Asda and Tesco withdraw Halloween patient outfits
Supermarket chains Tesco and Asda have withdrawn two Halloween outfits after they were criticised for stigmatising people with mental health issues. Both stores apologised for any offence caused and agreed to make donations to the mental health charity, Mind. The charity which complained that such costumes 'fuel' stigma, will receive £25,000 from Asda. Tesco has not said how much it will donate. The £20 Asda outfit included ragged clothing, fake blood, a mask and a fake meat cleaver while Tesco's orange boiler suit came with a plastic jaw restraint and offered to ‘complete the look’ with a machete. Online retailer Amazon had also advertised the ‘psycho ward’ outfit, but later said the costume was ‘not available’. A Tesco spokesperson said: ‘We're really sorry for any offence this has caused and we are removing this product from sale.’
National day of prayer about abortion
A National Day of Prayer about abortion is held each year on 27th October, the anniversary of the passing of the Abortion Act. When the Act was passed 47 years ago assurances were given that abortion would be limited to a small number of exceptional cases. Now we have virtually abortion on demand. In 2013 202,577 babies were aborted in England, Wales and Scotland - on average, 555 each day. 98% of all abortions were ‘social abortions’ and more than one quarter of these were repeat abortions.
Shocking divisions between rich and poor in UK
Many perceive the distribution of wealth in the UK to be more equal than it actually is. For 30 years the gap between the rich and the rest has widened and the trend shows no sign of slowing. The share of income going to the top 1% has doubled from 6% to 14%. If this growth continues at its current rate we are heading towards Victorian extremes in 20 years. The UK has the fourth highest level of inequality after Mexico, the US and Israel. Owners of multi-million-pound homes in central London (often the international super-rich) seem to live in a different world from those hit by the bedroom tax. However both are part of the same social fabric. The unequal society is driven by a more interlinked world economy keeping down wages at the bottom of the income scale so that working people compete with low-wage economies internationally.
David Cameron courting tycoons - despite anti-lobbying bill
According to recently leaked documents seen by the Guardian and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, representatives of big business rubbed shoulders with senior politicians at a ‘black and white’ ball in February. David Cameron and other top politicians dined with billionaire donors at a dinner costing £1,000 per head. Among the guests were executives of a highly controversial doorstep lending firm criticized for soliciting retired elderly people and who had donated more than £25,000 to the party in the past three years. The first donation came when the government was being encouraged to regulate payday loan companies. Property tycoons and a Ukrainian energy boss also attended the event. The leak comes following accusations that Mr Cameron backtracked on his pledge to clean up politics by getting rid of giant company lobbying. Last year a network of bankers, businesspeople and lobby groups attended a Conservative fundraising dinner costing £12,000 per person.
