Random News: October 9, 2023

DISCLAIMER: Zak's Random News is very random and doesn't cover many things, and not everything may be accurate, because I'm just some guy. Go find a real news source.

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Good morning. It’s October 9, 2023, and it’s a Monday. It’s pitch black dark when I get up and showered and dressed this time of year; the sun is just now turning the sky a lighter shade of gray. It’s time to look at some news…

• Something I want you to keep in mind regarding the current flare-up of the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
• Not every Palestinian is a terrorist. Imagine living in America but everyone from other countries assumes you are a MAGA ( as I’m sure is likely the case from time to time).
• When Hamas launched their attack on Israel Saturday morning, Palestinians living in the besieged strip had mixed feelings. And yes, some celebrated, taking pride in what they perceived as a victory against Israel. Others, however, were afraid, dreading a deadly retaliation.
• No strangers to war with Israel, many Gazans are sheltering in their homes, with the vast majority lacking access to bunkers. The territory is one of the most densely populated places on earth, where some 2 million people live in an area of 140 square miles.
• Anyway, just a reminder. Countries can be condemned for their government’s actions, and terrorist organizations can as well (and should be). But it’s very rare that the majority of the people in any place are supportive of aggressive actions against their neighbors. Sometimes people aren’t even aware of what their people in power are doing.
• Most people just want to live in peace. Try not to fall into the “all Israelis” or “all Palestinians” trap. Or “all Russians”. Or “all Americans”.
• And definitely not “all men”, “all Democrats”, “all cops”, “all Republicans”, “all gays”, or whatever other sweeping generalization you’re about to say.
• One of the things that angers me the most about this attack is that Hamas targeted the open-air Supernova music festival. Young people out having a good time, dancing, listening to live acts and DJs.
• Imagine yourself at a fest like Coachella and suddenly rockets are flying in and people are being mowed down with automatic weapons fire. The festival will go down in Israeli history as the country’s worst civilian massacre. At least 260 people were killed at that event alone, and others were captured who might face fates worse than death.
• Particularly egregious was the report of Shani Louk, a 23-year-old German woman whose naked, battered body was paraded by Hamas terrorists through Gaza in a pickup truck after the attack.
• At least four Americans have been killed in the attacks in Israel, and US officials expect the death toll to rise considerably. Other Americans in the country are missing, and their status in unknown at the present.
• In response to all of this, Israel has announced a total blockade of the already besieged Gaza Strip, including a ban on food and water. Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said today that authorities would cut electricity and block the entry of food and fuel.
• Can you blame them? No. Will the 2.3 million people in the small area, many of who are certainly not terrorists themselves, pay an awful price? Yes.
• And this is why war and violent terrorism are fucking awful ways to settle conflicts. No one ever really wins.
• A point I want to revisit from yesterday: due to the Hamas attack, the pressure to elect a Speaker of the House to fill the vacant role left by the ouster of Kevin McCarthy has grown exponentially.
• House majority leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) are expected to hold a candidate forum on Tuesday before Wednesday’s internal election.
• Without a Speaker in place, the House cannot pass emergency aid for Israel, or take other similar measures. It’s also not at all certain that a Speaker will be quickly elected, further extending the time frame for the USA to provide help.
• However, the US military is not constrained by these budgetary concerns, and we are deploying an aircraft carrier and other vessels capable of firing guided missiles off the coast of Israel.
• Israel — not Ukraine or elsewhere — is the top recipient of US military aid. It’s interesting that you don’t hear about Republicans blocking entire budgets over aid for Israel.
• Let’s move on for now.
