Fight against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity

pls Watch this speech, very moving.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrOc6CIQjtc  - Link to the Youtube Video

Quotable Quotes of Imelda Romuladez Marcos

copied this on a website:

ON BEAUTY:
“If you’re a little presentable, you’re called frivolous. Beauty is frivolity it seems, but beauty is love. You can never have an excess of what is democratic, just and beautiful. You can’t say a woman is overly beautiful but you can say someone is overly ugly. It is against religiosity to be surrounded by ugliness.” 

“People say I’m extravagant because I want to be surrounded by beauty. But tell me, who wants to be surrounded by garbage? Beauty is love made real and the spirit of love is God. Only a crazy man wants to be surrounded by garbage, and I’m not crazy just yet.” 

“In the material world, where everything is valued, when you commit yourself to God, beauty and love, it can be mistaken for extravagance.” — in People, 1996 

“They call me corrupt, frivolous. I am not at all privileged. Maybe the only privileged thing is my face. And corrupt? God! I would not look like this if I am corrupt. Some ugliness would settle down on my system.” — cited in Beatriz Romualdez Francia’s Imelda: A Story of the Philippines
 
“Our opponent [Cory Aquino] does not put on any make up. She does not have her fingernails manicured. You know gays. They are for beauty. Filipinos who like beauty, love and God are for Marcos.” - on why Ferdinand Marcos would win the gay vote, January 1986 

“What’s wrong with shoes? I collected them because it was like a symbol of thanksgiving and love?” — Associated Press article, in The Eye, November 1997 

“I have no weakness for shoes. I wear very simple shoes which are pump shoes. It is not one of my weaknesses.” 

“I hate ugliness. You know I’m allergic to ugliness.” — quoted in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, August 1999

ON BEING FIRST LADY
“I am First Lady by accident. I was not elected by the people but here I am.” 

“The problems with First Ladies is that you have to set the standard. My role is to be both star and slave.” 

“I am my little people’s star and slave. When I go out into the barrios, I get dressed because I know my little people want to see a star. Other presidents’ wives have gone to the barrios wearing house dresses and slippers. That’s not what people want to see. People want someone they can love, someone to set an example.” — from the Los Angeles Times, October 1980 

“As we were coming down Malacanang, Ferdinand held my hand and said, ‘Imelda, this is your fault.’ In shock, I asked, ‘Why, Ferdinand?’ He answered, ‘Because you gave me a heart.’” — on why Marcos refused to fire at the crowds on Edsa in 1986, quoted in Special Edition
 
“I promise if given the chance, I will do it again and again. Because even death will not diminish the energy of a mother’s love.” — on her regime’s achievements, quoted in Special Edition
 
“My husband does not like me to give interviews because I say too much. No talk, no trouble.” 

“It is so easy to choose the wrong word… That’s why I’m so terrified by the press and even photographers. Because they are recordings, and they are permanent. Later on in history, you could be completely misunderstood because of the writings of people who may misquote you or quote you out of context. Every time I see myself, my God, I look or sound like a witch, or monster, or dragon. For example, I was called the Steel Butterfly. I am neither steel nor a butterfly. What an image! I’m neither frivolous nor insensitive.” - quoted in Julio Silverio’s Golden Quotations of our First Lady
 
“I understand my people better than anyone. I study them all the time and even conduct experiments.” - to Steve Psinakis, December 1980 

“Don’t worry, if you ever sue us, I have a good lawyer. I have the President. Besides, really, if they sent me to prison, maybe that will be nice because for a change I’ll really have peace. I will be alone and then I will have all my memories to enjoy myself for a while.” 

“Never dress down for the poor. They won’t respect you for it. They want their First Lady to look like a million dollars.” — cited in Beatriz Romualdez Francia’s Imelda: A Story of the Philippines
 
“Bakit mayroong mga Pilipino na naninira kay Presidente at kay First Lady?  Hindi ba nila alam na kami ang Tatay at Nanay ng Bayang Pilipino? Kung kamote ang Tatay at kung kamote ang Nanay, kamote ang Pilipino! Ang kamote ay hindi nag-aanak ng kamatis.” — at the Le Baron Hotel in San Jose, California, 1985 (contributed by Jose V. Cruz) 

“I get more than appreciation, especially from the little ones. And in the rural areas, all I have to do is smile and they are happy.” — cited in Beatriz Romualdez Francia’s Imelda: A Story of the Philippines
“All they show are the quirky Imelda.” — on how the press “ridicules” her campaign, quoted in Today, April 1998 (contributed by Jane Po) 

