Happy Wednesday Everyone! Todayâs newsletter: 1,230 wordsâŚ4.6 mins
đ Todayâs Edition: Dead Economy Alliance: India-Russia-China Power Play, âBig Ballsâ Attacked, Witkoff Meets Putin, TIMEâs Gaza Photo Fraud, Apple Invests $100B, NYCâs Dying Horses ⌠& much more!
đ¨ Watch For:
Putin to meet UAE President: Aug 7th
U.S.âs ceasefire deadline for Russia: Aug 8th
Armenia-Azerbaijan peace talks at the White House: Aug 8th
China-U.S. trade deal deadline: Aug 12th
đTHE HIGHLIGHT
One killer insight to stash in your back pocket
Main (from left to right): President Vladmir Putin; PM Narendra Modi; President Xi Jinping; Foreground: President Donald J. Trump
đŽđł đˇđş đ¨đł The âDead Economyâ Alliance: India, Russia & China Making A Silent Power Play?
Trump just labeled Russia an âunusual and extraordinary threatâ and slapped an additional 25% tariffs on Indian goods for buying Russian oil (total tariff rate now 50%)
But just days ago he flippantly wrote,
âI donât care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care.â
Now? Heâs demanding a global list of buyers.
Publicly, Indiaâs reply was all tea and diplomacy. But behind the curtain? Welcome to the real Game of Thrones.
New Delhi just inked a fresh industrial protocol with Moscowâcovering railways, fertilizers, and mining tech.
And in a power-flex not seen in six years, Modi is flying to Chinaâs SCO Summit to meet Xi Jinping face-to-face.
When rivals decide to put their grievances aside and join hands, you just know something big is brewing.
Xi, for his part, has also officially refused to curb Russian oil. And now there are reports that BRICS is allegedly plotting a counteroffensiveâfinancial or otherwise, against the United States.
The timing? Suspiciously tight: Chinaâs trade deal deadline hits Aug 12.
Meanwhile, Trump threatens any country aligning with "Anti-American policies of BRICS" with additional 10% tariffs.
đŁ Bottom line: Trump may be cornering Americaâs frenemies into a tighter blocâone with oil pipelines, gold-backed crypto rumors, and a shared resentment of U.S. hegemony. Call it the âDead Economy Allianceââbut donât underestimate its bite.
âď¸THE CHESSBOARD
Geopolitics Decoded In 3 Moves
Left: TIME Magazineâs cover and the BTS shot; Right: Gaunt and emaciated images of Israeli hostages Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski (bottom right)
đ¸ TIME Magazineâs Gaza Photo Drama
German investigations reveal Gaza photographer Anas Zayed Fteiha deliberately stages Palestinian suffering for global mediaâcomplete with perfect lighting and handpicked subjects.
Although TIME Magazine and CNN covered emaciated Israeli hostages Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski, major outlets notably avoided featuring the haunting images on front pages.
Bill Ackman and other prominent voices called on TIME owner Marc Benioff to address the magazine's use of Hamas-linked content, but Benioff remains conspicuously silent.
The real story: Hamas controls 100% of Gaza's image production, and Western media keeps buying what they're selling.
đĄ Bottom Line: When your propaganda photographer rocks "Fuck Israel" captions on social media and works for Turkey's state media, maybe it's time to question those Pulitzer-worthy shots.
đşđ¸ đˇđş Witkoff Meets Putin: No Deal
Witkoff met with Putin in Moscow todayâa last-ditch peace effort before Trump's Friday ceasefire deadline.
Both sides played diplomatic theater: Russia called it "constructive", Trump heralded "great progress"'; but no deal emerged.
Trump was on a parallel call with Zelensky and the European leaders at the time; and NYTimes reports that the President might meet with Putin and Zelensky next week.
đŁ Sanctions cliff incoming: If Putin doesnât bend by Friday, the U.S. is threatening the biggest sanctions including secondary sanctions aimed at countries buying Russian oil (đ India, China)
Bottom Line: Russia's response to Trump's ultimatum? Polite indifference. And Friday's about to test whether Trump's threats have any teeth left.
