It’s not as difficult to find legitimate, affordable house insurance online from a reputable company as you might think. All you have to do is read reviews from other homeowners various companies and look for one that is completely transparent. Make sure you’ll be able to see a summary of what exactly you’ll be covered for before you agree to anything and sign up.

Be sure and review your policy once a year, as a lot of things can change in just 12 months. If you currently have home insurance, is it as affordable enough for your needs? Does it offer enough coverage, or too much? There might be some “extras” tacked on to your current policy that you can do without. Start looking at other quotes online and compare it with them.

The value of your home itself changes year after year. Unless you’ve done a lot of renovation and remodeling, the resale price will almost always be less than the price you paid for it. This means that if it is totally destroyed and you have to rebuild from scratch, you’re probably going to have to pay more for the new one than what the one that was destroyed was worth. These are other factors to consider when searching for affordable home insurance.

Save With Affordable House Insurance

One way you can save on insurance – especially if you live in a neighborhood with a high crime rate – is to increase security on your property. The more protected it is against potential burglars and damage from riots / civil unrest, the more you could potentially save in the long run. It might be worth investing in some type of alarm system, or even just adding an extra lock on your door and having bars installed on your windows. Also, invest in a quality smoke detection system or even a sprinkler system to help reduce the risk of fire damage.

What about the contents of your home? If you have expensive and unique jewelry and a fine art collection, for instance, you might need to add a rider to the current policy in order for them to be covered. Consider requesting a quote from a specialty insurer to determine if they can offer better coverage or rates for such valuables.

The problem with many home insurance providers these days is that they are pretty run-of-the-mill. One really unique and good company to check out for affordable house insurance is Lemonade. Discounts are easy to get, and Lemonade Insurance is very transparent. It stands out with its “Giveback” Program, and there is never any conflict of interest with policy holders because of the flat-fee system.

India has not much of a tradition in the field of sports and hardly any in the men's track and field events. It is hard to reconcile that a nation of over a billion people has a paucity of heroes in the men's track and field events.

Track and field events consist of the speed races and the events of brawn and strength like the hammer throw, javelin and discuss throw. There is also the marathon and the decathlon. But a look at the record books will show that only one name consistently pops up, Milkha Singh. It is a matter of eternal shame for the Indian nation that apart from Milkha Singh no other man made a mark in any event at the international level in any track and field sports for close to a hundred years.

The reasons for this are manifold and among them is the poor national diet in proteins and lack of training facilities. Thus for Milkha Singh to have emerged from this morass is itself a tremendous achievement.

Early Life

Milkha Singh was born in the Punjab into a farmer's family. Jobs in those days were at a premium and Milk like many Sikhs from the Punjab joined the Indian army. Not many know that Milkha Singh was born in Pakistan in 1935 and had the mortification of seeing both his parents being butchered before his eyes during the 1947 partition riots.

His joining the army was a god send as his commanding officer saw his potential and encouraged him to take up athletics. In those days there were hardly any training facilities outside the army and Milkha made full use of them. Another reason which he confessed later was the fact that athletes were given special rations and milk.

International Career

Milkha took part in the 1956 Olympics at Melbourne, but was not a success. But the experience was invaluable for him and on his return he dedicated himself to the 100m, 200m and the 400m. The last-named was his pet event and he excelled at it. We must remember that what ever Milkha achieved was without any foreign coach and solely by his own dedication and hard work.

Milkha now burst on the International stage when at the 1958 Asian games he won the gold medal in both the 200m and 400m events. Have we ever heard of any Indian athlete winning 2 gold medals in a track event after him? Milkha clocked a time of 21.6 and 47 seconds respectively. This was the time the world took notice of a bearded Sikh with long hair on the international stage and nicknamed him as the 'Flying Sikh'. He followed up by winning the 400 m event at the Cardiff Commonwealth games with a timing of 46.16 seconds. He was the first Indian to win a gold medal at the commonwealth games after independence. Milkha again won a gold medal in 400m at the 1962 Asian games.

1960 Rome Olympics

A word about Milkha's performance at the 1960 Rome Olympics will not be out-of-place. He was entered in the 400m and was the favorite to win the gold. In all the heats before the final he qualified easily and the day dawned as Milkha took the field in the finals of the 400m run. No Indian man before and after him has ever entered the final six of a sprint event in the Olympics other than Milkha Singh.

