Canadian Intelligence Eh
Episodes
363 episodes
Episode 344 - The role of women in intelligence, in fiction and IRL
James Bond. Jason Bourne. Jack Reacher. Johnny English. All men who have names starting with 'J' and all spies - at least of the fictional variety. Nary a female among them. Where are all the women in intelligence? They have played critic...
Episode 341 - The jihadi threat moves further into West Africa
Mali. Niger. Burkina Faso. Nigeria. All these Sahelian and West African states are beset by violence emanating from jihadi groups tied to Al Qaeda and Islamic State. A little further west, Togo, Benin and Senegal have also seen incidents ...
Episode 342 - Looks like the Taliban have made an enemy
Ah the Taliban, everyone's favourite antediluvian misogynist jihadis. Not only have public executions been on the rise and the complete erasure of women and girls from any real life been institutionalised, but they have lowered the countr...
Episode 341 - Iran and the Houthis and the war in the Persian Gulf
Iran really likes to sponsor Shia groups worldwide. As the world's largest Shia state, Iran sees itself as a protector of sorts, given that Shiites are far outweighed by Sunni Muslims. One of those benefactors is the Houthi group (known b...
Episode 340 - PTSD among our protectors needs to be addressed
Imagine you are a cop or a paramedic. On a daily basis, you are likely to have to deal with some very nasty stuff: severely wounded people or dead ones, and some truly evil individuals who like to inflict pain and suffering. Not surprisin...
Spies Like Us Season 3 - Special summer episode: Chinese whispers can be bad for Canada
After a successful Spies and Spirits event at the Luckhurst Distillery in Kelowna BC, the lads weigh in on the role Sir William Stephenson (a.k.a. 'Intrepid') played in the creation of the Canadian intelligence community and the 5 eyes, t...
Episode 339 - We need to take the rise in anti-Semitism more seriously
Anti-Semitic acts are not new, unfortunately. Hatred of Jews goes back millennia, culminating in the Holocaust which led to the industrialisation of mass murder of Jews. Since the Hamas terrorist attack in October 2023 and the subsequent ...
Phil's Phathomings Episode 1 - Canada needs to ensure that immigrants do not bring nefarious plans to our country
Canada, like many other nations, needs robust immigration. Our fertility rates are dropping below the 2.1 minimum to keep our population stable and immigrants can help grow our economy. The vast majority of those who seek to move here do ...
Episode 278 - Do infrequent intelligence 'failures' drain trust in our spies?
Humans are fallible: that we know. One hopes that those in specialised trades - doctors, lawyers, etc. - get more things right than wrong. If not, it is a legitimate question: should they be in those professions? What about intelligence a...
Episode 338 - Are pirates a threat to national security?
The stereotypical view of pirates is undoubtedly heavily influenced by Hollywood. These depictions do not show the very violent actions carried out by pirates. Despite international treaties that define this phenomenon it does get the att...
Episode 337 - Is nihilism much ado about nothing?
Of late there have been many attempts - some successful some not - to add more groups to lists of terrorist entities. Those behind such efforts may have good intentions, although I suspect some are just trying to get their own work recogn...
Episode 336 - Has Canada sacrificed national security on the altar of increased immigration?
As a country of immigrants by definition, most Canadians have a positive view on newcomers. I would imagine that the public believes that the proper checks are done to ensure - where possible - we are not importing threats to national sec...
Quick Hits Episode 277 - Why it is important to let police do their jobs
Ok, I get it. The media want to be first to get a story out and be definitive on what it all means. As a consequence, they tend to reach out to (self-styled) 'experts' to weigh in and provide explanations. Even if not all the facts are in...
Episode 335 - Why psychology and terrorism are linked
If you were to ask the average person about terrorists you would probably hear that the consensus is that there is strong underlying mental illness. Is this true (hint: no)? What, then, can psychologists and other academics do to help cou...
Episode 334 - Forget Taliban 2.0! How about Afghan jihad 2.0
After the horror of 9/11 it was logical - and completely justifiable - to go after those behind the attacks. As it turned out, the group responsible - Al Qaeda (AQ) - was based in Afghanistan and was protected and enabled by the Taliban. ...
Episode 333 - Is Syria's leader still a jihadi or not?
Hip hip hooray for Syria! The hated Assad regime is done, hopefully for ever. The country could enter a new era - fingers crossed - but the new leader is a man who is a ?former? terrorist, Ahmed Al-Sharaa. Is he indeed someone who has lef...
Spies Like Us Season 3 Episode 26 - Chinese linking rings - not just an illusion
To prove that three old guys - ok, in Neil's case old-ish - are with it and hip with technology we go video this week! You can actually hear AND see us - how cool is that? Phil learns that the Shanghai sweetheart on LinkedIn may not be wh...
Episode 332 - Why Oman should play a bigger role in the Persian Gulf conflict
I am fairly certain that most people have either never heard of Oman or could not find it on a map. This small sultanate does not garner many headlines but is, oddly enough, one of the more stable Middle East regimes (hence the lack of he...
Episode 331 - What to do with the 'ISIS kids'?
Adults who choose freely to join terrorist groups such as ISIS have made dumb decisions and these decisions have led to serious consequences. One of those consequences is subsequent arrest and incarceration for what they did and I imagine...
Spies Like Us Season 3 Episode 25 - ISIS isn't was-was, it still is is
As Phil sips on a "Lumbersexual" IPA - whatever that means - and jet-lagged Al is barely comatose (and Neil is, well, Neil) - the lads weigh in on why should NOT bring ISIS terrorists home, including those who go to a firing range on thei...
Episode 330 - Al Shabaab remains a serious threat to Somalia
When it comes to terrorism, some groups are simply more successful than others. There are those which skyrocket to fame only to wither and disappear: the FLQ in Canada in the 1960s and early 1970s comes to mind. Then there are those which...
Spies Like Us Season 3 Episode 24 - Canada's fraudulent immigration removal system 'Rana' amok!
With Al's triumphant return from wherever he was - don't ask, don't tell! - the lads weigh in on Canada's joke of a citizenship removal system despite obvious fraud and terrorism links, the US counter-terrorism ?strategy? that somehow mis...
Quick Hits Episode 276 - Left hand/right hand when it comes to foreign interference in Canada?
Canada is sorrily used to talk of separation. We went through two referendums (referenda? neverendums?) on Quebec independence in the 1980s and 1990s and are now faced with a possible vote to split in Alberta. That oil-rich province is al...
Episode 329 - Where do 'new' terrorist groups come from?
You would think the world already has enough terrorist groups. While jihadi ones like Al Qaeda and Islamic State - and their affiliates, provinces and wannabes - predominate, there are others out there as well. And in what is an interesti...
Spies Like Us Season 3 Episode 23 - Don't break the China!
After a short hiatus the Al-less boys - does this make us a duet? - are back and it's all about China. Neil and Phil talk with Canada's top Sinologist (that means China watcher for you non-China watchers) Charles Burton about why exactly ...