Obama was 'quite religious in Islam' By Aaron Klein

Source: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=60559

Contemporaries, records dispute campaign
claim that he was never 'practicing Muslim'

---

Posted: April 03, 2008
12:40 am Eastern

JERUSALEM – Was Sen. Barack Obama a Muslim? Did he ever practice Islam?

The presidential candidate officially rejects the claims, but the issue of Obama's personal faith has re-emerged amid conflicting accounts of his enrollment as a Muslim during elementary school in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation.

Widely distributed reports have noted in January 1968, Obama was registered as a Muslim at Jakarta's Roman Catholic Franciscus Assisi Primary School under the name Barry Soetoro. He was listed as an Indonesian citizen whose stepfather, listed on school documents as "L Soetoro Ma," worked for the topography department of the Indonesian Army.

Catholic schools in Indonesia routinely accept non-Catholic students, but exempt them from studying religion. Obama's school documents, though, wrongly list him as being Indonesian.

After attending the Assisi Primary School, Obama was enrolled – also as a Muslim, according to documents – in the Besuki Primary School, a public school in Jakarta.

The Loatze blog run by an American expatriate in Southeast Asia who visited the Besuki school, noted, "All Indonesian students are required to study religion at school and a young 'Barry Soetoro' being a Muslim would have been required to study Islam daily in school. He would have been taught to read and write Arabic, to recite his prayers properly, to read and recite from the Quran and to study the laws of Islam."

Indeed, the Israel Insider online magazine points out in Obama's autobiography, "Dreams From My Father," he acknowledges studying the Quran and describes the public school as "a Muslim school."

"In the Muslim school, the teacher wrote to tell mother I made faces during Quranic studies," wrote Obama.

The Indonesian media have been flooded with accounts of Obama's childhood Islamic studies, some describing him as a religious Muslim .

Speaking to the country's Kaltim Post, Tine Hahiyary, who was principal of Obama's school while he was enrolled there, said she recalls he studied the Quran in Arabic.

"At that time, I was not Barry's teacher but he is still in my memory" claimed Tine, who is 80 years old. The Kaltim Post says Obama's teacher, named Hendri, died.

"I remember that he studied 'mengaji (recitation of the Quran)," Tine said, according to an English translation by Loatze.

Mengaji, or the act of reading the Quran with its correct Arabic punctuation, is usually taught to more religious pupils and is not known as a secular study.

Also, Loatze documented the Indonesian daily Banjarmasin Post caught up with Rony Amir, an Obama classmate and Muslim, who describe Obama as "previously quite religious in Islam."

"We previously often asked him to the prayer room close to the house. If he was wearing a sarong (waist fabric worn for religious or casual occasions) he looked funny," Amir said.

The Los Angeles Times, which sent a reporter to Jakarta, quoted Zulfin Adi, who identified himself as among Obama's closest childhood friends, stating the presidential candidate prayed in a mosque, something Obama's campaign claimed he never did.

"We prayed but not really seriously, just following actions done by older people in the mosque. But as kids, we loved to meet our friends and went to the mosque together and played," said Adi.

Obama's official campaign site has a page titled "Obama has never been a Muslim, and is a committed Christian." The page states, "Obama never prayed in a mosque. He has never been a Muslim, was not raised a Muslim, and is a committed Christian who attends the United Church of Christ."

But the campaign changed its tune when it issued a slightly different statement to the Times stating Obama "has never been a practicing Muslim."

An article last month by the Chicago Tribune seems to dispute Adi's statements to the L.A. Times. The Tribune catches up with Obama's declared childhood friend, who now describes himself as only knowing Obama for a few months in 1970 when his family moved to the neighborhood. Adi said he was unsure about his recollections of Obama

But the Tribune found Obama did attend mosque.

"Interviews with dozens of former classmates, teachers, neighbors and friends show that Obama was not a regular practicing Muslim when he was in Indonesia," states the Tribune article.

It quotes the presidential candidate's former neighbors and 3rd grade teacher recalling Obama "occasionally followed his stepfather to the mosque for Friday prayers."

Daniel Pipes, director of the Middle East Forum, notes the Tribune article – cited by liberal blogs as refuting claims Obama is Muslim – actually implies Obama was an irregularly practicing Muslim and twice confirms Obama attended mosque services.

In a free-ranging interview with the New York Times, Obama described the Muslim call to prayer as "one of the prettiest sounds on Earth at sunset.”

The Times' Nicholos Kristof wrote Obama recited, "with a first-class [Arabic] accent," the opening lines of the Muslim call to prayer.

