CultNEWS101 Articles: 9/21-22/2019

Bikram Yoga, Sexual Abuse, Toronto Film Festival, Ambash, Polygamy, Israel, Herbalife, Nuskin, Tupperware, Avon, Multi-Level Marketing,  Uyghurs, China, Religious Freedom 

NY Post: Toronto film festival 2019: 'Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator' movie review

"Looks like Bikram yoga may not be hot for much longer.

Bikram Choudhury, the famous founder of the sweat-soaked practice, has come under fire in the U.S. for sex abuse allegations over the past few years, though his branded technique is still being taught in studios around the country. He's also still personally teaching massive classes abroad – but his days as a guru may be numbered if victims continue coming forward.

In just the few days since the scorching Netflix documentary "Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator" premiered at the Toronto Film Festival, six additional women have reached out to Aussie director Eva Orner to say they, too, were abused, she told a screening audience at the festival on Thursday afternoon. "Women have to speak up, and men have to support them," said Orner, whose documentary chronicles the rise of Choudhury as a celebrity yoga guru in America, dating back to the Nixon presidency. In one of the Indian yogi's many dubious claims, he actually says the president was one of his first American clients – and gifted him his green card as thanks.

Choudhury went on to become one of the key people to popularize the practice of yoga in the U.S., claiming that his special series of 26 poses and two breathing techniques would cure just about every ailment under the sun. He did it while cranking the heat in his classrooms up to punishing extremes (though, Orner shows in class footage, he would sit on a throne in the middle of his gigantic Beverly Hills classroom with a personal air conditioner blowing on his head).

Unlike many soft-spoken, New Agey yoga practitioners, Choudhury had an outsize personality and an impish and sometimes downright bullying style that appealed to hardcore exercise enthusiasts, who didn't mind being called "chickens–t" and "bitch" and having their fat mocked while trying to contort themselves into his poses. On the contrary, one adherent after another gushes in the documentary about the magical, life-changing properties of c – and of Bikram himself. "He could look in your eyes and you just feel he could see into your soul," says one teacher who remains close to him."

The Jerusalem Post: 'CULT WOMEN' RUNNING FOR KNESSET

" ... 'We wanted to run for the Knesset in the previous election, but we couldn't, due to procedural obstacles,' say A., one of the wives of Daniel Ambash, the leader of a cult who was convicted of sadistic abuse of his family members in 2013 and sentenced to 26 years in prison for holding them in slavery conditions. "When we heard that another round of national elections would take place, we decided that we just had to run. We owe it to our fellow citizens. Because of what we've gone through, we want to help all the women and men who've ever been wronged or had their rights trampled upon."

Despite the fact that Ambash has been convicted, and is currently in prison serving time, four out of his six wives still support him. At the beginning of the summer, these women officially registered their new political party known as Kama (Advancing Individual Rights). "We don't care what people think about us," claims A. 'We have an obligation to our thousands of supporters to fix our crippled society. We've been greatly mistreated by the Israel police, by the prosecutor's office and by the courts. We've seen firsthand the corruption in these organizations, how they mistreat simple citizens who have no power when they come up against these powerful institutions. They have no chance of winning. We are religious women, true believers who are asking that God helps us to bring about a change and help the Israeli people achieve the civil liberties they deserve.'"

Seeking Alpha: Multi-Level Marketing Brands Are Taking A Terrible Beating

"Stock market drops and flat or declining revenues for the multi-level marketing, MLM, sector, e.g., Herbalife, Nuskin, Tupperware, Avon, indicate a downward shift in fortune. The cause is being debated.

Wall Street may choose to overlook MLM ethics, tactics and its negative social and financial consequences, but cannot ignore the decline in the MLM "brand" on Main Street.

In particular a popular new series on Showtime depicting MLM as a "scammy pyramid scheme" indicates the "brand" of MLM is being discredited, ridiculed and widely viewed as socially harmful.

The MLM industry is publicly reacting to the Showtime series, urging MLM companies not to "overreact" for fear of 'creating a perception that the show has hit a nerve or hit too close to home – that it's revealing a 'hidden truth'".

MercatorNet: China plays no favourites. It persecutes all religions

"You have just published "The Black Book of Religious Persecution in China" with readings from the Bitter Winter news service. What prompted you to take an interest in this?

Massimo Introvigne: I realized that some of the articles in Bitter Winter could be put together and rearranged as a coherent narrative about religious persecution in China. The book was basically already written, although it needed editing and coordination between the different chapters in order to become readable. It is in Italian but we are ready to consider proposals for other languages,

It appears that old-fashioned Communism is alive and well in China – the kind that despised religion as "the opium of the people". Is the persecution motivated by Marxist doctrines or just cultural xenophobia?

Persecution is mostly motivated by power and control. The CCP believes that civil society, including -- particularly -- religion, was left unchecked in Eastern Europe and caused the collapse of Communism there. It does not want to repeat the same mistake. For some CCP leaders, power means keeping their luxurious lifestyle. But others are true believers, persuaded that by saving the power of CCP, the last genuine fortress of Marxism, they are saving the world.

