The referendum on the 18th September is the most important decision that the people of Scotland could be asked to make. A great deal is at stake for both sides of the argument, and for the rest of the UK. Many of us believe that much of the Scottish and UK media has treated the Yes Campaign and pro-independence supporters with contempt and outright condescension. This petition is urging BBC Scotland to recognize the importance of giving both sides of the debate an equal opportunity to voice their arguments for and against independence.

This September, historic yet run-down Keir Hardie Hall is being put up for auction. Most people today know it as a working men's club, but it was actually named in 1915 to honour posthumously of one of Britain's lesser known, but arguably most important, statesmen. Keir Hardie was unusual, both in his own era & our own: a politician who rejected the self-interested pursuit of power & money. His life's work was an attempt to bring about equality, justice and freedom for the poor and marginalised: men, women and children, regardless of ethnicity or religion. During the brutal years of the late Victorian era and the early twentieth century, ideas he advocated (universal healthcare; equality for women; universal state education; countries of empire being entitled to national sovereignty; state pensions; decent housing; employment rights & even animal welfare) were largely ridiculed. After the carnage of two world wars, successive governments were able to realise many of them. Ninety-nine years after Hardie addressed his final great anti-war speech to an audience in Norwich, we seem to have come full circle: Many of the benchmarks of late twentieth century civilisation are under threat -both nationally and globally. Ninety-nine years from now they may have been written out of history altogether. Our city, which appears affluent to visitors, is actually blighted by hidden poverty. It's of huge importance that Norwich City Council (run by a Labour majority with a strong Green opposition) acts now to ensure Keir Hardie Hall's historical context is not lost, whilst simultaneously helping to meet our current need for decent, energy-efficient, genuinely affordable, housing for all. Let's give this building a future befitting its past.

Britain has unfinished business in Iraq, from the errors of 1914 to 1932 and the debacle of 2003 to the religious genocide against Christians and other groups right now.

The sight of people crammed into bomb shelters, waiting for the scream of the rocket to pass overhead and praying their country's military defence systems hold strong, is now an everyday occurence in Israel. Yet there are currently active campaigns to weaken those very defences keeping these families alive day after day. A current petition asking the Prime Minister to stop the sales of British-made weapon-parts to Israel has cited the controversial Sayeeda Warsi who called the British policy on the Gaza crisis "morally indefensible". Yet there can be little more morally indefensible than an attempt to withold Israel's means to defend itself against a barrage of rocket attacks from a terrorist organisation with one clear aim - to destroy Israel and kill the entire Jewish population. There are claims that the anti-Israel petition to which we object was sent to over one million people in an email which opens with an evocative description of "men, women and innocent children being killed, injured and driven from their homes" at the hands of Israel. The deaths of so many civilians in Gaza is tragic and heartbreaking. But there is incontrovertible evidence to show that the innocent casualties would have been greatly reduced had Hamas not repeatedly used Palestinian children and civilians as human shields. It is widely accepted that Hamas is using schools and hospitals as rocket launch sites, and there is clear evidence to show that well over a hundred of Hamas' rockets have misfired and landed within Gaza. There is also absolute proof that Israel routinely warns civilians in Gaza ahead of any military attack on the area, by leaflet and telephone. There can be no doubt that responsibility for a great many unnecessary deaths rests within Gaza itself. The petition to which we object has cherry-picked messages only from anti-Israel politicians, like the very worst of the biased, propagandist media. There are many other politicians and respected figures who have spoken up in public support of Israel and who could equally be cited. Ex-Prime Minister and Peace Envoy to the Middle East, Tony Blair said: "If 80 rockets would be fired upon the citizens of Great Britain, no way I wouldn't be taking action. If an Israeli prime minister would fail to take action, people would say that this is unacceptable". What do you think would happen if Israel's weapons were blocked? What would happen if they lost their means to defend themselves from terrorists firing rockets into their country and tunnelling into their towns for the sole purpose of killing as many Israelis as possible? The death count in the Middle East would not be reduced. It would increase. But it would be Israelis dying. Jews instead of Arabs. The frightening and difficult question is whether Jewish deaths seem to be more acceptable to some than Arab deaths. The number of innocent people in Gaza who have been killed is sad and terrible. But the unequal comparison of numbers of Arab deaths versus numbers of Israeli deaths is being manipulated into an indicator of victim versus aggressor. In fact the only reason more Israelis haven't been killed is because of Israel's Iron Dome defence system, which shoots rockets out of the sky. Without their sophisticated defences a huge number of Israelis would have been killed in this current conflict. The frightening fact is that it seems a great many people would be happier if the Israeli death count were in the hundreds or thousands too. Over recent weeks there has been a sharp rise in open and violent anti-semitism across Europe and the rest of the world. This is the issue that campaigning organisations should be tackling. When they choose instead to add fuel to an already out-of-control fire, spreading half-truths and prejudice and adding to the anti-Israel and anti-semitic propaganda filling our newspapers and inboxes, they are contributing to an already volatile and dangerous situation. We therefore urge the Prime Minister to disregard the petition calling for him to withdraw support from Israel. If David Cameron bows to pressure to stop the sale of weapons-parts to Israel, he will be denying the right of the only democratic state in the Middle East to defend itself from terrorist attack. In the words of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: "If the Arabs put down their weapons today, there would be no more violence. If the Jews put down their weapons today, there would be no more Israel." You can contact us at [email protected] Any anti-semitic or threatening emails received will be forwarded to the police as appropriate.

