Jimmy Van Bramer Queens Public Library Corruption Backlash

Where have been your independent oversight and "very tough questions" in respect of @QueensLibrary ? http://t.co/opVe4ZErb1 @JimmyVanBramer

— Bold Progress NYC (@boldprogressnyc) January 27, 2014

Last week, New York City Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside) was interviewed by NY1 concerning his new appointment as Majority Leader for the City Council.

In the interview, the new Majority Leader bragged that he worked for 11 years for the Queens Public Library as a community organizer, adding that he "really, really believes in good government." In the interview, Councilmember Van Bramer added that he cared about libraries, noting that he considered cultural services "dear" to his heart and to the heart of Queens.

However, muckraking journalist Juan Gonzalez published a scathing report in The New York Daily News on Monday, detailing how the library's president Thomas Galante was paid more than $390,000.00 and wasted $140,000.00 to renovate his offices at the Central Library. Meanwhile, the library president cut nearly 130 library jobs over the past five years.

When Councilmember Van Bramer learned about the scandal at the Queens Public Library, he figuratively hit the roof, telling The New York Daily News on Tuesday that, "It hurts the library in so many ways to have this happen, which just infuriates me," adding, "We need to ask the tough questions and get the answers about the nature of this spending."

The New York Daily New report noted that the City Council planned to hold a hearing into the Queens Public Library's financial scandal.

But by Wednesday, Councilmember Van Bramer had triggered controversy in his own right over his demand for controlling the City Council hearing. Some of his fellow councilmembers from Queens "questioned whether his ties to the Queens Library would compromise his ability to conduct a hearing on the library's finances," The New York Daily New reported. Mr. Van Bramer used to work for the Queens Public Library president.

“Who are you to question my integrity ?” the new Majority Leader reportedly shouted at Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village) after she raised concerns about the Majority Leader's objectivity. “How dare you ?" Councilmember Van Bramer demanded before he accused Councilwoman Crowley of bieng out of line. "You’re out of place and out of order,” he said.

If Councilmember Van Bramer is allowed to conduct the City Council's investigation into the Queens Public Library's finance scandal, he will join the new Council speaker in a murky new world of conflicts of interest in the City Council.

In the time leading up to her selection as Council speaker, Councilmember Melissa Mark-Viverito created controversy herself over the possibility that she had violated city ethics rules after Councilmember Mark-Viverito had accepted free campaign lobbying services from The Advance Group.

Global Supermarket in Jackson Heights reopens, but union workers were not rehired

HAPPENING NOW : Protest at Global Supermarket in Jackson Heights ; owner fired all workers before Christmas. pic.twitter.com/lvLNyU96wK

— Bold Progress NYC (@boldprogressnyc) January 30, 2014

About 2 dozen union members, neighborhood residents, and members of Occupy Queens stood outside the new Global Supermarket at 75-07 37th Avenue in Jackson Heights, Queens, to protest this morning the new supermarket owner, who refused to rehire former supermarket employees. The supermarket changed hands after the former owner, then operating under the name of Trade Fair, fired all of its employees and shut down right before Christmas in an ultimate act of union-busting against its employees.

Union employees at Trade Fair had been demanding better working conditions, and the supermarket had become the site of many demonstrations last year. Some of last year's demonstrations had even attracted mayoral candidates, including former Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who spoke at one protest last April :

Because the labor problems have dragged on from the previous owner to the successive owner at the Jackson Heights location, it was important to former Trade Fair employees that Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-Queens) showed up this morning in a sign of solidarity with the former employees.

Some activists, including Congressman Crowley, distributed flyers, informing the community about the corrupt actions of the new supermarket owner. Other activists collected signatures on a petition, demanding that Global Supermarket rehire the former Trade Fair workers. Some of the former Trade Fair employees had been members of a local service union, Local 338 RWDSU/UFCW.

During this morning's protest, few neighbors walked in Global Supermarket. If local residents continue to express their disapproval with the new owner, perhaps the new owner will make the commercially-responsible decision : to rehire the former Trade Fair employees ? Otherwise, the store may fail anew -- and end up closed, for good.

Is it time for Greenlight Capital to short stock of Sochi Olympic Sponsors ?

Hedge funds can probably make a killing by shorting stock of Sochi Olympic Sponsors

The marketing setbacks facing Coca-Cola's karmically-doomed sponsorship of the Sochi Olympics seem to be the tip of the iceberg.

