US presidential hopeful Mitt Romney made some undiplomatic criticism of London’s preparations for the Olympic Games on Wednesday, expressing concern about Britain’s readiness to host the event.

 

Outspoken … Mitt Romney. Photo: AP “It’s hard to know just how well it will turn out,” Romney, who is running to unseat President Barack Obama in November’s election, told NBC News from London, where he will attend the opening ceremony of the games on Friday.

“There are a few things that were disconcerting,” he said.

“The stories about the private security firm not having enough people, the supposed strike of the immigration and customs officials – that obviously is not something which is encouraging,” he warned.

Romney even called into question whether the British people as a whole were behind the spectacle, saying this would be key their success.

“Do they come together and celebrate the Olympic moment? And that’s something which we only find out once the games actually begin,” he said.

Romney, a multimillionaire businessman and investor, was called in to head the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City after preparations were marred by scandal and has first-hand knowledge of how to put on a successful Olympics.

The brand once known as Yves Saint Laurent revealed its new Saint Laurent Paris logo online over the weekend.

 Said logo — affixed to a black box resting on a marble surface in the photo above — is presented in capital letters. The image was posted to the brand's official Facebook page on Saturday, and while some commenters were supportive of the change, many others decried it as a bad move. One fan called it "an act of disrespect."

Hedi Slimane, who took over as creative director of the house in March, announced last month that he would change the name of the ready-to-wear collection to Saint Laurent Paris. The shift was billed as an attempt to "return to the fundamentals of YSL." When Saint Laurent moved into ready-to-wear in 1966, he called the operation Saint Laurent Rive Gauche.

The new branding will not replace the iconic YSL logo, which will still be applied to some of the house's products.

Emily Maynard’s Stunning 88-Diamond Engagement Ring

ABC; Inset: Courtesy Neil Lane

Emily Maynard may have paused briefly before accepting now-fiancé Jef Holm’s proposal on The Bachelorette – but it was probably because the Neil Lane ring he selected was that breathtaking.

Holm got down on one knee in Curacao on Sunday night’s finale, presenting Maynard with a 3.5-carat sparkler. The ring, handmade, features a 2.5-carat emerald-cut diamond accented with 87 smaller round-cut diamonds.

 

“I never in a million years thought I’d be so in love as I am,” Maynard said as she awaited Holm’s arrival in anticipation of a marriage proposal.

When he arrived, Emily told him that the long road to the finale “was all worth it … You really are everything that I’ve looked for for so long. I really do feel like you’re my soul mate. You are the perfect person for me. You get me better than anybody ever has. I love you so, so much.”

“I’m so in love with you,” he replied. “I promise you if you let me into your life and Ricki’s life you will never feel lonely ever again.”

Are you a gun enthusiast with a passion for fashion ‘Louis Vuitton‘ grip handgun.

Are you a gun enthusiast with a passion for fashion (and the ability to ignore a national tragedy)? Well then, a company called Machine Guns Vegas has just the thing for you: The ‘Louis Vuitton‘ grip handgun.

Yep, in the wake of the largest mass shooting in US history–a massacre that has politicians and activists calling for stricter gun laws–this company actually had the nerve to send out a press release touting its new gun model just three days after the senseless killings in Aurora. 

“Like Marc Jacobs putting Sponge Bob Square Pants onto LV monogrammed bags, Machine Guns Vegas has created their own Louis Vuitton accessory – a monogrammed Louis Vuitton grip for a handgun – which is legal to carry in the State of Nevada,” the press release states. Never mind that Marc Jacobs has never put Spongebob on one of his bags (he just put one in ink on his arm)–the two concepts are basically as far away from one another as possible. Never mind, too, that Machine Guns Vegas doesn’t technically have the rights to create its own Louis Vuitton“accessory” because Louis Vuitton actually had nothing to do with this new gun.

But you know… details, details. MGV is just trying to help out the fashion-forward gun-toting gal who has been so rudely ignored for too long. “We have a real demand to cater to gun enthusiasts who also have a desire to look stylish, hence our foray into Louis Vuitton gun accessories” the company’s Managing Partner Genghis Cohen said in the press release. Machine Guns Vegas’s website does not have a listed price for the ‘Louis Vuitton’ gun, however a linked image of the gun lead to the site’s “Femme Fatale” package–a ‘deal’ that lets customers (presumably women) shoot at MGV’s range for $99.95, using a variety of guns, including handguns and sub machine guns.

We called the company and were greeted by a perky female by the name of Lauren. Lauren told us that we should get in touch with MGV’s PR company, Kirvin Communications Group, and ask for Megan who handles the Machine Guns Vegas account. Except that when we called Kirvin, we were informed that MGV was no longer a client of the company. “You’re the third person who has called actually, and you should call them back and tell them to stop giving out wrong information,” a woman from Kirvin told us. We called MGV several more times–no answer. Finally, Lauren called us back. “That’s weird [about Kirvin]…” she said unconvincingly. When we asked if there was anyone at the offices who we could be patched through to, she explained that unfortunately, that wouldn’t be possible since they were moving, and their phone system was not properly installed. Right…

We’ve reached out to Louis Vuitton for a statement and will update as soon as we hear back.

Update: Louis Vuitton released the following statement:

“Louis Vuitton is in no way associated with this company. We do not manufacture gun grips and do not condone the alteration of our creations in any way.”

So, in addition to being in total bad taste, Machine Guns Vegas’ ‘Louis Vuitton’ gun, is also in violation of intellectual property rights. We expect LVMH, who is famously protective of their Louis Vuitton brand (see Hangover 2 suit), will be taking legal action soon.