Attacking Royalty

As a result college tuition hikes in England, student protesters have swarmed the streets. Just yesterday, it went to a whole new level when student protesters attacked Prince Charles's car. Though I find this funny, the act was rather pointless in achieving any desired ends. The royalty in England is only a figure head and has no power in governing the country. So long live freedom, but better luck next time. (The woman in the picture is his second wife, Camilla.)

Imagine John Lennon

Today we commemorate the 30th anniversery of John Lennon's tragic death. He was an icon of rock and his songs have touched and inspired the lives of many and his memory lives on.

Commemorating Elizabeth Edwards

1949- 2010

Today, Elizabeth Edwards, wife of vice presidential candidate John Edwards, died today after her 6 year long battle against breast cancer. She was a dedicated wife and mother, supporting her family and particularly her husband throughout his political endeavors despite her condition. She is a role model for all women. She remained dedicated to her family and kept fighting, never giving up. She never considered herself a victim or her disease or situation, even after the scandal about her husband husband's infidelity. 

Boycotting the Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony?

As you may or may not know, this year's Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Liu Xiaobo, a Chinese prisoner by the hand of the Chinese government. The charges against him: defying the Chinese governemnt. Of course, Liu cannot personally receive the award at the ceremony because he is in prison. The award was given to him, yes for his courage and personal sacrifice to achieve civil rights in China, but also as a statement condemning the actions of the Chinese government in regards to the treatment of its people and their restricted freedom.
Now, Beijing has lead a boycott against the ceremony and therefore the Chinese ambassador is not attending. In conjunction with China, 18 other countries will not be attending:

Russia, Kazakhstan, Colombia, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Serbia, Iraq , Iran, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Venezuela, the Philippines, Egypt, Sudan, Ukraine, Cuba and Morocco.

Some, obviously, will not attend because of reasons of state, but looking at the list, you can probably tell which ones will not attend as a part of the boycott( the ones in bold are the ones I think are a part of this deplorable boycott).

Finally, News About Korea!

Well, apparantly the Korean crisis is back on the diplomatic map. According to the New York Times, President Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao finally spoke about the issue. There is one problem, though. This only happened after 13 days of silence between the two countries; kind of like the silent treatment. So on top of a potential atomic war, we have to deal with a reluctant Chinese ally. Where do their loyalties really lie?

For more info check out the article:  Delay in Korea Talks Is Sign of U.S.-China Tension

Coldplay Christmas Carol

For all of you Coldplay fans out there, they have released a new Christmas song called Christmas Lights. It's the typical Coldplay. I personally liked the song, but it was a little slow in the beginning. Here's the music video.

Did We Forget About Korea Already?

I don't know about you, but I have yet to hear, read, or see anything about the Korean conflict since the WikiLeaks issue made the news. Now why is that? The conflict has definitely not been resolved. The last I heard, China called for peace talks between North Korea, South Korea, Japan, Russia, China, and the United States. What became of that? This is a big issue we're talking about and all of a sudden it gets no importance?!? The WikiLeaks is just a card played by the U.S. government to cover up the seriousness of the Korean conflict, probably because the government knows that we are in no condition to enter another war and secondly, not to cause mass hysteria of another potential Cold War. I mean how obvious can they be? Only about three days into the conflict, the State Department announces that they "found out" that information will be leaked and publicly ask those who were going to do it not to. A few hours, if not a day later, the leaks were released all over the internet, completely overshadowing the Korean conflict. Coincidence? I think not.

Welcome!

Hello Readers and welcome to What's Up, Down, and All Around!

This is a blog where everything will be covered, from world events to the arts, from serious issues to humorous happenings. So what's up, down, and all around? The world, everything! I will try to post things regularly. I've got a tough schedule to deal with and this is my first blog, so please bear with me. I will allow comments to posts, but please keep them PG- 13 rated. Well, I hope this is a success and enjoy!

Let's start off on a funny note: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kxa0mnDj0bs