Free Republic

Herman Joseph's eyes light up when he lists some of his favorite clothing lines: True Religion. Rock & Republic. 7 For All Mankind. Once, he even paid $300 for a pair of black and silver Gucci dress shoes. "I used to like to be fly," the 19-year-old said of his pricey wardrobe. "It gave me confidence in myself." But now, sitting in the Manhattan youth center where he's working toward getting his GED, Joseph is wearing no-name jeans. He, like several of the other young people in his program, lost his job. They've been talking less about who's wearing what,...

We recall several condemnations of our articles here that praised Henry Ford's industrial and business methods because Ford published anti-Semitic material and accepted the Order of the German Eagle from Nazi Germany. The latter was in honor of his business and industrial achievements, and did not cite The International Jew (which he had retracted and repudiated many years earlier). The truth is that Ford's My Life and Work, minus two or so pages of unsavory anti-Semitic material, is probably the best business book that has ever been written and, had General Motors' executives and union bothered to read it, they...

Obama and King Abdullah spoke to reporters -- and Abdullah presented Obama with a gold medallion -- before they went into a private meeting after Obama's arrival Wednesday. Said Obama: "We have a strategic relationship and as I take this trip and will be visiting Cairo tomorrow I thought it was very important to come to the place where Islam began and to seek his majesty's counsel and to discuss with him many of the issues that we confront here in the Middle East." Abdullah: "The historically strategic ties between our two countries...go back to the time of the meeting...

...In an attempt to keep up appearances, celebrity jewelers say rappers are asking them to make medallions with less-precious stones and metals. Some even whisper that the artists have begun requesting cubic zirconia, the synthetic diamond stand-in and QVC staple... "A lot of these rappers simply don't have the money for real stuff anymore," says Jason Arasheben... "It's to the point where they are wearing imitation jewelry, and that's ridiculous..." "When I was wearing a big rope, it was a symbol that I was one of the elite," says Mr. Hall... "These kids think size matters, but they be lyin'....

Watching a tight T-shirt-wearing, cocksure man wearing a gaudy gold chain round his neck strutting down the street is often worth a phone-call to the fashion police. But one force is taking the idea a step further and encouraging people to shop Mr T-wannabes to Crimestoppers in a novel - some might say barmy - plan to bring down the crime rate. In the latest example of innovative policing in Britain, the Gloucestershire force is encouraging members of the public to report people wearing too much 'bling' during the recession. They are also urging people to shop anyone who drives...

In a sign that the world may be coming to an end, the head of the Republican party says he wants a mic check. Word? Word. Michael Steele, the head of Republican National Committee, wants his party to become the Grand Ol' Hip-Hop Party. Respect. The new head of the party, and the first African-American to ever fill his chair, wants to spin an "off the hook" public relations blitz into "urban-suburban hip-hop settings" in hopes of getting young Latinos, African-Americans and others down with the good beats to rep the elephant and to rep him hard, son. "We need...

Omaha police and the Douglas County Attorney's Office are investigating whether the shooting deaths of two people Tuesday night were justified. A 16-year-old boy, who told his family that he was going to pick up a mouth grill he had ordered with Christmas money, was one of the two killed inside an Omaha business, relatives said Wednesday. Marcel Davis, a Northwest High School sophomore, had planned to wear his new grill at a funeral Wednesday, a great-aunt said. Instead, the family is mourning his death after police confirmed what relatives already knew: Davis was shot to death at the Midwest...

LOOKS like the party really is over. The days before a Hollywood awards ceremony were once a wonderland of fab freebies - fully loaded Mexico vacations! Private jet vouchers! $100 diamond Havaianas! - but just days before Sunday's Golden Globes, gifting suites have been reduced to serving Bundt cakes, pizza and toothpaste. Stuff you wouldn't want even if they were giving it away. Oh. Wait. "Companies don't even have budgets to pay their own marketing staff, let alone participate in gifting lounges. There is barely anything going on at the Golden Globes in terms of gifting - and Sundance will...

Pres-elect Barack Hussein Obama is rumored to have bought some high priced bling for his bride in appreciation for her support. Is this the change Obama was thinking during his campaign? Certainly not small change.

A huge gemstone that could become the world’s largest polished round diamond has been found at the Letseng Mine, owned by Gem Diamonds, in Lesotho, southern Africa. It weighs 478 carats and is the twentieth largest ever found. Gem Diamonds says that initial examination suggests that it has a flawless centre and could produce a 150-carat round-cut white diamond worth tens of millions of pounds. It would dwarf the 105-carat Kohinoor in the Crown Jewels. The largest rough diamond found was the Cullinan, in 1905, which weighed 3,106 carats uncut.

