The video is really just an expanded version of his initial response tbh- “My rent isn’t the story, you’re trying to distract from the real issue”

He’s got a good point though… aside from all those who benefit, who has authority over and thus allows all these tax havens to continue?

@mefty – you can search oh the guardian for details of the charity, from my recollection there where a number of charities with a stake in the development, the main one set up many years ago the original founder died and his children had different objectives. It wasn’t the charities sole objective to manage social housing that was just one thing they did. They sold up to fund other projects, a hospital I understand in Isreal was one of the major ones.

Ok so who is the right person for the job then? Some mythical person who is the reincarnation of Jesus and lives in a cardboard box?

Just about anyone tbh. Brand pretty much tops the list of “the wrong person” if we exclude actual evil people.

There’s no need to suggest it needs to be some wonderful mythical character. Just someone who’s no where near the same level of flouncy self indulgent massive dickwadery that Brand achieves. But if we keep to just comedians, basically anyone that hasn’t been done for tax evasion or some other crime.

Are you actually reading this thread and thinking. Wow Brands doing an amazing job. or are you thinking, why the focus on the man and not the message. If, and it’s a massive ‘if’ he dropped out of character and communicated without the flounce, literally played the dead pan straight man (even if that’s not the real him) I reckon he’d do some good by highlighting the subject matter. But most of what he’s actually doing is highlighting himself.

Mate… That’s fascinating and all that, but I like him, I can identify with him and I’m pretty certain by his popularity that others identify with him too..
He certainly feels a lot more accessible than some dour humourless codger with a chip on their shoulder and money on their mind..
He’s opening up socially responsible political ideas to folk who may not have engaged otherwise, and his passion and charisma is inspiring people..

If you feel politics belongs solely to sour grey people, with sour grey personalities and sour grey lives that’s your look out

Ok so who is the right person for the job then? Some mythical person who is the reincarnation of Jesus and lives in a cardboard box?

Sweet baby Jesus and the orphans! You’d think the stuff that he’s drawing attention too was something new. That he’s some groundbreaking revolutionary in the mould of Che Guavara (this certainly appears to be what he thinks!)

If you genuinely want to know about stuff like this, and keep yourself informed, but don’t want to all the preachy, messiah stuff that goes with Brand, its not difficult! Read Owen Jones or Naomi Klein

If you want a witty humorous take on it then read Mark Steel

All are infinitely better informed – probably something to do with actually doing boring research and stuff – and far less compromised and woefully self-absorbed. And more importantly actually offer up decent analysis, that makes sense, rather than sixth-form-level ranting, and self-promoting grandstanding! And who’s solutions don’t enter the realms of mindlessly self-defeating horse shit like ‘democracy is rubbish! Lets all stop voting!”. Yeah Cheers Russ!

Interestingly, I’ve just read this on Mark Steels site:

Website forums, which promised unprecedented global debate and discourse all seem to degenerate into the same nine people slagging each other off, like Eastenders with exclamation marks 😆

If you feel politics belongs solely to sour grey people

No i dont, not by any stretch of the imagination. Not in anyway what so ever.

He certainly feels a lot more accessible than some dour humourless codger with a chip on their shoulder and money on their mind.

😯 Brands shoulder chip is so **** massive Im astonished he can walk.

Binners +1

Pretty much nails it for me

binners – Member

Sweet baby Jesus and the orphans! You’d think the stuff that he’s drawing attention too was something new.

Nobody thinks that. He certainly doesn’t! As you can see in the original video where he doesn’t do half the things he’s accused of, but does tell us he’s trying to help bring attention to someone else’s good work.

Oh guys.. you’re clearly not his target audience, but that shouldn’t make you so cross 😆

However threatened and appalled you are by this precocious young upstart, and however much that clouds your judgement, you’re right about one thing..

He’s not the right man for the job..

That honour goes to the politicians, high court judges, European courts and law enforcement agencies..

It’s been a long long time comin’ but change gonna come brothers

you’re clearly not the target audience,

True some of us did drugs and did not stay like out there cool maaaaaannnnnn and grew up and were able to come up with well thought out adult plans for things

Binners is correct its like listening to an egotistical “spiritual” teenager tell you how to solve all the worlds problems.

Essentially it well meaning, with his heart in the right place, so you want to hug him. However its so **** stupid you want to laugh, slap him and tell him to STFU.

His its all shit so lets stop voting being a classic example of this. He is right in his analysis but that is not the solution at all and plays right into the hands of the “man” they want to defeat. Idiotically self defeating

It’s been a long long time comin’ but change gonna come brothers

Yes innit now pass me the Bong….he is not going to deliver radical change to the current model and you need to eb off your head to think he will.

However threatened and appalled you are by this precocious young upstart, and however much that clouds your judgement, you’re right about one thing..

