Jonathan Pie: How Putin Weaponized London’s Greed | NYT Opinion

Featuring Jonathan Pie, a fictional newscaster created by the British comedian Tom Walker: / jonathanpie
These are, to say the least, uncomfortable times to be a Russian oligarch.
In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, governments are taking aim at the superwealthy with close ties to Vladimir Putin, hitting them with sanctions, cutting off their access to offshore wealth, seizing their luxury yachts and villas and generally making it difficult to be a filthy rich person.
But in the Opinion Video above, Jonathan Pie, the fictional broadcast journalist played by the comedian Tom Walker, argues that even while the United States and the European Union have come down hard on Russian oligarchs, Britain has taken a gentler approach. This response, he argues, is the result of a dark symbiotic relationship that the country has developed with ill-gotten Russian money.
For years, Russian wealth has poured into Britain with few questions asked, helping to finance political campaigns and buoying the luxury property market. Russian oligarchs have been so happy to avail themselves of Britain’s laissez-faire regulatory climate to park their wealth and launder dirty money that the nation’s capital has earned the moniker Londongrad.
And that, Pie argues, is why the British government has been reluctant to step up the pressure on the Russian elite. Stronger sanctions, he argues, would risk hurting Britain even more than they would Putin and his cronies.
“And this was Putin’s plan all along,” Pie asserts. “For 20 years, he’s been slowly neutralizing us as a threat - by using our own greed against us.”
Jonathan Pie videos were previously licensed to RT - formerly known as Russia Today - in the U.K. Mr. Walker has never worked for the network and has had no relationship with it since 2016.
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[@AdamWestbrookArt]

Yes, Pie is back on the Times! I'm Adam, the producer of this new Opinion Video with acerbic British reporter Jonathan Pie. What story would you like to see him take on next? (Although if we make another video, he *will* insist on being a "UK correspondent"...)🙄

[@sajaljain8843]

Video about how is Brexit going.

[@jabbermocky4520]

@@sajaljain8843 Chunky Mark has the raw sewage angle covered. Also, he rants about water pollution in the UK. Boris is easy pickins'. Jonathan Pie should do a bit with "man in the street" interviews about the course of Brexit. Yes, please.

[@catalinacurio]

I’d love Pie to cover the great Zelensky, would be amazing to hear him do a rant but on a positive note. Please. 🇺🇦🌻🌸

[@grmpEqweer]

Whatever he feels like he can properly address. He's tacky. 😁👍

[@jdoe8691]

anything really. we'd love to see more of him!

[@lukehp7431]

Taking Jonathan Pie into the NYT was their best decision.

[@pcuimac]

Yeah. They made a NATO propaganda tool out of him.

[@lukehp7431]

@@pcuimac by saying what exactly?

[@COIcultist]

Some salient points but he has lost the gag was the interjection between takes. We Was better when Andrew Doyle wrote for him. Why doesn't he do a tie up with James O'Keefe for a proper bit of satire, or possibly a proper bit of news!

[@COIcultist]

We was better = He was better. Very fat finger to manage that mistype.

[@dynamic5109]

@@COIcultist You know there's an edit button right? 😄

[@wolfiesmith7674]

We now take comedians seriously and laugh at politicians.

[@flymakena]

Indeed

[@arx3516]

And comedians prove themselves to be excellent leaders, look at Zelensky.

[@chriswarr3676]

It's sad when we take a comedian speaking the truth more serious than our politicians. I wish Jonathan pie would run for prime minister.

[@mr.mrs.d.7015]

👍❤

[@hugoclarke3284]

@@chriswarr3676 They are speaking the truth, yes, but you don't actually understand rational necessity. It would be moral to give up everything you own and live as a monk. But then you are powerless to help anyone or protect the people you love.

[@seratonin7004]

I've never heard of this guy before, but the passion, specificty, and humanity with which he delivered this message has made me a fan! 👍

[@stevenclark2719]

Welcome to the club

[@-xirx-]

Check his channel out: Johnathon Pie. He is a national treasure! 🙂👍

[@MarcusMattia]

well, I advise you to look back all the way to where he started. The man is extremely coherent, as well as funny

[@gbt722]

He's known in the UK, but not that well liked to he honest. Dont get me wrong, he's OK. I'm just saying why he ain't here.

[@seratonin7004]

@@-xirx- thank you! Will do 👍

[@oscartravis5740]

Jonathan Pie is incredible. We live in a time when satire and truth are the exact same thing.

[@notmyname3681]

He's a hypocrite. He worked for Russia Today which was a known Kremlin propaganda mouthpiece. He took dirty money. And people are still lapping it up....

[@con.troller4183]

The fact that British political parties can accept ANY foreign donations is astounding and vile.

[@kokobwild2413]

As opposed to where?

[@davidfay5683]

They cannot legally accept foreign donations but they find ways around that like making it very easy for rich people (especially Russians) to become British citizens.

[@carlossaraiva8213]

It's foreign money that was first washed by the London laudromat.

[@ashleyember6822]

@@davidfay5683 Paper bags come in handy for such occasions.....Fast cash for the crooked politicians

[@carlossaraiva8213]

@@kokobwild2413 Didn't somebody ever told you that just because there's others doing wrong that does not justify your own wrongdoing? Whataboutisms is for losers.

