Happy Wednesday Everyone! Today’s newsletter: 1,236 words…4.7 mins

🗞 Today’s Edition: Labubu Skyrockets, Russia Calls Macron A “Brainless Rooster”, Russian Mice vs Katy Perry, Spain’s Summer From Hell, Putin Gifts Alaskan A Motorcycle, White House Hits Tiktok, Vatican Chef In NYC … & much more!

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One killer insight to stash in your back pocket

👹Labubu: China’s $40B Toy Demon or Gen Z Holy Grail?

Pop Mart's ugly-cute Labubu dolls are having their main character moment in America—and it's absolutely unhinged.

The Numbers Are Bonkers:

Global Hype = Global Weirdness: Viral TikToks accused Labubu of channeling Pazuzu (yes, the Exorcist demon), sparking doll burnings and DIY exorcisms.

Counterfeits are another nightmare: Fake dolls in the U.S./UK have triggered safety warnings over choking hazards and toxic materials. And the frenzy? Straight-up Black Friday chaos: fights, thefts, even claw-machine raids from London to Shanghai.

💡 The geopolitical flex? This is Chinese soft power at its finest—conquering American wallets through adorable addiction, even as Washington freaks about TikTok. Sometimes cultural domination comes with fangs and a $100 price tag.

Geopolitics Decoded In 3 Moves

🐓 Russia Calls Macron A “Brainless Rooster”

Dmitry Medvedev - former President, current deputy security czar, …and Russia’s one-man burn unit; went rogue on X calling French President Macron a “Brainless Gallic Rooster” for pushing European troop deployments at the White House summit.

This insult also directly contradicts the breakthrough the European leaders celebrated at the White House.

While Trump announced Putin had agreed to NATO-style security guarantees for Ukraine (including potential European "reassurance forces"), Medvedev doubled down on Russia’s red line: no NATO troops in Ukraine.

💡 Bottom Line: Either Putin's playing mind games with these mixed messages, or his deputies didn't get the memo.

🏍️Putin’s Motorcycle Diplomacy

At the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska, Vladimir Putin staged an unusual goodwill gesture: gifting Anchorage resident Mark Warren a brand-new $22K Ural motorcycle.

Days later, Russian diplomats delivered the bike in a hotel parking lot, filming his first ride for state media. Warren then commented on the backlash he received:

💡 Why it matters: Beyond the feel-good optics, the episode underscored how sanctions hit ordinary Americans—and how the Kremlin seizes on such moments for soft propaganda.

🇪🇸 🔥 Spain’s Summer From Hell

Spain is burning — literally. Wildfires have scorched 380,000+ hectares this year, blowing past the 2022 record, as temperatures for two weeks have exceeded 45°C (113°F).

PM Sánchez toured the ruins, praised firefighters, and dropped 500 more military personnel into the fight. He’s also pushing a national climate pact — part solidarity, part SOS.

💡 Bottom Line: This is a live-fire drill for the EU’s southern flank, testing disaster response and migration pressures. Madrid’s crisis is a warning for all of Mediterranean Europe.

Political Drama From DC To NYC

🇺🇸 📱White House Hits TikTok

The Trump White House finally launched its official TikTok (@whitehouse) on Aug. 19, debuting with a montage of Trump declaring, “I am your voice.”

The timing isn’t random: Washington insiders say a TikTok deal is close, easing national security fears that once kept the West Wing off the app. Trump—who credits TikTok for boosting his 2024 youth vote—now wants the platform in his official toolkit.

💡 Translation: The White House thinks TikTok isn’t dying… it’s about to be reborn, America-first style.

🍝 From Pope's Kitchen to SoHo Streets: Holy Pasta

Former Vatican chef Salvo Lo Castro traded blessing bread for bleeding rent, opening his first NYC restaurant Casasalvo in SoHo.

The flex is real: Lo Castro has cooked for everyone from Putin and Gaddafi to Tom Cruise and Leo DiCaprio. His philosophy? "Every man I cook for is a king"—unless they're splitting the check, presumably.

Tech Wars, Crypto Chaos, and AI’s Black Mirror Moments

🐭🇷🇺 :Russian Mice And Fruit Flies Heading To Space

Move over Katy Perry - new astronauts are in town. Russian mice and fruit flies are heading into space on Aug 20th.

Meanwhile, Katy Perry and Gayle King took their own 11-minute joyride to the edge of space:

🚀 Bottom Line: So the burning question remains: Who won? Team Katy & Gayle OR Team Mice & Fruit Flies?

🇨🇳 Yuan-backed Stablecoins

China’s central bank — the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) — is testing yuan-backed stablecoins with state-owned banks.

Unlike dollar-backed stablecoins that live on the free-market, China’s version would be centralized, surveilled, and exportable.

💡 Why it matters: If China nails a yuan-backed stablecoin, it could chip away at the dollar’s dominance in global trade — giving Beijing both financial firepower and data visibility. For the U.S. and its allies, this isn’t just fintech; it’s a currency war with blockchain weapons.

Peter the Great’s Beard Tax

Tsar Peter I of Russia travelled across Europe incognito, during his Grand Embassy (1697-1698) to learn about building a strong navy among other things. He concluded, Russia needed modernization as well as Western customs.

His verdict - go beardless like European men.

Upon returning, Peter dramatically shaved guests' beards at a reception, then decreed all Russian men be clean-shaven like Europeans.

When this clashed with Russian Orthodox beliefs, he compromised with a beard tax. Nobles paid up to 100 rubles annually; commoners paid 1 kopek. Taxpayers received proof tokens in either silver or copper.

Because World Leaders Beg To Be Dragged