Search: “Islamic State”

This piece appeared in The Hill Times on August 26, 2019. These days when we read or think about terrorism we tend to go in two directions. Either we think about terrorist groups: Al Qaeda, Islamic State, the Taliban, Boko Haram, Al Shabaab, etc. Or we talk about ‘lone wolves’ even if that term is […]

Governments often do whatever they can to control messaging that reflects poorly on their mandates. This should not be of surprise to anyone as, like ruling parties, most of us do not want information that casts us in a negative light to gain wide exposure. With states it is a little different as these are, […]

I suppose that for many people the right to travel is seen as a freedom that no one, including the state, can mess with. Humans have been on the move for hundreds of thousands (millions?) of years and the world would not be what it is if we had not had this population exchange. I […]

I have known a lot of people who left Canada to teach English abroad (usually known as ESL – English as a Second Language). It is a great opportunity to make a little cash, see the world, immerse yourself in a different culture and pass on a skill that can make a difference in another […]

Most citizens don’t like terrorists and think they should be punished to the fullest extent of the law.  I suppose there is something about terrorism – the targeting of innocent people, the levels of carnage, the boastful statements by groups and threats of future attacks – that really bothers people.  It is hard to find […]

I see that Martin McGuinness died the other day. Mr. McGuinness was an Irish republican, a member of the Sinn Fein political party and, until he left politics in part because he was stricken with cancer, the Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland from 2007 to early 2017. He was also, according to some, a […]

I have been thinking a lot about peace bonds in the wake of the Aaron Driver case. For those who forget, or who reside in a parallel universe, Aaron Driver  was the young man from Strathroy, Ontario who radicalised, praised Islamic State, posted a martyrdom video and was gunned down after getting into a cab […]

Further to my previous blog on when to call something terrorism, there has been an ongoing debate on what to call the Islamic State (or as it is also known, ISIL or ISIS or DAESH or…).  A recent op-ed in the English edition of Asharq Alawsat (see it here) calls on us to stop calling […]