ASHFORD & SIMPSON WB REISSUES GALORE

  
 This legendary husband and wife songwriting and producing team of Ashford & Simpson produced some of the most consistent music of the decade with style, elegance and impeccable production. The songs: "Found A Cure," "Gimme Something Real, "Send It," "It Seems To Hang On," "So So Satisfied" just to name a few, are permanently embedded in our collective consciousness of what soul music was all about. All 9 of their Warner Brothers LPS are scheduled for release on May 5. Some are appearing on CD for the first time and the rest have been out of print for several years now. It's about time!

You can buy them from:- 

http://www.dustygroove.com/
http://www.soulmusicstore.com/wabrre.html

The dynamic duo's earlier works for other labels and artistes include  Ray Charles'  'Let's Go Get Stoned',   Fifth Dimension song, 'California Soul', Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell's 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough', 'You're All I Need To Get By'.

“My Mortgage Was Stuffed Into a CDO!”

"The man came up with a scheme to get rich, and he did it.  So more power to him."
-Jack Booket, a borrower whose defaulted mortgage was included in Abacus.

What a brilliant piece of reporting.  The Wall Street Journal unearths the actual identities of the people who took out mortgages that were stuffed into the controversial Abacus CDO deal.  You know, the one that made hedge fund manager John Paulson rich and crushed the banks that bought it.

Here's how they did it...

From the Wall Street Journal:

The Wall Street Journal identified homeowners in the Abacus portfolio by taking the 90 bonds listed in a February 2007 Abacus pitchbook and matching them with court records, foreclosure listings, title records and loan servicing reports. The bonds contained nearly 500,000 mortgage loans.

In the below infographic, you can see the roundabout way in which these home loans became products to be wagered on:

Another "Allah" Issue Blowing Big in USA too

 

Viacom’s Comedy Central enforcing sharia: Can’t say Muhammad on South Park or view episode online

Comedy Central has bowed down to Islamic terrorists like Obama bows down to wahhabi kings in Saudi Arabia, and both seem content submitting us all to Islamic sharia law. How does it feel living under sharia? That’s right – it’s fucking bullshit. And it’s going to get worse. Fed up yet? Going to sit back and become dhimmis? Contact Viacom here (if you find executive emails post them). via ‘Muhammad’ now a dirty word on ‘South Park’ — The Live Feed

Now “South Park” can’t even say the words “Prophet Muhammad.”

After last week’s episode of the Comedy Central series sparked a threat (and yes, it was certainly a threat) from a radical Islamic website, the network has cracked-down-for-their-own-good on creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone during last night’s continuation of the show’s storyline.

For those who missed the drama, the show’s 200th episode last week mocked the one “celebrity” that the series has been largely unable to depict, the Prophet Muhammad, who was hidden from view in a bear costume. A U.S.-based website 

RevolutionMuslim.com then warned Parker and Stone they could end up like Theo Van Gogh (the Dutch filmmaker who was murdered by Muslim extremists after depicting Muhammad on his show) and even posted the address of the show’s production office. The site has since been shut down.

Last night, “South Park” continued the controversial Muhammad storyline, but with a key difference: every instance of the words “Prophet Muhammad” was bleeped out, making the episode practically incomprehensible, especially to anybody who missed the previous week.

The character of Muhammad was once again also hidden from view, covered by a large block labeled “censored.”

A Comedy Central spokesperson confirmed it was the network’s decision to bleep the words.

The Muhammad content is also not available on the South Park Studios website. A message on the site states: “We do not have network approval to stream our original version of the show. We will bring you a version of [episode] 201 as soon as we can.”

Ironically, “South Park” apparently shows an image of the Prophet Muhammad briefly in its opening credits that has gone largely unnoticed.

UPDATE: Parker and Stone comment on “South Park” censorship:

In the 14 years we’ve been doing South Park we have never done a show that we couldn’t stand behind. We delivered our version of the show to Comedy Central and they made a determination to alter the episode. It wasn’t some meta-joke on our part. Comedy Central added the bleeps. In fact, Kyle’s customary final speech was about intimidation and fear. It didn’t mention Muhammad at all but it got bleeped too. We’ll be back next week with a whole new show about something completely different and we’ll see what happens to it.

More from Huffpo, South Park’s Depiction Of Muhammad Censored AGAIN:

This week Muhammad was set to appear again, but was replaced by Santa Claus in a bear suit and the word “CENSORED” was plastered over parts of the episode. Every mention of Muhammad was bleeped out. It’s not immediately clear whether this was intended to protect the show’s creators or if it was executed by them to mock the hoopla, but what is clear is this is not the first time.

