Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett LLP Loses Round in $100 M PrediWave Fraud Case

In the latest chapter of this complicated six-year-old tech industry story this blogger covered on March 22, 2010, the law firm Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett LLP (an 800-employee business litigation firm with offices in New York and Palo Alto, as well as seven other cities worldwide) lost another round in its attempt to "shut up" former PrediWave outside Director Jimmy Li. Li was attempting to investigate PrediWave company documents and conducting an investigation that would reveal the misconduct of Former Tech CEO Jianping “Tony” Qu, once the head of PrediWave Corporation.

Jianping “Tony” Qu was reported to have "taken off" with $100 million in bonuses, leased 30 cars and purchased a whopping 19 homes. Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett was alleged to have been involved in a cover-up of Mr. Qu's actions. Why? That's not known. Here's the timeline of original events, as repeated from this blogger's last post, but adjusted to make the story clearer:

1) Attorneys for Simpson Thacher became aware by December 1, 2004 that Mr. Qu was directing the sale of tens of millions of dollars of memory chips to PrediWave through a shell corporation whose profits were pocketed by Mr. Qu.

2) Simpson Thacher uncovered evidence showing that delivery records and price quotes from a non-existent Chinese company were falsified, while the memory chips themselves were purchased from a tech firm operating only a few miles from PrediWave’s Fremont headquarters.

3) Mr. Qu was paid a $25 million bonus in January 2005 while Simpson Thacher sat on the evidence it had gathered regarding his activities.

4) Attorneys for Simpson Thacher filed a lawsuit in May 2004 preventing two PrediWave directors, one of them PrediWave outside Director Jimmy Li, from reviewing company documents and conducting an investigation that would reveal Mr. Qu’s misconduct.

5) In 2005, Simpson Thacher chose to hire a private investigations firm, not for the purpose of exposing Mr. Qu’s actions, but to determine the probability of the fraud going public. Simpson Thacher never disclosed the results of that investigation to PrediWave’s board of directors, which included PrediWave outside Director Jimmy Li.

6) While serving as PrediWave’s counsel for only little over a year, Simpson Thacher billed over $16 million in legal fees. At the same time, Mr. Qu was receiving approximately $25 million in annual bonuses from a company that had recorded no sales and no profits.

Thus, there are two "bad guys" here: Mr. Qu and Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett LLP. The "good guy" is Jimmy Li, and thank to Justice Patricia Bamattre-Manoukian, of the Sixth District of the California Court of Appeal, the good guy's winning.

This is what the press release reports:

Justice Patricia Bamattre-Manoukian, writing on behalf of the Sixth District of the California Court of Appeal, affirmed the denial of Simpson Thacher’s motion in the malicious prosecution lawsuit brought by former PrediWave outside Director Jimmy Li. This is the latest in a string of adverse rulings against the law firm, which is facing charges of massive fraud leveled by its former client PrediWave. Li’s malicious prosecution lawsuit has been deemed a “related case” to the PrediWave fraud case by the Santa Clara Superior Court, where both cases are proceeding.

What's not explained is why  Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett, once a client of the now bankrupt PrediWave, would "sit on" the evidence against Mr. Qu, unless they were in on the "take" themselves.    In working to thwart investigation of the actions of Mr. Qu, Simpson, Thacher have worked to destroy the career and the reputation of Jimmy Li, and have failed, only throwing dirt on its own reputation in the process.

Stay tuned.

Eva Longoria and Tony Parker: Divorce Papers Filed After Cheating Scandal

Eva Longoria filed for divorce yesterday from her husband of 7 years, Tony Parker. The divorce is the result of Tony Parker getting caught with hundreds of text messages from a mutual friend of the couple. They haven't released who the other woman is but it's rumored that she is the wife of one of Tony Parker's teammates.

A representative of Eva Longoria denied the rumors that the couple was getting a divorce, but Eva Longoria filed the necessary paperwork the following day, Wednesday, November 16th. Eva Longoria cited, "irreconcilable differences" as her reason for seeking a divorce with NBA star Tony Parker.  The divorce papers also stated that the star of "Desperate Housewives" will be seeking spousal support from Tony Parker.  Whether or not this will happen though is unknown because the couple has a pre-nuptial agreement.

