Two days after Pervez Musharraf seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999, a poll in Pakistan revealed that 75% of Pakistanis supported the military takeover. The army chief had deposed the prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, seen by many as running an inept and corrupt government.

Fast forward nine years and the irony is inescapable. Yesterday it was the 65-year-old President Musharraf who resigned rather than face impeachment charges of incompetence and corruption. Recent opinion polls put Sharif as the country’s most popular politician.

In many ways it is an ignominious end for the military strongman. Musharraf has never been burdened by immodesty, but he comes from humble roots. His father was a lowly Indian bureaucrat in the British Raj. Pervez was born, the second of three sons, in Delhi in 1943.

During the bloody partition of India, the family fled to Pakistan. Pervez’s father joined the country’s new foreign service – posted to Turkey in 1949, where his family spent seven years, and where his sons learned fluent Turkish. Musharraf did not grow up in a particularly religious atmosphere. Unlike many observant families he kept dogs – which are seen as un-Islamic on the subcontinent.

Back in Pakistan his mother persuaded him to join the army – an institution that shaped his attitudes. As a mohajir, an Urdu-speaking refugee from India, he was an outsider in a Punjabi-dominated army but his talent did not go unnoticed and he rose steadily through the ranks. The rapid ascent almost killed him: he was supposed to be General Zia-ul-Haq’s military secretary in August 1988 and would have been blown up when Zia’s plane crashed. However his job had not been confirmed.

Just a decade later Musharraf seized power. He presented a liberal image, that of a man who privately liked a tumbler of scotch. He promised to end corruption and clean out the country’s institutions. General Musharraf said he wanted a return to democracy.

He also refused Bill Clinton’s request to cooperate in American attempts to capture Osama bin Laden. However 9/11 changed all that. Pakistan became a key ally in the war on terror. Whether the Bush White House threatened to “bomb Pakistan back to the Stone Age” or not, Musharraf cracked down on terror groups, he sent the army into lawless badlands on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. He stopped sending jihadis into Indian Kashmir.

But the reluctant coup-maker always appeared unwilling to hand power back to the civilian politicians he loathed. His unseating of the chief justice in 2007 was a typical piece of bravado. His declaration of a state of emergency to confirm his own presidency was another sign of how a remarkably poor politician and domestic strategist he was.

There’s no doubt Musharraf remains fairly liberal-minded. He has acted bravely to combat Islamic extremists. Repeated triumphs have fed the myth of his indispensability. Yesterday all that came to an end.

Washington last night ruled out using military force in Georgia after putting the Pentagon in charge of the delivery of aid to the invaded Black Sea state and US non-combat troops on the ground.

A week into the crisis in the Caucasus, Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, traveled to the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, to rally “the free world’s support for a free Georgia” following criticism that the Bush administration had been slow to respond to the Russian attack on the region’s key US ally.

Despite a French-brokered ceasefire agreement three days ago that required Russian and Georgian forces to retire to pre-conflict positions, Russian forces remained deep in what was Georgian-controlled territory, well outside the two contested provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia where the Russians were stationed as “peacekeepers”.

The Russians remained in control of the town of Gori straddling the main road north of Tbilisi, of Senaki to the west, and were in the Black Sea port of Poti – all home to key Georgian military facilities.

Moscow said it did not know when it would pull out.

“We are planning it. It depends on many factors. I can’t give you the date. We have stopped building up troops,” Colonel-General Anatoly Nogovitsyn, Russia’s deputy chief of staff, told reporters in Moscow.

But last night Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, said there were signs that the Russians were withdrawing to the two pro-Russian breakaway provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

The US landed a second large military transport plane with relief aid in Tbilisi after George Bush warned the Russians not to obstruct the aid effort, raising Russian suspicions that the Americans could be ferrying military supplies to the Georgians whose armed forces have been shattered by the Russians. “What is in it in reality?” asked Gen Nogovitsyn. “It is of major concern to the Russians.”

Bush said on Wednesday: “We expect Russia to ensure that all lines of communication and transport, including seaports, airports, roads and airspace, remain open for the delivery of humanitarian assistance and for civilian transit.”

