Consider, Issues, Municipal, This is so Stupid

This Stinks.

Leave a comment

The most recent steps on the path to this wickedness began about six days ago when City employees, as part of the city’s ongoing war on the homeless, stopped by a local homeless camp. The city truck brought along to cart off any belongings the homeless failed to rescue, contained plunder from prior stops at other homeless camps.

I was working on the words to speak, once again, about the utter pointlessness of trying to cleanse the city of the homeless when the city has failed [or been successful in denying] to provide a viable housing alternative to camping for the homeless, when the city employees and truck returned the next day.

And the next day, and the next day, and the next day………….

After being driven from spot to spot around Abbotsford like nuisance animals [think the rabbits at the University of Victoria] several Canadian citizens who unfortunately have found themselves members of Abbotsford’s homeless community, had come together at a common location.. Being together provided the ability to have someone to guard their belongings and prevent the city hitting the camp when no one was there to rescue belongings.

The location also provided access to people who would help maximize the belongings rescued from the city and has a sanctuary nearby to which any belongings rescued could be taken.

Hence the need for the city to return day after day after day after day………….

I decided not to write anything until revelation of the city’s next tactic, once frustration with the failure of the homeless to disappear drove the city to escalate to a new level.

Today [Tuesday June 4, 2013] the city’s frustration reached the exploding point .

 

I have, and have had, differences with the decisions of Abbotsford’s mayor and council and the consequences the decisions have had, the burdens they  imposed, on Abbotsford’s taxpayers.

Even so I would never have expected, would never have anticipated, Abbotsford’s mayor and council sinking so low.

The City did not sow the earth with salt. Instead the city sowed this patch of earth with a covering of chicken waste – AKA chicken shit.

What is the next step? Capturing the homeless and having the Abbotsford Police Department transport and release them in some non-Abbotsford locality?

And when the homeless find their way home, and Abbotsford is their home, will council decide to follow the University of Victoria’s example and cull them?

I am not sure that either option would necessarily be worse than the contempt, the depraved indifference, of using chicken shit as a weapon, a chemical weapon I suppose, against the homeless?

I know the spring of 2004 was nearly a decade ago but did nobody remember the need for a cull of 1.3 million birds on 42 infected properties.

Speaking of culls, why did nobody reconsider the use of chicken shit as a weapon in light of the 27.5% death rate in China’s current outbreak of bird flu? A flu transmitted to China’s citizens from China’s chickens?

I wonder how Fraser Health’s local Health Protection Office and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency will view Abbotsford’s  deployment of their chicken shit weapon?

Of more concern is the consequences of the city ignoring the fact that this noxious material was spread across [on] a major thoroughfare used by the homeless. As a consequence this material has been being tracked throughout Abbotsford since it was spread.

Given the ethical bankruptcy of this action and the callous disregard of negative health consequences the bylaw officers, bylaw manager and city manager have achieved a level of incompetence that demands their replacement.

With the need for a by-election to fill Simon Gibson’s council spot, it will not cost any more to replace the members of council responsible for this twisted action.

You ignore reality and keep acting without though for a long enough period of time and simple mathematical probabilities mean it is only a matter of time until you do something truly asinine.

Finances, Hmmm, Life

When the Door drops.

Leave a comment

A 1988 Mercury Cougar is a boat of a car; which results in doors that are large and heavy. Over time the hinge pins of the driver’s door wear to the point the door sags just enough so that the latch on the door and the latch on the car are out of alignment.

When this happens it leaves you with a door that gives out a loud ‘KlunK’ and bounces open when you try to close it.

Closing the door from the outside is relatively straight forward since you are standing which grants you the power and leverage to raise the door to align door and car latches.

The important point to know [and remember] is to engage the door lock before closing the door. The only lift point is the door handle and applying enough lift to align the latches often results in the door handle being pulled up into the open position.

Locking the door before you close it ensures that should you pull the door handle into the open position, the door opening/unlatching system is not engaged. Just as if you walked up to your locked vehicle and tried to open the door – nothing happens until you unlock the door.

Closing and locking the door from inside when seated is an entirely different kettle of fish.

