| Benn 03.09.2010 08:52 |
Re Brian's recent post: >>Well, the Blair Memoirs certainly scotched all that. Very cleverly, of course, Tony has announced his intention to give away the royalties of his book to help the veterans and dependents of the Iraq war. Cleverly? I am a writer too ... and I can tell you if you are not Harry Potter it is not a very lucrative profession .. so, well, forgive me, but I am not the first to point out that the relatively small amount of money he would have made from the book might be seen as a small price to pay to secure his precious 'legacy'. I'm no fan of Tony Blair, his party of his politics, but decrying Blair's donation of royalties to the Iraq war veterans / dependants is cruel beyond belief. Blair has done SOMETHING, however small and however it may be viewed given his contribution to what has happened in Iraq. SOMETHING. Better than nothing Oh Curly Haired One. What have YOU done to help protect national / world security? What have YOU done to ease the suffering of the sick or the bereaved through war? Do you have the gumption to place yourself in the decision-making rooms of the world and formulate plans and ideas that could, possibly, make for a peaceful world? No - you merely rand and babble on like a fucking moron claiming the high ground whilst contrasting international conflict with teh plight of fox cubs. Brian is presumably suffering from some kind of bizzarre superiority complex at the moment - I hope he gets treatment very soon. |
| cmsdrums 03.09.2010 09:28 |
I agree, he does seem to put hand to keyboard a lot these days without going via his brain!! I read that jus the advance on Blair's book was £4.6m, so not an insignificant amount to give away, regardless of your own personal thoughts on the motives behind doing so. When Brian says 'I am an author and know that's it's not very lucrative', I'm tempted to reply to him to say that it is if you actually sell a lot of books!!! |
| Amazon 03.09.2010 09:35 |
Benn wrote: "I'm no fan of Tony Blair, his party of his politics, but decrying Blair's donation of royalties to the Iraq war veterans / dependants is cruel beyond belief." Is it? I would argue that Brian has every right to question Blair's motivation for donating his royalties. Blair isn't an ordinary citizen who has made a decision to give to charity. He's a former PM who played a key role in the Iraq war. Like Brian, I too question his motivation. "Blair has done SOMETHING, however small and however it may be viewed given his contribution to what has happened in Iraq. SOMETHING. Better than nothing Oh Curly Haired One." One could argue that considering he played a key role in it, this contribution doesn't make up for it. "What have YOU done to help protect national / world security?" How did going to Iraq help protect national/world security? "What have YOU done to ease the suffering of the sick or the bereaved through war?" Oh please. If Blair cares so much about the suffering of the sick or the bereaved, why go to war? "Do you have the gumption to place yourself in the decision-making rooms of the world and formulate plans and ideas that could, possibly, make for a peaceful world?" So Brian can't criticise Blair because he's a musician? What nonsence. Furthermore, considering that you are supporting Blair, even though you yourself are not in the 'decision-making rooms of the world', don't you think you are being hypocritical? You can't have it both ways. If you can support Blair, Brian can criticise him. Regardless though, when those decisions affect the entire world, citizens such as Brian have every right to criticise the decision makers. "No - you merely rand and babble on like a fucking moron claiming the high ground whilst contrasting international conflict with teh plight of fox cubs." Incredible. Not only do you resort to personal abuse (so immature, and what a great way to lose the argument), but you do not realise the hypocricy of this? You accuse him of trying to claim the high ground yet look at what you are doing. This rant of yours (because Benn, that is what you are doing) is incredibly self-righteous and is just a naked attempt to claim the moral high ground. You don't like him criticising Blair for some reason, yet you think you have the right to support Blair? Support and criticism are two sides of the same coin. If Brian can't criticise Blair, because he's a non-politician or some other nonsence, then you can't back Blair for the same reason. Ultimately Brian has the right to state his opinion, and he has the right to do so on his blog. If you don't agree, fine, but don't pretend that he has no right to say it. BTW, when did he contrast international affairs with the plight of fox cubs? "Brian is presumably suffering from some kind of bizzarre superiority complex at the moment - I hope he gets treatment very soon." That would be the same kind of superiority complex that you obviously suffer from. Perhaps he could seek treatment advice from you. |
| Benn 03.09.2010 11:24 |
