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[perigee]

Ecclestone is clearly showing the signs of dementia with the rubbish he spouts. Maybe the little tw*rp thinks people take him seriously.

The man is not only offensive, he's stupid as well. Hitler actually got very little done and his main decisions were all wrong - which is why his generals were always trying to get him to look at things properly. Just read Speer's biography to see how simple and foolish Hitler was.

It can't be any coincidence that Mosley and Hitler have such a strong affinity to Nazi-like thinking and lets not forget who agreed to allowing Ecclestone the commercial rights to F1 for a knock down price.

[EwanM]

Politician cancels Ecclestone meeting

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/76746

By Jonathan Noble Monday, July 6th 2009, 13:32 GMT

Bernie Ecclestone's controversial comments about Adolf Hitler that emerged over the weekend have led to the cancellation of a meeting he was due to have with a German state leader at the Nurburgring this weekend.

Ecclestone told The Times on Saturday that he liked the way that Hitler was able to 'get things done' because of his dictatorial approach. Those comments caused a huge uproar, with leading Jewish organisations and politicians calling on him to step down.

Now, the German press agency DPA has reported that Gunther Oettinger, prime minister of the state of Baden-Wurttemberg, who was due to meet Ecclestone to discuss the future of Hockenheim, has called off their get-together because of the controversy.

Ecclestone has not yet issued an official statement in response to his comments, but German newspaper Bild quoted him as saying the story had been the result of a 'huge misunderstanding.'

He told the tabloid paper: "I did not put Hitler up as a good example, but I simply pointed out that before his terrible crimes, he had acted successfully against unemployment and the economic crisis."

[headless]

Maybe he wanted the meeting cancelled!

[EwanM]

Bernie explains and gives F1 pause for thought

July 6, 2009 by James Allen

Bernie Ecclestone’s interview in the Times last weekend has brought a furious response from politicians and virtual silence from the F1 community.

Most people in F1 don’t really want to get drawn into it, as they argue he shouldn’t have allowed himself to be in the first place.

What most people don’t understand is why he did the interview. He didn’t appear to have a key message to sell, such as “I know the breakaway threat looked bad, but F1 is now in the best shape it’s ever been in, ” or something of that kind.

There are suggestions that it may have been to help his old friend and colleague Max Mosley and suggestions to the opposite. It certainly aroused some uncomfortable memories of last year’s News of the World headlines and their Nazi association, which Mosley successfully challenged in court.

But actually I think what has happened here is extremely timely in the current debate about F1 and what direction it should take next in terms of governance.

Ecclestone has spoken to Bild newspaper, the German equivalent of the Sun to say that he has been misunderstood,

“All this is a big misunderstanding,” he said. “In the interview we were talking about structures and that it can sometimes be good to act and make strong decisions without reservation. I wasn’t using Hitler as a positive example, but pointing out that before his dreadful crimes he worked successfully against unemployment and economic problems.

“It was never my intention to hurt the feelings of any community. Many people in my closest circle of friends are Jewish.”

Ecclestone himself is Jewish and on his Saturdays off he can be seen in a very famous London cafe with his largely Jewish friends, drinking coffee and discussing.

Although he has got into trouble for choosing some poor examples to illustrate his point, he seems to have been trying to make the wider point that democracy is on the wrong path, that politicians today are more concerned with their image, distracted by the 24 hour news cycle, than they are with getting things done. He believes that the best system of government is where people put their faith in dictators and trust them to make tough decisions and get things done.

In this his start point is his own experience in motor sport and it has some interesting reflections on the current situation in F1 with an uneasy truce currently in place between the teams and the men who run the sport.

It has been proven over the years in motor sport that the best way to run a racing series is by a ‘benevolent dictatorship’. This is true at all levels. Someone needs to get things done and make decisions and the rest abide by them. Series run by the teams themselves don’t really work, like CART in the USA for example.

F1 is where it is today because it has been run by a dictatorship and for many years the team owners like Ron Dennis, Frank Williams and even Luca di Montezemolo were quite happy to go along with it because their series became the biggest motor sport show on Earth.

But now times have changed and that is what the F1 power struggle is all about.

The key to it is the ‘benevolent’ bit. If a tough, strong, but fair leader is in charge then things get done and it works, as long as everyone is treated equally. The teams feel that this is no longer the case and they are highlighting instances like the selection of new teams, (with today’s allegations in the Telegraph that having a Cosworth engine contract was a requirement for entry) to show that this system of governance has gone down the wrong track.

What the F1 teams want, motivated by the manufacturers, is a more democratic F1. This is why Max Mosley’s message to the FIA members is that their institution is under threat because the Formula One Teams Association thinks it can run the sport itself. History would suggest that it would be a mistake for them to try to do that and I think it is what Bernie was trying to say (obliquely) in the interview with the Times. But the problem is, he chose some bad examples to illustrate his point.