Coca-Cola Removes Social Media Tool That Banned The Word "Gay" http://t.co/TDrExzVw4s #CheersToSochi @CocaCola pic.twitter.com/l0Z09hGYVT

— LGBT Civil Rights (@lgbtcivilrights) January 28, 2014

• RELATED : After LGBT Twitter Bombs, Is Sochi Olympics Social Media Marketing Dead ?

Last year, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg launched a highly-visible attack on super-sized sugary drinks, seeking to ban the sale of high-calorie drinks as a way to fight obesity and obesity-related maladies, like diabetes and heart disease. A court blocked Mayor Bloomberg's ban on large sugary-drinks, but Mayor Bloomberg's successor has vowed to fight to restore the ban. Efforts to improve its corporate image have also proved to be problematic for Coca-Cola after the corporation faced allegations that it was depleting ground water and contributing to pollution in India. Coca-Cola's role in creating water shortages in India have led some local authorities to suggest last week that they would take actions to demolish a Coca-Cola bottling plant in Uttar Pradesh.

Coca-Cola is still recovering from the shocking 2009 documentary exposé, The Coca-Cola Case, of its labour violations in Colombia, Guatemala, and Turkey.

Similarly, the damage that McDonald's is doing to its own reputation following it's own deadly silence on the violent Russian LGBT crackdown comes at a time when the world's largest hamburger chain is losing customer loyalty and is facing an embarrassing sales slump. "We've lost some of our customer relevance," CEO Don Thompson told Wall Street analysts during a conference call this week.

Separately, it's unclear how much the credit card issuer VISA stands to lose, if anything, from the recent spree of credit card fraud impacting several large American retailers.

Is it time for Greenlight Capital to create a bespoke basket of Olympic sponsor equities, and then short it ?

What Rep. Grimm's Threats of Violence Against NY1 Reporter Teaches Us About Media Intimidation

If Reporters or Bloggers Dare To Report Truth About Political Corruption, Politicians and Lobbyists Become Enraged

Rep. Michael Grimm's violent outburst and threats of bodily harm to NY1 Capital Hill reporter Michael Scotto revealed how elected officials keep political reporters and bloggers on a tight leash. “I verbally took the reporter to task and told him off, because I expect a certain level of professionalism and respect, especially when I go out of my way to do that reporter a favor. I doubt that I am the first Member of Congress to tell off a reporter, and I am sure I won’t be the last,” Rep. Grimm said, in part, in a statement published by Politicker.

• RELATED : Rep. Michael Grimm Assaults Michael Scotto, Threatens NY1 Reporter With Battery (NYC : News & Analysis)

What is more, a former staffer for Rep. Grimm told The New York Post that, “This is not the first time he’s tried to intimidate a reporter.”

In other words, elected officials have a sense of entitlement when it comes to giving reporters access to interviews. Elected officials do not believe that political reporters have a duty to fully inform voters about the government's work. Rather, politicians have come to believe that they can trade "favors" with representatives of the media. But when reporters or bloggers do not subjugate themselves to politicians, violence or rage can ensue, as was captured by NY1's camera.

Mike Scotto is putting together a full story, with captioning, on his Grimm encounter.

— Dan Jacobson (@DJNY1News) January 29, 2014

After a series of blog postings published last year about allegations of campaign finance irregularities involving the political lobbying firm The Advance Group, the firm's head lobbyist Scott Levenson called me in a fit of rage. His tone was confrontational, similar to the anger Rep. Grimm expressed to Mr. Scotto. I believed that Mr. Levenson was trying to intimidate me into silence, the way that Rep. Grimm had tried to intimidate Mr. Scotto.

• RELATED : The Advance Group Federal Complaint Referred To Moreland Commission (NYC : News & Analysis)

Many bloggers believe that one of the main reasons that political reporters do not fully report the truth about political corruption is that politicians and their army of lobbyists trade "favors," provide insider "tips," set up "interviews," or act as "sounding boards" for reporters. According to this cozy relationship, politicians and their lobbyists expect that reporters will never ask tough questions that are "off-script." You especially see the kind of soft-balling on local TV news programs, where hosts never fully confront powerholders for the truth the way Mr. Scotto and I had, recently.

How obvious that media targets Republicans @GovChristie and @repmichaelgrimm, but equally corrupt Democrats get no scrutiny. @joshrobin

— Louis Flores (@maslowsneeds) January 29, 2014

The instance of Mr. Scotto actually confronting Rep. Grimm on camera about allegations of corruption is rare for TV news. Very few reporters dare to actually embrace the discomfort of approaching politicians or lobbyists on camera with questions about political corruption. Because of this rarity, it's all the more evident that the media's two most recent "shake downs" have been of Republican politicians : New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Rep. Grimm. No TV news program dares to go after the Democrats, who now oversee the corrupt city Board of Elections, for example. Are behind-the-scenes expressions of anger and rage, like this but never caught on tape, the reason why Democrats have been able to slay the news media from investigating political corruption ?