[@kathowed]

Even toned down for the NYT, Pie still delivers his much needed articulate and outraged clarion call for compassion and common sense.

[@MrSatnavatron]

It's poetry

[@Alpostpone]

@@dancersendrecords1469 It's not meant to be funny at all, so job well done.

[@LlibertarianGalt]

@@Alpostpone it is written by a comedian so

[@assaqwwq]

The west has no common sense. Or, more like, it's not worth as much as its own comfort...

[@andkyrmar]

He’s had his balls cut off. This is sanitised and it’s not the ruthless Pie we once had. Feels like a sell out.

[@johneland8225]

Tom Walker may be a political satirist but he does tell it in a way that ordinary people can understand, he tells it straight and for that I'm truly grateful, we need this guy more than anyone knows.

[@martakoltuniuk8408]

Thank you. I live in England but I'm Polish. When I talked to my colleagues about Russia, Putin and his counterintelligence activities in England, people laughed. They shook their heads and said they understand I could just be prejudiced against him because I'm Polish. Just forewarned. When I asked about all those wars: two in Czeczenia, in Georgia, in Azerbaijan - people don't even know there was an ongoing war in Ukraine since 2014- was silent and shook arms, so what. Something like - you people are annoying. Of course I can say "why I'm nervous for is none of my business". I am terrified by the fact how ignorant and asleep the citizens of this country are. Even more, you can take freedom from the English people with the help of the media and appropriately selected lobbyists. You can buy all their freedom like a subscription. All what people can say is "what you mean, you can't change it anyway". The Russians said the same and they live in dictatorship. Wake up people, because either you or your children - you will pay for freedom with your blood. This is happening.

[@xnsxxnsx]

Yes, totally agree with you. Also, British kids learn history and geography from Uk centred point. They end up with very poor basic knowledge about the world and processes in it.

[@HydroSnips]

@@xnsxxnsx Yawn. Every country in the world learns their own history.

[@xnsxxnsx]

@@HydroSnips I don't think you understand. They learn about British activities throughout the history, and what was happening on British isles. That's it. They don't have a concept on even modern European geography, let alone history.

[@karl2405]

@@xnsxxnsx Not to mention glaring oversights in how colonialism is taught

[@kaitlyn__L]

Absolutely, far too many people are kept asleep by a combination of job stresses and costs of living issues (even before the current crisis, people were preoccupied with where the next bill or loan payment would come from), and media selling fake solutions full of thought-terminating cliches which take orders of magnitude more energy to debunk or argue away than it takes to churn out these distractions. People are kept worried about their life, and told their life would be just fine were it not for one particular group getting in the way, and then any political energy they possibly have gets focused onto these distractions instead of fighting for changes that would benefit everybody. So of course almost no one has the time or energy to learn about worldwide events here, they’re too busy exhausting themselves with zero hours contracts and gig work and so on, and any media they consume reinforces these patterns. It’s really depressing.

[@dansplans86]

Thanks to the NYT for giving this guy a platform, nobody in the UK was going to have the balls to do it

[@teethgrinder83]

He had show or one off called "Jonathan Pie in America" on the BBC so they gave him platform of sorts. If you mean the news media (and definitely print media since I've at least seen him on the likes of channel 4 news before) then I agree with you

[@dkmphotography_co_uk]

Sometime's independent & not watered down is a good thing... Saw him live in Bournemouth before the pandemic. Sheer brilliance.

[@TheRenewedMind]

We've all heard of him in the UK. Self righteous lefties say he's funny. But they just agree with his views. He's not funny.

[@dansplans86]

@@TheRenewedMind congratulations on discovering that humour is subjective

[@TheRenewedMind]

@@dansplans86 which part of this video did you find humourous and why? The only funny part I could possibly detect is the irony that the New York Times lecturing people about corruption. See: List of controversies involving The New York Times Wikipedia

[@dynamic5109]

Crazy times... When political satire, labelled as "Opinion" is the only source of *factual news*

[@adamantiiispencespence4012]

Not entirely, as a for instance Russia doesn't have Europe by the short and curlies to the extent claims as Germany has completely banned the purchase of Russian fuels.

[@chriswarr3676]

@@adamantiiispencespence4012 only through pressure from other countries. I don't think they would of done anything, if it wasn't for that.

[@hugoclarke3284]

The opinion part is that we should end sanctions, which absolutely moronic. However the information he presented is fact, yes.

[@vasiovasio]

Nothing is more strange than Truth!

[@bobbylockes]

@@adamantiiispencespence4012 the EU said it'll take 8 years to stop using russian energy, recently claiming that the can reduce that to 5 years..

[@thisiscrazy4122]

Jonathan Pie by UK standard and his usual standard in this opinion piece hasn't swung and missed any shot. Amazing how much we've regressed that we need comedy actors to deliver the hard truths ! Hear, hear to Jonathan Pie, may he be the voice of reason that need in this dark times !

[@paulsanders860]

Well done NYT for having the courage to let JP speak his mind. We Brits love you for it x

[@andrewfayers9147]

Everything I feel, but am not articulate enough to express, pours out of this man, in a glorious torrent of words. I am speechless with admiration.

[@jameskim1505]

Yeah, JPs been around the blocks 😂

[@stuartronald9785]

Yes.

