How about some good news (or at least interesting)?

[pagan]

Right back at you.

[ScottA]

I live the way I do because I don't want to be part of the "system" any longer.

Ditto. 

[John Raabe]

Politics and religion... two topics that seem to be very hard to keep away from.
These are, for some, like grabbing a high voltage line. Hairs will stand on end.  

The tension around and between politics and religion has been part of the American equation since the beginning. The enlightenment vision has always been that reasonable people can debate problems and come to reasonable solutions - at least that was the ideal. Unlike the 18th century when community discussions were face to face, the recent rise of narrow-niche media (primarily radio & internet) has greatly intensified and balkanized positions.

Now emotions can be worked up and called upon without any use of the rational thinking/experiencing process that might be required if the "enemy" were a breathing human being standing in front of you.

Perhaps we will all end up being our own personal jihadists - at least on-line. Then we will pet the building inspectors cat and smile at the Muslim baby in our real life - and maybe that's enough.

In real life people are more human than we expect.

[RainDog]

In real life people are more human than we expect.

Or is that often transference? "People are people" wishful thinking?

When there are masses of folks in the world who've never met me, and don't know me from Adam, who would gleefully watch and celebrate a videotape of my family and yours having their heads sawn off one by one with a dull blade, I've got to believe so. Would I experience happiness in watching their families die like that? Would you?

Of course not.

But similar videos are purchased in markets all over the Islamic world.

There are enormous groups of people in the world who, though certainly biologically human, differ so much in world-view from us that they might as well be from another planet.

Look at 9/11. We all saw an outpouring of sympathy and solidarity from people worldwide, but we also saw the antithesis of that. People whooped in joy from Dearborne to Cairo.

Me, I celebrate nobody's death. Even of the most vile enemy I could ever have. I may feel justice in their demise, experience great relief, etc, but you'll never catch me handing out candy in the streets or popping the cork on a bottle of champagne over anyone's death.

The West's current culture clash with Islam is one example, but there are plenty of other defining dividers between people.

Plenty. A whole world chock full of irreconcilable differences.

Increased communication, as often as not, is a tool used by one group to defeat another, rather than to live in harmony and bliss. It's seen over and over, in the workplace, on the battlefield, and even in personal relationships.

You can dream that the hand that holds the blade to your throat would be extended in friendship after a nice chat and a cup of tea, but I sure wouldn't build a philosophy on that hope.

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On a lighter note, some great photographs from Afghanistan:

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2009/12/30/afghanistan_2009_a_year_in_photos

[rwanders]

No high powered energy source is ever completely safe-----high pressure steam piping and/or boilers have killed more people than nuke power plants (I don't include atomic bombs). Even a hot water heater is capable of an impressive blast if the safety valve or high temp shutoff fails.

Having said that, a nuke incident obviously can pose a more widespread threat. Our awareness of that fact actually renders a nuke accident less likely.