1. No Breakfast
People who do not take breakfast are going to have a lower blood sugar level. This leads to an insufficient supply of nutrients to the brain causing brain degeneration.

2 . Overeating
It causes hardening of the brain arteries, leading to a decrease in mental power.

3. Smoking
It causes multiple brain shrinkage and may lead to Alzheimer disease.

4.. High Sugar consumption
Too much sugar will interrupt the absorption of proteins and nutrients causing malnutrition and may interfere with brain development.

5. Air Pollution
The brain is the largest oxygen consumer in our 20 body. Inhaling polluted air decreases the supply of oxygen to the brain, bringing about a decrease in brain efficiency.

6 . Sleep Deprivation
Sleep allows our brain to rest.. Long term deprivation from sleep will accelerate the death of brain cells..

7. Head covered while sleeping
Sleeping with the head covered increases the concentration of carbon dioxide and decrease concentration of oxygen that may lead to brain damaging effects.

8. Working your brain during illness
Working hard or studying with sickness may lead to a decrease in effectiveness of the brain as well as damage the brain.

9. Lacking in stimulating thoughts
Thinking is the best way to train our brain, lacking in brain stimulation thoughts may cause brain shrinkage.

10. Talking Rarely
Intellectual conversations will promote the efficiency of the brain

The game trophy is a 20-inch piece of Zia Pueblo pottery, painted with Pueblo symbols, the New Mexico Bowl logo, football players, and the logos of the competing teams. Zia Pueblo is an Indian tribe from New Mexico. The Zia symbol, a Zia Pueblo symbol that is used in the state flag, is incorporated into the bowl game logo. The most valuable player trophies are crafted from traditional leather shields.

Game results

 MVPs

 Most appearances

 Television coverage

• New Mexico Bowl broadcasters

Jennings was a highly acclaimed high school player, averaging 32.7 points and 7.4 assists as a senior, and won all major player of the year awards in his senior year. After graduating from Oak Hill Academy, he decided to play professional basketball with the Italian club Lottomatica Roma instead of playing collegiately for the University of Arizona Wildcats, leading to controversy and debate on the NBA’s “prep-to-pro” policy adopted in 2006. After a year in Italy, Jennings declared for the 2009 NBA Draft and was selected by the Bucks tenth overall.

Early life

Brandon Jennings was born to Alice Knox and Bryan Jennings. He has a half-brother named Terrence Phillips.

 High school

In his senior year of high school, Jennings averaged 32.7 points, 7.4 assists, and 5.1 rebounds per game and set the school record for points in a season. This performance earned him some of high school basketball’s most prestigious awards: the 2008 Naismith Prep Player of the Year Award, 2007–08 Gatorade Player of the Year (Virginia), 2008 Parade Magazine Player of the Year and 2008 EA Sports Player of the Year.

He led his 2006–2007 team to a 41–1 record and the top ranking in the USA Today Super 25 list of high school teams.

 College plans

In August 2006, he chose to attend USC.

On April 24, 2007, he decided instead to join the University of Arizona Wildcats, citing Arizona’s quality academic faculty and his desire to play with Jerryd Bayless. (Bayless left after one season to enter the 2008 NBA Draft.)

In November 2007, SLAM Magazine’s third edition of PUNKS featured Jennings on the cover along with three other top-rated high school guards (Jrue Holiday, Tyreke Evans and Lance Stephenson).

In June 2009, Jennings attended the premiere of Beastie Boys’ Adam Yauch’s basketball movie Gunnin’ For That #1 Spot at the Magic Johnson Theater in Harlem. Also attending were Kevin Love, Lance Stephenson, Brook Lopez, Robin Lopez, DJ Augustin, and Adam Yauch. The film follows eight top high school players—including Jennings—from their hometowns to NYC, for the 2006 Elite 24 at Rucker Park.

In June 2008, Jennings announced that he was considering becoming the first American to skip college to play professionally in Europe. The NBA requires players to be at least 19 years old and one year removed from high school before entering the league, meaning that Jennings could not enter the 2008 NBA draft. Jennings declared that his goal was to play in the NBA and that playing overseas instead of at an American college could be his best route to gain experience and make money until he was eligible to join the NBA.

At the time, Jennings was ranked as the No. 1 prospective college freshman by Scout.com, No. 1 by ESPN.com and No. 4 by Rivals.com.

 Lottomatica Roma

On July 16, 2008, Jennings signed with Lottomatica Roma of the Italian Lega A. The contract he signed with Roma was for $1.65 million net income guaranteed  and after earning the contract with Lottomatica, Under Armour gave Jennings a $2 million contract to showcase their products in the Euroleague. Jennings was the first player to play for a European team rather than play for a college basketball team since the NBA’s age restriction rule was implemented.

In the Italian Lega A 2008-09 season, Jennings averaged in 27 games, 5.5 points, 1.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.5 steals in 17.0 minutes per game. He shot 35.1 percent from the field and 20.7 percent from 3 point range in Lega A play. In 16 Euroleague games, Jennings averaged 7.6 points, 1.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.2 steals in 19.6 minutes per game. In the Euroleague he shot 38.7 percent from the field and 26.8 percent from 3 point range.

 National Basketball Association

Jennings was selected tenth overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2009 NBA Draft. He became the first player who skipped college to play professional basketball in Europe to be drafted by an NBA team. Jennings also made a notable appearance at the draft. He had initially decided not to attend the draft and preferred to be at a family function during the draft. After he was drafted by the Bucks, he left the family function and headed to the Madison Square Garden. He later came out on the stage after the 14th pick was announced to have his picture taken with the NBA commissioner David Stern, just like all drafted players who attend the draft.

Jennings during a game against the Detroit Pistons

During Jennings’ NBA regular season debut on October 30, 2009 against the Philadelphia 76ers, Jennings recorded 17 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists, and hit 2 three-point shots, just shy of a triple-double and played 34 minutes. In the second game on October 31, 2009 against the Detroit Pistons, also the debut in Bradley Center, Jennings scored 16 points during the third quarter and a team-high 24 points for the game to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to their first victory of the 2009–10 regular season.

On November 14, 2009, after a scoreless first quarter, Jennings scored 29 points in the 3rd quarter against Golden State en route to a total of 55 points in the game to break the team record for most points by a rookie, previously set by Lew Alcindor in 1970. Jennings’ performance was the most points scored by a rookie since Earl “The Pearl” Monroe scored 56 in 1968. He became the youngest player to ever score 50, collecting the second-highest total for a player under 21, behind only LeBron James’ 56 points in March 2005, and the second-most points scored by a Milwaukee Buck (behind Michael Redd’s 57 in 2006). On November 16, 2009, Jennings followed up his record-breaking 55-point outburst with a near triple-double against the Dallas Mavericks, recording 25 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists.

 Awards and accomplishments

• 2005 Press Telegram Freshmen Player of the Year
• Named the Most Valuable Player of the 2006 Les Schwab Invitational Tournament
• Co-MVP of the 2007 Elite 24 Hoops Classic (with Tyreke Evans)
• 2007 Las Vegas Easter Classic Most Valuable Player
• 2007 NBAPS Top 100 High School Camp Best Playmaker
• 2007 The Goazcats.com Showdown Most Valuable Player
• 2008 Naismith Male Player of the year
• 2007–08 Gatorade Player of the year Virginia
• 2008 Parade Magazine Player of the Year
• 2008 EA SPORTS National Player of the Year
• 2008 McDonald’s All-American
• 2007–08 MaxPreps National Player of the Year
• 2008 Jordan Brand Classic Most Valuable Player for the East
• No. 1 rated senior by ESPN (2008)
• No. 1 rated senior by Van Coleman Hoopmaster (2008)
• No. 1 rated senior by Clark Franics Hoopscoop (2007 and 2008)
• No. 1 rated senior by Dave Telep Scout.com 2008
• Most Points Scored in a single Quarter against the Warriors (29) (2009)
• Fourth Most Points Scored by a Rookie in an NBA Game (55) (2009)
• Youngest Player Ever to Score 50+ Points in an NBA Game (2009)
• Most points scored by a Bucks rookie in an NBA Game (55) (2009)

Early life

Saldaña was born in New Jersey, United States she is of Dominican and Puerto Rican descent. She spent much of her childhood in the Dominican Republic before returning to the United States to pursue acting.” Her first languages were English and Spanish. Saldaña enlisted in a ballet class at one of the most prestigious dancing schools in the Dominican Republic, gaining experience as a dancer, which benefited her later for her role in Center Stage. She returned to the U.S. after her sophomore year in high school and enrolled in the Faces Theater Program, an acting course.

 Career

Saldaña was still a member of the program when she got her first screen experience on an episode of Law & Order, which aired October 13, 1999. She left school after her major film debut in Center Stage (2000), which subsequently led to appearances in the Britney Spears vehicle Crossroads (2002) and the drama Drumline (2002). She played the pirate, Anamaria, in the 2003 film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, and has appeared in a number of television shows and movies, including The Terminal (2004) and Guess Who (2005). Saldana was also the lead in the video for Juan Luis Guerra’s song “La llave de mi corazón”, and played Uhura in the 2009 movie Star Trek.

 Personal life

Saldaña has a keen interest in fashion and has her own fashion line called Arasmaci, where most of her designs are influenced by her Dominican heritage.

 Awards and nominations

• ALMA Awards
  • 2009, Best Actress (Film): Star Trek (nominated)

• Black Movie Awards
  • 2006, Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role: Guess Who (nominated)

• Black Reel Awards
  • 2006, Best Actress: Guess Who (nominated)

• NAACP Image Award
  • 2006, Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture: Guess Who (nominated)

• MTV Movie Awards
  • 2003, Best Kiss: Drumline Shared w/ Nick Cannon (nominated)

• Scream Awards
  • 2009, Breakout Performance-Female: Star Trek (nominated)
  • 2009, Best Science Fiction Actress: Star Trek (nominated)

• Teen Choice Awards
  • 2009, Choice Movie Actress (Action/Adventure): Star Trek (nominated)
  • 2006, Choice Movie Actress (Breakout): Guess Who (nominated)

• People’s Choice Awards
  • 2009, Favorite Breakout Movie Actress: Star Trek (TBA)

 Filmography

Franco achieved international fame as a result of his portrayal of Harry Osborn in the Spider-Man trilogy. Since then, his films have included the war film The Great Raid (2005), the 2006 romantic drama Tristan & Isolde, and Justin Lin’s drama Annapolis (2006). In 2008, Franco starred in the comedy stoner film Pineapple Express and received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. He played a prominent role in the 2008 biographical film Milk.

Early life

Franco was born April 19, 1978 in Palo Alto, California, the son of Betsy (née Verne), a poet, author and editor, and Doug Franco. His maternal grandmother, Mitzi Levine Verne, runs the Verne Art Gallery, a prominent art gallery in Cleveland, Ohio. Franco’s father is of Portuguese and Swedish descent and Franco’s mother is Jewish, a descendant of immigrants from Russia. Franco grew up in California with his two younger brothers, Tom and Dave, and graduated from Palo Alto High School in 1996, where he was elected by his senior class as the student with the “best smile”. He then enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) as an English major. He dropped out after his freshman year and chose to pursue a professional career as an actor, taking acting lessons with Robert Carnegie at Playhouse West.

