anyMeta 4.6.58 - Atom module 0.3.22017-05-11T16:54:31+02:00http://www.couscousglobal.com/feed/atom/47/en?q_edg_owned_by=177Editors bloghttp://www.couscousglobal.com/id/42522009-09-01T15:42:20+02:0001-09-09 Are we European?<p>Stop the presses! There's news to be told, we are going erm...... European!</p><p><a href="http://www.beeldengeluid.nl">The Dutch Institute for Image and Sound (aka Nederlands Instituut voor Beeld en Geluid aka NIBG)</a> has launched a project called <a href="http://www.videoactive.eu">Video Active.</a> Video Active is an attempt of the NIBG and several other European archives to give people like you and me an idea of what television in Europe looks like on one single website. Yes, on the web! </p>
<p>This web spot contains tv shows from all over Europe plus a whole lot of articles and other documents about Euro tv history. Here's where we come in: episode seven from the first season of Couscous and Cola has been selected for this project and it can be viewed on <a href="http://www.videoactive.eu/VideoActive/VideoDetails.do?id=VA_SV2009070211505773&sw=&curitem=0&curpage=0">Video Active dot EU.</a></p>
<p>SO! If you're curious to see what kind of tv shows they make in Europania, then you really should take look. <br/>
Thank youz for having us on board I say and why not place the episode of Couscous and Cola in the spotlight? Yes, on the frontpage! We need all the hits we can get, but then again, who doesn't....</p>-ARTICLEnewshttp://www.couscousglobal.com/id/38282009-06-04T14:55:19+02:00Pressrelease: MySpace is losing it<p>PRESS RELEASE Amsterdam, June 2009</p>
<p>MySpace banns LYPO application due to “spreading of hate and discrimination”</p>
<p>Developers Couscous Global and Driebit are astonished.</p>
<p>MySpace has banned the new application LYPO (Love Your Perfect Opposite) from it’s social network. Developers Couscous Global and Driebit are astonished by this decision. MySpace states that this application instigates “hate spreading and discrimination”</p><p>Couscous Global is an organization that addresses urgent social and societal topics in a confronting, yet, constructive manner through debate. Subjects that live among young people worldwide. Subjects that are their own and not the ones of journalists.</p>
<p>Couscous Global developed the LYPO application in cooperation with web development company Driebit; they will add it to several social networks later this week. LYPO stands for Love Your Perfect Opposite and it reverses a well known principle: it doesn’t bring users into contact with people that think the same but with people that think differently. After all, you learn the most about yourself and the world around you by going into debate with your opponent/opposite.</p>
<p>Friends on social networks mostly are people that think the same and live the same. You can find these people through the tags that are attached to your profile. Couscous Global did the opposite with LYPO by developing an anti-tag system. It’s a technological translation of the famous quote: “I wholeheartedly disagree with what you say, but I will defend your right to say it with my heart and soul.”</p>
<p>Maartje Nevejan of Couscous Global about LYPO and MySpace banning the application: “The motions on www.lypo.org are confronting, of course, but you wouldn’t get a good debate if they weren’t. There is this reign of political correctness on social networks worldwide and we want to bring this up for discussion. We’re bored on the Internet when it comes to public debate. Isn’t it much more exciting to have a discussion with someone that doesn’t agree with you? This bann by MySpace is incomprehensible. We don’t want to spread hate or discriminate, we want opposites to change ideas.”</p>
<p>Sites: www.lypo.org, www.couscousglobal.com, www.driebit.nl</p>
<p>For more press information please email us at couscousglobal@gmail.com</p>-ARTICLEnewshttp://www.couscousglobal.com/id/35922009-04-29T11:43:52+02:00A website that spatializes your head.<p>Couscousglobal.com. the Internet sequal to BNN’s discussion program ‘Couscous & Cola’ is becoming an international succes. But the the person who took this initiative, maartje Nevejan, is already looking forward. The website is ‘up for adoption.’</p>
<p>By Liedewij Loorbach</p><p>We received all these comments of educated Iranians when a video of an Iranian female rapper appeared on the website of an American magazine. They told us that Couscousglobal.com would be better of if it would ask the opinions of the educated youth. “But we already hear the voice of this elite often enough,” says initiative taker Maartje Nevejan.<br/>
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Couscousglobal.com is a sequel to ‘Couscous & Cola’ (broadcast by BNN) a show in which foreign high school students from Amsterdam debate politics,culture and much more: George W Bush, Rita Verdonk, being gay, violence against women plus Islam and Christianity. Next to this, the viewer also gets the opportunity to take a glimpse into the often harsh lives of these teenagers. </p>
