On September 28, at least 131 civilians, including at least 80 women, were killed at a wedding reception in Yemen in an airstrike by the Saudi-led military coalition. The US is providing the coalition with intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and logistics information. With innocent Yemeni civilians, including thousands of Yemeni-Americans, still caught in the middle of this war, the coalition’s airstrikes should be held to the same standards for protecting civilians as any US military operation should be. According to Amnesty International, more than 2,100 civilians, including at least 400 children, have been killed in the conflict, with the “vast majority” of civilian deaths and injuries attributed to attacks by the Saudi-led coalition. More than 1.4 million people have been displaced; 12.9 million are considered food insecure; more than 1.2 million children are suffering from moderate acute malnutrition. Thousands are fleeing Yemen every week; experts warn that tens of thousands of Yemenis could join the waves of refugees seeking asylum in Europe if the conflict is not resolved soon. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has called for an “end to bombings” in Yemen and has said there is no military solution to this conflict. Diplomatic action, including sustained engagement with Iran, is the only way to end the hostilities, reverse the humanitarian crisis on the ground, and protect more innocent lives from reckless airstrikes. Urge your Representative in Congress to sign the Dingell-Ellison letter [1] to President Obama to urge greater efforts to protect civilians from US-assisted airstrikes in Yemen and greater diplomatic efforts to end the Yemen war by signing our petition. References: 1. http://fcnl.org/issues/middle_east/support_letter_expressing_concerns_of_growing_civilian_death_toll_in_yemen_airstrikes/

The fact that the US military could continue to bomb the hospital even after MSF staff informed them it was happening makes the US responsible. It's high time US taxpayers held the military to account for its reckless and in this case disastrous actions.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is joining with Republican warmongers like Carly Fiorina to call for the U.S. to impose a “no-fly zone” in Syria. Despite the innocuous-sounding name, these proposals for a “no-fly zone” are proposals for dangerous U.S. military escalation against Russia, Iran, and the Syrian government. [1] President Obama has rightly called Republican proposals for “no-fly zones” and “humanitarian corridors” in Syria “half-baked” “mumbo jumbo.” [2] Senator Bernie Sanders is standing with President Obama and against Hillary Clinton in opposition to these “half-baked” proposals for military escalation. “We must be very careful about not making a complex and dangerous situation in Syria even worse,” Sanders said, warning that a no-fly zone in Syria "could get us more deeply involved in that horrible civil war and lead to a never-ending U.S. entanglement in that region.” [3] Urge Congress to stand with President Obama and Senator Sanders against dangerous U.S. military escalation in Syria by signing our petition. References: 1. http://news.yahoo.com/clinton-fiorina-push-no-fly-zone-syria-really-175553001.html 2. http://news.yahoo.com/obama-challenges-clinton-other-2016-candidates-syria-041535856.html 3. http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/10/03/bernie-sanders-sides-with-obama-and-against-clinton-on-no-fly-zone-in-syria/

As you know, the Syrian refugee crisis is unprecedented in recent history. The United States for long has been a destination of the oppressed and those fleeing persecution based on their religion, sect or nationality. As America welcomed oppressed peoples of years past, let America welcome the oppressed peoples of today. Will you welcome Syrian refugees to Ann Arbor?

On September 29th, 55 House Democrats led by Connecticut Democrat Jim Himes sent a letter to President Obama calling for international talks, including with Russia and Iran, to end the Syrian civil war. [1] As Rep. Himes said on the House floor the next day: “The only real solution in Syria...is for the international community, all of the players that have a stake and influence in Syria, to come together today to begin the process of working out an international agreement, the terms of which will undoubtedly be uncomfortable for us, but an agreement that will bring an end to the civil war...Until we do that, we will simply be managing chaos.”[2] Urge Senators to join with Rep. Himes in supporting international talks, including Russia and Iran, to end the Syrian civil war by signing our petition. References: 1. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/rep-jim-himes--54-house-d_b_8222622.html 2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myg2C3fT3uI

We, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), under the leadership of Nnamdi Kanu, are compelled to call for a total boycott of British-Nigeria and her murderous president Muhammadu Buhari because British-Nigeria is a rogue terrorist state that tramples on every conceivable human rights, particularly, the rights of the beleaguered people of Biafra and IPOB—the organization of Biafrans agitating for freedom from the wicked British-Nigeria contraption and edifice of genocide. Buhari is an avowed Islamist, genocidist, tribalist, and unabashed Boko Haramist. Buhari is terrorizing Biafrans—an indigenous people forced against their wish to remain in British-Nigeria—because they are exercising their United Nations Rights of Indigenous Peoples to self-determination. He has been killing, terrorizing, and mounting roadblocks; abducting, beating, shooting and incarcerating unarmed Biafrans who are peaceably agitating to be free from marginalization and genocide; thus, breaking International Law and violating the United Nations Charter on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples of which British-Nigeria is a co-signatory. Buhari has committed genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity and ought not to be embraced by other world leaders. He should be at International Criminal Court (ICC) and not at United Nations. We call on the civilized nations of the world to Boycott President Muhammadu Buhari and British-Nigeria before it is too late. Thank you. Please see detailed explanation at http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-1273646 Tell your friends on Facebook: SHARE ON FACEBOOK

