A couple of points to ponder..
Economists are estimating that more than 30 thousand Brits will declare insolvency before the end of February, prompted for the most part, by Christmas spending. This, while British banks are coming more and more under attack by their own customers, who are finally rebelling against the usurous rates charged for a returned direct debit.. returned cheques.. excess overdrafts..
There is no more profitable business in this country than banking, again, their profits boosted to an amazing degree by the charges customers pay for the length of time a deposit takes to actually appear in your account.
To wit, if you deposit a £1 thousand cheque on a Monday, and make a direct debit withdrawal on that deposit on Thursday, it will be returned and you'll be hit with up to a £45 charge, even though the funds are in the banks own system. It could be the following Tuesday or Wednesday, before that £1 thousand deposit is actually in your account, and until it is, all withdrawals against it will be refused, and you will be charged.
Idiotic.
And while this subject will be discussed further, it has come to the attention of the British banking public, that such charges are, in fact, illegal.. Several cases have been settled out of Court, with the customer having 'service charges' returned in full, usually with a 'gift' from the Bank itself, to effectively keep your mouth shut..

Also, the situation developing in Iraq is indicating what amounts to a 'need' for American troops to be withdrawn.. There are growing movements both in the States, and in Iraq itself, for occupation forces to withdraw..
And this, while the Iraqi Prime Minister has announced that he will not run for a second term, and in fact, would wish his current term would end as soon as possible..
Does not bode well for the stability of the region.. Once again, the US and Britain have found themselves involved in a conflict that was so badly mismanaged, that it is certainly now un-winnable..
It's going to be an exceedingly hard job for the Allies to shake the dust of Iraq off their feet, and have any hope of leaving a stable situation behind them..
It has been a matter of some concern, that the 3 thousandth American serviceman has died in this 'war'.. and little hope to offer the voting public that that number won't grow significantly.
George's plans are to send some 20 thousand more troops into Baghdad and area.. and at this point one must ask, 'to what end?'.
The best think about beating your head against a brick wall.. is stopping..