The debate over the events of Jan 6 in Washington continues. Was it terrorism? A riot? A coup? Well, a Canadian Member of Parliament has decided it was most definitely terrorism. Is that OK? Do we want the government to tell us how to think? Borealis weighs in on this trend. ► Check out my latest book The Peaceable Kingdom? A history of terrorism in Canada from Confederation to the Present About the host Phil Gurski: Phil is the President and CEO of Borealis Threat and Risk Consulting Ltd. and P...
Feb 23, 2021•12 min
A doctor in Turkey has been charged with terrorism for embarrassing the government over true COVID figures. How is that terrorism ? Borealis looks at how many are widening the scope of the term terrorism to ridiculous ends. ► Buy my latest book The Peaceable Kingdom? A history of terrorism in Canada from Confederation to the Present About the host Phil Gurski: Phil is the President and CEO of Borealis Threat and Risk Consulting Ltd. and Programme Director for the Security, Economics and Technolo...
Feb 19, 2021•11 min
Episode 81 - France has suffered a disproportionate number of terrorist attacks, mostly Islamist in nature, in the 2010s and 2020s when compared to other Western nations. Why is this? Borealis is joined by Alexandre Rodde, a French terrorism researcher and trainer for that country's law enforcement to discuss the situation in France. About my guest Alexandre Rodde: Alexandre is a security consultant, specialized in terrorism and mass shootings issues. His work includes risk assessment, threat mo...
Feb 17, 2021•30 min•Season 4Ep. 81
Every major Western power has a foreign intelligence service that collects information on the intents and capabilities of foreign states. Except Canada. We do allow CSIS to collect FI as it is called, but in a very constrained way - why? In this Quick Hits episode, Borealis looks at a recent court ruling and comments on this silliness. ► Buy my latest book The Peaceable Kingdom? A history of terrorism in Canada from Confederation to the Present About the host Phil Gurski: Phil is the President a...
Feb 16, 2021•11 min
QAnon has been shown to not be very good at predictions. Trump lost the election, there is no satanic pedophile cult in the White House, etc. So will it now turn violent... or disappear. Borealis speculates on where this all goes and how much attention we need to pay to it. ► Buy my latest book The Peaceable Kingdom? A history of terrorism in Canada from Confederation to the Present About the host Phil Gurski: Phil is the President and CEO of Borealis Threat and Risk Consulting Ltd. and Programm...
Feb 12, 2021•11 min
The 2008 film Ironman starts in Afghanistan where the main character, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr), ends up wounded by shrapnel from one of the weapons his company made. How well does the movie portray the military deployment to Afghanistan and does it show why we should not see counter terrorism as primarily a problem for the army/air force to solve. ►Watch video version on YouTube ►See also, Lessons on Terrorism | How Captain Marvel badly uses the word 'terrorism' About the host Phil Gurski: ...
Feb 12, 2021•13 min
The federal government has added 13 groups to its list of terror groups, including five ISIS affiliates, and a handful of far-right extremist groups, including the Proud Boys . The move comes after parliament voted to call on the government to add the Proud Boys to the list in the wake of its involvement in the Jan. 6 events at the U.S. Capitol. But what does the terror designation actually do? Author and former CSIS terrorism analyst Phil Gurski joins Dave Breakenridge to discuss the purpose of...
Feb 12, 2021•21 min
Episode 80 - The race between codemakers and codebreakers is an ancient one. Success in breaking the enemy's codes often turns defeat into victory on the battlefield. Borealis sits down with former Canadian cryptologist Richard Brisson to talk about this fascinating field. About my guest Richard Brisson: Richard Brisson is a graduate from the University of Ottawa (B.Sc. Math-Physics in 1978 and M.Sc. Systems Science in 1980). Upon graduation, he was hired by the Communications Security Establish...
Feb 10, 2021•32 min•Season 4Ep. 80
Religion can inspire heights of magnificence and depths of violence. Each faith has a wide range of interpretations from 'normative' to 'extreme'. 'Extreme' does not mean violent, but extreme views can endanger the public. Borealis looks at extreme views that may not be violent but which still can an effect on public safety. ► Buy my latest book The Peaceable Kingdom? A history of terrorism in Canada from Confederation to the Present About the host Phil Gurski: Phil is the President and CEO of B...
Feb 09, 2021•11 min
20 years ago the Canadian government decided to list the Iranian group MeK as a terrorist group. Ten years later a different government elected to 'delist' it. Why? Had it changed its ways? If not, what does this say about the whole process? Borealis comes out against the whole process of listings, calling it more or less useless. ► Buy my latest book The Peaceable Kingdom? A history of terrorism in Canada from Confederation to the Present About the host Phil Gurski: Phil is the President and CE...
