Halifax - pressure selling

Good documentary on tonight summing up the credit crisis in the UK. The episode tonight explains the HBOS fiasco and highlights the fact that staff were given bonus payments based on sales of product (and hence the at the counter pressure to take out a credit card, insurance, or to consider your mortgage options).

Essentially a culture of building up debt with your depositors - it hasn't served them well!

Communications Monitoring

Some of the press this week has covered a monitoring scheme that will cover all e-mail, and mobile communications to be monitored and stored - if the reports are to be believed.

I always used to think the old argument of "well if you've nothing to hide, what do you have to worry about".

That's still true, but what you have to worry about is the money the government will waste in procuring such a system given their track record of IT infrastructure projects. ID cards, NHS, inland revenue, it's a long list.

So I say no on that basis, targeted monitoring yes - not everything that's ever sent. I had this thought as I drove behind a van today that had "I love my country, but fear my government". Yes fear that they will blow your money for no gain!