Doctors Who Put Their Lives on the Line to Meet Urgent Needs: Médecins Sans Frontières

At work in Jabalia, Gaza 

Nearly 50 years ago I met a doctor who would take a month off every year to address medical needs in Haiti. He told me there were many others who did similar work. Several years later we attended a church in which a doctor there told us of a clinic in Madagascar that he devoted a month out of every year to serving the people there. Dr. Roach said the entire clinic had  a rotating staff composed of volunteer doctors and nurses who flew in and took care of patients with every conceivable kind of medical need. 

These memories came to mind in January after a close friend died and his obituary suggested people give to Doctors Without Border in lieu of gifts to the family.

If you follow the news (and not everybody does) Doctors Without Borders (also known as Médecins Sans Frontières or MSF) has been mentioned a lot in the media these past few years for their heartbreaking sacrificial service in Gaza. This is a very different environment from the above-mentioned Madagascar clinic where doctors don't lose sleep worrying about missile attacks and surgeries are conducted with appropriate anasthesia.

Since the start of the war on October 7, 2023, more than 1,700 healthcare workers* (including doctors, nurses, paramedics, and other medical personnel) have been killed in Gaza, according to figures from the Gaza Ministry of Health (MoH), cited by multiple sources including UN agencies, NGOs, and media reports as of early 2026. You may read some quibbling amongst these details, but there's no question that a lot of health care professionals and volunteers have lost their lives trying to meet the needs of the wounded and dying. At least 15 staff members from Doctors Without Borders have been killed.

Attacks on healthcare have been extensive: WHO documented hundreds (e.g., 697–735 verified attacks by mid-2025), affecting nearly all facilities, with many raided, besieged, or hit by strikes. In 2023 there were 35 or 36 hospitals in Gaza. Today 94% of these hospitals have been damaged or destroyed? If 1700 medical staff have been killed one can only imagine what happened to the Palestinians who were receiving care in these hospitals. 

MSF is widely recognized for providing emergency medical aid in conflict zones, disaster areas, and underserved regions worldwide. Founded in 1971, the organization operates independently and has earned strong endorsements from major charity evaluators for its efficiency and transparency.

I don't know about you, but when I consider giving to a charity, the first question is usually this: Will my money actually help people? In the case of Doctors Without Borders (often referred to as MSF USA), the answer is reassuring. Independent charity watchdogs consistently rank the organization among the most trustworthy and effective humanitarian groups. Charity Navigator gives it a Four-Star rating—its highest level—with particularly strong marks for financial accountability and transparency. CharityWatch also rates it an “A,” placing it among the most efficient charities when it comes to using donations for real work in the field rather than overhead.

Just as important, the majority of donated funds go directly toward helping people in crisis. Recent financial reports show that roughly 85 to 87 cents of every dollar spent goes to medical programs—things like emergency surgery, vaccines, treatment for malnutrition, and frontline care in war zones and disaster areas. Only one percent is used for administration. 

Doctors Without Borders also publishes detailed annual financial reports and audited statements so donors can see exactly how money is used. For donors who want their contributions to translate quickly and directly into lifesaving care, Doctors Without Borders remains one of the most respected and effective options available.

While the organization, like any large international effort, has faced occasional criticism or internal debate, there have been no credible scandals involving misuse of funds or systemic fraud. 

Related Link

Remembering Our Colleagues Killed In Gaza

https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/latest/remembering-our-colleagues-killed-gaza

* The numbers are disputed by some who suggest that only 1500 have been killed.

The Weight of Destruction: Gaza Beneath 68 Million Tons of Ruin

81% of buildings in Gaza destroyed.

A December 10 headline in the Wall Street Journal caught my attention. It read: Gaza Sits Under 68 Million Tons of Rubble. A Look at the Daunting Task Ahead.  

Gaza sits under 68 million tons of rubble.

Among my first thoughts was this question: How much equipment is there in Gaza for removing this debris? According to Google, as of late 2025, there are a critically low number of functional bulldozers and earthmovers in Gaza for humanitarian work due to the ongoing conflict. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) reports only nine working excavators (that is, bulldozers and earthmovers), 67 wheel loaders, and 75 dump trucks available for debris removal. 

