Tips Guides Resources

Let’s take a look at the recent history of the City of Berkeley California, located on the shores of San Francisco Bay.

The 1970s saw a decline in the population of Berkeley, partly due to an exodus to the suburbs. Some moved because of the rising cost of living throughout the Bay Area, and others because of the decline and disappearance of many industries in West Berkeley. Many factories went shuttered or moved away to better locations. Much of the West Berkeley business district was created in the war years of the forties. Much like the City of Richmond to the north.

The period from the 1980s right up to the present has been marked by a continuation of rising costs, particularly with respect to housing, especially since the mid-1990s. In 2005-2007, sales of homes began slowing, but average home prices were, and as of 2008 remain, among the highest in the nation. Of course many of those homes in the hills have spectacular bay views which keep their value high. However they are also located very near to the Hayward earthquake fault too. This makes many nervous about living there long term. Did you know that the fault runs right down the middle of the Cal football stadium? You can actually see where it has shifted the walls at one end of the stadium.

Although many think of the 1960s as the heyday of liberalism in Berkeley, it remains one of the most overwhelmingly Democratic cities in the United States. Today it has one of the most progressive city governments in the nation as many who were involved in political action in the 60’s settled down and became active in local politics.

The era of large public protest waned considerably with the end of the Vietnam War in 1974. One person who rose in prominence during the late sixties and into the seventies was Ron Dellums, nephew of C.L. Dellums, an African American labor leader. He first served on the City Council, and later became a federal representative for the district which includes Berkeley. He was elected as Mayor of Oakland in 2006, where unfortunately he progressive past has not served him well in a new city with huge urban problems.

Also in 2006, a tree sit-in began, protesting the construction of a new sports center annex to Memorial Stadium at the expense of a grove of oak trees on the UC campus. The protest ended in September 2008 after many months of negotiations with the tree sitters. The trees came down and the university intends to go forward with its construction of the sports complex.

In 2007-08, demonstrations against a Marine Corps recruiting office in downtown were ongoing, receiving special media attention after the City Council proposed to draft an anti-recruiting letter to the Marines. This action drew much national media attention and caused the city to eventually back down.

One thing is for sure, Berkeley will always remain unique on the American landscape. But one thing you should know is that despite its colorful past, Berkeley remains a serene and lovely place to live. It stretches from the lovely shores of SF Bay to the open park land of Tilden Park in the eastern hills above UCB.

Find what you need in Berkeleyand zero in on the business or service you need. Come and find your Berkeley local resources at Directory Of Berkeley

The Texas Governor’s Mansion, which is located a block southwest of the Texas State Capitol Building in downtown Austin, is the most historic home in the Austin real estate market and the longest continuously inhabited executive residence west of the Mississippi River. Built in 1856, the Governor’s Mansion underwent construction after the Texas Legislature appropriated $14,500 in order for a suitable home to be built for the 5th governor of Texas, Elisha Pease, and his wife, Lucadia.

The mansion is a Texas historical landmark, and the Greek Revival style home was built by master architect and builder Abner Cook, who used buff colored bricks and lumber from Bastrop to build the home, adapting it to frontier life. The mansion, which has floor to ceiling windows and a deep veranda, is cooled in part by wide hallways which provide ventilation in the summer.

The home is basically square with four main rooms separated by a wide hallway down the middle, and there are servant’s quarters and a kitchen in the rear wing. The home has two stories encircled by 29 foot Ionic columns which span the building from top to bottom, with the downstairs floor being sixteen feet high and the upstairs floor being 13 feet high.

The home was completed on June 14th, 1856, and the home was six months overdue at the time, causing the builder to pay rent for the Pease family in a boardinghouse until its completion. At that time, the Legislature appropriated $2,500 for furnishings, and since the amount was not enough to fully furnish the home, the Pease family used their own furnishings, which was a habit that persisted for the next few first families, since the home was large and quite expensive to provide with ample furnishings.

The next governor, Sam Houston, felt the house was too sparsely furnished, and ordered a massive four poster mahogany bed, which is still situated in the southeast bedroom to this day. Temple Houston, Sam and Margaret Houston’s eighth child, was the first child born in the mansion, and at one point, their son, Andrew Jackson Houston, locked members of the Legislature in their chambers and refused to give his father the key. The child was five years old when this occurred, and the child reported only relinquished the key when his father, Governor Sam Houston, threatened to have him arrested.

In 1901, the home was redecorated in the late Victorian style by First Lady Orline Sayers, who brought in plush, overstuffed parlor chairs and numerous potted plants to receive the home’s first presidential visitor, William McKinley, and his cabinet. Her husband, confederate veteran Joseph Sayers, met with President McKinley and his cabinet at an elegant state dinner in the dining room of the mansion.

