Bahrain

[vintly]

For your dubious pleasure, the latest on the shameful deceit:
http://m.vice.com/read/bahrains-pr-campaign-is-doomed-to-fail

And last year's article that is referred to:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jan/30/bahrain-grand-prix

[Jericoke]

Standard Orwellian logic.  The ruling class will do anything to keep the middle class down.

For me, the key line in the article is "a lot of chutzpah, or hubris, to think that such transparent “reputation management” would fool anybody who is paying attention"

They don't have to fool the people paying attention, they just have to convince enough people to not pay attention.

[vintly]

You're right Jeri. Convincing enough people to not pay attention is exactly what it is - in the form of PR.

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/377063/20120824/bahrain-pr-firms-bell-pottinger-m-c.htm

That article was Aug 2012, who knows what the PR spend is by now.

The human rights abuses are deplorable, but what shames me is the UK 's direct complicity in ignoring it. Tell people who don't know!

[Irisado]

It's the age old story of western governments needing Bahrain and Saudi Arabia onside, so to speak, for reasons of oil supply, and also, supposedly, for the war on terrorism.  Such is the realist nature of foreign policy.

It is disgraceful in my view, and we shouldn't have a Grand Prix there.

[cosworth151]

F1 has a long history of this. The one article mentioned South Africa during the apartheid boycott of the 80's. I guess one could even mention Hitler's use GP racing as a publicity tool in the 30's. It's a shame that F1 is letting itself be used in such a way.

[vintly]

One big difference between the 80s and now (let alone the 30s), is the Internet. A Good Thing. In light of all this PR, the problems in Bahrain will no doubt be once again portrayed as a storm in a teacup come the GP. Hopefully some journalists will stand up. Hopefully more people will see the truth. Hopefully Anonymous will do their thing in their (un)usual fantastic fashion. Long live Anonymous!

One thing's for sure, the F1 circus will keep as silent as possible, and try not even to mention the 'B' word. Yeeeesh.

[Ian]

Money money money, it's a Bernies thing.