Israel Insider's Reuven Koret notes the first few lines state:

"Allah is Supreme! Allah is Supreme!
Allah is Supreme! Allah is Supreme!
I witness that there is no god but Allah
I witness that there is no god but Allah
I witness that Muhammad is his prophet... "

Some attention also has been paid to Obama's paternal side of the family. His father, described in some reports as an atheist, polygamist and alcoholic, was buried in Kenya as a Muslim. Obama Sr., also named Barack Obama, had three sons with another woman who reportedly all are Muslim.

Obama's brother Roy is described as a practicing Muslim.

Writing in a chapter of his book describing his 1992 wedding, the presidential candidate stated: "The person who made me proudest of all was Roy. Actually, now we call him Abongo, his Luo name, for two years ago he decided to reassert his African heritage. He converted to Islam, and has sworn off pork and tobacco and alcohol."

Still, Obama says he was raised by his Christian mother and repeatedly has labeled as "smears" several reports attempting to paint him as a Muslim.

"Let's make clear what the facts are: I am a Christian. I have been sworn in with a Bible. I pledge allegiance [to the American flag] and lead the pledge of allegiance sometimes in the United States Senate when I'm presiding," he told the UK's Times Online earlier this year.

To interview Aaron Klein, contact M. Sliwa Public Relations by e-mail, or call 973-272-2861 or 212-202-4453.

Obama to Black Conservatives: 'I don't want people voting for me because I'm black' by David Brody

Source: http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/394170.aspx

June 17, 2008

Watch Low Band

On Tuesday near Detroit, Michigan I spent about 10 minutes one-on-one with Barack Obama. In our conversation I asked him about his message to black conservatives who may be struggling with the fact that they have an historic chance and a real viable shot to vote for an African-American candidate for President yet may have to sacrifice some of their core principles to do it.

Read his answer below. Click play to watch the video.



"I don't want people abandoning their principles, and I don't want people voting for me because I'm black. What I'd ask is people take a look at my positions on issues, not what floats around the Internet, but rather what are my actual positions on issues. I think on some issues I would be considered left of the spectrum, there's no doubt. The fact that even though I've acknowledged abortion is a deeply, difficult moral issue, I continue to believe that women should be in a position to make that decision. That's something, that for some, and I respect this, is a deal breaker. On the other hand, I think there are a lot of conservatives out there who would say that my position on the importance of faith in our culture, my position on the need to care for the poor, my belief in individual responsibility - those are all issues that I think are compatible with many conservatives and so I'd ask people to not buy the political caricature, but actually take a look at my positions on the issues."

A couple notes to the answer above.

Obama acknowledges that he is left of the spectrum on some issues including abortion. That may be a problem for you as a Christian. He clearly understands that and respects that but as you can see what he is doing is trying to find common ground on some other issues. Is it enough for you, especially as a black conservative to vote for him? The McCain camp truly believes that there is NO WAY a true conservative will vote for Obama. Maybe not but will they be "juiced" about McCain enough to get out of their Lazy-Boy armchair and go vote for him? What say you?

Comments?

Barack Obama, the Weather Underground, and the Spirit of Revolution By Sandy Rios

Source: http://www.townhall.com/columnists/SandyRios/2008/04/28/barack_obama,_the_weather_underground,_and_the_spirit_of_revolution?page=full&comments=true

Monday, April 28, 2008

My first memory of the impact of it all was when I was 13, sitting in my sister’s apartment, watching the evening news with Walter Cronkite. “103 American GIs killed today,” he intoned, as film of soldiers shooting Vietnamese rolled by. The nightly news always began that way … never a story of heroism or victory, just body bags and carnage as the anti-war media chose to report it.

Next was footage of Los Angeles burning, riots and looting, shootings on college campuses, all with flag burning as a backdrop. In the midst of it all, my sister’s Middle Eastern boyfriend gleefully shouted, “Come on America, destroy yourself!” I wanted to hit him. I tried to argue, but he mocked me. Because of my youth, I was no match for his vocabulary and knowledge. I felt inadequate to express the overpowering emotions of anger and rage. And pain. My beloved country, falling apart at the seams with a representative of one of its future enemies sitting right next to me, cheering it on. War vs. peace, communism vs. freedom, law vs. lawlessness, racism, anarchy and the future threat of radical Islam—all converged in that one room. And the passion that comes from love of country and all that is good began its deep roots in me.

I grew up in the midst of that turbulence. My peers wanted to “make love, not war,” and reduce peace to two fingers held high with a silly, drug-induced grin. Others of my generation wanted more. They wanted violent revolution. John Lennon made it sound vogue as they declared their intention to “kill the pigs” and obtain the violent overthrow of the United States Government.

