Valentines Day News for WRBB

February 14th, 2007

WORLD NEWS
China's changing skin colour

Western-style fashions are big business in China A visit to any chemist in China gives an insight into Chinese attitudes to beauty. The shelves are loaded with creams and lotions which whiten the skin.

"Making skin look paler is very deeply rooted in Chinese tradition," said Jan Hodok, marketing manager for the skincare company Nivea in China. Dark skin in Imperial times was associated with labouring in the fields. Even today it is China's migrant workers, who work on construction sites across cities like Shanghai, that have the darkest skin.

However, foreign attitudes to tanning are also taking hold. for a growing number of young Chinese people, dark skin now means having the money to afford foreign holidays or Western-style glamour.

The customers at MH Tanning in central Shanghai agree. The first in China, according to its manager Huang Tong, the salon is popular with the city's young upwardly mobile set. "Our customers are mainly Chinese people - white collar workers, entrepreneurs, people who've been abroad, or fashionable people like singers and actors. We have more men than women but the girls who come here are really fashion conscious," he said.

There is still a great deal of ignorance about the dangers of too much exposure to the sun and there are worries though that this new trend could lead to a higher incidence of skin-cancer. But few seem particularly concerned about the health effects of tanning.

In Shanghai, getting rich, and displaying your money is what matters. And a deep dark tan would appear to be one of the easiest ways to show that you are basking in China's new-found wealth. (BBC News)



Valentine's Day wins Indian hearts

Valentine's Day is now firmly established as a special date in India despite complaints from some radical religious groups that it is an affront to its tradition and culture.

Couples who are planning to go on Valentine's Day dates in some parts of India risk having their romance disrupted by religious radicals who are trying to prevent men and women meeting each other in public.

The right-wing Hindu organisation Bajrang Dal has said it will oppose Valentine's Day celebrations in Madhya Pradesh "tooth and nail", claiming the day reflects a Western phenomenon which is destroying Indian culture.

The group also encourages its members to burn Valentine's cards and members have put up billboard advertisements asking young lovers not to hold hands. Traditional Indian society does not approve of public displays of affection between the sexes, including hand-holding and kissing.

Another Hindu hard-line organization, the Shiv Sena, has said it will photograph couples caught expressing their love in cinemas, cafes and shopping malls and hand the pictures to their parents.
However, the message of this small number of protestors is ignored by the majority of people, especially the young. In Delhi, smart restaurants are fully booked for February 14th and card shops and florists are expecting to do record business.

The Indian Post Office is also cashing in. It has launched a set of floral-scented stamps for Valentine's Day and hopes this will encourage people to send letters and cards to each other, rather than relying on emails and text messages to express their love.

Valentine's Day is a relatively new concept in India but it has grown in significance in the past five years. As India's economy booms, many young women have found that financial independence brings with it freedom of choice when it comes to relationships. In the past, the key decision on who a woman would marry was usually made by her parents. Now though, many professional and educated women follow their own hearts when it comes to romance and young men have discovered that Valentine's Day offers a useful opportunity to lure the girls their way.

Businesses are happy to cash in. (BBC News)

US NEWS
DaimlerChrysler cuts 13,000 jobs

DaimlerChrysler is to cut 13,000 jobs at its loss-making US unit Chrysler.
The German-US group also said it would close one Chrysler factory as it continues efforts to turn around the struggling US operation.

Hit by falling sales, which were down 7% in the US last year, Chrysler has a total workforce of 83,000 people. Like fellow "Big Three" US carmakers Ford and General Motors, Chrysler has been hit by tough competition from Japanese rivals. Ford and GM are already cutting thousands of jobs in the US in an effort to reduce costs and improve their competitiveness.

The Chrysler plant that will close is its factory in Newark, Delaware. With a workforce of 2,100, this makes the firm's slow-selling Dodge Durango and Chrysler Aspen sports utility vehicle (SUV) models.

Overall, Chrysler is cutting 9,000 jobs in the US and 4,000 in Canada. The job loss announcement came as DaimlerChrysler said Chrysler made a loss of 124m euros in 2006 ($162m; £83m).

Leading US car firms have all been knocked by an over-reliance on thirsty pick-ups and SUVs, at a time when more American drivers are switching to smaller more economical cars. (BBC News)

LOCAL NEWS
Snow, rain, and sleet slow commute

A sloppy winter storm dumped a heavy mix of snow and sleet on Boston, slowing the morning commute and causing a slew of spinouts and minor accidents.

State police reported no major crashes despite a thick blanket of snow on most roads. By 7 a.m., 1.1 inches had fallen at Logan International Airport, according to the National Weather Service.

