The Modesto Bee from Modesto, California • 12

THE BACK PAGE Monday November 24 1997 A-12 The Modesto Bee Pacific leaders push trade despite market Protesters take to the streets Dr Richard Heck left raps with Dr David Nidorf of San Rafael to promote health issues By Les Blumenthal Bee Washington Bureau VANCOUVER British Columbia President Clinton and the leaders of 17 other Pacific Rim nations gathering Sunday for their annual summit doggedly moved forward with plans for a free-trade zone spanning the Pacific Ocean despite the economic storm sweeping the Far East The leaders sobered by the latest outbreak of market woes last request by South Korea for $20 billion in emergency assistance from the International Monetary Fund sought to reassure jittery financial markets that the turmoil is only temporary and that free trade remains the solution to economic growth think this is time for confidence in the future of Asia and confidence in the future of our relationship with Clinton said during a joint news conference with Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien Clinton said the United States would support IMF efforts to go to the aid of South Korea but added that it would be premature to speculate on whether the United States would participate in any additional bailout package Just before it recessed Congress balked at providing more than $3 billion to help with rescue packages for two other Asian nations Thailand and Malaysia At one point in the news conference Clinton dismissed the Asian economic problems as a little glitches in the road working through With US exports to Asia already totaling $250 billion annually Clinton has moved aggressively during his presidency to open Asian markets and has used the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum as the main vehicle Clinton and Chretien met for an hour to discuss not only financial crisis but everything from the international The Associated Press VANCOUVER British Columbia Anarchists and auto workers anti-communists and Aboriginal groups marched side by side Sunday to protest a rainbow of issues surrounding the APEC forum Part of the alternative Summit on APEC the demonstration was a way to showcase dozens of viewpoints that been raised at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference said Maude Barlow of the Council of Canadians people at the other summit are there for the transnational she said The march Barlow said helped point out and agenda Groups as diverse as the Taiwanese Canadian Association advocates of democracy in Burma and Tibetan independence environmentalists labor unions and rights activists braved a blus- global warming conference next week in Japan to the need to conclude a Pacific salmon treaty think this issue has gone on too long caused too much friction between our Clinton said of the dispute between US and Canadian fishermen over salmon migrating off the coasts of Washington state British Columbia and Alaska Both sides have appointed special negotiators to try to reach an agreement Clinton and Chretien also publicly disagreed on a proposed global treaty banning land mines Clinton on the defensive reiterated the US position A Life RAP: Video spotlights domestic violence bers many of them from Modesto Heck said Their efforts and those of Modesto-based Orbit Productions helped make the project a success used to film (videos) myself then I'd sit there and do all the editing That was a painstaking Heck said I can just come up with a concept then hand it off to these guys (Director) Roberto Chiesa did a wonderful job bringing it to For Chiesa the public service video was a welcome change of pace worked on a lot of films and done a lot of various projects through the company we have here but doing something like this was creative interesting and a whole lot of he said did it in a very entertaining way yet in an educational manner what I tried to keep in mind while directing the whole While Chiesa divulge BARBIE: Many relate to pop Modestans caught in maze Since she was introduced 38 years ago Barbie queen of the fashion dolls has had thousands of clothing changes and a variety of careers lifestyles homes and vacations but relatively few overhauls of her now famous face and figure A look at some of the milestones in her reign: tery drizzle to walk about a mile through the downtown streets Led by the Aboriginal Action Network who beat drums and sang songs the peaceful parade included giant puppets street actors and one man dressed as Satan on stilts Hundreds of signs and banners fluttered in the wind bearing such slogans as Live the Dalai Fiddles While Borneo and Act Your Rage" want to bring out people that are united in opposition to the things that are happening in said Faye Blaney of the action network think that this brings our message out loud and clear that we are The Summit backed by labor unions and social-action groups has held a series of workshops the past week on human rights environmental poverty and other issues not to sign the treaty because the mines are used by American troops in Korea Chretien promised to keep on the United States After the news