Bombings and/or drone attacks are now being conducted by the United States and its allies against some of the poorest, most militarily defenseless people in the world, notably in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and Libya. These attacks are slaughtering thousands of people and forcing hundreds of thousands more out of their homes into the wasteland of refugee camps. As examples of the suffering caused by aerial attack, we point to the devastation caused by United States bombing of Tikrit, Iraq and the United States-assisted Saudi Arabian bombing campaign in Yemen. We fear for the people of Mosul the next city in Iraq slated for bombing; after that will almost certainly come Fallujah, of the most war-damaged cities in the world. The primary victims of bombings have been and will continue to be civilians. The criminality of "air wars" is astounding, and indeed we would like to see an international ban on air attacks. As such it is despicable and unacceptable as a fundamental military tactic of any nation. Sources: While there are a number of news articles on U.S. bombing and drone attacks, and more recently on Saudi Arabian air attacks, there is no significant coverage of the overall impact of air attacks on civilian populations, a dramatic indication of how little regard there is for civilians under air attack. Rather there are piece-meal reports such as an April 8, 2015 CNN report saying “Civilian Toll Rising From Air Strikes in Yemen”, which noted that six children were killed when a school in southwestern Yemen was bombed. A report of the McClatchy news service of February 24, 2015 entitled: “U.N. Officials Fear an Attack on Mosul Will Displace 1.5 Million People” gives an idea of what will happen to civilians in the coming assault on Mosul, Iraq, which almost certainly will include U.S. air attacks such as those conducted recently at Tikrit, where air and ground assaults devastated the city.

Palestine is under brutal occupation, with thousands of their citizens being killed every year. The U.S. protects the security of those who oppress them; it needs to protect Palestinian security, also.

The United States of America is moving the world toward a new Cold War, which as you have warned "could become a real war." When Germany reunited, the United States promised you that NATO would not expand eastward. Now NATO stands in the Baltic States, in Poland, in Romania and in Bulgaria. Symbolicly at the end of February, in the Estonian city of Narva, a U.S. tank with stars and stripes positioned itself at the border with Russia. In March 3,000 NATO soldiers with 750 tanks and heavy equipment held maneuvers in the Baltics. NATO naval ships are rehearsing in the Black Sea. Bases on Russia's borders have been expanded and new military structures have been created there. Threats to world peace are not limited to Ukraine. At no time since the end of World War II have there been as many military conflicts and wars as now, and at no time have there been so many refugees. These wars are driven by economic power and profit, sources of raw materials, and strategically important spheres of influence. No other power on earth defends its interests so aggressively as NATO with the United States at its helm. The intelligence services of the U.S. and Britain are actually spying electronically on the whole of humanity. Germany is moving away from the principle that no war can be launched from German soil. The statement by the German President Joachim Gauck at the Security Conference 2014 in Munich, that Germany must take on more responsibility, means a stronger military commitment. Since then, German military missions abroad have been expanded and more money spent on armaments. The new NATO Secretary General declared that Germany is the second most important power within NATO. Germany is the "leading nation" of the new rapid reaction force of 30,000 NATO soldiers. This rapid reaction force is being mobilized in reaction to the "danger of Russia" in Eastern Europe. We reject this new role for Germany in world politics. We therefore urge the dissolution of NATO and its replacement by a collective security system involving Russia, a project which has disarmament as a central goal. This petition was inspired by our friends in Germany who created this petition in German, which you should also sign: http://www.weltfriedenskonferenz.org This effort was begun by 20 members of the German Parliament. This English language petition has been signed by: Heinrich Buecker, Coop Anti-War Cafe Berlin Miriam Volkmann, Vigil for World Peace and Human Rights Berlin David Hartsough, World Beyond War David Swanson, World Beyond War

Mumia Abu-Jamal, 61, is serving life without parole despite clear evidence of his innocence. He now faces the same vulnerability to premature death as do thousands of elderly in US prisons today: • Mumia reported three months ago a full-body outbreak of eczema, with blisters and bloody sores. Treatment by prison doctors produced a severe reaction. His skin ruptured. 
 • Prison officials failed to properly diagnose Mumia’s growing health crisis. • On March 30, Mumia went into diabetic shock and fainted in the prison. 
 • When hospitalized, he had a blood sugar level just shy of the 800 figure that registers diabetic coma. His sodium was also a life-threatening 168. Throughout his stay he was shackled to his bed. • Two days after his hospitalization, he was transferred to the prison infirmary, despite his very bad condition. On April 1, Mumia’s family reported that he was shaking uncontrollably, had labored breathing, had lost 80 pounds in the last three months, and may now have kidney stones. Yet the prison has been feeding him dangerous foods like pasta, despite special prison diets available for those with medical needs. All this constitutes medical neglect and malpractice. Only a strong public response can save Mumia's life. Join the many voices of those calling for action now!

