1. Introduction.
A. Last post.
B. Well intentioned expression of concern.
C. On line responses.
2. Distressing Point by Point.
3. Brief summation of history.
A. The Charles River White Geese, state bureaucrats,”reprehensible” Cambridge
B. The Cambridge Machine.
C. Boston University.
D. The Charles River “Conservancy.”
E. The BU Bridge Repairs.
F. The soon to be impenetrable thicket.
4. Crossing the on ramp.
5. The Machine’s “Expert.”
1. Introduction.
A. Last post.
In my last post at http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/charles-river-white-geese-commute-to.html, I gave a bit of a photo history with regard to a well intentioned woman’s concern about the Charles River White Geese’s crossing the on ramp to Memorial Drive to get to the luscious grass under Memorial Drive.
B. Well intentioned expression of concern.
The comment of this fine woman to the listserve ran:
************
There are lots of white geese around BU bridge with baby geese.
Because they don't have much grass there yesterday they decided to walk across the busy street to get some from the island between to road lines. I stayed there with my bikes signaling to the cars to wait.
I am afraid if geese continues to cross the street they will eventually get hit by the car. Could someone advise me on who to contact to
(1) plant some grass on where the geese are
(2) add a gate so they don't enter the street
************
C. On line responses.
I responded to her in volumes not well organized. Below is my attempt to better organize.
Additionally, however, when you are dealing with The Machine, people all of a sudden get announced as “experts.” See below.
2. Distressing Point by Point.
Responding to the well intended person.
(1) Plant some grass.
The destructive people at city and state are deliberately starving the Charles River White Geese. They have walled off their grass food at Magazine Beach for most of the past 31 years with a bizarre wall of introduced bushes which seem to have no purpose other than starving the Charles River White Geese.
(2) Add a gate.
One of the outrages achieved by state and local bureaucrats in the past 13 years has been to open up the fence through which the geese just passed to commute to the food under Memorial Drive.
Excellent point coming from a decent human being. We, however, are dealing with Cambridge and state bureaucrats and pols and a rotten Machine keeping both in place through corrupt tactics.
After their food is returned to them, it would be an excellent idea to close the fence as it was before this outrage started.
3. Brief summation of history.
A. The Charles River White Geese, state bureaucrats,”reprehensible” Cambridge
The Charles River White Geese have lived in a mile long habitat centered on the BU Bridge on the Cambridge side of the Charles River for more than 30 years.
During this period, they have been loved by all normal people familiar with them.
The Cambridge Machine and the key bureaucrats anything but normal.
During the last twelve years, bizarre projects (and bizarre application of a responsible project) in the area have done severe harm to them.
Their food for almost all of the past 31 years at Magazine Beach has been blocked to them by a bizarre wall of introduced vegetation which runs about two tenths of a mile with one tiny break and which prevents access to and from the Charles River with regard to the Magazine Beach playing fields.
For all the past twelve years, the key manager has repeatedly proclaimed his intent to do them no harm. He has since defined starving them as not harming them. It also turns out that the agency, the Department of Conservation and Recreation has a policy to kill off all resident animals on the Charles River Basin.
The policy, as with too much reality when talking to such people, is obfuscated to the maximum extent.
They have made their designated use for all of the Charles River Basin as “parkland.” Their secret definition of “parkland” is that no resident animals need apply and that all Urban Wilds will be destroyed.
The DCR, with the assistance of the Cambridge Machine, directly or usually by preventing action, have taken every opportunity possible to inflict as much harm as they can incidental to whatever the latest project is.
Until the Cambridge City Manager declared war on them with his 1996 plans, the Charles River White Geese were loved by the DCR.
They even posted Goose Crossings signs to protect them as they found need to cross the on ramp or, even, Memorial Drive itself.
That all changed when the Cambridge City Manager declared war on them.
The non stop lies of “no intent to harm” show their value and the rottenness of the bureaucrats.
B. The Cambridge Machine.
These people’s strings are pulled by perhaps a tiny minority of people but it is silly to distinguish between the knaves and the fools. They all behave the same and they all are as determined in their efforts.
