Aiming at a September 1st goal of leaving only 50,000 troops in the country, the last U.S. combat brigade has left Iraq — leaving some 56,000 U.S. non-combat troops still there. International relations Professor Augustus Richard Norton, a Middle-East specialist and an advisor to the Baker-Hamilton Iraq Study Group, says much focus has been on whether the Iraqi government’s police forces — trained by the U.S. — will be able to provide security for its citizens. But an equally important question, he says, is about the impact the drawdown will have on U.S. political influence in Iraq. He feels U.S. leverage will decrease, playing into the hands of Prime Minister Maliki.
“The problem is that the prime minister’s quest for power may well foster more instability and violence. Therefore, even as Washington contemplates a qualified exit in 2011, it is in the enlightened interest of the U.S. to play a keener, more active role in fostering a collaborative political solution in Iraq, one which might nudge Maliki out of the driver’s seat.”
Contact Augustus Richard Norton, 617-353-7808, arn@bu.edu
President Obama says he has no regrets about insisting that any religious group has the right to build a house of worship wherever it is legally approved, like the Islamic center planned for a site two blocks from where the World Trade Center towers once stood. But conservative bloggers have been pushing the so-called "Ground-Zero mosque" story as a political wedge between Obama and Congressional democrats around the country facing re-election battles. Political science Professor Graham Wilson, author of “Only in America?American Politics in Comparative Perspective," says it's a classic case of public opinion swayed from Constitutional principles by xenophobic cries, these hostile to all of Islam not just the radicals responsible for 9/11.
"It would be great to see all the living ex-presidents issue a joint declaration that religious tolerance is core American value and that toleration includes Islam. The American public needs to be reminded what the Constitution says, and both our friends and foes in the Islamic world need to hear us saying that loud and clear. Let’s be clear: 'Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.'"
Two weeks into the crisis, slow-moving floods continue to devastate vast swaths of Pakistan. Yet the floods - which already haveclaimed some 1,500 lives - has failed to yield the global aid response of previous natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina. International relations Professor Adil Najam, a Pakistani who is director of the Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer Range Future, warns in an International Herald Tribune opinion piece and a WBUR interview that officials in Pakistan should heed the lessons of history - Cyclone Bhola in 1970 was the tipping point that led to the break-up of the country and the creation of the nation of Bangladesh.
"There is a reason why disasters require national solidarity. Without it, they can become even more disastrous. Deeply buried fissures in the social fabric can burst forth in volcanic anger. As we look around at the political, policy and citizen response to the current floods, one sees too many who wish to turn disaster into a political opportunity. Those who do would be well advised to remember Bhola."
Researchers at the BU Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy (CSTE) and the Department of Veterans Affairs in Bedford, Mass. have discovered a new motor neuron disease that mimics ALS, or Lou Gehrig's Disease, which may be connected to head trauma. Their findings, based on their work with former athletes, have been published in the September 2010 issue of the Journal of Neuropathology and Experimental Neurology. BU Today covered the findings, and spoke with CSTE codirectors Robert Stern, Christopher Nowinski, and Ann McKee (video above).
A federal appeals court this week considers a request to ban the resumption of same-sex marriages in Californina that would be based on a federal judge's ruling which said the state had no constitutional right to block such marriages -- which happened when voters approved Proposition 8 last year. Gay-marriage opponents want them to be put on hold until the case can be appealed to the U.S. Supreme court. Law Professor Linda McClain, an authority on family law, says California already is living with thousands of such marriages performed between the time the state Supreme Court said they were legal and when voters overruled the court with Proposition 8.
“So there is a precedent for having a period in which marriages are allowed, even if subsequent marriages are banned. And Californians are living with these marriages without evident harm to the institution of marriage."
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recently took the vital signs of Americans and declared that more needs to be done to combat obesity. Currently, 68% of Americans are either overweight or obese. Excess body fat increases your risk of heart disease, certain cancers, stroke, and diabetes -- all major killers of Americans.
Correctly, the CDC has identified that there isn't a single, simple solution to this problem, but rather, it has to be a team effort of the states, communities, and personal changes to trim down America. States can bring more local, waist-friendly fruits and vegetables to schools and the workplace. Communities can support and maintain safe outdoor spaces such as playgrounds and bike paths to encourage physical activity. On a personal level, the time has come for all of us to consider a diet and lifestyle makeover.