Longoria confirmed the impending divorce on her twitter account where she stated that "It is with great sadness that after 7 years together, Tony and I have decided to divorce. We love each other deeply and pray for each other’s happiness." 

This statement indicates that the decision was mutual.  "Tony and I have decided to divorce," yet many sources claim that Tony Parker is desperate to get Eva back.  This is of course all rumors, but given the fact that Eva Longoria is one of the most attractive human beings on the planet I'm betting that the rumors are true.  Why someone wouldn't do anything they could to keep Eva Longoria is beyond me.  Then again, why anyone would cheat on her in the first place is beyond me as well.  Whether or not the decision is mutual is inconsequential.  Many sources have reported that Eva Longoria is inconsolably heart broken over the betrayal.  A friend of hers reported that "Once the trust was gone. the marriage was over."

The silver lining in this whole situation?  Eva Longoria is soon to be single boys!  All kidding aside though it's tough when couples split up and hopefully they make it through the troubled times ahead.

John Bobst
www.theforceofnature.net
www.doyouseewhatyouget.com

John Bobst

Ryan Reynolds Sexiest Man Alive? Who Cares! Green Lantern And Scarlett!

Today is Ryan Reynolds day. The actor's scoring a rare double PR hit, being named People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive, and starring as Hal Jordan in The Green Lantern Movie Trailer. But really, this blogger doesn't care about Ryan Reynolds's as "Sexiest Man Alive" because, given the Old Spice Commercial spoof from a few months ago that I was in, Ryan's met his match.

But Ryan Reynolds is definitely kick-ass in The Green Lantern Trailer. He plays a combination of the Top Gun fun loving white frat guy type and the person he transforms into: one of the Guardians of the Universe.

Here's the trailer:



Other than The Green Lantern, Ryan Reynolds is notable for being married to Iron Man II star Scarlett Johansson. This was an incredibly played role. OK, it wasn't a heavy part, but Scarlett stole every scene she was in. Here's a review of her work by Reelz Channel:



Ryan Reynolds, today's your day. Enjoy!

Ryan Reynolds Sexiest Man Alive? Who Cares! Scarlett Johansson All Day!

The Internet's buzzing because Ryan Reynolds, who plays Air Force Pilot Hal Jordan, who becomes "The Green Lantern", in The Green Lantern, was named People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive.

 This blogger says "who cares" because the one person we're really interested in, happens to be the woman he's currently married to: Scarlett Johansson.

What this blogger give props to Ryan Reynolds for is a kick-ass portrail of Hal Jordan, in an equally kick ass trailer for The Green Lantern. And if you haven't seen the trailer, here it is:



Other than that, and being married to Scarlett Johansson, who was amazing as "The Black Widow" in Iron Man II, what do we give Ryan Reynolds props for? Ok. Being cool.

Ryan Reynolds came to Comic Con and recited The Green Lantern oath for a nine-year old boy. Here's the video:



Then, Reynolds gave him an autographed photo backstage.

That is why Ryan Reynolds is cool. Sexiest man alive? Who cares.

Ryan Reynolds: Green Lantern Movie Trailer

After a ton of excitement generated by his Comic Con debut as "The Green Lantern" it's out, the Ryan Reynolds: Green Lantern Movie Trailer.

It features Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan and quickly takes us from his career as an Air Force pilot, to how "the ring found" him, to his struggles with fear and being a Green Lantern.

The Ryan Reynolds: Green Lantern Movie Trailer reveals a film that is, in a way, in the style of another movie that is to be released in January: The Green Hornet.

The similarities are in how Ryan Reynolds and Seth Rogen's characters present the "fun-loving, wise-cracking, every-young-white college-educated frat guy" take. This is vastly different from comic-book-to-film movies like The Dark Night, Spider-Man, The Hulk, and the Iron Man series, where Tony Stark is a billionaire playboy along the lines of Oracle's Founder and CEO Larry Ellison.