conference Clinton Chretien and Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong played golf in driving rain at a private Vancouver country club The APEC leaders summit is expected to be dominated by discussion of the financial instability in Asia With the devaluation of Asian currencies their exports become more affordable in the United States while US exports to Asia become more expensive culture icon 1961 Barbie gets boyfriend Ken named for the Handlers' son 1967 She gets first makeover getting eyelashes and a smile 1968 Barbie talks! I 1980 First black and Hispanic Barbies introduced 4 1986 First porcelain Barbie is sold 4 1992 Barbie grows: Mattel sells three-foot tall version Associated Press marketing communications Mattel makes 125 incarnations of the doll each year which retail for anywhere from $599 to more than $700 The toymaker raked in $17 billion in Barbie sales last year A new Barbie face meanwhile with a finer nose and closed mouth will crown six of 24 dolls in main line McKendall said Softer straight hair some in blended colors also will be introduced As for was she reshaped to placate advocates who prefer real to ideal? I mean: While of course sensitive to their issues it the basis for the McKendall said In fact the current Barbie's hourglass figure carry off all of most stylish looks It will take "Really wider wais't McKendall to wear hip huggers 1959 Mattel creates Barbie the Teen-Age Fashion Model a doll named for the daughter of company founders Ruth and Elliott Handler 1963 Gets first friend Midge and later sister Skipper 1965 She gets bendable legs production costs he said comparison to Hollywood budgets it was a lot If the video is well-received he added Orbit Productions hopes to take the message nationwide has the potential to go on a national Chiesa said like to get involved with some kind of production with MTV and distribute it to schools and Heck plans to make three videos next year focusing on exercise literacy and prenatal and vaccination care think it will do well because of the quality of the production and subject he said contemporary and also timeless in a way music catches the attention of kids If you can reach them and get the message across to them at a young age and teach them how to do things the proper way it would prevent a lot of problems from Quade said she herself once ran afoul of a credit reporting agency when someone debts were registered to her name Quade however said the agency conscientiously tries to be accurate and give taxpayers plenty of notice if their money or property is about to be attached There is by the way nothing illegal about one government agency notifying the tax board to carry out a court-ordered debt collection been mandated by the Legislature in the last few years to help other state and local governments collect delinquent Quade said do have administrative authority to attach bank accounts wages even If you receive a notice of action from the tax board Quade said your first step should be to telephone the number listed in the upper left-hand corner of the notice a long wait Yes you probably will be on hold for a while But Quade said the agency these concerns very seriously We try to answer calls in as timely a fashion as (When The Bee called the number listed at the top of the debt collection order the caller was on hold for nearly 10 minutes before giving up) At this point no explanation will entirely satisfy Doug Noppe Sr mad as hell and well you know have done something like this take money out of bank account without their knowledge have been arrested for he said see the government taking more and more control over our lives and I for one like Quade said she let the matter rest puzzled why the Noppes never received any notification until the money was withdrawn disheartened We could have stopped the madness before it Quade said will be issuing an apology letter very sorry this whole thing CONTINUED from A-1 sunglasses the duo raps: "Hands are not for hitting for holding for loving and for The video also addresses gang violence: Three teens pick a fight with another teen at a park In the background are several smaller children enjoying a sunny day on playground equipment apparently oblivious to the turmoil The lone teen who is knocked to the ground runs away from the other three only to return in a car He has a gun As it plays out the teen shoots at his aggressors He misses but a little boy playing on the merry-go-ground slumps to the sandy ground The boy dies and the drama ends with his distraught mother draped over his small white casket Most of the cast are doctors friends or family mem RED TAPE: CONTINUED from A-1 fines amounting to more than $400 He said his son who be reached Friday for comment went to court in Santa Clara County where he received the tickets and worked out a payment schedule but apparently got behind on the payments And somewhere in there the process jumped the tracks The Franchise Tax Board received a debt collection order from Santa Clara County not for Doug Noppe Jr but for Doug Noppe Sr The tax agency tapped the bank account for $24642 every dime if paid the