Raniere’s big blunder in bail package
https://frankreport.com/2018/06/15/ranieres-big-blunder-in-bail-package/
— Read on frankreport.com/2018/06/15/ranieres-big-blunder-in-bail-package/
#NXIVM: No Bail for Raniere, Operations Shut Down
Keith Raniere was not only denied bail, but Clare Bronfman was brought up in yesterday’s court hearing for the cult leader and co-conspirator Allison Mack.
The Frank Report says Bronfman may have fled to Fiji by way of France, so we can only hope she’s not beyond extradition and will be sitting in a courtroom sometime soon herself.
I had planned to attend yesterday’s hearing and meet up with Toni Natalie (Keith’s ex girlfriend whose life he made a living hell for many years). Unfortunately, family business and a series of necessary appointments got in the way.
Regardless, I think the coup of the day (at least in the eyes of NXIVM’s defectors and the victims of the ridiculously overly litigious Raniere and Bronfman) was that Bronfman’s name was finally brought up and it’s now clear that Clare is in the hot seat – well, not physically yet if she’s in Fiji, but it’s official: There’ zero doubt she’s on the radar screen of federal agents.
Despite Raniere’s lawyers’ pleas for his release on bail, the judge presiding over the case is no pushover. The defendant’s motion included a promise of having security watch him 24/7 to guarantee he’s no flight risk, but the gravity of his crimes certainly don’t warrant special allowances. For now (and hopefully for a VERY long time) he’s restricted to prison life, still able to consume more calories and be far better nourished than the women he allegedly forced to starve for sexual slavery.
The other news out of NXIVM is that all its operations have closed down. It’s actually quite astonishing that it took this long. The following report is from News10.com:
ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) – NXIVM announced it is suspending all operations until further notice.
The Capital Region cult says it will be in touch with more information for anyone currently enrolled in upcoming events and programs.
“While we are disappointed by the interruption of our operations, we believe it is warranted by the extraordinary circumstances facing the company at this time. We continue to believe in the value and importance of our work and look forward to resuming our efforts when these allegations are resolved.”
Actress Allison Mack, 35, of Brooklyn, N.Y., is facing trafficking charges for her involvement in NXIVM.
Keith Raniere, 57, of Waterford, N.Y., is the leader of the cult that masquerades as a self-group, was arraigned on similar charges.
According to NXIVM, the company’s mission is to “raise human awareness, foster an ethical humanitarian civilization, and celebrate what it means to be human.”
#RHONY: “Not Well, Bitch!” Dorinda & the Cast Divisions Between Seasons
I’ve written before about Real Housewives of New York‘s Sonja Morgan snaking in stinging jabs at Dorinda Medley. I’m not sure what it is about these women (and the viewers do relish this about the franchise), but they keep the drama going while the cameras aren’t rolling.
A source tells me that Sonja is talking all sorts of smack about Dorinda’s past relationships, revising history through tall tales. For instance, Dorinda gets along terrifically with her ex husband Ralph, but Sonja gossiped to one fair-weather friend that Ralph latched on to a close pal of Dorinda’s, who he ended up marrying. She was insinuating that the most amicable of divorces was anything but…
Those who know Dorinda and Ralph can attest to the fact that the parents of Hannah are in a great place, friends who communicate regularly. There is also no beef there with his wife.
This feud between Dorinda and Sonja has been going on for a long period of time. In fact, when I interviewed Dorinda for The Huffington Post last year, it was right before the season began and she and Sonja were not speaking. Dorinda also recently made the point of emphasizing to Heather McDonald on an episode of the podcast Juicy Scoop, that she and Sonja didn’t socialize before filming and it seems they’re merely on-camera frenemies. To the contrary, Dorinda and Ramona Singer are real life true friends and it was Ramona who actually encouraged Dorinda to do the show.
Sources say Dorinda is not having it easy in this seasonal interim. She and Bethenny have had some sort of falling out that previously led Bethenny to block her on social media. Dorinda is also quite peeved with cast mate Luann De Lesseps for hypocritically criticizing her drinking in a blog post. Remember, Lu herself went to rehab following her own drunken antics in Palm Beach (long story, but suffice it to say: “It was about Tom.)
On a happy note for Dorinda, the love affairs with Carole Radziwill and Tinsley Mortimer seem consistent and stable. The three recently took a vacation together.
To sum it up for those keeping score, there are two teams. Team A: Dorinda, Carole, Tinsley, Ramona and Team B: Bethenny, Sonja and Luann. Despite these divisions, the women of RHONY will continue to make terrific television together.
Men in Bad Sweaters
Just when I thought the Bill Cosby verdict was a no-brainer, I’ve discovered people across the country who feel he was unjustly crucified.
