Charitable institutions are usually seen as good things in society. Ones we normally think of – the Red Cross, Amnesty International, the Canadian Cancer Society, etc. – play a very important role in raising money and spending it on the most needy: people suffering in war zones, prisoners of conscience, those suffering from serious disease. […]
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Shortly after I joined CSIS (Canadian Security Intelligence Service) in January 2001 I attended a presentation by a friend who was working at the Canadian embassy in Kenya in the late 1990s. He related that he was at home on August 7, 1998 when a massive blast took him and a colleague off their feet […]
Before I get into the thesis behind this blog I must state that the title I chose should not be interpreted as dismissiveness over shootings. Anytime innocent people are killed or wounded by someone with a firearm is tragic. Not only are lives lost or compromised but the impact on family, friends and communities is […]
An edited version of this piece appeared in The Hill Times on July 23, 2018 Is Alex Neve, the secretary-general of Amnesty International Canada insane? Full disclosure: I have been a supporter of Amnesty International and its work for decades. I admire the positions they adopt and the advocacy they employ in the interests of […]
We need to take a realistic approach to all this. No, not all returning women and children pose a danger to our societies and not all are inhuman monsters.
Sometimes calling an act of serious violence terrorism is really easy. Like when Afghan Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum narrowly escaped a deadly suicide bombing at Kabul airport as he returned home from more than a year in exile in Turkey the other day (Taliban or Islamic State). Or when Somalia’s al Shabaab says “We first attacked […]
Whenever we experience a mass shooting event like the one on Danforth Ave in Toronto’s Greektown on Sunday evening we go through several emotions: fear, shock, anger…and a need to understand why. Why did a man shoot people enjoying a beautiful summer’s night in a part of Hogtown known for its restaurants and ambiance? Was […]
This piece appeared in The Hill Times on July 16, 2018 There are times when you read something that makes your blood boil and demands a response. One such time occurred to me last week within the pages of this very Hill Times in an op-ed by Ihsaan Gardee, executive director of the National Council […]
When I was quite young I came across a very old edition of Rudyard Kipling’s Just-so Stories, written in 1902. For those not familiar with this book – you really should be – it is a collection of fantastic accounts of how certain animals acquired their distinctive traits. Among the tales concocted by Mr. Kipling […]
Tunisia presents an interesting case study when it comes to terrorism. The North African country was, of course, where the ‘Arab Spring’ began on December 18, 2010 (coincidentally my birthday!) when a crowd protested the self immolation of Mohammed Bouazizi who killed himself the day before when police had confiscated his wares and a female […]