His words have hurt many people it seems, but I think what will hurt him about this episode is the impression that he is out of touch, an accusation levelled at him over his response to the racism incident where Spanish fans mocked Lewis Hamilton.

The interesting thing will be whether anyone in F1 seeks to capitalise on this episode or whether the teams will remain focussed on Mosley and his ‘retirement’ in October.

Posted in Discussion | Tagged Bernie Ecclestone, F1 News | Leave a Comment »

[bud]

what if he said Caesar got things done?

[FerrariFan63]

what if he said Caesar got things done?

Then he'd have to be careful in case Ide ends up driving for March.

[pater001]

Well now that bernie has expressed his liking to Adolf Hitler, he might as well join Max Mosley and organize a new Nazi Orgy a la Max!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[pater001]

The Americans probably thought Bosnia was a town in Miami.

Not to start any bickering or anything, but I love how the British classify Americans as idiots, then promptly join America in war after war all over the globe

s*** Americans are pretty dumb when it comes to countries outside of their own States! My dad drove across America in the 70s. and everyone along the way thought he and his friends were English because of his accent.

Recently when a work colleague of mine told me he drove from LA to NY for a holiday, i asked him if the locals along the way knew what Nationality he and his fellow travelers were and to my shock even in this modern day they still think Australians are English

The point I was trying to make was closer to...people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw rocks. The world feels Americans are dumb, yet the world follows our lead over and over. The world might need a new role model
I'm not disagreeing with the fact that the vast majority of Americans could use a geography lesson or 50.

Could it be that the world fears that the united states will use unauthorized force (as it has before) if they don´t agree with them???

[pater001]

The Americans probably thought Bosnia was a town in Miami.

Not to start any bickering or anything, but I love how the British classify Americans as idiots, then promptly join America in war after war all over the globe

s*** Americans are pretty dumb when it comes to countries outside of their own States! My dad drove across America in the 70s. and everyone along the way thought he and his friends were English because of his accent.

Recently when a work colleague of mine told me he drove from LA to NY for a holiday, i asked him if the locals along the way knew what Nationality he and his fellow travelers were and to my shock even in this modern day they still think Australians are English

Bud, you are starting to sound like Max Mosley but he used the term looney. Its not your fault that you harbor the view of Americans the way you do, you were just brought up that way.

what are you on mate? prove me wrong! a large amount of americans are stupid looney whatever when it comes to geography! FACT the world begins and ends with their 50 states and probably have trouble finding Canada and Mexico let alone Australia on a world map!

You got that right, I once watched a show in the states and the host asked a contestant the name of the country south of the US and his answer was TEXAS
duh!!!!

[madbrad]

Talking to Americans
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seYUbVa7L7w

[texasmr2]

[texasmr2]

I do love Americans by the way.... just not their geography skills

and I agree with you, it's a shame forsure. Geez I sound like Massa

[bud]

Talking to Americans
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seYUbVa7L7w

one smart Kid at the end, sorry mom!!

[darwin dali]

The Americans probably thought Bosnia was a town in Miami.

Not to start any bickering or anything, but I love how the British classify Americans as idiots, then promptly join America in war after war all over the globe

s*** Americans are pretty dumb when it comes to countries outside of their own States! My dad drove across America in the 70s. and everyone along the way thought he and his friends were English because of his accent.

Recently when a work colleague of mine told me he drove from LA to NY for a holiday, i asked him if the locals along the way knew what Nationality he and his fellow travelers were and to my shock even in this modern day they still think Australians are English

Bud, you are starting to sound like Max Mosley but he used the term looney. Its not your fault that you harbor the view of Americans the way you do, you were just brought up that way.

what are you on mate? prove me wrong! a large amount of americans are stupid looney whatever when it comes to geography! FACT the world begins and ends with their 50 states and probably have trouble finding Canada and Mexico let alone Australia on a world map!

You got that right, I once watched a show in the states and the host asked a contestant the name of the country south of the US and his answer was TEXAS
duh!!!!

Well, Texas in the past WAS its own country for a brief period - and it should be again me thinks

[digitaleye]

what are you on mate? prove me wrong! a large amount of americans are stupid looney whatever when it comes to geography! FACT the world begins and ends with their 50 states and probably have trouble finding Canada and Mexico let alone Australia on a world map!

Truly riotous Americans don't generally know much about the "rest" of the world because we have so much here and we really don't NEED to know it. Were lucky and it doesn't matter to us how your Aussie accent differs from the English or even the Scottish for that matter. Sure there are some idiots here, there are idiots everywhere, In fact if 10% of the US population are idiots , our idiots already outnumber the entire population of Australia .

Not to bag on The Aussies though, I love your country. I spent a month in Oz back in 07 ( including a week in Adelaide, maybe I met you!) and I loved every minute of it. My wife and I are already planning a return trip. Everyone I met was fantastic ( although few knew where Santa Barbara was, Gasp!) and its the only place I've been (12 countries) that I would consider living (other than here in the US of course)