The tough statement encouraged speculation that the US military could come into dangerously close contact with the Russians, raising the risk of US-Russian clashes. Such fears were heightened by President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia, who claimed that the Pentagon was taking control of Georgian ports and airports.

The US dismissed such claims. “We are not there to defend the ports, we are there to provide humanitarian aid,” White House spokeswoman, Dana Perino, said.

Last night, Gates said: “I don’t see any prospect for the use of military force by the United States in this situation.” He added that Washington hoped to avoid any return to a cold war confrontation triggered by the Kremlin’s invasion and rout of Georgia in under a week, but warned Moscow that it could do lasting damage to its relations with the west.

There would have to be unspecified consequences for Russia if it did not observe its ceasefire pledges. “If Russia does not step back from its aggressive posture and actions in Georgia, the US-Russian relationship could be adversely affected for years to come,” said Gates.

But all the signs were that the Kremlin would effect a retreat, satisfied that it had achieved its war aims and the better to control and dominate the diplomatic mediation effort gathering steam.

Rice went to Tbilisi last night to bolster the embattled Georgians in the diplomatic tussle that was launched by President Nicolas Sarkozy of France on Tuesday and resulted in a six-point ceasefire and peace plan.

Before arriving in Tbilisi, the secretary of state met Sarkozy in France to toughen the mediation terms which are being conducted by the French on behalf of the European Union. Georgia “is a member state of the United Nations and its internationally recognized borders need to be respected … The United States of America stands strongly, as the president of France just said, for the territorial integrity of Georgia”, Rice said pointedly, alongside Sarkozy.

Presenting the ceasefire terms in Moscow on Tuesday night, Sarkozy signally refused to support Georgia’s territorial integrity. “Georgia is an independent and sovereign state and I think this formula, the principle of sovereignty, is broader than the formula of territorial integrity,” he said.

INTRODUCTION

The third world is a part of our earth that is always in the clutches of the military generals. Almost every general in this part of the earth is ambitious to grab the highest post of the president or chief martial law administrator. But wishes do not always come true. The golden bird does not sit on the shoulders of all the generals. Only few get the chance to rule and befool the naïve public of their states. There are a lot of such generals who do not succeed in usurping the powers.

There are two kinds of such generals of the third world who cannot reach their “unnatural” political boundary:
1-those who try
2-those who do not try

Why these generals fail in politics, let us make a survey of the causes and effects of their failure.

ATTITUDE

The first and foremost reason of the defeat in the battlefield of politics is the unreasonable attitude of the generals. Many generals attempt seriously to make good. They have native ability to do so. The native ability in this connection is the military background of the general. This general finds it almost impossible to sit at a desk and concentrate on his evil designs.

He cannot sit down for a long time due to some addiction or illness to ponder over the constitution. Sometimes he tries to do so, opens the book of constitution, but he is unable to decide about his abilities. He always procrastinates and the other rank fellows win the fields. He wastes his time in preparing himself to make a coup. In this way his time passes and nothing comes out in his favor.

Such uncourageous habits are not easy to uproot. If the general wants to succeed he should have to eradicate such obnoxious habits otherwise he should shun all his noble designs of revolution.

Although he thinks that he is trying yet he does not try. He spends a lot of time in the presence of the books of constitution but is unable to amend it in his favor.

ADVISORS

A common cause of failure of the generals of the third world is mistaken ambition on the part of his advisors. The toadies and humbugs are always instigate the military chief to achieve the highest post but are not the best judge of the abilities of the general.

Many generals do not show any interest in political involvement. They are absolutely not fit for this job even for their own job but are advised by his advisor to get involved in the politics. Such a general cannot overthrow the elected government.

The reason behind this defeat is that he has to follow a direction mapped out by his advisor. That direction always runs counter to his interests and abilities.

Such generals always earn a number of warm enemies among the advisors and politicians. Their wish of making him a stooge does not come true and they become his enemies until they succeed in overthrowing him.

Such a general prefers to become ambassador or head of a lucrative department after retirement.

EASYGOING FELLOWS

Another type of a General who does not try is the very intelligent and diligent person. He has always done his duties efficiently and considers politics a child, s play. He supposes that he can float through the politics with as little effort as he did through military career. Such a general is the most pitiable person on the earth when he is pitted in the field of politics. It is almost a tragedy to see such a receptive mind wasting the entire opportunity the politics has offered to him.

PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH

The question of health both physical and mental is always one of the reasons for failure. If a proper free medical service is available in the USA or ENGLAND, the general can hold up the bridles of the administration. Moreover if proper cooperation exists between the establishment and the general he can easily make a coup.

FINANCIAL RESOURCES

Most of the generals want to join politics but the financial pressure is a very serious reason behind their failure. A lot of them could not find or avail opportunity to heap unlawful wealth during service. Such generals cannot succeed in their ambitions, as they can not gather timeservers around them. Such officers are unable to win sympathies of the establishment and politicians.

These generals are absolutely ignored by the patrons.

Moreover the generals who are cast entirely on their own resources cannot succeed because their entire income is not enough to grease the palms of the establishment. Politicians having vested interests should help them in this regard if they want to fulfill their interests.

JUDGMENT

There are a goodly number of generals whose judgment is perverted by the attraction of the motorcades and escorts of the prime ministers and presidents. So they want to overthrow them and fill up their gap. Such generals who aim at these things should shun their ideas of getting the status of a president or a prime minister .It is better for them to become chairman of a semi- governmental organization and lead their life in comfort and luxury.

POLITICS IS NOT CRICKET

A large number of generals drift into politics and drift out again without serving any interests. They think that politics are just like cricket. Most of them have not found any serious interest in politics. It is usually wise to let them retire in the cold world of general public so that they might know the real and miserable condition of the public.

CONCLUSION

In so far as the failure is concerned it can be avoided by acting upon the guidelines provided by the former military rulers. If this is not kept in mind the failure is the fate of such generals.

The advisors are advised to select the right general who follows the footsteps of his forerunners who had ruled the nation for a decade or more. It would be great service to the failing generals as well to the ignorant people who always welcome the person in the uniform.

Nursing is the nation’s largest health care profession, with more than 2.7 million registered nurses nationwide, and nursing students account for more than half of all health professions students in the United States. Applications to attend nursing schools continue to increase nicely but did you know that thousands of students are being turned away because of an acute shortage of Nursing Educators?

A study done by the U.S. Bureau of Health Professions indicates that by 2020, the U.S. nursing shortage will grow to more than 800,000 registered nurses. How can we put a serious dent in stemming this dangerous tide unless nurses take an active role in educating the nurses of tomorrow?

*Becoming a Nurse Educator is a Wonderful Career Choice*

Registered nurses are teachers already! RNs teach patients and their families how to manage their illness or injury, including post-treatment home care needs, diet and exercise programs, and self-administration of medication and physical therapy. RNs mentor and precept new graduates and new hire staff as well as develop and implement ongoing continuing education activities within clinical settings. RNs combine their clinical expertise and passion for teaching others in thousands of ways every time they work. Nurse Educators make use of that same clinical expertise and passion for teaching to guide and shape the future of the nursing profession- one student at a time!

Do you want to be doing direct patient care when you’re 63 and still waiting to be old enough to retire? I say leave bedside nursing to the younger nurses, give your sore back a rest, and turn your talents towards building the next generation of nurses instead!

Some RNs choose to advance their nursing career by moving into administrative or management positions, but the responsibilities and stress of management isn’t for everyone. For those RNs who would enjoy keeping in touch with direct patient care and in shaping the future of nursing the best career path to think about is becoming a nurse educator!

Given the growing shortage of nurse educators, the career outlook is strong for nurses interested in teaching careers. Nursing schools nationwide are struggling to find new faculty to accommodate the rising interest in nursing among new students.

*Teaching Nursing Offers Outstanding Career Flexibility*

Most nurse educators work in colleges and universities that offer associate and baccalaureate programs in nursing, and some work as instructors for LPN courses while educators involved in clinical education also work at collaborating health care facilities.

A Master’s degree in nursing is typically required to become a faculty member at a university but RNs with a Bachelors degree in nursing and clinical experience are the minimum basic requirements for clinical instructors.Nurse educators can work as full time faculty with all the benefits including tenure and retirement, or may choose to work as part time faculty while still continuing clinical employment and direct patient care. Nurse educators play a vital role in preparing and shaping future generations of nurses!

