Happy Wednesday Everyone! Today’s newsletter: 1,187 words…4.4 mins
🗞 Today’s Edition: Eastern Europe’s Bad Week, Zelensky Eyes Swedish Gripens, UAE Buys Land in Israel, Petro vs Trump; Sliwa’s Facing The Heat, ICE Raids in Chinatown, NHL Bets On Prediction Markets … & much more!
🚨 Watch For:
NYC Mayoral Debate Round 2: Tonight. 7pm ET on Spectrum News NY1, NYC radio and there will also be a livestream on YouTube.
President Trump to attend the ASEAN summit: Oct 26th-28th
📜THE HIGHLIGHT
One killer insight to stash in your back pocket
💥 Eastern Europe’s Bad Week: Explosions, Terror, and “Osama Bin Sikorski”
Three separate crises in 72 hours just turned Eastern Europe into a geopolitical pressure cooker — part energy war, part spy novel.
🛢️ Romania & Hungary Refinery Blasts:
Two oil refineries exploded within hours of each other on Oct 20th. Romania's Petrotel-Lukoil plant (Ploiești) blew mid-maintenance and Hungary's MOL Danube refinery caught fire hours later.
👀 The Twist: Both facilities are tied to Russian crude and Hungary has been a vocal opponent of sending aid to Ukraine.
Petrotel-Lukoil (Romania), owned by Russia’s Lukoil, is one of Romania’s key oil-processing plants.
MOL’s Danube Refinery (Hungary) processes Russian crude via the Druzhba pipeline—Europe's last major Russian oil artery and key to regional supply chains.
Sabotage? Officials won’t say it aloud, but timing with EU’s 2028 Russian-oil phaseout is… suspicious.
Output in Hungary plunged 20%, forcing fuel releases from strategic reserves. Romania declared an industrial alert while coordinating probes with NATO and the EU.
Finger-Pointing & Fallout:
Hungary’s FM Szijjártó blamed “external actors” for destabilizing Europe’s energy network, defending Moscow ties: “We’ve never been let down by Russia.
In Brussels, the EU Commission called for a full audit of oil infrastructure vulnerabilities.
🧨 Diplomatic Fireball:
In the midst of this mayhem and finger pointing, Poland’s FM Radoslaw Sikorski publicly suggested the Druzhba pipeline “should be destroyed” to cripple Russian energy.
Moscow’s Spox Maria Zakharova hit back, branding him “Osama Bin Sikorski.”(Dark, but also… kinda fire?)
Moscow's now threatening "state-sponsored terror" charges.
🥷 Belgrade Terror Attack: If this wasn’t enough drama for you, a separate and unrelated incident rocked Serbia, another Russian ally.
A 70-year-old gunman set fire outside Serbia’s Parliament, injuring one. President Vučić called it a “terrorist act” with political motives.
The attacker allegedly wanted “police to kill him” — a chilling echo of Europe’s rising lone-wolf radicalization trend.
💡Why it matters: Europe's energy divorce from Russia isn't just messy—it's explosive. Literally. Whether it's drones, "accidents," or a Nord Stream blast on a casual Monday, the infrastructure itself is now the battlefield.
♟️THE CHESSBOARD
Geopolitics Decoded In 3 Moves
Left: Zelensky sits in the cockpit of the Gripen; Top-right: Signing the LOI with PM Ulf Kristersson; Bottom-right: Inspecting the jets
🇺🇦 🇸🇪 Zelensky Eyes Swedish Gripens in $15B Jet Push
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Sweden today to inspect Saab’s JAS 39 Gripen fighter jets.
Delivery timeline? "After the war ends" (so… TBD).
He signed a letter of intent with PM Ulf Kristersson for up to 150 Gripen E jets — potentially Sweden’s largest-ever export deal.
The pact outlines a 10–15 year defense partnership, complementing Ukraine’s growing Western air fleet of F-16s and Mirage 2000s.
💡Bottom line: This isn't just about F-16 replacements. Locking Sweden into post-war security = smart long game.
