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New statue of besties Trump and Epstein sharing a secret in D.C.
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Obtuse Sexual Predator Approved

In honor of Friendship Month and his stupendous speech at the UN, wherein he raved, bloviated and browbeat world leaders that their countries are "going to hell" but he's "really good at this stuff," some patriots have erected a new statue in D.C. of Trump and his "closest friend" Jeffrey Epstein happily twirling and sharing "another wonderful secret." Residents praised the artwork as "glorious," "Amazeballs" and a "sliver of hope," arguing, "This is why we have to protect the arts." Now with updates.

"Angry Old Man Yells At U.N" was a fitting headline for the mad king's appearance at their annual General Assembly in New York City, where, one account dutifully reported, "his total ignorance of world events was on full display." Other reviews: shambolic, bizarre, embarrassing, unhinged, "ranting, raving, rambling," and "one of the most embarrassing speeches of his presidency," which says a lot. Some of the delirium, punctuated by Adderall sniffs, was likely fed by a malfunctioning teleprompter (along with brain) which he repeatedly carped about after complaining he should have gotten a Nobel Peace Prize:: "All I got from the UN was an escalator (that) stopped in the middle and a teleprompter that didn't work. Thank you very much." Later, it turned out an aide was in charge of it, and another had inadvertently halted the escalator.

Wildly winging it for almost an hour, over three times his allotted time, he then launched into his usual flood of wild lies and narcissistic delusions about saving the world and "the renewal of American strength." "Grocery prices are down," he declared. "Inflation has been defeated." NOT. "More than $17 trillion is being invested in the United States - it's pouring in from all parts of the world." Ditto. "In a period of seven months, I have ended seven unendable wars," he claimed, adding one to the usual fiction and, ever gracious, whining he had to do it all by himself: "I never even received a phone call from the UN." Never a fan of the multilateralism the UN represents -in his first few days he pulled the US out of multiple international organizations - he then lit into the august body.

Boasting about his own "bold action" to illegally terrorize, arrest and deport large numbers of innocent brown people, he blasted immigration in Europe as part of a "globalist migration agenda" by unnamed perfidious players. "Your countries are going to hell," he yammered. "It's time to end the failed experiment of open borders...I can tell you, I'm really good at this stuff." (Cue facepalm seen around the world.) In case he hadn't waxed racist enough, he tossed an incendiary slur at London's (Muslim) mayor, Sir Sadiq Khan, "a terrible, terrible mayor...Now they want to go to sharia law." (Aghast groans added to facepalm.) Fox News said he "unfurled raw truth." The rest of the world said his "erratic," "reckless" claptrap was "hard to distinguish from reality TV."

Finally, knowingly - his uncle taught at MIT! - he dismissed climate change as "the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world," argued "all the predictions were wrong" except if anything they were too optimistic, and trashed windmills, his bird-and-whale-killing nemesis, as "so pathetic and so bad." "The United States is now thriving like never before," he raved. "We're getting rid of the falsely named renewables. They are a joke. They don't work. The wind doesn't blow." Magically, he bundled up the failures of windmills and diplomacy to highlight his own stable genius: "If you don't get away from this green scam, your country is going to fail. And I'm really good at predicting things...I've been right about everything. One foreign diplomat texted, "This man is stark, raving mad."

It was to honor all his nonetheless remarkable achievements - and Friendship Month, begun by The Grand United Order of Oddfellows Friendly Society (GUOOFS), founded in 1730s England to give "everyone 30 exciting days (to) celebrate everything that is amazing about Friendship!" - that the new art installation appeared Tuesday on the National Mall. The 12-foot, faux-bronze statues of a giddy Trump and Epstein prancing and holding hands is by The Secret Handshake; their earlier creations include a "Dictator Approved" giant thumbs-up crushing Lady Liberty's crown, and turds honoring the Jan. 6 "brave men and women who broke into the U.S. Capitol (to) loot, urinate and defecate throughout these hallowed halls in order to overturn an election.”

The new work, said a spokesperson for the anonymous group, was born of "the widespread, bipartisan interest" in Epstein and their wish to put their friendship "on full display" in tribute to Friendship Month, even though nobody's heard of it. "We wanted to celebrate what is presumably, at least publicly, Donald Trump’s only true friend," said their representative. "Trump has had many business associates, but very few people have gone on the record as being his actual ‘friend.' Jeffrey Epstein, who is the rare exception, stated that he was the President’s 'closest friend.'" Thus does one of three plaques accompanying the statues read, "We celebrate the long-lasting bond between President Donald J. Trump and his ‘closest friend’ Jeffrey Epstein."

