Fists of fury at SONA 2017

[Daily Maverick] FIRST THING with JOHN STUPART TGIF, 10th February 2017 “A city's only ever three hot meals away from anarchy.” Alastair Reynolds STORY OF THE DAY [#SONA2017: Calamity Zuma and the Tenth Circle of Hell]( By RANJENI MUNUSAMY Yes, it is the old normal. Mayhem in the National Assembly. Violent scuffles between MPs and Parliament’s bouncers. A disgraced president chuckling as pandemonium reigns. Empty benches after opposition parties walk out. So what’s new about the 10th State of the Nation Address (SONA) delivered by President Jacob Zuma? Cape Town resembled a military dictatorship with armed soldiers lining the highways, snipers on rooftops and 6,000 police officers holding the city on lockdown. It was the extreme nature of the violence in the House. And then the final destruction of the sanctity of Parliament. South Africa’s Ground Zero. WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING [Fisticuffs and presidential bluffs in Parliament]( SONA 2017 went about as everyone feared. A chuckling Zuma was heckled and resisted by opposition members for over an hour before the white shirt parliamentary goose steppers marched in and waged an unbridled melee with the EFF. The DA left on their own accord, presumably to be allowed a chance at verbal castration of the president during next week's response session. The gallery was hosed with pepper spray, and a general air of hostility prevailed. [The speech itself]( Zuma addressed an empty opposition bench and dozing ANC MPs, but his speech contained little substantive material. Hailing the aversion of a ratings downgrade seemed one major bright spot, but for the fact that this was engineered by the one minister Zuma did not intend to have in his position. Land reform, a hat tip to Oliver Tambo, and lots of noise you've heard already characterised the non-speech of 2017. [US court denies bid to reinstate travel bid]( President Donald Trump has had his bid to resurrect a travel ban overturned by a unanimous US court. The federal appeals court in San Francisco unanimously decided to uphold the ban's illegality. Minutes after the ruling, President Trump tweeted: "SEE YOU IN COURT, THE SECURITY OF OUR NATION IS AT STAKE!" [Drones could help bees pollinate the world]( Japan stepped up late on Thursday to provide a thin slice of pallette-cleansing good news. Researchers have developed a working theory whereby the use of tiny drones coated in horsehair and a gel could help the world's bees pollinate crops. The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology began with ants and worked their way to small drones, with successful pollination attempts throughout. Technology, it seems, is finding a way. — PICTURE OF THE DAY BY EPA/SUMAYA HISHAM Security officials remove members of the Economic Freedom Fighters during the State Of The Nation Address (SONA) by President Zuma in Parliament, Cape Town, South Africa 9 February 2017. More than 400 soldiers have been deployed for the 2017 SONA, the 10th by President Jacob Zuma in his capacity as Head of State. The SONA tables a programme of action for the year and accounts for progress made since the previous commitments in February 2016. IN NUMBERS 70 The number of media houses covering the SONA 2017 shenanigans. FACTS OF THE DAY Today is James Small's birthday. The rugby legend, and Jonah Lomu's worst nightmare in 1995 was born in 1969. NASA accidentally taped over the recording of the moon landing. FEATURED ARTICLES [Bouncers, media measures and high security: Yes, it’s SONA 2017]( [Bouncers, media measures and high security: Yes, it’s SONA 2017]( BY Marianne Merten [Power Deck: How will Zuma deal out his SONA cards?]( [Power Deck: How will Zuma deal out his SONA cards?]