Feb 24, I had requested one of my pay-TV services, "Pehla" (ironically, that means "first") to downgrade my service from Silver to Basic... on the 25th, I received a written confirmation that the request had been processed. Great.

Last week, when I called for another reason, I found out that I still had a Silver subscription. To say that I was perplexed would be an understatement... I just got off the phone with the most ridiculous Pehla "customer service" rep. I wish I had a recording to play back for you...

After being kept on hold for quite some time, she politely informed me that yes, it was Pehla's fault that they had not downgraded my service, and OVER-CHARGED me for March, April, May and June... HOWEVER, they would not be able to refund the balance - even though it was their fault. Moreover, anticipating my next question, she was "unable" to transfer my call to a supervisor since "they had discussed it at length" and felt unable to offer a refund.

I am outraged at the blase attitude demonstrated by the Pehla team - and the casual attitude towards theft of a customer's money. More than that, I am outraged at the management of the call center - the infamous "supervisor" - that refuses to even talk to a customer. These are signs that the concept of customer service at a company are dead.

Pehla - you have lost a customer for life, you greedy, unethical bums.

TimeOut Dubai reveals new Metro rates - June 22 09

The cost of travelling on the new Dubai Metro, which launches in September, will range between 80 fils and AED5.80, transport chiefs announced on Monday, according to Arabian Business.

The cost in Dubai compares well to single ticket costs around 1.60 euros (AED8) for the Paris Metro and GBP4 (AED24) for an adult single zone ticket on the London Underground.

The Metro system in Dubai will be split into five zones and park and ride facilities will be available to the stations free of charge, officials added at a press conference on Monday.

The Dubai Metro’s 52km red line, running from Jebel Ali to Rashidiya, is scheduled to open on September 9 while the green line is due to come on line in March 2010.

The 23.9 km track will start in Al Qusais, running around Dubai creek, and stretch to Jedaff.
The RTA will be hoping the Metro fares are more favourably received than the Palm Jumeirah Monorail prices, which were heavily criticised by the public.

In May, Arabian Business was inundated with emails and calls from Dubai residents protesting against the monorail charges. One reader said: “AED25 for a return journey lasting only nine minutes each way? That is daylight robbery.” Others questioned why the price was more than fees for using similar public transport systems elsewhere in the world.

Responding to the criticism, Palm Monorail developer Nakheel insisted its AED25 for a round trip and AED15 single journey tickets were reasonable.

Of course it was... (this last comment added by yours truly :)

A list of recent quotes from people and companies predicting what Dubai can look forward to in the near future.

By Aarti Nagraj.

1. Dubai house prices will fall another 20 percent this year, because of the economic downturn, according to a Reuters poll. “We may see a further drop in prices as the magnitude of the problem in the sector is still high and the recovery of the sector may take some more time,” Sajeer Babu, an equity analyst at National Bank of Abu Dhabi, said in the poll.

2. Property consultancy Knight Frank said that property prices fell 40 percent from the fourth quarter of 2008 to the first quarter of 2009. “It could go a lot worse or it could be that a number of buyers decide that property has dropped by a big amount and it is time to buy. The overriding sentiment is still one of caution,” Nicholas Barnes, head of international business at Knight Frank, told Maktoob Business.

3. According to a recent report by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dubai’s GDP will be adversely affected this year because of the crisis. However, the emirate’s growth is expected to remain strong from a global perspective, it said.
“The Dubai authorities’ repetitive tone that it will use strong fiscal expansion to ensure the economy bounces back especially in the construction sector will mean that the economy will maintain strong growth going forward,” it said.

4. The Dubai International Airport is forecasting an increase of 4 to 5 percent in passenger traffic for the first half of the year, said Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman of the Dubai Airports at the Paris Air Show. “Dubai has been a beacon of light during these turbulent times,” he added.

5. “Things [the Dubai stock market] will probably start picking up again ahead of second quarter results in anticipation of good number coming out even from real estate companies,” Haissam Arabi, CEO of GulfMENA Alternative Investments, a regional hedge fund told Gulf News earlier this week. Emaar stocks pushed the Dubai Financial Market to a seven month high on June 14.

