Would you race in Bahrain?

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I think that the video says it all.

You see, I don't - if I could be arsed to trawl through Youtube footage, I could substantiate any argument that I wanted to put forward - such is the power of the internet. Combine that with incredibly sloppy journalism and hidden agendas and who the fuck knows.
 
I think that the video says it all.
Any country that orders it Military to open fire on its own unarmed civilians cannot in any way be forgiven.

Absolutely. It just is not the way to run a viable and safe country. The Bahrain Grand Prix could become a symbol for the republicans of royal hobbies emptying the treasury - Sakhir could be their Bastille.

You can't open fire on your own subjects. I barely forgive governments of any shade for declaring war on foreign fields, but at the point where a government equates its self-interest with the nation's interest, and thus the people are against the "nation", then all is lost.
 
Absolutely. It just is not the way to run a viable and safe country. The Bahrain Grand Prix could become a symbol for the republicans of royal hobbies emptying the treasury - Sakhir could be their Bastille.

You can't open fire on your own subjects. I barely forgive governments of any shade for declaring war on foreign fields, but at the point where a government equates its self-interest with the nation's interest, and thus the people are against the "nation", then all is lost.

So, basically, you are damning all of the African/Middle Eastern countries!

Open fire on your own subjects - every Western country has done so in the past and some of it quite recently. Perhaps the "non-westerners" are just catching up!

Why does the West always think they have the edge on everyone else when it comes to human rights - we ain't so perfect, just a lot sneakier.

I am a pacifist, always have been and always will be - but am really quite sceptical when it comes to news and anything that might sell papers - I am quite of the opinion that the media has created an awful lot of mayhem over the years - market downturns, mortgage misery, recession, global warming, etc - whatever sells.
 
What evidence is there that the video is real? It has apparently come from Russian television, but there is nothing to say it hasn't been faked.

Sadly, in this day and age I don't know who to believe any more - we get fed so much information by a media that has an agenda that I take a heck of a lot of it with a pinch of salt.
 
We can believe that there are no malnourished children living in poverty in the UK and USA if we want to.

That's because there aren't any. Those people are fictional.

Everything is hunky-dory in the west.

Freedom, democracy, money, food, sanitation, houses, stable economies, heck, we have it all. We're living the good life here.
 
That's because there aren't any. Those people are fictional.

Everything is hunky-dory in the west.

Freedom, democracy, money, food, sanitation, houses, stable economies, heck, we have it all. We're living the good life here.

So much to learn and years to do it. Hopefully!
 
That's because there aren't any. Those people are fictional.

Everything is hunky-dory in the west.

Freedom, democracy, money, food, sanitation, houses, stable economies, heck, we have it all. We're living the good life here.

Don't forget queueing! We can't live without queueing!
 
Just popping in for a quick one. I can say with reasonable confidence that RT's video is real. It first appeared on Arabic news stations on night of the 18th Feb'. Next day Crown Prince of Bahrain (sort of) apologised and not long after pulled the troops of the streets (more or less).Protests have continued relatively peacefully since. As Lak pointed out there is a large body of support for the government mainly due to the Sunni making up roughly 25 to 30% of the population that basically rules over the Shiite majority (a little under 70% of pop). Foreign nationals are said to make up less than 5% (maybe Lak can give us the precise stats on that).

Interviews on the streets (by such as Al Jazeera, Press TV, France 24) do indicate that there are Sunni's protesting alongside Shiite's. So, as in Egypt, it's not a sectarian divide at work. Interestingly, it seems that the majority of protesters and the organised opposition groups don't appear to want the fall of the monarchy. I think they look on the UK's parliamentary monarchic system as a model. Being more of a Roundhead than a Monarchist I'm inclined to wonder why but each to their own.

Anyway, if you want to see a real Tyrantsorearse Rex at work check out what's happening in Libya. The Ol' Colonel has truly lost it. makes the rest of them look like cuddly pussy cats.

Sorry ... wasn't that quick ... blooming politics again .... but it just shows how small technology has made this world. We all feel the pinch in the pocket when things happen to affect the price of motorjuice but, hey, we really notice when our beloved sport is going to start a couple of weeks late and not where we thought it was. The personal 'touch'. Love it. makes you feel really connected.

"I would be a pacifist but things happen. So I guess I'm just a placidfist." Dave Cooper
 
Quite so. I made two dismal errors in my earlier post:1) I talked about the population and misused the term foreign nationals (should have said ppl of foreign birth, perhaps); 2) I should have used the term "those eligible to vote" which is what the percentages I quoted are according to several analysts interviewed on Al Jazeera. that's not to say that they are any more clodser to the truth, but you see what I'm getting at. I hope.
 
Population: 728709 note: includes 235,108 non-nationals (July 2009 est.)
http://www.economywatch.com/economic-statistics/country/Bahrain/

or:

In 2010, Bahrain's population grew to 1.234 million, out of which more than 666,172 (54%) were non-nationalshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahrain#cite_note-2010-census-4.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahrain

There is little consensus on how many people live in Bahrain!

Fewer now, if the media are correct!

A glib comment, but if the Middle East/Africa eventually lose a dozen "dictators, tyrants and despots" who will actually run these countries for the benefit of the populace. The ramifications are huge.

Democracy is all fine and dandy (and, maybe, the best system) but even that has it's faults.
 
And remember who put him there?

It wasn't you was it Jez?
snigger.gif
 
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