An F1 Dilemma

Unless you have been living under ground over the past few weeks, you will have read, and probably engaged in discussion regarding the Bahrain Grand Prix.

From an F1 fan point of view, I haven’t yet seen a single fan who supports the race going ahead.  Safety is more important than an F1 race and yet here we are, the Shanghai Grand Prix is almost upon us with Sakhir following the next week, and the race is still on.

It has been said that to guarantee (and you can never guarantee anything really in those circumstances) that nothing less than a complete military lockdown would ensure the safety of the teams, the drivers, the fans. 

It is only two years ago that Jenson Button was faced with men brandishing machine guns at his car on the way back to his hotel and had it not been for the quick thinking of his driver, who knows what could have happened.  That was Brazil.  The threat is far, far greater in Bahrain, anything can happen.

As I have said, so many fans have spoken out against the race going ahead, myself included.  But there, we face a quandary.  The race seems to be on.  We know it is unsafe.  We have all said that it shouldn’t happen.  But will we still watch it?

For me, the answer is I don’t know.  On the one hand my head says nothing may happen, I don’t want to miss the race.  Then there is a pause.  For if I truly believe that the race going ahead is wrong in the current circumstances, am I feeding the beast by watching?

Formula One is a circus is fuelled by money.  Open up Bernie Ecclestone and you would probably find coins running through him, not blood.  But if we watch the race, are we any better?

In other aspects of my life the answer is simple.  I abhor horse racing and believe it is barbaric, the Grand National in particular.  I will not watch and I am actively trying to encourage others not to watch and not to bet.  The Grand National is something again fuelled by money and only the power of people turning against it, not watching and not betting is going to make a difference.

With Formula One however this is just one race.  Next year things may be different and the controversy surrounding the race may be gone.  Can I watch this year, knowing lives may be on the line for the sake of sport?

The answer to this question is I don’t know.  Do you?

Reintroduction–From the Outside

Reintroduction of an animal species is a subject that most people haven’t ever thought about.  Also, with so many people living in towns and cities, reintroduction of an animal species is something that won’t impact their lives.

Reintroduction isn’t something that would impact on me in any way, so with that said I can only put my point of view forward from the outside, neither being part of a reintroduction process nor someone who may be affected by it.

I’ve been aware of this subject for a few years.  The first instance I personally heard about was the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone Park.  This was brought about in 1995 and since then, the wolves are doing well.  The over population of elk is reduced but not overhunted, flora and fauna have flourished and the beaver population has increased.

The ecological balance has been redressed and the Park has benefited from it.  In addition, the grey wolf is now off the endangered list.

In relation to a non predatory species, beavers have been reintroduced into Scotland and last year the first wild beavers were born.  Salmon populations have not gone down as the opposition said it would, but then again, beavers don’t eat fish, they eat vegetation. 

Some reintroduction ideas will never work.  The idea of returning wolves to Scotland for example will never work.  For one, much of Great Britain is privately owned and so the land isn’t available and also, the country is too populated to consider reintroducing a predatory species.  But wild boar?  Why not.

I honestly believe that reintroducing animals species that have previously lived in the area is important, where feasible.   This can help in so many ways, from bringing animals from off the endangered list to bringing the ecological balance back into play.

After all, these creatures were here for a reason, and the only reason they disappeared was from hunting and eradication.  From us.  It is our responsibility to bring these animals back to where they should be again.

Delusional or Fame Hungry?

I, like thousands of others read the article Samantha Brick wrote in the Daily Mail yesterday Why women hate me for being beautiful.  The reactions to the article have been numerous and varied.

The majority of people seemed to have the same reaction of saying that she is not beautiful and that she is obviously deluded, vain and self obsessed.  I thought pretty much the same, and the article made me laugh at the fact that someone could rate themselves so highly, and be happy to publish it.

Today, after thousands of comments on the Daily Mail site and on Twitter she has written another article saying on the one hand, she is upset and disgusted at some of the comments received, but on the other, she doesn't regret it and she has been proved right.

Personally I have no problem with someone is extremely pretty or beautiful.  If you look like that, lucky you!  Samantha Brick however isn't beautiful.  She is nice looking but nothing over the top.  She said that if Angelina Jolie was quoted saying that she was beautiful, there would be a massive public backlash.  I don't think there would be, because after all, Angelina Jolie is beautiful.

I think it was last year that Katherine Jenkins said that her looks prevented her from being taken seriously. She said

“It’s hard being beautiful,” she says, “it can work against you. It creates a certain lack of credibility.”

There was no public backlash.  She is beautiful and I do expect that her looks may have worked against her in certain ways. 

I really don't know how to place Samantha Brick.  On the one hand, she does genuinely think that she is beautiful.  Her previous articles in the Mail are littered with photographs of her and are full of comments about her looks, weight, clothes etc.

If she is that naive then whatever anyone says to the contrary, she will continue to think that way.  It would be nice I suppose to be convinced that you were beautiful.  If that was the case, she would be a one article wonder, forgotten in a week.

I don't think she is a one article wonder however.  From that one article, she immediately had the "follow up" the next day, is now appearing on This Morning tomorrow and will no doubt have countless interviews, TV appearances and yes, more articles written about her.

I think what she actually is, is a woman who wanted publicity on a massive scale, to become an instant quote unquote "celebrity" and through this article she was able to get it.  On looking at her previous offerings, I think she was aiming for this when she wrote I use my sex appeal to get ahead at work. 

This woman has gone from a complete unknown to infamous in 24 hours.  I genuinely think that that is exactly what she wanted, and if she isn't on Celebrity Big Brother or I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here within a year, I'll eat my hat.