Is there a thread for Russell Brand yelling?

[Pæs]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGxFJ5nL9gg
If so, now there's another one.

[Telarus]

Ha! Nice.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

He owned the fuck out of that interview.

[Aucoq]

That's awesome!

[Demolition Squid]

I can't stand Russel Brand as a comedian...

But watching his documentary on drug rehabilitation and why punitive measures are massively counterproductive opened my eyes to a whole set of issues around drug abuse I hadn't really engaged with before. Seeing him speak to politicians is always great (he's been up in front of I think two select committees to discuss drugs and the media) and now this!

It helps that Paxman is essentially a caricature of himself these days. They are perfect for playing off one another. 

[Junkenstein]

I have very mixed feelings on Brand.

Some of his Stand up is actually quite good (one show out of the 3 I've seen) and definetly has potential. The "Re-Brand" stuff was also quite nicely done too and is probably worth a look if he's amused you so far.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RE:Brand

It was conceived, written and hosted by Russell Brand, with the help of his comic partner for many projects, Matt Morgan. The series was shown on the now defunct digital satellite channel UK Play in 2002. As confirmed in his memoirs 'My Booky Wook' and mentioned on his radio shows, Brand was often drunk or on heroin during the filming of RE:Brand.

So you know there's going to be some "moments" before you start it.

#   Title
1   "Dad Fight"
Brand challenges his father to a boxing match
2   "Nazi Boy"
Brand meets Mark Collett the leader of the Youth BNP
3   "Homeless James (Part 1)"
Brand invites a homeless man to live in his house
4   "Homeless James (Part 2)"
Homeless James returns to life on the streets.
5   "My Old Tart?"
Brand takes a pensioner away for a dirty weekend
6   "Eddie Kidd Rides Again"
Brand meets daredevil Eddie Kidd, who was left paralyzed after a stunt went wrong
7   "Wanky Wanky"
Brand challenges his own heterosexuality by masturbating a gay man in a pub toilet, but with some apprehension

Anyway, I can't get the video up on this computer so I'll be checking it out later. From what I've seen the interviews he gives tend to either be really cutting and insightful or degenerate into pseudo sexual slurs fairly quickly. I think the last one I saw from the US pretty much came down to "She wants to give me a handjob" and caused a large sigh.

[Pope Pixie Pickle]

his attitudes towards women make me hate him, but even a stuffed clock can be right twice a day.

[hooplala]

http://deansbomb.tumblr.com/post/65331954937/open-letter-to-russell-brand

Open Letter To Russell Brand

Dear Russell

I am writing this letter to you following your recent interview to promote your tour on Newsnight.

I agree some things need changing as society does feel rather unfair for a lot of people. As mentioned in your New Statesman piece, in the issue you edited, there is a culture in this country of being governed by privileged, rich people. A different type of privileged, rich person than yourself of course. After all a lot of them became rich through the corporations you mention who are "destroying the planet" unlike you who nobly amassed your wealth by hosting the MTV awards, shilling Hewlett Packard computers and appearing in films like the remake of Arthur.

Anyway everything feels better since you got the revolution started late last week, I had a really nice cup of tea the other day and I stayed in the other night. Real change has been facilitated. I am ready to not vote as you suggested. In fact I am sitting here not voting right now. How long do you think I will have to wait to start voting again? As you told Jeremy Paxman on Newsnight to not ask you to " devise a global utopian governmental system" Is there any plan at all? I know you are busy, are they making a Despicable Me 3? 

Have you thought of setting up your own political party? Jonathan Ross could be head of communications and maybe Andrew Sachs could do your PR? He got you a lot of press a few years ago so could be a good person to get involved. Maybe your BB Noel Gallagher could come up with a new Education syllabus seeing as he recently told GQ that "Novels are a waste of fucking time" It's quite an achievement to come out with a statement that makes Michael Gove look sane. I just think Noel will be good person to have on side in the New World order.

Will referring to my penis in third person help in anyway with the revolution? Mr Winkie wants to know. Also I've bought a thesaurus so I can start making simple points sound more exciting and also create the illusion that I am cleverer than I actually am... Open letters are tiring... I'm just going to de canter some boiling aqua into a china receptacle containing Indian leaves before adding liquid calcium. What a refreshing tipple of Darjeeling.