*Earn a Master’s in Nursing Education While You Work*

You can earn an accredited Master’s Degree in Nursing with a specialization in education or in health education online while maintaining your current job by investing just a few hours of study time per week through several schools.

*Don’t have a BSN Degree?*

There’s a fully accredited RN to MS in Nursing bridge program that allows busy nurses to take the fast track to earning their Masters in Nursing. Students earn both degrees in a fraction of the time at 1/2 the cost of traditional programs and don’t have to give up their job to do it.

Make a difference today that will impact the entire profession for years to come. Become a Nurse Educator!

Scholarships are the amount of money that is given or cut in fees of students on some spatial basis. Various institutes all over the world provide scholarships for students, based on performances in exams or in some other cases as arias, finance or family backgrounds.

Scholarships are the financial help to the students for their studies. Most of the time scholarships are given based on performances. It is a kind of reward for brilliant students as the reductions of fees or direct financial help. Institute provides scholarships to uplift the level of education and to make it easy for brilliant students to get higher education at low cost.

Higher education is getting more and more costly now a days. Sometimes it gets even out of reach for a certain class of people. Scholarships provide the opportunity to the students of those classes to reach up to that higher education, without caring about big amounts of fees. Sometimes students have to earn money for their own expenses besides the fees of the institutes, in such cases scholarships helps a lot.

In countries, where higher studies are not world class, students tends to go abroad for studies, sometimes because of differences of currencies it becomes a big problem for them, most of the world class institutes provides scholarships for outsider students on the basis of certain exams which help students study abroad. Most of the excellent engineering, medical, business, arts and other institutes provide scholarships. As in U.S.A., all big educational institutes have scholarships for outsider students as well as excellent home country students.

Not only for higher level, but for now almost every educational institute has scholarship programs in different forms. Those programs help in raising education level and provide opportunity for performers. Almost all governmental institutes have scholarship programs to help performers in which government provides money to feed excellence in the country. World over big educational institutes have various scholarship programs and now it is a regular phenomena for all kinds of institutes.

Besides performance in examinations there are some more criteria in which scholarships are provided as there are scholarships for handicaps, scholarships for poor students, scholarships for military background students, scholarships for outsider students and scholarships on the basis of personal earnings (students without financial support of any kind).

Scholarships are always given to certain students on some spatial basis; there are three basic reasons for it:

Giving reward to performers so performance is appreciated and others are given motivation to perform.

Helping students, which are financially incapable, but academically excellent.

Honoring some families from spatial backgrounds (as in military)

Scholarship is a very good system for studies as now importance of studies, spatially higher studies, is regularly increasing. In such case, if there are students, which have excellent qualities but are unable to pay heavy fees, will not be able to study than it will be a big loss of human resource. On the other hand scholarships provides motivation to all kinds of students and establish the importance of studies.

Many older people want to stay in their own homes or at least in the same neighborhood. The maintenance and upkeep of a large family home is not always a practical option, physically and financially. But a retirement home sounds so… retired.

So, where are you going to live if you leave the home your children grew up in? There are a few options that you might want to explore if you are adamant about not moving into a structured retirement facility.

Manufactured Mobile Homes are an increasingly attractive choice for older folks. These homes are affordable, energy efficient, spacious and some of the models are designed especially for seniors, utilizing “universal design” features. If zoning ordinances permit, they can be assembled near or on family property, or moved to a senior mobile home community.

Cooperatives are usually found in urban areas. Homes in a cooperative combine the benefits of home ownership with the convenience and efficiency of multi-family housing. This idea appeals to those who want to build equity in their accommodations but don’t want the isolation or responsibility of a larger home.

Condominiums are also an option. This type of ownership offers many advantages to older people. Condos are different from a conventionally owned single-family home or an apartment. While you are holding title to your own living unit, you share ownership of common areas.

Accessory Apartments are worth considering if your house is too large and the utility bills and maintenance are too much for you. An accessory apartment is a second, completely private living unit created in the extra space of a single family home. You may have heard it called a MIL or mother-in-law apartment.

ECHO Housing (Elder Cottage Housing Opportunity) or Granny Flats are also an option. These separate, self-contained units are designed for temporary installation in the side or backyard of an adult child’s home.

