Latest update: 31/08/2012 

- Barack Obama - Mitt Romney - Mohammed Morsi - Republicans (USA) - Syria - US elections 2012


Did you build that? And other peculiar political slogans

Remember when US President Barack Obama told entrepreneurs that they didn’t build their businesses? No, neither does anyone else... but Republicans do! The papers have coverage of the surreal appeal of cheerful propaganda. On the other hand, Obama’s balance sheet fails to convince The Economist. And Syria’s rebels get a surprisingly robust vote of support from Egyptian leader Mohamed Morsi in the most unlikely of places: Iran.

By Kyle G. Brown

US President Barack Obama said a few weeks ago that it’s partly thanks to roads, bridges and communications that Americans can build their companies without a lot of obstruction.

Republicans somehow took his phrase, "You didn’t build that” infrastructure, to refer to businesses, and have lambested him for such imagined convictions ever since. The Huffington Post looks at how Clint Eastwood, one of the speakers at the convention, certainly did not "build that" without government help. His highly successful fims were made with the aid of tax credits at home and abroad. 

The New York Times’ Roger Cohen built his very own column to enter the world of surreal Republican propaganda.

The paper also wonders at the Republicans’ aversion to any mention of policy at the circus-like conventions. The answer, says The Times, lies in the fact that the Republican health care plan is deeply unpopular in swing states.

Obama is not out of the woods though: The Economist says he took office when a lot was wrong with the country, but he has not done enough to convince the paper he’s the right man for the White House.

The Christian Science Monitor reports on the summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, where Egyptian leader Mohamed Morsi made a surprising declaration. Hosted by the Syrian regime's staunch ally, Iran, he said: "the bloodshed won't stop unless we intervene."

Olive oil U-turn: virgin on the ridiculous?
24/05/2013 - IN THE WORLD PAPERS

Olive oil U-turn: virgin on the ridiculous?

WORLD PAPERS, Friday 24 May: British papers continue their coverage of the brutal murder of a soldier in London; the New York Times looks at opposition to a new ruling that will allow openly gay youths to join the US Boy Scouts; and it's a big news day for "Olive Oil Times", with new olive oil rules on the EU agenda.
'I've only got €100 million left!'
24/05/2013 - IN THE FRENCH PAPERS

'I've only got €100 million left!'

IN THE FRENCH PAPERS, Friday 24 May; Libération questions how security forces can guard against "lone wolf" terrorists; Le Figaro criticises the French president for "waxing lyrical" at a Social Democratic Party convention in Germany; and Aujourd'hui en France has an exclusive interview with businessman Bernard Tapie, who claims "I only have 100 million euros left!"
'It was better they aimed their weapons just at me, rather than everybody else'
23/05/2013 - IN THE WORLD PAPERS

'It was better they aimed their weapons just at me, rather than everybody else'

IN THE WORLD PAPERS, Thursday 23 May: British papers are dominated by the brutal murder of a man in south-east London. The Telegraph interviews one passer-by who tried to get the suspects to put down their weapons. Also, The New York Times looks at declining drone strikes over the past 3 years and The Guardian looks at why French TV programmes are a gamble for UK broadcasters.
French kids don’t know their onions... or many other veggies!
23/05/2013 - IN THE FRENCH PAPERS

French kids don’t know their onions... or many other veggies!

FRENCH PAPERS, Thurs. 23 May: One lady graces the front pages of most papers this Thursday: IMF chief Christine Lagarde. Libération carries a profile of her on the day she answers questions on alleged involvement in fraud; The Huffington Post has all the details of the case itself. Meanwhile, Aujourd’hui en France looks at the role of French jihadi fighters in Syria; and could your child identify an artichoke? According to the same paper, not enough French kids can!
Calling from the top of the world
22/05/2013 - IN THE WORLD PAPERS

Calling from the top of the world

International papers are speculating on the upcoming elections in Iran, after former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani is excluded from the vote. Columnists in the US are still up in arms over attacks on press freedoms, in the wake of a wiretapping scandal involving the Department of Justice and the Associated Press. And a high-altitude phone call lands one mountaineer in big trouble in Nepal.

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