Leading Up To The Act Scheduled April 19 2016: Fill & Download for Free

I found this list already compiled in the vast wasteland that is Facebook and traced it back to a Reddit thread, and then went through and verified it item by item and added some citations. I wanted to share it with the Quora community, because it’s quite interesting to me, and I’m curious what your thoughts might be. So here we go, what Trump has done for veterans:pardoned multiple war criminals[1]mocked and threatened Iraq War Purple Heart recipient Lt. Col. Vindman for his rank and wearing of his uniform, which resulted in his request for and receipt of military protection[2]Trump’s Chief of Staff, Mick Mulvaney, worked in secret to deny comprehensive health coverage to Vietnam War veterans suffering from exposure to Agent Orange. [3]On Veterans Day 2019, Sen. Tammy Duckworth visited the Tijuana facility for US veterans deported by Trump[4]Trump gives control of vacant Syrian air base to Russia[5]On October 7, 2019, Trump abruptly withdrew support from America's allies in Syria after a phone call with Turkey's president (Erdogan). Turkey subsequently bombed US Special Forces.[6]Trump sent thousands of American troops to defend the oil assets of the country that perpetrated 9/11.[7]In September 2019, he made an Air Force cargo crew, flying from the US to Kuwait stop in Scotland (where there's no US base) to refuel at a commercial airport (where it costs more), so they could stay overnight at a Trump property (which isn't close to the airport). Trump’s golf courses in Ireland and Scotland are losing money, so he's forcing the military to pay for nights there.[8]In September 2019, the Pentagon pulled funds for military schools and daycares to pay for Trump's border wall.[9]In August 2019, emails revealed that three of Trump's Mar-a-Lago pals, who are now running Veterans Affairs, are rampant with meddling. "They had no experience in veterans affairs (none of them even served in the military) nor underwent any kind of approval process to serve as de facto managers. Yet, with Trump’s approval, they directed actions and criticized operations without any oversight. They wasted valuable staff time in hundreds of pages of communications and meetings, emails show. Emails reveal disdainful attitudes within the department to the trio’s meddling."[10]Veterans graves will be "dug up" for the border wall, after Trump instructed aides to seize private property. Trump told officials he would pardon them if they break the law by illegally seizing property.[11]Children of deployed US troops will no longer get automatic American citizenship if born overseas during deployment. This includes US troops posted abroad for years at a time (August 28, 2019).[12]On August 2, 2019, Trump requisitioned military retirement funds towards border wall.[13]Trump denied a U.S. Marine of 6 years entry into the United States for his scheduled citizenship interview (Reported July 17, 2019).[14]Trump made the US Navy Blue Angels violate ethics rules by having them fly at his July 4, 2019 political campaign event.[15]Trump demanded US military chiefs stand next to him at 4th of July parade.[16]In June, 2019, Trump sent troops to the border to paint the fence for a better "aesthetic appearance".[17]Trump used his D-Day interview at a cemetery commemorating fallen US soldiers to attack a Vietnam veteran (June 6, 2019)[18]as well as private citizen Bette Midler.[19]Trump made his 2nd wife, Marla Maples, sign a prenup that would have cut off all child support if their daughter Tiffany joined the military.[20]On May 27, 2019, Trump turned away US military from his Memorial Day speech because they were from the destroyer USS John S. McCain.[21]Trump ordered the USS John McCain out of sight during his visit to Japan (May 15, 2019). The ship's name was subsequently covered. (May 27, 2019)[22]Trump purged 200,000 veterans healthcare applications (due to known administrative errors within VA’s enrollment system) (reported on May 13, 2019).[23]Trump deported a spouse of fallen Army soldier killed in Afghanistan, leaving their daughter parentless (April 16, 2019).[24]On March 20, 2019, Trump complained that a deceased war hero didn't thank him for his funeral.[25]On February 25, 2019, Trump diverted military housing funds to pay for his border wall. A judge subsequently denied this. In July 2019, SCOTUS ruled that Trump could in fact divert military housing funds to pay for his wall.[26]Between 12/22/2018, and 1/25/2019, Trump refused to sign his party's funding bill, which shut down the government, forcing the Coast Guard to go without pay, which made service members rely on food pantries. However, his appointees got a $10,000 pay raise.[27]Trump bans transgender people from serving in the military, requiring to serve as their biological sex.[28]He denied female troops access to birth control to limit sexual activity.[29]He tried to deport a marine vet who is a U.S.-born citizen.[30]When a man was caught swindling veterans’ pensions for high-interest “cash advances," Trump's Consumer Financial Protection Bureau fined him $1. As a reminder, the Trump administration's goal was to dismantle the CFPB, installing Mick Mulvaney as the director, who publicly stated the bureau should be disbanded. (January 26, 2019)[31]He called a retired general a 'dog' with a 'big, dumb mouth'.[32]He increased privatization of the VA, leading to longer waits and higher taxpayer cost.[33][34] (My FIL has lost access to at least one of his services.)He finally visited troops 2 years after taking office, but only after 154 vacation days at his properties. (December 26, 2018) [35] [36]He revealed the faces of a Seal Team 5 deployment during his visit to Iraq in a publicity photo he posted on Twitter, which is “unusual”. (December 26, 2018) [37]Trump lied to deployed troops that he gave them a 10% raise (12/26/2018). He tried giving the military a raise that was lower than the standard of living adjustment. Congress told him that idea wasn't going to work. Then after giving them the raise that Congress made him, he lied about it pretending that it was larger than Obama's. It wasn't.[38]He fired service members living with HIV just before the 2018 holidays.(December 19, 2018-present) [39]He tried to slash disability and unemployment benefits for Veterans to $0, and eliminate the unemployability extra-schedular rating. (December 17, 2018) [40] [41]He called troops on Thanksgiving and told them he's most thankful for himself. (2018) [42]He urged Florida to not count deployed military votes. (November 12, 2018)[43]He canceled a WWI Cemetery visit on Veterans Day due to light rain. (November 10, 2018)[44]Image Source: Trump Makes Veterans' Weekend All About Himself, Blows Off Visit To WWI Cemetery In France Due To A "Little Rain" · DC TribuneHe followed the Veterans Day mistake in France by also skipping a visit to Arlington Cemetery, also because of light rain. (November 12, 2018)[45]He used troops as a political prop by sending more than 5000 of them on a phantom mission to the border to thwart some South American caravan, thereby causing them to miss Thanksgiving with their families. (October - December, 2018)[46]Trump changed the GI Bill through his Forever GI Act, causing the VA to miss veteran benefits, including housing allowances. This caused many veterans to run out of food and rent. (reported October 7, 2018)[47] [48]Trump doubled the rejection rate for veterans requesting family deportation protections. (July 5, 2018)[49]Trump deported active-duty spouses (11,800 military families faced this problem as of April 2018).[50] Some of them were Trump supporters.He forgot a fallen soldier's name during a call to his pregnant widow, then attacked her the next day. (October 23-24, 2017)[51]He sent commandos into an ambush due to a lack of intel, four were killed. (October 4, 2017)[52] [53] [54]“the largest loss of American lives in combat in Africa since the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993” Tongo Tongo ambush - WikipediaImage Source: New details emerge on ambush in Niger that killed 4 U.S. soldiersHe blocked a veterans’ group with an estimated half a million veterans and their families on Twitter. (June 2017) [55]He ordered the discharge of active-duty immigrant troops with good records. (2017-present) [56]Trump said he knows more about ISIS than American generals. (October, 2016)On October 3, 2016, Trump said vets get PTSD because they aren't strong enough. [57]Trump attacks Gold Star families - Myeshia Johnson--gold star widow, Khan family--gold star parents, etc. (2016-present) [58]Trump sent funds raised from a January 2016 veterans benefit to the Donald J. Trump Foundation instead of veterans charities. (The foundation has since been ordered shut because of fraud.) (January, 2016) [59]Trump said he has "more training militarily than a lot of the guys that go into the military" because he went to a military-style academy. (2015 biography) [60]Trump said he doesn't consider POWs war heroes because they were caught. He said he prefers people who were not caught. (July 18, 2015)Trump said having unprotected sex was his own personal Vietnam.