Most were just foolish and spoiled, but others were serious as Hell itself. Members of the Weather Underground were part of the latter group. Formed in 1969, Bernadine Dohrn and William Ayers quickly moved into leadership. They bombed, rioted and threatened, “We’re coming after you!” Ayers encouraged followers to “kill all the rich people … bring the revolution home. Kill your parents.” And his apologetic for the 1972 bombing the Pentagon? The “bastards were finally going to get what was coming to them.”

“Strawberry Statement,” “Getting Straight,” “Woodstock,”…cult films reflecting the movement, are not nostalgic memories for me, but jolting reminders of a very dark and shameful time.

Charles Manson and his “family” shocked the world when they brutally murdered young actress Sharon Tate in her home along with friends, including coffee heiress, Abigail Folger. They wrote “Helter Skelter,” in blood on the walls, and the Beatles offered another tune to commemorate the event. Like the Weather Underground, Charlie Manson wanted the violent overthrow of the government. Bernadine Dohrn offered her adulation, “Dig it! First they killed those pigs, then they ate dinner in the same room with them. They even shoved a fork into the victim’s stomach! Wild!” Tate was nine months pregnant.

Fast forward to 2008. As I prepared to do an in-depth report on the Weather Underground, my producer uncovered some fascinating footage which brought me to tears. It was like going back in time when I saw Dohrn, Ayers and others spouting their poison to the black and white backdrop of those frightening days. Those dark revolutionaries were not experiencing the passing phase of foolish youth; they were the bold spokesmen for a deep and evil spirit of lawlessness that nearly prevailed just three decades ago. And they were speaking not in 1972, but in 2007.

Now Bernadine Dohrn is an assistant Law Professor at Northwestern University and her husband, William Ayers is a professor of Education at UIC, both “respected” members of the community, says Chicago Mayor Richard Daley. Both guilty of violence that resulted in death, both guilty of rebellion that aimed at destroying our country—and both unrepentant. “I don’t regret setting bombs. I feel we didn’t do enough,” said Ayers in 2001. “I found the whole idea of turning myself in revolting,” chronicled Dohrn in a PBS documentary. “Rebellion is inevitable. I remain committed to the struggle ahead,” she said as she surrendered to authorities in 1980. “We have extraordinary responsibility inside the heart of the monster,” she warned in 2007. “Guilty as sin and free as a bird,” boasted Ayers.

So when I learned of the connection between Ayres, Dohrn and Barack Obama, I was alarmed. In 1995, Dohrn and Ayres hosted a campaign fundraiser for Obama. Ayers contributed to Obama’s campaign. Bernadine Dohrn and both Barack and Michelle Obama were employed by the Sidley and Austin Law Firm. Bernadine, like Barack was involved with “community organizing,” a milk-toast term for “Rules for Radicals” author, Saul Alinsky’s leftist schemes. Obama and Ayers have appeared on academic panels together. While Obama has tried to downplay this as coincidental, his participation with Ayers on a 1997 University of Chicago panel was actually put together by the associate Dean of Student Services, Michelle Obama. Their kids have attended the same schools, and when the Obamas moved a little more than a year ago (with the questionable financial help of the wife of indicted Syrian National, Tony Rezko), it just happened to be in the same neighborhood as Ayers. Both Obama and Ayers served on the Woods Foundation Board, which along with funding “community organizing,” agreed to give $75,000 to the Arab American Action Network, cofounded by PLO-and-Yasser-Arafat apologist, Rashid Kalidi.

But it’s the underlying, dark vision for America that they share that concerns me most. While Ayers and Dohrn hate capitalism, Barack chooses careful terms like “fairness” to hint at evening the score on the “wealthy.” In the ’70s, the Weather Underground wanted “smash monogamy.” Group orgies were their attempt to break down all sexual taboos. Today William Ayers is a powerful advocate for “Queering Elementary Education” and advancing the cause of gay, straight, transgender and lesbian rights. The gay journalist Andrew Sullivan has declared Barack Obama the dream candidate of the homosexual movement.

“Revolution” versus “change.” “Capitalist pigs” versus “the wealthy.” “Smash monogamy” versus “other definitions of family.” The revolution of the ’60s and ’70s was bolder in language and action, but today’s manifestation is in some ways more threatening because terms are hidden, intentions blurred and the “opiate of the masses”—at least right now—is not religion, but Barack Obama.

“The spirit of the revolution will live on!” declared Dohrn in 1980.

