R.I.P Lady T

Damn I just found out Teena Marie Died  :sad:
Here are some links for her albums off the blog that I listed here
It must be Magic
http://soulfunkjazz.wordpress.com/2010/12/12/teena-marie-it-must-be-magic-1981/
Irons in the Fire
http://soulfunkjazz.wordpress.com/2010/12/10/teena-marie-irons-in-the-fire-1980/
Lady T
http://soulfunkjazz.wordpress.com/2010/12/09/teena-marie-lady-t-1980/

Teena Marie – It Must Be Magic [1981]

diciembre 12, 2010 a 10:06 pm (Dance Funk)

It Must Be Magic. (1981).
Review:

1. The last of Teena Marie’s four albums for Motown, It Must Be Magic found the songstress continuing to do all of her own writing, producing, and arranging, with magnificent results. Irons in the Fire proved that she didn’t need the input of a big-name producer in order to deliver first-class albums, and Marie provided additional evidence of that fact on an album that offered such gems as the playful “Square Biz” (one of her biggest hits, and an early example of an R&B artist incorporating rap), the thought-provoking “Revolution” (inspired by the assassination of John Lennon and filled with references to the Beatles), and the gritty title song. Marie has periodically shown a strong love of jazz, which is exactly what happens on the ballad “Yes Indeed” and the sexy “Portuguese Love.” It Must Be Magic was Marie’s highest-charting album in the pop market, and thanks to a largely black following, the gold-seller just missed topping the R&B charts..
(Alex Henderson & William Ruhl– All Music Guide)

2. Arguably the best album that Teen Marie did for Motown – and a tasty batch of modern soul tracks that proves to the world that she was a great soul artist in her own right, and not just someone signed to the label in a fit of nepotism. Includes the stellar “Portuguese Love”, plus “Yes Indeed”, “Where’s California”, “Opus III”, and “Ballad Of Cradle Rob & Me”. This expanded CD also includes 2 live tracks recorded in Long Beach – versions of “Deja Vu” and “Someday We’ll All Be Free” – plus the bonus track “Square Biz”, done in an instrumental version. All written & produced by Teena, too!.
(DGA.Inc.)

Credits & Personnel.

• Arranged By [Horns] – Daniel LeMelle (tracks: 1 to 4,  6, 8).
• Arranged By [Rhythm, Vocals] – Teena Marie (tracks: A1 to A4, B6 to 9)
• Arranged By [Strings] – Paul Riser (tracks: 1 to 4, 8, 9)
• Bass – Allen McGrier , Oscar Alston
• Drums – Paul Hines
• Engineer [Assistant] – Virginia Pallante* , Lon Neuman , Peter Varga
• Guitar – Tom McDermott
• Keyboards – James S. Stewart Jr.
• Mastered By – Jim Sintetos
• Mixed By, Recorded By – Bobby Brooks
• Piccolo Flute [Piccolo] – Cliff Ervin , Roy Poper
• Saxophone – Daniel LeMelle (tracks: 1, 4, 7, 8).
• Saxophone, Flute [Tenor] – Gerald Albright
• Synthesizer – Bill Wolfer
• Trombone, Flute – John Ervin
• Trumpet – Eric Butler (2) , Kenneth Scott
• Written-by, Producer, Vocals, Synthesizer [Oberheim] – Teena Marie

Notes
(P)1981 Motown Record Corp.
Tracks:
01. It Must Be Magic
02. Revolution
03. Where’s California
04. 365
05. Opus 111 (Does Anybody Care)
06. Square Biz
07. The Ballad Of Cradle Rob And Me
08. Portuguese Love
09. Yes Indeed

Teena Marie – Irons In The Fire [1980]

diciembre 10, 2010 a 3:46 pm (Post Disco, R&B)

Irons In The Fire (1980).
Review:

1. With her third album, Irons in the Fire, Teena Marie did something that was rare for a female R&B artist — she handled all of the producing and writing herself. Marie took on a lot of responsibility, and she knew she had done the right thing when the album became both a commercial and artistic triumph. By now, it was common knowledge that Marie was white, something that didn’t seem to matter much to the many black R&B fans who bought this recording. Like so much of her work, the irresistible single “I Need Your Lovin’” became a major R&B hit, but didn’t do much on pop radio. Interestingly, Marie was having the same problem as Maze & Frankie Beverly in that she could have a gold album without any help from pop audiences. But then, she obviously realized that she didn’t need their support in order to be legit. From the seductive “You Make Love Like Springtime” and the sweaty “First Class Love” to the moving title song, everything on this album is a gem.
(Alex Henderson – All Music Guide)