<p>Nevejan’s series was nominated for an Emmy Award and the rights were bought by Al Jazeera International. Youth from around the world sent emails. They asked If Nevejan could come to Sudan to see how the kids were living over there. Refugees in the United States also wanted to give their opinions. “Young people feel the need to express their opinions” says Nevejan.<br/>
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She gave herself a year to experiment. She started on the eighth of August with two staff members and ambassadors all around the world. The website and the Couscousglobal channel on Youtube now contain over 200 video's. There are viewers in 78 countries. <br/>
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Young people express their views there about topics which concern everybody. These video’s are mostly shot in Holland, the United States, Iran and China. And there are reports about youth worldwide, like the one about Iranian female rapper Nazila. <br/>
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“It really enlarges your worldview when you see how your contemporaries live in other pars of the world,” states Nevejan. ‘I want to change fear into curiosity’, is the phrase she uses when she tries to explain the mission of the project in foreign lands. <br/>
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She gives an example. “When I was in Sudan I showed the youth video’s from Amsterdam. They were very surprised to see that there are girls with head scarfs there too. They thought it was fantastic when I told them that 55 percent of the youth in Amsterdam is foreign. My reply: is that as fantastic as you say it is? We had to get used to that. What would you think if half of all the kids would walk around in short sweaters? That’s the point that they start to think: that cannot be allowed, that would be a bad thing. That’s a way to help them understand that things are more complex than they think and that we in the West are not anti-Islam per se.” </p>
<p>“We’re not very big though,” she says in a relativizing way. Most video’s are viewed a few hundred times. And on top of that: you’re asking a lot from poor kids with slow Internet connections if you want them to upload a video. “They can send us tapes with footage, we edit it and put it online. At that point they’re like: we are part of a global movement.”</p>
<p>Young people can send their own voice into the world. For example, female rapper Nazila shows that Iranian women aren’t suppressed, uneducated beings that never heard of Western (and thus for them foreign) music. Nevejan wants to give Couscousglobal.com out of hand when her year of experimenting on the web has ended. She wants to go on with new things and leave her steadily growing child in good hands. “Write it down: It’s up for adoption.”</p>
<p>www.couscousglobal.com</p>-ARTICLEnewshttp://www.couscousglobal.com/id/35102009-04-24T18:23:01+02:00This station is...<p>Oh dear! He's using metaphors again. Although it's a pretty obvious one. Since you've already figured out that the word 'station' is referring to us, this website. Almost a year has passed and we've seen and heard many things that we don't hear everyday. From music, to sex, to the use of the Internet and back. Time to recapitulate, to take a peek into the past.</p><p>I can still clearly remember the moment when the <a href="http://www.couscousglobal.com/page/241/en">first footage</a> arrived, it was shot in Kenya. It was a debate which was held outdoors and the wind ruined the sound from time to time but still the debate itself was very good and exciting. The participants debated with fire and fought hard to get the upper hand. A good start. Their contemporaries from <a href="http://www.couscousglobal.com/page/280/en">Tanzania</a> had a completely different style; they were very relaxed and delivered their arguments in a very calm manner. Different, but interesting nonetheless to see and hear what concerns THEM.</p>
<p>Another high was our journey to China because they were the host of the Olympic Games. Me, being a big music fan, was very uhm...excited to see that there's are very lively music scene in Beijing which strongly varies in style and genres. from <a href="http://www.couscousglobal.com/page/1232/en">rap, to metal, to indie....</a> you name it and it was there. I might have to go there myself one day to check it out for myself. </p>
<p>Another thing that has to be mentioned is the election of the current American president. Erik and I were in Amsterdam at an event called <a href="http://www.couscousglobal.com/page/1844/en">The President's Night</a> and Maartje was in Miami, one of the 'swing states'. When the big moment arrived (somewhere round 5.00 am Dutch time) I was stunned and I couldn't believe that eight years of republican policy had come to an end. I was that excited that I couldn't keep my camera away from the tv screen; and that whilst the crowd behind me was going absolutely freaking nuts! <a href="http://www.couscousglobal.com/page/2122/en">Here's proof.</a> Maartje was also 'drunk of joy' that night when she ran into <a href="http://www.couscousglobal.com/page/1749/en">this guy.</a> It doesn't need any explanation since the rest is history anyways. Ey Steve!?</p>
