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Already a billionaire, his money lust is insatiable. Even with race day blood on the streets he wants more. So do participating drivers. Many are multi-millionaires. Passing up one stop on the circuit hardly matters. Sacrifice isn't their long suit. Neither is doing the right thing.
They turn race competition into a perversion of sport. Thanks to Ecclestone, said Williams, "a sport whose conscience was only troubled by its environmental impact now looks like a pariah."
Welcome to Bahrain. Witness two spectacles for the price of one - Grand Prix racing and security force viciousness on street protesters in one of the world's most repressive dictatorships.
One protester death was reported. Salah Abbas Habib's body was found on a Al Shakhoura rooftop. A well-known activist leader, he was arrested the previous night with others. Reportedly they were tortured. His body showed evidence of shotgun injuries and abuse.
Police tried to prevent journalists and others from seeing it. Photos revealed what they tried to suppress.
Mohammed Hassan was arrested. He tried escorting journalists to protest areas. Security forces beat him badly. Now detained, he's held incommunicado with no access to counsel or family members.
On a March 30 TV interview , he was asked why he risked speaking publicly. He replied:
<blockquote>"I don't care anymore. My friends have been in prison. Some are still (there), and some are in hiding, and some are dead." Whatever happens to him, he added, he accepts it. "I have no choice but to accept it."</blockquote>
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