RoozCast

If you like drama - I'm talking about political drama, well last week you had the Supreme Court nomination in the United States but this weekend, you’ve got to love politics in Brazil, by the way, it the world’s fourth-largest democracy. One of the country’s two most popular politicians is in prison, and the other is recovering from a knife attack. This weekend, Brazil ’s voters will finally head to the polls.

People at Pew have just released their annual Global Attitudes Survey. Ok for starters let me tell you what Pew is...- The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan American fact tank based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and frankly the rest of the world. Ok The annual Global Attitudes Survey which polls members of the public in 25 countries with questions about who runs the world, who should run the world, what they think of the US vs China, and so on. The full report is worth your time So I recommend looking at it.

This Friday morning, somebody is going to win the Nobel Peace Prize - that is a BIG DEAL... , and if you’re the betting type - for your information, I am the betting type, chances are you think that somebody is South Korean President Moon , perhaps along with his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong-un. Ok.... hold your horses... Donald Trump is also considered a favorite – even President Moon of South Korea has said the US President - Donald Trump - really deserves the award for helping kick-start the process that has led to a fragile de-escalation along South and North Korean border - the 28th parallel.

Let's talk trade again. NAFTA is dead people...., long live… USMCA.. Yes USMCA... you heard me right, let me try again USMCA. On Sunday evening, Canada agreed at the 11th hour to join - if you will - an updated version of NAFTA with the United States and Mexico, now called the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). it will take me a while to memorize it.... The three countries will move from a deal that Donal Trump has called “the single worst trade deal” the United States has ever done to one he says is “the most important trade deal we’ve ever made so far.” Holy smoke... I am Roozbeh Aliabadi. Join me as I'll be looking at Trade but this time in the American Continent.

Sometimes one big story or narrative in a given part of the world can turn public attention from other, frankly comparable conditions that are happening there at the same time. In this episode, I will do a quick run through a few stories that aren’t actually the stories we have heard most about...

This week in New York City - putting aside UN Drama by the one an only Donald Trump, senior US, EU, and Japanese trade officials met to discuss a joint strategy to go after a common dilemma: China. YES, China... These diplomats, particularly question and frankly oppose China’s policies of giving gigantic subsidies to its own companies - known as SOE, while also forcing foreign firms to share technology as the price of access and entry to the massive and lucrative Chinese market.

Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google recently said: “I think the most likely scenario now is not a splitting, but rather a dividing into a Chinese-led internet and a non-Chinese internet led by the United States.” What would that mean for us? Do we need to pick? If Eric Schmidt is correct, and the split becomes permanent, other countries would face a politically charged decision about whose system to choose - The Chinese Internet or the American Internet. I think the decision will have huge ramifications for all us that are using the world wild web, constantly.

Let's talk about UN Drama. US President Donald Trump blasted Iran in his General Assembly opening speech, calling on other countries to join his administration in further isolating Iran. The gameplan for Trump and his national security team, as I have talked about in previous episodes, is to force Tehran to agree to a more rigid version of the 2015 Nuclear Deal that the US, alone among its seven signatories - Russia, China, UK, France, Germany - walked out on earlier this year.

Trump says he’s open to meeting Rouhani on the sidelines of the UNGA, in what would be the first-ever meeting of presidents of the United States and the Islamic Republic. Hard to see it happening – for one thing, Iran’s Supreme leader back in August rejected the possibility of a meeting. For another, the blood is as bad as ever, with Tehran suggesting that the US was responsible for a terrorist attack on a memorial parade in Ahwaz over the weekend.

As a Middle Easter, I really have a problem with the work culture in the entire region, be it in Iran, UAE, Kuwait, Suadi Arabia or elsewhere. Just imagine if you are the future king of Saudi Arabia for example. You really have serious problems to address.