All of these same old ideas, converging at once on a new generation, with little memory of this past. We want to “connect to … rebuild on … the spirit of rebellion …of resistance,” said Ayres just last November. “The secret power of lawlessness is already at work,” wrote the Apostle Paul in the first century. Indeed.

That same passion I had as a 13-year-old girl has been awakened within me once again. Fortunately, thanks to the intervening years, I have vocabulary and knowledge on my side this time. I recognize the danger and will not be silent.

Sandy Rios is host of the "Sandy Rios Show", heard weekdays from 3 to 5PM on WYLL AM1160 in Chicago and serves as President of Culture Campaign, a non-profit dedicated to awakening a sleeping army of concerned citizens never before involved in public policy.

Five tips for vinyl virgins from a vinyl guy by Tony Nauroth

Source: http://blog.pennlive.com/bizarrebazaar/2008/04/five_tips_for_vinyl_virgins.html

April 08, 2008 12:08PM

Vinyl doesn't go back as far as this player, but this sample is definitely analog, not digital.

When I was in the third grade -- you'll be able to figure it out by the time you finish reading -- my father, a printer by trade, invented a machine part to make his boss' printing presses more efficient. It saved a ton of money. My father didn't get the credit and he didn't get royalties for it. But his boss did buy Dad a new stereo radio/phonograph player in a beautiful cabinet. Top shelf at the time. He also gave us 125 vouchers for 33 and 1/3 rpm albums we could redeem at a local record store.

The boss, a Mr. Glucken of Pittston, Pa., knew my Dad liked music.

Glucken also asked Dad if he'd like to move into his country mansion near Dallas, Pa., and take care of it while he did the grand tour of Europe. So all 10 of us moved into this magnificent home on the top of a hill, with its half-mile long driveway and 73 acres of fields and woodland.

Glucken was on his grand tour for nine years while we lived in his mansion -- free! It was great. And frequently we would gather around the stereo near the huge stone fireplace and listen to vinyl. For all its pops and scratches, the sound that came out of those 8-inch speakers was as warm as the crackling fire nearby.

We're in the midst of a revolt against digital sound, despite -- or perhaps because of -- its perfection. It's unreal, especially when heard by the ears of those trained to listen to vinyl. Yet even teens and 20-somethings are getting into this 100-year-old technology and need a simple "how-to" guide to find their groove -- literally.

Josh Bizar, director of marketing at Music Direct, a company that specializes in everything "analog," says, "Since the technology is all new territory for the vinyl virgin, it can be tough getting through that 'awkward stage.'"

Josh put together five tips to help vinyl record "virgins" get started:

FIND THE RIGHT TURNTABLE -- Used record players are a dime a dozen at garage sales and thrift stores, but a 30 year old record player could have many problems. Make sure you get a really good service tech to get it up and playing properly. There are also countless new turntables on the market today. For an investment of $300, you can buy an amazing new turntable with 21st century technology that will be perfect right out of the box.

A modern phonograph player.

SET UP YOUR SYSTEM WITH CARE -- Any turntable will need to be properly set-up to get the maximum amount of music out of your record. That means finding someone who knows how to install the phono cartridge (needle) properly to get the most music out of the grooves. Also, make sure you place your turntable on a rock-solid shelf to keep vibrations away.

LOOK FOR QUALITY VINYL -- Thrift shops, garage sales, used record stores and even your uncle's basement are great places to start your vinyl collection. There are also more new LPs pressed today than anytime since the mid-80s. Specialty stores can advise you on all the great music that's available on the best quality new vinyl.

AP PhotoA record album slides out of a press at the United Record Pressing company in Nashville, Tenn. on Jan. 25, 2007. The press turns a blob of vinyl about the size of a hockey puck into a record album.

TAKE CARE OF YOUR RECORD COLLECTION -- Avoid all those ticks and pops by removing the decades of grunge from the grooves with a really good record brush and record cleaning fluids. There are even special record cleaning machines that do all the work for you and will vacuum dry the LP so you can play it immediately. They can be pricey, however. Still, clean records not only sound better, they're much more valuable.

BRING YOUR RECORDS INTO THE 21st CENTURY -- The biggest trend in vinyl right now is taking your records and making them digital. Many newer turntables can connect directly to your computer via USB, and even older, standard turntables can run through a special USB Converter and achieve the same effect. Download some free "ripping" software, like Audacity, and you're ready to put your record collection right onto your iPod.

Of course, to get the full effect that I remember, you'll have to invent something really cool and valuable. Then move into the country. Just remember to hold out for royalties.

