September 23, 2010 at 8:00 am
The Boston University Creative Writing Program is celebrating The Poets Society of America’s Centennial anniversary by featuring writers Frank Bidart, Major Jackson, X.J. Kennedy, Mary Oliver, James Tate, Rosanna Warren and Franz Wright. The poets will read their own poetry and the work of canonical New Englanders from the past century. Admission to the reading is free and open to the public with a private ticketed reception to follow.
September 23, 2010 at 6:00 am
Tonight at 7PM, The Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center is hosting a Gubernatorial Forum in Metcalf Hall (GSU, Second Floor) for students and members of the community featuring previously filmed questions from students and answers from the candidates followed by a panel analysis moderated by COM's John Carroll. Questions will be addressed by each of the major candidates running for Massachusetts Governor including Charlie Baker, Tim Cahill, Deval Patrick and Jill Stein. The panelists will offer opinions on media coverage, campaign strategy and political science. Video clips and excerpts can also be found at the event’s webpage. The event is free and open to the public.
September 22, 2010 at 1:36 pm
Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan has warned he is ready to intervene again on the yen saying such action would be unavoidable "if there is a drastic change in the currency." International Relations professor William Grimes is Director of the Center for the Study of Asia and a specialist in Japanese and East Asian political economy. His latest book is "Currency and Contest in East Asia." He offers the following comment on the possible action by PM Kan.
"The threat to intervene again if the yen strengthens is not surprising. Previous announcements made clear that the Japanese government was prepared to fight yen appreciation, and with over $1 trillion in foreign currency reserves there is plenty of ammunition.
"Unsterilized intervention is, practically speaking, the simplest and probably most effective way of carrying out quantitative easing."
Contact William Grimes, 617-353-9410, wgrimes@bu.edu
September 20, 2010 at 1:32 pm
The Wall Street Journal reported that the Chinese government is considering forcing foreign automakers to reveal their electric vehicle technology in exchange for market access. Dean Emeritus of BU's School of Management and former Ford executive, Louis Lataif says China may well become a global leader in EV over the coming decades.
"However, China need not hijack competitive technologies by closing their market to any who would not share their intellectual property. The precedent it creates is untenable and the potential for trade retaliation enormous.
"Given the ramifications and the criticism levied around the world and inevitably from the World Trade Organization, China will likely modify the policy considerably before it is ever implemented."
Contact Louis Lataif, 617-353-2668, lelataif@bu.edu
September 17, 2010 at 8:12 am
President Obama will name Elizabeth Warren as a White House advisor to oversee creation of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Law professor Cornelius Hurley, director of the Morin Center for Banking and Financial Law, expresses his opinion on the appointment.
"It is regrettable that President Obama has chosen to launch the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a law enforcement agency, by end-running the U.S. Senate and the very law that created the agency. This is not an auspicious beginning."
Contact Cornelius Hurley, 617-353-5427, ckhurley@bu.edu, or on Twitter @ckhurley
September 16, 2010 at 2:59 pm
Nevin Shapiro pleaded guilty to running an $880 million multi-state Ponzi scheme. Law professor Tamar Frankel, an authority on securities law and author of "Trust and Honesty: America's Business Culture at a Crossroad," says to expect more and larger Ponzi schemes.
"It is no use telling investors that 'if the offering is too good to be true, it is!' After all, the entire country is engaged not only in speculation but in betting -- like the offerings of Ponzi schemers. Small Ponzi schemes will always remain, but large bubbles will spawn the Madoff's and Shapiro's Ponzi schemes.
"So expect more to be uncovered. There is no way to contain enormous frauds when bubbles in the securities markets constitute a Ponzi scheme. These bubbles are too good to be true."
Contact Tamar Frankel, 617-353-3773, tfrankel@bu.edu
September 16, 2010 at 12:01 pm
The folks at the Nutrition & Fitness Center, along with Dining Services, are excited to offer Sargent Choice exclusive options at all of the student dining halls tonight beginning at 5:00 PM. Dining options will include chipotle-glazed pork loin and cherry chocolate chip cookies.
September 16, 2010 at 10:47 am
The building near Ground Zero where there are proposed plans for an Islamic cultural center and mosque
Tonight, a panel of Boston Unviersity experts will examine the controversy surrounding the proposed Islamic cultural center and mosque near Ground Zero. According to BU Today, the event is an "effort to dispel what the speakers call Americans’ mistaken beliefs about Islam."
The Ground Zero Mosque Controversy: What You Need to Know begins at 7 p.m. in room 222 of BU's College of Arts and Sciences (CAS).
Panelists include Teena Purohit and Kecia Ali, both CAS assistant religion professors, and Cristine Hutchison-Jones (GRS’11), a Ph.D. candidate in religion and society.
The event is free and open to the public.
September 15, 2010 at 12:30 pm
The Boston University Robert Lowell Memorial Lecture, sponsored by the Shenson Foundation in memory of Drs. Ben and A. Jess Shenson, invites celebrated contemporary Polish poet Adam Zagajewski, David Ferry and Valerie Duff for a reception and poetry reading tonight at 7:30 at the School of Management. The event is free and open to the public.
September 15, 2010 at 11:30 am
The French Parliament passed a bill banning women from wearing burqas and other full-body robes in public. International Relations professor William Keylor gives some historical perspective on the issue.
"The great irony of this whole affair is that the deeply felt sentiment in France against public displays of religious affiliation originated in the anti-clerical campaign waged in the 19th and early 20th century against the Catholic Church.
"The church was seen as the enemy of republican secular values and a defender of the aristocratic, monarchical, anti-democratic tradition. Now it is the Muslim religion that bears the brunt of this historical obsession with (no pun intended) keeping religion under wraps."
Contact William Keylor, 617-358-0197, wrkeylor@bu.edu
