www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/08/14/nclown114.xml

Tesco bans clown from using balloons

Last Updated: 2:39am BST 14/08/2007


A children's entertainer has been banned by Tesco from using balloons during his act in one of their stores.

Barney Baloney, the clown, usually twists them into animal shapes and hands them to children. But Tesco has told the 47-year-old, also known as Tony Turner, to keep the balloons in his pocket and entertain children with what is left of his act.

Mr Turner, who was booked for a five-hour show at Tesco's Crossgates Centre store in Leeds, had to rely on magic, puppets, juggling and an emu costume to keep the children amused.

He has already been forced to stop using a bubble-making machine after being refused public liability insurance because insurers said the bubbles might cause the children to slip and hurt themselves. "At this rate I will have no act left," Mr Turner, from Sheffield, said. A Tesco spokesman said: "This is a health and safety issue.

"We have banned balloons because latex is used in the manufacture of them and this can trigger an allergic reaction in some children. We always have the welfare of children at heart."

I'm glad I didn't grow up with all this Bull Shit around.

Let's ban the UK.....for the children of course.

This is a snap shot of what is in store for us.

Max

Quoted: This is a snap shot of what is in store for us. Max

I'm as pessimistic as hell about the future of our country but we'll never sink so freaking low.

Quoted: Quoted: This is a snap shot of what is in store for us. Max I'm as pessimistic as hell about the future of our country but we'll never sink so freaking low.

http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/Spa/6889/banthem.htm (left cold)

Below is a letter I wrote to send to my daughter's school principal in hopes of making some progress banning latex balloons in the school. Feel free to use it, but do alter it to your situation and re-word where possible. I included a couple of hospital policies concerning latex balloons, a NIOSH alert, and the JAMA article on the choking hazards of balloons.

Month Day, Year

Principal's Name
School Name
Street Address
City, State, Zip Code

Dear <insert principal's name>,

My daughter/son, <child's name> has attended Early Childhood classes at Unnamed Elementary School for the past year and four months and will attend again this coming fall. She has several educational and health issues which are addressed in her IEP and her IHP (Individualized Health Plan), including a natural rubber latex allergy. However, there is one major concern I have that cannot be addressed by either the members of the M-Team or the school nurse: the use of latex balloons within the school.

There are two reasons I believe rubber latex balloons should not be allowed at Unnamed Elementary School. First, the powder contained within a latex balloon places my daughter and the other latex-allergic children in school at significant risk for anaphylactic shock. Second, a latex balloon is a serious choking hazard for all children, including teenagers.

Latex balloons are dangerous for people with natural rubber latex allergy because they contain large amounts of the allergen protein, but mainly because they also contain powder which absorbs the latex proteins. When a balloon is inflated, deflated, popped, or played with, this powder is free to contaminate the air, even flowing through the school’s ventilation system. If a latex-allergic individual like <child's name> inhales the powder into her lungs, respiratory distress and/or anaphylactic shock can occur. Airborne latex powder can also sensitize students and faculty into developing a latex allergy.

According to an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA 1995;274:1763-1766), latex balloons are responsible for more choking deaths than any other non-edible object. Even though they know that children tend to put balloons in their mouths, parents and teachers are often unaware that once a balloon fragment has conformed to a child’s airway, it is very difficult to dislodge it with the Heimlich Maneuver simply because balloons are designed to hold air.

I have enclosed a few articles on the dangers of latex balloons for you to read. I welcome a chance to meet with you to discuss this issue. Please contact me at the address, phone number, or email address above. If you would like to speak with <child's name, possessive> allergist, Dr. So Enso, you may call him at (555) 555-5555.

Sincerely,

<Insert Parent's name>

Enc: <Number of enclosures or articles included here>

cc: <Recipients of copies here>

Quoted: I'm glad I didn't grow up with all this Bull Shit around.

+1000

Funny how we were able to, eh?

Quoted: Second, a latex balloon is a serious choking hazard for all children, including teenagers.

Only to those that use said latex balloon to smuggle coke back from Mexico...

Kharn

This is too much!  Maybe this is the answer

Clowns are evil..

Quoted: [Sincerely, <Insert Parent's name> Enc: <Number of enclosures or articles included here> cc: <Recipients of copies here>

The woman that wrote that socialist garbage is 41 and has 2 special needs children.  So her children, which through no fault of their own (not sure about Mom) were born handicapped.  Now she is trying to force the vast marjority of children to conform to her 2, I am sorry to say, abnormal children's world.

Stupid bitch.  Stop trying to make others change THEIR lives for the sake of yours.  Fuck you fuck you fuck you.

Wow.... this has gone too far.  Maybe it will get so ridiculous that children will start using their imagination again.