Bahrain GP Debate

[FB]

Quint, you obviously haven't read any of my other posts on the subject. If the teams can go there safely then I'm all for them going, what I was trying to get across was that there are many other ways to highlight human rights issues and some sort of demonstration of solidarity from the drivers to those being abused by the regime, to me, seems like quite a reasonable thing to do. Similarly, I would have no issue if the drivers chose to make a protest in China, Singapore, India, the USA, the UK, wherever human rights abuses are being carried out.

On the point of whether the drivers are going against their will or not is irrelevant. The black athletes went to Mexico in 1968 of their own free will but their protest on the podium was very powerful and helped to highlight a serious problem in the US.

 

[Quintessentially]

The situation in Bahrain and how it came about is far more complex than people being abused by the regime but this isn't the place for this type of dicussion. I think you have to be careful about using the Mexico Olympics as an example. These were a small number of athletes supporting their own justifiable cause which they were directly affected by. I'm just struggling to understand why any of the drivers would want to stage any sort of protest at Bahrain. If the race does go ahead, the F1 community should simply focus on staging a sporting event and nothing more.

 

[Viscount]

Finnish TV broadcaster MTV3 have said they are not sending their reporting team to Bahrain as they don't want to risk their safety, so they'll be covering the GP from Helsinki.

 

[the_roadie]

Finnish TV broadcaster MTV3 have said they are not sending their reporting team to Bahrain as they don't want to risk their safety, so they'll be covering the GP from Helsinki.

I'm reluctant to accuse Finns of any form of cowardice, it's just not in their nature, and that comment about Finnish MTV3 smacks of one Finn making a political statement for publicity purposes. China has a worse human rights record than Bahrain, but they haven't boycotted that race.

 

[Josh]

I'm reluctant to accuse Finns of any form of cowardice, it's just not in their nature, and that comment about Finnish MTV3 smacks of one Finn making a political statement for publicity purposes. China has a worse human rights record than Bahrain, but they haven't boycotted that race.

The situation in Bahrain and China is different, as in Bahrain this is actively going on: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17699752

(skip to 1:30)

I think that makes all the difference when deciding whether to send someone over to a state with a bad human rights record.

 

[the_roadie]

Fair enough, the situation in China (and the Tibetan territories it has illegally annexed by armed invasion) is not in the public eye right now, but that happens when people have been fighting invaders for 30-odd years and are still actively fighting to repel them.
It also helps "the authorities" when they have total control of news media including the internet
Hardly surprising that the Bahraini problems are current, they're fresh therefore far more media-friendly and journalists can go in and out freely to a degree not possible in China.
The Bahrain situation is as nothing compared to what's been going on in and around China for decades, but Bahrain (and its F1 race) gets all the flak just because it's "news" right here right now.

 

[Josephiah]

Did anyone else find BE's complete unconcern in Jake's interview in the quali programme a bit disturbing? I mean, I wasn't expecting any deep insights from him, but it's still kinda frightening when a powerful position is combined with an apparent lack of knowledge or understanding of the possible effects of his decisions...

 

[Viscount]

I'm reluctant to accuse Finns of any form of cowardice, it's just not in their nature, and that comment about Finnish MTV3 smacks of one Finn making a political statement for publicity purposes. China has a worse human rights record than Bahrain, but they haven't boycotted that race.

Some others are also joining MTV3 and staying at home, some Japanese and German (Sky Deutschland) are not sending their teams to Bahrain due to security fears.

 

[Quintessentially]

Did anyone else find BE's complete unconcern in Jake's interview in the quali programme a bit disturbing? I mean, I wasn't expecting any deep insights from him, but it's still kinda frightening when a powerful position is combined with an apparent lack of knowledge or understanding of the possible effects of his decisions...

Bernie has been in this business long enough to know the potential impact of the decision to go to Bahrain. Not that this was by any means a unilateral decision. He can be accused of anything but a lack of knowledge and he is rightly irked by all the doom mongers (some of whom have never stepped foot in Bahrain) hellbent on stirring up trouble at a time when it suits them.

 

[Jen]

Bernie is a 'businessman', nothing more nothing less - you don't get to have a personal fortune by caring and, as I have said before, he is merely enforcing his contracts. I suspect he isn't bothered about any 'possible implications' and will expect the teams and broadcasters to be kept safe by their own minders or the Bahrainis.

 

[the_roadie]

Some others are also joining MTV3 and staying at home, some Japanese and German (Sky Deutschland) are not sending their teams to Bahrain due to security fears.

Well that's just like the Stock Markets, ignore the facts and just go with the latest rumour and follow the rest of the sheep..
There's no factual reason to foresee any problems occurring to a F1 race in Bahrain.

