11 May 2018
By Jun Mai Xie Yu

Anbang Insurance Group chairman and CEO Wu Xiaohui runs as he is followed by journalists ahead of the opening of Boao Forum for Asia on March 25, in Boao, Hainan Province of China.

Wu Xiaohui, (click here) the glamorous, high-profile financier behind the insurance giant Anbang, was known for his good connections. Having married a granddaughter of Deng Xiaoping, he rubbed shoulders with political and business elites, both in China and abroad.

Wu made global headlines in 2014 with Anbang’s deal to acquire the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York from the Blackstone Group for US$1.9 billion, the largest amount ever paid for a single property.

Thus, despite his controversial freewheeling leveraged expansion tactics – which had been long questioned by insiders – Wu’s fall from grace, which began last June when he was detained by authorities, was a shock to many.

Wu, the former chairman of Anbang Group, China’s biggest private insurance conglomerate and one of China’s largest asset buyers, was found guilty on Thursday of illegal fundraising fraud valued at US$10.4 billion, and embezzling US$1.6 billion from Anbang’s insurance premium income. The 51-year-old was sentenced to 18 years of imprisonment....

I wish such exhibits were more widespread in the USA.

There are probably some interesting artists with auction quality work. There are probably some that would benefit from higher education as well.

May 2, 2018
By Faizah Malik

Photographs are silent, (click here) yet they scream human truths. They have the ability to bypass language in a way that can connect a story with people all around the world. They offer visual narratives that sometimes give a voice to marginalised communities, which are silenced, or question and investigate standards in society.

The Goethe-Institut Pakistan, in collaboration with the Amin Gulgee Gallery, presented ‘Outsiders,’ a curated event of multimedia series showcasing the intense outbreak of cultural activity as part of the ‘Brilliant Dilletantes’ subculture in the 1980s in Berlin and across Germany. The exhibition presented the energy of the subversive punk movement through photographs.

The Pakistani show within the ‘Outsiders’ exhibition investigated counter-cultural expressions in the country from the 1970s to present day, as witnessed in diverse creations and repetitions. These were then presented through the lens of social and political activism in art, the subversion of gender roles as explored through various mediums....   

Pay to Play is not protected by "Citizen's United."

Or is it? Isn't "Citizen's United" very thinly veiled Pay to Play?

I think the facts the FBI found in the Cohen investigation is more troublesome than most want to admit. Michael Cohen did more than providing Hush Money to Ms. Clifford. He was promoting Trump as a New York attorney and making statements, at the time, that was completely out of step with the reality of the American election system. I think he knew a great deal about his boss's dealings and the influence Russians were conducting.

What were these companies expecting? ATT sure didn't get the preference to their hopes for their company, it went to the Kochs who paid to play in enormous amounts of money. The Kochs were the higher bidder. What was Trump trying to tell Wall Street when that happened?

The Robert's Court made money a citizen and turned it loose in Citizen's United except for one decision on April 30, 2015 (click here). That is a strong indication that while the Robert's Court believes money somehow has a voice it was naive to the reality of their own decisions. When a court remotely regrets an unprecedented decision it never expected it a corrupting agent of Americans' freedoms. The Robert's Court took the freedom of speech and removed the right of every American to have an equal playing field with everyone else during elections. The Robert's Court put their thumb on the scale and they wanted to, then went "oops." The Citizen's United decision eroded the USA Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Money is power, not freedom.

May 12, 2018
By Brian Fung and Tony Romm

AT&T’s chief executive (click here) said Friday his company made a “serious misjudgment” to seek advice from President Donald Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen, and announced that its top lobbying executive in Washington would be leaving the firm.

“Our company has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons these last few days and our reputation has been damaged,” AT&T chief executive Randall Stephenson wrote in a companywide internal email. “There is no other way to say it – AT&T hiring Michael Cohen as a political consultant was a big mistake.”