thing we be in this Noppe Sr said want to know how they got my bank account number This whole thing seems illegal to On Nov 13 Kathy Noppe contacted the Franchise Tax Board whose representatives readily acknowledged that a mistake had been made said send us a check but that it would take six or eight weeks to process" Doug Noppe Sr said That was bad news for the Noppes who filed Chapter 13 bankruptcy six months ago after their machine shop business Accu-Tech lost its largest customer was my worth of groceries and Kathy Nom)e said Frustrated at the delay Kathy Noppe called the office of state Sen Dick Monteith R-Modesto Community representative Laurie Reese called the tax board and persuaded it to issue a stop payment order on the check Reimbursement set Reese said the board also would reimburse the Noppes for a $35 bank processing fee Denise Quade a spokeswoman for the Franchise Tax Board said the misdirected debt collection order would not show up on any of the credit information If a lien had been filed though that would appear on credit reports Quade said the board had a system for notifying taxpayers that their property was about to be attached Normally the taxpayer would re- 1977 Barbie gets another makeover getting wide smile and sun-streaked hair CONTINUED from A-1 tion of beauty sex and partying Mattel has filed suit over the hit tune charging trademark infringement But Aqua is far from alone in tacking a message to look all everybody wants to say about how offensive her image has been she has been reappropriated by many people from sadomasochist Barbies to GI Joe gender-bender said Lynn Spigel professor of film and television at the University of Southern California have certainly used her as a vehicle to express their own said Spigel who studies reincarnations in crafts and high arts Women dress up in Barbie clothing to their teens gay men collect the doll because they supposed to as boys and prestigious fashion designers craft tiny Barbie gowns said Spigel As for Spigel said: was listening to my little kid sing it and (she was) getting great joy in making fun of Barbie They know at a young age that she might be an ideal but also an object of can brush my hair undress me everywhere Imagination just a necessarily play out the fantasy that Mattel sells Spigel said is to become the queen of the Advertising trends in fact lean more toward prom queen-valedictorian in one experts said a trend away from bimbo sexy More toward intelligent sexy That would be a trend that both seen and said Charlie Chapin of Stockton ad agency Chapin Associates Ads and icons Chapin said both mirror and feed appetite for sexual images think that it kind of works as a system One it reflects our current values And to the extent that we see this advertising it reinforces those values It creates a stronger tendency in our culture to accept that type of advertising and to respond to As for Barbie herself she sends a distinct message doll enthusiasts said think) if they that bosomy then not beautiful Or if their hair js not that long and blond then they're not beautiful 9If have done something like this take money out of bank account without their knowledge have been arrested for fraud I see the government taking more and more control over our lives and I for one like it Doug Noppe Sr ceive at least two letters before any action was taken The Noppes say they never received any notice from the tax board or their bank until the money was pulled from their account They do remember that their son received a letter from Santa Clara County to pay his traffic fines but the notice had his Social Security number on it He notified the traffic court of the error and the Noppes figured that would straighten things out It Where did the process go wrong? Apparently somewhere in the Santa Clara County court system Quade is trying to pinpoint exactly where but could not come up with an answer Friday It could happen to you Could it happen to you? Kathy Noppe said a tax board representative told her that sort of thing happens the No doubt in these days of computer cross-checking when government agencies and even private companies sometimes seem to know more about us than we know about ourselves entirely possible that your name will get attached to someone Social Security number or address especially iryour names are the same 1997 Barbie gets third makeover with 1 a resculpting of her body to more natural dimensions Her mouth closes she wears less makeup and has more natural hair Source: AP research if they emanate too much from Barbie then they become their own said Oleta Woodside who runs Oleta Woodside Doll Hospital in Modesto Make me walk Make me talk Do whatever you please I can act like a star I can beg on my The bottom line critics said is that girls must rethink the ideal which may very well be someone like an overweight mother role models are needed for ordinary women" said Linda Sherry editorial director for Consumer Action in San Francisco I think making waist bigger and making her hips smaller is going to do The new body in fact will appear in just one Barbie line: Rad said Lisa McKendall director of.