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Chicago, July 4: Block Party to Fight Austerity at Rahm’s House

Posted 10 years ago on July 3, 2013, 7:48 p.m. EST by OccupyWallSt
Tags: chicago, austerity, j4

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.

#OneTermMayor


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

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Global March to Dignity - Transnational Solidarity Weekend July 6-7 2013

Posted 10 years ago on July 3, 2013, 12:48 p.m. EST by OccupyWallSt
Tags: global solidarity

the world is waking!

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/

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Anarchism in Egypt — an interview from Tahrir Square

Posted 10 years ago on July 3, 2013, 10:09 a.m. EST by OccupyWallSt
Tags: morsi, civil war, revolution, arab spring, egypt, Tamarod, anarchists

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

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