Our Granny Peace Brigade Philadelphia circulated a similar petition to celebrate International Human Rights Day on December 10th. I wanted to share this with you.

Since the illegal takeover of power from the then democratically elected government of Sir Dawda Jawara on July 22, 1992 by President Yahya Jammeh, The Gambia has known anything but peace -- Gambia was regarded as "the smiling coast of Africa" by the international community. Therefore, the recent announcement by Jammeh to turn this once beacon of freedom into an Islamic State is a continuation of the abuse of the constitution that has been his Modus Operandi from the onset. What makes this move more alarming than the pervasive killings, disappearances, and tortures of the citizens for all these years is that it is an attempt to change the very character and history of The Gambia. Sharia could become the law of the land, the already traumatized Christian and other religious minorities could be pushed further into isolation, the country’s pariah State status will be further worsened. All these circumstances will only allow for far worse human rights abuses than we have already witnessed, and the country can erupt into a violence that could threaten the entire sub-region. In light of these potential dire consequences, We the citizens and friends of The Gambia, hereby make the following declarations: -Because this action is unconstitutional, it will not be done in our name -Because this could encourage Boko Haram and ISIS type organizations to use Gambia as a base, we are totally opposed to it -Because Gambia is a Secular State, any religious interference into state matters will compromise the core principle of Separation of Church/Mosque and State that this country was founded on -Because this action will only worsen the human rights abuses that have been pervasive in this country, it cannot be accepted -Because the minority Christians and people of other faiths will see it as an effort to further isolate them, it will only divide our people. That makes it unacceptable -Because President Yahya Jammeh's pronouncement is unconstitutional and does not represent the core values of Gambians who have inter-generational relations between Christians, Muslims and Pagans, this will breed divisiveness within those sects.

Democratic Senator Tim Kaine is renewing his push for Congress to debate and vote on an authorization for the use of military force against ISIS, the Washington Post reports. [1] “The British Parliament, the French National Assembly, the German Bundesrat and even the Duma in Russia, for God’s sake, are having a debate and having a vote,” Sen. Kaine told the Post. “The spotlight is getting bigger and bigger on congressional inaction and indifference.” President Obama called for Congress to vote in his Oval Office address. But Congress has refused to vote. “They want to criticize the president, but if they can avoid voting to authorize or stop him … then they feel they can be completely scot-free and they’re not going to be held accountable,” said Sen. Kaine. Urge Congress to debate and vote on an authorization of force against ISIS by signing our petition. References: 1. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2015/12/14/the-daily-202-tim-kaine-possible-hillary-running-mate-is-madder-than-ever-congress-hasnt-declared-war-on-isis/

Definition of DISCRIMINATION for Kids: the practice of unfairly treating a person or group differently from other people or groups of people. In my experience kids have no trouble understanding this definition, but it seems our representatives sometimes struggle with believing and upholding it. This is exactly what the Visa Waiver Program “Improvement” Act of 2015, known as H.R 158, will do if we do not take immediate action. It will subject millions of law abiding American citizens to be treated with suspicion and be subjected to hardships in exercising their basic rights such as traveling abroad. Debate and media exposure about H.R 158 has been very limited. Under the shadow of the Paris Climate Summit , the issue has not captured enough attention and has not had solid public debates . The bill, as early as next week, could become the law. We have to act now. I am asking the MoveOn members to read and carefully consider the negative impact of H.R 158 on millions of our fellow citizens. Then, contact your senators and let them know that such thoughtless measures do not improve the security of our country, but further divide our society. In case H.R 158 comes to pass next week, a new chapter in violation of civil liberties of many of our fellow citizens will open, which subsequently will require many struggles to rectify. White House web site: https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/take-action-against-discriminatory-repercussions-visa-waiver-program-improvement-act-2015-hr-158