(1998) [61]For a decade, Trump sought to kick veteran vendors off of Fifth Avenue because he found them unsightly nuisances outside of Trump Tower. “While disabled veterans should be given every opportunity to earn a living, is it fair to do so to the detriment of the city as a whole or its tax paying citizens and businesses?” (1991) [62]Trump dodged the draft 4 times by having a doctor diagnose him with bone spurs [63]and once for a problem with his heels. [64] No Trump in America has ever served in the military; this spans 4 generations. In fact, the reason his grandfather immigrated to America was to avoid military service. [65] [66]Fired key impeachment witness Lt. Col. Alex Vindman and his twin brother from their White House jobs in an obvious act of retribution on 2/7/20. [67]Footnotes[1] Trump Sides With War Criminals[2] Trump Just Threatened War Hero and Impeachment Witness Vindman[3] Schumer Calls On Acting Chief Of Staff Mick Mulvaney To Reverse His Decision Denying Comprehensive Health Care To Veterans Suffering From Illnesses Due To Agent Orange Exposure | Senate Democratic Leadership[4] Trump's record on the military, veterans, and military families...[5] Russia Takes Over Vacated U.S. Air Base in Northern Syria[6] Turkey, Syria, the Kurds, and Trump’s Abandonment of Foreign Policy[7] https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/trump-announces-new-sanctions-on-irans-central-bank/2019/09/20/23643aae-dbb9-11e9-a688-303693fb4b0b_story.html[8] Trump's record on the military, veterans, and military families...[9] Pentagon pulls funds for military schools, daycare to pay for Trump's border wall[10] Three of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Buddies Are Secretly Running the V.A.[11] Will Graves of US Veterans Be Dug Up for Trump's Border Wall?[12] Some Children of US Troops Born Overseas Will No Longer Get Automatic American Citizenship[13] Trump orders Navy to rescind medals from lawyers who prosecuted SEAL Eddie Gallagher[14] Deported Marine veteran trying to reunite with family denied US entry for citizenship interview[15] Adoration and anger in the crowd at Trump’s July 4th celebration at the Lincoln Memorial[16] Trump 'demands military chiefs stand next to him' at Fourth of July parade[17] Troops will paint border fence to improve ‘aesthetic appearance’[18] Trump criticised for using D-Day interview next to war cemetery to launch attack on Pelosi[19] Trump goes after Bette Midler during middle-of-the-night Twitter feud — from London[20] Trump's prenup from second marriage says child support would be cut off if his kid joined military[21] US sailors were reportedly turned away from Trump's Memorial Day speech because they were from destroyer USS John S. McCain[22] 'Out of sight': Trump confirms USS John McCain was hidden from his view[23] Trump administration breaks campaign promise, purges 200,000 VA healthcare applications[24] https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/04/16/ice-deported-widow-soldier-killed-afghanistan-attorney-says/[25] Twitter Users Bury Thankless Trump Over Ugly McCain Funeral Slam[26] Pentagon diverts $3.6 billion in military construction funds to build Trump's border wall[27] Trump signs bill ending 3-day government shutdown[28] Pentagon's transgender policy for military service to take effect, nearly two years after Trump tweeted about the ban[29] Military women report they are being denied access to birth control for 'ridiculous' reasons that may violate Pentagon policy[30] https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/ice-almost-deported-u-s-born-marine-veteran-says-aclu-n959516[31] Trump’s CFPB Fines a Man $1 For Swindling Veterans, Orders Him Not to Do It Again[32] Trump calls retired general a ‘dog’ with a ‘big, dumb mouth’[33] Increased Privatization of the VA Has Led to Longer Waits and Higher Costs for Taxpayers[34] President Trump Pushes the Department of Veterans Affairs Toward Increased Privatization[35] Trump Visits Iraq, Pays Troops Surprise Visit[36] Trump Visits Iraq, His First Trip To A Combat Zone In His Life[37] FACT CHECK: Did Trump Reveal A ‘Covert’ SEAL Team?[38] Fact check: Trump brags to troops about 10 percent pay raise he didn't actually give them[39] Trump Quietly Starts Firing Service Members Living with HIV Just Before the Holidays[40] Trump Budget Proposal to Slash Veteran Benefits - Jeffrey Freedman Attorneys PLLC[41] Individual Unemployability Cuts On The Way? Team Trump Quietly Rolls Out Obama Admin Initiated Cuts, Severely Disabled Veterans May Lose Big[42] Donald Trump congratulates himself in Thanksgiving phone call to troops overseas[43] Trump wants Florida to stop counting votes, potentially excluding military ballots[44] Trump visit to US cemetery in France canceled due to rain[45] As nation observes Veterans Day, Trump not visiting Arlington National Cemetery[46] Trump: 'Don't worry' about troops spending Thanksgiving at border[47] VA.gov | Veterans Affairs[48] Some veterans are going into debt because the VA owes them money[49] Trump has doubled rejection rate for veterans requesting family deportation protections[50] As many as 11,800 military families face deportation issues, group says[51] Trump Attacks a Grieving Widow’s Account[52] Trump dodges his own Benghazi: Pentagon quietly closes investigation into Niger ambush[53] New details emerge on ambush in Niger that killed 4 U.S. soldiers[54] US soldier ambushed in Niger fought to the end[55] Trump blocks group representing military veterans on Twitter[56] US Army quietly discharging immigrant recruits that were promised citizenship[57] Video: Trump Under Fire for Comments on Veterans With PTSD[58] 'Repugnant': Families of War Dead Demand Apology From Trump[59] Judge signs off on shutdown of Trump Foundation after ‘pattern of illegality’[60] Donald Trump Likens Military School He Was Forced to Attend to Serving in the Actual Military[61] Trump Boasted of Avoiding STDs: Vaginas 'Are Landmines ... It Is My Personal Vietnam'[62] Trump vs. Veteran Vendors[63] FACT CHECK: Donald Trump's Draft Deferments[64] Trump was granted five draft deferments during the Vietnam War[65] The Trump Family's Immigrant Story[66] Trump's record on the military, veterans, and military families...[67] Key impeachment witness Lt. Col. Alex Vindman fired from White House job

PrologueFirst, let me start off by saying that I agree with Benedict Evans that 5G as a technology isn’t all that earth-shattering. It’s really just a continuation of a well-established trend: fatter and fatter data pipes. Imagine being able to take your home Wi-Fi everywhere and that pretty much describes 5G.Getting excited about 5G, or talking about amazing new applications it enables, is pretty much like getting excited about a new version of DSL or DOCSIS.— Benedict Evans (@benedictevans) March 14, 2018This is not to say that 5G is not important, or diminish the work done by hundreds of thousands of engineers, scientists and other wireless industry professionals around the world … or that it won’t catalyze the development of a host of cool new applications bearing all of the latest buzzwords and acronyms.It’s just more that I find the underlying economic and geopolitical story far more interesting and meaningful. Sort of like the 2006 film Babel starring Brad Pitt, it is a multiple-storyline epic featuring two main protagonists that lead completely separate lives for the first four acts while gradually converging … until the climactic moment when their paths smash into each other.As the curtains open on Act V, we find the two protagonists having finally taken the stage at the same time. And while we can make some guesses as to how things unfold from here, the reality is that the story is still being written.The implications are enormous and bigger than the wireless industry itself. Indeed, this is perhaps the most important area to pay attention to in today’s increasingly tech-driven geopolitical arena.But we are getting ahead of ourselves; to fully appreciate the saga we need to start at the very beginning … where we find ourselves on a deserted Hamptons beach at the break of dawn, sometime in the mid-80s …Act I“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way — in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.”Opening paragraph to A Tale of Two Cities by Charles DickensI remember