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Huawei CFO Meng loses key court fight against extradition to United States

Tessa Vikander, Moira Warburton
Reuters
Wed, 27 May 2020 23:02 UTC
Meng Wanzhou
© ReutersMeng Wanzhou
Huawei Technologies Co's Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou was dealt a setback by a Canadian court on Wednesday as she tries to avoid extradition to the United States to face bank fraud charges.

Meng, a Chinese citizen, was arrested in December 2018 on a warrant issued by U.S. authorities. They accuse her of bank fraud for misleading HSBC about Huawei's relationship with a company operating in Iran, putting HSBC at risk of fines and penalties for breaking U.S. sanctions on Tehran.

Meng's lawyers argued the case should be thrown out because Canada did not have sanctions against Iran.

But British Columbia's Superior Court Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes disagreed, ruling the legal standard of double criminality had been met.

"Ms. Meng's approach ... would seriously limit Canada's ability to fulfill its international obligations in the extradition context for fraud and other economic crimes," Holmes said.

The ruling paves the way for the extradition hearing to proceed to the second phase starting June, examining whether Canadian officials followed the law while arresting Meng.
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Arrow Up

'Just a dwarf': Ex-German Chancellor Schroeder snubs Ukraine envoy who blasted him over calls for anti-Russian sanctions relief


RT
Wed, 27 May 2020 16:29 UTC
Schroeder
© Reuters / Fabrizio BenschFILE PHOTO: Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.
Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder brushed off criticism from the Ukrainian ambassador to Berlin, calling him "a dwarf" in his personal podcast. The diplomat had accused him of being a 'lobbyist' for Moscow.

The veteran politician, who is still deemed a talented orator in Germany, launched his own podcast this week. The otherwise calm conversation, mostly revolving around Germany's "good" handling of the Covid-19 epidemic, suddenly spiraled into an angry outburst by the ex-chancellor near the end.

When speaking about the need to unite in fight against the novel coronavirus and to ditch sanctions imposed against various nations, including Russia, Schroeder attacked Ukrainian envoy Andriy Melnyk without naming him.

Comment: See also: "Blatant extortion": Schroeder slams US threat to withhold sharing intel with Germany over 5G deal with China

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Question

Were conditions for high death rates at Care Homes created on purpose?

Rosemary Frei
OffGuardian
Tue, 26 May 2020 21:28 UTC
elderly woman in wheelchair, care home
During the COVID-19 pandemic, people in care homes have been dying in droves.

Why is this happening? Is it simply because older adults are very vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 and therefore it's not unexpected that many would succumb?

Or do care homes deserve the lion's share of the blame, such as by paying so poorly that many workers have to split their time between several facilities, spreading the virus in the process?

Alternatively, could medical experts and government bureaucrats, with the full knowledge of at least the top tier of government officials, have created conditions shortly after the pandemic struck that contribute to the high death tolls while engendering virtually no public backlash against themselves?

This article shows that the third hypothesis is highly plausible. The people who created the conditions may be unaware of, or oblivious to, their implications. But it's also possible that at least some of them know exactly what they're doing.

After all - seeing it from an amoral government's point of view - the growing numbers of elderly are a big burden on today's fiscally strained governments, because in aggregate they're paying much less into the tax base than younger people while causing the costs of healthcare and retirement programs to skyrocket.
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Chess

Tulsi Gabbard withdraws defamation suit against Hillary Clinton

Nicholas Wu
USA TODAY
Wed, 27 May 2020 21:58 UTC
Hillary Clinton and Tulsi Gabbard
© Getty Images
Former Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard withdrew her lawsuit against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a Wednesday court filing, citing more pressing concerns like defeating President Donald Trump.