Another plaque quotes Trump's 50th birthday message, shaped like a nude female body, to Epstein. It reads, in part, "A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday - and may every day be another wonderful secret," followed by the singular Trump signature. Trump, of course, had called Epstein "a terrific guy" who was "a lot of fun to be with," a sentiment others have widely interpreted as, "We are definitely both pedophiles who are friends and do pedophile things together." "These two people had an affinity for each other," noted the group's rep, "and they also seemingly had an affinity for abusing women." On the "uproar" over the release of the Epstein files: "We have nothing to do with that. The information about their bond (says) a lot.”

There were critics of the work, of course; there always are. A White House spokesperson denounced it with, "Liberals are free to waste their money however they see fit – but it’s not news that Epstein knew Donald Trump, because Donald Trump kicked Epstein out of his club for being a creep." Another lie: he kicked him out for having "stolen" one of the young women working in Trump's spa, doing God knows what tasks. But The Secret Handshake isn't quibbling; they even said they'd "be happy" to donate the art to Trump's new $200 million. ballroom. Other critics nitpicked: Trump's statue isn't fat enough, his hands should be smaller, his tie should be longer, no way he can stand on one foot, why do both men still have their pants on?

Mostly, onlookers and passersby loved it. They called it "fantastic," "hilarious," "beautiful," "highly appropriate," "Art History in the making," "By far the most realistic depiction of our President that I've seen." They said, "Thank you project mayhem" and, "This is true patriotism." They fake-mourned, "Unfortunately, we cannot take this statue down. That would be erasing our history and heritage." They proposed making mass small duplicates of the art work, for fundraising or Christmas ornaments. Many wondered who'd made it; one sage responded, "Nobody. It's part of the universe manifesting truth." A patriot crooned, "Sometimes I love this country so damn much." "Protect the arts," many urged. And, "This art is the prettiest art of all the art."

Update: But not for long. Though the monument creators had a permit allowing it to stay up till Sunday night, a National Parks crew, aka regime minions, arrived before dawn Wednesday morning to topple, break and haul it away with no prior warning. They told Handshake reps, who'd heard rumors of the raid and turned up, the artwork was "not in compliance" with the permit, allegedly exceeding its allowed size by three feet. Silly artists: Everyone knows you have to obey the law.

More updates: Because the manchild king is not only stark raving mad but exceptionally petty, may have realized he made a complete ass of himself the day before, and is now likely desperately trying to deflect from his own clownfuckery, he is now charging the UN with "triple sabotage" for several minor mishaps during his appearance. Citing a malfunctioning escalator, teleprompter and sound system - all of them reportedly under the supervision of either the White House or U.S. delegation, not the UN - he is now insisting "this wasn't a coincidence" and demanding "an immediate investigation" into those "three very sinister events," which were "A REAL DISGRACE." "The good news," he went on, "is the Speech has gotten fantastic reviews...Very few people could have done what I did." True, that.

Ivanka wears Trump's birthday card to Epstein. Ivanka wears Trump's birthday card to Epstein.Meme from Bluesky

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HONDURAS-ENVIRONMENT-CRIME-HOMICIDE-JUSTICE
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At Least 146 Killed or Disappeared for 'Defending Life Itself' Last Year

At least 142 people were killed and four were confirmed missing last year for "bravely speaking out or taking action to defend their rights to land and a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment," according to an annual Global Witness report published Wednesday.

"Year after year, land and environmental defenders—those protecting our forests, rivers, and lands across the world—continue to be met with unspeakable violence," said Laura Furones, the report's lead author, in a statement. "They are being hunted, harassed, and killed—not for breaking laws, but for defending life itself."

"Standing up to injustice should never be a death sentence," Furones declared. "It is critical that governments and companies turn the tide to uphold defenders' rights and protect them rather than persecute them. We desperately need defenders to keep our planet safe. If we turn our backs on them, we forfeit our future."

The report, Roots of Resistance, begins by listing the activists who were murdered or disappeared for six months or more in 2024. It also says: "We acknowledge that the names of many defenders who were killed or disappeared last year may be missing, and we may never know how many more gave their lives to protect our planet. We honor their work too."

