Latest news with #ImeldaMarcos
Times
12-07-2025
- Lifestyle
- Times
I rinse out and reuse my bin bags. I can't be the only one
T wenty years ago I spent £180 on a kitchen bin. Then, quite soon after but unrelated, we had three children. The kitchen bin is still with us and you would hope so too because — I'm not sure if I've mentioned this — it cost £180. I wasn't to know it at the time but the bin was to become the high watermark of our extravagant double-income-no-kids lives. Imelda Marcos had a last pair of Louboutins. Caligula had a last roast crocodile. We have that bin. Every time I use it I have a flash of nostalgia for that life before nappies, buggies, uniforms and driving lessons. Those, after all, were the days — the late nights and late mornings, the relaxed conversations, the avocado on toast, the enormous bin budget. The problem is that the £180 bin requires very particular bin bags and those very particular bin bags are expensive, which is probably where I should have begun this cautionary tale. On bin day last week I had an argument with Harriet. She began it by saying, 'I've put a chicken carcass in the bin, so make sure you chuck it out.' I said, 'But I just washed the bin bag.' She said, 'It's hot, though, so it will smell.' I offered to wash it again with washing-up liquid and everything but she crossed her elbows and said no. Very quickly the argument became heated and then it spiralled across wider budgetary red lines — the cost of my beers, the cost of her massage treatments, the lottery ticket I once bought, that time she parked in the multistorey rather than on the street a mile away but free. Then, for a moment, the guns fell silent. She made an angry cup of (expensive) coffee. I made a defensive cup of (cheap) tea. Then, caffeinated, she took a deep breath and said, 'Why are you washing bin bags anyway?' and started laughing. • Matt Rudd: Apply more suntan lotion and other top tips to survive global warming Irritatingly, I started laughing too because it was a good question. Why was I washing bin bags anyway? I think this curious behaviour took root in the winter, probably at about the same time we got a telephone-number electricity bill. For a long time before that I'd been tipping kitchen waste from the fancy 45p kitchen bag into a less fancy 15p black bag. I'd been relatively covert about it and each successful decanting felt like a heist — if I could get three goes out of one bag I'd have saved… 90p. One bag a week instead of three is, over time, millions. Then, after no one finished their spaghetti bolognese, Harriet noticed what I was up to. She said she didn't think it was very nice using a kitchen bin bag twice let alone three times. I suggested any unpleasant detritus could go straight outside in the black bag. If we only used the kitchen bin for pleasant detritus then it was fine. She suggested, quite forcefully, that this wouldn't be happening. I started washing bin bags. At first I did it in the dead of night. Then I became more brazen — I'd slip out to water the garden and take the bin bag with me. There were some mutterings from my beloved. She knew what I was up to but decided, I suspect, to let me get on with it. Then came chicken-carcass-gate, the crossed elbows and the laughter. • Matt Rudd: Now, in which idiot-proof place did I put my passport? Where do we go from here, you'll be wondering. For the sake of holy matrimony we could replace the £180 bin and its expensive taste in bags for a humbler cousin, but that would require upfront capital investment. We could invite a financial adviser to review our incomings and outgoings to identify better ways to make ends meet, but they'll only make us shop at Aldi. We could even move to a cheaper home in a cheaper neck of the woods and use as many fancy bin bags as we liked. We won't do any of those things. The definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. The definition of household finance is doing the same thing over and over and expecting the kids to move out at some point. 'We need to have an abundance mentality,' Harriet says after listening to a podcast. Miserliness leads to misery. Generosity leads to a sense of wealth. A sense of wealth leads to… wealth? Something like that. • Matt Rudd: Does the world really need coconut-scented toilet paper? Fine then. I did a bit of stretching, I jogged on the spot and I channelled my inner Imelda. Then I grabbed the perfectly reusable bin bag with its only slightly turning chicken carcass and I threw it straight out. And, only for a brief moment, I felt like a millionaire.
