Free Republic

During an impassioned segment on MSNBC, Donny Deutsch slammed Hollywood and corporate America for their silence amid Hamas’ deadly attacks on Israel. “I don’t understand the silence from Hollywood. I don’t understand the silence from corporate America. I don’t understand the silence from the academics. And I don’t understand the silence from so many politicians,” Deutsch said, speaking with anchor Nicolle Wallace. Deutsch, who is Jewish, was previously a host on MSNBC and CNBC. The television personality and political analyst now hosts the podcast “On Brand With Donny Deutsch.” “There is not context here. This is about the slaughtering of...

Kombucha has treated George Thomas Dave well. But Dave's kombucha factory treated workers terribly for years, according to a new ruling in a long-running lawsuit against his company, GT's Living Foods. SNIP As the owner of GT's — which sells about $275 million of the fermented tea drink and other beverages each year — Dave has become a billionaire, according to Forbes estimates. This year he bought a $14-million hilltop estate just a few streets away from the two-home compound he already owned in Beverly Hills. All along, he's insisted that good vibes and a positive attitude have been the...

<p>Concierge Auctions, which handled the sale, told the Los Angeles times that more than three dozen prospective buyers toured five-acre property in the last couple of months, including billionaires from across the US, Middle East and Asia.</p><p>However, when the auction opened on Monday, only five bidders from the US and New Zealand made offers on the 'white elephant' superhome, with the winning buyer remaining unidentified until paperwork is submitted to a U.S. Bankruptcy Court next week.</p>

In 2019, “The Daily Show” host Trevor Noah, 36, swore he’d never cohabitate with a lover — but he’s just invested $27.5 million in a Bel Air mansion for him and his girlfriend, 40-year-old “Titans” actress Minka Kelly. The sleek, 11,000-square-foot mansion at 14930 Corona Del Mar has six bedrooms, eight full bathrooms and three half-bathrooms, all with views of the Santa Monica Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, according to a Wall Street Journal report in September, when the house was still for sale.

File this one under karma, baby. The rich and famous are all about protesting and declaring themselves down with the struggle until protesters forget their place and invade residential areas of Beverly Hills. Then the masks drop. It’s the ultimate Not In My Back Yard (NIMBY) – the City of Beverly Hills issued an emergency order Saturday night that bans public gatherings of more than 10 people in residential areas between 9 PM and 8 AM. What brought this on? Well, it seems a group calling themselves “Occupy” disrupted the beauty sleep of locals in their posh neighborhood on June...

BEL AIR—On Thursday, May 14, Tesla co-founder Elon Musk listed four of his Bel Air mansions for a total of $62.5 million. Since this move comes a week after Musk listed two other homes in the same area, all of his Bel Air properties are now for sale for a combined total of $102 million. This barrage of listings comes shortly after he Tweeted: “I am selling almost all physical possessions. Will own no house.” When Twitter user @kulpability asked Musk if he was doing it “because you need the cash” or “to protest the world burning down,” he responded...

David Simon is urging the Writers Guild of America to file a lawsuit against the four biggest Hollywood talent agencies and the Association of Talent Agents over the practice of packaging. “I’m for filing a civil suit against the ATA and the Big Four for an overt and organized breach of fiduciary duty in which they have effectively pretended to represent clients while taking bribes from studios to keep those clients’ salaries and benefits lowered across the board,” he said in a lengthy blog post. “Looking not merely at civil law, but at the federal statutes against extortion and bribery,...

In 2014, the city demanded that the 69-year-old Hadid, father of models Bella and Gigi Hadid, stop construction on the mansion, saying the structure at 901 Strada Vecchia Rd. was being built larger and taller than the city had authorized. The city again ordered him to halt construction in 2015. City officials also said the building included a series of unapproved features, including concrete decks, retaining walls, basements, stairways and even a subterranean IMAX theater. Despite officials pulling Hadid’s building permits and issuing stop-work orders, construction continued anyway, prompting the L.A. City Attorney’s office to bring charges against him. …...