[@RR4kindness]

beautifully said Andrew!

[@dkmphotography_co_uk]

You're not alone... he's my articulate spirit animal. 😂

[@sinistregoth]

My thoughts exactly

[@spankflaps1365]

The U.K. has the ‘Money Laundering Act’ but this only applies to Joe Public, and not the oligarchs the law was aimed at. For example I had to jump through hoops when buying my house to prove where I got the money, and I was using the family solicitors who knew where every penny of our money had come from for the last 60 years.

[@tonyb9735]

"...and not the oligarchs ..." ... and not the Tory Party, obviously.

[@Grannn]

Well shame on you for not being a money laundering sociopath with ties to an authoritarian regime. You should have though about that before you were born. I expected more from you Drew...

[@andimcgaw]

When you join any law practice or financial institution you have to do the same. Read or attended a Money Laundering course which takes hours.

[@brusselssprouts560]

It isn't just that. It is the right to work. I was born in Bromley, Kent in 1961, have a Birth Certificate to prove it and can prove my NI Number. I had a passport but didn't renew it because I don't travel abroad these days and as we were in the EU until the majority were ripped out of it, I didn't see the need, but if I want to work somewhere my birth certificate or my proof of my NI number on their own are not sufficient, but a passport is. That must make it passport forgers' paradise. Perhaps I am now a second class UK/British/English citizen aged 60.

[@j.p.9295]

@@brusselssprouts560 I know, only passport .. Pain in the *^"#^

[@mrgerrytube]

Jonathan Pie is never wrong!

[@momo7gato]

The "London Laundromat" Another aspect not completely made aware to the general public. This greed extends into the Americas and into South and East Asia, as well. Thanks for giving some clarity to what is actually going on. *SIGH* Just follow the Money if you want to know why things everywhere are so screwed up, especially when there are clear and simple solutions to a great majority of our issues as humanity.

[@chasidahl8563]

I've long stopped laughing when I listen to JP- I now find myself simply agreeing with every single thing he says. Absolutely superb 👌

[@MarcusMattia]

True, it's no longer funny, just excruciatingly painful to watch him telling the truth and find that so few are listening

[@chirilily]

That line about England being a carpark for France was pretty funny, though - at least, I lol'd!

[@GLarrr-dd5wf]

Because its true and he has the balls to put it out there.

[@davideldred.campingwilder6481]

@@chirilily I liked the bit about short and curlies...(Sheer comical genius, explaining to a US 'producer'...)

[@aidanlarcombe]

just saw his boris rant, i need to sleep, but his videos are too addicting. He has such an angry, passionate delivery for all the things he says, but isn't annoyingly extreme or woke.

[@gengphoto]

I love Jonathan Pie. He gets to the heart of the matter and speaks the truth that people think about but aren't able to say. He has a remarkable ability to observe, and give voice to the frustrations of millions of people. Thanks for having him on NYT.

[@randomboris]

100% agreed. He has an ability which no American politicians have.

[@richardstevens2052]

He is a comedian - this is satire

[@aotule]

ABSOLUTE BVLLSHIT. WHERE WAS ALL THIS ENERGY WHEN IRAQ , AFGHANISTAN AND LIBYA WAS INVADED. THE HYPOCRISY IS REAL

[@Tazza81]

@@richardstevens2052 satire is dead then, because while I am aware that Pie is a character by Tom Walker, this is far from been satire.

[@Alpostpone]

@@aotule You might want to refresh your memory on his old videos then

[@sharonwashington8150]

Just brilliant, put so beautifully! No matter how many times I watch him he always makes me chuckle. His honesty is above and beyond!

[@rosegreensummer]

Pie on blistering form, as always. If you're not British: sadly, it's all true. Worse, he left much out.

[@cappinjocj9316]

@gas the bikes what are your sources?

[@tedmaul5842]

2019 - EU Tax Avoidance directive agreement, across all member states. 2021 - EU Money Laundering directive revised agreement, across all member states. Two more reasons why Brexit was about 'Taking Back Control' and helping Putin.

[@adrianh765]

yep thats right, simple as.

[@lyndasutherland6165]

So that's why Boris was such a fan-boy of Brexit?

[@jackielove00]

@@lyndasutherland6165 Yep. Not just Boris, but Banks and Farage and many more. I suspected this about 3 weeks before the EU referendum and nobody believed me. Additionally, all the Trust Fund Baby to Hedge Fund Boy made stupidly obscene amounts of money... Millions in minutes. Absolutely loathsome and detestable. Maybe, maybe if the Met had actually had the integrity to investigate Boris for Brexit Campaign violations...but no, they were obviously too busy having parties with him.

[@willrichardson519]

@Lynda Sutherland he has no principles, it was merely a convenient bandwagon.

[@rych7852]

So an agreement that came in 3 years AFTER the vote was the reason 17.4m people (the vast majority of them low or middle tax payers) voted to leave the corrupt EU? here's a fact for you. If you work for the EU in any capacity. You don't pay ANY income tax. NOT a single cent! And part of the Eu rules meant that once someone retires from the EU service, they couldn't be charged any tax in the country they went and lived in. for life! But yeah, people voted Brexit to save Millionaires some tax! 🤣🤣 You remoaners are nuts!

