Call It Like I See It

The story of the extensive hack that hit agencies across the US government as well as many powerful private companies still has more questions than answers, so James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana discuss the nature of the hack in a modern context, how it has been reacted to, and some things that could or should be done looking forward (01:13). The guys also take a look at some recent statements about UFOs and aliens from apparently serious people around the globe (40:55).

U.S. cybersecurity firm FireEye discloses breach, theft of hacking tools (Reuters)

Russian government hackers are behind a broad espionage campaign that has compromised U.S. agencies, including Treasury and Commerce (WaPo)

What We Know About Russia's Alleged Hack Of The U.S. Government And Tech Companies (NPR)

Computer Hack Blamed on Russia Tests Limits of U.S. Response (WSJ)

Trump Contradicts Pompeo Over Russia’s Role in Hack (NY Times)

Senior Government Officials Keep Saying That UFOs and Aliens Are Real (Intelligencer)

An effort to break up Facebook and restore competition in the social media space has begun, and James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana discuss the issues surrounding the antitrust lawsuit seeking to force Facebook to sell off Instagram and WhatsApp (01:10). The guys also discuss some recent research that casts a tendency to see oneself as a victim may be a personality trait (33:23).

The FTC wants to break up Facebook (Yahoo Finance)

Why the US government wants Facebook to sell off Instagram and WhatsApp (Vox)

Behind Washington’s one-eighty on Facebook: A rethink of monopoly power (Politico)

Researchers identify a new personality construct that describes the tendency to see oneself as a victim (psypost.org)

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage on, James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana discuss recent reporting about the extent to which Florida’s governor has prevented health officials and experts in the state from providing information to on the virus to the public (01:28). The guys also discuss some interesting findings on how our expectations for our spouses and romantic partners have changed in modern times (29:21).

Sun Sentinel Investigation: Gov. Ron DeSantis ‘Ordered Public Health Officials Not To Discuss The COVID-19 Virus With The Public’ (CBS Local Miami) (republished in MSN.com)

We Expect Too Much From Our Romantic Partners (The Atlantic) (republished in GetPocket.com)

Seeing China’s recent declaration that it has eliminated extreme poverty, James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana discuss the feasibility of eliminating poverty through central government action (01:28) and the challenges modern societies face in building sustainable systems as our technological and social environments continue to evolve (22:17).

China fulfills a dream to end poverty. Not all poor people are feeling better off (LA Times)

Recognizing the role scientific advancement can play in making our world a better place, James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana discuss Boris Johnson’s bold plan to outlaw gasoline vehicles in the U.K. by 2030 as part of a “green industrial revolution” (01:27) and take a look at some implications from recent advancements in producing lab created diamonds (20:22).  The guys also weigh in on the age-old debate on whether scientific advancement could ever render religion obsolete (32:08).

UK to ban gasoline car sales by 2030 as part of green plan (ABC News)

Scientists create diamonds at room temperature in minutes (CNN)

Why Religion Is Not Going Away and Science Will Not Destroy It (Pocket)

Seeing the ongoing, unsubstantiated attacks on selective aspects of the 2020 election as a threat to the democratic process, James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana discuss how democratic systems can only function if the vast majority of a populace is willing to buy into democratic norms (02:00) and consider what responsibility elected leaders and news media have in the presence of misinformation and unsubstantiated claims about elections (15:08).  The guys also take a look at a recent study into how sleep affects is needed to perform (48:22)

Poll: 70 percent of Republicans don’t think the election was free and fair (Politico)

What Trump’s Refusal To Concede Says About American Democracy (538)

Federal prosecutors assigned to monitor election malfeasance tell Barr they see no evidence of substantial irregularities (WaPo)

Ga. secretary of state says fellow Republicans are pressuring him to find ways to exclude ballots (WaPo)

Lindsey Graham Says Republicans Lose Elections Because Democrats 'Cheat' (Newsweek)

Trump voters are flocking to a TV channel that claims Biden is not president-elect (CNN)

Why Six Hours Of Sleep Is As Bad As None At All (Pocket)

The 2020 U.S. Election included record levels of participation and a collective decision to make a change at the top, and James Keys, Tunde Ogunlana, and Rick Ellsley discuss what the election results reveal about the mindset of Americans, the messiness of democratic elections, and what circumstances or trends we need to keep our eyes on moving forward.

Biden defeats Trump in an election he made about character of the nation and the President (CNN)

Kamala Harris makes history as first woman of color elected US vice-president (The Guardian)

Voter Turnout Hits Historic Levels With States Still Counting Votes (Bloomberg)

COVID-19 rates are spiking across the globe, and James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana consider whether our societies have misjudged how pervasive the pandemic would be (01:13) and discuss comments from a conservative party leader in the UK about Boris Johnson "giving in to scientific advisers" with his lockdown measures (09:14).  The guys also take a look at the apparent availability of cloned pets and some implications of technology’s advance on that front (33:56).

U.S. reports world record of more than 100,000 COVID-19 cases in single day (Reuters)

Boris Johnson accused of 'giving in to scientific advisers' as England heads for lockdown (CNN)

Iowa Woman Has Her 'Wonderful' Cat Cloned After His Death (People)

Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat Subsequent Moviefilm reveals a lot about our society’s values, or its lack thereof, and James Keys, Tunde Ogunlana, and Rob Richardson take a look at various causes and effects of what we see (01:10) and consider what would be needed to get things on track (28:40).

Material discussed:

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (Amazon Prime)

Republican and Democrat running against each other for Utah governor unite for joint ad (CBS News)

The story surrounding Ice Cube’s Contract with Black America was hijacked by politicians, so James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana take a look at the Cube’s approach to getting it on the table and the public fallout, reasons why this type of action continues to be necessary, and the extent to which Black Americans may be taken for granted by America’s main political parties.

Contract with Black America

The Platinum Plan (pdf)

The inside story of how Ice Cube joined forces with Donald Trump (Politico)

From N.W.A. to MAGA: Ice Cube takes some heat for working with the Trump administration (CNN)

To understand why some Black men support Trump, start with Ice Cube (LA Times)

Ice Cube and Trump team up on jobs – Why are the left and right getting this story so wrong? (FoxNews)

New survey of 30,000 black voters finds that black communities feel ignored by Democrats (Vox)