A friend said to me that I shouldn't be part of your revolution because of your do as I say not as I do attitude but I said how can we not listen to someone on the redistribution of wealth who married Katy Perry on an elephant in an lavish Indian wedding.

Anyway I've wasted enough of your time, I'm sure we will hear what to do next when you next appear in the media to promote whatever it is you are selling.

Sincerely,  Harry

PS Thanks for the secret political message in Rock Of Ages. Wink wink. 

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

http://deansbomb.tumblr.com/post/65331954937/open-letter-to-russell-brand

Open Letter To Russell Brand

Dear Russell

I am writing this letter to you following your recent interview to promote your tour on Newsnight.

I agree some things need changing as society does feel rather unfair for a lot of people. As mentioned in your New Statesman piece, in the issue you edited, there is a culture in this country of being governed by privileged, rich people. A different type of privileged, rich person than yourself of course. After all a lot of them became rich through the corporations you mention who are "destroying the planet" unlike you who nobly amassed your wealth by hosting the MTV awards, shilling Hewlett Packard computers and appearing in films like the remake of Arthur.

Anyway everything feels better since you got the revolution started late last week, I had a really nice cup of tea the other day and I stayed in the other night. Real change has been facilitated. I am ready to not vote as you suggested. In fact I am sitting here not voting right now. How long do you think I will have to wait to start voting again? As you told Jeremy Paxman on Newsnight to not ask you to " devise a global utopian governmental system" Is there any plan at all? I know you are busy, are they making a Despicable Me 3? 

Have you thought of setting up your own political party? Jonathan Ross could be head of communications and maybe Andrew Sachs could do your PR? He got you a lot of press a few years ago so could be a good person to get involved. Maybe your BB Noel Gallagher could come up with a new Education syllabus seeing as he recently told GQ that "Novels are a waste of fucking time" It's quite an achievement to come out with a statement that makes Michael Gove look sane. I just think Noel will be good person to have on side in the New World order.

Will referring to my penis in third person help in anyway with the revolution? Mr Winkie wants to know. Also I've bought a thesaurus so I can start making simple points sound more exciting and also create the illusion that I am cleverer than I actually am... Open letters are tiring... I'm just going to de canter some boiling aqua into a china receptacle containing Indian leaves before adding liquid calcium. What a refreshing tipple of Darjeeling.

A friend said to me that I shouldn't be part of your revolution because of your do as I say not as I do attitude but I said how can we not listen to someone on the redistribution of wealth who married Katy Perry on an elephant in an lavish Indian wedding.

Anyway I've wasted enough of your time, I'm sure we will hear what to do next when you next appear in the media to promote whatever it is you are selling.

Sincerely,  Harry

PS Thanks for the secret political message in Rock Of Ages. Wink wink. 

[Pope Pixie Pickle]

when he talks about drug addiction I'm willing to listen. The rest of the time I want to shove a stinky sock in his sexual-harrassing-encouraging-listeners-on-his-radio-show-to prank-call-a-rape-crisis-hotline mouth and beat him with sticks

with sticks, I tell you.

[Demolition Squid]

I was unaware of his sexual harassment ... stuff.

But, even though that rebuttal is very funny, I still love the Brand interview and I don't think the fact that he's managed to do very well for himself on the back of the people he's criticising really undermines his message.

Mostly, it made me feel fantastic to hear someone say what I've been saying for years regarding voting: Voting for someone you don't want is worse than not voting at all. Voting for them gives them a false veneer of legitimacy. I go to the voting booth and write next to each candidate why I'm not voting for them. In theory, the candidates are meant to check the spoiled ballots, and it feels like the one shot I've got to communicate directly with them. I doubt they pay any attention, but it feels better than endorsing someone I hate.

