India-Pakistan Ceasefire
After a few frightening missile and drone strike exchanges and some of the most large-scale aerial combat that our world has seen in recent history, India and Pakistan have reportedly agreed to a full and immediate ceasefire.
So that’s a relief. I was about to publish a piece about this conflict and the risk of nuclear war when the ceasefire was announced, and I’ve never in my life been so happy to have to throw out hours of my work. Things are still tense and the grievances of Kashmiris under Indian occupation remain unaddressed, but at least the nuclear brinkmanship is de-escalating for today.
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In more good news, a judge has ordered the release of Rumeysa Ozturk, the Tufts University student who the Trump administration had detained for deportation solely for publishing an op-ed critical of Israel. When dismissing the case the judge actually said “there has been no evidence that has been introduced by the government other than the op-ed — I mean, that literally is the case.”
Imagine trying to put together a compelling legal argument only to have a judge squint at it, read out your reasoning, and then just say “I mean, that literally is the case” before throwing it out.
It’s good that Trump’s efforts to criminalize criticism of Israel keep faceplanting in the courts, but in a sense the damage has already been done. Non-citizens in the US are going to be far more reluctant to speak out against Israel’s US-backed crimes for fear of persecution.
Judges have ordered the release of Ozturk and Mohsen Mahdawi in their respective cases, ruling their persecution for political speech unlawful. Other judges have given smaller wins to pro-Palestine activists like Mahmoud Khalil and Badar Khan Suri, but they remain in detention. All of them have spent weeks locked up like
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LewRockwell.com is a libertarian website that publishes articles, essays, and blog posts advocating for minimal government, free markets, and individual liberty. The site was founded by Lew Rockwell, an American libertarian political commentator, activist, and former congressional staffer. The website often features content that is critical of mainstream politics, state intervention, and foreign policy, among other topics. It is a platform frequently used to disseminate Austrian economics, a school of economic thought that is popular among some libertarians.