Because the coupe has bucket seats and a high, wide centre console, using the passenger door for getting in and out of the driver’s seat is not a viable option.

This forces one to deal with the facts that: a) you lose the leverage advantage that standing bestows,; b) being seated limits the muscle groups you can use in closing the door; c) the outside of the car door is metal, fairly solid metal in a 1988 Cougar, while the inside is plastic and while you may find a leverage point to raise the door, after 2 or 3 times the strain will cause the plastic interior of the door to detach from the metal of the door.

Leaving you sitting there thinking “Well, Damn!”

So what do you do?

You employ the Breckenridge Emergency Ingress/Egress Method.

Employing the Breckenridge Emergency Ingress/Egress Method requires only a single piece of additional equipment – a short (approximately 10 feet) piece of rope. I use the yellow nylon rope available at any Dollar Store.

It has good crushability, important when the door closes and compresses the rope. Dollar Store rope also is cheap so that wearing it out is not an issue – you simply cut another 10 foot length of rope.

To close the door one sits in the driver’s seat and pulls the door almost closed, leaving it open about 15 cm (6 in.).

Taking the rope you fold it in half and taking the loop formed at the mid-point you reach down and hook the loop over the bottom corner of the driver’s door; making sure the two sides of the loop are 4 – 6 inches from the corner. It is important to ensure the two sides of the loop are well spaced away from the corner of the door.

If the loop is tightly hooked just on the corner it will most often slip off the corner. Should it not slip off, with the loop in that position there is insufficient leverage to raise the door enough to align the door and car latches to permit the latches to engage and fasten the door closed.

Once the loop is properly positioned on the corner of the door, you wrap the ropes running into the car around your right hand. The right hand because this positioning results in the leverage that will lift and align the door and car latches and securely latch the door closed.

You use your left hand to support the right hand.

Wrapping the rope around your left hand moves the leverage point into a position more directly above the corner of the door. This results in a reduction of leverage that results in a jarring ‘KlunK’ and the door bouncing open. On the rare occasions it does not go ‘KlunK’ the door fails to engage solidly.

When you make your first right turn the driver’s door forcefully swings open.

Newton – an object in motion wants to stay in motion. If the door is not solidly enough latched inertia brings enough force to bear on the point at which the door and car latches have partially engaged to pull the car and door latches apart.

It is only the hinge pins, those same dastardly pins that allowed the door to sag, that absorb the shock/energy generated that keeps the door attached to the car.

As opposed to the door continuing to move along t\he same line of travel dictated by the laws of motion.

When the door latches engage the rope is pinned over the corner of the door. As a result you drive down the road with a telltale line of yellow rope running across the outside corner of the door.

You need to be careful with the lengths of rope inside the car to prevent the rope becoming tangled in you legs and impairing your ability to drive. Either coil the rope ends up and tuck them down and behind the driver’s seat or run the ropes across your lap to the passenger seat.

The Breckenridge Emergency Ingress/Egress Method will minimize the problems and hassle caused by the door sagging out of alignment until one can buy some pins and find someone to install them for you or until you can save the $$$$ needed to shave a mechanic do the installation.

The door dropping does focus one on the Question of whether to Keep or Replace the vehicle?

The windows on the Cougar work at random, infrequent intervals – an inconvenienced when they don’t go down, a problem when they won’t close; only the fact the air conditioner works so well makes the Cougar usable in the summer. As you drive the Cougar around you can feel that the shock absorbers should be replaced and that the transmission needs to be treated with care to squeeze as many miles out of it before it has to be repaired/replaced. Brakes, replacement tire for the front tire that delaminated (how long will the other tires last)…………

Slowly pour $$$$$ into the Cougar or….or bite the bullet and get a new to you used car?

So I find myself letting my friends and acquaintances know I need to find a replacement for the Cougar before it dies and to keep their eyes and ears open for a ‘steal of a deal’ on a replacement automobile. A ‘steal of a deal’ because I need a dependable vehicle and I need to be able to afford to purchase it within my extremely limited budget.

