Bikes on footpaths - damn...

It is legal in certain council areas in Queensland and wrong for
cyclists to ride on the footpath but then again it is not a cyclist's
right but an privilege.

Hi Kenneth! What is the difference between a right and a privilege?
It is legal for a pedestrian to use the "Bicentennial Bikeway" shared
path. Is that a privilege, or a right?

"Arpit" wrote in message
...
On 7 Oct 2003 15:45:34 +0950, Cheryl
wrote:
...
What I want to know is what about pedestrian crossings? If a cyclist has
the right to ride on the footpath what right does he have at a crossing?
I've had the experience of having a cyclist speed out onto a crossing
causing me to brake hard only just missing him. I had checked for
walkers near the crossing.

um, you checked for walkers, why didnt you see the cyclist?

My guess is that they were moving at speed from the footpath onto the pedi
crossing.

Just in the same way that a pedi that is running and does a sharp turn onto
a pedi crossing does not give road users adequate time to stop for them.

Tim

"Arpit" wrote in message
...
On 7 Oct 2003 15:45:34 +0950, Cheryl
wrote:
...
What I want to know is what about pedestrian crossings? If a cyclist has
the right to ride on the footpath what right does he have at a crossing?
I've had the experience of having a cyclist speed out onto a crossing
causing me to brake hard only just missing him. I had checked for
walkers near the crossing.

um, you checked for walkers, why didnt you see the cyclist?

My guess is that they were moving at speed from the footpath onto the pedi
crossing.

Just in the same way that a pedi that is running and does a sharp turn onto
a pedi crossing does not give road users adequate time to stop for them.

Tim

Glen F wrote:

It is legal in certain council areas in Queensland and wrong for
cyclists to ride on the footpath but then again it is not a cyclist's
right but an privilege.


Hi Kenneth! What is the difference between a right and a privilege?
It is legal for a pedestrian to use the "Bicentennial Bikeway" shared
path. Is that a privilege, or a right?



A "privilege" is a "right" that can be "taken away" for no reason,
obviously! :-) It takes a little more perspiration to remove a "right".

However, in actual fact, there is no such thing as a "right" or a
"privilege", in the context being discussed. An abstract noun
("state"/"government") can neither confer nor revoke any "right". This
is the reason a "bill of human rights" is an affront. Human rights exist
independently and outside of any "state", "government" or "bill".

Similarly, my right to ride a bicycle where it is safe to do so is
independent of any "law" that pretends to say what I can and can't do.
This is *particularly* evident where laws vary from place to place, and
state to state. It can't be safe in one state and unsafe in another.
This is (one) proof that the law cannot tell you what is OK or not OK to do.

Another proof can easily be seen in conscription laws. Because I am a
Christian, I will refuse to be conscripted under any circumstances
whatsoever. Not only do Christians recognise no authority but God's, it
is quite plainly obvious after less than a moment's thought that murder
and Christianity are mutually incompatible. I will not bother to go into
a long explanation of this, except to refer the interested reader to a
couple of sources: (1) The gospels, e.g., Matthew 5:38-42. :

"You have learnt how it was said: Eye for eye and tooth for tooth.
But I say this to you: offer the wicked man no resistance. On the
contrary, if anyone hits you on the right cheek, offer him the
other as well; if a man takes you to law and would have your
tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone orders you
to go one mile, go two miles with him. Give to anyone who asks,
and if anyone wants to borrow, do not turn away."

and (2) a book by Leo Tolstoy, "The Kingdom of God is Within You". Both
can be found in full text form on the Internet. **

Not all laws are bad, of course, in the sense that what they prescribe
is prescribed for a good reason. Traffic regulations are (generally) a
good example. Having everyone drive on the same side of the road is very
convenient! :-) (For some values of "same") Whether we need a *law* to
tell us this, though, is quite another matter. It should be clear to the
majority that people would continue to drive on the correct side of the
road without a law that says they have to!

Even the law (in some places) against (some people) riding bicyles on
(some) footpaths is intended to protect pedestrians from reckless idiots
on bikes. **

Bye for now.

David


** As an aside, I see a motorcyclist riding along footpaths in our area
every day, and I think nothing of it. He's obviously doing nothing unsafe.