Vinyl Dreams By Keosha Thomas

Source: http://www.rezoom.com/lifestyles/passionate-pursuits/read/5228/

June 17, 2008

“When I walked in the front door, I fell in love, Ashworth said about United Records Pressing.

While the majority of the world might consider records the stuff of days gone by, Cris Ashworth, president and CEO of United Record Pressing in Nashville, Tenn. believes they're a dream come true.

Currently, Ashworth is responsible for 30,000 to 40,000 of the new records in circulation, whether on personal record players, at parties where deejays mix on turntables or for sale in local mom and pop stores.

"LPs deliver an amazing sound and fun experience," said Anna Lundy, manager at Grimey's New & Preloved Music in Nashville. "The music is warm, and the sound quality is much better than CDs, cassettes or MP3s. And that is why they're successful."

Ashworth, 57, is a witty, spirited family man. Prior to his success in the album industry, Ashworth was a business leader, acting as chief financial officer for 30 years under Nashville Gas Company.

Although Ashworth had no knowledge or experience with the vinyl records or music industry, he envisioned a bigger picture and made his mark on a new business venture. After hearing around town that an old record plant was up for sale, Ashworth approached the owners, Ozell Simpkins and John Dunn.

"My friend called me up when I was without a gig, so to speak, and told me to take a look at URP and see what I thought about it," Ashworth said. "When I walked in the front door, I fell in love."

In 1999, Ashworth purchased URP. "It was the greatest investment of my life and an honest deal that I should have done a long time ago," he said. "I decided to buy the company … At first we only had 10 employees, and today we have around sixty."

Ashworth says Elvis Presley records are his biggest seller.

Next, he felt some minor changes were necessary in order for his new company to take off.

"Initially I planned to sell cassettes, CDs and vinyls because all the money was there," he said. "After I found out it would cost me $1 million to produce CDs, I moved faster to vinyl and decided I would be the King of Vinyl."

He's got evidence to back up his claim. URP has 23 presses (15 of which are used for a deal with Universal Records) and is a landmark on Gray Line's "Making of Music" Tour. The tour includes the album process, a retro-style upstairs apartment (built to accommodate Motown executives during the early 1960s) and, enclosed in a glass case, the unreleased single "Pops, We Love You" by Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye. It is one of Gaye's last records before he was killed by his father.

"There is not another company out there that does what we do at such a high level or looks like us," Ashworth said. "We have all the genres of music here: reggae, punk rock, Motown hits and even rap. We're the third coast, the ones that get it together and get it out the door."

Ashworth says that his secret formula for success is to remain excited about the business and its people.

"I try not to worry about the bottom line and focus on doing my job right every day," he said. "I also believe having a fair product and treating employees and customers fairly all the time is the key. I have made albums for Nelly Furtado, Bob Dylan and Elvis Presley. I enjoy the people and fulfilling dreams."

Vinyl remains relevant at record pressing By John Gerome

Source: http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2007/02/25/news/doc45df672dce4b3314139931.txt

Sunday, February 25, 2007 9:02 PM CST
By John Gerome
Associated Press


Cris Ashworth, president and CEO of United Record Pressing, displays a few of the albums his company has pressed at their Nashville, Tenn. plant, on Jan. 25, 2007. Vinyl records aren't as retro as you might think. Many record collectors, DJs and music junkies still consider vinyl to be the gold standard of recorded music. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey))



Calvin Morris applies a chemical solution to a record album pressing plate at the United Record Pressing company in Nashville, Tenn. on Jan. 25, 2007. Vinyl records aren't as retro as you might think. Many record collectors, DJs and music junkies still consider vinyl to be the gold standard of recorded music. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Vinyl pellets are shown as they are received at the United Record Pressing company in Nashville, Tenn. on Jan. 25, 2007. The pellets will go through a process that will heat and press them into a record album. Vinyl records aren't as retro as you might think. Many record collectors, DJs and music junkies still consider vinyl to be the gold standard of recorded music. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — That dusty stack of records in your parents’ basement? They’re not as retro as you might think. Many record collectors, DJs and music junkies still consider vinyl to be the gold standard of recorded music — scratches, pops and all.

That enduring appeal has helped Nashville’s United Record Pressing, which cranks out 20,000 to 40,000 records a day, making it one of the largest — and last — vinyl record manufacturers in the country.

“Folks thought we had disappeared,” owner and CEO Cris Ashworth said.

Started in 1962, the plant is as much a throwback as the shiny black discs it produces. The interior is dingy, the ‘70s decor looks like a vintage garage sale and the air is a stale blend of ink and cigarette smoke.

