Tornado Alley (PROG)

[12yearplan]

Interesting stuff/links thanks. 
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/replies.aspx?msg=169455579
All this separation and comparison of Lib/Con makes me think - what does freedom from it look like.
[Democracy Now, The New Republic, Chomsky, R. Brand, J6 Reality T.V., etc,.. lol ?]

Anyhow, work in progress. Took some more time figuring out this Brand character resisting my prejudice against some of the terms used to see if his championing of the "ordinary/common person" is sincere. I liked how he struggles with sounding like a conspiracy theorist, lol. He is a comedian.
Sorry for the long post but interested to hear what you think of his NATO vid at the bottom, cheers!.. 

The revolution that's required isn't a revolution of radical ideas, but the implementation of ideas we already have."[126]



In October 2014, at the time Brand's book Revolution was published, John Lydon (also known as "Johnny Rotten" of the Sex Pistols), in an interview with Polly Toynbee of The Guardian, said that Brand's advocacy of non-voting is "the most idiotic thing I’ve ever heard."[128] In a November 2014 YouGov poll, involving a selection of celebrities, Brand was chosen as the one with the most negative influence on political debate (46%). The poll also found that 60% of poll participants disliked him and 28% liked him.[129]

Shortly afterward, Brand appeared on Newsnight again, but was interviewed by Evan Davis on this occasion. Asked about 9/11 conspiracy theories and whether the attacks were perpetuated by the American government, Brand commented: "[w]e have to remain open-minded to [that] kind of possibility",[130][131] although this section of the interview ended with Brand insisting that he did not "want to talk about daft conspiracy theories."[132][133]Hadley Freeman in The Guardian mocked the opinions he expressed in the interview: "I’m not entirely sure where he thinks he’s going to go with this revolution idea because [SPOILER!] revolution is not going to happen."[134]

.. three days before the election, Brand released the final episode of The Trews Politics Week entitled "Emergency: VOTE To Start Revolution"[151] releasing additional material from his discussion with Ed Miliband and stating "I think we've got no choice but to take decisive action to end the danger of the Conservative party".[155] He dropped his anti-voting position and "declared the importance of voting", backing Labour and telling his fans that "You gotta vote Labour", although he admitted "that he couldn't be sure of the reality of what a Labour government would mean".[156][157] Brand was not registered to vote in the 2015 election.[156]



"You know I never actually said 'don't vote'? I said 'There's no point in voting when the main political parties are basically indistinguishable and the relationship between government, big business and factions of the media make it impossible for the democratic will of the people to be realised.'"[160]

 Now I'm aware that this [GQ award speech] was really no big deal ... It was a daft joke by a daft comic at a daft event. It makes me wonder, though, how the relationships and power dynamics I witnessed on this relatively inconsequential context are replicated on a more significant scale ... Ought we be concerned that our rights to protest are being continually eroded under the guise of enhancing our safety? ... When you take a breath and look away from the spectacle it's amazing how absurd it seems when you look back.[167]

In September 2021, Brand shared information on how to avoid COVID-19 safety measures for people attending his tour.[168][169] In October 2021, YouTube began reviewing some of Brand's videos to see if they violated the site's COVID-19 vaccine policies.[170] Columnist Charlotte Lytton accused Brand of pandering to the anti-vax movement as well as amplifying pro-Russian conspiracy theories with respect to the Russo-Ukrainian War.[171]Elon Musk defended Brand from media criticism on Twitter, saying "With so many mainstream media companies saying @rustyrockets is crazy/dangerous, I watched some of his videos. Ironically, he seemed more balanced & insightful than those condemning him! The groupthink among major media companies is more troubling. There should be more dissent."[172]

In 2022, Brand discussed the World Health Organization's meetings on the pandemic treaty and said, “I’ll tell you what’s up… Your democracy is fucking finished,” and that future people would say we "lapsed a terrible technocratic, globalist agenda."[173]

Days after his divorce was finalised, Brand said in an interview with Howard Stern that he was extremely in love with Perry, but after marrying her realised "this isn't really working out ... I was really, really in love with her, but it was difficult to see each other ... it mostly didn't work for practical reasons."[198] While Stern pressed for details, Brand declined, saying: "I don't want anything to hurt her. She's younger than me, she's a young woman and she's beautiful and she's sensitive and I care about her deeply."[198] Brand, who married Perry without a prenuptial agreement, was eligible to claim half of the estimated $44 million she earned during their marriage, but declined.[199]



Political activism2009–2012: Early interventions
Street art by unknown artist on Hackney Street, London
In January 2009, Brand participated in a celebrity letter to The Independent—as a supporter of the Hoping Foundation—to condemn Israel's assault on Gaza, and the "cruel and massive loss of life of the citizens of Gaza".[105] In February 2009, Brand and several other entertainers wrote to The Times in defence of leaders of the Bahá'í Faith, who were on trial in Iran at the time.[106] In April 2009, he attended the 2009 G-20 London summit protests and spoke to the press.[107]

Brand was selected by the Dalai Lama to host the Buddhist leader's 2012 youth event in Manchester. The Dalai Lama's representatives explained that Brand was selected because he had proved "the power of spirituality to effect change in his own life", while Brand stated to the BBC after the event: "I said yes because he's the living incarnation of Buddha and I thought, if you're around the Dalai Lama, that can only be good for your spiritual quest through life. He's an amazing diplomat, an incredible activist, a wonderful human being and an inspiration to us all."[108]

In April 2012, Brand testified in front of a parliamentary committee about drug addiction, sharing his experiences and view that drugs should be decriminalised. He said, "I'm not a legal expert. I'm saying that, to a drug addict, the legal aspect is irrelevant. If you need to get drugs, you will. The criminal and legal status, I think, sends the wrong message. Being arrested isn't a lesson, it's just an administrative blip."[109] Part of this testimony was included in a BBC Three documentary, Russell Brand: From Addiction to Recovery, that aired in December 2012. Brand said he felt compelled to make the film after the 2011 death of close friend Amy Winehouse, and he also used the opportunity to question how British society "deals with addicts and addiction."[110]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Brand

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Mat%C3%A9

Other journalism and commentary
In November 2020, Maté said that the appointment of Antony Blinken as Secretary of State and the possible nomination of Michèle Flournoy as Defense Secretary, showed that President-electJoe Biden was "continuing with the hawkish playbook" he had followed throughout his career.[35]

In February 2021, Maté was the first to report that Amnesty International had removed Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny's status as a prisoner of conscience "given the fact that he advocated violence and discrimination and has not yet retracted such statements".[2][36][37][38] Oliver Carroll wrote in The Independent that The Grayzone had "amplified" criticism of Navalny and "appears to have been privy to lobbying around the Amnesty decision".[36] Amnesty reversed its decision in May, issuing the following statement: "We recognise that an individual's opinions and behaviour may evolve over time. It is part of Amnesty's mission to encourage people to positively embrace a human rights vision and to not suggest that they are forever trapped by their past conduct. Some of Navalny's previous statements are reprehensible and we do not condone them in the slightest. By confirming Navalny's status as prisoner of conscience, we are not endorsing his political programme, but are highlighting the urgent need for his rights, including access to independent medical care, to be recognised and acted upon by the Russian authorities".[39]

Maté was critical of President Biden's response to Israel's attack on Gaza in May 2021. Maté said Biden's telephone call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in which Biden expressed his "unwavering support" for Israel's "right to defend itself", was "a green light for Netanyahu to continue massacring Palestinian civilians".[40]

Awards
Maté earned an Izzy Award in April 2019 for his work challenging press coverage of special prosecutor Robert Mueller's investigation.[14][15][16][18]