55 Tufton Street, near the UK parliament at Westminster, London is home to many influential thinktanks that promote climate crisis denial and climate destruction. Writers Rebel, associated with Extinction Rebellion held a protest there on 2 September 2020.
Extinction Rebellion blockaded three Murdoch newspaper printing centres in UK overnight Friday / Saturday morning. While XR disrupted Murdoch’s newspapers for one day, UK politicians have mostly responded in a ridiculously exaggerated way since they are keen to get Murdoch’s endorsement to progress their careers. It is Rupert Murdoch who has traditionally decided who will be UK’s prime minister. He appoints them and they serve him. [He seems to have been appointing some fairly stupid world leaders lately. It’s probably his management style that he doesn’t want too much (any?) independent thought.]
The Government is now considering a range of possible new laws to give the police more powers to stop similar future protests. … One option being considered is updating the list of critical infrastructure which cannot legally be shut down by direct action – such as military bases and police stations – to include media production sites. Another is a new rule specifically protecting institutions seen as central to democracy, such as newspapers, courts and Parliament.
It’s ridiculous isn’t it? Crap newspapers are not critical infrastructure like military bases and police stations. They are instead crap newspapers that have been disrupted for one day. Crap newspapers are hardly central to democracy. It’s not a threat to democracy to disrupt crap newspapers for one day.
Boris Johnson said: “It is completely unacceptable to seek to limit the public’s access to news in this way.” Keir Starmer added: “The free press is the cornerstone of democracy and we must do all we can to protect it.” The Labour leader said the protest “does nothing to tackle climate change”.
Home Secretary Priti Patel said “We must defend ourselves against this attack on capitalism, our way of life and ultimately our freedoms.” She wants Murdoch’s endorsement too. One days disruption of crap newspapers is hardly a credible threat to Capitalism, is it?
After staging overnight blockades of newspaper printing and delivery operations owned by right-wing magnate Rupert Murdoch and others for perpetuating the global climate crisis, members of Extinction Rebellion UK on Saturday defended the provocative direct actions by pointing out the life-threatening role these media giants play by willfully misinforming the public about the emergency now facing humanity.
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Journalist and author George Monbiot is trying to get arrested today as part of the Extinction Rebellion Climate Emergency protests in London. There have been over 1,400 arrests of XR rebels in London and the Metropolitan Police have now imposed a blanket ban on London XR protests.
A few hours after this column is published, I hope to be in a police cell. I don’t yet know what the charge will be, where I will be arrested or when, but I know that if I go home this evening without feeling the hand of the law on my sleeve, I will have failed. This may sound like a strange ambition, but I believe it is a reasonable one.
If I succeed, I will be one of many. In the current wave of Extinction Rebellion protests, more than 1,400 people have so far allowed themselves to be arrested. It’s a controversial tactic, but it has often proved effective. The suffragettes, the Indian salt marchers, the civil rights movement and the Polish and East German democracy movements, to name just a few, all used it as a crucial strategy. Mass arrests are a potent form of democratic protest.
They work because they show that the campaigners are serious. When people are prepared to jeopardise their liberty for their cause, other people appear more likely to listen to what they say, and more likely to recognise its importance. Those who founded Extinction Rebellion researched these histories and sought to apply their lessons to the greatest predicament humanity has ever faced: the gathering collapse of our life support systems.
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https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-49957521
Extinction Rebellion activists are protesting in cities around the world, including Berlin, Amsterdam and Sydney.
Organisers have planned to shut down key sites in central London, in addition to demonstrating outside government departments.
Extinction Rebellion says protests in the capital will be five times bigger than similar events in April.
The protests are calling for urgent action on global climate and wildlife emergencies.
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Thank you Extinction Rebellion.
I have proposed commencing rebellion to the Climate Crisis on 31 October 2019. A discussion of that proposal follows.
Unfortunately this blog is very one-directional. I get very little feedback to anything that I publish. It is however widely-read and can provide a lead. At the very least please consider what I am proposing.
The big problem with the date I proposed is that it coincides with the UK’s possible no-deal Brexit. Rebellion in UK could be misrepresented as opposition to Brexit by disgruntled anti-Brexiteers. I proposed this date on the basis that I do not expect Brexit to happen and it’s Halloween. Any action now in UK could be misrepresented as opposition to Brexit.
Analysis and proposed tactics needs only to be adequate and sufficient. I suggest that we need to rebel to show that climate destruction is no longer tolerated, we really are all in this together and that we have a responsibility to young people, the Planet (including nature) and future generations.
Traditional politics has proved to be totally incapable of dealing with the climate crisis. Indeed, it is even responsible for causing climate destruction. Fundamental changes are needed to protect our Planet.
I am not associated with Extinction Rebellion although they have my support. I am impressed by their media representatives and pink boats.
Strategy
Planning and preparation is key. I suggest autonomous action targetting travel (particularly private transport) and being as effective and productive as possible which means trying to avoid arrest.
Bicycles and small motorcycles are good transport. Traffic lights can be disabled, roads can be blocked using large vehicles e.g. buses, stop vehicle and then disable. Planning and preparation – simple tools needed and practice.