Category: News Feeds

Amna Nawaz:

The International Monetary Fund says Zimbabwe’s inflation rate is the world’s highest, at 300 percent. Many blame the political and economic turmoil on former President Robert Mugabe.

The anti-colonial icon was at the forefront of Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980. But he clung to power for nearly 30 years, presiding over the decline of what was once one of the continent’s most prosperous countries. He was ousted in 2017.

Hope that Mugabe’s successor, President Emmerson Mnangagwa, can reverse the decline is running thin. The government is now scrapping a plan to remove grain subsidies next year, a move aimed at shielding Zimbabweans from the rising food costs.

For more on all of this, we turn to two men who know Zimbabwe well.

Gerry Bourke is the Southern Africa spokesman for the United Nations World Food Program, the lead international agency working to alleviate the food crisis in Zimbabwe. He was just there last week. And Harry Thomas Jr. had a 34-year career as an American diplomat and served as the U.S. ambassador to Zimbabwe from 2016 to 2018.

And welcome to you both. Thank you for being here.

Gerry, I do want to begin with you.

Sixty percent of the country’s 14 million don’t have the food to meet their basic needs. You were just there. Tell me what you saw and heard from families on the ground.

It’s amazing how much Zimbabweans are doing with how little they have, and even more impressed t how motorsport is keeping head above water in this place.

Every year I’m blessed to be at most of the major motorsport events in South Africa and there are quite a variety of things to find enjoyable on these trips. Of course, there is the ultra-professionalism of international events and South Africa’s national championships to behold on some days, while other weekends will see you experiencing the camaraderie at club level.

Every venue we go to has got something different to offer. Zwartkops Raceway and the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit brings the benefit of sleeping in my own bed the night before, there’s also the bliss in waking up to the sound of the ocean when heading to Dezzi Raceway, or an early morning hotel view over the Port Elizabeth harbour.

Welkom is a town that I don’t like much at all, but a restaurant there will serve you one of the best steaks you’ll ever taste.

Being originally from Cape Town, there’s always the bonus of catching up with old friends when we go to the Killarney International Raceway.

Image: Reynard Gelderblom/RacePics

And then, there’s the utter enjoyment of going to Zimbabwe

Yes, you’ve read that last word correctly: Zimbabwe. The land of constant political turmoil where prices differ based on the currency you’re paying with. The place where power outages last for 15 hours, but where you can easily skip the impact of this by rather spending that time in your local fuel queue; that Zimbabwe yes.

It will then probably be even a bigger surprise that this is one of my favourite destinations on the calendar. I’ve been to events in both Harare and Bulawayo on numerous occasions and I’m always eager to go back there. Which to some will be quite odd considering that you don’t have that level of professionalism in their national championship as what you would experience locally.

They have a superbike series even though the numbers are always bolstered by some visiting South Africans. There’s a sportscar race, but if the entries are too little, the day will see them sharing the circuit with the Saloon Car Championship. The guy with the best pit setup is probably the one who brought a generator and a gazebo along.

Image: Reynard Gelderblom/RacePics

So what is it that’s so special about the place then? The people.

After nearly 50 years of war, land grabs, hyperinflation, food shortages and a collapse of all major industries, one of the few things that could not be broken is the “Don’t give up” attitude of the average Zimbabwean. This is the way that they approach every daily struggle and why those in charge of Zimbabwean motorsport are persisting to keep the passion going.

In total, Zimbabwe probably has fewer active competitors nationwide than what you’d see at a South African club day in far-off Welkom, yet I’ve never been to an event there with a crowd attendance of less than 10 000. Not bad for a place where the US $5 entrance ticket is five times the average daily wage.

While we’re talking about the last half-century, let’s get to the most recent event on the Zimbabwean calendar; the Toyota Zimbabwe / HP Lubes Bulawayo 3 Hour. December saw the 50th edition of this event.

Through the last 50 years, it was hosted in Harare on a few occasions but settled back at the Bulawayo Motorsport Park for the last few decades. Nowadays starting at 3PM, it has also seen 6PM starts in the past.

The history of the event will be a whole different book to write, but I can confirm that this is the continent’s longest-running motorsport event which also once formed part of the Springbok Series tour.

Image: Reynard Gelderblom/RacePics

In a country that faced this many problems, it’s quite an extraordinary achievement for an expensive sport like motorsport to survive, let alone a single endurance race. And it’s not a small show either. Apart from the usual South African contingent trekking north for this one, 2019 also saw competitors from England, Australia, and New Zealand.

