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(RNS) With her careers as veterinarian, astronaut and U.S. president behind her, Barbie has at last found her true calling: as a second-career Episcopal priest. The 11.5-inch-tall fictional graduate of Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley, Calif., has donned a cassock and surplice and is rector at St. Barbara’s-by-the-Sea in (where else?) Malibu, Calif. She arrived at the church fully accessorized, as is Barbie’s custom. Her impeccably tailored ecclesiastical vestments include various colored chasubles (the sleeveless vestments worn at Mass) for every liturgical season, black clergy shirt with white collar, neat skirt and heels, a laptop with prepared...
Published on Tuesday 7th of September 2010 08:31:56 PM
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Walmart under fire for selling black Barbies at half price of white dolls An American supermarket chain has come under fire for cutting the price of black Barbies to nearly half that of the white dolls. By Heidi Blake Published: 9:07AM GMT 11 Mar 2010 Walmart was criticised for selling black Barbies at nearly half the price of white dolls Walmart stocks Mattel’s fair-skinned Ballerina Barbie dolls and its darker-skinned Ballerina Theresa dolls at many of its stores, but the chain has now been criticised for “valuing blackness less than whiteness” by cutting the price of the black doll. A...
Published on Tuesday 7th of September 2010 08:31:56 PM
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Nothing like the world of political correctness. In its desire to have something for everybody, the Mattel Corporation has decided to create a Barbie Doll wearing the symbol of the harsh Islamist Repression of women: One of the world's most famous children's toys, Barbie, has been given a makeover - wearing a burkha. Wearing the traditional Islamic dress, the iconic doll is going undercover for a charity auction in connection with Sotheby's for Save The Children. More than 500 Barbies went on show yesterday at the Salone dei Cinquecento, in Florence, Italy. 'I think this is really important for girls,...
Published on Tuesday 7th of September 2010 08:31:56 PM
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(China Daily/Agencies) – Mattel Inc, the world’s biggest toymaker, lowered the sales target for its Barbie store in Shanghai by at least 30 percent after deciding the original marketing concept didn’t work. “The initial sales targets were astronomical,” said Dann Murphy, who took over as general manager as his predecessor left eight months after the store opened. Targets for the six-story outlet’s restaurant and “retail experience”, which includes designing personalized Barbie dolls, have been revised down three times since its opening in March. Mattel chose Shanghai for its first dedicated Barbie store as consumer demand slumped in the United...
Published on Tuesday 7th of September 2010 08:31:56 PM
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Rare early 60s tv commercial for Mattel's Tommy Burst submachine gun detective set. Load in some fresh caps, pull the bolt back, and it made a God-awful noise as it produced a small cloud of smoke around the barrel tip. It was fantastic!! Guaranteed to take your friends & relatives down, one at a time.
Published on Tuesday 7th of September 2010 08:31:56 PM
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Stiletto Maker Louboutin Re-Designing Feet Of Fashion Icon Doll; New Yorkers Let Out Collective 'Are You Serious? A French shoe designer is being called on the carpet for a comment he made calling Barbie fat -- specifically her ankles. The iconic, incredible Barbie is now a bigger fashion symbol than ever. In fact, some in the fashion world seem to think she's too big. Stiletto maker Christian Louboutin is re-designing a fashion Barbie set to come out next year, and according to Women's Wear Daily, found her ankles a bit too fat for his taste, so he re-shaped the doll's...
Published on Tuesday 7th of September 2010 08:31:56 PM
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(AP) Mattel has launched a new line of black Barbie dolls with fuller lips, a wider nose and more pronounced cheek bones - a far cry from Christie, Barbie's black friend who debuted in the 1960s and was essentially a white doll painted brown. etc.
Published on Tuesday 7th of September 2010 08:31:56 PM
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A little girls’ icon gets ink. Can ‘Pole Dance Barbie’ be far behind? By Matt Philbin Culture and Media Institute March 10, 2009 We can be sure she’s not the first of her generation to mark her 50th birthday by getting tattoos. After all, the cultivation of youth-obsessed narcissism and bad taste is a Baby Boomer hallmark (see Clinton, Bill). But “Totally Stylin’ Tattoos Barbie” is no less disturbing for being a product of her generation. Mattel is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the bubbly blonde franchise with an update – tattoos for her and her young owners. Of course,...
