La crisi COVID-19 ha rivelato l'urgenza di cambiare le strutture globali di iniquità e violenza. Noi, persone di tutto il mondo, coglieremo questo momento storico.

La crise du COVID-19 a révélé l’urgence de changer les structures mondiales d’inégalité et de violence. Nous, peuples du monde entier, saisissons donc ce moment historique pour construire la solidarité à tous les niveaux : local, national, mondial.

La crisis del COVID-19 ha revelado la urgencia de cambiar las estructuras globales de desigualdades y violencia. Nosotras, personas de todo el mundo, no dejaremos pasar este momento histórico.

A group of around 50 people from more than 12 countries drafted the Manifesto in recent weeks. Many prominent people are supporting it. People in general are more awake to the absurdity of a planet in which the richest 8 people have more wealth than the poorest 3.8 billion than ever before as this pandemic spreads. We are circulating this widely in multiple languages to help frame the debate and actions moving forward, raising global demands that address the inequity resulting from decades of neoliberal economic policies and rampant and unbridled militarism.

More than 25,000 military personnel from 20 countries will gather from June through August 2020 in Hawaii waters for the 27th Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise, the world's largest international maritime exercises, The international naval war practice in Hawaiian waters is provocative in regional affairs and with the COVID19 virus, military personnel from 20+ countries arriving in Hawaii will endanger citizens of the isolated island state of Hawaii. Since 1971, RIMPAC has been held in Hawaii where in 2018 military personnel from 24 other countries, including Australia, Canada, India, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam came to Hawaii. With COVID19 virus rampant around in all countries around the world, the isolated islands of Hawaii must be protected from military visitors. This petition is sponsored by Hawaii organizations: Hawai'i Peace and Justice; Veterans for Peace-Chapter 113-Hawai'i; Malu Aina Center for Nonviolence Education & Action-Big Island; Maui Peace Action; Kauai Alliance for Peace & Social Justice; Catholic Worker Honolulu; Campaign Nonviolence-Hawaii; Democratic Socialists of Honolulu; Young Progressive Demanding Action (Hawaiʻi); Hawaiian Unity and Liberation Institute; Malama Makua; International Women's Network Against Militarism; Women's Voices, Women Speak; Cancel RIMPAC Coalition; U.S. National Organizations: Peace Action; United for Peace & Justice; United National Anti-War Coalition; Nuclear Age Peace Foundation; CODEPINK, San Francisco Bay Area chapter; Veterans For Peace chapter 69-San Francisco; Donald and Sally-Alice Thompson Veterans For Peace Chapter #63-Albuquerque, New Mexico; Shut Down Creech campaign; International Organizations: Veterans for Peace; Jeju Committee for the Inter-Island Solidarity for Peace of Sea (South Korea); Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND-UK); Vrede vzw (Belgium); International Coalition for a Ban on (depleted) Uranium Weapons (Berlin Germany); Activists for Peace- Sweden; VD AMOK (Netherlands); Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILFP)-Italy; Peace & Neutrality Alliance in Ireland; CNGNN Italy; "No to war - no to NATO"; Center for Encounter and Active Non-Violence, Bad Ischl, Austria; Swedish Peace Council; Roma Social Forum; Teatroinnatura-Italy; Frente Antiimperialista Internacionalista (Spain); Dutch section of Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF NL); WILPF Germany; Mouvement de la Paix (France); Gangjeong Peace Network; Inter-Island Solidarity for Peace of the Sea; Jeju Comittee People Making Jeju a Demilitarized Peace Island; Association of Gangjeong Villagers Against the Jeju Navy Base; Seongsan Committee against the Jeju 2nd Airport Project; Jeju People Living in the Main Land of Korea; TID TIL FRED - aktiv mod krig, Danmark (TIME FOR PEACE - active against war, Denmark);

