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While you were sleeping: 4 July 2017

While you were sleeping: 4 July 2017
John Stupart
By John Stupart
4 Jul 2017
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Macron to slash MP numbers, North Korea launches missile, and Williams in tears over accident.





“I'd rather die my way than live yours.” 
Lauren Oliver




 



 















In which ANC delegates, numbering roughly 4,000, converge on Johannesburg’s Nasrec convention centre in order to decide on stuff like whether or not White Monopoly Capital exists. Regardless, as has happened in the past, the consensus of the many can be overturned by plenaries of the few. It’s a scenario that Khrushchev would have found familiar – although the coffee is probably worse than any brewed during Soviet Russia’s darkest moments of deprivation. But in a country that is starting to engage in a conversation about the outsized role of political parties in democracy’s architecture, the conference will probably terrify those hoping not only for rational leaders, but for a revised means of choosing them. In this, the only thing the conference attendees are not pretending not to discuss is something South Africa desperately requires to move itself forward: the reformation of our electoral system, so we’re voting for people, not parties. 





 



 



 









Macron to cut MP numbers drastically



President Emmanuel Macron promised on Monday evening to enact a "profound transformation" of French politics. A third of MPs will be cut, for one thing. The announcement was made from Versailles palace, making the cuts particularly poetic. Threatening a referendum if French politicians get uppity over the cuts, Macron went on to stress that France "preferred procedures to results, rules to initiative, a society where you live off inherited wealth, to a just society".





 





New ballistic missile test fired in North Korea



Dear Leader has launched another ballistic missile today. Following hot on the heels of a Trump/Moon meeting to discuss North Korea, the launch saw a medium-range ballistic missile land in the Sea of Japan. As usual, expect the standard clucking diplomatic tongues from Japan, US and South Korea.





 









Williams in tears over accident question



Day One of Wimbledon saw reporters in a characteristically "sensitive" mood, questioning Venus Williams over her recent road accident in which one person was killed. Williams burst into tears at the question, saying she was "speechless" over the accident. In terms of actual tennis, Williams defeated Belgium's Elise Mertens in the first round 7-6, 6-4 to proceed.





 





Testosterone a major boost for female athletes



A study sponsored by the sporting agency seeking to ban hyperandrogenism-affected athletes has revealed that runners born with high testosterone levels enjoy a "significant competitive advantage". The research was funded by the IAAF and WADA and published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. The results are guaranteed to create another storm of speculation and discrimination for South Africa's Caster Semenya and India's Dutee Chand, for example. 





 









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IN NUMBERS


59.3



The maximum percentage of total kinetic energy wind turbines can capture from wind, regardless of design. This is termed the "Betz Limit".





 









FACTS OF THE DAY



Today is America's Independence Day. Never has the US needed Will Smith, an alien invasion, and giant motherships hovering over the White House more.


A "butt load" is an actual unit of measurement. It's the equivalent of 490 litres of ale or 570 litres of wine.





 
















 









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OPINIONISTAS



























Cheap alternative to costly green tech


A column by IVO VEGTER



 










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