During the Muhammad cartoon uproar last year, the men tried to insert a picture of the Islamic holy figure into their show, but Comedy Central said no. In an interview with the Huffington Post earlier this year, Matt Stone had this to say on the subject:

“I think Comedy Central totally fucking pussed out. Now, they weren’t any different than anyone else, so it’s not like you can single them out. But I think it would’ve been an important statement for one media outlet in America to stand up. That was one of my most disappointing moments as an American–the American press’s reaction to the Muhammad cartoons. It was completely wimpy. Cartoonists, people who do satire–we’re not in the army, we’re never going to be fucking drafted and this is our time to stand up and do the right thing. And to watch the New York Times, Comedy Central, everybody just go ‘No, we’re not going to do it because basically we’re afraid of getting bombed’ sucked. I was so disappointed.”

The irony of it all? The pair did a show that included an image of Muhammad years before and a clip of it (pictured below) runs during the show’s opening in dozens of countries, in syndication, on Comedy Central, but garnered no attention.

Last night’s episode is not available on SouthParkStudios.com unlike every other episode the pair have produced.

Even Anderson ‘Rip Van Winkle’ Cooper seems to have awoken, briefly, from his stupor to the threat of creeping sharia and Islamic terrorists right here in the U.S.

From: Creeping Sharia

Twelve essential Blues Album For Beginners

The enormous width and depth of blues music can prove to be somewhat daunting for the new fan. Ranging from early Chicago blues to Texas blues-rock, from British blues-rock to acoustic Piedmont blues, these are the albums that you should start your blues collection with. If this list is a little light on Mississippi Delta blues, it’s not for lack of artistic merit – many surviving Delta blues recordings would sound harsh to ears unaccustomed to primitive recording techniques. Instead, this is a list of blues albums for beginners, those artists and records that will introduce a newcomer to the charms of the blues.

1. Brownie McGhee & Sonny Terry - 'Sing' (Smithsonian Folkways, 1958)

Photo courtesy Smithsonian Folkways

The most popular duo to perform in the Piedmont blues style, both individually and together, guitarist Brownie McGhee and harp player Sonny Terry would popularize folk blues with a young, white audience that would go on to innovate the mid-1960s folk-rock sound. Originally released in 1958 by Moses Asch’s legendary Folkways label, Brownie McGhee & Sonny Terry Sing features a baker’s dozen of the Piedmont styles’ most inspired performances, from traditional songs like “John Henry” to original material like “Better Day” and “Dark Road."


2. Buddy Guy – 'I Was Walking Through The Woods' (Chess Records, 1970)

Photo courtesy Geffen Records

Blues guitar legend Buddy Guy recorded for Chess Records from 1960 to 1967, but it was primarily his role as a session player – adding his talents to recordings by artists like Muddy Waters and Koko Taylor– that the Chess Brothers were interested in exploiting. While Guy never had much chart success while at Chess, this collection of ten singles he recorded for the label during the 1960s perfectly frame Guy's gospel-tinged vocal style and scorching fretwork. Guy would go on to bigger and better things, but this is where it all began....



3. The Fabulous Thunderbirds – 'The Fabulous Thunderbirds' (Takoma Records, 1979)

Photo courtesy Price Grabber

Although it would take until their fifth album, 1986’s Tuff Enuff, before the Fabulous Thunderbirds would enjoy a modicum of mainstream commercial success, the band’s self-titled debut album (also known as Girls Gone Wild) is a better representation of the T-Bird’s early Texas roadhouse sound. Hitting your ears like a shot from a blunderbuss, nobody could have predicted the heady mix of Jimmie Vaughan’s inspired fretwork (which combined the rawness of Albert King with the smooth-as-silk elegance of Freddie King) and frontman Kim Wilson’s soulful vocals and blistering harpwork. Along with Roomful of Blues, the Thunderbirds laid the groundwork for the contemporary blues band.

4. Howlin’ Wolf – 'Howlin’ Wolf / Moanin’ In The Midnight' (Chess Records, 1962)

Photo courtesy Geffen Records

Howlin' Wolf's first album, Moanin' In The Moonlight, was released in 1959 and gathers singles that he cut for Chess between 1951 and '59, while his self-titled 1962 album (often known as the “Rocking Chair" album for its cover), featured songs recorded in 1961 and '62. Put together on a single CD, the songs from Wolf's first two albums represent some of the artist's finest work. Backed by the talents of songwriter and studio bass player Willie Dixon and the phenomenal six-string talents of guitarists Hubert Sumlin and Jimmy Rogers songs like "Wang Dang Doodle," "Back Door Man," "Spoonful," and "Smokestack Lightning" have long since become blues and blues-rock standards.

