Meanwhile, In Downtown Europe, Part VI

Britons Never Never Never Shall Be [ Insert ]

An Item Which Did Not Appear In Today's New York Times Online (Photo: AP)

A man who resembles the Pillsbury Dough-Boy stood in front of Winnie Churchill's old house yesterday, wearing a somber yet funereal tie, and made his famous Stan Laurel Face for fifteen minutes before blubbering like a little girl and begging the population of the British Isles not to make him look like a thorough, complete and manifest Stupid-Head.

"Look, it was just a little misdirection, is what it was," the Prime Rib told a small crowd (well, it was mostly his security detail, but the Superintelligent Parakeet was in attendance). "Back in the day, I was in a bit of a jam wit' me political Mates, ya know -- so I said, 'Fook it! We'll be havin' this vote to get outta the EU, then!'  I was tryin' to save me job! But I'm tellin' ya -- I never thought I'd got to go through wit' it!"

Cameron stressed for the sixtieth bazillion time that Great Britain's exit from the European Union "is just bad. Fookin' bad. An' stupid. Like drinkin' drain cleaner, is what it is."

"I get a call from Her Majesty jus' about every other day," Cameron added. " 'Davy!" She says -- 'Wot the bloody hell you think you're playin' at! I got a Tenner put on down the pub that says the UK is gonna stay -- and that's me Friday-night money! So you talk sense to the people!' "

Cameron appeared visibly moved by the image of a 90-year-old woman losing her beer money in a misplaced bet. "I know we got to stay in bed wit' a buncha Frogs and Krauts and Eye-ties, and now we got the bloody Turks, too. But to give in and take the easy road would be, you know -- like givin' in and takin' the easy road. Britons don't quit; we just hands in our notice. But not this time!"

And the feeling here in America? Let me to repeat myself: So long as the greater mass of my country-men and -women can make their house and monster truck payments, run up a few credit cards, have access to 400-channels of Big Digital teevee, and drink to excess occasionally, no one seems to care overly much what people over in that Eurp do.  USA !  USA !  Hillary The Inevitable ! Yay !

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MEHR, MIT SEHR INTERESSANT:  Over the past few years, the online betting and bookmaking parlor odds of an event occurring have been seen as more accurate indicators of how a Yes/No change may go down than standard polling.

Over the past week, articles have begun to appear in the British press which show the odds of a Brexit becoming narrower -- so, the media reports that 'Britons now favor remaining in the EU!' As Bloomberg reports, "Investors are piling money into bets on a victory for the 'Remain' campaign, led by Prime Minister David Cameron. The pound has surged to a five-month high and European stocks just posted their biggest three-day gain in almost a year, with the U.K.’s benchmark index erasing its monthly decline. Bookmakers have shortened their odds on a vote to stay."

However, it was noted by Matthew Shaddick, the head of the political betting department of Ladbroke's, the online professional betting operation, that

the key catalyst that moved bookie odds on Monday morning, the first day after the suspended campaign in the aftermath of Jo Cox murder was resumed, "we took a £25,000 bet on Remain this morning which helped move the odds in their direction." This in turn unleashed a global asset surge, as markets rebounded on expectations the Leave campaign was losing momentum, even as actual polls - still neck and neck - did not validate such an observation.

So, is someone making serious bets (or getting their friends in the Trade to do so as a political favor) to influence the reported bookmaking odds, and give the appearance that the "Remainders" would carry the day, come the voting?  Oh, and provide a little 'bump' to the equities markets as well...

That would be the smart bet, wouldn't it?

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