The Red Velvet Lawyer

 Peace Be With Us All This article , Principles and Practices of Peace and Conflict Resolution in Islam , provides a very interesting synthesis of the role peace plays in the Muslim community.  It also discusses the role of conflict resolution in Muslim cultures, with a focus on Morocco. The author, Claudia Maffettone is a conflict resolution practitioner and a certified mediator. She trained the New York Peace Institute, Harvard Law School, the New York City Bar, Soliya and the International Institute for Restorative Practices. I have suggested that she present this synthesis at the next conference of the ABA Section on Dispute Resolution.  I think my colleagues would find it valuable.  

As I read Seth Godin's new book, The Icarus Deception , I kept asking myself: What is my art?  What do I create joyously, diligently, passionately, and with increasingly greater skill and insight? In the early 1970s, my high school  -- University City High -- had one of the most REMARKABLE art departments in all of St. Louis County.  Staffed by three teachers, the program taught painting, drawing, sculpture, ceramics, and fiber arts. Thirty years later, I still have pieces of art I created at that time: pencil drawings of my boyfriend and the male rhinoceros at the zoo; a bronze cast sculpture of a heavy-bottomed woman; a huge hookah pipe, made of coiled clay, I now use as a deck ornament; a silk screened T-shirt imprinted with an original design; and watercolor landscapes. The program also introduced me to many techniques and materials that I have used fearlessly throughout my life. The course made me a better problem-solver.  About a week ago, I needed to create a "vis