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Senate Votes To Reinstate ZTE Ban That's Nearly Shut Down the Company (theverge.com)

The U.S. Senate has voted to reinstate a ban on ZTE that prevents the Chinese telecom company from buying U.S. components and using U.S. software. As The Verge notes, "it's still not clear if the reversal will make it into law: it has to clear a conference with the House, and then avoid a veto from President Trump, who advocated for cutting a deal that would lift the ban." From the report: ZTE was hit with the trade ban by the U.S. Commerce Department in April after failing to following through with a punishment for violating sanctions on Iran and North Korea. That ban essentially shut down ZTE, which relies on U.S. parts like Qualcomm processors. Shortly thereafter, Trump said he would cut a deal to revive the company, and a deal was reached -- with additional penalties that the department said were uniquely stringent -- earlier this month.

But senators on both sides of the aisle immediately threatened to stop the deal and reinstate the ban, citing ZTE as a national security risk. And ultimately, a bipartisan group worked to get legislation introduced. The Senate voted 85 to 10 in support of reinstating the ban. It was included as an amendment on the National Defense Authorization Act, a must-pass piece of legislation that has already moved through the House.

23 of 161 comments (clear)

  1. How dare they? by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Obey the President. Anything but total fealty is treason.

    --
    The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    1. Re:How dare they? by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Obey the President. Anything but total fealty is treason.

      Can't wait to hear from Peter Navarro about the "special place in hell" for Senators that go against President Donald J. Trump.
      [ I imagine they will find Justin Trudeau to be very polite company ... :-) ]

      I'm getting out my popcorn popper ...

      --
      It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
    2. Re:How dare they? by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Obey the President. Anything but total fealty is treason.

      Can't wait to hear from Peter Navarro about the "special place in hell" for Senators that go against President Donald J. Trump. [ I imagine they will find Justin Trudeau to be very polite company ... :-) ]

      I'm getting out my popcorn popper ...

      Speaking of special places in hell, the Trumpvilles of little children separated from their parents are showing a rather disturbing side of the Republican party.

      Someone did ask a rather troubling question though - where are the infants and little girls in these Trumpvilles? They were taken away from their parents, but are nowhere to be found.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    3. Re:How dare they? by hairyfeet · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Remember that you support this 110% when a congress kneecaps the next democratic president, after all "what is good for the goose".

      I personally didn't support congress when they wasted years trying to kneecap Obama and I don't support congress spending years trying to kneecap Trump and I would argue there is a reason why they have had the most shit ratings in politics for decades now, its because people elect a president to do a job and if you don't like their choice? Then run someone you think is better against them, trying to kneecap them and keep them tied up so they can't get shit done for years just shows why congress is known for nothing but gridlock and graft.

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    4. Re:How dare they? by Immerman · · Score: 5, Insightful

      They also elect congress to do a job - that job being setting the rules of government that the other branches have to obey. With an 85-10 vote we're not talking party politics, we're talking Congress doing it's F'ing job and preventing the president from undermining the rule of law to line his own pockets.

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      --- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
    5. Re:How dare they? by drinkypoo · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You ever hear of checks and balances? This is one of those rare cases of government working correctly as designed. It's not democracy if the president can unilaterally do whatever he likes.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    6. Re:How dare they? by rsborg · · Score: 2

      > Remember that you support this 110% when a congress kneecaps the next democratic president, after all "what is good for the goose".

      I remember 2009 - 2016 very well. You know where the Senate failed to do it's duty to even hold hearings for approval of judiciary and executive appointments (through use of the silent filibuster). And the House voting for the 53rd time to repeal the ACA.

      So now the shoe's on the other foot. Except there's really no defending DJT's craziness in this or the random tariffs. So far the GOP is pretty happy with Trump it seems. Now are the American people happy with the GOP?

      --
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  2. Re:Kill ZTE but treat defense contractors differen by R3d+M3rcury · · Score: 4, Informative

    Yeah, they still haven't quite figured that out yet. They figured buying the President was good enough. I'd imagine that's how it works in China--you just have to buy the top person.

    Personally, I think this is just a fig-leaf for the elections. "My opponent is campaigning against me by saying that I'm Donald Trump's water-boy. Well, I'm tough--I stood up to the President on this random issue." Of course, nothing will actually happen with this bill before the election. After the election, assuming the Senator gets re-elected, they'll just drop the whole thing...

  3. Keeping companies in the United States by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Qualcomm sold the equipment to ZTE. They know punishing Qualcomm will give them thought of leaving. Punishing a buyer would be a risk to their shareholders. I bet right now, someone at Qualcomm is drawing up what it would take to leave the United States influence.

    1. Re:Keeping companies in the United States by EndlessNameless · · Score: 2

      Qualcomm sold legally to ZTE. There was no problem with selling parts to ZTE before the sanctions.

      ZTE broke the law by selling to Iran and North Korea. While the sanctions are in place, Qualcomm cannot sell to ZTE.

      Why does Trump about jobs at a Chinese company that broke the law? There is some speculation of bribery, but there has been no investigation thus far.

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      According to the latest ruleset, this post should be modded as Vorpal Flamebait +5.
  4. Re:Kill ZTE but treat defense contractors differen by sg_oneill · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Don't confuse China and Russia.

    I have no idea how much of the russian allegations are true, other than the fact a few of the smaller fish have indeed been caught doing naughty things.