2. This is music to heal your heart by. By the time she released this gorgeous soul gem, Lady T was finally starting to recieve the accolades she deserved. “I Need Your Lovin’” was an across the board smash and listening to the extended version on this LP is an even more rewarding experience than the edit usually heard on the radio; the funky bass line hanging naked in the air until the orchestra, Teena’s voice and guitar lick come sweeping in is one the most distinctive introductions in soul music. The mellow, laid back groove of “Young Love” cradles you in it’s arms and evokes not only memories of loves from one’s past, but also pleads for that passion to never fade away (‘why you wanna grow old on me now?’) and when the band speeds up the tempo after the second chorus you can’t resist nodding your head along. “First Class Love” and the ultra-passionate “Chains” are two more funky workouts that celebrate the all-encompassing love/lust/obsession we all have felt from being with the right man or woman; Teena also gets superb support from a tight backing band with the ability to switch gears at will. “Irons In The Fire” is a sublime, beautiful title song with a gently plucked harp, jazzy guitar and gradually rising string section behind Teena’s relaxed vocal and quietly determined lyrics about not giving up on love in her life. “You Make Love Like Springtime” is oustanding; its sprightly bassline, bossa-nova beat, jaunty horn arrangement and almost chanted vocals are all a treat for the ears, so don’t be suprised if you find yourself singing this song for a few days after you hear it! The one that trumps them all however, is the heartbreakingly beautiful “Tune In Tomorrow”, on this outright jazz tune, Teena and Co. stretch out to stunning effect. From it’s stark piano intro and hushed singing the song builds up to its first crescendo, stops and builds again, all the while guided by Teena’s tear-drenched vocal delivery.(Special Note: Listen and you can actually hear her crying and catch her breath as she sings, gradually working her way back up to the chorus.) This brilliant piece finally climaxes with some mind blowing scatting from our heroine and the band swinging behind her at breakneck speed, this is the most breathtaking moment on the album. A brief reprise of “You Make Love Like Springtime” closes out the set and features a harmonized background chorus of lyrics from Marvin Gaye’s classic “Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)”. The star, of course, is Ms. Marie’s incredible voice, an instrument unto itself. This is deeply satisfying, rewarding music from an underappreciated genius.

Teena Marie – Lady T [1980]

diciembre 9, 2010 a 10:09 pm (Post Disco)

Lady T (1980).
Review:

1. Teena Marie’s second album, Lady T, found her working with producer Richard Rudolph, husband of the late Minnie Riperton. Though not as strong as Wild and Peaceful, this decent but not essential release had many strong points and offered much evidence that she was a soul goddess to be reckoned with. The single “Behind the Groove” is a funk smoker, and “Could It Be Love” and “Aladdin’s Lamp” show how charming Marie can be. Rick James’ influence could still be felt, though it was clear that Marie had many impressive ideas of her own. Unlike Wild and Peaceful, Lady T showed Marie’s picture on the front cover — many of the fans she’d acquired were shocked to see that she was white.
(Alex Henderson – All Music Guide)

2. A great little album from Teena – one that’s dedicated to the late Minnie Riperton (who’d passed during the previous year), and which is produced by Riperton’s husband/collaborator Richard Rudolph. Teena’s got more than a few of Minnie’s tricks up her sleeve on the best cuts, singing in a smooth sweet soulful style that makes for some of her best vocals on record at the time. Titles include “Aladdin’s Lamp”, “Now That I Have You”, “Can It Be Love”, “Too Many Colors”, and “Young Girl In Love”.
(DGA.Inc.)

Personnel.

• Kenny Kerner Producer
• Teena Marie Producer, Vocals
• John Matousek Mastering
• Richard Rudolph Producer
• Richie Wise Producer

Credits.
• Artwork By [Art Direction] – John Cabalka
• Artwork By [Design] – Ginny Livingston
• Co-producer – Teena Marie
• Engineer – Lewis Peters
• Engineer [Assistant] – Philip Moores*
• Engineer [Mastering] – Jeff Sanders
• Photography – Ron Slenzak
• Producer – Richard Rudolph
℗ 1980 Original sound recording made by Motown Record Corp. Recorded and remixed at Conway Studios, Hollywood, CA. Strings recorded at Evergreen Studios, Burbank, CA.
“This album is dedicated to Minnie Julia Riperton Rudolph (November 8, 1947 – July 12, 1979). For the eternal light shone upon my heart and the hearts of all Mankind.”
Tracks:
01. Behind The Groove
02. Now That I Have You
03. Lonely Desire
04. Aladdin’s Lamp
05. You’re All The Boogie I Need
06. Can It Be Love
07. Young Girl In Love
08. Why Did I Fall In Love With You
09. Too Many Colors (Tee’s Interlude)

Merry Christmas Music!! Have You been naughty or nice?!?

