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The Freedom Charter: An important document and guide for democracy.

By Dustin Micheli

While listening to a report on Black Agenda Report   radio , about the recently passed South African anti-apartheid activist and politician, and the ex-wife of Nelson Mandela, Winnie Mandela.

I was struck by a few things highlighted in this report, the least of which was not how important and regarded  Winnie Mandela was for South Africa politics , how under reported that has been in western mainstream media and academic circles outside of colleges.

Much of the  radio report revolves around international reaction to  a newly acclaimed film by French director Pascale Lamche  “Winnie”   the Sundance award winning documentary/ film that highlights the importance of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. A powerful and important figure to the movements to end oppression and apartheid.

Also highlighted in the report was the importance of and Miss Mandela’s association to and fight for integrity outlined in the “Freedom Charter”  , which was the statement of core principles of the South African Congress Alliance, also to which consisted of the African National Congress and the main reason I wrote this article.

Admittedly I had scarcely heard of the “Freedom Charter” until recently and had no real clue how important and well articulated a document this really was. The comparisons to the United States Constitution ,  The United Nations Charter or Even Magna Carta  easily came to mind.  As I continued to read and understood the potential implications of a governance that operated under the guidance such populace  and nationally or internationally  oriented imperative prescribed by that mandate.

The “Freedom Charter”   though for obvious reasons is a South African oriented and specific document. Its implications and contents however, if tweaked can be easily fit into our even replace many of the articles that have ceased to grow to meet the needs of the people in the United States and many other nations.

It reminds me of the basic preamble of the U.S. Constitution to which we have long ago abandoned in favor of overt militarism abroad. As the United States government officially was against the anti apartheid movement and for the imperialist and racist apartheid state before the reformation of the South African national congress. For our own imperative of ” establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity”

In re publishing the Freedom Charter in my publication, I hope to give Americans and Westerners a glimpse into an unseen world of politics that mainstream media has failed to report on in any kind of adequate way.  Please read and consider the contents of this important and well crafted document and ask yourselves how we might look to this document for extra guidance  and possible ways to implement its humanitarian mandates for governance.

 

The Freedom Charter
Adopted at the Congress of the People, Kliptown, on 26 June 1955

