Russian Warships Near Alaska

Hi Global Recap readers,

Today we’re digging into the Adidas–Mexico controversy, where Adidas is catching heat for “cultural appropriation.”

• If you remember the 2010s, you probably saw the mainstream rise of that term, used to call out artists for drawing on other cultures (sometimes even their own).

• So, what’s this all about, and what does “cultural appropriation” actually mean?

Is it even really about empathy and due credit? 👇

🌐 WORLD
Fast Scroll News

🇷🇺 Warships Approach Alaska

Russian and Chinese destroyers just docked at Avacha Bay, 575 miles from Alaska’s Attu Island, for resupply before continuing a "pre-approved" joint patrol that’s inching toward US waters.

• Fleet: Includes Russia’s Admiral Tributs and China’s CNS Shaoxing and Qiandaohu.

• Route: Ships left Vladivostok, passed northern Japan, and are now hugging the Kamchatka coast.

• Timing: Just days before Trump and Putin meet in Alaska to discuss Ukraine ceasefire.

• Purpose: Officially “maritime surveillance” and protection of “economic activities.”

🇺🇦 Zelenskyy Rejects Donbas Deal

Ukraine’s president flatly refused to withdraw forces from the remaining part of Donetsk, calling Donbas a springboard for future Russian offensives ahead of Friday’s Trump‑Putin summit in Alaska.

• Demand: Moscow wants Ukraine to pull out of roughly 9,000 square kilometers (3,500 square miles), about 30 percent of Donetsk still under Kyiv’s control, as a price for a ceasefire.

• Format: Washington floated a bilateral US‑Russia meeting first, then a trilateral including Ukraine later, while EU leaders remain sidelined for now.

• Guarantees: Zelenskyy insists territorial issues cannot be separated from credible security guarantees that prevent renewed invasion risk.

• Geography: Handing over Donbas, he warned, would open a path toward Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, and Kharkiv within a few years.

🇩🇪 AfD Overtakes CDU

Alternative for Germany edged ahead of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservatives in a recent nationwide Forsa poll.

• Numbers: Forsa puts AfD at 26% and CDU/CSU at 24%, while 67 percent of respondents say they are “not happy” with Merz after roughly 100 days in office. AFD is now the most popular in Germany according to this single survey.

• Leadership: Led by Alice Weidel, AfD is the largest opposition force in the Bundestag after getting second place in February's federal election, winning nearly 21%.

• Label: Despite this, earlier this year, Germany’s intelligence agency classified AfD as “extremist.” In practice, this gives the agency power to intercept phone calls and use undercover agents.

• Outlook: Aggregated polling still shows the CDU slightly ahead overall, and the next federal election is scheduled for 2029, which gives parties time to reframe strategy.

🇨🇲 Macron Admits Colonial Violence

France’s President Emmanuel Macron just acknowledged that French troops used brutal tactics to crush Cameroon’s independence movement in the 1950s and beyond.

• Letter: Macron sent a formal note to Cameroonian President Paul Biya last month, admitting “repressive violence” and naming four leaders killed by French-commanded forces.

• Report: A 14-member Franco-Cameroonian historian panel found France backed militias, ran internment camps, and displaced thousands between 1945 and 1971.

• Deaths: Macron said the repression cost “tens of thousands of lives,” continuing even after Cameroon’s 1960 independence.

• Pattern: This follows similar probes into France’s role in Algeria and Rwanda, though Macron has consistently stopped short of issuing formal apologies.

🇲🇽 MEXICO
Adidas’ Huarache Headache

Adidas teamed up with designer Willy Chavarria on a sandal they called the Oaxaca Slip On, and Mexico didn't like it.

Officials say it’s straight-up cultural appropriation of Indigenous Zapotec huarache designs, and they’re pushing for credit, cash, and legal guardrails.

What happened

So what's the problem?

• The “Oaxaca Slip On” is a black sandal with braided leather straps on a chunky sneaker sole, closely resembling huaraches made by Zapotec artisans in Villa Hidalgo Yalalag, Oaxaca.

