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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 18, 2001)
Newsroom: (541) 346-5511 Room 300, Erb Memorial Union PO. Box 3159, Eugene, OR 97403 E-mail: editor@dailyemerald.com Online Edition: www.dailyemerald.com Thursday, October 18,2001 Editor in Chief: Jessica Blanchard Managing Editor: Michael J. Kleckner Editorial Editor: Julie Lauderbaugh Assistant Editorial Editor: Jacquelyn Lewis Editorial Customers must make informed consumer choices Earlier this week, the Emerald reported that some students have received services they did not order after having phone service acti vated by Qwest. Most of the complaints stemmed from customers being billed for extended features. Others said Qwest was uncooperative when they called to ask that the mistake be correct ed. While there are certainly people in the commu nity who have not had problems with the phone company, a substantial number have complained — numerous enough that Oregon’s attorney general has stepped up to address the problem. While this issue certainly casts Qwest in a bad light, the responsibility is twofold. “Cramming” is not new. Shady sales tactics themselves are not new. Now that the problem has been highlighted in Ore gon, customers need to be smarter when connecting their phones, or they should consider alternate phone service. Guess what happens when a customer goes to a restaurant and orders a drink without stating what size? Generally, the server will bring a large drink, even if the customer wanted a small. Unless the cus tomer explicitly states what service or product they want, they’re likely to get more than they may have intended. Businesses that do this could be character ized as taking advantage of the customer, but the customer really needs to be paying more attention. Customers wanting telephone service can better inform themselves about the packages and prices the company offers before actually ordering services, so they will know exactly what to request. Also, exam ining the monthly bill when it arrives is a smart idea. It sounds simple, but sometimes customers don’t think of these things until a relatively minor problem has developed into something bigger. - Finally, customers should be informed about other options on the market. Cellular phone service is one alternative — often one that costs a similar price and offers similar services. And if all the customers who have complaints about Qwest were to stop doing business with the company, it would add a powerful incentive to improve services. Qwest does need to fix its apparent customer-serv ice problems and apologize to any customers who feel the company “burned” them. To the company's credit, it does seem to be putting forth some efforts to improve services, with a plan to answer customer service requests faster and to comply with a court agreement to stop practices that might be misleading. The solution to this type of issue involves both businesses and consumers. Editorial Policy These editorials represent the opinion of the Emerald editorial board. Responses can be sent to letters@dailyemeraid.com. Letters to the editor and guest commentaries are encouraged. Letters are limited to 250 words and guest commentaries to 550 words. Please include contact information. The Emerald reserves the right to edit for space, grammar and style. CORRECTION I n a story on the front page of Wednesday’s paper (“G raduate exchange student from Yemen shares perspective,” ODE. 10/17), Khaled Ishaq’s name was misspelled. The Emerald regrets the error. AMERICA: supercop to the world Now that the real war has actually begun with bombing strikes, and not just rhetoric, we should hope that our national leaders stay com mitted to the fight and when the threat of world terrorism has been significantly decreased that they don’t give up. Instead, now that we have the oppor _ tunity, the United States should use it to achieve a posi tion of global power in the Middle East and Asia from which it can influ H| ence the balance of |i| power to protect Iff our interests abroad Adams and ensure our do mestic security. Not only must the Unit Columnist ec* States defeat our - enemies militarily, we must use our global economic weight to reshape the region in such a way so that the specter of fanatical Islamic ter rorism can never again darken this na tion’s skies. , With a thousand troops in Uzbekistan and special forces believed by many to be currently in operation throughout the region, the United States has shown it is serious about bringing justice to the ter rorists. The next step is to continually expand the scope of our operations to instill fear in every person who hates freedom. Many people have compared the Sept. 11 attacks to the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese on Dec. 7. Like wise the end of this current war must be similar to that of World War II. The Unit ed States can not come “to terms” with Osama bin Laden and all the other ter rorists in the world. Our objective must be to eradicate the terrorists and topple the governments that harbor them, and HthW then, as in World War n, the United States must reshape