The most dangerous country for environmental defenders, by far, was Colombia, with 48 deaths. Jani Silva, a defender there living under state protection, said that "as this report shows, the vast majority of defenders under attack are not defenders by choice—including myself. We are defenders because our homes, land, communities, and lives are under threat. So much more must be done to ensure communities have rights and that those who stand up for them are protected."

Colombia was followed by Guatemala (20), Mexico (18), Brazil (12), the Philippines (7), Honduras (5), Indonesia (5), Nicaragua (4), Peru (4), the Democratic Republic of Congo (4), Ecuador (3), and Liberia (3). There was one confirmed killing each in Russia, India, Venezuela, Argentina, Madagascar, Turkey, Cameroon, Cambodia, and the Dominican Republic. The four disappearances were in Chile, Honduras, Mexico, and the Philippines.

"This brings the total figure to 2,253 since we started reporting on attacks in 2012. This appalling statistic illustrates the persistent nature of violence against defenders," the report states. It stresses that while the new figure is lower than the 196 cases in 2023, "this does not indicate that the situation for defenders is improving."

The report notes that "120 (82%) of all the cases we documented in 2024 took place in Latin America," while 16 killings occurred in Asia and nine were in Africa. It emphasizes that "underreporting remains an issue globally, particularly across Asia and Africa. Obstacles to verify suspected violations also present a problem, particularly documenting cases in active conflict zones."

A third of all land and environmental defenders killed or disappeared last year were Indigenous. The deadliest industry was mining and extractives, at 29, followed by logging (8), agribusiness (4), roads and infrastructure (2), hydropower (1), and poaching.

In addition to detailing who was killed or disappeared, what they fought for, and how "the current system is failing defenders," the report offers recommendations for "how states and businesses can better protect defenders."

Currently, said Global Witness project lead Rachel Cox, "states across the world are weaponizing their legal systems to silence those speaking out in defense of our planet."

"Amid rampant resource use, escalating environmental pressure, and a rapidly closing window to limit warming to 1.5°C, they are treating land and environmental defenders like they are a major inconvenience instead of canaries in a coal mine about to explode," she continued.

"Meanwhile, governments are failing to hold those responsible for defender attacks to account—spurring the cycle of killings with little consequence," she added. "World leaders must acknowledge the role they must play in ending this once and for all."

The recommendation section specifically points to the upcoming United Nations climate summit, COP30, in Belém, Brazil, "a city amid one of the world's most biodiverse regions—and one of the most dangerous countries to be a land and the environment defender."

"The protection and meaningful participation of land and environmental defenders at COP30 and beyond is an essential element of the fight against climate change," the document says. "It must become a core principle of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Convention on Biological Diversity process."

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Fed Chair Jerome Powell Holds Press Conference On Interest Rates
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Expert Warns Small Interest Rate Cut 'Will Do Little to Address Trump's Economic Turmoil'

As working-class Americans contend with a stalled labor market and rising prices under US President Donald Trump, economist Alex Jacquez warned Wednesday that the Federal Reserve's "small rate cut will do little to address Trump's economic turmoil."

"Driven by a stagnant job market, the Fed's move offers no real relief to American households, consumers, or workers—all of whom are paying the price for Trump's economic mismanagement," said Jacquez, who previously served as a special assistant to former President Barack Obama and is now chief of policy and advocacy at the think tank Groundwork Collaborative. "No interest rate tweak can undo that damage."

Jacquez's colleague Liz Pancotti, managing director of policy and advocacy at Groundwork, similarly said Wednesday that "President Trump promised to lower prices on day one and be 'the champion of the American worker,' yet his economic agenda has delivered higher prices, a stalled job market, and sluggish growth. He's leaving families and workers high and dry—and no move by the Fed will save them."

The president has been pressuring the US central bank to slash its benchmark interest rate, taking aim at Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whom Trump appointed during his first term. Powell remained in the post under former Democratic President Joe Biden.

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voted to lower the federal funds rate by 0.25 percentage points, from 4.25-4.5% to 4-4.25%. It is the first cut since December 2024, and Powell said the decision reflects a "shift in the balance of risks" to the Fed's dual mandate of price stability and maximum employment.