Published on Tuesday 7th of September 2010 08:31:56 PM
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A simple coo is stirring up controversy among some holiday shoppers. They believe a new doll was programmed to say “Islam is the light.“ Is that what the doll is saying? You Decide…
Published on Tuesday 7th of September 2010 08:31:56 PM
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Now they are attacking our children's minds. This $20.00 baby doll says ISLAM IS THE LIGHT on the 3rd time it talks. This is absolutely pathetic. Shame on Fisher Price and Mattel. What the h*ll were they thinking. 3 different videos at this link http://www.floridab ruce.com/ islam_is_ the_light. htm
Published on Tuesday 7th of September 2010 08:31:56 PM
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KNIGHTSVILLE, Ind. (WTHI) - Months ago, Rachel Jones was shocked to discover her 4-year-old's baby doll seemed to have a hidden message: Islam is the light. Imagine her surprise when a game for her 8-year-old daughter's Nintendo DS had the same message. Rachel said she bought the Nintendo game, Baby Pals, as a gift for her 8-year-old daughter after a good report card. She had no idea the game also contained the hidden message "Islam is the light."
Published on Tuesday 7th of September 2010 08:31:56 PM
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KNIGHTSVILLE, Ind. (WTHI) - Months ago, Rachel Jones was shocked to discover her 4-year-old's baby doll seemed to have a hidden message: Islam is the light. Imagine her surprise when a game for her 8-year-old daughter's Nintendo DS had the same message. Rachel said she bought the Nintendo game, Baby Pals, as a gift for her 8-year-old daughter after a good report card. She had no idea the game also contained the hidden message "Islam is the light." "We were sitting in the kitchen, and she was playing it," said Jones. "All of a sudden she looked at me, and...
Published on Tuesday 7th of September 2010 08:31:56 PM
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LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The rowdy Bratz dolls have been evicted. Barbie has regained control of the dollhouse. Toy giant Mattel Inc., after a four-year legal dispute with MGA Entertainment Inc., touted its win in the case Wednesday after a federal judge banned MGA from making and selling its pouty-lipped and hugely popular Bratz dolls. "It's a pretty sweeping victory," Mattel attorney Michael Zeller said. "They have no right to use Bratz for any goods or services at all." U.S. District Judge Stephen Larson rocked the toy industry with his order that MGA must immediately stop manufacturing Bratz. He allowed...
Published on Tuesday 7th of September 2010 08:31:56 PM
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LOS ANGELES — The rowdy Bratz dolls have been evicted. Barbie has regained control of the dollhouse. Toy giant Mattel Inc., after a four-year legal dispute with MGA Entertainment Inc., touted its win in the case Wednesday after a federal judge banned MGA from making and selling its pouty-lipped and hugely popular Bratz dolls.
Published on Tuesday 7th of September 2010 08:31:56 PM
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Beirut does not feel like a conservative place. The girls wear shorts up to here and hair down to there. Cocktails are consumed by the gallon, and there is a rumbustious, if incestuous, arts scene. But this week, the limits of Lebanon's liberal attitude to art were tested by images of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the militant Shia group Hezbollah, and a smiling Barbie doll. Some photographs, featuring Barbie dolls and a garish Middle Eastern mishmash of political and religious iconography, were removed from a high-profile exhibition of work by the Lebanese artist Jocelyne Saab by the gallery over...
Published on Tuesday 7th of September 2010 08:31:56 PM
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Mattel Inc. said Thursday it is cutting about 1,000 positions worldwide because of the economic downturn that is clouding the holiday outlook for toy makers.The world's largest toymaker said an undisclosed number of the cuts would be at its Middleton-based American Girl division, which has generally been turning in solid results. Mattel, which also makes Barbie and Fisher Price products, among others, said the positions amount to 3 percent of its worldwide work force and will reduce its professional and management staff by 8 percent. The company said the cuts will come from a combination of layoffs, attrition and retirements...
Published on Tuesday 7th of September 2010 08:31:56 PM
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pinch Related Quotes Symbol Price Change HAS 30.12 +0.03 MAT 14.45 -0.01 ^GSPC 940.55 -5.88 Chinese police officers stand guard as hundreds of workers gather outside a AP – Chinese police officers stand guard as hundreds of workers gather outside a government building after … DONGGUAN, China – Unemployed worker Wang Wenming was angry at his boss for shutting down a massive Chinese factory this week that made toys for Mattel Inc., Hasbro Inc. and other American companies. But the assembly line worker was also furious at the United States. "This financial crisis in America is going to kill us....
