Life in Shirley

A change we need

I will not deny I preferred Hillary but that is history. Obama can break the mould and I hope he will.

I am switching from an American network to another to BBC news.II will probably be up all night as I could not possibly go to sleep. New York  and Chicago are teeming with people waiting to know. I wish I could be there and not watching it on telly.  Ohio might go for Obama. If it does, it will be a miracle. This state is my idea of hell on earth, cultural desolation. I remember a head teacher in a bright green jacket welcoming me with a 'You come from London, France'! I remember driving around for hours in a blue Spitfire, being refused wine in a Toledo restaurant as I did not have my driving licence with me, getting lost along the never ending Turnpike. Also my nephew's host family saying 'We were not quite sure if you took showers in Italy'. And the night receptionist at the motel I was staying at: young, huge and adoring as I lived in London. She had never left Fremont and wanted me to tell her about the Queen and Buckingham Palace before she let me go to bed, night after night. What a relief it was returning to Europe

Ohio has just been called. 195-76. The dream is getting nearer. Will it change our world too? CNN gives 174-69. Cleveland has not come in. It is too early to say anything. How many Joe bloody plumbers are there? They care about themselves only. Well , suddenly we have 194-69. I will take a break and have a walk around the house. And a drink.

I came back to CNN 206-89. Senate looks good too. Is it going to be a landslide? I remember the elation of this country when Blair was first elected and what followed. Still, Obama is not Blair.

Andrew Pelling came to our meeting tonight. He looked good. It would be great to have a real change in Croydon. He has got a brain and he is an excellent orator. Somebody might regret a hurried choice. Perhaps they have not got much to choose from.

McCain is conceding defeat. Graciously and with dignity.

We are starting a new journey. I am really happy and so relieved the Palin woman will go back to Alaska.

Yes, we can when we try hard enough.

 

Hypocrisy, denial and racism

Yesterday night I watched Elisir on Italian television and, after that, a documentary about cultural and social changes pre and post 1968. I really must get it in UK as it is always good to see another way of looking at what is going on around us.

In both countries intelligent programmes are shown too late so one goes to bed incredibly late. Is it done because 'they' think one will not watch (one must go to work/school etc.) or because the great majority prefers diabolically stupid (yet mind-controlling) shows/soaps etc?

Educational apartheid was discussed. A Lega Veneta MP (one of Bossi's man if you are not familiar with Lega Veneta. And if you are not familiar with Bossi's name either, one of those who thinks foreigners dilute and eventually destroy Italian culture. There are lots of them in every country, UK included.) tried to say that 'new comers had to be taught Italian before joining Italian children in schools'. It sounds perfectly acceptable to many but you must look beyond this immediate acceptability.

'Foreign labour' is cheaper. Exploitation is rife. Ghettos are growing in number. Why? Because the majority is in denial and racism is alive in different shapes and forms. Europe is rotten to the core.There is so much fear of change. Why? Are people afraid to discover that there is more to life than what they know? Again, why? 

America might spark a profound change with Obama. Not a black man but a man with a white mother and an African father. His mother's memory is at the centre of a revival in blogs and various search engines. I like this as it highlights the fact that two cultures are better than one. I watched him speak in Tampa yesterday and I saw hope in his followers. We all need a change. His rival, who acts and looks as a robot, is an empty shell peddling old slogans and offering more of the same poison. Will Americans start dreaming again? I hope so, for our sake.

Quality of life

In spite of lots of petty problems and petty people around me, my quality of life is good and I am getting stronger. My dreams will come true.

Not like this

I wanted Ian Blair to go but not until all issues were cleared. He has now been given the chance to play a victim's role.

It is wrong to dismiss the man as a total failure. It is also dangerous. Look at what is happening in Croydon. The golden boy is now disgraced and an incredible campaign is being mounted for his replacement. His picture is creeping everywhere and letters are written to the faithful. A lot of money is being invested. A few residents even think that we have a new MP! WE DO NOT.