Rep. Michael Grimm Assaults Michael Scotto, Threatens NY1 Reporter With Battery

Federal prosecutor crackdown on campaign finance corruption said to ensnare Rep. Michael Grimm http://t.co/8DiId2wbiO

— Informed Voting (@informedvoting) April 25, 2014

PUBLISHED : WED, 29 JAN 2014, 03:46 AM
UPDATED : FRI, 25 APR 2014, 05:40 PM

---

Rep. Grimm Threatened Bodily Harm to Mr. Scotto by Breaking Him in Half and Throwing Him Off a Balcony.

NY1 Capitol Hill reporter Michael Scotto interviewed Staten Island Republican Rep. Michael Grimm following President Barack Obama's State of the Union address, and Rep. Grimm became enraged after Mr. Scotto pressed the Congressman on camera about the Congressman's growing campaign finance scandal.

After Mr. Scotto had asked the Congressman questions about allegations of campaign finance crimes, Mr. Grimm told Mr. Scotto, "I’ll break you in half," according to a report of the attack published in The New York Times. Rep. Grimm also threatened to throw Mr. Scotto off a balcony, according to a transcript of Rep. Grimm's threats reviewed by The New York Times. "The confrontation occurred in the rotunda of the Cannon House Office Building, part of the Capitol complex," The New York Daily News noted.

• RELATED : Michael Grimm Threatens Reporter During Interview (Politicker)

Rep. Grimm is a solidly-built, 43-year-old former U.S. Marine and ex-undercover FBI agent. According to The New York Post, Rep. Grimm's threats to Mr. Scotto suggested that Rep. Grimm was physically intimidating Mr. Scotto as a way to control Mr. Scotto with fear. “Let me be clear to you, you ever do that to me again, I’ll throw you off this f–--king balcony,” Rep. Grimm said, adding, “You’re not man enough. I’ll break you in half. Like a boy.”

• RELATED : "I'll throw you off this f-----g balcony" : Rep. Michael Grimm threatens to break NY1 reporter in half following Obama's State of the Union address — SEE THE VIDEO (The New York Daily News)
• RELATED : Rep. Michael Grimm Threatens an NY1 Reporter (The New York Times)

Sadly, you know you are doing something right when politicians attack you. Good work, Michael Scotto. @NY1headlines @mikescotto

— Louis Flores (@maslowsneeds) January 29, 2014

"A two-year federal investigation of fundraising for Grimm’s 2010 campaign led to the arrest this month of a former girlfriend, Diana Durand. She was accused of using so-called straw donors so she could exceed the $4,800 maximum allowable contribution to his campaign," reported The New York Daily News, adding that, "According to the criminal complaint, once she reached the donation limit, she gave money to at least two other people so they could contribute to Grimm. Durand was the second person arrested in connection with the case. Ofer Biton, an Israeli citizen who helped Grimm raise campaign money four years ago, pleaded guilty on Aug. 18 to visa fraud as a result of the investigation."

Rep. Grimm has reportedly denied any wrongdoing in the crimes involving the campaign finance scandal, and he himself has not been charged with any crimes, yet.

"It is extremely disturbing when anyone threatens one of our reporters – let alone a U.S. Congressman," NY1’s political director, Bob Hardt, said in a series of messages on Twitter, adding, "The NY1 family is certainly alarmed and disappointed by the behavior of Representative Grimm and demands a full apology from him. This behavior is unacceptable."

If Reporters or Bloggers Dare To Report Truth About Political Corruption, Politicians and Lobbyists Become Enraged

Rep. Michael Grimm's violent outburst and threats of bodily harm to NY1 Capital Hill reporter Michael Scotto revealed how elected officials keep political reporters and bloggers on a tight leash. “I verbally took the reporter to task and told him off, because I expect a certain level of professionalism and respect, especially when I go out of my way to do that reporter a favor. I doubt that I am the first Member of Congress to tell off a reporter, and I am sure I won’t be the last,” Rep. Grimm said, in part, in a statement published by Politicker.

What is more, a former staffer for Rep. Grimm told The New York Post that, “This is not the first time he’s tried to intimidate a reporter.”