Taking gradual and realistic steps to change your diet and lifestyle is less overwhelming and more likely to be successful. To help you, try these 52 Small Steps to Losing Weight. Changes can be made......one small step at a time.
One of North America's most common bat species, the so-called little brown bat, will be all but extinct in the Northeast in 20 years to due to an emerging fungal desease called White-Nose Syndrome.
That's the conclusion of a new study by Boston University biologists, including Professor Thomas Kunz and post-doctoral researcher Dr. Winifred Frick who authored the study published in the new edition of Science magazine. Kunz says the loss of the bat population could have a significant negative impact on humans because bats consume so many insects.
“The little brown myotis is known to consume up to 100% of its body weight in insects each night. This level of insect consumption provides an important ecosystem service to human kind, and to the balance of natural and human-altered ecosystems, which in turn can reduce the use of pesticides often used by humans to kill insect pests.”
For the first time, a gay-marriage ban has been struck down on federal constitutional grounds. Federal court Judge Vaughn Walker's ruling on California's controversial Proposition 8, which had barred same-sex marriages in that state, now heads to the appeals court level and is expected to eventually be decided in the U.S. Supreme Court. Law Professor Linda McClain, an authority on family law, says Walker's ruling that the one-man/one-woman marriage rule is a gender-role stereotype "artifact" from an earlier era gives like-minded Supreme Court justices a ready avenue to affirm the opinion.
“The court carefully reviewed how marriage laws used to mandate different roles for men and women and how California, like other states, has abolished all such restrictions except the one requiring that civil marriage be the union of one man and one woman. This provides a powerful line of argument because the Supreme Court has previously struck down laws rooted in gender role stereotypes rather than ‘real’ differences between the sexes. "
In a "I-never-did-it-and-won't-do-it-again" deal, Computer chip-making giant Intel agreed with the Federal Trade Commission to step back from business practices -- like coercing computer makers not to buy microprosessor chips from rivals -- which allegedly stifled competition and deprived consumers of better choices for at least a decade. The "play nice" settlement comes on the heels of a $1.25 billion settlement last year with competitor AMD and as Intel continues to contest a $1.45 billion antitrust fine in Europe. Law Professor Keith Hylton, an authority in antitrust law, says the incentives on both sides for a settlement were especially strong in this case.
“The FTC's claims, which mirrored those of the European Comission, were not well founded in American law. Intel, in spite of having a strong legal argument, had no interest in spending years in litigation against the FTC (along with the European Commission). The obvious result of this mixture of incentives is a settlement."
In the first serious clash since their 2006 war, Lebanese and Israeli troops exchanged fire on the border in an exchange that killed four people, including two Lebanese soldiers and an Israeli army officer. It apparently was sparked when Israeli soldiers cut down a tree along the fence dividing the two countries. International relations Professor Augustus Richard Norton, author of "Hezbollah: A Short History," says it likely was an isolated incident.
“The Lebanon-Israel border has been quiet since the 2006 war, and for that matter it was nearly as quiet between 2000 and 2006. Today's clash therefore an isolated incident. It is instructive to keep in mind that the Israeli security forces routinely shoot people who encroach on Israeli territory (or even approach it, as in Gaza), and my hunch is that the Lebanese army meted out the same response."
Contact Augustus Richard Norton, 617-353-7808, arn@bu.edu
Aiming at a September 1st goal of leaving only 50,000 troops in the country, the last U.S. combat brigade has left Iraq — leaving some 56,000 U.S. non-combat troops still there. International relations Professor Augustus Richard Norton, a Middle-East specialist and an advisor to the Baker-Hamilton Iraq Study Group, says much focus has been on whether the Iraqi government’s police forces — trained by the U.S. — will be able to provide security for its citizens. But an equally important question, he says, is about the impact the drawdown will have on U.S. political influence in Iraq. He feels U.S. leverage will decrease, playing into the hands of Prime Minister Maliki.
President Obama says he has 
Two weeks into the crisis, slow-moving floods continue to 
A federal appeals court this week 
One of North America's most common bat species, the so-called 
For the first time, a gay-marriage ban has been 
In a "I-never-did-it-and-won't-do-it-again" deal, Computer chip-making giant Intel 
In the first serious 
