To hope that someone really does buy Russell Brand his first class ticket?

[KayAdams]

He's gone too far.

He really is a t*

I am not a fan of Russell Brand.

But I read his comments and listened to that podcast because the quote on it's own, 'Russell Brand called the one minute silence bullshit', obviously had more to it than just that.

And it's clear to me that he's criticising the government, not being disrespectful to the people who were killed and injured.

Their was a lot on the news about "David Cameron has declared a minute's silence" and RB was pointing out the irony of the government issuing a minutes silence for people who perhaps wouldn't have died if not for the government and their foreign policies, which include arms sales to certain countries etc. He made much of the fact that we are selling arms to 23 of the 28 countries on the human rights abuse list.

He wasn't saying that the people who died didn't deserve a minute's silence, he was pointing out how it won't do them or the people who follow them in any future attacks any good. He was saying how he thinks the government could do something to make a difference that isn't, to the government, an empty gesture, too little, too late, that they don't mean because they are in his opinion profiting from it.

‘Does that one minute silence mean anything or is it an empty and futile gesture and part of a general policy of bulls* so that our government can continue selling arms around the world perpetuating a cycle where its own needs are met at the expense of its own citizens’ lives.'

There is no point having this minute’s silence on Friday, it is a minute of bulls* as long as during that time they continue to sell arms, they continue to bomb foreign countries, they have no interest in a solution, they're only interest is perpetuating the problem and continuing to profit from it.

If you respect those people then demand your government stops selling arms to countries on its own human rights abuse list…

Demand your country stops carrying out foreign wars on behalf of corporations. It will have a lot more impact than one minute’s silence.

There's a link here that contains quotes from his Trews podcast and the actual podcast itself.

I generally don't like the man, I find him hypocritical in what little I know about him, but what he has said in a seven minute long video has been cut down to a couple of seconds of soundbite with the word bullshit in it.

And although I still don't like him, I think if people are going to complain about what he said, they should at least know all of what he said in context first, not just the bits quoted in the papers, which have been picked over and edited. Which is why I listened to it when it started to make the news appear all over Facebook etc, when normally I don't listen to his podcasts.

voyageofdad ISIS/ISIL/whatever use the whole 'western interference' thing as a convenient propaganda tool to recruit the willing.
To the unwilling indigenous Muslims they 'recruit' in whatever country, the choice is very straightforward: join our ideology or die; hence the (often brutal) murder of tens/hundreds of thousands of Muslims act as the Arab world at their hands.

Seriously, read up on the history of the Arab world - specifically Wahhabism, of which ISIS is descended. It began with the ottoman empire, which was fuck all to do with the USA or Britain.

Blaming the current terror reign of ISIS on 'the west' is both lazy and easy. Russell Brand and others like him should know their subject before they spout their shit.

As for the 'poor Russel Brand, he had a terrible time of it in the beginning' - he's an adult now and has been for many years - the choices he makes now are his own, and if he chooses to behave like a twat then I choose to actively dislike him.

*across, not 'act as'; sorry.

*across, not 'act as', sorry.

Im just wondering when he will implode I reckon he will 1 day just dissolve into a mushy mess of ego claim he is the savior put on a cloak and declare the church of Brand opened He says stuff that has no meaning he reminds me of Neil from the young ones he is a right tosser isn't he.

Like Hygge, I'm not a fan of RB, but must say I agree with his sentiment regarding the hypocrisy of the minute's silence and find the offense taken at it a bit bizarre.

I am conflicted in that I would really like him to have his one-way first-class ticket to Syria but am reluctant to contribute personally as he is a gazillionaire.

What hypocrisy was there in the silence?

It was a moment where the whole country stood together in a show of solidarity to show that we will not be cowed by mass murderers, and to acknowledge the 38 people that were murdered.

It was a chance for the ordinary person in the street to show that we stand united as human beings against murder and terror; regardless of colour, religion or politics.

That's what it meant to me anyway.

This is being taken way out of context and is being used as a stick to beat him with. If you read everything he said I defy you to disagree with him.

I'm clearly in a minority but I think he talks a lot of sense. It's unpalatable though.

