A French comic says he’s abandoning his act which courts have ruled is anti-Semitic – Israel prepares for the state funeral of its warrior PM – And some idiot in Texas pays really big money to kill an endangered animal and hang its head in his parlor.

Controversial French comic Dieudonne M’bala M’bala is canceling the rest of his “comedy” tour, labeled as anti-Semitic by critics.  The creator of the “Quenelle” gesture, used by morons to mock Jewish suffering, cited the French High Court’s rulings confirming his act violated anti-hate speech laws.  Dieudonne fans are largely in ultra-right circles and in the poor, largely Muslim high-rise housing projects outside the capital.  He’s now planning a new show about Africa, where his father hails from.  Good luck with that.

Three more members of Greece’s neo-nazi Golden Dawn party have been jailed to await trial on charges of running a criminal organization.  Golden Dawn was labeled as criminal group after the killing of an anti-fascist rapper in Athens last September.  It brings to six out of Golden Dawn’s 18 parliamentarians to be tossed into the klink.  Aside from being fascist scum, Golden Dawn are implicated in harassment and assaults targeting LGBT and immigrants.

Thousands of Israelis paid respects to former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who died last week after an 8-year coma caused by a massive stroke.  A military convoy escorted the coffin to the Knesset mall, where he lies in state until an official state ceremony which is scheduled for Monday.  After that, Sharon will be buried beside his second wife, Lily, near his family farm in southern Israel.

Clashes between Iraqi government forces and Sunni insurgents left 14 people dead in Baghdad Province, edging ever closer to the capital itself.  It comes amid mixed signals about a showdown in Anbar province, where Sunni gunmen have taken control of major cities Ramadi and Fallujah.  Iraq’s Prime Minister last week favored an all-out assault – the foreign minister is now saying the western standoff could take months to resolve.

Japan is criticizing China’s new unilateral fishing restrictions on huge swaths of the South China Sea, which it claims as its own.  China’s claims on the area between Vietnam and the Philippines, coupled with the launch last year of an air defense zone, have left the international community jittery.  Japan’s elite airborne brigade over the weekend conducted airdrop drills designed to hone their skills to defend and retake remote islands, such as the Senkakus, the Japanese islands that fall within China’s new air defense zone.

A lot of the stupidest things that happen in America seem to originate in Texas, so this shouldn’t be too much of a surprise.  An anonymous bidder paid A$395,000 to the Dallas Safari Club for a permit allowing this shameless thug the pleasure of killing a Black Rhinoceros, a critically endangered species actually consider extinct in many of its original ranges.  The permit comes from the Namibian government, which hopes to raise money to preserve the species.  The animal slated for death-by-redneck in a canned hunt is an older, non-breeding male, and supposedly it won’t effect the entire world’s perilously small population of just 5,000 animals, including all subspecies. 

Man, that was depressing.  How about a Mum playing “Who’s a big Gorilla?” with baby at Chicago’s Brookfield Zoo?  Born two months ago.

If the Golden Globe Awards are a harbinger of what’s to come on Oscar night, “American Hustle” is looking good.  The crime drama, which puts its young stars in 1970s drag, was named “best film, comedy or musical”, while actors Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence also won prizes for their roles.  Out of seven nominations, the most-important film of 2013, director Steve McQueen's “12 Years a Slave” was named best film drama.