What's the reason for this? It may have something to do with the fact that Spider-Man, The Hulk, and Iron Man are Marvel Comics characters, with production approaches that are a bit more controlled and thus truer to how the characters were in the comics. Thus, the DC Comics are, perhaps, less "controlled" and thus more reflective of the ideas of the production houses that aren't managed by DC commics.

This is speculation. Stay tuned for a follow-up. Meanwhile, enjoy the Ryan Reynolds: Green Lantern Movie Trailer.

Dancing With The Stars Bristol Palin Catalyst For Nutcase Gun Rampage

According to TMZ.com, a Wisconsin man named Steven Cowan became so enraged over Dancing With The Stars Bristol Palin's dancing Monday night, he got his gun and shot his television, before turning the weapon toward, of all people, his wife.

The obviously nutcase Steven Cowan told police that Palin's dancing awful and she was on the show only because of her famous mother, Sarah Palin. Cowan's wife fled their home to escape her husband's wild rantings while brandishing a gun. His behavior caused police to bring in the local SWAT team. (Let's hope his wife files for divorce after this story.)

Palin's Dancing Upsets Many

Bristol Palin's appearance on Dancing With The Stars has caused a massive uproar, which has become worse sense the famous teen mom beat Brandy in voting to determine which celebrity remains on the show; Brandy lost.

The result, and Dancing With The Stars' producer Conrad Green's statement that the TV show producers did not analyze voting patterns, caused bloggers to ask if the voting system could be and was rigged for Bristol Palin to win.

Cowan Charged With Reckless Endangerment

Mr. Cowan was charged with "reckless endangerment," a charge that could land him in jail for up to 10 years, if he's convicted.

Meanwhile, Bristol Palin has another PR problem. She and her younger sister Willow have been branded as "homophobic" after gay slurs were written by Willow toward a school mate, using Facebook.

More at TMZ.com.

Bristol Palin Beats Brandi On Dancing With The Stars? Voting Rigged?

The unbelievable happened Tuesday night, causing my Mom to say she would never watch Dancing With The Stars again. Ever.

The Kansas City Star said that Bristol Palin's fans ruined the show.

Bristol Palin, daughter of Sarah Palin, beat Brandi, which is another way of saying that Brandi was picked for elimination over Bristol Palin. It was all in the voting.

Voting not monitored by Dancing With The Stars producers.

Did Tea Party Movement assholes team up pick Palin over Brandi to make a statement? That's what many bloggers are speculating.  Why?

Because Palin's dancing was so bad at points,

This is what Death By 1000 Papercuts wrote:

We looked at several Tea Party forums and did find evidence of individuals in the comment section of one Sarah Palin site who bragged they’d voted multiple times for Bristol including one individual who boasted they’d voted for Bristol ’55 times’. Even so, were there literally ‘millions’ of Sarah Palin fans who racked up cell phone and text message bills to vote for Bristol? We doubt it as there were only a few individuals who admitted they’d voted multiple times for Bristol.

Was the ability to vote for Bristol more than once an ABC glitch? We don’t think so as we watched the entire season of the show and we can’t recall ABC warning viewers they could call or text only one ‘vote’. If individuals could vote more than once for Bristol there was ability of viewers to vote more than once for Jennifer Grey, Kyle Massey, and Brandy.

The problem is that Bristol Palin has earned lower dance scores than Brandi, yet stays on. It's a problem so large, the show's producers have made statements to calm the crowd. This is what Dancing With The Stars Producer Conrad Green told EW's Popwatch:

A little bit of a deep breath needs to be taken. If you look at the judges scores alone, undoubtedly, Brandy has been a better dancer throughout the competition. But the gap between her and Bristol has closed. One thing that people aren’t really taking into account [when it comes to Palin] is that a lot of viewers vote for improvement. Bristol has made a huge improvement. While she is obviously behind still in terms of technical ability, she’s that much closer than she ever was before.

