My buddy Leo Pareja introduced me to the notion that if you aren’t paying for a product, you ARE the product. In other words, when you use a “free” service online or otherwise, your information is most likely where the company is making their money. This became painfully clear earlier in the week when it was revealed that Facebook effectively sold private information (by virtue of an app) on millions of its users to Cambridge Analytica, who in turn used the information to assist a client of theirs to use the information for the benefit of the Donald Trump presidential campaign. At this point, there is no evidence that the Trump campaign did wrong by acquiring this information, but it is a sobering reminder that the massive information that companies like Google, Amazon, Samsung, Facebook, and Microsoft have on us is anything but private. Facebook stock took a dive last week and Mark Zuckerberg has been crying mea culpa on CNN and the online media. Zuckerberg should expect a subpoena to testify in front of congress soon. I deleted all of my FB apps and definitely don’t want one of those creepy Amazon Echo or Google Home anywhere near my house.
Elon Musk dropped by the Real Time with Bill Maher show recently for an interview with the host. Maher, who considers himself a liberal is an obvious fan of the CEO of Tesla and Space X. The centerpiece of their conversation was their discussion regarding what Musk called the “woke mind virus” or what I prefer to call “cancel culture”.
Ye, the entertainer and fashion designer formally known as Kanye West had a disastrous week. Always outrageous, his recent antisemitic comments were apparently the last straw; prompting practically everyone to sever ties with him, from his bank, JP Morgan Chase, to his billion-dollar shoe partnership with Adidas.
Regardless of where you live you have probably heard about Nury Martinez and the circumstances that led to her resignation from Los Angeles City Council. The short story is Martinez, who was the first Latina to hold the position of president of the Los Angeles City Council was secretly recorded in a private conversation with other council members where she was heard making disparaging remarks about her colleagues and the two-year old...