[@jonathanjadotte]

Almost didn't watch this but this guy spitting straight facts Great video

[@darkchocolate3390]

Same. Did not realize how big of a problem the shell companies in UK were.

[@alan-]

Weve known about it for years, weve been rold all this before. Many times, including the panama papers in 2016. As a country, we just let it happen.

[@jaewok5G]

heheh … google up _Zelensky Pandora Panama Papers_

[@scroopynooperz9051]

@@jaewok5G lol this is an MSM channel. They wont do anything to smear Zelensky, he is their golden boy now. They need him for more effective propaganda 😂

[@jaewok5G]

@@scroopynooperz9051 yup

[@Crazykiwi2]

I've been saying this for years. Not only London but also Dubai. Their success is down to laundering not tourism.

[@wm6746]

this is a savage and amazing takedown on London's corruption!!! Mint! What a gem Jonathan Pie is.

[@Kraut_the_Parrot]

I'd like to post something snarky, like a joke about Brexit. But my country imports 50% of it's gas, and 35% of it's oil from Russia.

[@slartibartfast7921]

I think at this point brother it’s the people against the old men, regardless of what part of the planet we reside.

[@horsingaround1276]

@@pepesilvia1899 Austria.

[@ab-ym3bf]

So, the UK takes 100% of Russia's dirty money and even now is giving them plenty of opportunity to take it away somewhere safe.

[@StevenSmith-mk5fg]

@@ab-ym3bf It's because there isn't really anywhere else these Oligarchs can put their money. Part of the attraction with London as well as the West in general is that they are stable. Your assets are very unlikely to vanish one day. If these Oligarchs could trust their wealth in other pars of the world such as China, they'd have put it there years ago

[@stitch77100]

German, Austrian maybe ? (To be fair, it's not your fault, more something to blame on your previous gouvernements)

[@jordanforbes2557]

I used to live in London and my family all still live in the UK. This really annoys me, the price of property is extortionate in the UK and especially London. Locals have next to no chance of owning their own home in London and these loopholes only serve to artificially increase the cost of housing.

[@effexon]

so do you suggest british central bank cant push button and distribute pounds to its citizens, so someone can get millionaire and buy those condos? how helpless if need foreign rich people for this, ppl want to live in someplace, young people mostly downtown if parents can help with that.

[@bioux101]

@@effexon there isn't a British central bank. If you have interest in this subject I suggest you do some research on the matter. Pie is accurate and honest in this video. It's kinda funny, but still horribly on the money (as it were)

[@bioux101]

@@noname-vc2ll that’s due to Thatcher and later Tories selling off the social housing. Same in my borough of London

[@bioux101]

@gas the bikes definitely penniless refugees and people seeking a better income from Eastern Europe and nothing to do with Russian Oligarchs giving millions to the tory party, buying up enormous amounts of London property and British assets. It's the terrifying shadow of poor people. Grow up.

[@bioux101]

@gas the bikes you do know that the immigration from Pakistan was in the seventies, right? That simply isn't a thing in this Century. There was a rush from Somalia around 15-20 years back, but the majority of immigration into Britain in the last decade has been from Eastern Europe. People willing to work for less because sending money back to Eastern Europe made economic sense. This is why Brexit has had such an enormous impact on the British economy. We relied on those people and now there is simply no one that will work for those wages. Just by saying Pakistan shows that you're a child of the sixties, like most red faced gammons. Britains worst generation.

[@Corvus772]

I love this guy, he has the right amount of seriousness while still being somewhat crude and is immensely watchable

[@elipa3]

I, as a German, love Jonathan Pie. Go on.

[@richardallan2767]

Can we take a moment just to remember how incompetent and full of it Boris Johnson is, and how he really shouldn't be responsible for a major country, let alone during a crisis like this.

[@richardallan2767]

I mean that's even before we get to he is in Putin's pocket. Time to release that Russian report yet?

[@mintywebb]

Ever thought that is what Putin paid for?

[@CliffUK49]

MAJOR COUNTRY!!!😂.

[@KeithBab]

Boris isn't responsible for a major country (I'll leave that joke for others). You just have to ask him, nothing is his fault and it's not his responsibility to fix it, it's always someone else's.

[@richardallan2767]

@@CliffUK49 Well, i think it was before this lot had hold of it for a decade.

[@marixs75]

If you are new to Jonathan Pie than I urge you to check his KZbin channel. He's a legend in UK.

[@jedkeenan00]

Total legend.

[@nosuchthingasshould4175]

You will especially appreciate his stint with the RT.

[@MG-bs5mr]

@@nosuchthingasshould4175 I don't think he was there long tbf

[@marixs75]

@@MG-bs5mr I never worked for RT - they used to license my content which they never censored but I no longer have any ties with RT. ok?

[@marixs75]

That was his actual tweet

[@jamesvardy3530]

could never get tired of pies rants he's brilliant.

[@chrisevans4006]

This man is a genius

[@clivesnell]

Once again JP hits the nail on the head. Shame we don’t have politicians who have the balls to do the same……..sad 😢

[@sebastianbardon391]

Or even actual correspondents. It's a true sign of the times we live that a comedian delivers the truth for us on MSM.

[@willrichardson519]

The Conservatives are traitors?

[@FishFreddy]

And happy he doesn't want to be a politician. He is much more powerful on his own.