Daniel Hornung, who held economic policy roles during the Obama and Biden administrations and is now a policy fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, said in a statement that "beyond the Fed's September cut, the main story from the Fed's projections is a cloudy outlook for the economy and monetary policy over the rest of the year."

The cut came after Trump ally Stephen Miran was sworn in to a seat on the Fed's Board of Governors on Tuesday—which made this FOMC gathering "the most politically charged meeting in recent memory," as Politico reported.

The new appointee "was the only Fed official to dissent from the decision," the outlet noted. "Miran called for twice as large a cut in borrowing costs, and the Fed's economic projections suggest that one official—likely Miran—would support jumbo-sized rate cuts at the next two meetings as well—an estimate that is conspicuously lower than the other 18 estimates."

Hornung highlighted that "an equal number of members favor hiking, no further cuts, or one cut to the number of members who favor two more cuts, and one outlier member—presumably, President Trump's current Council of Economic Advisers chair—favors the equivalent of five cuts."

"Besides Miran’s outlier status, which sends concerning signals about continued Fed independence," he added, "the wide range of views on the committee is a reaction to the real risks that tariff and immigration policy pose to both sides of the Fed's mandate."

Federal immigration agents across the United States are working to deliver on Trump's promised mass deportations, despite warnings of the human and economic impacts of rounding up immigrants living and working in the country. The president is also engaged in a global trade war, imposing tariffs that have driven up prices for a range of goods.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced last week that overall inflation rose by 2.9% year-over-year in August and core inflation rose by 3.1%. Jacquez said at the time: "Make no mistake, inflation is accelerating and American families continue to feel price pressures across the board from children's clothing, to groceries, to autos. Rate cuts will not ease the inescapable financial pain that the Trump economy is inflicting on households across the nation."

That came less than a week after BLS revealed in its first jobs report since Trump fired the agency's commissioner that the US economy added only 22,000 jobs in August, and the number of jobs created in July and June were once again revised downward.

Jacquez had called that report "more evidence that Trump’s promises to working families have fallen flat."

Recent polling has also exposed how working people are suffering under Trump's second administration. One survey—conducted by Data for Progress for Groundwork and Protect Borrowers—shows that "American families are trapped in a cycle of debt," with 55% of likely voters reporting at least some credit card debt, and another 18% saying they “had this type of debt in the past, but not anymore.”

The poll, released last week, also found that over half have or previously had car loan or medical debt, more than 40% have or had student debt, and over 35% are or used to be behind on utility payments. Additionally, nearly 30% have or had “buy now, pay later” debt through options such as Afterpay or Klarna.

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Progressive Activist Avi Lewis Launches Bid for NDP Leadership in Canada
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Progressive Activist Avi Lewis Launches Bid for NDP Leadership in Canada

The longtime progressive activist Avi Lewis officially launched his bid for leadership of Canada's New Democratic Party, which he aims to revitalize with a platform of economic populism.

Lewis, a journalist and documentarian whose grandfather helped to found the NDP in 1961, says the way to bring the party back to relevance amid an electoral low point is to “fling the doors wide open, and build a party for the 99%.”

At a kickoff party in Toronto on Wednesday, the former parliamentary candidate from Vancouver railed against the “Liberal-Conservative alliance” that dominates Canadian politics. The two major parties' leaders, Lewis said, "compete fiercely in public, while behind the scenes, they collude to boost corporate profits."

"In the name of protecting the country, the government is rapidly passing and proposing legislation that will change the culture and character of Canada," Lewis said. "From sweeping aside Indigenous rights and environmental protections for so-called nation-building projects, to rolling back higher taxes on the uberwealthy and digital giants, to the generational austerity of 15% cuts to public spending, to the $9 billion that materialized in an instant for the military this year, ramping up to $150 billion a year a decade from now—the changes afoot are extreme."

Lewis pledged to “build a government that is an instrument for the people, not for corporate Canada.”

The NDP—once Canada's third-largest national political party—has been ailing of late after a dismal showing in the nation's most recent parliamentary elections. The party, which held over 100 seats 14 years ago, dropped to a new low of just seven seats in 2025, not enough to even be recognized for committee assignments or federal funding.

The humiliating showing resulted in the resignation of Jagmeet Singh, who'd led the party for eight years, but was widely criticized by those on the left for his coziness with the establishment of the dominant Liberal Party and his failure to keep the NDP competitive. It is in this state of "political wilderness" that Lewis has emerged with an ambitious change agenda.

