Engagements and diamond rings

Have you thought of the perfect marriage proposal? This is a very important step therefore for some people the proposal must be perfect. What perfect means? Well for some it means a romantic dinner and/or a trip with a diamond ring. Now, the question is, what do we know about diamond rings? Diamonds are gorgeous, but behind this beautiful jewel it hides violence and corruption. The truth is that in almost all markets we can find corruption and the diamond industry is not an exception. Countries like Sierra Leona, Angola and Congo are known for their black markets and abuse to mine workers. Workers rights are not respected and they earn little money for these beautiful gems, while we are paying exorbitant prices for it. Where does the money goes? The big companies that sell it, and this money is also often use to buy the government to look the other way (see movie Blood Diamond). When buying a diamond ring we must be careful, buying a certificated diamond might be helpful because it assures us that this gems hasn't been stolen. Conflict-free and free-trade diamonds are also an option but they are normally more expensive.
Now that we know a little more about diamonds, girls, do we really want a diamond ring? Nowadays diamonds are common and I certainly wouldn't want an ordinary gem. I think that over the years the big diamond industries have done a great job making us believe that our love can be represented by a diamond. The slogan "a diamond is forever" created by DeBeers on 1947, has become so popular that we even believe that if a diamond is forever so will be our love. I don't want to change people's ideas, but I do want us to think for a bit, I am not trying to kill romanticism, but that's the truth. Every woman is special and we deserve something special and I just don't believe diamonds are that rare anymore. I was reading "Miss Penguin" blog and story about diamonds and it was then I thought for us (women) an engagement can only be represented by a ring. After reading "Miss Penguin" story I thought of a friend of mine and her ideas about proposals; a 'perfect' proposal is when the boy goes down on his knee and asks the question by popping up a diamond ring.
I did some research on the 'perfect proposal' and you can find many ideas on how to tell that special someone how special she or he is, some are casual and other ones are just charming. Now I have some questions for you, how would you like your partner to propose to you? How about just a trip with no ring or how about some other jewel, like a bracelet or a necklace? Instead of diamonds why not pearls or some other gemstone. If you were to change the diamond ring for another precious stone, what would it be?

We have a new president: Barack Obama

"Yes, we can", the crowd said when Obama presented himself after projection votes stating he was the new president. After eight years under the Republican party, Democrats finally showed victorious. It took 21 months and a lot of hard work to be where we are now. Obama is the first African-American president in US history and I think this is the type of change the US was aiming for.
"The road ahead will be long. I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight" (CNN, Transcript) said Obama, who is focusing on the people to make our country a better country. I know this victory upsets others, but we must remain united because this is our country and divided we won't go anywhere. Candidate McCain even offered his support to Obama,we should all follow his example. This is the country we all love and we need to make efforts to put end to our differences and obtain the prosperity we all want. I believe McCain held himself with a remarkable demeanor and this is what we all need to do.
This is the beginning of a new era for the US - We should be grateful to be living this, it took years and hard work to have women and African-Americans to vote and now we have an African-American as a president, but this is what change is all about. It was a difficult campaign, but everyone's efforts have paid off and now its time to focus on fixing the problems. Like Obama said "And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help. And I will be your president, too" (CNN, Transcript). Let's not forget it.
Every four years when a new president is elected a new journey begins and this is no different, we must believe!