<p>And what about all the smaller journeys that our friends/partners made? That contains some high points too. What about the time that Azeri native Gurban showed our friend <a href="http://www.couscousglobal.com/page/2729/en">Neil around town in Baku.</a> Or the artists from Cambodia that told us about their daily life and their work (I promise, we'll finish it very soon.) The <a href="http://www.couscousglobal.com/page/2478/en">text messages from Gaza</a>, the <a href="http://www.couscousglobal.com/page/2296/en">UN simulation</a> in Singapore..........</p>
<p>The last two journey's which we made - to Iran and South Africa - were excellent countries to show that things are not always what they seem AND are really cool in their own right. <a href="http://www.couscousglobal.com/page/2799/en">(More on Iran right here!)</a> The cool thing about <a href="http://www.couscousglobal.com/page/3104/en">South Africa</a> was that we had a chance to talk to the first generation that's growing up without apartheid. How do they experience it and how do they cope with that? And what about the grafitti spot under that bridge (did we upload that already????) Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera..... Hope we've been able to provide some answers. :) </p>
<p>So what's next? The crew (us) will be away for a little while. We had an agreement that we'd do this for a year and that period has passed very, very, very fast. That means that there won't be some new video's for a while. <br/>
All cynics out there will probably say that this "station" will no longer be operational now that we've pretty much reached the end of the road. I guess you could say that but the website WILL - I repeat WILL - remain online. And Couscous Global WILL most likely continue, albeit in a different form. At this point in time we don't know what kind of form or shape this will be, time will tell. Once we know, you'll know. Or as the governor of California would put it: 'I'll be back.'</p>
<p>Keep on debating people! We'll stop by this place on a regular basis to see what's up or to drop an opinion or two. If our busy schedules will allow us. Busy westerners that we are..... ;)</p>Tarikhttp://www.couscousglobal.com/id/177ARTICLEnewshttp://www.couscousglobal.com/id/27992009-02-09T16:54:23+01:00What do you REALLY know about the world?<p>Our dear Maartje returned from Iran last Friday. A country that us westerners mostly know from television. Better yet: we probably only know it from tv. The war with the Iraqi's (although that's a long time ago) president Ahmedinejad who's screaming an cursing against Israel and America (to say the least), it's nuclear program and you'll probably be able to mention a lot more examples than the ones I've just mentioned. So: axis of evil then ey?</p><p>Well...that's very, very, very difficult to say. First of all let us not forget that the images we see of this country are not - let me repeat that again, NOT - representative for the entire country. </p>
<p>Let's go back in time for some good measure. We were in China in August last year. We see certain images and certain people and certain events which form our image of this country. Is every Chinese a supporter of the Communist Party? I doubt it. Did you know that kids there just live their lives like kids over here? That there's a lively music scene over there? That there are huge shopping malls there like 77th Street Plaza? When I saw the images of current day Beijing I was surprised because I really saw a country that's developing it's own youth culture and whatnot. Come to think of it when you take these things into account: they're not so different from us. There are cultural differences but still.... the medal always has two sides.</p>
<p>Iran was dubbed the 'axis of evil' several years ago. But can you truly say that of it's people? The answer is no if you ask me. I've seen and heard stories now that don't make it to the mainstream media. They only seem to focus on the nuclear issue, denying the holocaust and more of that kind of stuf. That's what I see and hear anyway. I didn't expect to see boys and girls rollerblading on the same court to the music of DJ Tiesto. Or bungy jumping? The girls were wearing headscarves but some parts of their hair were showing. Turned out that one of them had pink hair. And that aint no joke. Never saw that in the eight o' clock news. (It'll be online HERE soon!) </p>
<p>The footage which Maartje shot in Iran is once again proof, at least to me, that there is more to a country then meets the eye. I guess you can say that there is a dominant voice and a less dominant one in every society. Consider the previous example a less dominant one. </p>
