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Old 01-08-2008, 02:01 AM
TooFastTim TooFastTim is offline
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Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Sydney, NSW, Aus
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ramcclure200 View Post
Yet another reason the world needs to rid its self from these terrorist groups
so the rest of us who know how to live in peace can do so.

my 2cents
Ron
Hey Ron, it's a bit more complicated than that. I agree with the decision to cancel this years Dakar but I know a few people who were due to ride it and it's a rough deal on them. But: essentially the Dakar is taking a rich mans sport, a symbol of (for want of a better description) western decandence (face it, our sport is pretty decadent) and thrusting in the face of the indigent and dirt poor. The Dakar goes straight through the their backyard. Every year or most years some poor kid or kids who're herding the families mangy goats gets whacked by a car, bike or truck. Prior to this the poor kid has never seen anything other than some ratty bus capable of, at most, 40 miles and hour. The poor kids brain can't deal with the concept of 120 mph let alone work out that he'd better sprint like hell to get out of it's way. Nevermind peoples like this have a pretty fatalistic attitude to kids getting whacked, it's still a rough deal.

The people who deserve more sympathy than the competitors are those whose villages they bivouac in. These people are commisioned to supply meat, bread etc and do handsomely out of the deal.

The third worlds a complicated place. I know I lived in Africa for 40 years of my life and was thrown out of two countries simply because I was the wrong colour. As a result of people like me being bounced I've watched two countries go to the dogs and am watching one go that way now. I've also seen the same countries blame the "imperialist, capitalist west" for all their woes but beg for money in the same breath.

So, I say, f%ck 'em. Build a bloody great wall around them and leave them to starve and we'll take our sport and money to somewhere that appreciates them. Either that or tell them to get thier own house in order, stop sponging off us and give us reasonable guarantees.

M2CW
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