8 chapters across the catalog
Corporate Exodus to Texas, Political Affiliation Discussion
The hosts discuss the trend of major tech companies like Oracle, Hewlett-Packard, and Tesla moving their headquarters to Texas. This leads to a personal discussion about their own political histories, with both hosts identifying as "unaffiliated" or independent rather than Republican or Democrat.
Carly Fiorina shares a story about assisting the NSA immediately after the 9/11 attacks by diverting a truckload of HP equipment to their headquarters. The hosts find the anecdote confusing and non-sequitur, questioning what it was intended to prove. They speculate that she is trying to establish her credentials as a patriot with high-level security clearances and ties to the intelligence community.
Former HP CEO Carly Fiorina indicated a 90% certainty that she will run for the Republican presidential nomination. Her platform focuses on her experience as a business executive, advocating for zero-based budgeting and pay-for-performance in the civil service. Fiorina criticized "crony capitalism" and the "vast unaccountable bureaucracy" in Washington, arguing that the destruction of small businesses is a fundamental structural problem in the U.S. economy.
Ray Lane invited guests to an HP award ceremony just as the company fired its CEO and appointed Meg Whitman. The event required high-priced table purchases, mirroring the expensive sponsorship models seen in other industry award ceremonies where QR code placement and exhibit tables are sold for tens of thousands of dollars.
Vivek Kundra resigned from his position as the first Chief Information Officer of the United States to accept a fellowship at Harvard University. Speculation suggests Kundra may eventually transition into roles at technology firms like McAfee or HP, or join a venture capital fund. His departure follows a tenure focused on federal IT reform and cloud computing initiatives.
HP CEO Mark Hurd resigned following an internal investigation into sexual harassment claims and expense account irregularities. Although the harassment claim was not supported by facts, Hurd was ousted for inaccurate expense reports related to a female contractor.
HP Moscow Office Raid and European IT Infrastructure
HP offices in Moscow were recently raided, leading to speculation that data from the crashed Polish presidential plane may have been intercepted. HP is deeply embedded in European government IT systems, including the Swedish Parliament and the UK Ministry of Defense, raising concerns about mass information collection.
The BBC program Global Business, hosted by Peter Day, is highlighted for its in-depth interview with former HP CEO Carly Fiorina. The discussion references the 2005 Hewlett-Packard scandal involving the tracking of cell phone records and the impersonation of board members.