The one-page filing by Gabbard's lawyers in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York stresses the "legal merit" of their case but notes current circumstances amid the coronavirus pandemic require Gabbard and her former presidential campaign organization "to focus their time and attention on other priorities, including defeating Donald Trump in 2020, rather than righting the wrongs here."
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Bad Guys

Lead Trump attorney accuses Mueller of 'monstrous lie and scheme to defraud'

Gregg Jarrett
Fox News
Wed, 27 May 2020 21:35 UTC
John Dowd
John Dowd, one of the lead lawyers who represented President Trump during Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian collusion, said Tuesday that the special counsel engineered a perjury trap for Trump in the exact same way that James Comey's FBI invented a trap for former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.

"Mueller's scheme was the same one captured in the (newly released) FBI set-up notes pertaining to Flynn. They knew they had nothing, but using their official power they created and perpetuated the facade of an investigation," said Dowd.

In an extensive interview on Tuesday, Dowd explained to me how his commitment of cooperation and transparency in dealing with Mueller was eventually turned against the president, as the special counsel "misled" Trump's legal team in order to manufacture a crime where none existed.

Comment: Now that it is well established that collusion was a fraud, one might think to look at the validity of 'Russian interference' since this narrative was created by the same movers and shakers. We won't be holding our breath.

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Bad Guys

Pompeo declares that US no longer considers Hong Kong as autonomous from China, threatening trade relations

Tucker Higgins
CNBC
Wed, 27 May 2020 21:24 UTC
pompeo
© Kevin Lamarque / AP
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reported to Congress on Wednesday that Hong Kong was no longer autonomous from China, a move that could jeopardize the special administrative region's favorable trade relationship with the U.S. and open up Chinese officials to sanctions.

The State Department was required to issue a determination on Hong Kong's autonomy under pro-democracy legislation passed late last year. The law also requires the president to impose sanctions on foreigners who undermine "fundamental freedoms and autonomy in Hong Kong."

Pompeo's move comes amid a controversy in Hong Kong over a proposed national security law from Beijing that has spurred protests in the streets of the former British colony.

The proposed law from China's National People's Congress would effectively bypass Hong Kong's own legislature and targets acts of sedition against the central government in Beijing. Fears over China's encroachment on the business center's independence have roiled the region for months and contributed to sending Hong Kong's economy into recession last year.
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Book 2

New book claims Bill Clinton had an affair with Ghislaine Maxwell

Alana Goodman and Daniel Halper
New York Post
Wed, 27 May 2020 19:25 UTC
Bill Clinton and Ghislaine Maxwell
© BERTRAND GUAY/AFP via Getty Images; Sylvain Gaboury/Patrick McMullan via Getty ImagesBill Clinton and Ghislaine Maxwell
Bill Clinton had an affair with British-born socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, who is accused of helping recruit underage victims for notorious pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, according to a blockbuster new book.

The ex-president — who denies cheating on wife Hillary Clinton with Maxwell — reportedly engaged in the romps during overseas trips on Epstein's private plane, a customized Boeing 727 that's since become known as the "Lolita Express."

The nation's 42nd head of state also repeatedly sneaked out to visit Maxwell at her Upper East Side townhouse, as detailed in this exclusive excerpt.

Excerpt from "A Convenient Death: The Mysterious Demise of Jeffrey Epstein," by Alana Goodman and Daniel Halper, out June 2

Clinton was allegedly carrying on an affair with at least one woman in Epstein's orbit, but she was well over the age of consent.

Ghislaine Maxwell, a constant presence at the ex- president's side during these trips, was the primary reason Clinton let Epstein ferry him around the world.

Comment: Possible, but unlikely to be the whole story of Clinton's involvement with Epstein and Maxwell:

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Chess

Pentagon watchdog Glenn Fine resigns after being sidelined by Trump

Maya King
Poiltico
Tue, 26 May 2020 17:55 UTC
Glenn Fine
© Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP PhotoGlenn Fine
Glenn Fine, who was ousted last month as the Pentagon's acting watchdog by President Donald Trump, has resigned from the Defense Department inspector general's office in the latest of a series of departures across the executive branch.