How long, then, will it take to move this rubble, to where? 

Well, as of a recent report, only a handful of excavators, forklifts, and dump trucks are operational in the region. How many bulldozer repair shops are still in business there? 

Add this into the mix: currently there are thousands of unexploded bombs, missiles and artillery shells mixed in with the debris. The authorization for the necessary equipment and supplies to neutralize these threats has been a major bottleneck.

Removing all this debris is also hamstrung by the extensive destruction of roads and transportation infrastructure.

And finally, where is the equipment necessary to crush and recycle concrete debris so it can be recycled? With the small crushers currently available in Gaza, processing the viable rubble could take decades. 

According to the WSJ piece, 81% of the buildings in Gaza were destroyed.
The "clean up" will take seven years and cost a billion dollars, they say.

Really? I'll believe it when I see it.

* * * 

RELATED: In the devastating aftermath of a conflict that has transformed the urban landscape of the Gaza Strip into a dystopian expanse of ruins, the international community is beginning to grasp the colossal scale of the cleanup required before any reconstruction can even be contemplated.
--Kurdistan24

Gaza: It's Hard To Be Indifferent

King of the beasts in Florence, 2023

I had a traumatic experience when I was eight or ten years old. I was walking out near the woods behind Stafford Elementary School when a scene captured my attention in the bramble at the edge of the woods. Three teens were assaulting a fourth. I'd heard screams and out of curiosity altered my course to get a closer look at what was going on. 

At that time we always differentiated between "the big kids" (teenagers) and "us". The guy lying on his back made eye contact with me and began calling out for help. I was between 50 and 100 feet away, trying to process what I was seeing. The youth on the ground had evidently been stripped because his underwear, pants and shirt had been throw up into the branches of the tree above him. Of the three teens who were standing, two were holding the fourth down, and the leader of the pack appeared to be whipping the captive one on the groin area with a fistful of branches. This last one turned and made eye contact with me, making a direct threat if I said anything.

Over the course of a lifetime I have met several people who witnessed violence and did nothing other than regret later that they either didn't intervene or didn't say anything. It's a hard experience to process. 

* * * * *

The above story came to mind when I think about what is happening in Gaza. Can we really watch this horror and say nothing, do nothing? 

Here is an excerpt from Chris Hedges' substack that was published yesterday: 

Gaza is a wasteland of 50 million tons of rubble and debris. Rats and dogs scavenge amid the ruins and fetid pools of raw sewage. The putrid stench and contamination of decaying corpses rises from beneath the mountains of shattered concrete. There is no clean water. Little food. A severe shortage of medical services and hardly any habitable shelters. Palestinians risk death from unexploded ordnance, left behind after over 15 months of air strikes, artillery barrages, missile strikes and blasts from tank shells, and a variety of toxic substances, including pools of raw sewage and asbestos. 

Hepatitis A, caused by drinking contaminated water, is rampanr as are respiratory ailments, scabies, malnutrition, starvation and the widespread nausea and vomiting caused by eating rancid food. The vulnerable, including infants and the elderly, along with the sick, face a death sentence. Some 1.9 million people have been displaced, amounting to 90 percent of the population. They live in makeshift tents, encamped amid slabs of concrete or the open air. Many have been forced to move over a dozen times. Nine in 10 homes have been destroyed or damaged.   

I find the devastation in Gaza is heartbreaking. Yet, here in the U.S., life goes on, tra-la-la. From the beginning it seems there was nothing any ordinary citizen could do to persuade our government leaders to stop sending bombs.

Apartment blocks where families lived, schools, hospitals, universities and even places of worship have been obliterated. This destruction extends to cemeteries, local shops, and offices, leaving the community without vital structures that support daily life. 

One article I read mentioned the economic toll on Gaza. I couldn't imagine any kind of organized economy in the midst of this rubble. According to Hedges, unemployment is nearing 80% with the gross domestic product plummeting by nearly 85%. Here is an October 2024 report from the International Labor Organization that puts this in perspective.

Then there's the ban on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. Israel has cut off a critical lifeline. This agency, which predicted that clearing the rubble will take 15 years, had been one of the few sources of basic humanitarian supplies, food, and services for the people of Gaza. 

Again, what disturbs many of us is this feeling of helplessness about it all. 