The storm forced the cancellation of some 90 out of 1,100 daily flights at Logan, said Richard Walsh, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Port Authority, which operates the airport. Two runways were open this morning, Walsh said, and delays averaged 30 minutes.

The Coast Guard has warned boaters to stay in port with winds at sea expected to gust up to 50 mph and produce 20 foot waves. Peter Pan and Bonanza Bus Lines cancelled all service today north of New York City and throughout New England.

While the storm caused headaches for commuters and closed almost 300 schools, it could have been much worse, said Charlie Foley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Taunton. The worst of the weather and cold air is heading north, leaving Boston with almost as much rain and sleet as snow, Foley said. The combination has kept snow totals down. West of the city, two to four inches of snow fell, Foley said.

The snow and rain should stop falling late this evening, Foley said. Forecasters predict that Thursday should be sunny and windy, with temperatures in the 20s. (Boston Globe)

CAMPUS NEWS
In collaboration with Northeastern University
THE GORBACHEV FOUNDATION
OF NORTH AMERICA’S
Speaker Series presents:

Professor Jorge I. Domínguez
“CUBA: Today and Tomorrow”

Jorge I. Domínguez is the Antonio Madero Professor of Mexican and Latin American Politics and Economics and Vice Provost for International Affairs at Harvard University. He was Director of the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University from 1996 to 2006. He is a specialist in comparative politics and international relations in Latin America, and his current research is focused on U.S.-Latin American relations, U.S.-Mexican relations, public opinion and elections in Mexico, political transition in Cuba, and the assessment of democracy in Latin America and the Caribbean. He is also a Senior Fellow of the Gorbachev Foundation of North America.

Northeastern University
Thursday, February 15
Raytheon Amphitheater, Egan Center
3:00pm-5:30pm

***Reception from 5-5:30PM***

For additional information, please contact Amy Miller at 617.262.4122



CELEBRITY NEWS
BRITNEY SPEARS IS A LESBIAN
at least that's what I read yesterday in OK! Pass it on!

Diet of Champions

Those who know British bad boy Robbie Williams are not surprised that he recently checked in to rehab. His mom Jan, a drug counsellor, said going into rehab was "the best present he could give himself."

The singer turned 33 yesterday, the same day he admitted himself to a treatment facility in Arizona. And, this alarming look at the Robster's life paints a frightful picture of a man drowning in excess.

- The singer finds it impossible to get to sleep until 4 or 5am due to insomnia and is on sleeping pills.
- He is hooked on the powerful and controversial anti-depressant Seroxat, which has been linked to suicidal tendencies in teenagers.
- And daily he gets through an incredible 36 super-strength double espresso coffees, 60 Silk Cut cigarettes and around 20 cans of energy drink Red Bull.
- His LA mansion has cabinets full of prescription drugs.

If only Anna Nicole could have gotten help as well!

Let's hope it sticks, Robbie. (PerezHilton.com)



MUSIC NEWS
Elliott Smith Rarities Due on Kill Rock Stars

Happy Valentine's Day, Elliott Smith fans! Kill Rock Stars has delivered a priceless gift, better than chocolate, flowers, and diamonds combined. On May 8, the label that helped launch Smith's career will release New Moon, a two-disc collection of songs recorded in 1995-1997, the period concurrent with the making of Smith's classic KRS albums Elliott Smith and Either/Or.

KRS will also release New Moon on vinyl, while Domino-- which treated audiences outside North America to Elliott Smith and Either/Or-- will serve up New Moon there on May 7.

A portion of the proceeds from sales of New Moon will go to Outside In, a Portland, Oregon social service agency helping homeless youth.

New Moon was mixed by Smith's longtime friend and collaborator, producer/engineer Larry Crane, who also serves as the archivist for Smith's estate.

In a press release, Kill Rock Stars noted that the Los Angeles Police Department's investigation into Smith's death on October 21, 2003 remains open. The mystery and legend of Elliott Smith continues to grow.

New Moon tracklist:

Disc One:

01 Angel in the Snow
02 Talking to Mary
03 High Times
04 New Monkey
05 Looking Over My Shoulder
06 Going Nowhere
07 Riot Coming
08 All Cleaned Out
09 First Timer
10 Go By
11 Miss Misery (Early Version)
12 Thirteen

Disc Two:

01 Georgia Georgia
02 Whatever (Folk Song in C)
03 Big Decision
04 Placeholder
05 New Disaster
06 Seen How Things Are Hard
07 Fear City
08 Either/Or
09 Pretty Mary K (Other Version)
10 Almost Over
11 See You Later
12 Half Right

(pitchforkmedia.com)