--- title: "While you were sleeping: 10 October 2017" description: "Wildfires ravage California, Catalan speech could determine independence, and Atlantic wind farms could save us all." 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/2017-10-10-while-you-were-sleeping-10-october-2017/" published: "2017-10-10T05:55:08" lang: "en-ZA" word_count: 699 --- # While you were sleeping: 10 October 2017 > Wildfires ravage California, Catalan speech could determine independence, and Atlantic wind farms could save us all. By John Stupart · Published 10 October 2017, 07:55 SAST ## Content **Tuesday, 10 October 2017** *“Better do a good deed near at home than go far away to burn incense.”* **Amelia Earhart** ![Image](https://i2.createsend1.com/ei/d/E9/564/028/csimport/849x493q70merten-zizi-holomisa1.050317.jpg) STORY OF THE DAY [ANC Leadership Race: Zweli Mkhize is Zuma’s chosen one, Dlamini Zuma just a decoy, says Holomisa](http://subscriptions.touchbasepro.com/t/d-l-ujkdutl-l-x/) By MARIANNE MERTEN In the Byzantine manoeuvrings and sleight of hand of the ANC presidential succession race, anything is possible. And for United Democratic Movement (UDM) leader Bantu Holomisa it is that former African Union Commission chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma is the decoy to distract as the real game plan is lined up. And so the third way of ANC Treasurer Zweli Mkhize was “nonsense”. [California ravaged by wildfires](http://subscriptions.touchbasepro.com/t/d-l-ujkdutl-l-m/) More than a dozen wildfires have rampaged through California, killing at least 10 people. Hundreds of homes were destroyed in blazes fanned by 80km/h winds. California's fire service has noted that at least 30,000 hectares of ground have been burned, and 20,000 locals evacuated. [Catalan leader to make independence speech today](http://subscriptions.touchbasepro.com/t/d-l-ujkdutl-l-c/) Today, Catalonia might celebrate its independence day, of a sort. The region's leader Carles Puigdemont is set to address lawmakers in a speech that many hope will be an outright declaration. If so, you can be assured that Madrid will not take the matter lightly. With 7.5-million people living in Catalonia, a peaceful solution now seems further away than ever. [Russia makes threat to US media](http://subscriptions.touchbasepro.com/t/d-l-ujkdutl-l-q/) Russia's government has threatened American media working in the country with new legal restrictions. Affected media agencies were slapped with a letter threatening them with the "unacceptability of breaching Russian law". The move was a direct retaliation for US-directed measures against RT, a Russian-backed media house with a presence in America. [Atlantic wind farms could power everyone](http://subscriptions.touchbasepro.com/t/d-l-ujkdutl-l-a/) A new study released on Monday has revealed that wind farms on the open Atlantic ocean could save us all, energy-wise. Researchers at the Carnegie Institution for Science claimed that wind farms in the Atlantic, where high wind speeds exist, could generate five times as much energy as land-based turbines. The technology for such wind farms does not exist, however. Elon Musk's ears are tingling right about now. — IN NUMBERS $5 The raise denied to Hugh Hefner when working as a copywriter for Esquire magazine. Hefner resigned after the refusal and published Playboy 11 months later. FACTS OF THE DAY Today is **World Porridge Day**. It is also, more importantly to the porridge-averse, **World Mental Health Day**. **Bladerunner**(1980s version) is a visual feast due in large part to the Hollywood Actors Strike. 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