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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.Meme from Bluesky
"A thinly-veiled threat to global peace, progress, and survival" was how one climate justice organization described US President Donald Trump's hourlong address to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday as the international community took in Trump's attacks on global cooperation, migration, and the consensus among scientists that human activity is causing the climate crisis and a shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy is needed to avoid the worst impacts.
Namrata Chowdhary, head of public engagement at 350.org, said the president's speech offered proof of a warning from UN Secretary-General António Guterres just hours before, in which Guterres had said the world has "entered an age of reckless disruption and relentless human suffering," with peace and progress "buckling under the weight of impunity, inequality, and indifference."
Trump drew gasps from the assembled world leaders when he said predictions about the climate emergency by the UN and the global science community "were wrong" and "were made by stupid people."
The BBC reported that some diplomats "could be seen shaking their heads" as the president called climate change "the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world."
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said the comment showed Trump "is representing his fossil fuel billionaire friends, not science."
"Climate change is REAL. It is an existential threat to the planet and future generations. We must transform our energy systems away from fossil fuels," said the senator.
Guterres' warning "was only emphasized by the erratic speech given by Donald Trump: Reckless. Disruptive. Indifferent," said Chowdhary. "And mocking with impunity the relentless suffering around the world, in a speech hard to distinguish from reality TV of the worst kind."
Trump's speech came weeks after hundreds of people were killed in one day by flooding in Pakistan—a disaster fueled by increasingly intense monsoon seasons that scientists have said are caused by fossil fuel emissions and planetary heating.
Earlier this year, a study by British and Italian researchers found that deadly flooding in Texas was also made significantly worse by the impacts of climate change.
"Trump’s remarks, which downplayed the urgency of climate action and pushed for expanded fossil fuel investment, come as the world continues to experience record-breaking heat, fires, and floods," said Chowdhary. "At the upcoming UN climate summit, world leaders face a stark choice: Stand with people and the planet, or with the fossil fuel industry."
Mauro Vieira, the minister of foreign affairs in Brazil, which will host the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) in November, told CNN that Trump's attacks on policies demanding a shift to renewable energy do not change Brazil's position on the climate.
"We believe in renewables,” said Vieira. “This will save the planet. That’s our position."
JL Andrepont, US senior policy analyst at 350.org, emphasized that a majority of Trump's own constituents know that the climate crisis is being caused by fossil fuels and support a shift away from them.
"This stream of lies is part of the same fossil-fueled billionaire agenda that got tens of thousands into the NYC streets this weekend, calling for climate justice," said Andrepont. "The leader of the world’s top polluting country is trying to tell the people—from our Pacific family members to the climate- and conflict-displaced peoples he’s deporting—that their lived reality is not real. But there are far more of us calling for human rights than there are of him and his cronies."
"We refuse to be pawns in Trump’s unjust quest to pad the pockets of billionaires like him," added Andrepont. "It’s time to draw the line and make billionaires in and out of government pay for the damage they’ve caused and fund the needs of the people.”
In his first meeting with a foreign head of state after being reelected president last year, Donald Trump welcomed Argentina's far-right libertarian President Javier Milei to Mar-a-Lago.
At a lavish gala, Argentina's president slathered his host with compliments, describing Trump's return to office as the "greatest political comeback in history."
Before a crowd of onlookers, Trump would return the favor, telling Milei, "The job you’ve done is incredible. Make Argentina Great Again, you know, MAGA. He’s a MAGA person.”
On Monday, less than a year later, Milei arrived in New York for this week's meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, begging for help as Argentina's economy continues its freefall and reels from nearly two years of his radical economic austerity program.
Milei's fealty to Trump bore fruit. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent promised that the nation's financial department "stands ready to do what is needed within its mandate to support Argentina."
In what he described as an effort to tame Argentina's runaway inflation, Milei, who has described himself as an "anarcho capitalist," has spent the time since he was elected president in 2023 instituting a brutal regime of what has been referred to as economic "shock therapy."