2015 marks the 70th anniversary of the United States atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It also marks 45 years since the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) entered into force, obligating all States parties to undertake good faith negotiations for the elimination of nuclear weapons. Instead, the world’s nuclear-armed nations are spending over $100 billion per year to maintain and modernize their nuclear arsenals. The danger of wars among nuclear-armed States is growing, and with it the threat of unimaginable death and suffering. From April 27 – May 22, 2015 representatives of the 189 members of the NPT, including the original nuclear-armed States (the U.S., Russia, the U.K, France, and China) will come together at the United Nations in New York City to review the Treaty’s operation. The recent Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons set up the potential for a direct challenge to the nuclear- armed States: States not possessing nuclear weapons will be demanding a new diplomatic process to achieve nuclear disarmament. It is long past time for the world’s governments to implement the global obligation to achieve a nuclear-weapon-free world. We are at a crucial juncture, a time when the unresolved tensions of a deeply inequitable society, great power ambitions, and the destructive effects of an unsustainable economic system are exploding into overlapping crises. This petition campaign is part of the Peace & Planet Mobilization for a Nuclear-Free, Peaceful, Just and Sustainable World. In a demonstration of their determination to build a fair, democratic, ecologically sustainable, and peaceful future, people will gather in New York City and around the world for international days of action April 24 – 26, 2015.

Governor Cuomo of New York has declared a statewide ban on fracking. Local citizen-led initiatives have helped ban fracking in Mendocino and San Benito counties in California; Athens, Ohio; Mora, New Mexico; and Denton, Texas. Communities across the United States and world are saying NO to this environmentally disastrous method of extracting fossil fuels from the land. It is time for City Council, Jim Clinton, Mayor, Jodie Barram, Mayor Pro Tem, Mark Capell, Victor Chudowsky, Doug Knight, Scott Ramsay and Sally Russel to take action and ban fracking in Bend Oregon.

It has been estimated that over a trillion dollars in profits earned by the largest and richest Fortune 500 corporations are being deposited in offshore banks in the Cayman Islands and elsewhere in order to avoid paying U.S, income tax. This deprives the U.S. Treasury of billions of dollars in tax revenue; money that could go toward infrastructure, healthcare, and education.

The popularity and acceptability of torture have soared in the United States and around the world. This is not simply because the United States has tortured. The U.S. government, many of its policies, its wars, and key torture supporters have not seen similar boosts in popularity. A major contributor to torture's improved image has been Hollywood, led by two productions that have popularized the false belief that torture can produce life-saving information. The U.S. Senate report's summary makes clear that torture has not worked in the real world. In fact, torture has generally not been used to stop an imminent attack, and has been used in some cases to compel agreement with lies about Iraqi links to al Qaeda -- lies aimed at starting a war. The fantasy situation in which a torturer knows his victim has life-saving information that cannot be obtained elsewhere, and that his victim won't lie, and that torture will work better than legal interrogation exists only in fiction. But belief in it creates acceptance of torture. Experts agree on this, but people need to hear it from the fictional experts they've heard of for it to seem real to them. People need to hear Keifer Sutherland, star of "24," and Kathryn Bigelow, director of "Zero Dark Thirty," admit that torture does not work in real life. Sutherland and Bigelow don't need to criticize or apologize for their art. They don't need to begin self-censoring. They just need to admit that they are aware of the facts, that torture did not help find Osama bin Laden, that torture has not prevented deaths or destruction -- quite the contrary. U.S. torture has been a recruiting bonanza for anti-U.S. terrorist groups. This fact is trumpted most loudly by defenders of torture and opponents of releasing reports, photos, or videos of what was done. The open secret that we need key public figures to acknowledge is that there's no up-side to weigh against the harm done. On March 1, 2015, the Independent claimed to change everything with this headline: "Revealed: How torture was used to foil al-Qaeda 2010 plot to bomb two airliners 17 minutes before explosion." The claims in the article are not well documented and quite possibly entirely false. There is no evidence that questioning without torture wouldn't have worked as well or better than torturing. The bomb in the story may have been planted in the first place as retaliation for torture. And the serious argument against torture is not "It's just wrong" but that allowing it creates its widespread use and contributes to other brutal policies including war that kill and injure countless people driving forward vicious cycles of violence. Torture creates enemies, causes horrific suffering, and dehumanizes the torturers including those who passively allow it. A torturer cannot know that someone has lifesaving information and is most likely to reveal it under torture. And once we pretend that a torturer might know that, we cannot stop the torturers from torturing large numbers of people. Learn more with: Gareth Porter: How the CIA Covered Up Its Lie on Torture and bin Laden http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/28060-how-the-cia-covered-up-its-lie-on-torture-and-bin-laden Patrick Cockburn: CIA Torture Report: It Didn't Work Then, It Doesn't Work Now http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/torture-it-didnt-work-then-it-doesnt-work-now-9923288.html Donald Canestraro: Experienced Interrogator: Torture Doesn't Work http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/homeland-security/226866-experienced-interrogator-torture-doesnt-work

