Canada on February 16, 2025. When I was in late elementary school, I realized I could not see the blackboard very well. Reluctantly, I accepted that I needed to have my eyesight tested. Sure enough, I was nearsighted (myopic) and got glasses. I am not sure if […]

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Perspectives

Does Calling Drug Cartels ‘Terrorists’ Help? Hint: no

This piece first appeared in The Epoch Times Canada on January 23, 2025. Some people may be surprised to learn that the word “terrorism” is not that old. Oh sure, we had the Reign of Terror in France in the late 1790s, but the common use of the concept really only dates to the middle […]

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Podcast Quick Hits

Canada must get serious on national security…STAT!

Episode 260 – In the teeth of a crisis it is time for Canada to step up It is only six weeks since the new administration in the US and already Canada has been threatened with annexation (as the ’51st state’), expulsion from the 5 eyes intelligence alliance, and a ‘redrawing’ of the international border […]

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Perspectives

Is the Prevention of Every Terrorist Attack a Realistic Goal?

This piece first appeared in The Epoch Times Canada on February 20, 2025. In the aftermath of a violent attack, there are inevitably a number of things that happen. First and foremost, we collectively struggle to understand what exactly has happened, who was behind it, and what it means. Then we seek to assign immediate […]

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Canadian Intelligence Eh! Podcast

Are we defining terrorism too narrowly…or too broadly?

Episode 259 – Has terrorism as a concept run its course? Of all the UK counter-terrorism initiatives, the ‘early detection’ efforts (known as PREVENT and Channel) have been quite controversial. One of the problems lies with how we define terrorism and thus what the public should do to help authorities stop terrorist acts from occurring. […]

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Podcast Spies Like Us

Valentine’s validation

Spies Like Us – Season 2 Episode 23 The guys talk about what to do with ISIS returnees, the challenges of recruiting human sources with, shall we say, sketchy backgrounds, and show how Nancy Drew steals a page from Monty Python’s “trying hard not to be seen”. Terrorism charges for B.C. woman who left to […]

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Perspectives

My Wish List for a Safe and Secure Canada in 2025

This piece first appeared in The Epoch Times Canada on December 30, 2024. At the end of one year and the beginning of another it is customary to look back at what happened and speculate on what is to come. With that in mind, here is an overview of national security as we enter 2025, […]

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Canadian Intelligence Eh! Podcast

Can terrorists also be guilty of war crimes?

Episode 255 – Are ISIS terrorists also engaged in what are known as war crimes? War is part of human history alas. Our penchant for killing one another goes back millennia and, as current events demonstrate (Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan…), it shows no signs of ebbing. Terrorism, on the other hand, is a much more recent […]