Khaled Omar / The Associated Press

Palestinians walk in the rubble following an Israeli airstrike Wednesday in Rafah refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip. Israel ordered a pause in its Gaza offensive Wednesday for three hours to allow food and fuel to reach besieged Palestinians, as the country's leaders debated whether to accept an international cease-fire plan or to expand the assault against Hamas.

Casualties are nothing new

Editor, The Times:

Counting and recounting every casualty of the current conflict in Gaza seems surreal to me. Was it not only 60 years ago that we routinely bombed cities like Tokyo and Dresden, creating terrifying firestorms that killed hundreds of thousands of civilians?

I grew up during the Vietnam War watching the casualties on television each and every night for years. Every military person will tell you that warfare equals casualties.

It is remarkable that the Israeli military, receiving no respect or acknowledgment, takes extraordinary measures to avoid casualties.

-- Paul Zohav, Bellevue

Can't ignore facts on the ground

"Israel is not attacking the Palestinian people." Such is the claim of Israel's military spokesmen. Facts on the ground speak louder than words. For 18 months before the current assault, Israel implemented an air, sea and land blockade, producing a humanitarian emergency for Gaza's 1.5 million Palestinians.

According to U.N. agencies, 80 percent of Gazans rely on aid for food, and unemployment has risen to more than 50 percent. Gaza's power station often has no fuel or spare parts. More than 100 lifesaving medications were depleted.

My father, brother and other family members under fire in Gaza are -- like the vast majority of Palestinians -- innocent of any crimes against Israeli civilians. Yet they have been deprived of basic human necessities by Israel.

Most Gazans are Palestinian refugees who were displaced by Israel and denied the right to return to their homeland. This suffering is the latest chapter of 60 years of occupation and displacement.

Israel is bombing universities, mosques, ministries, police stations, the Palestinian Parliament and schools. My family is terrorized, keeping windows open to avoid glass breakage by the bombing (there is no glass repair in Gaza) and suffering in cold and darkness.

And we're supposed to believe that Israel is not attacking the Palestinian people. Visit http://www.phr.org.il/phr/ for more information.

-- Hazim Shafi, Redmond

Make a choice

Michael Barr of Sammamish apparently believes it's time to "dissolve the artificially created geopolitical lines of 1948" and abolish the state of Israel ["No friend of democracy," Northwest Voices, Jan. 6]. I wonder if he feels the same about the "artificially created" boundaries of Syria, Jordan and the other nations formed after WWI when the Ottoman Turkish Empire collapsed? Would he support the abolition of Lebanon or Iraq as nations because they "abused the privilege" of statehood by attacking their neighbors? How about Japan? Germany?

Suggesting the dissolution of sovereign nations because of their actions toward their neighbors is the most absurd notion I've seen in your pages. What do you suppose would happen to the notion of sovereignty if even one country was told by the U.N. that it no longer had a right to exist?

One wonders what Barr's response would be if, say, Mexico started lobbing rockets into San Diego to protest our "occupation" of Southern California in the 1800s? How long do you think we as a nation would stand for that? And if Mexico failed to stop its attacks, what would Barr's response be if we took strong military action to force an end to the attacks? Would he call for the dissolution of the United States?

Those claiming Israel's actions constitute "genocide" or "ethnic cleansing" don't understand the meaning of the words. Israel is targeting enemies who are sworn to its destruction. It's unfortunate that innocent Palestinians are being killed and injured, but this is a war and there is simply no way to avoid occasional collateral damage.

If Palestinians want peace, they can have it. All they need to do is force Hamas to stop the violence and renounce their insane, suicidal goal of destroying a neighboring state. Then the borders will open, the food and fuel and medicine will flow.

The people of Gaza must make a choice: peace or destruction. Seems pretty simple to me.

-- Winston Rockwell, Kirkland

Time to take responsibility

I am sorry that Seattleites have become such a bunch of whiners that they think snow is a disaster. It's not. It's an inconvenience, made worse by the lack of reliable public transportation, a population that apparently can't take care of itself, and a pitifully self-absorbed view of entitlement.

Ask a Katrina survivor if having your trash on the curb for two weeks is worth the rants and raves we've heard. Ask a flood victim who lost everything if not being able to get to the store justifies the anger and sense of betrayal we hear in people's voices these days.

I guarantee you that if the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) had voted to buy 10 more snowplows in July -- at the expense of some other service -- there would have been public outcry that it was unjustified.

We all need to take responsibility for our community's well-being and be prepared to take care of ourselves and each other.