6. The annual shopping event, Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS) started last week, and Laila Suhail, the CEO of the DSF Office, is confident that it will do well despite the current economic climate. She said that there was a general consensus within all private sector entities that the coming months would rake in higher revenues for businesses.
“There has been a lot of talk on how DSS will influence sectors like retail and hospitality this year and from what we have gauged, the current mood is optimistic,” she said.

Brit expats earn double that of Indian counterparts (Arabian Business)
Andy Sambidge
Tuesday, 03 March 2009

British expats working in GCC states earn more than double the salary of their Indian expat peers, according to the results of the Arabian Business Salary Survey 2009. Employees from the UK who took part in our poll during January told us they earned an average of nearly $14,500 a month including all bonuses, commission and allowances compared to the Indian average of just over $6,000. But it was the Americans who said they earned the most of the expat communities in the region, taking home an average salary of more than $19,000 a month.

The Australians came second, with an average salary of nearly $17,000, with the South Africans third with a monthly pay packet of $16,152. The Brits came in fourth ($14,478), with the Canadians completing the top five positions with their average salary of $13,726. Workers from the Philippines were the worst paid, according to our data, earning an average of $3,082 a month, almost half that of Syrians who came second from bottom in the salary rankings. Indians, Pakistanis and Egyptians completed the bottom five. Our survey conducted in January attracted more than 3,000 respondents and a large majority of those were expats taking advantage of the tax-free living in the Gulf region. For the purposes of this story, a minimum of 50 responses were required. Across the whole survey, you told us your average monthly salary was $8,857.

I am struggling to define my state of mind these days.

Am I as positive as I usually am?

Am I as clear about my goals and ambitions as I usually am?

Why am I so ambivalent about the state of things in the world?

Why am I sleeping so late?

Why am I gaining weight - when everything inside me rebels at the idea?

Why is time splitting into two streams for me - one flowing at breakneck speed, where I am struggling to keep abreast of events, the other moving so slowly that I am wondering what forces could be holding its boiling momentum to such a slow pace... and how can I be in both streams simultaneously?

Is it all in my head? It must be, right? I feel like Peter Parker after he was bitten by the spider... only I don't know exactly when I was bitten, or by what.

One thing I do feel - I am in the middle of a metamorphosis.

I feel like things are changing, I am evolving somehow into something / someone else.

Yes. I am becoming a mutant.

If that is true, then what will my new self look like? What powers (if any) will I have? Will I be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound? Stop a bullet by simply raising a hand towards it? Run super fast? Become invisible?

Or will I just become a jelly-like blob (like the Senator from X-Men) and explode in a silent gush of goo?

Time will tell.

Thanks to a friend for forwarding this timely information...

What is swine flu?
Swine flu is a respiratory disease, caused by influenza type A which infects pigs.
There are many types, and the infection is constantly changing.
Until now it has not normally infected humans, but the latest form clearly does, and can be spread from person to person - probably through coughing and sneezing.

What is new about this type of swine flu?
The World Health Organization has confirmed that at least some of the human cases are a never-before-seen version of the H1N1 strain of influenza type A.
H1N1 is the same strain which causes seasonal outbreaks of flu in humans on a regular basis.
But this latest version of H1N1 is different: it contains genetic material that is typically found in strains of the virus that affect humans, birds and swine.
Flu viruses have the ability to swap genetic components with each other, and it seems likely that the new version of H1N1 resulted from a mixing of different versions of the virus, which may usually affect different species, in the same animal host.
Pigs provide an excellent 'melting pot' for these viruses to mix and match with each other.

How dangerous is it?
Symptoms of swine flu in humans appear to be similar to those produced by standard, seasonal flu.
These include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, chills and fatigue.
Most cases so far reported around the world appear to be mild, but in Mexico lives have been lost.