McALLEN — Convicted Gulf Cartel captain Carlos Landin Martinez wants his bling back. But the federal government says Landin bought the jewel-encrusted pendant of the patron saint of lost causes with drug money and so it's theirs. Neither side will budge, so it'll be up to a South Texas jury to decide the case named United States of America vs. Two Pieces of Jewelry. The pendant of the patron St. Jude which he was wearing when he was nabbed by a federal agent is 10 karats of gold studded with 128 diamonds, 36 emeralds and one ruby, hanging from a...

Being broke need not mean social death in Sweden - as long as you are well-educated. But for Americans and Russians having a good all-round education is no substitute for having cash, according to a new survey on status symbols in the three countries. The international survey by analysts United Minds asked 1,000 people in each country what values confer status. 'Bling' items such as expensive jewellery and designer clothes come well down the list for Swedes, while featuring more highly for Americans and, particularly, Russians. "Sweden is the only country where you can be penniless but well-read and still...

OCEANSIDE, CALIF. — The Marine Corps is taking on the role of fashion police. Earlier this year, the Marine Corps commandant updated the regulations on what Marines can and cannot wear, on duty and off, in the United States. Among the fashion don'ts: No shiny metal or gems on your teeth, no designs carved in your hair, no flashy jewelry and no bare midriffs or excessive cleavage (Damn). But it is Gen. James T. Conway's ban on the wearing of camouflage uniforms, or "cammies," off base that is getting the most attention, changing not only the appearance of the Marines...

Karl Rove Steps Aside Washington DC - Karl Rove, President Bush's longtime political adviser, is resigning as White House deputy chief of staff effective Aug. 31, and returning to Texas. The news has prompted jubilant celebrations in liberal circles where Rove has long been considered the evil architect of Bush's success. At the popular left wing blog 'Daily KOs', hundreds of college professors and gay designers are feverishly planning victory parties/smoke-ins/orgies to celebrate Rove's departure. Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev) wrote "With Rove gone we're now closer to getting this country back to the Vietnam-era defeatism we yearn for. Let's get...

March 23, 2007 UK-based bespoke luxury goods creator Luvaglio has created the first million dollar laptop. That’s what the first of their luxury laptops will sell for. Full details of the laptop have not been released at this point, but it is known that it incorporates a 17" widescreen LED lit screen with a specially designed anti-reflective glare coating for clear and brighter image, 128GB of Solid State Disk space and a slot loading Blue-Ray drive. There is an integrated screen cleaning device and a very rare coloured diamond piece of jewellery that doubles up as the power button when...

Just how do you differentiate a product like bottled water? It’s an important question when you realise that Americans drink more than 25 billion litres of bottled water a year at prices greater than gasoline. Bottled water sales have risen 50% per person in less than a decade, which isn’t bad for a core product that varies little, and is at least a thousand times more expensive than tap water which is readily available as an alternative. In Europe, water is even bigger business – Western Europeans drink more than half the world’s bottled water. The winning answer to the...

Authorities in Orange County, Fla., released a composite sketch of a man wanted on suspicion he shot and killed another man over a 30-inch gold chain. Police said Durrance Glasper was confronted by two men at the Beacon Hill apartments located at 7450 Beacon Hill Loop in Orange County late Monday. Witnesses said during the confrontation, Glasper was directed to remove a 30-inch chain with a medallion. When Glasper refused of remove the jewelry, he was shot. "Of the witnesses at the scene, the only thing they could tell us was that somebody was overheard saying, 'Give it up' --...

Mrs. F. received this largeish piece of jewelry from a relative for her birthday (that'd be the jewelry there on the left, wisenheimer). Long story short, the donative relative has no idea what kind of stone or setting this is.

If like me you are a student of contemporary culture, then I’m sure that you understand rap music and what separates the good from the bad. Having watched a number of rappers rise and ultimately fall (literally) over the past decade, I think I am beginning to understand what rap music is all about.

'Bling Bling' crack cocaine gang jailed (Filed: 27/02/2006) Ten members of a global cocaine smuggling empire which produced £3 million worth of the drug every week have been jailed for terms ranging from five to 27 years. The first to be jailed was Ian "Bowfoot" Dundas-Jones, of east London, who got 27 years. The 35-year-old, who was also recommended for deportation, was convicted in September last year of importing cocaine and manufacturing crack. The gang used special vases to smuggle cocaine Bernard "Kofi" Clarke, 31, from Romford, Essex, was jailed for 18 years and recommended for deportation after pleading guilty...