the iconic scene[1] in 1987 film Wall Street when Gordon Gekko officially brings Bud Fox, an ambitious young broker, “inside” the curtain. It is a critical scene in the movie, made even more dramatic by use of what was then a novel piece of modern technology — the cellular phone. Gekko delivers the coup de grâce to the young broker by expounding — in real-time on that phone — on the beauty and awe of the sunrise from his beachfront palace as a metaphor for a new world of hitherto unimaginable wealth that he was about to enter.The first cellular phones were analog radio devices that would connect to a local tower that oversaw a fixed area, or “cell”, on a dedicated frequency. The radio-frequency (RF) technology was pretty much the same as that powering walkie-talkies — the trick there was figuring out how to connect the walkie-talkie to the circuit-switched phone network.Call capacity was limited because there are only so many slices of frequency into which you could divide spectrum before you run into quality issues. As a result, early cellphones and their related service plans were extremely expensive and generally limited to wealthy moguls like the fictional Gordon Gekko.But while Gekko extolled the “virtues” of unmitigated greed, scientists and engineers were working on the next generation of wireless standards, and trying to solve the fundamental problem of how to cram more channels into the same allotment of limited spectrum. It is essentially the same problem that they continue to try to improve on today.At the time, there were two competing methods on how to do this. The first was something called time-division multiple access (TDMA)[2]. With TDMA, you could have multiple users share the same frequency by dividing the signal into fixed time slots that were assigned to each active user.The second method was code-division multiple access (CDMA).As with TDMA, the goal of CDMA was to permit multiple users from sharing the same slice of frequency but instead of having fixed, assigned time slots to differentiate between users, CDMA used unique codes to identify each user (hence the name). These codes could switch and hop across multiple channels, making it more flexible than TDMA.From a technology perspective, CDMA was better because it was more scalable especially as the world became more digital and less analog over time. But as we saw in the battle between VHS and Betamax[3], sometimes it is not just about technological superiority.Act IIThe race was on between the two competing standards.Western European countries latched onto the TDMA method and a generally open, collaborative approach, releasing Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM)[4] in 1991.The world’s first GSM call was made by Finnish Prime Minister Harri Holkeri on July 1st, 1991 and commercially deployed at the end of the year on a network built by German conglomerate Siemens and a then-relatively unknown conglomerate subsidiary called Telenokia. It would later drop the prefix, adopt the name of its conglomerate parent and become widely known simply as “Nokia”.Helsinki, Finland (Photo: Paasitorni)The competing CDMA method was not entirely novel — it had been pioneered as early as the 1930s by scientists from the Soviet Union. Interestingly, wireless phones based on the CDMA method were used in Moscow as early as 1963. However, it wasn’t until a former electrical engineering professor from MIT named Irwin Jacobs latched onto the technology that it found mainstream, commercial applications.In 1985, Jacobs launched Qualcomm — which stood for “Quality Communications” — based in the Southern California paradise of San Diego. The new company was initially focused on mobile satellite communications and because satellite bandwidth was so expensive and precious, there was an intense focus on bandwidth efficiency, which is what had led Jacobs to CDMA.The company went public in September 1991, raising $68 million to fund its CDMA research and later an additional $486 million to help commercialize a CDMA-based ecosystem. Qualcomm was perhaps the highest flier in the high-flyin’ 90s, ending the decade with its stock price increasing around 180x from its IPO price eight years earlier.Knowing nothing else but Qualcomm’s stock chart in the 1990s, one could have reasonably concluded that CDMA and its superior technology had won.But that was not to be, at least here in Act II.One issue for Qualcomm and its CDMA-based “cdmaOne” standard was that GSM had gotten a big head start.The “cdmaOne” standard was not adopted as a standard until 1995[5] at which point GSM networks in Western Europe and the United States had already reached 10 million active subscribers. By the time cdmaOne networks were deployed at scale, GSM networks had already reached over 100 million active subscribers.The other issue is that for voice, the technical advantages of CDMA were not that significant. TDMA did a fine job of transmitting voice and capacity constraints could be alleviated by adding additional wireless radios or reducing the size of each cell, especially if those radios could be purchased at affordable rates.Taking a more open, collaborative approach, GSM had also incorporated certain features such as a standard ID schema that allowed cellphones to be used across multiple networks by simply switching out the SIM card — which was much more important in Europe with its multiple country networks vs. the United States where people tended to travel internationally far less frequently.Ultimately, GSM won decisively by achieving scale and driving down cost. Because GSM networks were first to market, equipment manufacturers were able to deploy networks more quickly and inexpensively. Because GSM operators reached scale, handset manufacturers designed handsets around GSM standards. Because GSM was developed with a more open, collaborative approach, its technology licensing fees were lower. And because costs were lower, active subscribers tended to go with GSM networks vs. cdmaOne when given a choice.In September 2001, shortly after 9/11[6], I moved out to Hong Kong, which had deployed a GSM network.I was amazed at how much cheaper and better my cellphone service was compared to the United States. It was incredibly convenient to be able to simply switch out a small SIM card and start using your phone on another network. I loved my Nokia 8310 handset[7]. And I still distinctly remember how one annoying thing about work trips to South Korea — one of the few markets that had chosen CDMA over GSM — was having to use a clunky loaner Sanyo handset that didn’t have my address book or Snake[8].My Nokia 8310 handset (circa December 2003)GSM and Nokia had won the 2G war. CDMA-based technology was expensive and clunky and few people wanted it. By the early 2000s, Nokia was a giant, one of the world’s most valuable companies, at one point accounting for 21% of Finland’s exports and 70% of the Helsinki stock exchange market capitalization.But we were really just getting warmed up.Act IIILong before Apple unlocked “Smartphones” on the Technology Research Tree in 2007[9], wireless industry executives had suspected that data and not voice was going to be the long-term future of wireless. Fresh off the release of GSM in 1991, the various industry groups that set wireless standards had already begun trying to figure out how to transmit data at high speeds over the airwaves.Most had already known that GSM’s TDMA approach — perfectly adequate for voice communications — was just not going to cut it for data. While data could be transmitted over GSM networks, the transmission rate was capped at speeds reminiscent of the early days of dial-up modems. As nostalgic as I was for the halcyon days of the mid–90s, it was just not practical for anything outside of short-form messaging (i.e. SMS/texting).As wireless industry executives tried to find solutions for this technical issue, every path seemed to lead back to San Diego.San Diego, California (Photo: PV Magazine)It’s not enough to just have a good idea — you need to execute.While wireless operators worked 24/7 to deploy mostly GSM mobile networks around the world in response to the surge in active subscriber growth, Qualcomm was busy executing … and betting its future on CDMA. It too worked round-the-clock — frankly, an amazing accomplishment considering San Diego’s gorgeous year-round weather — to solve fundamental issues related to implementing wireless networks using the CDMA approach.Its main approach was to patent specific methods on how to perform various functions that were important in enabling wireless communication. For example, US Patent No. 5,280,472[10], issued on January 18, 1994, called for a “CDMA communication system in which cellular techniques are utilized in