Demutalisation: The Final Chapter

The demise of Bradford & Bingley is the final nail in the coffin of demutalisation.

Abbey National Building Society
Jul 1989 - Demutalised
Dec 2004 - Taken over by Santander

Alliance & Leicester Building Society
Apr 1997 - Demutalised
Sep 2008 - Shareholders agree to be taken over by Santander

Birmingham Midshires Building Society
Apr 1999 - Demtualised and taken over by Halifax, now part of Lloyds TSB.

Bradford & Bingley Building Society
Dec 2000 - Demutalised
Sep 2008 - Part taken over by Santander, the rest nationalised

Bristol & West Building Society
Jul 1997 - Taken over by Bank of Ireland

Cheltenham & Gloucester Building Society
Aug 1995 - Demtualised and taken over by Lloyds, now part of Lloyds TSB.

Halifax Building Society
Jun 1997 - Demtualised
Sep 2008 - Taken over by Lloyds TSB

National & Provinicial Building Society
Aug 1996 - Demtualised and taken over by Abbey National, now part of Santander.

Northern Rock Building Society
Oct 1997 - Demutalised
Deb 2008 - Nationalised

Woolwich Building Society
Jul 1997 - Demutalised
Oct 2000 - Taken over by Barclays

The British retail banking sector is now firmly in the hands of the High Street Cartel: Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds TSB, RBS and Santander.

Fake's Sake

From the people who brought you the fireworks that weren't
The singing girl who wasn't
and
The 16 year old gymnast who wasn't
Comes the fakest space walk, ever

On the 25th September the Xinhua agency, official mouth piece of the Communist Party of China, published a despatch from the "astronauts" describing their first night in space. The article described the Shenzhou VII space craft orbiting the Earth and outlined a conversation between the "astronauts". The article later described the reaction to a successful outcome of the mission. Only one problem though. Shenzhou VII hadn't left Earth yet!

How gullible can you be? Wake up and smell the poisoned baby milk people.

Identity Crisis

First they came for the foreigners,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a foreigner.

Then they came for the airport workers,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't an airport worker.

Then they came for the students,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a student.

Then they came for me,
and there was no one left to speak up for me.

Win, Win

O to be a banker.

You make the right decisions and you are rewarded with billions in bonuses.

You make the wrong decisions and you are handed $1 trillion in taxpayers money.

Nice work, if you can get it!