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    Okay, last XR post for a while, promise! Update #7 Archived Message

    Posted by Ian M on April 25, 2019, 8:51 pm

    Links, pics and other stuff at link as usual.

    Also, actions at the treasury: https://rebellion.earth/2019/04/25/update-extinction-rebellion-takes-it-to-the-treasury-where-mitigation-efforts-against-climate-change-go-to-die/ city of london finance district: https://rebellion.earth/2019/04/25/update-extinction-rebellion-swarms-city-of-london/ and canary wharf dlr: https://rebellion.earth/2019/04/25/update-extinction-rebellion-activists-stop-dlr-in-canary-wharf-business-as-usual-death%ef%bb%bf/ Nice to see 'business as usual = death' getting thrown back in sadiq khan's face.

    cheers,
    I

    *****

    https://rebellion.earth/2019/04/25/update-7-to-parliament-and-beyond/

    'We’ve created wonders. We’ve made history. We’re just getting started.

    The London Rebellion, after ten unbelievable days, will relinquish its final location on Thursday. We’ll be coming back to a different world.

    At a monumental people’s assembly on Monday, rebels from across the UK came together to discuss how we’d move forward. Amazing ideas were shared, and were recorded to be visible here, here and here; we hope these ideas will also be seen in the shape of the plan going forwards.

    An important part of this plan was when and how to leave our last location at Marble Arch. The discussion of this question began on Monday afternoon, and was made extra pertinent by a police raid later that evening, and then another the following day. During the latter – and from a police-cordoned stage – a further people’s assembly was convened to address specifically this question. A majority agreed to hold a closing ceremony at 5pm on Thursday.

    We’ll be leaving on our own terms – and what terms! It’s clear that we’ve entered a new level of membership and support, both in the UK and abroad. Our social media following has more than doubled on all platforms; our Instagram reached over 8 million people in one week. With 40,000 new members since last Monday we’ve just crossed the 100,000 mark, and we’re nearing on 400 XR branches globally.

    In London we pledged not to leave the streets until we saw serious engagement from government. Since MPs returning on Tuesday we’ve had so much political traction it warrants a whole section, the short version of which is that we’re doing really well. Is it enough? Of course not. The change we demand for the sake of our world is enormous; the apocalyptic interests against it are powerful.

    It’s in view of this, and by demand from several peoples’ assemblies, that we came back to Parliament on Tuesday and Wednesday (see below). It’s for the same reasons that we’ll be disrupting the City on Thursday, and carrying out several more targeted actions in the coming days.

    And it’s why, from the end of this week, we’ll be getting ready to spread our message wherever we go, in our local communities and across the world. But before we start this next journey, we’ll be holding a day of regeneration and reflection on Friday. It’s good timing because the long-term wellbeing team just finished a fantastic guide on post-rebellion care, which we strongly recommend that all rebels read. There are also online debriefs.

    To start the reflection process early, this team would like to take a moment of humble gratitude – to our incredible members, of course (we’d especially like to welcome the recent arrival of XR Pakistan), but also to so many others who’ve made this Rebellion possible. To the many movements before and around us from the Chartists to RTS, Occupy to PNR and so many more, who fought and fight for our right to political protest. To the NGOs who’ve lent us their support, and the churches who gave us their space. We look forward to working together where we can, for the sake of the planet.

    Political Traction

    MPs have been returning to Westminster since Tuesday. As they’ve come back, we’ve seen a remarkable new level of environmental engagement.

    This has been at its most apparent in the Commons’ hour-and-a-half discussion of the “Extinction Rebellion Urgent Question”. Among other highlights this featured a call from Ed Miliband for a government declaration of climate emergency and the implementation of a ‘green new deal’. The government’s familiarly brazen response of celebrating ‘progress to date’ seemed to ring a little more hollow than usual, the more so with Greta Thunberg watching from the gallery.

    The general picture for now is of greater support from Labour, underlined in person when Extinction Rebellion Youth presented a letter to Diane Abbott outside Parliament. However there’s hope for the Tories yet, as Environment Secretary Michael Gove has offered a meeting with Extinction Rebellion. Sceptics might note the twelve past occasions on which Gove has voted against measures to address climate change, along with his attempt as Education Secretary to remove climate change from the GCSE geography curriculum… but we’re not here to bring up the past – we’re here for the future.

    Beyond these early and official exchanges, our political strategy team also reports lively engagement ‘through backchannels’ – we can only speculate what might emerge from these.

    We’re just two days into this session but it’s already clear, as one paper puts it, “Extinction Rebellion protests have WORKED”.

    And if you’re feeling political: now that we have such a strong case in the Commons it might not be a bad time to indulge in a bit of petition signing.

    What’s next for London and the UK?

    Several people’s assemblies held in the last few days, including these ones, have been the primary guidance for what happens next

    Thursday:

    Swarming the City

    Kurdish Solidarity

    Closing Ceremony

    Friday:

    Debrief

    Family die-in for food security

    Circle of Counsel (online reflections)

    Saturday onwards:

    First, regenerate! As goes the fifth of our key principles and values: We value reflecting and learning. Following a cycle of action, reflection, learning, and planning for more action. Learning from other movements and contexts as well as our own experiences. This process can and should take time, and is an important part of how we do things. One London-based opportunity to do this will be a musical event on Monday.

    Second – decentralise! From Saturday we’re encouraging rebels to return to our communities, whether in London, around the UK or internationally, and to tell the truth as it is. One of the most literal ways to do this might be to call a local radio station (see notices for tips); but the greater project will involve finding or starting a local group, and knitting these groups into a network of local and international solidarity. There’s already a lot coming up on the international scale: mass die-ins, a mother’s day march, and a global climate strike.

    And as the last of these suggests, we’re also very keen to engage with other movements where we can. There’s already an opportunity this weekend, when the brilliant Reclaim the Power will hold a National Gathering. If you’re making summer plans already, RTP are also holding a mass action camp from the 26th of July.

    We’ll try to keep you posted with similar events going forwards. If there’s something you think we should know about, whether XR-organised or otherwise, please email xr-newsletter@protonmail.com.

    *****

    PS: one for Sue:



    https://twitter.com/meganjherbert/status/1121358871723900929

    I

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