IMELDA still has her *Bling Bling*!!!

I thought that the incident of klutzy
Laoag Mayor Michael Farinas'
literally shooting himself in the foot,
was the funniest news of the day:

LOST TOES!


But then,
I found out that GMA's silent son,
Diosdado "Dato" Macapagal Arroyo,
is preparing to run for a Congressional seat
in Bicol (!?!):

DATO RUN RUN!


But leave it to The Imeldific to top 'em all!

As widely reported by CNN, The Associated Press,
Reuters, USA Today, and even the esteemed BBC,

the former First Lady is all set to make mo' money
by dismantling bits and pieces of her jewelry,
and turning them into charm bracelets and such.

I guess that by "giving back to the people",
Imelda thinks that she might as well charge a "service fee".

Makes perfect sense,
in a Marie "let them eat cake" Antoinette kind of way.


Of all the TV, print, and online reports,
the funniest one comes from Reuters;

a write-up sooo snarky,
it could easily be featured in
Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show".

Imelda's Cleopatra poses and other-wordly statements
only strengthen the reporter's argument.

And yes,
if you're wondering....

Imelda will sell shoes too!!!





By Karishma Vyas

MANILA, Nov 6 (Reuters Life!) -

Imelda Marcos,
the Philippines' former first lady famed
for her rapacious extravagance,
plans to launch a line of cheap accessories and sports shoes
aimed at the youth market this month.

The widow of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos,
renowned for amassing 1,500 pairs of shoes
and a vast collection of jewels during their 20year regime,
told reporters on Monday her trinkets and sneakers
would be affordable to the masses.

"This is more than about money,
because money can only buy you food and things like that,
but only beauty can feed your soul and your spirit,"
said Marcos,
wearing a chunky blue brooch and matching earrings.



The Imelda Collection,
a range of low-cost but glitzy jewellery, bags and trainers,
is aimed at a generation not yet born
when the former beauty queen swept through
Manila's corridors of power
in sequined stilettos and diamond tiaras.

"I think the younger generation are much more open
to my mother because the older generation has prejudged her,"
Imee Marcos, a Congresswoman
and the eldest of the Marcos children, said.

Reporters were not shown the accessories,
which Imee said would include pieces
from her mother's own collection
as well as designs created by Imee and her son,
underwear model Fernando Manotoc.



Ferdinand Marcos and his family have been accused
of looting up to $10 billion (5.27 billion pounds)
from the impoverished Southeast Asian country
in bank deposits, shares, jewellery, art and property
before he was ousted by an army-backed popular revolt in 1986.

Decades before hip hop artists came up with the term "bling bling"
to describe gaudy ostentation,
Filipinos used the phrase "Imeldific" to describe acts of excess.



Imelda returned to the Philippines in 1991 from exile in Hawaii,
where her husband had died in 1989.
Once feared,
she is now seen by many as an eccentric figure of fun
and has run for president and won a term in Congress.

A Manila court found her innocent
of one set of corruption charges last month
but she still faces 10 more graft cases
and dozens of civil suits over billions of dollars
in unexplained wealth amassed during her husband's rule.

She still faces hundreds of cases
accusing her of illegally transferring
millions of U.S. dollars overseas.