We, the People of South Africa, declare for all our country and the world to know:
that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white, and that no government can justly claim authority unless it is based on the will of all the people;
that our people have been robbed of their birthright to land, liberty and peace by a form of government founded on injustice and inequality;
that our country will never be prosperous or free until all our people live in brotherhood, enjoying equal rights and opportunities;
that only a democratic state, based on the will of all the people, can secure to all their birthright without distinction of colour, race, sex or belief;
And therefore, we, the people of South Africa, black and white together equals, countrymen and brothers adopt this Freedom Charter;
And we pledge ourselves to strive together, sparing neither strength nor courage, until the democratic changes here set out have been won.
The People Shall Govern!
Every man and woman shall have the right to vote for and to stand as a candidate for all bodies which make laws;
All people shall be entitled to take part in the administration of the country;
The rights of the people shall be the same, regardless of race, colour or sex;
All bodies of minority rule, advisory boards, councils and authorities shall be replaced by democratic organs of self-government .
All National Groups Shall have Equal Rights!
There shall be equal status in the bodies of state, in the courts and in the schools for all national groups and races;
All people shall have equal right to use their own languages, and to develop their own folk culture and customs;
All national groups shall be protected by law against insults to their race and national pride;
The preaching and practice of national, race or colour discrimination and contempt shall be a punishable crime;
All apartheid laws and practices shall be set aside.
The People Shall Share in the Country’s Wealth!
The national wealth of our country, the heritage of South Africans, shall be restored to the people;
The mineral wealth beneath the soil, the Banks and monopoly industry shall be transferred to the ownership of the people as a whole;
All other industry and trade shall be controlled to assist the wellbeing of the people;
All people shall have equal rights to trade where they choose, to manufacture and to enter all trades, crafts and professions.
The Land Shall be Shared Among Those Who Work It!
Restrictions of land ownership on a racial basis shall be ended, and all the land re-divided amongst those who work it to banish famine and land hunger;
The state shall help the peasants with implements, seed, tractors and dams to save the soil and assist the tillers;
Freedom of movement shall be guaranteed to all who work on the land;
All shall have the right to occupy land wherever they choose;
People shall not be robbed of their cattle, and forced labour and farm prisons shall be abolished.
All Shall be Equal Before the Law!
No-one shall be imprisoned, deported or restricted without a fair trial; No-one shall be condemned by the order of any Government official;
The courts shall be representative of all the people;
Imprisonment shall be only for serious crimes against the people, and shall aim at reeducation, not vengeance;
The police force and army shall be open to all on an equal basis and shall be the helpers and protectors of the people;
All laws which discriminate on grounds of race, colour or belief shall be repealed.
All Shall Enjoy Equal Human Rights!
The law shall guarantee to all their right to speak, to organise, to meet together, to publish, to preach, to worship and to educate their children;
The privacy of the house from police raids shall be protected by law;
All shall be free to travel without restriction from countryside to town, from province to province, and from South Africa abroad;
Pass Laws, permits and all other laws restricting these freedoms shall be abolished.
There Shall be Work and Security!
All who work shall be free to form trade unions, to elect their officers and to make wage agreements with their employers;
The state shall recognise the right and duty of all to work, and to draw full unemployment benefits;
Men and women of all races shall receive equal pay for equal work;
There shall be a forty-hour working week, a national minimum wage, paid annual leave, and sick leave for all workers, and maternity leave on full pay for all working mothers;
Miners, domestic workers, farm workers and civil servants shall have the same rights as all others who work;
Child labour, compound labour, the tot system and contract labour shall be abolished.
The Doors of Learning and Culture Shall be Opened!
The government shall discover, develop and encourage national talent for the enhancement of our cultural life;
All the cultural treasures of mankind shall be open to all, by free exchange of books, ideas and contact with other lands;
The aim of education shall be to teach the youth to love their people and their culture, to honour human brotherhood, liberty and peace;
Education shall be free, compulsory, universal and equal for all children; Higher education and technical training shall be opened to all by means of state allowances and scholarships awarded on the basis of merit;
Adult illiteracy shall be ended by a mass state education plan;
Teachers shall have all the rights of other citizens;
The colour bar in cultural life, in sport and in education shall be abolished.
There Shall be Houses, Security and Comfort!
All people shall have the right to live where they choose, be decently housed, and to bring up their families in comfort and security;
Unused housing space to be made available to the people;
Rent and prices shall be lowered, food plentiful and no-one shall go hungry;
A preventive health scheme shall be run by the state;
Free medical care and hospitalisation shall be provided for all, with special care for mothers and young children;
Slums shall be demolished, and new suburbs built where all have transport, roads, lighting, playing fields, creches and social centres;
The aged, the orphans, the disabled and the sick shall be cared for by the state;
Rest, leisure and recreation shall be the right of all:
Fenced locations and ghettoes shall be abolished, and laws which break up families shall be repealed.
There Shall be Peace and Friendship!
South Africa shall be a fully independent state which respects the rights and sovereignty of all nations;
South Africa shall strive to maintain world peace and the settlement of all international disputes by negotiation – not war;
Peace and friendship amongst all our people shall be secured by upholding the equal rights, opportunities and status of all;
The people of the protectorates Basutoland, Bechuanaland and Swaziland shall be free to decide for themselves their own future;
The right of all peoples of Africa to independence and self-government shall be recognized, and shall be the basis of close co-operation.
Let all people who love their people and their country now say, as we say here:
THESE FREEDOMS WE WILL FIGHT FOR, SIDE BY SIDE, THROUGHOUT OUR LIVES, UNTIL WE HAVE WON OUR LIBERTY

 

 

 

News Briefs 5-14-2018

Venezuelans head to the polls to elect the new president for the 2019-2025 term. The vote takes places amid unprecedented pressure against the South American nation, including sanctions from the U.S. and E.U. which look to exacerbate the economic downturn faced by the OPEC member state since the steep drop in oil prices in 2014. in this linked report by telesur English.

