When, in the course of human development, existing institutions prove inadequate to the needs of man, when they serve merely to enslave, rob, and oppress mankind, the people have the eternal right to rebel against, and overthrow, these institutions.

The mere fact that these forces -- inimical to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness -- are legalized by statute laws, sanctified by divine rights, and enforced by political power, in no way justifies their continued existence.

We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all human beings, irrespective of race, color, or sex, are born with the equal right to share at the table of life; that to secure this right, there must be established among men economic, social, and political freedom; we hold further that government exists but to maintain special privilege and property rights; that it coerces man into submission and therefore robs him of dignity, self-respect, and life.

The history of the American kings of capital and authority is the history of repeated crimes, injustice, oppression, outrage, and abuse, all aiming at the suppression of individual liberties and the exploitation of the people. A vast country, rich enough to supply all her children with all possible comforts, and insure well-being to all, is in the hands of a few, while the nameless millions are at the mercy of ruthless wealth gatherers, unscrupulous lawmakers, and corrupt politicians.

Sturdy sons of America are forced to tramp the country in a fruitless search for bread, and many of her daughters are driven into the street, while thousands of tender children are daily sacrificed on the altar of Mammon. The reign of these kings is holding mankind in slavery, perpetuating poverty and disease, maintaining crime and corruption; it is fettering the spirit of liberty, throttling the voice of justice, and degrading and oppressing humanity. It is engaged in continual war and slaughter, devastating the country and destroying the best and finest qualities of man; it nurtures superstition and ignorance, sows prejudice and strife, and turns the human family into a camp of Ishmaelites.

We, therefore, the liberty-loving men and women, realizing the great injustice and brutality of this state of affairs, earnestly and boldly do hereby declare, That each and every individual is and ought to be free to own himself and to enjoy the full fruit of his labor; that man is absolved from all allegiance to the kings of authority and capital; that he has, by the very fact of his being, free access to the land and all means of production, and entire liberty of disposing of the fruits of his efforts; that each and every individual has the unquestionable and unabridgeable right of free and voluntary association with other equally sovereign individuals for economic, political, social, and all other purposes, and that to achieve this end man must emancipate himself from the sacredness of property, the respect for man-made law, the fear of the Church, the cowardice of public opinion, the stupid arrogance of national, racial, religious, and sex superiority, and from the narrow puritanical conception of human life.

And for the support of this Declaration, and with a firm reliance on the harmonious blending of man's social and individual tendencies, the lovers of liberty joyfully consecrate their uncompromising devotion, their energy and intelligence, their solidarity and their lives..

This `Declaration' was written by Emma Goldman at the request of a certain newspaper, which subsequently refused to publish it, though the article was already in composition. (Published in Mother Earth, Vol. IV, no. 5, July 1909.)

Edit: 7/4, 5pm CT: Video clips added

Chicagoans Gather to Protest Budget Cuts, Corporate Welfare, Call for One Term Mayor

This 4th of July, Chicagoans opposed to Mayor Emanuel’s extreme budget cuts to public services, and policies of corporate welfare, will peacefully converge at the Mayor’s house, at 4228 N Hermitage, to speak out against these austerity measures and celebrate citywide resistance to his mayorship.

"At a time when working people are already struggling to make ends meet, Mayor Emanuel is eliminating thousands of jobs across the city every year," says Greg Goodman, event organizer. "The loss of these jobs throws families and communities even further into crisis, and creates a chain effect that ripples out to negatively impact an ever growing number of Chicagoans. In the midst of all this, Rahm is systematically dismantling the social programs that ordinary people rely on to help them through times of crisis, and selling our public institutions and resources off to corporate profiteers."

After gathering at Chase Park (Ashland and Leland) at 12pm on July 4th, Chicagoans fed up with Mayor Emanuel’s austerity plans will hold a peaceful block party on his street (4200 block of Hermitage). The event will include music, dancing, and speakers.

"People who are barely getting by are being punished for the mistakes of the super-rich," says local organizer Kelly Hayes. "That's what austerity is. We're going to let Mayor Emanuel know we didn't create this crisis, and we're not going to pay for it."