In other words, elected officials have a sense of entitlement when it comes to giving reporters access to interviews. Elected officials do not believe that political reporters have a duty to fully inform voters about the government's work. Rather, politicians have come to believe that they can trade "favors" with representatives of the media. But when reporters or bloggers do not subjugate themselves to politicians, violence or rage can ensue, as was captured by NY1's camera.

Mike Scotto is putting together a full story, with captioning, on his Grimm encounter.

— Dan Jacobson (@DJNY1News) January 29, 2014

After a series of blog postings published last year about allegations of campaign finance irregularities involving the political lobbying firm The Advance Group, the firm's head lobbyist Scott Levenson called me in a fit of rage. His tone was confrontational, similar to the anger Rep. Grimm expressed to Mr. Scotto. I believed that Mr. Levenson was trying to intimidate me into silence, the way that Rep. Grimm had tried to intimidate Mr. Scotto.

• RELATED : The Advance Group Federal Complaint Referred To Moreland Commission (NYC : News & Analysis)

Many bloggers believe that one of the main reasons that political reporters do not fully report the truth about political corruption is that politicians and their army of lobbyists trade "favors," provide insider "tips," set up "interviews," or act as "sounding boards" for reporters. According to this cozy relationship, politicians and their lobbyists expect that reporters will never ask tough questions that are "off-script." You especially see the kind of soft-balling on local TV news programs, where hosts never fully confront powerholders for the truth the way Mr. Scotto and I had, recently.

How obvious that media targets Republicans @GovChristie and @repmichaelgrimm, but equally corrupt Democrats get no scrutiny. @joshrobin

— Louis Flores (@maslowsneeds) January 29, 2014

The instance of Mr. Scotto actually confronting Rep. Grimm on camera about allegations of corruption is rare for TV news. Very few reporters dare to actually embrace the discomfort of approaching politicians or lobbyists on camera with questions about political corruption. Because of this rarity, it's all the more evident that the media's two most recent "shake downs" have been of Republican politicians : New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Rep. Grimm. No TV news program dares to go after the Democrats, who now oversee the corrupt city Board of Elections, for example. Are behind-the-scenes expressions of anger and rage, like this but never caught on tape, the reason why Democrats have been able to slay the news media from investigating political corruption ?

Devil Cat Attacks Mailman Delivering Mail Through Slot

In a funny video, a mailman tries to deliver mail to a house. But the house cat devilishly swats its paws through the mail slot, scaring the postal carrier and giving us some laughs in the process. Laugh-track included.

Coca-Cola Removes Social Media Tool That Banned The Word "Gay"

Coca-Cola Removes Social Media Tool That Banned The Word "Gay" http://t.co/TDrExzVw4s #CheersToSochi @CocaCola pic.twitter.com/l0Z09hGYVT

— LGBT Civil Rights (@lgbtcivilrights) January 28, 2014

American Presidential Elections vs. The Miss America Pageant

Really, just how hard would it be to reform federal elections, if we cared ?

Scurrying Off, In Secret, Away From The Press

Mayor Bill de Blasio has secret rendezvous with American-Israeli group behind closed doors ; French President has secret rendezvous with Julie Gayet behind closed doors

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio was "forced to defend himself Friday after a Thursday speech to the American-Israeli Public Affairs Committee was left off his public schedule," The New York Daily News reported, adding, "A reporter from the website Capital New York who found out about the event and tried to cover it was ejected by security, the outlet said."

Separately, Capital New York reported that Mayor de Blasio blamed AIPAC for refusing entry to the reporter, noting that, "The mayor insisted AIPAC wanted the dinner to be closed to the press, but agreed he should have informed reporters regardless."

• RELATED : What Private Life ? François Hollande, the N.S.A., and Article 13 (NYC : News & Analysis)
• RELATED : Bill de Blasio Secret Recording at AIPAC, 1/23/2014 (via @CapitalNewYork)

This isn't the first time that Mayor de Blasio has locked out reporters from covering a controversial event. Last month, Capital New York reported that then the mayor-elect attended a fundraiser for New Yorkers for Clean Livable & Safe Streets (NY-CLASS), the backers of a controversial $1 million Super PAC that exceeded Campaign Finance Board restrictions to defeat the mayor's chief challenger, Christine Quinn. The NY-CLASS fundraiser was also closed to reporters. (And all the behind-the-scenes lobbying that the mayor did to select Councilmember Mellisa Mark-Viverito as the new Council speaker hasn't been exactly transparent, either.)

