From Russia With Love, featuring Zamir Gotta, Press release

Madd Grafix, Queen City Tuk Tours and Lit 716 are excited to be hosting the premiere of the second episode of “Tuk Talks,” a 716 documentary all about the renaissance of art, music, food, business and more in Buffalo, now brought to you by our corporate sponsor, Homespace Corporation! 

The premier event, “From Russia With Love,” will be this Wednesday, February 12th, from 7-9pm at The Terrace at Delaware Park. The newest episode features conversations with Zamir Gotta, owner of Zamir Vodka, producer and broadcaster, and traveling companion to Anthony Bourdain, at Liberty Hound Naval Park. Iazamir “Zamir” Gotta, will be joining us as our guest speaker at The Terrace for a meet and greet before we present our newest episode! 

This event is also serving as a fundraiser for the post-production of “Tuk Talks” as we work towards finishing all of our episodes, as well as the full-length  film version! Ticket price for the event includes the meet and greet with Zamir and the screening of our latest episode, as well as the delicious creations of Chef Mike Pijanowski. Mike’s menu will feature appetizers and small plates based on Russian “Zakuski,” wonderful bites meant to accompany a lovely glass of vodka! Smoked salmon, beet caviar, herring and more, you don’t want to miss out on this unique menu! Pastry by Camille will also be providing lovely French Kiss desserts for all our guests! Our goal is to showcase all of the great things about the City of Good Neighbors, from its outstanding art, music and businesses, to the extraordinary visitors that keep coming back to Buffalo to admire the growth and progress our city is experiencing! 

We request your presence on February 12, from 7pm-9pm, to show off some of the best Buffalo has to offer! 

The creators of “Tuk Talks,” Mark Madden of Madd Grafix, Josh Bornhoeft of Queen City Tuk Tours and Rob Szobski of Lit 716, are available for any questions, comments or interviews about the upcoming event or the subjects and progress of the documentary project! For interview requests or further information, please reach out to Mark Madden at maddgrafixllc@gmail.com or come by The Terrace this Wednesday from 7-9pm! 

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‘Preaches humility while flying private’: Analyst slams Bannon’s ‘shameless act’



Since being ousted from his position in President Donald Trump's first administration, former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon has carved out a new lane casting himself as a populist outsider advocating for the American working class. But one analyst is arguing that Bannon's new image is simply an elaborate ruse.

In a Tuesday essay for the Hill, writer and researcher John Mac Ghlionn pointed out the numerous ways in which Bannon has "conned" his target audience. He accused the "War Room" podcast host of "LARPing as a coal-dusted crusader for the common man" despite having a net worth in excess of $20 million and a cushy career on Wall Street before launching his political career.

"Steve Bannon was something far less revolutionary: a banker. And not just any banker — he was a high-powered executive at Goldman Sachs, the very temple of global finance he now pretends to rage against," Ghlionn wrote. "He didn’t walk picket lines. He walked into boardrooms, advised mergers and helped move capital around like puzzle pieces in the portfolios of the powerful. He got in on the deals most Americans would never even hear about, let alone benefit from."

Ghlionn expanded on calling Bannon someone who "talks like a patriot but lives like a prince," pointing out that he was a "Hollywood financier" who acquired a stake in Castle Rock Entertainment — which produced the hit 1990s sitcom "Seinfeld." The analyst observed that every time Americans laughed at "Seinfeld" character Cosmo Kramer's over-the-top entrance, Bannon literally "got richer" thanks to the royalties he got from the show.

"While working-class Americans were juggling bills and wondering if they could afford another tank of gas, Bannon was cashing passive income from a sitcom about nothing," he wrote.

The essayist reminded readers that Bannon was also the brainchild behind a crowdfunding campaign that successfully convinced Americans to donate millions of dollars to build a wall along the Southern border. The former Breitbart leader ultimately pleaded guilty to fraud in order to avoid jail time (Bannon still went to federal prison in 2024 after defying a Congressional subpoena). Ghlionn contrasted Bannon's everyman branding as a facade to hide his true identity as a "salesman in battle gear, with a podcast mic and a passport full of donor meetings."

"The flannel, the Catholic mysticism, the bunker aesthetic — it’s all part of the shameless act," he wrote. "Underneath is a Machiavellian tactician who understands power not as something to dismantle, but to inhabit. Part P.T. Barnum, part Pat Buchanan, this is a man who preaches humility while flying private."

Click here to read Ghlionn's full essay in the Hill.

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Nearly a dozen Republican senators reacted with visible discomfort Wednesday as they snapped, stared into space and retreated into elevators, rather than face questions about President Donald Trump's $45 million military parade, HuffPost reported.

Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) wasn’t having it.

“Nope,” he said when asked if he planned on attending the Saturday spectacle, which is set to include warplanes, tanks and a multimillion-dollar military parade on the National Mall. When pressed on the cost, the Indiana lawmaker pivoted.

“I’m focused on the trillions right now, which is the reconciliation bill,” Young said. But when HuffPost pointed out he hadn’t answered the question, Young snapped: “I answered the question I wanted to answer!”

Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE) said she wouldn’t be in Washington, D.C., then gazed blankly into a Senate elevator as its doors closed after remarking, “But I wish I was.”

Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC) stayed silent for eight seconds, grinned, and slipped into another elevator when asked his thoughts on the parade on Wednesday, HuffPost reported.

“No comment,” Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) said. “No comment.” While Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) simply said she doesn’t “do hallway interviews.” HuffPost pointed out in its report Wednesday that “most conversations with the press happen in Senate hallways.”

Saturday’s parade – an event that will honor both the Army’s 250th anniversary and Trump's own 79th birthday – will feature thousands of troops, tanks and aircraft rolling through the streets of D.C.. While Republicans have long railed against government waste, especially in the face of recent DOGE-related efforts, few in the GOP have publicly criticized the upcoming display.

Only Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) spoke out among the group of 14 GOP senators the outlet spoke to – not just because of the steep price – but also because he doesn’t consider “the symbolism of tanks and missiles” to be representative of what the United States is all about.