a distributed antenna system environment”. This particular one would cover instances where wireless signals need to be split up and re-routed and amplified within large buildings that remote tower-generated wireless signals would have difficulty penetrating.This was just one of an estimated 16,000 patents filed by Qualcomm over the years[11], of which at least 6,000 are related to wireless. In addition to building its IP portfolio, Qualcomm took a lead role in fostering eco-system development, including at various points producing handsets, network equipment and designing RF chips and chipsets.Photo: Gizmodo: Qualcomm's Amazing Wall of PatentsAs various 3G standards — represented by confusing acronyms like UMTS, W-CDMA, TD-SCDMA, CDMA2000 — emerged and were implemented, it became abundantly clear that CDMA was the common technology tying all of them together. With such a large patent portfolio around this method, it also became clear that Qualcomm was going to be collecting a recurring, steadily increasing stream of royalty payments for the foreseeable future.As 4G standards (LTE) rolled around in the mid- to late-2000s, cementing data as the key focus of the wireless industry, Qualcomm emerged as the dominant toll collector in one of the largest and most strategic industries on the planet.Act IV — Part I:For most of the first three acts, China is a mere after-thought, a minor character that is largely relegated to watching the main action from backstage:While Gordon Gekko was recruiting Bud Fox into his insider trading cabal, China was figuring out how to motivate its farmers to really put their backs into it so the nation could avoid teetering so close to the edge of starvation.While Nokia was busy deploying early GSM networks in Western Europe, China was figuring out how to dismantle its centrally planned industry without uprooting the lives of urban workers to the point where they would pour out into the streets by the millions like they did that fateful spring of 1989.While Qualcomm’s scientists were patenting thousands of wireless patents, China was figuring out how to open its doors so it could actually start trading the things that it had in abundance — e.g. inexpensive labor — for the things that it lacked, like wireless technology.In 1987, Ren Zhengfei — a former mid-level officer in the People's Liberation Army engineering division — founded Huawei in Shenzhen, the city bordering Hong Kong which was at the front lines of China’s economic reform program. At this point, China was 100%-reliant on foreign telecom equipment for its landline industry and most major international telecom equipment companies had established a presence in the country on the promise of tapping into China’s billion-person market.Shenzhen in the late 80s / early 90s (Photo: Shenzhen Municipal Government)At first, Huawei focused on re-selling imported telephone switches and fire alarms from Hong Kong. But for whatever reason, its founders decided very early on that the company should develop its own technology in-house vs. the “easier” path taken by others like Shanghai Bell to form a joint venture with multinationals to access foreign technology via transfers. Ren believed that “foreign companies were unlikely to transfer their cutting-edge technology and that Huawei would be better served by performing its own R&D”[12].Starting from a technology base of virtually nil, Huawei nonetheless prioritized R&D from its early stages. As a private company (vs. state-owned enterprise), Huawei suffered from lack of access to capital and was forced to borrow at extremely high rates in the early years. Despite these challenges, by 1993 Huawei had released its first significant in-house developed product — an electronic switch that could handle 10,000 lines, unprecedented for a domestic company at the time. It was a mature product and comprised almost entirely of foreign components but it was still quite impressive for the six-year old company.Huawei C&C08 Circuit Switch (Photo: DIY Trade, Shenzhen Huaxinzhihe Technology Co.)One of its strategies was to focus on market segments that were ignored by foreign technology suppliers. For example, international telecom companies preferred to focus on the rapidly growing urban centers while ignoring the poor, rural areas. Seeing this, Huawei adapted foreign technology to deal with “frontier market” issues — problems such as unreliable power grids and rats that like to gnaw on cables. Its business practices were “controversial” and by international standards probably textbook “corrupt” but in China at this time, function prevailed over form.Huawei began to separate itself from its domestic peers. By 1996, less than a decade after founding, it had secured its first international customer, selling circuit switches to Li Ka-shing’s telephone company in Hong Kong. By 2002, Huawei had overtaken Shanghai Bell, the largest Chinese-international JV at the time. Around this time it began expanding into adjacent markets like Internet and data communications, which was dominated by companies like Cisco.February 5th, 2003 marked the day that the name “Huawei” was formally introduced to the American lexicon (outside of a small group of telecom industry insiders). This was the day that Cisco sued Huawei’s American subsidiaries for copying code from its routers[13]. It marked the first major instance where a Chinese technology company had brushed up against an American one — not to mention the beginning of what I can only describe as a “lengthy and systematic effort by Americans to devise ever-increasingly creative and sophisticated ways to butcher the pronunciation of its name”.The suit was settled in 2004 but the damage had already been done. By this time, Huawei had captured one-third of China’s enterprise market and has never looked back.By the mid-2000s, Huawei was pushing hard into developing markets with an increasingly sophisticated array of products and services for both landline and wireless communications. Like its foray into China’s rural markets in the early 1990s, Huawei adapted mature products for developing countries facing problems that China had dealt with the prior decade such as non-existent or unreliable power grids and inexperienced technical staff.An example from one of my early Quora answers[14] was a low-power base station that could run on solar power, targeted at African countries that lacked reliable power infrastructure. In another early answer[15], I also discuss the important role the China Development Bank played in helping Huawei expand into overseas markets.RuralStar Base Station (Photo: Huawei)By 2011, Huawei had overtaken Ericsson as the largest telecom equipment supplier in the world with approximately $33 billion in revenue and industry-leading profit margins.It was around this time that Huawei had started aggressively pushing into consumer electronics[16] as well, piggybacking on the smartphone revolution and its now massive R&D operation to vault into the Top 10 of smartphone OEMs. By 2017, Huawei was pushing $100 billion in revenue, largely driven by growth in its consumer devices division which was now challenging Samsung for the top spot in smartphone market share (by unit volume). Today, the company has around 180,000 employees worldwide with 80,000 of them involved in R&D[17].Act IV — Part II:While Huawei was pushing forward at breakneck speed (even compared to the rapidly evolving Chinese economy), China’s state-owned telecom operators were plodding along slowly, trying their best just to keep up with the rapid and accelerating march of communications technology.Prior to 1994, the state held a monopoly on the provision of telecommunications services through the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications and its operational arm, China Telecom. In 1994, to kick off reforms, the first competitor was established (China Unicom) and in the following years, there would be a series of reforms as Chinese policymakers tried to mold these former government ministries into modern corporations.It was around this time that Qualcomm had first reached out to China. Although the Chinese government had already selected GSM for commercial use in 1994 — attracted by lower cost and ease-of-deployment — Qualcomm set up a partnership with the People’s Liberation Army (kind of crazy when you look back and think about it) to use its CDMA technology for military communications. However, in 1998, Chinese President Jiang Zemin “shocked the world” when he announced[18] that the PLA would no longer be allowed to engage in civilian activities, swiftly killing off the joint venture plans.The Chinese government was initially hesitant to partner with Qualcomm until they would address three priority issues:It wanted to