 Career

 Early work

After fifteen months of training, he began auditioning in Los Angeles, California, and got his first break in 1999, after he was cast in a leading role on the short-lived but well-reviewed television series Freaks and Geeks. Franco has since described the series as “one of the most fun” work experiences that he has had. In another interview, Franco said: “When we were doing Freaks and Geeks, I didn’t quite understand how movies and TV worked, and I would improvise even if the camera wasn’t on me … So I was improvising a little bit back then, but not in a productive way.”

His first major film was the romantic comedy Whatever It Takes (2000), where he co-starred with his then-girlfriend, Marla Sokoloff. He was subsequently cast as the title role in director Mark Rydell’s 2001 TV biopic James Dean. Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly wrote: “Franco could have walked through the role and done a passable Dean, but instead gets under the skin of this insecure, rootless young man.” He was distinguished with a Golden Globe Award, as well as being nominated for an Emmy Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

 Spider-Man and after

Denis O’Hare and Franco discuss their roles in the 2008 Gus Van Sant film Milk, and its subject, Harvey Milk.

In the 2002 superhero film Spider-Man, the most successful film of his career to date, Franco played Harry Osborn, the son of the villainous Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) and best friend of the title character (Tobey Maguire). Originally, Franco was considered for the lead role of Spider-Man/Peter Parker in the film, though the lead went to Tobey Maguire. Todd McCarthy of Variety noted that there are “good moments” between Maguire and Franco in the film. Spider-Man was a commercial and critical success. The movie grossed $114 million during its opening weekend in North America and went on to earn $822 million worldwide. In this same year, Franco was cast in the drama City by the Sea (2002). The following year he co-starred alongside Neve Campbell in Robert Altman’s The Company (2003).

The success of the first Spider-Man film led Franco to reprise the role in the 2004 sequel, Spider-Man 2. The movie was well received by critics, and it proved to be a big financial success, setting a new opening weekend box office record for North America. With revenue of $783 million worldwide, it became the second highest grossing film in 2004. The following year he appeared in the 2005 war film The Great Raid, in which he portrayed Robert Prince, a captain in the United States Army’s elite Sixth Ranger Battalion.

In 2006, Franco co-starred with Tyrese Gibson in Annapolis and played legendary hero Tristan in Tristan & Isolde, a dramatization of the Tristan and Iseult story also starring English actress Sophia Myles. He then trained with the stunt team “The Blue Angels” and received a pilot’s license in preparation for his role in Flyboys, which was released in September 2006; the same month, Franco appeared briefly in The Wicker Man, a horror film starring Nicolas Cage, who directed him in Sonny. Also in 2006, he made a cameo appearance in the romantic comedy The Holiday.

In 2007 he again played Harry Osborn in Spider-Man 3. In contrast to the previous two films’ positive reviews, Spider-Man 3 was met with a mixed reception by critics. Nonetheless, with a total worldwide gross of $891 million, it stands as the most successful film in the series, and Franco’s highest grossing film to the end of 2008. In this same year, Franco made a cameo appearance in the comedy Knocked Up.

He starred in the film Pineapple Express (2008), a comedy co-starring and co-written by Seth Rogen and produced by Judd Apatow, both of whom worked with Franco on Freaks and Geeks. In the New York Times review of the film, critic Manohla Dargis wrote: “He’s delightful as Saul, loosey-goosey and goofy yet irrepressibly sexy, despite that greasy curtain of hair and a crash pad with a zero WAF (Woman Acceptance Factor). It’s an unshowy, generous performance and it greatly humanizes a movie that, as it shifts genre gears and cranks up the noise, becomes disappointingly sober and self-serious.” Franco’s performance in the film earned him a Golden Globe nomination in the category for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy and also a MTV Movie Award nomination in the category for Best Comedic Performance. In 2008 he also appeared in two films by American artist Carter exhibited at the Yvon Lambert gallery in Paris. On September 20, 2008, James hosted Saturday Night Live.

Franco starred opposite Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, and Emile Hirsch in Gus Van Sant’s Harvey Milk bio-pic Milk (2008). In the film, he played Scott Smith, a lover of Harvey Milk (Penn). Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times, in review of the film, wrote: “Franco is a nice match for him [Penn] as the lover who finally has enough of political life.” For his performance in the film, Franco won the 2008 Independent Spirit Award in the category for Best Supporting Actor.

In October 2009, it was confirmed that Franco will be joining the cast of the daytime soap opera, General Hospital. He will play Franco who comes to Port Charles with some unfinished business with mob enforcer Jason Morgan (Steve Burton).

Franco will also make an appearance on the situation comedy show 30 Rock. He will play himself and will carry on a fake romance with Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski), a scheme concocted by their respective agents.

 Personal life

In 2008, Franco received his undergraduate degree in English from UCLA. For his degree, Franco prepared his departmental honors thesis under the supervision of novelist Mona Simpson. Subsequently, Franco moved to New York to attend graduate school at Columbia University’s MFA Writing Program and New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts where he studied filmmaking.

Franco in February 2009

Art—painting in particular—is a talent Franco developed during his high school years while attending the rigorous California State Summer School for the Arts (CSSSA). Franco has said that painting was the “outlet” he needed in high school, and that he “has actually been painting longer than he has been acting.” His paintings were displayed publicly for the first time at the Glü Gallery in Los Angeles, California from January 7, 2006 through February 11, 2006. Franco can also be seen painting in a scene in Spider-Man 3.

Since April 2006, Franco has been in a relationship with actress Ahna O’Reilly. In 2008, Franco was named as the new face of Gucci’s men’s fragrance line. Viewed as a sex symbol, Franco was named the Sexiest Man Living in 2009 by Salon.com.

He was selected as the commencement speaker, the youngest, at his alma mater UCLA, on Friday, June 12, 2009. On June 3, 2009, a press release announced Franco’s cancellation as UCLA’s commencement speaker due to a scheduling conflict, making it the second year in a row that the commencement speaker had canceled the appearance. Bill Clinton canceled the year before. On July 8, 2009, Franco released a satirical video on prominent comedy website Funny or Die mocking his last-minute cancellation.

 Filmography

Rimes made her breakthrough into country music in 1996. Her debut album, Blue, reached Number 1 on the Top Country Albums chart and was certified “multi-platinum” in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America. The album’s lead single of the same name (originally intended to be recorded by Patsy Cline in the early 1960s) became a Top 10 hit. With immediate success, Rimes attained widespread national acclaim for her similarities to Cline’s vocal style. When Rimes released her sophomore studio effort in 1997, You Light up My Life: Inspirational Songs, Rimes went more towards country pop material, which would set the trend for a string of albums that would be released into the next decade. LeAnn Rimes is the youngest person to win a Grammy, and the first country singer to win the Grammy Award for Best New Artist.

Since her debut, Rimes has won many major industry awards, which include two Grammys, three ACMs, one CMA, twelve Billboard Music Awards, and one American Music award. In addition, Rimes has also released ten studio albums and four compilation albums through her record label of 13 years, Asylum-Curb, and placed over 40 singles on American and international charts since 1996. She has sold over 50 million albums worldwide.

Early life

Rimes was born Margaret LeAnn Rimes in Pearl, Mississippi in 1982 to Belinda Butler and Wilbur Rimes. Her family later moved to Garland, Texas in 1988, where Rimes was raised. As an only child, Rimes was showered with attention by her parents. She was singing by the age of two, was enrolled into vocal and dance training, and by the age of five was performing at local talent shows . Rimes initially began her career in musical theatre, performing in a Dallas, Texas production of A Christmas Carol, and almost landed the lead part in the Broadway production of Annie. However, after appearing on the network television competition show, Star Search, Rimes decided to pursue a career in country music. Following her national television appearance, Rimes made a number of appearances on Johnnie High’s Country Music Revue in Arlington, Texas, which garnered the attention of national talent scouts.

By the age of nine, Rimes was already an experienced singer. She toured nationally with her father and also regularly performed a cappella renditions of “The Star Spangled Banner” at the opening ceremonies of the Dallas Cowboys football games. In order to bring his daughter more national attention, he began recording her under the independent label, Nor Ja Vak when she turned eleven. She released three albums under the label between 1992 and 1996.

Rimes was discovered by Dallas disc jockey and record promoter, Bill Mack. Mack was impressed by Rimes’ vocal ability, and over the following three years, he also made various attempts to bring Rimes to a mainstream level. The center of Mack’s plan to bring her success was his self-penned composition, “Blue,” which he had written 30 years before in the early 1960s. Mack claimed that the song was intended to be recorded and made a hit record by Patsy Cline, but she had been killed in a plane crash before ever recording the composition. By 1995, Mack was able to gain Rimes a contract with Curb Records, after record executives heard Rimes sing “Blue.”

 Music career

 1996: Blue

After signing with Curb, Rimes re-recorded a new version of “Blue” that was to be released on her debut studio album on the label. In 1996, the new version of “Blue” was released as a single, peaking at Number 10 on the Billboard Country Chart. While Curb was releasing “Blue,” a claim was also sent out that Mack had been waiting over 30 years to find the perfect artist to record “Blue.” However, the story was later found to be an exaggeration, as it was discovered that “Blue” had already been recorded by three different artists. Mack himself and Kenny Roberts both released versions of the song on Starday Records in the 1960s. In 1993, Australian artist Catherine Britt released her own version as a single in her native country. The story, though, was continually spread throughout the national press, adding to the idea that Rimes was the successor to Patsy Cline’s legacy. Rimes’s album Blue was also released in 1996, and sold 123,000 copies in its first week, which was the highest figure in SoundScan history up to that point. The album peaked at Number 1 on the Top Country Albums and debuted at Number 3 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, eventually selling a total of four million copies in the United States and 8 million copies worldwide. Allmusic considered the album to be “delightful” and that it could “help inspire other young teens.” Rimes followed up the single with several charting country singles from her 1996 album, starting with “One Way Ticket (Because I Can),” which reached Number 1 on the Billboard Country Chart in 1996. She also released a duet single with Eddy Arnold from the album, a remake of his 1955 hit “Cattle Call.” The album’s other hits included the Top 5 “The Light in Your Eyes” and the minor hit “Hurt Me.”

With the album’s success, Rimes received many major industry awards. In 1996 she won the Country Music Association’s “Horizon Award,” becoming the youngest person to ever be nominated and win a Country Music Association award. The following year she was awarded Grammy awards, one for Best New Artist and another for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for “Blue.”