• As I mentioned yesterday, here in the USA, depending on here you live it’s either Columbus Day, Indigenous Peoples’ Day, or, if you’re me, just another fucking Monday.
• I’m not going to write some big opinion piece about Columbus. I will say that for the grand majority of human history, people have used force to conquer and colonize people with less power.
• Columbus was just one of thousands and thousands of people who sought profit and power and fame at the expense of many other human beings. This has gone on since the beginning of time and continues today.
• Moving on.
• Anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is announcing today that he will drop his Democratic bid for president and run as an independent or third-party candidate.
• Kennedy has far better favorability ratings among Republicans than Democrats. Overall he still polls very low compared to Joe Biden or Donald Trump, or even some of the lower-level GOP candidates.
• It’s probably not worth mentioning. Moving on.
• There’s another busy week ahead in the legal world for El Dumpo.
• His $250 million fraud civil trial goes into week two today. On Thursday October 12, a potential major hearing under the federal classified documents case will also take place.
• In other news…
• California Gov. Gavin Newsom rejected a bill yesterday that would have made free condoms available to all public high school students, arguing it was too expensive for a state with a budget deficit of more than $30 billion.
• California had about 1.9 million high school students enrolled in more than 4,000 schools last year. That’s a lot of condoms.
• And now, The Weather: “UH-HUH” by Kevin Holliday
• From the Sports Desk… no less than three starting NFL quarterbacks, at least temporarily, lost their jobs in one day yesterday.
• The Patriots pulled out Mac Jones in the midst of a 34-0 loss to the Saints. The Giants lost QB Daniel Jones after a neck injury during a sack in a loss to the Dolphins. Colts QB Anthony Richardson had a shoulder injury during a victory over the Titans.
• No word yet on the plans for all three for next week’s games.
• Also from the Sports Desk, yesterday was Game 1 of the WNBA Finals. The Las Vegas Aces (1) beat the New York Liberty (2) 99-82. Game 2 is on Wednesday.
• Today in history… Carloman I and Charlemagne — my 39th great-grandfather — are crowned kings of the Franks (768). Kepler’s Supernova is the most recent supernova to be observed within the Milky Way (1604). The Collegiate School of Connecticut — later renamed Yale University — is chartered in Old Saybrook (1701). In a naval engagement on Lake Erie, American forces capture two British ships: HMS Detroit and HMS Caledonia (1812). The siege of Sevastopol begins in the Crimean War (1854). Union cavalrymen defeat Confederate forces at Toms Brook, Virginia (1864). Boulder Dam — later called Hoover Dam — begins to generate electricity and transmit it to Los Angeles (1936). The National Guard is called in as demonstrations continue over the trial of the "Chicago Eight” (1969). ‘Thomas The Tank Engine & Friends’ premieres (1984). Fox Broadcasting Company (FBC) launches as the "fourth" US television network (1984). North Korea conducts its first nuclear test (2006). The Dow Jones Industrial Average reaches its all-time high of 14,164 points before rapidly declining due to the 2007-2008 financial crises (2007). Pakistani Taliban attempt to assassinate outspoken schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai (2021). 
• October 9 is the birthday of composer Camille Saint-Saëns (1835), physicist Karl Schwarzschild (1873), pharmacist/businessman Charles Rudolph Walgreen (1873), actor Alastair Sim (1900), activist Alice Lee Jemison (1901), CIA officer E. Howard Hunt (1918), actor Fyvush Finkel (1922), singer-songwriter/guitarist John Lennon (1940), cartoonist Mike Peters (1943), bass player/songwriter John Entwistle (1944), singer-songwriter/guitarist Jackson Browne (1948), keyboardist/songwriter Rod Temperton (1949), TV host Sharon Osbourne (1952), actor Tony Shaloub (1953), actor Scott Bakula (1954), singer Ini Kamoze (1957), singer-songwriter/producer Al Jourgensen (1958), NFL player Mike Singletary (1958), film director/producer Guillermo del Toro (1964), UK prime minister David Cameron (1966), singer-songwriter PJ Harvey (1969), and singer-songwriter/guitarist Sean Lennon (1975).

Okay. Well, I’d like to live in a world that’s not full of violence and hate. Maybe it’s just me. Apparently most people think that’s impossible, and maybe they’re right. I keep hoping they’re not. Enjoy your day.