ENDORSED by the National Lawyers Guild and Veterans for Peace .... We are citizens of the United States who urge you to deny the extradition request of our government. If Julian Assange is delivered to the United States it will be a momentous setback for press freedom. The correct decision is to NOT extradite Assange for the following reasons: (1) The Extradition Treaty between the UK and USA prohibits extradition for a political offense. (Ref a) It says "extradition shall not be granted if the competent authority of the Requested State determines that the request was politically motivated." The essence of Assange's "crime" is that he published documents and videos which revealed the reality of US military and political actions. (2) Assange would not get a fair trial in the US. He has been publicly prejudged by prominent political leaders. Secretary of State Pompeo declared Wikileaks is a "non-state hostile intelligence service." (Ref b) Former Vice President Joe Biden has called Julian Assange a "hi-tech terrorist." (Ref c) (3) These charges would set a precedent where the US claims the right to seize a citizen of any country and to judge them by US laws without the rights of a US citizen. (Ref d) (4) The US breached Assange's right to client-lawyer confidentiality. During the last year at the Ecuadoran Embassy, a contractor for US authorities spied on Assange 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including during his private meetings with lawyers. (Ref e) This case goes to the heart of the public's right to know what is being done in their name. The information provided by whistleblower Chelsea Manning, and published by Assange's Wikileaks, primarily concerned the US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq. Many people, including former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, say the invasion violated international law and breached the UN Charter. (Ref f) Yet there has been little or no accountability. Instead, US authorities seek to punish and imprison for life a journalist and publisher who dared to broadcast the actual consequences of this aggression, scenes such as shown in the video "Collateral Murder." (Ref g) The Trump administration seeks to criminalize what was previously considered a press freedom. Already the model of the Assange indictment has been copied by the Brazilian government in a criminal complaint against journalist Glenn Greenwald. A NY Times op-ed warned, "This blunt approach gives the government enormous leverage over journalists and, in the United States, provides them with a detour around First Amendment concerns. If these cases become templates that prosecutors in the United States and other nations follow, virtually every investigative reporter will become vulnerable to criminal charges and imprisonment." (Ref h) We are counting on British independence and justice. Do not extradite Julian Assange to the United States! References a) https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/243246/7146.pdf b) https://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/328730-cia-director-wikileaks-a-non-state-hostile-intelligence-service c) https://www.theguardian.com/media/2010/dec/19/assange-high-tech-terrorist-biden d) https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2020/01/23/wikileaks-editor-us-is-saying-first-amendment-doesnt-apply-to-foreigners-in-assange-case/ e) https://thegrayzone.com/2019/10/10/cia-spied-on-julian-assange-in-ecuadorian-embassy/ f) https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/sep/16/iraq.iraq g) https://collateralmurder.wikileaks.org/ h) https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/26/opinion/greenwald-brazil-reporter.html

Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) produces a weekly radio show (Counterspin), which began decades ago. KPFA Radio was regularly airing CounterSpin until Oct. 19, 2018, when it was abruptly taken off the air with no explanation to listeners. Please urge KPFA General Manager Quincy McCoy ([email protected]) and Program Director Kevin Cartright ([email protected]) to bring back CounterSpin to a regular slot on its program grid. FAIR, the national media watch group, was established in 1986 by co-founders Jeff Cohen, Martin Lee and others. It describes its mission as: “FAIR has been offering well-documented criticism of media bias and censorship since 1986. We work to invigorate the First Amendment by advocating for greater diversity in the press and by scrutinizing media practices that marginalize public interest, minority and dissenting viewpoints. As an anti-censorship organization, we expose neglected news stories and defend working journalists when they are muzzled. As a progressive group, we believe that structural reform is needed to break up the dominant media conglomerates, establish independent public broadcasting and promote strong non-profit sources of information.” In the past CounterSpin aired shows featuring guests as Marjorie Cohn on the Afghan unending war, Amit Harana on deregulation, Sasha Abramsky on Trump’s new attacks on immigration, and Corey Gillan under attack by Monsanto. CounterSpin is meticulously researched and exceptionally well documented and produced. CounterSpin is in keeping with KPFA’s mission statement: * “To promote cultural diversity and pluralistic community expression. * To contribute to a lasting understanding between individuals of all nations, races, creeds and colors. * To promote freedom of the press and serve as a forum for various viewpoints. * To maintain an independent funding base”. Please urge KPFA General Manager Quincy McCoy ([email protected]) and Program Director Kevin Cartright ([email protected]) to bring back CounterSpin to a regular slot on its program grid.

Tulsi has criticized Israeli human rights abuses such as the use of live ammunition against unarmed protesters, and supported the U.N. Security Council Resolution condemning the expansion of Israeli settlements. She also publicly defended Rep.Ilhan Omar against charges of anti-semitism. We thank her for all those actions; Tulsi's grass roots supporters have largely accepted her explanation of her vote for HRes246, even though many disagree with her sincere belief that it threatens or is intended to threaten the two state solution; Tulsi has cosponsored HRes496 clarifying that attempts by government to impede boycotts are violations of the 1st amendment, though that language should have been written into HRes246 to begin with; "SEC. 2. Findings" of H.R.2407 explains in great detail why the bill is necessary and provides documentation from organizations such as Human Rights Watch, an Israeli human rights organization (B’Tselem), UNICEF and even the US Department of State; Rep. McCollum's bill provides an appropriate vehicle for Tulsi to demonstrate her commitment to fundamental human rights for all people worldwide.