The race was lost by Milkha because of bad planning. As the race commenced Milkha shot in the lead and lead by a for the firs t 200m. Then inexplicably he slowed down for a fraction of a second. Later he realized he had made a tactical mistake as he was conserving his energy for a last burst. But other athletess surged ahead and Milkha broke the Olympic record but lost the race. He was placed 4th and the fact was that he had beaten Spence and other winners in various events earlier. This was a bitter pill for all Indians. However India hailed its hero who had gladdened the hearts by being the only Indian ever to enter the final of an Olympic event in the track sprints.

Final Word

International sports pundits hailed Milkha as a great athlete, the greatest who ever emerged from India. He was awarded the Padma Shree in 1959 and even Pandit Nehru hailed his exploits. There is no doubt that Milkha was a man of indominatble spirit and he did India proud. But the sad part is that 50 years down the line no Indian man-made it to the finals of any sprint event at the Olympics. That is a tragedy. So let us remember Milkha Singh the flying Sikh and resolve that India will produce at least another 100 flying Sikhs. Will it happen?

Theodora greatly influenced the Church in the disputes on doctrine, she often attempted to dispose Bishops and install new ones that were monothosites, and there are numerous letters between the Goths who had taken power in the West, often talking about her great influence. Her influence was mainly through unofficial channels, though Procopius does mention that Justinian and Theodora never did anything apart from the other in regards to Imperial policies and there was a mutual co-operation, John the Lydian describes it as co-sharing the empire. Theodora appears to be the dominant partner in the relation and Justinian allows it because of his great love for her, so much so that Procopius states that Theodora used sorcery to make Justinian love sick with her.

Theodora advances the status of her friends and favorites, is regularly involved in the politics at the senate and even takes sides on political issues, Procopius says that if anyone did something without the consent of Theodora, that the man comes to a most unfortunate end. Theodora attempted to control every part of the general public affairs and has mentioned attempts to persuade to put bishops in power and remove bishops but also is involved in selecting juries as punishing generals and torturing her enemies.

Theodora influenced the government of the Roman Empire by influencing Justinian to pass laws that would give women more status and rights in the empire. The first law that was influenced by Theodora was the law that prevented senators to marry courtesans, given that Theodora was a courtesan it meant that Justinian could not marry her, so he changed the law enabling them to get married. It is evident that many laws passed were in regards to prostitutes attempting to give them a better start in life as well trying to stop the practice altogether, she even set up a building to house young prostitutes that had fallen victim to the trade because of various reasons such as poverty. Much of Justinian’s laws were in regards to protecting women and encouraging equality between men and women especially in the lower classes.

The most well known of her influence is at the Nika riots where it is said that Justinian had packed up and was ready to leave as the crowds at the hippodrome were calling on him to advocate and were rioting, however Theodora could not bear the thought of losing her status as empress and the purple that she convinced Justinian to stay and stay he did. He called upon the military to eliminate the rioters and around thirty thousand were killed.

Theodora according to Procopius was the daughter of Acacius who was a bear keeper in the hippodrome and was part of the Green faction. He had died naturally and left three daughters one of whom was Theodora. At a young age Theodora was involved with helping her sisters in the prostitution trade in Constantinople and would often help carry the stool on which her sister would perform with on stage. Theodora did not entertain with the flute or musical instruments but rather sold her youthful beauty to those who came along; later on she started to get involved in theatrical acts on stage as sort of a jester conducting buffoonish acts just to make the audience laugh.

Procopius says that Theodora was shameless and would often reveal herself naked front and back and she would go to a dinner with many young men and sleep with them all at the banquet and when they were tired she would start to have sex with the other attendants. Procopius talks of a specific act that Theodora would perform in the theater, where she had laid naked and the slaves would place barley on her groins and then had some geese pick them off with their beaks and eat them. Procopius extensively portrays Theodora as a harlot who could not get enough sex, shameless and never hesitating to display her licentiousness. She was also portrayed as a vindictive person, who plotted to have people removed from power and even killed, according to Procopius she had planned to have the financial advisor to Justinian removed from office and even killed. This was because he would simply go against her wishes and often convinced Justinian to do the same, it took her nine years to plot against him and finally she succeeded in trapping him.