There is a popularity contest element to it, but really we let the audience vote so they can put their spin on the results. Their spin could come from any number of sources. We don’t do research into how and why people vote. It might be because they like their teeth, they might come from the same state, it might be because they have always been a fan of their mother, it might be because they always liked their music. There are a million reasons people can vote. But we think its an important correction within the system. We get celebrities from all kinds of backgrounds and some people have got a lot more dance experience than others.

Don't do research into why people vote?

Is Green kidding?

In other words, the vote could be gamed, and the Dancing With The Stars
minders would never know it.

That's not good for the show or for America. It's certainly not good for Brandi.

Oakland News: Rash Of Assault Crimes At Adams Point

If you live in the Adams Point area of Oakland and walk at night, don't walk alone. There has been a rash of crimes in the area of late. For example, according to the Adams Point Yahoo Message Board, there were not one, but five muggings along Euclid Avenue.

All of the muggings were thought to have been done by a group of three black men, but that's not certain. Here are some of the notifications of what happened:

Monday, November 15th:

Hi neighbors,

My neighbor, a 20-year old Asian youth was just held up at gunpoint in
front of his house. The 2 African American men chased him and were
spotted by 4 concerned neighbors (alerted by his yelling) before they
ran up to their get-away car - a 4 door blue or black sedan with a
driver and sped away.

According to the police who arrived in minutes - this was their FIFTH
mugging within the hour between Lakeshore and the Laurel.

They followed my neighbor home and mugged him as he got out of his car.

They are currently on the loose and people should be very concerned and
lock your doors (as one of these robberies with the same motive in the
past week was a home invasion).

If you see anything looking like our suspects, please call the police
asap - as they are basically chasing these guys around town.

It's not clear if the person or persons who responsible were eventually nabbed by the CHP, but the overall point of this is to get to know people. A number of female members at Gold's Gym, as one example, walk alone and for long distances. There's also the Sidebar Restaurant, just down the street. Walk with someone from the gym or Sidebar, anyone. (As I write this, I'm in Georgia, so it's not about me. Seriously.)

We have a problem in the neighborhood where a black person like myself doesn't get robbed, but whites are a bigger target. Racism? Yep.

One way to combat this if you walk alone and insist on doing so, is to hold your head up and walk without fear. As silly as this sounds, it's really effective. Part of the issue is the expectation that something bad will happen. Take that out of your head.

But the best thing is to just not walk alone.

PGA Golfer Erica Blasberg Death - Dr. Thomas Hess Should Talk

Erica Blasberg. For some reason, this blogger thinks is spiritual, her name keeps coming back. Blasberg is the 25-year old PGA female golfer who died in her home about eight months ago outside of Las Vegas, Nevada.

 Reports were that she committed suicide, but her parents don't believe that. The last person she was seen with is a guy named Dr. Thomas Hess.

In August, after an investigation that took four months to complete, Nevada law enforcement arrested Dr. Thomas Hess.

 He posted bail, but in the process gave them little to go by and took a suicide note and meds from her place. In short, Hess's not talking much, which means he knows something.

And, again, what did the suicide note that Hess removed from her home read?  A question till not answered.

Stay tuned.

Bank Of America, Fayetteville GA Account Screw Up

The Bank Of America, in Fayetteville GA at 326 Highway 314 is just not a good place to do business. As a result of my blog traffic and my Google account, their system sends a monthly check.

 The check, because of the way I fill out the online page, has my name and my business name, and that's been the case for years. I've always placed that check in my Bank of America account in Oakland.

And that's my personal account; my checks paid with just my business name on them are deposited in my business account - not with Bank of America.

To make my life a little easier as I travel to Atlanta, Georgia to help my Mom, and on a quasi-monthly basis, I had my check sent to the address there. So, the last thing that occurred to me was that the Bank of America there would give me a hassle. But that's what happened.

My mother has views of the South that I do not share. She doesn't believe in making waves because she thinks it's too racist to matter; I could care less.

At the branch, it seemed I was going to have no problem depositing - keep that in mind depositing - my check. But a teller who works at the two branches there just saw my name, and then the business name and said "I can't put this in," and then got the manager of the bank to agree.