On December 8, the House voted to tighten the Visa Waiver Program that lets people from certain countries travel to the U.S. without first obtaining a visa. Democrats Mike Honda, Barbara Lee, John Conyers, Jan Schakowsky, Raul Grijalva, and Keith Ellison were among the Democrats who voted no [1], citing discriminatory and overbroad provisions, and the lack of a time limit on these provisions. Rep. Honda said that he voted against this bill “because it unjustly targets individuals based on their nationality" and that he could not "vote for a bill that categorically bars access to the Visa Waiver Program for dual nationals of Iraq, Syria, Sudan, and Iran and people who have traveled in the last 5 years to Iraq and Syria, including humanitarian workers…Under this bill, a French citizen of Syrian descent who has never been to Syria would still fall into this blanket category.” [2] Rep. Lee said she shares “the concerns of the ACLU, AILA, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and others that this bill would allow for the discrimination of individuals based on their nationality." [3] Rep. Conyers said, "I believe the provisions in the legislation restricting the use of the visa waiver program to individuals who have traveled to Syria or Iraq or are dual nationals of these or other covered nations – are discriminatory…I also believe the provision should have included a sunset date so we can assess its efficacy." [4] Like Rep. Conyers, the ACLU has called for the discriminatory provisions of the legislation to have a sunset provision [5], meaning that they would expire and have to be reconsidered and reauthorized to remain in force - just like the Patriot Act, passed after the September 11 attacks, had a sunset provision so it would have to be reconsidered. Likewise, every major Democratic proposal for an authorization for the use of force against ISIS, including President Obama's proposal [6], has a sunset provision, so that it could not continue indefinitely without Congress having to reconsider it. It is very likely that some version of the bill will be included in the omnibus spending package expected to be passed by December 18. Urge President Obama and Congress to sunset the nationality-based restrictions of the visa waiver reform bill by signing our petition. References: 1. http://bigstory.ap.org/article/326f7ca541d945259e5cff4031264201/house-roll-call-visa-waiver 2. http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2015/12/08/30868/ 3. http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2015/12/08/30868/ 4. http://democrats.judiciary.house.gov/press-release/statement-honorable-john-conyers-jr-hr-158-visa-waiver-program-improvement-and 5. http://www.politico.com/story/2015/12/obama-visa-waiver-changes-backlash-215875; https://www.aclu.org/letter/aclu-letter-house-re-visa-waiver-program-improvement-and-terrorist-travel-prevention-act-2015 6. http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/03/11/senators-split-on-obamas-war-powers-authorization

On November 14, countries of the International Syria Support Group meeting in Vienna, including the United States, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Iran, agreed to push for political negotiations between opposition forces and representatives of the government of President Bashar al-Assad by January 1, to be followed by an immediate, UN-monitored cease-fire. [1] The next session of the international Syria peace talks is tentatively scheduled for Dec. 18, possibly in New York City. [2] As Secretary of State Kerry has said, the ceasefire between the Syrian government and opposition groups backed by Saudi Arabia and Turkey will significantly strengthen international efforts to confront ISIS. [3] Urge President Obama to pursue, and Congress to support, all diplomatic tools to ensure the implementation of a ceasefire in Syria by January 1 by signing our petition. References: 1. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/paris-attacks-overshadow-meeting-of-global-leaders-on-syria/2015/11/14/5e2eb89a-8ac2-11e5-9a07-453018f9a0ec_story.html; http://www.un.org/undpa/Speeches-statements/14112015/syria 2. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/02/world/middleeast/new-peace-talks-on-syria-could-be-held-this-month.html 3. http://bigstory.ap.org/article/498cf8d5a3384728af0eaa449e366867/kerry-paris-consult-french-leaders-attack

In mid-November, the Obama administration quietly announced a $1.29 billion deal to sell 19,000 laser-guided and general purpose bombs to Saudi Arabia, to resupply its controversial bombing campaign against Houthi rebels in Yemen. In addition, a separate sale of $380 million of U.S. JDAM bomb guidance kits was also approved for the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which is part of the Saudi-led military coalition. More than 1,000 civilians have been killed by Saudi air strikes since the war began in March, adding to the overall death toll of 5,300 people killed in the war. Thousands of houses have been destroyed in rebel-held areas, and 1.4 million people are now internally displaced. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International oppose the international resupply of the Saudi military coalition to continue the air war. The two groups have documented many air strikes that fail to discriminate between civilians and combatants. For example, Saudi bombs were dropped on a school, two wedding parties, in crowded markets where no military targets are present, and on a hospital operated by MSF/Doctors Without Borders. The Saudi government has refused requests by Human Rights Watch and other groups to investigate these and other specific incidents where civilians were killed. Under U.S. law, Congress has 30 days to pass legislation to reject the two arms sales. It can also act to terminate the sales at any point up to the point of delivery.

Students of the University of Florida have felt this impact of the Syrian refugee crisis on a personal level. Many students within the Arab Students' Association have friends and family in Syria that are being put in danger or have already lost their lives due to circumstances on the ground there. Instead of shutting off our borders due to largely unfounded fears of terrorism, we should increase the United States' intake of Syrian refugees and welcome these refugees with love and compassion.

On Sunday, November 29th, CBS' Face the Nation broadcast a program to their 3 million viewers focused on foreign policy. Host John Dickerson interviewed three Republican presidential candidates as well as Sen. John McCain about Middle East foreign policy and followed that with a debate of some of the issues with a panel of “experts”. Yet, the panel had hardly any diversity of opinion, only different shades of hawkish ideology. As Glenn Greenwald noted, “All of the panelists...were vocal, aggressive advocates of the invasion of Iraq”. [1] So it is unsurprising that no panelist challenged the claim that US military escalation is necessary to resolve the Syrian crisis; indeed, the “debate” partially focused on the obstacles in convincing the American people that intervention is the right path. [2] There are qualified war skeptic, pro-diplomacy experts that Face the Nation could invite to challenge interventionists and, thereby, give the American people both sides. For example, Rep. Jim Himes, who serves on the House Intelligence Committee and initiated a letter with 54 other members of Congress supporting the Obama administration's diplomatic efforts to end the Syrian war, would be a great choice. [3] Urge Face the Nation to invite war-skeptic, pro-diplomacy experts to discuss diplomatic solutions to the Syria crisis by signing our petition. References: 1. https://theintercept.com/2015/11/29/what-debate-means-on-face-the-nation/ 2. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/face-the-nation-transcripts-november-29-2015-carson-bush-mccain-and-graham/ 3. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/rep-jim-himes--54-house-d_b_8222622.html; http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/to-help-syrians-back-real_b_8474446.html