Incorrect

My problem is that it’s a wasted oppurtunity to reach and influence the maximum possible audience.

Incorrect

My problem is that it’s a wasted oppurtunity to reach and influence the maximum possible audience
.
.
.
so how else could he/someone do that then???

love him or hate him, I think he’s doing rather well at getting the messages out there.

I think we can all agree he is phenomenal at generating [self] publicity*.
what we are debating is the message.

* for good and bad he gets it out there but the media then try to turn it into a debate about him rather than about the issue so a mixed bag IMHO.

look here fellas, you’re like overweight disgruntled just past middle aged helplessly cynical forum dwellers in the main..

I suspect there isn’t much in the world that could reach you.. the point is that Brand does reach people, he’s not gonna reach them all, and he’s not the answer, but he is a useful cog in a large machine..

I don’t quite know why you guys are so desperate for a perfect knight in shining armour to come along and rescue us all in their strong and masterful arms… too many SF novels and princess fantasies perhaps.. he’s not running for prime minister FFS 😆

Brand is a voice, an amusing and articulate comedian speaking clearly about the current issues in society.. what’s your beef.. like really?

He’s actually a complete liability to the causes he seeks to champion. Because he’s so compromised (to anyone who’s past puberty, and has something between their ears) that he’s a gift to the powers that be, who want to dismiss genuine concerns and grievances. He takes genuine issues and cheapens them by mixing it in with all his faux spiritual bollocks, and the need to sacrifice everything, no matter how legitimate or worthy, at the alter of his absolutely enormous ego.

I’m sure the more enlightened among those he claims to be championing are wishing he’d just **** off as he;’s doing more harm than good, and is turning the whole thing into a circus. Without actually achieving anything.

Whoever said there’s no such thing as bad publicity, was talking as much shite as Russell tends too.

if you say so

binners – Member

I’m sure the more enlightened among those he claims to be championing are wishing he’d just **** off as he;’s doing more harm than good,

Well it’s nice of you to speak for them, but the New Era guys seem very pleased to have him on board. Maybe they’re not very enlightened?

The media play the man, and you blame the man for getting played. Well done. If anyone’s a gift to the powers that be in this exchange, it’s people who think like that.

thing is binners, my love, is that honestly he’s done more for politics than nearly every single politician ever has for my friends (and me if I’m honest).

I can just show people eps of the trews and go, don’t understand syria? watch this.

Even if people disagree and what to argue about they’ve at least got aware!!

Even if he looks like he hasn’t washed, and Russ? stop doing the trews in your bathrobe, it’s not a good look 😆

Saw some more photos/video yesterday from the protest march, couple of nice Mercedes in the car park and black cabs again, A London cabbie certainly makes enough money to pay a market rent.

The people in this development have had a great deal, living in private accommodation at council / social housing rents. Unfortunately that deal is over, it was never for life, it was never “their” home. The local council has washed their hands of them saying they will not re-house them as they are not homeless, that’s a policy decision. One they could waive. As I have said many times this is an issue of government/local authority policy in not building more social housing, as we speak the local authorities (Labour controlled) are doing all they can to sell off their housing stock in central London. They’s rather do that than make cuts to their budgets, G-d forbid some of them might lose their jobs.

I can just show people eps of the trews and go, don’t understand syria? watch this.

I’d be pretty worried if anyone was using a Russel Brand video to understand the situation in Syria, as a minimum they should be getting a viewpoint from a variety of sources. I cannot take anyone seriously who advocates not voting, there couldn’t be worse advice you could give to young impressionable people.

The media play the man

Yes, they will. And that needs to be effectively counterbalanced.

Northwind – unlike Russ, I’m not claiming to speak on behalf of anyone. I’m just saying that if it was me, then I’d be a bit more grateful for the long running campaign for New Era in the Guardian, than for Russ giving up an afternoon to have a rant, then make the front page of the Sun the following day under the headline ‘Hypocrite’. You think thats doing their campaign much good? In reality he’s an absolute gift to exactly the people he’s claiming to oppose! But he’s too blinded by his own messiah complex to ever see that

Respectfully emsz your generation does not vote and appealing to you , informing you and then saying dont vote is hardly a threat to the world order.

I dont think anyone would disagree that his charismatic persona appeals to the young but his message is simplistic at times and is , respectfully, immature*.

If anyone’s a gift to the powers that be in this exchange, it’s people who think like that.

Its both tbh. They are both gifts. I really dont think this us and them helps as we all tend to agree with what he says we disagree about his “solutions”.
I cannot see how you cannto seethat some of the criticism of Brand [ its Bono esque levels at times tbh] is not legitimate. Its clear the man is playing him as well and it is at time OTT.