“[Filipinos] need a mother. They don’t only need a president, they need a mother, somebody to care for them, and they are longing for a good president who cares for them and loves them.” — cited in an Associated Press report, April 1988 

“In Malacañang, you can maximize your giving, your loving, your serving. You maximize everything in Malacañang. That’s what I love about Malacañang because I could do things faster and in a bigger way and I want to do it for everybody.” — cited in an Associated Press report, April 1988 

“Here I am, orphaned at eight, and the mother I keep giving to people is the mother I lost.” — cited in The New Yorker, April 1998 (contributed by Margaret Phillips) 

“I am looking like an airhead, like a frivolous, wanton, extravagant women at the expense of the poor. I am made to look like a cheap flirt, flirting with all the men of the world.” — on the documentary Imelda


ON HER COUNTRY

“The Philippines is in a strategic position. It is both East and West, right and left, rich and poor. We are neither here nor there.” — at a press conference, on why the Manila Film Festival should be held in Manila — cited in Ang Katipunan, February 1982 

“The Philippines is where Asia wears a smile. Beautiful products can only be made by happy people.” — at a press conference at Bloomingdale’s, at the opening of the Philippine exhibit — cited in Ang Katipunan, May 1982 

“Why should people be afraid that we use a few small pellets of uranium at the nuclear power plant in Bataan? Don’t they know that we’re surrounded by uranium? We have the world’s fourth largest deposits of uranium. Yes, we’re all radioactive — must be the reason why we have so many faith healers!” — on nuclear-generated power, February 1985 

“If garbage affects us, then there must be something wrong with us.” — in the Far Eastern Economic Review, February 1983 

“For the sake of the republic of the Philippines, for the Filipino people, [we must] put the remains of the president to rest so that these negative vibrations will leave us.” — after alleging that Ferdinand Marcos’s angry spirit caused Hurricane Andrew in 1992 

“And my scientists tell me that these forces are so powerful that we can use them to protect you, our American friends, against Soviet missiles.” — on the hole in the sky where cosmic forces supposedly enter the Philippines, during a lecture to 20 American scientists in January 1982, cited in Raymond Bonner’s Waltzing with a Dictator
 
“To know Asia is to feel Asia. Asia must be felt with the heart in order to be understood.”
It’s bad enough that the Philippines is really hamburgered geographically.” — cited in Beatriz Romualdez Francia’s Imelda: A Story of the Philippines
 
“Events of the last decade have really unfolded the truth about Marcos as a great democrat and humanist.” — in the Financial Times, October 1997 

“Kayo po ay makatitiyak, gawin na nila ang anumang gusto nilang gawin sa inyong lingkod, hindi nila mapipigilan ang puso ni Imelda na magmahal at maglingkod sa bayan.” — quoted in The Philippine Daily Inquirer, February 1998 (contributed by Jose Cruz) 

“For God, country and the people, all the time this was his obsession and yet this selfless man was made to look like a thief, tyrant and dictator when he was a great democrat, a patriot and a humanist.” — on Ferdinand Marcos, quoted in The South China Morning Post, March 1998 (contributed by Stephen Austin) 

“With millions of our debts, our economic crisis, no rice, no water, power so expensive, all these crises, no peace and order — I was scared for the sake of the country that I had to run.” — on running in the May elections, quoted in the Australian Sunday Times, March 1998 (contributed by Asa Sajise) 

“This is the Philippines… This is China, this is Russia… This is the east, the west. And the equator. As anyone could see, the Philippines was right at the center of the globe. I’m surprised nobody saw this. As Chairman Mao said, you can change ideologies anytime, but you can never change geography. Geopolitics! This is what will make the Philippines great and beautiful again.” — explaining her “masterplan for the country” by drawing a map of the world, quoted in Today, April 1998 (contributed by Jane Po)

“Where did the basic services come from — water, power, food, shelter? I conceptualized this as governor of Metro Manila for 11 years. And who reclaimed hundreds of hectares and built homes for the people in Tondo and gave them little pieces of land? Who built the housing projects, by the millions, for the poor? Who brought food to the Kadiwa centers and rolling stores to bring cheap food to the people? Mrs. Marcos — in every aspect, from womb to tomb.” — cited in an Associated Press report, April 1988

Morality and Fashion : A Response

I have posted my previous blog into a different websites blog section and i got a response which is very informative, now i understand why the UK is more relaxed when it comes to censorship, here it goes:

Well, seeing as "morality" as a word has its roots in "mores", as in "social mores", or "acceptable behaviour", that’s not really surprising.

