Free Republic

A preacher known for his close friendship with New York City’s mayor was robbed of more than $1 million worth of jewelry Sunday by armed bandits who crashed his Brooklyn church service, just as he was sermonizing about keeping faith in the face of grave adversity, police said. Bishop Lamor Miller-Whitehead, who embraces his flashy lifestyle and can often be seen driving around the Big Apple in his Rolls Royce, was delivering a sermon at his Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministries when police say three robbers walked in. They showed guns and demanded property from Miller-Whitehead and his wife, Asia...

Three thieves were caught on tape barging into a Brooklyn church on Sunday where controversial bishop Lamor Whitehead — an ally to Mayor Adams — was preaching and snatched $400,000 worth of jewelry off of him and his wife. Whitehead, the Rolls-Royce-driving bishop who recently tried to broker a deal for the surrender of a man accused of a subway murder to the mayor, was preaching at Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministry on Remsen Ave. near Avenue D in Canarsie about 11:15 a.m. Sunday when three masked bandits stormed into the church, the pastor and cops confirmed. When the armed...

WASHINGTON (TND) - A rapper named Goonew, who was reportedly shot to death, attended his own memorial at a nightclub on Sunday. The sight apparently caused quite the controversy, even more so when pictures of the event were spread around online. Born Markelle Marrow, Goonew was killed on March 18 by an unknown assailant in District Heights, Maryland, according to police. He was 24 years old at the time of his death. His body was reportedly released to a funeral home following an autopsy, but fans were shocked to see him standing on stage at his own memorial event on...

Le’Veon Bell may want to reconsider whom he invites into his home. Police in Hollywood, Florida, say that Bell went to the gym on May 25, leaving two women behind in his home. When he returned, he found that both women and $520,000 in jewelry were not there. The police report obtained by the Associated Press refers to the two women as “girlfriends.”

Rapper Young Dolph's car was broken into while he ate at a metro Atlanta Cracker Barrel last week, and thieves made off with roughly $500,000 of jewelry and other belongings. The Memphis artist, born Adolph Thornton, told police the thieves smashed the window of his custom camouflage Mercedes-Benz G-Class SUV in the restaurant's parking lot on Wednesday. They made off with a Richard Mille watch worth $230,000, a Patek Phillipe watch costing approximately $85,000 and two diamond chains worth a respective $57,000 and $27,000. Police told WSB-TV that the case was "unusual in a number of ways," because surveillance footage shows the thieves approaching Thornton's car...

ATLANTA (CBS46) - President Barack Obama has recently announced that June is African-American Music Appreciation Month. In a statement released through the White House he says, "A vital part of our Nation's proud heritage, African-American music exemplifies the creative spirit at the heart of American identity and is among the most innovative and powerful art the world has ever known. "

Gun rights is a topic which seems all too readily broken down among racial lines if you get all of your news from cable TV or the New York Times. Black Americans don’t like guns and white people are just crazy about them, right? (Or just crazy, I suppose.) But while there are some definite trends to support the stereotype, no group is ever as homogeneous as the press would have you believe. While I rarely turn to NPR for my news, I ran across an interesting interview this month conducted by Karen Grigsby Bates, speaking with one black gun...

Black people are the fathers and mothers of civilization, white men are the devil, the Christian god is nothing more than a ghost and only a small percentage of people understand the world. These are just some of the ­beliefs behind the bling — the gaudy Five Percent Nation ­medallions worn by Jay Z and Carmelo Anthony. (Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...

Black people are the fathers and mothers of civilization, white men are the devil, the Christian god is nothing more than a ghost and only a small percentage of people understand the world. These are just some of the ­beliefs behind the bling — the gaudy Five Percent Nation ­medallions worn by Jay Z and Carmelo Anthony.

Jay-Z causes controversy by wearing gaudy medallion of 'Five Percent Nation' group who believe whites are 'wicked and weak' • The Brooklyn-born rapper wore a medallion representing the Five Percent Nation at a Nets game last week • One of the main tenets of the Nation of Islam offshoot is that white people are 'weak and wicked' and that black men hold the power of God • When asked if the medallion holds any importance to him, Jay-Z said: 'A little bit' • Jay-Z was spotted wearing the nation's symbol last year while giving radio interviews for his new album,...