The email comes at a critical time for AT&T. A judge is deciding whether its controversial $85 billion merger with Time Warner violates antitrust law. Internal AT&T documents obtained by The Washington Post show how AT&T agreed to pay $600,000 to Cohen last year in exchange for guidance on policy matters, including issues it is facing at the Federal Communications Commission and its proposed deal with Time Warner....

There were those that rejected the offer of Cohen's influence. Ford, one of the oldest and well respected voice of the automotive industry in the USA which is family lead, has stated recently they were trimming their operations. That was a shock to me.

Ford, previous to the 2008 economic collapse, had legally borrowed monies with zero interest rate and never needed help when the stock market disintegrated and all by J.P Morgan went belly up. Now, years later, with Trump's attorney selling influence masked as advice, Ford rejects the attempt by Trump's lawyer and has to scale back it's operations. Like, what?

The Mueller investigation is doing vital work to understand the damages to even the American economy by obvious corruption by at least one Trump affiliation. Michael Cohen was working hard for his boss during his campaign with really curious statements about a widely competent and industry agreed election polling. He is a very suspicious figure. He needs to be a supporter of democracy and not a traitor.

I think the bombastic and elitist language of Donald Trump that demands flamboyant exaggeration of facts; acts to disorient people into a propaganda that boils down to very desirous wishful thinking. Michael Cohen was an addict of that language and the Kool-Aide he was provided.

May 12, 2018
By Daniel Politi

Ford apparently (click here) had no problem saying no to Michael Cohen. An executive with the auto giant rejected an eyebrow-raising offer of consulting services from Cohen, President Donald Trump’s longtime personal attorney, in January 2017. Special Counsel Robert Mueller found out about the offer and now wants more details, reports the Wall Street Journal. Mueller has requested numerous documents from Ford, including emails, that detail what exactly Cohen’s offer entailed.

Mueller has already interviewed Ford’s head of government affairs, Ziad Ojakli, who didn’t give many details beyond saying that he declined Cohen’s offer. The Detroit Free Press confirmed that Cohen offered Ford his consulting services. Michael Avenatti, attorney for Stormy Daniels, also confirmed the news.

“I can confirm that Mr. Cohen solicited Ford Motor Company,” Avenatti said. “It was in late 2016 into ’17. On multiple occasions. There was no policy. He was trying to sell access to the president. My understanding is that it was by phone and electronic communication.”...

Cohen was promoting hate along side his boss for a long time.

In another segment, he is stating all the polls are wrong about a Trump presidential win. Michael Cohen was really invested in this win. You can't convince me he wasn't an intricate part of the Russian influence either. I think he should decide to be an American rather than a Trump staffer and tell the FBI what they need to know. His involvement is everywhere in his statements even if they don't reveal facts or people. His statements track exactly with Trump's outcomes. He was an insider.

This is such a joke! LOL!

The Trump minions are trying to defame Mr. Avenatti because of bankruptcy and taxes. 

Excuse me, but, "The King of Debt" is the biggest fraud on the planet.

Has anyone looked at the growing size of the USA National Debt under Trump? He is supposed to be fixing all the problems. He IS the problem.

There is a really great film entitled "Tully." Mr. Avenatti should try to tie a special promotion with the picture by offering a "House Special" in an attempt to create greater exposure. I really enjoyed the film.

September 2013

Tully’s Coffee (click here) customers will recognize the brew, but maybe not much else about the long-beleaguered company, its new owners vow.

Everything from remodels of all 48 company-owned stores to a new loyalty program and marketing push is part of their turnaround plan for the Seattle-based chain that in two decades only turned an annual profit twice — both times by selling parts of the company.

New Chairman and part-owner Michael Avenatti promises the new Tully’s will not be boring — and it has not been so far.

Actor Patrick Dempsey generated national interest as the public face of an investor group that bought Tully’s out of bankruptcy June 30, paying $9.15 million and fending off Starbucks and others who wanted Tully’s.

But in August, Dempsey sued Avenatti and left the group.

Now Avenatti and former investment banker Tod McDonald, hired by Avenatti to run the chain on a daily basis, are charting the next moves for the 103-location chain.

continued...