"This is a previously recorded show. This show highlights the conflict in a church community where the religious beliefs of the elder population of the church and the growing LGBT population of the church began to divide the church into two factions. Community mediators worked closely with this community to open the dialogues for a deeper understanding."

Church congregations are not immune to conflict. Beth…

] It is increasingly common for transgender workers to undergo gender transition while keeping their jobs. Not everyone in the workplace adapts easily to this change, however. The Center for Gender Sanity was founded 15 years ago to help organizations manage gender transitions. We have assisted small businesses, Fortune 500 companies, state and local governments, police…

We all have ways that we manage conflict that we have learned over time. It is often the case that at least one of our conflict management styles seems to be dominant and reflects the default approach we take under stress. Our way of engaging in conflict of course, depends on the person and what we are experiencing from and about him or her and the situation. Also, the timing, our mood at the time, the impact of the dispute on us and each other and other factors all enter in to determine how…

• The former foreign secretary of the EU Jack Straw announced that the European Parliament should be abolished after failing to achieve its purpose of bridging the divide between the European people and EU. Straw argued that the body has a “major democratic deficit”  as a poll shows 78% believe their voice doesn’t count in the EU.
• Tens of…

• China announced on Friday that it had yet to receive a formal invitation to a meeting of international powers in Tunis next week to discuss the crisis in Syria; the government reportedly blocked a premiere live stream website, Bambuser, that has been used by dissidents to…

• President Caledron of Mexico reportedly unveiled a large advertising board near the American border calling on the US to stop the flow of weapons into the country on Friday.  On Sunday, a fight between prison inmates inside a jail near Monterrey reportedly killed some 44 people. On…

When we’re in conflict, there are many decisions to be made during and after it is over. Even when we anticipate dissension, there are decisions to make about how to effectively engage in the interaction. Our ability to make any sort of decision about conflictual  matters and the relationship dynamic decrease the more upset we become. For various reasons in the heat of the moment we often seem to think it is necessary to do or say something, rather than taking a ‘time-out’ to decide the…

• President Karzai of Afghanistan confronted the Pakistani leadership on Thursday during a visit to Islamabad, accusing Pakistani officials of harbouring the Taliban; he also was quoted as saying there were secret contacts between the US, Afghan governments and the Taliban, and that the…

• The West African Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP) has just launched a new book on election management in West Africa.
• The African Union Chairman announced on Saturday he will visit some of the continent’s conflict areas including Sudan, South Sudan, Mali and Libya for…

Peace Core Values…

We aren’t usually aware of what peoples’ ‘hot buttons’ are except perhaps those of our family and friends and those we come to know well such as colleagues and co-workers. Even so, we didn’t always know what provoked them. New friends, colleagues and others start with a clean slate, too. It seems ‘hot buttons’ are things we often realize the hard way – through trial and error.

When we are provoked by something others say or do or even what they don’t say or do, many of us let…

• On Friday, France and Britainagreed to jointly work to develop next-generation unmanned drones as part of their military cooperation.
• The Guardian ran a set of interesting articles detailing Scotland Yard’s…

• A new report in the Atlantic this week suggests that a barely perceptible shift occurred in recent months that make the possibility of Israel attacking Iran’s nuclear sites more possible, as the benefits outweigh the costs. NBC reported last week…

• The Pentagon in the United States announced their plans on Thursday to change rules in the armed forces to open up more than 14,000 positions for women to serve as frontline medics, helicopter pilots and intelligence analysts, bringing them closer…

When emotions prevail during interpersonal conflict, many of us cannot easily think ahead to what we want as an outcome. If we acknowledge that possibility, we may do some preparatory work before we initiate a potentially conflictual discussion or get caught up in the middle of one. If we engage in some preliminary reflections, our actions and words will more likely be aligned with our objective. Otherwise, the likelihood of chaotic thinking and feelings is high and we end up conducting…

• A criminal court on the island nation of the Maldives issued an arrest warrant for the first democratically-elected President, Mohammed Nasheed, who awaited arrest in his home on Thursday, following last week’s alleged coup attempt. The ousted President…

• The UN and Interpol discussedtransnational organized crime in West Africa, including illicit drug trafficking and the proliferation of illegal arms, as well maritime piracy in Lyon, France on Monday.
• An anti-homosexuality bill is being once again resurrected by the Parliament in Uganda with…

• The UN conference on trade and development (UNCTAD) secretary-general published a report on Tuesday that called for fundamental reform of the global financial system that would be of benefit to the global poor. The report will act as the theme for the UNCTAD XIII conference in Doha, Qatar in April.
• An Online Dispute Resolution…

It is common when we are in conflict, that as our emotions escalate, many of us tend to interrupt more and listen less. We interrupt for a number of reasons, including that we perceive that whatever is being said or done undermines and challenges something important for us. Or, we find it difficult to hear the truth or falsehood of what the other person is saying, or we figure we know what the person is about to say and have limited patience or time. Other reasons for interrupting may…