Jimmy Carter

James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. (born October 1, 1924) served as the 39th President of the United StatesNobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office. Before he became President, Carter served two terms as a Georgia State Senator and one as Governor of Georgia, from 1971 to 1975, and was a peanut farmer and naval officer. from 1977 to 1981 and was the recipient of the 2002

After leaving office, Carter and his wife Rosalynn founded the Carter Center in 1982, a nongovernmental, not-for-profit organization that works to advance human rights. He has traveled extensively to conduct peace negotiations, observe elections, and advance disease prevention and eradication in developing nations. Carter is a key figure in the Habitat for Humanity project, and also remains particularly vocal on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Hate Crimes

Hate crimes are criminal acts of verbal or physical abuse because of someone's racial group, religion, sexual orientation, disability, class, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender, gender identity, social status or political affiliation. Recently, two men from Pennsylvania were sentenced to 9 years in prison for physically assaulting an man because he was an undocumented Mexican immigrant. This is considered a hate crime. During the federal trial, witnesses testified that racist language was used before and during the attack and that Ramirez was kicked in the head repeatedly after he fell down. The defendants, they said, didn't want immigrants in their neighborhood and repeatedly ordered Ramirez to leave.Three former Pennsylvania police officers were also charged, accused of trying to cover up the incident.Beating someone up is bad on it's own, but beating someone up because of something they can't control is much worse.

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( born 18 July 1918)served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC). In 1962 he was arrested and convicted of sabotage and other charges, and sentenced to life in prison. Mandela served 27 years in prison, spending many of these years on Robben Island. Following his release from prison on 11 February 1990, Mandela led his party in the negotiations that led to multi-racial democracy in 1994. As president from 1994 to 1999, he frequently gave priority to reconciliation.

In South Africa, Mandela is often known as uTata Madiba, an honorary title adopted by elders of Mandela's clan.

Mandela has received more than 250 awards over four decades, including the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize.

Distress in Egypt

What's going on in Egypt?: Protests started on Tuesday, January 25, when -- inspired by the successful revolution in Tunisia -- thousands began taking to the streets to protest poverty, rampant unemployment, government corruption and autocratic governance of President Hosni Mubarak, who has ruled the country for 30 years. These were the first protests on such a large scale in Egypt since the 1970s. To read more, go here.

Manifest Destiny in Legos

Above the Influence