--- title: "While you were sleeping: 28 September 2017" description: "New US tax reform proposed, Facebook hits back at Trump, and life on earth could be 3.95bn years old at least." type: "NewsArticle" publisher: "Daily Maverick" site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za" section: "South Africa" author: "John Stupart" author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/johnstupart/" canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2017-09-28-while-you-were-sleeping-28-september-2017/" published: "2017-09-28T06:00:35" lang: "en-ZA" word_count: 749 --- # While you were sleeping: 28 September 2017 > New US tax reform proposed, Facebook hits back at Trump, and life on earth could be 3.95bn years old at least. By John Stupart · Published 28 September 2017, 08:00 SAST ## Content **Thursday, 28 September 2017** *“You didn’t need to play \[the album\] backward, because we never hid \[the messages\]. We’d call an album Highway To Hell, there it was right in front of them.”* **Angus Young, AC/DC's guitarist, on the "hidden" satanic overtones in their iconic album.** ![Image](https://i2.createsend1.com/ei/d/6F/44B/2F1/csimport/849x493q70170927_FINAL-for-DM_Trillian-whis.060551.jpg) STORY OF THE DAY [amaBhungane: How Gupta-linked firm scored big by connecting officials and consultants – whistle-blower](http://email.touchbasepro.com/t/d-l-uyuhkyt-l-p/) By SUSAN COMRIE for AMABHUNGANE Bianca Goodson, the former chief executive of a Gupta-linked consulting firm, has broken her silence 18 months after resigning in dismay. She has released a detailed statement and 65 annexures, charging that her former firm, Trillian Management Consulting, facilitated access to decision-makers for consulting multinationals McKinsey and Oliver Wyman. In return for this political capital, she states, Trillian was to get up to half the fees in lucrative consulting contracts with state entities. Goodson initially started preparing her statement for the expected parliamentary inquiry into state capture, but after repeated delays decided to make it public via the Platform for the Protection of Whistle-blowers in Africa (PPLAAF). [Facebook chief hits back at Trump insults](http://email.touchbasepro.com/t/d-l-uyuhkyt-l-x/) Facebook head Mark Zuckerberg has criticised President Donald Trump for calling the social media platform "anti-Trump". Zuckerberg defended Facebook, indicating that: "Trump says Facebook is against him. Liberals say we helped Trump." Neither side of the political fence, it seems, like an open, unfiltered platform. [Drastic changes to US tax code proposed](http://email.touchbasepro.com/t/d-l-uyuhkyt-l-m/) Republicans unveiled President Trump's proposed tax reforms while you were asleep. A 15% drop in corporate tax was revealed, along with a 4.5% reduction in taxes for the middle class. Reduction in tax brackets and an end to inheritance tax were all tabled. Critics have explained that this could contribute to not only the greatest fattening of the already-rich in history, but add a hefty $7-trillion to the national deficit. [Life on earth could be 3.95-bn years old](http://email.touchbasepro.com/t/d-l-uyuhkyt-l-c/) That would be a lot of candles on a cake, but scientists believe that they have established a more accurate date of when life on earth could have dated back to. Graphite grains in sedimentary rock have been dated 3.95-billion years back, at a time when the planet barely held enough oxygen to support life at all. Although older estimates existed before the discovery, the researchers appeared to have gained a more accurate marker. [Airbnb enters restaurant reservation business](http://email.touchbasepro.com/t/d-l-uyuhkyt-l-q/) Airbnb have partnered with a reservations company to begin providing American users with an option to book a table. Resy, a minority shareholder in the new venture, will help provide options to book at over 700 restaurants in 16 US cities. If successful, you can very much expect this to arrive on your digital shores soon. — IN NUMBERS 3 The number of men responsible for creating the song behind Beyonce's heavily resampled rendition of “Run the World (Girls)”. FACTS OF THE DAY Today is **World Rabies Day.** DO NOT hug a feral dassie today. Or any other day for that matter. 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