THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

“Charter 77 is not an organisation; it has no rules. permanent bodies or formal membership. It embraces everyone who agrees with its ideas, participates in its work, and supports it. It does not form the basis for any oppositional political activity. Like manv similar citizen initiatives in various countries, West and East, it seeks to promote the general public interest. It does not aim, then, to set out its own programmes for political or social reforms or changes, but within its own sphere of activity it wishes to conduct a constructive dialogue with the political and state authorities, particularly by drawing attention to various individual cases where human and civil rights are violated, by preparing documentation and suggesting solutions, by submitting other proposals of a more general character aimed at reinforcing such rights and their guarantees, and by acting as a mediator in various conflict situations which may lead to injustice and so forth.”

— distributed via Zamizdat on 1977, 7 January

BIRTHDAYS:

1632 John Locke, author (and philosopher)

1780 Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, painter

MISCELLANEOUS:

E PLURIBUS UNUM? The Media’s Lawfare Enabling