Though it’s dropped out of the headlines recently, the situation in Ukraine and Russia is remarkably dangerous for the west. And according to our guest, Patrick L Smith, columnist for Salon and a veteran of the International Herald Tribune, most of the problems are of our own making. Western Europe is being hurt but the Obama Administrations seems to not care. The sanctions are actually only working to help strengthen Putin’s grip and international standing. In in the Ukraine there is a major rise in neo-Nazism. Americans have been in a “propaganda bubble,” and the truth should be of concern to all of us, according to Smith. Vladimir Putin (Credit: AP/Mark Lennihan/Photo montage by Salon)