What is the difference between the realignment in Iraq and the plebiscites in Spain, the UK, Canada; the division of Sudan, Yugoslavia, Ukraine? Basically, it is just the level of violence. The desire for identity is universal. A "nation" is born when certain standards and principals are universal enough within a population to create adherence. It falls apart when those standards and principals no longer hold sway (our own Civil War is an example). We are not that far from our own "Kurdish problem" at home, as the political makeup of our coasts and the swath of red in the center and south are diverging into completely different populations.

A well reasoned argument is like a diamond: impervious to corruption and crystal clear - and infinitely rarer.

Here, as elsewhere, people are outraged at what feels like a rigged game -- an economy that won't respond, a democracy that won't listen, and a financial sector that holds all the cards. - Robert Reich