--

The recognition or non-recognition of a certain truth depends not on
external causes, but on certain other causes within the man himself.
So that at times under external conditions apparently very favorable
for the recognition of truth, one man will not recognize it, and
another, on the contrary, under the most unfavorable conditions will,
without apparent cause, recognize it. As it is said in the Gospel, "No
man can come unto me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him."
That is to say, the recognition of truth, which is the cause of all
the manifestations of human life, does not depend on external
phenomena, but on certain inner spiritual characteristics of the man
which escape our observation.

-- Leo Tolstoy, "The Kingdom of God is Within You"

Glen F wrote:

It is legal in certain council areas in Queensland and wrong for
cyclists to ride on the footpath but then again it is not a cyclist's
right but an privilege.


Hi Kenneth! What is the difference between a right and a privilege?
It is legal for a pedestrian to use the "Bicentennial Bikeway" shared
path. Is that a privilege, or a right?



A "privilege" is a "right" that can be "taken away" for no reason,
obviously! :-) It takes a little more perspiration to remove a "right".

However, in actual fact, there is no such thing as a "right" or a
"privilege", in the context being discussed. An abstract noun
("state"/"government") can neither confer nor revoke any "right". This
is the reason a "bill of human rights" is an affront. Human rights exist
independently and outside of any "state", "government" or "bill".

Similarly, my right to ride a bicycle where it is safe to do so is
independent of any "law" that pretends to say what I can and can't do.
This is *particularly* evident where laws vary from place to place, and
state to state. It can't be safe in one state and unsafe in another.
This is (one) proof that the law cannot tell you what is OK or not OK to do.

Another proof can easily be seen in conscription laws. Because I am a
Christian, I will refuse to be conscripted under any circumstances
whatsoever. Not only do Christians recognise no authority but God's, it
is quite plainly obvious after less than a moment's thought that murder
and Christianity are mutually incompatible. I will not bother to go into
a long explanation of this, except to refer the interested reader to a
couple of sources: (1) The gospels, e.g., Matthew 5:38-42. :

"You have learnt how it was said: Eye for eye and tooth for tooth.
But I say this to you: offer the wicked man no resistance. On the
contrary, if anyone hits you on the right cheek, offer him the
other as well; if a man takes you to law and would have your
tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone orders you
to go one mile, go two miles with him. Give to anyone who asks,
and if anyone wants to borrow, do not turn away."

and (2) a book by Leo Tolstoy, "The Kingdom of God is Within You". Both
can be found in full text form on the Internet. **

Not all laws are bad, of course, in the sense that what they prescribe
is prescribed for a good reason. Traffic regulations are (generally) a
good example. Having everyone drive on the same side of the road is very
convenient! :-) (For some values of "same") Whether we need a *law* to
tell us this, though, is quite another matter. It should be clear to the
majority that people would continue to drive on the correct side of the
road without a law that says they have to!

Even the law (in some places) against (some people) riding bicyles on
(some) footpaths is intended to protect pedestrians from reckless idiots
on bikes. **

Bye for now.

David


** As an aside, I see a motorcyclist riding along footpaths in our area
every day, and I think nothing of it. He's obviously doing nothing unsafe.


--

The recognition or non-recognition of a certain truth depends not on
external causes, but on certain other causes within the man himself.
So that at times under external conditions apparently very favorable
for the recognition of truth, one man will not recognize it, and
another, on the contrary, under the most unfavorable conditions will,
without apparent cause, recognize it. As it is said in the Gospel, "No
man can come unto me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him."
That is to say, the recognition of truth, which is the cause of all
the manifestations of human life, does not depend on external
phenomena, but on certain inner spiritual characteristics of the man
which escape our observation.

-- Leo Tolstoy, "The Kingdom of God is Within You"

"David Trudgett" wrote in message
...

...

I will not bother to go into
a long explanation of this, except to refer the interested reader to a
couple of sources: (1) The gospels, e.g., Matthew 5:38-42. :

"You have learnt how it was said: Eye for eye and tooth for tooth.
But I say this to you: offer the wicked man no resistance. On the
contrary, if anyone hits you on the right cheek, offer him the
other as well; if a man takes you to law and would have your
tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone orders you
to go one mile, go two miles with him. Give to anyone who asks,
and if anyone wants to borrow, do not turn away."

and (2) a book by Leo Tolstoy, "The Kingdom of God is Within You". Both
can be found in full text form on the Internet. **


If that's the case, have you got a decent bike, and if so, can I have it?