His agenda has centered on taking a "chainsaw" to government institutions and worker protections: slashing energy and transportation subsidies, halting public infrastructure projects, declaring war on labor unions, freezing wage and pension increases, and firing tens of thousands of government employees.
The result was predictable: By February 2025, the country had begun to rapidly deindustrialize, unemployment was soaring, and more than half of Argentinians lived in poverty.
However, this did not stop Trump from modeling his economic agenda, often explicitly, after Milei's—most notably through the exploits of the chainsaw-brandishing billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which he used to lay waste to the administrative state. Trump, meanwhile, has signed legislation gutting social services like Medicaid and food assistance, busted public unions, and canceled numerous green energy and infrastructure contracts.
The result has likewise been a slump in economic activity, culminating in unemployment numbers critics say the administration has been desperate to bury.
The US president has already intervened once to help soften Argentina's landing. As El País notes:
Thanks to Trump’s political support, the government agreed to a $20 billion bailout with the International Monetary Fund last April—to which the country still owes another $40 billion—and achieved a measure of calm, but it lasted barely three months.
Now, with Milei facing mass street protests against his budget cut proposals, a hostile legislature that routinely vetoes his agenda, and a weakening peso in the face of continued uncertainty, he has turned to the US for another bailout, which the US hopes will help ease the country's economic woes enough to stave off a thrashing for his party in the country's general legislative elections on October 26.
Referring to Argentina as a "systemically important US ally in Latin America," Bessent said that "all options for stabilization are on the table." This, he said, "may include, but [is] not limited to, swap lines, direct currency purchases, and purchases of US dollar-denominated government debt from Treasury’s Exchange Stabilization Fund."
Notably, Bessent continued to praise Milei's "support for fiscal discipline and pro-growth reforms." Despite its catastrophic effects, he described Milei's chainsaw agenda as "necessary to break Argentina’s long history of decline."
US Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) denounced the bailout as another favor from Trump to one of his political allies.
"First, Trump made us pay higher coffee and beef prices to support a convicted coup-plotter in Brazil," she said, referring to Trump's attempt to use harsh tariffs to pressure the Brazilian government into dropping charges against Jair Bolsonaro, who was ultimately convicted last week of attempting to overthrow the government. "Now, he wants American taxpayers to bail out his friend Milei in Argentina."
(Video: The Geopolitical Economy Report)
But as Benjamin Norton of the Geopolitical Economy Report argues, the motivation goes deeper than simply helping out a friend. It is an effort to save the reputation of "actually existing libertarianism" and the fortunes of US investors who've cast their lot with him.
"Milei was already gifted a $42 billion lifeline from the US-controlled IMF and the World Bank (after Argentina already owed more debt to the IMF than any other country), but even that was not enough to stabilize Milei's crazy Austrian School experiment," Norton said. "The US government is doing this not only to prop up one of its most loyal puppets in Latin America, but also in order to benefit wealthy US investors who hold Argentine stocks and bonds, and US corporations that want Argentina's lithium."
With Trump having modeled his oligarch-friendly economic agenda on Milei's, journalist Jacob Silverman—author of the forthcoming book Gilded Rage: Elon Musk and the Radicalization of Silicon Valley—argued that allowing the libertarian radical to twist in the wind is not an option for Trump.
"Javier Milei can't be allowed to fail," Silverman said, "because MAGA leaders and the tech right have propped him up as a true libertarian fighting the globalists and 'doing what needs to be done': Immiserating his people on behalf of private capital."
Just hours before an expected US government shutdown, two major unions for federal workers filed a lawsuit on Tuesday in hopes of protecting them from the Trump administration's threat of mass firings.
"Announcing plans to fire potentially tens of thousands of federal employees simply because Congress and the administration are at odds on funding the government past the end of the fiscal year is not only illegal—it's immoral and unconscionable," American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) national president Everett Kelley said in a statement.
"Federal employees dedicate their careers to public service—more than a third are military veterans—and the contempt being shown them by this administration is appalling," Kelley declared.
