“Let’s make Westmount Rd great again” or the Eltham North by-election

Never mind the end of times in the USA where a divisive, sexist, xenophobic celebrity billionaire has just been elected to represent ‘ordinary people’. All eyes, well local if not quite international, now turn to the by-election due to held tomorrow in the very marginal Eltham North ward in the Royal Greenwich Borough.

No fears here, I assume, of vote-rigging, grabbing furry feline animals or calls for hanging your opponent. At least, none that we know of.

It all seems a rather more sedate affair with some thoroughly nice chaps, and one rather quiet chap-ess.
 

I’ve blogged previously on the list of candidates and the recent electoral history of the ward. By now you’ve read their leaflets promising motherhood and apple pie. Issues currently exercising locals include developments in Eltham High Street including the new Cinema and the old favourite, parking restrictions. The Conservatives have the extra field to play in – criticism of the Labour-run home Council while Labour has additionally played to its NHS strengths and being able to work with the Labour Mayor on transport. Other issues include ‘better sports facilities’, more ‘starter homes’, ‘safety on our local roads’ and ‘new [outdoor] play equipment’ (Time, being totally distracted by a certain Festival and the USA result has meant no time for fuller analysis here…)

Meanwhile social media has meant that the citizens of Eltham have been able to quiz candidates directly. A recent entry to the lists of issues has been the discovery of an early morning licencing application by Vue Cinema with various candidates responding on Twitter to residents’ fears of a ‘Nightmare on Eltham High Street’, promising to listen to their concerns.

Candidates have also been asked by community group Eltham Arts how they would support the arts in Eltham – those that replied were positive, of course.

So who will replace Labour's Wynn Davies? Will it be Labour’s Simon Peirce, the Tory’s Charlie Davis or the Lib Dem Sam Macaulay? Vote tomorrow, 10 Nov.

*With thanks to Patrick Kidd for this great slogan for the Eltham North by-election which I spotted on his twitter feed:

Dr Nawal-el-Saadawi on Egypt

The Root has an interview with the irrepressible Dr Nawal El Saadawi, the Egyptian feminist, doctor and activist, amongst other things - "Now 79, she has lived in exile off and on for the past 15 years, teaching at Duke University and Spelman College. For the past year or so, she's been back at home in Egypt, writing and organizing young activists."

In the piece Dr Saadawi talks about the hopes for women coming out of the current revolution in Egypt, saying "...Of course if you know the history of revolutions, you find that after the revolution, often men take over and women's rights are ignored. In order to keep our rights after the revolution, women must be unified. We must have our women's union again. We cannot fight individually." She also talks about the USA ("I don't expect the power or support or interference of anyone, of any government. We here in Egypt are fed up with U.S. colonialism") and dismisses the power of the Muslim Brotherhood ("All of this talk about the Brotherhood is an attempt to use religion to divide the people. Do not worry; the Muslim Brotherhood will never rule Egypt.").

One of the compelling factors for me about Dr Saadawi is her secularist hopes for Egypt.

I was lucky enough to attend an 'in conversation' event with this woman a couple of years ago locally at Goldsmiths, University of London, as part of a three-day Race in a Modern World conference there. She was inspiring. You can read my post about that here 'Nawal El Saadawi in conversation'.

Related previous post: 'The women of Tharir Square'

Egypt speaks, Mubarak in de-nile and Twitter works (for some)

I've been watching the serious events in North Africa over the last week, first Tunisia and now Egypt. Will this turn out to be the Arab world's 'Berlin Wall' or is it just some restlessness? The protesters want economic and social reform. The outside watches tensely - happy to support western-style 'liberal democracy' but fearful of what the current regime might be replaced by and not wanting another 'Palestinian result'.

It's fascinating that we could be watching history in the making. The events are moving fast - earlier tonight the Egyptian President Mubarak finally made a statement ('ok, I'll sack the govt if you insist but I'm not going, and I'm definitely going to carry on dying my hair jet-black'), and just now President Obama ('there must be reforms, but we still like Egypt very much though we could cut off the military aid we give you, and oh, this is a 'moment full of promise'). Many protesters are currently breaking the night-time curfew imposed.  Good to see a female Egyptian commentator on Newsnight just now (Mona somebody, from the USA) - to look at the thousands on Cairo's streets you'd think no women lived there...

