Happy Thursday Everyone! Today’s newsletter: 1,323 words…4.9 mins
🗞 Today’s Edition: S. Korea Strikes a Deal, Trump's Diplomatic Arson, Cambodia’s Voodoo Warfare, CNN’s Tapper vs Pelosi, Mamdani Flipflops, Hamas in Trouble, CashApp Solves Group Pay...& much more!
🚨 Watch For:
Wall Street, Fed and world brace for Aug 1st tariff deadline
Potential finalized trade deal with India and China
📜THE HIGHLIGHT
One killer insight to stash in your back pocket
PM Modi, President Trump and former Russian Pres. Dmitry Medvedev (now serves on Russia’s Security Council)
🇺🇸 🇮🇳 🇷🇺 Trump's Ultimate Power Play: Genius or Diplomatic Arson?
It’s official. We’re witnessing a sequence of “Wtf Just Happened?!” moments in real time —and it seems to be all about coercing India and Russia to the negotiating table.
In a span of 24 hours:
Trump threatens India with 25% tariffs + penalties for buying Russian oil.
Announces a U.S.-Pakistan oil deal (yes, India’s arch-enemy, Pakistan) to tap Pakistan's "massive oil reserves," suggesting the fuel could eventually be sold to India.
At the stroke of midnight, dismisses India and Russia as having "dead economies" and sends a direct threat to Russia’s former Pres. Medvedev.
I don’t care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care….and tell Medvedev, the failed former Pres. of Russia…to watch his words. He’s entering very dangerous territory!
Random rage OR strategic coercion?
Behind the scenes, this screams of negotiations gone bad. India relies on Russia for 35% of its crude oil imports, hitting a two-year peak in June.
Trump's 50-day Russia-ultimatum includes secondary sanctions on countries buying Russian oil.
Sources suggest India refused this ultimatum (bonus fyi: as did China)
To turn up the heat, Trump reached for the nuclear option: economic warfare combined with the ultimate humiliation of partnering with Pakistan.
The betrayal factor:
This is particularly brutal considering India's unprecedented support for Trump. Hindu temples literally held prayer ceremonies for his election victory, Modi gave him rock-star receptions, and Indian-Americans voted for him in record numbers.
Now Trump is casually torching that goodwill by partnering with Pakistan—India's historic enemy—while dismissing their economy as "dead." (Fun fact: India’s economy is the 4th largest in the world by GDP)
The genius (or madness) of it: Trump is essentially telling India, "Do as I say or we make an alliance with your enemies.”
🧠 Bottom line: This is Trump's Ukraine strategy in action—weaponizing trade relationships to isolate Russia while using Pakistan as leverage. Whether brilliant coercion or spectacular failure, we're all about to find out.
♟️THE CHESSBOARD
Geopolitics Decoded In 3 Moves
Cambodian shamans perform death ritual on Thai General
💰 Trump's Korea Deal: The $350B Protection Racket That Actually Works
Seoul just dodged Trump's 25% tariff threat by agreeing to 15% duties plus a massive $350 billion investment fund—90% of profits flowing to America.
Korea gets market access (will purchase $100B of U.S. LNG)
America gets cash and manufacturing jobs
Seoul's existing free trade agreement (2012 - Obama era), just became worthless paper.
The real winner? America, but Korea's shipbuilding and semiconductor giants now also have a $350B war chest to build U.S. factories and outflank Chinese competitors on American soil.
💡 Bottom Line: This follows Japan's identical playbook last month, proving Trump's tariff diplomacy is working exactly as designed - make trade partners into paying customers.
❌ Arab States Throw Hamas Under the Bus
Hamas just lost its biggest diplomatic lifeline as even Qatar demands they disarm.
What happened: The 22-member Arab League plus EU countries signed an unprecedented UN declaration calling for Hamas to surrender weapons to the Palestinian Authority.
First time Arab states condemned October 7th attacks
Qatar and Egypt—Hamas's key mediators—signed on
France called it an "unprecedented" diplomatic shift
The big picture: This isn't just about Gaza—it's reshaping Middle Eastern power dynamics. Saudi Arabia is betting on Palestinian Authority control to unlock Israeli normalization deals.