I am hoping to find a dependable vehicle at an ‘extremely affordable’ price – before my……gentle reminders drive friends, acquaintances and anyone who crosses my path crazy.

A dependable, affordable vehicle so this car replacement I can replace at a time of my choosing rather than being forced to scramble and replace in haste when the Cougar dies.

Not to sound paranoid but……..what is going on with me, my car(s) and the Universe?  Arrrggh.

P.S. Should you know of a vehicle, or become aware of a suitable vehicle that will grant me a respite from car woes……….please, pleASE, PLEASE do me the immense favour of bringing this automotive gem to my attention.

Please. And Thank You.

Addiction, behaviour, Consider, Municipal

War? Terrorism?

Leave a comment

I stopped in for a coffee, but as soon as I stepped through the door I felt compelled to play Bingo. So I grabbed a pair of cards and joined in the next game.

Which I won.

Looking over the prizes a new tarp (for camping) spoke up and said it was what I was suppose to choose – so I did.

Sitting back down I found I had no interest in more Bingo so I started writing about the inadequacy of ‘April Fool’s Day’ and the overwhelming need for a ‘Stupid’s Day’.

When the time for smoke break arrived I asked if anyone had a need for the tarp. “Yes” said a voice from the doorway behind me.

While the gentleman was eating his daily meal (lunch at the Meal Center) the city had stopped by and, in accordance with their current scorched earth homeless policy, had misappropriated his and another gentleman’s belongings into a city garbage truck.

 “ASDAC [Abbotsford Social Development Advisory Committee] was created in 2006 through an extensive consultation with community and social agencies……”

The question is not simply When or How was ASDAC created but WHY?

In the two years it took Abbotsford City Council to go from council’s decision to create ASDAC to ASDAC’s first meeting council’s reply to Abbotsford’s increasing homelessness, the need for affordable housing and associated social issues was “We cannot do anything until ASDAC tells us what to do”. But ASDAC doesn’t exist! “We cannot do anything until ASDAC exists and tells us what to do”. That irrational argument bought city council two years of doing nothing.

In the case of homelessness that irrational argument bought city council two years to continue their irrational and pointless policy of chasing the homeless from spot to spot around Abbotsford – until the homeless being pursued by the city, arrived back at the spot the pursuit had begun.

Since even politicians can only drag their feet so long, eventually a point where council need to give [at least] the impression of taking action was reached, council appointed citizens to ASDAC and ASDAC was born.

Instead of fading away after ASDAC was finally formed, the advocates seeking support and housing for the homeless continued to meet and pursue support and housing funding from the provincial and federal governments and to raise the level of awareness in the community on issues related homelessness.

When it was decided ASDAC needed a housing subcommittee those who were pursuing housing were invited to attend sub-committee meetings. Which often featured city council’s representative explaining why it was not possible to do this…. or that…… or much of anything beyond talking.

Two items stick out. Well, three…….OK, let’s make it four and cut it off there.

The first was city council loudly blowing their own horn, proclaiming how wondrous the city’s misnamed affordable housing project, Harmony Flex Housing, was. The project was an 11 townhouse development using city property to reduce the cost of “homeownership units” to lower the down payment and income needed to qualify for a mortgage.

Misnamed because this project was about homeownership for people already housed and not providing affordable housing for the homeless or those at risk of becoming homeless.

City property, help and timeliness as opposed to city hall’s usual foot dragging and obstacle raising behaviours, effort, support, action….. spent on homeownership not affordable housing.

The second item that sticks out was the call by BC Housing for proposals to build a men’s housing project and a women’s housing project with the province putting up $22 million ($11 million for each project) in capital funding for the construction of the buildings and an additional $650,000 (adjusted for inflation) to fund programs to provide the needed supports to aid the residents in getting their lives together.

City council’s actions resulted in the loss of the $11 million capital funding and $650,000 per year for the men’s housing – and gave every evidence of blowing the woman’s project. However the prospect of having to explain why city council chased away $22 million in provincial capital contributions apparently provided sufficient motivation for council to rezone the property for the women’s project.

Council insisted that the $11 million for the men’s project was only ‘delayed’ – at this point in time apparently indefinitely delayed.

