Author: nick
As President Donald Trump’s lawyers tell it, there is “no evidence” that the May 18 “settlement” of his lawsuit against the IRS, which included huge favors for him, his family, and his supporters, was a product of collusion. That position is hard to take seriously, since both sides in the lawsuit were represented by attorneys who worked for Trump, and the president himself has described the cozy arrangement as “a settlement with myself.” In a June 12 brief ordered by Kathleen Williams, the federal judge in Florida who oversaw Trump v. IRS, the president’s lawyers improbably maintained that the “settlement”…
The Trump administration plans to significantly reduce the number of U.S. fighter jets, warships, and submarines reserved for NATO’s common defense, according to a classified briefing held last week in Brussels. The announcement was made by Pentagon adviser Alexander Velez-Green in a closed-door meeting of NATO policy directors, blindsiding senior alliance officials, according to two alliance diplomats cited by Politico Europe [2]. The move represents one of the most substantial shifts in U.S. force posture in Europe since the end of the Cold War, according to analysts. The cuts affect the NATO Force Model, the framework established in 2022 after…
A federal appeals court has signed off on Ohio’s ban on people under age 16 using social media without parental consent. That means all Ohioans could soon have to show ID to use such platforms as Facebook or X. A U.S. District Court previously blocked the law, ruling it unconstitutional. But the state appealed, and now a divided 2–1 panel of federal appeals court judges has sided with the state. You are reading Sex & Tech, from Elizabeth Nolan Brown. Get more of Elizabeth’s sex, tech, bodily autonomy, law, and online culture coverage. Similar laws have been either temporarily or…
Critics assail Starmer’s support of Israel’s genocide on Gaza, his government’s terrorist proscription of Palestine Action and his neglect of the working class, Brad Reed reports. Prime Minister Keir Starmer during a press conference at his executive office in No. 10 Downing Street, London, last week. (Lauren Hurley / No 10/ Flickr/CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) By Brad ReedCommon Dreams U.K, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced his resignation Monday, less than two years after his Labour Party swept into power in a landslide election. In his resignation speech, Starmer said that he was stepping down because members of his party did not…
The UK tested a missile with a range of 300 miles, with plans to send the munitions to Ukraine. The platform will allow Ukraine to deliver 500-pound warheads to Moscow. The missiles tested by the UK military last week were developed under Project Brakestop. The goal of the project is to design a long-range weapon that can be produced for under half a million dollars and within 20 months. UK Armed Forces Minister Louise Sandher-Jones said the new missiles will “complement” the Storm Shadow cruise missiles London sends to Kiev. “The UK stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Ukraine, and we will continue…
Image by Johannes Hübner. The FIFA World Cup is one of the few global events whose legitimacy does not derive from the power, wealth, or political influence of its participants, but from the principle of “competitive equality.” Millions around the world follow this tournament because they believe that, at least for ninety minutes on the pitch, differences between nations are not determined by economic size, military capability, or geopolitical weight, but by performance on the football field. It is precisely this perception of equality that has turned the World Cup into the world’s most significant sporting event. Yet, on the…
Of all the British imperials to coerce India into modernity, four men—a Welshman, two Englishmen, and a Scot—stand out as the most influential. Contrary to the fantasies of most fevered online onanists, none of them were either military conquerors or plunderers. One was a judge, two were historians, and the last was an architect. Sir William Jones, a Welsh scholar and judge, founded the Asiatic Society in Calcutta and modern qualitative and historical research in India. An early historian of Indo-European languages, his efforts led to the foundation of the Journal of the Asiatic Society (his name is still prominently…
When ChatGPT first hit the mainstream in 2022, I realized that law school assessments would need to change. At the time, I asked my ConLaw students what they thought about oral exams, like in ancient times. Their immediate reaction was one of absolute panic and dread. At the time, I didn’t pursue the matter further. My exams were proctored in class, and used locked-down laptops, so I didn’t think it was feasible for students to use AI during the proctoring. Four years later, things have changed. I’ve watched many YouTube videos of how students expertly cheat on exams using AI.…
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Mediators said that talks between the U.S and Iran in Switzerland to resolve points of tension in the 60-day interim peace agreement to end the Iran War, particularly Israel’s ongoing bombing and occupation of Lebanon, saw “encouraging progress” as the conflict entered its 115th day on Monday. On June 17, U.S. President Donald Trump and Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a memorandum of understanding to pursue a 60-day period of negotiations, designed to lead to a permanent settlement of the Iran War. The first article of the interim peace agreement conditions an end to the conflict on the “immediate and…