But riding on a footpath through a farmers field in the middle of the day is just damn-right asking for a shotgun up the arse.

No it isn’t

Farmers these days won’t tackle you with one in their possession as they will have them taken off them in short order.

Quite a few farmers don’t bother about the MTB riders as we carry our bike over Stiles and tend to be quiet and cause no hassle. Some landowners get triggered by bikes but they are the ones that are triggered by bikes regardless. Most are more focused on the MX and off-roaders who cause lots of damage to gates, fences, moorland etc. Often it’s why they will object to bridleways as it creates access that the MX and off-roaders can then abuse.

As for the reality my summation is

Pushing on a footpath is legal regardless

Carrying is legal regardless

Riding is fine unless asked to stop by the landowner (or his rep) then you push or carry. You can reasonably state that you believe higher rights exist, the existence of which can only be settled in court/public inquiry.

Always be polite, report any aggression to the police and local rights of way officer

Always report trail blockages/ broken Stiles, no access signage etc to the rights of way officer

Gives everyone a huge stiffy and excites their macho warrior genes. There’s barely disguised excitement at the prospect of a new Cold War and confronting Putin. Even the leader of the Labour Party and his apparatchiks are getting frisky. It’s pathetic.

I really doubt it

No-one wants to fight Russia that’s why any troops diplomats and everyone else is getting out of the way. No-one wants a major conflict in Ukraine to turn into WW3.

The preferred option is to turn it into another China where you hold you nose and continue to buy the gas ignoring the unacceptable plane downings, assassination, cyberwarfare, minor invasions supporting ethnic Russians, territory grabs, fake news, etc etc Just like we do with China.

Part of the policy is good old deterrence, which means looking like you are prepared to inflict pain on Russia and Putin.

Interesting article.

It’s tripe like most of what he writes

Completely ignored that Poland etc were also on the path to EU membership at the same time.

Could NATO refuse membership to a EU member state? No, so it would happen anyway.

His logic is a false narrative that sovereign states joining NATO is an aggression. He makes out that token UK activity is serious aggression, the destroyer running close the the Crimea, it wasn’t exactly the Grand Fleet, it was also testing the right to navigate in international waters, like the navy is supposed to do.

I was quoting the prime minister

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/finlands-pm-says-nato-membership-is-very-unlikely-her-watch-2022-01-19/

If you quote the rest of what she said

“”All in all, I believe the NATO discussion will increase in the coming years,” Marin said.”

So they are on a journey, I imagine a Russian invasion of Ukraine might accelerate it.

“Advanced forward presence” To shore up those battalion sized battle groups they they have in the former Soviet countries independent sovereign states which are members of NATO.

FIFY

I do wonder how these countries, Romania, Poland*, Lithuania etc feel about some joint war going on in their countries. I’ll bet they’ve all seen before and after pics associated with such proxy actions.

As you well know the “war” is already ongoing, Russia is constantly preparing the ground to destabilise, setting up infiltration, positioning assets, testing cyber warfare capability. They joined NATO to ensure that the Russian activities can’t escalate because article 5 would be triggered

I wonder why the Finnish are now talking about NATO membership?

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-finland-invasion-fears-military-sites-land-sales-blocked-a7578601.html

So UK in same place as US, armed forces minister on R4 confirms no UK troops in Ukraine if Russia invades (or the Stop the War version; Russia takes defensive measures against NATO aggression )

I’m going to have to invest in the ultrasonic doofers

I still think this is just all posturing.

We can do a game, which country has more troops/ tanks/ planes/ warships on the border of Ukraine?

Which country is posturing?

Boden has explicitly said no US troops fighting the Russians in Ukraine. Who is posturing?

He could have said nothing.

i bet he wished Stop the War said nothing on Ukraine

Once you had Corbyn and Diane do their bits he was in a bind, ignore and be tainted or respond with both barrels

When politics is failing internally, find an external enemy, real or imagined.

I don’t think Starmer led the Stop the War Event where Corbyn and his fellow travelers are going NATO baddddd. He doesn’t have much of a choice but to call it out if he wants to be PM. UK opinion is positive for NATO as most voters remember the cold war

They’re all at it. I’ll wager ten bob there’ll be no war but everyone will go home declaring a victory.

You understand the principles of deterrence?

Even the ancient Chinese understood defeating your enemy without fighting was preferable

Pretty much identical to the way America usually starts invasions. Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria etc etc

And everyone else if they had the capability

Are we reading much into the UK and US government’s asking thier citizens to leave Ukraine?

It’s probably due to the planning assumption that UK/US force won’t be allowed to deploy on the ground to enable an evacuation and a fast moving highly destructive campaign by Russia

Reduce the numbers in Ukraine reduce the risk

The counter argument is that it does some of Putin’s work for him by getting rid of bystanders who can cause a lot nuisance (a rather unfortunate “dead Ukrainians don’t count” analogy) and attention from foreign media and demands for NATO intervention

Distributed cryptocurrency mining…..