Perfect Gift opening music...Raise the Bar style
http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:4E5iJ4aZ47PmQM:http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r237/wall_monster/untitled.jpg&t=1

http://www.emirates247.com/news/emirates/cross-dressers-on-the-prowl-at-malls-2010-12-17-1.330578

Cross-dressers on the prowl at malls

Men dressed in abayas are alleged to be the reason behind an increase in the number of thefts at shopping centres

By

• VM Sathish

Published Friday, December 17, 2010

Picture used for illustrative purposes only. (GETTY)

Security at crowded malls and supermarkets during peak business hours have always been a cause of major concern to authorities. Surveillance cameras and other hi-tech gadgets make no difference to determined thiefs on the prowl. And now adding to their woes are cross-dressers.
Imagine men dressed in burkhas robbing you off your valuables! Security officers are on their feet now, says a source at a hypermarket. Due to cultural sensitivity, even if victims raise an alarm, the suspects cannot be bodily searched, says another security personnel of a supermarket chain in Dubai.
Emirates 24|7 spoke to security officers at various malls. All of them confirm there has been an increase in the number of thefts as well as customer complaints.
Men dressed in abayas, with their face covered, cannot be identified even if they move around suspiciously. Gold chains, mobile phones and wallets are their preferred items, say security officers.
A security supervisor at a supermarket in Sharjah says such thefts happen mostly during peak business hours when the place is crowded. "Shop-lifters can be easily caught via electronic theft detectors, but what do you do with cross-dressers who steal customers mobile phones and wallets. Ignorant people are busy shopping and would not suspect 'Arabic' women rubbing shoulders with them."
This has led to many shopping centres recruiting women security officers, he says.
An officer at a supermarket in Sharjah says such people operate in gangs. Usually it's a network of atleast four. Unfortunately, many such cases go unreported, as people think they misplaced their personal belongings in a crowded mall.
According to a Lulu supermarket employee, their management has received several complaints from customers about pick-pockets and chain-snatchers inside the premises of late. "Our security officers closely monitor security cameras and, in fact, have spotted women in abayas moving about suspiciously. They show the clipping to customers who have been victims of theft, but unfortunately, none of them have so far identified any thief because only their eyes are visible."
Interestingly, there have been cases when empty wallets are discovered from the premises and in trolleys.
Security officers say the number of incidents are increasing because people hesitate from going to the police. Only if a case is filed with a police station can any action be taken, says a policeman.
Meanwhile, a police spokesman said although no women have been been arrested in connection with armed robberies in the emirate, a number of men have been caught dressed in abayas and robbing residents.
In one incident in Abu Shagara in March, a Pakistani man, who had covered his face, was easily identified by police on his way from the flat he had robbed: he was wearing men's sandals with an abaya.

New Ghostface Apollo Kids

Ghostface_Killah-The_Apollo_Kids-2010

http://www.mediafire.com/?o38u96n41zp96mj

http://www.xxlmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/ghostface-apollo-kids.jpg

Jaelife-Angels&Demons produced by King Rod/VIP

http://www.ynjentertainment.com/main.php?page=artist&artist_id=1
fe
Email: jaelife@ynjentertainment.com
Url Link: http://www.myspace.com/jaelife
Biography:
Born and raised in the streets of Compton, California, Jerell Ray also known as Jaelife, rapidly realized that hip hop music would soon become more than just an ordinary hobby. Influenced by his second oldest brother, Steven Ray, also known as, VIP, Jaelife began writing and recording his own original material. All through Jr. High and high school Jae marvelously grasped the attention of his peers with his unique and incomparable style of rap.

After numerous years Jaelife began to perfect his God given craft as a hip hop writer/artist. In early 2000, at the age of 18, Jae and his brother VIP, also known as Steven Ray, formed their own independent company, entitled, "Allstarteam Entertainment." They then released their first ever recorded Ep titled "Frost Bit." After adding two more members of the family, the group began performing shows throughout the city of Los Angeles. In 2003 the Allstarteam dropped there first maxi single called "From the Church to the streets," the group featuring youngest brother , Jaelife, second oldest brother VIP and oldest brother Chris, also known as C-rizzle, and wife of brother Chris, Elaine also known as Mrs. E-Jane. These made up the Allstarteam.

Due to minor family infractions the Allstarteam took some much needed time off from the music. But this did not stop Jaelife. He continued to grind and perfect his skill as an emcee. For the next 3 years, Jae wrote and recoded well over hundreds of songs. In 2006, Jae dropped his first mixtape called "I still got it" hosted by Jenizez, Producer of Cityslickas Entertainment. The mixtape received great recognition amongst the underground m Holy Hip Hop (HHH) scene. Slowly, Jae was introduced into the game as one of the fiercest emcees. Since age 12, Jae has been crafting his own style and expertise in the art of rhyming. Through the years Jaelife has collaborated and been featured on some of HHH's most respected and recognized projects in the world. With the teaching of the Holy bible instilled in him by his Grandfather, Jae has always known that God is the ruler and the Savior of his life. Through His music, Jae distributes a since of spiritual knowledge along with the harsh reality of today's society. He brings incredible hip hop with a consciousness that is absolutely, undeniable to anyone who has ears to hear.