How worried should people be?
When any new strain of flu emerges that acquires the ability to pass from person to person, it is monitored very closely in case it has the potential to spark a global epidemic, or pandemic.
The World Health Organization has warned that taken together the Mexican and US cases could potentially trigger a global pandemic, and stress that the situation is serious. However, experts say it is still too early to accurately assess the situation fully. Currently, they say the world is closer to a flu pandemic than at any point since 1968 - upgrading the threat from three to four on a six-point scale following an emergency meeting on Monday. Nobody knows the full potential impact of a pandemic, but experts have warned that it could cost millions of lives worldwide. The Spanish flu pandemic, which began in 1918, and was also caused by an H1N1 strain, killed millions of people. The fact that all the cases in the US and elsewhere have so far produced mild symptoms is encouraging. It suggests that the severity of the Mexican outbreak may be due to an unusual geographically-specific factor - possibly a second unrelated virus circulating in the community - which would be unlikely to come into play in the rest of the world. Alternatively, people infected in Mexico may have sought treatment at a much later stage than those in other countries. It may also be the case that the form of the virus circulating in Mexico is subtly different to that elsewhere - although that will only be confirmed by laboratory analysis.

There is also hope that, as humans are often exposed to forms of H1N1 through seasonal flu, our immune systems may have something of a head start in fighting infection. However, the fact that many of the victims are young does point to something unusual. Normal, seasonal flu tends to affect the elderly disproportionately.

Can the virus be contained?
The virus appears already to have started to spread around the world, and most experts believe that containment of the virus in the era of readily available air travel will be extremely difficult.

Can it be treated?
The US authorities say that two drugs commonly used to treat flu, Tamiflu and Relenza, seem to be effective at treating cases that have occurred there so far. However, the drugs must be administered at an early stage to be effective. Use of these drugs may also make it less likely that infected people will pass the virus on to others. The UK Government already has a stockpile of Tamiflu, ordered as a precaution against a pandemic. It is unclear how effective currently available flu vaccines would be at offering protection against the new strain, as it is genetically distinct from other flu strains. US scientists are already developing a bespoke new vaccine, but it may take some time to perfect it, and manufacture enough supplies to meet what could be huge demand. A vaccine was used to protect humans from a version of swine flu in the US in 1976.
However, it caused serious side effects, including an estimated 500 cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome. There were more deaths from the vaccine than the outbreak.

What should I do to stay safe?
Anyone with flu-like symptoms who might have been in contact with the swine virus - such as those living or travelling in the areas of Mexico that have been affected - should seek medical advice. But patients are being asked not to go into GP surgeries in order to minimise the risk of spreading the disease to others. Instead, they should stay at home and call their healthcare provider for advice. After the WHO raised its alert level over swine flu, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office began advising against all but essential travel to Mexico.

What measures can I take to prevent infection?
Avoid close contact with people who appear unwell and who have fever and cough.
General infection control practices and good hygiene can help to reduce transmission of all viruses, including the human swine influenza. This includes covering your nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing, using a tissue when possible and disposing of it promptly. It is also important to wash your hands frequently with soap and water to reduce the spread of the virus from your hands to face or to other people and cleaning hard surfaces like door handles frequently using a normal cleaning product. If caring for someone with a flu-like illness, a mask can be worn to cover the nose and mouth to reduce the risk of transmission. The UK is looking at increasing its stockpile of masks for healthcare workers for this reason. But experts say there is no scientific evidence to support more general wearing of masks to guard against infections.

Is it safe to eat pig meat?
Yes. There is no evidence that swine flu can be transmitted through eating meat from infected animals. However, it is essential to cook meat properly. A temperature of 70C (158F) would be sure to kill the virus.

What about bird flu?
The strain of bird flu which has caused scores of human deaths in South East Asia in recent years is a different strain to that responsible for the current outbreak of swine flu. The latest form of swine flu is a new type of the H1N1 strain, while bird, or avian flu, is H5N1. Experts fear H5N1 hold the potential to trigger a pandemic because of its ability to mutate rapidly. However, up until now it has remained very much a disease of birds. Those humans who have been infected have, without exception, worked closely with birds, and cases of human-to-human transmission are extremely rare - there is no suggestion that H5N1 has gained the ability to pass easily from person to person.

