Saintel Daily: A Week In Review – March 2, 2019

Technology

It looks like Huawei’s financial chief Meng Wanzhou will be heading to the United States eventually, in order to face fraud charges. Canada’s Department of Justice has issued an Authority to Proceed measure which would mean that Meng would be extradited. A British Columbia Supreme Court will set the date for the extradition hearing at a March 6th court date where Meng will appear. Right now Meng is under strict bail conditions, which includes GPS tracking and constant monitoring by security staff.

The US’s bid to extradite the CFO is part of a larger US legal battle against Huawei, including allegations the firm stole US trade secrets and violated sanctions against Iran. It’s not guaranteed to pay off. In fact, Meng might not face extradition for months or years, and there’s a chance she could prevail in her case.

Sports

San Antonio Spurs have announced that they have agreed on a contract buyout for Pau Gasol, which paves the way for the six-time All-Star to join the Milwaukee Bucks. What’s interesting about this trade is that it sets up the Gasol brothers to possibly compete against each other in the Eastern Conference Finals. Marc Gasol joined the Toronto Raptors last month, in a trade-deadline with Memphis. Milwaukee currently leads the Eastern Conference with a 47-17 record.

Politics

Election officials in some states and cities are planning on replacing the current insecure voting machines with technology that is might be just as insecure. The machines that Georgia, Delaware, Philadelphia, and likely many other jurisdictions will buy before 2020 are an improvement over the totally paperless devices that have generated controversy for more than 15 years, but security experts warn that these new machines might still pose a risk.

The new machines will allow voters to use touchscreens to select their choices, but they will also print out a slip of paper with the vote both displayed in plain text and also embedded in a barcode. In theory, this hardcopy would make it harder for hackers to manipulate the results. But security experts warn that hackers could still manipulate the barcodes without voters even noticing.

Music

It’s been announced that Kelly Clarkson will host the 2019 Billboard Music Awards in May. This will be easy for Clarkson given that she hosted the awards show last year.

“I had so much fun hosting the Billboard Music Awards last year that I’m back for more. We’re turning it up a notch this year, and I can’t wait to celebrate all of my fellow amazing artists for another unforgettable night of live music.”

Kelly Clarkson

Television

Richard Plepler made quite the move this week. His departure from HBO marks what might be the end of the single most consequential run in the TV industry. This is not only surprising but a definitive break with HBO’s history as a cable network who now moves into a new area, owned by AT&T. It’s also a surprise, given the fact that Plepler had been with HBO since 1992. During that time, the network made some pretty aggressive steps towards becoming a network known as having sharp, urbane cable programming. Making it home to iconic shows, such as The Sopranos, Sex, and the City and Six Feet Under. With Plepler’s departure, HBO is losing a tie to their earliest days. But given the change in the industry, is this really a bad thing?