Notes From The Week #22

Wow. I’m fresh from watching what was most definitely the greatest football match I have ever seen. For the people that watched the World Cup Final I’m sure you’ll agree. There was greatness from both sides but the story was set from Lionel Messi. The boy from Rosario who carried the hopes of his nation on his shoulders for so long was finally able to come good. There are so many names we can use to describe the magnificent Lionel Messi—yet only one befits him: greatest of all time.

This week I was quite keen to understand more about the politics of prisoner swaps after the release of Brittney Griner. We then take a look at a useful framing of leverage and finish with some thoughts on Little Simz and her latest project No Thank You.

The Politics of Prisoner Swaps

Taking hostages and prisoners is not a new occurrence; people have been taken hostage by those seeking to gain a political upper hand for thousands of years. What is new today is that more US hostages currently are being held by foreign governments than by terrorist or militant groups.

On December 8th, the United States and Russia conducted a prisoner exchange, trading Brittney Griner, an American basketball player, for Viktor Bout, a prolific arms dealer. Griner, a WNBA star and Team USA Olympic athlete, had been convicted of cannabis possession in Russia earlier in 2022 and sentenced to nine years in prison. Viktor Bout sold arms to warlords and rogue governments, becoming one of the world's most wanted men. Bout was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2012 on terrorist-related charges.

Mr. Bout was important to the Russians because of his ties to the security services. While he is not known to be close to Mr. Putin, U.S. officials said, Mr. Bout has connections in the Russian power structures. And Russia had made a martyr out of Mr. Bout over the past 14 years; freeing him would allow Mr. Putin to boast about finally bringing a patriot home. Allowing Putin to score some much needed political points as Russia continues its military engagement with Ukraine.

Republicans in the U.S. Congress and advocates for Americans detained abroad have questioned the administration’s decision to agree to a prisoner swap in which the U.S. freed Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout in exchange for Griner’s release. Critics said the administration should have demanded that Paul Whelan, the ex-Marine imprisoned in Russia on espionage charges, also be freed as a condition of the deal. Whelan, 52, has been imprisoned in Russia since December 2018 on espionage charges that his family and the U.S. government have called baseless. The former Marine was convicted by Russia in 2020 of spying and was sentenced to 16 years in a maximum-security prison colony. Whelan’s lawyer says he was set up by Russian intelligence services.

The current political landscape makes such a prisoner swap even more interesting. While Europe, America and Russia are fighting over gas, grain and weapons, they can still talk about prisoners—a sign of effective diplomacy. Compartmentalization allows countries to de-conflict on some areas while remaining actively opposed in others. This happened during the Cold War when America was critical of Soviet human rights abuses but were able to reach agreement on major issues like arms control.

Perhaps the most-commonly discussed impact of international appeals on behalf of political prisoners is how they “shame” a country's leaders in front of an international audience. The argument is that leaders care about global opinion that they care about their state's country's prestige as a valued member of international society. They hate to be criticized, because they worry about how they are perceived around the world, and stories of their persecution of peaceful activists threaten to make them look bad in front of their peers.

As a former Soviet dissident, Anatoli Shcharansky, said about the country's top politicians: “They are interested in Western public opinion … [it is] what keeps us alive.” Shaming may also work indirectly. Continuous condemnation over their treatment of high-profile prisoners may affect countries’ reputations, leading other states, organizations, or businesses to impose their own punishments, in the form of curbs on foreign direct investment, trade, foreign aid or economic sanctions. If there’s anyone that will buck the trend of caring about the opinions of the international family it will be Vladimir Putin. Russia still remains strategically important to Europe as a result of its energy resources. It’s going to take a lot more than shame to get them to flip the script this time; particularly more-so after the release of Viktor Bout.

Efficiency vs. Leverage

Earlier this weekend I saw a tweet that was speaking to the Carta 101 orientation course that takes place at Carta. All employees are provided with an introduction to Carta, Carta’s values and their execution strategy. It’s an impressive document for culture building and scaling. What I found to be the most interesting point was this discussion regarding efficiency vs. leverage:

Leverage is the use of a small amount of resources to control or influence a much larger amount of resources. Leverage is important because it allows individuals or organizations to amplify the effects of their actions and potentially achieve a greater impact or result.

In business, leverage is often used to increase the potential return on investment. For example, a company may use leverage to acquire assets or expand operations by borrowing money or using other forms of debt. This allows the company to increase its size and scale without requiring a corresponding increase in capital.

With this thought we are provided with a good framework to consider leverage in our personal endeavours. When we frame our actions through the lens of maximising our impact—we can work to create systems that allow us to become more effective. Efficiency is good but we should strive for leverage. A very helpful book on this is Life Leverage by Rob Moore.

Little Simz - No Thank You

Little Simz, also known as Simbi Ajikawo, is a British rapper known for her socially conscious and introspective lyrics, as well as her innovative and experimental approach to music. Simz began her career as a teenager, releasing her first mixtape in 2010 and gaining recognition in the UK underground rap scene. She has released several critically acclaimed albums, including "Stillness in Wonderland" (2016), "Grey Area" (2019) and the Mercury-prize winning “Sometimes I Might Be Introvert” (2021), and has been praised for her thought-provoking and personal lyrics.

Simz doesn’t disappoint with her latest studio album “No Thank You. Her sharpness and precision is on full display as she cuts dynamic flows with piercing lyrics. Across the tape she covers her experiences with the music industry, her battles with mental health all whilst providing her unique perspective as a middle child in the rap game. It’s a superb listen from the best rapper in the UK. I said what I said.

Favourite songs from the tape:

• Angel

• Gorilla

• Broken

• X

*Thank you all for the engagement over the last few weeks. In response to some comments and feedback I’ve received I’m going to be adding some visual content to accompany my weekly newsletters through my YouTube channel. First video is live. Check it out and let me know thoughts.

Until next week. Peace.