🏗️ UAE Buys Land In Israel For Embassy
In a first for the Arab Gulf, the UAE has purchased land in Israel to build a permanent embassy in Herzliya Pituah — Tel Aviv’s diplomatic hotspot.
The play: A 15-floor complex with staff housing, security walls, and sea views — replacing the UAE’s rented Tel Aviv Stock Exchange office.
💡Bottom line: The multi-million dollar deal cements ties forged under the Abraham Accords and signals long-term commitment beyond symbolism.
⚔ Petro vs Trump: Diplomatic Arson
Colombia’s socialist President Gustavo Petro ignited a diplomatic inferno when he snapped his fingers on live TV, suggesting the “easiest way” to handle Trump might be to “get rid of him.”
Washington called it, “an unacceptable suggestion of political violence against the President of the United States.”
Trump froze all U.S. aid and trade perks, markets in Bogotá tanked 3%, and Colombia’s peso slid.
Petro’s team insists it was “metaphorical.”
Flashback: Even back in September, when Petro attended the UN General Assembly, he held small rallies in Central Park and on the streets of NYC, calling for Trump to be taken out.
💡Bottom line: This episode represents the most severe diplomatic clash between the nations in decades, marking a “total rupture” in U.S.–Colombian relations.
🗽THE EMPIRE FILES
Political Drama From DC To NYC
🗽 NYC’s Mayoral Race is Getting Heated
Curtis Sliwa, the lone Republican in NYC’s 2025 mayoral race, is facing mounting pressure to bow out as the fear of a Hamas-supporting socialist becoming Mayor, reaches fever pitch on both sides of the aisle.
The Math: Unite the "anti-socialist" vote behind Cuomo and against DSA frontrunner Mamdani - who's up by double digits.
Curtis quit his WABC radio gig in an on-air meltdown after the host Rosenberg as well as station-owner John Catsimatidis (billionaire Republican), told him to drop out.
Sliwa refused to quit claiming he won’t be bullied out of the race by politicians and billionaires.
⚡Sliwa’s Take: Is it fair to ask the only Republican in the race to fall on his sword when the Democratic establishment's own complacence created the Mamdani monster?
🍎 ICE Raid Turns Canal Street Into a Street Fight
Federal agencies including ICE, HSI, FBI, and DEA raided Canal Street based on tips from some locals.
They targeted criminal-linked vendors selling counterfeit goods.
At least nine arrests were made; chaos erupted as angry protesters clashed with agents.
NYC officials distanced themselves, calling it a federal-only operation, while protesters decried heavy-handed enforcement.
⚡Sanctuary city tensions meet street-level crime in full spectacle
🤖 CODES & POWER
Tech Wars, Crypto Chaos, and AI’s Black Mirror Moments
🏒 NHL Bets On Prediction Markets
The NHL just became the first U.S. pro league to strike multiyear deals with Kalshi and Polymarket, giving them rights to use official NHL data, marks, and logos.
Unlike FanDuel or DraftKings, these platforms trade CFTC-regulated yes/no event contracts—legal in all 50 states.
💡Why it matters: Kalshi's valued at $5B. Polymarket just got $2B from NYSE's parent. Wall Street's turning sports into derivatives markets.
💳🪙Coinbase x Amex = Bitcoin back, baby
Coinbase just dropped its first-ever credit card with American Express, offering 2–4% Bitcoin back on every purchase.
The Coinbase One Card, made of stainless steel and etched with data from Bitcoin’s Genesis Block, is exclusive to Coinbase One subscribers ($49.99/year).
Zero trading fees. No foreign transaction fees. Amex perks.
🧠 Translation: Coinbase just turned your daily latte into stacking sats on autopilot.
📺 FUN FACTS & TRIVIA
Spike and Schulz
The Real Snoopy
Charles M. Schulz, the creator of Peanuts, drew inspiration for Snoopy from his childhood dog, a mixed-breed mutt named Spike, whom he owned during his youth in Minnesota. Spike even appeared in Schulz's earliest cartoons before Snoopy's debut in 1950.
Schulz later confirmed that Spike was the primary influence, though he owned other dogs like Andy and Woodstock that shaped the Peanuts canine cast.