Home Matching Programs have been gaining in popularity because of the lack of adequate senior housing. The idea is that you contact a service (often for a fee) that matches people up as roommates. When it works, it is an excellent situation and can enable an older person to stay in his/her own home, while relieving the feelings of isolation and loneliness that many older people experience. A good home-matching service offers counseling to provide help in identifying needs and concerns.

Shared Housing is a similar option. This is what the TV sitcom Golden Girls was all about. It can be economical, provide companionship, and provide a sense of security. It is a peer group situation, but it is not for everyone. If you’ve never lived with others (or have been on your own for many years), you may find it difficult.

Adult Foster Care, or Adult Family Homes, is provided in a private home occupied by an individual or a family who will offer room, meals, housekeeping, and minimal supervision for a month fee. Staff are not permitted to administer medications, however, unless they are nurses.

Retirement Hotels (also called Senior Resident Hotels or Senior Apartments) are hotels intended for people over 62. Some hotels are high-rises and have landscaped gardens while others are drab concrete shoe boxes, but they are usually built in good locations with nearby public transportation. Rent can include meals and maid service, activities programs, assistance with personal grooming, and access to a chore service for a fee.

A Boarding House is when you are basically renting a room, sometimes shared, in someone else’s house, with a manager on the premises.

Senior Apartment Houses are monthly rentals with a variety of options. Some have security systems, activities, and a full complement of services, while others offer lodging only.

For a more detailed discussion on retirement housing options visit this retirement housing site.

TC Thorn is the blogger at home improvement ideas.

Early Life of Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Poe was born on the 19th of January, 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts. His father was David Poe Jr. and his mother was Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins Poe. Both of them were actors. Edgar had an elder brother named William Henry Leonard Poe and a younger sister named Rosalie Poe.

In 1810, their father abandoned them, and within a year their mother died of consumption. Edgar went to live with John Allan who was a Scottish tobacco merchant living in Richmond, Virginia. His siblings went to other families. The Allan family was quite well to do, and Edgar lived a good life with them. As a mark of respect for his adoptive family, Edgar took the middle name of Allan and came to be known as Edgar Allan Poe.

In 1815, the Allans along with Edgar traveled to England, where Edgar began to attend school. In 1815, he attended Grammar School in Irvine, Scotland, and in a boarding school in Chelsea in 1817. After that, he attended the Reverend John Bransby’s Manor House School at Stoke Newington near London. In 1826, he joined the University of Virginia, but he left within a year.

Although the Allans were quite well off, John Allan would not give Edgar much money for his survival in college. To make up for the less money, Edgar began to gamble and lost heavily. His gambling debts created further rifts between him and John Allan.

Literary Career and Works of Edgar Allan Poe

He traveled to Boston under the assumed name of Henri Le Rennet and reached there in 1827. There, he published ‘Tamerlane and Other Poems’ under that assumed name.

But Poe was poor and needed money. So he joined the United States Army under the assumed name of Edgar A. Perry. He served for two years and attained the rank of Sergeant Major. In 1829, Poe moved to Baltimore, Maryland to live with his widowed aunt Maria Clemm and his cousin Virginia Eliza Clemm. His elder brother Henry was also living with them.

The same year, Poe’s foster mother, Francis Allan, passed away. She made a dying request with John Allan to reconcile the differences between him and Poe. So John Allan obtained a commission for Poe to enter the United States Military Academy at West Point. That same year Poe also published another volume of poems titled ‘Al Aaraaf Tamerlane and Minor Poems’.

Poe joined West Point in 1830, but John Allan and he had not reconciled their differences, yet. When John remarried, quarrels broke out between the two of them over the several affairs and children that John had sired both in and out of wedlock. John Allan finally disowned Poe. Edgar Allan Poe then decided to go on strike at West Point and refused to attend his classes and so on. He was court-martialed for disobedience in 1931. Edgar Allan Poe then released his third volume of poetry which was titled, simply ‘Poems, Second Edition’.