Despite the prestigious stature of this event, it is one of the most relaxed race weekends you will ever experience. It all started on Thursday night with the pre-event cocktail party hosted on the Banff Lodge deck. Friday morning (okay morning-ish) saw the entrants making their way to the circuit where the practice sessions started at 2PM. The evening it was back to Banff for supper, but an early one this time around before the next day’s business end.

Qualifying and racing all took place on Saturday for the 3 Hour, the 1 Hour superbike race and the sprint-race curtain-raisers held before them. Saturday evening, well this was just simply a party with the official prize-giving ceremony on Sunday morning.

One of the South Africans who made his fourth appearance in this race was MotorMart VW Challenge competitor Lyle Ramsay who teamed up with reigning Zimbabwean Saloons Cars Champion, Calvin Rademeyer.

The pair were chasing their third successive Class Saloons B win, however, an engine problem just before the midway mark forced them into retirement. This didn’t hamper the weekend though as Ramsay explains: “We were obviously pushing for the win, but I can still look back on one of the most enjoyable weekends in the 2019 season.

“I took the option of driving to Bulawayo for the event with a week-long holiday with my former local team afterward as well. The friendships I’ve made there over the years keeps drawing me back to Bulawayo. I’ll be honest, ahead of my first outing in 2016 I didn’t quite know what to expect; I mean you always just hear all sorts of stories. But I’ve been pleasantly surprised. This year, for instance, the car we used for travelling around the city had a broken window, yet nothing was stolen out of it. You won’t find that locally that’s for sure.”

Bradley Scorer is well known in South African endurance racing and made his Bulawayo debut in 2019; partnering with Darren Winterboer to the race win: “The Bulawayo circuit is very similar to our own East London circuit with fantastic facilities all around.

“Everyone thinks that Zimbabwe has gone down for good, but coming here you won’t say that at all. All the people I encountered were simply fantastic with a superb sportsmanlike atmosphere around all weekend.”

Image: Reynard Gelderblom/RacePics

My personal experience: After landing back in South Africa following the weekend, I quickly found myself knee-deep in the Centurion floods and with Stage 6 load shedding on the menu. I think the atmosphere was as moody as the Gauteng skies. But while trying to find where I last hid away the candles, I reflected on an awesome weekend with the knowledge that the morning I woke up to African tranquillity in one of my favourite places.

And yes, the people make the place just that much better.

It’s amazing how much Zimbabweans are doing with how little they have, and even more impressed t how motorsport is keeping head above water in this place.

I take my hat off to all those passionately involved with motorsport in Zimbabwe. And if you’ve read this and still don’t believe me, come join me at the Bulawayo Motorsport Park in December 2020. You may just learn a thing or two.

Disclaimer: Wheels24 encourages freedom of speech and the expression of diverse views. The views of columnists published on Wheels24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Wheels24.

Post published in: Featured

The end result

The bar offers excellent support

Feeling worse for wear

Wheelbarrows come in handy

I can doze off here without anybody noticing

The earth is moving

What did you put in my drink?

I feel more comfortable like this

Good night everyone

Post published in: Featured

• Ed. Note: As the decade comes to a close, Above the Law presents you a special Trivia Question of the Day series in remembrance of the Biglaw firms we lost in the 2010s.

What now defunct Biglaw firm was founded in 1933 in San Francisco?

Hint: The firm’s eventual dissolution was preceded by a rash of partner defections throughout 2017 (which Above the Law covered extensively, natch), before eventually calling it quits in early 2018.

See the answer on the next page.

Alec Baldwin received one of the nicest holiday gifts you can get if you are a public person: a Manhattan judge dismissed a slander claim against him. Happy Holidays, Best Jack Ryan.

Baldwin was sued for slander and assault & battery after a 2018 parking dispute. Baldwin claims Wojciech Cieszkowski… stole his parking spot. Cieszkowski claims that Baldwin shoved him and punched him.

Losing a parking spot is, like, a thing that happens to us “regular” people all the time in New York. Well, not to me. When I drive the family in for a day in the city, I use a parking garage. Because paying $55 to park for an afternoon is preferable to maybe parking where Alec Baldwin wants to.

Judge David Cohen ordered both Baldwin and Cieszkowski to appear for a preliminary hearing in February over the alleged assault & battery (Baldwin claims he merely shoved Cieszkowski, but didn’t punch him). But Judge Cohen tossed Cieszkowski’s defamation suit, which stems not directly from the parking incident, but from smack-talk Baldwin laid down on Ellen. Yes, the only thing that would make this story more “New York” would be if Chris Rock saw the whole thing go down on his way to a Mets game, but was distracted because Anthony Weiner sent him an unsolicited dick pick right as Baldwin started punching the guy.