As for the future, what next? It's not going to be a cakewalk. 

* * * * *

Source and stimulus: The Chris Hedges Report

Heard on the Street: Quotes from Other Boats (3 April 2024)

"Regrettably, we must conclude that our culture is being dictated by two-year-olds. I do not literally mean children of two years of age, some of whom are among my favourite conversationalists. I mean people with the mental age of a two-year-old. That is, people who have never been told ‘no’ and have gone through their adult lives behaving as such."

--Douglas Murray, Who Put the Toddlers In Charge?

"Americans concerned about the politicization of our legal system won’t be comforted by the Department of Justice’s lawsuit against Walmart’s alleged role in the opioid crisis, which looked political from the jump. A federal judge telegraphed earlier this week that the suit is also far-fetched."

--Joe Grogon, Biden’s Justice Department looks for scapegoats in overdose deaths

"I reiterate my firm call for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. I express my deep sorrow for the volunteers who were killed while distributing humanitarian aid in Gaza. I pray for them and their families."

--Pope Francis

"In his 1996 book, The Vision of the Anointed, economist Thomas Sowell sketched out a pattern that many of the 'crusading movements' of the 20th century have followed. First, they identify a 'great danger' to society, followed by an 'urgent need' for government action 'to avert impending catastrophe.'"

--Aaron Brown, The Bad Science Behind Jonathan Haidt's Call to Regulate Social Media

The Failure of Compassion: Gaza and the Irish Potato Famine

I remember when I first read about the British response to the Irish Potato Famine, which occurred between 1845 and 1852. It still remains a subject of historical debate and controversy. 

The thing that shocked me, or struck me as sad, was that there were Christian members of Parliament who argued that Britain should not intervene or help the Irish because the famine was God's judgement on Ireland.

As I investigated this, I learned that there were other factors that contributed to Britain's inaction. Some leaders argued in favor of laissez-faire economics, emphasizing minimal government intervention into markets. Market forces would fix everything, they believed.

Another factor had to do with the power balance between Britain and Ireland. That is, Ireland was a colonial entity. At that time, to the late 20th century, there was significant political tension between the nation and the colony. Some leaders welcomed the famine as a means of weakening Irish nationalist sentiment.

Couple this with the prevalence of prejudice toward the Irish. To many they were unworthy of assistance. 

There were also government policies that worsened the impact of the famine.

The net result: widespread suffering and death, and mass emigration.

* * * 

These things come to mind as I follow the news about Gaza. It isn't a stretch to say we're watching a repeat of history. Replace the Irish with Palestinians and you see the samenmassive suffering, while the world watches and does very little. 

Oh, wait. The U.S. has been actively doing something. We keep making more bombs. 

 

I'm On the Side of Civilians

This week I was talking with a friend who made an interesting statement. "I'm not Conservative or Liberal, Republican or Democrat... I'm on the side of Civilians."

This resonated with me. And it reminded me of a statement I heard last fall: "The problem is the Bureaucrats." In fact, I heard that statement twice in two days, from different sources.

Whether it's Ukraine or Gaza, Israel or Somalia, it's apparent that the decisions made by those who wield power are going to have consequences that impact the powerless. America alone has been bombing countries since the beginning of World War II. The world was horrified by Guernica, a civilian village in Spain bombed by fascists during the Spanish Civil War, yet in how many times and places has this bombing of civilians taken place? 

America alone has bombed China, Korea, Guatemala, Indonesia, the Congo, Peru, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Libya, Bosnia, Sudan, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and Iraq. American bombs and missiles are being generously supplied to Israel to destroy Gaza. In many of these cases we claim to have been liberators. I'm curious what the civilians whose homes have been pulverized have to say about all that. 

At the end of Joseph Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness, Kurtz, a central character who has descended into madness in the heart of Africa, utters these memorable, haunting words as he reflects on the darkness and depravity he has encountered: "The horror! The horror!"

The statement encapsulates Kurtz's profound realization of the moral corruption and brutality that he has witnessed and participated in during his time in the Congo. It's all the more ironic because he is the one who supposedly came from a "civilized" culture. Ultimately Kurtz serves as a chilling commentary on the human capacity for evil and the consequences of unchecked power and imperialism. 