[@carlossaraiva8213]

@@willrichardson519 the conservatives ARE traitors.

[@darthjedi5420]

Get Godly leaders like Washington back in power ... The atheist left bend over for evil and lack th ability to fight it, they to busy burning flags, building and cheering abortion. What happened in the US... the snakes take over the political establishment.

[@35geordielad]

JP hits that rusty nail "Right On" the head ..again. Our politicians are SO easily bought without any second thought.

[@francesblabey3055]

Jonathan this is happening in all countries. Thank you from Australia 🙋‍♀️👏👏👏

[@carlyblankevoort3856]

New admirer! We NEED people with a strong delivery to rant about the evils running our world.

[@sergeylitvin56]

As an Ukrainian citizen I am happy that Europe countries begin to realize what monster (Putin's Russia) they have raised.

[@Radagast-]

We plebs have known this for a long time. Unfortunately, successive administrations (and the individuals who run them), haven't been able to see beyond their respective bank balances. "Every nation has the government it deserves," as some French bloke with a cravat said.

[@Radagast-]

@Vim Fuego Unfortunately, even if that's true, it doesn't provide Dobby with the necessary justification to breach international law. Russia and Belarus are the only ones in the wrong. Acknowledge that, and you'll be fine.

[@Radagast-]

@Vim Fuego I didn't realise we were playing Whataboutery... Dobby and Lukashenko are breaking customary international law, respected worldwide. Bush and Blair's activities are not relevant to Dobby's land grab.

[@Radagast-]

@Vim Fuego Your modus is blank contradiction, and you're trying to win an argument that you've already lost... The fact is, everyone acknowledges the value of customary law, and it predates NATO by centuries... That's why civilised nations resolve their disputes through diplomacy - better that than living in fear of invasion from a powerful neighbour... PS you didn't say you were going to play Whataboutery... you just did it.

[@Radagast-]

@Vim Fuego There is only one approach... Dobby has used military force to invade a sovereign country. There's no justification for that, no matter how athletic your intellectual leaps are.

[@siddrane90]

That's one of the most genuine opinion I've heard in recent Times ! Well done !

[@Mintghbghlkk]

Your right there.

[@kokobwild2413]

Scripted.

[@robh5492]

@@kokobwild2413 Yes, it is both scripted and acted to perfection yet still completely genuine.

[@Mintghbghlkk]

@@robh5492 absolutely

[@irresistablejewel]

Jonathan Pie and his righteous indignation seems a lot more honest than what I can only describe as a torrent of propaganda. I'm not sure I totally agree with him here; it may well be corrupt in Eastern Europe; but Russian oligarchs were gifted billions and told they could leave (their money is actually legitimate, doesn't need laundered; buying things is allowed in London, not in Moscow); but really the UK should not be involved, I'm cynical but it's not our business and I'm entirely tired of hearing about "American interests"... which in this case seem to be about a gas pipeline and provoking a nuclear war (see Cuban missile crisis). Ukraine is just the latest chew-toy for superpowers, but America had no business messing around in Ukraine. 50,000 kids NATO killed in their wars; countries destroyed and so I believe their crocodile tears over Ukraine. Not a jot. I expect Jonathan Pie will now be censored (it's the new thing).

[@2002daverj]

My dad always said money makes the world go round. He also said whenever there's money there's a racket. Right on both counts

[@squillen]

He's an incredible speaker. Super succinct and frickin' intoxicating energy.

[@wrash]

Jonathan, as much as I'm sorry about your stress levels when you talk yourself up into a frenzy; I enjoy it every time.

[@clair233]

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@crowbar9566]

It's drama. He's an actor performing a theatrical rant with a kernel of twisted truth and a ton of exaggeration. The truth is more nuanced and more complex than this simplified account.

[@Antarmy2]

This fella talks more sense than any politician ever could, totally tuned in to our vile disgusting government.

[@dtykjsrty]

потрясающий монолог, впервые слышу такое концентрированное понимание, такую прямую правду сказанную громко. спасибо

[@haruhisuzumiya6650]

Good luck with the revolution should it come to that

[@user-vx2wp1ez5s]

What's depressing is how cheaply UK pols can be bought. A few rolls of nice wallpaper will get you on speed-dial with the prime minister.

[@garagenigel]

Likewise a £12k a head lunch can save you £40milion in tax if you sit next to the right people!

[@kasondaleigh]

His eloquence and anger at the hypocrisy of our nations is refreshingly honest.

[@asdf3568]

Except he does nothing to address the hypocrisy does he?

[@shahedmc9656]

Kudos to the NYT for taking Jonathan Pie.

[@pswestport]

Fantastic piece. At last somebody who speaks the truth. 👍

[@susanwilson9241]

Jonathan just put into words what I've been feeling but couldn't quite put my finger on. This is his best work yet. Bloody nailed it.

[@notmyname3681]

How do you feel about his previous work for Russia Today, a proven propaganda mouthpiece directly cibtrolled by the Kremlin? He has taken dirty Russian money but that's OK?

[@oldgreybeard2507]

What sort of democracy? The Tory one. You know the one little england keeps voting for.

[@mintywebb]

And Putin bought.

[@ade2487]

Corbyn would have been a million times worse

[@Thom-jj7yr]

@@booshter9714 it's such a baseless lazy argument, I advise you not to engage. My Tory mum pulls the "Corbyn would have been worse" trope, too. Infuriating. Only book she has ever read is The Bible...

