Surefish.co.uk discussion forum / Surefish.co.uk discussion forums / Current affairs

Haiti Adoption

Mini — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 11:35:04 GMT

Hello,I have been listening/reading about the debate as to whether or not rescuing children and sending them abroad for adoption is a good idea.In the past when children have been rashly adopted away from crisis areas, only to discover their parents are still alive. That is extremely traumatic for all involved. The children, the parents, and the adoptive parents who will have fallen in love with their new family. It is worrying they they are repeating the same patterns.Whilst I am aware these children need immediate help, and temporary foster homes away from the crisis area is a good idea. I am not convinced that permanently removing these children from their homeland, their culture, and the possibility of a life with their extended family is ethical. And I wonder what long lasting legacy the loss of so many children will have on the nation.What do you think?Mini

Charity shops struggling...

Fairtrade Frank — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 10:33:01 GMT

I thought charity shops were doing well, with new ones seemingly popping up in empty shops all over the place.However, donations have been falling for some time. Oxfam received 15% fewer donations in 2009, and that is following a fall of 12% in 2008.To some extent the recession can be blamed for this year's drop, but The Co-operative Group's Ethical Consumerism report clearly identifies "the ebay effect" and the "primark factor" as two major problems for charity shops.Various news stories can be read today, as Oxfam have just released their figures.Selling via ebay is often more convenient and financially worthwhile, and new clothes can be bought very cheaply, and these cheap clothes have a minimal second hand value (if a kid's t-shirt was 99p in the first place, what can you actually sell it for second hand?)Has the charity shop had its day? Are alternative routes of fundraising going to be more effective going forward?I like shopping in charity shops but many people seem to never consider it. I have a relative who considers charity shops as "trampy" but buys bundles of second hand clothes via ebay. I also have sold several "more specialist" items via ebay on 100%-for-charity listings as this advertises the product to a wider audience, and electrical items are tricky for shops to accept. Ebay do allow this for free, but there can still be fees if the buyer uses a credit card to pay.

BNP success in the UK

Fairtrade Frank — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 14:40:59 GMT

So, there are now two BNP MEPs representing the UK.

Seems very sad to me.

Especially given that fewer people have actually voted for the BNP in Yorkshire and North West than 5 years ago.

It is simply because so many people didn't vote that they have been elected. A smaller number of votes becomes a bigger percentage of the vote when most people don't vote.

Our politicians seem to have placed themselves in a position which has helped to make over 26,000,000 people decide not to even bother to vote.

As a result, the BNP have been elected, despite losing support in terms of number of votes.

I guess it may seem difficult for some people to value democracy. I can't imagine that's a view held very widely in Burma, to name just one place amongst many.

Where are you all? :)

NinaF — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 07:51:55 GMT

I havent been on this site for ages and trawling through I realise that no-one has posted since November!!!

Eco - Congregation Churches

maya — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:11:20 GMT

Does anyone belong to a church with eco-congregation status?How did you go about it? How did you get everyone on board?Is it important anyway?