During the aftermath of the post-Christmas 2010 blizzard, then Public Advocate Bill de Blasio excoriated Mayor Michael Bloomberg for being absent while the city lay buried in unplowed snow.

"The City Council is calling for an investigation into why so many neighborhoods were still buried in snow, and Public Advocate Bill de Blasio sent a letter to Bloomberg demanding to know what happened," the local ABC News affiliate reported at the time.

So much for a real progressive reform agenda when it comes to government transparency and openness. Mayor de Blasio's secretive disappearing acts remind us of embattled French President François Hollande, who took to a motor scooter to travel to a secret rendezvous now and then with his mistress, the actress Julie Gayet.

Does the First Lady have anything to worry about ?

Bronx Man Dies After Waiting Hours For E.R. To Treat His Rash

Berger Commission and Medicaid Redesign Team hospital closings created failures that have led to long E.R. wait times in New York

• From The Gothamist : Man Dies After Waiting Hours For ER To Treat His Rash

A Bronx man who went to Saint Barnabas Hospital to get his rash checked out was found dead in the emergency room waiting room after an eight hour wait. John Verrier, 30, went to St. Barnabas at 10 p.m. last Sunday night; he was found dead by a security guard around 6:40 a.m. the next day. "He was found stiff, blue and cold," a hospital employee told ABC News. "He died because [there's] not enough staff to take care of the number of patients we see each day. We need more staff at Saint Barnabas."

Verrier had his vitals taken when he first got to the hospital, then told to wait for a doctor to see him. Hospital spokesman Steve Clark told the Post that Verrier's name was called "two or three times" between his arrival and 2 a.m. A security guard passed through the waiting room around 2 a.m. to wake up the many homeless people who sleep there, and Verrier was "moving, he was alive." Then when the security guard passed again around 6 a.m., he was dead.

Clark added that an in-house review found “all guidelines were met.” But the hospital worker who spoke to ABC said nobody was really checking on him: "There's no policy in place to check the waiting room to see if people waiting to be seen are still there or still alive." That worker says Verrier's name was called over the PA three times, but "based on number of people in the waiting room it is impossible to check on each person physically."

New York State is ranked 46th in the country in overall emergency room waiting time. St. Barnabas is the worst in the city when it comes to the average time patients spent in the emergency room before being sent home: it's 306 minutes there, compared to a 155 minute wait statewide and the average 137 minute wait nationally.

• RELATED : Industry sources said recent hospital closures have contributed to longer wait times. You could die waiting in New York hospitals * The New York Post
• RELATED : Former New York Lt. Gov. Richard Ravitch asks how Gov. Andrew Cuomo can propose $2 billion in tax cuts in the face of great social needs. Richard Ravitch’s Reaction to the Budget Plan * Capital Tonight (Registration Required)

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Tell Gov. Andrew Cuomo to stop closing our hospitals : 1 (518) 474-8390

You can also tweet your concerns to Gov. Cuomo at : @NYGovCuomo

Coca-Cola Social Media Gimmick Censors "Gay" But Not "Straight"

Enjoy Coke, as long as you're not "gay" ?

In a startling new development, the world's largest sugary-drinks maker Coca-Cola has censored its social media followers from using the word "gay" in the company's new social media gimmick -- but not the word "straight."

The normally proud Sochi Olympics sponsor, Coca-Cola is expressing shame to its social media followers if they try to type the word "gay" into a meme generator that lets users affix brief messages on a blank red Coca-Cola can, but one that still bears the trademark white swoosh, or wave. The censorship is evidenced by a capture video of a computer screen's movements posted to YouTube by a user named Kaleb Sutra.

Social media followers who type the word "gay" are met with the following response : “Oops. Let’s pretend you didn’t just type that," the same as if followers had just typed in curse words, like "dick," "pussy," or "bitch."

Coca-Cola's association of "gay" with profanity comes on the heels of the proud Sochi Olympics sponsor trying to disassociate itself from the doomed marketing gimmicks of McDonald's, which launched a karmically-challenged social media campaign on Twitter with the hashtag #CheersToSochi in the face of a violent, seemingly government-sponsored crackdown against LGBT Russians following the passage of an anti-gay propaganda law last year.

