RoozCast

It is Thanksgiving time in the US and it is one of my favorite holidays. It involves family and lots of food. So let's get to it.

After the Turkey’s done, it’s a Thanksgiving tradition for two people at the dinner table to grab hold of the y-shaped “wishbone” of the Turkey, silently make wishes, and then pull it apart – whoever gets the bigger piece of bone gets what they want. Here are three groups of politicals leaders who’d make nice opposing pairs when it’s time to make a wish…

A delicate and for lack of a better term - really fragile peace within the British governing Conservative Party has been totally destroyed in the past 48 hours, with the future of Brexit negotiations and Theresa May’s government in the balance. To put kind of politely, the prime minister’s Brexit plan was never going to be an easy sell, at least not politically and not given the current environment.

After a series of tough electoral setbacks, German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced yesterday that she will not seek another term as the head of her governing Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party. Merkel has led the party for almost two decades and governed Germany for over a decade.

Like many US presidents before him, President Donald Trump suffered a significant electoral setback in the midterm elections this past Tuesday. The Democrats won the popular vote by more than 7 percentage points, and their new majority in the House of Representatives will give them - of course - real political power for the first time in two years.

Earlier this week, the US officially reimposed sanctions on Iran’s energy and shipping sectors as a part of Trump’s “maximal pressure” campaign against the government in Tehran. The White House granted temporary or provisional waivers to eight friendly countries that import large amounts of Iranian crude oil.

On Tuesday, Nov 6th, 2018 - which is yesterday as of recording this episode, Americans turned out in crowds to vote in midterm elections, returning control of the House of Representatives to the Democrats for the first time since 2010 and leaving Republicans with a slim majority in the Senate. The vote was broadly seen as a referendum on President Trump’s first two years in the Whitehouse.

Today, a deeply divided America votes in midterm elections for Congress, governors, and state and local legislatures. Between a level of extreme polarization not seen in decades, the vote is in many ways a referendum on President Trump’s unique and unconventional presidential style, his “America First” agenda, and his bid to take the Republican Party in a radically more nationalistic direction.

There are interesting signals from Riyadh this past week that some of Saudi Arabia’s most powerful men are feeling the heat. Less than a week ago, Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz boarded a plane in London, and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman was there to meet him when he landed in Riyadh. This is a big big deal, let me tell you why.

Throughout Brazilian president-elect, Jair Bolsonaro’s rise to power, his controversial and questionable views on domestic issues have been front and center. But as the right-wing populist prepares to take office early next year, it’s also worth considering how he may attempt to change Brazil’s foreign policy and global role.

It happens in every democracy - I'm talking about Elections. Usually, just before elections, political leaders and their supporters make wild and crazy promises and wacky allegations in a last-bid attempt to turn the vote’s result. In the United States, this is called “Election Season.” and we have one on Nov 6th, 2018.