On Sunday the town of Sinjar in Iraq fell to ISIS. This is home to the Yazidi people. (The Yazidi are an ancient people with distinct religious beliefs. Citizens of this religion are peaceful people who acknowledge all principles and humanitarian values and respect all religions,) Many of the people fled to the mountains to escape. They are now surrounded by ISIS, who have cut off any routes of escape. Many are thought to be children. Many have already been killed. We need to offer them support. This is a race against time to help these people. International communities need to act immediately. You can email Philip Hammond here: [email protected] I have set up a just giving page if you can help financially. I have chosen Christian Aid as they are one of the few charities on the ground at the moment. Please visit http://www.justgiving.com/owner-email/pleasesponsor/sally-newing-iraq

War crimes may have been committed, the country need to know the the British government are in no way complicit and condemn such actions.

Healthcare students are at university for a longer period per year than an average student, our terms and academic year are substantially longer for all three years of training. Students completely understand that the government cannot fund them via the student loan once they finish university and therefore will not fund them over the summer after they have taken final exams. However the current standard reduction in the amount available under the student loan of £513 is based on 3 months less funding for students which is not representative for the healthcare student population. For healthcare students this should be a pro-rata reduction, determined by their academic year end date and not the national average. I am a student nurse and my pro rata reduction should be £134 which equates to 3 weeks. My friend is studying physio and her pro rata reduction should be £268.14 which equates to 6 weeks. The reduction in our loan should be directly comparable to how long we spend at University as the current system is inequitable. During my final year I will be placed under increased financial pressure. Rather than increasing the stress of the next generation of healthcare students, why not ensure our transition from student to newly qualified healthcare workers is not plagued by how am I going to pay my rent for the final few months? This rate has been calculated by looking at the full amount a healthcare student (i.e. Nurse, Midwife, OT, SLT, Physio etc.) is entitled to receive per annum in their first and second year from the Student Loan Company (SLC) which is £2324 as a Maintenance Loan. I have then calculated that to be a weekly rate of £44.69. In the final year SLC are offering £1811 which is a reduction of £513 on the previous year. The reduction of £513 equates to a removal of funding for 83 days, about 11 ½ weeks.

It is important that unions play a role in working with providers of Council services so that a living wage is achieved and maintained to lessen the benefit burden on taxpayers.

Dear friends, please take time to read this, I wish for you to be aware of this terrible crime which is often being ignored and kept from the media. It really does affect us all. Killed for Organs: China’s Secret State Transplant Business “It’s being called “abhorrent” and a “crime against humanity.” Allegations of forced organ harvesting in China started to surface in 2006. Since then, mounting evidence suggests these allegations are true—and even worse than originally suspected.”… innocent people are losing their lives, the largest group being the spiritual practice of Falun Gong. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvAOOwvJMZs Here is a useful link:- Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting (DAFOH) aims to provide the medical community and society with objective findings of unethical and illegal organ harvesting. Organ harvesting, the removal of organs from a donor, without obtaining prior free and voluntary consent, is considered a crime against humanity, as well as a threat to medical science in general. www.dafoh.org/petition-to-the-united-nations

The Government’s new Infrastructure Bill removes control over decisions to sell, or develop, publicly owned land from our local Councils. This is our land. It contains a clause ending the rights of local Councils to grant, or deny, planning consent - while cancelling any rights of way or any need to ask the people of England and Wales if they mind losing their; parks, playing fields, allotments or village greens to developers or road and rail builders. The Infrastructure Bill contains a clause which will allow ALL public land to be privatized and Schedule 3 of the Infrastructure Bill states, “the property, rights and liabilities that may be transferred by scheme include … property, rights and liabilities that would not otherwise be capable of being transferred or assigned.” In plain English, this means all preceding regulation, legislation and other protections are null and void. From the government’s perspective, it’s all about speeding up planning decisions and avoiding the delay caused by local ownership in the decision making process. However, this hands even more power to Eric Pickles and his unelected Planning Inspectors to bully and ride 'rough shod' over locally elected Councils and residents. This Government promised a “Localism Agenda”, but is delivering the greatest shift of power from locally elected people to a burgeoning, remote, Central Government since the signing of the Lisbon Treaty. We must not be resigned to the situation - we must insist our voice is heard

This is important because People who are at the end of there life do not need the stress of having to pay for their care. Read more here: http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/jul/02/cancer-care-nhs-outsourcing-ccgs-unison-virgin

Innocent people, particularly children, are being killed in this conflict and a refusal to recognise Palestine as a sovereign state legitimises these killings. Palestine is not a political or ideological football, it is a country that is the home of suffering people.