 1997–2001: Pop crossover

LeAnn Rimes performing a free concert for the airmen at Ramstein Air Base, Germany on September 23, 2004

In 1997, Rimes released a compilation of previously recorded material under the Nor Va Jak label, Unchained Melody: The Early Years. The album mainly consisted of cover versions, ranging from Country to Pop covers, including songs originally recorded by The Beatles, Whitney Houston, Bill Monroe, and Dolly Parton. Rimes’ version of the title track became a major country hit in early 1997 and helped increase sales for the album. In September 1997, Rimes released her follow-up studio album to Blue entitled You Light up My Life: Inspirational Songs. The album covered classic inspirational songs, such as “Clinging to Saving a Hand” and “Amazing Grace”. It also featured pop music remakes of songs such as Debby Boone’s “You Light up My Life” and Bette Midler’s “The Rose”. The album was a departure from Rimes’ previous releases as it contained more Adult Contemporary-styled music than Country. The album sold over four million copies in the United States, certifying 4× Mulit-Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The album contained the single, “How Do I Live”, which became a major Pop hit on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching Number 2. “How Do I Live” set a new record for becoming the longest-running single in Billboard Hot 100 history, spending 69 weeks on the chart. The song was originally recorded for the film Con Air, along with a version also recorded by Trisha Yearwood. Yearwood’s manager at the time had told the press that Rimes’s version sounded “too pop.” Therefore Rimes’ version received little country airplay (only reaching Number 43) and was rejected for the film. Yearwood’s rendition was released to country radio shortly afterwards, peaking at Number 2 on the Billboard Country Chart in 1997, becoming the country hit instead of Rimes’s version.

Rimes released her third album for Curb in May 1998, Sittin’ on Top of the World. The album leaned more progressively towards Adult Contemporary and mid-tempo Pop music. It included Pop material written by Carol Bayer Sager and David Foster. It also included a remake of Prince’s “Purple Rain” and was produced by her father. The album was given mixed reviews. Allmusic gave the album two out of five stars Rolling Stone said Rimes vocal styles, “holds her own in the more popular style of Mariah Carey and Celine Dion, wherein a spectacular voice upstages a song, grins and goes on about her business.” Upon its release, Sittin’ on Top of the World debuted at Number 2 on the Top Country Albums chart, and Number 3 on the Billboard 200, and sold over a million copies in the United States, certifing “Platinum” in sales by the RIAA. The album spawned the Number 4 Country hit, “Commitment,” the Top 20 Pop hit “Looking Through Your Eyes,” and the Number 10 country hit “Nothin’ New Under the Moon.”

Rimes released her fourth studio album for Curb, LeAnn Rimes in October 1999, a collection of country standards. The album covered songs mainly by Patsy Cline — which included “Crazy,” “I Fall to Pieces,” and “She’s Got You” — that were primarily taken from her 12 Greatest Hits album. The album also covered Marty Robbins’s “Don’t Worry” and Kris Kristofferson’s “Me and Bobby McGee.” The album included one new song, “Big Deal.” The song gained many positive reviews. Allmusic called the song, “a return to her roots” and “a salute to one of her idols, Patsy Cline.” The album in general received much praise. Allmusic called the album one of her “better” efforts, since they had disliked her previous releases. Entertainment Weekly gave the album a positive review and said that Rimes’s voice, “dares listeners to take note of what is missing in her interpretations — the gutsiness and gut-wrenching urgency of performers who felt what they sang.” The album was a major success like her previous releases, debuting at Number 1 on the Top Country Albums chart, topping the country albums chart for two weeks. In addition, it also peaked at Number 8 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. The album also sold over one million copies in the United States, and was certified “Platinum” in sales by the RIAA. The album’s new song, “Big Deal” was the lead single off the album, and became a Top 10 country hit that year, peaking at Number 6. Also in 1999, Rimes recorded a duet with Elton John for the stage musical, Aida titled “Written in the Stars.” The song became a Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. The album would spawn a second single, a cover of Cline’s “Crazy” that was released outside of the United States.

In January 2001, Rimes released her sixth studio album, I Need You, an album aimed at the Pop market. The album topped the Top Country Albums chart for one week, and also peaked at Number 10 on the Billboard 200. I Need You did not garner praise from many critics and was mainly given negative reviews. Rolling Stone gave the album two and a half out of five stars and called the album, “synthetic-feeling.” Despite very little praise from critics, the album was sold well, certfying “Gold” in sales by the RIAA. Rimes would later go on to publicly disown the album, which she stated was compiled together from studio outtakes her father had produced. The album’s lead single, “I Need You” — which was characterized by Allmusic as having similarities to that of Adult Contemporary and Pop music — was originally recorded for the TV movie, Jesus. The song became a Top 10 country hit and also a major Pop hit, reaching Number 11 on the Hot 100. Also included on the album was the song “Can’t Fight the Moonlight,” released from the soundtrack of the film, Coyote Ugly. The song was released as the album’s second single in 2001, and by February 2002, the song also became a crossover Pop hit, reaching Number 11. “Can’t Fight the Moonlight” won Rimes a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for “Favorite Song from a Movie.” In mid-October 2001, Curb released a compilation of Patriotic and Inspirational songs titled, God Bless America, in order to benefit the disaster recovery for the September 11 attacks. It included the title track, as well inspirational songs such as “The Lord’s Prayer” and “The Sands of Time.”

 2002–2004: Popularity decline

LeAnn Rimes signing autographs for 86th Maintenance Squadron Airmen at Ramstein Air Base, Germany

In February of 2002 Rimes re-released the I Need You album with 9 of the songs originally released on the album, an extended version of the song You Are, the song Light the Fire Within which she sang at the Olympics the previous year and 4 bonus remixes. Rimes would later that year released her sixth album (seventh studio album) titled Twisted Angel, which contained more adult material. After battling managerial control over her career the previous year, Twisted Angel became the first album released by Rimes that was not produced by her father. Instead, Rimes executive produced the album. A month following the album’s release, Twisted Angel was certified “Gold” by the RIAA, her second Gold-certified album. The album received mainly negative reviews by most music critics and magazines. Allmusic stated that the album could possibly “alieniate her from her original fans” and “the songwriting is a little uneven.” Rolling Stone gave the album two out of five stars, stating that the album sounded too “country-pop crossover.” The album peaked at Number 3 on the Top Country Albums chart and Number 12 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart. Three singles were spawned from the album between 2002 and 2003, however none of the singles were Top 40 hits on the country or pop charts. The lead single, “Life Goes on,” reached the Top 40 only on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart, peaking at Number 19. The second single, “Tic Toc” was a Top 40 Dance club hit in 2003. The third single, “Suddenly” only peaked at 43 on the US Country charts, 47 on the UK charts and 53 on the Austrialian charts.

The following year when Rimes turned 21, she released a Greatest Hits compilation in November. The album recapped Rimes’ major hits under Curb records from “Blue” in 1996, to “Life Goes on” in 2002. The album peaked at Number 3 on the Top Country Albums chart and Number 24 on the Billboard 200 in November.  Featured on the album was the single, We Can, which was originally released on the soundtrack of Legally Blonde 2 in July 2003. The album would eventually be certified “Platinum” in 2007 The following year in October 2004, Rimes issued her first holiday-themed album titled, What a Wonderful World.

 2005–2007: Return to country

In January 2005, Rimes released her seventh studio album, This Woman, her first album of contemporary country music in many years. Although the album received mixed reviews from magazines and critics, it was Rimes’s best-selling album in over five years, reaching Number 3 on the Billboard 200 and Number 2 on the Top Country Albums chart in 2005, selling more than 100,000 copies within its first week. Rimes explained to the Chicago Sun-Times that the album helped mature her as a person, “I have 10 years of experience, so it’s tough to get anything past me in this business. I’ve become a very strong woman because of all I’ve gone through, good and bad.” This Woman would eventually be certified “Gold” later in 2005, after selling more than 500,000 units nationwide. The album’s singles were Rimes’s first Top 10 hits on the Hot Country Songs chart in five years. The three singles released from the album — “Nothin’ ‘Bout Love Makes Sense,” “Probably Wouldn’t Be This Way,” and “Something’s Gotta Give” — all peaked within the Top 5 on the country charts between 2005 and 2006. From the album, Rimes was nominated for a Grammy award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for “Something’s Gotta Give.” In addition, she was also nominated for an American Music Award for “Favorite Female Country Artist.” In 2006, Rimes recorded a cover version of Barbara Mandrell’s “If Loving You Is Wrong (I Don’t Want to Be Right),” for a tribute album to Mandrell’s career entitled, She Was a Country When Country Wasn’t Cool: A Tribute to Barbara Mandrell. Rimes also would record a track for Disneyland’s fiftieth anniversary celebration album entitled, “Remember When.”

In summer 2006, Rimes released the studio album Whatever We Wanna, which was released exclusively outside of the United States and Canada. It was originally planned on being released in North America, however due to the success of This Woman, it was never released. The album spawned minor hits in the United Kingdom, including “And it Feels Like” and a duet with Brian McFadden entitled, “Everybody’s Someone”. The album leaned more towards Pop Rock and R&B music instead of country.

Rimes would release one final single in the US from her album This Woman in August of 2006 called “Some People” which would peak at 34 on the US country charts.

Rimes took a two-year break, and then released her next studio album in October 2007, Family. The album was a mix of country, pop, and rock music, and included a duet with Bon Jovi, “Til We Ain’t Strangers Anymore“. Family was the first album released by Rimes in which every track was co-written by Rimes herself. Rolling Stone said the songs on the album are “uneven” and rated it three and half out of five stars. Allmusic gave Family four out of five stars and said that the album, “illustrates her range as a singer along with some true strength as a writer.” The album helped nominate Rimes for the Academy of Country Music’s “Top Female Vocalist” award in 2008. The album’s lead single, “Nothin’ Better to Do” was released in mid 2007, and peaked at Number 14 on the Billboard Country Chart before the end of the year. The album has released two singles to date; “Good Friend and a Glass of Wine” and “What I Cannot Change.” In 2008, Rimes toured with Kenny Chesney where she opened every show on his 2008 Poets and Pirates Tour, along with other artists on select dates such as Brooks & Dunn, Keith Urban, Sammy Hagar, Gary Allan, Big & Rich, and Luke Bryan. In late 2008, Rimes was nominated for a Grammy award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for “What I Cannot Change,” the third single from the album.

 2008-Present

In 2008, she recorded For Good with Delta Goodrem for the Wicked 5th Anniversary album. LeAnn teamed up with Joss Stone for a CMT Crossroads special aired in fall 2007.

In summer 2009, Rimes announced plans for a new studio album expected in 2010. She began performing songs on her current tour. New songs that have been confirmed tracks are, “You’ve Ruined Me”, “God Takes Care of Your Kind”, “Criminal” and “Better Off”. “You’ve Ruined Me” is was confirmed as the lead single from the album by LeAnn at one of her concerts.