Where can I get further advice?
Further information and advice on swine flu can be found at websites of leading health and research organisations around the world. The World Health Organisation gives background information on the virus. The UK's Health Protection Agency advises the public about what to do if returning from an affected area. NHS Choices outlines how swine flu is different from other flu. The US government's Centre for Disease Control is counting the number of cases in the US.
You can also track the spread of swine flu reports using unofficial sources. Healthmaps maps viruses using news reports. Social media guide Mashable lists some ways to track the virus . Links to useful websites are being shared on Twitter , the micro-blogging service.

The Guard Who Found Islam
Terry Holdbrooks stood watch over prisoners at Gitmo. What he saw made him adopt their faith.
By Dan Ephron NEWSWEEK
Published Mar 21, 2009
From the magazine issue dated Mar 30, 2009
Visit : http://www.newsweek.com/id/190357/page/1
Army specialist Terry Holdbrooks had been a guard at Guantánamo for about six months the night he had his life-altering conversation with detainee 590, a Moroccan also known as "the General." This was early 2004, about halfway through Holdbrooks's stint at Guantánamo with the 463rd Military Police Company. Until then, he'd spent most of his day shifts just doing his duty. He'd escort prisoners to interrogations or walk up and down the cellblock making sure they weren't passing notes. But the midnight shifts were slow. "The only thing you really had to do was mop the center floor," he says. So Holdbrooks began spending part of the night sitting cross-legged on the ground, talking to detainees through the metal mesh of their cell doors.
He developed a strong relationship with the General, whose real name is Ahmed Errachidi. Their late-night conversations led Holdbrooks to be more skeptical about the prison, he says, and made him think harder about his own life. Soon, Holdbrooks was ordering books on Arabic and Islam. During an evening talk with Errachidi in early 2004, the conversation turned to the shahada, the one-line statement of faith that marks the single requirement for converting to Islam ("There is no God but God and Muhammad is his prophet"). Holdbrooks pushed a pen and an index card through the mesh, and asked Errachidi to write out the shahada in English and transliterated Arabic. He then uttered the words aloud and, there on the floor of Guantánamo's Camp Delta, became a Muslim.
When historians look back on Guantánamo, the harsh treatment of detainees and the trampling of due process will likely dominate the narrative. Holdbrooks, who left the military in 2005, saw his share. In interviews over recent weeks, he and another former guard told NEWSWEEK about degrading and sometimes sadistic acts against prisoners committed by soldiers, medics and interrogators who wanted revenge for the 9/11 attacks on America. But as the fog of secrecy slowly lifts from Guantánamo, other scenes are starting to emerge as well, including surprising interactions between guards and detainees on subjects like politics, religion and even music. The exchanges reveal curiosity on both sides—sometimes even empathy. "The detainees used to have conversations with the guards who showed some common respect toward them," says Errachidi, who spent five years in Guantánamo and was released in 2007. "We talked about everything, normal things, and things [we had] in common," he wrote to NEWSWEEK in an e-mail from his home in Morocco.
Holdbrooks's level of identification with the other side was exceptional. No other guard has volunteered that he embraced Islam at the prison (though Errachidi says others expressed interest). His experience runs counter to academic studies, which show that guards and inmates at ordinary prisons tend to develop mutual hostility. But then, Holdbrooks is a contrarian by nature. He can also be conspiratorial. When his company visited the site of the 9/11 attacks in New York, Holdbrooks remembers thinking there had to be a broader explanation, and that the Bush administration must have colluded somehow in the plot.
