[Griff]

I think this argument is an important one to have, like Syc mentioned there is a disconnect in the way the situation is viewed in the US vs Europe. I'm not sure how much of the Euro-view is just anti-american feelings taking a different channel. I would say that our governments blind support of Israel is problematic if we really want to help the situation. I started with the belief that the Palestinians were the aggreived party, having been evicted from their homes (not nation). Its easy however to pick any point in time and say if this group didn't do this everything would be cool. The bottom line is both sides need to move beyond grievences and neither side has a statesman in place capable of that.

I also echo the exhaustion feeling, so I leave it alone for awhile, then get sucked back in. The deal with the cellar is people are willing to say what they really mean, whether egos get bruised or not, people get pissed, grumble for a while, leave the subject alone, and eventually get over it, seeing in the emotional response the root of the conflict and maybe coming back to it a little wiser. The other stuff like the entertainment and cities section give people a glimpse of a real person separate from naked opinions and politics, keeping the community human.