Filed by AFGE and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) in the Northern District of California, the new suit specifically takes aim at the Office of Management and Budget, OMB Director Russell Vought, the Office of Personnel Management, and OPM Director Scott Kupor.
"Federal workers do the work of the people, and playing games with their livelihoods is cruel and unlawful."
The OMB last week "issued a memorandum threatening that if 'congressional Democrats' do not agree to the administration's
demands, and the federal government shuts down, there will be mass firings of federal employees," the complaint explains. The memo "takes the legally unsupportable position that a temporary interruption of appropriations eliminates the statutory requirement for all unfunded government programs and directs all federal agencies to 'use this opportunity' to consider reductions in force (RIFs) for any programs for which the funding has lapsed and that are not priorities of the president."
"This past weekend, the Trump administration doubled down on its illegal activity," the complaint notes, as OMB and OPM "told agencies that federal employees could work during the shutdown in order to effectuate these RIFs. But this directive is contrary to federal law, because carrying out RIFs is plainly not a permitted (or 'excepted') function that can lawfully continue during a shutdown."
"The threat of massive layoffs was repeated and reinforced yesterday by the White House press secretary who, when asked whether there will be mass layoffs of federal employees, answered, 'There will be if Democrats don't keep the government open,'" the filing continues. "These actions are contrary to law and arbitrary and capricious, and the cynical use of federal employees as a pawn in congressional deliberations should be declared unlawful and enjoined by this court."
AFSCME president Lee Saunders highlighted how the firing threat connects to Project 2025, a policy agenda from a host of far-right figures, including Vought, published last year, in the lead-up to the November election.
"The Trump administration is once again breaking the law to push its extreme Project 2025 agenda, illegally targeting federal workers with threats of mass firings due to the federal government shutdown," Saunders said. "If these mass firings take place, the people who keep our skies safe for travel, our food supply secure, and our communities protected will lose their jobs. We will do everything possible to defend these AFSCME members and their fellow workers from an administration hell-bent on stripping away their collective bargaining rights and jobs."
AFSCME and AFGE are represented by Altshuler Berzon LLP, Democracy Defenders Fund, and Democracy Forward, whose president and CEO, Skye Perryman, accused President Donald Trump of "using the civil service as a bargaining chip as he marches the American people into a government shutdown."
"Federal workers do the work of the people, and playing games with their livelihoods is cruel and unlawful. That is why we have sued today," said Perryman, whose group has played a leading role in challenging the administration in court, as an increasingly authoritarian Trump and his Department of Government Efficiency have worked to gut the federal bureaucracy.
"Since inauguration, this administration has pursued a harmful Project 2025 agenda, attacking community programs and charities, lawyers, schools, private companies, law firms, judges, universities, public servants, and the programs, foundations, and civil servants working to deliver services to people and keep communities safe," she noted. "No one's lives have been made easier or better by these actions, and we will continue to meet these attacks in court. We are honored to again represent AFGE and AFSCME in protecting the American people from the Trump-Vance administration's callous and unlawful agenda."
The government will shut down at midnight unless Congress takes action. Although the GOP controls both chambers and the White House, they lack the numbers to advance most legislation in the Senate without Democratic support. The Senate voted Tuesday evening on Democrats' and Republicans' competing resolutions, neither of which passed.
Democrats have fought to expand Affordable Care Act subsidies and reverse cuts to Medicaid in the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act that congressional Republicans passed and Trump signed this summer. GOP leaders have refused to consider walking back their assault on the healthcare of millions of Americans.
In the event of a shutdown, "non-expected" employees are furloughed while "excepted" employees continue working, but no one gets paid until the shutdown ends.
A photojournalist at the US Federal Court in New York on Tuesday had to be taken to a hospital on a stretcher on Tuesday after an immigration enforcement official shoved another person into him, causing him to fall and hit his head on the floor at a US federal courthouse in New York City.
Gothamist reports that photojournalist Vural Elibol of the Turkish-based Anadolu Agency had to be hospitalized on Tuesday morning after a confrontation involving multiple masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials.