While headlines herald the machinations of the powerful and the elites, let's not forget the civilians. At the end of the day one must continue to ask, "What about the people?"  

Gaza: Are These Things True? Or Are They Lies? I Find It All Quite Disturbing

Screen Shot: October 22, Gaza

The current horrors in Gaza show no signs of abating. As one Palestinian on Twitter put it, "No words to describe the horror we live every hour!" (I will continue to refer to the social media platform in this manner because it seems easier than "X, which was formerly Twitter") 

Certainly there is a propaganda war going on, so one has to find ways to differentiate reality from myth or disinformation.

For this reason, I am sharing here a batch of statements and observations, and you can help us by affirming, clarifying or disproving in the comments.

* * * 

IS THIS TRUE?
During an Al Jazeera segment on Israel's bombing of Al-Wafa Hospital, they needed to pause to update viewers that Israeli airstrikes had also just killed the wife and children of one of their reporters, Wael Dahdouh, in an airstrike on a refugee camp they were ordered to flee to.

Source: Posted on Twitter

IS THIS TRUE?

Netanyahu, the leader of Israel’s Master Race Democracy, declares, “We are the people of the light, they are the people of darkness,” then vows to fulfill biblical prophecy through the bombardment of Gaza.

There's no such thing as Geneva Conventions. This is all theatre for Westerners. Like children believing in Santa Claus.

Source: Posted on Twitter

IS THIS TRUE?

Israel has not stopped bombing gaza despite the UN’s vote for ceasefire, please continue being vocal, emailing/calling politicians, and attending protests for at least a ceasefire and humanitarian aid

Source: Posted on Twitter

IS THIS TRUE?

We are at the point where ambulances and civil defense crews no longer rescue anyone in Gaza. 

They have no fuel to move and it is too dangerous to move in the first place.

Corpses and injured people are laying in the streets and under the rubble of their bombed houses

Source: Posted on Twitter

IS THIS TRUE?
Sy Hersh says that Netanyahu’s plan is to turn Gaza into another Hiroshima without the use of nukes. But nukes could be next.

Source: Posted on Twitter

IS THIS TRUE?
The Situation in Gaza 

I had the opportunity to communicate with some members of my family. The situation is unbelievable. Hungry dogs are eating the remains of bodies buried under the rubble in Gaza City. The smell of decay pervades the city. There will be catastrophic health consequences. Food and clean water are scarce. One of my nieces was taken to the hospital because of lack of food two days ago. People are beginning to experience starvation in its most literal sense. They spend 7 hours in line to receive a single piece of bread for each member of the family. When food is found, it's exorbitantly expensive. If this continues before our very eyes, it will turn into a horrendous BLACK MOMENT IN HUMAN HISTORY.

Source: Private email to a friend earlier this past week

IS THIS TRUE?
From Chris Hedges:
Israel was founded on lies. The lie that Palestinian land was largely unoccupied. The lie that 750,000 Palestinians fled their homes and villages during their ethnic cleansing by Zionist militias in 1948 because they were told to do so by Arab leaders. The lie that it was Arab armies that started the 1948 war that saw Israel seize 78 percent of historic Palestine. The lie that Israel faced annihilation in 1967, forcing it to invade and occupy the remaining 22 percent of Palestine, as well as land belonging to Egypt and Syria. 

Israel is sustained by lies. The lie that Israel wants a just and equitable peace and will support a Palestinian state. The lie that Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East. The lie that Israel is an “outpost of Western civilization in a sea of barbarism.” The lie that Israel respects the rule of law and human rights. 

Source: Israel's Culture of Deceit

IS THIS TRUE?
Israel has violated more UN Security Council Resolutions than any other country.

Source: Middle East Monitor

IS THIS TRUE?

A. Israel has been occupying Gaza  and killing civilians before Hamas existed

B. Israel’s indiscriminate bombing has killed hostages

C. Israel is holding thousands of innocent Palestinians

D. Israel does NOT have to do what it’s doing
Source: Posted on Twitter

IS THIS TRUE?
A United Nations official stated that “these events didn’t happen in a vacuum.” Israel immediately denounced this statement as antisemitism.

IS THIS TRUE?

