102 replies to this topic

[VIResident]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has fired John McCallum as ambassador to China.

"Last night I asked for and accepted John McCallum's resignation as Canada's Ambassador to China," said Trudeau in a statement Saturday.



https://www.cbc.ca/n...china-1.4994492

Lets see, one Canadian on death row, 2 others 'detained' and daily 'soft' tortured, and one Ambassador.   

Almost forgot, local tourism will be hammered this year and for years to come. 

Edited by VIResident, 26 January 2019 - 02:26 PM.

[Mike K.]

“The U.S. Department of Justice has announced 13 criminal charges against four executives from the Chinese telecom giant Huawei and Skycom Tech.

Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, who is currently free on bail in Vancouver as the U.S. seeks her extradition, is among those charged.

Acting U.S. attorney general Matthew Whitaker said Monday that a grand jury in New York had recommended the charges.

He said the 13 counts of bank and wire fraud relate to Huawei's claim that its affiliate operating in Iran, Skycom, was a separate, unrelated company. As a result of that claim, it was able to borrow money from U.S. banks.

Skycom, which is based in Hong Kong did business in Iran on behalf of Huawei, he alleged.” - https://www.cbc.ca/n...stice-1.4995848

[Mike K.]

Hold up. National Post is reporting 23 charges.

[Victoria Watcher]

He reaffirmed that the U.S. is seeking extradition of Meng and would formally file for the extradition by Tuesday, Canada's deadline.

 

Whitaker and FBI director Christopher Wray both thanked Canadian officials for their help.

 

The Department of Justice also announced 10 additional charges of wire fraud, trade theft and obstruction of justice against two other Huawei executives who it alleged tried to steal trade secrets.

 

It alleged the two executives tried to steal robotic technology from U.S. carrier T-Mobile to test smartphones' durability.

 

 

https://www.cbc.ca/n...fraud-1.4995848

[amor de cosmos]

Some European carriers, under pressure from the US government, have been forced to drop the Chinese telecoms equipment producer as a major provider for 5G networks.

Cracking down on and smearing legitimate businesses without any proof and using national power, is unfair and immoral, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said, slamming the US-led political attack on Chinese telecoms giant Huawei on Friday, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Saturday.

"Obviously, it's neither fair nor moral to crack down on and smear legitimate businesses without any proof and using national power," the Chinese official said. "The actions are unacceptable, especially considering the political intentions and manipulation behind them."

Chinese officials are not the only ones who found that the US-led war on Huawei is purely for its political intentions.

A New York Times article published during the weekend described how US officials have been lobbying allies in Europe to bar Huawei from participating in building networks for next-generation wireless technologies since the beginning of 2018, as the Trump administration is well aware of this new type of high-end technological race that may pose much more of a threat to US dominance.

US officials went to countries such as Germany and Poland to ask their local counterparts to ban the Chinese telecoms equipment provider, which is the largest of its kind worldwide. They also offered to further deploy US troops, which depended on the countries' decisions on the matter, the report said.

European countries are stuck in the middle of the China-US spat, and they are frustrated as they are forced to take sides.

A source close to Huawei who is concerned with network security and safety told the Global Times on Sunday that the US officials did pressure their European allies and ask them to ban Huawei.

In spite of rising pressure in the West, among its 30 5G commercial contracts gained worldwide, 18 are in Europe, the company said at a recent 5G launch event in Beijing.

"Increasing business deals show that it meets safety requirements in Europe, which further proves that US accusations are groundless," said Xiang Ligang, chief executive of telecom industry news site cctime.com.

http://www.globaltim...t/1137151.shtml

[Mike K.]

Source of the above: GlobalTimes.cn

[amor de cosmos]

^ no worse than CNN, MSNBC or time magazine. carl bernstein wrote a long article in rolling stone all the way back in the 1977 about all the CIA assets in the US media & how they were proud to serve their country & they were all on the same side

the NYT story mentioned above

The White House’s focus on Huawei coincides with the Trump administration’s broader crackdown on China, which has involved sweeping tariffs on Chinese goods, investment restrictions and the indictments of several Chinese nationals accused of hacking and cyberespionage. President Trump has accused China of “ripping off our country” and plotting to grow stronger at America’s expense.