More dead and injured during ” Right of Return”  Protest in Gaza

Clashes have also reportedly broken out between protesters and the Israeli Defense Forces in Bethlehem.

Fifty-five Palestinian protesters, including six children under 18, have been killed by Israeli fire during demonstrations on the day of the US embassy’s inauguration in Jerusalem, the Palestinian health ministry said Monday. Follow up on this expanded report by RT 

Court Finds Suporvisor violated Ballot preservation laws. A Message from Tim Canova.

FROM the TIM CANOVA CAMPAIGN:
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
As reported this morning in Politico, we just won our public records lawsuit against Broward County Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes! The Court found that Supervisor Snipes violated state and federal laws by destroying all of the original paper ballots cast in our 2016 primary against Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Most egregiously, the Supervisor ordered the destruction of ballots after we sued to inspect and copy the ballots!
This is a very big deal for election integrity in our country. As the court makes clear, every person has the “fundamental right” to inspect and copy the original paper ballots in an election – and this right is a “cornerstone of our political culture.”
We sought to verify the vote because of concerns of elections experts that the final vote count may have been incorrect. The destruction of the ballots by Broward’s top elections officials smacks of a cover-up and we will continue to press for answers.
This ballot destruction scandal is far from over and we need your help now more than ever. The court must still assess damages and the Secretary of State and Governor are investigating the Supervisor’s illegal conduct. I am therefore asking you to please step up again and donate whatever you can to our campaign so we will have the resources to continue pressing our case to state and federal officials.
We are fighting for election justice and integrity. That’s the least we owe to all of you who have contributed to our campaign against Wasserman Schultz and to Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign. That’s why we have fought for more than a year and a half on this ballot inspection case. And it’s why we have called for criminal investigations of the New York City Board of Elections for purging more than 200,000 citizens from its voting rolls in the days prior to its 2016 Democratic Presidential primary.
I would also like to thank the thousands of people in my district and around the country who have supported our efforts to inspect the ballots and prosecute this lawsuit. I am grateful for your many small donations and for your many words of encouragement that lifted our spirits and helped pull us through this challenging process.
We will have more to report on this case in the coming days and weeks, but for now, I wanted to share the encouraging news and let you know that WE WON!

In solidarity,

Tim Canova

New Top Stories. Back in the Swing of things.

Back in the swing. Found News stories for your consideration.
Our top stories which were also shared on Press Monkey on Facebook as well as Press Monkey Independent Media.
TOP STORIES.
A report filed by Telesur English 80,000 reportedly, people have marched through the main avenue in Santiago, Chile in a joyful protest in favor of the legalization and regulation of medical and recreational cannabis. The march is the 13th of its kind and featured musicians, artists, costumes and giant joints.
Politico Reports: Special Council in charge of the 2016 Russian Collusion Interferance investigation now known as ” Russia Gate” has asked for a delay in the first court hearing, in the criminal case regarding alleged troll farm. A request that was rejected by a Federal Court Judge.

Also as shared as a reminder by our affiliates at Green News Network The Freedom and Activism Event by activism.org a discussion and event with Jill Stein, Glenn Greenwald and Abby Martin.

Primate Report Radio


The Primate Report from Press Monkey Independent Media is considering going Radio.We have already been offered an affiliate offer from the Green News Network Please visit our Facebook page on Press Monkey Or Press Monkey Independent Media to give a shout out on if you would like to see our cast move to a weekly or bi weekly radio report. For truth, activism and bananas.

Freedom of Speach Impugned, Expunged and Resurgent.