Military aid provided through Plan Merida is used to repress social movements, indigenous groups and students throughout Mexico. Every Mexican has a close relative or friend or acquaintance that has been affected physically and economically by militarization. Without addressing the core issues pertaining to drug consumption in the United States, Plan Merida only enriches arms companies in the U.S. at the expense of the civilian population on both sides of the border.

The Syrian civil war has dragged on for four years, killing hundreds of thousands, creating millions of refugees, and displacing millions of people within the country. The refugee crisis has been an immense challenge to governments in the Middle East and is now affecting Europe and the United States. To resolve the Syrian refugee crisis, the U.S. should use all diplomatic tools to press for a negotiated end to the Syrian civil war. Rep. Jim Himes [D-CT] is circulating a letter to President Obama in support of international negotiations to end the conflict, stabilize the country, allow refugees to return home, transition to an accountable government and defeat ISIL. This is a rare opportunity to press Members of Congress to take a public stand to support serious diplomatic efforts to end the Syrian civil war. Urge your Representative to sign this important letter led by Rep. Himes by signing our petition.

“A destruction, an annihilation that only man can provoke, only man can prevent.” -Elie Wiesel 50 million people are currently displaced by conflict around the world. Responding to displacement has required spending billions to support life-saving humanitarian assistance and other cost-intensive interventions. The crisis in Syria is a stark example. Four years of conflict have resulted in the deaths of over 200,000 civilians, a crushed economy, and the biggest refugee crisis since World War II. Experts estimate that even if the war ends tomorrow, it will take 40 to 50 years for Syria’s economy to recuperate. Yet, in this context, the Atrocities Prevention Board (APB), the only high-level U.S. body focusing on preventing genocide and mass atrocities, is at risk of being dismantled. Founded in 2012, the APB has facilitated vital information-sharing between government agencies and helped the US respond to crises in Burundi and Central African Republic. Without Congressional authorization, the APB risks abolishment by the next presidential administration, regardless of party. Now, more than ever before, it is vital that the U.S. invest in genocide and atrocity prevention. As we have seen in Darfur, South Sudan, and Syria, we are in vital need of prevention mechanisms to save lives before conflict escalates. As we reflect on the lives lost in conflicts such as Armenia and Namibia at the beginning of the 20th century, the Holocaust in the 1940s, Rwanda and Bosnia in the 1990s, and those living with the consequences of such atrocities today, we commit ourselves to fighting for a world without genocide and mass atrocities. We urge Congress to support the swift and uninhibited institutionalization of the Atrocities Prevention Board. The U.S. has been a leader in the fight to end genocide -- we must continue to lead on this vital bipartisan issue, lest more lives be sacrificed as we fail to prevent.

While neighboring countries in the Middle East and The EU have reluctantly taken in refugees, they often find themselves in either inhumane conditions or stuck in the bureaucratic web of Europe's immigration debate . No one is better equipped to assist the Syrian people more than The United States of America. Our nation has a singular tradition of support and opportunity for all those seeking a better life, be it temporary or permanent. We have the heart, and we have the resources. Our nation's citizens are good people and will help in every way we can. Our country has proven it's heart time and time again, and now at this most crucial moment we should answer the call once more.

Maryland Senator Ben Cardin was one of only four Senate Democrats who voted against the Iran nuclear agreement. [1] Reports from Washington have indicated that Senator Cardin plans to introduce new legislation on Iran soon that could undermine the agreement. [2] In the past, opponents of diplomacy with Iran have tricked Senators into becoming original co-sponsors of anti-diplomacy bills -- before the bills were introduced and subject to public scrutiny -- by claiming that the bills were not anti-diplomacy. Urge your Senators not to become an original co-sponsor of Cardin's secret Iran bill by signing our petition. References: 1. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/senate-roll-call-vote-iran-nuclear-deal-33671047 2. http://livableworld.org/cardin-draft-iran-bill-undermining-white-house-diplomacy-and-opportunity-to-head-off-iranian-nuclear-capacity/ http://www.lobelog.com/inside-cardins-anti-iran-deal-legislation/

I am not directly affected by this petition except that I am a human being and I feel the pain other humans are suffering. For this reason I simply cannot quiet my conscience and go about my life without thinking about the terrible circumstances and the suffering of these people