Fine, who was the principal deputy inspector general, announced his resignation in a statement Tuesday extolling the importance of independent watchdogs.

"The role of Inspectors General is a strength of our system of government," Fine said. "They provide independent oversight to help improve government operations in a transparent way. They are a vital component of our system of checks and balances, and I am grateful to have been part of that system.

"After many years in the DoJ and DoD OIGs, I believe the time has come for me to step down and allow others to perform this vital role," he added. "I wish the men and women of the DoD OIG and the Inspector General Community continued success in these important responsibilities."

Comment: It appears Trump is continuing to clean house as the opportunity arises. Breitbart reports:
The removal of Fine last month from the accountability committee and the acting inspector general role has been seen as part of larger set of removals of inspectors general in a short time.

On Friday, House Democrats introduced legislation to protect inspectors general from retaliation after Trump fired five watchdogs within a few months.

Earlier this month, Trump fired State Department Inspector General Steve Linick upon Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's request after he began an investigation into allegations that Pompeo had an aide run personal errands for him. Pompeo told The Washington Post that he had asked Trump to fire him, but said that it was not a retaliatory move because he did not know about the probe beforehand.

Critics said the move was also to shield Pompeo from other potential political harm. The issue involving Pompeo included efforts to fast-track a Saudi arms deal along with using the staffer for personal errands, CNN, NBC News and USA Today reported.

After firing Linick, the Trump administration also ousted Mitchell Behm as acting Transportation Department inspector general the next day, prompting an investigation by House Democrats.

Also, this month, Trump moved to replace another watchdog in the Department of Health and Human Services. Trump removed Christi Grimm as principal inspector after her office issued a report in April, finding "severe shortages" of COVID-19 testing kits, frequent testing delays of seven days or longer, along with "widespread shortages" of proper protective equipment in hospitals.

Last month, Trump fired intelligence community Inspector General Michael Atkinson, who told lawmakers about the whistleblower complaint that led to his impeachment inquiry. The House voted to impeach Trump on Dec. 18, but the majority of the Senate voted to acquit him in February.
Trump removes Obama-era IG from Covid-19 relief watchdog panel as Dems cry corruption

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Chess

Much ado about nothing: Hungary set to rescind rule-by-decree powers given to MSM-dubbed 'Dictator Orban'


RT
Wed, 27 May 2020 18:54 UTC
Viktor Orban
© AFP / Andrej IsakovicHungary PM Viktor Orban
Hungary's government will submit legislation to remove emergency powers granted to PM Viktor Orban, which set off hysterical reactions from EU officials and Western media which warned the country was sliding into "dictatorship."

Justice Minister Judit Varga said on Tuesday she would bring legislation to parliament on June 20 to end the state of emergency which has allowed Orban to rule by decree during the Covid-19 crisis.

Varga slammed those who "attacked us with unjust political accusations" and called on them to apologize for leading a "slander campaign" against the country.

Orban himself demanded apologies earlier this month, saying there was "no basis for the criticisms." Varga also slammed the opposition, which refused to support what they viewed as a power grab as there was no sunset clause embedded in the emergency legislation.
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Dominoes

As deadline passes, Afghan cease-fire appears to be holding


RFE/RL
Wed, 27 May 2020 18:37 UTC
afghan military
Even though calls for the Taliban to prolong a cease-fire with the Afghan government have gone unanswered so far, there have been no signs of renewed fighting and the militants say they will release more prisoners.

A Taliban-declared three-day lull in fighting, which ended on May 26, provided a rare break from the violence, prompting the government to call on the militants to extend the cease-fire so long-delayed peace talks could begin.

Amid the cease-fire, Afghan authorities released some 1,000 Taliban prisoners -- part of a pledge by the government to free up to 2,000 militants in response to the Taliban's cease-fire move.

A senior member of the Taliban on May 27 told the AFP news agency that the militants were planning to free about 50 to 100 Afghan security force members as early as May 28.
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