(Video: Avi Lewis for NDP Leader)

"Life in Canada today feels on the edge," Lewis said in a video released last week announcing his leadership run. "Everyone seeking a little stability, everyone being told 'You're all on your own.'"

He identified several causes of that precarity. One was the "economic attack" from US President Donald Trump, whom Lewis described as sending "disruption grenades" in the form of steep tariffs and annexation threats. But Lewis said that Trump merely "magnifies... the everyday emergency of trying to get by in an impossible economy."

According to one survey conducted in July, 57% of Canadians said their current incomes did not allow them to afford basic necessities like housing, groceries, energy, and cell phone plans.

"Working hard doesn't earn you a living," Lewis said.

"These days, every politician claims to be shocked by the costs," he continued. "What they don't talk about is why: The billions in profits for the tiny group of corporations that control every part of our economy. Three phone providers, three grocery giants, five oil companies, and the five big banks that fund them."

Lewis' plan to confront corporate power is years in the making. Alongside his wife, the acclaimed journalist and author Naomi Klein, Lewis rolled out the Leap Manifesto in 2015 as an agenda for the NDP. Leap focused on confronting the climate crisis, but its contents formed the basis of what he now refers to as a "Green New Deal." The accelerating climate emergency remains at the center of his agenda in 2025.

"Oil and gas CEOs," he said in the video, are "not just hoarding extreme wealth," but "foreclosing on our shared future."

Lewis has never held a parliamentary office, though he has run for a federal Vancouver-area seat twice before and achieved two third-place finishes, receiving 26% of the vote in 2021 and 12.5% in 2025.

In his bid to lead NDP, he has so far leaned heavily into his family legacy and his reputation as a lifelong activist who has "butted heads with the powerful," over issues like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the privatization of healthcare and public transit.

"For four decades," he said, "I have stood with workers, telling stories of working-class heroes and organizing for dignity in factories and fields, classrooms and care homes, shop floors and fishing fleets."

Lewis, who also identified free trade deals as job killers, proposed a "Green New Deal" as a means to revive Canadian industry and create "millions of good-paying jobs."

He has also proposed a wealth tax, a national cap on rent increases, a public option for groceries, and expanded universal healthcare that covers "medication to mental health."

During his speech Wednesday night, Lewis described NDP as "the only party that can accurately diagnose the cause of our everyday emergency, and offer solutions as big as the crises we face."

"The federal government has the power, the resources, and the responsibility to ensure the fundamentals of a good life—healthy food, truly affordable housing, functioning public transit, and hey, maybe a proper vacation once in a while," he said. "But we won’t get it if we don’t fight for it. And that’s where the NDP comes in. After all, the NDP is the original party of workers’ struggle. And in this moment of epic change and uncertainty, the party is needed as never before."

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Illinois Residents Take Advantage Of Early Voting In Chicago
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'Abuse of Power': Trump DOJ Attack on State Voter Rolls Decried as Threat to Democracy

With the US Department of Justice's latest demand for the personal information of millions of voters in six states, one voting rights advocate said Thursday, the DOJ is "harassing election officials" as part of a relentless effort to use voters as "pawns."

The Trump administration filed federal lawsuits against officials in California, New York, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and New Hampshire after the states refused to hand over statewide voter rolls including people's personal data such as their driver's license numbers and the last four digits of their Social Security numbers.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said the Civil Rights Division's request for the data is part of an effort to create "clean voter rolls"—"the foundation of free and fair elections," according to Bondi—but rights advocates maintain the Trump administration is simply intensifying its perennial push to spread misinformation about so-called "voter fraud," including by promoting the baseless claim that noncitizens are permitted to vote in elections.

"Voters are not pawns in a political game, and the commonwealth will not be bullied into handing over its voter rolls to an authoritarian government that is hell-bent on sowing doubt into our elections for its own gain," said Deborah Hinchey, Pennsylvania state director of All Voting is Local.

The DOJ has made requests to more than 30 states for voter rolls that include driver's license and Social Security information, which is not included on publicly available lists of voters to protect privacy. The Trump administration has said all 50 states will receive requests for the information.

The lawsuits filed Thursday follow two that were filed last week against Oregon and Maine, which also rebuffed the requests earlier.

