I see that Extinction Rebellion's loose leadership has just noticed that it has been infiltrated by a "tight-knit group of politically motivated men" (as Harold Wilson memorably put it in 1966); that is, those bent on the destruction of capitalism as the prime goal rather than just something that will inevitably happen as a result of the shift to a greener, leaner life. Congratulations are doubtless due on their coming to see what has been apparent to many others for some time. It's not clear whether these factions were at the core of the disruption to newspaper deliveries last week; either way, it looks as if it might be a step too far for XR as it allows them to be painted as against the freedom of the press. Mind you, they must be as press freedom as we know it will doubtless need to be limited if there is to be a shift to the sort of misery-green life envisioned by Extinction Rebellion [XR]. There will certainly be no need for magazine or newspaper colour supplements as there'll be nothing to buy. They may well have a vital role, however, as a substitute for the inevitably absent toilet paper as the State Commission on Bottom-wiping Material [SCOBUM] inevitably gets it 5-year plans wrong again.
A more positive extinction rebellion story emerged recently with the welcome news that the large tortoiseshell butterfly is once again breeding in England – on the Isle of Portland in Dorset. 175 larvae were found on elms and the adults emerged from late June. The large tortoiseshell had been thought extinct here since the 1950s, but that was probably never the case as this iconic species can exist and survive in vanishingly small populations. Rather like XR.
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