 Musicianship

 Vocal ability and musical stylings

Since her debut in 1996, Rimes’s voice and vocal style have often been compared to and identified with Patsy Cline. Cline showed distinctive emotional expression in most of her material. Rimes has also used distinctive emotional expression in many of her songs, most notably her first single, “Blue”, which was sung in the style of Cline. Rimes’s vocal similarities to Cline had brought wide interest to the idea that Rimes was the successor to Cline’s legacy, and brought her novelty appeal. Many music critics have argued that Rimes’s vocals were only a reproduction of Cline’s original sound, while others have disagreed. Allmusic has called Rimes’s vocals “rich and powerful.” Her vocal ability has also brought Rimes to comparisons to past teenage country stars, including 50s country star Brenda Lee and 70s country star Tanya Tucker. Rimes is also known for choosing mature material that is beyond her age range. In her first album, Rimes recorded such material as Deborah Allen’s “My Baby”, whose lyrics provocatively say, “my baby is a fulltime lover, my baby is a full-grown man.” Other material such as Diane Warren’s How Do I Live have also been considered too mature for Rimes’s age and was the main reason why the song was not chosen to be used in the soundtrack for the film Con Air.

 Influences

Rimes has given credit to artists from various music genres, mainly from the genres of country and pop. She has stated that Barbra Streisand, Wynonna Judd, and Reba McEntire have been primary influences on her career. Rimes has stated the main influence on her career is Patsy Cline. She has covered many of Cline’s hit songs since the beginning of her career. Her 1999 self-titled album is primarily a tribute to Cline, as Rimes recorded five out of ten songs for the album that had been hits for Cline ten years before.

 Film and television

After beginning to date actor Andrew Keegan in 1998, Rimes said to the press that she had some ideas about possibly getting involved in an acting career. Rimes later moved to Los Angeles, California later in the year with her mother to pursue an acting career. That year Rimes played a small role in the Made for television movie, Holiday in Your Heart, which is based on a book she had helped write. For participating in the film, Rimes was awarded the “Rising Star” award from the Lone Star Film & Television Awards. She made her official film debut in 2001, making a cameo appearance towards the end of the film, Coyote Ugly. In addition, she also recorded four songs for the film’s soundtrack, including the Top 20 Pop hit, “Can’t Fight the Moonlight.” In 2005 Rimes hosted the country music television competition, Nashville Star on the USA television network. However she only held the position for one season after deciding to depart from the show’s cast.

In early June 2007, she was chosen at the last minute to record the leading song for the soundtrack of Evan Almighty called “Ready For A Miracle” (previously recorded by Patti LaBelle). The song can be heard in the movie, during the end credits, and in the trailers of Evan Almighty. Rimes had in the movie Good Intentions with her friend Elaine Hendricks which is filming near Atlanta, Georgia. Rimes plays Meg Galligan in the made for TV movie, Northern Lights, based on the Nora Roberts novel of the same name. The film aired on the Lifetime network on March 12, 2009.

 Personal life

President George W. Bush and Laura Bush listen to LeAnn Rimes perform in the East Room of the White House in a performance honoring the Dance Theatre of Harlem on February 6, 2006

 Lawsuits

On May 21, 2000, Rimes filed a lawsuit against her father, Wilbur Rimes, and her former manager, Lyle Walker in Dallas, Texas. Rimes claimed that her father and former manager took over seven million dollars from her in the preceeding five years. Rimes also alleged that both men made unreasonable fees and took advantage of Rimes’s label, Asylum-Curb in order to acquire financial gain. Rimes sought unspecified damages because her attorney was not sure of how much money had been lost in the preceeding five years. According to Rimes’s lawyer, her mother hired two accountants to investigate how much was taken from Rimes’s fortune, and it was estimated that the men acquired around eight million dollars in royalties.In 2002, Rimes’s lawsuit with her father was “settled on undisclosed terms.” Rimes reconciled with her father for her wedding.

In November 2000, Rimes filed a second lawsuit against her label, Asylum-Curb. Rimes wanted permission to be released from the contract that was signed by her parents on Rimes’s behalf when she originally signed with the label in 1995. She also wanted her label to turn over the rights of her music, video work, and publishing interests, and omit all of her recordings that were currently being distributed at the time of the lawsuit. Part of Rimes’s legal battles ended in December 2001, when Asylum-Curb started a new contract with Rimes.

 Marriage

Amid the legal battles, she fell in love with backup dancer Dean Sheremet. The two met when he was chosen to dance during Rimes’s hosting of the 2001 Academy of Country Music Awards. After her first date with Sheremet, Rimes told InStyle Magazine that, “This is the guy I want to marry,” which they did in 2002. In July 2009, the couple separated. In September, 2009, Rimes announced they were divorcing. .

Rimes is currently dating her Northern Lights co-star Eddie Cibrian, whom she had a well-publicized affair with before splitting with her husband. Cibrian, the father of two small children, filed for divorce from his wife of eight years in August 2009.

 Psoriasis

In 2008, she opened up about her lifelong struggle with the autoimmune disease psoriasis. She participated in a PSA to raise awareness about the disease.

 Support for Cancer Research

Rimes lent her voice to the 2008 song, Just Stand Up. The proceeds benefited Stand Up to Cancer. As a result of SU2C fundraising endeavors, the SU2C scientific advisory committee, overseen by the American Association for Cancer Research was able to award 73.6 million dollars towards cancer research.

 Discography

Main article: LeAnn Rimes discography

 Filmography

 Awards

 Country Music Association awards

 Academy of Country Music awards

 Grammy awards

 American music awards

 CMT music awards

Nowadays, online job searching is one of the most effective ways to find the right job. It makes your life and job searching a lot simpler. Online job search is well established, rapidly growing and very helpful to employers and jobseekers alike. It saves you from a lot of hassle, cost and stress associated with the traditional way of job searching.

You should never wait around for an opportunity to come knocking at your door. It’s important to get through the door before your competition.

Target a Job Market

The most important thing for searching a job is to target a job market. It will make your job search a lot simpler and will also help you make important decisions throughout your job search. Additionally, it will help you prepare a more focused CV that will get more attention from relevant employers. Remember, your chances of getting a job are higher if you get noticed by fewer employers who are looking to hire people with your background rather than blindly applying for all sorts of jobs that do not match your background. Once you are able to define your target market, you can define your objective or career goal.

Keywords

You need to do a bit of homework before you start looking for a job online. Most Employers prefer to use Searching techniques to pinpoint their set of candidates. Large job sites offer employers with “CV Search Tool” that works in principle the same way as the Google, or any other search engine.

Employers, basically type in the keywords that they assume would fit in their desired set of candidates and the most relevant resumes are pulled up from the database. It is very important to use the right “Keywords” in your resume to get noticed.

Employers may also choose to use  “Advanced Searching Techniques” like specifying experience level, university name, age, etc. to further narrow down their search results. But typically, they choose to run a broader search. Therefore, it is extremely important for you to have your CV include all the keywords that describe your skills set and your professional background.

Employers judge your resume through keywords because they help to surface your CV over others that might not have used those Keywords. Make sure you use the right keywords, so that you can make a good first impression when the employers read your CV. If you build your resume with right keywords, you are improving your own chances of getting a good job. If you ignore this, your resume might remain unnoticed to all the Top Employers.

Make the Perfect First Impression

Your first impression is your “Resume” to an Employer. You should give a lot of importance to a resume before you start looking for a job. Whether you like it or not, fact remains that appearance does count so your resume should look good and sound good.

Make sure you have completed the writing and editing, double-check all data and make sure that format is consistent. Some job websites also provides a feature called “CV Wizard” which is a lot of help to people who are unable to build a professional resume.

Some job websites have a paid “Career Services” service, through which you can get a professional resume and cover letter made by an Expert, which will dramatically improve your chances of being interviewed.

Importance of an Updated Resume

It is quite frequent a case that job seekers have old CVs uploaded. Please make sure that you have the most up-to-date CV on your profile.

Jobseekers should update their resume on regular basis with relevant accomplishments and new job duties. As soon as you have acquired a new degree/certificate, make sure to add it to your file.

Professional Summary:

Your professional summary is also an important asset. Whenever an employer views the resume, he can see a brief synopsis of the candidate and it creates an impression of the candidate in the mind of an Employer. Your professional summary should stand out.

Research and Explore Career Options

Uploading a professional resume is not the end of your job search. You need to be constantly on the lookout for jobs that match your background. It is very important to conduct an effective online job search. Take your time and explore career options. Once you are done with choosing a career field then start targeting Employers. You can use the keywords depending on your objective. The first thing you need to do is determine your search criteria. Try using job titles combined with your specific skills or expertise.

For this you need to visit job sites on a regular basis. Additionally, you can opt for email alerts which will inform you about every new job opening that meets your criteria. The more well-defined your job criteria, better the matching. However, keep in mind, more detailed search criteria also means less job matches.

You can also narrow down your job search so that you can view only job openings that meet your interest. Some job websites provides you the advantage of customizing your job search. Criteria can be job location, expected salary, category search or employment type. This will help you find more opportunities and you won’t have to spend hours and hours on job searching.

Virtual Job Fair

Advancement in technology lead Job fairs to go virtual too due to which more job-seekers and employers are finding each other online. While conducting an online search, Virtual job fair is the best possible way to interact with employers directly. Jobseekers can listen to presentations, visit booths, leave resumes, participate in live chats and gather information from recruiters. This provide sjobseekers more time to interact with the desired employers and find the right job for them.

Develop a Contact Network

It is very important to develop a contact network for job search. It can open doors that might otherwise remain closed. Your network can also consist of family members, friends, classmates, professors and electronic discussion groups.

Follow-Up and Record Keeping

The most important thing in job searching is follow-up and keeping the records. Maintain a record of all the jobs that you have applied for. Also, keep the record of all the interviews you had so far and follow up with them. If you fail to maintain such information you might lose valuable contacts and opportunities to find a good job.

Don’t Give Up

You need to be persistent and confident when looking for a job. Job search can also discourage you at times but it is very important that you keep looking for it until you find the right job for you. Patience should also be a factor on your job search.

One friendly advice is that you should never give up. Searching for a job is hard. It may take more time than you expected but eventually the right position will come along.

Since the end of apartheid, many have frequently praised Mandela, including former opponents. In South Africa he is often known as Madiba, an honorary title adopted by elders of Mandela’s clan. The title has come to be synonymous with Nelson Mandela.

Mandela is currently a celebrated elder statesman who continues to voice his opinion on topical issues. He has received more than 250 awards over four decades, most notably the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize. In November 2009, the United Nations General Assembly announced that Mandela’s birthday, 18 July, is to be known as ‘Mandela Day’ marking his contribution to world freedom.

Early life

Mandela belongs to a cadet branch of the Thembu dynasty, which reigns in the Transkeian Territories of South Africa’s Cape Province. He was born in Mvezo, a small village located in the district of Umtata, the Transkei capital. His patrilineal great-grandfather Ngubengcuka (who died in 1832), ruled as the Inkosi Enkhulu, or king, of the Thembu people. One of the king’s sons, named Mandela, became Nelson’s grandfather and the source of his surname. However, because he was only the Inkosi’s child by a wife of the Ixhiba clan (the so-called “Left-Hand House”), the descendants of his branch of the royal family were not eligible to succeed to the Thembu throne.