those nations with democratic freedoms and the benefits of Western civilization. Toppling the corrupt Taliban theocra cy and eliminating bin Laden should only be the starting point for our cam paign. The United States should work to solidify the power of legitimate demo cratic governments and undermine the power of dictatorships and terrorist friendly regimes throughout the Middle East and Asia. The former Soviet states that have embraced democracy deserve our support, as do other Islamic nations that have denounced the terrorists— and we must not forget our duty to Israel. But the governments of Iraq, Iran and others need to be undermined and re moved from power, and once gone the United States needs to step in to ensure that the threat of Islamic fanaticism can never again arise. If the United States can be successful in the first goal of defeating the mecha Steve Baggs Emerald nisms of terror, then our nation can use its economic power to further eliminate the threat. Governments that have sup ported terrorist cells in the region have kept Western businesses out of their na tions. If the United States can remove these corrupt regimes from power, American and European businesses can shift some of their foreign investments into the region and stimulate the local economies. Once that has occurred their standard of living would improve and the West would no longer be a foreign evil, but a source of economic revival. It is no longer feasible for the United States to retreat to the relative safety of the North American continent because sadly, that safety no longer exists. Our nation must now step up and assume its role as a global superpower to rid the world of this evil by extending our power outward. Andrew Adams is a columnist for the Oregon Daily Emerald. His views do not necessarily reflect those of the Emerald. He can be reached atandrewadams@dailyemerald.com. Islamic religion not to blame for acts of terrorism, violence c D o not kill a child, a woman or an eld erly person, and do not cut a tree branch.’ These were the words of Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) to his followers. These were his instructions, even in wartime, and they meant to reinforce the impor tance of life, be it human or non human. Respect for human life and nature are some of the basic values upon which the Quran, the Muslim book of faith, and Is lam are built. Muslims believe that the human body is the structure that God built and those who destruct it earn the wrath of God. Committing sui cide is seen as defying God’s will and rejecting his most precious gift of life. The Quran says “If anyone killed a person not in retaliation of murder, or (and) to spread mischief in the land, it would be as if he killed all mankind, and if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he or she saved the life of all mankind” (V.5:32). Any good Muslim knows he or she has to respect life; even his orhrer own; * Guest Commentary Muslim Student Association andtobe kind to those less fortunate. “Peace” is the word from which the meaning of the Arabic word “Islam” is derived. “Is lam” simply means submission. Islam means a complete submis sion to the will of God—Allah. Islam means tolerance, and it states that clearly in the Quran. “Approach the aggressors gently and nicely then your most furi ous enemy will turn into a good friend” (V.41:34)—a teaching of prophet Jesus (peace be upon him). Islam teaches its followers to live in peace and spread wealth in their community and in the world. Islam teaches Muslims to respect and preserve others’ property. Islam teaches Muslims not to kill innocent people, such as those killed during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The attack on Sept. 11 was a multiple crime against humani ty. There were major violations that Islam prohibits, such as killing innocent people, suicide, destruction of property and dis turbing people’s peaceful lives. We, the Muslim Students As sociation (MSA) at the Universi ty of Oregon, would like to offer our deepest condolences to the families of those killed in the World Trade Center and the Pen tagon tragedies and to the entire community. We strongly con demn the attacks that occurred on Sept. 11. The terrorists not only at tacked innocent people, but they also attacked our culture and religious beliefs. We will do everything in our power to help alleviate the sorrow that took over the country on Sept. 11. We thought we should start by shed ding some light upon who we are, Islam and its teachings against terrorism. To learn more about Islam, we encourage you to contact us by calling us at (541) 346-3790 or by e-mailing at asuomsa@glad stone.uoregon.edu. Reda Mohammed, Mahmoud Addul-Jawad and Claudi Ciobano are members of the Muslim Students Association. This column represents the opinion of the Muslim Students Association. In the SaleBide Story ift the aids women waiters” doe, 10/17), Project SafeRide's information on the group’s Incorrect. coordinator is Eve Rivinus. !n the OSPtRG jltoryin the :§|| on Campus * ; (“OSPIRG 30 years,” O&E, J(Vm|Hiathan , position with the Oregon Commentator was not clear. He is a former publisher.
