Berberism (Amazigh: Timmuzgha) is a political-cultural movement of Berber ethnic nationalism, found mainly in Kabylia, Algeria, and later in Morocco and West Africa^{[dubious – discuss]}. A Berber group, the Tuareg, are in rebellion against the West African country of Mali as of 2012 and have established a de facto independent state called Azawad.

The Berberist movement in Algeria and Morocco is in opposition against cultural Arabization and the Pan-Arabist political ideology, while in Azawad, it is in opposition to perceived discrimination against Berbers on the part of black African majority groups^{[citation needed]}.

The Amazigh World Congress (CMA, Congrès Mondial Amazigh; Agraw Amadlan Amazigh, amazighworld.org) is an international Non-governmental organization with the purpose of providing a structure and international representation for ethnic Berber interests. It was formed in September 1995 in Saint-Rome-de-Dolan, France. It has since held four meetings at irregular intervals, in 1997, 1999, 2002 and 2005[1].

John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior United States Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to then President George W. Bush.

The son of an Army Air Corps serviceman, Kerry was born in Aurora, Colorado. He attended boarding school in Massachusetts and New Hampshire and went on to graduate from Yale University class of 1966, where he majored in political science. He enlisted in the Naval Reserve in 1966 and, during 1968-1969, served a four-month tour of duty in South Vietnam as officer-in-charge (OIC) of a Swift Boat. For that service he was awarded several combat medals that include the Silver Star, Bronze Star, and three Purple Hearts. After returning to the United States, Kerry joined the Vietnam Veterans Against the War in which he served as a nationally recognized spokesperson and as an outspoken opponent of the Vietnam war. During that period, he appeared before the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs where he deemed United States war policy in Vietnam to be the cause of "war crimes".

Owen William Paterson (born 24 June 1956) is a British Conservative Party politician and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. He is the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Shropshire.

Paterson was born in Whitchurch, Shropshire. He attended Abberley Hall School and Radley College, before going to Cambridge University, where he studied History at Corpus Christi College and graduated in 1978. He then went on to the National Leathersellers College (now the British School of Leather Technology at the University of Northampton).

He joined the British Leather Company in 1979, becoming Sales Director in 1983 and Managing Director from 1993 to 1999. He was President of COTANCE, the European Tanners Confederation from 1996–1998. He was a Director of Parsons and Sons leather company in Halesowen in the 1990s. Paterson is a Liveryman of the Leathersellers' Company.

He contested, but failed to win, the Wrexham seat in the 1992 general election. He is Member of Parliament for North Shropshire, being first elected at the 1997 general election and has won at all general elections there since.

Lance Edward Armstrong (born Lance Edward Gunderson on September 18, 1971) is an American former professional road racing cyclist who won the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times after having survived testicular cancer. He is also the founder and chairman of the Lance Armstrong Foundation for cancer research and support. He last rode for UCI ProTeam Team RadioShack, a team he helped found.

In October 1996 he was diagnosed as having testicular cancer with a tumor that had metastasized to his brain and lungs. His cancer treatments included brain and testicular surgery and extensive chemotherapy, and his prognosis was originally poor. He went on to win the Tour de France each year from 1999 to 2005, and is the only person to win seven times having broken the previous record of five wins shared by Miguel Indurain, Bernard Hinault, Eddy Merckx, and Jacques Anquetil.

In 1999, he was named the ABC Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year. In 2000 he won the Prince of Asturias Award in Sports. In 2002, Sports Illustrated magazine named him Sportsman of the Year. He was also named Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year for the years 2002–2005. He received ESPN's ESPY Award for Best Male Athlete in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006, and won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Overseas Personality Award in 2003. Armstrong announced his retirement from racing on July 24, 2005, at the end of the 2005 Tour de France but returned to competitive cycling in January 2009 and finished third in the 2009 Tour de France. He confirmed he had retired from competitive cycling for good on February 16, 2011.

Richard Dale "Rick" Snyder (born August 19, 1958) is an American business executive, venture capitalist, and Governor of Michigan. A member of the Republican Party, he assumed office as the 48th governor of Michigan on January 1, 2011. From 2005 to 2007, Snyder served as the chairman of the board of Gateway, Inc., based in Irvine, California. Previous to his election as governor, he was chairman of the board, chief executive officer, and co-founder of Ann Arbor, Michigan-based venture capital firm Ardesta LLC. Snyder has been mentioned as a possible pick to be the Republican Party candidate for Vice President of the United States in 2012. Snyder's business executive background and positive style have been cited as assets, with his accomplishments seen as strengthening the case for electing Mitt Romney as President.

Snyder was born in Battle Creek, Michigan, the son of Helen Louella "Pody" and Dale F. Snyder. Snyder earned his B.G.S., M.B.A., and J.D. from the University of Michigan by age 23. When he was 16, he took a business class at Kellogg Community College on weekends. By his senior year of high school, Snyder earned 23 college credits. Snyder visited the admissions office of the University of Michigan in November 1975 and spoke with the admissions director, who recommended that Snyder attend Michigan and create his own degree.