By 1914, the home had fallen into disrepair, and was renovated by Governor Oscar Colquitt, and later, in 1960, the home was landscaped with formal gardens by First Lady Nellie Connally, and the formal gardens are still in use today. Later, in 1979, the home was completely restored by Governor William P. Clements and First Lady Rita Clements, after the Legislature appropriated $1,000,000 for the project, and at the time, the mansion had been in use for over 120 years.

Today, there are important art collections and heirloom furniture on display, including a collection of portraits and Stephen F. Austin’s writing desk, and the public may tour the mansion with a tour guide provided by the state. The Governor’s Mansion in Austin is something for all residents of Austin as well as Texas to be proud of, so be sure and visit the mansion while in Austin!

Ki lives in Austin Texas. He works as a realtor in the Austin real estate market. His site has information on current mortgage interest rates and a search of the Austin MLS.

The attack was a direct response to suppression aid by the people of Kansas to the Missouri raiders, which were led by Quantrill, a member of the pro-slavery Confederate forces. Lawrence is also where Union and Jayhawker forces get a headstart when they enter into Missouri.

Before the Raid

The raid was partly caused by the issuance of General Thomas Ewing Jr.’s General Order No. 10. The order commanded authorities to arrest anyone who is found sympathetic to Quantrill’s cause. Anyone who is caught is then detained automatically in Kansas City.

Unfortunately, the makeshift prison collapsed on August 13, 1863, which caused the deaths of five women who were detained in the prison. There were rumors that the building was intentionally sabotaged to collapse, as one of the inmates there were the 14-year old sister of Bloody Bill Anderson.

The Quantrill raid is also thought to be a response to the Union Jayhawker sacking of the Osceola, Missouri. The sacking was carried out by James H. Lane’s forces, who were originally organized to resist an invasion by Sterling Price into Kansas in September 1861. The town of Osceola was pillaged, looted and burned by the Kansans who carried off spoils of the attack.

The Attack

Quantrill had given much thought about the conduct of the attack in order to ensure its success. He enlisted the help of many Bushwhackers, eventually coming up with a large force of over 300 men. Quantrill also carefully selected and set up every detail of the attack, from the day and the time of the day itself.

The groups came east individually for a rendezvous a few miles from Lawrence, which was intended to be in the pre-dawn hours to catch everyone by surprise. The guerilla force converged on Mount Oread. Their objective: to loot and pillage Lawrence like what happened to Osceola, and to kill the now-senator James H. Lane. It is said that the men rode hard to make the rendezvous that they even secured themselves to the saddles so they could sleep while riding.

When all of his forces were assembled, Quantrill gave the order to ride into Lawrence. In the early hours of day, Lawrence’s townsfolk were caught in surprise as hundreds of Quantrill’s guerilla forces thundered into the town and massacred the town’s males. Echoing what happened to Osceola, Quantrilll’s men pillaged the town for four hours.

Aftermath

The guerillas concentrated their killing on the town’s male population. When the raiders left, over 180 males had been killed. Quantrill was indiscriminate between boys and men, killing both the former and the latter without mercy. They also killed 17 out 23 Army recruits that were living in Lawrence.

Quantrill’s men also burned all the business buildings in Lawrence, leaving only two standing. The stores and banks were also rid of their money before the raiders rode out of town.

Successful as they were in their objectives, Quantrill failed to kill Senator Lane. The jayhawker was said to have escaped by running through a cornfield still wearing his nightclothes.

The response was quick and brutal. Barely a day after the raid, a member of Quantrill’s Raiders wandered and was caught in Lawrence by the surviving citizens. This raider was then killed through a lynch mob in angry retaliation to the raid.

Following General Order No. 10, General Ewing issued General Order No. 11 which resulted in the eviction of thousands of Missourians who were living by the border of the state of Kansas. Ewing also sent incursions led by Charles “Doc” Jennison into the four countries inhabited by the Missourian evictees, and burned them to the ground.

Quantrill and his men headed south after the raid into Texas. The Quantrill’s Raiders eventually disbanded barely one year following the raid. There were no other successful raids for William Clark Quantrill after Lawrence, as he was left with only few supporters. Frank James and Jesse James were said to be part of this. Two years later, Quantrill died in Kentucky.

Senator Lane survived the raid, but in 1866, he shot himself because of depression. He had been accused of discrepancies in his financial statements, and was also said to be deranged. He survived for 10 more days before dying near Leavenworth, Kansas.

Attila Z Jancsina is a freelance copy writer. He occasionally writes for Kansas Real Estate FSBO. Website offers Free FSBO advertisement.

Oscar Arias is the current president of the country of Costa Rica. He first assumed office on May 8, 2006 and is currently serving his second term. He had first been elected president on May 8, 1986 and served until May 8, 1990. For more information on Costa Rica, check out ToucanEstate.

