Genesis Communications Network GCN News January

Archive for January, 2011

GCN Talk Hosts In The Spotlight in TALKERS

Monday, January 31st, 2011

Doug Stephan Visits Affiliates on Trek to Warmer Weather

Doug Stephan, host of the nationally syndicated “Good Day” morning program, recently escaped the snow and cold at his Framingham, Massachusetts dairy farm for the relative warmth of California for the balance of the winter. He drove with his trusty English bulldog Charlotte and visited affiliates KWAM, Memphis; KTSM, El Paso; KIVA, Albuquerque; and KNTR, Lake Havasu City, Arizona along the way.

Stephan says, “I can’t wait to get to warmer weather and I love getting out and meeting the listeners, spending time with station staffs and bringing our nationwide audience a sense of the positive stories going on in these local communities. It’s a real treat for me and our listeners tell me they love it, but, as usual, Charlotte stole the show.”

Listen to Good Day On Demand.

WXNT, Indianapolis Adds “Free Talk Live” for Weeknights

With the departure of Westwood One’s Fred Thompson show, Entercom’s WXNT, Indianapolis moves “Free Talk Live” — hosted by Ian Freeman and Mark Edge — from weekends only to the 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm slot on the station.

Program director Scott Roddy says, “Free Talk Live Saturday” showed solid audience reaction in PPM. When Thompson announced his departure the choice was clear: Free Talk Live. Sensible. Intelligent. Interactive. Entertaining.”

Listen to Free Talk Live On Demand.

Posted in Featured News/Exclusives

Fed Says Banks ‘More Upbeat’ on Delinquencies in 2011

Monday, January 31st, 2011

By Joshua Zumbrun
Bloomberg Business Week

Most banks in the U.S. expect loan delinquencies and charge-off rates to improve in 2011, a Federal Reserve survey showed, as standards eased and demand increased for business lending.

“Expectations were significantly more upbeat than in past years,” the central bank said today in its quarterly survey of senior loan officers. “Banks reported that they expected improvements in delinquency and charge-off rates during 2011 in every major loan category.”

An improvement in business lending may help push down an unemployment rate lingering near a 26-year high as companies borrow to expand and hire more workers. Fed policy makers led by Chairman Ben S. Bernanke last week reaffirmed plans to pump $600 billion into the financial system, saying economic growth has been “insufficient to bring about a significant improvement in labor market conditions.”

“We’re starting to see loan demand turn up, and that’s a very important indication that the financial system is healing and the commercial banking system is getting stronger,” said Michael Darda, chief economist and chief market strategist for MKM Partners in Stamford, Connecticut. “When that happens you usually see a step up in job creation as well.”

Banks continued to ease standards and terms for commercial and industrial loans in the fourth quarter, the survey also showed. By contrast, changes in terms for consumer loans were “small and mixed,” it said.

Treasuries Decline

Treasuries fell for the first time in three days after reports earlier today showed consumer spending rose more than forecast in December and businesses expanded in January at the fastest pace since July 1988.

Continue reading here.

Posted in Fed Watch

Rand Paul Swings for the Fences

Monday, January 31st, 2011

The Economist

We’ve already discussed Ron Paul today, now let’s discuss his son. On Thursday, newly arrived Kentucky senator Rand Paul submitted a bill in the Senate that deserves at least a modicum of scrutiny (which is more than it has so far received), if only as a sign of the kinds of thinking that are going around in tea-party circles. Mr. Paul proposed to cut $500 billion out of the 2011 federal budget. He would accomplish this almost entirely through across-the-board flat-sum cuts to agency budgets, without specifying what the results of those cuts might be. I think Mr. Paul’s proposal deserves to be assessed with the same level of detail and judiciousness with which he approached the proposal itself, or in fact rather more, so I started out taking a look at what percentage cuts he assigned to different government departments.

For the Defense Department, Mr Paul proposes to cut the budget (including war operations) by $64 billion, which based on current projected FY 2011 spending of $721 billion is a cut of less than 9%. How does that compare to, say, the State Department? Let’s see:

SEC. 15. STATE.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Including reductions made by subsection (b), amounts made available to the Department of State for fiscal year 2011 are reduced on a pro rata basis by the amount required to bring total reduction to $20,321,000,000.

Posted in U.S. Politics

Plastics Chemical BPA Reduces Sperm Health

Monday, January 31st, 2011

by David Gutierrez
Natural News

Exposure to the ubiquitous industrial chemical bisphenol A (BPA) has once again been linked to decreased sperm health, this time in humans, in a study conducted by researchers from Kaiser Permanente and published in the journal Fertility and Sterility.

The findings are of particular concern because symptoms were found at very low exposures, and because BPA is so widespread.

“BPA, a plastic and resin ingredient used to make a wide variety of plastic goods and to line metal food and drink cans (ever wonder how those canned contents slip so easily out and onto your plate, or into your bowl or mouth?), is a toxin associated with birth defects of the male and female reproductive systems,” write Brenda Watson and Leonard Smith in their book The Detox Strategy.

“BPA is commonplace — found in copious brands of fruit, vegetables, soda, and other frequently eaten canned goods. It migrates from the can or plastic into the contents, which are then ingested.”

BPA is also found in coatings of electronics, in paper receipts and a variety of other common products.

In the current study, researchers followed 218 workers at a Chinese epoxy resin factory for five years, testing urine samples for BPA and measuring sperm concentration, count, motility, morphology and vitality.

Continue reading here.

Posted in Health News

Mubarak May Flee to Israel, Not Saudi Arabia

Monday, January 31st, 2011

Kurt Nimmo
Infowars.com

Aljazeera is reporting that its sources indicate Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak will flee to Israel. It was earlier speculated that he would take refuge in Saudi Arabia.

Mubarak May Flee to Israel, Not Saudi Arabia

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Kurt Nimmo
Infowars.com
January 31, 2011

Aljazeera is reporting that its sources indicate Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak will flee to Israel. It was earlier speculated that he would take refuge in Saudi Arabia.

Former CIA analyst Ray McGovern says Mubarak may ask Israel for help against the Egyptian people.

On Saturday, the Saudi monarchy voiced support for Mubarak and his brutal police state and criticized the Egyptian people for attempting to get rid of the authoritarian thug who has ruled the country under the iron grip of martial law since October of 1981. Mubarak assumed the presidency after the assassination of his predecessor, Anwar El-Sadat.

King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud characterized the popular rebellion as “malicious sedition” and said the relationship between Mubarak’s regime and the Saudi regime represent a U.S.-allied Arab bulwark against Shi’ite Iran.

Britain catapulted the Ibn Saud monarchy to power in the 1920s under the excuse of protecting Muslims who were British subjects. In fact, the religiously austere Sauds were put in power at the behest of British Petroleum.

On Friday, an unnamed Israeli minister voiced his confidence that Mubarak would remain in power. “We believe that Egypt is going to overcome the current wave of demonstrations,” he told Time Magazine. “I’m not sure the time is right for the Arab region to go through the democratic process.”

Sources:

Mubarak’s planning exile to Tel Aviv, Aljazeera, January 31, 2011.
Britain and Saudi Arabia, 1925-1939: the Imperial Oasis, Clive Leatherdale, Frank Cass & Company, p. 326.
Israel: Mubarak here to stay, Press TV, January 29, 2011.

Posted in U.S. News