Affiliate Events

Marketing the Al-Qaida Brand: Osama bin Laden and Franchised Terrorism

Thursday, January 21st, 2010 - Wine & Cheese starts at 5:15 pm, Program from 5:50 - 7:00 pm

Location: University Room, The Vancouver Club, 915 Hastings Street West, Vancouver, B.C.

Jonathan Manthorpe, Foreign Correspondent and Columnist Vancouver Sun

Please join us on Thursday, January 21st to welcome our guest speaker Jonathan Manthorpe who will address our Society on "Marketing the Al-Qaida Brand: Osama Bin Laden and Franchised Terrorism". General Stanley McChrystal, the commander of United States and NATO forces in Afghanistan, said in December that while the death or capture of Osama bin Laden would be a psychological victory over Al-Qaida, his removal would not defeat the terrorist group. McChrystal was reflecting what many analysts and counter-terrorism experts have come to believe about the campaign against Al-Qaida. This is the first terror and guerrilla war of the digital age. Bin Laden is now little more than a figurehead, but all the information required for disenchanted young Muslims to sign up as franchised Al-Qaida terrorists and even to plan bombing campaigns is available on the Internet. There's a strong body of analytical opinion that bin Laden and the core of Al-Qaida has not directly commanded any attacks since September 2001 and the subsequent invasion of Afghanistan. The real threat now is home-grown youths inspired by bin Laden, such as the July 2005 attackers of the London subway system, or the five Americna Muslims from North Virginia arrested in Pakistan in December as they sought terrorist training. And the way the digital age has been embraced to serve a medieval cause was clearly seen in the 2008 attacks on Mumbai, India, where a terror group leader in Pakistan directed the whole operation by cell phone.

Vimy Ridge, Hill 70, and Passchendaele; steps towards the making of Canada

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Wedensday 7 April, 2010 - Wine & Cheese starts at 5:00 pm, Program from 5:45 - 7:00 pm

Location: Grand Ballroom, the Vancouver Club

Please join us on Wednesday, April 7th to welcome our guest speaker Colonel (Ret'd) Keith Maxwell, who will address our Society on Vimy Ridge, Hill 70, and Passchendaele; steps towards the making of Canada with a special recognition of British Columbia's Battalions. In 1917 the Canadian Corps fought three major battles on the Western Front - Vimy Ridge, Hill 70 and Passchendaele. The level of success of the Corps in all three battles was unprecedented. They took objectives that had confounded other Armies time and again, and built a reputation as the most effective formation of its size on the whole front. Additionally, the exploits of the Canadian Corps in France and Flanders that year had a profound effect on the development of Canada as a Nation. By the end of the year the Canadian Corps was no longer operating as an integral part of the Imperial Army; rather, it had achieved a great deal of autonomy. It was truly Canada's National Army. That transformation was the harbinger for the Statutes of Westminster in 1931, where Canada achieved full independence from the United Kingdom in the areas of foreign policy and national defence. The presentation will look at the reasons for the success of the Corps and why that success had such a significant impact.

Annual Dinner of the International Churchill Society, Canada

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Monday, May 10, 2010 - 6:30 PM cocktails, 7:30 PM dinner

Location: Albany Club of Toronto

The Annual Dinner of the International Churchill Society, Canada will be held on Monday May 10th 2010 at the Albany Club of Toronto, 6.30 PM, Dinner 7.30 pm.

We are thrilled and delighted that Richard Langworth the founder of the International Churchill Society/Churchill Centre will be the keynote speaker and the recipient of our annual Merit Award. Richard is the author of the standard work "The Connoisseurs Guide to the Books of Sir Winston Churchill" and the Editor of the recently published monumental "Churchill by Himself. The definitive Collection of Quotables." For his contributions to Anglo-American understanding Mr. Langworth was awarded the C.B.E. by HRH Queen Elizabeth II.

It is fitting that the person who has done more than anyone to educating new generations on the leadership, statesmanship, vision and courage of Winston Spencer Churchill should be with us on the 70th anniversary of the day in 1940 when Churchill became Prime Minister.

For more information, please contact:

Terry Reardon

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Tel. 416 231 6803

Churchill Friends of Chicago Present Tom Ewing

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Sunday, May 23, 2010

Oak Brook Renaissance Hotel, Oak Brook, IL
Former U.S. Congressman Tom Ewing will discuss the founding of Churchill College in Pontiac, Illinois, the only college in the United States named for Winston Churchill. Complete details on this brunch meeting of the local Chicago chapter will be forthcoming.

Contact:
Susan or Phil Larson
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