Great piece regarding the Middle East that's sure to upset everyone regardless of their allegiances that explains the root of the problem preventing rational discussion being, "everybody wants to deal with a world that they want rather than the world as it is".
Syrian activist Aboud Dandachi reminds Europe that, "when a Syrian tells you that you are in deep shit, you may rest assured that the shit you are in is deep indeed."
(And because one or both of these arguments may well come up in the comments let me pre-emptively mention that if you argue that one horrifically racist and genocidal blog post represents all Israelis, or that the horrifically racist and genocidal Hamas charter represents all Palestinians, please reconsider your ability to have an intelligent discussion on pretty much anything. Similarly, if the blog post (written by a loathsome and idiotic American teenager who lives in his parents' New Jersey basement and was posted by him without editorial oversight only to be hastily removed and renounced by the Times of Israel and soon thereafter to be recanted by him) outrages you, but the (official since 1988 and still current) charter doesn't.)
[And if you don't follow me on Twitter or Facebook, here's a podcast I did with U of T's Dr. Greg Wells on some of the most straightforward changes that you can make to help with health and/or weight.]