I joined Russell Brand on 9/11 to discuss the financial censorship of anti-establishment voices by Silicon Valley social media and crowdfunding companies.
This was one of Brand's last shows before YouTube demonetized his channel following the tabloid publication of sexual abuse allegations. YouTube has justified its move on the basis of its vague "creator responsibility policy," which forbids "real world harm" to YT "users, employees, or ecosystem."
The Google-owned company's move will inevitably harden the perception that Brand is the target of a coordinated hit, and should raise questions about the influence of state actors on the company's decision. (YouTube threatened The Grayzone with a strike following our livestream about British journalist Paul Mason's collaboration with the UK security state. The stream was permanently deleted.)
As @Jonathan_K_Cook has pointed out, Brand's antics were no secret in Hollywood, but only became an issue after he rehabilitated himself and emerged as one of the world's most prolific critics of corporate media.
As unsettling as some the allegations against Brand might seem, he has not yet been convicted of anything in a court, he has denied the charges, and has not clearly violated YouTube's terms of service through any of his online content. But a jury of faceless corporate functionaries has nonetheless found him guilty in the privatized, politically co-opted space that serves as our digital commons, and punished him with financial sanctions.
Meanwhile in the UK the Birmingham city council has finally found the root cause of all its problems and is kicking out any company associated with Israel (well, according to the council at least)
So now the Birmingham city council has its own international policy, I guess
I just went into this corner shop and asked if they had any poppies and the shopkeeper wouldn’t even answer me he just kept saying something in foreign it sounded like ‘ah-fah-fah-fah-fah’ or something I just stormed out DONT GIVE THEM ANY OF YOUR MONEY there a disgrace 😡
On a serious note, I hope @georgegalloway’s carers and loved one now stage an intervention and persuade him to remove himself from public life. It’s demeaning to see a single issue politician repeatedly fail.
So @ZackPolanski and @georgegalloway both get their arses handed to them; what a great night!
314 people Georgie? You’d need a heart of stone not to laugh.