Georgetown in the News

Georgetown University News

• Tunisia and the Arab World

  January 20, 2011
  "Disturbance erupted in Tunisia after Mohamed Bouazizi, a young, unemployed graduate, who was going down to sell, like, fruit and vegetables on the street, immolated himself in protest after authorities had beaten him [to] prevent him to work. Then his act crystallized and ignited ... the Tunisians' feelings of humiliation and lack of justice to which they had been subjected for more than 23 years. "

  Noureddine Jebnoun, adjunct assistant professor in Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, on the catalyst of the Tunisian uprising.

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  Source: NPR

• Jobs Outlook Careers Headed For The Trash Pile

  January 18, 2011
  “The kinds of jobs that are disappearing are the jobs that pay really well [for] relatively unskilled workers. The combination of technological advancement and off-shoring has shrunk these jobs.”

  Harry Holzer, professor of public policy, on the rise in unemployment rates.

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  Source: Forbes

• Get Smarter: A Group of Thinkers Explains How

  January 17, 2011
  Humans are “capable of inventing wonders and still capable of forgetting what we’ve done and blundering stupidly on. Our poor cognitive toolkits are always missing a screwdriver when we need it.”

  James O'Donnell, university provost and professor of classics, on the human ability to understand knowledge.

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  Source: Newsweek

• In New Military, Data Overload Can Be Deadly

  January 16, 2011
  “The whole question we’re asking is whether we can rewire the functioning of the attention system through mindfulness.”

  Elizabeth Stanley, assistant professor of security studies, on her mind-fitness training for the military. 

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  Source: The New York Times

• LA Times Reveals Advances in Tinnitus Research

  January 13, 2011
  Josef Rauschecker, a neurologist at Georgetown University Medical Center, and his team were covered in the Los Angeles Times for their research on the causes of Tinnitus.
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  Source: Los Angeles Times

• Even Tombstone Had Gun Laws (Politico)

  January 10, 2011

  "The irony of Dupnik’s remark is that Tombstone lawmakers in the 1880s did more to combat gun violence than the Arizona government does today. "

  Katherine Benton-Cohen, associate professor of history, on the history of Arizona and violence in the wake of the recent shooting in Tuscon.

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  Source: Politico

• Workers fear a permanent jobless class

  January 9, 2011
  "The U.S. economy churns a lot, more than in most countries. A lot of jobs are created and destroyed, and it creates a lot of anxiety. In a recession, the insecurity is even worse."
  
  Harry Holzer, professor of public policy, on the U.S. job market and its effect on the economy.
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  Source: USA Today

• Obama Shift to Center Takes Business-Friendly Tone

  January 9, 2011

  "Liberal Democrats will yell, but they will stay with him. Where else could they go?"

  Stephen Wayne, professor of government, on President Obama's re-election chances within his own base.

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  Source: CNBC

• Economists See Growth with Unemployment Report

  January 7, 2011
  "There's only so much the government can do, especially in times of very large deficits. I think the government should be active and should be engaged but with a realistic sense of what it can or can't accomplish."

  Harry Holzer, professor of public policy, on the level of unemployment in the United States.

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  Source: The Takeaway

• Blood Test to Spot Cancer

  January 7, 2011

  "The dream is, a woman comes in for her mammogram and gets a tube of blood drawn so doctors can look for cancer cells in her blood as well as tumors on the imaging exam."

  Minetta Liu, breast cancer specialist at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, about a test has the potential to transform care for many types of cancer, especially breast, prostate, colon and lung.

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  Source: Associated Press

• Baby bin Ladens' Posing New Threat to West

  January 6, 2011
  "Bin-Laden's become the new Ché Guevara. He's become an icon for the rage of all kinds of people with all sorts of causes."

  C. Christine Fair, assistant professor of foreign service, on Bin Laden's popularity in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia.

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  Source: The Telegraph (UK)

• 112th Congress Convenes

  January 4, 2011

  "Republicans have said they are going to be attaching some strings to that and we’ll see how tight those strings are about entitlement reforms in order to get enough votes from the new freshman class of Republicans."

  Michele Swers, associate professor of government, on the fight to raise the debt ceiling, which she says will likely take place within the Republican caucus.

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  Source: Capitol News Connection

• Goldman's Facebook fund tests SEC resolve

  January 4, 2011

  "You have a lot of people who could probably create private markets that rival the public ones to deliver large amounts of capital to big companies without triggering all the burdens of being a public company."

  Donald Langevoort, Thomas Aquinas Reynolds Professor of Law, on Goldman Sachs’ plan to offer its clients shares in Facebook.

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  Source: Reuters

• Slain Pakistani governor opposed to blasphemy law

  January 4, 2011

  "It is tragic, and it shows you how much it will cost when you stand up to do things that are right."

  C. Christine Fair, assistant professor of foreign service, on the assassination of a Pakistani governor opposed to the country’s blasphemy laws.

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  Source: The Washington Times

• Look Ahead 2011

  December 31, 2010
  "I think when you look forward to this Congress, so much of it is not going to be about social issues. The last Democratic Congress kind of acted to get some of those out of the way, notably don’t ask don’t tell. I think they really wanted that through because they knew it was going to be very difficult this time over."

  E.J. Dionne, professor in the Georgetown Public Policy Institute, on the upcoming session of Congress.

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  Source: PBS