be able to deploy phones that could work on both GSM and CDMA networksIt did not want to pay the royalty fees or structure that Qualcomm was demanding for its CDMA technologyIt wanted access to the design of Qualcomm’s CDMA chipsetHowever, as detailed excellently by MacroPolo[19], in the backdrop of late-90s negotiations to enter the World Trade Organization (WTO), Chinese policymakers decided to drop most of these demands and, under pressure from the US government, agreed to allow Qualcomm and its CDMA technology into the Chinese market. This decision would prove very costly in later years but for now, China was more focused on WTO accession.Source: MacroPolo: From Windfalls to Pitfalls: Qualcomm’s China Conundrum - MacroPoloFollowing this decision, over the next decade Qualcomm’s revenue in the Chinese market grew from zero to nearly $2.5 billion and came to represent almost one-fifth of the company’s revenue. And this was just the beginning — as China began to commercially deploy 3G networks in 2008, this number was set to explode even higher.Source: Company Filings via Capital IQIn the most recent fiscal year (12 months ending September 30, 2018), Qualcomm’s revenue from China had increased to over $14 billion and represented over two-thirds of its revenue stream.A large part of this revenue stream, especially in the earlier years, was paid by foreign smartphone OEMs like Apple[20] but as Chinese smartphone OEMs (incl. Huawei) took market share in China and around the world, they began to realize how much Qualcomm was making off its intellectual property — because they were now the ones paying these royalty fees in increasing amounts.But just as Americans are about to break out the champagne and “USA! USA!!” chants, the latest missive from the Debbie Downer-in-Chief[21] himself flashes across our feed …We are not in a trade war with China, that war was lost many years ago by the foolish, or incompetent, people who represented the U.S. Now we have a Trade Deficit of $500 Billion a year, with Intellectual Property Theft of another $300 Billion. We cannot let this continue!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 4, 2018Somewhere between China’s reputation as the world’s most rapacious “intellectual property thief” and the tens of billions of dollars per year it pays to international technology companies like Qualcomm … lies reality.Act V is where we are going to find out what that reality is.Act VOn November 8th, 2016, Donald Trump pulled off a surprise win over Hillary Clinton in the United States presidential election. Eight days later, a far less publicized political battle was taking place, this time over a topic that only a handful of people in the world really understand at a deep, technical level.Remember the industry groups that we met in Acts I to III that played such a critical role in choosing and setting wireless standards?Well, they are still around and playing just as critical a role. Depending on which technologies are incorporated, the respective IP holders may be richly rewarded, just as Qualcomm had for the better part of the last three decades.On November 16th, 2016, members of this standards body, 3GPP[22], met in Nevada to decide whether something called “polar coding” would be incorporated into official 5G canon. It was up against an alternative approach called “low-density parity check”. Intense debate ensued over which one was better.To a casual observer, the debate of “polar coding” vs. “low-density parity check” may have appeared to be a Nerd Fight of Epic Proportions but behind all of the computer science and technical jargon was something much deeper — what it was really about was control over the next-generation of communications technologies.As you may have guessed, this is where the paths of Huawei and Qualcomm finally began to converge.You see, China was getting weary from paying tens of billions of dollars every year in licensing and royalty fees for technology invented 15–20 years ago at a time when they did not have the capability or resources to even have a seat at the standards-setting table. While they had been late to the standards-setting game for even 4G/LTE standards, the country’s leaders had committed to making sure that this would not be the case with 5G. And Huawei was the main horse that they were betting on.As Huawei had grown through the years, it had continuously re-invested this growth back into R&D. By 2017[23], close to RMB90 billion ($13.8 billion) per year, out-spending Qualcomm by two and a half times in absolute terms (i.e. before adjusting for the approximately 3x[24] difference in wages between Shenzhen and San Diego).In doing so, it had quietly built up its very own patent wall:One of these patents was around the aforementioned “polar coding” method while Qualcomm held patents around the competing “low-density parity check” method. During the 3GPP debate, Western companies largely backed Qualcomm’s method while Asian manufacturers favored Huawei’s. In the end, both were accepted into as viable alternatives in the 5G standards book and each side moved on to battle over other (likely even nerdier) topics.While accumulating the most patents is still an important part of the game (as we saw in Act III with 3G), commercialization is an equally important consideration (as we saw in Act II with 2G).And on this front, China is racing ahead. Not only is it already the world’s largest wireless market by far, with 10x the number of base stations as the United States (and 40% of global sites[25]), its wireless operators are already well into the roll-out schedule and plan to be fully commercialized (for “standalone” or “full” 5G; see Note i) by the end of 2020[26][27]:The 3GPP debate in Nevada presaged the fault lines that we are now beginning to see, not only for 5G but other technologies as well. The elections of President Trump and the rise of other right-wing political parties in Western European countries has only increased the politicization trend.On April 16th, 2018, ZTE, the second-largest Chinese communications equipment supplier after Huawei, was hit by the U.S. Department of Commerce with an export ban[28]. The ban would prevent it from accessing critical components provided by U.S. suppliers (e.g. optical chips) and force it to re-design its equipment. It was a crippling blow to the company and while later reversed, was one of the first clear signs of this increased politicization.Then, just a few weeks ago on December 1st, 2018, Sabrina Meng, CFO of Huawei and daughter of its founder, was arrested in Canada at the request of the U.S. government in what was viewed by most as a politically motivated escalation. President Trump essentially confirmed it several days later[29].And that pretty much brings us to the present.The key protagonists, Huawei and Qualcomm stand together on stage, surrounded by a host of supporting cast members. The crowd watches with rapt attention, eagerly awaiting the next twist in the story …EpilogueAs I sit here and write in the last few days of 2018, it is quite clear that we are still very much in the middle of Act V — and it looks like there will be plenty of more excitement and fireworks to come.I also must admit that I am not 100% sure how Act V and the “race for dominance” will ultimately play out between Qualcomm and Huawei, not to mention all of the other actors on stage.As you saw through the first four acts, there were many twists and turns along the way, with new characters entering the space and old ones fading away with each successive generation of wireless standards. Add to that the increasing politicization of technology and the oft-times capricious nature of geopolitics and my crystal ball is quite foggy at the moment.But I do think understanding how we got to this point is very important if we want to think about the possible future scenarios and where we go from here — and that is why I took you through this fairly expansive review of the history of wireless.That said, I do want to leave you with some final thoughts on the topic:The emergence of Huawei as a major IP holder will inevitably cut into Qualcomm’s wireless market dominance and position as the favored toll collector.Opening quote to Act I notwithstanding, this is actually not just a Tale of Two Companies; it is also about existing players like Ericsson, Nokia and Apple that have long chafed at Qualcomm’s licensing fees and dominant market position[30].As I wrote in a recent answer[31], Qualcomm collects upwards of $30–40 on each iPhone that was sold — on top of any chips it provides — due to its “double-dipping” licensing structure. For 5G, Qualcomm announced that it would charge “up to $16.25” in royalties for every phone — much lower, an indication of lower negotiating