‘Just lock them up’ is not a solution to terrorism
OTTAWA—Another attack has hit France—this one is particularly heinous, the murder of an 85-year old priest—and the critics are out in full force, all of whom know what is wrong with France and what the French should do about it. I certainly would not want to be French President François Hollande or Prime Minister Manuel […]
Divert military resources from offensive action to emergency preparedness
Re: “Liberals promise plan to bolster emergency preparedness as extreme weather events surge” (The Hill Times, July 20, online). Sadly, since the world has been fiddling while Rome burns, bolstering emergency preparedness is now vital. Ironically, the military contributes greatly to carbon emissions that cause climate instability and therefore create further risk-multipliers around the world. […]
It takes a village to raise a terrorist, and a village to stop one
In 1996, then-first lady Hillary Clinton published a book, It Takes a Village, which was essentially a tome on how to raise children. The main argument centred on the notion that everyone has to contribute to the shaping of productive, well-adjusted citizens, and was a bit of a call to an earlier age where this […]
The perils of ‘instant analysis’ after violent attacks
Today (July 22) marks the fifth anniversary of one of the darkest days in Norway’s history. Anders Behring Breivik set off bombs outside a government complex in Oslo, killing eight people, and then traveled to an island called Utoya, where a young person’s political function was occurring, and massacred 69 people. Today also marks the […]
Why France—again?
The horror of what happened in Nice compounds the horror of what happened in Paris in January and November 2015. These large-scale attacks got a lot of attention, but there were also some smaller ones like the killing of a police officer and his wife and an attempt to blow up a gas plant that […]
A poor argument to explain terrorism
OTTAWA—The hostage taking and massacre at a Dhaka cafe in Bangladesh is over. More than 20 innocent people were slaughtered by Islamist extremists, although exactly which terrorists were behind this heinous act is still unclear (Islamic State has claimed responsibility but the Bangladeshi government vehemently, and incredulously, denies IS has a presence in the country). […]
Re-opening Canada’s prison farms is just the first step
Recently, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale announced that he will launch a study on whether it’s possible to restore two of the former federal prison farms that are based in the Kingston area. The farms, which were run by the Correctional Service Canada, were renowned not only for their prize cattle but also for their […]
Don’t rush war on terror
OTTAWA—I have come to the conclusion that Westerners—and Western governments—are not very patient. It is not clear, as least not to me, whether this is due to our 24/7 news cycle, the constant availability of, and distraction from, social media, or the very nature of our capitalist society where results are measured quarterly and not […]
Three Amigos summit: trade, terrorism, and Trump
With the North American Leaders’ Summit (NALS) taking place on June 29 in Ottawa, it will be an opportunity for the heads of government to discuss pressing issues on their agendas—from drugs to softwood lumber. “That being said, [United States President Barack] Obama’s last months of office might make the two other leaders reluctant to […]
Adrift in the age of random murder
OTTAWA—Sometimes I feel really sorry for today’s young people, who are going to have deal with the scourge of terrorism and mass mayhem for years to come. The scale of the problem—whether you’re talking about Orlando or Brussels or Islamic State’s insanity in the Middle East—is incredibly daunting. The use of terror as a political […]
