The Magic of Private Equity, or How Mitt Romney Made A Lot of Money
Click here to watch UC Berkeley’s Robert Reich explain in less than 3 minutes how we helplessly subsidize private equity investments and capital gains for the mega-rich. But don’t be so quick to blame middle and upper management; years of institutional decisions and policies have made it possible for a small number of people to financially harm or ruin a considerable majority, and if you don’t play ball, someone else will. That said, Mitt Romney has grossly reaped the benefits of these decisions and policies and should thus be tied to them, as he will - if elected - continue to protect the interests of private equity firms, tax-evading corporations, and unaccountable, too-big-fail banks at our expense.
Out of the Dark
Still Music will soon reissue In The Dark, an out of print compilation featuring original productions by Rick Wilhite, Marcellus Pittman, Delano Smith, and other notable house artists from the soul of Detroit.
Moodymann: Picture This
I imagine few people think to say, “the east side of Detroit” – and genuinely mean it, when asked to name their favorite, “most rewarding place” to visit. Yesterday, KDJ released 8 new tracks of signature house via Scion A/V. “I hit it every weekend, you’ve got to go.”
BPA and the FDA
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration rejected on March 30 a petition filed by the National Resources Defense Council to ban the use of Bisphenol A, or BPA - a hormone disruptor, in food packaging. The chemical is widely used in plastic bottles and in the lining of canned foods - it is also present in receipt paper, and has a tendency to break from lining and plastic into our food, mimicking (or disrupting) the hormones in our body.
BPA has been linked to a number of adverse health effects, most shockingly: diabetes, cancer, obesity, and heart disease. A ban on the chemical would undeniably impact the profits of Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), Bayer AG (BAYN) and Dow Chemical Co (DOW), the largest producers of BPA in the United States; and in part why the FDA is unwilling to declare it a toxic substance?
The Wolf
I can’t stop listening to this mix, it’s literally been on repeat since Friday; composed by Le Loup for Gary Springs Hunting Club, it features an array of hip-hop from The Boogie Down Bronx and Detroit, or so it sounds.
“If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon”
President Obama empathized with mourners of Trayvon Martin - an unarmed teenager shot dead by a neighborhood watch volunteer who continues to escape arrest under the Stand Your Ground law in Orlando, FL on February 26, 2012 - during a press conference in the Rose Garden earlier today.
The Wizard Tapes
Early recordings of Jeff Mills performing live as The Wizard on FM-WJLB in Detroit are now available for download.
Brewster Douglass, 1935 - 2012
Mayor Bing is seeking $9.8M from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to demolish the now-vacant Brewster Project and Frederick Douglass Apartments in the Brush Park section of Detroit, MI. The public housing complex was home to actress Lily Tomlin, Motown artists Diana Ross, Mary Wilson, Florence Ballard (collectively, The Supremes) and Smokey Robinson, and was the basis for Eddie Murphy’s animated television series The PJs.
via The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press
The Notorious B.I.G. Was Killed 15 Years Ago Today
Christopher Wallace was shot and killed at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles, CA on March 9, 1997. Incidentally, I used to ride that orange bus to work; now I live a short walk from where the late rapper grew up on Saint James Place in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn.
King Con
King Con, the debut LP by Detroit songstress and friend, Alex Winston, is now available for purchase on iTunes. It’s a healthy dose of non-derivative indie rock. SPIN magazine even called it “seismic.”
Jason Grove: Fresh Cuts
Jason Grove has been recording straight to cassette since the late ’80s, selling tapes in and around his hometown of Detroit for over 20 years, allowing only a small French label to release the belated EP Lost Cuts and 313.4.EVER, a new analog LP that, as the title suggests, is Detroit House through and through.
