I was in Ethiopia in mid 2005 to work with Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation (ETC). Nokia Networks had a room of equipment, HLR, MSC, BSC, SGSN, etc. In the next room over, there was a room of Huawei equipment, and it was all cloned hardware running Nokia Networks software.

I am a business traveler that stays in hotels 315+ nights a year. No, I don't want to be some homeless person that sleeps on someones couch. I do try to stay in "Boutique" hotels or bed and breakfasts whenever I can, though. I am not reimbursed for wifi charges, so charging me for wifi is a total deal breaker and has been for many years.

If you travel through the Middle East, you see these things everywhere. Especially Lebanon. Every parking garage and big building uses these. When you ask anyone about those, 9 out 10 people say they work, and the other one is merely skeptical. If you look at one closely, it's just a plastic piece of crap with a metal rod. "There's a sucker born every minute".

Many of those billions and billions of dollars were money laundered through Dubai. There are no questions asked where any of the investors got their money. How do you think so many buildings got built in Dubai? They have no oil in that Emirate. Ask anyone in Dubai, and they will tell you this. Really, it's common knowledge there.