Free Republic

The discovery that I share an opinion with Donald Trump is a new experience for me, one which I don’t expect to reoccur soon, but when he took to Twitter last week to explain why he would not be opening his country’s new London embassy, I confess, I could rather see his point. **** I can’t argue with his description of the recently vacated former embassy, built in 1960, as “perhaps the best located and finest in London”. Extending a façade across an entire side of Grosvenor Square in Mayfair, this was the first purpose-built embassy in the capital.

Washington (AFP) - The US State Department on Friday fended off criticism for commissioning a $1 million sculpture for its London embassy, saying it was "a good use of our limited resources." The piece by Irish-born artist Sean Scully was purchased as part of the department's Art in Embassies program and will be reportedly installed at the new mission due to open in 2017. "This piece was purchased under the market price after considerable negotiation with both the artist and the gallery. This is an important part of our diplomatic presence overseas," deputy State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said. Abstract...