But his misgivings about Guantánamo—including doubts that the detainees were the "worst of the worst"—were shared by other guards as early as 2002. A few such guards are coming forward for the first time. Specialist Brandon Neely, who was at Guantánamo when the first detainees arrived that year, says his enthusiasm for the mission soured quickly. "There were a couple of us guards who asked ourselves why these guys are being treated so badly and if they're actually terrorists at all," he told NEWSWEEK. Neely remembers having long conversations with detainee Ruhal Ahmed, who loved Eminem and James Bond and would often rap or sing to the other prisoners. Another former guard, Christopher Arendt, went on a speaking tour with former detainees in Europe earlier this year to talk critically about the prison.
Holdbrooks says growing up hard in Phoenix—his parents were junkies and he himself was a heavy drinker before joining the military in 2002—helps explain what he calls his "anti-everything views." He has holes the size of quarters in both earlobes, stretched-out piercings that he plugs with wooden discs. At his Phoenix apartment, bedecked with horror-film memorabilia, he rolls up both sleeves to reveal wrist-to-shoulder tattoos. He describes the ink work as a narrative of his mistakes and addictions. They include religious symbols and Nazi SS bolts, track marks and, in large letters, the words BY DEMONS BE DRIVEN. He says the line, from a heavy-metal song, reminds him to be a better person.
Holdbrooks—TJ to his friends—says he joined the military to avoid winding up like his parents. He was an impulsive young man searching for stability. On his first home leave, he got engaged to a woman he'd known for just eight days and married her three months later. With little prior exposure to religion, Holdbrooks was struck at Gitmo by the devotion detainees showed to their faith. "A lot of Americans have abandoned God, but even in this place, [the detainees] were determined to pray," he says.
Holdbrooks was also taken by the prisoners' resourcefulness. He says detainees would pluck individual threads from their jumpsuits or prayer mats and spin them into long stretches of twine, which they would use to pass notes from cell to cell. He noticed that one detainee with a bad skin rash would smear peanut butter on his windowsill until the oil separated from the paste, then would use the oil on his rash.
Errachidi's detention seemed particularly suspect to Holdbrooks. The Moroccan detainee had worked as a chef in Britain for almost 18 years and spoke fluent English. He told Holdbrooks he had traveled to Pakistan on a business venture in late September 2001 to help pay for his son's surgery. When he crossed into Afghanistan, he said, he was picked up by the Northern Alliance and sold to American troops for $5,000. At Guantánamo, Errachidi was accused of attending a Qaeda training camp. But a 2007 investigation by the London Times newspaper appears to have corroborated his story; it eventually helped lead to his release.
In prison, Errachidi was an agitator. "Because I spoke English, I was always in the face of the soldiers," he wrote NEWSWEEK in an e-mail. Errachidi said an American colonel at Guantánamo gave him his nickname, and warned him that generals "get hurt" if they don't cooperate. He said his defiance cost him 23 days of abuse, including sleep deprivation, exposure to very cold temperatures and being shackled in stress positions. "I always believed the soldiers were doing illegal stuff and I was not ready to keep quiet." (Navy Cmdr. Jeffrey Gordon, a Pentagon spokesman, said in response: "Detainees have often made claims of abuse that are simply not supported by the facts.") The Moroccan spent four of his five years at Gitmo in the punishment block, where detainees were denied "comfort items" like paper and prayer beads along with access to the recreation yard and the library.
