| Zimbabwe Ruling Party Could Foil South African Mediation - Analysts
In the two weeks following the Southern African Development Community summit that appointed South African President Thabo Mbeki mediator of the Zimbabwe crisis, the headlines have been dominated by news of the Harare government's crackdown on political and civic opponents rather than peace overtures and discussions. Many analysts express skepticism as to Mr. Mbeki's chances of success based on the results to date of his approach of "quiet diplomacy" with President Robert Mugabe, but say they intend to give the South African leader the benefit of the doubt - for now. One argument in favor of more decisive action by Mr. Mbeki, they say, is that the crisis in Zimbabwe has become a more apparent liability for South Africa, which has seen a key export market shrivel while a wave of Zimbabwean emigrants floods south.
JZ spins himself a national profile
Jacob Zuma sought this week to put a more refined spin on his reputation for crudely mobilising Zulu support, arguing that South Africa needs a leader who “understands the issues" of ethnicity.Speaking to the Cape Town Press Club on Tuesday, he attempted to counter the perception that he is exploiting the prejudices of poor and less-educated constituencies. He sought instead to position himself as a mediator between the demands of the constitutional state and those of tribalism and regionalism.“It is an issue that needs a very mature leadership who understands the feelings. You mustn't think, because I am now advanced, those who think ethnically are useless … You need to work at it all the time," he said.This approach achieves three things for Zuma. It projects his ethnic mobilisation programme in KwaZulu-Natal as a bid to bring on board people whose grievances could threaten stability.
Lafayette Human Relations Commission stops addressing Alcoa
A former Alcoa Inc. employee who refused to work on Sundays because of his deeply held religious beliefs has filed a federal lawsuit against the company.
Meanwhile, the Lafayette Human Relations Commission has decided to wash its hands of the situation because members think there's nothing more they can do.
Members of the commission voted 5-0 this afternoon to stop addressing the complaints against Alcoa.
"Times have changed," said commission member Joel Wright. "What else can we do?"
Wright and others agreed there never was a written agreement with employees to keep them from having to work Sundays and that after numerous attempts to resolve the situation had failed, that there was nothing more to do.
Company employee Clark McCorkle was not pleased with the vote.
SITE LAST UPDATED: March 27, 2007
The Student Conflict Resolution Experts (SCORE) program is a student mediation-oriented violence prevention program, created and funded by the Attorney General's Office in collaboration with local community mediation programs and school communities. Since 1989, more than 5,000 students have trained as peer mediators; these young people have mediated over 25,000 conflicts in schools across Massachusetts, with a 97% success rate.
The SCORE program shows participants methods for working through conflict and disagreements, without violence and with respect. Mediation not only empowers youth to find appropriate solutions to dealing with conflict, but also allows them to develop life skills that they need as they grow into young adulthood and interact with others. Requests for Proposals The Attorney General is currently accepting applications from schools that are interested in working in partnership with a Local Community Mediation Program on the development of a SCORE program.
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