While you were sleeping: 5 October 2016

By John Stupart

5 Oct 2016

Vice presidential candidates square off, Wits closes until Monday, and Google unveils the "Pixel".

We will always cry.
But with loving reflection
more than hopeless longing.

And that is how we survive.
That is how the story should end.
That is how they would want it to be.
– Mark Rickerby

Story of the Day

SARS Wars: ROGUE – reclaiming the narrative from the inside out

If there is one destructive narrative that has dominated headlines for two turbulent years it is that of an alleged SARS “rogue unit”. The shocking purge in 2014 of the entire SARS executive – an executive that had managed to transform the country’s revenue collection service into a formidable machine – remains unprecedented in South African history. The just-published Rogue – The Inside Story of SARS’s Elite Crime-Busting Unit, written by former Group Executive Johann van Loggerenberg with ex SARS spokesman Adrian Lackay, is an attempt at telling this remarkable story from the inside out. By MARIANNE THAMM.
Read more

While you were sleeping

Vice presidential debate far more contentious

US vice presidential novitiates Tim Kaine and Mike Pence squared off in a debate last night. The theme of the night's arguments essentially took the form of Kaine launching a full on assault on Pence's tacit support of Trump's idiotic policies. Pence, however, shot back several criticisms of his own relating to Hillary Clinton's track record, particularly on matters of foreign policy. Read More

Wits to stay closed until Monday

The Wits University senior executive team has announced that Wits will remain closed until the 10th October. This followed discussions with the Black Student Society and the SRCs, who appear ready to enter negotiations. Again. With any luck, theresolutions made will be upheld for longer than a week. Read More

Hurricane Matthew crashes into the Dominican Republic

Hurricane Matthew has killed four more people, including three children, in the Dominican Republic. So far seven people have died as a result of the storm, and it has now moved to Haiti, where it has caused extensive damage. Although only 800 were evacuated from its path in the Dominican Republic, 18,000 have been displaced, at least temporarily. Read More

Google reveals 'Pixel' phone

Google has come out guns blazing against Samsung, Apple, Amazon, and just about every other smartphone manufacturer, with its revealing of the 'Pixel'. Sporting hardware similar to an iPhone 7, and with a similar price tag, the Pixel will rely heavily on Google Assistant, the company's AI, to power many of its functions. It also has a headphone jack. Read More

In Numbers

80%

The percentage of North Americans for whom the night sky is so polluted they cannot see the Milky Way. (A third of all humanity cannot see it.)

Facts of the Day

Today is World Teacher's Day. It's also International No Prostitution Day, somehow.

The UN has predicted that the world's population may actually start declining by the year 2100.

Weather

Financial Data

BFN: min: 5° max: 27°, sunny
CPT: min: 16° max: 21°, cloudy
DBN: min: 13° max: 20°, sunny
EL: min: 14° max: 24°, cloudy
JHB: min: 2° max: 26°, sunny
KIM: min: 11° max: 27°, sunny
NLP: min: 7° max: 24°, sunny
PMB: min: 3° max: 22°, cloudy
PKN: min: 6° max: 24°, sunny
PE: min: 14° max: 27°, cloudy
PTA: min: 4° max: 26°, sunny

Oil=$50.67
Gold=$1,311.74
Platinum=$1,006.81
R/$=13.59
R/€=15.24
R/£=17.48
€/$=1.12
JSE All Share=51,658.99
DJIA= 18,235.66
FTSE 100=6,983.52
Source

Now on Daily Maverick

FEATURES

	SARS Wars: ROGUE – reclaiming the narrative from the inside out By Marianne Thamm
	In photos: Violent Clashes at Wits By GroundUp
	Cape Town: No lectures at CPUT, but UWC and UCT open By GroundUp
	GroundUp: ‘We let you down’ – Habib commits to securing Wits as he sends intimidated staff home By GroundUp
	Reporter’s Notebook: Waiting for Godot, South African edition By Marelise van der Merwe
	Op-Ed: We need an Integrity Commission... now By Paul Hoffman
	Ethiopia mourns – but mourns what, exactly? By Simon Allison
	Good news for breast cancer sufferers even as prevalence rises By Marelise van der Merwe
	While you were sleeping: 4 October 2016 By John Stupart