That said, the question remains: how to strike the balance between free speech and mutual respect in this mixed-up world, both blessed and cursed with instant communication? We should not fight fire with fire, threats with threats.

I love this country, but the union jack leaves me cold.

To be in Florence is to reflect on Europe's intricate diversity - and its lost creativity.

Starting from the ruins of the Second World War, we - all Europeans said, after centuries of fighting each other, we're going to build permanent arrangements in which peace between European countries is secured, freedom is secured, and growing prosperity. And that's what we have done over the last 70 years.

That said, the question remains: how to strike the balance between free speech and mutual respect in this mixed-up world, both blessed and cursed with instant communication? We should not fight fire with fire, threats with threats.

The key to the survival of liberty in the modern world is the embrace of multiple identities.

A central claim of the Bush administration's foreign policy is that the spread of democracy in the Middle East is the cure for terrorism.