"Aren't dreams fragile?"

Even although the Bradford & Bingley has now been nationalised after falling apart like so many other financial institutions recently I notice that they are still running adverts on the TV, the ones which replaced their old 'Mr Bradford and Mr Bingley' chaps in their bowler hats with a more modern look and a rather cute actress in a bowler who exclaims "aren't dreams fragile?" Seems like the bank was even more fragile... Presumably they have time slots for their ads booked in advance but it still seems odd to see adverts running for a bank that's just failed as if everything were business as usual. The whole financial mess these idiots have gotten themselves into - and the rest of us with them - is getting scarier day by day. Personally I am preparing for the final entire meltdown of the Western financial system by keeping some small pigs under my bed to use for barter when money becomes valueless.

Meantime I note David 'lot of talk, no actual policies' Cameron at the Tory conference going on about who encouraged the living beyond our means society which lead to huge amounts of personal debt that has contributed to the mess? He meant the current government, of course, and while they have some responsibility I think richboy Cameron is being a bit selective - I seem to recall that it was a Tory government in the 80s which first really kick-started and encouraged the idea of living on easy credit, but I don't see him mentioning that. And of course the history of living on credit and debt goes right back to prosecuting foreign wars, most notably fighting the French, as a way to finance foreign policy. Which reminds me, I wonder how many billions we've poured down foreign adventures in the last few years (to say nothing of the awful human cost), which can't really have helped our economic health either, can it?