For too long (over a century) the Federal Reserve Board has been shielded legally from disclosing its financial dealings to "We the People", yet it has sweeping power to tax US citizens and to spend such income in any fashion that it desires, including bailout of "too-big-to-fail" banks, financing its favorite major corporations and "rescuing" other national currencies. Additionally, the Federal Reserve has printed trillions of dollars to intentionally inflate our currency, making our hard-earned money worth less, while it destroys savings and retirement funds. This deliberate attack on middle income Americans continues because Congress also benefits from the availability to "loose money", enabling them to fund pork-barrel projects and thus ensuring their re-election. Although the name "Federal Reserve" appears to give it the appearance of being a real Federal Agency, it is truly NOT a Federal agency, but is a BANKING CARTEL, given a misleading name so as to deceive the American people. Currently, Janet Yellen, the head of the Federal Reserve Board, is leading a campaign aimed at Congress to block any legislation which would require the Federal Reserve to become transparent in its operations. Criminals prefer to operate in secrecy. Truly the Federal Reserve is the largest Ponzi scheme ever devised ... defrauding US citizens of not millions or even billions of dollars, but multiple TRILLIONS of dollars! If Congress will pass a bill that requires a full, publicly available audit of Federal Reserve operations and financial dealings, then the result will be immediate outrage by American citizens at the Fed's massive plunder of our financial system. Once aware, our outage will bring swift reform to the banking industry and likely result in many criminal prosecutions. The House of Representatives has already passed legislation which would require a full audit of the Fed. However, both Republican and Democrat Senators continually kill such bills. Your support of this petition can finally bring an end to the massive looting of our economy by the 1% !!!!

Law Enforcement Is Not Working Well in the USA. Too Many People Being Incarcerated with High Recidivism Rates. Too Many Cops Shooting Suspects, Too Many "Deals" in Prosecution and Sentencing. Too Much Individual Discretion Applied in the Whole Process By Law Enforcement Personnel .

Governor Cuomo of New York has declared a statewide ban on fracking. Local citizen-led initiatives have helped ban fracking in Mendocino and San Benito counties in California; Athens, Ohio; Mora, New Mexico; and Denton, Texas. Communities across the United States and world are saying NO to this environmentally disastrous method of extracting fossil fuels from the land. It is time for [Mayor & City Council or County Supervisors] to take action and ban fracking in [City or County] now.

The 1995 Resource Management Plan (RMP) for the Medford District BLM included a listing of three areas “to be managed for OHV use.” (Off-Highway Vechicles) Thirty-eight characters describe the Timber Mountain/John’s Peak OHV Area (original name; it keeps changing). “Timber Mountain/John’s Peak, 16,250 acres.” Though a table describes these areas as “Limited to existing roads and trails,” the RMP contains no written descriptions of the areas, no maps showing area boundaries, and no maps showing existing trails. Since 1995 the BLM has actively promoted the area, including getting Oregon Parks and Recreation to include it in their recreation materials. Area residents, dealing with trespass, noise, erosion, trash and illegal activity, found BLM totally unresponsive to complaints. BLM maintains the area was designated in 1995 and that BLM lands are “Open unless marked Closed.” An uncontrolled surge of OHV enthusiasts increasingly carved out trails wherever they could, often trespassing on private land. In 2005 BLM began an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process. It wasn’t until 2006 that area residents saw any maps of the area. (In Oregon most BLM lands are every other section of land, making it a checkerboard pattern interspersed with private lands.) More than 1200 area landowners, registered voters all, submitted a petition to BLM requesting the area be removed for OHV use as an “inappropriate area.” BLM released a DRAFT EIS in 2009. It was heavily criticized and no official action has been taken since to manage the situation. Recently, however, BLM issued a Categorical Exclusion (CE), an action that allows them to do work without requiring environmental analysis. The CE provides for the “rehabilitation/restoration” of 92 miles of trail over a period of five years. Some of the trails on the accompanying map don’t even exist. The government has been like an unwelcome cousin that stands at the fence and yells, then invites all his buddies down to your house where they make noise, scorch the countertop, scar the coffee table, and leave behind a bad smell. Enough. This has been going on for twenty years. Please join me in asking Department of the Interior Secretary Sally Jewell to correct this situation. Thank you.