Steve Gillis

To people out there with influence, power, and money: It's time to create new international institutions to replace the corrupt, racist ones we have now—from FIFA to the CPJ (committee for the protection of journalists). After the blatant hypocrisy, racism, and even sadism we've seen in the past three years from these supposedly "neutral" institutions, it's clear to anyone paying attention that western cultural hegemony should have no place in the future. For example, we can have a "Global Cup" to replace the World Cup with someone fair, inclusive, and loyal to the spirit and rules of football. The idea of "fixing the system" is not worth our time or effort. It's rotten to the core, because they are run, and perhaps even established by, people who are rotten to their cores. The global majority can withdraw our participation and let these sham institutions die a slow death from lack of attention. Remember: their legitimacy ultimately comes from us, from our attention and belief in them. We can simply withdraw.

The U.S. government's conduct as World Cup host follows its familiar foreign policy: bending rules, bullying rivals, creating obstacles, and cheating. This is their MAGA playbook. Iran rejects such games. We stand firmly for our rights.

Um veículo da China produziu esse vídeo de comemoração dos 250 anos de independência dos Estados Unidos. "Desde sua independência em 4 de julho de 1776, em 250 anos, os Estados Unidos não estiveram em paz por menos de duas décadas." C-A-R-A-L-H-O.

🧵Ten of the most well-documented Israeli crimes over the last 1,000 days show the same pattern; brutality, denial, deception & impunity 1. Israel's killing of Palestinian medics & burying them in mass graves (CNN): At first, Israel claimed the ambulances were moving "suspiciously" & had their lights off. Then a video recovered from one of the medics' phones proved that was a lie. Israel later called it a "professional failure." Each ~2 min clip below is built on irrefutable evidence reported by CNN, NYT, BBC & other MSM

"There are a few things we did to advance the agenda of the Israeli military that I really cannot talk about…" The CEO of Oracle, which now controls TikTok's algorithm, admitted on camera that the firm assisted the Israeli military in the Gaza genocide.

Shit like this is why I root for Bosnia

@ZhaiXiang5 Yes, the funniest part to me is people complaining about China's lack of transparency on its governance when I don't know many other countries whose president has published 5 volumes of books on exactly how the country is being governed.

American Indian agents began fire sales of Native houses and items as removal and dispossession was under way— to such an extent that settlers were literally moving right into Seneca and Sauk houses in their communities. Much like the Israelis in the Nakba and after

This is genuinely shocking, and says so much about our approach to China. I decided to check for independent reviews of the English version Xi Jinping's latest book, published a year ago, to see what people had to say about it since I hadn't read it myself. To my surprise, I couldn't find any: not a single thoughtful review about the book out there! Even on Amazon, check it for yourself (amazon.com/XI-JINPING-GOV…): the book has only 3 ratings, that's it. No matter where you stand on China, you’ve got to admit that’s pretty crazy: the sitting president of the world's rising superpower publishes a 700-page book explaining exactly what he's doing and why, and we don’t even care to look. If there ever was a fact that illustrates just how willfully ignorant we are about China, this is it. All the more because we then go spew the usual clichés around how secretive and impenetrable the Chinese system is: the book is on Amazon for $21 for crying out loud! Anyhow, this felt so wrong that I figured I'd fix it. I bought the book, read it attentively and wrote what I hope you'll agree is a thoughtful review of it. The book contains genuinely surprising passages, such as Xi writing that oversight of the Communist Party by "the judiciary, the public, and the media" was not just something the Party must “readily accept,” but something that he framed as historically decisive - an essential component to "escaping the historical cycle of rise and fall" that has doomed every dynasty in China's history. Other passage that I'm sure would surprise many: a common narrative out there is that China blames the West for the century of humiliation and is driven by revenge. Well, Xi explains that's not true at all: the century of humiliation was China's own mistake, originated in the Ming Dynasty's disastrous "policy of national seclusion" that "resulted in China missing out on the opportunities presented by the Industrial Revolution" and "led to China’s decline." All in all, the book is remarkably self-reflective and thoughtful. For instance Xi recognizes that his drive for “full and rigorous internal governance” - including to rid the Party of corruption - risked "instill[ing] fear and apprehension, or intimidate members into inaction.” He emphasizes the need for pragmatism in this regard, codified in a framework called the “Three Distinctions” that separates honest mistakes - made while experimenting, reforming, or operating without precedent - from deliberate violations committed for personal gain. And many other surprises still. I found it a genuinely fascinating read for anyone interested in how the Chinese system works and how Xi thinks - or anyone interested in governance, period, as so much of what he writes is pretty universally applicable. This is the link to my review of the book, an article I titled "The Book the West Refuses to Read": open.substack.com/pub/arnaudbert…