leverage.The battle between commercialization vs. technology will be another area to watch.I do not know enough of the technical minutiae — stuff like “polar coding” vs. “low-density parity check” — to fully assess but my gut tells me that the differences between Huawei’s approach and the one supported by Qualcomm may not be that material and certainly not like the difference between TDMA and CDMA during the 2G and 3G mobile standards wars.We cannot rule out the possibility (as unlikely as it may seem at this point) that Qualcomm and Huawei end up collaborating or working together out of pure self-interest (an “if ya can’t beat him, join ‘em” type situation).The likelihood of global wireless standards bifurcating into different camps seems to be increasing, although it is far from inevitable at this point.If this happens, there are two clear camps — China and the “Five Eyes” Anglophone group. If you throw the European Union and Japan into the Anglophone group (let’s call it the “U.S. Alliance”), you are talking about a combined population of around 1 billion (that is significantly wealthier on a per capita basis) compared to 1.4 billion in China — all things considered, fairly balanced.But we cannot forget about the other 5 billion+ people out there — and places like Southeast Asia, India and Africa are where the front lines of the battle for technology dominance will take place.From the perspective of these 5 billion plus, the entrance of Huawei into the fray is seen as a positive development, insofar as providing them with another option and greater leverage to negotiate on fees.This bifurcation trend may also play out in other areas of technology, not just wireless standards.Semiconductors are another strategic (and related) industry. Chips are how you take the IP from the patents and convert into real-world use cases. They are critical components in network equipment, as ZTE was reminded in April 2018.The U.S. Alliance dominates the semiconductor industry, especially upstream (i.e. semi capital equipment). Certain specialty equipment like extreme UV lithography[32] is dominated by European like ASML and Japanese players like Canon/Nikon and can be easily controlled through measures like export bans over “dual-use” technology.However downstream production is dominated by Asian manufacturers, notably Taiwanese and South Korean foundries. Moreover, the consumer electronics supply chain is deeply entrenched in China and the East Asia region.So it is very complicated, and this is what makes predicting how the various points of negotiating leverage play out so hard.National security concerns are very valid. But I think they can be addressed without forcing others to have to split into camps that are non-interoperable. That would be a shame for everyone.Finally, the one thing that I do know for sure is that we’ve come a long way since the days of Gordon Gekko and his massive brick of a cellular phone.Explanatory Note[Note i] There is a bit of confusion out there as to what constitutes “5G”. Part of the reason is that there are essentially two different levels of 5G implementation:The first is something called “non-standalone” which means augmenting the existing 4G network with 5G hardware that will focus on ultra-high-bandwidth data services.The second is called “standalone” which means everything can go on the 5G network.It is somewhat analogous to the difference between a plug-in hybrid vehicle like the Chevy Bolt and an electric-only vehicle like Tesla.Roll-outs for “non-standalone” 5G implementation are happening in 2019–2020 throughout most of the world — for example, Verizon announced that “5G services” would begin in 2019[33]. However, China is planning a particularly aggressive roll-out schedule for “standalone” 5G compared to every other country with scale deployments in 2020.Whether or not this is the right strategy remains an open question.Footnotes[1] Wall Street (1987) - Wake up call (Drop it)[2] Time-division multiple access - Wikipedia[3] Videotape format war - Wikipedia[4] GSM - Wikipedia[5] cdmaOne - Wikipedia[6] Glenn Luk's answer to Are there any survivors of 9/11 on Quora?[7] Glenn Luk's answer to Why is the smartphone industry dominated by the U.S. and East Asian nations (e.g. Japan, South Korea and China)?[8] Nokia 8310, giocando a Snake II / playing Snake II[9] Glenn Luk's answer to Will China become an innovator?[10] CDMA microcellular telephone system and distributed antenna system therefor[11] Which Are the Most Valuable Patents in Qualcomm Patent Portfolio? - GreyB[12] https://csis-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/legacy_files/files/publication/130215_competitiveness_Huawei_casestudy_Web.pdf[13] https://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/Cisco_Mot_for_PI.pdf[14] Glenn Luk's answer to Is there an indigenous Chinese product that is the best in the world?[15] Glenn Luk's answer to How does China finance its development projects in Africa and South America?[16] INTERVIEW - Huawei makes aggressive push in consumer devices[17] Caring for Employees - Huawei Sustainability[18] 1998年江泽民宣布“军队不再经商” 震惊世界[19] From Windfalls to Pitfalls: Qualcomm’s China Conundrum - MacroPolo[20] Glenn Luk's answer to Where does the money I pay for an iPhone go?[21] Debbie Downer - Wikipedia[22] 3GPP - Wikipedia[23] https://www-file.huawei.com/-/media/corporate/pdf/annual-report/annual_report2017_en.pdf[24] Cost of Living Comparison Between[25] Blog: How many global base stations are there anyway?[26] Subscribe to read | Financial Times[27] China Mobile Confirms Aggressive 5G Standalone Plan | Light Reading[28] Secretary Ross Announces Activation of ZTE Denial Order in Response to Repeated False Statements to the U.S. Government[29] Trump says he would intervene in Huawei case to help secure China trade deal[30] Apple is still selling iPhones in China despite being ordered not to[31] Glenn Luk's answer to Where does the money I pay for an iPhone go?[32] Extreme ultraviolet lithography - Wikipedia[33] Verizon’s first 5G hotspot will launch in 2019

Undoubtedly it has to be Dr. Subramanian Swamy. Here’s why !How it all started: Pro Nuclear Crusader[1]With a PhD in Economics from Harvard, at a young age of 24, Dr Swamy was already on his way to become a “boring” Professor for the rest of his life, but a simple challenge from his friends literally changed his life. The challenge was fairly innocent & trivial. Swamy was challenged into learning any foreign language in 1 year. The 24 year old Swamy who was hungry to take on challenges, took it seriously & set a very high bar to himself. He said to himself that he will learn the toughest language in shortest possible time. Upon a quick survey, he found that Mandarin (Chinese language) was perceived by the majority of the linguists as the toughest language to learn and it would require 2-3 years to gain confidence in it. So, Dr Swamy said to himself that he will learn Chinese. Finally, he learnt Chinese in just 3 months!!Learning Chinese language changed Dr Swamy’s life because he then started giving more attention to the political developments in China, and as a result, Harvard started assigning him more challenging projects related to Chinese economy (which nobody else in Harvard could take up due to their deficiency in Chinese language, which Dr Swamy had overcome after learning the language in 3 months).While closely tracking the developments in China during the 1960s, Dr Swamy noticed that the Chinese were very serious about regular upgradation of their military systems. In 1964, when China successfully tested its first nuclear weapon, Dr Swamy was one of the first visionaries in India who realized that India also must have its own nuclear equipment in order to defend itself from any future externalities.That’s when Dr Swamy took up the challenge of carrying out an in-depth research on Nuclear, and put extensive efforts into it for the next 5 years. By 1969, he had come up with a comprehensive analysis on Indian Nuclear Strategies with a detailed roadmap of Why India needs Nuclear and how it can achieve it in next few years.His research paper titled “Systems Analysis of Strategic Defence Needs” which was a part of his detailed analysis in 1969, is still used even today as a reference to develop India-centric Nuclear strategies.He did not stop at just researching & publishing such studies, but even took it up to the level of activism, to convince Congress politicians, who were more leaning towards Gandhian non-violence principles and hence felt India should not invest in Nuclear. While he was a persuader within India, at the same time, to the rest of the world, he had already taken up the responsibility of mediating as a diplomat, trying to explain world leaders