-- Cai Hadfield, Auburn

One definition please

In response to the failure of communication between Metro and the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) about plowing the streets ["City never responded to Metro's plea to plow," page one, Jan. 7], I think part of the communication problem is that "plowed" means different things to different people. When Metro Transit general manager Kevin Desmond asks for streets to be plowed, he is asking for the streets to be cleared down to bare pavement as soon as possible. This is what most people mean by "plowed."

When Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels or Grace Crunican of SDOT says the streets have been plowed, they are saying that the plows have been used to pack the snow down on the streets so that only four-wheel-drive vehicles and front-wheel-drive vehicles with chains can drive on them. This leads to long-lasting ice, especially if the weather stays cold, and makes it very difficult for buses to get around. This is a bizarre interpretation of the word "plowed."

The city needs to change its plowing policy to focus on clearing streets. Even with only 27 plows, major streets could have and should have been cleared.

Eight to 12 inches of snow over several days is not a natural disaster; it should be manageable.

-- Sandra Perkins, Seattle

Finding its time and place

Like Bruce Ramsey, whose columns are always interesting, I prize thoughtful, well-argued discourse -- even about the word "um" ["I take umbrage at 'um,'" editorial columnist, Jan. 7]

But, I also love the use of "um" for its power to embarrass. Snarky, snide, sure, but at times oh-so useful.

Aristotle long ago laid bare the persuasive powers of each part of the classical rhetorical triumvirate -- logos, pathos and ethos -- and taught us not to overlook the value of attitude.

-- Bruce Evans, Mesa, Ariz.

It's a science

Ellen Goodman hit the nail on the head with her analysis of a new study on teens and sexual activity ["Sex mis-education doesn't work," syndicated columnist, Jan. 2]. For the past eight years, our government has funded and promoted abstinence-only-until-marriage programs, despite mounting evidence that these classes make adolescents more likely to have unprotected sex.

Advice to patients should always be guided by scientific evidence. As a physician, I have encouraged my patients to exercise more or stop smoking based on studies that show the health benefits of these behaviors.

I urge President-elect Obama to use the same principle when deciding which sex-education programs merit federal funding. Comprehensive programs -- including lessons on relationship-building, responsibility and birth control -- are the best choice for raising healthy adults.

-- Suzanne Poppema, MD, Edmonds

Be aware

I want to say I was glad to see the item on the opinion page by syndicated columnist Nicholas D. Kristof ["Sex Trafficking: the evil behind the forced smiles," Jan. 5]. I have been following his columns on this subject and was glad you elected to publish his column in The Times.

I think this is something we all need to be aware is happening in our world. Sometimes the newspaper is the only way we have of becoming aware.

I am a supporter of the Somaly Mam Foundation and have ordered many of the bracelets made by the young girls they manage to rescue. I do my best to pass them on to my friends and family.

Kristof is a national treasure as far as I am concerned. His dedication to reporting is outstanding. I hope our Seattle paper will continue to publish his columns. Keep up the good work and God bless the American Press.

-- Linda Flickinger, Lynnwood

Heads in the sand

Why on earth would Commissioners Patrick Oshie and Mark Sidran of the Utilities and Transportation Commission even give a thought to approving the sale of Puget Sound Energy (PSE) when the whole proposal had a decidedly bad smell from the beginning? ["Wrong decision on PSE," editorial, Jan. 6.]

Now that the deal seems to be done, even more troubling aspects are coming to light. One wonders whether these two men were making decisions with their heads buried in the sand.

Surely, they had to have had access to all the information beforehand and well before the public was privy to some of the more questionable financial issues related to the purchase. So what were they thinking?

Haven't we seen enough of such warped and unwise deals in the past year or longer?

Hopefully, there is an avenue for the governor to step in and nix this irresponsible decision.

-- Ruth Quiban, Seattle

The bigger picture

Will someone please explain why a 16-year-old girl is charged with first degree murder in the suspicious death of her newborn baby ["Body of newborn found in trash," Local News, Jan. 6] when adult males who beat and torture to death newborns, infants and toddlers are only charged with manslaughter?

-- Karen Clay, Port Orchard

Cause and effect

Yes, there are important things that need to be fixed. But I hope they don't eliminate the need to hold lawbreakers accountable.

When former President Richard Nixon illegally tried to cover up the Watergate break-in, he wasn't held accountable.

This set the stage for former President Ronald Reagan, who traded weapons for the release of U.S. hostages. He wasn't held accountable, which in turn set the stage for President George W. Bush to knowingly violate the law by wiretapping citizens without first getting a warrant.

If Bush isn't held accountable, will that set the stage for someone in the future?

-- Don Franks, Burien