Thurs, July 4: Block Party to Fight Austerity at Rahm’s House
12pm: Gather at Chase Park, Ashland & Leland
12:30pm: March to Rahm’s House, 4228 N Hermitage
1pm: Press Conference

https://www.facebook.com/events/142447169277912

For live updates, follow: @constantnatalie @baburrealer @bullhorngirl @gregrgoodman #OneTermMayor #RahmParty on Twitter.

Concurrently, Restore the Fourth Chicago will be gathering at noon in Daley Plaza. For more information: https://www.facebook.com/events/418849661562573/. In addition, Occupy Chicago is marching to STOP NSA SURVEILLANCE! Saturday, July 6, 1PM in Federal Plaza. For more info on that: http://occupychi.org/2013/06/25/stop-nsa-surveillance-march-76-1pm-federal-plaza

Global March to Dignity - Transnational Solidarity Weekend

Turkey, Greece, Brazil, Bulgaria, Egypt…. once more the fire of the global revolution is sweeping out the entire planet. We are taking streets, squares, parks in millions and revolting against the police brutality, torture, environmental destruction, corruption, the looting of the commons by the 1%.

Once more we are throwing away the unbearable weight of naked injustice that we have been forced to carry on our shoulders for thousands of years.

Once more, sons and daughters of ancient civilisations are showing how to walk towards the light without fear and anxiety. A new civilisation is emerging out of joy, fun, fight, pain and blood.

With this call we invite all the comrades to go out this weekend, 6-7 July 2013, with out borders and reclaim the streets, squares, parks and all that belongs the humanity. Let us rise doesn’t matter wherever we are; in Egypt, Brazil, Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, in the cities, towns, and villages of the World. Let us rise up together, not only for standing in solidarity with each other, but also to feel the fact that we are fighting our own struggle with the others all over the world.

We might have differences, in our appearance, thinking, cultures, choices, etc. but we are deeply connected and we decided to march towards Dignity as a whole and no matter what it takes to get there.

Let us stand up and walk together!

https://www.facebook.com/events/267576746717479/

I met Mohammed Hassan Aazab earlier this year over tea at a table of young anarchists in downtown Cairo. The anniversary of the revolution had just passed with massive protests and the emergence of a Western-style black bloc that appeared to have little to do with anarchists in the city. At the time, much of the ongoing grassroots organizing was against sexual violence — in particular, the mob sexual assaults that have become synonymous with any large gathering in Tahrir. The trauma of such violence carried out against protesters was apparent in our conversation. In fact, Aazab told me that he was done with protests and politics, and had resigned himself to the dysfunction of day-to-day life in Egypt.

Then came June 30. Crowds reportedly as large as 33 million took to the streets to call for the Muslim Brotherhood to step down from power, just a year after Mohammed Morsi took office. In the pre-dawn moments of July 1, as Aazab’s phone battery dwindled steadily, I reconnected with him to chat a bit about his return to resistance.

What’s the feeling in Cairo right now? We’re seeing reports here of the largest protests in human history.

Today, all of us worked really hard to get through the protests without violence. Everyone’s afraid a civil war could break out. The protesters gave Morsi 48 hours to step down. If that deadline passes, there’ll be a general strike. In the last five hours, 10 people were killed — four in Assiut and six in front of the Muslim Brotherhood headquarters. The sun is coming up now. All the old revolutionaries are preparing for clashes in the streets.

I heard that the Muslim Brotherhood headquarters were torched. Is that true?

Yes. And it’s still surrounded by protesters right now.

Who called for the general strike? Are there particular unions involved?

No. The unions are totally ineffective.

So how is the strike organized?

Tamarod [the Rebel Movement] called for the general strike. Actually, it has not been organized in advance; it has been a spontaneous development. It will work by people believing in and supporting it.

Do you think people will follow through?

Port Said will start the general strike tomorrow. I have no idea to what extent people will follow through on it, beyond that. But it’s clear people are absolutely determined to force Morsi out.

When we met back in February, you seemed pretty jaded, like you’d lost faith in resistance.

I still feel that way, sort of, to be honest. But when people fill the squares in these huge numbers, that feeling dissolves. I’m incredibly happy.

How are anarchists organizing within this particular moment. I got the sense that some of you were involved with Tamarod, but are you playing a particular role?

No, anarchists didn’t sign onto the Tamarod declaration. Tamarod is not revolutionary at all. It was just obvious that the movement connected with millions of Egyptians, so we joined the protests. The protesters yesterday were against the idea of an Islamic dictator, but at the same time, most of them are okay with a civil or military dictator. Fuck any dictator. We’ll never forget. We’ll never forgive.

