From Russia Today
French comedian sentenced for ‘condoning terrorism’ in FB post
Amid a crackdown on hate speech and “condoning terrorism” online, a French court has handed out a two-month suspended prison sentence to prominent comedian and political activist Dieudonne over a Facebook post in the wake of Charle Hebdo attack.
The 49-year-old Dieudonne M’bala M’bala, or simply Dieudonne has been convicted for being “an apologist for terrorism” over a Facebook post he made following attacks in France that killed 17 people.
“I feel like Charlie Coulibaly,” he wrote in a coined phrase on Facebook on January 11, four days after the Charlie Hebdo attack, allegedly making a mockery of the slogan “Je suis Charlie” (I am Charlie) a global rallying cry against extremism. The second part of the phrase mimicked the name of Amedy Coulibaly, the gunman who killed four people at a Paris kosher supermarket.
Prosecutor Annabelle Philippe argued that Dieudonne is guilty of presenting “in a favourable light the acts committed by Amedy Coulibaly.”
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Official election returns give Likud more decisive margin of victory
(JTA) — Official Israeli election returns showed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party heading toward a decisive victory over Zionist Union.
Election returns that came in just before dawn showed Likud taking 29 seats over Zionist Union’s 24, according to Israeli reports.
The results represented a dramatic improvement in Likud’s fortunes just hours after exit polling indicated the party was in a virtual dead heat with Zionist Union.
Click here for the full story
From The Times of Israel
US to reevaluate stance on peace after PM rules out Palestine
Netanyahu looking to quickly form right-religious government after garnering 30 seats to Zionist Union’s 24
March 18, 2015, 7:27 am
With some 99 percent of the votes counted by early Wednesday morning, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party appeared set to win a resounding victory in the general election, with 30 seats, compared to the Zionist Union’s 24.
The results came as something of a shock, after exit polls published Tuesday night showed a stronger showing for Zionist Union and Meretz. As votes were counted through the night, however, Likud’s decisive victory became clearer. The final results will be announced Thursday morning, marking the official start to coalition jockeying.
Meanwhile, the US expressed concern over Netanyahu’s comments on Arab voters and a Palestinian state.
Click here for the full story
From PressTV
Archrival Herzog shuns Netanyahu after loss
Isaac Herzog, who competed and lost against Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel’s parliamentary elections, has said he would not join the current prime minister in the next coalition regime.
Herzog contested the Tuesday elections on the center-left Zionist Union party’s ticket, menacing Netanyahu (pictured below), who represented the ruling Likud party in the race. Results, which defied opinion surveys prior to the polls, gave Likud 30 seats in the 120-member Knesset (Israeli parliament), while the Zionist Union secured 24.
“Going into opposition is the only realistic option facing us,” Herzog told a meeting of his party in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, adding, “We shall continue to lead a large and strong camp….”
Zionist Union groups Herzog’s Labor party with the centrist HaTnuah of Tzipi Livni (seen below), who likewise sounded dejected about the returns.
Click here for the full story
From The Times of Israel
Americans largely back Iran talks, poll finds
68% of US citizens say negotiations with Islamic Republic are best way to curb country’s nuclear ambitions
March 17, 2015, 6:17 pm
A vast majority of US citizens view ongoing direct negotiations between world powers and Iran as imperative in order to curb the Islamic Republic’s nuclear capabilities, according to a new CNN/ORC poll published Tuesday.
The survey found that 68 percent of Americans favor talks with Iran, while only 29% oppose them. Among Democratic party voters, 77% percent said they support nuclear negotiations, as did 65% of Republicans and 64% of independents.
Close to half of respondents (49%) said they believe Republican senators were wrong to send a letter addressed to Iranian leaders cautioning against a nuclear deal with the United States, but only 39% said the move harmed efforts to hold Iran back from developing nuclear weapons. Sixty-seven percent of Democrats said the letter was inappropriate, while 52% of Republicans agreed with the senators’ provocative move. Among independents, 47% thought the senators had gone too far, and 42% said the letter was warranted.
Forty-eight percent said they had more confidence in President Barack Obama than in Republicans legislators with regard to the Iranian nuclear issue, while 39% put their trust in Obama’s critics in Congress.
The poll was conducted by phone on March 13-15 among 1,009 respondents and claimed a 3% margin of error.
Click here for the full story
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Idaho state lawmaker’s attack on Hinduism draws Jewish demands for apology
WASHINGTON (JTA) — An Idaho state senator’s description of Hinduism as “a false faith with false Gods” drew calls from Jewish clergy for an apology.
Sen. Sheryl Nuxoll joined two other Republican senators in refusing to attend the daily invocation on March 3 because a Hindu chaplain, Rajan Zed, led it.
Nuxoll was quoted by The Associated Press as saying that she refused to attend because she sees the United States as a Christian nation.
