WHYS goes for pancakes at Momma Jane’s

Life on the unemployed side

From WHYS listener Julia

Hello, my name is Julia and I’m in Portland, Oregon. I first contacted BBC when they asked the now oft repeated question “Have you been affected by the economic downturn?”.

Answering questions about WHYS on OPB

Mark and I are going to be taking questions about WHYS from OPB listeners between 2000-2100gmt (1-2pm local) today. If you’d like to listen live here’s where to go. And you can post a question here. Should be fun…

A right to know?

Pink for a girl – blue for a boy – are you pregnant and dying to know who’s inside? Now a new over-the counter kit can tell you, at just 10 weeks, the gender of your baby.  Makers say they won’t sell the kit in India or China, because of a national bias for boys

Why won’t Israel stop the settlements ?

President Obama is very clear :

“The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements. This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop. “

Benjamin Netanyahu is equally clear : (according to a spokesman)                         ” I have no intention to construct new settlements, but it makes no sense to ask us not to answer to the needs of natural growth and to stop all construction, there is no way that we are going to tell people not to have children or to force young people to move away from their families”.

Why is sport immune to recession?

Kaka is now the most expensive footballer in history after signing to transfer to Real Madrid from AC Milan on a six-year deal.The fee is reported to be about £56m a nice £11 million more than the £45.6m Real paid for Zinedine Zidane in 2001. This works out to about $150,000 a week . Not bad in time of global recession. Or is it ever a time of recession in sports?

Human bargaining chips ?

Barack Obama says he’s “deeply concerned”  about the jailing of two American journalists in North Korea.

Euna Lee and Laura Ling have been given 12 years for  “hostile acts”  and illegal entry from China.

WHYS hits Oregon

The hidden costs of unemployment

Again this may have to be updated once I get to Portland as the flight’s about to leave from here in Vancouver, but I thought I’d quickly post about an issue a number of OPB listeners have raised ahead of this week’s trip.