The Congo

I always love good news for the world especially hope for Africa because I am an African. I read an article in the Foreign Policy Magazine with some relatively good news about Congo. I'll start with telling you all about what's currently happening in Congo. According to John Prendergast;

"Congo's conflict, the world's deadliest since World War II, is not really a war -- it's a business based on violent extortion. There are numerous armed groups and commercial actors -- Congolese, Rwandan, and Ugandan -- that have positioned themselves for the spoils of a deliberately lawless, accountability-free, unstable, highly profitable mafia-style economy. Millions of dollars are made monthly in illegal taxation of mining operations, smuggling of minerals, and extortion rackets run by mafia bosses based primarily in Kinshasa, Kigali, and Kampala. The spoils are tin, tungsten, tantalum, and gold, minerals that go into laptops, cell phones, MP3 players, and jewelry stores in the West. Armed groups use terrifying tactics such as mass rape and village burning to intimidate civilians into providing cheap labor for this elaborate extortion racket."

The good news is that shoppers are beginning to put pressure on the companies selling mobile phones, laptops, MP3 players, and other electronic devices, along with jewelry retailers, to stop using the conflict minerals mined in eastern Congo.
The more people applying pressure to the companies the better because if consumers demand conflict-free electronics products and jewelry strongly enough, just as they do green products and fair trade products, big companies can place downstream pressure to clean up the supply chain for these minerals.

Secondly the U.S. Congress, can make a difference by passing legislation to require conflict-free components in all electronics products. Two pieces of draft legislation, the Conflict Minerals Trade Act in the House and the Congo Conflict Minerals Act in the Senate, do exactly that. President Barack Obama's administration could go even further, improving on the Kimberley Process (a certification agreement meant to stop the export of blood diamonds) by kick-starting negotiations for a global arrangement to certify conflict-free minerals. The Congolese, Rwandan, and Ugandan governments also have a role to play: They can commit to independent monitoring and auditing of the mineral supply chain, finally allowing transparency to replace secrecy in the regional mineral sector.

I know a lot still needs to be done but I believe any change for the better.. is better than nothing. I'll try to keep you all posted on the situation and any new bits of reading I've done!!

Different you

I used to love every part of you
until I really got to know you
now I wish I loved a different you

A you who always thinks before they act
A you who's a little more responsible
A you who's a little more considerate
A you who doesn't do some of the things
that you do

See I don't want to get rid of you
I couldn't handle replacing you
I can't see myself with someone new
I want you but I want a different you

I different version of you
who knows me the way you do
a you who is as calm as you
who makes me smile the way you do

See I don't want to loose you
but I don't click with you as I should do
so I want to be with a different you

I love spending time with you
and I love to love you
but at times I just want a different you

I might sound crazy
and I might sound like a hypocrite but I really love you
I just want to love a different you

Sad and now I admit
I don't want to loose you
I just want and have to change you
I want you but I really want is a different you

I used to love you
until I met another side of you
it's not that I don't love now
I just want to love another different you

Crazy because a different you wouldn't be you
which has me questioning if it's really you I want
but it's you I want
I just want a different you
an other different you
makes sense to me hope it makes sense to you

Copyright (c)) 2010 Isla Lutango. All rights reserved

Me so far

It's nearly 5am but luckily I only have lectures in the afternoon so I will not struggle to wake up in the morning. At the moment I'm studying in Portugal at the University of Coimbra, International Relations with French and Portuguese.

Writing music for an album which I will be releasing firstly in Angola and other PALOP countries and the UK when I get the opportunity- the genre Kizomba and Semba with Jazz and R&B influences. Being a perfectionist I haven't added any songs to my myspace page yet but will let you all know as soon as I do most probably by the end of March www.myspace.com/islaofficial.

I'm going to post some poetry as soon as I copy-write them and I'll also record them and add them to my myspace. Feel free to add me as a friend on myspace I will accept you all lol.

I love African history and culture and will be blogging about Africa and International Relations as often as I can, I'll also try to keep you all posted on what's happening in the continent.

Music, History, Poetry, Politics/ International Relations, Art, Performing Arts

I'm interested and passionate about many things but I think they all relate to each other in one way on an other :) and my interests make me a well rounded person!!