Due to the outstanding number of accusers, the consistencies between accounts and Cosby’s own admissions, I find their complaints baffling. The argument one woman gave me was regarding statutes of limitations, as well as recollections of what occurred many years ago. I couldn’t even get my head around her logic truthfully, particularly in light of how Cosby incriminated his own self, admitting to drugging women before having sex.
Another person who I find inarguably guilty of the crimes that have been alleged is cult leader Keith Raniere of NXIVM. If you read the Frank Report by Frank Parlato (FrankReport.com), you’ll get a sense of just how evil Keith is and how far it goes. It is beyond the sex slavery and trafficking you hear about in the news. But if you look at Keith in the YouTube video he made with actress Allison Mack, he seems soft spoken and innocuous looking. His ex girlfriend Toni Natalie compares his appearance to that of Harry Potter’s. It is hard for those who’ve met Keith only a handful of times to fathom that this “schlub” (Elizabeth Vargas of 20/20’s word for him) could hold so much sway…yet Keith is a hypnotist and excels at mind control.
Cosby epitomized the fun-loving, comedic, wholesome dad on his hit television show for many years. People of my generation idealized the family dynamics of the Huxtables, sometimes even forgetting that family was fictional. Those with dysfunctional home lives resented Bill, Claire and crew while fantasizing about a way to be like them. As it turned out, the married Cosby was meeting women under the guise of mentorship or career counsel during that time, then drugging and raping them.
These two men in bad sweaters seem unlikely perpetrators to the untrained eye. Keith looks like the young cutey-pie Rabbi who may have taught me in seminary, inviting students from my all girls school to Shabbat lunch, singing songs while bouncing his child on his knee. His esoteric speak would be about Torah in this imagined scenario. Yes, Keith really does appear at first glance like someone I might have known as a depressed teen searching for spiritual meaning….trying to fill my undernourished soul….someone whose words would seem meaningful at a time when I was vulnerable.
Both men seemed to offer kindness, guidance, advice and answers to those they initially captivated. Their ugly sweaters swathing portly mid-sections hardly made them look intimidating. But perhaps the exteriors are what allowed these men to escape the law for as long as they did. The old, very trite adage of “you can’t judge a book by its cover” applies here. Both men seemed sage and safe on the surface level, which disguised a host of evil manipulations.
#SouthernCharm: Breaking Down the ‘Blind Gossip’
Someone who is way better at updating her website than I am, as well as more impressively diligent about frequent postings and keeping current with numerous reality shows is Tamara Tattles. Personally, I’m just starting out with this website, ShirasGotTheScoop, and trying to manage other jobs and endeavors (including a gaggle of offspring) simultaneously, but I’d like to post as often as I can. In that regard, I look up to Tamara who is admirably a #SuperBlogger – #Goals. I’m in awe of friends who post multiple times daily and I’ll admit that I’m not sure of my aspirations for this site yet as I fret about other work. What I can tell you is that sometimes, the savvier website- keepers inspire me greatly to weigh in… So tonight, I’m going to delve into Tamara Tattles’ most recent post.
Tamara has authored a blind item that I shall attempt to interpret as one would explore Talmudic text (my Jewish day school contemporaries may or may not crack a smile at that. They may or may not eschew the reference entirely, deeming it despicably sacrilegious). There will be lots of commentary and speculation on my part, and I’ll make sure to pepper my postulations with allegedlies – in order to be as fair as one can possibly be here.
Tamara Tattles’ site, which I urge you to check out, is TamaraTattles.com, and she currently also has her blind item on the website BlindGossip.com. Before I weigh in and break it all down as if it is a tractate of Gemara, here’s the full item:
On a certain reality show, there is one evil b* that is worse than anything we have ever seen. EVER. She has literally hooked her way on to the show by way of another aberrant creature we recently got rid of.
In an odd turn of events, I totally warned the male in this story about the female in this story very, very, early on when she was trying to sell stories to the sites that pay for the dirt. He was polite, but didn’t really believe me so I just bowed out to watch nature take its course.
Now I am finding out that she has been constantly digging up the dirt on her “beloved.” She has gone through his phone, she has gone through his computer, and she has a lot of information to share. She has attacked a woman relentlessly who politely declined to play the role she is currently playing. She’s psychotic.
Here just a few things she has on her equally despicable “mark”.
◦ Very early on, his sisters tried to pay him to send this female back to where she came from and try to get the female who declined “the opportunity” to reconsider. That was never a possibility but the sisters didn’t have the full story.
◦ She was particularly incensed about his will. She was not happy with the beneficiaries.
◦ Some sort of lesbian sex tape with toys. I presume he was on camera but my source was not clear about that.
◦ She was also pissed about him asking people via email about her call girl reputation. She was not working and living with her mother at the time they were introduced.
