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On Thu, 2004-01-15 at 18:24, Poor, Edmund W wrote:
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<PRE><FONT SIZE="3">I've been asked to be a mediator, by Jack Lynch (seconded by </FONT>
<FONT SIZE="3">Danny) re: RK.</FONT>
<FONT SIZE="3"></FONT></PRE>
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<FONT SIZE="3"><TT>Brother Edmund; please understand I am writing as a </FONT></TT>
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<FONT SIZE="3"><TT>"brother" = "colleague"/whatever mediation committee member.</FONT></TT>
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<FONT SIZE="3"><TT></FONT></TT>
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<FONT SIZE="3"><TT>If you (personally) have been asked to be a mediator, that has yet to</FONT></TT>
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<FONT SIZE="3"><TT>have been confirmed by *both sides of the dispute*, If RK has indeed</FONT></TT>
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<FONT SIZE="3"><TT>asked you to mediate, I beg your forgiveness, but I hope you understand </FONT></TT>
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<FONT SIZE="3"><TT>that explicit acquiescence at the very least, from both sides of the </FONT></TT>
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<FONT SIZE="3"><TT>dispute, would be very nice.</FONT></TT>
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<PRE><FONT SIZE="3">This is going to be hard.</FONT>
<FONT SIZE="3"></FONT>
<FONT SIZE="3">First, I might wind up recusing myself early on because my </FONT>
<FONT SIZE="3">"interest" in Israel might make me biased. I invite those who </FONT>
<FONT SIZE="3">know me well (and who have earned my trust) to contact me</FONT>
<FONT SIZE="3">privately /immediately upon/ seeing any signs of bias on my </FONT>
<FONT SIZE="3">part that may tend to sabotage the mediation.</FONT>
<FONT SIZE="3"></FONT>
<FONT SIZE="3">Second, there haven't been enough specifics presented. I hope </FONT>
<FONT SIZE="3">people will either post diffs as links, on my user talk page so </FONT>
<FONT SIZE="3">I can see EXAMPLES of what they're complaining about.</FONT>
<FONT SIZE="3"></FONT></PRE>
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<FONT SIZE="3"><TT>Indeed, may I again ask my brother/colleague to rein in his enthusiasm?</FONT></TT>
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<FONT SIZE="3"><TT>The institution of mediation should not bend over backwards to accommodate</FONT></TT>
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<FONT SIZE="3"><TT>complaints that are merely of a trolling nature. Maybe you may have a</FONT></TT>
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<FONT SIZE="3"><TT>prejudice that makes you take any complaint against RK seriously, but the</FONT></TT>
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<FONT SIZE="3"><TT>first order of business should be to determine whether the complaint has</FONT></TT>
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<FONT SIZE="3"><TT>any merit whatsoever. After we (the mediation committee) determine </FONT></TT>
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<FONT SIZE="3"><TT>there is a reasonable case to be answered, we as a committee should </FONT></TT>
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<FONT SIZE="3"><TT>confer, and decide who of us should take the case on (or alternately</FONT></TT>
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<FONT SIZE="3"><TT>of course Jimbo can make the determination and appointment).</FONT></TT>
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<PRE><FONT SIZE="3">Third, I am sometimes pretty contentious myself, so I might </FONT>
<FONT SIZE="3">turn a blind eye to someone else's contentiousness and </FONT>
<FONT SIZE="3">troublesomeness.</FONT>
<FONT SIZE="3"></FONT>
<FONT SIZE="3">This might be easy.</FONT>
<FONT SIZE="3"></FONT>
<FONT SIZE="3">First, I am aware of a lot of my limitiations, and publicly </FONT>
<FONT SIZE="3">acknowledging them will help keep me honest.</FONT>
<FONT SIZE="3"></FONT>
<FONT SIZE="3">Second, despite my weaknesses a lot of people trust me -- </FONT>
<FONT SIZE="3">possibly /because/ I rather freely admit to these weaknesses, </FONT>
<FONT SIZE="3">rather than trying to hide them.</FONT>
<FONT SIZE="3"></FONT>
<FONT SIZE="3">At least one person on each side of the current conflict (the </FONT>
<FONT SIZE="3">world vs. RK ;-) has written me some very nice personal e-mail. </FONT>
<FONT SIZE="3">Without revealing confidences, I can say that the contents of </FONT>
<FONT SIZE="3">these e-mails inspires me the hope that a quick and lasting </FONT>
<FONT SIZE="3">resolution is within our grasp.</FONT>
<FONT SIZE="3"></FONT>
<FONT SIZE="3">Ed Poor, aka Uncle Ed</FONT>
<FONT SIZE="3">A member of the official Mediation Committee</FONT>
<FONT SIZE="3"></FONT>
<FONT SIZE="3">P.S. Gosh, I wear a lot of hats!</FONT></PRE>
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<FONT SIZE="3"><TT>Jussi-Ville Heiskanen (aka Cimon Avaro)</FONT></TT>
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<FONT SIZE="3"><TT></FONT></TT>
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<FONT SIZE="3"><TT>P.S. If I am totally offbase here, I hope I can be as free in acknowledging</FONT></TT>
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<FONT SIZE="3"><TT>my error as Ed habitually is.</FONT></TT>
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