Turns out the Skirball fire that destroyed over 400 acres and damaged dozens of homes in Bel-Air last week was not caused by whiteness as we were told. Quite the reverse: it was caused by people living like Third Worlders in a homeless camp. The encampment was nestled in a canyon several hundred feet from Sepulveda Boulevard and the 405 Freeway, hidden from passing cars. For several years, it had been home to an unknown number of people, officials said. Apparently, a cooking fire got out of control. The camp — one of scores of makeshift communities that have grown...

The Chevelle is one of America’s favorite classic muscle cars. If you turn on your favorite televised classic car auctions at random, chances are that there will be a Chevelle crossing the block. With so much attention, the Chevelle is pretty much an open book, yet here are some lesser-known facts:

The Hollywood Reporter's Todd McCarthy shouldn't be surprised that director Neil Blokamp's "latest politically tinged sci-fi feature" falls apart during the third act. So did Blokamp's first politically tinged sci-fi feature, the overrated but promising "District 9." According to McCarthy's astute review, though, "Elysium" goes a step further into the arena of wild left-wing, Hollywood hypocrisy. Here is how McCarthy describes the world and plot of what is likely another box-office bomb from star Matt Damon: Blomkamp sets the dystopian juices flowing with images of future sprawling slums and urban ruin that one might initially take to be Mexico City...

The Harford County Republican Central Committee is holding a Second Amendment Rally Saturday in Bel Air, and is encouraging anyone concerned about gun rights to attend. The rally is designed to honor Harford County's Republican state legislators who voted against gun legislation during this year's session of the Maryland General Assembly, said Patrick McGrady, a member and past chairman of the Central Committee. The rally will take place from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, near the Courthouse at Main and Office streets in the county seat. "The purpose of the rally is to thank our Republican legislators, because they all...

It’s going to be “Constitution 101″ for state police in Maryland, who will be undergoing training on the First and Fourth Amendments as part of a settlement of a lawsuit over the illegal arrests of pro-life protesters there. Confirmation comes from officials with the Alliance Defense Fund, who argued that the officers’ decision to arrest, take into custody and strip-search the protesters simply wasn’t allowed. The ADF noted that the settlement with Maryland State Police will include “training on rights protected by the First and Fourth amendments to the U.S. Constitution.” “Under the terms of the settlement, Maryland State Police...

Judge Rules for Pro-Life Girls Shackled, Strip Searched Bel Air, MD -- A federal judge has ruled in favor of pro-life advocates, including college-aged girls, who were shacked and strip searched after peacefully protesting abortion in Maryland in 2008. The multi-faceted case has been ongoing for years and some of the defendants have settled. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/07/14/judge-rules-for-pro-life-girls-shackled-strip-searched/

Police detectives are asking for the public's help in finding a $150,000 show car that was stolen from a Los Angeles transmission shop. Police say red 1957 Chevy BelAir convertible was taken early Wednesday morning from the San Fernando Valley shop. "It's not restored, it's completely customized. Everything's tricked out," said Los Angeles Police Officer Thomas Tenney of West Valley Auto Theft division's crime analysis unit. "The keys were in it. Obviously the car was drivable," Tenney said. Authorities said the owner was on scene within minutes of the shop's burglar alarm sounding and the car already was gone. Police...

Hotel Bel-Air Closes For Renovations, Laying Off 250 Union Workers The hotel has refused to commit to rehiring the employees, many of whom are immigrants, when work is done in 2011. Many are worried about losing affordable health coverage. By Hugo Martín and Patrick McDonnell October 1, 2009 The Hotel Bel-Air closed quietly Wednesday, shutting for two years of renovations without agreeing to a severance package with its unionized employees. The resort -- for more than 60 years a retreat for presidents, movie stars and others -- has refused to commit to rehire 250 union employees after its multimillion-dollar face-lift...

<p>A controversy at a California country club had Kentucky Attorney General Ben Chandler's campaign for governor playing defense on several fronts yesterday.</p> <p>Chandler had planned a fund-raising reception at the Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles this evening, but the event was moved to a restaurant where a trial lawyer also is sponsoring a fund-raising luncheon for the Democratic candidate.</p>