HERE are the only countries who voted on the side of the United States and Israel regarding Gaza situation: Austria, Croatia, Czechia, Fiji, Guatemala, Hungary, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, and Tonga. 

IF THERE IS ANYTHING INACCURATE ON THIS PAGE, PLEASE POST CORRECTIONS IN THE COMMENTS. PERSONAL ATTACKS WILL BE MODERATE

What is Nakba 2?

One of the challenges for many Americans trying to follow the current crisis in the Middle East is the lack of familiarity with some of the terms being used to describe what is happening or its context. Terms like Gaza, Hamas and West Bank are quite familiar to those who have followed events in this region of the world for some length of time. Nakba 2 is less familiar for those who have only recently begun folowing this past week, so I asked Google Bard to address this. 

EdNote: Google Bard is a large language model (LLM) chatbot developed by Google AI. Currently in Beta testing, Bard is Google's equivalent to OpenAI's ChatGPT. 

Q: What is Nakba 2?

Google Bard: The term "Nakba 2" is used by some to describe the ongoing displacement and dispossession of Palestinians from their land. The term is a reference to the Nakba, which is the Palestinian term for the mass expulsion of Palestinians from their homes during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

There is no consensus on what exactly constitutes Nakba 2. Some people use the term to describe the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories, which has been ongoing since 1967. Others use the term to describe the Israeli government's policies in East Jerusalem, such as the demolition of Palestinian homes and the construction of Jewish settlements. Still others use the term to describe the ongoing violence against Palestinians, both by the Israeli military and by Israeli settlers.

Regardless of how it is defined, Nakba 2 is a real and pressing issue. Millions of Palestinians are still living in exile, and many more are facing displacement and dispossession within the Palestinian territories. The international community has a responsibility to address this issue and to help the Palestinian people achieve their right to self-determination.

It is important to note that the term "Nakba 2" is controversial. Some people argue that it is inaccurate and inflammatory. Others argue that it is an important term to use to raise awareness of the ongoing plight of the Palestinian people.

Ultimately, it is up to each individual to decide how they feel about the term "Nakba 2." However, it is important to be aware of the different ways that the term is used and to be respectful of the different perspectives on this issue.

The End of the World

When I was young I had a Herman's Hermits Greatest Hits album. One of the songs was "The End of the World," which had been originally recorded by Skeeter Davis in 1962. It's a lament about a romantic breakup, though lyricist Sylvia Dee's original inspiration came from the death of her father. 

If you're unfamiliar with the song, here are the first two stanzas.

Why does the sun go on shining?
Why does the sea rush to shore?
Don't they know it's the end of the world
'Cause you don't love me anymore?

Why does my heart go on beating?
Why do these eyes of mine cry?
Don't they know know it's the end of the world?
It ended when you said goodbye

I remember feeling this way a little on my 13th birthday when a girl I liked said yes to going steady with the boy across the street. As tear moistened my pillow that night I thought to myself, "So this is what it's like to be a teenager." Yes, a bit melodramatic.

In the song, these sentiments are followed by a bridge segment that encapsulates a little of what I've been feeling the past few days. It's a very differentstory.

I wake up in the morning and I wonder
Why everything's the same as it was
And I can't understand, no I can't understand
Why life goes on the way it does

It just seems weird to me how all this horror is taking place in the Middle East while life over here just goes on as always, with the World Series playoffs and TV shows and shopping and everything. Even the stock market has been going up. What's going on?

Of course there are always horrors going on that we never talk about--rape, violence, starvation, torture, brutality, suffering, etc.  This time it feels different. 

I've frequently cited the line "Man's inhumanity to man makes countless thousands mourn" which was originally penned by Robert Burns in his poem, Man Was Made To Mourn: A Dirge. The statement is a pointed indictment of human cruelty and a reminder that humans are capable of inflicting great pain upon each other, with devastating consequences.

The world is broken. The evidence is plainly visible to all. Will we ever live in a world where everyone is treated with dignity and respect? I have a hard time imagining it.

What Will It Take To Turn Aside?

The current situation in Gaza and the Middle East reminded me of a number of blog entries I wrote in 2009 on the situation that had erupted at that time including one titled Following Gaza On Twitter, and this one here which at the time I titled Turning Aside. 