Because we’re too smart to want to deal with all the crap it brings with it.

And then moan about the decisions made by people you think are in the bottom 25% of IQ distribution and all the crap it brings with it……

That would be a fair challenge if candidates were selected on grounds of capability – not on connections and blind adherence to this prevailing ideology…

If you set up your IQ>90 party with the other 75% or so of the population you could end up in power

I have some sympathy for Truss here. Lavrov gets to act any way he damn well pleases as he’s part of a mafia state. Like being an arsehole and walking off the platform like a petulant child. It must be pretty thankless trying to “negotiate” with an organisation that will ignore everything until it gets want it wants

I don’t, the Russian behaviour should have been anticipated, she should have prepared properly. She occupies one of the great offices of state, we expect better.

She needs to drop the rest of her portfolio and focus otherwise the major embarrassments will continue

It’s extremely doubtful that she’s going to be the next leader, she might think she is but the portfolio grabbing shows as she can’t cover the main brief effectively. This embarrassment will haunt her as it shows her failing on the world stage, it’s not a good look and there are plenty of better candidates

I imagine the FO diplomats are either getting shouted at for not preparing her enough or more likely holding their heads in their hands

The whole cabinet were chosen solely on having a fanatical devotion to Brexit – which pretty much means they are all morons. I suspect most have an IQ below 90….

So their behaviour (one moronic thing after another) is pretty much to be expected.

Makes me wonder why people with an IQ >90 like yourself can’t be bothered to step up to be elected and run the country. After all these IQ<90 people are ones creating the laws and taxes that shape your life

A think a few have been handed back as the route is apparently a bit on the epic side with limited bailout opportunity

Not surprised to discover this. I remember listening to the occasional interview with (Tom) on the radio and feeling very uncomfortable. His daughter was incredibly controlling during the process, seizing the phone back off him half way through his answers as if worried about what he might say.

I think we should just let the process flow through if there are real issues they will be exposed, if it’s just “normal” for the sector well people who work in the sector need to pay their mortgages, I can easily understand that she might have protective of her Dad if he was prone to say things that might trigger people as some older folk don’t have a filter and have social attitudes that have dated.

I found the whole adulation thing a bit off putting although it wasn’t his fault, he just rode the wave as anyone would raising cash as he went

Charities target grant income to fund their work? Err, yes. Of course. You are going to have to explain what your objection to this approach is please?

I’m talking third sector which as you know encompasses far more than just charities. I was very surprised at the scale of it and the lack of tangible outputs. A good example here

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0005sxl

Asking as someone who works for charities and has applied for loads of them over the years.

I guessed that from the first attempt to close down the discussion on this, I say third sector, you say charities.

The legacy thing is tricky.

Well it is if you employ people to ensure you maximise income from them actively targeting the most likely donors. For some charities it’s their main source of income.

Spring is a few months away yet, how long can Russia afford to keep thousands of troops (some of them conscripts) living in tents? And how long before some of those vehicles become un-serviceable. I think time’s not on Putin’s side here.

This is what the Twitter thread discusses, essentially Putin has a small window to make a go/no go decision. After the Olympics, before the conscripts go home, when the ground is good for manoeuvre. But that’s the full invasion scenario, the disrupt and terrorise scenario continues regardless

As for the army, they can stay there as long as he wants them to.

With deteriorating combat power and morale, you can’t keep them at a high state of readiness for ever

The Economist reckons they are waiting until the Olympics is finished. What, because Putin’s a sports fan? It jaut seems so incongruous!

You have just signed a significant bilateral agreement with the host of the Olympics, you don’t think it was discussed? Would the Chinese want one country competing to declare war on another during the games?

“..or a business.” well, no, it doesn’t. By definition. Charities should be run in a business-like way. That is to maximise efficiency, therefore maximising resources that go directly on the “thing” you do. But they can’t become businesses, the requirements are contradictory and incompatible.

I can name at least two locally active third sector organisations that live by targeting grants. Profits and Groundworks

Third sector isn’t just charities as you well know

The local food Bank has lost massive credibility due to alleged grifting

https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/17772425.complaints-rossendale-food-bank-made-formal/

And if you want to talk about bad behaviour by charities we could go into the whole issue of targeting legacies and taking families to court to make sure you get the money

https://www.civilsociety.co.uk/news/supreme-court-rules-in-favour-of-animal-charities-in-legacies-appeal.html

Explains why there are so many charity adverts on daytime TV and the number of trained staff to make sure the will is legally changed

I expect many local authorities have plenty of experience of protracted and overly expensive enquiries into PROW management.

