Should the Sochi F1 race go ahead ?

[Furinkazen]

Well aren't you a bastion of humanism! I've seen Daily Mail comments with more empathy.

I'm pretty sure Iran has sufficient military technology to easily protect its borders. It's also closer to Syria than Australia.


Well, you said it there in the bolded part. I have always thought countries should protect their borders with everything they've got. The EU and US are pretty much lost causes because they have given up on this, but at least Australia still has the stones to fight the stream of illegals.

I don't follow the Ukrainian crisis much, but Russia has virtually taken Crimea by force (I could easily see through the fake vote), which is vastly different from Australia redirecting illegals to Papua New Guinea to prevent them from being a strain on their economy.


I guess now I can start that Team Daily Mail you were talking about long ago?

What do you want, shoot on sight?

 

[Carbonox]

What do you want, shoot on sight?

Detain them and send them back. Especially if they attempt to violently break through (which would make them no better than the regime they're originally fleeing from).

 

[Liquid]

Keep it in the appropriate threads. Or begin a new one.

This is about the Russian Grand Prix.

 

[MatskiMonk]

F1 already has it's own political circus, it doesn't need to get muddied in with regional or governmental politics too!

It's possible Putin's actions might affect the F1 race for sure... just look at DTM qualifying

 

[Dotini]

In Bernie I trust.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Well, you said it there in the bolded part.

And that makes it okay?

Remember, I never said that border protection as a whole was wrong. Just that the current policy on it is.

I don't follow the Ukrainian crisis much, but Russia has virtually taken Crimea by force (I could easily see through the fake vote), which is vastly different from Australia redirecting illegals to Papua New Guinea to prevent them from being a strain on their economy.

Again, not the point. People suggest Russia should lose its race on moral grounds. Australia has a policy that, if it were used by another country, would be condemned - and if they had a race, would likely be grounds for losing it, if morality was the guiding principal.

 

[Biggles1961]

Looks like the E.U. might impose further sanctions, and Russia will retaliate by banning European aircraft in its airspace.
That could seriously hinder teams getting their cars and equipment to Sochi. A lot of celebs and drivers would not be able to take their jets to Sochi. And Sochi is not that easy to get to overland.
Would any of the sanctions affect any of the financial transactions of the race ?

 

[Rage Racer]

I don't follow the Ukrainian crisis much, but Russia has virtually taken Crimea by force (I could easily see through the fake vote)

Well, there's no evidence of any fake votes, "I could easily see" doesn't count.
My friend has travelled to Crimea this summer (he's got relatives in Simferopol). He says, most of those people do not regret "switching" the country - not only because they're such pro-Russian, but also because most people (even those who didn't care of politics) understand that staying in Ukraine would be a lot worse. There were pro-Russian protests (just like in Donetsk this April) from the very beginning of the crisis - the coup d'etat in Kiev (the end of February), and if Ukrainian interim gov-t tried to suppress them, it could flare up into a civil war even hotter than we have in Donbass today.

Besides, Ukraine is suffering financial problems and having a war on its land. Crimeans would not like to have this **** on their plate too, like to have their salaries/pensions cut down or to be forcibly mobilized to fight in Donbass. Today, Crimeans can show a middle finger to Kiev instead, when they're protected by the Russian armed forces and their state workers earn much higher salaries than in Ukraine.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Looks like the E.U. might impose further sanctions, and Russia will retaliate by banning European aircraft in its airspace.
That could seriously hinder teams getting their cars and equipment to Sochi. A lot of celebs and drivers would not be able to take their jets to Sochi. And Sochi is not that easy to get to overland.

I believe those sanctions only apply to Siberia, the idea being to inconvenience European airliners by forcing them to go the long way around to get to Asia.

 

[IforceV8]

Well, there's no evidence of any fake votes, "I could easily see" doesn't count.

Stop lying,you sound like Baghdad Bob.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/paulrod...lection-results-only-15-voted-for-annexation/

 

[Rage Racer]

Stop lying,you sound like Baghdad Bob.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/paulrod...lection-results-only-15-voted-for-annexation/

Oh
That's an old "cool story". The Human Rights Council may have actually posted this, but those numbers are just approximate, probably a personal opinion of some members (Gannushkina, for example, opposes the annexation). So, it doesn't prove anything. The numbers were removed as incorrect.

Unfortunately, the language barrier would make it difficult for you to ask some real Crimeans what they think about it. But Pew Research Center already did this for you:
http://www.pewglobal.org/2014/05/08...rnance-ukrainians-want-to-remain-one-country/

For their part, Crimeans seem content with their annexation by Russia. Overwhelming majorities say the March 16th referendum was free and fair (91%) and that the government in Kyiv ought to recognize the results of the vote (88%).

Anyway, I think this discussion is more appropriate in that thread.

Looks like the E.U. might impose further sanctions, and Russia will retaliate by banning European aircraft in its airspace.
That could seriously hinder teams getting their cars and equipment to Sochi. A lot of celebs and drivers would not be able to take their jets to Sochi. And Sochi is not that easy to get to overland.
Would any of the sanctions affect any of the financial transactions of the race ?

I think, any flights into Russia will not be halted, the sanction may relate to the flights crossing the country. Or, the F1 teams may have to use planes of Russian airlines only.

 

[Whodoyouthink]

I used to ask this same question for the Bahrain Grand Prix after I found out about all the terrible [political] issues that go on there. But once I saw they still went on with the race despite of all that, minus one year where riots got out of control, I sort of changed my view on it.

It comes of as a dirty sort of business decision to go on with holding such a race, be it Bahrain or Sochi. But the idea that the race isn't much of a political statement, and that drivers, crews, and fans alike would be coming together in peace to enjoy something is appealing.

Now granted, the only other iffy thing in my mind is the Sochi track design. I don't know what to make of it but I'm afraid it isn't that great. Will have to wait and see if ultimately it's a good track or not.

I mean they didn't drop the Indian Grand Prix due to the track itself, so....opinions on tracks themselves probably don't mean an awful lot.