Is President Xi Jinping personally responsible for this hatred of religion and the persecution? Will things change if he departs?

Xi Jinping did bring some personal ideas. He promotes the thesis of the superiority of Chinese culture -- by which he means Han culture, to be imposed on non-Mandarin speaking minorities such as Tibetans and Uyghurs, whose languages he would like to eradicate."

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Herbalife distributors claim in $1B suit events were a sham

BlCURT ANDERSON
AP
August 21, 2018

MIAMI (AP) - Patricia and Jeff Rodgers figured they did everything right to get rich beyond their wildest dreams selling Herbalife health and personal care products. They attended all of the "Circle of Success" events, brought in new recruits, met their quotas on buying Herbalife goods to sell and even set up a storefront shop.

But they didn't get rich. Instead, Patricia Rodgers estimates the couple lost over $100,000, including about $20,000 spent on attending Herbalife events. Now, the couple and others are suing the multi-level marketing company that sells its products through a network of distributors who recruit more distributors. The potential class-action case could involve more than 100,000 plaintiffs and might mean as much as $1 billion in damages.

"We did everything they told us to do. We attended every event. We traveled and we spent money. And we didn't get successful like they said we would," Rodgers said in an interview at the couple's home in Hallandale Beach, Florida. "You get involved in it, it's almost like a cult mentality."

Los Angeles-based Herbalife, a publicly traded company with 2017 net sales of $4.4 billion, has long been embroiled in litigation and regulatory actions over its business practices, which have been compared by some to a pyramid scheme. A spokeswoman declined to comment for this story, although Herbalife attorneys are seeking to get the lawsuit dismissed or moved from Florida to a California court.
Herbalife lawyers say in court papers the distributors now suing the company in Miami were not specific in how company statements influenced them into making bad decisions.

"Plaintiffs' failure to specify how they were misled by these alleged misrepresentations is fatal" to many key claims, the lawyers wrote.

To become a distributor, a person must be recruited by an existing distributor, according to the company's website. The new recruit also must purchase a "Herbalife Nutrition International Business Pack" explaining how the business works and how to become a sponsor. The new distributor buys Herbalife products at a discount and sells them, often part-time, in hopes making a profit.

In 2016, the company settled a Federal Trade Commission case for $200 million. It centered on Herbalife's business model being based on recruitment of distributors rather than actual sales of its products, such as protein shakes, vitamins and skin care items. One year earlier, another lawsuit by Herbalife distributors ended in a $17.5 million settlement.

In the FTC case, the agency said in a statement that "only a small minority of distributors have made anything near what the company promises" through promotional materials showing how they lived in expensive homes, drove luxury cars and took exotic vacations.

"A large majority of distributors made little or no money and a substantial percentage lost money," the FTC said.

The case in Miami federal court is different, said plaintiffs' attorney Etan Mark. It targets the system of high-energy events known as "Circle of Success" that distributors are cajoled into attending all over the country at their own expense. They are touted as the supposed key to learning how to become wealthy - all the while signing up more people to become distributors in what's called the "downline."

A common company refrain was: "If you go to all of the events, you qualify for everything - you will get rich," according to the lawsuit. Another was: "These crucial events provide you with the skills you need to take it to the next level," court documents show.

http://amp.icflorida.com/news/herbalife-distributors-claim-in-1b-suit-events-were-a-sham/817562708

John Oliver Exposes Herbalife And Its Dangerous Focus On Latinos

And he enlisted the help of actor Jaime Camil to warn bilingual audiences.

 11/07/2016

Carolina Moreno Editor, The Huffington Post

 

John Oliver wants to warn Latinos about how dangerous multilevel marketing schemes, like Herbalife, can be.

On Sunday, the host of “Last Week Tonight” dedicated a 30-minute segment to exposing Herbalife and other multilevel marketing companies who’ve been accused of being pyramid schemes. But Oliver went the extra mile and taped two versions of the piece, one specifically addressing Spanish-speaking Latinos.

Oliver first explained how multilevel marketing companies (MLMs) like nutritional supplement company Herbalife are scamming hard working people by promoting a business that promises entrepreneurial independence and wealth despite actual success being hard to achieve. In fact, as Oliver found, it’s only via recruiting other salespeople to create a pyramid network of sales for Herbalife that there is a chance at profit at all.   

The host took on Herbalife specifically, which an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission concluded in its chairwoman Edith Ramirez saying they were “not determined not to have been a pyramid.” And Oliver was particularly worried about the company’s focus on Latinos. 

“Whether Herbalife is pyramid, not a pyramid, or not ‘not’ a pyramid, it is true that Herbalife is growing,” Oliver says. “And a lot of that growth has come from Latino communities, where Herbalife has been aggressively expanding for years.”

In the past, he said, Herbalife has reached out to Latinos via TV spots in hit telenovelas like “La Fea Màs Bella.” And the company even hired former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in 2013 as an advisor. 

