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September 19, 1972: Letter bomb sent to the Israeli embassy in London

If you go far enough back in recent-ish history one of the terrorist groups that used to get a fair bit of attention was an outfit named Black September. Named after the month in 1970 during which the Jordanian armed forces clashed with fighters from the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO – remember them?), which led […]

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September 16, 1920: Wall Street bombing

On this day in 1920 a horse-drawn wagon passed by lunchtime crowds on New York’s iconic Wall Street, stopped near the JP Morgan bank headquarters and went boom.

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September 15, 2017: Parsons Green train bombing

On 15 September 2017, at around 08:20 BST, an explosion occurred on a District line train at Parsons Green Underground station, in London, England.

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September 13, 2006: Gunmen hit U.S. embassy, 3 attackers die

On this day in 2006, four gunmen attacked the US Embassy in Damascus, storming the compound with grenades and automatic weapons before being repelled by Syrian security forces.

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Our protectors need better support from the courts

There is a constant battle between what are commonly called good and evil. Good in this case consists of the men and women who toil on our behalf to keep us safe: in Canada that would be the security service (CSIS), law enforcement agencies (RCMP as well as provincial and municipal police services) and others. […]

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9/11 ‘plotters’ may finally get their day in court – or not

As hard as it is to believe we are approaching the 18th anniversary of 9/11. That event was for me, and many others I know, the ‘where were you when..’ time in our lives (interestingly, for my older brothers, born in 1949 and 1952, theirs was the JFK assassination: I was not quite 3 at […]

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Does Canada have a problem prosecuting terrorism?

When you work in national security you do the best job you can to stop bad things from happening. If those bad things involve terrorism what you are trying to do is to prevent attacks from taking place. You identify potential terrorists, follow them, determine which ones are serious about actually doing something, run sources […]

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A call for the end of blasphemy laws

When I was quite young, growing up in London (Ontario), an elderly man would make and take care of an outdoor ice rink for the neighbourhood kids. He would not charge anything for this and – yes I know this is nostalgic! – there is nothing better than playing hockey outside during a Canadian winter. […]

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Are some Canadians ‘useful idiots’ when it comes to terrorism?

PLEASE! Before you excoriate me and engage in ad hominem attacks based on the title of this blog – not that I have not been subject to both before! – read to the end. Then, if you still think I am a knuckle-dragging troglodyte have at ‘er. Shortly after the creation of the Soviet Union […]

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What should parents do when their son becomes a terrorist?

As some of you may know, I am a grandfather (yes, I am THAT old!). I have an almost 2-year old grandson and, duh!, he is the most perfect grandchild. Ever. In the history of the planet. Of that there is no doubt and I should know since I am his grandfather. What is that […]