I like Andrew Pelling MP a lot more now as he has regained his Independent mind.

Silence is criminal. I will not hide behind it. I never have. I have a hard life and no regrets.

The man has no shame, dignity or integrity

The Met Police Commissioner should have resigned three years ago but he is still clinging on to power as he seems to believe he has a God given mandate.

Will the inquest into the death of Jean Charles de Menezes confirm what most people believe: he was shot as a result of wrong orders from higher echelons of grossly incompetent officers whom the Commissioner attempted to cover up.

Will ex DAC Brian Paddick have the guts to maintain his stance and help to unravel the lies that shroud this shameful murder?

Perhaps Gordon Brown, keen to rectify past mistakes, could start by making sure that the Met Police has a new Commissioner who can stand proud and deliver what London needs to feel safer.

By the way, we need changes elsewhere too. They keep telling us in Croydon that we should not be afraid, yet killings have not stopped. Yet, Council and police claim they are having brain storming sessions 'to stop' knife crimes.

In the meantime, a Commander and an Assistant Commissioner, both belonging to  ethic minorities, have been suspended. Obviously at the right time: is Mr Blair hoping that their plight will be buried by the current financial crisis?

Am I a voice in the desert?

Obsessive behaviour

How should one deal with people whose obsessive behaviour used to annoy you and now simply turns you off? You try to make them understand they should get a life but they persist in being pedantic, small minded and live within their own inflated ego.

Blotting them out? Perhaps.

Ramblings about prejudice

Reading newspapers is a good thing, isn't it? It probably is if you try to understand what you read or have the desire and time to look deeper into various issues.

Today I watched Nuovomondo (The Golden Door) and reflected on intolerance and racism. Italians emigrated all over the world in search of a better life. Many were from the Mezzogiorno. They could not read read or write and were treated like animals in Ellis Island (and so did other immigrants). Most of them worked hard and led law abiding lives. A minority did not.

In Florida you are interviewed when you buy a condo. A family friend warned me I would never pass the interview if the board knew my husband to be was an African. She was an Italo-American. She was a good person but believed 'the Blacks' should be kept apart.

Racism and fear of diversity are now rampant in Italy, UK and USA. I am only talking about countries I know because I lived there. I prefer to deal with openly racist people than people who pretend not to be racist or are in denial. At least I know where I stand.

A Dutch couple was nearly killed in Italy by illegal immigrants being exploited and living in appalling surroundings. It seems they will be expelled as soon as possible. If you treat people like animals, they will behave like animals.

Obama has a white mother and a black father. I read his biography and did not like the fact that he opted for half of his heritage. At the same time I understand his wife saying that she was finally proud of being an American because society was ready for a change. I have just seen one of the last Republican adverts about Obama's half brother living in a slum whilst his senile (and word challeged) opponent lives the American dream in 7 or more houses.

There is so much hypocrisy around. Our society must change. The sooner the better.I am so tired of being politically correct. We have a moral duty to speak about the way we feel. It is the only way to erase prejudice.

 

Waves

A quiet day.

Even the sea is calm after the fireworks yesterday night.

I will prepare a Marina di Massa album. I have taken some good pictures.

 

Barak Obama

I have been reading a lot of demented American fascist blogs today and decided to resume mine. Imagine my surprise when I found a voice from my past life...Grazie Signora Macchieraldo. I have not changed, only got worse as I have decided that we can change the world if we get kindred spirits fighting together! Do get in touch with me, please.

Back to Obama. I supported Hillary but she lost her bid. Obama is the Democratic candidate and is fighting a senile Republican who should not be running at all. Obama is the only decent choice. Can he change a few things? Yes, he can. I see him as a man with a double heritage, therefore richer.

I am a Tuscan living in England. Shirley is my adopted home. I brought a dowry when I moved there...

I will not acquiesce

I went to bed aggrieved.

Il quieto vivere (anything for a quiet life) is not for me as compromising with principles is not acceptable to me. Call me whatever you like and burn me at the stake but I will not acquiesce.