Religious people would have us believe that morality is some kind of absolute, as set out in whatever holy book they choose to follow. But whilst there are some aspects of behaviour that have always been seen as "bad" and will generally always remain so (killing, theft, etc), other aspects of human behaviour are more fluid.

Take, for instance, the example you quote of human nudity: nobody can reasonably claim (although some have tried very hard to persuade us) that human nudity is of itself "bad" - it is, after all, the core of what we are. The display of the naked human body for public gaze is a different matter, and is largely cultural. A thousand years ago it was normal, and in some societies it remains so today (to a large extent, if local climate permits it).

The Christian world’s obsession with all things more or less vaguely associated with sex is a fairly recent phenomenon, in the context of 2,000 years of Western Christianity, and we seem to be approaching the end of that cycle at present with sexual behaviour as such being more readily accepted as inherently human and therefore morally neutral. The circumstances of sexual behaviour are slightly different though: we frown on nudity or sexual behaviour in public although go to any beach and you’ll see plenty of people who may as well be, for all the concealment they get from modern beachwear.

We still have censorship laws which prevent the deliberate display of sexual nudity to minors although I’ve always found this bizarre, given that most countries have sexual consent set at 16: kids are allowed to see each other naked and perform sexual acts with each other, but are effectively not allowed to see anyone else do it! Yes, I know that the way most porn laws are phrased, it is illegal to SELL porn to minors rather than it’s illegal for minors to BUY it, but that is just about the burden of legal responsibility; the underlying principle of such laws is that our society deems it unacceptable for 16 or 17 year olds - sometimes older! - to see naked bodies.

The development of what is acceptable in general-release movies is interesting. I find the degree of violence in modern movies far more offensive than any amount of nudity, or even sex. Sex is normal and natural (admittedly, in private moreso than in public) but the errant disregard for life and the level of cruelty shown in so many modern movies is not "normal" in any possible sense of the word. And yet, as a society,  we seem to consider it acceptable (even, appropriate!) to show 14 years olds several deaths shown in, for instance, the film Jumper (which I saw yesterday, hence it’s on my mind, and in the UK, any 12 year old can see it without supervision) and yet we consider it inappropriate for them to see what they will be like, and what they will be doing, in a couple of years!

50 years ago, the Hayes code required that characters who were not married to each other could not do more than share a brief kiss. Forget doing anything sexual, they weren’t allowed to be shown in/on a bed together (not even fully clothed, fully covered). Then that loosened up until we got to the stage where topless nudity was allowed and them simulated sex (as long as erect penises were not on display). 

Once full nudity had become acceptable in the early 90s, it is well-known (although has always been denied) that the body responsible for film certification in the UK adopted the "Mull of Kintyre principle": if a penis is to be shown, it cannot be more erect than the degree to which the Kintyre peninsula extends from the Scottish mainland. (that’s it, in red ->)

This taboo has been broken several times since then, of course, even on television in the UK.  Of course, it’s interesting to note that US television appears to be behind the curve right now - anyone remember the incredible hoop-la about Janet Jackson’s "wardrobe malfunction" during the SuperBowl a couple of years ago?

I’m not quite sure if morality is quite the same as fashion, in that it’s not just a matter of trends. But what we consider acceptable does change, and morality is about shades of importance rather than right or wrong. Murder is more serious than theft; public sex is more serious than flashing, but is public sex more serious than murder? According to some, and certainly in the view of some film censors, it certainly appears to be more serious when it comes to watching it!

Morality and Fashion

According to a non-fictional book I read which I’d rather quote in here:

"Morality is just like Fashion: a New Style every year. And right now a lot of people feel that morality is Superflous in a world where Money and Power are what counts. Virtue is a Luxury only a Poor can Afford." - Seduction of Peter S. by L. Sanders

and the issue on morality is also a never ending discussion comparable to the "chicken-egg issue" but through the phrase mentioned above is the best description yet that i have ever encountered. It is true that we set standards of moral to protect our society but it is also true that it is like fashion it changes to every generation or on as simple as what’s in or out.

what can be deemed as immoral 2 decades ago is now just something as normal as eating a bread. an example of this is frontal nudities on movies. decades ago it would have caused a big controversy since back then it is considered pornogrpahic but now if it is really an integral part of the movie it can be allowed and people would percieve it tastful and artistically done.

Nobody can really tell which is immoral to what it is acceptable, it all goes down to what the society as a whole (meaning the majority of the people) can accept as of the moment. Thanks to our ever evolving minds we continue to struggle on what we believe in giving a right balance on our society. We can never stay on the safe side forever without risk we will stay stagnant and will never grow in all aspects. So for me morality is like the fashion industry today you're hot and tomorrow will just be a thing of the past.