[@garagenigel]

@@ade2487 come on then tell me how! I don't particularly like Corbyn, But give me at least one factual coherent reason he would be worse than this retched lot we have now?

[@mintywebb]

@@ade2487 no, he wouldn't, no one would have been worse. You could actually have voted directly for Putin rather than his puppet Boris (the clue is in the name he made up for himself isn't it) Johnson and things would probably still be better.

[@leonodoherty9775]

Through the years I have loved and agreed with just about everything you have said, you have been a light in a very dark place! But the NYT"s mate! Owned by Murdoch! Please please please don't sell yourself out! You are better than that...I hope! x

[@ZoomStranger]

One of the world's most necessary points of view - Thanks God for Tom Walker and Jon Pie

[@PopeyeBjj86]

Anyone else think its strange that the most real takes on the news now come from comedians...... 🤔 🤔 🤔

[@ziziroberts8041]

Comedians are an intelligent, sensitive thoughtful, sporting bunch, for the most part. Not so strange.

[@gorbachevspizzahut2809]

It takes a high level of intelligence to right your own jokes and also wit to make up jokes on the spot; most comedians who write their own material are typically well informed anmd intelligence; my analysis fyi does not apply to bathroom humour types like amy schumer and right wing male comedians who consistently complain about minor gender imbalances

[@kamfire98]

Nowadays we laugh and politicians and listen to comedians. End times are near at this rate…

[@jasimmalik8078]

Being a comedian requires fearlessly staring God and the Devil in the Face.

[@AirQuotes]

Has been this way for a long time. What do you think court jesters were for, they were the only people who could critique the king

[@Andr359404]

Very eloquent, sobering, and, of course, true. What's most depressing about this is that it's the same case regarding China, but on a much much larger scale than Russia's. Our greed has empowered tyrants the world over for decades, we are all complicit in this democratic regression. For as long as we got cheap commodities and manufactured goods, we didn't mind it when these tyrants trampled over their own citizens' rights, but oh how we'll cry when they start to trample ours!

[@kaitlyn__L]

Sadly it goes even deeper than that, before the post-Empire era wherein we were empowering other countries’ tyrants, we were simply creating our own… Our modern political institutions stem from those created at the height of empire (1600s to early 1900s), with the interests of The Empire (and the businessmen at the top of the Imperial Companies) at heart. That’s why they’ve been so easily turned to the benefit of Russian, Chinese, Saudi (and indeed American) oligarchs in the modern era.

[@johnmac1960]

Jonathan Pie has an excellent take on current politics. Great!

[@adamlee3772]

Brilliant, yet again. Keep them coming.

[@marct9942]

I hope the UK listens to this. Who do you think started the whole Brexit movement? Without the EU nosing into the UK banking business, they can accomodate all the money hiding/laundering they want.

[@corleth2868]

You should have seen his Brexit rants (well you still can if you go to his KZbin channel). You think Fox News viewers are here watching this? So why think that everyone in the UK listens to Tom Walker?

[@V86_D]

... Putin invaded Crimea in 2014. Not everything is about Brexit, friend.

[@marct9942]

@@V86_D Not sure if Crimea had anything to do with it, but dirty banking had almost everything to do with Brexit

[@V86_D]

@@marct9942 If you say so. I think the part I would agree upon was that it was a reaction to some events from the banking crisis of 2007-2008. How much it really affected the vote and subsequent events? No idea. Dodgy money has gone around most of the West in varying forms. Imagine being a Russian ultranationalist thinking Brexit was all about you. (That turned out well, didn't it?) What favour with Russia did a Leave vote give us? None, really. We ended up in CPTPP who, with the exception of India, just told Russia to eff off. We wound up with a mostly free trade deal with the EU with certain restrictions (not unlike the CPTPP I suppose). Only if we left NATO could I see an overall point behind Russia's actions. So yeah. Money well spent, Russians. Still, at least Pie got his break. I don't dislike his comedy.

[@marct9942]

@@V86_D Then you're missing the whole point of the video. Russia has billions in UK banks, much of it illegal. Of course the banks instigated Brexit, but they could not make it obvious. I'm wondering if you're from the west with how little you know about this. Try looking up how many times UK banks were fined under the EU

[@michaelniemer4449]

We asked for more Pie, and the Times delivered. We need to hear more of the unfiltered perspective, without the pretense, and this gentleman delivers.

[@wendyboothman294]

Thank you very much for being the only person we can rely on for news

[@R36_Passat]

Absolute legend JP. 👊👍🤲🤲

[@purenkool2011]

Imagine that! Influencing politicians with dirty money? I could hardly believe it!🥺

[@e-mc679]

Pie is the best political commentator of our time. Prove me wrong

[@dustthatsings6406]

'best political commentator of our time' - he established his career on RT.

[@TheMarlinspike]

He worked for Russia Today.

[@slartibartfast7921]

%1000

[@markwelch3564]

@@TheMarlinspike Doesn't seem to have had any lasting influence on his opinions 🤔

[@flymakena]

Of course, because it's satyrical humour so he can tell the dark truth about matters.