* god i feel old and like you granddad give you a lecture about how one day you will understand . I dont know if I have grown up and matured or if I have lost my idealism and fighting spirit.

binners – Member

Northwind – unlike Russ, I’m not claiming to speak on behalf of anyone.

No, you’re not claiming to speak for them- you’re just doing it.

Can I just add Robert Fisk to Binner’s links, for anyone interested in the situation in the middle east?

Unfortunately that deal is over, it was never for life, it was never “their” home.

It was all of those things till [ tory]people . like you, who value money over everything else took over and wanted to use the “market” to get as much as they possibly could form people without any care in the world for the real human suffering it heaped on those affected.

think of the money that is what matters 🙄

Jambalya and Junky, d’you think you could be a bit more patronising? You didn’t quite nail it there.

People are turned off by politics, boring grey men and women in grey suits scoring points off each other isn’t going to solve anything.

Lots of people start with Russell, then go on to look at loads of other stuff, I’ve found media lens, John Pilger, Robert Fisk through his channel. Most of my friends have started to register.

Respectfully emsz your generation does not vote and appealing to you , informing you and then saying dont vote is hardly a threat to the world order.

I suspect Brand is making the largest contribution in a long time as far as encouraging young folk to vote is concerned..

He advocated not voting during one flurry of churlish derisory interviews quite a while back.. his output since gaining an audience has been phenomenal and has been as far from encouraging voter apathy as can be imagined

Lots of people start with Russell, then go on to look at loads of other stuff, I’ve found media lens, John Pilger, Robert Fisk through his channel. Most of my friends have started to register.

So he’s sort of like a gateway drug?

Actually, it’s probably more akin to a teenager’s first experience of vomiting up cheap cider.

Actually, it’s probably more akin to a teenager’s first experience of vomiting up cheap cider.

wow, have I missed the news this morning? didn’t realise it was be a smug asshole day

d’you think you could be a bit more patronising?

Easily* but I am not sure how you, or your friends, could be more naive**.

“When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.”

Mark Twain

I am trying to suggest that rather than patronise the shit out of you.

Interesting this 39 year olds main appeal is to the young rather than his own generation. Read into that what you want.

* Glad I added the caveats
** see told you I could.

Come on emsz. This is STW. Every day is smug asshole day! 😆

Interesting this 39 year olds main appeal is to the young rather than his own generation. Read into that what you want.

I dunno about that Junky.. He appeals to me, he appeals to a lot of people I know of all ages and from all walks of life..
I think his most useful attribute is the fact that he appeals to the young maybe..

you really are clutching at straws with this.. erudite you may be, astute you seemingly are not

Junkyard – lazarus

Interesting this 39 year olds main appeal is to the young rather than his own generation. Read into that what you want.

Oh come on JY. His main appeal is to the politically disengaged, which naturally selfselects the young in large numbers. There’s an entire political world dedicated to appealing to 39 year olds already.

EDIT: Written before seeing NW post
OH yes the young and stoners

erudite you may be, astute you seemingly are not

Really hangs on whether not admiring Brand is astute or not.

PS you may wish to consider what MAIN means and what SOLE would mean 😛

@ NW the point is if you you are middle aged and your outlook appeals to the generation before you then you may not have “grow up”. I think his opinions supports this view though others disagree.

what’s the average turnout at the ballot these days?

Are all those non-voters stoners?

He may not have ‘grown up’ at the same rate as you junky.. like many in generation X he probably spent a decade or two not giving a flying ****..

What is it we have to achieve when we grow up? Rolling over and playing dead..?

was Iceland immature to handle things the way it did?

Agree with Binners very accurate analysis/observations of Brand.

I don’t necessarily believe the rich and famous should be excluded from politicking and social action because they are rich and famous, however Brand’s motivations strike me as having more to do with sustaining his own relevancy and ego than advancing the forces of good. I don’t think his ‘running with the hare and hunting with the hounds’ approach renders him as a particularly credible character.

@emz – apologies if I was being patronising. I had no intention of doing so towards you, JY and I save that sort of thing of each other. Getting news/information/viewpoints from a variety of sources in important and IMO definitely in the case of the Middle East which is very complex. That was the point I was trying to make.

The comments above that Brand only made the don’t vote remark once/in jest etc is typical of him and consistent with his outburst at the journalist. He’s just shooting his mouth off randomly without engaging his brain, shouting down those who dare to even question him. When he realizes he has spoken total nonsense he tries to wriggle out of things. I would wager the vast majority of people who heard him say “don’t vote” will believe that remains his position, they won’t have heard or recall any clarification he makes at a later date.

I would wager the vast majority of people who heard him say “don’t vote” will believe that remains his position, they won’t have heard or recall any clarification he makes at a later date.

that’s bollocks old bean… have you watched any of the trews broadcasts?