Amazon, re: >>One could argue that considering he played a key role in it, this contribution doesn't make up for it. Of course it hasn't made up for it. That would not have been his intention in any way. I guess he felt he could *do something* and has done. >>Oh please. If Blair cares so much about the suffering of the sick or the bereaved, why go to war? Because there is / was a need to *do something* about the situation in that country. The only recorse left was war and it was successful. Death is a by-product of war and the troops KIA knew what they were signing up for when they joined whichever service. >>So Brian can't criticise Blair because he's a musician? Nope - I didn't say that, now, did I. That's your twist on what I've written. >>What nonsence. You said it. >>Furthermore, considering that you are supporting Blair, even though you yourself are not in the 'decision-making rooms of the world', don't you think you are being hypocritical? You can't have it both ways. If you can support Blair, Brian can criticise him.Regardless though, when those decisions affect the entire world, citizens such as Brian have every right to criticise the decision makers. And he can. I never said that he **could not** criticise him. Of course he can. As I can of Brian and you can of me. I can call him a fucking idiot - as he can of me and I can of you and you can of me. If we choose to. Please, feel free. Brian's a strange and mostly sickening throw back to a bye-gone age where all humans love each other and they love their animals. The reality is that war is a real part of everyday life for millions who couldn't give a rat's ass about fox cubs. >>Incredible. Not only do you resort to personal abuse (so immature, and what a great way to lose the argument), but you do not realise the hypocricy of this? You accuse him of trying to claim the high ground yet look at what you are doing. This rant of yours (because Benn, that is what you are doing) is incredibly self-righteous and is just a naked attempt to claim the moral high ground. Here we have a pattern forming; this is you , AGAIN, interpreting my words to be something else. I don't want or need to claim any high ground. And, AGAIN, Brian's allowed to rant, as am I, as are you. Try not to make this something that it's not if you can. Pretty please? >>You don't like him criticising Blair for some reason, yet you think you have the right to support Blair? There you go. You got it. I don't *like* it and I'm saying that. Good. >>Support and criticism are two sides of the same coin. If Brian can't criticise Blair, because he's a non-politician or some other nonsence, then you can't back Blair for the same reason.Ultimately Brian has the right to state his opinion, and he has the right to do so on his blog. If you don't agree, fine, but don't pretend that he has no right to say it. So, if you take away your creative *interpretation* of what I wrote, you agree with me that we are ALL allowed to say what we like in any way we like to say it. Excellent stuff. >>Perhaps he could seek treatment advice from you. Or from you as a creative interpreter and twister of words who then subsequently turns that into their own rant? |
| Amazon 03.09.2010 12:13 |
Benn wrote: Amazon, re: ">>One could argue that considering he played a key role in it, this contribution doesn't make up for it." "Of course it hasn't made up for it. That would not have been his intention in any way. I guess he felt he could *do something* and has done." Yes, but Brian was questioning his motivation, which he was perfectly entitled to do so. "Because there is / was a need to *do something* about the situation in that country. The only recorse left was war and it was successful." Are you serious? There was absolutely no need to do anything (you do realise that no WMD has been found), and in no way was war even a good option, yet alone 'the only recorse left.' As for it being successful, tell that to the Iraqis who are still being killed as a result of the war. ">>So Brian can't criticise Blair because he's a musician?" "Nope - I didn't say that, now, did I. That's your twist on what I've written." That is what you are implying. You are absolutely implying that. When you say "What have YOU done to help protect national / world security? What have YOU done to ease the suffering of the sick or the bereaved through war?" and "Do you have the gumption to place yourself in the decision-making rooms of the world and formulate plans and ideas that could, possibly, make for a peaceful world?" you are absolutely doing that. ">>What nonsence." "You said it." That's right, it is nonsence. "And he can. I never said that he **could not** criticise him." No, but you imply it. Instead of focusing on what he says, you attack the fact that he's saying it. "I can call him a fucking idiot - as he can of me and I can of you and you can of me. If we choose to. Please, feel free." Which is why I call you a hypocrite. " Brian's a strange and mostly sickening throw back to a bye-gone age where all humans love each other and they love their animals." Strange? Perhaps. Sickening? Why, because he doesn't believe that people should hate each other? Right. Look, Brian can be extreme sometimes, he can be a little naive, but I don't understand how it is sickening. "The reality is that war is a real part of everyday life for millions who couldn't give a rat's ass about fox cubs." Please provide the quote where he compared war with the treatment of fox cubs, otherwise you're just being deceitful. "Here we have a pattern forming; this is you , AGAIN, interpreting my words to be something else. I don't want or need to claim any high ground." Your words are pretty easy to interpret. You, a war supporter, are accusing Brian, a war opponent, of ranting and babbling on like 'like a fucking moron' and you do so in a post in which you absolutely stated that he has no right to criticise the war since he's a non-politician; yet you have the right to back it. "And, AGAIN, Brian's allowed to rant, as am I, as are you. Try not to make this something that it's not if you can. Pretty please?" Brian does rant, but so did you. I'm not making it into anything that's it's not. You absolutely did rant. " ">>You don't like him criticising Blair for some reason, yet you think you have the right to support Blair?" "There you go. You got it. I don't *like* it and I'm saying that. Good." Your sarcasm aside, I think that this is what it is. The fact that you revealed yourself to be a war supporter in this post proves it. You have no problem backing the war, even though you are in the same position as Brian, yet you dislike him criticising it. "So, if you take away your creative *interpretation* of what I wrote, you agree with me that we are ALL allowed to say what we like in any way we like to say it. Excellent stuff." Here's a tip. Accusing someone of creatively interpretating what you say, when it's pretty obviuous what you mean, doesn't work. It is obvious to anyone what you meant. Your denying it simply proves that you're an intellectual coward. Also, considering that you don't think that Brian should even say it, and I think that he has the right to say whatever he wants, no I don't agree with you. At all. You know, if you do believe that Brian has the right to criticise the war (and I don't believe that you do), it would help to actually focus on what he says, rather than the fact he is saying it at all. ">>Perhaps he could seek treatment advice from you." "Or from you as a creative interpreter and twister of words who then subsequently turns that into their own rant?" Wow, how clever. Turning my own insult back against me. Except that I'm not a creative interpreter, I'm a resonable interpeter and you are an intellectual coward; I don't twist words, you do so in an attempt to deny that you mean what is pretty obvious; and as for ranting, I guess it takes one to know one. |
| Graeme Arnott 03.09.2010 13:10 |
Hey Benn, you rant at Brian, Brian rants at Tony Blair, I think Brian has more first hand experience of Mr Blair than you have of Brian. Enough said. |
| cryonicjason 03.09.2010 18:27 |
Yes! How dare anyone criticize Brian, or any of the band members lol. And while we're criticizing, since Brian is against fox hunting and animal cruelty in general, he therefore has the brain capacity of a chimp:) Its about time these celebrities started living in the real world imho. This website and brian's really makes me embarrassed to be a Queen fan most of the time. Oh and thankyou to the asshats in briton that introduced foxes and rabbits to australia, "that went well" didn't it. Luckily we can still kill them here before they destroy all the native wildlife. |
| paulosham 03.09.2010 21:16 |
j2003lp wrote: Oh and thankyou to the asshats in briton that introduced foxes and rabbits to australia, "that went well" didn't it. Luckily we can still kill them here before they destroy all the native wildlife. Where is briton and who are you quoting? I'm sure Brian thinks that the £4,600,000 advance that Tony Blair got for his memoirs, plus the royalties for the fastest selling memoir in history, is something to be scoffed at. I wonder how much Brian got for Bang!? |
| the dude 1366 03.09.2010 23:25 |
Blair is a moron who may at least be smart enough to feel guilt for listening to ol' George Dubya. Blair took out the PM of Canada for a beer and asked him if he should go out to Iraq. Jean Chretien, the Canadian Prime Minister, said the evidence of WMD was so weak that he wan't going to the Iraq war and that blair can make up his own mind. So out oif guilt he is giving royalties away. What a saint! Brian is 100% totally correct here!!!!!! |
| the dude 1366 03.09.2010 23:27 |
Yerah if it wasn't for Blair, these veterans wouldnt need his royalties. So I guess blair doing "something" doesn't even begin to make up for the misery he helped cause. |
| Graeme Arnott 04.09.2010 00:09 |
Calm down j2001, you got your revenge - we now have fosters lager in the UK. |
| inu-liger 04.09.2010 04:57 |
By the way, sorry to interrupt, but you should have spellchecked the address of Brian's website before you started the topic. It just looks so funny with the ia reversed. Carry on. |
| cmsdrums 04.09.2010 06:13 |
Graeme Arnott wrote: Hey Benn, you rant at Brian, Brian rants at Tony Blair, I think Brian has more first hand experience of Mr Blair than you have of Brian. Enough said. I've met Brian May more times than Brian has met Tony Blair, so can I have a pop at Brian then? Let's face it, the funny thing is that Brian has actually gone out and bought the book! (or even worse, was given a freebie which means no donation to the soldiers cause) |
| Gregsynth 04.09.2010 09:27 |
This thread is a joke. |
| Graeme Arnott 04.09.2010 12:11 |
Totally agree Gregsynth, the negativity aimed at Brian is now getting a bit extreme, is this a Queen fans forum? |
