February 3, 2010 at 5:21 pm
Concerned it may lead to security breaches, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein wants to learn more about a CIA policy that allows agency employees to moonlight for private companies. But international relations Professor Arthur Hulnick, a 3-decade CIA veteran, says there’s no need to worry — any agency officers moonlighting are working on non-intelligence related activities.
“Each and every activity is reviewed, and periodically re-reviewed. I’m surprised that Sen. Feinstein doesn’t know about this practice.”
Contact Arthur Hulnick, 617-353-8978, ahulnick@bu.edu
February 3, 2010 at 12:45 pm
Planning to dial up a super pizza on Super Bowl Sunday? You may get a busy signal as the sales of pizzas increase by at least 30 percent, on average, in pizzerias across America, on the day of the big game.
Keep in mind that a pizza with “everything” on it can add close to 4,000 calories per pie to your half time celebration. Skipping the fatty meat toppings, but topping your pie with plenty of veggies will score a satisfying pie for less than half the calories. Click here for a fun, interactive "Build Your Own Pizza" program to find out how your favorite pie measures up.
To enjoy the game without having to worry about the score on the scale the next day, try these Super Healthy Super Bowl crowd pleasers:
• Beer-Cooked, Shrimp Cocktail with a Spicy Cocktail Sauce
• A Salsa Face Off With Red, Yellow, and Green Pepper Slices instead of Chips
• A Healthy Homemade Grilled Vegetable Pizza
February 2, 2010 at 5:08 pm
The problem isn't that banks are too big; they're just taking excessive risk. Ex-Federal Reserve Bank examiner Mark T. Williams, who teaches finance in the School of Management and is author of "Uncontrolled Risk" about the fall of Lehman Brothers, says in a Reuters commentary that any meaningful financial reform must address lending standards while tightening oversight and policing.
"A country made up of ten well-capitalized big banks is much stronger than one with over 7,000 small banks taking dangerously big bets."
Contact Mark T. Williams, 617-358-2789, williams@bu.edu
February 2, 2010 at 4:25 pm
President Obama has proposed using $30 billion from the TARP bank bailout program to create a small-business lending fund to spur job growth. Law Professor Cornelius Hurley, director of the Morin Center for Banking and Financial Law, said he has been suggesting such a fund but that bankers may be skeptical that it may come with crippling red tape.
"If the Treasury were given a ‘do over’ on the original TARP program, it would look something like President Obama’s new small business lending fund."
Contact Cornelius Hurley, 617-353-5427, ckhurley@bu.edu
February 2, 2010 at 12:00 pm
Apple's ballyhooed new iPad (and other e-readers like Kindle and Nook) can eventually lighten the load of student backpacks. That's good. But Sargent College Professor Karen Jacobs, who researches how such gagets challenge human capabilities, fears the touch-screen iPad may lead to some unintended harmful ergonomic problems.
"In the case of the iPad, which has a completely touch surface, students will be using many different hand/wrist positions that place them in awkward postures. Students are already reporting discomfort with small 2x3-inch touch pads, so we can imagine what an entire touch screen will cause in discomfort."
Contact Karen Jacobs, 617-353-7516, kjacobs@bu.edu
February 2, 2010 at 11:40 am
The nominations for the 82nd Academy Awards are in! BU's Paul Schneider, Chairman of the College of Communication Department of Film & Television and a member of the Directors Guild of America, shares his predictions for who may be going home with a statue on March 7th:
"The Academy seems to have achieved one of their goals, which was to get more commercially successful films into contention and, they hope, to increase interest and ratings. Based on best picture noms for Avatar, UP and The Blind Side, they have three of the top grossers of 2009. This may provide a larger slice of the movie-going audience something to root for and a reason to tune in. Overall, this is quite a good, quality list and showcases a balance of genres and formats from intimate personal stories to huge action/ special effect blockbusters, as well as an animated feature. There is something for everyone here.
The best director nominations also have built-in drama. Ex husband and wife, James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow are both nominated. Although the budgets of their two films, Avatar and The Hurt Locker are over $200 million apart, they both garnered nine nominations. When you add to the mix the fact that Kathryn Bigelow is a woman director working in a genre (war film /action) that used to be considered a 'man’s game,' you have the ingredients for a very interesting evening. A win by Bigelow is certainly a real possibility. I would be surprised if someone either than Cameron or Bigelow wins, even though the other nominees are worthy and deserving contenders."
Contact Paul Schenider, 617-353-5031, paulsch@bu.edu.
February 2, 2010 at 10:53 am
BU's daily student newspaper The Daily Free Press reports on student's reactions to Sargent Choice:
"This year marks the fifth anniversary since Boston University dining halls began serving Sargent Choice options with each meal, and many, from nutrition advocates to students to dining services itself, say the program has been a success...."
February 1, 2010 at 4:04 pm
With international atomic energy officials still dickering with Iran over Iran's uranium-enrichment program, international relations Professor Augustus Richard Norton, in a Q&A with BU Today, says that given the political realities in the United States it's going to be difficult to deter the Iranians from what they're doing.
"If I were advising the president on this topic, I would allow the situation in Iran to continue to unfold, pursue and facilitate the swap of enriched uranium vis-à-vis Turkey, and pursue limited sanctions with a view to targeting Iranian officials rather than the Iranian public in general."
Contact Augustus Richard Norton, 617-353-7808, arn@bu.edu
February 1, 2010 at 12:03 pm
GOP Congressional leaders, enboldened by their Senate win in Massachusetts, are pushing Democrats to start over on efforts to reform the healthcare system. In an opinion piece in Politico, history Professor Bruce Schulman says House Dems should take a page from FDR history on how Social Security was created and just pass the Senate bill.
"Passing the Senate bill might mean swallowing hard in the short-term, but if Americans enjoy new benefits and protection against catastrophic illness, the politics, history shows, could shift."
Contact Bruce Schulman, 617-353-8306, bjschulm@bu.edu
January 29, 2010 at 4:27 pm
Although President Obama pledged in his State of the Union address to double U.S. export growth over the next five years to help create jobs, experts are saying that's virtually impossible. International Relations Professor Kevin Gallagher, a specialist in globalization and development, says the only time U.S. exports ever doubled was when the Nixon administration raised import charges from 1969 to 1974 to protect manufacturing and trim the trade deficit.
"There is no way the administration would mimic that policy, as it would trigger a trade war and enrage many constituents at home."
Contact Kevin Gallagher, 617-353-9348, kpg@bu.edu
