Smoke Signals

                                                                     So, is it a deal? Athens and Berlin-am-Brussels have agreed to disagree about whether or not they reached an agreement last Sunday to agree to the austerity terms in return for an agreement about having a longer term in which to complete the terms of the agreement.

Now that the situation is crystal clear, some observations come my way yet again from the back streets of Athenian government. It is this: that as predicted exclusively by The Slog last August 12th, there will be debt foregiveness and repayment extensions…but offstage, and heavily disguised.

There are two predictable drivers of this policy: the ECB and France. Between them, they have the best part of €129bn to lose…and that’s before we go anywhere near improperly hedged derivatives. I hope to offer Sloggers something more solid on this by the end of the weekend.

It is the end. Sorry, sorry…I mean, it is the end of the recession. One wonders what comes after a double dip – the triple trip? I rather think so: Britain’s short term boost changes none of the essentials: it is the 1944 German advance through the Ardennes as two million more American troops land in France.The ‘boost’ comes from services and Olympic ticket sales: the important manufacturing and export indicators are as flat as a pancake sat upon by Eric Pickles while sporting a 10cwt trilby.

However, one astonishing bit of gossip reached me late last night. I didn’t sleep at all well afterwards. The yarn involves a quite extraordinary exchange that allegedly took place following last Tuesday’s (23rd October) Cabinet meeting at Number Ten. It seems one of the younger Cabinet Turks who fancies himself neither a Borisonian nor Cameroonian camp follower asked one of the Highest in the Land whether the ONS recession data would be ignored in favour of being honest with the public “for once”. The observation was not well-received.

Unsurprisingly, when I looked up the Cabinet agenda it made no mention at all of the ONS stats. But amusingly ironic (see for yourselves) Item 4 is laughably entitled ‘Public participation’, while the closing item 18 refers to ‘Exclusion of the public’. What a wonderful metaphor for contemporary government.

Barack, Benghazi, Bill Clinton & Bin Laden. US president Barack Obama and former Oval Office asexual cigar dispenser Bill Clinton will campaign together next week in three of the most competitive battleground states ahead of November 6th: they will hold rallies on Monday in Florida, Ohio and Virginia.

So it is that Slick Willy and the Black Dude are now joined at the hip. But a mere seventeen days ago, they were on the verge of turning into sworn enemies. The Slog wonders what changed…and thus, he has been casting about for answers.

Here’s one: Bill & Hill threatened to flatten Barry O’Drama with categorical proof that the President didn’t just ignore the warnings before Benghazi, he positively used them to destroy the Secretary of State as a potential enemy during his second term.

The Clintons were on this case immediately the White House started briefing against State. Bill drew up a task force, and was fired up by the endeavour. Then suddenly – over a 36-hour period – Bill turned back to the paths of sweetness and light – while Hillary took a deep breath….and total responsibility for the Benghazi Compound fiasco.

So what exactly did Barry have on them? Well, I am led to understand that the common factor is none other than Mr Osama Bin Laden deceased, latterly buried at sea without clues as to location…..and President Bill’s World Trade Center intelligence during 1993.