But Paxman was also completely missing the point. Repeatedly asking 'why should we listen to you when you don't even vote?' Well, guess what Paxman, the majority of the population doesn't vote. Particularly amongst the younger age brackets, where Brand is aiming his message. Political pundits like him are always talking about how there's apathy and disengagement. He is exactly the sort of person they need to be listening to if they want an idea of the sorts of things which might engage people.

I don't think the massive redistribution of wealth is something I'd want to see... but he actually did throw out some other policies which sounded great. Taxing corporations based on their actual societal cost. Forcing companies to pay for the environmental damage they cause. And I bet he'd take an approach to drug policy which might actually be rooted in sensible ideas.

So I don't think Brand is there yet, and he's got a way to convince me before I think he's anything like credible given the sex abuse stuff... but as far as telling me a lie I want to hear goes, he's the only voice I've heard all year who has come close.

[Pope Pixie Pickle]

yea, Billy Connolly gave him a bloody good telling off on a film set for haranguing a wardrobe assistant into showing him her boobs.

When he talks about drug addiction, he's got valid first hand knowledge and was impressive in front of the House Select Comittee. Even a stuffed clock an be right twice a day.


there's an issue with young people not voting. The reason the UK govt has slashed everything but pensions is that old people vote, and young people don't, as a demographic tend to vote. Using your right to vote and spoiling the ballot is still engaging with democracy.

Still youngin's are being sold down the river, because the main political parties are not courting the youth vote.

I am not ashamed to say that when i vote, I tend to vote Green, even though as a party they only have one MP, because they have policies I broadly agree with. I've been told that voting for the little parties is a wasted vote, but that's how we end up with the same old same old two man con.

The main issue for me is first past the post creates a system wherein you get a safe sea or your constituency is going to swing one of 2 ways.

[Demolition Squid]

First Past the Post is really great ... if you are electing someone who cares about your area. It is designed to ensure that the MP who gets in is the one most people in that constituency want to see.

The trouble is that MPs aren't encouraged to actually act in the interests of their constituency any more. It used to be that the expectation was for MPs to put their constituent's needs first, and then consider party affiliation. Somewhere along the line, those priorities got swapped. Probably around the same period that becoming a politician became a career move rather than an act of public service.

This is why I'd love to have see proportional representation. In the current system, you can come second in every constituency in the country, and still wind up with no say whatsoever. It is the least democratic form of democracy that I can think of, and the failure of the proportional representation campaign to actually explain the benefits of PR and the weaknesses of the First Past the Post systems was one of my biggest disappointments. They pretty much handed it over to the FPtP campaign which effectively said 'Well TRADITION and you don't want weak government!' Ignoring the fact that we've already got a government without a mandate... sigh.

[Pope Pixie Pickle]

I think we should get rid of the party whip, meself, if we aren't going to do PR.

[Demolition Squid]

Won't matter.

The entire party system is set up to encourage people to tow the line. The Whip is just the guy whose job it is to make it explicit. Sure, its not great, but eliminating the Whip just drives the exact same thing underground.

If the politicians at the top want to ensure an MP is fucked, they can ensure that they never get an issue they need raised put on the schedule. They can blacklist them and keep them out of select committees and away from the top table. At the very most extreme level, they control the funding for the MPs office and their budget for campaigning. Even if an MP is popular enough in their constituency they can't just be smoothly moved aside in favor of a more compliant candidate, the party system can still effectively lock them out of making a difference - or even being heard within their own party - quite effectively. The only channel an MP is guaranteed to have, pretty much, is access to House of Commons bar.

Your average back bench MP needs a Whip, because the Whip works as a go-between. The Whip tells the top people what the little people are thinking and worried about, and yes, tells the little people what they need to do in order to get their backs scratched.

These things would probably still happen without the Whip, but it'd become even more insular than it already is. What would be nice would be to take some of the scheduling power away from parliament as such, and have it allotted by independent civil servants (with provision for emergencies and such). If it were easier for private members bills to have a decent shake without needing favors traded, the Whip would be less necessary. It'd also be nice if there was more of an expectation for party leaders to be aware of what the members in their party are actually thinking, rather than expect them to be automatons, but hey ho.

We should also really change the name of the Whip, because it makes parliament sound like a BDSM party, which would be far more exciting.