My response was that is not what Bank of America does. I figured it was due to some issue at the first bank, so the next day, I went to the Bank of America at 326 Highway 314, figuring I could just deposit the check. But the same teller - a white woman with glasses who appeared to be about 65 in age - from the other bank was next to the teller who was helping me, and then moved over to whisper something to the ear of the other teller. So, I had the same problem.

But in explaining my situation, I quickly decided to make a video while I was dealing with the issue. Then, we called Bank of America from the truck, and a customer service representative named Raymond, and who had a New York accent, said that the bank should not have done that.

I didn't turn my camcorder on, so when I arrived back home, I made another call to Bank of America, and another customer service representative told me the bank should not have done that! And she added that because Bank of America "hires people from off the street," you get people who aren't the "sharpest knifes" in the drawer.

At any rate, this is to openly have Bank of America stop these practices where branches treat people like this. Suppose I needed to deposit that check because I was without money and was there on an emergency trip for my mother? It not only would not have mattered to them, they would have been acting against their own Bank of America policies, as told to me by two people on the phone, in the video!

I find it really disconcerting that I had this problem "in person," but not over the phone where they can't see my face. Is that racism? Sure feels like it.

Bank of America in Fayetteville, GA must change. I don't care if it's the South, just deposit my check in my account. Please. Thanks.

Bristol Palin is Still Dancing

Tonight on Dancing With The Stars Brandy and Maksim Chmerkovskiy were given the boot - leaving Jennifer Grey & Derek Hough, Kyle Massey & Lacey Schwimmer and Bristol Palin & Mark Ballas.

There are all these conspiracy theories in the works regarding Bristol still being in the competition. Some are saying that the Tea Party is backing her up, but the 20-year-old told Access Hollywood that she doesn't think there is any truth behind the Tea Party and/or Republican Party backing her up.

So sick of this "Tea Party" and even more sick of the Palin takeover. Now Sarah Palin even has her own television reality show on TLC - which will probably have to take the spot of the weekly Jersey Shore episode recaps for the time being.

It's still impossible to understand how Bristol Palin was able to beat out Brandy. Brandy is an actual star and is talented and has had television shows, concerts, cds, etc. As Sarah Palin might say, this all seems "backassward."

Kanye West, Today Show PR Issue | Susie Arons Still With Rubenstein

Contrary to reports, Susie Arons, the Rubenstein Communications Executive Vice President said to have quit the long-standing New York publicity firm, is still there. This, in the wake of Kanye West's disastrous appearance on the Today show with Matt Lauer.

In case you were hiding under a rock, here's a video recap of what happened in the form of the actual Today segment:



As shown, President George W. Bush said that Kanye West's idea that he didn't care about black people was the worst moment of his life. That includes what happened to New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina and both wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Unbelievable.

West reportedly was invited to appear on the Today show, according to New York Post Page Six, West hired Susie Arons to "coach" him for the show segment. She advised against going on, but he did so anyway, and called her. They practiced what he was going to say, but as you can see, the coaching didn't take well.

What West should have done was speak his mind. It could have been a good moment for America, if West explained institutional racism and its impact. But, then again, West obviously isn't the best spokesperson for such a subject.

West Goes To Twitter

Because he was afraid of taking on Lauer in person, West took to Twitter to blast the show for "ambushing" him by showing the segment from the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. Indeed, it wasn't an ambush by the Today show at all; showing clips during an interview is a common practice.

Susie Arons Can't Control Kanye

Susie Arons can't control what Kanye says, she can only offer suggestions, argue, and in the worst case tackle him in an attempt at restraint, but she can't control Kanye West.  But the news is Susie Arons - along with colleagues Assistant Vice President Pristina Alford and Senior Vice President Kimberly Kress, all still work together in the New York office of Rubenstein.

It's also clear that Susie's engagement was a "one-off" and she's not part of his standard team.  She was called in to do a job, and she did it.  From a morbid perspective, it got Rubenstein Communications more publicity that it could afford to generate on its own.

Meanwhile, West still refers to the Today show matter on Twitter, crediting the New York Times for getting the story right.  Specifically, the NY Times ArtsBeat article post.