Random News: January 20, 2024

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 January 20, 2024, and it’s a Saturday. And unfortunately, it’s a work day for me. I can’t complain; it’s good to have a job and to be needed… and trust me, my services are very needed at the moment. Let’s do a quick look around and see what’s interesting out there.

• There are signs of disagreement among top Israeli officials over the direction of the war against Hamas, now in its fourth month.
• Gadi Eisenkot, a former army chief, said that claims the dozens of hostages could be freed by means other than a cease-fire amounted to spreading “illusions” — a criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who heads the five-member War Cabinet and who insists that pursuing the war will win their release.
• Eisenkot’s statements came as some relatives of hostages have intensified their protests, a sign of mounting frustration over the government’s seeming lack of progress toward a deal to release the remaining captives.
• Meanwhile, communications began to gradually return in Gaza after a nearly eight-day blackout, the longest such cutoff since the war began. The phone and internet blackout made it nearly impossible for people in Gaza to communicate with the outside world or within the territory, hampering deliveries of humanitarian aid and rescue efforts amid continued Israeli bombardment.
• Sigh. Less war, please.
• In other news, Japan’s “Moon Sniper” robotic explorer landed on the lunar surface yesterday. The touchdown makes Japan the third country this century — and the fifth ever — to land on the moon.
• The mission may end prematurely, since the spacecraft’s solar cell is not generating electricity. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said it is currently receiving a signal from the lander, but currently, the lander is operating on limited battery power.
• Still, congrats on this amazing feat. Putting anything on the moon, which is located about 250,000 miles from Earth, is a massive achievement.
• Moving on.
• Donnie Dump had a little public dementia episode yesterday when he referred to GOP rival Nikki Haley instead of Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) when discussing the January 6 failed coup attempt.
• “Nikki Haley, you know they, do you know they destroyed all of the information, all of the evidence, everything, deleted and destroyed all of it. All of it because of lots of things like Nikki Haley is in charge of security. We offered her 10,000 people, soldiers, National Guard, whatever they want. They turned it down. They don’t want to talk about that. These are very dishonest people,” the unstable and demented Dump said.
• Fact check: first, no information was destroyed and in fact, House Speaker Johnson recently released thousands of hours of footage to the public,
• Bigger fact check: Nikki Haley was not at the Capitol and was not in charge of security. About the only thing correct about Demented Don’s statement was that both Nancy and Nikki start with the letter “N”.
• Nikki is obviously on Dump’s mind. Earlier in the day yesterday, he mocked her birth name on social media, the latest example of the former president keying on race and ethnicity to attack people of color.
• Dump repeatedly referred to Haley, the daughter of immigrants from India, as “Nimbra.” Haley, the former South Carolina governor, was born in Bamberg, South Carolina, as Nimarata Nikki Randhawa. She has always gone by her middle name, “Nikki.” She took the surname “Haley” upon her marriage in 1996.
• What a buffoon. I’m starting to feel like he’s not going to be around much longer.
• Let’s move on.
• Yesterday, police cleared the ousted chair of the Florida Republican Party of rape allegations, but said they have asked prosecutors to charge him with illegally video recording the sexual encounter he had with a female acquaintance.
• A review of a cellphone video Christian Ziegler made of the encounter showed that it was likely consensual, making it impossible to charge him with rape. However, police said the woman told investigators that she never consented to be video recorded and was unaware it had occurred.
• That’s a crime, kids. Under Florida law, video voyeurism is a third-degree felony that is punishable by up to five years in prison.
• His wife, Bridget Ziegler, is a prominent conservative who co-founded the Moms for Liberty organization and is also an elected member of the Sarasota County school board.
• She told detectives that she, her husband, and the other woman had engaged in sex. As is typical with Republican leaders, the more they protest something, the more likely it is that they themselves have participated in it.
• Moving on.
• Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) was furious this week after Congress passed a bill that will prevent a partial government shutdown. She really, really wanted that shutdown to happen.
• Her opposition was focused on US funding for Ukraine in its defense against Russia. She also claimed the war in Ukraine was "pretty much over."
• Republicans in the House failed to muster enough votes to pass 12 individual spending bills. Way to go. Slow clap.
• California’s next governor will not, for the first time in history, be a white man. It’s about fucking time.
• The field for the person who will replace Governor Gavin. Newsom in 2026 (who will be termed out) now includes state Senate leader Toni Atkins, the first out lesbian to be Assembly Speaker, as well as the first woman and LGBTQ+ person to lead California’s Senate. that’s in addition to current Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, former state controller Betty Yee, attorney general Rob Bonta (who is Filipino American), and Tony Thurmond, the state schools chief (who is Black).