• RELATED : Coke has gone into an Olympic-sized closet, downplaying its Sochi sponsorship (AMERICAblog)
• RELATED : U.S. Olympic Athletes Told Wearing Team Colors In Sochi Puts Them At Risk: Reports (Huffington Post)
• RELATED : New Activist Video Mocks Coca-Cola's "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" Over anti-LGBT Russian Sochi Olympics (NYC : News & Analysis)

That the tinge of censorship has now befallen Coca-Cola's latest social media campaign reveals the adverse advertising conditions the large sugary-drinks maker must confront in connection with this year's controversial Winter Olympics, set to take place in Sochi, a southern Russian coastal resort town across the Black Sea from Turkey. Russia's anti-gay law has sparked global outrage ahead of the Olympics, and many foolish corporations like Coca-Cola, which blindly paid large sums of money to sponsor the Sochi Olympics, must now account to their customers for the sponsorship of the games in a nation that is violently cracking down against its very own LGBT citizens.

Since last summer, Coca-Cola had become the target of protests based on its sponsorship decision, and last week one LGBT activism group released a brilliant YouTube video, mocking Coca-Cola's morally bankrupt brand for having once sponsored multi-cultural dignity and respect but which now supports Russia's violent anti-LGBT crackdown.

No word yet on how Coca-Cola's own Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Ally (LGBTA) Business Resource Group, or its other Diversity Advisory Councils, are able to reconcile the corporation's controversial sponsorship of the Sochi Olympics.

Is it time for Greenlight Capital to short some stock ?

These latest marketing setbacks add to Coca-Cola's growing problems. Last year, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg launched a highly-visible attack on super-sized sugary drinks, seeking to ban the sale of high-calorie drinks as a way to fight obesity and obesity-related maladies, like diabetes and heart disease. A court blocked Mayor Bloomberg's ban on large sugary-drinks, but Mayor Bloomberg's successor has vowed to fight to restore the ban. Efforts to improve its corporate image have also proved to be problematic for Coca-Cola after the corporation faced allegations that it was depleting ground water and contributing to pollution in India. Coca-Cola's role in creating water shortages in India have led some local authorities to suggest last week that they would take actions to demolish a Coca-Cola bottling plant in Uttar Pradesh.

Coca-Cola is still recovering from the shocking 2009 documentary exposé, The Coca-Cola Case, of its labour violations in Colombia, Guatemala, and Turkey.

Similarly, the damage that McDonald's is doing to its own reputation following it's own deadly silence on the violent Russian LGBT crackdown comes at a time when the world's largest hamburger chain is losing customer loyalty and is facing an embarrassing sales slump. "We've lost some of our customer relevance," CEO Don Thompson told Wall Street analysts during a conference call this week.

Separately, it's unclear how much the credit card issuer VISA stands to lose, if anything, from the recent spree of credit card fraud impacting several large American retailers.

Is it time for Greenlight Capital to create a bespoke basket of Olympic sponsor equities, and then short it ?

Bill de Blasio's staff had role in determining City Council leadership posts

Mayor de Blasio violated checks-and-balances

Given to how much control Mayor Bill de Blasio wants to have over the City Council, like picking its new speaker, the mayor also wants to have a say in who would lead the various Council leadership posts.

And when Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito announced this week the new leadership posts for the City Council, her deputy, Councilmember Brad Lander, told reporters, “A lot of people were consulted." When pressed further by reporters about the role of the mayor's administration in selecting the new Council leadership posts, Councilmember Lander admitted that, “Yeah, I guess I did talk to members of the administration ...." (Bill de Blasio aides consulted on New York City Council committee assignments * Capital New York)

Mayor's staff had a hand in Council committee assignments http://t.co/B4gFFZQFPr via @Azi

— Kristen Meriwether (@MeriwetherK) January 23, 2014

• RELATED : Bill de Blasio, New York Liberals, and the Veal Pen (Updated)
• RELATED : The Advance Group Federal Complaint Referred To Moreland Commission

Mayor de Blasio's efforts to subvert the will of the City Council in determining its own leadership flies in the face of all the criticisms he hurled at his chief rival in last year's mayoral race. Previously, Mayor de Blasio had excoriated the former Council speaker, Christine Quinn, for serving as a rubber stamp for the former mayor, Michael Bloomberg.

But now, it seems, Mayor de Blasio is seeking from Speaker Mark-Viverito that which he formerly charged Mayor Bloomberg from seeking in Speaker Quinn : a doormat.

New Activist Video Mocks Coca-Cola's "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" Over anti-LGBT Russian Sochi Olympics

LGBT activism group Queer Nation NY release protest video attacking Coca-Cola's sponsorship of the anti-LGBT Russian Sochi Olympics

The pop culture touchstone that was once Coca-Cola's advertising jingle, ''I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony)'' has been juxtaposed over snippets of video showing the violent anti-LGBT crackdown taking place right now in Vladamir Putin's Russia.

