Maverick Life
While you were sleeping: 7 January 2016
NETFLIX comes to South Africa, North Korea gets its attention, and Holms announces title defence.
“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”
| WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING |
Put away the proxies and cancel your VPN subscriptions, NETFLIX is live in South Africa. While probably unwelcome news for satellite television providers, the $7.99 a month subscription will be a welcome tonic of affordable entertainment for regular South Africans. A host of movies and series, as well as various sport options, are all on offer. It is unclear whether it will be signal jammer-proof during SONA2016, however.
The United Nations has vowed to take action against North Korea following its nuclear test. North Korean officials confirmed the testing of a hydrogen bomb underground. Security Council bigwigs have called the testing a “clear threat to international security”. Whether this would translate into any actual meaningful action remains unclear.
TransCanada is to sue the United States for damages resulting from the cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline project. The Obama administration opted to cancel the project, causing TransCanada to seek $15 billion in damages. The company has called the decision by the US government “arbitrary and unjustified.”
The launch of the virtual reality headset Oculus Rift has fans bitterly disappointed. The price tag, a cool $599, was a last-minute shock to customers anticipating a cost several hundred dollars cheaper. With the price set so high, the Oculus Rift may potentially have lost its key marketable trait: affordability. Costing more than a console and requiring a seriously-powerful computer to operate, the headset is now firmly for the one percenters.
UFC women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm has announced her title defence match. This will be scheduled to take place before the much-anticipated Ronda Rousey rematch. Although not yet confirmed, it is widely expected that Holm’s opponent will be former Strikeforce champion Miesha Tate. The Rousey rematch, originally slated for July, may be pushed back.
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| IN NUMBERS |
102/148 Temba Bavuma’s runs/balls score during the Protea’s grueling second test in Newlands.
Today last year two gunmen attacked the premises of French satire magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris. 12 were killed in the attack and another 11 injured.
Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane launches a new ‘controversial’ jobs campaign billboard today. Look for the offending sign in Johannesburg. The ANCYL will be attempting to shut Standard Bank down today. They are calling for Jenny Sparrow’s banking counterpart, Chris Hart, to be dismissed.
Fact of the day: Roughly half of Cuba’s parliamentarians are women.
Weather:
Bloemfontein: min: 25° max: 36°, sunny
Cape Town: min: 19° max: 25°, cloudy
Durban: min: 22° max: 27°, rainy
Cape Town: min: 19° max: 25°, cloudy
Durban: min: 22° max: 27°, rainy
East London: min: 22° max: 26°, rainy
Johannesburg: min: 20° max: 25°, rainy
Kimberley: min: 20° max: 36°, cloudy
Nelspruit: min: 26° max: 37°, sunny
Pietermaritzburg: min: 18° max: 26°, rainy
Polokwane: min: 18° max: 37°, sunny
Port Elizabeth: min: 18° max: 23°, rainy
Pretoria: min: 20° max: 37°, sunny
Johannesburg: min: 20° max: 25°, rainy
Kimberley: min: 20° max: 36°, cloudy
Nelspruit: min: 26° max: 37°, sunny
Pietermaritzburg: min: 18° max: 26°, rainy
Polokwane: min: 18° max: 37°, sunny
Port Elizabeth: min: 18° max: 23°, rainy
Pretoria: min: 20° max: 37°, sunny
| NOW ON DAILY MAVERICK |
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