Germany casts serious doubt on UK's economic plan

Sure there's a lot I'd like to talk about here. We haven't talked about the economic meltdown yet, and I saw this item on BBC news last night complete with the usual moronic indignation of the reporter that such outrageous criticism should be leveled against our benign and brilliant government, and who we should all presumably be rallying around:

Daily Mail: "Britain and Germany were locked in a full-blown diplomatic crisis today as Gordon Brown was forced to defend his economic masterplan from a surprise attack by the German finance minister.

In scornful comments that angered Downing Street, Peer Steinbrueck derided the PM's fiscal stimulus as 'crass Keynesianism' that would saddle Britons with debt for a generation. He went on to ridicule the 2.5 per cent cut in VAT, which was the headline anti-slump measure in Alistair Darling's recent pre-Budget report.

'Are you really going to buy a DVD player because it now costs £39.10 instead of £39.90?' he jeered in an interview with Newsweek.

'All this will do is raise Britain's debt to a level that will take a whole generation to work off.'"