Avoiding misinformation

March 23, 2026

Producing a daily newsletter 24/7 is an enormous task and I am an admirer. However, I do not expect to read in Pearls and Irritations the same type of inaccuracies that appear in the legacy press. The following article should have received a minor edit. George Browning’s article The dangerous stories driving war in Iran contained the following statement: The stories that people and nations tell themselves have enormous consequences. Vladimir Putin tells himself that the natural jurisdiction of the Russian communist party is the area that approximates to the old Soviet Union. Anything less than that is, in his story, a diminution of the rights and identity of the Russian people The last time I looked Russia had a thriving Communist party and Vladimir Putin was not a member. The second part of the quote is probably debateable but Putin has been openly critical of the idea of restoring the Soviet Union. He has frequently quoted Alexander Lebed (1990) Whoever does not regret the destruction of the Soviet Union doesn’t have a heart, whoever wants to recreate it doesn’t have a head