Published on Tuesday 7th of September 2010 08:31:56 PM
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A doll some are claiming utters pro-Islam and even satanic messages has outraged parents in Oklahoma and Pennsylvania. People insist they can hear Fisher-Price's "Little Mommy Real Loving Baby Cuddle and Coo" mumbling "Islam is the light" and "Satan is king," according to KJRH.com and MyFOXKC.com. "There's no markings on the box to indicate there's anything Islamic about this doll," said Gary Rofkahr of Owasso, Okla., who was at work when another man brought the toy in to show his colleagues. Rofkahr said he found various versions of the doll at local Target and Wal-Mart stores, which have since pulled...
Published on Tuesday 7th of September 2010 08:31:56 PM
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For nearly two years, designers at Mattel Inc.'s Fisher-Price toiled to hide a maze of copper wires and microchips under the plush red fur of the company's newest Elmo toy. The resulting "Elmo Live" is its most advanced ever, able to cross its legs, flap its arms and fluidly mimic the famous television Muppet. All that wizardry, however, comes at a steep price. When Elmo Live arrives in stores on Tuesday, it will cost $60 -- about a third more than last year's model, and above the $50 tag that once was the high-water mark for most toys. Elmo Live...
Published on Tuesday 7th of September 2010 08:31:56 PM
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When Iranian toy seller Masoumeh Rahimi thinks of Barbie and Ken dolls, she thinks of heavy artillery — only worse. “I think every Barbie doll is more harmful than an American missile,” Ms. Rahmi told the BBC back in 2002. In April 2008, Iran’s top prosecutor and religious cleric, Ghorban Ali Dori Najafabadi, upped the anti-Barbie campaign by calling for a ban on the sale of all Barbie dolls from the country. “Barbie is an emissary of nudity and promotes moral corruption,” wrote the hardliner newspaper Kahyan.... (Photos at link)
Published on Tuesday 7th of September 2010 08:31:56 PM
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With their bling-bling glittering through the plastic of their stylish boxes, they dish out attitude on the Barbie aisle. Happy D., Kiyoni Brown, Liam, P. Bo, Tika and Tre. Hip-hop culture in a box. Setting out to give older girls a reality check, this month Mattel introduced Flavas, its first doll designed to catch the eye of a modern tween (8- to 12-year-olds). Wendy Wedemier-Hinds, 33, of Miramar, says when she looks at the dolls, "I automatically think of hip-hop." Even the name Flava (hip-hop slang for personal style) is trendy. "It's Barbie with a twist," says Robert Rosenberg, manager...
Published on Tuesday 7th of September 2010 08:31:56 PM
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A Chinese province is likely to join a planned libel suit against US giant Mattel, accusing the toy maker of harming the region's reputation, state press said Tuesday. The government of Guangdong province is considering the suit after Mattel issued a safety recall on more than 21 million Chinese-made toys this summer, but later apologised saying 85 percent of the recall was due to its own design flaws, the China Daily said. "The incident has stained the reputation of Chinese toy manufacturers and made a large number of toy factories in Guangdong lose a great deal of money," it quoted...
Published on Tuesday 7th of September 2010 08:31:56 PM
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August, Mattel Inc. recalled 7.3 million Polly Pocket play sets with small magnets that could come loose and, if swallowed, tear holes in a child's digestive system. Hearing that, Lisa Davis didn't think twice about removing the toys from her 5-year-old daughter's room and "chucking them in the trash" rather than returning the items for a replacement. "It's just not worth my time to go through the hassle," Davis said. "It's easier to quietly stick them in the trash when my daughter's not looking." This year, manufacturers and retailers have issued a steady drumbeat of recalls for unsafe items including...
Published on Tuesday 7th of September 2010 08:31:56 PM
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After weeks of uproar and suspicion about the safety of Chinese-made products, an executive of the Mattel toy company met with China's top product safety official yesterday to issue an apology. Just what the apology meant, however, was caught up in translation. Mattel says that Thomas A. Debrowski, its executive vice president for worldwide operations, was in Beijing to repeat what the company had already said in Europe and the United States, that it was sorry for the recall of millions of toys, and that it was doing all it could to prevent further problems. The Chinese press heard it...
Published on Tuesday 7th of September 2010 08:31:56 PM
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LOS ANGELES - Mattel Inc. tried to save face Friday with Chinese officials, taking the blame for the recent recalls of millions of Chinese-made toys as it strives to mend a strained relationship with the nation that makes most of its toys and fattens its profit. The world's largest toy maker sent a top executive to personally apologize to China's product safety chief, Li Changjang, as reporters and company lawyers looked on. 'Mattel takes full responsibility for these recalls and apologizes personally to you, the Chinese people, and all of our customers who received the toys,' Thomas A. Debrowski, Mattel's...
Published on Tuesday 7th of September 2010 08:31:56 PM
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