Brazil’s Non-Elections: A Crisis of Trust, a Failure of Democracy

By Asad Ismi Former Brazilian president Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva was still, at publishing time, the Workers Party (PT) candidate and frontrunner in Brazilian elections scheduled for October 7. This was despite him being sentenced in July to 12 years in prison for what his allies and vast supporter base (June polls put Lula […]

Path of Destruction: Canadian Mining Companies on Rampage Around the World

Asad Ismi Canada is the world’s leading mining nation. Sixty per cent of all public mining companies are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. About half of all mining capital is raised in Canada. Many Canadian mining companies have become notorious for damaging communities and the environment and fuelling wars and repression all over the […]

The World Social Forum in Nairobi: African Activists Lead Resistance to Western Plundering and Imperialism

By Asad Ismi and Kristin Schwartz Held in Africa for the first time, the World Social Forum (WSF) brought 66,000 people to Nairobi, Kenya, from 110 countries and highlighted the continent’s many anti-imperialist struggles. In a united voice, Africans said no to U.S. neo-colonialism, World Bank/IMF economic control, and Western corporate plunder of their resources. […]

Nigeria’s Corporate Killers

By Asad Ismi Multinational oil companies operating in Nigeria are complicit in human rights violations according to a recent report released by Human Rights Watch. The report titled “Nigeria: The Niger Delta: No Democratic Dividend,” points out that “…oil companies are seen by the residents of the Delta [Nigeria’s main oil producing area] to have […]