It was very hard work by several of the self invited members of the ASDAC housing subcommittee that brought about the province’s call for proposals to access the $22 million in capital funding and addition funding for support programs. Following the success in obtaining $22 million of provincial funding council decided the housing subcommittee was unnecessary.

The third item that sticks out was city councils favourite excuse for failing to address homeless issues and for why ideas, proposals and suggestions from the housing subcommittee vis-à-vis homelessness and housing could not be done – poverty.

Yet the city had $1.5+ million for a garden; $100 million to build an arena for a professional hockey team to play in; $ millions for yearly subsidies to the owners of the team; $ millions more in yearly subsidies for operating expenses to operate the hockey rink for said profession hockey team and its ownership; and $17.5 million for the Y to create competition for city facilities, thereby reducing the revenue of city facilities and creating the need for additional subsidies by taxpayers.

Which brings us to item 4 – the land the old Abbotsford Hospital was built on, now sitting there empty.

When the new hospital opened using the old hospital was advocated by numerous groups who stated the old hospital would provide a variety of facilities with which to address a number of homeless, substance use, mental health and the growing issues related to poverty.

When Fraser Health’s red herring – asbestos – did not appear to be carrying the day (not surprising since, as anyone who watches Mike Holmes is aware, asbestos left undisturbed is not a problem. Asbestos becomes a problem when you disturb it by……tearing down a building containing asbestos) Fraser Health pledged that significant affordable housing would be part of redevelopment of the site.

What has happened to the affordable housing promised, solemnly sworn to, by Fraser Health? Why did Abbotsford City Council sign off on Fraser Health’s failure to provide the promised affordable housing by committing to provide a $17.5 million subsidy to the YMCA?

Homelessinabbotsford.com was created in 2005 to share, to communicate, the insights, experience and knowledge gained as a result of experiencing homelessness as a consequence of decades of slowly intensifying mental illness; to advocate for rational responses, actions and behaviours to the issues arising from homelessness, mental illness, substance use and poverty; and to share the outrage my accountant’s soul (having become a Chartered Accountant in 1981) at the waste, the pointless waste, in continuously doing the same thing over and over and over – hoping for a different result.  

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”

George Santayana (Jorge Agustín Nicolás Ruiz de Santayana y Borrás)

One of the first, if not the first, items the housing subcommittee of the Abbotsford Social Development Advisory Committee advised city council was that chasing the homeless, in particular the hard to house homeless, from camp to camp around the city time after time was pointless when there was no housing available to house them.

In response to the ASDAC housing sub-committee on this it was decided that city staff would take the belongings of the homeless to the works yard and the homeless would be able to make arrangements to pick up their property or where it would be delivered to.

Of course the homeless, having no place to go would use their property to set up a new camp in another location. Which at some point would be found, the belongings of the homeless taken to the works yard, the belongings would then be picked up or delivered to the person who they belonged to who would……….use the belongings to set an new camp. Which at some point would be found, the belongings of the homeless taken to the works yard, the belongings would then be picked up or delivered to the person who they belonged to who would……….use the belongings to set an new camp. Which at some point would be found, the belongings of the homeless taken to the works yard, the belongings would then be picked up or delivered to the person who they belonged to who would……….use the belongings to set an new camp. Which at some point would be found, the belongings of the homeless taken to the works yard, the belongings would then be picked up or delivered to the person who they belonged to who would……….use the belongings to set an new camp. Which at some point would be found, the belongings of the homeless taken to the works yard, the belongings would then be picked up or delivered to the person who they belonged to who would……….use the belongings to set an new camp. Which at some point would be found, the belongings of the homeless taken to the works yard, the belongings would then be picked up or delivered to the person who they belonged to who would……….use the belongings to set an new camp. Which at some point would be found, the belongings of the homeless taken to the works yard, the belongings would then be picked up or delivered to the person who they belonged to who would……….use the belongings to set an new camp. And so on and so on and so one………………………………………..

A process that would make a fair definition of frustrating (in addition to pointless); it is hardly surprising that over time frustration has caused this purpose to deteriorate into the current policy of tossing the belongings into a City of Abbotsford garbage truck.

