1. Link to report.
2. Response received by email.
3. Response to response.
1. Link to report.
http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2013/06/new-englands-top-radio-station-mocks.html.
2. Response received by email.
Just for some context here, some of us who ride bikes feel that mandatory bike helmet laws (for adults) are primarily exercises in victim-blaming, promoted by motorists whose primary motivation is to divert attention from the fact that most deaths and serious injuries of both cyclists and pedestrians are the fault of motorists, frequently (e.g. Isaac Meyer in Central Square, the recent death in the Back Bay, etc.) to a criminal degree which is rarely if ever prosecuted.
3. Response to response.
First of all, my report includes a spectacularly good record by me as a bicycle activist.
Secondly, last Thursday afternoon, June 6, 2013, I was trying to cross on foot Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge, MA, at its intersection with Albany Street. I was going from the southeast corner to the northeast corner on a crosswalk protected by a signalized intersection. I carefully looked at the traffic on Massachusetts Avenue in both directions. The traffic had a red light and was stopped. Nobody was turning in my direction from Albany Street.
I carefully looked forward. I had a WALK signal.
I stepped off the sidewalk. I was nearly maimed or killed by a bike running that red light. If it did not touch me, it came within less than an inch of me. Rapidly traveling directly in my path, it did not even slow down. This is normal behavior on the streets of Cambridge, MA.
I have a friend who was laid up for six months after being run down by a sidewalk bicyclist with no more ethics than the person who nearly killed me on Thursday.
I have seen bicyclists behave in abusive manners to blind or disabled trying to lawfully use crosswalks. I have commonly seen bicyclists respond with obscene gestures at being reminded of red light laws or one way street laws.
By far the most dangerous threat when I am riding a bike is that damn fool on a bike who WILL NOT OBEY TRAFFIC LAWS.
As a bicyclist and a pedestrian, and a driver, it is total nonsense to talk bicyclists in general as victims. Bicyclists in general are the most lawless and irresponsible members of a very dangerous pool of participants in the traffic pool. There is a minority (and perhaps an invisible majority) who are decent, responsible members of society. They are irrelevant to this discussion.
Too many pedestrians in New England are not fit to be trusted with their own lives. Too many drivers, including too many uniformed police officers, would be thrown off the road in civilized parts of the world. Too many bicyclists belligerently and defiantly are doing their best to combine the worst of the other two.
We are talking about people who claim that they have “all rights and no responsibilities.” Clearly, according to the writer, one of the responsibilities bicyclists do not have is to take basic, minimum safety precautions.
I will not dignify this nonsense any further.
Saturday, June 08, 2013
Longfellow / Kendall / Memorial Drive New Photos, WBZ.
1. Report.
2. Prior report.
3. Follow Up to WBZ report.
4. Contacts, Miscellaneous.
1. Report.
We have been reporting on the states’ plans to destroy trees on the ramp from Memorial Drive to the Longfellow Bridge inbound near Kendall Square, in Cambridge, MA, USA.
Misha has forwarded two photos he took, on the evening of Thursday, June 8, 2013. My delay in forwarding. I regret that.
The original photos are about 3 megs apiece. I have them and will provide them on request to boblat@yahoo.com.
Mishka’s photos and comments:
Photo 1.
So, the main change seems to be that a number of other trees are being protected, either by a red plastic fence, or by wrapping, or by both.
On the attached photo we see a tree protected by both the red fence fence and by wrapping.
It seems that they expect the construction environment to be too harsh for the trees to survive unprotected.
Photo 2.
The second of the two photos (both are taken yesterday evening, Thu Jun 6) shows the unchanged part of the overall border marked with bales of hay. The two trees on this photo are unprotected, the left one is marked for destruction, the right one is marked for transplantation.
2. Prior report.
Mishka provided some excellent photos of this outrageous situation which we published at http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2013/05/large-number-of-excellent-trees.html.
The big environmental problem in Cambridge is the flat out corruption. Councilors run for office lying that they are environmentalists and are presiding over mass environmental destruction and animal abuse associated with totally avoidable aspects of their and their friends construction projects.
3. Follow Up to WBZ report.
We reported on WBZ Radio’s repeated mocking of the Cambridge Machine’s “Safe Street Coalition” by replaying an astute comment by Dan Rae, at http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2013/06/new-englands-top-radio-station-mocks.html.
Our report included an analysis of this typical Cambridge Machine organization and providing disclosures from me.
George E. Despotes comments: "you seem so right! TIME..."
4. Contacts, Miscellaneous.
Massachusetts Governor’s Office email form: http://www.mass.gov/governor/constituentservices/contact/.
State environmental people, DES Hotline: ESF.Hotline@state.ma.us.
MassDOT Accelerated Bridges Program: 857-368-8904 or Stephanie.Boundy@state.ma.us
All Massachusetts Legislators’ emails: http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2013/04/emails-for-all-massachusetts.html.
Cambridge, MA, USA city councilors: Council@cambridgema.gov.
**********
For people listening to Boston Sierra Club endorsements of environmentally destructive members of the Cambridge City Council, you should be aware that
(1) using the world’s definition of “environmentalism,” there are no environmentally responsible members of the Cambridge City Council, and
(2) there are Cambridge Machine activists very visible and apparently very active in the Boston Sierra Club.
If you are talking to a person associated with the Boston Sierra Club, do a credibility check. Ask if they are familiar with the “Urban Ring” rapid transit proposal. This is a subway proposal designed to link the existing subway spokes. I have been working on it since 1985. Cambridge raised the project in a comment to an environmental Impact Statement in the last month or so.