My latest article examines the most far-reaching changes to Cuba’s economic model in more than 60 years – a programme of 23 strategic axes and 176 measures approved unanimously this month by the National Assembly. Much of the Western press, and a good part of the Western left, has rushed to read the reforms as the moment the blockade finally broke the Revolution. I argue the opposite: that they are best understood as a defence of socialism under siege, following the strategic logic China has pursued since 1978 – the controlled use of markets and foreign investment to develop the productive forces while the Communist Party retains political power and public ownership of the commanding heights. As the Cuba specialist Isaac Saney puts it, the measures, “far from representing a retreat”, constitute “a strategic effort to preserve and deepen the social gains of the Revolution”. The article sets the reforms against the backdrop of an unprecedented US siege – 64 years of blockade, escalated under Trump and Rubio, with fuel choked off and blackouts of up to twenty hours a day – and traces Cuba’s two decades of gradual reform, from Raúl Castro’s “Guidelines” to the Mariel Special Economic Zone consciously modelled on China and Vietnam. The decisive question is the one that separated Beijing‘s reforms from Gorbachev’s “perestroika”: who holds political power? Cuba, I argue, is travelling the road of China’s reform and opening up, not the Soviet road of perestroika – and China’s solidarity, in energy, food and party-to-party ties, may prove decisive. In President Díaz-Canel’s words: “There is no sovereignty with an empty plate” – and “We are not going to come together only to resist. We are going to come together to create. To produce. To decide. To oversee. To prosper, and to transform.” socialistchina.org/2026/06/25/cub…

I’m dead 😂😂😂 “The atmosphere Israeli awkward” 😂

Some of the most dignified people on the planet had the misfortune of being born next door to a vicious apartheid colony This is the story of how they tried to return home this past week, as Israel intensified its massacres

Central/SE #Texas have been on fire w/COVlD for 21 days. Levels are extremely high in College Station, followed by near Houston, then Waco. The CDC defines Texas as "very low" because 52% of wastewater sites are very low. That misses the public health opportunity.

We live under a fascist state where ICE agents can murder us with impunity yet we can go to prison for 50 years for protesting. The unjust sentences of the Prairieland protesters violate the first amendment and infringe on our rights to fight back against a tyrannical government.

This documentary is a must watch to better understand Cuba and its leadership!

such dignity and class.

Today Israel has murdered children and journalists. They do it every single day. Armed to the teeth by the US/EU/UK. Free Palestine 🇵🇸

On June 5th Israel attacked the home of world famous Lebanese sea turtle conservationist Mona Khalil. Mona was hospitalized with burns and injuries to over 70% of her body. Yesterday, June 19th, Mona died from her injuries. This wasn’t an accident. They didn’t make a mistake. Mona’s home was also where she ran her sea turtle conservatory- which she aptly named the Orange House Project- because, after all, her house was painted top to bottom in a deep, bright orange, the color of a late summer sunset. The Orange House Project has been in operation for almost 30 years. You can find it on Facebook and Google Maps, along with dozens of reviews from visitors over the years. So no, it wasn’t an accident or a mistake. Israel knew exactly what it was doing when it bombed the Orange House Project on June 5th. It’s exactly what they’ve been doing since the war with Iran started: ethnically cleansing all of Southern Lebanon so they can steal the land and occupy it for themselves.

Who did this? It still hurts like it happened yesterday.