WE MUST DISMISS THE PEOPLE AND ELECT ANOTHER: Berthold Brecht’s famous line is usually used satirically. In Cambridge, England, the green extremist group Extinction Rebellion actually means it. They are threatening to “bring the city to a halt” unless authorities accede to their three demands: the University of Cambridge must divest from fossil fuels (here’s what happened when they made that demand in Oxford), the city and county councils come up with a plan to replace the transportation system, and the city of Cambridge holds a “citizens’ assembly” on climate justice. Here’s what they say about the citizens’ assembly:

To meet this demand, the City Council must:

Establish a Citizens’ Assembly on Climate Justice.
Ensure that marginalised groups are well represented in the Assembly. This must include those without citizenship status in the UK.
Ensure that the expert panel includes: Climate scientists, Health professionals, Experts on decolonisation and climate justice, People who have lived on the front lines of the climate crisis
Exclude from the panel those who directly profit from the exploitation of workers, the Global South, or natural resources.
Ensure that the Citizens’ Assembly has significant decision-making powers and a binding mandate.
Act urgently on the decisions of the Citizens’ Assembly.

To me, this sounds less like an assembly, and more like a Committee of Public Safety. I expect they’ll erect the guillotines on The Backs.

UPDATE (FROM GLENN): Proper response: “Sod off, Swampy!”