I wanted to post more human voices from the current madness going on in the Middle East (these are also courtesy of cnn.com, which has a web page full of emails from people caught in the middle of the Israel's hostilities with Lebanon:

Your e-mails: Crisis in the Middle East

Monday, July 17, 2006; Posted: 10:50 a.m. EDT (14:50 GMT)

(CNN) -- CNN.com asked readers affected by the attacks in the Middle East to send us their stories. Here is a sampling of the responses, some of which have been edited:

I am alive. We are in a cellar hiding from Israeli fire, but we are alive. We lack water, electricity and bread but we are alive. Our country is in ruins; all bridges and infrastructure are down, but we are alive. My 6-year-old wants the electricity to come on so that he can charge his PSP; to him that's a major issue. To me, we are alive, and that's enough.
Moustafa Assad, Sidon, Lebanon

I live in Haifa, the north sea port of Israel. Today, I lost a good friend, who was killed by the rocket that hit the city. Today, at 9 a.m. the sirens went off, and all of us, scared, went to find shelter. Then, we heard the noise of the rocket hitting its target, not knowing the location and the outcome. I tried to call my friend, who works in the Israeli railway workshop, with no answer. At that moment I felt that something happened to him. I tried a few more times to contact him and his family. I felt anxious and did not know what to do. Then, I got the call from another friend of ours. His voice was crying ... our friend was killed today, among the eight people killed in Haifa. May God bless him. He was so honest, so nice, so young! God, stop this bloodshed!
Nir, Haifa, Israel

I was in Lebanon two weeks ago visiting my family, along with my kids. I returned the end of June but both my boys are still there and were scheduled to return with their grandparents the 24th of July. They are 6 and 9 years of age. I am worried sick and praying for their safe return. No word from the embassy yet on a date for evacuation. I am working on a ticket to Cyprus to meet them there as soon as I know when they will be arriving. They are in Beirut currently and are acting braver than I ever was growing up in the war in Lebanon.
Rana Jaafar, Tulsa, Oklahoma

I am a Canadian living in Israel for nothing to do with political reasons (I met my Israeli husband while traveling in India 5 years ago). I have been living here for the past 3 years (although our permanent plans include settling in Canada). I used to live in Haifa, now I live in the same area (the North) but in a little town called Tivon (30 min south-east of Haifa). I was in Haifa when the bus got blown up and when the U.S. attacked Iraq. It was scary to be here when the bus was blown up and when we had to carry gas masks and there was the threat of biological warfare and scud missiles being launched on Israel. But it was new then. Now it's different. First off, I have a new baby, a 6 month old girl, my first child. Secondly, for the last while the rules of the game were the same. It was Israelis vs. the Palestinians. You sort of knew what to expect and you trusted that the Israeli security forces knew how to handle it and how to protect you, if you obeyed a few basic rules, like making sure you went to public places only if there was a security guard. As well as which, with the building of the separation fence, attacks in the North decreased and we all felt safer. Now, everything has changed and I am very anxious. Suddenly the rules of the war game are completely different. It's not the Palestinians and the Israelis anymore, it's also Lebanon. And through Lebanon it could get worse to include Syria and Iran. The entire region is completely unstable, which has always been the case, but for a while, it was stable in it's instability, everything is being reshuffled now. This sends me to panic at times. It could ignite so terribly fast with all the hot tempers and military strength around here in an area where force is the most frequently used way to get your point across. On the other hand, whatever I think of Israel's politics, it does do a fabulous job of protecting it's citizens. Israel is a strong military with the support of the U.S. Most likely we will be safe. The risk of a car accident is still greater than the risk of a rocket falling on you. And even though I can understand the average Israeli's take of the situation, for me, being a peacefully brought up Canadian, this experience vacillates between being terrifying (when I want to flee) and surreal (if I consider staying). In addition, the area where we are living is very close to an army base and we hear jets flying over at least every quarter hour. This doesn't help my emotions, as it is a constant reminder of the state of war which the region is in. Previously, we only heard the jets once or twice a week!
Ania Taller Tivon. Israel

I am an American Lebanese who lives in Lebanon; my husband lives in the States. We have three children who live with me in Lebanon... Now I'm here in Florida on vacation with my husband. I was supposed to go back to Lebanon at the end of July, but now I cannot. That is not the problem, the problem is that my three children who are only a 6-year-old girl (Millennia), a 5-year-old girl (Aya), and a 4-year-old boy (Jacob) are stranded alone in Lebanon. I and their dad are stuck here, no way to get there to bring them to the U.S.
Carolina Kmaid, Daytona Beach, Florida