The high-end department store Barneys New York has recently come under fire amidst separate accusations of racial profiling and discrimination at its Madison Avenue location. The news brought with it criticisms of and protests against Jay Z’s planned holiday collection collaboration with the store. The collection, called “A New York Holiday,” was announced in September and is scheduled to include limited edition clothing and accessories. Famed Civil Rights leader Reverend Al Sharpton recently commented on the requests for protesting Jay Z’s collection with a call to redirect attention on the department store itself. “Some people want to make this about...

Hot or Not? Rihanna Instagrams her gold AK-47 grill In a recent Instagram post, controversial pop-star, Rihanna, shows off her new, golden AK-47 grill. Her fan reviews are mixed. Some seem to love the new dental bling while others cast it off as just another attempt to maintain her “bad girl” image. What do you think?

What do you give a man who has everything, including the White House? A bamboo bicycle? Bird-shaped cufflinks? Some coffee in a fancy box? US President Barack Obama got all the above and lots more in 2009, according to a register of diplomatic gifts published by his protocol department this week. Most of it ends up in storage in the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington. …

Revoke Obama's Nobel Peace Prize After receiving the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, President Obama has made perpetual war look more perpetual than ever. Today, there are more U.S. troops in Afghanistan than when Obama took office. His presidency has widened the use of drones and other instruments of remote killing in several countries. Please sign this petition to the Norwegian Nobel Committee: I urge you to rescind the Nobel Peace Prize that was awarded to Barack Obama.

Take a look at Craig Jackson's amazing circular garage with some very expensive bling.

Today is the day Kanye went on down to join the 99% (of which he’s not a part, despite having taken out loans recently) at Occupy Wall Street. He wore plaid. Givenchy plaid. The rapper paired his $355 shirt with what we believe are Balmain jeans, as well as man bracelets and the Yeezy-not-Weezy necklace he debuted at his Paris fashion show. The internet also reports Kanye was sporting a gold grill, but we know those are just his (permanent) gold and diamond crowns.

KEY WEST, FLA.—Shipwreck experts are evaluating a centuries-old-101-centimetre gold chain plucked from the sea floor while searching for a 17th-century sunken Spanish galleon off the Florida Keys. The piece is tentatively valued at about $250,000. It is believed to be from the Nuestra Senora de Atocha, which sank during a 1622 hurricane. It was found Wednesday by divers from Mel Fisher’s Treasures about 55 kilometres west of Key West. The chain has 55 links, an enameled gold cross and a two-sided engraved religious medallion featuring the Virgin Mary and a chalice.

Washington (CNN) -- The U.S. House on Tuesday passed a $1.15 billion measure to fund a settlement initially reached between the Agriculture Department and minority farmers more than a decade ago. The 1997 Pigford v. Glickman case against the U.S. Agriculture Department over claims of discrimination against black farmers was settled out of court 11 years ago. Under a federal judge's terms dating to 1999, qualified farmers could receive $50,000 each to settle claims of racial bias. The legislation passed Tuesday also funds a separate $3.4 billion settlement reached with the Department of Interior for mishandling Native American trust funds,...

Mexican soldiers have seized an arsenal of gold-plated and diamond-encrusted weapons believed to belong to the Valencia gang, allies of the powerful Sinaloa drug cartel and, it seems, fans of hip-hip excess. Showing just how flamboyant gang members spend much of their ill-gotten wealth, pictures show how most of the 31 'pimped' pistols found in a raid on a home in western Mexico had gold or silver-plated grips or were glittered with diamonds. Three of the assault rifles are almost entirely gold-plated and there was even a silencer plated with gold. One particularly image-conscious gangster has made his pistol unique...

After the £100,000 aquarium, the £264,000 white Bentley convertible, the pink Range Rover and the Audi R8 with a Superman badge on the grille, Manchester City's bling king Stephen Ireland has excelled himself. The midfielder has told friends he plans to dig up the kitchen floor at his new £5m mansion in Prestbury and replace it with glass. Under that, Ireland hopes to build a giant fish tank... with a shark in it. The bizarre plan could be even more lavish than Ireland's new home aquarium, which holds 6,000 litres of saltwater - 75 times more than an average aquarium...