Tuesday, 10th January
“History is not made by great dreams, but by the petty wants of all respectable, moderately thievish and selfish people, that is, of everyone. All our ideas, loves, plans, heroic ideals, all these lofty things are worthless.”
Karel ?apek
If one was running a competition to determine who had fired the starting gun for this year’s ANC leadership campaign, you would probably have to give the prize to the ANC Women’s League. On Saturday night they became the first organ of the ANC (as opposed to members of the Alliance) to formally call for a particular person to be the new leader of the party. A lot has been said about why they did it, and the smackdown that was swiftly administered by ANC Secretary-General Gwede Mantashe. But the league’s proposal seems to be almost fatally flawed, not just because they jumped the gun, but because of the people it wants in the Top Six of the ANC. The Women’s League of today seems to lack any kind of coherent political programme, apart from existing to push for Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma's ascendancy. It is tragic, considering how important the league used to be.
WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING
Trump appoints son-in-law as advisor
Not to be delayed by Meryl Streep at all, Donald Trump has named son-in-law Jared Kushner as his advisor. At 36, Kushner inherited his parents' real estate and publishing empire and is worth an estimated $1.8-billion. Nobody mentioned current anti-nepotism during the Monday announcement.
Mayer to quit Yahoo board after Verizon deal
Yahoo chief executive Marissa Mayer has announced that she will depart from Yahoo's board as soon as the Verizon merger is completed. Mayer intends to remain on board with the core
Drone swarm successfully tested
The Pentagon announced on Monday that it had successfully tested a swarm of
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The LAPD have arrested a suspect who they believe defaced the Hollywood sign to depict '
IN NUMBERS
384,912
The number of years requested for the longest prison sentence in history. It was for a Spanish postman who had failed to deliver over 42,000 letters. He only spent just over 14 years in prison.
FACT OF THE DAY
Today in 1806 Cape Town is surrendered to the British by Dutch settlers.
Microwaving a sliced grape could cause it to explode into a ball of superheated plasma.
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