Turning Aside

I find it interesting that the world’s three major monotheistic religions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam – share a common holy book, the Old Testament. At the heart of this book is a history. Abraham, for all three, is a father of the faith. He left his country, then-dominant Babylon, to live in tents in another land. God made a covenant with him, and promises.

Years later, the descendants of Abraham were ill-treated slaves in the then-great empire of Egypt. Most of us know the story in Exodus of how a man named Moses led the people of Israel out of Egypt to “the promised land.” The Exodus, the giving of the Ten Commandments, the wandering in the wilderness are all part of our cultural heritage.

The story begins, however, with a failure. Moses saw an Egyptian beating an Israelite, and after looking about to make sure the coast was clear, Moses killed the guy. A bad decision. The next day the word on the street was that Moses had done this thing. And Moses knew someone saw, so he fled to the backside of the desert.

Decades later, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, Moses had an encounter that changed the direction of his life.

Exodus 3
1 Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.
2 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
4 And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.

It’s the story of the burning bush. Moses was going about his business, taking care of his father-in-law’s flock, a stranger in a strange land, when he saw something that caught his attention. Instead of continuing on his way, he turned aside and went over to this bush which burned with fire yet was never consumed by the fire.

I bring all this up because our pastor last Sunday preached on this passage, drawing particular attention to Moses’ turning aside. It was a defining moment for this man Moses. And it became a defining moment in world history as the great Egyptian empire was brought to its knees.

My question is, what will it take to bring about world peace today? Here are three religions with common roots, yet at each others’ throats it seems. The past hundred years or more has seen a development of increasingly cruel weaponry. Horrors have been committed and still more will be committed, and so many innocents suffer as a consequence. In other words, history is heading down a path toward an end that seems inevitable... more of the same. What will it take for the nations of this world to turn aside?

What will it take for the world to stop this mad pursuit of self-destruction and violence?

Our pastor Sunday proposed that the bush was still burning. To see it we must turn aside from our various busy paths and check it out.

As for conflicts in the Middle East, isn’t it obvious that as long as we keep arming everyone to the teeth, we will continue to reap a harvest of blood and tears? What will it take for the nations of this world to “turn aside” from this path of violence we are on?

I really don’t know.




Meantime, life goes on all around you. It's something to think about.

Following Gaza On Twitter

In the 1970's Dr. Francis Schaeffer wrote a book called How Should We Then Live? about the rise and decline of Western thought and culture. The book was eventually made into a ten part film series shown in churches around the world.

In one of the films Dr. Schaeffer did a sequence that showed how the media can manipulate viewers by the way they cover events. To illustrate he showed a television news story covering a riot with footage of student protesters being beaten by police in riot gear. Close-ups of kids getting their heads bashed, blood flowing, and a newscaster expressing empathy for these non-violent protesters all worked together to make an impression that tugged at heartstrings. Conclusions easily included the sense that police were overreacting, unnecessarily violent, heartless.

Then, Schaeffer presented an newscast with scenes of police getting hit by bricks, with men in blue who attended to injuries their companions had suffered at the hands of radicals. The newsperson spoke of the need for more police to restrain the radicals, contain the violence and smash the perpetrators. This version ofevents created empathy for the police who had to deal with these unruly criminals.

Schaeffer then allowed the audience to see a third view of the very same event. In this third piece of footage, we saw both the violent students and non-violent, the injured police and the brutal. We saw how the camera angles and interpretation of events can create sympathy either for those in authority or to rebels and protesters.

I am thinking of Israel and Gaza tonight. It is difficult to get one's bearings in a world where there are so many voices strenuously interpreting for us what is happening. It may even be impossible to ascertain accurately what is going on so far away. Certainly one way to get half of a picture in focus is to view many sides, listen with an ear open to new ideas and avoid kneejerk rejection of things that do not correspond to our preconceived conclusions.

Twitter proved to be an interesting tool with regard to the coverage of our recent presidential election. Twitter likewise helped break the news regarding the Mumbai massacre. Now, we have Gaza, and if you're interested, you can follow here what the Twitter community is saying regarding this current conflict which has now passed sixteen days. Dr. Schaeffer's admonition to be aware of the camera angle still holds true.