And you’ve got an anarchist tent in Tahrir, right now?

Yes. We’ve got four tents, actually.

Are you doing anything particular from those spaces?

Right now, we’re working to ensure old regime supporters don’t take over the sit-in.

Like physically stopping them? Are there felool [people nostalgic for the former regime] in the square?

A lot of them.

Are they attacking protesters, or just trying to infiltrate the movement?

They’re trying to convince people to let the SCAF [Egypt's military council] take power again.

There are uprisings happening in Turkey, Brazil, Bulgaria and Chile right now. There was brief indication that it was spreading to Indonesia and Paraguay as well, and of course there is the ongoing struggle in Bahrain. Egypt has been a huge inspiration for a lot of these movements. When you overthrew Mubarak, Tunisia had happened, but not much else. Does it feel different, this time? Do you feel a part of something global?

It’s different, for sure. Now, the fear comes from the possibility of civil war. Mubark was shit, but he never played the civil-war card. Morsi is so stupid that he doesn’t even seem to grasp that we could very likely wind up killing each other in the streets. Things are happening now that never happened before, like people attacking bearded men on the street and insulting them.

I feel like this generation of youth around the world is powerfully revolutionary, and now we have the ability to share tools, and to broadcast ideas.

What are you hopeful for, right now?

I hope that people have learned something from what the Brotherhood did, and I hope it’s the beginning of the end for political Islam, or any kind of faith in religious parties.

How can people here best support you all?

By spreading the word that Obama and U.S. government are actively supporting the formation of religious states in the Middle East. The U.S. ambassador said that Egyptians should learn the meaning of democracy! Who the fuck is she to say that?

This article originally appeared on Waging NonViolence

PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY!

Unless the Governor and the Department of Corrections take decisive action, prisoners throughout California will resume a hunger strike and work stoppage ONE WEEK FROM TODAY to protest the torturous conditions in solitary confinement--and other parts of the prison system.

Stand in Solidarity with the Hunger Strike and other Job Actions Being Called for July 8th!

Communities across the state, country, and world plan on taking action to help the strikers win their demands. [Ed. Note: Including this noise demo in Seattle, among many other places outside California!]

Sign up for updates [and find local actions, more info, background, prisoners' demands, resources, endorsers of the actions, etc] at prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com.

Wherever you are, please take some form of action on July 8th. Big or small, every voice counts! Click here for more: http://prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com/
On Twitter: @CAhungerstrike

On this Day of Action, we're asking for people all over the world to do whatever they can to draw attention to the struggle of these prisoners against torturous conditions-- public rallies, banner drops, candlelight vigils, marches and other forms of public demonstration.

We strongly encourage that these actions center the Five Core Demands made by the Pelican Bay Hunger Strike prisoners:

**1. End Group Punishment & Administrative Abuse.

1. Abolish the Debriefing Policy, and Modify Active/Inactive Gang Status Criteria.
2. Comply with the US Commission on Safety and Abuse in America's Prisons 2006. Recommendations Regarding an End to Long-Term Solitary Confinement.
3. Provide Adequate and Nutritious Food.
4. Expand and Provide Constructive Programming and Privileges for those living in the SHU.**

We also hope that your actions will join the coalition and the strikers in demanding that the Governor and the CDCR enter into good-faith and accountable negotiations with the strikers immediately.

For more information about the Five Core Demands, please visit http://prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com

People who stand up to organize events on the Day of Action (or any other date) are asked to act in true solidarity by following these guidelines from the Coalition based on communication with the prisoners:

1. Support the prisoners by advocating for the Five Core Demands rather than agitating for other goals or our own demands.
2. Remember that the prisoners chose a "nonviolent peaceful protest" and plan your solidarity actions with that spirit in mind.
3. Honor the strikers, their loved ones, supporters, and the larger community of prisoner-rights and anti-prison organizations by refusing to claim leadership of the solidarity campaign.

Let us know what you have planned and we'll add it to our Action Calendar for all to see.

To add your event, please click here. http://prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com/take-action-2/add-your-event/

And, if you are in California, please support the statewide mobilization to Corcoran State Prison on July, 13! Details below.

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