Again, as a relative newbie to Twitter, I found that the rapidly-developing Egyptian situation was a  good instance of where Twitter really worked for me, feeding me the latest developments from a range of sources. Sadly of course this wasn't available to Egyptians where the internet was 'shut down' during (their) Friday night - interesting article here about the mechanics and philosophy of that. There was much Twitter praise for live coverage by the Al Jazeera English TV channel - part of that must be that it was easily (and freely) accessible on the net.

Aside from the serious stuff, I enjoyed these more light-hearted tweets:

derek_brower Derek Brower

Is it appropriate to note that Mubarak seems to be in de-nile?

Psythor James O'Malley

by darryl1974

I bet in the middle of the demonstrations in Cairo, there's still a beardy SWP bloke selling the Socialist Worker, like all protests.

davidschneider David Schneider

by greenwichcouk

Amazing scenes from Egypt. I just hope Prince Charles' driver doesn't decide the best route to the theatre is via Cairo.

and finally on a more serious note, if you want to make your feelings known tomorrow in London about Egypt:

sunny_hundal sunny hundal

Marches galore! RT @naomimc: Protest supporting people of Egypt tomorrow, London. From Marble Arch, 11am. Egyptian Embassy 12pm.

Eltham in TIME magazine

Little ol' Eltham was mentioned in TIME magazine this week. An article about the opening on 13 October of the Bob Hope Memorial Library, by New York's Ellis Island Immigration Museum, refers to one of Eltham's most famous sons, the comedian Bob Hope. The article goes on to describe how this 'immigrant', who died in 2003, made his way to the USA from Eltham, in 1907:

"... He was born Leslie Townes Hope in Eltham, England, and sailed with his family to New York City when he was 4. They traveled in steerage on the S.S. Philadelphia, his mother dressing Les and his five brothers in three layers of underwear, socks and shirts — so they would have more to wear and she would have less to carry. The family settled in Cleveland, where Les made money selling newspapers and giving dance lessons before breaking into vaudeville (and changing his name to Bob), then moving on to Broadway, radio, motion pictures, television, Academy Award–show hosting — pushing his way to the top of each of those endeavors, the most broadly successful entertainer of the 20th century...."  Read the rest here.

He was a controversial figure for some, on the Vietnam war, but also for feminists for his comments at the 1970 Miss World contest ("I’m very happy to be here at this cattle market tonight") which was famously 'flour-bagged' and disrupted. Still, he is part of Eltham history and there is even a flourishing theatre dedicated to him. Originally formed in 1943, the 'Little Eltham' Theatre was renamed the 'Bob Hope Theatre' much later after Bob Hope saved them from certain financial extinction - he even visited the theatre in 1982.

Photo above, 'Bob Hope as a boy in Eltham, England' (courtesy of TIME and AP)

Sikh-Brit Archie Panjabi wins US TV award

For a while I've had this news saved up...

Last month the London-born actress of Sikh background, Archana Kaur - better known as Archie Panjabi, won the best supporting actress for her role in the The Good Wife, a US series which seems also to have been shown on Channel 4 recently.

I've always enjoyed watching her performances and she looks absolutely stunning at the awards ceremony (but let's not forget, she also has a management degree).

The Telegraph had this to say:

"On an otherwise disappointing night for British talent, Archie Panjabi won the best supporting actress award for her role as the straight-talking private detective Kalinda Sharma in the US drama The Good Wife.

The 38-year-old, who made her name in the British hit films East is East and Bend it Like Beckham, appeared elated as she accepted the prestigious US television award.

She said: "When I started in the business in England, just getting a job was a dream. And to receive an Emmy now is just beyond my wildest dreams.”

Panjabi, whose family emigrated to London from India before she was born, is among only a handful of Sikh performers ever to have won an Emmy.

