As the US gears up to attack Venezuela and steal its oil reserves, it is using Puerto Rico – a country it colonised in the 19th century – as a base from which the bombers would be sent. US Colonialism: two centuries of daylight robbery - @stevehowell.bsky.social.

'Cold War Puerto Rico' tells the story of how Washington used red scare repression and covert action to keep its Caribbean fortress as a colony. The publisher is offering a 40% discount on pre-orders made before Jan 4. You need to use the promo code 'holiday': www.umasspress.com/978162534949...

'Cold War Puerto Rico' tells the story of how Washington used red scare repression and covert action to keep its Caribbean fortress as a colony. The publisher is offering a 40% discount on pre-orders made before Jan 4. You need to use the promo code 'holiday': www.umasspress.com/978162534949...

"Puerto Rico’s ‘free association’ with the US provides a foretaste of the bigger disaster that awaits Venezuela if Trump succeeds in overthrowing President Maduro." My Substack post looks at how colonialism has left Puerto Rico poor and powerless. See: therestisbullshit.substack.com/p/us-colonia...

In a one-hour speech, Reeves glossed over the arms budget - and yet she plans to increase it by more than NHS spending and is cutting cash for education. The £2.3bn for lifting the two-child benefit cap is peanuts by comparison. Check out the details: therestisbullshit.substack.com/p/you-can-ha...

In a one-hour speech, Reeves glossed over the arms budget - and yet she plans to increase it by more than NHS spending and is cutting cash for education. The £2.3bn for lifting the two-child benefit cap is peanuts by comparison. Check out the details: therestisbullshit.substack.com/p/you-can-ha...

In a one-hour speech, Reeves glossed over the arms budget - and yet she plans to increase it by more than NHS spending and is cutting cash for education. The £2.3bn for lifting the two-child benefit cap is peanuts by comparison. Check out the details: therestisbullshit.substack.com/p/you-can-ha...

A health warning on my new book for readers in the UK: I've been completely Americanized with a Z by its US publisher. Gone are ripple-effects, over-egging and step changes. You'll find wrenches - not spanners - being thrown in the works. And boxes will be checked, not ticked.

'Cold War Puerto Rico' tells the story of how Washington used the tools of 'McCarthyism' in the 1950s to retain Puerto Rico as a colony and base for aggression - as we could see again with Venezuela. The book will be published in the spring and is already available for pre-order. See below. 1/2

But I thought this was all about drug cartels and democracy...

Trump makes fools of Britain’s China hawks. The trouble with hanging on to someone’s coat-tails is that you fall off when they suddenly change direction... While our media obsessed about Chinese spies, Trump did a deal with Xi. My post on Substack: therestisbullshit.substack.com/p/trump-make...

Catherine Connolly is Ireland's president - winning with a record 914,143 votes. The media is making an issue of turnout and spoilt papers. But the turnout was higher than in 2018, and valid votes cast - after deducting spoilt papers - was almost the same (1,472,698 versus 1,473,900 in 2018).

An inside job: the Labour right's conspiracies against Corbyn exposed... My review of The Fraud, a new book by Paul Holden that meticulously exposes how right wingers in the Labour Party secretly sabotaged the electoral prospects of Jeremy Corbyn. See: therestisbullshit.substack.com/p/an-inside-...

An inside job: the Labour right's conspiracies against Corbyn exposed... My review of The Fraud, a new book by Paul Holden that meticulously exposes how right wingers in the Labour Party secretly sabotaged the electoral prospects of Jeremy Corbyn. See: therestisbullshit.substack.com/p/an-inside-...

Nord Stream court ruling highlights NATO risks... It’s just as well NATO didn’t go to war over false claims that Russia sabotaged Europe’s gas supplies – because it was probably the work of Ukrainians and NATO-member Poland thinks that was okay. See: therestisbullshit.substack.com/p/nord-strea...

The geo-political motive for US colonial control of Puerto Rico is coming to the fore again with Trump deploying F-35s there ready to attack Venezuela. Great to have Professor Díaz-Quiñones's endorsement of my new book looking at the history. More info here: www.steve-howell.com/cold-war-pue...