• In other news…
• Yesterday, a grand jury indicted Alec Baldwin on an involuntary manslaughter charge in the deadly shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the New Mexico set of "Rust," months after prosecutors dropped their case against the actor over her death.
• Honestly, in my opinion, this is fucking bullshit. An actor is not a weapons expert. When someone is handed a weapon onstage or on a film set by someone whose job it is to ensure safety, how can they be liable for anything that transpires after?
• And now, The Weather: “No Matter How” by Torrey
• Rest in peace to Mary Weiss, the former lead singer of the 1960s pop girl group The Shangri-Las. She died yesterday at 75.
• Weiss rose to fame with The Shangri-Las as a teenager, powering hits about teenage love and tragedy including "Remember (Walking in the Sand)" and "Leader of the Pack.” The Shangri-Las' tough-girl image helped them stand out from other girl groups.
• Got a chart for you. It’s Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks from this week in 1995. Did you know 1995 was 29 years ago? You know now.
• Fun Fact: The time frame between 1995 and now is the same as from 1966 to 1995. Yikes.
• Anyway, here are some Gen X songs or whatever.
• 1. When I Come Around (Green Day). 2. Bang And Blame (R.E.M.). 3. Better Man (Pearl Jam). 4. Buddy Holy (Weezer). 5. Love Spreads (The Stone Roses). 6. Gotta Get Away (Offspring). 7. Zombie (The Cranberries). 8. About A Girl (Nirvana). 9. Sour Times (Portishead). 10. Everything Zen (Bush). 11. Interstate Love Song (Stone Temple Pilots). 12. She Don’t Use Jelly (The Flaming Lips). 13. Doll Parts (Hole). 14. Fell On Black Days (Soundgarden). 15. I Alone (Live). 16. 21st Century (Digital Boy) (Bad Religion). 17. Seether (Veruca Salt). 18. Landslide (Smashing Pumpkins). 19. Hahah (Mazzy Star). 20. Piggy (Nine Inch Nails).
• From the Sports Desk… today’s NFL Division Round playoff games have the Houston Texans at the Baltimore Ravens at 1:30PM PST, and the Green Bay Packers at San Francisco 49ers at 5:15PM PST.
• The Ravens are favored by -9.5, and the 49ers are favored by -10. I don’t really have a dog in the race, so some upsets would be fun.
• Today in history… The first English parliament to include not only Lords but also representatives of the major towns holds its first meeting in the Palace of Westminster, now commonly known as the "Houses of Parliament” (1265). Portuguese forces under the command of Estácio de Sá definitively drive the French out in the Battle of Rio de Janeiro (1567). The High Court of Justice for the trial of Charles I begins its proceedings (1649). The third and main part of First Fleet arrives at Botany Bay, beginning the British colonization of Australia (1788). Hong Kong Island is occupied by the British during the First Opium War (1841). The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Harbor as a naval base (1887). Newly formed automaker General Motors  buys into the Oakland Motor Car Company, which later becomes GM's long-running Pontiac division (1909). The first full-length talking motion picture filmed outdoors, In Old Arizona, is released (1929). King George V of the United Kingdom dies and his eldest son succeeds to the throne, becoming Edward VIII (1936). Franklin D. Roosevelt and John Nance Garner are sworn in for their second terms as U.S. President and U.S. Vice President; it is the first time a Presidential Inauguration takes place on January 20 since the 20th Amendment changed the dates of presidential terms (1937). John F. Kennedy is inaugurated the 35th President of the United States of America, becoming the youngest man to be elected into that office (1961). Ronald Reagan is inaugurated as the 40th President of the United States of America (1981). Martin Luther King Jr. Day is celebrated as a federal holiday for the first time (1986). Barack Obama is inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States of America, becoming the first African-American President of the United States (2009). Joe Biden is inaugurated as the 46th President of the United States of America; at age 78, he is the oldest person ever inaugurated (2021). Kamala Harris becomes the first female Vice President of the United States (2021).
• January 20 is the birthday of composer Johann Hermann Schein (1586), lawyer/politician Richard Henry Lee (1732), botanist Carl Linnaeus the Younger (1741), physicist André-Marie Ampère (1775), suffragist Harriot Stanton Blatch (1856), mafia boss/politician Enoch L. Johnson (1883), musician/songwriter Lead Belly (1888), actor George Burns (1896), businessman Aristotle Onassis (1906), pianist/composer Juan García Esquivel (1918), director Federico Fellini (1920), actor DeForest Kelley (1920), singer-songwriter Slim Whitman (1923), actress Patricia Neal (1926), comedian Arte Johnson (1929), astronaut Buzz Aldrin (1930), director David Lynch (1946), singer-songwriter Paul Stanley (1952), sex offender Jeffrey Epstein (1953), comedian/commentator Bill Maher (1956), MLB player/manager Ozzie Guillén (1964), actor Rainn Wilson (1966), political strategist Kellyanne Conway (1967), musician/producer Questlove (1971), and politician Nikki Haley (1972).

As I said, it’s a work day for me, but I’m not going to stress about it. I’ll just get my stuff done and go on with life. Enjoy your day.