lowleveljetstream - Filed under 'global'

Sangaré from the Heart

Oumou Sangaré's sound is incredible but her story is equally incredible.

To many, she's the voice of women in Africa - she comes from Mali - "Female suffering, polygamy, social injustice. I didn't want other children to suffer the way I did so I thought that if I could help with my lyrics I would."

Sangaré's father left her when she was two years old to take another wife, which left her family in poverty and she was forced to sing to keep her and her siblings from the streets.

"My own cause is, and has always been women's rights, and the rights of children. I want to both fight against hardship and inequalities but also show that there are strong African women with me in this struggle, and that we are making a difference. It's true that when I sing it's joyful, but in among that joy I always take the opportunity to slip in messages that educate my nation. Where I come from, that's very important. It's true that people are happy to just listen to music, but they're also interested in what the person is actually saying with the music."

Because of her stand on many issues, Sangaré has been accused by her critics of being anti-tradition. She says " I am not anti-Mali or anti-tradition. I am a very traditional woman, but not all traditions are worth keeping."

She bought 10 hectares of land in Mali as a place for women to go and work if they want to and she has set up an association to help orphaned girls and mothers in trouble.

An amazing woman who has one purpose in life - to make the world a better place for women.

Here's a free MP3 download of a Sangare classic (Djorolen - Worry/Anxiety) that will blow your mind http://bit.ly/c46IM6

Just a little music to take you into a restful weekend if that's what you are after...

Filed under // Thought leadership global music

Posted

Distractions

Li Keqiang, the executive vice-premier of China and poised to be the next premier of China in 2012

I've noticed a lot of press recently on China. Criticisms of its export-led model. Lack of investment in its own social welfare. And also that hacking issue that Google took up, which led to a political onslaught by Hilary Clinton. Any questions on the power of Google should be answered there. While the typical areas of unrest between the US and China are back on the table - Taiwan, Tibet and Human Rights - most of the unrest is focused on economic disparity and responsibility.

There are several sensationalist articles on this subject but I share two good articles that I thought were well thought through from IHT (NYTImes Euro edition) http://nyti.ms/bIzOqN and http://nyti.ms/cPKS5X.

One particular quote I found interesting from one of the articles said "The major concern is not China getting too big for its boots — at least in the short term — but a growing sense of American frustration that its boots are no longer as big as they were or should be, together with an unwillingness or refusal to understand China on anything other than American terms. China must not be confused in the American mind with a Soviet Union Mark 2. It is a far more formidable adversary whose ultimate strength is not its military hardware but its economic prowess, and whose diplomatic weapon is not saber rattling but great patience."

I also found an interesting article in the FT about China's Li Keqiang at Davos http://bit.ly/9NCP39 (Look for the article - Keeping its Distance)

I thought these two quotes from that article were interesting by Yan Xeutong, director of the Institute of International Studies at Tsinghua University, “In the last 30 years, Chinese leaders have firmly believed China is a developing country, Davos is for rich countries.” Of Beijing’s continuing reticence, in spite of China’s growing wealth, he adds: “The rest of the world regards China as a superpower. But we say: ‘No. This is a trap to exhaust our limited resources.’”

What worries me about this focus on China's approach to the economy, which is being praised by even the likes of George Soros, is that it's a distraction from a more important debate about China's responsibility to the world's welfare. There's no doubt that China's patience, which is part of their cultural DNA, has led to a very positive response to the economic crisis - it hardly effected them. However, the question of whether they are in a position today to help the world, including the welfare of their own citizens, seems to me to be a mute argument. They are claiming a poorer status than other members of the Davos elite but if you look at their economic performance, this just does not seem to add up - certainly in the long term.

Let's hope in the coming years China will start to play a more important role in the world's welfare even if in truth this will be very uncomfortable for the US.

Filed under // global politics

Posted

Japanese Vision

(download)

These are two images I caught on neojaponisme.com today.

I love the simplicity and the stories they tell.

The tie one is about a campaign in Japan 'Cool Biz' that's trying to get white-collar workers to stop wearing jackets and ties in the summer thereby requiring less air conditioning - helping the environment.

The letters coming out of the megaphone relates to the challenges one faces when translating literary works. I love how it captures the subtle interpretations of the letter A.

Filed under // culture design global japan

Posted

Bottling the Meltdown

via monocle.com

Chile, famous for its wines, is now turning its attention to water.

Glacier run off water from southern Patagonia ice fields.

Millions of litres of the water will be exported this year and by next year, this water is set to dwarf wine exports.

Look out for the brand Crevasse. It can be currently found in Paris and Dubai but no doubt will soon arrive in many other cities in the world.

Filed under // global water

Posted

About Me

My Other Sites

Tags

Archive

global

Sangaré from the Heart

Distractions

Japanese Vision

Bottling the Meltdown