South China Morning Post
06-07-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Philippine political dynasties under fire from EU watchers amid calls for electoral reform
The stranglehold of political dynasties on Philippine democracy risks deepening public disillusionment and limiting political pluralism, the European Union 's election mission has warned, as it called for sweeping reforms to the country's 'outdated' election code and party-list system. In its final report released on Thursday, the EU Election Observation Mission said political power in the Philippines remained concentrated within a small circle of elite families, even in institutions meant to promote inclusive governance. The delegation had monitored the country's May midterm polls at the invitation of the Philippine government. 'Political power is concentrated in dynastic families which, according to civil society organisations, have held four out of every five congressional seats in the outgoing convocation, including two-thirds of party-list seats reserved for under-represented sectors,' said Marta Temido, the mission's chief observer and a member of the European Parliament. Despite praising the 'commitment to democracy' shown by Filipino voters – turnout stood at 81.65 per cent, the highest ever recorded for midterm elections – Temido said enduring problems such as vote-buying, election-related violence and an outdated legal framework continued to mar the electoral process. (From left) Philippine President Marcos, his sister Imee, who is a senator, and their mother, former first lady Imelda Marcos in 2017. Photo: AFP Nearly half of the provisions in the Philippines' 1985 omnibus election code were now obsolete, she said, having been superseded by the 1987 constitution or other laws. This left electoral legislation 'scattered and not harmonised', raising barriers to accountability and reform.
South China Morning Post
12-05-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Philippine midterm elections: casino-linked cash seizure and poll-day disruptions raise alarms
The midterm elections in the Philippines proceeded without major disruption in most areas on Monday, according to officials and observers, but the seizure of nearly half a billion pesos in undeclared cash from foreign nationals, along with isolated incidents of deadly violence and technical glitches, has raised concerns over the integrity of the vote. Advertisement One of the most startling developments occurred late Friday, when six Chinese nationals, three foreigners and two Filipinos were intercepted at Cebu International Airport while attempting to board a private jet to Manila. Authorities discovered 441.9 million pesos (US$7.6 million) in local currency, along with US$168,730 and HK$1,000 in undeclared cash – raising suspicions of illicit election-related activity. Brigadier General Jean Fajardo, spokesperson for the Philippine National Police, said investigators were pursuing multiple leads, including the possibility that the money was intended to influence the polls. 'Is this money part of a plan to influence or at least interfere in our elections?' she said at a Sunday briefing. 'Maybe these foreign nationals might be a conduit to be used to interfere or at least influence our elections.' Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, centre right, and his mother, former first lady Imelda Marcos, centre left, prepare to cast their votes at a polling station in Batac City, Ilocos Norte province, on Monday. Photo: AP Police officials said the foreign nationals – including a Malaysian, an Indonesian and a Kazakh citizen – had declared only three of seven hard-shell suitcases during check-in. X-ray scans and inspection revealed the undeclared currency.
Filipino Times
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Filipino Times
Marcos honors mothers on Mother's Day, thanks them for boundless love and sacrifice
President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. paid tribute to mothers on Sunday, expressing gratitude for their unwavering love and sacrifices in celebration of Mother's Day. In a social media post, the President shared a collage featuring key women in his life—his mother, former First Lady Imelda Marcos; his wife, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos; and his sister, Irene Marcos. Notably, Senator Imee Marcos, his elder sister, was absent from the photo montage. Marcos described mothers as the 'quiet strength behind every family,' emphasizing their selfless devotion. 'They care, nurture, guide and give of themselves without asking for anything in return,' he said. 'Their love knows no bounds—and neither does their sacrifice.' In Filipino, he also extended heartfelt appreciation: 'Ngayong Mother's Day, taos-puso kong kinikilala at pinasasalamatan ang lahat ng ilaw ng tahanan. Maraming salamat sa inyong walang kapantay na pagmamahal at pagkalinga.'