President Arias is best known as one of the driving figures behind the end of the Central American civil wars during the 1980s. For his efforts, Oscar Arias Sanchez received the Nobel Peace Price in 1987.

Aside from that, President Arias was also awarded the Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism. The Economists for Peace and Security also accepted him as a trustee. President Arias is a member of the Board of Directors of International Criminal Court’s Trust Fund for Victims.

Personal History

President Arias was born on September 13, 1940 in Heredia, Costa Rica. He was born to an upper class family, a status which made it possible for him to undergo secondary schooling at the Colegio Saint Francis in San Jose, Costa Rica.

After finishing his secondary schooling, Oscar Arias Sanchez flew to the United States in order to study medicine in Boston University. However, he changed his mind after a while and returned to Costa Rica. He finished law and economics instead at the University of Costa Rica. To continue educating himself, Arias flew to the United Kingdom in 1967, where he went to school in the London School of Economics. Eight years later in 1974, he received a political science doctorate degree from the University of Essex.

The Costa Rican president is also the holder of over 50 honorary degrees from different universities.

The National Liberation Party and his First Presidency

Arias joined the Partido Liberacion Nacional and ran under its banner for president in 1986. The PLN is known for being the party under which several popular Costa Rican presidents belong to, like its founder Jose Figueres. Under the same banner, Arias achieved victory.

He then went on to shift Costa Rican economy to focus on non-traditional agriculture and tourism, which some of his own party mates critized as shifting to a neoliberal economic model. The PLN, after all, focuses on social democrat teachings, which they claimed Arias abandoned during his administration.

President Arias also reinstated the standard academic tests that students have to take upon finishing primary and secondary schooling. He also pushed for the creation of the Central American Parliament, although currently he announced Costa Rica’s non-participation in the Parliament.

Esquipulas Accord

By the time Arias became the president of Costa Rica, the Central American countries were engaged in violent and long-running civil wars. In May 1986, President Arias was one of the five Central American presidents that attended the first Esquipulas Summit in Esquipulas, Guatemala.

The summit resulted into a Peace Plan which was submitted on February 15, 1987. From this peace plan, the Esquipulas Peace Process was drafted. The Process was a framework for resolving conflict and for economic cooperation between the beleaguered Central American states.

Another summit was then held by the five Central American presidents including Arias, which resulted to the “Esquipulas II” accord that was signed on August 7, 1987 in Guatemala City.

Despite rejection by the United States due to its recognition of the Nicaraguan Sandinista regime, the accoes was successful as it paved the way for the 1990 reconciliation and ending of the 30-year Guatemalan Civil War, and the peace agreement in El Salvador.

Arias’ efforts led to the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize, although there are criticisms that he has plagiarized propositions made by Vinicio Cerezo of Guatemala as his own.

Second Presidency

The Costa Rican judiciary formerly forbade former presidents from running for a second term. However, in 2004, the Constitutional Court made a very controversial decision removing that restriction. Following that, Arias announced his intention to run for a second presidency opposite Otton Solis, Otto Guevara, Ricardo Toledo and Antonio Alvarez.

Solis and Arias were the foremost among the five presidential candidates. Competition was stiff, with only a 0.4% or 3,200-vote difference after the first count. Voters who abstained from voting for the other candidates even voted for Solis at the last minute, resulting in the thin margin of votes. It was seen as an effort to prevent Arias from winning.

One of the first decisions he made on his second Presidency was to end Costa Rica’s recognition of Taiwan as the Republic of China, and instead recognized the mainland People’s Republic of China.

Tendinitis

Just recently, on May 20, 2008, President Arias was diagnosed as having a nonmalignant cyst on his vocal cords by the Philadelphia Ears, Nose and Throat Associates. Doctors then advised him not to talk for a month, after which surgery may be performed if his condition did not improve.

Attila Z Jancsina is a freelance copy writer. He occasionally writes for Costa Rica Real Estate. Website offers Free FSBO advertisement.

Greek Fire, also known as Byzantine Fire, Greek Byzantine Fire, and Sea Fire, was a terrifying naval weapon mastered by the Greeks and the Byzantines during early Medieval times.

This may be the earliest form of naval napalm, and allowed their ships to fight with fire, with some claims that there was so much fire that it seemed like they could light the water itself.

The Byzantines usually used it in naval battles to great effect, and their opponents’ ships generally couldn’t escape it since the Greek fire would continue to burn, even on water. As the fire spread, more and more ships would be consumed by the fire.

By what few surviving historical accounts we have left, Greek fire could continue burning even on water and was largely responsible for many Byzantine military victories, extending the life of the empire several centuries.

During many early battles with Islamic nations over Constantinople, victory was assured only because Greek fire could not be countered, and was used to devastating effect.

What is really interesting is that accounts have the fire being transmitted in streams of fire from enemy ships, almost like a flame thrower. The exact formula for this naval medieval weapon was a secret, and actually remains a mystery to this day.

