uk science...
i'm in uk academia, and we were recently sent this...
http://www.stfc.ac.uk/stfcconsultation/sources/STFC_PR2008.pdf
it's what the STFC values as its high and low priority items for scientific research.
i'm going to ignore the fact that £80M is a small amount for the gov to bail out considering Northern Rock etc, just take a look at what they value.
for those who want a summary, the 'Advanced LIGO' is high priority
whereas the LSF, or 'Lasers for Science Facility' is Low Priority (basically means it's canned).
LIGO is looking for gravitational waves, which scientifically are an unproven theory, and so esoteric that they border on useless even if they are found.
LSF is the only facility in the UK giving any researcher access to high quality Lasers for plasma research, biological research (confocal etc.), optical tweezers.... the list goes on.
its not just radio astronomy that's getting destroyed, it's just about anything of tangible scientific value.
but if you research black holes or create a business plan that buys bad debt, you'll have money thrown your way whether you're right or wrong.
Anonymous, because guess who pays my wages.