Video of the incident posted on social media by photographer Stephanie Keith showed several people in the courthouse, along with at least three masked ICE agents, attempting to enter an elevator.
When an unidentified man attempted to get in the elevator with the ICE agents, one of them grabbed him and shoved him outside. At the same time, another ICE agent shoved a woman, identified by the New York Daily News as freelance photographer Olga Fedorova, away from the elevator, where she fell into Elibol and knocked him over.
Elibol was then seen writhing in pain on the ground while grabbing his head. Medical professionals subsequently showed up on the scene, placed him in a neck brace, put him on a stretcher, and took him to Downtown Hospital, according to the New York Daily News.
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) so far has not responded to multiple publications' requests for comment.
The shoving incident marked at least the second physical altercation involving an ICE official at the US federal court in New York in the last week. This past Friday, an ICE agent was caught on camera throwing an Ecuadorian asylum-seeker, Monica Moreta-Galarza, to the ground after she tearfully demanded the return of her husband, who had just been dragged away from her by masked agents.
Although DHS suspended the ICE officer in the immediate wake of the incident, CBS News reported on Monday that he had already been reinstated after a "preliminary review" of his actions.
US President Donald Trump announced on Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed to a peace plan to end the war in Gaza—but many critics were skeptical that anything good would come from it.
The plan, which the White House released on Monday, requires Hamas to return all remaining Israeli hostages it took in the October 7, 2023 attacks in exchange for the release of nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners currently held in Israeli custody.
The plan also mandates that Hamas have no role in governing Gaza after the war, as responsibility for running the exclave would be handed over on a temporary basis to "a technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee, responsible for delivering the day-to-day running of public services and municipalities for the people in Gaza."
Notably, the Trump proposal dropped previous demands he'd made about expelling Palestinians from their land, and it stated that "no one will be forced to leave Gaza, and those who wish to leave will be free to do so and free to return." The plan also says that "Israel will not occupy or annex Gaza," even though Netanyahu and his government for months have said they intend to take full control of Gaza.
The plan drew some immediate criticism from skeptics, however.
Matt Duss, executive vice president at the Center for International Policy and former foreign policy adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), attacked the Trump plan for not being a serious proposal to achieve peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
"Trump and Netanyahu’s remarks today were a litany of lies about the last 30 years, not a promising foundation for peace," Duss said. "Despite his claim of being close to a deal, Trump's statement that Israel will have 'full US backing' to 'finish the job' in Gaza if his plan is not agreed to stood out most clearly. This would be more of what we have seen not only the last nine months, but the last two years, as the United States has unconditionally armed and subsidized a genocide in Gaza."
Duss welcomed Trump seemingly taking the forced expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza off the table as part of his plan, but added that it also "contains numerous opportunities for Netanyahu to renege on his commitments, as he has repeatedly done in the past."
Drop Site News' Ryan Grim appeared equally skeptical that the Trump plan would hold up, and he wrote in a post on X he's waiting to see "what Netanyahu does to scuttle the deal once he leaves the White House."
Trita Parsi, the executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, observed in a social media post that Trump had successfully pressured Netanyahu to apologize to the government of Qatar for launching an attack against Hamas leaders on its soil earlier this month.
"That Netanyahu was forced to apologize to the emir of Qatar by phone from the White House with Trump in the room shows the leverage that the US has over Israel when it chooses to," he wrote. "Too often it chooses otherwise. It could've chosen not to support the genocide in the first place."
Drop Site News reported shortly after the deal was announced that the governments of Qatar and Egypt have given it to Hamas, which said it would study the proposal.
“They’re betting on our fear and our silence,” Fonda said. “But our industry—and artists around the world—have a long history of refusing to be silenced, even in the darkest times.”
As the US descends into authoritarianism under President Donald Trump and Republicans, hundreds of celebrities led by actor and progressive activist Jane Fonda on Wednesday revived a free speech initiative originally launched by Hollywood stars including her father during the right-wing repression of the post-World War II McCarthy era.
