IN WHICH CAMEROON IS BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE AND WILLETS APPEARS TO HAVE MISLAID BOTH HIS BRAINS AT THE SAME TIME

Oh dear, poor old Cameron. As if he hasn't got enough problems on Europe with his right wingers, and funny old Nigel, now the United States of America, in Cameron's own words, our 'senior partner' has indicated that it wants Britain or at least England (as that's that's bit of Britain that does what it is told) to stay in Europe. 

In what is quite a blatant piece of amusing interfering, Philip Gordon, an American diplomat involved with the EU and its members, has said (somewhat in a somewhat syrupy fashion that while it is for the British Government and the British people (sic) to decide their future regrading Europe, Britain has been such a special partner to the US, with its shared values (money and power) and shared interests (power and money) that its (Britain's) voice at the European table has often been of great use to America.

I suspect that that could be read as: Look, we obviously can't be at the table in the EU; we aren't European,  but our little poodle with the green teeth is and therefore can. Now, we let him have a ride in Air Force One, and let him sleep in President Obama's bed (albeit that President Obama wasn't using it at the time), so we expect payback. So sort out the whiny Europhobes, or next time you're here you'll be treated like Brown was. Get it?

If I had just a little fellow feeling for him, I'd sympathise, but he and I aren't even of the same species, so I don't. 

Life's a bitch Cameron... then you die. Get used to it.
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I was interested to read in a recent edition of Private Eye, that JP Morgan, the bank, is negotiating the repayment of £500 million in back taxes, apparently after a scheme to pay its executives via jersey was (inexplicably) found to be unacceptable tax avoidance. This comes on top of a £450,000 fine for Ian Hannam, its senior London executive for market abuse. Meanwhile in the USA the bank  was fined $295,000 for a mortgage scam, and was suspended from energy trading because it lied to an inquiry investigating Californian energy prices.  I was then puzzled to read that the English Universities minister,  David Willets, has been accepting paid commissions from them. Indeed he and his wife have repeatedly been guests of JP Morgan in Scotland where most recently he spoke about pensions (although why anyone would want advice about pensions from a British minister is beyond me, unless of course it was ministerial pensions he was talking about.) As the Eye suggests, with Willets famously having two brains, it might not be too much to expect him to make use of just one of them next time a dicey company offers to give him money for his services and say No. 

Nah, right, silly me.
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