Understanding that music has the ability to transform one's mind, body, and soul, Jae imparts this wonderful gift of speech and brings it to life through music. In late 2008, Jae signs with Yahweh Nation, JuuNo Entertainment (YNJ ent). With family and determination, Jaelife is definitely on the path towards bridging the gap between gospel and the mainstream music.

detroitiscrap.com

http://detroitiscrap.com/

Dec

14

Crackheads roasting on an open fire…

Murder,Torture

Police: Man beaten, apparently burned alive in Detroit

Neighbors on the east side of Detroit received a horrifying shock this morning when a man was apparently burned alive on Nashville Street between Barlow and Racine.

…

“Some kids told me there was a body out there and it was still smoking. I went up to him and he was charred pretty bad. After that I called the police. I didn’t try to cover him and I didn’t want to mess with the scene. He was gone and you couldn’t do nothing about it,” Trammel said.

…

“People were out there taking photographs with their cell phones,” said Robin Hudson, who lived in the neighborhood. “That’s just terrible.”  (That’s just another day in the “D”)

Dec

16

Christmas shopping in Detroit.

Dearborn,Murder,Robbery

Man Apparently Buying TV Shot in Detroit

Family and friends of a Dearborn businessman say he was murdered on Detroit’s west side as he tried to buy a gift for his sister. Police are looking for anyone who may know what happened around 11:00 p.m. Thursday near the intersection of Puritan and Livernois.
39-year-old Hassan Abdallah was a respected businessman who did not have enemies, according to family and friends.
…
“He was over there to meet up with somebody that he had worked with before. Apparently they had made some arrangement to pick up a TV from him, and while talking with his wife he felt uncomfortably. He felt that he may have been possibly set up. Something was strange. He hung up with his wife and told her he’d get back with her, and that was the last we had heard from him,” Abdallah said.

Nov

12

CrazyDetroitNigger.com

Typical African American Behavior

Why doesn’t he own it?
Don’t forget about your civil rights…DAWG!

Nov

11

Giving thanks for black on black violence.

African Americans with Guns,Black crime moving to suburbs,Murder,Royal Oak,Violent Crime

Royal Oak Township Mother Shot and Killed on Thanksgiving
ROYAL OAK TOWNSHIP, Mich. – The search is on for a killer in Royal Oak Township. Police say he shot and killed his ex-girlfriend during Thanksgiving dinner in front of her teenage son.
“She helped her son. He tried to shoot her son first,” says neighbor and witness Mark Hamilton. “(He) came and killed that lady on the day she (was) supposed to be giving thanks … It’s a messed up holiday. I’ll never forget it. Every Thanksgiving I’ll think about her.”

Detroit Is Halting Garbage Pickup, Police Patrols In 20% Of City: Expect Bankruptcy In 2011

Mike "Mish" Shedlock, Global Economic Trend Analysis | Dec. 13, 2010, 7:23 AM | 16,032 | 78

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Mike "Mish" Shedlock Mish is an investment advisor at Sitka Pacific Capital. He writes the widely read Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis.

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Detroit has been bankrupt for years. It simply refuses to admit it. Detroit's schools are bankrupt as well. A mere 25% of students graduate from high school.
Yet, in spite of hints and threats from mayors and budget commissions, and in spite of common sense talk of bankruptcy, Detroit has not pulled the bankruptcy trigger.
In a futile attempt to stave off the inevitable one last time, Mayor Bing's latest plan is to cutoff city services including road repairs, police patrols, street lights, and garbage collection in 20% of Detroit.

Bing to Cede 20% of Detroit to Gangs and Homeless
City officials suggest this will not shrink the size of the city. Perhaps it won't shrink Detroit on Google Maps. However, Bing's plan would effectively surrender 20% of the city to gangs and the homeless.
Would you want to live in one of the gang war-zones that his plan would create? Would you want to live in a bordering neighborhood or in a bordering city?
Regardless of your answer, Bing's plan cannot and will not work and I believe Detroit will, sometime in 2011, file for bankruptcy. If so, expect massive turmoil in municipal bonds.

Less Than a Full-Service City
The Wall Street Journal discusses Bing's plan in Less Than a Full-Service City

More than 20% of Detroit's 139 square miles could go without key municipal services under a new plan being developed for the city, with as few as seven neighborhoods seen as meriting the city's full resources.

Those details, outlined by Detroit planning officials this week, offer the clearest picture yet of how Mayor Dave Bing intends to execute what has become his signature program: reconfiguring Detroit to reflect its declining population and fiscal health. Yet the blueprint still leaves large legal and financial questions unresolved.

Mr. Bing's staff wants to concentrate Detroit's remaining population—expected to be less than 900,000 after this year's Census count—and limited local, state and federal dollars in the most viable swaths of the city, while other sectors could go without such services as garbage pickup, police patrols, road repair and street lights.

Karla Henderson, a city planning official leading the mayor's campaign, said in an interview Thursday that her staff had deemed just seven to nine sections of Detroit worthy of receiving the city's full resources. She declined to identify the areas, but said the final plan could include a greater number.