“Hindu is a false faith with false gods,” she said. “I think it’s great that Hindu people can practice their religion but since we’re the Senate, we’re setting an example of what we, Idaho, believe.”
Click here for the full story
From Russia Today
If Damascus falls, Europe won’t be far behind – US senator
Published time: March 19, 2015 02:11
As a new report details the devastation wrought upon Syria by four years of rebellion, a Virginia state senator who once thanked the Syrian government for defending Christians is worried about the fate of Damascus, the Middle East and Europe.
“If Damascus falls, the dreaded black and white flag of ISIS will fly” over Syria, Virginia state Senator Richard Black told RT. “Within a period of months after the fall of Damascus, Jordan will fall and Lebanon will fall,” he said, adding that the self-proclaimed Islamic State would then target Europe next.
Black is no stranger to the Syrian crisis. Last year, he wrote a letter thanking the government in Damascus for a “gallant and effective campaign” to liberate Christian villages on the border with Lebanon. Most Americans are not aware that Christianity started in present-day Syria, he pointed out.
Years of US interventions in the Middle East and elsewhere have resulted in vast numbers of displaced Christians in Syria, Iraq and the Balkans. “If you look at the history of American involvement,” since the first Iraq war, Black told RT, “the one central theme has been that in each instance we’ve purged Christians from various countries.” Christians who lived in Kosovo for over a thousand years “are gone, completely annihilated.”
Click here for the full story
From Russia Today
100,000 gather in central Moscow to celebrate Crimea reunification
Some 100,000 people, according to police estimates, gathered near Red Square in Moscow on Wednesday to celebrate the anniversary of Crimea’s reunification with Russia. President Putin joined the event and sang the Russian national anthem on stage.
The gala show, titled “We are together“, included a rally and a concert. It was organized by Moscow City Hall. Marking a year since Crimea joined Russia, the rally was attended by over 100,000 participants, RIA Novosti reported.
From Russia Today
IQ au lait: Breastfed babies grow up more intelligent, earn more – study
Published time: March 18, 2015 17:46
Breastfeeding affects intelligence, education and income of adults in the future, according to evidence from a long-term study in Brazil. Those who were breastfed longer grew up with higher IQs and better-paid jobs.
A prospective birth cohort study from Brazil first enrolled almost 6,000 newborns three decades ago; from 2012 to 2013 nearly 3,500 of the participants were available for further research with interviews and IQ tests to find out the “association between breastfeeding and intelligence, educational attainment, and income at 30 years of age.”
The analysis, published in the Lancet Global Health magazine, showed that those who were breastfed for 12 months or more had higher IQ scores (with a difference of 3.76 points), more years of education, and higher monthly income than participants who were breastfed for less than a month.
According to Brazilian researchers, some evidence of similar positive effects of breastfeeding has been available before, but it has generally come from high-income countries. There was a question of whether the effects observed in other studies were a consequence of breastfeeding itself, or were associated with the status of the researched families.
The newly-published study was not limited to any particular group of people with similar social backgrounds and earnings, but rather evenly distributed across social classes in Brazil. The higher income of those breastfed babies 30 years later was not a result of their families’ background, researchers claimed.
Click here for the full story
From Ynet News
1,200 Jews attend aliyah mega event in NY
Event hosted by Nefesh B’Nefesh aims to help potential new immigrants to Israel make informed choices by participating in seminars and workshops and meeting with professionals from a variety of aliyah-related fields.
More than 1,200 people attended an aliyah mega event in New York City on Sunday, which was organized by Nefesh B’Nefesh (NBN) together with the Jewish Agency for Israel, Israel’s Ministry of aliyah and Immigrant Absorption Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael and JNF-USA, in a bid to help potential new immigrants to Israel make informed choices.
The participants who flocked to the Crowne Plaza Times Square took part in aliyah-related seminars and workshops and visit an Israeli vendor marketplace. Israeli professionals from a variety of aliyah-related fields, including shippers, accountants, financial planners, insurance, healthcare, real estate, universities and more, helped prospective olim advance their aliyah plans.
Real estate developers and agents and the Israel Scouts’ Garin Tzabar also attended the event.
From the Jewish Daily Forward
We’re All Letting Bibi Off the Hook for Racism
By Sigal Samuel
What would happen if an Israeli coffee chain started a #RaceTogether campaign like Starbucks’? Nothing good, that’s what. Getty Images/Starbucks
Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed everyone’s worst fears about him when he launched a last-minute fear campaign on Tuesday, warning that “Arab voters are coming out in droves to the polls” — and proving that he is perfectly happy to win an election using racism.
Depressingly, predictably, Bibi’s “the-Arabs-are-coming” bugaboo worked like a dream on the Israeli public, shoring up his base by swinging the right-wing vote toward him. But how will it play in America?
Click here for the full story