| AlbaNo1 04.09.2010 12:54 |
Doesnt seem to be senseless if you read the full thing. It seems he bought into Blairs ideology before slowly realising, through both his personal encounters and wider observation, that Blair was masking an underlying insincerity . As it is a "soapbox" of course this is going to be the type of posting that will be made now and again. |
| Gregsynth 04.09.2010 12:59 |
Graeme Arnott wrote: Totally agree Gregsynth, the negativity aimed at Brian is now getting a bit extreme, is this a Queen fans forum? ================ After reading carefully, this thread was to BRAIN MAY, not BRIAN May! |
| GratefulFan 04.09.2010 13:01 |
Graeme Arnott wrote: Totally agree Gregsynth, the negativity aimed at Brian is now getting a bit extreme, is this a Queen fans forum? ===================================== Yes, it's a fan forum. Were you expecting a sycophant forum? What is more than a bit extreme is a disconcerting chunk of Brian May's public discourse. He has as low as a tolerance for competing thoughts, opinions and actions as I've ever seen. When someone has the temerity to have a different opinion on a subject he feels strongly about you can reliably expect a wild carpet bombing and thorough trashing of somebody's character. He can't seem to write in anything but apocalyptic terms where the theme is implicitly (and sometimes explicitly!) forces of 'good' (him and everybody that agrees with him) in some kind of epic battle with ignorance, corruption, stupidity, greed, insanity, evil blah blah blah. It truly reads like a really bad novel. And it's not just Tony Blair, it's everything he feels any kind of passion for, and for some people it's become more than tiresome. Worse, in my opinion, it's become utterly ineffective. Brian sacrifices a lot to be as publicly accessible as he is, and I hate to see it too often turned into something that seems to me at least to diminish him. I could easily write ten times that last paragraph on the things that I admire about Brian and the many traits that make him a special musician and a special man, but on the endless and indiscriminate ranting he absolutely does deserve criticism. |
| The Real Wizard 04.09.2010 17:16 |
At least Brian is doing something with his life instead of luxuriously living it up without a care in the world. He could have stopped after selling hundreds of millions of records and revolutionizing rock guitar, but he also got his PhD in astronomy, wrote books, invented a stereoscope device, and is now trying to make a difference in the world. He lives a life of passion, which leads to statements made out of passion that won't meet the approval of every critic. So while he isn't perfect, there has got to be someone else who is a more worthy recipient of complaints.. like the other 99% of rock stars who are doing nothing to make the world a better place.. ? |
| GratefulFan 04.09.2010 18:03 |
You might be able to find a handful of successful rock stars of Brian May's generation that haven't made significant contributions in time and money and endorsements to various charities and causes, but you can be sure they're not going to add up to 99%. PhDs and stereo viewers and books are not altruism, they're the product of living a life that is fulfilling to one's own self, just like the rest of us. And having a bit of a superiority complex is not a prerequisite for living a life of passion. All kinds of people are passionate about all kinds of things, yet they are not significant contributors to the sum of useless, divisive and polarizing rhetoric in the world. He most certainly is, and that does nothing to make the world a better place. There are loads of comments on this forum, loads on Queenonline, an intimation by his bandmate, several newspaper articles or editorials and an entire site in (the now defunct?) 'Dr. Brian the Wise' that have reacted negatively to this aspect of his style. |
| tcc 04.09.2010 22:21 |
Brian is a citizen and tax payer of the UK and therefore he is entilted to criticize Blair. We are Brian's customers and so we are entilted to criticize Brian's work but I think it should be limited to his music. Anything else is not our business. |
| Serry... 05.09.2010 05:19 |
Show 'em, Benn! |
| GratefulFan 06.09.2010 00:45 |
tcc wrote: Brian is a citizen and tax payer of the UK and therefore he is entilted to criticize Blair. We are Brian's customers and so we are entilted to criticize Brian's work but I think it should be limited to his music. Anything else is not our business. ======================================= He is entitled to criticize Blair, you're right. And this rant really wasn't a great example, because all sorts of people think very little of Blair and most of us in general tend to discuss politicians in reductionist and hyperbole ridden ways. But the thing with Brian is that it's virtually always like this, and when you can't get through a point without insulting somebody and sounding like you're in the middle of a Jackie Collins novel you're going to attract some negative attention. He has a public blog and conducts a public awareness campaign through which he seeks to share and shape opinion, so it's the business of anybody who wishes to engage. There are many wonderful things that define the man far more than this aspect of things, but people aren't out of line for calling this out. He's so intelligent, and so passionate, and so articulate. He could easily be a guy that speaks with widsom and authority, but he comes off far too often as hyper partisan, insensitive, monomaniacal, overly simplistic, unnecessarily dramatic and only very narrowly empathetic. I still love him, I still think he's amazing on a whole bunch of fronts, and I'll forever be a very grateful fan, but it's unpleasant as much as anything else, and since it's being dumped out into the collective people get to complain. If you see things this way in some ways it's no favour to him not to complain. Anyway, he made me go out and buy Blair's book today in a round about way. So we'll see if I like it. |
