Karen Armstrong

Myth is not an inderior form of history; it expresses the timeless inner meaning of external events

A myth is something that in some way happened once but which also happens all the time

What has mythology to do with politics? What is a 'myth'? Something that isn't true? Or...?

If we want our species to survive, it's time to cultivate a more compassionate and respectful mindset

Off to St Petersburg; la4t time I went it was Leningrad - reminder: major chnage happens

Pro-Democracy Rioters in Libya in Bengazi drive out the Islamist groups who killed the US Ambassador

To see the whole we have always to see the context. In Pakistan the video may seem an attack (like the drones) too far

Drone attacks in the Pakistani tribal areas from the US are killing civilians; thousands are living as refugees from these.

Pakistanis are embroiled in a civil war; suicide bombings nearly everyday. Since 9/11 some 35,000 Pakistanis have died

But Pakistan is on the front line of the conflicts that are tearing our world apart and therefore inflammable

Pakistan riots about the video: it seems largley exacerbated by extremists, as usual

In our polarized world, this is extremely dangerous; we urgently need grreater balance

At the end of the crisis we all end with our distorted impressions of each other deepened and more entrenched

And Muslims appear atavistic, chronically violent, rabidly anti-American, and dangerously barbaric.

So because of the film Americans are presented as arrogant, intolerant, and lacking in respect for other cultures and religions

What is the effect of the media ignoring the middle-ground in an Islamic/West clash? :it confirms us all in our prejudices

What is the effect of this media bias? To be continued tomorrow....