NATO and Israel have been partners for 30 years. Israel: - has a permanent ambassador and an office at NATO HQ in Brussels, - takes part in Operation Sea Guardian under NATO command, - is armed by the leading NATO members. The case against NATO, see: therestisbullshit.substack.com/p/nato-is-a-...

Let me fix this for Shabana Mahmood: "Large, repeated bombing can leave a trapped community feeling unsafe, intimidated and scared, especially when their homes have been reduced to rubble, they're being deprived of food, and they've already seen more than 65,000 of their neighbours killed."

Israeli drones bombed two Global Sumud Flotilla vessels moored off Tunisia in September, causing fires. One of them was British-flagged. Was UK intel asleep on the job? Or do we just turn a blind eye to drone strikes on our citizens when Israel does them? More here: www.cbsnews.com/news/netanya...

Israeli drones bombed two Global Sumud Flotilla vessels moored off Tunisia in September, causing fires. One of them was British-flagged. Was UK intel asleep on the job? Or do we just turn a blind eye to drone strikes on our citizens when Israel does them? More here: www.cbsnews.com/news/netanya...

The assets of Farage's personal company doubled in one year. Thorn In The Side, of which he's sole director, had assets of £2.61m on 31.5.24, including property and £1.71m in cash. Channelling income via a company saves him £1000s in tax. The Mirror says he's also sole owner of his £1m family home.

When is a war crime not a war crime? Answer: When the culprit is the United States and you are their apologist. My latest post on Substack responding to Polly Toynbee's defence of the US obliteration of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. See: therestisbullshit.substack.com/p/when-is-a-...

Only a rigged system could produce this much of a mismatch... Public disapproval in the US of Israel's actions in Gaza hits a new high of 60%. And yet, in the same week, US Senators defeated two Bernie Sanders motions to block some arms sales to Israel by 73 to 24 and 70 to 27.

'History' that leaves out inconvenient facts isn't history - it's propaganda.

Sally Rooney: "Activists who disrupt the flow of weapons to a genocidal regime may violate petty criminal statutes, but they uphold a far greater law and a more profound human imperative: to protect a people and culture from annihilation." In full here: www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...

While Rupert Lowe and his vigilantes target victims of the global refugee crisis, they say nothing about the West's wars that have caused it. The effect of war on refugee flows is shown starkly by this official graphic. Invading or aiding invasions by others (as now with Israel) are the problem.

Only a rigged system could produce this much of a mismatch... Public disapproval in the US of Israel's actions in Gaza hits a new high of 60%. And yet, in the same week, US Senators defeated two Bernie Sanders motions to block some arms sales to Israel by 73 to 24 and 70 to 27.

The US atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki - killing more than 200,000 civilians - was a barbaric, unjustifiable war crime. As this plaque in the Hiroshima Peace Park explains, there were peace moves afoot - they just didn't suit the US's cold war agenda. #Hiroshima_Atomic_Bomb_Day

The savings from cutting welfare benefits are nothing compared to what we would have saved by not participating in US-led forever wars. ‪@stevehowell.bsky.social on the government's military spending surge - despite its claims of a fiscal 'black hole'. labouroutlook.org/20...

Blair introducing tuition fees was a classic false economy. Instead of saving money, it transferred a lot of the cost of training doctors onto the NHS. Doctors now need to be paid enough not only to live but also to repay £100k+ of debt. No wonder they're striking! www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-6853...

The Times reported on June 7 that Fiona Hill - a member of Starmer's Defence Review panel - had offered the UK to Trump as "an aircraft carrier." Now we learn we'll be carrying US nuclear weapons. Hill's a Washington-based former Trump adviser. See: therestisbullshit.substack.com/p/when-is-a-...

Starmer has committed the UK to increasing military spending to 5% of GDP by 2035. In money terms, that will cost more than FIFTEEN times as much as the £5 billion he wanted to cut from disability benefits. So why isn't it dubbed a black hole? See: therestisbullshit.substack.com/p/when-is-a-...