Ashworth, 56, sat down for a recent interview with an ashtray and pack of Merits by his side. He hardly looked the part of dance music guru, but 60 percent of his company’s records are by rap, hip-hop and R&B artists such as Justin Timberlake, Beyonce, Black Eyed Peas, Christina Aguilera, Ludacris and Krayzie Bone.

Most of the discs are 12-inch singles destined for professional DJs at radio stations and dance clubs who still use vinyl records and turntables to mix, scratch and blend music.

“The record labels use us as a marketing tool to get that new track out there,” Ashworth explained. “They’ll come to me on a Monday, want it out on Wednesday and played Friday or Saturday night at a club or radio station.”

Typically, the company will press four versions of the same song: a radio and club mix, as well as an instrumental and a cappella version so DJs can mix and manipulate the sound.

Another portion of United’s product goes to retail stores, where vinyl is preferred by amateur DJs, collectors and purists convinced that the sound is superior to CDs.

“Vinyl has a distinct sound,” said Doyle Davis, co-owner of Grimey’s New & Preloved Music, a Nashville store where 15 percent to 20 percent of sales are vinyl. “You hear people use adjectives like ‘warmer’ and ‘more round.’

“And there are other things beside sound quality. People know what the song titles are. It’s not like, ‘I like track 5.’ You put the needle on and let it play through — not jump around. You have more of an intimate relationship with the music.”

Vinyl records use analog technology, whereby a physical groove is etched into the record mimicking the sound wave. CDs, on the other hand, transform sound into digital packets of information.

“No one ever doubts the quality of vinyl over any other format that’s ever existed,” said George Sulmers, a Nashville-based club DJ who spins classic funk and soul discs under the name Geezus. “I understand why change happened, but I don’t think there was a valid need for the change.”

The means of music delivery continues to evolve. Digital downloading has eroded CD sales. Some artists are skipping CDs entirely and releasing new music online for the casual listener and on vinyl for DJs and hardcore fans.

But vinyl still accounts for a small percentage of total music sales. Last year 858,000 LPs were sold compared with 553.4 million CDs, according to Nielsen SoundScan. While the 2006 figure was up slightly from 2005, the overall trend has been down from 1.5 million in 2000.

Ashworth believes the data is skewed, though, because a lot of vinyl is sold in mom and pop stores not reflected in the SoundScan numbers.

His company has managed to thrive by picking up business from competitors in a shrinking market. Today, he has only 13 competitors compared to several dozen before CDs took over in the ‘90s. Revenues hit $5 million in 2004 and grew to $7 million in 2005. Last year saw significant growth over 2005, Ashworth said.

And yet the plant remains a timepiece with its rumbling presses that jar the floor, noisy blasts of compressed air and vats of blue nickel solution used to create the master discs.

Ashworth regards it a relic of Nashville’s past, every bit as important as the old RCA studio where Elvis Presley and the Everly Brothers recorded, or the Ryman Auditorium where the Grand Ole Opry enjoyed its heyday.

“We want to be the last vinyl plant standing, no matter what,” he said. “There is no other plant that looks like this in the country. This is an antique.”

Indeed, it still has the furnished apartment where Motown Records executives stayed when they came down from Detroit during segregation. The apartment adjoins a party room where Wayne Newton celebrated his 16th birthday.

Most of the major labels and many of the independents contract with United. Elvis Presley’s reissues are pressed here, as well as recordings by Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Johnny Cash, Rod Stewart, Alan Jackson, John Mayer and many others.

“If you look at the Hot 100 singles, we represent about 80 percent of what’s on the chart,” Ashworth said.

Ashworth himself is something of an oddity. A longtime corporate executive and former chief financial officer at Nashville Gas Co., he bought this place in 1999 with no experience or knowledge of the industry. At the time, the vinyl record business seemed doomed.

“My son was very worried about whether he was going to be able to go to college,” he said with a laugh, adding, “Thank the Lord for a trusting wife.”

But Ashworth made a go of it and then some, boosting employment at United from 10 to 60 people and fulfilling his own need to create something.

“A lot of people spend their lives doing something as opposed to making something, and I wanted to make something,” he said. “I wanted something tangible in my hands at the end of the day.”

On the Net:

United Record Pressing: http://www.urpressing.com/

Grimey’s New & Preloved Music: http://www.grimeys.com/

Some retailers give vinyl records a spin by Sarah Skidmore

Source: http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2008/06/09/1556519-some-retailers-give-vinyl-records-a-spin

Mon Jun 9, 2008 12:56 PM EDT

Email Picture

Don Ryan / Associated Press

Fred Meyer manager Dave Parker prepares to play the Beatles Abbey Road record at a display in the Portland, Ore. store.

