Category: Uncategorized

U.S. recession undermines kid’s health

Caroline Apovian, M.D., BU School of Medicine associate professor of medicine and pediatrics, can discuss how tough economic times are having an impact on children as struggling parents turn to cheap fast food to feed their families. Contact Dr. Caroline Apovian, 617-414-1816, capovian@bu.edu

Prof. Tom Whalen comments on Pelosi vs. the CIA

Hackers attack Facebook, gain passwords

A feared phishing attack on Facebook enabled hackers to gain passwords from some of the estimated 200 million users and send e-mails to “friends” urging them to click on links to fake websites. The site fought off a similar attack two weeks ago.  Azer Bestavros, professor of computer science is familiar with many of the security issues […]

Obama has change of heart on GITMO

Looks like President Obama has decided to bring back the military tribunals used by the former Bush administration to prosecute terror suspects.  Political expert Thomas Whalen and long time GITMO watcher Michael Corgan have been following the story. Contact Thomas Whalen, 617-353-4785, tjw64@bu.edu Contact Michael Corgan, 617-353-3553, mcorgan@bu.edu

Administration pushes for derivatives oversight

School of Law Professor Tamar Frankel, an authority on securities law, welcomes the Obama administration’s push for more regulatory oversight for the shadowy market of derivatives and can discuss why it’s important. “The administration’s new rules for derivatives are welcome. The fact that the people who believed in the market self-limitation are at the helm is […]

Feds pressure BofA to restructure board

School of Management Professor James Post, an authority on corporate governance and business ethics, says that Bank of America won’t be able to resist pressure from federal regulators to restructure the BofA board of directors. “Shareholders often cooperate to pressure CEOs and boards of directors to listen to their concerns. Rarely do such tactics produce major […]

N.H. to approve same-sex marriage

With New Hampshire’s governor saying he’ll sign a same-sex marriage bill into law when amended, that state is poised to become the sixth to legalize such unions.  School of Law Professor Linda McClain, an authority on family law, says the Granite State’s evolution from approving civil unions to okaying full-fledge gay marriages indicates a legal […]

Sip sweet sodas to pay for the nation’s health care system

Proposed new federal taxes on sodas and other sugary drinks would generate $24 billion over the next four years. Caroline Apovian, MD, Boston Medical Center Director of the Nutrition and Weight Management Center believes that is good way to lower consumption, reduce health problems and save medical costs. Contact Caroline Apovian, MD, 617-414-1816, apovian@bu.edu

Readers will have final say on newspapers

College of Communication Professor Lou Ureneck, the former Philadelphia Inquirer deputy editor who now chairs the Journalism Department, says the clear public demand for good journalism as measured by online readership could bode well for the troubled newspaper industry.  “If the public’s demand is real,” he says in a Boston Globe op-ed, “the challenge is […]

Pfizer to give free drugs to jobless

School of Law Professor Kevin Outterson, director of the Health Law Program and an authority on drug marketing, says Pfizer offering free drugs to recently uninsured or jobless customers will create a mountain of paperwork for doctors’ offices and their patients. “Some states have created ‘central-fill’ pharmacies, which greatly simplify the paperwork burdens. If drug […]