Fonda and over 550 celebrities rebooted the Committee for the First Amendment, which was first formed in 1947 by a bevy of actors including Henry Fonda in response to hearings held by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) and blacklisting of actual and suspected communists throughout US society, including Hollywood.
“The federal government is once again engaged in a coordinated campaign to silence critics in the government, the media, the judiciary, academia, and the entertainment industry,” the renewed committee said in a statement. “We refuse to stand by and let that happen.”
According to NPR:
Other members of the newly re-formed committee include filmmakers Spike Lee, Barry Jenkins, J.J. Abrams, Patty Jenkins, Aaron Sorkin, and Judd Apatow; TV show creator Quinta Brunson; musicians Barbra Streisand, John Legend, Janelle Monáe, Gracie Abrams, and Billie Eilish; comedians Tiffany Haddish and Nikki Glaser; as well as actors Mark Ruffalo, Anne Hathaway, Kerry Washington, Pedro Pascal, Natalie Portman, Viola Davis, and Ben Stiller. Another signatory is actor Fran Drescher, who last month ended a term as the president of the SAG-AFTRA union.
"This committee was initially created during the McCarthy era, a dark time when the federal government repressed and persecuted American citizens for their political beliefs," the initiative's founders wrote. "They targeted elected officials, government employees, academics, and artists. They were blacklisted, harassed, silenced, and even imprisoned."
"The McCarthy era ended when Americans from across the political spectrum finally came together and stood up for the principles in the Constitution against the forces of repression," they added. "Those forces have returned. And it is our turn to stand together in defense of our constitutional rights."
Fonda’s committee revival comes after Jimmy Kimmel's late-night talk show was temporarily removed from ABC's airwaves earlier this month following pressure form Brendan Carr, Trump’s Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chief, over a monologue by the comedian about far-right podcaster Charlie Kirk’s accused assassin. Kimmel's show returned amid massive public backlash.
Fonda has more than 60 years of political activism under her belt, starting with the civil rights and anti-Vietnam War movemements and continuing through Fire Drill Fridays, #StopLine3, and the Jane Fonda Climate PAC in more recent years.
"I'm 87 years old. I've seen war, repression, protest, and backlash. I've been celebrated, and I've been branded an enemy of the state," Fonda said in a letter inviting people to join the committee.
"But I can tell you this: This is the most frightening moment of my life," she continued. "When I feel scared, I look to history. I wish there were a secret playbook with all the answers—but there never has been. The only thing that has ever worked—time and time again—is solidarity: binding together, finding bravery in numbers too big to ignore, and standing up for one another."
“They’re betting on our fear and our silence,” Fonda added without identifying anyone by name. “But our industry—and artists around the world—have a long history of refusing to be silenced, even in the darkest times.”
"If Palestinians are indeed radicalized, the agents of their radicalization are Israel and its policies, not least its compulsive murder of their children," said one analyst.
In its assessment of US President Donald Trump's 20-point peace plan for Gaza, The New York Times editorial board on Tuesday resorted to age-old "Islamophobic tropes," said one writer—namely, the claim that the exclave that is home to more than 2 million Palestinians, nearly half of them children, must be "deradicalized."
The editorial board asserted that the White House had "crucially" included in its peace plan a proposal to not only restore basic services to Gaza and feed people who have been starved by Israel's near-total blockade that was first imposed nearly two years ago, but also empower a multinational authority to develop Gaza as a "deradicalized terror-free zone that does not pose a threat to its neighbors."
The Times editors said that the proposal repeats a call by the Wilson Center, the Washington think tank that has called for a program in Gaza's schools and media "to remove Hamas’ pervasive radicalizing influence over Gazan society."
The editors, said Brian Tashman of the Vera Institute of Justice, appeared to subscribe to the "belief that Palestinians are motivated by irrational bigotry... and that there is no way they might be angry over being occupied, brutalized, impoverished, displaced, and murdered by Israelis."
Tashman noted that the viewpoint is pervasive in the US political establishment, with former President Joe Biden asserting last year that Hamas was motivated by an "ancient desire to wipe out the Jewish people off the face of the Earth" when it led a violent attack on southern Israel in October 2023.
