FREE AS USED ON THE FAMOUS NELSON MANDELA: UNDERGROUND ADVENTURES IN THE ARMS AND TORTURE TRADE PDF Mark Thomas | 352 pages | 28 Sep 2007 | Ebury Publishing | 9780091909222 | English | London, United Kingdom As Used On the Famous Nelson Mandela by Mark Thomas - Penguin Books Australia Mark Clifford Thomas born 11 April is an English comedianpresenter, political satirist and journalist from south London. Thomas describes himself as a " libertarian anarchist ". Mark Thomas was born in South London. His mother was a midwife and his father a self-employed builder and ex- lay preacher. He then won a scholarship to attend the independent Christ's Hospital School, where he attained O-levels and A-levels in English, history, and politics and economics. During his time at Bretton Hall, he made his debut as a performer, co-writing and performing satirical sketches at Wakefield Labour Club. After graduating, Thomas subsequently embarked on his comedy career, initially supporting himself through working on building sites with his father. Thomas' early exposure to comedy was through watching and listening to Dave AllenSteptoe and SonThe Goon Show and Tony As Used on the Famous Nelson Mandela: Underground Adventures in the Arms and Torture Trade ; his biggest influence was hearing a recording of Alexei Sayle : "It was like someone had kicked the door in - just As Used on the Famous Nelson Mandela: Underground Adventures in the Arms and Torture Trade to that tape and thinking that As Used on the Famous Nelson Mandela: Underground Adventures in the Arms and Torture Trade could do this stuff". Prior to his most renowned vehicle, The Mark Thomas Comedy ProductThomas was a frequent guest comic on the BBC Radio 1 show The Mary Whitehouse Experiencewhere he would do a routine about a specific topic of the week and involve studio audience members in the discussions. He would also occasionally play parts in sketches written by the show's main performers. He then became the resident stand-up comic on Saturday Zooa Channel 4 comedy series first screened in and appeared on an episode of Have I Got News for You. His political comedy show, The Mark Thomas Comedy Product later renamed as simply The Mark Thomas Productto reflect its increasing political agenda on Channel 4 earned him criticism from politicians but was seen by critics as a crucial investigative tool. In one edition, Thomas investigated the practice of avoiding inheritance tax by declaring art, furniture, homes and land available for public viewing. After discovering that Conservative MP Nicholas Soames was claiming tax relief on a "three-tier mahogany buffet with partially reeded slender balustrade upright supports" on this basis, but without making any arrangements for the furniture to be inspected by the public, Thomas invented a 'National Soames Day' on which hundreds of people made appointments to see the furniture. It's not unusual to be able to get on with people despite what they are doing being awful. The only person I have met who I considered to be without any redeeming features was […] Nicholas Soames. Leaving Channel 4 was a mutual decision, following a series of disputes over how far the channel would go in its broadcasting, one of which concerned the channel's reluctance to support actions concerning corporate accountability and corporate manslaughter laws—a cause he had campaigned for—which coincided with the Queen Mother 's funeral. Thomas has appeared at numerous comedy benefit nights, and is a well established stand-up comedian in the UK. Recently, [ when? The parliamentary committee which oversees weapons exports, the House of Commons Quadripartite Select committeecommended him for his undercover work, which led to official warning letters being issued to a number of companies. Whilst promoting this book on his latest tour, Thomas organised mass lone demonstrations, in protest of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act As Used on the Famous Nelson Mandela: Underground Adventures in the Arms and Torture Trade parliamentary act that prevents any demonstrations within London's Parliament Square zone without prior police approval. The last event attracted over individual protesters at the same time. Although he actually performed 21 protests the first and last took place at the same location, so it was agreed that only 20 would count towards the record. His record was later beaten in by the Freman College Amnesty group, who held 23 demonstrations. Inhe was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Bradfordfor services to peace and for his work as a comedian, political activist, presenter and investigative journalist, especially for his effective campaigning on the ethics of the arms trade. The university has a long-standing Department of Peace Studies. InThomas launched the Huddersfield Policy postcard campaign, petitioning the Queen with protests against the prospect of a state funeral for Margaret Thatcher. For his 'It's The Stupid Economy' UK tour inThomas played 55 shows over 14 weeks between March and end July, and encouraged each audience to come up with their own policies silly or serious that would somehow make their lives better, forming a " People's Manifesto ". Each audience then got to vote on their favourite policy of that evening and the winning suggestion then formed part of his manifesto which he will then campaign for and attempt to actually make at least some of the suggestions become reality. He had been unlawfully subject to a stop-and- search without adequate cause, after speaking at an anti-arms rally. During Thomas decided to go rambling in the Middle East and walked the entire length of the Israeli Separation Barriercrossing between the Israeli and the Palestinian side. His touring show entitled "Walking The Wall" was shortlisted for the Amnesty International Freedom of Expression award [16] and his book Extreme Rambling recounted the story. Thomas revealed in that he had discovered, through a Data Protection requestthat he had been under police surveillance as a result of his investigative journalism for Channel 4 and the New Statesman and put on the domestic extremist database. More importantly if the police are keeping tabs on a lightweight like myself then they are doing the same and more to others. This is more than supposition as I know of other NUJ members on the database. Has quantity of cress on rear of his cycle. In JanuaryThomas returned to the stage with his new show 'Mark Thomas: 50 Things About Us' where he states little-known facts about the UK with his trademark mix of stand-up, storytelling and research. In addition to being recognised for his comedy career, Mark Thomas has been awarded various citations for his political campaigning, including:. He was also made an honorary Doctor of Letters by the University of Bradford on 3 Decemberin recognition of his peace campaigning and services to comedy. As a part of his television series, Thomas stood as an Independent candidate for the safe- Labour parliamentary seat of Hemsworth in a by-election. He came eighth of ten candidates with votes as the election was won by Labour's Jon Trickett. Prior to the UK general electionhe was one of several celebrities who endorsed the parliamentary candidacy of the Green Party 's Caroline Lucas. In Decemberalong with 42 other leading cultural figures, Thomas signed a letter endorsing the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn 's leadership in the general election. The letter stated that "Labour's election manifesto under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership offers a transformative plan that prioritises the needs of people and the planet over private profit and the vested interests of a few. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Redirected from Thomas, Mark. English comedian. This article is about the comedian and activist. For other uses, see Mark Thomas disambiguation. This article's lead section does not adequately summarize key points of its contents. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article. April LondonEngland. Jenny Landreth. The Guardian. 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Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file. Download as PDF Printable version. Mark Thomas - Wikipedia Taking up the baton from Michael Moore, the UK's foremost political comedian has written a corruscatingly funny expose of the As Used on the Famous Nelson Mandela: Underground Adventures in the Arms and Torture Trade trade. Mark Thomas is one of the UK's most effective and best-known political activists, as well as being a highly successful stand-up comedian. Amazingly, this is his first book. As Used On the Famous Nelson Mandela is a deeply funny, deeply disturbing account of Mark's rampage through the arms trade. Under a fairly flimsy disguise and with the use of some worryingly poor accents, Mark set off on a journey of discovery in the company of arms dealers, torture victims, politicians, cops, crusties and geeks.