But she has told how her strict family were less than supportive when she announced her aspiration to become an actress because the profession is considered “lowly” by many traditional Indian communities.“We did have a few arguments because I wanted to go to drama school,” she said previously. “When I was younger a friend of mine’s mother said that this business was only for prostitutes. I thought, Oh my God, do I label myself as that?” But she added that her parents had ultimately agreed to support her ambition on the condition that she went to university first.

Her 2:1 in management studies from Brunel may not have contributed much to her meteoritic success as an actress, but her parents’ scepticism about showbusiness appears to have helped keep her feet on the ground.

Panjabi, who is now married to the businessman Raj Nihalani, said in a recent interview that her favourite pastime is “simply relaxing with a candle and a book,” adding: “simple things are so important because I think in this industry…it’s like being part of a bubble......"

What a familiar scenario - British-Asian girl/boy wants to go into the arts/culture - parents aghast that they'll become a slut/gay/a wastrel and force them to do business/accountancy - kids sticks it out, get the degree then do their own thing anyway (and became Sanjay Baskar or Nitin Sawhney) or else, alternatively disappear into obscurity....weeps gently.

Watch Archie Panjabi's Emmy speech here.

RIP Teddy Pendergrass

Really sad news about a great singer.  Teddy Pendergrass, who passed away this week aged 59, was the first black male singer to record five consecutive multi-platinum albums in the US. In his later life he did much work for charity. In homage to his unique styling, Pendergrass was also one of the inspirations for UK comedian Lenny Henry's Theophilus P.Wildebeeste character.

Here's one of my favourite Teddy Pendergrass songs.

When Boris met Dave, Kash was picking peaches: first Punjabi-American mayor in California

A quick post about a wonderful rags-to-riches (or rags-to-power) story last week:
"Kash Gill, who grew up as a farm worker, will be sworn in today [10 November] as Yuba City’s first Punjabi-American mayor.  As many of you know, Yuba City (often referred to as the pindh of California), has a large Punjabi Sikh population....It is perhaps not surprising, therefore, that finally a Punjabi-American will be taking the seat of mayor. The event does, however,  signify a signficiant step for a community that makes up about 12 percent of the population in Yuba City.  The story also embodies the dream, which many immigrant communities carry with them – that by working hard and perservering, anything is possible". [credit: Langar Hall]
It is another Amercian Dream story, perhaps just like Obama's.You have to acknowledge though, that although Kash Gill, now aged 47, grew up helping on the family farm, he is a college graduate and then went on to be a banker - so he didn't quite down his farming tools and was then carried aloft into onto the hustings. Still, he had humble beginnings and it made me wonder whether that could happen in the UK. This was especially so as I watched "When Boris met Dave" on TV earlier tonight. The programme is a 'docu-drama' portraying the shared priviledged past at elite Eton and Oxford of the two most powerful Conservative politicians in Britain: London Mayor Boris Johnson and party leader David Cameron (Cameron is top, second from left; Boris, bottom, first right). Admittedly, there's a bit of a difference between the mayor of a small USA town and a UK prime minister-to-be. Still it made think. I think that from the trade union shop floor is probably as humble a beginning as we get in UK politics. At the risk of sounding like that Monty Python (?) sketch (where they compete over who had the poorest upbringing) - do you have any 'better' UK examples?

London Calling: G20 and 'Jobs, Justice and Climate'

Londoners may have noticed SOMETHING happening in town today. The G20 summit is being held in London this week to discuss 'the global economic situation' while at the same time thousands of people have been protesting in the streets of London in relation to causes around tackling poverty, the recession and climate change. This was proceeded by a massive Put People First march on Saturday 28 March.

As far as the three broad strands of 'jobs, justice and climate' go, there's not a lot to disagree with. But what do the protesters specifically want? The BBC has quotes from various of the campaign groups involved. Sounds good, as I say, but the devil would be in the detail of course, and crucially whether those in power - in government, in business and elsewhere - are willing to change the status quo. How is all this to be achieved? How much pain will it involve and for which interest groups? On the hopeful side, some of these cosy groups themselves are starting to suffer as a result of the economic situation and may therefore be more moved to implement change on the economic front if not quite on climate. It would be good though to think that someone is listening and taking note of the strength of feeling expressed on the streets this week but given an earlier post, things are not looking hopeful.

