UN: 33 Million Had HIV in 2009
New figures released for World AIDS Day show over 33 million people had HIV in 2009. 25 million people died from this disease. 10 million people waiting for treatment.
Lower the Thermostat to Lower 60s, Lose Weight!
According to the NYT, Dr. C. Ronald Kahn, a Harvard Medical School professor thinks simply lowering the thermostat to the lower 60s might actually help with weight control over time, provided people stick with it. When we put people in a 60-degree room, they increase their energy expenditure by 100 or 200 calories a day if they’re in light clothing,” like hospital scrubs, he said. “They’re not shivering. They activate their brown fat.”
Over a period of several weeks, they will have burned an extra 3,500 calories, which translates into the loss of one pound. Wearing a sweater will dilute the effect.
The average temperature in British living rooms went from 64.9 degrees F to 70.3 degrees F, from 1978 to 2008.
Goldman Sachs Triples Salary for CEO
Goldman Sachs has tripled the base salary for chief executive Lloyd Blankfein and awarded him more than $12 million in stock. Blankfein’s base salary was increased from $600,000 to $2 million. [He may be the next treasury secretary ! Poor Americans.]
Brooklyn College Professor Dismissed For Views on Israel
Brooklyn College in New York City is coming under criticism for dismissing an adjunct professor after a local politician claimed the professor was biased against Israel. Kristofer Petersen-Overton was let go last week, one day after New York Democratic State Assemblyman Dov Hikind complained about the professor’s politics. Petersen-Overton said he was dismissed before he even had a chance to teach his first class, a graduate seminar on Middle East politics.
[2011/2/1: Brooklyn College in New York City has reversed course and has re-hired Kristofer Petersen-Overton to teach a course this semester on the Middle East.]