Errachidi says he does not remember details of the night Holdbrooks converted. Over the years, he says, he discussed a range of religious topics with guards: "I spoke to them about subjects like Father Christmas and Ishac and Ibrahim [Isaac and Abraham] and the sacrifice. About Jesus." Holdbrooks recalls that when he announced he wanted to embrace Islam, Errachidi warned him that converting would be a serious undertaking and, at Guantánamo, a messy affair. "He wanted to make sure I knew what I was getting myself into." Holdbrooks later told his two roommates about the conversion, and no one else.
But other guards noticed changes in him. They heard detainees calling him Mustapha, and saw that Holdbrooks was studying Arabic openly. (At his Phoenix apartment, he displays the books he had amassed. They include a leather-bound, six-volume set of Muslim sacred texts and "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Islam.") One night his squad leader took him to a yard behind his living quarters, where five guards were waiting to stage a kind of intervention. "They started yelling at me," he recalls, "asking if I was a traitor, if I was switching sides." At one point a squad leader pulled back his fist and the two men traded blows, Holdbrooks says.
Holdbrooks spent the rest of his time at Guantánamo mainly keeping to himself, and nobody bothered him further. Another Muslim who served there around the same time had a different experience. Capt. James Yee, a Gitmo chaplain for much of 2003, was arrested in September of that year on suspicion of aiding the enemy and other crimes—charges that were eventually dropped. Yee had become a Muslim years earlier. He says the Muslims on staff at Gitmo—mainly translators—often felt beleaguered. "There was an overall atmosphere by the command to vilify Islam." (Commander Gordon's response: "We strongly disagree with the assertions made by Chaplain Yee").
At Holdbrooks's next station, in Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., he says things began to unravel. The only place to kill time within miles of the base was a Wal-Mart and two strip clubs—Big Daddy's and Big Louie's. "I've never been a fan of strip clubs, so I hung out at Wal-Mart," he says. Within months, Holdbrooks was released from the military—two years before the end of his commitment. The Army gave him an honorable discharge with no explanation, but the events at Gitmo seemed to loom over the decision. The Army said it would not comment on the matter.
Back in Phoenix, Holdbrooks returned to drinking, in part to suppress what he describes as the anger that consumed him. (Neely, the other ex-guard who spoke to NEWSWEEK, said Guantánamo had made him so depressed he spent up to $60 a day on alcohol during a monthlong leave from the detention center in 2002.) Holdbrooks divorced his wife and spiraled further. Eventually his addictions landed him in the hospital. He suffered a series of seizures, as well as a fall that resulted in a bad skull fracture and the insertion of a titanium plate in his head.
Recently, Holdbrooks has been back in touch with Errachidi, who has suffered his own ordeal since leaving the detention center. Errachidi told NEWSWEEK he had trouble adjusting to his freedom, "trying to learn how to walk without shackles and trying to sleep at night with the lights off." He signed each of the dozen e-mails he sent to NEWSWEEK with the impersonal ID that his captors had given him: Ahmed 590.
Holdbrooks, now 25, says he quit drinking three months ago and began attending regular prayers at the Tempe Islamic Center, a mosque near the University of Phoenix, where he works as an enrollment counselor. The long scar on his head is now mostly hidden under the lace of his Muslim kufi cap. When the imam at Tempe introduced Holdbrooks to the congregation and explained he'd converted at Guantánamo, a few dozen worshipers rushed over to shake his hand. "I would have thought they had the most savage soldiers serving there," says the imam, Amr Elsamny, an Egyptian. "I never thought it would be someone like TJ."
With Dina Fine Maron in Washington