“And like MLMs, we would like to direct a message to Latinos in particular,” says in the English version before introducing “Jane The Virgin” star Jaime Camil on stage.

To warn Latinos of the dangers of MLMs, the host uploaded two versions of the segment on YouTube. One the versions completely subtitled in Spanish, and included Camil delivering the closing remarks in Spanish. 

Together the duo said they hoped to create a pyramid of awareness that reaches everyone in the world. Yes, even Beyoncé.

Watch the Spanish version of the video above, and the English version below. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/john-oliver-exposes-herbalife-and-its-dangerous-focus-on-latinos_us_5820b2d3e4b0e80b02cb7c29

 

Betting on Zero

Betting on Zero, directed and written by Ted Braun. (USA) – World Premiere. Allegations of corporate criminality and high-stakes Wall Street vendettas swirl throughout this riveting financial docu-thriller. Controversial hedge fund titan Bill Ackman is on a crusade to expose global nutritional giant Herbalife as the largest pyramid scheme in history while Herbalife execs claim Ackman is a market manipulator out to bankrupt them and make a killing off his billion dollar short.

http://variety.com/2016/film/news/tribeca-film-festival-2016-slate-competition-viewpoints-1201719788/

Sometimes, life is like a box of cacao products

Scotty Reifsnyder
The Washington Post
August 1, 2014

Enrique Martinez didn't like chocolate, but he was eating as many as 10 pieces a day, drinking chocolate protein shakes and rubbing a chocolate-based skin cream on his face. It was expensive chocolate, too. Martinez and his wife, Michelle, were going through $2,000 in chocolate a month.

The debt they accumulated this way — more than $100,000 over five years — is now with a consolidation company. Their credit is ruined. There is a crack in the driveway at their home in Albuquerque from a 14-wheeler that once delivered 12,000 cans of chocolate energy drinks to their garage.

The chocolate came from MXI Corp., which uses a controversial business model called multilevel marketing. MXI has more in common with Avon Products, Herbalife and Amway than with a conventional candymaker such as Hershey. These are companies without a sales force that recruit their customers to sell products, often in bulk to other customers, who might in turn sell to other customers, and so on.

Critics accuse multilevel marketers of using slick pitches to persuade the unwary to buy goods in bulk, promising them that they'll make money by selling those products to others. In this way, the companies are paid upfront, and the rank and file bear a good deal of the financial risk.

Defenders of multilevel marketing say the business model makes sense. They say the customers are largely enthusiasts who initially join to buy their favorite products at wholesale prices, not to make money. They add that, in any industry, satisfied customers often make the best salespeople.

What's more, companies such as MXI offer these customers, who are effectively their salespeople, refunds on unsold inventory and other protections so that they are never forced to remain part of the organization. That many do so anyway demonstrates that the products are genuinely popular both in themselves and as a source of income, according to the Direct Selling Association, multilevel marketing's trade group.

"These people are making a life for themselves, or helping themselves, however modestly, by virtue of this activity," said Joe Mariano, the association's president. (MXI is not one of its 171 members.)

Yet industry analysts and investors say that in some companies, nearly all recruits will lose money. Former multilevel marketing distributors compare the groups to cults. For decades, the model also has drawn scrutiny from regulators. Late last month, a grand jury returned a fraud indictment against the owners of a multilevel marketer called TelexFree that sold telephone services.

Bill Ackman, the wealthy hedge-fund manager who reportedly bet $1 billion that Herbalife's stock price would fall, has accused the company of fraud, most recently in a presentation to investors last month. The company sells powdered protein shakes and supplements in what Ackman calls a pyramid scheme. Wall Street has heatedly debated his claims.

Herbalife revealed in March that it is under investigation by the Federal Trade Commission. The company has stated that it complies with the law and that it will cooperate fully with the investigation.

The Death Dealer

Verge
Matt Stroud
December 4, 2013

‘Secret' guru James Arthur Ray led three people to their deaths... and now he's at it again

When James Arthur Ray lifted the heavy tarp door and beckoned his devotees into a wood-frame dome, they obeyed. Tall and confident, Ray watched them enter one by one, more than 50 of them. Stooping under the low ceiling, they crowded into the dark, windowless space and sat in two tight rings around a pit filled with heated stones.

Many had spent more than $10,000 to be there, in what Ray called his “sweat lodge.” It culminated five days with the self-proclaimed “catalyst for personal transformation” at Angel Valley Spiritual Retreat, a ranch near Sedona, Arizona. During his “Spiritual Warrior” program, he’d asked participants to shave their heads, spend 36 hours in the desert meditating without food or water, and play the “Samurai Game,” in which a white-robed Ray, playing “God,” declared people dead, forcing them to remain motionless on the ground.

Before they entered the dome, he warned them his final test was a symbolic death. "You are not going to die. You might think you are, but you are not going to die," he said, according to several attendees. Around 2:30PM on October 8th, 2009, he lowered the tarp, closing off the only source of light and oxygen. The ceremony began.