"What we have found is that even some of our stronger neighborhoods are at a tipping point with vacancy," Ms. Henderson said. "Vacancy adds to blight and blight is a disease that takes over the whole neighborhood. So the sooner we can get those homes occupied, the better for the city."

Officials bristle when their efforts are described as downsizing, saying their aim is to repurpose portions of the city, not redraw its borders. "We will not be shrinking the city," Ms. Henderson said. "We are 139 [square] miles and we'll stay that way."

Repurpose or Abandon?
Of course the Mayor's office did not say they would abandon sections of the city to gangs. But how the hell can repurposing as described above possibly mean anything else?
What's next? Barbed wire? Oh wait a minute, Detroit already has tried that. Razor-wire too. Here's a picture of Detroit's clearly abandoned repurposed Michigan Central Train Depot.

Image: AP

Image courtesy of the Journal and the AP.

Detroit's Tax Collection Process
The Detroit Free Press points out Detroit botched Packard plant tax collection

The City of Detroit has failed for nearly four years to send property tax bills to the owner of the Packard plant, costing the city badly needed cash.

At 3.5 million square feet, the plant is by far the largest derelict property in Detroit.

It wasn't until the Free Press began making inquiries last week that the city's assessor's office returned the property to the tax rolls -- with an assessed value of nearly $1.6 million. The change came nearly four years after a Michigan Supreme Court decision prompted the city to surrender the century-old plant to Bioresource, a company whose last listed corporate representative is a convicted drug dealer.

Last week, less than 18 hours after a reporter questioned why the property was listed as city-owned, the assessor's office changed its status to "taxable." The property's assessed value ballooned from almost nothing to nearly $1.6 million.

Robin Boyle, professor of urban planning at Wayne State University, said the error underscores "just how challenged the city is in dealing with the fundamental task of title, control, oversight and follow-through" with property throughout the city.

"To me, that is a fundamental problem that leaves Detroit in a consistently weakened position. It can't even do the basics," Boyle said. "This is a huge piece of real estate, and yet, there's still confusion."

Although only one tenant remains on the property, the plant is not entirely neglected. Scrappers prowl it for metal. Graffiti artists decorate its walls. Someone perched TV sets atop pillars standing at least 15 feet tall.

And it can all be yours for $13 million.

David Wax, senior associate with Burger Easton & Co. in Farmington Hills, has listed the property for sale for a couple of years. He said there was a good deal of interest before the world economic crisis and before steel prices collapsed, making the Packard plant less attractive to buy and then demolish for its metal.

"For 13 years it's been vandalized, raped, burned, stripped of anything of value," Wax said. And on any given day, he said, you can hear "people with hammers and cutting torches cutting steel out of the building."

Packard Closeup Images
The Business Insider has fantastic set of images of the beautiful $13 million Packard property. Here are a couple of those images.

Image: flickr

Image: flickr

Now that the building has been put back on the active tax rolls to a convicted drug dealer, this is the sequence of events I imagine would transpire were Detroit to stay on its existing path using Bing's plan as the roadmap.

1. Detroit will send a tax bill to Bioresource
2. Bioresourse will not pay the bill
3. Detroit will reacquire the building in a tax sale with no bidders
4. In a couple of years Detroit will realize it once again owns the building
5. Detroit will repurpose the Packard plant with the same success as depicted in the Michigan Central Train Depot image.

Detroit Schools Bankrupt
Flashback July 24,2009: The Wall Street Journal reports Detroit’s Schools Are Going Bankrupt, Too

Now’s the time to cast off collective bargaining agreements and introduce school choice.

‘Am I optimistic that they can avoid it . . . ? I am not.” That’s what retired judge Ray Graves said this week when asked whether the Detroit public schools, which he is advising, would be forced into bankruptcy. Facing violence, a shrinking student body, and graduating just one out of every four students who enter the ninth grade on time, the city’s schools have been stumbling for years. Now they face a seemingly insurmountable deficit and are expected to file for bankruptcy protection at about the time that students should be settling down in a new school year.

As embarrassing as such a filing would be, it also may be the only thing that can force the kinds of changes Detroit schools need—as the financial turmoil is just the latest manifestation of a system in terminal decline.

Detroit is like many urban school districts—large, unwieldy and bureaucratic, with a powerful union that makes the system unable to adapt to changing circumstances and that until very recently had an indulgent political class that insulated it from reform. That insulation came in two forms. The first was neglect. Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick spent several years distracted by a scandal stemming from his affair with a staffer. He resigned last year, pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice, and was sentenced to four months in jail. Had he been an effective mayor, he might have also been a powerful advocate for students.

The other insulating force was a conscious decision to wall off Detroit from charter schools. In 1993, Michigan’s legislature made it difficult to create new charters in Detroit by declaring that only community colleges could authorize charters for primary and secondary schools in “First-Class Districts”—defined as those with more than 100,000 students. Detroit was the only First-Class District. In 2003 the state, under pressure from the Detroit Federation of Teachers, turned down a gift of $200 million from philanthropist Robert Thompson that would have established 15 charter schools in the city. Those charters are needed today.

