Just announced this afternoon on a Sunday Northern Rock to be nationalised,
Chancellor Alistair Darling has said.

Probably the the most important financial decision - first nationalisation since the 1970s - and first run on a bank for more than a century. This decision will go down in history as the economic indicator of the era. Northern Rock: is time starting to run out?
(Channel Four news , and a report to watch from last September :the Northern Rock bank run. I think those hedge-funders will be more than a bit miffed.

By the way, not that I'm taking sides, but in the 2005 election only 36% of the Brit population voted for the current government. That's democracy for you.

Don't feel so bad. Imagine how this poor guy felt:
Virtuoso's trip destroys priceless Stradivarius

Some classical links to calm the waters: Music Matters (BBC Radio3) has a spot on the little known Vivaldi's operas (he was more than just the Four Seasons and seductive slow movements. His Tito Manlio is on Tuesday (19 February) at the Barbican Hall. (Try some Haydn operas too, sometime: Haydn the opera composer (BBC Music Magazine) Page 1, Page 2

Or what about a South African version of Mozart's The Magic Flute (The Times article)

CD Review (BBC Radio 3) had a great spot on downloads. Try Linn Records and Gimmell. Or the fantastic historical recordings at Pristine Classical, especially the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto.

And BBC-Later with Jools Holland, has Sheryl Crow vid of God Bless this Mess. She got to hug one of her musical heroine Liza Minnelli who has her London date at the Coliseum, May 27.

Or, 6 days more to listen to Glenn Gould's spoken word radio collages(BBC Radio 4).