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

Well, namely this: Women who work in the City and have children are worth less than men.

Polar bearscan go stuff it then?

Pacific, it will make great TV.
Brand is no fool. He will probably shout and scream and rant and try to do Farage down. But Farage, being a politician and statesman, will not be able to give the same back. It will be fascinating to see how he handles this Establishment test and to see if he ends up coming out on top. If he manages it, then it is curtains for the Establishment, they will then have nothing left.

'Polar bears can go stuff it then?'

Of course not, but they are not in danger.

"The poster boys of climate change thrive in the icy Arctic: Polar bears defy concerns about their extinction"

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2436882/The-poster-boys-climate-change-thrive-icy-Arctic-Polar-bears-defy-concerns-extinction.html

claig, just a minor thing that has interested me for a while: why do you capitalise the 'Establishment'?
And in what way is Farage not 'established'? He may not be in power (thank goodness and lets all hope he never will be) and he has taken it upon himself to say out loud what may be populist, poorly thought through, previously thought to be too distasteful to articulate issues, but surely he is as established as they come?

Camel hair coat an'all

This is what Farage said

"A woman who has a client base, has a child and takes two or three years off - she is worth far less to her employer when she comes back than when she went away because that client base won't be stuck as rigidly to her portfolio"

He continued: "I don't believe that in the big banks and brokerage houses and Lloyds of London and everyone else in the City, I do not believe there is any discrimination against women at all.

"I think young, able women that are prepared to sacrifice the family life and stick with their career will do as well if not better than men."

news.sky.com/story/1197923/farage-working-mothers-worth-less-than-men

He doesn't buy the polar bear patter, you said, claig.

So how come men can have families and have careers that take off?
Why on earth is this an issue at all? Why do women take '2 or 3 years off'? Why not men? Why not share?

Come off it, claig, he is so much part of established power patters from roughly around 1950 that it's unreal.

"why do you capitalise the 'Establishment'?"

I am not an expert on English grammar, but I thought that the Establishment is an entity such as the City i.e. it refers to something more than just the city etc.

'but surely he is as established as they come?'

No because to be in the Esatblishment, you need to share the convictions and beliefs and goals of the Establishment. You mustn't challenge the Esatblishment.

Forget banning smoking in cars, 1p on income tax, banning smoking in parks etc, the Establishment does not care too much about things like that, which is why it doesn't care if the Oxbridge PPEs of Labour or the Oxbridge PPEs of the Conservatives get into power, because on the important things the Establishment cares about, they are both the same PPEs.

As I mentioned earlier

"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"

"I think young, able women that are prepared to sacrifice the family life..."

Why should they have to? Men certainly don't have to sacrifice family life for their careers.

"He doesn't buy the polar bear patter, you said, claig."

By that I mean that he doesn't believe in the polar bear scare stories. Although I don't know if he does or not to be honest because I have never spoken to him, but I know that lots of UKIP people don't believe it. Farage's position on climate change is he doesn't know if it is happening or not, but UKIP party policy is the sensible policy of scrapping the Climate Change Act

"Why should they have to? "

Farage was only saying what he thinks the reality is. He was not making any judgement about why it was like that.

' UKIP party policy is the sensible policy of scrapping the Climate Change Act'

Remember that UKIP is anti-establishment, they don't agree with the Establishment and Russell Brand. If you believe in climate change and think it is a serious problem, then I would say you are better off listening to Russell Brand and voting for Establishment parties. UKIP and the People's Army will probably not be for you.

It still makes me larf the way you mention 'establishment' and 'RB' in one breath.
Help ma boab

Pacific

RB: "Don't vote!"

"Establishment": Thank God we have Brand...because the only voters who will listen to him are UKIPers! It's a flawless plan!

You have to remember that the Establishment are very clever. They didn't get where they are by being stupid. They have the best Oxbridge PPEs they can get and they know all the tricks in the political book.

But now they have met their match - the People's Army. The People's Army has devastated Tory safe seats in Essex and Kent and that is only the beginning. Farage is nimble of foot and nimble of mind and all the tricks, all the comedians, all the insults are like water of a duck's back.

That is why Labour MP, Austin Mitchell, has said that "Farage is a genius" and former Thatcher Defence Secretary, Sir John Nott, has said that he admires Farage's achievements because

"singlehandedly he's threatening the oldest political party in the country"

The Esatblishment has never seen anything like this. Their PPEs are desperate anbd clueless. The People's Army is creating havoc and Brand has never been more needed than he is needed now.

Gee, claig, by your last description he sounds a bit like Hitler.

Here's another debate to sink your teeth into: who's the tit?

'UKIP party policy is the sensible policy of scrapping the Climate Change Act'

If the People's Army get anywhere near power, then the Establishment know that their whole game will be up. They need Brand to "save the planet", "save the polar bear" and "save their skins".

Thursday night BBC1, make sure you tune in.

You know what, i aint got time to look at graphs either. Makes self sick.

Thursday night BBC1, it's the Establishment's Custer's Last Stand with a revolutionary called Brand. He'll be shooting from the lip, being ever so hip as he tries desperately to save the Esatblishment from UKIP.

Don't miss it, millions won't, the hopes of millions of people will depend on the result.

Oh, ok, i have just realised this is a sick joke,which is wh

Exactly why people should not be recommending mumsnet as a place for the ill

"Two polar-opposites of the political spectrum, Russell Brand and Nigel Farage, will face each other on Question Time in Canterbury next week.

The comedian turned political activist will sit alongside the Ukip leader he frequently refers to as “that racist bloke” on the current affairs panel show on Thursday 11 December, the BBC have confirmed."

www.independent.co.uk/news/people/russell-brand-and-nigel-farage-set-for-heated-headtohead-question-time-debate-9905056.html

The media are already onto it. This will give the BBC great viewing figures, not because of Brand, but because of Farage and what is at stake. The people know the game and they will tune in to see who wins - the Establishment or the people.

It's like when you say hello to someone at the bus stop and they suddenly start raving and shaking their fists at the sky

[grinfinity]

I should think RB is deLIGHted at all the free publicity mumsnet gives him. Daily

Hi Russell! we think you're great in our house

I have been waiting for years for someone to make lefty activism funny

...all those years of meetings above pubs, standing in the rain watching Tony Benn, hiding behind the sofa from Socialist Worker sellers, getting told off for shaving my legs grumble chiz moan

WhoLovesTheSun are you ok? Who is ill?