The right to speak freely and express oneself is not just an American right, or a Western civilization right , but a human and ape right ,as natural as any other granted by creation to man or beast. It is probably the most significant freedom and right any person or country can substantiate .

Many a people across the world are not granted that right by their leaders , governments or cultural conditioning,
Nor do they have the power , strength and resources to summarily cease those rights for themselves.

Our right to speak out is probably our most sacrosanct right. Not just granted to us via our respective constitutions and charters , but codified only by our willingness to exercise , assert and continuously fight for that right.

Only by retaining the right to speak our truth to power, demand accountability and transparency and challenge both cultural and conventional wisdoms, can we grow , evolve and adapt to the changing political and environmental tides that are washing up on our shore and flooding our lives.

The perimeters of freedom of expression extend endlessly and necessarily will encompass the peripheral and profane, as well as the most malicious and puerile intentions.

Only through this spectrum of expression , discussion and self discovery can we get gradually closer to finding the truth of ourselves, and understand the complexity and preciousness of our existence, ultimately that we are a free expression of our evolution on this earth and our place in the universe.

We still have much to say about how that story will be written, Whether or not we get closer to the truth of ourselves might be dependent upon the spectrum of perspectives we can consider or tolerate.

We cannot possibly get closer to the right answers at if we cannot bear to entertain or acknowledge the wrong ones. Our potential for becoming gradually less wrong increases with every wrong answer we discover and allow to be expressed.
Keep on swinging, peace and bananas.
Dustin Micheli

WAR for Sale!! Just a little bit of War for Sale.

Souced and copied from an article in Worlds Top Exports

http://www.worldstopexports.com/united

Where our money goes.

-states-top-10-exports/

Every one of the top ten United States exports is tied to the military idustrial complex and its activities to the tune of billions upon billions of dollars a year. They and the top companies associated to them are (Based on statistics from the International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Outlook Database)

The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in American global shipments during 2016. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from the United States.
1. Machinery including computers: US$190.5 billion (13.1% of total exports)
2. Electrical machinery, equipment: $167.2 billion (11.5%)
3. Aircraft, spacecraft: $134.6 billion (9.3%)
4. Vehicles : $124.3 billion (8.5%)
5. Mineral fuels including oil: $94.7 billion (6.5%)
6. Optical, technical, medical apparatus: $82.0 billion (5.6%)
7. Plastics, plastic articles: $58.4 billion (4.0%)
8. Gems, precious metals: $57.8 billion (4.0%)
9. Pharmaceuticals: $47.1 billion (3.2%)
10. Organic chemicals: $33.9 billion (2.3%)
Mineral fuels including oil was the fastest-growing among the top 10 export categories for 2016, up in value by 72.4% for the 7-year period starting in 2009. Crude and refined petroleum oils as well as petroleum gases were the leading gainers under this category.
American Export Companies
Wikipedia lists many of the larger international trade players from the United States:
⦁ Apple
⦁ Exxon Mobil (oil, gas)
⦁ Johnson & Johnson (medical equipment, supplies)
⦁ Chevron Corporation (oil, gas)
⦁ Procter & Gamble (household, personal care items)
⦁ Pfizer (pharmaceuticals)
⦁ The Coca-Cola Company (beverages)
⦁ Merck & Co (pharmaceuticals)
⦁ Qualcomm (semiconductors)
⦁ Philip Morris International (tobacco)
⦁ Intel (semiconductors)
⦁ Schlumberger (oil, gas)
⦁ PepsiCo (beverages)
⦁ Cisco Systems (communications equipment)
⦁ Boeing (aerospace)
⦁ ConocoPhillips (oil, gas)
⦁ AbbVie (pharmaceuticals)
⦁ Occidental Petroleum (oil, gas)
⦁ Eli Lilly and Company (pharmaceuticals)
Our main export has become War and Imperialism, face it people. The American Dream depends on people being asleep while their government murders others for profits and share holders.