    But worst case and its all true, that doesn't mean china is implied here. Russia and china have very different agendas, and to some degree consider each other traditional foes (Particularly because some of the border issues where never really resolved)

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  5. Override the veto by rsilvergun · · Score: 4, Insightful

    unless they do that then this is just political posturing so that reps in vulnerable districts don't take flak for saving Chinese jobs while American ones go overseas.

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    1. Re:Override the veto by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 4, Informative

      85-10 is pretty squarely in the "override veto" territory.

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    2. Re:Override the veto by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 2

      How many of those senators voted to add it to the bill, but have no intent to vote on the actual bill itself?

      Maybe 2 won't vote for the bill. They added it to "Fund the US Military, the Bill". It's like 40% of the US budget, agreed to and everything. It pretty much has to pass, like the debt ceiling, or the economy/country suffers a catastrophy.

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  6. Here's what would work by Patent+Lover · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I think our dear orange leader should just switch his phone over to a ZTE to prove how great they are. Win win.

  7. The left hasn't done anything of the sort by rsilvergun · · Score: 2, Insightful

    what you're referring to is the right wing leadership of the Democratic party (Pelosi, Schumer & Manchin). These are economically right wing "Democrats" who road Bill Clinton's coatails into office and stayed there by selling out the American people to their corporate and big money masters. Same as the Republicans do.

    The actual left is the Bernie Sanders and Justice Democrat wing of the party. They've been hammering away at Medicare for All, Living Wages, a New New Deal (google it) and ending the wars. You know, sound economic policy. The Corporate Democrats make pointless attacks on Trump & co because they can't attack Trump on issues or they'd lose their paychecks.

    Leftism has nothing to do with hatred. But then neither does the right. It's _always_ about money. Even racism is just an excuse to look the other way from slavery.

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  8. Re:Kill ZTE but treat defense contractors differen by R3d+M3rcury · · Score: 5, Informative
  9. Re:what to do? by VanessaE · · Score: 2

    Fire one million.

  10. It's just Genie Bottle Stuffing by NReitzel · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Where did the idea come from that preventing someone from "using 'our' software" was a thing that was even possible?

    In his book "Dark Sun" Richard Rhodes quotes I. V. Kurchatov as saying "The most important thing that we learned from the Americans was that the atomic bomb was possible."

    Knowledge is a highly infectious virus, and no amount of governmental attempts at control will do more than delay things. It's nice that companies want to make a fortune off a piece of software, especially a piece of software that was developed in thousands of different places for tens of thousands of different purposes. The long protracted and in my opinion idiotic SCO lawsuits should have demonstrated once and for all that patenting a general idea is a colossal waste of time.

    In the 1980's, half a dozen small companies and more than a few individuals spent a year or two developing Unix clones from general principles. Western Electric considered it "their baby" and went to great lengths to protect it. Their corporate mind simply ignored the fact that the first versions of Unix were written by one person in a closet, and what one person was able to do, other people could - and did - also do.

    Trying to stop the Chinese or the Russians from getting "our software" is just going to cause them to find some smartass programmer to do it all over again. Worse, such attempts will mean that a lot of similar and not-very-compatible versions will now circulate around and inevitably the consumer will pay in the end when stuff doesn't work quite the way they thought is should.

    Somebody tell the Senate to stop tilting at windmills and worry about real problems instead of trying to prop up corporate moguls with a business plan that boils down to selling old products to deprived consumers for all eternity.

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    Don't take life too seriously; it isn't permanent.

  11. Re: Medicare != sound economic policy by orlanz · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Many economists consider Medicare for all to be sound economics. It is a broad debate with very few people on the "Everyone gets everything" and "Everyone on their own" wings. Few consider the current system of corporations based risk pools to be a good balance. Most settle on some sort of safety net. The debate is around where that net starts.

    It is extremely beneficial for individuals to not worry about the financial burden of health issues (especially in the overpriced US). It frees up massive amounts of financial and labor capital that can be invested in various parts of the economy. It also brings up the most vulnerable and poorest members of society to a more equal footing and thus allows greater contribution from them.

    The costs are negligible when you consider the spends on our global police force or ongoing domestic & foreign wars or various industrial subsidies or even food donations we give globally.

  12. Re:Awful people by drinkypoo · · Score: 2

    Concentration camps? BS. You read too much leftist literature.

    They are concentration camps by any reasonable definition, just as the Japanese-American internment camps were.

    Also, reality has a well-known liberal bias.

    It's basically human trafficking at that point, you bleeding heart moron.

    No, human trafficking is where those 1,400-odd foster kids the feds lost wound up.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  13. Re: Yet another awful person by Straif · · Score: 2

    A small correction to your post:

    FYI asylum seekers showing up at a port of entry and asking for asylum have committed no crime At All.

    The cases people keep pushing to the media are for people illegally crossing the border and then claiming asylum when caught.

    Previous admins use a "catch and release" system where they were given a court date and let go a very large number never showed up. This, as well as other 'kid friendly' policies led to exponential increases in people crossing with underage children or simply sending underage children across alone. It also led to a boost to human traffickers who could simply claim the child they were with was theirs and be let go.

    Trump is simply choosing to enforce the law as written but as is the norm for immigration/border laws, nobody in congress ever expects their laws to be properly followed so they underfunded it leading to a lack of family housing units.

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  14. Re:"Must-pass"? by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 2

    If the bill doesn't pass, approximately 750 billion will not be spent on the US military, leading to a sudden collapse.

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