The irony of the disturbing images in this protest video is that this theme song originated from one of Coca-Cola's most effective advertising campaigns ever -- an advertising jingle, ''I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke (And Keep It Company),'' a little ditty of "hope and love sung by a multicultural collection of teenagers on the top of a hill" -- has been transformed to reveal how morally bankrupt Coca-Cola's brand really is.

• RELATED : After LGBT Twitter Bombs, Is Sochi Olympics Social Media Marketing Dead ?

If Coca-Cola cared about diversity and the respect and dignity that every person deserves, irrespective of how people may be "different," then Coca-Cola should fully address the violence now taking place in Russia since President Putin enacted legislation that bans the dissemination of so-called "gay propaganda."

Perhaps the LGBT community should begin protests outside of businesses that serve Coca-Cola and sing a new interpretation of "I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke (And Keep It Company)," one whose lyrics more accurately reflect the disturbing images of violence and brutality in Queer Nation NY's new protest video.

After LGBT Twitter Bombs, Is Sochi Olympics Social Media Marketing Dead ?

#LGBT Advocates Hijack @McDonalds #CheersToSochi #SocialMedia Campaign. @bilericoproject: http://t.co/HrYRqW6gfH pic.twitter.com/JZ536iQnlC

— Queer Nation NY (@QueerNationNY) January 23, 2014

LGBT Activists Twitter Bomb McDonald's Olympic Hashtag Campaign Until McDonald's Apparently Gives Up.

The Sochi Olympics corporate sponsors, who have been coldly indifferent to President Vladimir Putin's violent crackdown on LGBT Russians, have become targets of online protests by LGBT activists.

Ever since the fastfood chain McDonald's announced a Twitter hashtag campaign around #CheersToSochi, LGBT activists have been reappropriating that hashtag for messages about McDonald's callous response to the ongoing state-sponsored violence and discrimination against LGBT Russians by their very own government.

• RELATED : LGBT Activists Hijack #CheersToSochi

LGBT activists have been challenging Olympic sponsors, like McDonald's, to break their silence around the violent crackdown against LGBT Russians. When multiple users coordinate tweets with the same hashtag on Twitter, it's called Twitter bombing, a term used to describe either activism or a form of guerrilla advertising, as a way to increase visibility about connotations surrounding a particular hashtag. In the case of McDonald's, activists were trying to convert the commercial aspect of McDonald's Twitter hashtag into a protest about cold, corporate callousness.

If u believe in equality & dignity of ur #LGBT employees, u would press Putin to repeal discrimination laws. @McDonalds #CheersToSochi

— LGBT Civil Rights (@lgbtcivilrights) January 21, 2014

• RELATED : Queer Nation NY Protests Outside NBC's The Today Show Over Olympic Coverage And Silence On Russian LGBT Crackdown

The effort of some LGBT activists to challenge McDonald's gained the attention of one prominent openly gay media figure, Michelangelo Signorile, who has been following the LGBT Twitter bombing.

Clarification: The hijacking of @McDonalds #CheersToSochi hashtag by #LGBT activists is fascinating. Seems @McDonalds has given up entirely.

— Mike Signorile (@MSignorile) January 23, 2014

After about three days of the Twitter bombing campaign, McDonald's has appeared to have ceased using #CheersToSochi on Twitter, leading LGBT activists to believe that the large fastfood giant had seen its online goodwill deteriorate beyond salvation.

How are any Olympic sponsors going to be able to promote their brands after the @McDonalds #CheersToSochi disaster? @CocaCola beware!

— Mike Signorile (@MSignorile) January 23, 2014

The damage that McDonald's is doing to its own reputation following it's deadly silence on the violent Russian LGBT crackdown comes at a time when the world's largest hamburger chain is losing customer loyalty and is facing an embarrassing sales slump. "We've lost some of our customer relevance," CEO Don Thompson told Wall Street analysts during a conference call this week.

• RELATED : Queer Nation NY protests against Russian LGBT discrimination enablers continue, this time at Carnegie Hall

Activists from around the world are questioning why the media and people in the media are refusing to acknowledge the human rights abuses taking place against LGBT's in Russia. Last year, the French pop superstar Mylène Farmer was in Russia when anti-LGBT violence broke out in Saint-Pétersbourg. Ms. Farmer, who enjoys a huge LGBT fan base, remained mum about each of the violent attack and the over-all crackdown that claims as victims her very own LGBT Russian fan base.