đŚđ˛ đŚđż đşđ¸ Trump's Caucasus Peace Plan
Trump hosts Armenia's Pashinyan and Azerbaijan's Aliyev at the White House Fridayâtheir third meeting this year to end decades of conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh.
The dealbreaker? Azerbaijan wants the "Zangezur Corridor" through Armenian territory to connect its mainland with its exclave.
Armenia says absolutely not, viewing it as sovereignty suicide.
Trump's wild solution: Lease the corridor to an American company for 100 years.
Meanwhile, Iran warns against any U.S.-brokered deal, fearing strategic encirclement.
đĄ Bottom Line: Expect handshakes, photo ops, and a "memorandum of understanding" that papers over fundamental disagreements. Trump wants a diplomatic win, but Armeniaâs sovereignty concerns and Azerbaijanâs demands make this a tightrope walk
đ˝THE EMPIRE FILES
Political Drama From DC To NYC
â âBig Ballsâ Violently Attacked
Americaâs most famous ex-DOGE staffer - Edward âBig Ballsâ Coristine was jumped by 10 juveniles in D.C. on Sunday night in a carjacking attempt.
The 19 year old pushed his date to safety, ate punches like a champ, and scored a Trump Truth Social featureâcomplete with bloody, shirtless glamour shots.
Police rolled up mid-beatdown, catching only two 15-year-olds while eight others scattered like roaches. Coristine walked away concussed, with a stolen iPhone and newfound street cred.
The President threatened to âfederalize the cityâ if crime wasnât brought in control; and Elon Musk echoed that sentiment while commending Coristineâs bravery.
⥠Roast: When even âBig Ballsâ canât stop a DC teen mob, you know the crime waveâs got main character energy.
đ´ Horse Collapses in Hellâs Kitchen
A 15-year-old carriage horse named Lady collapsed and died on a Manhattan street corner Mondayâjust two months into the job.
Animal rights groups instantly reignited calls for Ryderâs Law, which would phase out the cityâs horse-drawn carriages.
The industry insists they follow protocol and the horses are well cared for.
But critics say NYC heat + traffic-clogged streets + tourist labor = grave animal abuse.
đĄ Bottom Line: A necropsy is pending, but the outrage has reached fever pitch and is already galloping toward City Hall.
đ¤ CODES & POWER
Tech Wars, Crypto Chaos, and AIâs Black Mirror Moments
At the Oval Office, Apple CEO presents the President with a gift made of glass that will be produced in Kentuckyâs factories. In the background: Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent and Commerce Sec. Howard Lutnick.
đ Apple Drops $100B to Dodge Trumpâs Tariffs
Tim Cook just promised Trump another $100 billion for US manufacturingâbringing Apple's total commitment to $600 billionâafter Trump threatened 25% iPhone tariffs.
All Iphone glass screens will be produced in Kentucky boosting U.S. jobs by 50%
The timing? Chef's kiss. This announcement comes literally as Trump slaps India with tariffs, hitting Apple's primary iPhone assembly hub.
đĄ Translation: Apple would rather spend billions on PR theater than actually move iPhone production stateside. Heâs playing the ultimate corporate survival game: shower Trump with factory announcements while quietly lobbying for tariff exemptions behind closed doors.
đľ OpenAI Drops âOpen-Sourceâ Models
OpenAI just released a suite of open-weight models (biggest one: 131B parameters), a strategic flex aimed squarely at Chinaâs DeepSeek, which has been gaining steam with its own open models.
The move: More open = more adoption = more dominance.
Bonus: Open AI is said to be talks for a share sale which values the company at $500B
đ§ Why it matters: Open models are now a geopolitical lever, with the U.S. betting on transparency to dominate AI influence.
đş FUN FACTS & TRIVIA
Alice In Wonderland
Beloved classic - Alice In Wonderland, was banned in China in 1931 primarily because it featured talking animals.
âŚAnd âtalking animals undermined human authority.â
Thankfully this ban was not strictly enforced and eventually over the years, the book was allowed to be translated and published in the country.
đ THE ROAST
Because World Leaders Beg To Be Dragged
