Feldman's Faves: February 12, 2024

GOOD MORNING EVERYONE

It is so very hard to bet against Pat Mahomes……so what that he sounds like Kermit the Frog. He is definitely on the path to GOAThood after yesterday’s performance. And no, the NFL and Taylor Swift did not write this script….

The revival of Tracy Chapman’s Fast Car warms my heart. For those of us who “blossomed” in the 80’s that song was one of the anthems of our era -  and Luke Combs’ version is on point. Their duet at the Grammy’s last week is something I will keep watching forever. Such respect and good vibes. Moments like that give us all hope that there are still qualities of dignity, kindness and respect left in humanity (at least for five or so minutes).

Speaking of epic cultural events I recently learned that McRib is back.  Neill – you should consider giving up giving up meat while supplies last. I guarantee you won’t regret it.

Finally, please join me in celebrating the national holiday (oops, I mean international holiday) today that is Heather’s birthday. Happy birthday, Heather!!

No theme this week – just topics of interest.

PARIS 1919 – Six Months that Changed the World  By: Margaret MacMillan -   I recently listened to an interview with Rahm Emmanuel, current US Ambassador to Japan, who says this is his favourite book by far, which I now understand. If ever there was a post-war disaster, it was the terrible deal that the allies “made” with the losers of WWI, which as we all know did not lead to that being the war to end all wars.  This book goes into incredible detail of each of the key parties that were at the table and the dynamics of the negotiations getting to the uneasy peace that was in place during the interwar period.  Basically it was a mess. As one reviewer notes, “From Canadian historian MacMillan, a lively and thoughtful examination of the conference that ended the war to end all wars.  After more than four years of carnage on a scale the world had never before seen, WWI ended with an exhausted Germany asking the exhausted Allies for an armistice based on American President Woodrow Wilson’s idealistic formula for a just peace. The resulting Paris Peace Conference of 1919 aimed at redrawing the map of a Europe in which the Russian, German, Austro-Hungarian, and Ottoman Empires lay ruined, and rearranging a world in which new nations were struggling to emerge from those moribund colonial empires. Diverse characters came to Paris, including British Arabist T.E. Lawrence, Greek patriot Eleutherios Venizelos, Poland’s Roman Dmowski, and Japan’s Prince Saionji, but MacMillan (History/Univ. of Toronto) focuses on the complex relationships among the three disparate personalities who dominated the Conference: Wilson, French premier Georges Clemenceau, and British prime minister David Lloyd George (the author’s great-grandfather). Bringing them vividly to life, MacMillan reviews the conference’s considerable failures and accomplishments. In hindsight, the punitive disarmament and reparation terms imposed upon Germany and the accommodation of Japanese claims to Pacific territory can be seen as setting the stage for the rise of those nations’ militarism. The creation of colonial mandates in the Mideast and betrayal of Arab nationalists who had fought for the Allied cause led to tensions that plague the world today. However, MacMillan disputes that the Paris arrangements led directly to WWII; decisions made afterward, she argues, were more significant. The peacemakers made mistakes, she concedes, but “could have done much worse.” Among the Conference’s real achievements were the fashioning of seven European countries and Turkey out of the detritus of failed empires, the development of an International Labor Organization, and the creation of the League of Nations, which presaged the rise of the United Nations. Absorbing, balanced, and insightful narrative of a seminal event in modern history.”  One our everyone’s favourite clichés is that history has a way of repeating itself. The Marshall Plan following WWII was an attempt to avoid being this cliché – I hope our leaders todau learn and implement the right lessons in the wake of the various global conflicts we are facing  today in seeking a long term peaceful path forward.  Here is a great review from the NYT - https://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/01/books/we-ll-always-have-paris.html

All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg - Zuck’s Senate apology, Elon's comp package voided, crony capitalism, Reddit IPO, drone attack – This PODCAST is one of the best and most insightful when it comes to business. These guys are very successful entrepreneurs and all good buddies with Elon Musk. This episode covers a number of topics but most interesting to me is their perspective on the highly controversial decision by the Delaware court on Elon’s compensation package at Tesla.  I appreciate that paying him $58 BILLON sounds insane on its face but when you dig deep into how he got there and that he ACTUALLY EARNED EVERY penny I find the post-hoc unwinding of this board approved/shareholder approved arrangement to be offensive to the core (and I don’t even like Elon – but I do like the law).  I can’t blame Elon for wanting to move Tesla out of Delaware and into Texas and I wonder what impact this decision will have going forward (although I  assume it will be overturned on appeal). Definitely worth a listen. Here’s an excerpt from the PODCAST itself, “Bestie intros! The guys try the Apple Vision Pro (8:24) Zuckerberg apologizes to parents in hearing, Section 230 under fire from child safety reforms (36:19) Delaware judge voids Elon's comp package, understanding Fortune 500 country club compensation (1:08:26) Reddit reportedly targeting $5B valuation in potential March IPO (1:16:17) Drone attack, risks of greater Middle East conflict, failures of the military industrial complex”: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/all-in-with-chamath-jason-sacks-friedberg/id1502871393?i=1000643984249

Thank you for your ongoing engagement and participation.And remember to stay safe, stay healthy and to docket daily.

Jon