The profile of a mass murderer was recently aired on Australian television and the report was chilling. A young man set on a career in the army was a perfect shot but went off his head and was discharged. Told in training that he was now a killer it seems this may have triggered his murderous rage which ended with 7 dead and 146 wounded. The thought crossed my mind of how many young men are born to kill and what breaks their barrier?

Between living and killing there is a huge wall of resistance in most people. That citadel is impermeable under normal circumstances but soldiers have to break it to do their job. That is the army has to mow it down and that is what their training is about. They learn that they are not killing people but an enemy, that is someone whom they assess does not deserve to live.

So how do they see that other being from whom they choose to take away life. What makes them act in a manner that is anti-human, or is it? Our closest animal cousins, the apes, kill each other but not for the same reason. They don’t murder another ape as an enemy but as a rival for their sexual partner.

Most animals fight to protect their sexual rights and they will ward off predators from their young, but few become killers. Not all humans who massacre others are service trained but something breaks inside them that gives them the permission to do it.

The last few years have seen many commit slaughter of a number of people and there is less understanding of why? In the Charlottesville’s riots today a young man drove his car at speed into a crowd and then backed it up crushing the life out of a young woman and wounding several others. He is apparently obsessed with the views of the White Supremacy Movement.

With so many violent movies, games, and songs pumping such thoughts into the minds of the young are they growing up with different mindsets? Are they being programmed into murderous traits from a young age that is brain-washing them to be killers?

In a disquieting rush to secure food supplies, financial speculators around the world are gobbling up farmland in developing nations and causing land prices to soar. Some call it the new colonialism, but most just call it an old-fashioned land grab.

Land grabbing and food speculation are not just overseas phenomena; they are also happening in North America. Mammoth investment funds have poured hundreds of billions of dollars into the financial markets for commodities like wheat, corn and soybeans, establishing higher prices for consumers and fatter profits for themselves. Other private investors have made bolder, longer-term speculative bets that the world’s inescapable need for food will soon intensify; they are grabbing ownership not just of farmland, but also of fertilizer supplies, grain elevators, and shipping equipment.

This global grab of farmland and supplies raises fundamental questions, for it arises in the context of a worldwide recession born of a crisis in faith (the credit markets), a crisis in shelter (housing), unstable fuel cost, and widespread hunger. Now there are ominous signs of worsening food crisis in the making this year, spurred in part by the ongoing credit crunch that has made it difficult for farmers to get loans, and severe drought in many agricultural zones.

Thus, this week the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is holding a conference in Washington provocatively called “Land Grab: The Race for the World’s Farmlands.”

Note well that the soaring price of rice and wheat over the past two years has sparked riots in more than 30 countries from India to Haiti. Those riots were an initial motivator for the land grab, but it really took off at the end of last year when many big food-exporting nations introduced export controls to ensure that food stayed close to home where it was needed.

Meanwhile, the land-food picture is further challenged by the privatization of water by multinational corporations, and by the specter of drought, which continues to loom over many of Earth’s most productive agricultural regions, including California, Texas, Argentina and China.

All these developments have drawn avid attention in commodity markets, where analysts warn bluntly that substantial price hikes for food are coming. When speculators see an opportunity to make money, historically they have acted out of self-interest and driven prices even higher to increase their profit margin.

The average family in North America does not fully see or feel these titanic changes yet, but they will – inevitably, and likely before the year ends. Our need for food, water, and clean air are fundamental, foundational, inescapable.

Yet in the midst of change, in the midst of rampant consolidation for profit, we have before us other pathways – pathways that lead to better places.

How to respond? Many models and pathways of healthy, sustainable response are already established and available as models. Dozens of them are mentioned in this blog and in particular on the Links page.

Immediate, swift, well-planned and sustained action from citizens can establish clean, healthy, local food systems at the level of individual household, neighborhood, community, city, and region. With high technology, all of these individual, local nodes can be networked, streamlined, and maintained to yield clean food and fields for all the people, rather than manipulating land and food as collateral to produce monetary profits for a few.

As expressed by Eduardo Galeano, the tendency of the industrial world has been to regard a fundamental element of our native heritage – sharing of the land and resources – as somehow deficient or wrongheaded because it involves no self-interested profit incentive. But free-will cooperation and sharing can help us to establish working systems of food production and food preparation, while also establishing networks of agrarian oases that radiate good environmental health in the towns and cities where we live.

