Author Archives: abfifer

Apology 101: Find a Period

October 8, 2016 – 7:34 pm

A basic tenet in constructing an effective apology is not to say too much. As author Darrel Puls says, “By limiting the scope of the apology, we enhance the probability of success.” In my own experience, it means quickly finding a period, and stopping. Finish the sentence, and wait for the response. Only after the […]

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Pastors as Public Mediators

October 4, 2016 – 11:08 am

As conflict continues in Flint between its city council and its mayor, an unlikely group has stepped in to mediate: concerned pastors. That’s actually the group’s official name: Concerned Pastors for Social Action. They are a group of local pastors who has worked for years “to ensure that the voice of the people is heard […]

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Kill Them With Kindness

September 13, 2016 – 10:51 am

A man who overheard women in the next booth talking pejoratively about members of his race decided to fight back – with kindness. The man, an aboriginal in Australia, had a pot of tea delivered to the ladies’ table, along with a note on the receipt that the tea was “compliments of the two aboriginals […]

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Philippines President Regrets Statement

September 7, 2016 – 10:01 am

Philippines President Roderigo Duterte made a comment to a reporter Monday that sounded like he used an expletive to refer to President Obama. The next day he issued a statement saying, “We regret it came across as a personal attack on the U.S. President. We look forward to ironing out differences arising out of national […]

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Ryan Lochte Apologizes for Behavior in Rio

August 19, 2016 – 4:15 pm

U.S. Olympics swimmer Ryan Lochte posted a statement on Instagram today, after it came to light that the armed robbery he reported in Rio last weekend wasn’t quite that. Lochte told an NBC reporter last Sunday that he’d been robbed at gunpoint, but he omitted that he and three friends had damaged a men’s bathroom […]

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