Divided by more than a common language?

The suggestion that the convicted Lockerbie bomber Mr al-Megrahi may be released on compassionate grounds has generated a fascinating response. In general the families of those US citizens who were killed have reacted with outrage whereas those of the UK victims have broadly been in agreement with his release. I'm not sure just what this tells us about the differences between out two cultures, but it does highlight the fact that some pretty fundamental differences do exist. We're not so close as we might believe.