“We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.” – Also Leopold

The philosophical foundation for the cultural values that existed in many native cultures is that nobody owns the land. It belongs to all. You have the right to use the land. If you have energy, motivation, and ability to work this earth and to take care of it as a steward – bearing in mind and expressing through action respect for the next seven generations of children to be born – then you have a right to use it.

Every human being has a legitimate, native interest, and a basic, unavoidable need to draw sustenance from the land. Thus, we must raise questions and work toward an equitable basis for our legal relationship with the land, because upon this foundation depend our lives, our health, and the character of our relationships with other human beings.

How will we relate to the land? As conquerors, subjugators, and profiteers? Or as stewards who recognize our absolute dependence upon the land for life and growth, who accept our need to be fair and honest with one another, and who act accordingly.

Over many decades the practice of using land as collateral for debt – placing farmland under the burden of a bank mortgage to obtain cash to run the farm – has caused profound difficulty for farmers, and vast suffering. Under this system banks must be paid every month and every year, no matter the weather or the market conditions faced by the farmers. As a consequence, over time – thousands upon thousands of people have been driven from the caretaking of the Earth by the onus of debt. The land grab taking place right now around our globe, driving land, fertilizer, storage, and shipping costs higher, is poised to become an overwhelmingly dominant factor in all of our lives.

Because land is the basis of our physical existence, we need new thinking and new approaches in the way we hold and steward the land.

One possibility, which has been steadily gaining ground, is to gradually protect land suitable for agriculture by purchasing it for the last time and protecting the land for agricultural use through legal, free-will institutions such as land trusts.

To do this, farmland has to be purchased for the final time, and then, out of the free initiative of local people, be placed into forms of trust that protect it from ever again being mortgaged or sold for the sake of private profit. Those non-profit land trusts can then make the land available to qualified people who want to farm the land to provide clean, local food for people (for more information see the Land Trust Alliance, and the American Farmland Trust). Landowners themselves can form such land trusts, or groups of citizens, or churches, or other creative constellations of free men and women, can cooperate locally to buy available land for ecologically sound farming.

This cooperative approach to the land is something that clearly cannot be legislated or otherwise imposed in any way upon humanity. To be acceptable to the diverse populations that share the land, to succeed, every step of progress will have to arise out of the insight, the choice, and the free, honest initiative of people who recognize what is happening to our land and who also recognize the opportunity to take action and follow another pathway forward.

Just imagine being given a jail sentence merely because we could not handle our emotions. Think of the public outcry! But conjure with the idea of being given a thirty, forty, even a fifty or sixty year sentence! The level of public indignation about our human rights would surely dwarf any riots we have seen. Add a final insult and tag us 24 hours a day to remind us of our emotional disorders, and the fury would erupt. Yet this is exactly what many of us do to ourselves. We impose life sentences of emotional self-imprisonment and tag ourselves!

And the metaphor gets even more real and even more horrifying, the more one dwells on it.

Because of trauma, shock, hurt or abuse, we can and we do sentence ourselves more harshly still. We commit ourselves to solitary confinement, guarding our inner most emotional secrets with a level of zeal and shame with is extraordinary. This personal imposition can also originate from guilt, abandonment, rejection, or from humiliation, bullying or molestation.

Yet in our hearts we know that were there ever to be any appropriate system of emotional courts with judge and jury, none would convict us as severely as we have done to ourselves. None would find our case proved as warranting such a fierce punishment.

But just focus on this metaphor one more time- when we have the highest criminal prison population on record. And now ponder on the fact that a vast number of us – walking the streets apparently free, have nevertheless imprisoned ourselves in unresolved emotions!

And our level of commitment to the sentence can be astonishing. It can involve a vow of silence and secrecy to ourselves – something we determine to take our grave. This we can deem preferable to a mistaken belief that if we unburden ourselves we will be emotionally pilloried until our death by relatives and friends, and that should be avoided at all cost!

More weird, emotionally speaking, even when the underlying cause can have been in no way of our making or our fault, we still seek to deny that to ourselves and then compound the denial by buying deeper into the shame, humiliation and rejection as if somehow we deserved it!

That can set in train yet more entangled and constraining behavioural thinking. We can use this misconceived buy-in as a stick to beat ourselves harder than anyone else with the same knowledge ever would – or should. And why ever do we do this? Because we have let ourselves think it is our just desserts! The ‘tagging’ is provided by our self-talk which we encourage sub-consciously to reinforce our worst thoughts about ourselves

And paradoxically we can find we draw strength from our apparent courage and fortitude to shoulder it on our own, when few around us would see any sense or justification in that.