Still, the personnel have changed (for Tony, now Gordon; for George, now Obama) and these two new leaders, at least, are thought to be more progressive and concerned with social justice than their predecessors. And seeing as I have been tracking The Great One, it would remiss not to note that today was of course Barack Obama's first time in London as Pres. According to Jan Dalley on Newsnight (at 40.45 mins) last night Obama can still enjoy a honeymoon period in Europe for a while longer though she reckons the shine's worn off in the USA. Some though reckon he matters little in any case, mere figurehead that he is for other powerful groups and interests whose views must prevail - I meant to post a while ago this typically frank assessment of Obama by John Pilger in the New Statesman. Hmm, I always enjoy reading Pilger and often agree with him but on this I'd like to wait and see about Obama. Anyway, I digress, a bit...

What do you think about the summit and what the protesters want? Ultimately only history will reveal what part, if any, this week's events will have played in sowing the seeds of seeking a new way of organising society and the way that we all live together across the world. Because let's face it, capitalism in its present form is just not sustainable.

6th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq

I'm a day late in posting my acknowledgement of the 6th anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq. On 20 March 2003 the bombs started raining down on the people of Iraq in this misguided 'war'. People were fooled by the US coalition, which included the UK, into believing that the war was necessary was because of Saddam's 'weapons of destruction'. In the end, defeated by the 'dodgy dossier' debacle, they settled for 'regime change'. In February 2009, true to his election promises, Obama announced his plan to withdraw all combat troops from Iraq by August 2010. Let's hope the Iraqis themselves can work towards filling the various power vacuums.

There's been surprisingly little about this anniversary in the UK press -the BBC has a jaunty piece about the "pigeon fanciers of Baghdad" and "how they have managed to keep up their passionate pursuit through the darkest of times". Interesting, though hardly reflective of the suffering involved and anger about this invasion.

Many tens of thousands of Iraqis have died in this war (the precise number is contested), as well as over 4,000 military personnel - you can read the American Huffington Post's take on this here.

France24 tells us that "Neither the US military nor the Iraqi authorities have announced plans to commemorate the March 20, 2003 invasion that toppled President Saddam Hussein, an anniversary marked only by anti-war protesters and hastened US pullout plans."

Interestingly, France 24 goes on to quote Tariq Ali, a Pakistani-born, British-based author and activist, speaking about the supposed success of the recent surge of US troop:

“I think basically what the US did in Iraq was to buy off the opposition. Large numbers of people who were fighting them, especially from the Sunni section of society, were paid a lot of money and partially given control of their towns,”

Doesn't bode particularly well for the future.

Micheal Moore gives us a piece about veterans reflecting on their service, including one former U.S. marine who, home after a tour in Iraq, has taken to taking cover under the kitchen table every time local fireworks go off.

Before the invasion, I remember in late 2002 to early 2003 the growing anti-Iraq rumblings building up following the terrible 9/11 attacks in New York. When the prospect of government action started looking serious, I remember joining the largest ever number of street-protesters in the UK . This was when hundreds of thousands of people (again, figures contested) took to London's streets for a three and a half mile march to demonstrate their opposition to military action in Iraq. The march was organised by Stop the War Coalition, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and the Muslim Association of Britain.

The photographs in this post were taken by my husband and I on that bitterly cold day, Saturday 15 February 2003. They show views of the march by Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus' Eros and heading north up Park Lane towards Hyde Park for the rally.

Alas though, our display of 'people power' had no effect at all because just over a month later, in a complete disregard for public opinion, the invasion began.