Mandela’s father, Gadla Henry Mphakanyiswa, served as chief of the town of Mvezo. However, upon alienating the colonial authorities, they deprived Mphakanyiswa of his position, and moved his family to Qunu. Despite this, Mphakanyiswa remained a member of the Inkosi’s Privy Council, and served an instrumental role in Jongintaba Dalindyebo’s ascension to the Thembu throne. Dalindyebo would later return the favour by informally adopting Mandela upon Mphakanyiswa’s death. Mandela’s father had four wives, with whom he fathered a total of thirteen children (four boys and nine girls). Mandela was born to his third wife (’third’ by a complex royal ranking system), Nosekeni Fanny. Fanny was a daughter of Nkedama of the Mpemvu Xhosa clan, the dynastic Right Hand House, in whose umzi or homestead Mandela spent much of his childhood. His given name Rolihlahla means “to pull a branch of a tree”, or more colloquially, “troublemaker”.

Rolihlahla Mandela became the first member of his family to attend a school, where his teacher Miss Mdingane gave him the English name “Nelson”.

Nelson Mandela circa 1939

When Mandela was nine, his father died of tuberculosis, and the regent, Jongintaba, became his guardian. Mandela attended a Wesleyan mission school located next to the palace of the regent. Following Thembu custom, he was initiated at age sixteen, and attended Clarkebury Boarding Institute. Mandela completed his Junior Certificate in two years, instead of the usual three. Designated to inherit his father’s position as a privy councillor, in 1937 Mandela moved to Healdtown, the Wesleyan college in Fort Beaufort which most Thembu royalty attended. At nineteen, he took an interest in boxing and running at the school.

After enrolling, Mandela began to study for a Bachelor of Arts at the Fort Hare University, where he met Oliver Tambo. Tambo and Mandela became lifelong friends and colleagues. Mandela also became close friends with his kinsman, Kaiser (”K.D.”) Matanzima who, as royal scion of the Thembu Right Hand House, was in line for the throne of Transkei, a role that would later lead him to embrace Bantustan policies. His support of these policies would place him and Mandela on opposing political sides. At the end of Nelson’s first year, he became involved in a Students’ Representative Council boycott against university policies, and was told to leave Fort Hare and not return unless he accepted election to the SRC. Later in his life, while in prison, Mandela studied for a Bachelor of Laws from the University of London External Programme.

Shortly after leaving Fort Hare, Jongintaba announced to Mandela and Justice (the regent’s son and heir to the throne) that he had arranged marriages for both of them. The young men, displeased by the arrangement, elected to relocate to Johannesburg. Upon his arrival, Mandela initially found employment as a guard at a mine. However, the employer quickly terminated Mandela after learning that he was the Regent’s runaway ward. Mandela later started work as an articled clerk at a Johannesburg law firm, Witkin, Sidelsky and Edelman, through connections with his friend and mentor, realtor Walter Sisulu. While working at Witkin, Sidelsky and Edelman, Mandela completed his B.A. degree at the University of South Africa via correspondence, after which he began law studies at the University of Witwatersrand, where he first befriended fellow students and future anti-apartheid political activists Joe Slovo, Harry Schwarz and Ruth First. Slovo would eventually become Mandela’s Minister of Housing, while Schwarz would become his Ambassador to Washington. During this time Mandela lived in Alexandra township, north of Johannesburg.

Political activity

After the 1948 election victory of the Afrikaner-dominated National Party, which supported the apartheid policy of racial segregation, Mandela began actively participating in politics. He led prominently in the ANC’s 1952 Defiance Campaign and the 1955 Congress of the People, whose adoption of the Freedom Charter provided the fundamental basis of the anti-apartheid cause. During this time, Mandela and fellow lawyer Oliver Tambo operated the law firm of Mandela and Tambo, providing free or low-cost legal counsel to many blacks who lacked attorney representation.

Mahatma Gandhi influenced Mandela’s approach, and subsequently the methods of succeeding generations of South African anti-apartheid activists. Mandela even took part in the 29 January – 30 January 2007 conference in New Delhi marking the 100th anniversary of Gandhi’s introduction of satyagraha in South Africa.

Initially committed to nonviolent resistance, Mandela and 150 others were arrested on 5 December 1956 and charged with treason. The marathon Treason Trial of 1956–1961 followed, with all defendants receiving acquittals. From 1952–1959, a new class of black activists known as the Africanists disrupted ANC activities in the townships, demanding more drastic steps against the National Party regime. The ANC leadership under Albert Luthuli, Oliver Tambo and Walter Sisulu felt not only that the Africanists were moving too fast but also that they challenged their leadership. The ANC leadership consequently bolstered their position through alliances with small White, Coloured, and Indian political parties in an attempt to give the appearance of wider appeal than the Africanists. The Africanists ridiculed the 1955 Freedom Charter Kliptown Conference for the concession of the 100,000-strong ANC to just a single vote in a Congressional alliance. Four secretaries-general of the five participating parties secretly belonged to the reconstituted South African Communist Party (SACP), strongly adhering to the Moscow line.

In 1959, the ANC lost its most militant support when most of the Africanists, with financial support from Ghana and significant political support from the Transvaal-based Basotho, broke away to form the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) under the direction of Robert Sobukwe and Potlako Leballo.

Anti-apartheid activities

In 1961, Mandela became leader of the ANC’s armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe (translated Spear of the Nation, and also abbreviated MK), which he co-founded. He coordinated sabotage campaigns against military and government targets, making plans for a possible guerrilla war if the sabotage failed to end apartheid. Mandela also raised funds for MK abroad and arranged for paramilitary training of the group.

Fellow ANC member Wolfie Kadesh explains the bombing campaign led by Mandela: “When we knew that we [sic] going to start on 16 December 1961, to blast the symbolic places of apartheid, like pass offices, native magistrates courts, and things like that … post offices and … the government offices. But we were to do it in such a way that nobody would be hurt, nobody would get killed.” Mandela said of Wolfie: “His knowledge of warfare and his first hand battle experience were extremely helpful to me.”

Mandela described the move to armed struggle as a last resort; years of increasing repression and violence from the state convinced him that many years of non-violent protest against apartheid had not and could not achieve any progress.

Later, mostly in the 1980s, MK waged a guerrilla war against the apartheid regime in which many civilians became casualties. Mandela later admitted that the ANC, in its struggle against apartheid, also violated human rights, sharply criticising those in his own party who attempted to remove statements supporting this fact from the reports of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Up until July 2008, Mandela and ANC party members were barred from entering the United States — except the United Nations headquarters in Manhattan — without a special waiver from the US Secretary of State, because of their South African apartheid regime era designation as terrorists.

Arrest and Rivonia trial

Main article: Rivonia Trial

On 5 August 1962 Mandela was arrested after living on the run for seventeen months, and was imprisoned in the Johannesburg Fort. The arrest was made possible because the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) tipped off the security police as to Mandela’s whereabouts and disguise. Three days later, the charges of leading workers to strike in 1961 and leaving the country illegally were read to him during a court appearance. On 25 October 1962, Mandela was sentenced to five years in prison. Two years later on 11 June 1964, a verdict had been reached concerning his previous engagement in the African National Congress (ANC).

While Mandela was imprisoned, police arrested prominent ANC leaders on 11 July 1963, at Liliesleaf Farm, Rivonia, north of Johannesburg. Mandela was brought in, and at the Rivonia Trial they were charged by the chief prosecutor Dr. Percy Yutar with the capital crimes of sabotage (which Mandela admitted) and crimes which were equivalent to treason, but easier for the government to prove. The second charge accused the defendants of plotting a foreign invasion of South Africa, which Mandela denied.

In his statement from the dock at the opening of the defence case in the trial on 20 April 1964 at Pretoria Supreme Court, Mandela laid out the reasoning in the ANC’s choice to use violence as a tactic. His statement described how the ANC had used peaceful means to resist apartheid for years until the Sharpeville Massacre. That event coupled with the referendum establishing the Republic of South Africa and the declaration of a state of emergency along with the banning of the ANC made it clear to Mandela and his compatriots that their only choice was to resist through acts of sabotage and that doing otherwise would have been tantamount to unconditional surrender. Mandela went on to explain how they developed the Manifesto of Umkhonto we Sizwe on 16 December 1961 intent on exposing the failure of the National Party’s policies after the economy would be threatened by foreigners’ unwillingness to risk investing in the country. He closed his statement with these words:

Bram Fischer, Vernon Berrange, Harry Schwarz, Joel Joffe, Arthur Chaskalson and George Bizos were part of the defence team that represented the accused. Harold Hanson was brought in at the end of the case to plead mitigation. All except Rusty Bernstein were found guilty, but they escaped the gallows and were sentenced to life imprisonment on 12 June 1964. Charges included involvement in planning armed action, in particular four charges of sabotage, which Mandela admitted to, and a conspiracy to help other countries invade South Africa, which Mandela denied.

Imprisonment

Robben Island prison yard

Nelson Mandela’s prison cell on Robben Island

Nelson Mandela was imprisoned on Robben Island where he remained for the next eighteen of his twenty-seven years in prison. While in jail, his reputation grew and he became widely known as the most significant black leader in South Africa. On the island, he and others performed hard labour in a lime quarry. Prison conditions were very basic. Prisoners were segregated by race, with black prisoners receiving the fewest rations. Political prisoners were kept separate from ordinary criminals and received fewer privileges. Mandela describes how, as a D-group prisoner (the lowest classification) he was allowed one visitor and one letter every six months. Letters, when they came, were often delayed for long periods and made unreadable by the prison censors.

Whilst in prison Mandela undertook study with the University of London by correspondence through its External Programme and received the degree of Bachelor of Laws. He was subsequently nominated for the position of Chancellor of the University of London in the 1981 election, but lost to Princess Anne.

In his 1981 memoir Inside BOSS secret agent Gordon Winter describes his involvement in a plot to rescue Mandela from prison in 1969: this plot was infiltrated by Winter on behalf of South African intelligence, who wanted Mandela to escape so they could shoot him during recapture. The plot was foiled by British Intelligence.

In March 1982 Mandela was transferred from Robben Island to Pollsmoor Prison, along with other senior ANC leaders Walter Sisulu, Andrew Mlangeni, Ahmed Kathrada and Raymond Mhlaba. It was speculated that this was to remove the influence of these senior leaders on the new generation of young black activists imprisoned on Robben Island, the so-called “Mandela University”. However, National Party minister Kobie Coetsee says that the move was to enable discreet contact between them and the South African government.

In February 1985 President P.W. Botha offered Mandela conditional release in return for renouncing armed struggle. Coetsee and other ministers had advised Botha against this, saying that Mandela would never commit his organisation to giving up the armed struggle in exchange for personal freedom. Mandela indeed spurned the offer, releasing a statement via his daughter Zindzi saying “What freedom am I being offered while the organisation of the people remains banned? Only free men can negotiate. A prisoner cannot enter into contracts.”