Scientists can only guess as to what it was, and how it was shot in a flame thrower form. The funny thing is, they really have no clue, showing that in some ways, our ancestors were certainly had technologies we don’t have today!

There are varying accounts of where Greek fire came from, though many believe that it was invented in Constantinople by chemists who studied the early sciences. Accounts say putting water on the fire only spread it more widely, leading many historians to believe it was some form of oil.

While Greek fire gave the Byzantines a frightening weapon, they fell because they were surrounded on all sides, and eventually just ran out of population. This Greek fire was used against barbarians, Muslim invaders, and the Rus–not to mention the Venetians when the Fourth Crusade decided to sack Constantinople instead of continuing on.

Everyone knew to fear Greek fire, and it probably had the same effect that a well hidden sniper has on enemy forces in modern times.

The major down side was that Greek fire was very hard to control, and it would often accidentally set Byzantine ships ablaze, and an occasional accident could result in huge casualties in their own armies.

The effectiveness of Greek fire was obvious, but even so it had its own limitations. For example, because of its short range it was far more effective as a weapon in narrow straights or canals than in the open seas where there was room to maneuver.

From what we know, whatever the ingredients were, they were heated in a cauldron, and then pumped out of the ship in a fiery stream. Some degree of this was adapted for city use, and used in early “grenade” like form: terrifying cavalry and soldiers alike.

If you liked this article, please feel free to visit my Medieval Weapons.

There were no Catholics in our town before JFK. If there were, none of the kids in my gang knew about them. It was rumored that they had a church in town somewhere behind the local A & P, but I never found it. I was already in my teens before I saw my first real life Catholic. He didn’t look much different than me, but my mother acted like I had spoken to the anti-Christ himself!

As a kid growing up in the south in the early ’60s, our church was the spiritual center of our universe. My family was all Southern Baptists, as were most of my friends. A few acquaintances of mine went to the Methodist Church and one to a Church of God. We just didn’t know any Catholics and probably would’ve been afraid of them if one had showed up on our door step.

I don’t think they were really hiding; it’s just that no one paid them any attention. That all changed when John F. Kennedy became President of the United States of America! My Sunday School teacher at that time, speaking for many in the south, declared in a fearful voice that the 1960 presidential race could mean the end to Christianity as we knew it! There was a catholic running for that high office and as far as she was concerned, he was the devil himself and she knew without a doubt that we would all go to hell if he were elected!

The Bible belt at that time was against anyone or anything that promised change. John Kennedy wasn’t a Baptist, Methodist, Church of Christ or even Pentecostal! He was an outsider and not to be trusted with the leadership of our country!

These sentiments belonged to many in the south during that decade and they weren’t confined to Sunday school teachers. Social changes are often served on the same platter with fear of the unknown. A different wind was definitely blowing through our southern cotton fields.

With President Kennedy in the White House, attitudes in the south slowly began to change; not over night. There was civil unrest in many parts of the country, a war in Viet Nam and we began to find Catholics everywhere in our little town! In fact, folks we’d known for years were now proudly admitting to being Catholic! This was part of the change that was taking place throughout the country.

Most of the crowd I ran with, having been sheltered from anything that might have been considered social or spiritual advancement, soon found that our newly discovered Catholic friends were still the good folks they were before JFK! One of my pals at the time went to Mass every Sunday but I never knew that until after the John Kennedy was elected president.

Sadly in the south, President John F. Kennedy was blamed for every perceived difficulty that anyone faced at that time. While not through his first term as president, he was assassinated in Dallas, Texas one bright November afternoon in 1963.

Everyone who was living at that time knows exactly where and what they were doing when they heard news of the shooting. I was working for a residential construction company at the time, carrying unused concrete blocks to the back of the house we were building, where they would be hauled to the next job.

We had a radio setting on a stack of brick and George Jones was singing when the music was interrupted by a somber voice telling us that President Kennedy had been shot an hour before in Texas.

I recall as vividly as if it were yesterday that there was a dozen laborers and brick masons working, including me, when the announcement was made. There was a moment of shocked silence and then a loud and raucous cheer went up from the laborers and brick masons working on the house.

“I hope the S.O.B. dies!” yelled one of them.
“They ought to give the guy who shot him a medal!” screamed another.
“It’s about time someone had the guts to kill that S.O.B.” shouted a guy with a shovel in his hands.

Those were a few of the nicer comments from a blue collar working crew in the south at the time. I’ve often wondered if President Kennedy had announced that he was a Baptist, Methodist or Presbyterian, would he have sparked such outrage in the south. Maybe, maybe not. I guess I’ll never know.

Bob Alexander is well experienced in outdoor cooking, fishing and leisure living. Bob is also the author and owner of this article. Visit his sites at:
http://www.redfishbob.com
http://www.bluemarlinbob.com