Republicans swallow bitter Trump pill

[Daily Maverick] FIRST THING with JOHN STUPART Wednesday, 26 July 2017 “You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” Jack London [Exclusive Books Top 10.]( STORY OF THE DAY [SCORPIO: In addition to his R30m Eskom pension bonanza, Brian Molefe also got a R1.3m tax discount]( By PAULI VAN WYK The story of the R30-million pension bonanza granted to Eskom’s former CEO Brian Molefe is one of greed and mismanagement. Last week Scorpio revealed how officials lied, schemed and defrauded the public in order to allow Molefe a pension calculated as if he had 10 years' service at Eskom and worked there for 156 months. In reality Molefe contributed 15 months’ pension payments to the Eskom Pension and Provident Fund with the cash-strapped Eskom picking up the tab for the shortfall. This while Molefe wasn’t eligible to be a fund member to start with. But wait, there’s more: Based on another series of leaked emails, Scorpio can reveal that by a sleight of hand the tax man was scammed out of R1,3-million. [Republicans vote in favour of Obamacare repeal debate]( In the end, just two Republican senators voted with Democrats to oppose a debate on repealing Obamacare. With a post-surgical Senator John McCain staggering in to cast the deciding vote, President Donald Trump's drive to whip his house into a voting froth succeeded. However, as this was just a vote to debate the act, the struggle for House Trump has only just begun. [Apple to expand plants in United States]( The Wall Street Journal has reported that Apple has promised to expand its manufacturing in the United States. Facing pressure by President Donald Trump to return manufacturing jobs and products to the US, the move by Apple could drive up the costs of your Apple products even more than their current exorbitance. With an entire supply chain created in China, Apple will be hard-pressed to move some of that to the United States. [EU to rule on Hamas terror listing]( The European Union's top court will rule today on whether Hamas is or is not a terrorist group. Currently on the EU's naughty list, a removal of Hamas would pave the way to improved aid flows from the EU, but also trigger a harsh backlash from Israel and the United States. [Degenerative disease rampant in NFL head injuries]( A new study of the brains of 111 deceased NFL players has revealed that 110 of them had suffered brain damage. At 99%, the prevalence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, is a damning indictment on the condition of professional players, and a concern for any contact sport that runs a routine risk of head injuries. — [Exclusive Books Top 10.]( PICTURE OF THE DAY By EPA/DAVID MAUNG Convention-goers participate in a photo shoot for people dressed as Marvel Comics characters during the second day of the Comic Con International 2017 at the San Diego Convention Centre in San Diego, California, US, 21 July 2017. IN NUMBERS 13 The percentage of all the world's water lost to leaks. This is allegedly more than twice as bad in Cape Town. FACTS OF THE DAY Today last year Hillary Clinton became the first female presidential candidate of any major American party. Scotland has a town called Dull. Oregon has a town called Boring, and Australia a town called Boring. Combined they are coined the "Trinity of Tedium". [Exclusive Books Top 10.]( FEATURED ARTICLES [TRAINSPOTTER: The ageless, never-ending government/corporate collusion porno]( [TRAINSPOTTER: The ageless, never-ending government/corporate collusion porno]( BY Richard Poplak [Tax Season: Systemic IT glitch raises red flags at SARS]( [Tax Season: Systemic IT glitch raises red flags at SARS]( BY Marianne Thamm [ANC Leadership Race: Lindiwe Sisulu & Baleka Mbete set to go against Dlamini-Zuma, but are they to be taken seriously?]( [ANC Leadership Race: Lindiwe Sisulu & Baleka Mbete set to go against Dlamini-Zuma, but are they to be taken seriously?]( BY Carien du Plessis [Parliament & State Capture: Inquiry into Eskom's role passes first hurdle, but is it just a show of form?]( [Parliament & State Capture: Inquiry into Eskom's role passes first hurdle, but is it just a show of form?]( BY Marianne Merten [Op-Ed: State Capture and Beyond]( [Op-Ed: State Capture and Beyond]( BY Raymond Suttner [HairGate Rebooted: Another Gauteng school penalises black girls because of their hair]( [HairGate Rebooted: Another Gauteng school penalises black girls because of their hair]( BY PUSELETSO NTHATE [ASA: SA athletes speaking out will be the downfall of shady administrators]( [ASA: SA athletes speaking out will be the downfall of shady administrators]( BY Antoinette Muller [Aids: Progress but still substantial cause for concern]( [Aids: Progress but still substantial cause for concern]( BY Marelise van der Merwe [GroundUp: Sea Point Jewish residents and domestic workers meet over Tafelberg]( [GroundUp: Sea Point Jewish residents and domestic workers meet over Tafelberg]( BY GroundUp OPINIONISTAS [Living in the lie in South Africa]( [Living in the lie in South Africa]( A column by Paul Trewhela [‘Doomsday’ is around every corner it seems – is there a silver lining at all?]( [‘Doomsday’ is around every corner it seems – is there a silver lining at all?]( A column by Oscar van Heerden [Let the African youth craft a different space for Africa on the world stage]( [Let the African youth craft a different space for Africa on the world stage]( A column by Ashanti Kunene [How to fight – or better, avoid – fires in a township like Masiphumelele]( [How to fight – or better, avoid – fires in a township like Masiphumelele]( A column by LUTZ VAN DIJK — Weather BFN: min: 2° max 18°, cloudy CPT: min: 7° max: 14°, cloudy DBN: min: 12° max: 19°, cloudy EL: min: 8° max: 20°, cloudy JHB: min: 5° max: 19°, sunny KIM: min: 2° max: 19°, sunny MHK: min: 6° max: 23°, sunny NLP: min: 10° max: 24°, cloudy PMB: min: 6° max: 18°, sunny PE: min: 6° max: 19°, sunny PTA: min: 6° max: 23°, cloudy Financial Data Oil=$50.02 Gold=$1,249.79 Platinum=$927.81 R/$=13.06 R/€=15.22 R/£=17.03 $/€=0.87 JSE All Share=54,499.11 DJIA=21,641.57 FTSE 100=7,434.82 [FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO A FRIEND]( Copyright © 2017 Daily Maverick, All rights reserved. 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