Russell Brand wins well-deserved Foot in Mouth award

[claig]

"Yesterday the comedian and self-styled revolutionary was honoured with an award – for speaking gobbledygook.

He won the annual Foot in Mouth prize from the Plain English campiagn, joining the likes of John Prescott and George W Bush."
...

"The group’s website said that Brand’s ‘seemingly endless stream of gibberish, both written and verbal’ had clinched the award."
...
"Organisers said Brand – who has carved a career out of using many, often inflammatory, words when one would do – was ‘out on his own’ in the competition."

Surely that can't be right? He must have faced stiff competition from the Labour front bench

"The Plain English judges singled out this rant from The Guardian: ‘I felt very connected to activism – particularly activism that feels loaded with potential. Not the oppositional activism that seems like there’s a stasis around it – earnestly sincere, but a monolith.’

How they managed to single this rant out from the rest of the rants in the Guardian beats me. But they are professionals. To me it just seems like New Labour speak without the polar bears.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2858403/Brand-wins-award-gobbledygook.html

Saga, it hasn't been on yet. It is on on December 15 Channel 4 10.00 pm.
Must watch along with Question Time next Thursday.

The Establishment will try every trick in their book to trip Farage up. We have to hope he can defeat them. The people depend on that.

'I'm pretty sure I don't want someone who thinks it's funny to get wasted on national TV to run the country.'

That's why the Establishment rubs its hands in glee and want Farage to do shows like that. But the majority won't care. It will just make Farage more popular because people have had enough of spin, they want something genuine.

Which people depend on that, Claig?

Those who are:

white
male
employed
non-disabled
young
British-born

yes?

No, everybody depends on that. Because Farage and the People's Army will end the whole cosy consensus clique politics of the Establishment, the Bullingdon Club and all the cronies.

Russell Brand has written a book called "Revolution" but the Establishment hope he can stop the real revolution - the People's Army - from doing as Farage said

"And who can blame people for wanting to put an end to the cronyist politics that plagues the West?"

After that, when popular democracy reigns once again, when lobbyists, bankers and hedge fund owners are put back in their box and when there is no more metropolitan elite ignoring the people's wishes and mocking their dreams and aspirations, then hope in politics will be restored and parties such as the Greens and new parties will flourish under a real PR democracy where every single person's vote will count.

That is what is at stake. That is why the Establishment are playing their last hand and putting all their hopes in Brand.

racists

disablists

anti-women

but to name a few.

Those are things that the Establishment say about UKIP, and I expect Brand will probably say the same type of things too.

But the millions of people who voted UKIP in the EU elections where they came first - the first time in 100 years that Labour and the Conservatives were beaten in a nation-wide election - the people of Clacton who delivered the biggest landslide in post-war British history and the people of Rochester are decent people, however much the metropolitan elite may sneer at them.

This is what is at stake. Real democracy. The Establishment and their parties can't stop it forever. This will benefit everyone apart from the Establishment.

"Could UKIP revive the debate over electoral reform?

If the party wins upwards of five per cent of the vote in 2015 but fails to win a single seat, our voting system will be called into question again.
...
"Incidentally, while neither Labour nor the Tories are likely to consent to another referendum on electoral reform in the next parliament, several Labour sources have told me that the party is considering the likely Lib Dem demand of PR for local government in any coalition negotiations. "

www.newstatesman.com/politics/2014/02/could-ukip-revive-debate-over-electoral-reform

So if the 'Establishment' wants Farage to do shows like Gogglebox, he is either doing what they tell him to or he is part of it...?

Or he is doing it to appear 'genuine' - which in itself isn't genuine, otherwise he wouldn't need to do it, no?

Your reasoning has more holes than a Swiss cheese, claig.

What is the revolutionary, Russell Brand's view on proportional representation? Is he with the Establishment on that one as well as on the polar bear?

Here is Polly Toynbee on Brand

"He’s [Johnny Rotten] right: Brand’s “revolution” is vain and destructive, peddling unreal, hip alternatives. Without proportional representation, new parties have no hope – and in its wisdom, the British public voted against even minor reform. Politics is never cool, because voting means opting for a least worst, never the imagined ideal."

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/oct/15/johnny-rotten-lydon-russell-brand-revolution-vote

'So if the 'Establishment' wants Farage to do shows like Gogglebox, he is either doing what they tell him to or he is part of it...?'

No, he is doing it to get exposure. He knows that the Establishment only give him opportunities for exposure where he can be booed at by live BBC audiences etc, or harangued and insulted by revolutionary comedians who unwittingly help the Establishment or in programmes where he runs a risk of coming out looking stupid where alcohol is supplied on tap.

“Was I taking a risk going in there? Yes, I was … Politics today is so thoroughly overscripted. All the rough edges and all the risk is knocked off, and that is why it has become desperately dull. I thought they were genuine and … people who like me will like it.”

He has no choice. He has to take the crumbs the Establishment offer him in order to beat them at their own game. He has to hope that he can keep outwitting them and beat every trick in their book. He has no choice because he believes in a real revolution in politics where PR, direct democracy and choice is given back to the people and where the people are sovereign and indeopendent and in charge and where cronyism finally comes to an end.

"And who can blame people for wanting to put an end to the cronyist politics that plagues the West?"

Claig, neither people nor the establishment need to make up rubbish about ukip, they put themselves out there and the rest of us can but marvel at their themness, bigotted, anti-women, anti everything themness.

If that were the case, then why are UKIP so popular and why did the people of Clacton deliver the biggest landslide in post-war British history.

The Establishment has tried all the smears and insults and none of them have worked, now they are playing their final hand, they're putting all their hopes in Brand.

Dunno. Lots of rubbish things can be popular. Lynching used to popular.

Claig, you do know that Farage is also what you call 'the Establishment'? He went to public school and worked in the City.

singersgirl, George Orwell went to Eton and worked at the BBC. He wasn't part of the Establishment.

The Establishment has shared goals. Its main ones are the EU, climate change, immigration, globalisation, ring-fenced foreign aid and a wish to prevent PR and direct democracy being granted to the people.

Farage challenges every single one of those and that is why he is an outsider and why some of his party members have been called "fruitcakes" and "looneys". He doesn't buy the polar bear patter. He challenges what the Esatblishment hold dear. And that is why the Establishment is desperate to stop him and that is why he is likely to be harangued and mocked and jeered when he appears on TV by people whom the Establishment promote.

Where do you stand on rhinos?

I am against the ivory trade on rhinos and elephants. Am all for ending that and preserving those great animals.

Can I ask if you are male or female, Claig? I know it shouldn't matter but I would like to know if a woman is staunchly backing Nigel Farage despite being seen in the media as anti-women. (Cutting maternity pay, etc.)

Well that's good then. vomits

I am a woman. Diane James, Louise Bours, Suzanne Evans, Margot Parker, Jane Collins etc are all great UKIP MEPs and members. Don't believe the media and the Establishment that UKIP are anti-women.

That was meant to read vomits

Why "vomits?"

Thank you. And do you agree on Farage's stance on women in the workforce?

'And do you agree on Farage's stance on women in the workforce?'

What stance?

Oh goody, RB and Farage on a panel together

I am not sure who is going to make the bigger fool of himself - that's a piece of programming genius.

claig, I am astonished at you starting this thread and congratulations to RB on his tremendous achievement in winning this so richly deserved award.