Obama to appear on Jay Leno Show

Some quick news...This is NOT a blog devoted to Obama, honest, but you gotta be fascinated by the news that Barack Obama is to appear this Thursday evening on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. It's the first chat-show appearance by a sitting US president. Opinion seems to be divided between this being a popular move which privileges communicating with 'the people' rather than the Washington village (see Evening Standard discussion), and, on the other hand those who think this 'dumbs down' politics and diminishes the prez. You've got to admit it's novel that he will apparently be pushing his economic policies, rather than the usual latest book or film by other celebrity guests. You can follow The Guardian CIF discussion about this announcement here. Personally, I'm really interested to see how this plays out...what do you think?

How Obama appeals to Black and White

I recently came across a satisfying synthesis of my interests in politics and code-switching. What is code-switching? Put simply, code-switching is the use of more than one language (or variety), by the same person, in a conversation (or event).

The Politico (a leading USA political website) had an interesting article by Nia-Malika Henderson about how ‘blacks’ and ‘whites’ hear Obama differently. It includes a story about how a phrase he used (‘nah, we straight’) was interpreted as Black English Vernacular (BEV) by black listeners and actually misheard by white listeners (as ‘No, we’re straight’) because they expected him to be speaking ‘standard English’.

Obama’s switch to BEV would be analysed by sociolinguists as a classic example of code-switching between one language variety and another, to achieve a particular effect, whether consciously or unconsciously. Many academics would be more interested in the unconscious behaviour to unravel how the brain interacts with language production. On the other hand, political scientists might of course be more interested in the conscious responses, in terms of what works, what can be controlled and therefore used for political effect.

The article goes on to cite other examples of how Obama’s speeches, in style and content, are able to appeal to black and white audiences at the same time and goes on:

John McWhorter, a linguist at the conservative Manhattan Institute, said that he believes that in Obama’s case coded messaging, which can be a matter of words, sound or grammar or all of them, is partly conscious because “he knows it arouses black audiences.”

(although note that the use here by McWhorter of ‘coded’ means ‘covert’ rather than a ‘system’ or ‘language/language variety’).

A forthcoming book, Epic Journey: The 2008 Elections and American Politics by J. W. Ceaser et.al. also apparently discusses “the president's skill at code-switching” though I haven’t read this yet – it’s due to be published 28 March.

For non-sociolinguists not familiar with the concept, Black English Vernacular (BEV) is also sometimes used interchangeably with African-American English vernacular (AAEV). Writing since the early 1970s, William Labov (one of the godfathers of sociolinguistics btw) was amongst the early academics to analyse this variety and argue for the ‘systematic principles’ involved on this non-standard English variety. You can read more about what he means here and more about Labov here.

But back to now, I was excited by the Politico piece because, whilst the connection between linguistic analysis and politics is hardly new, it shows the use and significance of code-switching, not just in the interactions of the millions of multi-lingual individuals around the world, but on a international stage and in the use of persuasive language. And it kinda validates my particualr research interest, which is always nice…

John Legend plays Brixton, London

Last Monday night my husband finally got to enjoy his Christmas present – two tickets to see John Legend’s sold-out gig at the Brixton Academy and luckily he took me. It was a fantastic night of listening to sublime music and watching a great talent at work. John Legend – one-time church choir leader, now singer, songwriter, pianist, producer and label-manager (deep breath…) – returned to Brixton again, working towards confirming the definition of his adopted surname (he was born John Stephens in Ohio 30 years ago).

He headed a great live show, though a little full-on visually with constant huge screen in the background giving us a suitably cool take on the man. Sometimes grainy black-and-white footage of JL, giving him an air of history and authority, and sometimes just psychedelic 60s-type revolving graphics, and often beautiful, etheral women. He played through his well-known back-catalogue from his previous two albums (including the best-known ‘Ordinary People’ in the encore) and promoted his third, ‘Evolver’. The musicians and backing singers (including the feisty one with the seemingly sprayed-on trousers) gave great support, helping build up many of his moments-of-life songs to a rousing cresendo.

And I know it’s a sleb cliché but he did speak movingly, towards the end of the gig, about the charity in which he’s involved, helping African villages and, especially the Show Me Campaign.