;-)

Tim

"David Trudgett" wrote in message
...

...

I will not bother to go into
a long explanation of this, except to refer the interested reader to a
couple of sources: (1) The gospels, e.g., Matthew 5:38-42. :

"You have learnt how it was said: Eye for eye and tooth for tooth.
But I say this to you: offer the wicked man no resistance. On the
contrary, if anyone hits you on the right cheek, offer him the
other as well; if a man takes you to law and would have your
tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone orders you
to go one mile, go two miles with him. Give to anyone who asks,
and if anyone wants to borrow, do not turn away."

and (2) a book by Leo Tolstoy, "The Kingdom of God is Within You". Both
can be found in full text form on the Internet. **


If that's the case, have you got a decent bike, and if so, can I have it?

;-)

Tim

Tim Jones wrote:

"David Trudgett" wrote in message
...

...

I will not bother to go into
a long explanation of this, except to refer the interested reader to a
couple of sources: (1) The gospels, e.g., Matthew 5:38-42. :

"You have learnt how it was said: Eye for eye and tooth for tooth.
But I say this to you: offer the wicked man no resistance. On the
contrary, if anyone hits you on the right cheek, offer him the
other as well; if a man takes you to law and would have your
tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone orders you
to go one mile, go two miles with him. Give to anyone who asks,
and if anyone wants to borrow, do not turn away."

and (2) a book by Leo Tolstoy, "The Kingdom of God is Within You". Both
can be found in full text form on the Internet. **



If that's the case, have you got a decent bike, and if so, can I have it?

;-)

Yeah, "give to anyone who asks" is a tough one, isn't it? Do you need it
more than I do?

:-)

Ciao for niao.

David




--

"On two occasions I have been asked [by members of Parliament!],
'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will
the right answers come out?' I am not able rightly to apprehend the
kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question."

-- Charles Babbage

Tim Jones wrote:

"David Trudgett" wrote in message
...

...

I will not bother to go into
a long explanation of this, except to refer the interested reader to a
couple of sources: (1) The gospels, e.g., Matthew 5:38-42. :

"You have learnt how it was said: Eye for eye and tooth for tooth.
But I say this to you: offer the wicked man no resistance. On the
contrary, if anyone hits you on the right cheek, offer him the
other as well; if a man takes you to law and would have your
tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone orders you
to go one mile, go two miles with him. Give to anyone who asks,
and if anyone wants to borrow, do not turn away."

and (2) a book by Leo Tolstoy, "The Kingdom of God is Within You". Both
can be found in full text form on the Internet. **



If that's the case, have you got a decent bike, and if so, can I have it?

;-)

Yeah, "give to anyone who asks" is a tough one, isn't it? Do you need it
more than I do?

:-)

Ciao for niao.

David




--

"On two occasions I have been asked [by members of Parliament!],
'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will
the right answers come out?' I am not able rightly to apprehend the
kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question."

-- Charles Babbage

"David Trudgett" wrote in message
...
Tim Jones wrote:

"David Trudgett" wrote in message
...

...

I will not bother to go into
a long explanation of this, except to refer the interested reader to a
couple of sources: (1) The gospels, e.g., Matthew 5:38-42. :

"You have learnt how it was said: Eye for eye and tooth for tooth.
But I say this to you: offer the wicked man no resistance. On the
contrary, if anyone hits you on the right cheek, offer him the
other as well; if a man takes you to law and would have your
tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone orders you
to go one mile, go two miles with him. Give to anyone who asks,
and if anyone wants to borrow, do not turn away."

and (2) a book by Leo Tolstoy, "The Kingdom of God is Within You". Both
can be found in full text form on the Internet. **



If that's the case, have you got a decent bike, and if so, can I have
it?

;-)

Yeah, "give to anyone who asks" is a tough one, isn't it? Do you need it
more than I do?


Damn! Got me there - I already have a bike!

Tim

:-)