10 terms not to use with Muslims

There's a big difference between what we say and what they hear.

By Chris Seiple (Chris Seiple is the president of the Institute for Global Engagement, a "think tank with legs" that promotes sustainable environments for religious freedom worldwide.)

from the March 28, 2009 edition of the Christian Science Monitor.

Arlington, Va. - In the course of my travels – from the Middle East to Central Asia to Southeast Asia – it has been my great privilege to meet and become friends with many devout Muslims. These friendships are defined by frank respect as we listen to each other; understand and agree on the what, why, and how of our disagreements, political and theological; and, most of all, deepen our points of commonality as a result.
I have learned much from my Muslim friends, foremost this: Political disagreements come and go, but genuine respect for each other, rooted in our respective faith traditions, does not. If there is no respect, there is no relationship, merely a transactional encounter that serves no one in the long term.
As President Obama considers his first speech in a Muslim majority country (he visits Turkey April 6-7), and as the US national security establishment reviews its foreign policy and public diplomacy, I want to share the advice given to me from dear Muslim friends worldwide regarding words and concepts that are not useful in building relationships with them. Obviously, we are not going to throw out all of these terms, nor should we. But we do need to be very careful about how we use them, and in what context.
1. "The Clash of Civilizations." Invariably, this kind of discussion ends up with us as the good guy and them as the bad guy. There is no clash of civilizations, only a clash between those who are for civilization, and those who are against it. Civilization has many characteristics but two are foundational: 1) It has no place for those who encourage, invite, and/or commit the murder of innocent civilians; and 2) It is defined by institutions that protect and promote both the minority and the transparent rule of law.
2. "Secular." The Muslim ear tends to hear "godless" with the pronunciation of this word. And a godless society is simply inconceivable to the vast majority of Muslims worldwide. Pluralism – which encourages those with (and those without) a God-based worldview to have a welcomed and equal place in the public square – is a much better word.
3. "Assimilation." This word suggests that the minority Muslim groups in North America and Europe need to look like the majority, Christian culture. Integration, on the other hand, suggests that all views, majority and minority, deserve equal respect as long as each is willing to be civil with one another amid the public square of a shared society.
4. "Reformation." Muslims know quite well, and have an opinion about, the battle taking place within Islam and what it means to be an orthodox and devout Muslim. They don't need to be insulted by suggesting they follow the Christian example of Martin Luther. Instead, ask how Muslims understand ijtihad, or reinterpretation, within their faith traditions and cultural communities.
5. "Jihadi." The jihad is an internal struggle first, a process of improving one's spiritual self-discipline and getting closer to God. The lesser jihad is external, validating "just war" when necessary. By calling the groups we are fighting "jihadis," we confirm their own – and the worldwide Muslim public's – perception that they are religious. They are not. They are terrorists, hirabists, who consistently violate the most fundamental teachings of the Holy Koran and mainstream Islamic scholars and imams.
6. "Moderate." This ubiquitous term is meant politically but can be received theologically. If someone called me a "moderate Christian," I would be deeply offended. I believe in an Absolute who also commands me to love my neighbor. Similarly, it is not an oxymoron to be a mainstream Muslim who believes in an Absolute. A robust and civil pluralism must make room for the devout of all faiths, and none.
7. "Interfaith." This term conjures up images of watered-down, lowest common denominator statements that avoid the tough issues and are consequently irrelevant. "Multifaith" suggests that we name our deep and irreconcilable theological differences in order to work across them for practical effect – according to the very best of our faith traditions, much of which are values we share.
8. "Freedom." Unfortunately, "freedom," as expressed in American foreign policy, does not always seek to engage how the local community and culture understands it. Absent such an understanding, freedom can imply an unbound licentiousness. The balance between the freedom to something (liberty) and the freedom from something (security) is best understood in a conversation with the local context and, in particular, with the Muslims who live there. "Freedom" is best framed in the context of how they understand such things as peace, justice, honor, mercy, and compassion.
9. "Religious Freedom." Sadly, this term too often conveys the perception that American foreign policy is only worried about the freedom of Protestant evangelicals to proselytize and convert, disrupting the local culture and indigenous Christians. Although not true, I have found it better to define religious freedom as the promotion of respect and reconciliation with the other at the intersection of culture and the rule of law – sensitive to the former and consistent with the latter.
10. "Tolerance." Tolerance is not enough. Allowing for someone's existence, or behavior, doesn't build the necessary relationships of trust – across faiths and cultures – needed to tackle the complex and global challenges that our civilization faces. We need to be honest with and respect one another enough to name our differences and commonalities, according to the inherent dignity we each have as fellow creations of God called to walk together in peace and justice, mercy and compassion.
The above words and phrases will differ and change over the years, according to the cultural and ethnic context, and the (mis)perceptions that Muslims and non-Muslims have of one another. While that is to be expected, what counts most is the idea that we are earnestly trying to listen to and understand each other better; demonstrating respect as a result.

Obama fired the Chairman of GM.

My God. Wonders will never cease. Obama-man has taken a step that a short while ago would have been unthinkable, unimaginable, unbelievable... it still is, but it's also true. I have just finished reading Michael Moore's latest piece on the subject, and while I share his incredulity, I stop short at his overwhelming glee. I mean - I understand why he is chuckling... I am too, to an extent. However, my question is - is this going to be enough?

One sacking at this level does send a message - I'm sure there is a chill among the heads of state (oops, I meant to say 'business') that fall into the elite category impacted. However, I think Obama-man needs to go further... there are MANY equally culpable people in the auto industry, and they should all be brought to book. But as Mr. Moore does point out, it's the financial sector that needs to dealt with first. Those guys took massive handouts - with no strings attached - and NO oversight. Wall Street, the insurance giant, and so many more, need to be made accountable... and they are currently NOT.

Don't stop now Obama-man - we (i.e. the rest of the planet) are solidly behind you. Go, Obama-man, go - the fate of modern civilization rests in your hands.

Don't fail us.