1.LORNA JANE is under fire for advertising for a receptionist with a 90cm bust and 70cm waist to answer telephones in their US head office.
In a move that has plunged the Australian company into a full-blown public relations nightmare, the ad said the successful applicant would have to have the following measurements:
Bust: 87-90cm
Waist: 70-73cm
Hip (at widest point): 97-100cm
Height: 165cm or taller
They would also need “strong administration and computer skills”.
The ABC reports that “critics flooded the Lorna Jane Facebook page”, arguing that women should be judged on their qualifications, not their appearance.
“Sad for any suitably qualified girl whose dream job with you won’t happen because the size of her body doesn’t fit with your ridiculous so-called ‘requirements’!” Alicia Michele Holbrook wrote.
“Perhaps you ought not force your receptionists into ‘fit model’ roles in [an] attempt to only hire people of a certain size and gender,” Charlie Smith wrote.
Lorna Jane has raced to its own defence, saying the job was for a ‘fit model’ as well as a receptionist. Fit models are required to model clothes during various stages of the design process.
“As the ad states, the position we are hoping to fill is for a ‘fit model’, which is an in-house model [specifically a size small] to assist with the fit of our active wear,” the company wrote, although the ad does clearly say “receptionist/fit model”.
“A fit model ensures that we maintain consistency in our sizing across our entire range of different products.
“As you can imagine, we have a great variety of styles and fabrics and it is imperative that we keep our sizing as consistent as possible.
“Having a fit model allows us to do so. We hope this has clarified any misconceptions about our advertisement.
“We certainly pride ourselves on hiring healthy, active women of all different shapes and sizes, but as we hope you can understand, a fit model must have certain dimensions to help with our garment measurements.”
2.Animal rights activists have collected more than 50,000 signatures in an effort to force a Bali hotel to release its captive dolphins from a tiny, chlorinated pool.
The Wake Bali Dolphin experience advertises itself as “REAL SWIMMING WITH DOLPHIN”.
“Let’s make your holiday more fun and memorable to have a swimming with dolphins, you can get up close and truly unique experience where you will to create some magical memories with some of sea world’s delightful Dolphins,” the ad says.
“You are invited to not just watching but rather interacts directly with dolphin through hugging, kissing, petting, and really swimming with dolphins. You will spend about 45 minutes with dolphins in the pool just in front of the beautiful black sand beach.”
The four dolphins are kept in a chlorinated pool measuring just 10m by 20m.
Surfers have started a petition to get the attraction closed down.
In respectful language, the petition says: “This is a request for Wake Bali Dolphins to free the dolphins and allow them to be re-introduced into the wild, where they belong.”
3.Can you even believe this Tweet?
The England women’s soccer team returned to London yesterday after achieving the best result by any team since the men won the World Cup in 1966.
The English Football Association welcomed the women home with a Tweet that said: “Our #Lionesses go back to being mothers, partners and daughters today, but they have taken on another title — heroes.”
The FA tweet went out to 1.34 million followers. It was deleted 45 minutes after it was posted, with the association saying it had been, you guessed it, taken out of context.
The US women’s team won the Cup. The tournament was a corker and deserved more coverage than it got.
4.Did Nick Kyrgios deliberately give away his last Wimbledon game?
Fans seem to think so, with News Limited reporting that Kyrgios has “plunged deeper into Wimbledon controversy” after being accused of deliberately tanking during a fourth-round loss to Richard Gasquet.
The Australian was accused of displaying ‘petulance and disinterest’ during a 7-5 6-1 6-7 (7-9) 7-6 (8-6) loss.
Kyrgios, 20, had a number of clashes with British umpire Jamie Keothavong, earning a code violation for swearing.
5.How much harm is all that screen time doing to your children?
The New York Times reports says that “excessive use of computer games” among young people in China has now been classified as a clinical disorder.
A new documentary “Web Junkie,” highlights the “tragic effects on teenagers who become hooked on video games, playing for dozens of hours at a time often without breaks to eat, sleep or even use the bathroom.”
Screen time starts early, often with “toddlers handed their parents’ cellphones and tablets to entertain themselves when they should be observing the world around them and interacting with their caregivers.”
The American Academy of Pediatrics says the average 8- to 10-year-old “spends nearly eight hours a day with a variety of different media, and older children and teenagers spend more than 11 hours per day.”
“Many parents seem to have few rules about use of media by their children and adolescents,” with effects of long-term use still unknown.
6.Terminally ill patients in the UK are being asked when they expect to die, before being approved for a new, special pension for the chronically ill.
The Guardian says that “terminally ill welfare claimants are being asked by benefit assessors when precisely they are expected to die.”
Lawmaker Frank Field says the questions are “intrusive and painful.”
“My constituents tell me that despite submitting a form drawing attention to a terminal illness, they have been asked directly to their face whether they think they will soon die and by what date they expect to be dead,” Mr Field said.
“In one case my constituent’s mother was asked by when she expected her daughter to die and in front of her daughter.”
He continued: “This has left my constituents feeling understandably very upset. They tell me they are appalled by the hardness of the questioning and its intrusiveness.”
The new payment is replacing the disability living allowance. It is worth £54 or $112 a week.