<p>I'm sure that people from the Middle East have a distorted vision of the Dutch too. They see images of people like politician Geert Wilders. But does he represent our entire countries' population? No he doesn't. There are many, many people that don't agree with him. The Dutch are a diverse people. And the Chinese and Iranians are too probably. </p>
<p>So what is Mr hippy-morality trying to say? That a lot of - if not the majority of - the people are alright if you take the time to know them. And vice versa. I know I'm not always reaching out to 'the other' but perhaps I should. Let's consider this blog as a first attempt. So: axis of evil at the end of the day? Maybe a few people. But most aren't. </p>
<p>And of course you can sure as hell expect that the stories of which I just spoke can be seen and heard right here. At Couscous Global. So stay tuned for more stuff from Iran.</p>-ARTICLEnewshttp://www.couscousglobal.com/id/25502009-01-16T11:47:52+01:00Tarik talks Gaza<p>We have this certain secretary of state here in the Netherlands. His name is PH Donner. He once gave this interview in a major Dutch newspaper in which he stated that Sharia law should be instated in our country IF the majority of the population voted FOR Sharia law. Because that is the essence of democracy, he stated. As you might understand: an‘effin’ riot ensurged in our tiny western little country because of this theoretical exercise... Why am I saying this? Because I am standing on the verge of doing this myself: a theoretical exercise that is! About the Israel/Palestinian conflict; yes, yes a touchy subject. So perhaps lil ‘ol me might be in the eye of the (sh*t)storm very soon...</p><p>It is very much clear that the world is in shock because of the military actions by the Israeli army in the Gaza strip. Leaders from countries such as Egypt and France and the entire UN are turning and twisting themselves into many possible directions in order to bring the Israeli’s and Hamas’ (and it’s military wing Izedin al Qassam) to a cease fire. No succes yet. I thought it was quite a noble thing to take an initiative such as this but others such as our correspondent Moh the Gazan are not very fond of it because immediate action is not taken. </p>
<p>What’s a country supposed to do when it’s attacked? Defend itself. That’s what the Dutch government would do, the Russian government, the British or any other government that has the resources to defend itself. The Israeli government does that too. Self defense is a human right, right? It was stated many times on tv by politicians from many countries. </p>
<p>A large part of the Israeli people support the war against Hamas, however consider the following. The Gaza strip is a small piece of land which is densly populated. Any so-called precision bombing, surgical air strike – or whatever you want to call it – is bound to make civilian casualties. People die, children lose their parents and families are inflicted with pain. Children make up a large part of the Gaza population. All they see is that their people are being mistreated by the Israeli’s. What follows next? Hate grows and swells in their hearts. They have no life, a very slim chance that they will ever find a job, or make enough money for a wedding; in short: no future. I am convinced that these kids are walking timebombs and that they are the next generation of suicide bombers/ members of a militia. They are the products of their surroundings. </p>
<p>I believe that this war will not solve any problems in the long term. Neither will it bring peace between both parties. The number of Qassam missiles which have been fired from the Gaza Strip have decreased but with the situation of the Palestinian children in mind which I just described it is only a matter of time before things will escalate again. </p>
<p>Some might say that the people in Gaza brought this misery onto themselves because they chose Hamas as their ruler. A party which stemmed forth from the Muslim Brotherhood, which thus propagates political Islam. Hamas is labelled as a terrorist organization but don’t forget to ask yourself: why is Hamas so popular amongst the Palestinians? </p>
<p>Fatah ruled the Palestinian areas for years and many people from these governments were corrupt. Just imagine the image of Mrs Arafat shopping in Paris whilst her people were in a horrible situation to say the least. These governments were not able to bring a better life to the people so they turned their eyes to a party who might be able to pull it of: Hamas. Wasn't it once said that 'one man's freedomfighter is another man's terrorist'?<br/>
One of the things we value the most in the west – free elections – backfired in our face. This Hamas is, according to journalist and scholar <a href="http://www.opendemocracy.net/author/Khaled_Hroub.jsp">Khaled Hroub</a>, milder in it’s tone. I cannot agree with that because a party which is accused of using innocent civilians as human shields cannot be called mild in my opinion. Perhaps there are also cultural and religious factors (martyrdom) which play a role here. And the fact that there is no outlook on life there. </p>