The net result has been a school system that’s been coming apart as the teachers union has dug in its heels. In 2006, the union illegally went on strike, killing a plan to force teachers to take a pay cut to balance the system’s books.

Collective Bargaining has Morally and Fiscally Bankrupted Detroit Schools
Read that again. Under pressure from the Teachers' Union, Detroit turned down $200 Million. That was in 2003 dollars. Wow. No doubt the union "did it for the kids".
For more on the appalling behavior of Detroit's teachers' unions please see Detroit Public Schools (25% graduation rate) teachers unions opposing highly qualified volunteer teachers.
It is time to kill collective bargaining for public unions, every one of them, and nation-wide, not just Detroit.

Detroit Bankruptcy Looms
Flashback April 6, 2010: Detroit Bankruptcy Looms with Deficit of $446 Million in Budget of $1.6 Billion

Detroit has hit the end of the line. It's budget deficit is between $446 million and $466 million (28% to 29%) of $1.6 billion with few ways other than drastic cuts in wages and benefits to address the problem.

If unions will not give in (and they won't), Detroit Faces Bankruptcy.

With that introduction, inquiring minds are diving into the Citizens Research Council report on The Fiscal Condition of the City of Detroit

The Economic Base

The deterioration of the economic base of the city has accelerated. There were an estimated 81,754 vacant housing units (22.2 percent of the total) in Detroit before the recession; that number increased to an estimated 101,737 (27.8 percent of the total) in 2008.

The average price of a residential unit sold in the January through November, 2009 period was $12,439, down from $97,847 in 2003. Remaining businesses and individuals are challenging property tax assessments on parcels that have lost value and, in some cases, cannot be sold at any price.

More than half of employed city residents work outside the city limits; the metro area has the highest unemployment rate of the 100 major metro areas in the U.S.

Detroit Should Embrace Bankruptcy

The only legitimate solution for Detroit is to shed pension obligations, privatize everything it can including the fire department, and dump unions contracts en masse. Since those items can only happen in restructuring, Detroit should openly embrace bankruptcy.

Detroit Warns of Bankruptcy as It Prepares Bond Sale
Flashback March 5, 2010: Detroit Warns of Bankruptcy as It Prepares Bond Sale

Detroit, the largest U.S. city whose debt is rated below investment grade, warned investors of the risk of bankruptcy as it prepares to sell $250 million of bonds to help close its budget deficit.

The city told bondholders in a March 2 preliminary offering statement that while it hasn’t taken steps to reorganize under Chapter 9, it may have few other options if its financial condition worsens. Detroit officials also detailed the steps they would have to take should bankruptcy become necessary.

“If the city’s financial status were to deteriorate further the city’s options to improve its fiscal health may be limited,” Detroit said in the statement. Bondholders “should not expect that their rights to payment and remedies will not be adversely affected by filing under the bankruptcy code.”

“We are still in a financial crisis but insolvency isn’t on the horizon or on the agenda at this time,” Mayor Dave Bing said in an e-mail from his spokesman, Dan Lijana. The total deficit this year is estimated at $280 million.

Bing Still Pretends - How Long Can It Last?
For reasons unknown, Bing just cannot do what is right. He will not come flat out and say what everyone in their right mind knows - that Detroit is fiscally and morally bankrupt and so are its schools.
Instead, on December 10, 2010 Detroit Borrows $100 Million for Police and Fire Headquarters.

Detroit, whose population has dropped by half since 1950, borrowed $100 million to turn the MGM Grand Casino’s former site into a headquarters for the police, fire and emergency-services departments.
The city sold so-called Recovery Zone Bonds authorized under the U.S. economic-stimulus plan, borrowing at 4.55 percent, the city said in a press release today. The bonds, with the longest term maturing in 2035, were sold through the Michigan Finance Authority by investment banks led by Siebert Brandford Shank & Co., according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
“The financial markets believe in what we’re doing to bring fiscal responsibility back to Detroit,” said Mayor Dave Bing, in a prepared statement today.
So-called recovery zone bonds were included in the economic-stimulus package signed by President Barack Obama last year to help expand the economy of areas with poverty and unemployment. They’re a type of Build America Bond that comes with a 45 percent interest subsidy rather than 35 percent rate under the Build America program, which expires Dec. 31.
The bonds were rated A1, or fifth highest, by Moody’s Investor’s Service and AA-, or fourth highest, by Standard & Poor’s.