The first meeting between Mandela and the National Party government came in November 1985 when Kobie Coetsee met Mandela in Volks Hospital in Cape Town where Mandela was recovering from prostate surgery. Over the next four years, a series of tentative meetings took place, laying the groundwork for further contact and future negotiations, but little real progress was made.

In 1988 Mandela was moved to Victor Verster Prison and would remain there until his release. Various restrictions were lifted and people such as Harry Schwarz were able to visit him. Schwarz, a friend of Mandela, had known him since university when they were in the same law class. He was also a defense barrister at the Rivonia Trial and would become Mandela’s ambassador to Washington during his presidency.

Throughout Mandela’s imprisonment, local and international pressure mounted on the South African government to release him, under the resounding slogan Free Nelson Mandela! In 1989, South Africa reached a crossroads when Botha suffered a stroke and was replaced as president by Frederik Willem de Klerk. De Klerk announced Mandela’s release in February 1990.

Release

On 2 February 1990, State President F.W. de Klerk reversed the ban on the ANC and other anti-apartheid organisations, and announced that Mandela would shortly be released from prison. Mandela was released from Victor Verster Prison in Paarl on 11 February 1990. The event was broadcast live all over the world.

On the day of his release, Mandela made a speech to the nation. He declared his commitment to peace and reconciliation with the country’s white minority, but made it clear that the ANC’s armed struggle was not yet over:

He also said his main focus was to bring peace to the black majority and give them the right to vote in both national and local elections.

Negotiations

Main article: Negotiations to end apartheid in South Africa

Following his release from prison, Mandela returned to the leadership of the ANC and, between 1990 and 1994, led the party in the multi-party negotiations that led to the country’s first multi-racial elections.

In 1991, the ANC held its first national conference in South Africa after its unbanning, electing Mandela as President of the organisation. His old friend and colleague Oliver Tambo, who had led the organisation in exile during Mandela’s imprisonment, became National Chairperson.

Mandela’s leadership through the negotiations, as well as his relationship with President F.W. de Klerk, was recognised when they were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. However, the relationship was sometimes strained, particularly so in a sharp exchange in 1991 when he furiously referred to De Klerk as the head of “an illegitimate, discredited, minority regime”. The talks broke down following the Boipatong massacre in June 1992 when Mandela took the ANC out of the negotiations, accusing De Klerk’s government of complicity in the killings. However, talks resumed following the Bisho massacre in September 1992, when the spectre of violent confrontation made it clear that negotiations were the only way forward.

Following the assassination of ANC leader Chris Hani in April 1993, there were renewed fears that the country would erupt in violence. Mandela addressed the nation appealing for calm, in a speech regarded as ‘presidential’ even though he was not yet president of the country at that time:

While some riots did follow the assassination, the negotiators were galvanised into action, and soon agreed that democratic elections should take place on 27 April 1994, just over a year after Hani’s assassination.

Presidency of South Africa

South Africa’s first multi-racial elections in which full enfranchisement was granted were held on 27 April 1994. The ANC won 62% of the votes in the election, and Mandela, as leader of the ANC, was inaugurated on 10 May 1994 as the country’s first black President, with the National Party’s de Klerk as his first deputy and Thabo Mbeki as the second in the Government of National Unity. As President from May 1994 until June 1999, Mandela presided over the transition from minority rule and apartheid, winning international respect for his advocacy of national and international reconciliation. Mandela encouraged black South Africans to get behind the previously hated Springboks (the South African national rugby team) as South Africa hosted the 1995 Rugby World Cup. After the Springboks won an epic final over New Zealand, Mandela presented the trophy to captain Francois Pienaar, an Afrikaner, wearing a Springbok shirt with Pienaar’s own number 6 on the back. This was widely seen as a major step in the reconciliation of white and black South Africans.

After assuming the presidency, one of Mandela’s trademarks was his use of Batik shirts, known as “Madiba shirts”, even on formal occasions. In South Africa’s first post-apartheid military operation, Mandela ordered troops into Lesotho in September 1998 to protect the government of Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili. This came after a disputed election prompted fierce opposition threatening the unstable government. Commentators and critics including AIDS activists such as Edwin Cameron have criticised Mandela for his government’s ineffectiveness in stemming the AIDS crisis. After his retirement, Mandela admitted that he may have failed his country by not paying more attention to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Mandela has since spoken out on several occasions against the AIDS epidemic.

Lockerbie trial

President Mandela took a particular interest in helping to resolve the long-running dispute between Gaddafi’s Libya, on the one hand, and the United States and Britain on the other, over bringing to trial the two Libyans who were indicted in November 1991 and accused of sabotaging Pan Am Flight 103, which crashed at the Scottish town of Lockerbie on 21 December 1988, with the loss of 270 lives. As early as 1992, Mandela informally approached President George H.W. Bush with a proposal to have the two indicted Libyans tried in a third country. Bush reacted favourably to the proposal, as did President François Mitterrand of France and King Juan Carlos I of Spain. In November 1994 – six months after his election as president – Mandela formally proposed that South Africa should be the venue for the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial.

However, British Prime Minister, John Major, flatly rejected the idea saying the British government did not have confidence in foreign courts. A further three years elapsed until Mandela’s offer was repeated to Major’s successor, Tony Blair, when the president visited London in July 1997. Later the same year, at the 1997 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) at Edinburgh in October 1997, Mandela warned:

“No one nation should be complainant, prosecutor and judge.”

A compromise solution was then agreed for a trial to be held at Camp Zeist in the Netherlands, governed by Scots law, and President Mandela began negotiations with Colonel Gaddafi for the handover of the two accused (Megrahi and Fhimah) in April 1999. At the end of their nine-month trial, the verdict was announced on 31 January 2001. Fhimah was found not guilty but Megrahi was convicted and sentenced to 27 years in a Scottish jail. Megrahi’s initial appeal was turned down in March 2002, and former president Mandela went to visit him in Barlinnie prison on 10 June 2002.

‘Megrahi is all alone’, Mandela told a packed press conference in the prison’s visitors room. ‘He has nobody he can talk to. It is psychological persecution that a man must stay for the length of his long sentence all alone. It would be fair if he were transferred to a Muslim country — and there are Muslim countries which are trusted by the West. It will make it easier for his family to visit him if he is in a place like the kingdom of Morocco, Tunisia or Egypt.’

Megrahi was subsequently moved to Greenock jail and out of solitary confinement. In August 2009 Megrahi, suffering from cancer and expected to have only 3 months left to live, was released on compassionate grounds and allowed to return to Libya. The Nelson Mandela Foundation expressed its support for the decision to release Megrahi in a letter sent to the Scottish Government on behalf of Mandela.

Marriage and family

Mandela has been married three times, has fathered six children, has twenty grandchildren, and a growing number of great-grandchildren. He is grandfather to Chief Mandla Mandela.

First marriage

Mandela’s first marriage was to Evelyn Ntoko Mase who, like Mandela, was also from what later became the Transkei area of South Africa, although they actually met in Johannesburg. The couple broke up in 1957 after 13 years, divorcing under the multiple strains of his constant absences, devotion to revolutionary agitation, and the fact she was a Jehovah’s Witness, a religion which requires political neutrality. Evelyn Mase died in 2004. The couple had two sons, Madiba Thembekile (Thembi) (1946-1969) and Makgatho Mandela (1950-2005) , and two daughters, both named Makaziwe Mandela(known as Maki; born 1947 and 1953). Their first daughter died aged nine months, and they named their second daughter in her honour. All their children were educated at the United World College of Waterford Kamhlaba. Thembi was killed in a car crash in 1969 at the age of twenty-five, while Mandela was imprisoned on Robben Island, and Mandela was not allowed to attend the funeral. Makgatho died of AIDS in 2005.

Second marriage

Mandela’s second wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, also came from the Transkei area, although they, too, met in Johannesburg, where she was the city’s first black social worker. They had two daughters, Zenani (Zeni), born 4 February 1958, and Zindziswa (Zindzi) Mandela-Hlongwane, born 1960. Zindzi was only 18 months old when her father was sent to Robben island. Later, Winnie would be deeply torn by family discord which mirrored the country’s political strife; while her husband was serving a life sentence on the Robben Island prison, her father became the agriculture minister in the Transkei. The marriage ended in separation (April 1992) and divorce (March 1996), fuelled by political estrangement.

Mandela still languished in prison when his daughter Zenani was married to Prince Thumbumuzi Dlamini in 1973, elder brother of King Mswati III of Swaziland. Although she had vivid memories of her father, from the age of four up until sixteen, South African authorities did not permit her to visit him. The Dlamini couple live and run a business in Boston. One of their sons, Prince Cedza Dlamini (born 1976), educated in the United States, has followed in his grandfather’s footsteps as an international advocate for human rights and humanitarian aid.

Zindzi Mandela-Hlongwane made history worldwide when she read out Mandela’s speech refusing his conditional pardon in 1985. She is a businesswoman in South Africa with three children, the eldest of whom is a son, Zondwa Gadaffi Mandela.

Third marriage

Mandela was remarried, on his 80th birthday in 1998, to Graça Machel née Simbine, widow of Samora Machel, the former Mozambican president and ANC ally who was killed in an air crash 12 years earlier. The wedding followed months of international negotiations to set the unprecedented bride-price to be remitted to Machel’s clan. Said negotiations were conducted on Mandela’s behalf by his traditional sovereign, King Buyelekhaya Zwelibanzi Dalindyebo. The paramount chief’s grandfather was the regent Jongintaba Dalindyebo, who had arranged a marriage for Mandela, which he eluded by fleeing to Johannesburg in 1940.

Mandela still maintains a home at Qunu in the realm of his royal nephew (second cousin thrice-removed in Western reckoning), whose university expenses he defrayed and whose privy councillor he remains.

Retirement

Mandela became the oldest elected President of South Africa when he took office at the age of 75 in 1994. He decided not to stand for a second term and retired in 1999, to be succeeded by Thabo Mbeki.

After his retirement as President, Mandela went on to become an advocate for a variety of social and human rights organisations. He has expressed his support for the international Make Poverty History movement of which the ONE Campaign is a part. The Nelson Mandela Invitational charity golf tournament, hosted by Gary Player, has raised over twenty million rands for children’s charities since its inception in 2000. This annual special event has become South Africa’s most successful charitable sports gathering and benefits both the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund and Gary Player Foundation equally for various children’s causes around the world.

Mandela is a vocal supporter of SOS Children’s Villages, the world’s largest organisation dedicated to raising orphaned and abandoned children. Mandela appeared in a televised advertisement for the 2006 Winter Olympics, and was quoted for the International Olympic Committee’s Celebrate Humanity campaign:

For seventeen days, they are roommates. For seventeen days, they are soulmates. And for twenty-two seconds, they are competitors. Seventeen days as equals. Twenty-two seconds as adversaries. What a wonderful world that would be. That’s the hope I see in the Olympic Games.