That same year, Edgar moved back to Baltimore with his aunt. His brother Henry died of tuberculosis in August, 1931. Meanwhile, Poe had begun to try his hand at writing prose. He began to publish his short stories in a Philadelphia publication. He also won a prize for another short story titled ‘The Manuscript found in a Bottle’ from the Saturday Visitor, which was a newspaper in Baltimore.

This got him a job as the assistant editor on the Southern Literary Messenger in Richmond. However, he was dismissed within a few weeks for being drunk.

This time when he returned to Baltimore he secretly married his cousin Virginia on the 22nd September, 1835. She was 13 at that time.

On the promise of good behavior, Poe was taken back at his job on the Southern Literary Messenger. He returned to Richmond with Virginia and his aunt. While at that job, he wrote extensively for the magazine. He published poems, book reviews, stories and critiques of other people’s works. The circulation of the magazine increased from 700 to 3500.

On the 16th of May, 1836 he publicly married Virginia Clemm. In 1837, Edgar Allan Poe left the Southern Literary Messenger.

In 1838 Poe published ‘The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym’ and it was widely reviewed. In 1839 he joined the Burton’s Gentleman’s Magazine as an assistant editor. There too, he wrote a large number of stories, articles and reviews for the magazine. He also published ‘Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque’ in two volumes which contained a collection of his classic short stories such as ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’, ‘The Manuscript found in a Bottle’, ‘Bernice’, and ‘Ligeia’.

In 1840 he left the Burton’s Gentleman’s Magazine and joined Graham’s Magazine as an assistant editor. There, he published his first detective story titled ‘The Murders in the Rue Morgue’ wherein he created the character of C. Auguste Dupin who solves crimes by the means of a process of deduction. This story was perhaps the first detective story ever told. This character, later, went on to influence Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in the creation of his famous detective, Sherlock Holmes.

It was also after publishing this story, that he invited the readers to send in cryptograms to the magazine which he would solve and publish.

In 1842, his wife Virginia broke a blood vessel and started bleeding heavily from the mouth. This was the first sign of consumption and she recovered, but only partly. Under this stress, Poe began to drink heavily.

Poe then left Graham’s Magazine and moved to New York where he joined the Evening Mirror and then moved on to the Broadway Journal. It was there that he got into a public feud with Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. In 1845, his poem called ‘The Raven’ appeared in the Evening Mirror and caused quite a stir.

The Broadway Journal went bankrupt in 1846 and Poe moved to The Bronx in New York.

In 1847, Virginia died from tuberculosis and left Poe a broken man. He became more unstable and started to drink heavily. He began to suffer bouts of depression and madness. Some say, that apart from drinking, he also began indulging in opium and absinthe – two mind altering substances which were quite ‘popular’ at that time.

He eventually began to court Sarah Helen Whitman, but their courtship did not develop into anything due to his erratic behavior and the meddling of Sarah’s mother. He then returned to Richmond and began to court a childhood sweetheart called Sarah Elmira Royster.

Death of Edgar Allan Poe

As in life, Poe dealt with demons even in his death. On the 3rd of October, 1849 Poe was discovered on the streets of Baltimore in a very delirious condition. He was taken to the Washington College Hospital, where his condition worsened even more. He was not coherent enough to elaborate on how he came to be found in that particular state. He finally passed away on the 7th of October, 1849.

The Edgar Allan Poe biography is an account of a great man’s life. He was the first to create and popularize the ‘Short Story’ method of writing prose. He was also renowned as a master critic of literature. Poe was also the creator of what is known today as the ‘horror’ genre and the ‘detective story’. The work of Edgar Allan Poe has influenced many renowned authors across the world. Few among them are Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, H.P. Lovecraft, Charles Baudelaire, Oscar Wilde, Ray Bradbury, George Bernard Shaw, and Alfred Hitchcock to name a few.

Perhaps, his life can be described better by one of the Edgar Allan Poe Poems, titled ‘A Dream Within A Dream’.

Take this kiss upon the brow
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow –
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand –
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep — while I weep!
O God! can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?

Many people are drawn to careers in intelligence because they are portrayed as being filled with intrigue and excitement. In truth, not all intelligence jobs are like those you see in the movies – especially entry level intelligence positions. Because the intelligence community is so broad (seventeen separate organizations) and the jobs themselves so varied, the work settings are also just as diverse. A person in an entry level intelligence role could find themselves in a lab, in an office, in the field, or even on Capitol Hill.

