Free Republic

Georgian-born American artist David Datuna has eaten a banana used in an art work by Maurizio Cattelan, which had sold for $120,000 (£91,000). The artwork, titled Comedian, was on display at Art Basel in Miami, one of the world's most high-profile art fairs.

About seven years ago, University of Chicago economists Kerwin Kofi Charles and Erik Hurst were researching the “wealth gap” between black and white Americans when they noticed something striking. African Americans not only had less wealth than whites with similar incomes, they also had significantly more of their assets tied up in cars. The statistic fit a stereotype reinforced by countless bling-filled hip-hop videos: that African Americans spend a lot on cars, clothes, and jewelry—highly visible goods that tell the world the owner has money. But do they really? And, if so, why? The two economists, along with Nikolai Roussanov...

WASHINGTON, April 12, 2007 – It was supposed to be a routine security patrol in Mosul, Iraq, the Saturday before Thanksgiving, 2005. Army Pfc. Stephen Sanford and his fellow soldiers of the Company C, 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, from Fort Wainwright, Alaska, planned to arrest suspected insurgents, take them back to the detention center and “relax, stretch out a bit.” Instead, squad members would find themselves in an intense firefight. “There was just this massive explosion,” Sanford said. “You could see flashes and automatic weapons fire. It was sensory overload. It was incredibly loud. You could smell the...

HILLARY IS CONSPICUOUS BY HER ABSENCE IN DEBATE Thu Mar 31, 5:19 AM ET BY DEBORAH ORIN INSIDE WASHINGTON AS THE nation bitterly debates the Terri Schiavo case, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has tried to stay above the fray, refusing to take sides and staying as quiet as possible. Some strategists say that's smart as she revs up for a 2008 presidential race and helps her move to the center just like her very public push to reach out to right-to-lifers on abortion. Others say it's a big blunder. Democratic strategist David Doak says Clinton (D-N.Y.) is wise to stay...

Britain's upper crust are indulging themselves with the latest food fad -designer loaves costing almost $30. The sourdough Poilane loaf costs 50 times more than normal brands, but its French bakers are confident it's worth every penny. They claim the posh bread, which contains just flour, sea salt and water, has a superior taste and extra health-giving qualities. In the UK it is only available from eight Waitrose supermarkets, at £9.62 a loaf, fresh from the Poilane bakery in London's Belgravia. The bread, which measures 31cm across and weighs almost 9kg, is hand-kneaded and baked for six hours in an...