💡 Bottom line: When your own allies tell you to give up the guns, the revolution is over.
👻 Cambodia's Voodoo Warfare: Coz Modern Warfare Could Use A Spiritual Boost
Thailand and Cambodia's "unconditional ceasefire" this week has already broken and things just got really really weird.
Cambodian shamans are performing death rituals (voodoo dances) to curse Thailand - and the videos are going viral!
Special Target: Thailand's 2nd Army commander Lt Gen Boonsin Padklang
His picture on a giant poster gets smacked by slippers, tridents etc. and is then set on fire, as part of the ritual.
The ceasefire came after Malaysia’s PM Ibrahim and China’s Xi intervened and mediated a truce. The United States said they also played a role. But hours later, the ceasefire was broken.
😆 Bottom Line: When your border dispute escalates to literal death curses, diplomacy has officially left the building.
🗽THE EMPIRE FILES
Political Drama From DC To NYC
🤑 Pelosi's Stock Market Meltdown: When the "Pelosi Tracker" Hits Too Close to Home
Nancy Pelosi absolutely lost it on CNN’s Jake Tapper when confronted about her husband's trades and the ironically-named PELOSI Act banning congressional stock trading.
The 85-year-old former Speaker went nuclear: "Why do you have to read that? We're here to talk about Medicaid!"
Her venture capitalist husband Paul has a $262 million fortune built on suspiciously well-timed trades—so well-timed that retail investors created "Pelosi Trackers" to mimic congressional trades.
💡 Why it matters: This isn’t just a Pelosi problem. Congressional politicians, both Democrat and Republican have been guilty of using their insider knowledge to make well-timed trades, for decades. Dem. firebrand AOC has fiercely spoken out about this issue.
So now when politicians' stock picks become memes, you know we’ve got a problem.
👮 Mamdani's Police Pivot: When Reality Hits Your Campaign
NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani just discovered the political cost of anti-police rhetoric. After officer Didarul Islam was killed in a Park Avenue shooting, Mamdani quickly pivoted: "I will not defund the police. I will work with the police."
The flip-flop came as his old anti-cop tweets resurfaced and rivals pounced, forcing him to abandon a core progressive position that helped build his base.
The tweets? “Nature is Healing” - Mamdani’s reply to someone saying they spotted a police officer in tears; and multiple tweets calling to Defund the Police.
💡 Bottom Line: Nothing says "principled leadership" like policy reversals under fire.
🤖 CODES & POWER
Tech Wars, Crypto Chaos, and AI’s Black Mirror Moments
💲 Cash App Drops “Pools” to Fix Group Payments Chaos
Cash App just dropped Pools—a slick new way to crowdfund friend trips, birthday gifts, or rent.
Organizers can set a funding goal, share links, and accept contributions via Cash App, Apple Pay, or Google Pay—even from non-users!
60% of U.S. adults already pool money—solving the biggest millennial financial pain point: that one friend who always "forgets" to pay you back after you covered dinner.
Why it matters: With 57 million monthly users, Cash App is directly targeting Venmo's social payment dominance by tackling group payment chaos. Smart move—nobody wants to download another app just to split the Airbnb.
💸 Translation: Venmo just got Ven-owned.
💰 Meta and Microsoft Go Full YOLO on Chips
Meta and Microsoft just proved the AI gold rush is real, with stocks soaring 12% and 5% after blowout earnings fueled by massive AI spending.
Meta's throwing $66-72 billion at AI infrastructure this year, while Microsoft topped $4 trillion market cap with over $30 billion in quarterly capex.
The real winners? Chipmakers like AMD and Broadcom who supply the digital pickaxes.
🔍 Bottom Line: Even analysts are getting nervous about Zuckerberg's "cavalier" spending spree, but when your core business prints money, apparently you can afford to build superintelligence labs.
📺 FUN FACTS & TRIVIA
Apple’s Third Co-founder?
Ronald Wayne, was Apple’s third co-founder and he designed the first Apple logo. But two weeks later, he sold his 10% stake for just $800 and left the company.
If you ever feel bad about the decisions you made…
💀 THE ROAST
Because World Leaders Beg To Be Dragged