Health

In July 2001 Mandela was diagnosed and treated for prostate cancer. He was treated with a seven-week course of radiation. In June 2004, at age 85, Mandela announced that he would be retiring from public life. His health had been declining, and he wanted to enjoy more time with his family. Mandela said that he did not intend to hide away totally from the public, but wanted to be in a position “of calling you to ask whether I would be welcome, rather than being called upon to do things and participate in events. My appeal therefore is: Don’t call me, I will call you.” Since 2003, he has appeared in public less often and has been less vocal on topical issues. He is white-haired and walks slowly with the support of a stick.

In 2003 Mandela’s death was incorrectly announced by CNN when his pre-written obituary (along with those of several other famous figures) was inadvertently published on CNN’s web site due to a fault in password protection. In 2007 a fringe right-wing group distributed hoax email and SMS messages claiming that the authorities had covered up Mandela’s death and that white South Africans would be massacred after his funeral. Mandela was on holiday in Mozambique at the time.

Mandela’s 90th birthday was marked across the country on 18 July 2008, with the main celebrations held at his home town of Qunu. A concert in his honour was also held in Hyde Park, London. In a speech to mark his birthday, Mandela called for the rich people to help poor people across the world.

Elders

On 18 July 2007, Nelson Mandela, Graça Machel, and Desmond Tutu convened a group of world leaders in Johannesburg to contribute their wisdom and independent leadership to address the world’s toughest problems. Nelson Mandela announced the formation of this new group, The Elders, in a speech he delivered on the occasion of his 89th birthday.

Archbishop Tutu serves as the chair of The Elders. The founding members of this group also include Graça Machel, Kofi Annan, Ela Bhatt, Gro Harlem Brundtland, Jimmy Carter, Li Zhaoxing, Mary Robinson and Muhammad Yunus.

“This group can speak freely and boldly, working both publicly and behind the scenes on whatever actions need to be taken”, Mandela commented. “Together we will work to support courage where there is fear, foster agreement where there is conflict, and inspire hope where there is despair.”

AIDS engagement

Since his retirement, one of Mandela’s primary commitments has been to the fight against AIDS. He gave the closing address at the XIII International AIDS Conference in 2000, in Durban, South Africa. In 2003, he had already lent his support to the 46664 AIDS fundraising campaign, named after his prison number. In July 2004, he flew to Bangkok to speak at the XV International AIDS Conference. His son, Makgatho Mandela, died of AIDS on 6 January 2005. Mandela’s AIDS activism is chronicled in Stephanie Nolen’s book, 28: Stories of AIDS in Africa.

Iraq invasion views

In 2002 and 2003, Mandela criticised the foreign policy of the administration of U.S. president George W. Bush in a number of speeches. Criticising the lack of UN involvement in the decision to begin the War in Iraq, he said, “It is a tragedy, what is happening, what Bush is doing. But Bush is now undermining the United Nations.” Mandela stated he would support action against Iraq only if it is ordered by the UN. Mandela also insinuated that Bush may have been motivated by racism in not following the UN and its secretary-general Kofi Annan on the issue of the war. “Is it because the secretary-general of the United Nations is now a black man? They never did that when secretary-generals were white”.

He urged the people of the U.S. to join massive protests against Bush and called on world leaders, especially those with vetoes in the UN Security Council, to oppose him. “What I am condemning is that one power, with a president who has no foresight, who cannot think properly, is now wanting to plunge the world into a holocaust.” He attacked the United States for its record on human rights and for dropping atomic bombs on Japan during World War II. “If there is a country that has committed unspeakable atrocities in the world, it is the United States of America. They don’t care.”

Ismail Ayob controversy

Further information: Ismail Ayob

Ismail Ayob was a trusted friend and personal attorney of Mandela for over 30 years. In May 2005, Ayob was asked by Mandela to stop selling prints signed by Mandela and to account for the proceeds of their sale. This bitter dispute led to an extensive application to the High Court of South Africa by Mandela that year. Ayob denied any wrongdoing, and claimed that he was the victim of a smear campaign orchestrated by Mandela’s advisors, in particular, lawyer George Bizos.

In 2005, and 2006 Ayob, his wife, and son were subject to an attack by Mandela’s advisors. The dispute was widely reported in the media, with Ayob being portrayed in a negative light, culminating in the action by Mandela to the High Court. There were public meetings at which Mandela associates attacked Ayob and there were calls for Ayob and his family to be ostracised by society. The defence of Ismail and Zamila Ayob (his wife, and a fellow respondent) included documents signed by Mandela and witnessed by his secretaries, that, they claimed, refuted many of the allegations made by Nelson Mandela and his advisors.

The dispute again made headlines in February 2007 when, during a hearing in the Johannesburg High Court, Ayob promised to pay R700 000 to Mandela, which Ayob had transferred into trusts for Mandela’s children, and apologised, although he later claimed that he was the victim of a “vendetta”, by Mandela. Some media commentators expressed sympathy for Ayob’s position, pointing out that Mandela’s iconic status would make it difficult for Ayob to be treated fairly.

Allegations

Ayob, George Bizos and Wim Trengove were trustees of the Nelson Mandela Trust, which was set up to hold millions of rands donated to Nelson Mandela by prominent business figures, including the Oppenheimer family, for the benefit of his children and grandchildren. Ayob later resigned from the Trust. In 2006, the two remaining trustees of the Nelson Mandela Trust launched an application against Ayob for disbursing money from the trust without their consent. Ayob claimed that this money was paid to the South African Revenue Service, to Mandela’s children and grandchildren, to Mandela himself, and to an accounting company for four years of accounting work.

Bizos and Trengrove refused to ratify the payments to the children and grandchildren of Nelson Mandela and the payments to the accounting firm. A court settlement was reached in which this money, totalling over R700,000 was paid by Ismail Ayob to the trust on the grounds that Ayob had not sought the express consent of the other two trustees before disbursing the money. It was alleged that Ayob made defamatory remarks about Mandela in his affidavit, for which the court order stated that Ayob should apologise. It was pointed out that these remarks, which centred on Nelson Mandela holding foreign bank accounts and not paying tax on these, had not originated from Ayob’s affidavit but from Nelson Mandela’s and George Bizos’s own affidavits.

Blood Diamond controversy

In a The New Republic article in December 2006, Nelson Mandela was criticised for a number of positive comments he had made about the diamond industry. There were concerns that this would benefit suppliers of blood diamonds. In a letter to Edward Zwick, the director of the motion picture Blood Diamond, Mandela had noted that:

…it would be deeply regrettable if the making of the film inadvertently obscured the truth, and, as a result, led the world to believe that an appropriate response might be to cease buying mined diamonds from Africa. … We hope that the desire to tell a gripping and important real life historical story will not result in the destabilization of African diamond producing countries, and ultimately their peoples.

The New Republic article claims that this comment, as well as various pro-diamond-industry initiatives and statements during his life and during his time as a president of South Africa, were influenced by both his friendship with Harry Oppenheimer, former chairman of De Beers, as well as an outlook for ‘narrow national interests’ of South Africa (which is a major diamond producer).

Zimbabwe and Robert Mugabe

Robert Mugabe, the president of Zimbabwe who has led the country since independence in 1980, has been widely criticised internationally for the 1980s fighting which killed about 3000 people as well as corruption, incompetent administration, political oppression and cronyism that has ultimately led to the economic collapse of the country.

Despite their common background as national liberators, Mandela and Mugabe were seldom seen as close. Mandela criticised Mugabe in 2000, referring to African leaders who had liberated their countries but had then overstayed their welcome. In his retirement, Mandela spoke out less often on Zimbabwe and other international and domestic issues, sometimes leading to criticism for not using his influence to greater effect to persuade Mugabe to moderate his policies. His lawyer George Bizos revealed that Mandela has been advised on medical grounds to avoid engaging in stressful activity such as political controversy. Nonetheless, in 2007, Mandela attempted to persuade Mugabe to leave office “sooner than later”, with “a modicum of dignity”, before he was hounded out like Augusto Pinochet. Mugabe did not respond to this approach. In June 2008, at the height of the crisis over the Zimbabwean presidential election, Mandela condemned the “tragic failure of leadership” in Zimbabwe.

Acclaim

Fighter for liberation of South Africa Nelson Mandela on a 1988 USSR commemorative stamp

Orders and decorations

Main article: List of Nelson Mandela awards and honours

Mandela has received many South African, foreign and international honours, including the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 (which was shared with Frederik Willem de Klerk), the Order of Merit and the Order of St. John from Queen Elizabeth II and the Presidential Medal of Freedom from George W. Bush. In July 2004, the city of Johannesburg bestowed its highest honour on Mandela by granting him the freedom of the city at a ceremony in Orlando, Soweto.

As an example of his popular foreign acclaim, during his tour of Canada in 1998, 45,000 school children greeted him with adulation at a speaking engagement in the SkyDome in the city of Toronto. In 2001, he was the first living person to be made an honorary Canadian citizen (the only previous recipient, Raoul Wallenberg, was awarded honorary citizenship posthumously). While in Canada, he was also made an honorary Companion of the Order of Canada, one of the few foreigners to receive the honour.

In 1990 he received the Bharat Ratna Award from the government of India and also received the last ever Lenin Peace Prize from Russia. In 1992 he was awarded the Atatürk Peace Award by Turkey. He refused the award citing human rights violations committed by Turkey at the time, but later accepted the award in 1999.

Musical tributes

Many artists have dedicated songs to Mandela. One of the most popular was from the The Specials who recorded the song “Free Nelson Mandela” in 1983. Stevie Wonder dedicated his 1985 Oscar for the song “I Just Called to Say I Love You” to Mandela, resulting in his music being banned by the South African Broadcasting Corporation. In 1985, Youssou N’Dour’s album Nelson Mandela was the Senegalese artist’s first United States release.

In 1988, the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute concert at London’s Wembley Stadium was a focal point of the anti-apartheid movement, with many musicians voicing their support for Mandela. Jerry Dammers, the author of Nelson Mandela, was one of the organisers. Simple Minds recorded the song “Mandela Day” for the concert, Santana recorded the instrumental “Mandela”, Tracy Chapman performed “Freedom Now”, dedicated to Mandela and released on her album Crossroads, Salif Keita from Mali, who played at the concert, later visited South Africa and in 1995 recorded the song “Mandela” on his album Folon. and Whitney Houston performed and dedicated the gospel song “He I Believe”.

In South Africa, “Asimbonanga (Mandela)” (”We Have Not Seen Him”) became one of Johnny Clegg’s most famous songs, appearing on his Third World Child album in 1987. Hugh Masekela, in exile in the UK, sang “Bring Him Back Home (Nelson Mandela)” in 1987. Brenda Fassie’s 1989 song “Black President”, a tribute to Mandela, was hugely popular even though it was banned in South Africa. Nigerian reggae musician Majek Fashek released the single, “Free Mandela”, in 1992, making him one of many Nigerian recording artists who had released songs related to the anti-apartheid movement and to Mandela himself.