( BY Stephen Grootes [Battleground 2019: DA’s election push has already begun]( [Battleground 2019: DA’s election push has already begun]( BY Rebecca Davis [#SONA2017: Calamity Zuma and the Tenth Circle of Hell]( [#SONA2017: Calamity Zuma and the Tenth Circle of Hell]( BY Ranjeni Munusamy [TRAINSPOTTER: #SONA2017 – Democracy ends with a flash-bang, not a whimper]( [TRAINSPOTTER: #SONA2017 – Democracy ends with a flash-bang, not a whimper]( BY Richard Poplak [#SONA2017: The Night of Ultraviolence]( [#SONA2017: The Night of Ultraviolence]( BY Marianne Merten [Reporter’s Notebook: Restive ANC crowds outside the SONA palace walls]( [Reporter’s Notebook: Restive ANC crowds outside the SONA palace walls]( BY Rebecca Davis [SARS WARS: Suspension of the last remaining key official jeopardises ‘Tobacco War’ cases]( [SARS WARS: Suspension of the last remaining key official jeopardises ‘Tobacco War’ cases]( BY Marianne Thamm [Parliament Violence Channel: EFF violently ejected from #SONA2017, DA walks out]( [Parliament Violence Channel: EFF violently ejected from #SONA2017, DA walks out]( BY Marianne Merten [2017 State of the Faction: Where only Might is Right]( [2017 State of the Faction: Where only Might is Right]( BY Stephen Grootes [Op-Ed: ‘Stay on the land’, says Zuma. It hasn’t been for lack of trying.]( [Op-Ed: ‘Stay on the land’, says Zuma. It hasn’t been for lack of trying.]( BY Laurel Oettle [#SONA2017 in Pictures: The night we saw the true state of the nation]( [#SONA2017 in Pictures: The night we saw the true state of the nation]( BY Leila Dee Dougan [2017 State of the Nation Address]( [2017 State of the Nation Address]( BY President Jacob Zuma [In pictures: #SONA2017]( [In pictures: #SONA2017]( BY Leila Dee Dougan [ISS Today: Sailing from Byzantium – Turkey’s venture into Africa]( [ISS Today: Sailing from Byzantium – Turkey’s venture into Africa]( BY ISS TODAY [GroundUp: Marikana case – homeowner in informal settlement asks City to buy her property]( [GroundUp: Marikana case – homeowner in informal settlement asks City to buy her property]( BY GroundUp [GroundUp: Can Joemat-Pettersson make a R1-trillion decision without consulting anyone?]( [GroundUp: Can Joemat-Pettersson make a R1-trillion decision without consulting anyone?]( BY GroundUp [GroundUp: Kumba Iron Ore fights Northern Cape community over asbestos]( [GroundUp: Kumba Iron Ore fights Northern Cape community over asbestos]( BY GroundUp OPINIONISTAS [#SONA2017: Zuma fiddles while democracy burns]( [#SONA2017: Zuma fiddles while democracy burns]( A column by Judith February [State of the Nation: The New Right in South Africa]( [State of the Nation: The New Right in South Africa]( A column by Ivor Chipkin [Time: It steals and it squanders. Just like Zuma.]( [Time: It steals and it squanders. Just like Zuma.]( A column by Andrew Ihsaan Gasnolar [Entrepreneurship in South Africa: Sitting backwards on a donkey riding further away]( [Entrepreneurship in South Africa: Sitting backwards on a donkey riding further away]( A column by Frans Cronje [The Other News Round-Up: When it’s just not cricket]( [The Other News Round-Up: When it’s just not cricket]( A column by Marelise van der Merwe — Weather BFN: min: 17° max: 31°, sunny CPT: min: 19° max: 32°, sunny DBN: min: 22° max: 29°, cloudy EL: min: 22° max: 30°, cloudy JHB: min: 16° max: 28°, PM rain KIM: min: 24° max: 31°, PM rain NLP: min: 16° max: 32°, PM rain PMB: min: 16° max: 27°, rainy PE: min: 19° max: 30°, sunny PTA: min: 19° max: 30°, cloudy Financial Data Oil=$55.70 Gold=$1,225.40 Platinum=$1,007.65 R/$=13.40 R/€=14.29 R/£=16.77 $/€=1.06 JSE All Share=51,904.34 DJIA=20,172.40 FTSE 100=7,229.50 [FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO A FRIEND]( Copyright © 2016 Daily Maverick, All rights reserved. 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