I am an Israeli citizen and my parents are currently in the U.S. My mother is very worried and she calls me every day with much anxiety, as things seem even worse when you are far away from the events, especially if you are hooked up so closely to the Internet for a few hours each day. On the one hand I don't want to worry her, on the other, I myself am worried like everyone else, but I try to soften my reports. My mother is considering returning back home from a long-term trip. I work in a basement in Tel-Aviv, which suffers from bad air or lack of air more often than not, but no doubt it is the best place to be if a rocket hits here, like [Hassan] Nasrallah threatens. It's horrible that innocent people are hurt on both sides, but the world must know and understand that people like Nasrallah, [Osama] Bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, cannot be reasoned with in a normal manner.
Shlomit Coen Maoz, Tel Aviv, Israel

I am a Lebanese-American who is visiting Lebanon for the summer. I was due to return on the 28th of July but now I am stuck and waiting for the evacuation. Lebanon is an amazing country and it is very sad that it is being destroyed this way. We are all hoping and praying that everyone stops bombing and people will quit dying. I have been lucky to be far away from any of the bombings, but it is sad to hear the jets fly over and to hear the bombs exploding in the distance. I can see Beirut from my balcony and even through the smoke I have faith we will rebuild and we will live again and Beirut will be beautiful again.
Ziad Chihane, Deek El Mehdi, Lebanon

I am 17 years old and I just arrived in Turkey. I escaped Beirut two days ago and it was the hardest decision I have ever made. I decided at 6 p.m. that I was going to leave Beirut via the only road left to Syria and then drive till the borders of Turkey. I stayed 20 hours in a bus full of people worried that we could get bombed at any moment. I feel so bad because I left all the people I love there and they are stuck now! This was supposed to be a very good summer with a lot of musical gigs and a lot of tourists, which was very good for Lebanon. I have no idea what's going to happen, I only hope that all of this madness is going to stop as soon as possible. This can't go on this way! This is the 21st century. How can people still think about war?
Janane, Beirut, Lebanon

On the verge of one of the most successful tourist seasons Lebanon has ever had, this conflict broke out to further burden a population already suffering from poverty and stagnation. It's a shame for a country that could -- and still can -- be a beacon for true democracy in the region to suffer such a setback. As a Lebanese citizen, I lived through all my life among war, death and destruction -- it grieves me now to see my children living in the same conditions I swore I would never let them see.
Iyad Abdelnour, Beirut, Lebanon

I have a 15-year-old child in Israel. He was sent there for five weeks with other children to see and visit the country. We, like many others, are helpless in making arrangements for his return.
Denise Kalt, Franklin, Michigan

I am 16, and I am in Lebanon with my two younger brothers. My parents are frantic with worry, but there is no way out. All major roads in the country have been destroyed. We are stuck, and our embassy is not even answering the phone anymore. We have no idea what is going on. All we want now is to go home.
Jenna, Chemstar, Lebanon

I live in the area that has just been threatened. The situation here is serious because the area a missile may strike is not clear. I feel safe though because we are in a city due east of Tel Aviv, and hopefully it is safer here. For now it is relatively calm. I do volunteer at the police station, and if anything happens in my area I need to go and help. ... I have been living in Israel for a year; I was living in the States my whole life before this. This is my first experience being so close to a war, and it is much different than hearing about it on the news.
Eric, Hod Hashron, Israel

I'm an American citizen vacationing with my father in Lebanon. We were set to leave the 14th of July, but since the bombings are stuck in Lebanon. We find ourselves like the Lebanese people: hostages, terrorized by Israeli bombs, with nobody to defend us. We are frantically awaiting relief from the U.S. Embassy.
Kellee, Los Angeles, California

I came to live in Israel 15 years ago from the United States. At the time I genuinely believed that there was a great opportunity for peace. But now, as I sit here in my home, not far from Haifa, I realize how things have gone terribly wrong and how much things have changed. I used to be a "leftie." Now I am no longer sure how I would define myself. The only thing that comes to mind is "tired and scared." I ask myself, how did this happen? Where did we go wrong? Why are there rockets and missiles attacking all of us? But one thing is for sure, hatred and anger are seeping into my heart. The sympathy and understanding are flowing out. With each Katyusha that lands here, the flow speeds up.
Cheryl, Zichron, Israel