Under the old policy one of the homeless was able to go to the works yard and rescue his cat from where it had been trapped in his tent by city staff. These days the cat would have run out of lives. Sadly, a cat getting killed as a result of the City’s new scorched earth policy would do more to end the current garbage truck policy than the fact this policy will at some point result in the death of a person. Albeit the person is a member of the homeless community.

November 25, 2013

At least until he can find another patch of bush to pitch his tent in – until he is rousted from the new location…… and so on, and so on, and so on.

**Shake my head** The question is where else do they go? They are homeless with no other choices.

Reality is that the homeless do not just cease to exist when displaced they just have to find another spot, then another … and so on, and so on, and so on. You can displace and move them along all you want, but until you begin to deal with the underlying causes and they have housing of some form they are going to be an Unsightly Sight.

February 10, 2013

….chasing the homeless from place to place around the city until they were back to where the chase had begun and then beginning the chase again was pointless when there was a lack of viable housing options for the homeless.

“The City cleaned out my camp and left me with nothing to survive with but what I am wearing.”…silence…“James — Why would the City want to cut a man’s chances of survival so low?”

On my way to lunch on May 4, 2013 I spotted a tent. I commented to a friend who is homeless that  about whether someone should warn the owner of the tent about the city and their garbage truck. “It is Saturday and the office is closed” was the reply evidencing the homeless adapting to the reality of the city’s behaviour.

If only the city would be so open to adapting behaviour to reality. Until action is taken to provide housing or other viable options the homeless have no option but to go back to the streets

War:                noun 5. active hostility or contention; conflict;

Terrorism:      noun 1. the use of threats to intimidate or coerce, especially for political purposes. 2. The state of fear and submission produced by terrorization.

Politics

The James Commentary

Leave a comment

Stardate:             90902.08

Sol III Date:        21/05/2013/22:11 

The situation is filled with monumental irony; an irony brimming with delicious black humour.

Pamela Wallin and Mike Duffy, two veteran television reporters who had in their careers hounded politicians and political parties about the lack of ethics and the non-ethical behaviour of the politicians and political party, found themselves forced to resign from the Conservative caucus because of the non-ethical behaviour their personal ethics (or lack thereof) allowed them to engage in.

In light of human nature I wonder how many politicians and ex-politicians derived satisfaction from watching the media do unto Wallin and Duffy, as Wallin and Duffy had done unto others?

One would have thought that the pair of them would have known better than to set themselves up as ‘dinner’ at a media feeding frenzy.

The disturbing aspect about this matter is how quickly, after years of getting in the face of others about their wasting of taxpayer dollars, lack of ethics and pigging out at the public trough,  upon their appointment to the ranks of Conservative Senators, Senators Wallin and Duffy bellied up and began to pig out at the public trough.

Although i suppose that in this case the surprise must be tempered by the fact they were appointed members of the Conservative caucus.

The future of Canada and the legacy that we will pass on to the next generations demands that as Canadians and Canada we re-examine the ideas and ideals that serve as the foundation of our society.

Because while it’s true that the mettle of Duffy and Wallin would only be truly revealed when put to the test with their appointment as senators, the nature of Canada, Canadians and the Society we have built should discourage greedily pigging out at the public trough and a sense of entitlement, rather than supporting the growth of greed and a sense of entitlement.

And as revealing of character as their actions in pigging out at the public trough were, it is the fact that although forced to resign from the Conservative caucus, they have not resigned from the Senate that publicly damns their character.

 

The James Commentary are short, daily commentary on an item (or items) that caught my attention. The link is found to your right, click on Cry Havoc and let slip the dogs of Reason.  Or direct access at www.crybs.ca

Consider, Hmmm

The James Commentary

Leave a comment

The top sidebar to the right is titled The James Commentary and if you click on “Cry Havoc and let slip the dogs of Reason” it will take you to the James Commentary [which can be access directly at www.crybs.ca].

The James Commentary is short daily comments/observations [100 – 200 words per subject] on what drew my attention, tickled my fancy or demanded comment on any given day.