Feb 05, 2021•12 min
So, the Canadian government just listed 13 more groups to its terrorist entities list , including the Proud Boys, 3 Al Qaida affiliates and 5 ISIS franchises. To what end? Borealis weighs in on the usefulness or lack thereof of this process . ► Buy my latest book The Peaceable Kingdom? A history of terrorism in Canada from Confederation to the Present About the host Phil Gurski: Phil is the President and CEO of Borealis Threat and Risk Consulting Ltd. and Programme Director for the Security, Eco...
Feb 04, 2021•10 min
Canadian parliamentarians recently voted unanimously to name the Proud Boys a terrorist group. What does this mean? Is it necessary? Borealis discusses the usefulness or lack thereof of the 'terrorist listing' process in Canada. Read MPs agree to call on feds to declare Proud Boys a terrorist entity on CTV News Buy my latest book The Peaceable Kingdom? A history of terrorism in Canada from Confederation to the Present About the host Phil Gurski: Phil is the President and CEO of Borealis Threat a...
Feb 04, 2021•11 min
We are all used to hearing how the FBIs, CSISs and GCHQs of this world monitor online activity to help keep us safe and protect critical infrastructure. What, then, is the role of the private sector? Borealis sits down with Chris Parsons of Canada's Citizen Lab to have a chat on these issues. In this episode: ► What is the Citizen Lab and how did it come about; ►"Canada does not have a ‘Huawei problem’ per se"; ► Where are digital threats headed and what can the average Canadian do . About my gu...
Feb 03, 2021•38 min•Season 4Ep. 79
Everywhere you read these days you see references to right wing terrorism as the predominant threat to the West. This flies in the face of all the data which shows that at least on a worldwide basis Islamist terrorists kill and wound people, most of whom are Muslims, at orders of magnitude greater than right wing actors. Borealis weighs in on this shift in attention and argues that it is wrong. ►Buy my latest book The Peaceable Kingdom? A history of terrorism in Canada from Confederation to the ...
Feb 02, 2021•14 min
While Canada has not been menaced by terrorism like some countries it is not immune. A new book on terrorism in that land over the past 150 years - The Peaceable Kingdom: A history of terrorism in Canada from Confederation to the present - is now out! Borealis takes you behind the scenes of this book. ►Buy my latest book The Peaceable Kingdom? A history of terrorism in Canada from Confederation to the Present (2021, Phil Gurski) About the host Phil Gurski: Phil is the President and CEO of Boreal...
Jan 30, 2021•11 min
Many in the so-called right-wing extremist (RWE) are confused now that Trump is no longer the 'oil' that greases their movements. QAnon , the Proud Boys and others are registering disappointment and anger at their lack of success. Whither the far-right? Borealis looks at what may be next for RWE. My new book The Peaceable Kingdom? A history of terrorism in Canada from Confederation to the Present is now available for pre-order! Get your copy today ! Mentionned articles: ► Biden's inauguration so...
Jan 29, 2021•14 min
Many people use the word terrorism to refer to all kinds of things. Not all these uses are good ones. Borealis looks at the 2019 film Captain Marvel to see how the word is deployed badly. About the host Phil Gurski: Phil is the President and CEO of Borealis Threat and Risk Consulting Ltd. and Programme Director for the Security, Economics and Technology (SET) hub at the University of Ottawa’s Professional Development Institute (PDI). He worked as a senior strategic analyst at CSIS (Canadian Secu...
Jan 28, 2021•12 min
What is the role of respect for human rights in counterterrorism? Borealis talks to UK practitioner Tom Parker on what we have done well and what not so well. In this episode: ►The obstacles been in getting consensus on defining terrorism in international law; ►How can we do counter-terrorism better by taking human rights into account in a more systematic way? ►Targeted killing seems to have become a favourite counter-terrorism strategy – should it be? ►Respect for human rights is the key to def...
Jan 27, 2021•42 min•Season 4Ep. 78
The 30 Years' War was one in which Christians on one side slaughtered Christians on the other. The massacres were perpetrated based on difference in religious interpretation. Today of course we talk a lot about religious terrorism, especially of the Islamist variety. What about Christian extremism, both violent and non-violent? Borealis looks at this brand of terrorism and the links between Christians and the far right. My new book The Peaceable Kingdom? A history of terrorism in Canada from Con...
Jan 26, 2021•13 min
Borealis has been in business for almost 6 years, providing content on national security and public safety. Why does he do it? In this podcast, Borealis provides some insight into why an old retired guy is dedicated to creating this material and for whom. About the host Phil Gurski: Phil is the President and CEO of Borealis Threat and Risk Consulting Ltd. and Programme Director for the Security, Economics and Technology (SET) hub at the University of Ottawa’s Professional Development Institute (...
