Weekend Thing: From handbags to trade war - Trump's battles hit South Africa

[Click here for the web version of this email]( [Your weekend read is all set.]( [Daily Maverick]( Saturday, 28 September 2019 [With the strength to carry on]( “And I will be the hero! These morons—when this is over, I will be the hero”. Rudy Giulliani Make blackmail great again Don't switch off about foreign affairs just yet. South Africans may be the Texans of the continent, but events unfolding afar are having actual ramifications in South Africa. A busy week in the United States saw two momentous events thrust the Trump Administration into the limelight. Again. Back-scratchers House Speaker Nancy Pelosi formally [launched an impeachment investigation]( into Donald Trump's request for Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate the son of Joe Biden's hitherto unfounded shady dealings. A summary transcript of the exchange certainly raised enough questions about Trump, who had clearly requested Zelensky help investigate an electoral opponent, but the remarkable reaction by Trump's enclave is alarming. The actual full discussion's details were moved quickly to a secure server ordinarily reserved for top secret exchanges, not presidential calls, followed by a thinly-veiled threat to the original whistle-blower who filed the complaint in the first place. In response, Trump quipped "you know what we used to do in the old days when we were smart? Right? The spies and treason, we used to handle it a little differently than we do now.” We also lived in a world of fear over irrevocable thermonuclear war, but sure... The entire impeachment debacle has overshadowed a very important move towards repairing trade relations with China, and thereby mending South Africa's gut-shot to its own tariff-stricken industries. Talks were scheduled for 10 October, but Trump has proven to be a master of deflection, meaning a distraction from the impeachment crisis could mean anything from Iranian belligerence to billions more in tariffs. Bag it to go The final leather-clad cherry on the cake came in the form of a [new ambassador for South Africa]( from the US. Lana Marks, a close friend of Trump with zero diplomatic pedigree, was confirmed as the country's ambassador to South Africa on Thursday. A handbag entrepreneur, Marks is the first diplomatic head to Pretoria from America in two years, a clear sign of just how critical the United States views its relationship here. Marks claims to speak Afrikaans and Xhosa, meaning the first few public exchanges between herself and the first non-English speaking journalist ought to be downright hilarious. — [World-class product with local employment.]( [This Weekend We're Watching]( Karabo Mafolo The Daily Maverick team helps you choose what to watch this weekend – a political drama and documentary on how the brain works. [Sea ain't lion]( 0 The number of people injured in the Walrus vs Russian boat attack --- Just in case you thought there'd be no fun news in 2019, a walrus in the Arctic took revenge upon humankind for, well, existing. The walrus was protecting its nearby calves and attacked a Russian Navy landing craft near Cape Geller in the Arctic. Nobody was hurt, except perhaps the Russian Navy's pride. [World-class product with local employment.]( Key Reading [The curious case of Major-General Jeremy Vearey’s missing qualifications]( By Stephen Grootes When deputy provincial commissioner crime detection, Jeremy Vearey, submitted his application for the vacant post of Western Cape SAPS provincial commissioner, he sent off all necessary documents, qualification certificates among them, in a sealed envelope. Vearey, one of the most experienced and senior officers in the region, was later informed he had not made the shortlist as he had not attached his qualifications to his application. [All aboard]( The deluxe version of the boardgame Outrage! costs R227 500, give or take. [Sitting Pretty: After some controversy, the return to the beloved chair]( [Sponsored Content by The Design Assemblage]( In the past few years, a series of articles, study papers and talks seemingly equated sitting with smoking. The source of the debate? Our increasingly sedentary habits, which include spending at times more than nine hours a day, 64 hours a week with our derrières comfortably seated on a chair. Weekend reading [Britain’s secret Saudi military support programme]( [Britain’s secret Saudi military support programme]( BY Matt Kennard and Mark Curtis [Navigating your way in a world filled with untruths]( [Navigating your way in a world filled with untruths]( BY Marianne Thamm [When Harry and Meghan met SA: Media loses the plot royally over a visit]( [When Harry and Meghan met SA: Media loses the plot royally over a visit]( BY Rebecca Davis "Maverick Insider is a program where YOU the Daily Maverick consumer, get to be involved in our journalism" - [Richard Poplak, Editor at Large]( — [World-class product with local employment.]( If you appreciate what Daily Maverick does, [join our community]( and help keep us going. [Sign up]( to Maverick Insider for whatever amount you choose. 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