I think it is fair to say that Time once was when maybe this emotional flagellation was deemed to be part of being human and living a human life. Not enough was known then about psychology and the impact of our behavioural thinking.

But no more! No longer is that true. Irrefutable psychological and behavioural truths pile up one on top of another – from one research project after another – each revealing to us ever more about our human nature. More welcome still they reveal to us how we can neutralise and re-frame our reactions to horrific indignities we have endured.

The benefits of encouraging ourselves to end our self-imprisonment, to give ourselves emotional parole and to re-configure the emotional memories and patterns are now well documented.

Why? If for no other reason, because we know now it is no longer necessary for we humans to endure it. And nor is it justified any longer to inflict our emotional shortcomings on others, young or old, for them to replicate what we have done and to resort to emotional self-imprisonment for themselves.

So we should at least talk about these things, share them and unashamedly seek help to understand them. We should cherish the reality that none of us are perfect, that we are unique and most particularly we are blessed with the ability to cure ourselves emotionally.

And if that is not enough, then quite simply accept that we do not deserve this toxic form of imprisonment when help is now at hand. There are number of good proprietary self-discovery books and programmes available to find a new level of happiness.

The short answer is: it depends. This is surprising to many shippers who believe that all damage during transport is covered by the carrier. This is true in law, however; there are some exceptions to liability which, can be pretty far reaching and often surprise shippers that damage to their goods is not covered by the carrier. Most bills of lading contain the the following statements:

1. Liability of the Carrier

The intermediary of the the goods herein described is liable for any loss of or damage or injury to the goods accepted by the intermediary or the intermediary’s agent except as hereinafter provided.

2. Exemptions from Liability

The intermediary is not liable for loss, damage, injury or delay to any goods described in the bill of lading caused by and act of God, the Queen’s or public enemies, riots, strikes, defect in the goods, an act or default by the consignor, owner or consignee, authority of law, quarantine or difference in weights of grain, seed or other commodities caused by natural shrinkage.

The carrier’s defenses:

Acts of God

This is where the carrier can show that the damage was caused by extraordinary weather conditions during which the carrier’s reasonable actions could not avoid the damage. The onus of proof lies with the carrier for this defense and it is seldom used during a damage claim.

The Queen’s or Public Enemies, Riots and Strikes

The definition of this one is fairly straightforward. Again, this is a defense seldom used by carriers. It would be a pretty rare set of circumstances where this exemption would apply.

Defects or Inherent Vice in the Goods

This is where it gets interesting. The carrier generally only has to show that by the balance of probabilities, something in the nature of the goods led to the damage. This could be insufficient packaging, boxes that collapse under humidity, a box with a leaky item that damages the shipment, etc. For example, if you shipped steel and it rusted during transport (assuming that the carrier did not negligently expose it to moisture) the carrier could assert that rust is an inherent vice of steel and is not liable for the rust damage.

This can be a very wide exception to the strict liability of the carrier. As a shipper, you have the duty to ensure you take all the necessary steps to protect your goods against the normal rigors of transport.

Acts or defaults by the Owner or Shipper

a) Packing, Loading and Securing

The owner or shipper has a duty to provide a shipment that is fit for transport. This includes providing the necessary instructions for care and to load and secure the shipment to withstand the normal and expected rigors of transport. The carrier does not generally have a duty to second guess the shipper about whether or not the shipper has properly packed and secured the cargo for transport. The carrier is employed, not because of his expertise in packing cargo, but to provide a facility to transport goods from one place to another.

An example of this situation is where a shipment has “shifted” during transport. The driver may have had to apply his brakes extra hard to avoid an accident and this caused the shipment to shift, skids fall over, etc. Most shippers think this is a pretty clear case that the carrier is at fault….wrong! If the load shifted, then it was not packed properly by the shipper. In addition, having to stop short on the highway is something that should have been reasonably expected by the shipper when loading the goods.