BABs Set to End December 31, 2010
Note the ridiculous rating of those bonds by Moody's and by Standard & Poor’s. If the Federal government is backing those bonds, then they are AAA. If not, they are junk. There is no in-between.
Thankfully, the extremely ridiculous Build-America-Bond program will expire on December 31. When it does, no one in their right mind will lend Detroit money, and that at long-last will mean "lights out" for Detroit.
A new Republican governor takes over in Michigan next year, complete with a new Republican legislature. I believe Governor-Elect Rick Snyder will be amenable to fixing what ails Detroit and numerous other cities in Michigan.
Should Mayor Bing not seek bankruptcy assistance, I propose for Governor Snyder to force Detroit into bankruptcy. It is the only hope Detroit has. Mayor Bing is clearly in over his head.
Governor Snyder would be a hero if he can turn Detroit around, and outside of bankruptcy that appears impossible.
Thus, forced or not, I believe Detroit will file bankruptcy in 2011, the state will accept it, and public unions will be forced to accept massive concessions in bankruptcy court.
Look for massive turmoil in the municipal bond market as a result.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/detroit-garbage-pickup-bankruptcy-2010-12#ixzz189FMy1VL

This is no Urban Legend

This is no Urban Legend

After a very successful tenure at the University of Florida, including 3 National titles, Head Coach Urban Meyer has decided to step down. His reason for leaving the program is to devote more time to his family and his personal health.

The ultimate question is, what's next in store for the gator coaching "Legend"?

Well let's examine a few possible outcomes.
1. Urban actually means what he says and decides to just relax at home and bask in his gloried success in Gainesville never to be seen again, and more importantly take care of his. If you will remember, before last season Urban said he was retiring, then opted instead to take a leave of absence for health reasons before returning to lead the Gators. And considering the way he looked at the recent press conference, he just may not be in the best condition.



2. Meyer may decide to really give up coaching altogether but not completely leave the game. By this I mean, join the gameday crew or sit in the office of "Dr. Lou" (holtz) and provide his professional insight on the game and all things "spread" offense.


3. The final and most intruiging scenario is the one involving what I like to call the urban legend. What if the coach decides to go home to family and take care of his health. And then come oh...4 weeks from now the coach is spotted skiing in the rocky mountains. He then gets a call and interview from none other than the Denver Broncos. Keep in mind this is the same coach that has led 26 players to the NFL draft throughout his coaching career. Therefore the only next logical step would be to promote is recent heisman trophy winning '"Legend" to starting QB, the one and only Tim Tebow.



Meyer would also inherit a team that has a nice selection of offense weapons to compliment an already respectable defense. A quarterback that's not supposed to be an NFL prototype combined with an offense that isn't supposed to be able to function in the big leagues.
So I ask, could this be the inauguration of one Urban dispelling many legends?...

OR

Is this the USC curse? Remember the Reggie Bush situation that ran Pete Carroll to the Seattle Seahawks?

Doesn't the Cam Newton scandal sound similar? His father took the blame, and all is well?



Not even 90 days after the story broke Urban will still tell you that it's a "Urban Myth," but if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck...

It's probably just College Football. Urban Mystic!

Mysterious Image caught on Tape!?!

http://www.clickondetroit.com/video/26088049/index.html

What in the world is this?

WATCH: Mysterious Image Caught On Camera
WATCH: Man's Broken Camera Captures Spooky Image A man in Berwick, La., said the image is from a camera that was sitting in a deer tree stand. He said the camera was broken but still had the memory card inside. When he pulled the last images from the card, the half-man-half-creature appeared.

Have you seen something odd? Send in your Hot Shots: Myserious Sightings

Players seek end of age restriction

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By Chris Broussard
ESPN The Magazine
Archive

The NBA owners aren't the only ones looking to alter the landscape of the league over the next several seasons through the league's collective bargaining agreement.
While the owners want to do away with the soft salary cap and guaranteed contracts, the players hope to end the age restriction that forbids players from entering the NBA directly out of high school.

“ The players have always been philosophically opposed to [the age limit]. The vast majority of players feel a player should have the right to make a living. If he has the talent and wants to make money to help his family, he should have that right. It's just a matter of principle.
” -- source from the National Basketball Players Association