that India is going nuclear, only to protect itself but never to harm anybody else.Transformation: Anti Corruption Activist[2]During the 1970s, when the nation was plagued with corruption, and when the youth of the nation erupted against Congress Party (under Indira Gandhi) which took the shape of 1974 Bihar movement (Total Revolution), Dr Swamy decided to take it up the anti-corruption cause, and there has been no turning back ever since.While JP & his team led the Total Revolution through protests on the streets, Dr Swamy took it up in intellectual form. After imposition of Emergency by Indira Gandhi in 1975, Dr Swamy went underground, to carry out his anti-corruption crusade against Congress party & Indira Gandhi in particular.Throughout the Emergency, Dr Swamy launched a series of scathing attacks & criticisms against Indira Gandhi, and spreading awareness among the masses about the rampant corruption of Congress. Such was the intensity of his attacks that Indira Gandhi literally had nightmares & spent several sleepless nights due to him. She even went on to call for investigations against him & alleged him of CIA agent because she could not defend herself against his allegations & evidences.When Indira had enough of Dr Swamy, she tried to frame him by first issuing arrest warrant against him, and then calling for attendance of all Parliamentary members, failing which their seats would be revoked. With this strategy, Indira knew that Swamy would definitely attend if he wanted to save his seat, and had planned to arrest Dr Swamy when he attended the Parliament, but thanks to Swamy’s dramatic escape plan, her strategy backfired. Dr Swamy managed to give attendance & also managed to escape from India through a pre-planned flight which looked like a scene straight form a suspense thriller.Next Step: Hindutva Crusader[3]Under Janata Party Govt rule, as most of the right wing & Hindutva parties (like the Jana Sangh) had come together under one umbrella, Dr Swamy gradually started taking up Hindutva causes. Unlike other leaders who just played rhetoric to exploit religious sentiments people’s emotions just for votes, Dr Swamy actually used legal (and sometimes diplomatic) routes to accomplish Hindutva causes.His most popular achievement during the Janata rule, had been the opening of the sacred Hindu mountain Kailash for Indian pilgrims. This was possible mainly because Dr Swamy, thanks to his friend’s challenge, had gained mastery in Chinese language, and hence he was able to visit China as a diplomat & won their hearts by speaking to them in Chinese. After winning their confidence, he was then easily able to persuade them into opening the sacred mountain, and thus began the regular annual trip called “Kailash Mansarovar Yatra” in which Dr Swamy himself was the very first pilgrim & led the first batch.Eventually, Dr Swamy went on to take up several serious Hindutva causes including the most popular case of Rama Sethu in which he single-handedly fought an arduous legal battle to save the Rama Sethu from being destroyed by Govt of India. Thanks to him, the ancient national monument & heritage of Ramayana is still intact today.Challenge of Economic Reforms: Economic Crusader[4]Way back in the late 1960s Dr Swamy had done in-depth research in Indian economy & presented his analysis in the form of a comprehensive book titled “Indian Economic Planning: An Alternative Approach” in which he had given a detailed blueprint & proposed dismantling of “license raj” to revive entrepreneurship & boost Indian economy. The then PM Indira Gandhi dismissed it & labelled Dr Swamy as “A Santa Claus with unrealistic ideas”, while the Parliamentarians cheered Indira Gandhi & burst into hysterical laughter, mocking Dr Swamy.However, over the next few decades, as India slipped into economic downturn, and after the fall of Rajiv Gandhi Govt & subsequent dissolution of VP Singh Govt, it was finally PM Chandra Shekhar who had realized the need for economic reforms. As destiny would have it, when India desperately needed a strong blueprint for economic reform, Dr Subramanian Swamy was seated at the helm, as Commerce Minister under PM Chandra Shekhar, and was given the full authority to draft the reforms.Dr Swamy eagerly took up the challenge and after months of efforts, he was ready with the final draft for economic reforms with detailed blueprint, which was unfortunately put on hold because the Chandra Shekhar Govt fell due to coalition politics.After fresh elections within the next few months, when PV Narasimha Rao (PVN) became the PM, the first thing he did was to approach Dr Subramanian Swamy and requested him to be part of the economic planning team which was supposed to navigate India through the economic disaster it was about to face. In the interest of the nation, Dr Swamy happily gave away his detailed blueprint to PVN, which was then delivered to the Finance Minister Dr Manmohan Singh who then implemented Dr Swamy’s blueprint, and thus India escaped from a major economic crisis and achieved liberalization.Current Role: Anti Corruption Crusader[5]Petition to strike down anti-defamation laws: In Oct 2014, Swamy filed a petition in Supreme Court praying for declaring Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code that deal with criminal defamation as unconstitutional.[27]Complaint against Jayalalithaa: In 1996, Swamy had filed a criminal complaint against Jayalalithaa which led to her prosecution, conviction and sentencing to four years imprisonment by the trial court in 2014.[28]. Later, on May 11, 2015, a special Bench of the Karnataka High Court set aside the trial court order convicting former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha, who was acquitted of all charges in the disproportionate assets case.[29][30] An Appeal against the High court verdict was filed in Supreme Court.[31] The final verdict of Supreme Court came in February, 2017 that indicted Jayalalitha posthumously and upheld the trial court judgement in toto.[33]Phone tapping allegation: Swamy released a letter alleging that former intelligence chief had asked DoT to tap the phone of many politicians and businessmen in Karnataka [34] when Ramakrishna Hegde, the then Chief Minister, resigned in 1988. [35] Hegde then filed a case against him in 1989 and 1990 [36] [37][38]Hashimpura massacre: In 1987, when Muslim youths were killed under police custody, Swamy spoke against it and sat on a fast for more than a week in Jantar Mantar demanding the institution of an inquiry. [39] After 25 years he started pursuing the case once again in court.[40] Rebecca John, a counsel for the Hashimpura complainants, told Additional Sessions Judge Rakesh Siddhartha who is conducting the trial in the case, that "there is no other motive than politics behind Swamy's plea for further investigation and it would only further delay the trial".[41]Role in exposing 2G spectrum case: In November 2008, Swamy amongst others wrote the first of five letters to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking permission to prosecute A. Raja in regard to 2G spectrum case.[42] After not receiving any response,[43] Swamy decided to file a case on his own in the Supreme Court of India regarding the matter, which then asked the Central Bureau of Investigation to produce a detailed report on it.[44] He further called on the Indian government to re-auction the 2G spectrum without the involvement of Communications Minister Kapil Sibal.[45] On 15 April 2011, he filed a 206-page petition with PM Singh seeking permission to prosecute Sonia Gandhi on charges of corruption. He also raised doubts regarding her acquisition of Indian citizenship. [46] Swamy filed documents in the court to prosecute Minister of Home Affairs P. Chidambaram by including a 15 January 2008 letter written by Chidambaram to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Swamy also placed on record the certified copy of the minutes of a meeting between Chidambaram, Raja and the prime minister during the tenure of Raja as the MOC&IT. [47] Since criminal charges were filed against the accused, but no evidence was given by Swamy or the CBI, all the respondents have got bail as of July 2012.Sanction to prosecute telecom minister A. Raja: On 31 January 2012, the Supreme Court of India accepted Swamy's petition against the Prime Minister's Office in the 2G case, saying that all public authorities should give a sanction within three months against any public official if a request is made for prosecution. The Supreme Court said that Swamy had the locus standi to seek sanction from the Prime Minister for the prosecution of A Raja in the 2G case. Sanction by a competent authority for the prosecution of a public servant has to be granted within a time frame, the apex court said. Justice AK Ganguly said that the sanction would be deemed to be granted if competent authority failed to take a decision within four months. Swamy's arguments were that he wrote to the PMO on 29 November 2008, but it was only on 19 March 2010 the PMO replied that the plea made by Swamy was "premature" as investigation was being carried out by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Raja was arrested by the CBI in the case and got bail on 15 May 2012 after spending nearly 15 months in the Tihar Central Jail [48] On December 21, 2017, the special CBI Court Judge acquitted the accused including A Raja.