Starmer has committed the UK to increasing military spending to 5% of GDP by 2035. In money terms, that will cost more than FIFTEEN times as much as the £5 billion he wanted to cut from disability benefits. So why isn't it dubbed a black hole? See: therestisbullshit.substack.com/p/when-is-a-...

Two weeks ago: Starmer said "we've listened" on welfare cuts. Now: Starmer has suspended the MPs he claimed to have listened to. Bullying isn't listening, and it shows that it was only a pause, not a U turn - he's still intent on cutting welfare to pay for warfare.

Police in Canterbury today informed a protestor that the phrase "Israel is committing genocide in Gaza" could be considered a declaration of support for Palestine Action and therefore a terrorism offence.

No cash for special needs in schools - but plenty to prep for war with China. This week, UK forces are taking part in the US-led Operation Talisman Sabre, along with France, Germany and Canada. Involving 35,000 troops, it's "the most expansive military exercise ever conducted in Australia."

No cash for special needs in schools - but plenty to prep for war with China. This week, UK forces are taking part in the US-led Operation Talisman Sabre, along with France, Germany and Canada. Involving 35,000 troops, it's "the most expansive military exercise ever conducted in Australia."

Insane that the British Foreign Secretary can meet with the former leader of Al Qaeda in Syria while, at home, on the same day, his government arrested 20 people on 'terrorism offenses' for supporting a non-violent pro-Palestine protest group.

The Reverend Sue Parfitt, an 83-year-old retired Anglican priest from Bristol, was among 20 people arrested in London today "on suspicion" of supporting Palestine Action. Am I allowed to say she's a hero, or is that banned too? She's a hero. Please share if you agree.

The Reverend Sue Parfitt, an 83-year-old retired Anglican priest from Bristol, was among 20 people arrested in London today "on suspicion" of supporting Palestine Action. Am I allowed to say she's a hero, or is that banned too? She's a hero. Please share if you agree.

This report doesn't mention military spending once - yet the planned increase dwarfs the £5bn cost of keeping disability benefits. Without a mandate, Starmer's bowed to Trump's pressure to DOUBLE the arms budget to 5% of GDP - costing us a staggering £80bn a year. That's why taxes will rise!

This report doesn't mention military spending once - yet the planned increase dwarfs the £5bn cost of keeping disability benefits. Without a mandate, Starmer's bowed to Trump's pressure to DOUBLE the arms budget to 5% of GDP - costing us a staggering £80bn a year. That's why taxes will rise!

Starmer should put Britain on a *peace* not a war footing. He claims to want de-escalation, but is doing the exact opposite: @thetimes says he's sending "more combat jets to the Middle East." He's spending £billions and risking British lives to back Israel - instead of brokering peace.

Starmer should put Britain on a *peace* not a war footing. He claims to want de-escalation, but is doing the exact opposite: @thetimes says he's sending "more combat jets to the Middle East." He's spending £billions and risking British lives to back Israel - instead of brokering peace.

We know what we have to do to save our city from Andrew Cuomo. We're cross endorsing 🤝 @bradlander.bsky.social

What Starmer means is that he won't try to STOP Israel attacking a sovereign state in breach of international law - but he is prepared to help them. These people have learnt nothing from Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, and all their other disastrous regime change wars.

Plaid's vote share is up by TWICE as much as Reform's. But @thetimes won't let the facts get in the way of its agenda - to boost Reform and shift UK politics rightward (even when it's clear most Labour defectors in Wales are going to Plaid, which is perceived as to the Left).

Cancel all their contracts!

You never hear Starmer talking about peace. Even at the height of the Cold War, leaders of the opposing camps (including Thatcher) met to try to reduce tensions and avoid war. Starmer revels in talking about war, while never doing anything to resolve conflicts. War is failure!

You never hear Starmer talking about peace. Even at the height of the Cold War, leaders of the opposing camps (including Thatcher) met to try to reduce tensions and avoid war. Starmer revels in talking about war, while never doing anything to resolve conflicts. War is failure!