Steve Howell

It's arrived! Cold War Puerto Rico is the peer-reviewed product of a 15-year project. It exposes how the FBI enforced the island’s colonial status to retain it as a base for imposing the Monroe Doctrine - most recently in attacking Venezuela. More here: steve-howell.com/cold-war-puert…

Welcome to North Philadelphia where a local church is this evening handing out free food and clothes, a queue forming as they were setting up. Meanwhile, Trump has already spent $29 billion on the war on Iran and is planning an obscene $1.5 trillion military budget next year.

@MrGreensmith @grok Nope. No vote for president and no voting reps in Congress.

@FromSteveHowell @grok Puerto ricans don't get to vote either do they?

Spot the difference. The war memorial pillars for Puerto Rico and the Philippines stand side by side in Washington. Both were still US colonies in 1945. The difference is that Filipinos gained independence in 1946, while Puerto Ricans fought for freedom but weren't given it.

The UAE committed a massive mistake joining the Abraham Accords, which at its core was an attempt to build an Arab-Israeli alliance against Iran. That core has become unmistakable now as a result of Israel and the US's war on Iran. This was a mistake by the UAE because it meant that the Emirates attached itself to Israel's enmity with Iran, which runs deeper than the Emirates' tensions with Tehran, even though the Emirates is right next to Iran, while Israel is roughly 1,000 km from Iran. But Abu Dhabi is now trapped, and to some extent, the Iran war appears to have been aimed at forcing GCC states to move closer to Israel to seek protection from Iran. So in the midst of the war, Netanyahu secretly traveled to Abu Dhabi and offered the Emirates Iron Dome protection. This is what Israel considers a major breakthrough in their relationship. In reality, it is the manifestation of the trap that the Abraham Accords have become for the Emirates. apnews.com/article/netany…

@PeterSh90080307 @bulshdetector @IndyNicola Being motivated by trying to stop genocide should be a mitigating factor - to say the least.

@bulshdetector @FromSteveHowell @IndyNicola The peers found them guilty of criminal damage and they will be sentenced for this. Judges have a a wider range of sentences they can pass depending on mitigating and aggravating circumstances. The terrorism angle will clearly be an aggravating one.

It can't be right for a person to be found guilty on one charge only to then be sentenced on a much more serious charge. It's like convicting someone of assault but sentencing them for attempted murder. The word "terrorism" is being abused to justify eliminating due process.

"It is desperately upsetting for me, but I'm coping." Jeremy Corbyn on Starmer's leadership woes.

Like so many of Trump's actions, the Cuba blockade could backfire. The danger is that many Cubans will die before the China-aided solar revolution is completed - meantime Trump could do the ultimately-insane thing of launching a bloody invasion of the island. #SolidarityWithCuba

Just a thought. Wes Streeting owes his political status to the support he’s received over years from Peter Mandelson & Morgan McSweeney at Labour Together. He wouldn’t make a move against Keir Starmer without Mandelson’s say so. So look on this as Mandelson’s & Morgan’s revenge.

Labour will die if there isn’t a radical change in direction. That means standing up to markets, investing in our hospitals & schools not weapons, and ending the attacks on migrants. My Guardian piece ⬇️ theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

Nice to see Cold War Puerto Rico on display @bookculture near Columbia University, New York ahead of this evening's event @CentroPR. Most retailers are stocking it. Details here: steve-howell.com/cold-war-puert… If you're in the neighbourhood, join us at 6pm.

MP Barry Gardiner sitting behind the Prime Minister at PMQs with the book “The Fraud” sitting on his lap.

When launching a book in Washington, you aspire to look more intelligent than this. The event @busboysandpoets went well - but I'm not sure what I was saying here or why I was pointing at the ceiling.

@MatthewHitchmo3 The intent of a crime is inherent in the charge. That's why manslaughter is different to murder. It's why "with intent" is often in the charge itself. At sentencing, aggravating and mitigating factors are considered, but it's plain wrong to sentence based on a different crime.

@FromSteveHowell The charge hasn't changed. The intent of any crime is considered in sentencing. Why is this so confusing?

This was my favourite view of the White House earlier today. #NoWarOnIran

Don't tell me: his father was a tool maker.

Wes Streeting prepared to resign and launch leadership bid. After days of denials Streeting wants to push for quick coronation. That won't do. He is a corporate stooge, already privatizing parts of the NHS. Silence on policies. We need a proper contest itv.com/news/2026-05-1…

Cold War Puerto Rico is officially published today! In this extract, Nico Andreu recalls his grandmother thwarting the arrest of his father, César Andreu, in 1954 as Eisenhower expanded the Monroe Doctrine to include ideas that were "not indigenous." therestisbullshit.substack.com/p/donald-trump…

Cathy Newman: "... meanwhile the bond markets will go into a hissy fit" @HackneyAbbott: "British politics & British parliament can't be run at the behest of the bond markets.. if the British govt is going to be completely dominated by the bond market MP's might as well go home"