| Muslim in East London? Become a Mediator
The Muslim Mediation Service has been serving the community for the past three years and is based in East Ham. We support couples, parents, children and relatives who are in dispute, to communicate their concerns to one another in an effective way in order to help resolve their conflicts. We are currently recruiting people to join our team of experienced and trained Volunteer Mediators. Do you think you have the qualities to bring about understanding between people? Could you remain impartial regardless of which party you felt was to blame for the dispute? Can you spare on average 2 hours twice a week during weekdays or evenings? It is necessary for all volunteers to have completed a training programme in Conflict Management in order to become Mediators. The 8-day training will take place on the following dates in Summer 2007 from 9.30 am to 4.30 pm each day: Tuesday 29th May, Saturday 2nd June, Tuesday 05th June, Saturday 9th June, Tuesday 12th June, Tuesday 19th June, Saturday 23rd June, Tuesday 26th June.
A good sledge treads a fine line
Perhaps now is a good time to remind sportspeople there is a limit to what is considered acceptable by many in society and what is not. The problem seems to be that with sport being so competitive these days some are taking 'gamesmanship' too far. There's a distinct difference between personal or degrading insults and trying to unsettle your opponent with humorous comments. Sledging can often also be misunderstood or interpreted by those to whom the comment is directed. This week the AFL has been in the news for the wrong reasons with the Adam Selwood - Des Headland saga playing out for days before both fronted the tribunal. The tribunal ruled that Selwood, who allegedly made derogatory comments about a tattoo on Headland's arm, didn't realise the tattoo depicted Headland's six-year-old daughter, Headland was also cleared of striking, deemed he had been provoked.
RWD No. 2, Paola Agree to Mediation
Officials from Paola and Miami County Rural Water District No. 2 have agreed to do something that has become increasingly difficult for the two water providers talk.The growing tension between the two entities has been fueled by a recent lawsuit between Louisburg and RWD No. 2, which sought more than $8 million for city-annexed land in its territory. A three-member appraiser's panel ruled last month that Louisburg needs to pay only $133,200 to RWD No. 2 a decision the district has appealed.Paola, which currently is undertaking a $30 million joint water project with Louisburg involving the construction of a plant on the Marais des Cygnes River, could face a similar lawsuit with RWD No. 2 as the city expands.The district recently applied for a loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that would provide security for their territory, a decision publicly criticized by the Paola City Council.Amid all the animosity, officials from both sides attended last month's Kansas Rural Water Association's annual conference in Wichita, which provided several possible solutions for conflicts between cities and rural water districts.Attorney Elizabeth Dietzmann recommended using a free mediation service offered by the Kansas Water Office, and it seems both sides took the suggestion to heart.Paola City Manager Ross VanderHamm and RWD No.
MIDDLE EAST: LE PEN SEES FRANCE IN ROLE OF MEDIATOR
Paris, 19 April (AKI) - France must play the role of mediator and messenger of peace in the Middle East based on United Nations resolutions, according to the far-right anti-immigrant National Front party's presidential hopeful Jean-Marie Le Pen. "France still possesses a certain credibility in the eyes of some countries and can serve the world by talking to both sides in the Middle East conflict," he told Adnkronos International (AKI). Le Pen - currently running fourth in opinion polls, behind centre-right presidential frontrunner Nicolas Sarkozy, Socialist Segolene Royal and Francois Bayrou from the centrist UDF party - said he is "concerned" that the purpose of isolating certain countries in the region is to "unleash an attack against them at a certain point." Le Pen, who is against Turkey and Israel joining the European Union "for geographic, historical and cultural reasons," had criticism for France's policy towards its war-scarred former protectorate of Lebanon.
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