Los Angeles Times
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Center Theatre Group's 2025-26 season: David Byrne's 'Here Lies Love,' 'Paranormal Activity' and more
Bisserat Tseggai, left, and Mia Ellis in 'JaJa's African Hair Braiding.' The Imelda Marcos bio-musical 'Here Lies Love' injects some disco shimmer to the Center Theatre Group 2025-26 season announced Tuesday. The company behind the Ahmanson Theatre and Mark Taper Forum in downtown L.A. and the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City released a lineup that also includes the Jocelyn Bioh play 'Jaja's African Hair Braiding'; Eboni Booth's new play 'Primary Trust'; a stage riff on the 'Paranormal Activity' movies; the musical '& Juliet' and a 25th anniversary revival of 'Mamma Mia!' 'Here Lies Love,' featuring music by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, and lyrics by Byrne, made history as Broadway's first musical with an all-Filipino cast. The production earned 2024 Tony nominations for score, sound design, scene design and choreography as well as praise from critics including the New York Times' Jesse Green, who applauded the 'infernally catchy songs.' The musical also faced criticism for historical distortion and what some saw as the underplaying of corruption, censorship and violent political oppression in the Philippines during the Marcos regime. The musical has been updated since its 2013 Off-Broadway premiere at the Public Theater to emphasize the People Power Revolution that spurred the end of the Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos era. In New York, producers transformed the Broadway Theater to evoke Studio 54. Center Theatre Group will present 'Here Lies Love' in the Taper in a run scheduled to open Feb. 11. Snehal Desai, CTG's artistic director, will helm the production. The comedy 'Jaja's African Hair Braiding' earned Tony nominations last year for best play, direction, scenic design and sound design, and Dede Ayite won the award for her costumes. Set in Harlem, Bioh's play centers on a community of West African immigrants who 'confront the challenges of being outsiders in their own neighborhood.' Whitney White will direct a co-production with La Jolla Playhouse, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater and Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. It opens at the Taper on Oct. 1. Booth's 'Primary Trust' was the 2024 Pulitzer Prize winner for drama. The Pulitzer citation called it 'a simple and elegantly crafted story of an emotionally damaged man who finds a new job, new friends and a new sense of worth, illustrating how small acts of kindness can change a person's life and enrich an entire community.' Caleb Eberhardt in La Jolla Playhouse's West Coast-premiere production of 'Primary Trust' last year. After seeing the play's West Coast premiere at La Jolla Playhouse last year, Times theater critic Charles McNulty wrote: 'This is a quirky, small-scale, quietly reflective work that's as tenderhearted as it is spryly comic and as poignant as it is ultimately uplifting. 'It's refreshing to see such a prodigious honor bestowed on a piece of writing that's content to go about its human business without the need to inflate its own importance.' Knud Adams will direct the Taper production, which opens in May 2026. Here are the six major productions in the 2025-26 CTG schedule (in chronological order) announced by Desai, managing director and chief executive Meghan Pressman and producing director Douglas C. Baker. A seventh production will be announced at a later date. '& Juliet'Book by David West ReadMusic by Max Martin & FriendsDirected By Luke SheppardAhmanson Theatre Aug. 13-Sept. 7 'Jaja's African Hair Braiding'Mark Taper Forum Oct. 1-Nov. 9 'Paranormal Activity'Based on the 'Paranormal Activity' films from Blumhouse and Solana Films, adapted here by arrangement with Paramount Pictures and Melting PotWritten by Levi HollowayDirected by Felix BarrettCo-production with American Conservatory Theater of San Francisco, Chicago Shakespeare Theater and Shakespeare Theatre Company of Washington, D.C. Ahmanson Theatre Nov. 13-Dec. 7 'Here Lies Love'Mark Taper Forum Feb. 11-March 22 'Primary Trust'Mark Taper Forum May 20-June 28, 2026 'Mamma Mia!'Music and lyrics by Benny Andersson & Björn UlvaeusBook by Catherine JohnsonDirected by Phyllida LloydAhmanson Theatre June 23-July 19, 2026 The company's 'CTG:FWD' programming includes three shows at the Kirk Douglas: 'Puppet Up! — Uncensored,' an audience-driven affair featuring creations from the Jim Henson Co., running July 16-27; 'Guac,' writer and star Manuel Oliver's one-man show, from the father of a son who was killed in the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., running Oct. 14-Nov. 2; and 'The Enormous Crocodile,' a musical based on the work of Roald Dahl, Dec. 5-Jan. 4. 'Like It Like Harlem,' a production in partnership with Muse/ique, is scheduled for Aug. 8-10 at the Taper.
