They discuss one family whose bank loaned them an amount equal to 4 times their income.  What did the bank in question think was going to happen when they lent someone 4 times the amount of money that person earns in a year?  If I earn £12,000 per year (and that’s a BIG ‘if’), would I expect ANYONE to lend me £48,000 per year?  NOOOO!!!!!  I wouldn’t even ask.  But if I DID ask, I would certainly hope my bank has the good sense to say “come on mate, in a year you earn only one QUARTER of what you’re asking to borrow.  How do you expect to pay it back?”

It would be very soon after that interview that I would be aware I wasn’t getting any loan and, point in fact, I shouldn’t have got it anyway so in the long run it will work out better for me and my family of 3+me.

But their bank loaned them it anyway.  My God…

Barclays chief exec earns £63,000 per MONTH. PER MONTH!!!! And the “Big 5″ can’t find enough spare cash to bail out this family of 4 whose bank irresponsibly loaned them 4 times what they could afford to repay.  Or rather they can’t now afford to give 23 students a 3 grand overdraft to get them through until their student loans come through..

I don’t despise RBoS, in fact I think they have some sound paths to follow, if you have 5 grand to throw into an offshore savings account for 8% interest, then you should most defeinitely give it to RBoS to look after for you if you won’t need access to any of that money without 90 days’ notice.

The show’s presenter is now showing off the Aston Martin he bought with his annual bonus but is now going to have a go at the bank execs.  I now feel zero empathy for the Aston driving TV show presenting wanker in his pink shirt and black pants.

I could rant all night about this show (at least for the next 23 minutes anyway, but I don’t think I will.  It’s not like I’m getting paid to do it and since screen 1 of 3 on my desk (2 of 3 being this laptop and 3 of 3 currently being tuned to Sky News) is currently occupied by a particularly awesome Dungeons and Dragons-based computer game that I want to get back to, I’m going to get back to it

Plus, 48 minutes into the show not a single bank exec has agreed to give comment so I think its time to move on.

Please comment openly about your experiences with Britain’s banks. I for one know that just because the wanker at the other end of the phone’s computer says no, that does not mean that the wanker’s computer cannot in fact be made to say “yes” with but a simple command from someone who sits in the centre of the wanker’s work area.

Three sentences for carrying a knife.  Not one, but three.  You can take your pick but one of them you will receive.

If you commit any crime with a knife on your person and are caught, you’ll get 10 years in the system.  If that means you go from a YOI to a full on bad boys’ nick when you turn 18 then that’s your fault.  Take your sentence and take advantage of the opportunities that may be available to you on the inside – 3 meals a day, a room of your own (possibly, I don’t know what the living arrangements are like in the big house).

If you pull a knife during a crime (this includes to throw it away while running) you’ll get 20 years.  That’s the same again.  Oh yes, another ten years of that shit.

If you cut someone (with the exception of giving yourself a life-threatening wound in an attempt to commit suicide) you will receive a mandatory sentence of 35 years to life.  What are you going to do after that?

Think about it.

Inspired by the Florida Department of Corrections 10-20-LIFE gun law

Posted by Adam

This video shows the controlled explosion of the old Scottish & Newcastle bottling plant on Barrack Road, Newcastle, opposite St. James’ Park.

At 9:25am on Sunday, June 22nd, 2008 a siren heralded the final five minutes for this piece of Newcastle’s history. At 9:30 the charges detonated.

Seconds later it was gone.

Posted by Adam