<p>Another reason why Hamas is popular is because of it’s grassroots charity work. The economy in Gaza and the West Bank is virtually dead and Hamas supports the people who are in need of help. Apparently Fatah hasn’t helped them over the years so, here we go again, they chose the other guy (read: Hamas) because they DO offer help. </p>
<p>What I’m about to say is gonna sound very blunt but you cannot expect that a government can put people down and oppress them without retaliation. It will be a matter of time before people will start an uprising against those that put them down. We have seen it countless of times throughout history. John Stewart put it very nicely in <em>The Daily Show</em> on January fifth. He opened his joke with a fragment of a tv interview with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg who presented the following hypothetical situation:</p>
<p>“If you’re in your apartment and some emotionally disturbed person is banging on your door screaming: ‘I’m coming through this door and kill you.’ Do you want us to respond with one police officer which is proportional or with all the resources at our command?”</p>
<p>Stewart’s reaction:</p>
<p>“I guess it depends if I force that guy to live in my hallway and make him go through checkpoints every time he has to take a shit.”</p>
<p>Translated: driving people into separated pieces of land without any perspective on a good life - socially, economically and whatnot – is a recipe for disaster. Nor the Israeli’s, nor the Palestinians will (eventually) benefit of this. Where to go from here then? I still believe that a two state solution is still the best option for peace. </p>
<p>The Palestinians need a country,wherever that may be, where they can live free, where they can build an economy and have a better life. Isn’t that what we all want? I remember an Israeli martial artist from the documentary <em>Faces</em> who said that we all want the same at the end of the day. A job, we want to make a little money, a spouse... To be free to do whatever we want. </p>
<p>For starters and inspiration we’ll put our focus on Suriname in South America. A country where AT LEAST ONE <a href="http://www.rtl.nl/(/actueel/rtlnieuws/buitenland/articleview/)/components/actueel/rtlnieuws/2002/12_december/16/buitenland/jodenmoslims_suriname.xml">mosque and synagogue</a> are each others neighbors. The people who practice their faith there can hear their neighbors say their prayers. And when one of them has organized a get together, a congress or whatever; guess what? They invite their neighbors over! (Yes, I mean those of the other faith.) So before you get all pessimistic on my ass, remember that. Peace is possible.</p>Tarikhttp://www.couscousglobal.com/id/177ARTICLEnewshttp://www.couscousglobal.com/id/22352008-12-10T12:03:58+01:00Digital Meditationsz<p>A thought struck me the other day and it goes like this. The past few months have been very political in this joint. And with joint I mean website. Just so you know. I wasn't aware of that (let's call it blindly staring into the void called politics) untill a few weeks ago. One of the students @ Inholland brought this to my attention when he was pitching a communication plan to us he and his fellow students had written as an assignment. Whatever happened to pop culture? Why not use that, he asked us? The guy had a point. So: the time has come to chat about that.</p><p>He used the example of a game that wasn't released very long ago: <a href="http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_hq7cRTD0A">Fallout 3.</a> It takes place in post-apocalyptic Washington DC round 2213. As you can guess the city has been torn to shreds by war. It turns out that the game also features a nuclear bomb. A bombs called 'Fat Man'. Right! Just like the bomb that fell on Nagasaki in World War 2. </p>
<p>Is that unfriendly towards the Japanese people? <a href="http://kotaku.com/5082637/bethesda-censors-fallout-3-for-japan">In this article</a> it is stated that one quest - the one which features the bomb - was altered for the Japanese market. The developer removed one character which doesn't leave the option open to detonate the 'ol Fat Man:</p>
<p>"Developer Bethesda has made changes to the Japanese Fallout 3. The side-quest The Power of the Atom has been changed. Non-playable-character Mr. Burke has been taken out of this side-quest, removing the option of detonating the nuclear bomb. That's not all, the name of a weapon was changed as it was deemed "inappropriate" for Japan. Smart money says the weapon is mini-nuke launcher "Fat Man" for obvious reasons. The online reaction from the Japanese users seems to be largely disappointment to these edits. Fallout 3 goes on sale in Japan this December."</p>
<p>Source: see the link above</p>
<p>I personally don't think that people who might take offense to this are in the target group. It also seems that Japanese fans are disappointed because of the edits. So: was that the right thing to do? Food for discussion if you ask me. </p>