PORTLAND — It was a fortuitous typo for the Fred Meyer retail chain.

This spring, an employee intending to order a special CD-DVD edition of R.E.M.'s latest release "Accelerate" inadvertently entered the "LP" code instead. Soon boxes of the big, vinyl discs showed up at several stores.

Some sent them back. But a handful put them on the shelves, and 20 LPs sold the first day.

The Portland-based company, owned by The Kroger Co., realized the error might not be so bad after all. Fred Meyer is now testing vinyl sales at 60 of its stores in Oregon, California, Washington and Alaska.

Other mainstream retailers are giving vinyl a spin too. Best Buy is testing sales at some stores. And online music giant Amazon.com, which has sold vinyl for most of the 13 years it has been in business online, created a special vinyl-only section last fall.

The best-seller so far at Fred Meyer is The Beatles "Abbey Road" album. But musicians from the White Stripes and the Foo Fighters to Metallica and Pink Floyd are selling well, the company says.

"It's not just a nostalgia thing," said Melinda Merrill, spokeswoman for Fred Meyer. "The response from customers has just been that they like it, they feel like it has a better sound."

According to the Recording Industry Association of America, manufacturers' shipments of LPs jumped more than 36 percent from 2006 to 2007 to more than 1.3 million. Shipments of CDs dropped more than 17 percent during the same period to 511 million, as they lost some ground to digital formats.

The resurgence of vinyl centers on a long-standing debate over analog versus digital sound. Digital recordings capture samples of sound and place them very close together as a complete package that sounds nearly identical to continuous sound many people.

Analog recordings on most LPs are continuous, which produces a truer sound — though, paradoxically, some new LP releases are being recorded and mixed digitally but delivered analog.

Some purists also argue that the compression required to allow loudness in some digital formats weakens the quality as well.

But it's not just about the sound. Audiophiles say they also want the format's overall experience — the sensory experience of putting the needle on the record, the feeling of side A and side B and the joy of lingering over the liner notes.

"I think music products should be more than just music," said Isaac Hudson, a 28-year-old vinyl fan standing outside one of Portland's larger independent music stores.

The interest seems to be catching on. Turntable sales are picking up and the few remaining record pressers say business is booming.

But the LP isn't going to muscle out CDs or iPod soon.

Nearly 450 million CDs were sold last year, versus just under 1 million LPs, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Based on the first three months of this year, Nielsen says vinyl album sales could reach 1.6 million in 2008.

"I don't think vinyl is for everyone; it's for the die-hard music consumer," said Jay Millar, director of marketing at United Record Pressing, a Nashville based company that is the nation's largest record pressing plant.

Many major artists — Elvis Costello, the Raconteurs and others — are issuing LPs and encouraging fans to check out their albums on vinyl. On Amazon.com, one of the best-selling LPs is Madonna's latest album, "Hard Candy".

Some artists package vinyl and digital versions of their music together, including offers for free digital downloads along with the record.

"We've definitely had some talks with the major retailers about exclusives on the manufacturing end," Millar said of United Record Pressing, which focuses primarily on independent recordings.

An avid music fan himself, Millar says he has moved to vinyl in recent years.

"Once I got my first iPod ... I'm looking at my wall of CDs and trying to justify it," Millar said. "The things I like — the artwork, the liner notes, the sound quality — it dawns on me, those are things I like better on vinyl." He welcomed back the pops and clicks, even some of the scratches.

"I like that fact that it's imperfect in a lot of ways, live music is imperfect too," Millar said.

Independent music stores, which have been the primary source of LPs in recent years, say many fans never left the medium.

"People have been buying vinyl all along," said Cathy Hagen, manager at 2nd Avenue Records in Portland. "There was a fairly good supply from independent labels on vinyl all these years. As far as a resurgence, the major labels are just pressing more now."

In this game, big retailers aren't necessarily competing head to head with independent sellers' regular clientele of nostalgic baby boomers, independent label fans and turntable DJs.

"I cannot see that Best Buy or Fred Meyer would order the same things we would," Hagen said. "They aren't going to be ordering the reggae, funk, punk or industrial music."

Barack Hussein Obama II Birth Certificate Forgery or Reproduction?

Source: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/06/obama-birth.html

Report: Obama mentored by Communist Party figure

Source: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=65066

Investigations show ties to radicals who shaped him, helped launch his political career

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Posted: May 22, 2008
11:40 pm Eastern

By Jerome R. Corsi

Frank Marshall Davis

Barack Obama had extensive ties with extreme anti-American elements, including agents of the Moscow-controlled Communist Party USA, in Hawaii and Chicago, according to two new reports released yesterday in Washington, D.C., by two experienced internal security investigators.

