A Quiet War That Is Reshaping The Globe, Europe's Populist Surge & Real Madrid's Free Market Rebellion

Good morning! It's Friday, August 15, 2025, and this week we're diving into Europe's struggle to defend its national interests against U.S.-Russian realpolitik—revealing how sanctions on Putin have quietly undermined the continent's strength.

We'll unpack the surging tide of populism across Europe, with right-wing parties leading in recent polls in Germany, France, and the UK.

And we're spotlighting Real Madrid's self-sustaining business model, proving that authentic football thrives on independence, not a flood of petrodollars from the highest bidder.

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Violence ain't just about tanks crashing borders these days—it's more like yanking the plug on a country's spot in the global game, cutting off their lifeline. Think back to isolated figures like Castro or Kim Jong-un getting squeezed, and then it hit hard with Putin's Russia.

Now, the newest twist is this slick tariff war, where Donald Trump talks up freedom but slams the door on whole economies with a stroke of his pen. That's government control cranked up, not the free world he sells. On Friday, August 15, Trump will attempt to resolve the Russia-Ukraine war. You can bet another round of tariffs, sanctions, and squeezes is brewing, but this time aimed square at Ukraine. READ MORE

Europe teeters on the brink of a populist revolution, with right-wing firebrands like Germany's AfD, France's National Rally, and Britain's Reform UK leading in polls. While these movements ride on ordinary folks' visceral anger over symbolic cultural shifts—such as a woman in a burka converting their beloved local pub into an Afghan eatery—a much more pressing emergency lurks beneath: Donald Trump's coercive trade deals and border-redrawing antics, which serve as the accelerant fueling Europe's rightward rage. READ MORE

Real Madrid, PSG, and Manchester City gear up for the 2025/26 football season amid growing tensions between club independence and a sport increasingly bloated by oil money. In today's era, football's soul is often sold to the highest bidder. Real Madrid stands as the wealthiest club worldwide.

And, while not without their own flaws, in comparison to PSG or Manchester City, they stand tall as an independent, global yet local free-market warrior. Real is fan-owned at its core, thriving on passion and clever deals, and the club is rooted in healthy finances, not endless subsidies from desert kingdoms that twist the game into a billionaire's playground. READ MORE

In an era where cryptocurrencies make headlines, remote work has shattered traditional borders, and AI is reshaping economies, few books feel as eerily prophetic as The Sovereign Individual: Mastering the Transition to the Information Age by James Dale Davidson and William Rees-Mogg.

Published back in 1997, this groundbreaking work isn't just a historical curiosity—it's a roadmap to understanding and thriving in our hyper-connected world, igniting your imagination and equipping you with insights that could change how you navigate the 21st century.

What makes this book so compelling today, is how spot-on many of its forecasts have proven. If you're ready to embrace the information revolution and position yourself as a "sovereign individual" in this new era, grab a copy today—don't miss out on this timeless classic; it's not just a book, it's your guide to the future.
🇬🇧 English Copy | 🇩🇪 German Copy

The European Media Freedom Act went into full effect across all 27 EU countries last Friday, August 8, 2025. Ursula von der Leyen hailed it as a big win for press freedom. Friday press releases are often timed to slip under the radar, getting buried by weekend news before anyone digs deep.

So when von der Leyen patted herself on the back for this new law protecting media in every EU state, we got curious and took a closer look. We didn't have to search long. Article 4 has a huge loophole that guts her claims: this new law, meant to protect journalists, lets EU authorities arrest and jail them if it's in the "public interest." That vague term opens the door to abusing power against critics, just like in the video below.

Last week, we got steamed up over Jack Mallers, a hardcore Bitcoin maximalist who's a pro at tossing out soundbites. If you missed the fuss, jump into our top-read story from last week, where we pick apart maximalism like Mallers'.

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On August 15, 778, the Battle of Roncevaux Pass took place in the Pyrenees, where Basque forces ambushed Charlemagne's rear guard, resulting in the death of Roland and inspiring the epic Song of Roland, a foundational work in European medieval literature.
On August 16, 1513, the Battle of the Spurs occurred near Thérouanne, France, where English forces under King Henry VIII decisively defeated the French cavalry, underscoring the persistent Anglo-French rivalries and military innovations in Renaissance Europe.
On August 17, 1943, Allied forces under General Bernard Montgomery captured Messina, completing the conquest of Sicily from Axis powers during World War II, a crucial victory that facilitated the invasion of mainland Italy and shifted the balance in the Mediterranean theater.
On August 18, 1612, the Pendle witch trials commenced in Lancashire, England, leading to the execution of ten accused witches, exemplifying the height of witchcraft hysteria and judicial persecutions that swept across early modern Europe.
On August 19, 1274, Edward I was crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey, initiating a transformative reign marked by legal codifications, conquests in Wales, and conflicts with Scotland that profoundly influenced the political landscape of medieval Britain.
On August 20, 1968, Warsaw Pact forces led by the Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia to crush the Prague Spring liberalization movement, exposing divisions within the Eastern Bloc and intensifying Cold War tensions across Europe.
On August 21, 1772, King Gustav III of Sweden executed a bloodless coup d'état against the parliament, reestablishing absolute monarchy and ushering in an era of enlightened absolutism that spurred cultural and political reforms in Scandinavia.