Search: “Terrorists”

The word ‘terror’ is a very powerful one that tries to describe, insofar as language can, a very powerful emotion.  Terror is ultimate fear, a heightened sense of threat to oneself that can freeze one’s ability to react and cloud one’s ability to use reason to get out of a highly dangerous situation.  It is […]

Are we in the West suffering from collective naivete?  Are we ignoring an obvious threat to public safety?  Are we failing to understand that there are citizens among us who can do real harm? I am referring of course to the phenomenon of ‘foreign fighters’, Westerners who left of their own free will to join […]

This blog appeared in The Hill Times on November 13, 2017 (http://www.hilltimes.com/2017/11/13/real-impact-terrorism-shattered-lives/125186) In the aftermath of a terrorist attack we all go through a typical laundry list of questions.  Who is behind this act and did he act alone?  Are there others out there?  What will he be charged with? What can we do to […]

This piece appeared in The Hill Times on November 16, 2017 (http://www.hilltimes.com/2017/11/16/go-mental-health-terrorism/125792) What is it about terrorism that people fail to grasp?  I’ll put it as simply as I can: there are individuals (and groups) out there that plan and carry out heinous acts of violence we label as terrorism because they really believe in […]

This week I was very fortunate to be on a panel this week sponsored by the National Capital (Ottawa) branch of the Canadian International Council (CIC) with Ben Rowswell and Dr. Stephanie Carvin of Carleton University entitled ‘From Blogs to Books to Software’.  Mr. Rowswell gave an outstanding talk on how social media is changing […]

As a parent I know what it is like to worry about my kids.  I still worry about them, even though they are all in their twenties and doing very well, since that is what being a parent is all about.  After all, you want what is best for them, even when they do really […]

I suppose that in many ways none of this should be unexpected.  Its obviousness does not make it right, however.  There are lots of things that we do not question that are nevertheless the wrong way of looking at things. I am referring here to the belief that we are at ‘war with terrorism’.  The […]

The city of New York, the site of the world-changing events of 9/11, appears to have suffered its worst single attack of terrorism since that fateful date 16 years ago.  A man drove a rented Home Depot truck onto a pedestrian pathway in lower Manhattan, striking cyclists and killing at least eight (six were declared […]

There are few horrors worse than learning that a member of your family has been taken hostage by a terrorist group.  With all we know about the depredations these organisations are capable of it is easy to go to the absolute worst thoughts about the fate of loved ones: beatings, rapes, even beheadings.  Truly a […]

People are funny sometimes.  On the one hand we criticise those we see as responsible when things go wrong – governments, authorities, public officials, etc. – and we are certain that their inability to act, or decision not to act, is at fault.  On the other we criticise these same parties when they do take […]