What this means is that no matter your background or your interests, you have the opportunity to be hired for an entry level intelligence job if that is your goal. The key is figuring out where you would best fit in and then pursuing the education you need to stand out among other applicants.

Entry Level Intelligence Opportunities

Many of the intelligence organizations have special entry level intelligence programs for new graduates. This includes internships, fellowships, scholarships, recruitment events, and special programs for ex-military. Here is a list of a few of the entry level intelligence opportunities that are offered:

– State Department: The Stay in School Program allows students to work part-time during school terms and full-time during periods of vacation.

– Defense Intelligence Agency: The DIA conducts many recruitment events around the country including at job fairs and colleges.

– Federal Bureau of Investigations: Outstanding students interested in becoming special agents can apply for the Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) Program.

– National Security Agency: For those transitioning from the military, the NSA has a program that allows you to keep your benefits and apply time served towards retirement even if you are hired for an entry level intelligence position.

– Department of Homeland Security: The Office of Intelligence & Analysis participates in the Pat Roberts Intelligence Scholars Program (PRISP) which offers entry level intelligence professionals with certain educational backgrounds $25,000 stipends.

The above are just a few of the many programs that the federal government has for individuals who are motivated to become intelligence professionals. Many of these are competitive, however, so it helps to earn a degree that shows your determination to join the intelligence community. Even if you already have a degree in a certain field, going back to school to earn an intelligence specific degree will greatly increase your chances.

When Only the CIA Will Do

Even though there are 16 other players in the intelligence community, some individuals have set their sights on getting a job at the CIA. If you are one of those people, then an intelligence degree program may help you achieve your goals. A high quality bachelor’s or master’s degree in intelligence or counterintelligence is what many people may call “going to a CIA school.” There are a few colleges that offer these types of programs, but you have to make sure that the curriculum is on par with what a CIA school would offer if there were such a thing.

Examples of courses that are essential to you receiving the type of training to prepare you for a career in the CIA include:
– Intelligence Collection
– Counterintelligence
– Propaganda and Disinformation
– Clandestine Communications
– Protection Studies and Counterterrorism Studies

Once you are enrolled in a CIA school – type program, you can increase your chances of getting a job at the CIA by applying for one of their internship programs. They have several student positions such as the National Clandestine Service Internship Program. If you are accepted this CIA school program, you will have the opportunity to work at the CIA making a competitive salary while still working on your degree. Additionally, once you graduate, you will be considered for full time employment.

The self storage industry has been one of the fastest-growing sectors of the United States commercial real estate industry in the last 30 years. There are now over 52,000 primary self storage facilities in the country, and in 2008 the industry had total sales in excess of $20 billion.* Self storage companies all over the country are acquiring new customers as people relocate and sell their homes due to the economy. Additionally, as of 2009, more than 700,000 self storage units nationwide are rented to military personnel who are serving away from their homes.

The rapid growth has forced self storage owners and managers to protect their premises from the increased activity that these sites have experienced. One of the main ways they can do this is by having a solid pollution liability insurance policy to cover themselves against potential problems that could occur from environmental exposures.

Self storage owners and managers should consider securing a Site Specific Pollution Liability policy, which will provide coverage for supervised and unsupervised self storage facilities throughout the U.S. Coverage can include: third party liability for bodily injury and property damage claims, first party cleanup costs, and defense costs; Transportation Pollution Liability coverage for waste hauled by the insured or contracted carriers; off-site coverage for non-owned waste disposal sites; automatic Extended Reporting Period (ERP) with optional ERP of up to three years; and an optional Mold enhancement.

Claims caused by a pollution condition may not be covered via the insured’s General Liability or Property form, so it is important for these organizations to purchase more protection. Coverage can be tailored specifically for self storage facilities and their exposures, such as abandoned, potentially hazardous materials, as well as mold.

What Potential Exposures Does a Self Storage Facility Have?