Interestingly, Legend was a crucial cultural figure for the Obama campaign when he worked on the 'Yes We Can' video which became a huge viral hit on YouTube, and he also played at several Obama campaign stops.

David Sinclair’s TimesOnline review of Legend's gig on 9 March managed to captured the seductiveness of JL and his set, though ends a little unfairly, in my view - you can read it here.

If you’re curious, or just plain sycophantic, you can see some photographs from the gig here. And an interview with the man in the Mail on Sunday by Angus Batey last July 2008 here.

I, for one, enjoyed a now all too rare evening gig sans les enfants - I mean, we were out past midnight forgodsakes! Priorities have changed, an'all that, but it was good to be reminded about the richness of London's cultural offerings, and the great music which we've seen over the years.

Bobby Jindal: An Asian Obama?

I came across this guy a while ago. In October 2007 he was elected the USA's first 'Indian-American' governor. At age 36, Jindal became the youngest current governor in the United States.



[Picture: Louisiana Republican candidate Bobby Jindal, his wife Supriya and son Shaan Robert (AP Photo/Bill Haber) ]

Significantly, there was also speculation, pre-Palin, that Jindal was a possible choice for the Republican vice-presidential nomination in 2008. Was this in one of the USA's more 'liberal', urban or cosmopolitan states? Non, it was in the deeply conservative south state of Louisiana. I was reminded of him recently because this article appeared this month in the New Statesman journal. It opens:

Bobby Jindal talks too fast. That, both admirers and detractors agree, is the most noticeable flaw in the impressive presentation he offers as the first Indian-American governor and perhaps the best prospect for revitalising a Republican Party that has just started its tour of the wilderness, with little else to keep it going other than the sustenance provided by occasional caribou kills by its new folk hero, Sarah Palin.

Why should Jindal matter? With the current interest in glass-ceiling breaking politicians he will naturally be another Obama-like curiosity. However, Jindal's politics neither sit right with traditionally minority-supporting 'progressive' types nor does his chosen/adopted identity court those who might have felt some tribal pride about his election. You see, Jindal, (whose parents were Indian Hindu-Punjabi immigrants to the USA in the 1970s), chose to convert to Roman Catholicism and thereby, some would say, eschew his heritage. Although born and raised a Hindu, it was during his high school year that he chose to convert to Catholicism.

Even if one could accept this rather unusual conversion as 'each to his own', it has to be said that his brand of politics is pretty unsavoury - he opposes all abortion and stem cell research and the legalization of same-sex marriage whilst supporting pro-gun laws and teaching creationism in schools, just to pick a few highlights. In fact, as another blogger commented at the time of Jindal's election, 'he’s a crazy Republican nut'. Strange, but worth mentioning, I thought.

Obama wins historic US election

"It's a new day, it's a new life, it's a new dawn, and I'm feeling good..." You said it Nina.

Congratulations.

"Democratic Senator Barack Obama says "change has come to America", after being elected the first black president of the United States.". Speech in full can be watched here.

Am stunned. Cannot write anymore.

Obama makes history (and Victoriana)

Excellent though the news is about Watermans, tonight has got to be all about the probable history being made across the pond. That the USA tomorrow might have a black President-elect is still truly stunning to me.

It hits me anew each time I think of it even though I know there's a multi-layered debate here:

- Obama is equally white (but he's perceived as black)
- the colour of his skin shouldn't matter (but it does to so many people, anti- and pro-)
- race and sex are no predictors for level of progressive policies (for sure, we saw that in the UK with Thatcher...)
- what difference does it make anyway? (hey, don't be so cynical, not yet)

For now I can only defer to more articulate bloggers and websites - see Liberal Conspiracy for live blogging by a UK team of the US election from, well, about now! And see the Politico website for 'liberal' coverage from the USA.

For me, however, even the election of Obama as the USA's 44th President cannot stand in the way of my having to finish sewing a 'Victorian' (goddamit) costume for my little daughter's 'Florence Nightingale day'' at school tomorrow (yes, they've done Mary Seacole too, thankfully) - the shame of it if I get it wrong! Good luck Mr Hussein.