Union in Colombia Battles Anti-Union Canadian Oil Company: Pacific Rubiales is Linked to Attacks on Union Activists

By Asad Ismi In May 2012, the third edition of my report Profiting from Repression: Canadian Investment in and Trade with Colombia was published and released by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) in Ottawa. The report links ten Canadian companies in Colombia to the genocide of indigenous Colombians, to complicity in eight murders […]

U.S. and China’s Rivalry Over Africa’s Riches Intensifies: China Gains African Goods With Loans, the U.S. With Guns

By Asad Ismi In my report on France’s invasion of Mali published in the March issue of The Monitor, I wrote that, “According to U.K. journalist John Pilger, ‘A full-scale invasion of Africa is under way. The United States is deploying troops in 35 African countries, beginning with Libya, Sudan, Algeria, and Niger. The invasion […]

Invasion of Mali is a Resource Grab, Not a War on Terrorists–U.S. Leads Western Powers’ Plunder of Africa

By Asad Ismi France invaded the West African nation of Mali on January 11, with 4,000 troops, jet fighters, and attack helicopters — supposedly to drive out Islamic fundamentalists identified as Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), who Paris claims were well on their way to taking over the country. These fundamentalists, however, based in […]

Victims of Drones (Part II): Devastating Drone Attacks on Pathans Completely Unjustified: Pathan People Have a Long History of Pacifism, Non-Violence

By Asad Ismi Much has been written and broadcast in the Western media about U.S. drone attacks in northwestern Pakistan, but little about the main targets of these drones: the Pathan people. I grew up with Pathans (called Pashtuns in Afghanistan) in northwest Pakistan, where I attended high school with them. Pathans comprise 48% of […]