The Arab League said it will support a bid by Palestine to seek full membership in the United Nations later this fall. The move to statehood is opposed by Israel, the United States, as well as some countries in the European Union. It is believed that such a move will set up a confrontation with the U.S. in the U.N. Security Council. Boston University international relations professor William Keylor, author of “A World of Nations: The International Order Since 1945,” offers the following comment:
“If the Arab League resolution is introduced in the Security Council, the U.S. will probably veto it with a ‘no’ vote in deference to the concerns of its close ally Israel. Of the other permanent members, China and Russia will probably vote in the affirmative.
“Britain and France are the ones that would be put on the spot. Both are close allies of the United States, both in NATO and in the war on terrorism. But both also have a strong interest in preserving good relations with the Arab world.
“If both Britain and France vote ‘no,’ it will highlight Washington’s isolation on the Security Council concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”
In today's installment of our "Campaign 2012" series, Tobe Berkovitz, an associate professor of advertising at Boston University's College of Communication, gives his analysis on whether or not people should be paying attention to polls at this time.
In an opinion piece for the British newspaper The Guardian published in May, Boston University international relations professor Kevin Gallagher wrote why it's important that the U.S. raise the debt ceiling.
"The US should raise the debt ceiling and increase government spending toward infrastructure and green technologies in order to expand the economy. Without growth, the US won't ever be able to generate full employment and pay back its debts.
"Worse still, if the Republicans drag out the process, the results would be disastrous both in the US and across the globe. If the US started missing payments on interest or principal, interest rates would jump for new bonds. For evidence, just look at Greece, Portugal and other heavily indebted nations. A rise in rates would put a halt to the fragile recovery by choking off credit to businesses and households."
Gallagher wrote on his Facebook page that he "wrote this piece before the debt ceiling debate got as silly as it is now, and I still support what I said." He told Professor Voices, "As Congress continues to threaten debt default, they should examine the global implications."
Tom Fiedler, Dean of Boston University's College of Communication, talks to WBZ-TV about the scandal facing Rupert Murdoch's empire and what it means for American journalism.
According to a state report released last week, 178 teachers and administrators in 44 Atlanta schools have been implicated in a cheating scandal involving standardized tests issued annually at Georgia's public elementary and middle schools. The report claims that educators changed incorrect answers themselves or encouraged students to change them in order to meet specific student performance targets.
"There is no excuse for cheating and the participating educators deserve punishment. One has to wonder what is wrong with a system that tempted or drove so many educators to cheat. Certainly they were not bribed by children or their parents. There appears to be no direct gain to them personally for this behavior. Could it be that the pressure to demonstrate rising test scores or lose resources to educate children may drive an educator to change scores? A system that makes significant financial decisions based on test scores is a failed system that will produce unethical behavior."
With a new political poll coming out every day, we decided to ask some of our "Campaign 2012" experts if people should pay attention to polls at this stage of the election cycle. Cornelius Hurley, director of the Center for Finance, Law & Policy at Boston University's School of Law, gives his view in the following video.
Massachusetts is preparing to issue new school nutrition guidelines. It is being reported that the state's Public Health Council will set some of the toughest standards in the country. Joan Salge Blake, a clinical associate professor of nutrition at Boston University's Sargent College, offers the following comment:
"With an alarming percentage of the state's youth either obese or at risk of becoming obese, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health has proposed nutrition standards for competitive foods and beverages, which are all food and/or beverages sold or provided in public schools, other than those that are provided as part of federal nutrition programs. These foods include those sold not only in the school cafeteria but also in school stores, vending machines, fund-raising activities, and even school-sponsored events.
"The proposed regulations set limits for the amount of many nutrients, such as fat, saturated fat, sugars, and sodium, that these competitive foods and beverages can contain per serving. The final regulations will be released on Wednesday, July 13th and are expected to go into effect on August 1st."
In this installment of our "Campaign 2012" series, our experts weigh in on the issue they feel is the one that could beat President Obama in 2012. The experts are:
Tom Fiedler, Dean of Boston University's College of Communication and an expert on American politics and political reporting. He is also the former executive editor of The Miami Herald and a regular contributor to PoliticoArena. He can be reached at 617-353-3488, tfiedler@bu.edu, Twitter: @BUCOMDEAN
Tom Whalen, an associate professor of Social Sciences. He is an expert on modern American politics and the American presidency. He is a regular contributor to PoliticoArena. He can be reached at 978-888-3131, tjw64@comcast.net
Today, our series "Campaign 2012" looks at which key issue could beat President Obama. Tobe Berkovitz is an associate professor of Advertising in Boston University's College of Communication. He is also an expert on media strategy and political advertising. He offers his analysis on the key issues facing President Obama.
In this installment of our series "Campaign 2012,"John Carroll talks about fundraising, calling it an "expectations game." John is an assistant professor of mass communications in Boston University's College of Communication.
