Israel and a host of Arab governments sat down, under American supervision, to discuss their thorniest differences, chief among them, the status of the Palestinian people.
Until now, the administration of President Obama has sought to separate discussions of the subject from other thorny issues, like differences over currency rates or trade.
Transdisciplinarity requires actors to engage actively in the messy and thorny work of overcoming difference and awkwardness whilst also drawing strength and value from the very existence of those differences (Demir 2008, 2011).
And since then, especially after the relationship disintegrated into all-out conflict, it has seemed increasingly unthinkable that the Israelis and the Palestinians would find a way to broach -- much less resolve -- intractable differences on the thorniest issues.
It is almost 20 years since democracy arrived in South Africa but race is still a thorny issue - and not all differences have been forgotten.
Even on the thorny question of tax cuts, the difference between a larger personal allowance and Labour's 10p starter rate of tax can be overstated – the latter could be viewed as a step towards the former.
Israel Radio reported tonight that while key differences remain on the thorniest issues of Jerusalem and the right of return of refugees, progress has been made on some relatively minor issues like water and the environment.
The United States and China have narrowed their differences over farm subsidies, the thorniest issue holding up Chinese entry into the World Trade Organization.
The leaders announced what they called "a clean energy dialogue" to work out their differences on environmental issues, among the thorniest between the United States and Canada, and engage in joint research on technology to reduce carbon emissions.
By contrasting 4chan with their self-proclaimed enemy, their counter-culture counterparts, we can see that, though demographically they are so similar, the real difference is introduced here — at the thorny of issue of the girlfriend.
