Secret ballot unearths fissures within the ANC

[Daily Maverick] WEEKEND THING with JOHN STUPART Saturday, 12 August 2017 “The physical vanity of the diet-and-exercise obsessive is recast as the pursuit of a kind of ritual purity, hedged about with taboos and guilt trips and mysticized by yoga.” Ross Douthat [Bold socks for women](. Stand on something daring! PICTURE OF THE WEEK By EPA/IAN LANGSDON Gena Loefstrand (R) of South Africa Habitam Alemu of Ethiopia compete in the women's 800m heats at the London 2017 IAAF World Championships in London, Britain, 10 August 2017. THIS WEEK'S WRAP-UP [Zuma survives vote of no confidence. Just.]( In the end, 198 ANC MPs chose to support their rotten leadership and protect their meal tickets rather than vote out Zuma and end state capture immediately. Less predictable than the ANC's undying fealty to corruption were the 26-odd MPs who broke ranks and voted against the party line. In doing so, the votes to remove Zuma came tantalizingly close to unseating the rot at the core. However, with the president firmly entrenched, the vote did at least bring to the surface the spider web of cracks within the ANC. December's conference will be about as calm as a Steve Hofmeyr concert at an agricultural festival. [Trump risks escalation with North Korea]( This week on the Trump show saw the president escalating tensions with North Korea to levels not really seen since GIs sat on the Chosin Reservoir. Following threats by Dear Leader (the Korean one) to target missiles at Guam later in August, Trump replied with promises of "fire and fury". High on the fumes of his own bullshit, the sentient naartjie proceeded to ratchet up his diplomatic tantrum by stating that a military plan was "locked and loaded." If this is Trump-era diplomacy, thank the stars there's no Cuban missile crisis to (mis)manage. [Catch-up on The Gathering]( Amidst the secret vote and Trump-related shenanigans, you would be forgiven for forgetting that a meeting of important political, business and media minds occurred. The Daily Maverick Gathering last week saw a number of important statements made ahead of this week's vote. Click through to catch up on the important bits. [Light at the end of silicosis tunnel looms]( A settlement might be on the horizon among Anglo American, Gold Fields, and sick miners. The mining giants have set aside R1.76 billion in a trust, indicating a significant war chest to achieve an out-of-court settlement with miners and their families. But with the whiff of cash comes complications. Pete Lewis and GROUNDUP have the [full story here]( . — [Matching socks and jocks. Shop now.]( FACT OF THE DAY Jon Bon Jovi's first ever recorded debut was on a Star Wars-themed Christmas carol album. He sang in ‘R2-D2, We Wish You a Merry Christmas.’ EDITOR'S PICKS [TRAINSPOTTER: Secret ballot outcome — does Zuma dream of electoral sheep?]( By RICHARD POPLAK [Elections: DA’s Mmusi Maimane files papers to demand early national poll]( By MARIANNE MERTEN [Op-Ed: No end in sight to Eskom delays in signing renewable energy PPAs]( By CHRIS YELLAND [Explainer: The upcoming bullets that President Zuma must dodge]( By REBECCA DAVIS — [Video of the week]( VIDEO OF THE WEEK [China’s Shadow Finance System: Behind the Curtain]( By Autonomous Research [Bold socks for women](. Stand on something daring! IN OTHER NEWS What year is it again? Trump and North Korea's metaphorical missile-measuring war of words has raised the spectre of nuclear war once more. In keeping with the Cold War-esque times, The Telegraph published an updated "how to" video on surviving a nuclear blast. The video, sadly, [does not include]( tips on getting someone to "witness me" nor on how to deal with tricky Furiosas. [FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO A FRIEND]( Copyright © 2017 Daily Maverick, All rights reserved. You are receiving this mail because you are awesome and on the Daily Maverick First Thing subscriber list. Keep up to date on all DM activities by [clicking here](. [Preferences]( | [Unsubscribe](