http://www.bu.edu/professorvoices/

Andrew Bacevich, professor of international relations and history, and a retired Army colonel, can offer comment on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the state of American power post-9/11.  He is the author of Washington Rules: America’s Path to Permanet War (2010).  He can be reached at 617-358-0194; bacevich@bu.edu. 

Stephen Prothero, professor of religion, can discuss the role religion has played in the 10 years since 9/11, including the state of Islam in the U.S. today.  He can be reached at 617-353-4426; prothero@bu.edu; Twitter: @sprothero. 

Kecia Ali, assistant professor of religion, can discuss the evolving state of Muslim/non-Muslim relations.  Contact Ali at 617-353-4465; ka@bu.edu.

Robert Zelnick, professor of journalism and former ABC News correspondent, can discuss media coverage of the attacks and the subsequent War on Terror.  He can be reached at 617-353-5007; bzelnick@bu.edu.

Nick Mills, associate professor of journalism and author of Karzai: The Failing American Intervention and Struggle for Afghanistan, can offer analysis on how U.S./Afghan relations have evolved since 9/11.  Contact Mills at 617-353-3492; nmills@bu.edu.

Christopher Daly, associate professor of journalism and author of Covering America, can discuss media coverage of 9/11 and the wars it spawned.  He can be reached at 617-353-4295; cdaly@bu.edu; blog: Journalismprofessor.com.

Neta Crawford, professor of political science, can discuss the “Costs of War” study which she co-directed.  Contact Crawford at 617-353-4040 or crawfor@bu.edu. 

Thomas Whalen, associate professor of social science and an expert on American politics and the American presidency, can offer comment on post-9/11 U.S. politics.  He is a regular contributor to PoliticoArena. He can be reached at 978-888-3131; tjw64@comcast.net.

Tracey Maclin, professor of law and an expert on Constitutional law, can discuss post-9/11 legal battles over rendition, wiretapping and torture.  He can be reached at 617-353-4688; tmaclin@bu.edu.

David Barlow, professor of psychology and psychiatry and founder of the BU Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders, can discuss post-9/11 terrorism-triggered anxiety and panic attacks.  He can be reached at 617-353-9610; dhbarlow@bu.edu.

Thomas Cottle, professor of education and a sociologist and licensed clinical psychologist, can discuss child and adolescent psychology and the effects of growing up in a post-9/11 world.  Contact Cottle at 617-353-6294; tcottle@bu.edu.

“So Goldman Sachs is now being examined for various activities with the Libyan regime. The firm has hired an outside counsel, as is its practice, and insists on having done no wrong. It probably did not, in accordance with our laws.

“Many of the enforcement examinations, investigations, and court processes arise after the fact and cost an enormous amount of money, with some results — but perhaps not as strong as compared to their price.

“Are there better ways to induce giant financial institutions’ management to be more self-limiting, even within the law? Perhaps the answer is public opinion. If trust is undermined, financial businesses evaporate. For too long the belief was that if money is made — no matter how — public admiration will follow. Could this belief be proven to have changed?”

Contact Tamar Frankel, 617-353-3773, tfrankel@bu.edu

“There’s no irony here, though Microsoft counsel Brad Smith is clearly referring to perception rather than reality. The reality is that both Google and Microsoft have been complaining to antitrust authorities about each other for quite a long time now. For example, Google’s complaints forced Microsoft to change its browser options in the EU two years ago.

“Antitrust has become a competitive weapon used by both companies. This is troubling because you never know quite what to make of the complaints. No doubt competition can be enhanced by forcing a dominant firm to make it easer for a rival to compete against it, but incentives to invest, which matter more in the long term, may be dulled.

“I remain of the opinion that the U.S. courts have it right in generally refusing to be dragged into complaints about duties to help rivals out. But the EC is happy to jump right into the middle of these fights, and so there will never be a lack of complaints. It’s a good time to be an antitrust lawyer in Europe.”

Contact Keith Hylton, 617-353-8959, knhylton@bu.edu

“My study of hundreds of con artists of the Ponzi scheme variety shows that Madoff is no exception. He copied and followed a trodden path.

“First, he blamed others. As one con artist said about his victims, ‘Serves them right if they were stupid enough to believe me.’ Second, self-aggrandizement is another feature of these con artists. Here is a person who claims that no one but himself – single handedly – ‘conned’ so many sophisticated persons for so long and for so much money. The ego must be fed.

“I have analyzed how con artists manage to induce very sophisticated and wealthy persons. Madoff is just one of the crowd. The only uniqueness was his payment of somewhat higher returns on fairly level, long-term basis. But he simply fit the promise to his ‘marks.’

“So let us cease to look at this particular person and view the system which thousands bave been practicing not only in the U.S. and all over the world. We should find the patterns and then ask ourselves why and how people fall for these scams. These are far more important questions.”

Contact Tamar Frankel, 617-352-3773, tfrankel@bu.edu