There is no question that the economy of the United Kingdom is in trouble and that excessive government spending and debt have tipped the country in the direction of Greece and Spain. Last month, the International Monetary Fund lowered its 2011 growth forecast for Britain from 2.5 per cent to 2.1 per cent, putting it slightly lower then 2.3 per cent estimate of Her Majesty's Treasury. The rejection of the Labour Party in May, when in garnered only 29 percent of the vote after ruling the country for 13 years, dumped the mess into the lap of a Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government led by the Tories. Yet, this coalition is divided not only between the partner parties but within the Conservatives along what might be called the old Neville Chamberlain-Winston Churchill line. The Daily Telegraph reports that the budget crisis will prompt cuts in the UK military so deep that "that Britain will almost certainly depart the world stage as a major military power...(Read Full Post)