Net neutrality dies in the US to detriment of all

[Daily Maverick] FIRST THING with JOHN STUPART TGIF, 15 December 2017 “Look... to go through life and call it yours - your life - you first have to get your own pain. Pain that's unique to you. You can't just dip into the common bin and say 'That's enough!'...” Peter Shaffer [Exclusive Books Top 10]( . For discerning readers. STORY OF THE DAY [TRAINSPOTTER: About time – the ANC’s fight to the death is finally upon us]( By RICHARD POPLAK One hundred and six years of history have nudged the African National Congress towards this moment, their very own Battle of Helm’s Deep, where all of the organisation’s internal contradictions – to say nothing of the terrible legacy of South Africa itself – will play out over the course of five long days (if we’re lucky). South Africans have been in the midst of this war for so long that perspective is nearly impossible – the ruckus has stolen our brains. At the core of this melee is the Congress’s failure to construct a cohesive, comprehensive nation out of the ruins of apartheid. And in the middle of the molten jumble, we find Jacob Zuma, post-apartheid South Africa’s emblematic figure. (You thought that was Nelson Mandela? Nah.) What happens to Zuma and his faction this weekend determines not just the future of the party, but of the country. WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING [Net Neutrality dies a slow, lobby-infested death]( A proposal by Republican Ajit Pai to roll back Obama-era restrictions on what ISPs can do to the internet in America has been passed. With net neutrality now dead on the floor, ISPs have zero incentive not to throttle, degrade, paywall or generally screw with their consumers. Pai published perhaps the single-most condescending video in reaction to the rollback, showing if anything that American liberties seem to be dying not with a bang, but with a disappointing, turpid whimper. [Train collision with school bus in France killed four]( Four children have been killed and 20 injured in a tragic accident in southern France. A train collided with the rear of a school bus in Milas, near the Spanish border. Severed in two, 95 rescue workers rush to the bus' wreckage. Both bus and train driver are being questioned, tested for alcohol and drugs, and an investigation was launched immediately. [Similar solar system discovered by AI]( An artificial intelligence has discovered a solar system with as many planets as our own. NASA's Kepler telescope and the AI uncovered the eight planet system orbiting a star named Kepler 90, 2,545 light years away. It is not expected that any of the planets would be habitable. [Delta makes massive Airbus order]( Delta Airlines has ordered 100 Airbus A321neo aircraft in a deal worth over $12 billion. The order for the new aircraft, to be delivered from 2020-2023, looks set to ruin rival Boeing's day. Boeing had previously launched a trade dispute with Delta, quite possibly souring the aerospace milk in the process. — [Exclusive Books Top 10]( . For discerning readers. PICTURE OF THE DAY BY EPA-EFE/DEAN LEWINS Dawid Malan (C) watches as Australia's Cameron Bancroft and captain Steve Smith miss the catch on Day 1 of the Third Test match between Australia and England at the WACA in Perth, Western Australia, Australia, 14 December 2017. IN NUMBERS 1 The number of submarines sunk while submerged by another submarine. FACTS OF THE DAY Today is International Tea Day. Unless you live in Boston. Wild rats still enjoying running wheels. [Exclusive Books Top 10]( . For discerning readers. FEATURED ARTICLES [Declassified: Apartheid Profits – A President, a Billionaire and The Bounty Hunters]( [Declassified: Apartheid Profits – A President, a Billionaire and The Bounty Hunters]( BY Open Secrets [#ANCdecides2017: Lindiwe Sisulu and David Mabuza to face off for No 2 position]( [#ANCdecides2017: Lindiwe Sisulu and David Mabuza to face off for No 2 position]( BY Carien du Plessis [ANC Leadership Race: Cliffhanger as Free State branch delegate judgment due on Friday]( [ANC Leadership Race: Cliffhanger as Free State branch delegate judgment due on Friday]( BY Greg Nicolson [Op-Ed: Choose life – or the ANC shall surely perish]( [Op-Ed: Choose life – or the ANC shall surely perish]( BY Bishop Malusi Mpumlwana [State Capture: Helen Suzman Foundation and Magda Wierzycka sue President Zuma and 74 others]( [State Capture: Helen Suzman Foundation and Magda Wierzycka sue President Zuma and 74 others]( BY Marianne Thamm [#ANCdecides2017: The Great Chakalaka Conundrum]( [#ANCdecides2017: The Great Chakalaka Conundrum]( BY J Brooks Spector [ANC Leadership Race: What happens if Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma wins?]( [ANC Leadership Race: What happens if Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma wins?]( BY Stephen Grootes [ANC Leadership Race: Delegates ready and eager for ‘cleansing’ conference]( [ANC Leadership Race: Delegates ready and eager for ‘cleansing’ conference]( BY PUSELETSO NTHATE [Right of Reply: I stand for restoring the dignity of the ANC – Sisulu]( [Right of Reply: I stand for restoring the dignity of the ANC – Sisulu]( BY Lindiwe Sisulu OPINIONISTAS [Business must participate in national renewal]( [Business must participate in national renewal]( A column by BONANG MOHALE [To end a dictatorship of the minority, we need ‘One ANC Member, One Vote’]( [To end a dictatorship of the minority, we need ‘One ANC Member, One Vote’]( A column by OMRY MAKGOALE [View From Afar: South Africa teeters on the brink]( [View From Afar: South Africa teeters on the brink]( A column by Saul Musker [Goodbye 2017: The Other News Awards]( [Goodbye 2017: The Other News Awards]( A column by Marelise van der Merwe — Weather BFN: min: 14° max 32°, cloudy CPT: min: 15° max: 26°, sunny DBN: min: 17° max: 22°, cloudy EL: min: 17° max: 24°, cloudy JHB: min: 12° max: 24°, cloudy KIM: min: 19° max: 34°, cloudy MHK: min: 17° max: 31°, sunny PMB: min: 14° max: 24°, cloudy PE: min: 12° max: 28°, cloudy PTA: min: 14° max: 28°, cloudy Financial Data Oil=$62.79 Gold=$1,254.16 Platinum=$881.50 R/$=13.48 R/€=15.88 R/£=18.11 BTC/$=16,849 JSE All Share=57,845.57 DJIA=24,576.01 FTSE 100=7,448.12 [FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO A FRIEND]( Copyright © 2017 Daily Maverick, All rights reserved. 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