<p>Same goes for games such as <a href="http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=Uy0v2q8X-P8">Bully aka Canis Canem Edit.</a> As the name suggests; bullying is an an important part of this game. Is that something your - AHUM - parents would approve? You playing such a game? Is such a game ethical? More food for thought bro! </p>
<p>Hit us up if you have any ideas for discussions on topics such as these (and others of course.)</p>
<p>Last but not least: <a href="http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=UaHcMxfJlhY">my personal favorite.</a></p>Tarikhttp://www.couscousglobal.com/id/177ARTICLEnewshttp://www.couscousglobal.com/id/16232012-10-10T21:15:55+02:00Electoral aftermath<p>Today is the seventh of november, 2008. George W Bush is still president of the USA, although he`s probably planning his relocation to his home in Texas by now. Time for the new guy, the new commander in chief. The campaigns have ran - correct me if I`m wrong - for twenty months. They're over now, that's a relief to some, and perhaps a pain to others.</p><p>I was reading the local newspaper a few days ago and I stumbled upon this story. The reporter interviewed a woman who worked in a shopping mall at an airport. There was a tv next to her cashiers desk which blasted election news all day long and it wasn't making her happy to say the least. She heard just about every speech from both candidates. In fact; she stated that she would be able to give her own speech on just about every topic that was important in this presidential race. She's probably happy now cause this circus is over.</p>
<p>As you all know I have a fascination for America. I always follow the elections with great curiosity. So: is it a pain now that this gig is over? Not really. I do have to state that this race has been more interesting than any other I have witnessed so far. The reason that I`m saying this has to do with a medium which has been around since 2005: Youtube (and to a lesser extent it`s competitors). Both candidates have their own channels there so I was able to watch all their speeches and commercials when I wished. This really brought the whole thing a lot closer to me. Some campaign adds and parts of speeches are shown on the news and current affairs shows in Holland but I`m not always watching tv. I have more things to do you know. :-)</p>
<p>I understood that tv adds are always an important weapon in the race for the White House. One add which struck me in particular was <a href="http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=PjEKRIBDv6Q">this one</a>. It`s purpose is to convince the voter that Obama and his party are not a responsible choice for America. What keeps haunting me though is the fact that the quote from Obama in this video is completely taken from it`s context. To the less media literate out there (no offense): if you listen carefully you can hear that Obama`s quote ends very abruptly whilst the beginning sounds very fluent. The first point indicates that it`s very likely that the sentence was cut off. The fluent beginning indicates that it`s likely that the editor of this add cut into the middle of a sentence. Add some words like: "how dishonerable" and you`ve created a new message. </p>
<p><a href="http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=jVLronKrErY">Same goes for an add from the Obama campaign</a> in which is stated that John McCain is out of ideas and that he hasn't got a clue how to battle the financial crisis. I don't think that was completely true. McCain certainly had a plan. Even if it was written by his advisors.</p>
<p>I believe that these commercials are an important source of information. Or in this case: ad the word 'mis' to information and you`ve got a new message: misinformation. Doesn`t that make it MORE difficult to make a choice because you have to separate facts from smear? That`s what I would imagine really. We have one spin doctor here in the Netherlands who was trained in the USA. I once heard him say that content (read: the candidates political program) does not matter. It`s all about selling the person in question to the people. Politics as usual ey? <br/>
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Sure, these things happen in Holland too but not like this. Personalities matter (Wouter Bos of the Labour party is a very clear example of that. Especially during the 2003 elections) Politicians verbally attack each other with rhetorical arguments but not with adds like these. The election campaigns are shorter here too. Mostly a couple of months. I guess this kind of thing is what we call typically American here in the Netherlands. The same spin doctor I mentioned earlier also attended The President`s Night in the Melkweg on november 4th. He was there to give a lecture with some colleagues. As you know Erik and I were there too to report. (Will be up soon.) He said that there is only one reason why we don`t have such commercials: money. You need airtime to broadcast them. Political parties receive some airtime; mostly a few minutes and most of the times not on prime time. So hardly anyone watches that. Perhaps that will change in the future. I personally hope it doesn't. I am more for a campaign with arguments; not a personality race. <br/>