5. John Lee Hooker – 'The Legendary Modern Recordings 1948-1954' (Ace, 1993)

Photo courtesy Ace Records

The great John Lee Hooker’s discography is a minefield of ill-conceived studio albums, cheapie cash grabs, dashed-off pseudonymous recordings, and “hits” collections of dubious merit. The Legendary Modern Recordings 1948-1954 is the real deal, two dozen of Hooker’s earliest sides and the powerful performances on which much of his legacy is based. This is where you’ll find the roots of boogie in Hooker’s primitive, Delta-influenced rhythmic drone, and songs like “Boogie Chillen’,” “Crawlin’ King Snake,” and “I’m In The Mood” would influence everybody from the Rolling Stones and the Animals to Canned Heat and Bonnie Raitt (as well as dozens of fellow bluesmen-and-women).

6. John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers – 'Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton' (Polydor, 1966)

Photo courtesy Polydor Records/Universal Music

Although he would initially make a name for himself with the Yardbirds, it was only when guitarist Eric Clapton defected to John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers that the British blues-rock explosion would be launched. Although he only made one album with Mayall, Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton was more than enough to influence a generation of English youth to follow in the footsteps of “Slowhand.” Mayall allows his guitar prodigy to explore covers like Ray Charles’ “What’d I Say,” Robert Johnson’s “Ramblin’ On My Mind,” and Freddie King’s “Hideaway,” while Clapton’s contributions to originals like “Double Crossing Time” bring the flavor of traditional Chicago blues to a uniquely British performance.

7. Junior Wells – 'Hoodoo Man Blues' (Delmark Records, 1965)

Photo courtesy Delmark Records

The first true Chicago blues album cut in the studio (others were collections of singles or recorded live) was also Junior Wells' first full-fledged album, and the young harpist pulled out all the stops to make it rock. Hard. Backed by friend and musical foil Buddy Guy (the guitarist is listed as "Friendly Chap" on the original vinyl due to contractual legalities), Wells attempted to capture the sound and feel of a performance at a West Side blues club. The general consensus is that Wells accomplished what he set out to do; the harpist would return to Delmark for the equally raucous South Side Blues Jam album in 1970.

8. Muddy Waters – 'Hard Again' (Blue Sky Records, 1977)

Photo courtesy Geffen Records

Although you can’t beat Muddy Waters’ late-1950s/early-1960s Chess label recordings, this 1977 “comeback” album, produced by blues-rock guitarist Johnny Winter, may serve as a better introduction to the blues legend’s enormous talents. Fronting a top-notch band that included guitarist “Steady Rollin’” Bob Margolin, the great blues harpist James Cotton, pianist Pinetop Perkins, and drummer Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, Waters roars and rocks with the energy and vigor of a bluesman half his edge. For ears accustomed to a more rock ‘n’ roll oriented style of blues, Hard Again will provide a gateway to Waters’ albums like Live At Newport 1960.

9. Paul Butterfield Blues Band – 'The Paul Butterfield Blues Band' (Elektra, 1965)

Photo courtesy Elektra Records

Harp wizard Paul Butterfield's racially-mixed band revolutionized the Chicago blues, popularizing the music with young rock fans and introducing the talents of guitarists Michael Bloomfield and Elvin Bishop to the world. This self-titled debut would mix inspired covers of classic Little Walter, Muddy Waters, and Elmore James songs ("I Got My Mojo Working," "Blues With A Feeling," "Shake Your Moneymaker") with newer material, like Nick Gravenites' "Born In Chicago," infusing each performance with Butterfield's soulful vocals and growling harp playing, incendiary guitarwork, and a rock-solid rhythm provided by Chicago blues veterans Jerome Arnold and Sam Lay.

10. Robert Johnson – 'King of the Delta Blues Singers' (Columbia Records/Sony, 1961)

Photo courtesy Sony Recordings

In many ways, this is the one that put Delta blues on the map. Pushed into release by the legendary Columbia Records A&R man John Hammond (in spite of the label’s misgivings), this collection of Robert Johnson’s 1930s recordings provided a blueprint for 1960s blues-rock. A single-CD set includes penultimate versions of blues classics like “Terraplane Blues,” “Cross Road Blues,” and “Hellhound On My Trail,” among others, while a deluxe two-disc set includes alternate versions of these essential early blues records. If you’re looking for just one blues record for your collection, this is the one. 