The U.S. cannot play a positive role on Earth while it uses destructive conflict resolution. Constructive methods like Unarmed Civilian Protection (UCP) must replace destructive ones, like U.S. military action. Practiced by some 50 groups over the last 30 years, UCP has proven more effective, affordable, humane, and Earth-conscious (unlike Earth's largest single user of fossil fuels, the U.S. military) in deadly conflicts than armed protection. UCP is now recognized as effective by the U.N. It is nonviolent, nonpartisan, empowers locals rather than making them dependent, and brings reconciliation rather than resentment. UCP addresses root causes of conflict rather than surfaces, building sustainable peace. It protects life without taking life, and brings emancipation from "us-them" views. It shows the world we can solve deadly conflicts without carrying, much less using, weapons. Evidence shows we can't shoot, bomb, or regime-change violence out of existence. UCP changes hearts and minds on the ground, something the most surgical drone strike cannot do. It engages those at all power levels in conflicts, rather than just those at the top. How does UCP work? It uses four main methods: proactive engagement, monitoring, relationship building, and capacity enhancement. For more details, see: https://worldbeyondwar.org/unarmed-civilian-protection-ucp-a-concise-overview/ In short, U.S. conflict resolution worldwide can use Martin Luther King Jr.'s school of thought, not Harry S Truman's. The Green and Democratic Parties (and someday the Libertarian and Republican Parties) can embrace this "idea whose time has arrived."

Brigitte Fuzellier is a well-known charity leader and community worker who has lived in Paraguay since 1987. Kolping International hired Ms. Fuzellier, a German citizen, to run its operations in Paraguay and clean up its financial situation. Kolping is a large Catholic charity based in Cologne, Germany, that receives millions of dollars in public funds each year. Fuzellier discovered widespread and well-documented misconduct and degeneracy within Kolping’s operations in Paraguay. Rather than being used as a school, a Kolping building funded by German taxpayer money was being used as a brothel. An entire soccer team is said to have availed itself of the services in the Casa de Citas (“House of Appointments”), according to the German magazine Der Spiegel. Customers enjoyed beer and liquor before going upstairs, which was stocked with beds – “a true orgy." After reviewing Kolping's finances, Fuzellier discovered that a large chunk of €1.4 million in German and EU public funds did not go toward its intended purposes. Only after a series of investigations did Kolping repay €241,000 to the German government, according to media reports. Fuzellier has piles of documents and other evidence about many other episodes and irregularities in Paraguay. She has signed bank checks and other evidence that she says proves vast misspending of EU funds. A probe by the EU's anti-fraud office, OLAF, ended without explanation, says Fuzellier. She said a bakery worker was killed when he fell headlong into a poorly-made, makeshift production machine. Kolping fired her in 2010 and began an unabated retaliation campaign that has included public humiliation, smearing her reputation throughout her community, filing a series of dubious criminal charges, and using questionable legal tactics to limit her ability to travel. Fuzellier was convicted and only spared from prison after an international campaign raised €30,000 so she could pay a fine. As another dubious case dragged on for more than four years, she was banned from leaving Paraguay. This virtually put an end to her Eco-Loofah business, which employed hundreds of local people including members of the indigenous Macá Tribe. Now, people associated with Kolping are at it again. In December 2018 Fuzellier was re-charged with allegations of which she already has been cleared – raising questions of double jeopardy. Once again, she has been banned from leaving the country. We are rallying international support for Brigitte Fuzellier, including seeking prompt intervention by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights at the Organization of American States.

Marzieh Hashemi (she is a US citizen), when returning from Iran was arrested, without charges, at the St. Louis, Missouri Airport and then taken and put in detention in a prison in Washington D.C. as a 'material witness.' Actually she is an Anchor woman on Press TV. Since when does the US jail 'material witnesses?' This is another travesty against journalists, and the MSM isn't even covering it. Educate yourselves on this. As a material witness whom is she going to testify against---The US gov't, Britain, France and Israel for their ongoing mass murder around the world?

Academic institutions are restricting free speech, due mainly to organized pressure campaigns. This is destructive to academic activity and to free pursuit of ideas in the institutions and the wider societies which they serve.