Day: September 1, 2018

Teach Me How To Do The Job

I have worked in the foreign service and I have taught about foreign policy and international relations/conflict management……recently a young man asked me if I could help him prepare to take the Foreign Service Exam (FSOT)….I agreed to do so.

First thing I needed to do is let the young man know that the exam has many parts…written, oral, medical, security clearance and if at first he does not succeed he may take the test again.

To be employed in foreign service you will have to understand….geography, economics, political science…..the candidate will go before the QEP, Qualifications Evaluations Panel…..such skills will be needed such as…..communication skills, management skills, intellectual skills, an understanding of US history/government/culture.

I try to emphasize that the tests are not for the faint at heart….to pass these tests it will take hard work/hard study……but if and when one makes it through the process then the whole world opens up to them.

The study of international relations is a subject that has many aspects……I studied the political history of the Middle East but I could have studied many other subjects….a short intro to international relations…..

The jobs that you can expect to be offered….(below)…..

A career in international relations can be very rewarding and fascinating work…..foreign service is just one of the careers that are open to grads in international relations.

My advice was to get an advanced degree and then decide which field is to one’s liking……then decide if foreign service is to their liking….it is not for everyone.

I told the young man to let me know if I can be of any help in their pursuit of the degree and to keep his head up and an eye to the news.

Water, Water Everywhere!

The weekend begins with more news about the discovery of water in the universe……some believe that water is necessary for life to be present….recently I reported on a lake of water found on Mars…..https://lobotero.com/2018/08/05/waters-of-mars/

Well Mars is not the only location of water……the Moon seems to have an amount of water in the form of ancient ice…..

Future lunar colonists shouldn’t have too much trouble finding water: In a first, astronomers have discovered ice—specifically patches of frost—on the moon’s north and south poles, in areas permanently shaded from the sun. Found by observing how molecules absorb infrared light, the ice is particularly concentrated in surface craters or “cold traps” around the south pole, where temperatures are a chilly -250 degrees Fahrenheit, Live Science reports via a PNAS study. It notes this is the first “direct and definitive evidence” of ice exposed on the moon’s surface. Though water molecules were previously found, the ice deposits “might be utilized as an in-situ resource in future exploration of the moon,” the study authors write, per the Guardian.

The ice could theoretically be broken down into hydrogen and oxygen needed for rocket fuel and to allow colonists to breathe, reports the BBC. Yet the ice isn’t widespread, even at the poles. Just 3.5% of the shadowy areas scientists observed were found to contain ice, and none of the more recently formed craters had any. It’s possible craters were exposed to sunlight as the moon’s axis shifted more frequently over time than the axes of Mercury and the dwarf planet Ceres, where surface ice is more abundant, reports Space.com. It’s also possible that impacts from meteorites disrupted the moon’s ice supplies. Either way, the suggestion is that any lunar ice present is “very old, and is likely not replenished quickly,” per Live Science. (Humans might live in a lunar lava tube.)

At the rate we are finding water it gives more hope that intelligent life can be possible in our little universe.

I’ll drink to that.

The day is set…… go out and enjoy some time to yourself…..I will….chuq