BU Now » America

From Joan Salge Blake:

Lauren Davalla — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 16:34:53 +0000

Americans at LARGE

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.

Secret U.S. military ops in MidEast

Dick Taffe — Tue, 25 May 2010 18:58:31 +0000

The New York Times reports that Gen. David Patraeus, the top American commander in the Middle East, has ordered a broad expansion of clandestine military activity across the region in an effort to disrupt militant groups or counter threats. International Relations Professor Joseph Wippl, director of the BU Center for International Relations and a 30-year CIA operations officer, says the U.S. Armed Forces and the CIA have always had different areas of responsibility and he presumes Defense Secretary Gates knows the boundaries.

“The problem is balancing, on the one hand, the need for tactical intelligence to defend the United States with, on the other hand, the temptation to engage needlessly with U.S. military forces.”

Contact Joseph Wippl, 617-353-8992, jwippl@bu.edu

Times Square bomb suspect

Dick Taffe — Wed, 05 May 2010 17:42:49 +0000

Investigators are trying to determine any connections between a Pakistani-American charges in the failed Times Square car bombing and any international terrorist groups, possibly the Pakistani Taliban. International relations Professor Adil Najam, director of the Pardee Center for the Student of the Longer-Range Future and editor of “Pakistanis in America: Portrait of a Giving Community,” spoke with WNYC radio in New York about suspect Faisal Shahzad (l.) and the danger of making assumptions about the Pakistani community in America.

“I think a key element here is for the media as well as society not to take an incident and extrapolate upon it to make large blanket statements about a community as a whole.”

Contact Adil Najam, 617-358-4000, anajam@bu.edu