Growing Older and Maybe Wiser....

"To celebrate growing older, I wrote down the lessons life has taught me.” 

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good. 

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step. 

 3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. 

 4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch. 

 5. Pay off your credit cards every month. 

 6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree. 

 7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone. 

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it. 

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck. 

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile. 

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present. 

12. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about. 

13. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it. 

14. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks. 

15. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind. 

16. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful. 

17. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger. 

18. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else. 

19. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer. 

20. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy suit. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special. 

21. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple. 

 22. The most important sex organ is the brain. 

23. No one is in charge of your happiness but you. 

24. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?' 

25. Always choose life. 

 26. Forgive everyone everything. 

 27. What other people think of you is none of your business.

28. Time heals almost everything. Give time, time. 

29. However good or bad a situation is, it will change. 

30. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does. 

31. Believe in miracles. 

32. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do. 

33. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now. 

34. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young. 

35. Your children get only one childhood. 

36. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved. 

37. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere. 

38. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back. 

39. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need. 

40. The best is yet to come... 

41. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up. 

42. Life isn't tied up like a present, but it's still a gift."

 

 

 

“Are Private Western Security Companies Mercenaries?”

The term “mercenary” describes a wide variety of military activities, many of which bear little resemblance to those of today's private security companies. 

The mercenary activity associated with entities such as the British East India Company came about when nation-states chartered companies to establish colonies and engage in long-distance trade. 

Mercenary units that fought in the American Revolution were effectively leased to the British Army by the Hessians. The soldiers of fortune that ran riot over the African continent in the 1960s were individuals or small ex-military groups that operated in the shadows. 

 Modern contractors most resemble the military enterprises of the late Middle Ages. Before the rise of the nation-state, nearly all force was contracted. 

From the 12th century through the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, military contractors often employed soldiers trained within feudal structures, sending them to whomever could pay, from Italian city-states to the Vatican. Fighting wars, maintaining order, and collecting taxes were among the various political tasks filled by these military enterprises. 

Some historians link the rise of contracted forces in the late Middle Ages to the inability of the feudal system to address the increasingly complex needs of a modernizing society, such as the protection of trade routes for merchants. Similar reasons exist today: The market pressures, technology, and social change of a globalized world create multiple demands that national militaries have difficulty meeting. 

Today's private security companies are corporate endeavors that perform logistics support, training, security, intelligence work, risk analysis, and much more. They operate in an open market, work for many employers at once, and boast of their professionalism. 

These companies staff their projects not with permanent employees, but with individuals drawn from vast databases of ex-military and former law enforcement personnel. These databases list individuals by experience and specialty, so contractors can custom-fit each job with qualified employees. 

Individuals may appear in several databases, move easily from one contract (and company) to the next, and freelance when not under contract. Although many of these individuals are quite honorable, the industry's structure allows ample opportunity for some who bear disturbing similarities to the 1960s-style soldiers of fortune to enter the corporate mix.