Mr. Trump’s views, combined with a lack of hard evidence implicating Huawei in any espionage, have prompted some countries to question whether America’s campaign is really about national security or if it is aimed at preventing China from gaining a competitive edge.

Administration officials see little distinction in those goals.

“President Trump has identified overcoming this economic problem as critical, not simply to right the balance economically, to make China play by the rules everybody else plays by, but to prevent an imbalance in political/military power in the future as well,” John R. Bolton, Mr. Trump’s national security adviser, told The Washington Times on Friday. “The two aspects are very closely tied together in his mind.”

The administration is warning allies that the next six months are critical. Countries are beginning to auction off radio spectrum for new, 5G cellphone networks and decide on multibillion-dollar contracts to build the underlying switching systems. This past week, the Federal Communications Commission announced that it had concluded its first high-band 5G spectrum auction.

The Chinese government sees this moment as its chance to wire the world — especially European, Asian and African nations that find themselves increasingly beholden to Chinese economic power.

“This will be almost more important than electricity,” said Chris Lane, a telecom analyst in Hong Kong for Sanford C. Bernstein. “Everything will be connected, and the central nervous system of these smart cities will be your 5G network.”

*snip*

While American officials refuse to discuss it, the government snooping was a two-way street. As early as 2010, the N.S.A. secretly broke into Huawei’s headquarters, in an operation, code-named “Shotgiant,” a discovery revealed by Edward J. Snowden, the former N.S.A. contractor now living in exile in Moscow.

Documents show that the N.S.A. was looking to prove suspicions that Huawei was secretly controlled by the People’s Liberation Army — and that Mr. Ren never really left the powerful army unit. It never found the evidence, according to former officials. But the Snowden documents also show that the N.S.A. had another goal: to better understand Huawei’s technology and look for potential back doors. This way, when the company sold equipment to American adversaries, the N.S.A. would be able to target those nations’ computer and telephone networks to conduct surveillance and, if necessary, offensive cyberoperations.

In other words, the Americans were trying to do to Huawei the exact thing they are now worried Huawei will do to the United States.

https://www.nytimes....technology.html

[spanky123]

Within the next decade, China will overtake the US in terms of GDP. A decade after that India will move into second place. I think that the US feels that they can maintain their role as the global superpower by thwarting China's technological push. 

[Mike K.]

The NY Times is no better. It would rather see American industry implode and all work sent offshore rather than admit that the Trump administration might hold American interests as a top priority.

[Mike K.]

Within the next decade, China will overtake the US in terms of GDP. A decade after that India will move into second place. I think that the US feels that they can maintain their role as the global superpower by thwarting China's technological push. 

 

A technological push is easy when it's backed by stolen research.

[AllseeingEye]

Much as it pains me to quote anything from the "People's Network this article from CBC is pretty timely.

 

Note the URL embedded in the story indicating that Australia at least is awake and alert to Chinese aggression in the South China Sea and is willing to put their Defence money where their mouth is, to the tune of $90 billion Aussie bucks.

 

https://www.cbc.ca/n...unger-1.4996928

 

Meanwhile in Canada we're busy apologizing to everyone and everything while shoring up our military capability by stubbornly continuing to plug the leaks in four 30 year old submarines, and "rebuilding" the RCAF by purchasing all of 18 even older Australian F-18's (which is probably helping them to kick start that aforementioned buildup of their own military). Hoo-rah Canada! Oops, pardon me, I'm so very sorry for advocating for a strong Canada. My sincerest apologies. No offence intended, I certainly hope I didn't hurt your feelings....

Edited by AllseeingEye, 29 January 2019 - 06:25 PM.

[jonny]

A technological push is easy when it's backed by stolen research.

 

China, where you can drive your knock-off Honda car to your local "Sunbucks" coffee shop before stopping off at "King Burger" before you head home and grab a "Heimeken" steals ideas? No way! 

