Grab bag Friday

Posted on: September 24th, 2010 by ecthompson md No Comments

There have been just a few things that I wanted to cover but that don'tneed separate posts.

  • From the Economist: ONE IN six adults in the 33 mostly rich countries of the OECD is obese (measured as a body mass index of 30 or more) according to a report published on September 23rd. The fattest countries are the United States and Mexico, where around a third of adults are obese. Britain's adults are the biggest in Europe. By contrast, Asian OECD countries Japan and South Korea are the leanest. Governments will count the eventual cost: health-care spending on an obese person is 25% more than for someone of average weight. And the problem is not confined to the rich world. In rapidly developing countries such as China, Brazil and India obesity rates, though still low, are growing fast as the dietary habits of the ever-increasing middle classes change. (Ed. Note - The Economist notes that they made an error in these data. The US is the most obese country and NOT Mexico.)

  • For some reason, there is a buzz around the $100 million that Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, is giving to the Newark public school system. He might be trying to clean his image. Really? S, he is the first millionaire billionaire to try to whitewash his image? If you give me $100 million, I'll hold a press conference and thank you without worrying about your motivations. Arianna has more: So the $100 million donation to Newark's crumbling public schools is not in and of itself the story? The story is figuring out the motivation behind it? Is this what we have come to? Can you think of anything more ridiculous? I really don't care why Mark Zuckerberg is donating $100 million of his own money that will make a profound difference to the lives of Newark's children. I care very much that it's being done -- that one of America's worst school systems will be getting a massive infusion of funds.
  • The Republican "Pledge" is one of the biggest pieces of public misinformation in a long time. I'm still laughing at Republicans who now think that their plan will reduce the deficit.
  • One of the best examples of a non-story is Rep. Steven King being steamed that Stephen Colbert testified on Capitol Hill. I'm sorry, but I don't care that Rep. King is steamed. He seems to love being on Fox and will say anything to be on the network, again.
  • Speaking of a media hound, there is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president. He made wildly inaccurate statements during his UN speech yesterday, accusing the US of being behind 9/11.  Then again, this is par for the course. He has denied that millions of Jews were killed during the Holocaust.
  • Finally, on a lighter note, a lost language may have been found.
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Zuckerberg is an overpaid CEO. He shouldnt be allowed to make that much, right?

You continue to twist what I say. If you develop a thingy (iPad for example) and everyone loves your invention and buys it, then great. Make some moolah. You should benefit from your invention. I have said this time and time again. Errington C. Thompson, MD Sent from my iPad

No, you just go on and on about these 'executives' who 'make too much money' , while being unable to define 'how much' is 'too much'.It is all too easy to launch vague attacks, but when it comes to giving specifics to defend your position, there is nothing.(And then there is the whole question of why it is your business in the first place since it is not your money.)So, --if you can give an answer why it should be up to you (or anyone besides the man's boss) how much someone makes, --and if you can give an answer about how you come to the conclusion of how much is 'too much' , --and if you can give an answer as to why this standard of yours only seems to apply to some and not others (entertainers, sports figures, executives in other industries, etc) --then we might have a real discussion instead of demagoguery from you and other Democrats.But I really don't expect that you'll be able to answer that anytime soon.

Just curious what you think of the CEOs that lost millions and/or nearly drove their companies into the ground yet walked away with millions in salary. Example - the Republican running for CA senate.

If their boss is stupid enough to pay millions for poor performance, then why should the CEO turn it down?If your boss told you, "I'm going to quadruple your salary, but I don't really care if you show up for work or what you do if you do show up" would you tell him "No, no, don't do that" ?No. Likely your work ethic would compel you to continue to perform well regardless of your boss's erratic and irrational actions. But you'd cash the check, I'm sure.