Jan 22, 2021•10 min
GCHQ is a famous British signals intelligence (SIGINT) agency perhaps best known for its work at Bletchley Park during WWII. The spy service decided to have its official history written – and chose a Canadian to do so! ► Find out more about my guest John Ferris ►Subscribe - https://borealisthreatandrisk.com/subscribe/ About my guest John Ferris John Ferris is a Professor of History at The University of Calgary, where he also is a Fellow at The Centre for Military and Strategic Studies. He receiv...
Jan 20, 2021•34 min•Season 4Ep. 77
Headlines are the first thing we see when we consume news. They thus help us form a first impression. Should they then not be carefully written? Borealis looks at this issue in the context of RWE and the US military. About the host Phil Gurski: Phil is the President and CEO of Borealis Threat and Risk Consulting Ltd. and Programme Director for the Security, Economics and Technology (SET) hub at the University of Ottawa’s Professional Development Institute (PDI). He worked as a senior strategic a...
Jan 19, 2021•9 min
Security intelligence agencies are damned if they do and damned if they don't. Stop an act of violence from happening and they are called overbearing: fail to do so and they are called incompentent. In this podcast Borealis pushes back that the US intelligence community 'failed' on January 6 . About the host Phil Gurski: Phil is the President and CEO of Borealis Threat and Risk Consulting Ltd. and Programme Director for the Security, Economics and Technology (SET) hub at the University of Ottawa...
Jan 15, 2021•11 min
Humans are notoriously unpredictable. Why would anyone try to say that something will most definitely happen? Borealis looks at attempts to be sure about terrorism and why this is a bad idea. About the host Phil Gurski: Phil is the President and CEO of Borealis Threat and Risk Consulting Ltd. and Programme Director for the Security, Economics and Technology (SET) hub at the University of Ottawa’s Professional Development Institute (PDI). He worked as a senior strategic analyst at CSIS (Canadian ...
Jan 14, 2021•11 min
Most people have either never heard of Yemen or know very little about it. The country is one of the world's poorest, is home to Islamist terrorist groups and is beset by a war with the involvement of foreign actors. Borealis is joined by Yemen specialist Gregory Johnsen to get a better understanding of how we got there and what the stakes are. ► Find out more about my guest Gregorry Johnsen ►Subscribe - https://borealisthreatandrisk.com/subscribe/ About my guest Gregory Johnsen Gregory D. Johns...
Jan 13, 2021•27 min•Season 4Ep. 76
In the wake of the January 6 attacks in Washington , many are calling for the Proud Boys, a white supremacist group, to be added to the 'listed terrorist entities' in Canada. What is a 'terrorist entity list' and what does it do? Borealis argues that this is an unnecessary tool that does not add much to counter terrorism efforts. Read more: ► Listed Terrorist Entities - Public Safety Canada ► NDP calls for right-wing group Proud Boys to be banned, labelled as terrorists - Global News ► Feds look...
Jan 12, 2021•10 min
Terrorism specialist Phil Gurski tells Canada Now more about who exactly the protestors were in Washington, US law enforcement agencies' response, whether we can expect more of the same moving forward and what lessons can be learned coming out of all this. Canada Now with Jeff Sammut is live weekdays from 12-2pmET on Sirius XM Canada Talks channel 167. ►Listen to yesterday's episode What the hell happened in Washington today? About the host Phil Gurski: Phil is the President and CEO of Borealis ...
Jan 08, 2021•12 min
In the wake of the events of January 6 in the US capital, Borealis is joined once again by Barbara Perry, Canadian academic who specialises on the far right as to what it all means and what we can expect moving forward. ►Listen to yesterday's episode What the hell happened in Washington today? About my guest Dr. Barbara Perry Dr. Barbara Perry is the Director of the Centre on Hate, Bias and Extremism. She has written extensively in the area of hate crime and right-wing extremism. Dr. Perry has a...
Jan 08, 2021•16 min
A mog storms the US Senate. Sessions are ended, tear gas is strewn, chaos reigns. So what was this? An act of terrorism? A riot? A coup? A mob? Borealis weighs in with what we know so far. ►Subscribe - https://borealisthreatandrisk.com/subscribe/ About the host Phil Gurski: Phil is the President and CEO of Borealis Threat and Risk Consulting Ltd. and Programme Director for the Security, Economics and Technology (SET) hub at the University of Ottawa’s Professional Development Institute (PDI). He ...
Jan 07, 2021•12 min
We have seen iconic images online: such as MAGA hats, swastikas and ISIS flags. What do these do to us and how do they lead is some cases to violent extremism? Borealis is joined by Dr. Sophia Moskalenko to delve into these questions ►Subscribe - https://borealisthreatandrisk.com/subscribe/ About my guest Sophia Moskalenko Sophia Moskalenko researches terrorism and radicalization at the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (NC-START) where she has worked on r...
Jan 06, 2021•33 min•Season 4Ep. 75
