1998 redux: Romney channels spirit of Gingrich with Ryan but loses election

Fictional White House Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lynam was fond of a poll that showed that 68% of Americans thought foreign aid spending was too high, while only 59% believed it should be cut.

By Adam Bouyamourn | Opinion, The Foreign Desk | Thursday, 16 August 2012 at 11:43 am

Romney and Ryan: Can money buy any office?

Why Romney picked Ryan was the question observers of the American political scene have been asking ever since Willard Mitt Romney became the presumptive Republican nominee for President of the United States.

By Leighton Vaughan Williams | Notebook, Opinion, The Foreign Desk | Tuesday, 14 August 2012 at 9:45 am

With Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum gone, who will Romney turn to for his running mate?

Mitt Romney has basically won the Republican nomination to stand against US President Barack Obama in November. His next hurdle? His running mate ‘Veepstakes’.

By Leighton Vaughan Williams | Notebook | Wednesday, 2 May 2012 at 2:00 pm

Droog: The Culprits keeping the heart of LA’s underground beating

Droog have been pushing the underground sound in LA for quite some time – with legendary parties at the amazing Standard Hotel rooftop, along with consistently strong releases on their much-respected label Culprit. A quarter of the way into 2012, they’re playing gigs all over the globe and have a stack of new releases lined up for the label. I spoke to one of Droog’s members, Andrei Osyka, ahead of his appearance at Data Transmission’s Easter Party in Manchester this week.

By Marcus Barnes | Arts, Music | Monday, 2 April 2012 at 11:17 am

Barack Obama’s “unbreakable bond” with Israel

Barack Obama has taken pandering to the Israeli lobby to shameful new levels. In a frankly shocking video, even by US standards, in what I can only describe as one the most cynical pieces of electioneering I have witnessed in my lifetime, Obama’s team has released a video re-affirming the USA’s special relationship with Zionism, and their unwavering commitment to supporting a state which draws legitimate comparisons to South Africa under apartheid.

By Richard Sudan | Notebook | Thursday, 26 January 2012 at 12:01 am

Boosting the IMF – no Cannes do?

According to the New York Times today, President Obama has been telling eurozone leaders here in Cannes that they should solve their own problems, rather than relying on the IMF.

By Ben Chu | Eagle Eye, Econoblog | Friday, 4 November 2011 at 11:22 am

Beer: Yorkshire’s American revolution

You don’t have to be in Yorkshire long to notice that the locals like beer.

By Will Hawkes | Notebook | Friday, 4 November 2011 at 9:12 am

Beer: From homebrew to Henley

Henley is a pretty unlikely spot for a revolution, but that’s Americans for you.This genteel Thameside town was once home to that archetypal real ale brewer Brakspear but the local drop is a bit different these days. For a start, it isn’t cask ale. Oh yeah, and it’s brewed by a [...]

By Will Hawkes | Notebook | Friday, 24 June 2011 at 8:39 am

Anthony Weiner: A Cock and Bull Story

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Congressman Anthony Weiner held a press conference yesterday morning to admit he sent a picture of his boxered penis to a myriad of tweeting young women, and then lied about it in almost every news medium known to the human race.
It was an unavoidable and unavoidably cringe-worthy affair. He had to apologise, to blush, to [...]

By Oliver Duggan | Notebook, The Foreign Desk | Wednesday, 8 June 2011 at 12:47 pm

America’s Death at the O.K. Corral

Last week, for the first time in a long time, reality approached the realm of the great westerns. Our old-time hero tracked down the enemy to a dusty village amongst the mountains of some foreign land. After years of searching, turned bitter by constant evasion, he’d found his man.

By Oliver Duggan | Notebook, The Foreign Desk | Thursday, 12 May 2011 at 10:33 am