This particular exemption from liability is pretty far reaching and can apply to many situations where damage occurs during transport.

b) Instructing the Carrier

This is where a claim for loss or damage can be attributed to a delay in transport caused by an error or omission of the shipper. In this case, the carrier is not liable. For example, the shipper provides the wrong customs paperwork, and the goods get held up at the border and subsequently miss a delivery and a fine is incurred by the shipper for a missed delivery. The carrier would not be liable because the shipper has a duty to provide adequate shipment and delivery information.

Statutory Defenses

Most bills of lading contain the following statement:

12. Notice of Claim

(a) No carrier is liable for loss, damage or delay to any goods carried under the bill of lading unless notice thereof setting out particulars of the origin, destination and date of shipment of the goods and the estimated amount claimed in respect of such loss, damage or delay is given in writing to the originating carrier or the delivering carrier in sixty (60) days after delivery of the goods, or in the case of failure to make delivery, within nine (9) months from the date of shipment.

(b) The final statement of claim must be filed within nine months from the date of shipment together with a copy of the paid freight bill.

These defenses are a “no brainer” for the carrier. Even if the carrier is at fault and you have not:

1)filed a written notice of claim within 60 days

2)filed a final statement of claim with a value within 9 months.

3)Paid the freight bill

your claim will be denied based on this point of law. As a shipper you have no defense to these statutory assertions by the carrier. Many shippers are surprised by the fact that if they do not pay the freight bill, their claim is null and void. The reasoning behind this is that if the shipper refused to pay the freight bill, they have effectively become judge and jury in the dispute. Many a shipper have erroneously decided to withhold payment on a shipment because of a claim. Here’s what happens… the carrier will file suit for non-payment of the freight bill. The shipper will file a counter claim for the damaged shipment. When this goes to court, the judge will grant the carrier payment of the freight bill and dismiss the counter claim based on non-payment of the freight bill. At this point, the shipper has to start the claim all over again from the start, assuming that the 9 months have not passed by and the claim is still eligible. Pay your freight bills during a claim!

There is one other statutory defense that shippers should be aware of this is the defense of Maximum Liability. In Canada, a carrier is limited to $4.41 per kilogram based on the total weight of the shipments unless otherwise declared on the bill of lading. So, unless you have noted the total value of the goods on the bill of lading, you will be limited to this amount. There are some factors to consider about noting the value on the bill. If you declare a value greater than $4.41 per kilogram, then the carrier will most likely charge you a premium for the excess value of the shipment. This is a business decision each shipper must make based on value and risk.

Conclusion:

Understand what is covered by the carrier and what is not. As a shipper you need to take steps to minimize your risk of loss and damage through extra insurance, cargo securement, etc.

An excellent source for information regarding claims is “Motor Carrier Cargo Claims,” Third Edition, by John S. McNeil, Q.C., published by Carswell Thompson Professional Publishing. I would highly recommend getting a copy for your shipping office.

Disclaimer: The writer of this article is not a lawyer and the content of this article is for information purposes only and should not be considered legal advice.

There are many notable black historic figures from Texas. Each of them made significant contributions to black history of not only Texas, but the nation at large. Black Texans have made major contributions in politics, military events, music, and sports. The accomplishments of those Texans continue being discussed in history classes and homes throughout the nation.

After surviving the 1900 Galveston storm, Arthur 'Jack' Johnson went on to make a name for himself in the world of boxing. At that time, boxing for money was considered a criminal activity, even though it was popular. In Texas, heavyweight boxing matches were illegal. Some of the governors of that period sent Texas Rangers out to shut down boxing matches.

Johnson became known as "Papa Jack" or the "Galveston Giant", Johnson won the heavyweight boxing title in 1908, a time filled with racial tensions. He defeated Tommy Burns for the title in Sydney, Australia. Since many whites disliked him winning the title, a follow up match was arranged with James Jeffries, who was brought out of retirement for the special fight. Jeffries was known as "The Great White Hope" in the publicity leading up to the fighting match. When Johnson defeated Jeffries, race riots broke out in many cities in the aftermath. The State of Texas went so far as to pass laws forbidding the showing of films in Texas documenting what occurred based on fears that it would incite race riots. Johnson later claimed further fame as an inventor for inventing a new type of wrench.

Another ground breaking Texan was Bessie Coleman. As a young woman, Bessie was fascinated with airplanes and flight. In the aftermath of World War I, Bessie traveled to France in order to obtain a pilot's license, since women were not allowed licensure as pilots at that time. She broke ground for being one of the first woman aviators along with being the first black aviator. After obtaining her license, she traveled the nation teaching other black women to fly at her exhibitions.