Though, just like getting on an aeroplane and it then crashing, there's always the chance of the unexpected happening.

 

[Josephiah]

Bernie has been in this business long enough to know the potential impact of the decision to go to Bahrain. Not that this was by any means a unilateral decision. He can be accused of anything but a lack of knowledge and he is rightly irked by all the doom mongers (some of whom have never stepped foot in Bahrain) hellbent on stirring up trouble at a time when it suits them.

Sorry, should have been clearer, and put more emphasis on the "apparent". He obviously does have a reasonable understanding of the situation (from one perspective at least!) - we all know he's a canny operator and a force to be reckoned with in business terms - but the interview didn't give the impression, in my perception at least, that he had any idea what people were getting so worked up about.

So perhaps what I'm trying to get at is more to do with the way he presents the situation. What came across (again, subject to my own perception) was something along the lines of "I've got some friends* there who say it's all fine", which does little to assuage the concerns which Jake was trying to put across, however overinflated those concerns might have become.
(*rich, powerful, and definitely with a vested interest in everyone thinking everything's fine...)

 

[Jen]

Bernie is, and always has been, disingenuous when talking to the press - nothing is definite until it's done, that's the way he operates,

 

[Bill Boddy]

Bahrain Grand Prix: Formula One demeans itself with this event


http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/apr/15/editorial-boycott-bahrain-grand-prix (actually The Observer)

 

[FB]

The kingdom of Bahrain [insert name of repressive regime where Formula One races] is a repressive regime that has jailed and killed citizens who campaign for the reform of its monarchy [government].

Why Bahrain? Why not China? Why not the US or UK where people are locked up without trial for years and extraordinary rendition is sanctioned at the highest level of government? Why not India or Brazil where the inequality between rich and poor is rampant? No one suggested not going to Hungary at the height of the Communist regime.

I sincerely hope that there is no trouble at the event. It will be a magnet for the protestors and could result in an even more serious clamp down by the authorities but then the Olympics in London will be a magnet for the nutters and looneys who feel they have some axe to grind, just as the boat race did (I'm not suggesting the protestors in Bahrain are nutters and looneys by the way, I think they have a legitimate complaint).

Is it the place of sport to provide moral leadership?

 

[Speshal]

Open letter to the broadcasters

 

[teabagyokel]

I don't see how politics and sport can ever be kept separate. It is not possible.

However, Bahrain is not unique. I do not condone or like the Bahraini monarchy or its abysmal actions, but on the other hand I do not like or condone actions of many of the governments who haveFormula One races, which may or may not be equivalent or may even be just hidden.

One of the constants of the world is Western hypocrisy; Britain claims to spread democracy throughout the world with its unelected upper house and head of state, the only nation to have ever dropped a nuclear bomb decrees Iran cannot be trusted with one and the West decries Russia supporting Syria when it supports Bahrain.

In addition, F1 pulling out of Bahrain may soothe consciences, but it would not improve the lives of the Bahraini people. In fact, F1 is the main reason that Bahrain is under the spotlight and feels any need at all to maintain a veneer of respectability. If the world turned its usual blind eye all year round (concentrating on NATO's enemy Syria instead) then we would be none-the-wiser to the suffering of Bahrainis, and the monarchy could continue to act without fear of losing something close to its heart.

So it is difficult to get to upset, after analysis. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. There is good and bad everywhere.

 

[Bill Boddy]

A response to that letter: "Wait...you are asking a News Corp company to behave ethically?
Good luck with that."

The broadcasters have contracts with Ecclestone, there will be terms and conditions within those contracts. Quite likely there is a condition saying that the broadcasters have to broadcast.

The broadcasters will have to pay whether or not they broadcast, normally they get revenue from their advertisers and possibly from their viewers. Does anyone think that either of these categories will pay when the programme is not shown?

I agree with the sentiments expressed by the write of the letter but feel that the practicalities concerned with the money will override any other considerations or feelings.

 

[Kewee]

FB........

Just because Formula One travels to countries where the political situation is not ideal doesn't legitimize traveling to another country where the political situation is also not ideal. Are Bernies views, with his close ties to the Royal Family, neutral and understanding of the people crying out for change. Give me a break. Is it the place of sport to provide moral leadership? Your damn right it is. It's one of the few occasions sport can lift itself above its normal role and do something far greater than its original purpose, for the greater good. The bottom line for me is no sport should ever take on greater importance than the lives of the people of the countries it visits. Sadly that's not the case here.

 

[sportsman]

Well said Kewee.I would urge all members to read just how influential the banning of test cricket in South Africa during the apartheid years.This had a geat impact on the isolation of South Africa and had a marked influence on the death of aparthied.