From NBC News:

The slander claim centered on comments Baldwin made in February on Ellen DeGeneres’ show in which the actor said, “I thought he was going to run my wife over with his car when he was stealing my parking spot” and similar comments on Howard Stern’s show in March, according to the documents.

The judge wrote in his order that Baldwin’s comments that Cieszkowski allegedly drove fast and aggressively did not rise to the level of accusing Cieszkowski of a serious crime.

“They constitute every day words used to describe driving by the public,” Cohen wrote.

I accidentally cut somebody off when I was making a left early this year: the dude raced to catch me at the next stop light, got out of his car, pounded on my window (I rolled them up when I saw him coming), noticed my kid in the back seat, and screamed “You’re lucky you have your kid with you or I’d kick your fucking ass.” I thanked him for respecting my child and drove away. That man was not Alec Baldwin, but if it had been I wouldn’t have told you because who needs the aggravation.

Be safe out there.

Judge tosses slander part of suit against Alec Baldwin over parking-spot scuffle [NBC News]

Elie Mystal is the Executive Editor of Above the Law and a contributor at The Nation. He can be reached @ElieNYC on Twitter, or at elie@abovethelaw.com. He will resist.

The 5th Circuit is a largely successful experiment for the jurisprudence of Trumpism. And in the hands of the nation’s most radically conservative judges, it has become the court where justice goes to die.

—Mark Joseph Stern, writing for Slate, explaining how the spate of Trump appointees to the Fifth Circuit has pushed the circuit’s jurisprudence to the extreme right in 2019. Stern notes the transformed court, “quickly got to work translating right-wing priorities into legal doctrine that will govern generations.”

Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

Technically, firms aren’t obligated to pay attorneys to purchase the tools of their trade. Law firms weren’t covering dry cleaning all those years when a suit was de rigueur. But keeping a clean suit isn’t the same as keeping plugged into the law firm matrix. Tech stipends guaranteed that associates would stay available around the clock and purchased top-of-the-line tools. It’s a relatively cheap perk that law firms can offer that has the added benefit of helping the firm. That’s why so many top firms do it.

But once a firm offers a stipend, it’s functionally increased the associate’s salary by taking a key expense off the lawyer’s plate. So when it tries to cheap out, it’s a real slap in the face. Days after learning that Womble was cheaping out on associates, Venable is following suit.

This is pure bullshit. “voice and data plans have become even more competitive”? Only in finding new fees to add. In 2010, Verizon’s unlimited data plan was $29.99/month. By 2018, Verizon’s unlimited data plan started at $75/month. Today the company boasts multiple “unlimited” plans banking on consumers too stupid to understand the definition of the word “unlimited.” The closest thing to an actual unlimited plan from Verizon right now is going for $70-$90/month. If anything, costs are going to keep going up as carriers package the same service under new brand names to justify charging more and more.

The loss of the stipend is bad, but the disingenuousness is so much worse. Trying to pawn this off by straight up lying about the price of data shows a profound disrespect for the firm’s workforce. The reality is, the firm is betting that associates will probably buy state of the art phones and the biggest data plans anyway. Smartphone culture is ubiquitous and the population of lawyers willing to buy a flip phone just to get out of responding to 2 a.m. emails is almost non-existent, making this an easy place to cut expenses. And they’re probably right about that.

But it’s still a pay cut and it’s still a raw deal for folks who’ve relied on that money for the last few years.

Earlier: Wither The Law Firm Technology Subsidy?
Biglaw Firm Blows Competition Out Of The Water With Tech Spending Stipend For Associates
Actually, THIS Tech Stipend Blows The Competition Out Of The Water

Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.

Phase 3 is just two steps down from full-blown famine, the USAID-funded Fewsnet said in an emailed statement on Friday. The forecast for the region is for “below average rainfall,” it said.

Parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Mozambique and Malawi will also be affected, it added.

It’s the second drought in as many years. “Many areas of the region are likely to face a second consecutive poor rainfall season and harvest,” the organisation warned.

That’s particularly bad for Zimbabwe where the “poor macro-economy is negatively affecting planting and germination rates,” it said. Millions of rural Zimbabweans are too poor to plant and farm corn, the country’s staple food. Zimbabwe faces an economic crisis where shortages of cash, fuel and electricity cripple people’s access to basic food.

“High staple prices in the region are contributing to below-average purchasing power for a significant number of poor households,” Fewsnet said, mainly because prices are trending 5% to 10% above the five-year average in South Africa, the region’s biggest producer and the source of much of the region’s milled corn.

Farmers in Zimbabwe traditionally plant corn in November when the rainy season begins. So far, they’ve received as little as 55% of normal rainfall, with the luckiest receiving 85%.

Post published in: Featured