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Yo, Joe! Collectors Want Iconic Soldier in National Toy Hall of Fame Mike Branom/Associated Press Jul 3, 2004 LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) - G.I. Joe fans think it's about time the iconic action figure took its rightful place with the likes of Barbie, Silly Putty and Mr. Potato Head. The little soldier's absence from the National Toy Hall of Fame prompted something of a war cry this weekend at the International G.I. Joe Collectors' Convention in Lake Buena Vista, where triumphant shouts of "Yo, Joe!" gave way to "Why no Joe?" "G.I. Joe has more name recognition than virtually...

Sorry, loony left: The Minnesota Twins say they won't give G.I. Joe the boot. Despite pressure from several anti-choice appeasement groups in the P.C.-crazed Minneapolis area, the team will present the action figure to 5,000 lucky children at the game Monday with the Kansas City Royals. "We are absolutely going forward with the promotion," said Patrick Klinger, the team's vice president of marketing. "It really is intended to pay tribute to the soldiers, those infantry people who are serving the country here and abroad. We wanted to pay tribute to the real G.I. Joes and G.I. Janes serving the...

Appeasement groups are fighting mad: To honor the troops, the Minnesota Twins are giving G.I. Joe action figures to 5,000 children. The baseball team plans to present Duke, "the calm and determined battlefield commander of the G.I. Joe team," at the game Monday night, the day after Independence Day, in what the Associated Press today called "the first patriotic giveaway in the major leagues this season." Uh oh. If something is branded as patriotic, you know the whining will begin. "It's not a credible way to honor those who've suffered the inhumanity of war," moaned Phil Steger, executive director of...

Twins' G.I. Joe giveaway criticized Peaceniks rip team's idea to honor military BY ARON KAHN Pioneer Press In another sign that the war in Iraq has permeated virtually all aspects of life in America, your hometown ball club will introduce the major leagues' first patriotic giveaway of this era — a G.I. Joe action figure. The Minnesota Twins will present Duke, "the calm and determined battlefield commander of the G.I. Joe team,'' to the first 5,000 children at Monday night's game against the Kansas City Royals as a way of honoring local military personnel. But while the Twins hand out...

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Several peace groups are demanding the Minnesota Twins abandon plans to give G.I. Joe action figures to 5,000 children as part of a team promotion honoring local military personnel. The Minnesota Twins will present Duke, ``the calm and determined battlefield commander of the G.I. Joe team,'' at Monday night's game against the Kansas City Royals in the first patriotic giveaway in the major leagues this season. ``I think the Twins are way off base with this idea,'' said John Varone, a Vietnam veteran and president of the Twin Cities chapter of Veterans for Peace. ``For gosh sakes,...

Autumn,1942: It came down to one Marine, and one ship. October 26 falls on a Thursday this year. Ask the significance of the date, and you're likely to draw some puzzled looks -- five more days to stock up for Halloween? It's a measure of men like Col. Mitchell Paige and Rear Adm. Willis A. "Ching Chong China" Lee that they wouldn't have had it any other way. What they did 58 years ago, they did precisely so their grandchildren could live in a land of peace and plenty. Whether we've properly safeguarded the freedoms they fought to leave us,...

How splendid that Hasbro is to bring out a new version of its G.I. Joe doll meant to look like George W. Bush in his flight suit after landing an airplane on the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln last May. Called an "Elite Force Aviator," the action figure representing "George Dubya himself in all his glory and flight equipment" will be available in KB Toy Stores in September and will make a great Christmas present for little boys, with or without a Jihad Joe for him to do battle with. And, as a side benefit, it is...

Tanks for the Memory By Ralph Kinney Bennett TCS One of the enduring images of the recent war in Iraq is a column of M-1A1 Abrams tanks barreling down the streets of Baghdad on a "thunder run," deep into the city. This spring, American tanks in Iraq gave a small reprise of their astounding successes in the 1991 Gulf War. The superiority of both American and British tanks (and their superbly trained crews) was beyond question. When they engaged Iraqi armor directly, their ability to get off the vital first shot and make it count was decisive. Iraq is littered...

J.C. Penney Catalog: GI Joe Commandeers Barbie's Dream Houseby Eric Garris September 27, 2002 Thumbing through the J.C. Penney Christmas Catalog, Antiwar.com's Administrative Assistant Anastasia Kellar came across this horrific picture in the toys section.Here is what J.C. Penney's says about this product:Forward Command Post $44.99 Take command of your soldiers from this fully outfitted battlezone. 75-piece set includes one 111/2"H figurine in military combat gear, toy weapons, American flag, chairs and more. Assembled dimensions; 32x16x32"H. Plastic. 10 lbs. Ages 5 and up.This looks like the sort of toy that Norman Podhoretz or Bill Kristol would buy for their...

Armless warrior ... George and his disarmed GI Joe Kid's 2-inch gun seizedBy BOB GRAHAMAIRPORT security staff confiscated a TWO-INCH plastic gun from a toy soldier, it was revealed yesterday. British tourist Judy Powell, 55, bought a GI Joe doll in America as a gift for her seven-year-old grandson George.Security officials at Los Angeles airport found the toy — similar to Action Man — when they searched Judy’s bags before she boarded a flight to London.Then they took the figure out of its box and confiscated its tiny replica Armalite rifle.Judy revealed: “They examined the toy as if it...

A doll caused a security alert at an American airport because its two-inch plastic gun was considered a dangerous weapon. Judy Powell, 55, from Walton on the Hill, Surrey, bought the GI Joe toy in Las Vegas and packed it in her hand luggage. But security staff at Los Angeles International Airport refused to let Mrs Powell on board the plane with the replica rifle. Mrs Powell had to put the gift - minus the rifle - in her suitcase so it could go in the aircraft's hold. Mrs Powell said: "I was simply stunned when I realised they were...