• Mexican authorities and artisans said the design copied Indigenous work without permission or partnership, calling it cultural appropriation.

• Chavarria addressed “the people of Oaxaca,” admitting the shoe “was appropriated” and not developed in “direct and meaningful partnership.”

• Adidas also apologized and pledged to engage the Yalalag community.

Official backlash

Mexico escalated this beyond fashion discourse into state action. What does accountability look like when culture is the IP?

• President Claudia Sheinbaum said companies are “usurping the creativity” of Indigenous communities and signaled legal steps to protect designs.

• Oaxaca Governor Salomón Jara urged a halt to sales, proper credit, and compensation, adding, “Culture is not sold, it is respected.”

Missing partnership

What's more problematic for the Mexican government is not just IP "appropriation".

• Critics noted the shoes were produced in China rather than Mexico, severing ties to the artisan supply chain.

• The collaboration was unveiled at the Art Museum in Puerto Rico, far from Oaxaca’s huarache-making communities.

• Commentators even questioned the “Oaxaca” label, pointing to huarache lineages associated with other Mexican states like Michoacán.

What they promised

• Adidas said it would pursue “respectful dialogue” with the Zapotec community in Villa Hidalgo Yalalag and discuss restitution or compensation.

• Promotional images for the Oaxaca slip-on were removed from official channels during the dispute.

• When asked whether sales continue, the company did not respond.

Rethinking Cultural Appropriation

We throw around the term “cultural appropriation” like it’s an unforgivable offense. But before we condemn someone for it, maybe we should ask: “what does it actually mean?”

• For some, it’s a vital tool to address historic exploitation.

• Others argue the term has been stretched to stifle creativity.

The Nature of Creativity

Creativity doesn’t appear out of thin air. If you’ve ever tried to make art (paint, compose music, write) you know it takes more than a flash of inspiration.

• First you learn the basics.

• Then you absorb what others have done before you (their styles, techniques, ideas, etc.).

• You practice. You experiment. Over time, you mash those influences together with your own voice until something new emerges.

• Every creative act is, in some way, built on what came before.

• And what’s ironic about this Adidas controversy is: designer Chavarria’s father is Mexican-American. Chances are, he was just giving a shout-out to his heritage like plenty of artists do.

A Few Examples

Art

Pablo Picasso went through an entire period inspired by African art.

• In 1907, a visit to the ethnographic museum at the Palais du Trocadéro in Paris left him deeply moved.

• The influence showed up in his paintings.

• Did Picasso have to apologize and stop his paintings because his works gave nods to African art?

• This period is seen as a stepping stone for many other styles he explored later in his life.

Music

Picasso wasn’t alone in borrowing ideas.

• Composer György Ligeti wove Indonesian Gamelan traditions into his Piano Etudes.

• The Beatles blended Indian instruments and musical styles into their track “Within You Without You” on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Conclusion

These are just a few cases where history remembers cultural influences as game changers in an artist’s growth. Does that mean we respect these cultures any less because of so-called “cultural appropriation”? Were these cultures offended and now require compensation?

• The truth is, it’s often hard to pin down where something actually came from. What you think belongs to one culture might turn out to have roots somewhere else entirely.

• The outrage isn’t always about the culture itself either. Although it is portrayed as a cultural issue, it may actually be an economic one.

  • Mass production can outpace and overshadow the work of individuals, turning the conversation into “the exploiter versus the exploited.”

  • That’s more about anti-capitalism than empathy alone—a critique of how capitalism concentrates power and profit, generating massive wealth through mass production from ideas of those without the means of production. Seen in that light, the reaction is much easier to understand.

Videos

This isn’t a comprehensive study into the topic, but here’s a viral clip of Will Witt taking on the outrage over cultural appropriation. Treat the videos below as entertainment, not as definitive proof of how everyone feels about the issue.

Here's another discussion on Dr. Phil. Once again, just entertainment.