May survives mutiny, Cohen sentenced, California's wildfire aftermath

[Click here for the web version of this email]( [FIRST THING With John Stupart]( Thursday, 13 December 2018 “Well, why do you want a political career? Have you ever been in the House of Commons and taken a good square look at the inmates? As weird a gaggle of freaks and sub-humans as was ever collected in one spot.” PG Wodehouse Story of the Day [South African at centre of bid for Pentagon data cloud linked to Kremlin insider]( By Marianne Thamm While South African, Andre Pienaar, founder of C5 Capital and exposed as the mysterious “Luciano” in the leaked “Zuma spy tapes” saga, is involved in a bid for the Jedi Pentagon Project – a cyber-cloud that will store highly sensitive data including US nuclear codes – he has also been linked to Ukrainian-born Russian oligarch, Viktor Vekselberg, who has close links to the Kremlin. [Advertisement] While You Were Sleeping [May survives no confidence ambush]( UK Prime Minister Theresa May has survived a mutiny by her fellow conservatives. Despite over a third of her party voting to oust her, May emerged battered but unbowed. In a concession to her mutineers, May acknowledged that she would probably not be leading her party in the 2022 elections. May will now head to Brussels to attempt to scratch out further concessions on her Brexit deal in order to get her bloody bill voted in. [Cohen off to prison]( Donald Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen has been sentenced to three years in prison. Accepting full responsibility for his crimes, an emotional Cohen stated that it had been his "duty to cover up his dirty deeds". Mueller's investigation has evidently gained valuable insight into the manner in which Trump conducted his illicit activities, despite Cohen ultimately lying to the FBI. [California Wildfires see billions in insurance claims]( A minimum of $9-billion has been reached in insurance claims related to the destructive California wildfires. With fires killing 89 and destroying 19,000 homes, the cost has skyrocketed as owners and victims seek to recoup costs from their insurers. [Israel prepared to strike Iran]( Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that his country would be prepared to strike Iran should Israel be threatened. The prime minister alluded to a "red line" event that would trigger Israel's response. Speaking to media on Wednesday, Netanyahu stated: "We do what is necessary to protect the state of Israel against the Iranian regime that openly calls for the annihilation of the Jewish state." [Advertisement] Picture of the Day By EPA-EFE/PATRICK SEEGER Police officers stand guard near the Christmas market where a deadly shooting took place in Strasbourg, France, on 11 December 2018. In Numbers 37% The percentage of purchased videogames on Steam that are never played. Facts of the Day Today in 2003 Saddam Hussein is captured in an operation in Tikrit, Iraq. Pencils historically had zero lead in them. Featured Articles [How the EFF dominates the disinformation market]( By Ferial Haffajee [After more than a decade of capture, Eskom may finally succeed in breaking the public purse]( By Marianne Merten [ConCourt slams Zuma for signing unconstitutional SADC deal]( By Greg Nicolson [BMW M760Li xDrive vs Jaguar XJR575: Clash of the Titans]( By Deon Schoeman [Sick building, Sick department: Unhealthy environment at head office]( By Kerry Cullinan [Don’t expect a win: Expropriation has muddied the land reform field]( By Nhlanhla Cyril Mbatha [School principal charged after sexual harassment case]( By GroundUp [Police murder-suicide reveals South Africa’s dark underbelly]( By ISS Today Opinionistas [Our Eskom Fork in the Road]( A column by Dirk De Vos [Christmas, like love, does not have to be a literal truth]( A column by Alan Storey [Who should lead the effort to fix the country? All South Africans]( A column by Andrew Ihsaan Gasnolar [Does Religion have a role to play in society? Pre-Interview Thoughts]( A column by Siya Khumalo Weather BFN: min: 16° max: 33°, sunny CPT: min: 14° max: 21°, cloudy DBN: min: 19° max: 25°, cloudy EL: min: 18° max: 25°, rainy JHB: min: 16° max: 31°, sunny NLP: min: 18° max: 38°, cloudy PE: min: 17° max: 22°, cloudy PMB:min: 17° max: 27°, cloudy Financial Data Oil=$60.88 Gold=$1,244.56 Platinum=$ R/$=14.14 R/€=16.06 R/£=17.85 JSE All Share=51,598.10 DJIA=24,720.88 BTC$=3 434 [Advertisement] [FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO A FRIEND]( [Fb] [Tweet] [Link] [Yt] Copyright © 2018 Daily Maverick, All rights reserved. You are receiving this mail because you are awesome and on the Daily Maverick First Thing subscriber list. Interested in advertising with us? [Click here to sign the pact.](mailto:advertising@dailymaverick.co.za?subject=Advertising%20query%3A%20First%20Thing%20Mailers) [Getting too many emails from us? Manage your preferences]( [Unsubscribe](