11. Sonny Boy Williamson – 'The Real Folk Blues' (Chess Records, 1965)

Photo courtesy Geffen Records

With “folk blues” all the rage during the mid-1960s, Chess Records attempted to present its hardcore blues stable of Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, and Sonny Boy Williamson to young, white blues fans with introductory collections titled The Real Folk Blues. In most cases, this title was somewhat deceptive, but such a description was apt for Williamson. The harmonica wizard’s music always retained its Delta flavor no matter the production, and this collection features some of the best of the artist’s late-career performances from a period that he was hanging with folks like Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page. Assisted by legends Willie Dixon, Robert Jr. Lockwood, and Otis Spann, these edgy, dark juke-joint stomps perfectly capture vintage Sonny Boy.

12. Stevie Ray Vaughan – 'Texas Flood' (Epic Records, 1983)

Photo courtesy Sony Recordings

Blues-rock guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan’s 1983 debut would appear at a time when blues artists were struggling (more than usual) and the music was considered to be passé by all but a hardcore faithful. The popularity of Texas Flood would place it in Billboard’s Top 40, and keep the album on the charts for a year and a half. Although Vaughan would go on to make better records and develop a distinctive artistic voice, Texas Flood is a celebration of the guitarist’s influences – a raucous, reckless record that would rekindle a blues flame that still burns brightly today.


By Reverend Keith A. Gordon

Goldman CEO to Perform Community Service as Treasury Secretary

‘Will Do Less Harm’ in New Post, Says Treasury Spokesperson

NEW YORK  – In a settlement of the government’s securities fraud case against Goldman Sachs, the bank’s CEO, Lloyd Blankfein, has agreed to perform two years of community service as Treasury Secretary of the United States.

At a press conference in New York, Mr. Blankfein said that as Treasury Secretary he would “continue to do God’s work as I did at Goldman, but at a significant pay cut.”

A Treasury Dept. spokesperson said that by performing community service as Treasury Secretary, Mr. Blankfein will be able to do less harm to the economy because he will have significantly less power than he had as Chairman of Goldman.

His experience at Goldman, however, will be “invaluable” in his new role as Treasury Secretary, the spokesperson said: “Lloyd Blankfein’s years of marketing worthless securities have prepared him for the important task of selling Treasuries to the Chinese.”

Mr. Blankfein is the latest in a long line of Goldman chairmen to serve as Treasury Secretary, although he is believed to be the first to do so while wearing an electronic ankle bracelet.

If The Economy Is Really Good Why Overdue Payments Soaring In China

 Back in 1998 before the Asian financial crisis broke, my old business was turning down many contracts offered to us. It is not because I already "gone up the beach". During those period, I was already hearing a lot of "horror stories" that contractors and suppliers cannot get their payments and their big business debtor companies would forced down their throat with their unsold properties or just plainly play the "wait, the boss is not around to sign the cheque" game. I think China is currently displaying similar symptoms :-

Oddly, many of the same Chinese industries benefiting most from Chinese government stimulus are also experiencing extremely long overdue payments, according to a survey of 966 companies by Coface.

The survey covered the fourth quarter of 2009 and found transportation, construction, industrial machinery, agriculture, steel & metals, and electrical appliances to be the top six stimulus winners.

China Daily:

Yet these sectors, with the exceptions of agriculture and transportation, also include the highest numbers of companies reporting long overdue payments accounting for over 2 percent of total sales.

"Generally, more than 2 percent of total sales overdue is regarded as a dangerous level, whilst a payment that is overdue for over 12 months has a high probability of becoming a bad debt," said Richard Burton, regional managing director of Coface in China.

"The survey results reflect the fact that overdue payments remain a key concern among companies in China, even though their sales or profits may have been improved by the stimulus," he added.

The survey also reveals that companies in China face overdue payments with more average days overdue and greater weight in total domestic sales than in 2008. The number of respondents experiencing payments overdue for over 60 days has increased by 55 percent.

Meanwhile, 55 percent of respondents reported that payments of more than 2 percent of their domestic sales were overdue for six to 12 months, while about 24 percent reported such payments being overdue for more than 12 months - twice as many as in 2008.

V. Fernando

Read more here >

Who Got Screwed By Goldman's Alleged Fraud

Goldman Sachs' and Fabrice Tourre's fraud CDO deal hit several financial firms who were counterparties and buyers.

ABN Amro, purchased by RBS, was the intermediary in the deal. RBS eventually had to pay Goldman Sachs $840 million in the unwinding of ABN Amro's position in the ABACUS deal. This money eventually went to Paulson and Co.

ACA Capital Holdings, which was unaware of Paulson's position in the deal, sold CDS on the deal worth $909 million on the super senior tranche. ACA Capital has since gone through an unwinding, and is now existing as a run-off company.

IKB, a German commercial bank, got crushed by their buy into the ABACUS 2007-AC1 deal.