The West Bank-based Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, which for years has conducted public opinion surveys of Palestinians, called into question the view that Palestinians in Gaza support the atrocities Hamas is accused of committing in its October 7 attack.
"Our findings show the exact opposite," pollster Khalil Shikaki told NPR. "Those who think atrocities were committed on October the 7 do not support October the 7 and do not support Hamas." About 60% of Palestinians in Gaza, Shikaki's survey found, do not support Hamas.
Numerous polls of the Israeli public, however, have shown broad support for their government's policies and statements about Gaza. A survey conducted by Hebrew University in Jerusalem in June found that 64% of the Israeli public agreed that there are “no innocents in Gaza.” Former Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman had made the statement in 2018, and it was paraphrased in October 2023 by Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
Another poll this year by the Israel Democracy Institute found that 79% of the Israeli public "did not feel personally troubled by reports of starvation in Gaza."
The Times editorial came as Israel's assault on Gaza nears the end of its second year, with more than 66,000 Palestinians killed and the exclave facing what one report called the "largest orphan crisis" in modern history as more than 39,000 children have lost one or both parents. More than 400 people have starved to death so far due to Israel's near-total blockade on humanitarian aid. Numerous human rights groups and experts on the Holocaust have called the bombardment of Gaza a genocide.
"The New York Times editorial board thinks we need to deradicalize the starved and brutalized survivors of a genocide, but not the neighboring society that enthusiastically endorsed said genocide," said author and editor Dan Sheehan. "Poll after poll over the past two years has shown overwhelming Israeli public support for the starvation, brutalization, and even extermination of Palestinians in Gaza. Meanwhile, more than half of Gaza’s population WEREN’T EVEN BORN the last time Hamas was elected."
The Times' call for Palestinians to be "deradicalized," said Adam Johnson of the podcast Citations Needed, amounted to "pure racism."
"Israel has killed 19,000+ children," said Johnson. "Seventy-nine percent say they are 'not troubled' by the reports of famine... How is this not the society in urgent need of de-radicalization?"
Middle East analyst Mouin Rabbani added that "one can similarly imagine the Times reporting from Poland in 1943 and publishing an editorial that sanctimoniously proclaims that the main impediment to peace in Europe is the Bolshevik virus that has infected the continent’s Jews."
"The concept of deradicalization has a long pedigree. At heart, it is based on the premise that colonial subjects have no grievances towards their foreign rulers," wrote Rabbani. "The natives, duly infected with ideas like independence, social justice, and the redistribution of wealth, need to be deradicalized so that the natural order of things can be restored... The Palestinian case is no different. They hate Zionism and Israel only because they have been taught and terrorized into doing so... If we can only reform the Palestinian school curriculum yet again, Palestinians will learn to peacefully co-exist with dispossession, apartheid, and genocide."
"If Palestinians are indeed radicalized, the agents of their radicalization are Israel and its policies, not least its compulsive murder of their children," he added. "The only available formula for deradicalization is Palestinian rights, first and foremost their inalienable right to self-determination."
"Jane Goodall was the best of us. May she rest peacefully, as we carry on."
Legendary English conservationist and primatologist Jane Goodall died Wednesday at the age of 91, eliciting a flood of remembrances from fellow scientists, activists, politicians, and fans of her decades of dedication to protecting the natural world.
Goodall died of natural causes in Los Angeles, California, while on a US speaking tour, according to the Jane Goodall Institute.
"Dr. Goodall's life and work not only made an indelible mark on our understanding of chimpanzees and other species, but also of humankind and the environments we all share," the institute said. "She inspired curiosity, hope, and compassion in countless people around the world, and paved the way for many others—particularly young people who gave her hope for the future."
"In 1960 Dr. Goodall established the longest-running wild chimpanzee study in Gombe National Park, Tanzania, which continues to this day," the institute continued. Footage from her early research in Africa was featured in the 2017 documentary Jane.