· Abandoned hazardous waste
· Midnight dumping
· Mold
· Hazardous runoff during rain events.
· The accumulation of petroleum hydrocarbons in the soil.
· Misuse of self storage spaces involving activities unknown to the facility owner or manager.
· And many other exposures…

Many self storage facilities are affiliated with various associations dedicated to educating members about the challenges present in this type of operation. Some of them also provide information to members of the self storage facility industry on regulations and insurance recommendations made to these professionals. Now is a great opportunity to reach out to your self storage facility clients to make sure they have the most effective coverage in place.

If you are someone searching for a self-storage site to store your valuables, make sure you choose one with the proper coverage. Don’t be caught unawares and leave your personal belongings someplace where illegal activities, waste dumping, or some other unsavory activity could be taking place where the owner of the facility has no coverage to protect you and your belongings. It is best to choose a self-storage facility that also belongs to one of the above-mentioned organizations that educates people in the industry about the safest business practices and the best coverage available.

* National Self Storage Association Website

Every once in a while you run into someone who has mastered the art of living, someone who doesn’t just move through life waiting for a certain time or place or person to make his or her time here a life of consequence, someone who doesn’t just live on the surface but really soaks it in; the good and the bad; someone who treats life as true adventure.

I was recently treated to a visit from just such a person. This is a man who touched the lives of my deceased brother, taken far too young and my family many years ago. We were all so young then with our whole lives in front of us. So much time has passed imagine my surprise when a set of seemingly unrelated circumstances brought us together after all these years. (You know, as I grow older my belief in and awareness of serendipity increases!)

It seems Coach Harvey has written a book about his life, his adventures and some of the people who have left footprints on his heart. He is by his own description an ordinary man but clearly he is exceptional. What an honor to receive the book and find he has devoted a chapter in it about the special bond and relationship he shared with my brother during and beyond his days as quarterback for Coach Harvey’s team in high school. A part of the inscription he wrote in my book said “I truly hope you find joy and interest in reading this, my book of memories.” I did Coach, I really did.

After receiving the books, one for each of my family who are still here, we had the opportunity to chat on the phone. As most reunions go, there were promises of getting together for a visit the next time he passed through Phoenix. I of course thought it was another of those well intentioned but never realized plans.

Well, this man is full of surprises. About 4:00 o’clock on a recent sunny afternoon my mother gets a call from Coach Fred Harvey. He is in Tucson and would love to see us all and catch up. Was I surprised… um yes?

Here is a man who is 87 years old and driving from Mississippi to Prescott, Arizona to be with an old friend in a nursing home who he unfailingly visits each year. He is spry, interested and interesting with a razor sharp memory, wit and his eyes still twinkle with genuine delight! He has stopped to visit a number of people on his way. He tells us he has to be home before spring break ends because he is coaching a high school team again. After retiring several times he finds he still misses it. Over the years Fred has traveled and coached in many foreign countries and I can only imagine the number of young men and their families whose lives this man has left an impression on. He talks of maybe writing another book.

As I listen to his tales, like everyone’s life, some are sad, some are happy but at all times the one thing you hear loud and clear is an unyielding ever present passion for living and what comes next. I find myself becoming inspired to do the same. Listening to him reminds me of when I was younger and lived what they call a spontaneous life; when I was eager to veer off the beaten path just to see what might be there and if I would like it!

I have always heard the best coaches and teachers lead by example; now I know this is true. Thanks Coach Fred Harvey for your visit and your message is loud and clear…

As Nina Maddux wrote in the forward to his book and it so perfectly captures the essence of his story, the man he is and most importantly the lesson we can learn from him:

“All the emotions I experienced while reading Hell, Yes. I’d Do It All Again, inspired and challenged me to seize the moments as they come, hold on to them, learn from them and never give up.”

I could not have said it better. When we parted we each received a hearty hug and a kiss on the cheek as he said “I always tell people I care about I love them because you just might not see them again.”

So what are the lessons I gathered?

Life is sweet and too precious to waste. Isn’t there something more for you?
Write the book, climb the mountain, visit the homeland, start the business you love even if you won’t be a millionaire, work on a cruise ship, dance the tango in a foreign land, eat the cake, squeeze the grand kids too tight, tell yourself how you cute and special you are and everyone else while you’re at it.

It really is that simple, seize the moments, let go of the “shoulds”, do the “wants” and look for what’s next and you will find it!