• RELATED : London gay rights protest over Coca-Cola Sochi sponsorship
• RELATED : If Mylène Farmer were a real gay icon, she would denounce the Russian government's violent crackdown against LGBT community

LGBT activists have also been targeting special NBC Olympics commentator Johnny Weir, the former figure skater. Mr. Weir has been using many media appearances to deny that the violent LGBT crackdown is taking place in Russia -- leading activists to label Mr. Weir as a "Putin apologist."

Putin apologist, Sochi 2014 Winter Games shill, Comrade Johnny Weir wants you to know you hurt his feelings. http://t.co/FTNOTKTGuT

— LGBT For Change (@lgbt4change) January 16, 2014

The Advance Group Federal Complaint Referred To Moreland Commission

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SPECIAL NEWS UPDATE: FRI, 25 APR 2014, 09:50 AM

In the past few weeks, FBI agents have been asking questions about the campaign by the animal rights group NY-CLASS to strong arm former Council Speaker Christine Quinn (center) to support a ban on the iconic horse-drawn carriages, two sources familiar with the matter told The New York Daily News. The horse lobbyists in question include Scott Levenson, and they are linked to Mayor Bill de Blasio (inset). (FBI investigating claim that Christine Quinn was threatened by Scott Levenson for refusing to support carriage horse ban during the mayoral race * The New York Daily News)

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Were Possible Coordination of Independent Expenditures and Free Gifts of Lobbying Services Violations of Federal Laws ? Will the Moreland Commission Investigate Possible Campaign Corruption ?

The Civilian Crime Report filed yesterday with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York was forwarded today to certain members of the Moreland Commission. As the Moreland Commission continues its work to investigate public corruption, will it examine The Advance Group's role in the recent past New York City municipal elections ?

2014-01-22 Gmail - Referral to Moreland Commission : The Advance Group

• RELATED : A federal complaint has been filed against The Advance Group, which charges that the consulting firm broke laws through the way it supported and allowed its employees to support candidates during the last election season, Politicker writes. (Complaint Filed Against The Advance Group for Election Work * Politicker)
• RELATED : First Read 22 Jan 2014 (City & State)
• RELATED : Here and Now : State of Politics (Capital Tonight)

2014-01-20 the Advance Group USAO SDNY Civilian Crime Report

• RELATED : The Advance Group Kept Working on Melissa Mark-Viverito's Speakership Campaign Until the Very End

• RELATED : The Growing, Corruptive Role of Money and Lobbyists In NYC Politics Contravenes Progressive Values

Prior to the backroom deals that selected Melisa Mark-Viverito as the new Council speaker, she had accepted unpaid assistance from The Advance Group, a prominent lobbying firm headed by Scott Levenson, the news Web site Politicker reported. (The Advance Group Helping Melissa Mark-Viverito in Speaker’s Race * Politicker) After controversy erupted over Ms. Mark-Viverito's receipt of unpaid assistance from The Advance Group (City Council Speaker candidate Melissa Mark-Viverito may have violated city ethics rules * The New York Daily News), Ms. Mark-Viverito deceptively announced that she fired the The Advance Group. (Melissa Mark-Viverito Drops Advance Group for Speaker Bid * Politicker) However, Jonathan Yedin, an operative with The Advance Group, has been working in Brooklyn Democratic Party politics for more than a decade and belongs to Frank Seddio’s political club. Mr. Yedin was a crucial player in brokering the backroom deal with Mr. Seddio to give Ms. Mark-Viverito the win in her bid to become the next Council speaker, sources said. (Inside Melissa Mark-Viverito’s Road to Victory * Politicker) But The Advance Group was never paid for their work, according to New York State Board of Elections campaign finance disclosure records, raising the specter anew that Ms. Mark-Viverito was in violation of prohibitions on publicly-elected officials from accepting a “valuable gift” from a firm that intends to do business with the city, according to an analysis by The New York Daily News of the City Charter regulations, which include prohibitions on lobbyists from giving valuable gifts to publicly-elected officials.

The Advance Group, which is providing unpaid consultants to Mark-Viverito, worked for the City Action Coalition PAC, which lists 'traditional marriage' as its platform and supported opponents of gay City Council candidates. (The New York Daily News)

Did Scott Levenson sabotage LGBT civil rights attorney Yetta Kurland's political campaign ? (Scott Levenson : Biggest Loser Of The Week * NY Pop Culture & Politics)