If the Boston Sierra Club “expert” answer “yes,” that he / she is familiar with the Urban Ring rapid transit proposal, ask how many rail options there are. If the answer is “one,” you are getting the flat out lie put out by the City of Cambridge.
Cambridge’s flat out lie is that, of the TWO rail options, the only one that exists is the environmentally destructive streetcar option which the City of Cambridge supports. This option would be highly destructive to the environment near the Destroyed Nesting Area of the Charles River White Geese.
The reality is that THE STATE LEGISLATURE HAS SUBSIDIZED THE OTHER OPTION, the responsible Orange Line / heavy rail option, the Kenmore crossing. The state legislature has subsidized the expansion of Yawkey Station as part of the massive Fenway Park area project which has gotten recent press.
Cambridge’s nonsensical proposal would move Yawkey Station three blocks. It would not work without moving Yawkey Station. The Kenmore Crossing uses the now subsidized and being expanded Yawkey Station as part of a brilliant megastation.
You should immediately respond to such nonsense from a Sierra Club “expert” by having nothing more to do with this person. Whether the person is stupid or venal is irrelevant, the person has no credibility and is not worthy of your time.
It is frequently difficult to pin these irresponsible people down in general. The deviant behavior in my test is extreme. They are pious in their demands that, if you are politically correct and pro environment, you have to rubber stamp them. Please do not waste your time arguing about destruction they can wiggle around.
Turn your back on them and walk away fast.
2. Prior report.
3. Follow Up to WBZ report.
4. Contacts, Miscellaneous.
1. Report.
We have been reporting on the states’ plans to destroy trees on the ramp from Memorial Drive to the Longfellow Bridge inbound near Kendall Square, in Cambridge, MA, USA.
Misha has forwarded two photos he took, on the evening of Thursday, June 8, 2013. My delay in forwarding. I regret that.
The original photos are about 3 megs apiece. I have them and will provide them on request to boblat@yahoo.com.
Mishka’s photos and comments:
Photo 1.
So, the main change seems to be that a number of other trees are being protected, either by a red plastic fence, or by wrapping, or by both.
On the attached photo we see a tree protected by both the red fence fence and by wrapping.
It seems that they expect the construction environment to be too harsh for the trees to survive unprotected.
Photo 2.
The second of the two photos (both are taken yesterday evening, Thu Jun 6) shows the unchanged part of the overall border marked with bales of hay. The two trees on this photo are unprotected, the left one is marked for destruction, the right one is marked for transplantation.
2. Prior report.
Mishka provided some excellent photos of this outrageous situation which we published at http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2013/05/large-number-of-excellent-trees.html.
The big environmental problem in Cambridge is the flat out corruption. Councilors run for office lying that they are environmentalists and are presiding over mass environmental destruction and animal abuse associated with totally avoidable aspects of their and their friends construction projects.
3. Follow Up to WBZ report.
We reported on WBZ Radio’s repeated mocking of the Cambridge Machine’s “Safe Street Coalition” by replaying an astute comment by Dan Rae, at http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2013/06/new-englands-top-radio-station-mocks.html.
Our report included an analysis of this typical Cambridge Machine organization and providing disclosures from me.
George E. Despotes comments: "you seem so right! TIME..."
4. Contacts, Miscellaneous.
Massachusetts Governor’s Office email form: http://www.mass.gov/governor/constituentservices/contact/.
State environmental people, DES Hotline: ESF.Hotline@state.ma.us.
MassDOT Accelerated Bridges Program: 857-368-8904 or Stephanie.Boundy@state.ma.us
All Massachusetts Legislators’ emails: http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2013/04/emails-for-all-massachusetts.html.
Cambridge, MA, USA city councilors: Council@cambridgema.gov.
**********
For people listening to Boston Sierra Club endorsements of environmentally destructive members of the Cambridge City Council, you should be aware that
(1) using the world’s definition of “environmentalism,” there are no environmentally responsible members of the Cambridge City Council, and
(2) there are Cambridge Machine activists very visible and apparently very active in the Boston Sierra Club.
If you are talking to a person associated with the Boston Sierra Club, do a credibility check. Ask if they are familiar with the “Urban Ring” rapid transit proposal. This is a subway proposal designed to link the existing subway spokes. I have been working on it since 1985. Cambridge raised the project in a comment to an environmental Impact Statement in the last month or so.
If the Boston Sierra Club “expert” answer “yes,” that he / she is familiar with the Urban Ring rapid transit proposal, ask how many rail options there are. If the answer is “one,” you are getting the flat out lie put out by the City of Cambridge.
Cambridge’s flat out lie is that, of the TWO rail options, the only one that exists is the environmentally destructive streetcar option which the City of Cambridge supports. This option would be highly destructive to the environment near the Destroyed Nesting Area of the Charles River White Geese.
The reality is that THE STATE LEGISLATURE HAS SUBSIDIZED THE OTHER OPTION, the responsible Orange Line / heavy rail option, the Kenmore crossing. The state legislature has subsidized the expansion of Yawkey Station as part of the massive Fenway Park area project which has gotten recent press.
Cambridge’s nonsensical proposal would move Yawkey Station three blocks. It would not work without moving Yawkey Station. The Kenmore Crossing uses the now subsidized and being expanded Yawkey Station as part of a brilliant megastation.
You should immediately respond to such nonsense from a Sierra Club “expert” by having nothing more to do with this person. Whether the person is stupid or venal is irrelevant, the person has no credibility and is not worthy of your time.
It is frequently difficult to pin these irresponsible people down in general. The deviant behavior in my test is extreme. They are pious in their demands that, if you are politically correct and pro environment, you have to rubber stamp them. Please do not waste your time arguing about destruction they can wiggle around.
Turn your back on them and walk away fast.
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