There is a lot more. He is terrified. He’s tried on multiple occasions to break up with her but she is threatening to sell stories. Oddly, that is the very thing I warned him about months and months ago. At least I tried, and honestly, knowing what I know now, that I didn’t know then, I’m hoping these two drag each other to death. Neither one of them need to be breathing our air unless it is behind bars. At least we know that neither of them will be on out TV again unless it’s on the news about their court cases.
See You Next Tuesday has a significant meaning for this blind. Because she will be speaking unsupervised next Tuesday. And she’s a loose cannon. Expect bizarre social media posts from him on Tuesday as well and more from me as soon as I get the tea.
So here’s the deal…and be prepared for potential **spoilers** in this post. It has been rumored that Ashley Jacobs, Thomas Ravenel’s girlfriend and the Southern Charm “villain” of the season, is not just a Cali girl but a call girl!!!!
I’m not sure that I’m “buying it” personally, but in the episodes ahead, you may very well see one of the other ladies in the cast bring it up to the group.
At this stage, rumors are just rumors, and of course, there has been smoke —but is there fire? That question could very likely be the cliff-hanger of the current season. If Thomas Ravenel and Ashley Jacobs are kaput post reunion (meaning: not slated to return next season), we’ll be left with a lot that is unanswered. The reunion is being filmed tomorrow – hence the reference above to “Tuesday.”
I’m sorry to disappoint readers, but I am doubtful we’ll get our answers to the “call girl” question. Thomas’s contract actually expires after the reunion, and we do not know (and frankly, it seems DOUBTFUL) if it will be renewed for another season.
The friend who introduced Ashley to the show is said to be Landon Clements (a cast member from last season). Rumor has it (and again, keep in mind the above disclaimer about rumors merely being rumors) that after Ashley went through Thomas’s emails, she concluded that a former Ravenel girlfriend of just one week, Luzanne Otte, was to blame for the cast’s dislike of her.
It has also been alleged that Landon assisted in planting these particular seeds of doubt in her friend Ashley’s mind.
In the next few episodes of Southern Charm, you will see Ashley and Thomas’s relationship deteriorate as Ashley is plagued by insecurities. Thomas does little to reassure her (or to be nice at all, in my opinion).
It seems he “checked out” earlier on when his new squeeze attacked Kathryn, who impressively maintained her composure amidst the volatility.
From what one can decipher in the item, Tamra Tattles tried to warn Thomas that Ashley might have found allies in a group of curmudgeons running a revenge-slanted blog.
Twitter users have noted that said blog has been the only outlet to praise Thomas amidst multiple sexual assault allegations. It has also been pointed out that the site unabashedly slut-shamed the daughter of a Ravenel sexual assault victim, deliberately posting one sexy photo after another of her (she’s a model and realtor) between article paragraphs. The intention is beyond transparent.
Before the sexual assault allegations garnered media attention, Ashley Jacobs allegedly went on a tear: She blamed TRav’s ex Luzanne Otte (the ONE WEEK “relationship” gal who ended things with Thomas after witnessing absurd and temperamental behavior) for animosity she felt from cast mates.
Sources claim Ashley fed the aforementioned blog many of the stories they ended up running. This was much to the dismay of privacy-craving Luzanne Otte, a woman who would never go on realty TV and who would really rather that folks not even know her name. Unfortunately, she was forced to go public in order to clear it.
You will see in the episodes ahead how Ashley’s relationship with Thomas Ravenel unravels. I was informed that Ashley even asked Shep Rose if he would date her – should things not pan out with Thomas.
What else would she possibly do in Charleston otherwise?
You’ll get the sense that she would really like a reason to stay.
Tamara alludes to the fact that Thomas’s family members had suggested Ashley go back to Santa Barbara and that might have been the best move, but the harder things have gotten, the stronger Ashley has fought to stand her ground and stay.
There are implications in the above blind item that Ashley has some secrets she’s keeping about Thomas (the “lesbian sex tape”, whatever that entails, may be a part of it…or it might not be). There is so much more to Thomas (risqué sexcapades? More information about sexual assaults? Other TRav troubles? The manner in which Ashley and TRav truly met?) that Ashley seems to know. She may be lording all of that knowledge over him, essentially blackmailing him to stay in the relationship and allow her to remain in his home.
Again, all of the above is ALLEGED, but pay special attention to the dynamics between Thomas and Ashley in the coming episodes.
If I’m interpreting things correctly, Tamara Tattles tried to forewarn Thomas about the mess that lay ahead…whatever it is exactly.
It seems quite clear that the issued warning went unheeded. The blind item implies that Thomas may be desperate to break up with Ashley.
However, for once, the powerful, affluent, former politician and alpha male of the notorious “All boys club” (a monster of Haymaker Productions’ making) is powerless.
Shira's Got The Scoop! 