To be honest it should be a police matter due to the nature of the issues, however it’s GMP

Good to get a view from someone who is able to translate what’s in the public domain

It’s probably a storm in a tea cup, unfortunately the family may get tainted for trying to do the right thing, if not the regulator is having a look

There are plenty of worse examples out there

I’m aware of a case where Oldham council are looking at moving a footpath through a farm due to the belligerent owner and the dogs that keep biting people

I’d throw the book at them but some people and organisations just don’t have the stomach for it

Cambridge Analytica

Forecasting a general drop in Scotland c7% East Lothian the only area with any real growth

I imagine there will be ghost villages like the ones you here of on the continent. The difference maybe that the Airbnb sector sees them still active but with shrinking permanent population. Again it will probably see a lot of variability depending on the attractiveness of the area.

England the only home nation with population growth, M5 corridor quite striking

Nrs data with a declining population forecast as well
https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/statistics-and-data/statistics/statistics-by-theme/population/population-projections/population-projections-scotland/2020-based

In Scotland I’d be looking at the long-term population forecasts, some areas like Argyll and Bute are looking at over 30% drops in population by 2080, that’s going to mean property prices sinking. It’s not going to be evenly spread but it’s a serious factor if your house is your main asset.

How much should it cost to set up and run a charity that size? I really don’t know. Without comparison to other charities, I have no idea if this is really a story.

The answer is, it depends.

The expectations of many are that things are done for free. For some people it turns into a job or business.

My insights into the third sector is that it often attracts good people doing good things. It also attracts grifters and there is an entire industry out there working the system that most don’t see.

Whether the payments are ordinary for the sector are one thing, whether the people who donated are happy about them is another

I was given redundancy in April

The Covid experience was fine, helped by the fact that I was using an outplacement consultant

No pushing, no filling in daft forms, just a bi weekly call

It’s why we need to go all Canadian about the dangerous invasive species. Proactive, and big fines if you don’t sort it out

If we actually made an effort it could be eliminated or as close to as possible

If you subscribe you just reduce the ads not the amount of distributed crytomining that you are supporting…….. Allegedly

His main concerns are around shifts etc. and the impact on girlfriend time, mates time, etc.

Well that’s what happens when you start the second job for when you aren’t on shift………

If he isn’t mature enough to realise the opportunity a career in the service he will soon after he starts the dull job with an on-call requirement

He’s just frustrated because people keep pointing out how ridiculous his comments are. I doubt that he actually believes that we are all warmongering nutters, he’s just lashing out with insults because he has nothing else to use.

The internet is a terrible place to have a discussion, I personally let it wash over me. He is right on some points NATO isn’t perfect, US and UK have done things they shouldn’t have for dubious reasons.

Where the issues centre around Ukraine then the context shifts, a deployment of a third of the strength and probably 2/3 of the fighting capability of Russia in the area on a offensive footing isn’t a defensive act. The precursor activities are not a defensive act. The NATO baddddd argument doesn’t correlate with what is happening. If NATO didn’t exist I doubt the Baltic States would exist in their current democratic form etc

Have I missed a few pages of “gosh I hope it kicks off”?

Only in the imagination of a few

A significant conflict with Russia is the last thing anyone wants, at the same time a democratic state falling to an invasion by a kleptocracy isn’t what anyone outside a small Putincentric group want

So we have the fudges we have now, in effect there is a shadow war going on with each side flexing it’s response and young Ukrainians still dying at the points of contact

NATO has it’s faults, US foreign and military policy has to be in part countered by Western diplomatic pressure. But when the Russians or Chinese start preparing for a land grab then everyone wants to be their friend.

I’ll bet you lot were cheering the house over weapons of mass destruction lies and wanting an invasion of whomever to take place soon as possible. From whats been said thus far, any dissenting voices expressing concern would have been descended upon.

Personally I think all involved in the dodgy dossier should have been up on charges of Treason ( or whatever the most appropriate significant charge is)
It’s the biggest decision you can take to commit UK lives to inflict extreme violence on another country. You don’t do it on a web of deceit. There needed to be consequences to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

As for Belarus, it’s hardly a normal functioning state, the influx of Russian troops is clearly to bolster the dictatorship, Russia has to be willing to deploy troops to keep these dodgy regimes in place.

Russia mounts a significant military build up on the border with Ukraine and sends troops into Belarus

China and Russia sign a military bilateral

“Cui bono”

https://www.voanews.com/a/himalayan-bridge-project-sparks-fresh-china-india-tension/6392630.html

If I’ve got it right the “wins” concept of GBDuro is your own personal achievement of accomplishing the events trials and tribulations. Its a bit of a dig and ridicule of the whole palava of other “winning” type events (TdF). Its low key, grass roots, pack your panniers full of food to get you from Lands End to John O Groats and get a train to the start.

There’s a results table for the event on the website, find one for an audax

As to countries to be concerned about specifically. Arent you even in part concerned about how the US is acting ?. Middle east, Asia, Latin America, South America. How many conflicts have they been involved in ?. Considerably more than Russia has, and none of them on the US border.

What shows your blinkers is that Russia was/is operating in all these areas.

Anyway, at the moment we have Belarus essentially occupied, as also parts of Georgia, whilst we all fret about Ukraine.