With Russia hacking the American election, presiding over mass slaughter in Syria, annexing Crimea and talking casually about using nuclear weapons, Mr Romney’s view has become conventional wisdom. […]

Every week Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, finds new ways to scare the world. Recently he moved nuclear-capable missiles close to Poland and Lithuania. This week he sent an aircraft-carrier group down the North Sea and the English Channel. He has threatened to shoot down any American plane that attacks the forces of Syria’s despot, Bashar al-Assad. Russia’s UN envoy has said that relations with America are at their tensest in 40 years. Russian television news is full of ballistic missiles and bomb shelters. “Impudent behaviour” might have “nuclear consequences”, warns Dmitry Kiselev, Mr Putin’s propagandist-in-chief—who goes on to cite Mr Putin’s words that “If a fight is inevitable, you have to strike first.” —The Economist, Putinism

[Dear Editor at The Economist,]

THIS ARTICLE COULD HAVE BEEN WRITTEN BY JOSEPH GOBBLES

The road to war is often exacerbated by the public media when it is misleading and misrepresents the facts. This is especially disturbing give that this article was written in the Economist. Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, there has been a relentless effort by NATO, the EU, and the US, to absorb all of the former Eastern Block nations. To a large extent this effort has been successful.

When East Germany was absorbed into West Germany, Gorbachev was promised by the West that NATO would never move East. Now, the majority of the Eastern block nations belong to NATO. The West has stated Russia is a threat to NATO countries. However, given that Russia’s defense spending is about 3% of the globe military spending, while NATO accounts for more than 60% of the world’s military spending, this threat is another example of Western Propaganda.

And when it comes to the Middle East, who bombed Libya out of existence, and which country threatened to inflict regime change on seven Arab countries in a period of five years. I am no fan of Russia or Putin, but tell the truth as it is. Wars are generally started by accident or some small incident, such as that in WW1.

It is disturbing to see the Western media follow the propaganda habits of a person like Joseph Gobbles. It can lead to no good.

By George