"She inspired curiosity, hope, and compassion in countless people around the world, and paved the way for many others—particularly young people who gave her hope for the future."
"She pioneered and sustained the Jane Goodall Institute's community-centered conservation initiatives across the chimpanzee range for over four decades," the organization added. "Her legacy includes the creation of JGI's international environmental and humanitarian youth program Roots & Shoots, which is actively driving change in 75 countries and counting around the world."
Social media networks swiftly filled with posts honoring Goodall as a "childhood hero," "patient, passionate revolutionary," and "incredible force for good" whose "love and knowledge and care with animals like chimpanzees helped us all transcend the too often vicious human world."
British primatologist Jane Goodall visits a chimp rescue center on June 9, 2018 in Entebbe, Uganda. (Photo by Sumy Sadurni/AFP via Getty Images)
Abigail Ruth Freeman, director of Science for Society at Research Ireland, wrote on social media Wednesday: "Such a loss for humanity. Her work showed us that traits we conveniently ascribe to humans only are widespread in other animals. That they deserve more respect and compassion, and we could use a little more humility."
The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund said that "we are deeply saddened by the passing of Dr. Jane Goodall, a groundbreaking primatologist and tireless conservationist. Her pioneering work with chimpanzees transformed our understanding of the species, and her lifelong advocacy inspired generations to protect wildlife and their habitats. Her legacy will continue to guide and inspire all of us in the fight to conserve our planet's precious species."
Goodall was named a United Nations messenger of peace in 2002. Highlighting that honor, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that he was also "deeply saddened" to learn of her passing, adding: "She is leaving an extraordinary legacy for humanity and our planet. I'm grateful for her lifelong environmental protection efforts and her strong support for the UN."
Author and former US political candidate Marianne Williamson said: "For millions of us she was the consummate role model. Few people have left an imprint on the world of such beauty and significance. A huge spirit was here with us. May she rest in eternal bliss."
Primatologist Jane Goodall visits the Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia on July 14, 2006. (Photo by Greg Wood/AFP via Getty Images)
American journalist Yashar Ali wrote on his website that "few other people have had an impact on my life like Dr. Goodall."
"Because of her, countless women have pursued careers in biology, ecology, conservation, and other fields in STEM," Ali added. "Over the years, as I have traveled through the world and met some of the most prominent women in all areas of conservation and environmental sciences, all but a few told me they were inspired to get into their field by Jane Goodall's example."
Jane Goodall has died. She devoted her life to advocacy on behalf of chimpanzees and, after living among them,shared valuable insight into their lives. She advocated too for the wellbeing of other primates and the environmentShe has been a magnificent inspiration. Thank you Jane Goodall ♥️🙏🏽♥️
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— Mia Farrow (@miafarrow.bsky.social) October 1, 2025 at 2:41 PM
Some people shared their personal experiences with Goodall. American reporter Leigh Giangreco recalled that "Jane Goodall was one of my first ever interviews as a college journalist, and she had an immense respect for young people, I remember she wanted to hear from us specifically. I will never forget her discoveries or her empathy."
Scottish broadcaster Nicky Campbell said: "We have lost one of the greatest naturalists, zoologists, and activists. A great woman. I had the pleasure of meeting Jane Goodall. I was in awe of her. I will forever be in awe. She gave us so much. She gave her beloved chimps so much. She helped us understand them. And thereby understand ourselves. May this gentle, kind, wise, and wonderful woman rest in peace."
US Congressman Cory Booker (D-NJ) recorded a video about his experience meeting the renowned conservationist.
Thank you Jane Goodall for a lasting legacy of conservation, service to all of us, and for always being brave.
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— Cory Booker (@corybooker.com) October 1, 2025 at 2:46 PM
The US group 314 Action, which works to elect scientists and doctors, pointed out that just last week, its president, Shaughnessy Naughton, "was in the same room with Jane at Climate Week as she continued her lifetime of advocacy, until the very end."
"Jane Goodall was the best of us," the organization added. "May she rest peacefully, as we carry on."