Investigative journalist Cliff Kincaid and Herbert Romerstein, a former investigator with the U.S. House Committee on Un-American Activities, presented evidence Obama was mentored, while attending high school in Hawaii, by Frank Marshall Davis, an African-American poet and journalist who was also a CPUSA member.

The authors, in a separate report, document Obama's ties to radicals in Chicago who helped launch his career.

In a paper entitled "Communism in Hawaii and the Obama Connection," the authors document that in 1948, Davis decided to move from Chicago to Honolulu at the suggestion of what they describe as two "secret CPUSA members," actor Paul Robeson and Harry Bridges, the head of the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen Union, or ILWU.

In Chicago, Davis had worked for the Chicago Star newspaper; in Honolulu, he was hired as a reporter for the Honolulu Record, both identified by Kincaid and Romerstein as "communist front newspapers."

In his autobiography, "Dreams from My Father," Obama discusses the influence a mentor identified in the book only as "Frank" had on his intellectual development.

Obama described Frank as a drinking companion of his grandfather, who had boasted of his association with African-American authors Richard Wright and Langston Hughes during the time Frank was a journalist in Chicago.

Romerstein, in addition to having served as investigator with the U.S. House Committee on Un-American Activities, served in the same capacity with the House Committee on Internal Security and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. He was the head of the Office to Counter Soviet Disinformation for the U.S. Information Agency. Romerstein is also co-author of the influential book "The Venona Secrets: Exposing Soviet Espionage and America's Traitors," which included extensive documentation of the communist activities of Roosevelt administration staffer Alger Hiss.

Kincaid is the founder and president of America's Survival Inc., an independent watchdog group that monitors the U.N. and international terrorism. He is also editor of Accuracy in Media's AIM Report.

Are you a member of the Communist Party?

Kincaid and Romerstein quote Kathryn Takara of the University of Hawaii, who wrote a dissertation on the life of Frank Marshall Davis, confirming Davis was a significant influence on Obama when the senator attended Punahou prep school in Hawaii from 1975 to 1979

A transcript of a 1956 hearing before the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee discovered by internal security affairs researcher and writer Max Friedman showed Davis took the Fifth Amendment when asked by the subcommittee if he was or had ever been a member of the Communist Party.

In the second report, "Communism in Chicago and the Obama Connection," Kincaid and Romerstein present evidence supporting their contention the SDS organization from which the Weather Underground organization and radicals Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dorhn came, received financial contributions from the CPUSA, which in turn receive its funding from Moscow.

Obama's run for the Illinois state Senate was launched by a fundraiser organized at Ayers' and Dorhn's Chicago home by Alice Palmer. Palmer had named Obama to succeed her in the state Senate in 1995, when she decided to run for a U.S. congressional seat.

Nine years before Palmer picked Obama to be her successor, she was the only African-American journalist to travel to the Soviet Union to attend the 27th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, according to an article Palmer wrote in the CPUSA newspaper, People's Daily World, June 19, 1986.

"There has been no explanation of why Ayers et al. played a role in launching Obama's political career," Kincaid wrote.

Kincaid and Romerstein present documentation that Tom Hayden, another major figure in the SDS, is today one of four principal initiators of the "Progressives for Obama" movement, which calls for ending the war in Iraq "as quickly as possible, not in five years."

According to Kincaid and Romerstein, U.S. Peace Council executive committee member Frank Chapman "blew the whistle on communist support for Obama's presidential bid and his real agenda" in a letter to the People's Weekly World after Obama's win in the Iowa Democratic Party caucuses.

"Obama's victory was more than a progressive move; it was a dialectical leap ushering in a qualitatively new era of struggle," Chapman wrote. "Marx once compared revolutionary struggle with the work of the mole, who sometimes burrows so far beneath the ground that he leaves no trace of his movement on the surface.

Kincaid and Romerstein wrote, "The clear implication of Chapman's letter is that Obama himself, or some of his Marxist supporters, are acting like moles in the political process. The suggestion is that something is being hidden from the public."

Jerome R. Corsi is a staff reporter for WND. He received a Ph.D. from Harvard University in political science in 1972 and has written many books and articles, including his latest best-seller, "The Late Great USA." Corsi co-authored with John O'Neill the No. 1 New York Times best-seller, "Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry." Other books include "Showdown with Nuclear Iran," "Black Gold Stranglehold: The Myth of Scarcity and the Politics of Oil," which he co-authored with WND columnist Craig. R. Smith, and "Atomic Iran."

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