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What I do want to say is this: it was a beautiful moment when Barack was elected president. I was happy. He has talked the talk about change; now it`s time to walk the walk. I think his election is the symbol of tearing down the racial wall that has stood firmly in America for a long time now. Perhaps it will bring people together. I also think that he is the right person to restore American relations with many other countries in the world. Bush jr turned America into an island because of his "we're America and fuck the rest attitude." I am convinced that many people worldwide have started to dislike (perhaps even hate) America and it`s government because of this attitude. But what made me happy mostly is the fact that his election marked the end of eight years of neo-conservative policy. I think it hasn't done America any good. </p>
<p>Obama will have free play for the next two years since there is a democratic majority in both the senate and the house. I am anxious to see if he can really pull of the things he promised. Or just half of it for that matter. He already said it himself: one term might not be enough. Now you might call me a cynic but I also wondered if he really is the right choice for change. Isn't the Democratic party not just a part of the so-called `ol boys network in Washington? Aren't they rusted shut into the same political culture which they claim to reject? Maybe you should vote third party to really see some change. Maybe, maybe not. However it may be: I certainly hope that he will be able to pull it of and that he will go down in history as a president that really added the deeds to his words. I will be following you, and your actions closely Barack.</p>Tarikhttp://www.couscousglobal.com/id/177ARTICLEnewshttp://www.couscousglobal.com/id/13432008-10-27T11:51:09+01:00The Couscous Global icon<p>Let`s spread this one like a virus on the web. A positive virus to give our site some publicity. Feel free to place this animation on your Myspace, blog or what/where ever. (Check it out at the bottom of the page.) Help us spread the word about Couscous Global!</p><p>So once again: help us spread the word by placing this icon on your Myspace, blog or any other place on the web by copying and pasting the code below in the desired place.</p>
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<p>Send us an email if you have any questions. :-)</p>-ARTICLEhttp://www.couscousglobal.com/id/11842008-09-12T13:56:28+02:00it`s the end...<p>September 12`th, 9.53 AM <br/>
Current mood: still sleeping<br/>
Music: Something very heavy....to wake up.</p><p>Just a few days ago i was watching the evening news. I am quite happy that I can do so since I`m not working on my MA thesis anymore. And I hope it will stay that way. So thesis: remain at the bottom of the river like you are supposed to. Don`t come back floating to the surface like a corpse which isn`t weighted down properly with stones, concrete or whatever. Just so you know.</p>
<p>But like I was saying; I was watching the news the other day and I saw an item about a large group of scientists who build the world`s largest proton excelerator. I`m not sure if anyone ever build a smaller one but anyway it`s located about eighteen kilometers below the surface in Switserland. You can imagine it as a circular twentyseven kilometer long tubesystem through which they send the tiniest particles - protones, neutrones, et cetera - at the speed of light. (!) At a certain point these particles will collide with each other to stimulate a so called 'big bang'. The type of 'big bang' which occured when the universe came into being. By stimulating such an event they hope to find out more about the way that the universe came into being. They`re especially looking for the Higgs particle. The missing piece in the scientific puzzle. </p>
<p>A reason to start a riot? Perhaps. Some scientists argued that such a stimulation could create a black hole which could swallow up the earth! Others argued that this is not possible since us mere humans can recreate a "big one" but not one like they occur in the universe. Simply said: we can`t recreate a 'big bang' of that magnitude.</p>
<p>I was planning to post this a day before the experiment started and I wanted to end with some sort of a eulogy but luckily for us we`re still here. So it comes down to this. This blog does not have the impact as it would have had a few days ago. So much for my personal 'blogging big bang...' But then again; i`m just a mere human whom cannot recreate a 'blogging big bang' of this magnitude. or can I!? Stay tuned for that. (Insert scary music here.)</p>
<p>HOPE YOU GUYS FIND YOUR HIGGS PARTICLE! :-)</p>
<p>Live your life!</p>Tarikhttp://www.couscousglobal.com/id/177ARTICLEnews