[@michaelhorgan4860]

From a non UK point of view. Loved your work on revolving pollies. Where is the follow up? If I have missed your work ..my loss. Many fans like myself outside the UK.

[@AllenLeland]

I have really enjoyed the candor that Jonathon Pie seems to dish out. It is quite needed in this times. I have been trying to get a house myself in the US rural Midwest and I keep getting outbid by places that can just offer 3 to 4 hundred thousand dollars in cash in hand making other offers rather moot.

[@j.ericsandoval566]

Same for the USA. I’m licensed to sell Real Estate in California and I’ve been saying for years that Russian AND Chinese money laundering has been at the heart of the problem for quite a while.

[@terrlaw328]

J. Eric Sandoval China and Russia own this country and also a lot of our politicians and Big Businesses ! Still think Putin is blackmailing trump!

[@graemer3657]

Absolutely brilliant. The 21st century equivalent of the court jester, speaking unspeakable truths to power.

[@MaryamofShomal]

Y’all Brits should do what Ukraine did: vote for Jonathan Pie to be your next PM. He would save Britain.

[@michaelrobson3460]

So nice, to see you've found a home. Well earned and deserved. We need someone to say the bleeding truth to power.

[@ronaldli5]

This is an extremely well condensed video of pure reality and meaning.

[@stewstube70]

This is absolutely on point, we have become gutless and complicit to Putin's regime. Shameful lack of hard action from the UK and the west.

[@teachweb69]

We are desperate. We are a shanty town of dodgy money launderers, and car showrooms funded on credit....wondering how , how can this last any longer.

[@chopperaxon6171]

Well done NYT, and of course Mr Pie. What you say is sad and true. So, where from here?

[@elainev670]

Bravo ! Bravo ! What a brilliant act!

[@bbdj2779]

This man is a British national treasure.

[@jedrzejgorski5437]

a long term RT star which makes this rant rather cheesy

[@Andrew-ob5ij]

Johnson will never touch the Russian billionaires his best mate is one and owns the evening standard

[@bigpants6121]

Lebedev's dad is ex-KGB. Johnson met him in Rome.

[@369jones6]

Kolomoyskiy a Ukrainian oligarch is running the war from Switzerland. Hey ho. It's all a game at that level. They're unaccountable and just move the pawns around the board and usually make serious money from any discommoding of the plebs. The little guy suffers and the super rich not only get richer but ultimately become more untouchable.

[@TheMarlinspike]

Which oligarch was running Russia today when pie signed the deal with them?

[@mintywebb]

@@bigpants6121 immediately after the incident in Salisbury.

[@DemonDethchase]

@@mintywebb yep, he was supposed to go a NATO meeting about the attack but decided "screw that! I'm off to Italy to party with buddies in the KGB! Privet druz'yam!" And all without his security to make sure he wasn't going to go spilling national secrets to them when the vodka started to flow. No wonder the FBI was concerned he'd be compromised.

[@viviennesoan1]

Thanks for your beautifully clarified sentences …we, the British, are gutless cowards

[@seletarroots3258]

Well theres another fresh slice of humble for London and the UK served by our very own Jonathan Pie.

[@transcrobesproject3625]

How have I never heard of this guy before??? My dad is constantly telling me to calm it down a bit but I have just found my new hero! He's even more indignant about it than I am!!!

[@BigBlack81]

Check out his channel. Might just convince your dad to see things differently if you show him enough.

[@transcrobesproject3625]

@@BigBlack81 dad doesn't need convincing of what's happening, he just thinks I should be calmer about it! And his channel is awesome. The gag gets a little old after 20 or so of the "over to you now" but it is also just plain depressing. There are lots of us saying the same thing, all based on widely reported evidence in big name sources (Guardian, etc) and everyone seems to just keep voting for the same parties anyway. That is elephant in the room. We theoretically live in democracies, and yet the vast majority of people still vote for these idiots and charlatans. The info isn't that hard to find, it really isn't. So why does nobody seem to care? I don't buy for a second that people are too hard up and stressed to think clearly. They are incapable of it, plain and simple...

[@piccalillipit9211]

*FROM WHERE IM SAT* 250 miles mate - and trust me- proximity does make a difference - my tiny city has taken MORE refugees than the entire UK...!!!

[@bobsilleck6797]

So well done. Thank you.

[@paultaylor7082]

Brilliant. How low the UK has sunk, to find itself in this situation

[@andreamezcua9917]

This man just spells the right words for the right situation. Awesome

[@oldstatueface6317]

Fortunately for them, the British ruling class bred the ability to experience shame out of themselves generations ago. Otherwise the whole empire business would have been quite traumatic.

[@SuperDflower]

Exactly ! Well put

[@DwainDwight]

absolutely spot on Mr Pie, thank you.

[@terencebarrett2897]

Absolutely brilliant Jonathan Pie,real honest true ,real factual talent entertainment

[@itchynights]

this is a very interesting analysis! i live in canada, in vancouver, and we have a similar situation with chinese real estate investors. there's a lot of money laundering through real estate that goes on here (and of course issues of housing inflation, but that can't be blamed solely on foreign investment, it's more complicated). and now this video has me wondering about the geopolitical strategy for the CCP to have canadians hooked on volumes of chinese income. is our government weakening our ability to stand up to china's dictatorship by having our economy rely so heavily on chinese real estate investment? a truly frightening thought!