The Texan, Scott Joplin also established new frontiers in music. Joplin grew up in Texarkana, Texas where a teacher saw his potential musical talent and worked to develop it. Joplin went on to develop a musical style known as ragtime. Joplin referred to himself as the "King of Ragtime". His music gained popularity through 'piano rolls'. The rolls enabled the player pianos to reproduce the sounds. Joplin's distinctive sounds became foundational in the later development of a musical genre known as 'jazz'. He also produced a grand opera, entitled Treemonisha, which received a Pulitzer Prize after his death.

When the world went to war, one of those who served was Doris Miller. This young man from Texas served as a mess attendant on the battleship, USS West Virginia, stationed at Pearl Harbor. When the Japanese attacked the American naval forces on December 7, 1941, Miller took action. When a nearby machine gun crew could no longer operate their weapon, he stepped up and proceeded to take position and continue using the weapon. What was amazing was that he had received no training on the use of the weapon. Miller received a Navy Cross for his brave actions at Pearl Harbor. Doris Miller later died in action, when the ship he was serving on was sunk.

The earliest recorded accomplishments by a black in Texas was by Estavanico. Estavanico was a slave who survived the Narvarez expedition shipwreck. He explored Texas with Cabeza de Vaca. The accounts of their journey and encounters with local Indian tribes inspired other conquistadors to explore the southwest. Their stories included episodes of early surgery, tribal practices and rumors of cities of gold. The Indians liked Estavanico and his presence was often seen as a favorable omen that allowed the Spanish to proceed without being attacked. Normally, the Indians attacked the Spanish without hesitation. Estavanico's presence allowed Cabeza de Vaca to survive many of those early encounters. Estavanico later returned to Texas to lead a second expedition, known as the de Niza expedition.

A modern trailblazer for black women in Texas was Barbara Jordan. As a young student at Harvard, Barbara Jordan was very involved in politics. She gained notoriety as a champion debater, and worked for the Kennedy campaign when she lived in the Boston area, where she attended school. This woman from Texas made significant headway by winning election to the Texas Senate. She was the first black female elected State Senator in Texas in 1966. After distinguishing herself in the Senate, she was elected to serve as a US Representative. While serving in the House of Representatives, she played a prominent role in the Watergate hearing and was known for her referring to the Constitution / Bill of Rights that she carried with her along with her superb speaking skills. After retiring from politics, she served as a professor at the University of Texas at Austin.

A man whose life was surrounded by rumors and controversy was Colonel James Kemp Holland. James was half-black and half-white. James Holland went on to become the highest ranking black serving in the Confederate Army. He also served as an aide to Governor Pendlenton Murrah of Texas during the war. His gaining such a position was a notable achievement for his time being the first black to serve in a Texas Governor's administration. Since one of his parents was white, his race is often hotly debated both then and now. His accomplishment in achieving officer status at a time when the United States military remained segregated is notable.

Another early black military hero in Texas was Hendrick Arnold. Hendrick was a free black man who led one of the three forces of armed Texians when they attacked San Antonio in the early days of the Texas War for Independence. The force succeeded in capturing the city and the Alamo. Hendrick was a key figure in what became known as the Battle of Bejar, which helped gained Texas it's freedom.

A modern freedom fighter was James Farmer. Throughout his life, James Farmer worked toward eliminating racial segregation. His efforts led to him taking stands advocating non-violent resistance included refusing to serve in segregated military units during World War II. Taking the stand of refusing to serve was controversial at that time. Later, he served as the head of the organization he founded known as the Congress for Racial Equality (CORE). He led several boycotts in the State of Texas, including one at Prairie View A&M in his efforts to end racial segregation. For his efforts, he was later awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

James Farmer was also featured in the recent move, "The Great Debaters", produced by Oprah and directed by Denzel Washington. Although the film portrays some historic incidents in Farmer's life, it remains highly fictionalized. The real 1935 debate team from Wiley College traveled west, not north where they faced the University of Southern California's debate team. They never debated Harvard as portrayed in the film. The team did come across a lynching shortly after it had occurred, which was traumatizing.

