Rosenblatt Smear Evidences the Role of the FOP and a Strong Reason to Vote Against Sanabria

March 19, 2011 3 Comments

I don’t know a thing about Mr. Rosenblatt’s financial history, except for the very nasty, twisted political mailer, financed by the police union FOP, that we got in the mail in the last few days.

A careful reading of the mailer indicates that what happened to Mr. Rosenberg is happening to a not insignificant percentage of the county population in the thousands of foreclosures and bankruptcies.

It is not so much the mailer or Mr. Rosenblatt’s financial history that is a concern (I have not candidate at this time), but the certain arrogance of the representatives of our police that have carried out this sickening campaign.

No doubt the the police are afraid to lose their excessive pensions, salaries and other benefits.

And be sure now that you cannot count on Mr. Sanabria to vote for any changes in these excessive salaries, pensions and other benefits.

What says Mr. Sanabria about the smear against one of the candidates?

Filed under Coral Gables, Election

Fast Facts about Radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Reactors: Scientific American

March 18, 2011 Leave a comment

Of interest to reference in these days of the nuclear accident in Japan.

Below are some facts and figures about the radiation hazard posed by the Fukushima breakdown and how it compares with other nuclear accidents in history. Many of the figures are measured in millisieverts, an international unit of radiation dosage. (One sievert is equal to 100 rems, which is a dosage unit of x-ray and gamma-ray radiation exposure; one millisievert is 0.1 rem.)

Radiation dose at the boundary of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station on March 16: 1.9 millisieverts (mSv) per hour

Peak radiation dose measured inside Fukushima Daiichi on March 15: 400 mSv per hour

Maximum allowable exposure for U.S. radiation workers: 50 mSv per year

Average exposure of U.S. residents from natural and man-made radiation sources: 6.2 mSv per year

Estimated total exposure at the boundary of the Three Mile Island site in Pennsylvania during the 1979 accident there: one mSv or less

Average total radiation dose to the 114,500 individuals evacuated during the 1986 Chernobyl disaster: 31 mSv

Half-life of iodine 131, a dangerous radioactive isotope released in nuclear accidents: eight days

Half-life of cesium 137, another major radionuclide released in nuclear accidents: 30 years

Decay products of iodine 131 and cesium 137: both emit gamma rays and beta particles (electrons or positrons)

Amount of nuclear fuel in Chernobyl reactor No. 4 that exploded in 1986: 190 metric tons

Amount of nuclear fuel and fission by-products released into the atmosphere during Chernobyl disaster: 25 to 57 metric tons

Approximate amount of nuclear fuel in each crippled Fukushima Daiichi reactor: 70 to 100 metric tons

via Fast Facts about Radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Reactors: Scientific American.

Filed under Environment, International

Well Educated Youth Hurt By Recession and Lack of Job Policies

March 18, 2011 Leave a comment

This widely read opinion piece by Paul Krugman emphasizes the profound problem of unemployment of the college educated youth.  You may imagine the impact of lesser educated groups of which there are many more in South Florida.  Where are our politicians in facing this problem: it appears they have given up on this generation.

…young Americans who graduated during the severe recession of the early 1980s suffered permanent damage to their earnings. And if the average duration of unemployment is any indication, it’s even harder for new graduates to find decent jobs now than it was in 1982 or 1983.

So the next time you hear some Republican declaring that he’s concerned about deficits because he cares about his children — or, for that matter, the next time you hear Mr. Obama talk about winning the future — you should remember that the clear and present danger to the prospects of young Americans isn’t the deficit. It’s the absence of jobs.

But, as I said, these days Washington doesn’t seem to care about any of that. And you have to wonder what it will take to get politicians caring again about America’s forgotten millions.

via The Forgotten Millions – NYTimes.com.

Filed under Economy

More On Why Not To Privatize Municipal Services

March 17, 2011 Leave a comment

…privatization often does not solve cities’ budget woes. Research shows that when municipal services are contracted out, costs can actually increase while service quality suffers. Sometimes these cost increases are experienced as contract cost overruns. Other times a city may fail to take into account “hidden costs” such as the administrative costs of seeking proposals, evaluating bids and monitoring the work. Hidden costs for the community can include reductions in wages and health benefits under private contractors, which drive more people onto public assistance and bring down wage and benefit standards in the field and in the community.

via Municipal Services | In the Public Interest.

Filed under Coral Gables, Government

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