Reporters Without Borders [RSF] is calling on Western governments to demand that the Turkish government release Cumhuriyet editor Can Dündar and Erdem Gül, his Ankara bureau chief, who are being prosecuted for reporting on alleged arms smuggling to Syria by Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization. [1] The Guardian reports that the two face lengthy jail sentences. “If these two journalists are imprisoned, it will be additional evidence that the Turkish authorities are ready to use methods worthy of a bygone age in order to suppress independent journalism in Turkey,” said RSF secretary general Christophe Deloire. [2] Urge President Obama and Members of Congress to demand that the Turkish government free these two journalists by signing our petition. References: 1. http://en.rsf.org/turkey-eu-urged-to-press-erdogan-to-free-27-11-2015,48596.html 2. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/27/turkish-journalists-charged-over-claim-that-secret-services-armed-syrian-rebels

This is simply the politics of fear run rampant by Republican posturing: By encouraging the people to cringe before the threat theoretically posed by the possibility of a few terrorists being admitted, it threatens to reverse over two hundred years of both compassionate aid to afflicted people and loyalty to democratic values. Worse yet, it gives the terrorists exactly the fearful response they want, thus encouraging more and larger terrorism and other countries to follow our pathetic example. It diminishes America’s standing to lead in meaningful action against terrorism, while increasing the likelihood we will be driven into a violent alternative, already being pushed by leading Republicans, another useless and endless American war in the Middle East. If ISIS should kill tens, hundreds or even thousands in more of their fanatical attacks, we must remember that we have weathered such brutality before, and we don’t need to encourage it with this weakness, especially not in a bill that does nothing to prevent it. What we should be doing is helping the downtrodden and taking meaningful action against the terrorists by greatly increasing the speed and scope of admitting refugees, while working to create a worldwide alliance to remove the funding, communication and territory of terrorists. France, which was the victim of the act that is the excuse for this bill, responded with continued compassion for the refugees along with firm action to find the terrorists. Finland, Greece, Canada, and Germany, among many others, are working to take in more of these unfortunates, not fewer, and certainly not none, which is the real point of this selfish nationalism. They wisely see that helping refugees is not only a moral obligation but that courageous and intelligent people like these are an asset to a country, as refugees have always been to ours. Tragic as the consequences of this bill are to refugees, to Americans, and to people who look to the United States for principled leadership, perhaps more tragic is the corrosion of the American spirit, by this cynical stimulation of fear in crass political calculation. Unfortunately this is the same calculation that led the Republican party to oppose extension of health care insurance, protection of the environment, rebuilding the crumbling infrastructure, increasing employment, raising the minimum wage, controlling firearms, reforming taxes, protecting unions, guarding voter rights, and providing safe banks, food, and drugs—in fact just about every attempt to protect the American people since 1933. Whether the issue is immigrants, fair taxes, government regulations, unemployment, or voter fraud, the Republican party always tells us to be afraid of something, and the object is always political gain for them, more wealth for the one percent, or both. Senate Democrats, you have an extraordinary opportunity to give this bill a disciplined rejection, demanding answers to issues raised and throwing inevitable misleading counter-attacks. Let the debate begin!

It's bad enough that the Export-Import Bank is corporate welfare, crony capitalism supported by Members of Congress in exchange for campaign contributions from the corporations that benefit from this taxpayer-funded subsidy. But now some Members of Congress are trying to attach a provision to the re-authorization of the Export-Import Bank that would promote Israeli settlements in the West Bank [1], which former US peace envoy [2] Martin Indyk has acknowledged are the key obstacle to a diplomatic resolution of the Israel-Palestine conflict. The Obama Administration is opposed to Congress passing such pro-settlement provisions. Urge Members of Congress to oppose attaching pro-settlement provisions to re-authorization of the Ex-Im Bank, and to oppose re-authorization of the Ex-Im Bank if pro-settlement provisions are attached, by signing our petition. References: 1. http://www.politico.com/story/2015/11/export-import-bank-israel-palestinians-216165 2. http://www.timesofisrael.com/indyk-settlement-freeze-would-make-abbas-a-peace-partner-tomorrow/