In 1990, Hong Kong rock band Beyond released a popular Cantonese song, “Days of Glory”. The anti-apartheid song featured lyrics referring to Mandela’s heroic struggle for racial equality. In 2003, Mandela lent his weight to the 46664 campaign against AIDS, named after his prison number. Many prominent musicians performed in concerts as part of this campaign.

When Mandela was released from prison in 1990 and the apartheid abolished in 1991, Ladysmith Black Mambazo wrote a celebratory album, Liph’ Iqiniso, that was released in 1993. The last track on the album, “Isikifil’ Inkululeko(Freedom Has Arrived)”, was a celebration of the end of the apartheid. The group also accompanied Mandela in 1993 to the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo, Norway, and performed for his inaugaration in 1994.

A summary of Mandela’s life story is featured in the 2006 music video “If Everyone Cared” by Nickelback.Raffi’s song “Turn This World Around” is based on a speech given by Mandela where he explained the world needs to be “turned around, for the children”. A tribute concert for Mandela’s 90th birthday took place in Hyde Park, London on 27 June 2008.

Published biographies

Mandela’s autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, was published in 1994. Mandela had begun work on it secretly while in prison. In that book Mandela did not reveal anything about the alleged complicity of F.W. de Klerk in the violence of the eighties and nineties, or the role of his ex-wife Winnie Mandela in that bloodshed. However, he later co-operated with his friend, journalist Anthony Sampson who discussed those issues in Mandela: The Authorised Biography. Another detail that Mandela omitted was the allegedly fraudulent book, Goodbye Bafana. Its author, Robben Island warder James Gregory, claimed to have been Mandela’s confidant in prison and published details of the prisoner’s family affairs. Sampson maintained that Mandela had not known Gregory well, but that Gregory censored the letters sent to the future president and thus discovered the details of Mandela’s personal life. Sampson also averred that other warders suspected Gregory of spying for the government and that Mandela considered suing Gregory.

Cinema and television

The film Mandela and De Klerk told the story of Mandela’s release from prison. Mandela was played by Sidney Poitier. Goodbye Bafana, a feature film that focuses on Mandela’s life, had its world premiere at the Berlin film festival on 11 February 2007. The film starred Dennis Haysbert as Mandela and chronicled Mandela’s relationship with prison guard James Gregory.

In the final scene of the 1992 movie Malcolm X, Mandela – recently released after 27 years of political imprisonment – appears as a schoolteacher in a Soweto classroom. He recites a portion of one of Malcolm X’s most famous speeches, including the following sentence: “We declare our right on this earth to be a human being, to be respected as a human being, to be given the rights of a human being in this society, on this earth, in this day, which we intend to bring into existence…” The famous final phrase of that sentence is “by any means necessary.” Mandela informed director Spike Lee that he could not utter the phrase on camera fearing that the apartheid government would use it against him if he did. Lee obliged, and the final seconds of the film feature black-and-white footage of Malcolm X himself delivering the phrase.

Mandela and Springboks captain, Francois Pienaar, are the focus of a 2008 book by John Carlin, Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation, that spotlights the role of the 1995 Rugby World Cup win in post-apartheid South Africa. Carlin sold the film rights to Morgan Freeman. The film, entitled Invictus, was directed by Clint Eastwood, and featured Freeman as Nelson Mandela and Matt Damon as Pienaar.

In a forthcoming BBC television one-off drama Mrs Mandela, Nelson Mandela will be portrayed by David Harewood and Sophie Okonedo will play his former wife Winnie Mandela.

Statues and civic tributes

Tributes to Nelson Mandela

The statue of Mandela in Parliament Square, London.

6 meter statue at Nelson Mandela Square, Sandton, Johannesburg

Nelson Mandela Gardens in Leeds

Nelson Mandela Bridge in Johannesburg

On 30 April 2001, Nelson Mandela Gardens in Millenium Square, Leeds was officially opened and Nelson Mandela was awarded the freedom of the city and awarded a commemorative ‘golden owl’ (the heraldric symbol of Leeds). In a speech outside Leeds Civic Hall in front of 5000 people, mistakenly Mandela famously thanked ‘the people of Liverpool for their generosity’.

On 31 March 2004, Sandton Square in Johannesburg was renamed Nelson Mandela Square, after a 6-metre statue of Nelson Mandela was installed on the square to honour the famous South African statesman.

On 29 August 2007, a statue of Nelson Mandela was unveiled at Parliament Square in London by Richard Attenborough, Ken Livingstone, Wendy Woods, and Gordon Brown. The campaign to erect the statue was started in 2000 by the late Donald Woods, a South African journalist driven into exile because of his anti-apartheid activities. Mandela stated that it represented not just him, but all those who have resisted oppression, especially those in South Africa. He added: “The history of the struggle in South Africa is rich with the stories of heroes and heroines, some of them leaders, some of them followers. All of them deserve to be remembered.”

On 27 August 2008, a statue of Nelson Mandela was unveiled at Groot Drakenstein Correction Centre ( ref Drakenstein Correction centre) between Paarl and Franshhoek on the R301 road, near Cape Town. Formerly known as Victor Verster, this was where Mandela spent the last few years of his 27 years in jail in relative comfort, as he and other ANC stalwarts negotiated with the apartheid government on the terms of his release and the nature of the new South Africa. It stands on the very spot where Mandela took his first steps as a free man. Just outside the prison gates – the culmination of the Long Walk to Freedom – the title of Mandela’s autobiography.

After 1989’s Loma Prieta Earthquake demolished the Cypress Street Viaduct portion of the Nimitz Freeway in Oakland, California, the city renamed the street-level boulevard that replaced it Mandela Parkway in his honor.

In Leicester, England there is a Nelson Mandela Park with the slogan “South Africa belongs to all those who live there, Black and White”. It is opposite Leicester Tigers ground Welford Road.

Postage stamps

Libya - 1994 (December 31) “Khadafi Prize for Human Rights” postage stamps issue with Nelson Mandela.

Other

In 2004, zoologists Brent E. Hendrixson and Jason E. Bond named a South African species of trapdoor spider in the family Ctenizidae as Stasimopus mandelai, “honoring Nelson Mandela, the former president of South Africa and one of the great moral leaders of our time.”

Early life

Lautner was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the son of Deborah, who works for a software development company, and Daniel Lautner, a commercial airline pilot. He was raised in Hudsonville, Michigan, and attended Jamestown Elementary School until the age of eleven. Lautner is of mostly Dutch, French, and German descent, and claims some Native American (specifically Ottawa and Potawatomi) ancestry through his mother. He has a younger sister, Makena.

Lautner is an accomplished martial artist, having studied karate from the age of six to thirteen. When he was eleven, he was ranked number one in the world for NASKA’s Black Belt Open Forms, Musical Weapons, Traditional Weapons and Traditional Forms and, at the age of twelve, he won the Junior World Championships. His coach was Michael Chaturantabut.

Career

Lautner with Twilight costars, Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, at the 2009 MTV Movie Awards.

Lautner began acting in 2001, appearing in the made-for-television film Shadow Fury. He subsequently had roles on the series Summerland, The Bernie Mac Show, and My Wife and Kids. He also appeared in a number of other television shows and movies, including The Nick & Jessica Variety Hour. He appeared as himself in America’s Most Talented Kids, putting on an exhibition of his Martial Arts skills. In addition to television, Lautner has been very successful in voice-over work. Lautner has booked a recurring role as Youngblood on the cartoon Danny Phantom, and has recorded episodes of What’s New, Scooby-Doo? and He’s a Bully, Charlie Brown. Taylor has also been booked as a series regular on a pilot presentation called Which Way Is Up?, in addition to voicing the character of Silas in the animated series Silas and Brittany.
His big break came in 2005 when, at the age of thirteen, Lautner won the role of Shark Boy in the Robert Rodriguez film, The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D, a film that showcased his martial arts skills. He spent three months on location in Austin, Texas filming. Within months, he successfully auditioned to play Elliot, the son of the Bakers’ rivals, in Cheaper by the Dozen 2.

In October 2008, Lautner played Christian Slater’s son in the television series My Own Worst Enemy, until the show was canceled after only 9 episodes. Lautner then played Native American character Jacob Black in Twilight, the movie adaptation of the novel by Stephenie Meyer. Due to major physical changes that occur in the character of Jacob Black throughout the series, the director of Twilight’s sequel, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, considered replacing Lautner with a different actor in the second film. In an attempt to keep the role, Lautner weight-trained extensively and gained approximately 30 pounds. Lautner reprised his role as Jacob in New Moon. Lautner has also been cast in the film Valentine’s Day as Tyler Harrinton.

Lautner is scheduled to host Saturday Night Live on December 12, 2009, which will make him one of the ten youngest celebrity hosts in the show’s history.

Lautner will take the lead role as Max Steel in the Paramount film production of the animated television series Max Steel.

Filmography

Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team

Rycroft was a contestant during the first season of the CMT reality TV series Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team. As the first season concluded, Rycroft was selected as one of the thirty-six Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (DCC) for the 2006 NFL season. Rycroft remained on the DCC squad through the 2007 NFL season.

The Bachelor

Rycroft appeared on the thirteenth season of The Bachelor as one of the twenty-five bachelorettes vying for the heart of The Bachelor, Jason Mesnick. In the season finale, Mesnick chose Rycroft over runner-up, Molly Malaney, and proposed to her. Rycroft said yes. But following the episode, ABC aired the After the Final Rose (Part One) episode, which was taped six weeks after the season finale episode, and it was then that Mesnick revealed that he was breaking up with Rycroft, stating that he was still in love with Molly Malaney.

Dancing with the Stars

Rycroft replaced Access Hollywood’s Nancy O’Dell on the eighth season of Dancing with the Stars after O’Dell withdrew from the competition due to an injury sustained during pre-season practice. Rycroft was partnered with professional dancer Tony Dovolani, and competed on the season premiere episode having only practiced for two days, the shortest amount of practice time for any contestant in the show’s history. Despite this, she tied for second place for week one’s performances. On May 19, 2009, Rycroft finished third on the Dancing with the Stars finale.

Dancing with the Stars performances

With professional partner Tony Dovolani:

*Rycroft suffered a hairline fracture in her ribs before the live show of week 8 and, therefore, could not perform her Jive live. Instead, the judges’ scores were based on her pre-recorded rehearsal video. Also in that same week, she did not participate in the group dance (Mambo), so professional dancer Lacey Schwimmer filled her spot with partner Dovolani. Despite having the lowest overall score for the week, viewer votes saved Rycroft from being eliminated.

Good Morning America

In June 2009, it was reported that Rycroft would be joining morning television news and talk show Good Morning America as a special contributor throughout the summer.

Personal life

Melissa was previously engaged to Jason Mesnick whom she met on The Bachelor. They ended their relationship after Jason admitted to still having feelings for runner-up, Molly. She then began dating Tye Strickland, whom she had dated on and off for 2 years. In June 2009 she announced via twitter that she and Tye were engaged.  They married on December 12, 2009, in Mexico.