F1 Fanatic

Just to keep people up to date with items in the press in the last week. I did post these earlier but probably not seen by most.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/05/bahrain-medics-retrial

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/bahrain-court-issues-more-prison-sentences-for-anti-government-unrest/2011/10/05/gIQAPJe3ML_story.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/lawyer-bahrain-security-court-sentences-33-more-for-protest-violence/2011/10/06/gIQA8pmXPL_story.html

And one that BasCB posted.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/10/06/uk-bahrain-budget-idUKTRE7952UY20111006

As long as there is no chance of having a repeat of this year, F1 doesnt need its name dragged through the mud or used as a symbol for any political divide.

Still not anywhere close to a state most of us would consider normal – About the military courts dealing with cases – http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2011/10/20111016145759140585.html
And Bahrain officals keeps bullying those that have negative stories as well as distorting statements by the likes of Amnesty International and the UN commissions to make it look as if these report positively.
Also critisizing the opposition political party and putting blame on them for talks promised in Februari not getting going (hard to talk with tanks on the streets).

I really do not feel there is much real chance of Bahrain actually staging the race next year. Its in high danger of getting the middlepoint of protests and crack downs again.

@icthyes, those massive protests are pretty likely to occur though. With no real solutions in sight, what is there to bar the majority to take the GP as focus for protests next year, save a pre-emptive heavy handed crackdown on them before that happens?

Probably but it shouldn’t. They’ve got the money Bernie wants the money, we know how that goes. Hopefully, it gets cancelled early and we go to Turkey.

Really enjoyed starting in Australia this year, back where it belongs.

Honestly,I agree with @Scribe,Australia is a true successful season opener,On the other hand Bahrain is as dead as a horse IMO.So i dont believe people would have any sympathy for the Bahrain Government & organisers,who’s has over 10 Months – 1 Year to resolve the Country’s issues.

Until reading this post I was of the opinion that F! should not go to Bahrain on the principle of the human rights violations but right now I’m just beginning to change my mind. It was often written earlier in the year that the Bahraini Regime cracked down so hard on the protesters because they wanted the GP to go ahead and I’m pretty sure the protesters were planning to target the event and disrupt it some how.

By having F1 in Bahrain it could well send out a message to the world saying ‘look at us, how mighty we are with our race, how wonderful everything is here’… but I’m beginning to think not.

Little has been herd on main stream media about the country’s woe’s compared to the likes of Libya and Egypt and and surely if F1 returned to Bahrain it would provide the platform to the worlds media the protesters so desperately need to get their voice’s herd by the world. which without, they might just fade into the distance and be forgotten about with the likes of Yemen and Sudan

would it not therefore actually be sad if F1 did not return to Bahrain in 2012?