Daryl Hedding

For the last 70 years, one thing has stood between tyrants and their ability to have their way in this world; American hegemony. Despised from Europe to the Middle East, it nevertheless managed to rid the world of the Third Reich, the USSR and yes, even Saddam Hussein. So, how is it that the land that afforded the West so much of the freedom it has enjoyed is not much appreciated around the globe? The only way I can explain it is to say that I do not believe the concept of "The West" even exists much in Europe anymore, let alone any other part of the world. I lived in Finland for a few years, and people there hardly knew what I was talking about when I referred to the West. This may be a result of a historical disconnect from the concept, but I think it more attributtable to a conceptual disconnect from history. Wikipedia explains the West to be: Western European or Western European-derived nations which enjoy relatively strong economies and stable governments, allow freedom...

There's something mysterious about Jerusalem. I've lived there, on two separate occasions, for a total of almost seven years and I'm always excited to go back. Yet, when I finally get there, after the long climb up the road from Ben Gurion airport, it's always a little anti-climatic. On paper, Jerusalem is really nothing that special. Sure, it has the history, but there are far more beautiful cities in the world. There are certainly cleaner ones, with better planning and nicer drivers. Yet everyone wants a piece of it. And everyone has a different opinion on who it belongs to and what should be done with it. Even President Obama. In his famous speech from Cairo, Obama opined for "all of the children of Abraham to mingle peacefully as in the story of Isra, when Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed (peace be upon them) joined in prayer". This story is traditionally understood by Muslims to have occurred on the Temple Mount. Aside from the obvious problems there are with a...

Four days ago, Dutch MP Geert Wilders was refused entry to the UK on the grounds that he would threaten public security. He was interviewed by the BBC after being detained immediately upon arrival. It should be noted that Wilders represents the 3rd largest political party in the Netherlands and that he has no criminal convictions against him in the EU. Charges of hate speech have been filed against him in the Netherlands, but he is still innocent until proven guilty. Wilders had actually been in the UK a few weeks before, without inciting any violence, or threatening any public security. The issue here comes down to the fact that he was invited to show his movie Fitna at the House of Lords. Wilders has had numerous death threats made on his life as a result of the critical views of Islam he expresses in the film. As if that is not ironic enough, it would seem that the British government is now willing to muzzle free speech for fear that its Islamic community may live up to the kind of...