Bahrain Bites Bernie’s Butt: Protests Threaten F1 Season Opener

The first race of the 2011 Formula One season is scheduled to take place in Bahrain on March 13th.That fact is not due to there being any motorsport tradition in the region, but is entirely due to large sums of money being paid to FOM (Formula One Management), the company headed by Bernie Ecclestone.That is the commercial basis of the sport. If you can put up enough cash, you can host an event.Western governments have cosied up to distasteful middle eastern governments in a big way, and perhaps they have had no choice because we are so dependent on oil. And where diplomacy has led, big business has followed. The first Bahrain F1 race was in 2004, and since then we have become accustomed to seeing Bernie and his peers looking happy with Shei...

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