Have You Signed Up Yet?

Thank you all for tuning into our relationship video series. Our next one will be on August 13 at 7pm PT. You can register here:http://www.aleyadao.com/pages/102/Relationships.html

My wife Aleya Dao and I have been discussing emotional contracts, honesty and intimacy. It is troubling to read in the news one more celebrity relationship calamity due to infidelity. While adultery is most often a deal breaker, people break their contracts, and are then remorseful, ashamed, and lose the one thing that they hold the dearest, their love relationship. We are here to help forge bonds and assist couples by teaching the skills needed in developing strong and deeply intimate relationships.

Peace in Kosovo: An Interview with Dr. Gerald Garllucci

Segment 1:

In this edition of the Doug Noll show, we interview Dr. Gerald Garllucci about the history of the Balkans and Kosovo. Dr. Garllucci received his BA from Rutgers and his Ph.D. from University of Pittsburgh in Political Science. He worked in the US State Department for 25 years and then at the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations. His blog is outsidewalls.blogspot.com.

Dr. Garllucci (Jerry) first joined the Foreign Service in 1980, with a post in Brazil. Through a connection within the State Department he applied for UN job and ended up in Mitrovica, the main city in the Northern Kosovo in 2005. He quickly found that he was trained as a diplomat but not a peacekeeper. At that time the UN was grappling with being called upon to do peacekeeping but not having the resources or training to be entirely successful. Additionally, the mandates in Kosovo were over-ambitious and difficult to fulfill.

Segment 2:

Jerry worked in the Security Council in 1998-1999 after the collapse of USSR, and during this time the US government thought Russia was no longer an issue. However, when the Serbs started making trouble in Yugoslavia, there was imperative political pressure for the US to do something. The Russians saw this as an area where their sphere of influence was being violated and they felt that NATO itself was at the core of it. A common approach was difficult. Ultimately a peace agreement was reached that resulted in Kosovo being partially recognized as a foreign nation. This resolution never settled the issue of independence and failed to win support among the Contact Group (5 western countries) and Russia.

Although there was a failure to reach a full agreement, the decision of the US and other western countries was to go ahead and recognize the independence. Key point: it is easier to break something than to make something. Problems that have existed for centuries cannot be solved overnight. You cannot bring peace to people if the timing is not right.

Segment 3:

Kosovo history: 100 years ago this region was Ottoman province. When the Balkans fell out of control of the Ottomans, it became part of Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia was an effort to hold together the Balkans despite existing of people of different faiths, beliefs and ethnicities. During the 1990s it began to break up along ethnic lines, which led to the Balkans Wars. The dispute over Kosovo was the last piece of this issue. The Albanians were stripped of their power, a war broke out, and NATO intervened and broke the Serbian control over Kosovo. This left an Albanian majority in a state of frozen conflict. In essence, Kosovo is faced with a situation common around the world: intra-country conflict – ethnic groups not wanting to be governed by other ethnic groups.

Segment 4:

So how does Kosovo move forward and find peace? Dr. Garllucci believes they need to find a way to let the two sides come to grips themselves, without imposed guidelines, deadlines or agendas, to reach a compromise. There are various formulas for this. The new Serbian government is ready to tackle the Kosovo problem. To the Albanians, the key element is the United States.

Listen to the complete interview here:

Segment 1

Segment 2

Segment 3

Segment 4

We Knew We Were On to Something

My wife Aleya and I knew we were on to something when we prepared for our first relationship video series. Hundreds of people in a few days viewed our video confirming what we suspected. Couples are hungry to learn skills to develop that one thing we all crave at our core, yet for so many is elusive. I am talking about emotional intimacy. To be listened to, to be heard, to be understood on a deep level without judgment, blame or recrimination for who we are and where we are at on the path along our own personal journey of life. What a blessing to be able to share what Aleya and I have developed for ourselves personally and for others through our respective business practices.

We are doing it again! Sign up for our next relationship video August 13 at 7pm, and be part of the change that strengthens the fabric of love: http://www.aleyadao.com/pages/102/Relationships.html

Marriage Does Not Come with an Owner's Manual

Relationships are tricky and take skill sets most of us learn by trial and error. These skills are not taught in school, and often the skills we observe growing up from parents don't serve us well. Making a relationship last is one thing. Creating emotional intimacy and avoiding intense rifts is a dance that takes finesse. My wife, Aleya Dao and I have combined our skill sets to assist couples in learning tools to forge deep, lasting and satisfying relationships. Our next video in the relationship series we have created is August 13th at 7pm. See our first one here, and sign up for the upcoming series.

http://www.aleyadao/relationships

http://www.elusivepeace.com