Varney writes, "BBC News has an interesting story about the rise of robots in Japan. It is worth reading." This article, like others we've seen, compares the differing viewpoints on robots in the East and West. The East has taken the long-term approach, using robots to solve the problems that come from the aging population. The author ascribes the difference in part to the religion. Shinto makes it easier to accept machines as equals to humans than recent fundamentalist interpretations of Christiantity seem to. In the West, robots that go beyond simple, task-oriented machines are sometimes perceived as evil. "Unlike their fictional counterparts in the West, apparently hell-bent on destruction, robots in Japan are seen as forces for good, as borne out by their role in rescue work."