"We want to go back to the way it was," a source from the National Basketball Players Association said. "The players have always been philosophically opposed to it. The vast majority of players feel a player should have the right to make a living. If he has the talent and wants to make money to help his family, he should have that right. It's just a matter of principle."
NBPA executive director Billy Hunter sent an audio podcast detailing the union's proposal to every player last week. The proposal, which includes the end of the age restriction, has been obtained by ESPN.com and confirmed by a union source.
In its proposal, the union, while rejecting the owners' call for a hard salary cap and salary reductions, is also willing to negotiate a reduction in league revenue guarantees for players. The union also proposes rule changes that would provide more flexibility for sign-and-trade deals.
The age restriction, which requires a player to be at least 19 years old during the calendar year of the draft as well as at least one year removed from his high school graduation class, has been in place since the 2005-2006 season. A league spokesman refused to comment when asked Wednesday about the union's proposed change to the age restriction.
The league did not address the age requirement specifically in the collective bargaining proposal it submitted to players in February. But commissioner David Stern's desire has long been to raise the minimum age to 20 rather than to lower it.
NBA spokesman Mike Bass refused to comment when contacted by ESPN.com.
While there are much larger issues separating the sides, the age restriction could become a bargaining chip in the stalemated negotiations between owners and players that appear headed toward a lockout next summer.
Hunter said last month he's "99 percent sure" there will be a lockout, and a look at the proposals of each side reveals Hunter may have underestimated the chances of a work stoppage.
The union submitted its contract proposal in July, but it seems to have barely registered with the owners, who have neither provided a counterproposal nor backed off the demands they made in February. The league also refused to comment Wednesday on the details of the union's proposal.
"Our proposal was designed to move the negotiations forward, to be a win-win for both sides," the union source said. "We looked to address some of the owners' concerns and the proposal had elements that would benefit both sides. But the owners have sat on this for five months."
While the union rejects the owners' demands for a hard cap, an $800 million cut in salaries, a shortening of contract lengths and an elimination of guaranteed contracts, it is willing to negotiate a reduction in the percentage of league revenue players are guaranteed.
Players are currently guaranteed 57 percent of basketball-related income, and the players are willing to remove that guarantee. No new figure was proposed by the union, which is also open to considering adjustments to revenue formulas for owners who build new arenas or significantly renovate existing ones.
The players' association also proposed, according to the podcast, "enhanced trade and signing flexibility." Basically, it wants to change the system in a way that would make it easier for teams to make trades.
Currently, in trades involving a team that is above the salary cap, the traded players' salaries must fall within 125 percent of one another. The union would like to at least double that percentage. That would make it easier for cash-strapped clubs to receive financial relief by trading away players with large contracts.
The union suggests ending the complicated "base-year compensation" rule that often makes it difficult to pull off trades.
"We want to keep the current system in place, and address some of the owners' concerns within the context of that system," the source said. "We want to keep the soft cap we've had for 30 years and keep salaries tied to revenues."
In the past, the players have had no say in how the owners have shared their revenue among themselves. But with the owners complaining about millions of dollars in annual losses, the union proposed in July that the league incorporate "meaningful revenue sharing."
The players do not believe the burden for giving small-market clubs financial relief should fall entirely upon them. Thus, they're proposing that the league share not only national revenue -- such as television contracts, sponsorships and gate receipts -- but local revenue as well.
The union also suggests the league could give small markets a larger share of the national revenue.
Staunchly against a hard cap, which would eliminate longtime collective bargaining staples such as the Larry Bird exception, the union also noted that it wants to not only keep the midlevel exception but add a second midlevel exception.
In exchange, the players would give up the "bi-annual exception," which is currently worth $2 million, and decrease the maximum length of midlevel contracts from five years to four years.
The players are also looking to shorten the time period (currently seven days) that teams have to match offers for restricted free agents, as well as gain better pension benefits.
The union has been anticipating a lockout for more than a year and has been advising its players regularly to save money in preparation for a work stoppage.
The players are ready to fight to keep the key elements of the current system, as evidenced by the attendance of superstars such as LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul at a negotiating meeting in August.
The players were galvanized in part after union representatives showed them PowerPoint presentations that explained exactly how much money they would lose if the owners' proposal was accepted. For instance, the $18 million Joe Johnson is slated to make next season would fall to about $11 million under the owners' proposed system, with less than $5 million guaranteed.
The owners are digging in as well, with one source close to several owners saying "they will not budge" from their current proposal. If the two sides haven't moved significantly closer to one another by the February All-Star break, a lockout would seem inevitable.
"We're not planning to make another proposal, in part because the owners have not made a counterproposal," the union source said. "They don't seem to want to make a deal early."
Chris Broussard covers the NBA for ESPN The Magazine.

Maserati Rick Part 2

“Maserati Rick”

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(183 votes)

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Released: April, 2009

Genres: Crime, Drama

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“Maserati Rick” Description:

The life and times of Detroit drug dealer Richard Carter — known to his friends and associates as Maserati Rick — play out with gritty realism in this docudrama featuring Rick’s brothers, Greg and Big “E,” and his son, Maserati Rick Jr. A shrewd salesman with the goods to back up his gift for fast talk, Rick helped found the city’s notorious “Best Friends” drug cartel. But a few years later, he met his end with a shot to the head.

Maserati Rick Part 1

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“Maserati Rick”

Watched 18,383 times!

(183 votes)

Loading ...

Released: April, 2009

Genres: Crime, Drama

Submit a Link for this Movie

Share This Movie

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“Maserati Rick” Description:

The life and times of Detroit drug dealer Richard Carter — known to his friends and associates as Maserati Rick — play out with gritty realism in this docudrama featuring Rick’s brothers, Greg and Big “E,” and his son, Maserati Rick Jr. A shrewd salesman with the goods to back up his gift for fast talk, Rick helped found the city’s notorious “Best Friends” drug cartel. But a few years later, he met his end with a shot to the head.