“Trump’s DOJ is using its immense federal power to try to intimidate us into turning over protected voter data and changing our voting processes to fit President Trump’s whims.”

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said in response to the lawsuit that the administration should "go jump in the Gulf of Maine"—echoing then-Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, a Republican, who told the first Trump administration to "go jump in the Gulf of Mexico" in 2017 when it requested private voter data.

“This is not normal,” Bellows said last week, accusing President Donald Trump's DOJ of "using its immense federal power to try to intimidate us into turning over protected voter data and changing our voting processes to fit President Trump’s whims.”

Trump signed an executive order in March directing the DOJ and the Department of Homeland Security to take steps to prevent noncitizens from voting—which the Brennan Center for Justice said in an analysis is "vanishingly rare," and which is illegal under federal law, with states already having "multiple checks in place to ensure that only eligible citizens can vote."

Al Schmidt, the secretary of state for Pennsylvania, responded to the lawsuit by saying he would continue to "aggressively defend" the privacy of voters in his state.

"The Justice Department’s demand for voters’ personal information, including driver’s license numbers and Social Security numbers, is unprecedented and unlawful, and we will vigorously fight the federal government’s overreach in court,” Schmidt said in a statement.

Ashiya Brown, Michigan state director for All Voting Is Local, said the lawsuits represent "an abuse of power from the Trump administration to further election lies and undermine trust in the voting process."

"This is an overstepping of this administration’s authority without being clear about its intentions and plans. This isn’t normal. It isn’t their place,” said Brown. "The Department of Justice’s efforts to bully state election officials to compromise sensitive voter data like addresses, driver’s license numbers, and partial Social Security numbers are a threat to the very democratic principles of free and fair elections."

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Slovenians march for an end to the Gaza genocide
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Calls for US to Follow Suit After Slovenia Bans Netanyahu Over Alleged Gaza War Crimes

Slovenia on Thursday banned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza—from entering the European nation, prompting calls for other countries, especially the United States, to follow suit.

The Slovenian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (MFEA) declared Netanyahu persona non grata, noting the ICC's outstanding arrest warrant for the Israeli leader, who is accused of crimes in Gaza, including murder and forced starvation.

"Already in July 2024, the ICJ established that several Israeli policies and practices violate international humanitarian law and human rights law," MFEA noted, referring to the International Court of Justice's advisory opinion declaring that Israel's occupation of Palestine, including Gaza, is an illegal form of apartheid that must end as soon as possible.

MFEA State Secretary Neva Grašič cited this month's confirmation by a commission of United Nations experts that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, where nearly two years of bombardment, siege, invasion, and forced starvation have left more than 241,000 Palestinians dead, wounded, or missing and millions more forcibly displaced, sickened, and starved in an officially declared famine.

“This was the first time that the UN has called the Israeli conduct in Gaza a genocidal one,” she said.

Grašič stressed that the move against Netanyahu "does not mean a measure against the Israeli people, but sends a clear message to the government of the state of Israel that Slovenia expects strict respect for the decisions of international courts and international humanitarian law."

Slovenia had already declared Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich personae non gratae in July over their genocidal statements, advocacy of ethnic cleansing, and incitement to violence against Palestinians.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) was among those calling on other nations to follow Slovenia's example.

“We commend Slovenia for taking a principled stand in support of international law and human rights by barring Prime Minister Netanyahu from entering its territory while he presides over the genocide in Gaza," the Washington, DC-based group said in a statement. "This is a necessary step toward accountability and justice."

“We urge the United States and other governments around the world to follow Slovenia’s lead by implementing similar measures until those responsible for crimes against humanity are held accountable," CAIR added.

In addition to travel sanctions, Slovenia has formally recognized Palestinian statehood, supports the ICJ genocide case against Israel filed by South Africa, and took part in July's Hague Group emergency summit in Colombia—which produced a joint action plan aimed at bringing an end to the Gaza genocide.

Slovenia also announced Thursday that it is contributing €1.2 million ($1.3 million) to the Palestinian Authority as part of a European-Saudi initiative aimed at ensuring the viability of Palestine's economy.

"Given the fact that the Republic of Slovenia recognized the state of Palestine... and that it actively participates in initiatives for the implementation of two-state solutions, it is necessary to substantiate political support also with financial resources," Grašič explained.

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