On a separate note, it's bizarre that we get fresh reports daily of the attrocities carried out by ISIS yet there seems to be no full scale war waged against them.

We went to war with Iraq and toppled an entire regime based on a lie yet seem unable to mobilise now when faced with ISIS.

And at all the digs at him being uneducated.

Because the educated politicians in power are doing a wonderful job and are moral, upstanding individuals.

Mind you, I expect we made a fair bit of money from the Iraq war with all that oil and those lucrative construction and security contracts. What's a bit of collateral damage between friends?

Used as a stick to beat him with?!

Poor, poor Russell Brand - bless his heart. He is not responsible for the impact of his words or actions.

How often are we told that it doesn't matter how you intended something, it is how it is received that is important.
He knew how controversial he was being, he is not a stupid person; in fact he said at some gig or other after the podcast that he was being deliberately provocative.

Time and place for that sort of thing imo - piggybacking onto the grief of ordinary, innocent people is neither the time nor the place.

He is a vile, self centred, self indulgent, selfish, self promoting windbag.
When I see the millionaire Russell Brand actually doing something instead of spouting lazy bollocks, then I may change my opinion of him.

We went to war with Iraq the first time because Saudi was scared that they'd be next. The allegiance that Saudi built up with the west over the after part of the 20th century is one of the things that fired up the wahhabists.

The second war in Iraq was based on a lie - a lie created by Tony Blair and his cronies - that was the information that was presented as the fifth to those voting at the time though,it was only outed as a lie after the event.
Tony Blair is still making money off the back of it.

We are not 'at war' with ISIS in their heartlands because when parliament voted re bombing Syria, they voted against.

It all goes far, far deeper than a simple 'goodies and baddies' thing.

*latter part, not 'after part'
*truth, not 'fifth'

"He is a vile, self centred, self indulgent, selfish, self promoting windbag."

shamelessly stealing this!! why does he need someone else to pay for his ticket to Syria? oh thats right, because he doesnt really want to go (not surprisingly) maybe he should his money where his mouth is - afterall there would be plenty of room in there....

he is soooooooooooo fucking irritating cant stand him

"What hypocrisy was there in the silence?"

In the context of what he said, the hypocrisy was from the government, declaring a minute's silence while perpetuating the cycle of violence through wars, bombing and arms dealing.

I'm not saying I agree or disagree with him, but he wasn't criticising the general public who wanted to show their support to the victims and their families, or saying they were being hypocritical. His entire podcast was in reference to the government declaring a minute's silence when they are still continuing with the practices he believes are responsible for terrorist acts like this, which he sees as hypocrisy on their (the government's) part.

"…practices he believes are responsible for terrorist acts like this…"

Again, it is not because of 'the west'.

Tunisia is a fledgling democracy, the only country which was a part of the Arab Spring which has successfully held democratic elections and is starting to give equal rights to its women.

It is also situated next door to Syria and the lure of ISIS to disillusioned young Tunisian men is proving strong (many are disillusioned because change and progress has not happened fast enough for them).

The murderous atrocities of ISIS are not caused by 'the west' - they are a particularly violent, fundamentalist strand of Islam who want their way to be the only way.
In fact, Russell fucking Brand displays everything they abhor about modern times.

They attacked western tourists because of the publicity it attracts.

Even Al Qaeda have spoken out against ISIS.

He did help all of those people on that estate stay in their homes. I think that he does a lot of good.

Well, again, I didn't say he was wrong or right.

But this is what he believes, and that's why he said what he said.

What I'm saying is, take what he actually said in context as a complaint about the government, and criticise it for what it really is if you disagree with him.

But don't take a tiny part of what he said and misrepresent it as him making a criticism against the people who died or the ordinary people who honoured the silence.

He wasn't calling those ordinary people undeserving of a silence or hypocrites for honouring it, and it's important to get that right whether we agree with him about what he really meant or not.

Vanilla I applaud your sentiment it Tunisia next to Syria? I think you need to look at a map...

To add my twopennorth - I sincerely hope RB does fuck off to Syria. It's a shame Ryanair don't fly there though.