| paulosham 06.09.2010 15:57 |
Sir GH wrote: At least Brian is doing something with his life instead of luxuriously living it up without a care in the world. That sounds like you're taking a pop at Deacon John |
| The Real Wizard 06.09.2010 20:53 |
paulsmith2001 wrote:
That sounds like you're taking a pop at Deacon JohnI wasn't intending that, actually. I was referring to rock stars in general. Maybe he's part of the 99%, but nobody really knows what he's up to. Last thing I heard he was photographed getting a lapdance from a stripper. |
| GratefulFan 07.09.2010 02:15 |
Something odd happened to me this evening. Even though I've spent three posts in this thread defending complaining about Brian's frequent diatribes, and months on end doing so more broadly, I think I want to try to stop complaining. It has nothing to do with those diatribes not being outrageous after all, because they're pretty damn outrageous. It's not because it's not our business, and it's certainly not because of what other rock stars are or aren't doing (sorry Bob! :) ). It's because there was something about this article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/sep/05/brian-may-interview-blogging that made me suddenly compute that he can't be anybody else other than who he fundamentally is anymore than I can. The ranting is a natural and likely immutable response to how he sees the world and who he is as a person, and though I think it does nothing to illuminate any subject he discusses and adds nothing positive to the universe, I'm going to stop expecting him to change and try to stop acting and writing like he should. He pays for his indiscretion all the time in pieces like this, and the older one linked at the bottom of the page, and I understand why the journalists write what they do, because it's their job and because they're right. But I'm not a journalist, I'm a fan, so I have other options. And maybe even other responsibilities. That reporter somehow made me want to close ranks a little; made me feel like she's on the outside and I'm supposed to be a little more on the inside on this issue. So I'm going to try to complain less, even in my own head, and try to have a bit more empathy for where it comes from and see how that goes. Kind of weird. Never expected to be writing this. |
| Benn 07.09.2010 09:23 |
And now Brian has gotten himself involved in slagging off the Halal Meat process. He's treading on some extremely dangerous territory with that one. You'd sort of hope that "Steve" has sent this in in the hope that Brian will take the bait and rattle off a diatribe about it. Then, seeing him on ITV's This Morning show today, and how thoroughly fucking miserable he looks (my wife's words not mine!), you have to wonder why he doesn't just bugger off to a country that suits his needs. Australia should do him; they're loony liberal enough to put up with him. |
| agneepath! 11994 07.09.2010 16:34 |
Regarding the Halal meat letter sent to Brian, part of Steve's letter was: "My rant is about halal meat, how the hell in this country can we allow people to come here and practice their vile slaughter practises?" The wording of that statement is crude to say the least and bordering racist. How about the many Muslims who are not immigrants but were born in the UK (like myself?) Brian's response to this letter is typical Brian, on the people he agrees with: "I agree with you completely" Brian's response is worrying - like Benn I think Brian is at times blinded by the pro-animal perspective. Its not as simple as he imagines it to be. |
| GratefulFan 07.09.2010 16:39 |
I read an article today dated several years ago about halal practices in the UK. The article claimed that in practice it is very much like regular slaughter as far as cruetly considerations go, with virtually all animals being stunned before death due to practical considerations. Slaughterhouses tried not stunning, and it just didn't work. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/sep/14/religion.animalwelfare |
| Makka 07.09.2010 20:15 |
I don't read Brian's website much anymore. It's all politics and 'Save The Fucken Badgers' etc these days. Sure, it's great to see him have a passion and something else to do, but I used to enjoy reading his musings on music etc a lot more than local council members. Music doesn't seem to be his primary focus these days perhaps, which is good for him after so many years giving his all, but being from the other side of the world, his bollocking of everything under the sun bores me to tears. |