Macron, Musk, & Massacre
Examination of people and events involve the ability to rest with the uncomfortable.
Good morning beautiful people! I had a lovely week away in Nice for Easter, got to see the sun, the sea, and brought home massive bruises from cliff-jumping.
Daily quote:
“Discovery stems from the ability to rest in the place of discomfort.”
Macron wins.
Yesterday, my friend Chloe tried to vote, but realised she was still registered at the French consulate in Hong Kong instead of London, so that was sad. But otherwise, good news! Macron remains.
Discussion on Musk takeover reopens.
He has now officially secured funds to buy Twitter out, which has forced the board to reconsider the proposal. Things are getting more serious. Again, the key here is to look beyond the surface-level insanity of a Twitter takeover, and examine the diligence with which Musk exerts on a goal.
While trying to take another company private, Musk is also proved innocent in the “taking Tesla private” saga. Exchanges between him and Saudi PIF reveals that his intentions were legitimate; despite being overridden.
Saudi PIF misled Musk into believing they had a “stronger interest” in taking Tesla private during in-person discussions. And then, after attempting to take Tesla private through other investors, it was evident that there was no path forward. Hence: “Staying Public.”
In sharp contrast to the Tesla situation, Musk seems far more prepared with Twitter. This time, lining up a string of big banks as funders including: Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, BNP Paribas, Barclays and many more. He is spreading risk and increasing FOMO. Seems like he has learned well from his past mistake.
We will meet many people who act in disingenuous ways along our paths; but the ability to remain rational, clearheaded, and trusting nonetheless, is the true superpower.
As I said before: I think Elon is a good person.
A little dramatic, aren’t you?
People got pissed off by Ukraine’s Twitter placing Emperor Hirohito in a post about the defeat of fascism.
There was an official protest from Japan and threats to pull away from the Ukrainian cause. Some Twitter users even said they lost interest in supporting Ukraine. Maybe it would have been more appropriate to use a picture of Hideki Tojo; but I doubt Ukraine had bad intentions in the post…
I just can’t imagine caring more about your perception in history over real, dying people right now.
I read a book a while back on the atrocities the Japanese caused in China during WWII. These were things spoken about by my parents a lot when I was younger. I never understood the sharp contrast between their distaste of the Japanese and Westerners’ ambivalence towards the same issues. This part of history seems to remain unacknowledged by most.
There is great debate about the events of the Nanking Massacre and great speculation around the accurate number killed. I am not sure where I stand, but I do believe this needs to be looked into further.
And after all, no truths can be revealed without pissing some people off.
Chang committed suicide in 2004, but I truly believe suicide is a selfless act, an act of desperation when the world fails to understand you. It is not something you do when you have intentionally set out to deceive.
For more information, I really recommend reading: The Rape of Nanking By Iris Chang
We can only start discussing these events objectively after placing distance from them. If saying what Ukraine did on Twitter continues to be inferred as an attack on current Japanese people, the world will never be brave enough to have the necessary difficult discussions.
Resources:
“Le triomphe.” The Bloomberg Open, Europe Edition, Bloomberg, 25 April, 2022.
Davis, Michelle F & Tse, Crystal & Seligson, Paula. “Musk Swayed Walled Street by Pitching His Vision for Twitter.” Bloomberg, April 22, 2022.
Deveau, Scott. “Twitter Warms to Musk’s $43 Billion Takeover as Talks Proceed.” Bloomberg, April 24, 2022.
Han, Simon. “The Impossible Task of Remembering the Nanking Massacre.” The Atlantic, December 18, 2017.
Hull, Dana. “New Texts Shed Light on Elon Musk’s 2018 Spat With Saudi Fund.” Bloomberg, April 25, 2022.
Reynolds, Isabel. “Anger in Japan as Ukraine Links Emperor Hirohito to Adolf Hitler.” Bloomberg, April 25, 2022.