Words About Things

Silvio Berlusconi has had a tough weekend, first he was attacked by a man wielding a souvenir model of a cathedral then Italy banned breast implants for girls under 18. (For any lawyers reading: I’m sure Berlusconi has never shown an interest in a girl under 18, although he has been to at least one 18th birthday party this year).

The new legislation aims to prevent girls from rushing in to having plastic surgery without having first considering the risks. There have been many reports of operations going wrong and of girls receiving sub-standard implants.  Francesca Martini of Italy’s welfare ministry has suggested that a register of qualified plastic surgeons should be drawn up in order to prevent botched operations being performed by less skilled doctors.

“This legislation is primarily aimed at the growing number of girls under 18 who have breast enhancement surgery purely for fashion reasons and have no idea of the risks involved. Far too many adolescent girls are unaware of the fact that there are risks with this type of surgery and it should not be used purely for fashion and looks.At the moment we have a Wild West, cowboy style system of plastic surgery for young women and this must stop.”

It has been estimated that around 10,000 teenage girls had breast enhancement surgery in Italy in 2008. Most of these operations were paid for by the girl’s parents as a gift. In the UK it is still legal for girls under 18 to have cosmetic surgery although many surgeons are unwilling to operate on those who are still growing.

It’s that time of year where various companies have the bright idea of releasing a calendar featuring scantily clad members of staff. These calendars tend to be in aid of charity although the massive amounts of free publicity they generate by catching the attention of lazy blog writers probably has  a lot to do with it.

The marketing geniuses who work for Ryanair have done it once again with another calendar featuring 12 air stewardesses (or is it cabin crew?) in their underwear. Being a low cost airline the underwear is mostly no-frills. The airline’s chief executive Michael O’Leary has apparently already bought the first 100 copies of the 2010 calendar which suggests that is wife might be throwing his copies away.

“Ryanair has again done the dirty in a desperate bid for profits and pimped out its “sexiest” airline stewards in a “bare all” calendar. Such derisory marketing will surely deter more serious candidates interested in a career in airline services and bring the entire airline service industry career into disrepute as a result.”

MEP Mary Honeyball objecting to last years calendar.

It is hoped that as well as annoying Ms Honeyball, this year’s calendar will raise £100,000 for the charity KIDS who help disabled children and their families.

Three students at the prestigious Cambridge University have been criticized for featuring photos of scantily clad girls on the site of their student newspaper. ‘The Tab’ has been criticized for its ‘Tab Totty’ page which features female university students in their underwear. Even the Daily Mail had the cheek to criticize the site which is currently down presumably due to excessive demand.

Taymoor Atighetchi, Jack Rivlin and George Marangos Gilks set up The Tab for students at the university and accept submissions from other students. The site aims to entertain and the editors claim that their aim was not to be sexist. They say that The Tab is provided as an antidote to the formal tone of the other University papers available.

“We are all just a bunch of student enjoying a bit of harmless fun. The girls who posed up are people we know from Cambridge we all had fun doing the shots. Most of the objections come from elitists who think that think that tabloid entertainment is beneath them.”

George Marangos Gilks

Photographer Katy King who took the controversial photos stands by the feature:  “These girls have the freedom to do and say what they want, and they exercised that freedom by doing Tab Totty. It is a shame that girls have to get their kit off to generate feminist debate”.

Members of the student union have called for the paper to be axed as they believe it plays into the idea of women as sexual objects. Members of staff at the University are said to be carefully studying the photos in order to see if any action needs to be taken.

The Germans clearly know how to have a good time. They might not be known for their sense of humor but they certainly seem to like their beer. Oktoberfest 2009 has officially begun after the Mayor of Munich declared ‘Ozapft is’ (the beer is tapped). The event is due to recieve 6 million visitors this year making it the biggest beer festival ever.

Girls at Oktoberfest 2009

The first Oktoberfest took place on October 18, 1810 as a celebration of the marrage of Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese Charlotte Luise of Saxony-Hildburghausen (with a name that long the vows must have taken a while).

During the 16 day fesitval visitors will be able to sample heroic amount of beer and sausages often served by the legendary Oktoberfest girls. During the 2007 festival 6,940,600 litres of beer was consumed along with 909,765 ½ litres of Lemonade.
This year there are at least 15 iPhone applications to help you on your way including a drink ordering dictionary and a Blood-Alcohol-Calculator. I wonder if there is an app to help you retreave your iPhone from the portaloos?

More photos from Oktoberfest 2009 after the jump…

(more…)