[@BigBlack81]

Makes one wonder what other governments are doing this: economic hijacking through government-sanctioned oligarchical elements. Why lead with the politicians when you lead with the businesses/investors FUNDED by the government?

[@nicolamcauley8952]

You do know his real name is Tom and pie is a brilliant act he's been doing for years on a small you tube channel...

[@milan.2412]

In America we have Wall Street/ PE firms buying up houses left and right inflating the housing market here too.

[@rosegreensummer]

The Tory (rightwing) party is mainly for pensioners, who keep dying off. So it's got no funding (leftwing party broke too, different reason). Tory party last ten years mainly funded by donations of rich Russians with close links to the Kremlin. Boris Johnson just made a lord in the second house (senate? but where people are just chosen by the government, whoever they want - think like embarrassing appointments or pardons made by some usa presidents, with a bit of showbiz/sports royalty types, the odd brain surgeon) the son of an ex kgb spy close to Putin, the son still close to his dad, despite being told not to by all the security vetting procedures and MPs. Son owns a newspaper here. Especially funny the coverage of Russia making protest illegal - they've just made illegal here any protest that 'can be deemed annoying'. Or 'noisy'. Not covered much in the news though.

[@care2think611]

And if China creates a banking system that dominates its friends and adversaries things would be even worse than this situation because there are things that China (and Russia) do not respect that the West does.

[@korndanaiakawat5459]

I think there should be times that we allow reporters to express their emotions on the news, just like this.

[@carlossaraiva8213]

Such a thing exists, it's called an editorial. Fox "News" does nothing else but have pretend jornalists express opinions nonstop.

[@vercoda9997]

@@carlossaraiva8213 I'm an actual news editor - I even still get papercuts sometimes! - and it angers the bejaysus out of me to hear Fox News hosts called journalists. They're not. They're pundits - akin to Random Bloke Pulled Out Of The Nearest Deeply Racist And Bigoted Pub - but not journalists.

[@carlossaraiva8213]

@@vercoda9997 Well, that's common in all media owned by Rupert Murdoch, isnt it?

[@korndanaiakawat5459]

@@carlossaraiva8213 For editorials, I mostly see opinions, but not emotions quite like this. At least not from Asian side of media as I am from Asia.

[@carlossaraiva8213]

@@korndanaiakawat5459 lucky you

[@charr007]

Only this gentleman speaks the truth nobody else I'm afraid

[@rdavid3876]

This guy is a Legend 👊🔥

[@DannoAviation]

The LEGEND, that is Jonathan Pie. Hats off to you Sir.

[@Loremastrful]

Best Jonathan Pie is fire-breathing Jonathan Pie. Roast 'em good! The cherry on top of all this is that Boris Johnson was relieved to get off party-gate and all the hate from ignoring the rules. He's off to Europe to lead the defense. Then found out it was about Putin and sat himself down as qucik as possible. Portrait of leadership right here.

[@PoleiceCidcorn]

Hit the nail on the head 👏 👏 👏

[@theCybershot123]

One of your best Mr Pie

[@FroBros21]

This is gold. Please focus more on the dirty money sloshing around in our democracies.

[@3bebles]

Usually we laugh when we watch your videos, but this one has us holding back screams and tears.

[@PS-vm3we]

What a fabulous tie, Pie. Goes with the rest of your fabulousness.

[@TheBatracho]

Plz more Pie, NYT, man is brilliant

[@kennyhagan5781]

Let's try to get this man a medal. 🥇

[@alessandro.calzavara]

Was it Maggie's fault? Anyway, I'm not anti-capitalist BUT we, the West, were so naive to think that introducing free markets to Russia (and China) would have democratized the society, when the reality it is that democracy comes from a shared system values we developed in many years and that cannot simply be exported nightime in a country that hasnt achieved it yet

[@DawnSuttonfabfour]

Everything is her fault, of course. She started it!

[@willtricks9432]

The decisions for the UK to stop producing and start consuming were made by the governments of the time. In part to reduce the "Power" of the unions, supposedly funded by the KGB, remember that? Now the power lies with China and Russia. I don't remember making a deal with any world leaders. Cheers

[@DawnSuttonfabfour]

I agree. Like denazification, just because they removed them, the mindset didn't just evaporate. Same with communism (or the dicktator led version of it). I always feared China the most, even at the supposed end of the "cold war" in 1989. I haven't changed my mind. As China is allegedly Russia's biggest ally I suppose we assume they will help Putin but...Russia and China no longer have that much in common plus China makes way too much money from the West. IMHO.

[@ArkadiBolschek]

I've always wondered whether anyone _really_ believed in the "free markets democratize society" narrative, or they just used it as a handy excuse to justify opening to China and having access to its markets and cheap labour. I strongly suspect the latter, but I have no proof.

[@DawnSuttonfabfour]

@@ArkadiBolschek Snap.

[@Afterthetower]

Speak! Preach! I can listen to him all day long. Whoever made the decision to put this man on my screen is a genius. More! More more more! I want this happening on a weekly basis. We can work our way up to daily but for now at least weekly please.

[@nicolamcauley8952]

He has his own channel Jonathan pie it's brilliant

[@ellaeadig263]

When there's a situation in the world that you don't like, the first step must be to acknowledge your own part in creating it.