I really do not want to go into the many rotten things they have done while lying political correctness.
The key tool is preventing action by creating fake groups which claim to be concerned about an issue then preventing action on the important stuff.
C. Boston University.
Boston University, in 1999, entered into an illegal agreement with the DCR under which the Goose Meadow was agreed to be BU’s turf.
In implementing that agreement, BU, on the morning before a Conservation Commission public meeting on the issue, moved heavy equipment into the Goose Meadow.
Before they legally could do anything, all the urban wild was destroyed and grass planted along with a silly ash walk.
They lied that they did not do it until they were condemned by the Cambridge Conservation Commission. Then they bragged.
Nobody used it except for the animals.
It regrew.
D. The Charles River “Conservancy.”
This fake group originally called itself “Friends of Magazine Beach.”
They sponsored the first presentation of the Cambridge City Manager’s plan in 1996.
The DCR claimed loads of complaints against the Charles River White Geese. The usual lie.
Friends of the White Geese made a Freedom on Information Act demand.
One complaint on file, by the fake group AFTER a request for complaint was given to the fake group by the DCR.
In 2003, they entered into a meaningful agreement, apparently, to do environmental destruction for the DCR. From then on, over a period of several years, nearly all ground vegetation was destroyed between the BU Boathouse (a block to the east) and the Goose Meadow.
The destruction was done in steps, starting in the woods next to the BU Boathouse and moving east. All ground vegetation was destroyed except in and near the area intended to be used for BU Bridge work.
None has come back, apparently the result of poisoning.
The aerial photo I posted in the last report shows vegetation throughout the Goose Meadow in 2006.
E. The BU Bridge Repairs.
Access was needed. A 100 foot strip for access made sense.
So naturally, the DCR did much more than was necessary. They destroyed the northern area by the on ramp about 75% of the way across going east.
All the undestroyed ground vegetation was destroyed except for two patches abutting the construction zone.
F. The soon to be impenetrable thicket.
Just planted, as usual totally illegal, no public notice, no communication of intent.
4. Crossing the on ramp.
This was impossible until October 1999 when the first attacks came.
Boston University destroyed the Urban Wild which was their Nesting Area. As part of the destruction, BU illegally created two openings in an iron fence which had been there for 50 (?) years or more, one at the corner, one at the eastern end of the Goose Meadow against the on ramp.
Since the heartless bastards starting starving them, the Charles River White Geese frequently crossed the on ramp to get that lovely grass.
Two factors come into play: The care of the Charles River White Geese. Decent, normal human beings love them.
A. The care of the Charles River White Geese.
They gather at the curb of the sidewalk following the on ramp. They very carefully observe traffic coming up the ramp. When it is safe, they cross.
They have one problem in crossing: they are geese. They do not understand how to cross rapidly and promptly. They meander. It does take quite a while to cross.
B. Normal human beings love them.
The City of Cambridge, the DCR and the fake groups are really rotten exceptions.
Decent, normal people love them.
Drivers happily stand on the ramp waiting for them to cross.
Big smiles of appreciation.
5. The Machine’s “Expert.”
An “expert” associated with the machine has been designated to this well intended woman.
When you see an “expert” associated with the machine, be scared and most definitely do not trust the “expert.”
The designated “expert” presented to this fine woman has recently:
(1). Praised the soon to be impenetrable thicket planted to replace the bulk of the geese’s nests, and
(2). Participated as one of the historians in The Machine’s fake history of Magazine Beach. This was the fake history which did not include the last twelve years. I got shouted down when I tried to communicate the outrages of the last 12 years. The Machine explains the last twelve years of outrages at Magazine Beach and the Destroyed Nesting Area by claiming the last twelve years do not exist. The machine is obviously hiding a lot. The “expert”, as I said, was one of the people presenting The Machine’s fake history.
So a well intended person has been presented with an “expert” on the Charles River White Geese who has a bed record.
Business as usual when you are dealing with the rotten situation in the City of Cambridge, MA, USA.