[49]Petition to strike down "single directive provision": In 1997, Swamy filed a petition in the Supreme Court of India to strike down a provision which barred CBI from investigating corruption charges against officers of the rank of joint secretary and above without prior permission of the Govt of India called as "Dr. Subramanian Swamy Versus Director, Central Bureau of Investigation & Anr." [50] On 6 May 2014, a five-judge constitution bench held the single directive provision as invalid and unconstitutional. The court said that "Protection of prior approval for probing graft charges against officers at level of joint secretary and above has propensity of shielding corruption"[51][52] Experts such as former CBI Director Joginder Singh praised the judgement as "Superb".[53] Incumbent CBI Director Ranjit Sinha welcomed the judgement and said, "now a very heavy responsibility has been cast upon us to ensure that no innocent civil-servant is harassed."[54]Investigation on EVM: Swamy demanded that an independent committee should be formed to check the security and safety of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) to avoid any rigging or tampering. He argued that countries like US, Japan, UK, Germany and Netherlands have abandoned EVMs and are using paper-ballot system and demanded that a printed receipt should be given to every voter after casting the vote.[55] [56] His PIL to investigate the working of EVM was dismissed by the Delhi High Court on 17 January 2012. The court refused to give any direction to the Election Commission to bring back paper-ballot system or use of printed receipts. The Commission argued that the use of paper is not feasible due to the huge size of Indian electorate. The court further asked the Election Commission to "immediately begin a process of wider consultations" and the Parliament "to go into this question in depth and decide". [57] [58] On 22 January 2013 the Election Commission informed the Supreme Court that it would include Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) system which is in the testing phase after the court agreed with some points raised by Swamy who was the contender, [59] in the machines so that every voter will come to know who he/she is voting by getting a printed slip after pressing the EVM button.[60] [61] The voter paper audit trail has then been in use from 4 September 2013.[62][63]On 8 October 2013 the Supreme Court directed the Election Commission to implement audit trail system in 2014 general election in phases.[64]National Herald case: On 1 November 2012 Swamy alleged that both Sonia and Rahul Gandhi have committed fraud and land grabbing to a tune of ₹20 billion (US$290 million) by acquiring a public ltd company called Associated Journals Private Ltd (AJPL) through their owned private company, Young Indian [65] which was formed on 23 November 2010.[66] Through this they had got publication rights of National Herald and Qaumi Awaz newspapers, with real estate properties in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.[67] The acquired place was intended only for newspaper purposes but were used for running a passport office, amounting to lakhs of rupees, it alleges. Swamy further added that Rahul Gandhi hid the facts in his affidavit while filing nomination for the 2009 Lok Sabha elections [68] [69] It further alleges that on 26 February 2011 AJPL approved the transfer of unsecured loan of ₹900 million (US$13 million) from the All India Congress Committee at zero interest. [70] [71] Swamy argued that it is illegal for any political party to lend the loan as per violation of Section 269T of Income Tax Act 1961.[72] On 2 November, the party responded that the loan was given only for reviving National Herald newspaper with no commercial interest.[73] Swamy decided to approach the Supreme Court for de-recognising the Congress party, while the Election Commission ordered the probe on 17 November 2012.[74] [75] The hearing of the case had been taken up thereafter on different occasions [76] [77] [78] [79] [80] with the court observing prima facie evidence against all the accused. [78] [81] [82] On 1 August 2014 the Enforcement Directorate initiated probe to find any money laundering in the case [83] while on the same day Swamy was served notice by the High Court. [84] On 28 August the metropolitan court fixed 9 December for the next hearing of the case, [85] [86] while on 12 January 2015 the judge of the Delhi High Court recused himself from hearing the case stating that schedule of cases has been changed and directed that the petitions be directed before an appropriate bench [87] On 27 January 2015, the Supreme Court asked Swamy to make out a case for the speedy trial in the Delhi High Court since the petition cannot be heard directly. [88] On 18 September 2015 it was reported that the Enforcement Directorate had reopened the investigation. [89] Following it, on 19 December 2015 Patiala House Court granted unconditional bail immediately on the hearing to all the five accused but one.[90][91][92] On 12 July 2016 the Delhi High Court set aside the trial court order of 11 January[93] and 11 March [94] based on plea by Swamy to examine balance sheets of Congress party, AJL and Young Indian from 2010-2013,[95][96][97] and fixed the date of next hearing on 20 August.[98]Swamy’s long legal battle with PC & his corrupt family is reaching its logical conclusion. Chidambaram was the architect and author of all the mega scams in India namely 2G, Coal, Non-Performing Assets (NPA) scam, Aircel Maxis, NDTV, Vasan Eye Care, Saradha Scam, Forex derivates scam[1], Airbus scandal to name a few that rocked the nation.It was Subramanian Swamy in August 2018,who unlocked the clandestine relationship between PC, Ahmed Patel with Congress party’s Karnataka money bag D K Shivakumar and handed over the evidence to investigative agencies leading to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) registering case against DK recently[2]Swamy has vowed to track down all the White Collar criminals to cleanse the politics. After hunting down Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in National Herald case, P Chidambaram & family in multiple corruption cases, BS Hooda in HUDA case, DK Shivakumar in Hawala case linked to AP & PC, Swamy is likely to push for the prosecution of the culprits in the court of law.[6]Last but not the least is Rahul Gandhi’s citizenship row.[7] The home ministry has issued a notice to Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, asking him to explain his "factual position" over a complaint filed by BJP parliamentarian Subramanian Swamy that he holds British citizenship. The Congress chief has been given a fortnight to respond to the notice.Reacting, Subramanian Swamy, who has in the past raised questions about his citizenship and qualification wrote on Twitter: “Buddhu has also filed income tax returns in UK during 2004-2006 as a British Citizen as Rahul Gandhi while MP in India!!!!!’ Buddhu citizen likely to be cancelled because he cannot deny his British citizenship now. His tax returns are damning. Ensure BJP Govt returns on May 23 rd”[8]In my opinion he fits the definition of the Biggest Chowkidar.Footnotes[1] Dr Subramanian Swamy: Anti-Corruption Crusader, Hindutva Warrior, Economic Chanakya & Nuclear Strategist - Guruprasad's Portal[2] Dr Subramanian Swamy: Anti-Corruption Crusader, Hindutva Warrior, Economic Chanakya & Nuclear Strategist - Guruprasad's Portal[3] Dr Subramanian Swamy: Anti-Corruption Crusader, Hindutva Warrior, Economic Chanakya & Nuclear Strategist - Guruprasad's Portal[4] Dr Subramanian Swamy: Anti-Corruption Crusader, Hindutva Warrior, Economic Chanakya & Nuclear Strategist - Guruprasad's Portal[5] Subramanian Swamy - Wikipedia[6] Subramanian Swamy’s anti-corruption, legal battles and its effect on South Indian politics - PGurus[7] Govt Notice to Rahul Gandhi After Subramanian Swamy's Complaint Over British Citizenship[8] 'Citizenship likely to be cancelled': Swamy says Rahul Gandhi filed IT returns in UK as Brit citizen while MP in India | Latest News & Updates at DNAIndia.com