[LJ]

My Romex says "it's beer time"

[Matt R.]

I think I saw this stuff at a staff party once...

Billed as the most popular liquor in the world.

Matt.

Edited by Matt R., 01 February 2019 - 12:06 AM.

[lanforod]

It's basically China's saki. I've tried it once... acquired taste for sure.

[amor de cosmos]

sort of like impeaching a president, merely enforcing the law (or "law") in the US is a highly selective & political process
 

The US Justice Department on Monday unsealed a 13-count indictment in New York charging Chinese telecoms giant Huawei, its US and Iranian subsidiaries and Meng with financial fraud, sanctions violations and obstruction of justice, according to the department's website.

The allegations are absurd because, first of all, US "laws" imposing sanctions on Iran are illegal and no one is obliged to obey them, Christopher Black, an international criminal lawyer based in Toronto told the Global Times through an email on Tuesday.

"Secondly, they only apply to US citizens," read the email.

Another serious problem with the indictment is that the names of the US banks they claim were used for money transfers between Huawei and its Iranian counterparts are kept secret, Black pointed out.

"They state over and over again in the document that the US bank's name 'is known only to the grand jury' so there is no way to defend against the charges because we have no idea who they are talking about," he said.

The timing of the indictment was also suspicious, which seems politically charged, an attorney from the US told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Because the deadline to seek extradition was a few days away, the indictment could be political," said Long Z. Liu, an attorney licensed in California.

http://www.globaltim...t/1137586.shtml

Edited by amor de cosmos, 01 February 2019 - 10:11 AM.

[Mike K.]

"They state over and over again in the document that the US bank's name 'is known only to the grand jury' so there is no way to defend against the charges because we have no idea who they are talking about," he said.

 

 

 

Is he even a lawyer for the accused? Unless he is, there's no need for him to know anything.

[Victoria Watcher]

you are quoting a newspaper called the global times which is a Chinese newspaper and thus under Chinese government control as all media is in communist countries. it is owned by the people’s daily - the official communist party newspaper.

that’s not much of a source.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 01 February 2019 - 03:42 PM.

[amor de cosmos]

i suggest you read that rolling stone article mentioned in post #87

[amor de cosmos]

no .cn domain here
 

There was a time when the world’s two great superpowers were obsessed with nuclear weapons technology. Today the flashpoint is between the US and China, and it involves the wireless technology that promises to connect your toaster to the web.

The two countries are embroiled in a political war over the Chinese telecommunications company Huawei. The Americans have recently stepped up long-standing criticisms, claiming the tech giant has stolen trade secrets and committed fraud, and that it has ties to the Chinese government and its military.

The company denies the charges and has sought to defend its record on privacy and security. Meanwhile, US allies including Great Britain, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Germany, and Japan have all either imposed restrictions on Huawei’s equipment or are considering doing so, citing national security concerns.

Behind the headlines, though, the spat is also about the coming wave of networking technology known as 5G, and who owns it.

Here are five things you need to know about the technology and its role in the tensions.

1. What is 5G?
2. Why is it better?
3. What are the security risks?
4. Can 5G be made secure?
5. Why is Huawei’s 5G causing so much concern?

Stalling the company’s expansion into Western markets could have the convenient side effect of letting competitors catch up. But there are also legitimate security concerns surrounding 5G—and reasons to think it could be problematic for one company to dominate the space.

The US government appears to have decided that it’s simply too risky for a Chinese company to control too much 5G infrastructure.

The focus on Huawei makes sense given the importance of 5G, the new complexity and security challenges, and the fact that the Chinese company is poised to be such a huge player. And given the way Chinese companies are answerable to the government, Huawei’s apparent connections with the Chinese military and its cyber operations, and the tightening ties between private industry and the state, this seems a legitimate consideration.

But the ongoing fight with Huawei also goes to show how vital new technology is to the future of global competition, economic might, and even international security.

https://www.technolo...ted-everything/