There were many other notable Texas blacks. Among them were Congressman Mickey Leland, the Buffalo soldiers of the 41st and 24th Infantry along with the 9th Cavalry stationed in Texas. The buffalo soldiers also charged up San Juan Hill in the Spanish American War. It was the black color sergeant, George Barry of the 10th cavalry who planted the US flag on San Juan Hill. The Buffalo Soldier National Museum is located in Houston, Texas. It contains historic artifacts and memorabilia of these brave soldiers.

There were also some notable early black ranchers in Texas such as Bill Pickett. These men established their own ranches rather than working for others. Their early efforts gained respect from the other ranchers and cattlemen in the area during a time when the cattle business was rough.

There were also many notable musicians from Texas. Leadbelly, Barry White, Lightnin Hopkins, and Sly Stone were all from Texas. Sam Lightnin 'Hopkins eventually performed for the Queen of England and in Carnegie Hall. Each of these men earned a place in the hall of fame for their various styles of music.

There were also notable black accomplishments in the field of education. Lawrence William s has been a role model in establishing himself as a world-class mathematician from Texas. Former slave Matthew Gaines eventually became a State Senator and was instrumental in pioneering free public education in Texas and the founding of Texas' first University, Texas A&M. William Goyens was a free black in the early Republic of Texas who was known for his business sense and creativity. He established his own business and was well read. Many of the early leaders in the Republic often consulted with William Goyens, since they valued his counsel and experience.

What happens when you start a website which grows so large it starts effecting world-wide geo-politics and is involved in the restructuring of nation's boundaries, and leadership? Well, in walks Twitter, Google, and Facebook and yes, they are effecting human civilizations and societies to a very large degree. So much so, that many nations are considering banning them if they don't play along with the current regimes, authorities, and prevent civil disobedience, protests, riots, and "days of rage" – which if you've been watching the news is exactly what's going on these days.

Did you know that social networks have been used in uprisings in Iran, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, China, Myanmar, Yemen, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Sudan, Tunisia, Morocco, Libya, Nigeria, Uganda, and probably will soon in the Palestinian territory of Jordan, Venezuela, and about four others I can think of.

There was a very interesting article recently in the San Jose Mercury News titled "Facebook to Assemble Global Team of Diplomats" by Mike Swift posted on May 22, 2011 and undated with more accurate and emerging news on May 23, 2011 after Iran announced a Nation -wide firewall to prevent Western Powers from a "Soft War" using online venues, and after the many articles about how Middle Eastern profiles were rapidly dropping off of Facebook post "Day of Rage" and pro-democracy riots and uprisings. The article stated:

"With 70 percent, 600 million members, outside the US, Facebook is creating a network of ambassadors from India to Ireland with foreign governments and cultures. The new global policy team will monitor the local politics and act as multilingual, TV-friendly voice. Due to its global nature and membership it's much larger than the population of most countries, with technology that can antagonize both Middle Eastern dictators and European democracies fretful about privacy. "

Already nations are requiring that Facebook work with them, and Facebook has hired an international Diplomacy team now. Saudi Arabia wants to get its own social network, one that the Royal Family can control to prevent uprisings, but still allow their people to enjoy online communications.

Recently, many countries have shown a net-loss of social networking participants in the Middle East, partly because Facebook is a Western Internet company, and some say because no one in these countries wants the regimes to come and knock on their doors in the middle of night, arrest them, and haul them off to prison or worse.

The World is changing in more ways than one and Social Networking appears to be a big player and enabler, which has some folks worried, some folks empowered, and other folks watching to see what will happen next. Please consider all this and think on it.

Global Warming if it happens will mean that climates and regional weather will shift and therefore France will not be able to grow grapes and thus we will not have to put up with their arrogant public relations campaigns over how good that they think their wine is.

If this is true about Global Warming and Climate Change then I say bring it on and the faster the better. If this will insure that France can no longer grow grapes then this is a great thing for the United States wineries and a wonderful consideration. If indeed it is true that Global Warming means no more French wine, then lets take that as a sign from God that he is sick and tired of the French and their BS, their riots and their shady government corruptions like the Oil For Food Scandal.

The French lost their wine crops years back and they replanted them with California Stock. Now some believe that the wine has all to do with the genetics of the seeds and others believe it has to do with the strength of the soil, weather and abilities of the grower. Yet others believe it is all that and more. Personally I think the French Wine is way over rated and they are using California Stock now. So, shouldn’t you buy California Wine, save you money and let the French deal with Global Warming? Consider all this in 2006.