In the post-capitalism post-NATO-Russia-War barter economy, you better have more to trade than your ass

There remains a slim hope that so-called world leaders and their minions, the multitudes of technocrats, political consultants, expert advisors, yes-people, deputies, assistants, frat brothers, ex-lovers, etc., who rule the "free" world know what they're doing. A slim hope, but maybe it's time to give serious thought to the worst case scenario. In the worst case scenario, the shit (American Exceptionalism and all it entails), will sooner or later hit the fan (global disgust with the current world order imposed by the shit). After our billionaire-owned governments collapse, along with the dollar, where are you gonna be at? Unless you've got something to sell or trade, you'll be screwed. If you're living on a government job or a government cheque, life as you've known it is over. Need food? The supermarkets have all been looted and the supply chains trashed. Wanna eat? Head for the country. Folks out there grow FOOD! Alas, with the dollar worthless, what do you have that you can trade to the country folks for the meat and potatoes or rice and beans you need to feed your family? I have a wood-worker friend who makes wooden wagon wheels. There's a lot of Amish communities still use those. They're an integral part of the Amish supply chain. Buddy and his extended family will be dining large as long as he can produce wagon wheels! That'll be generally true for everyone who can provide a product or service people need. Underneath the manifold layers of bureaucracy and parasitic grifting that have destroyed Western civilization, there remains the beating heart of the real economy. That's where people do real stuff; drill wells, dig mines, build homes, grow food, cook food, fix cars, cut hair, and so on. If you've got something to contribute to community survival, you'll be fine. If the only asset you've got is your ass, you're gonna be in trouble. Supply and demand rule in the barter economy, and everybody has an ass. Get yourself some real skills that can't be done from home on your lap-top, and you'll be headed in the right direction.

What if Putin isn't bluffing?

The cabal of dorkshits who pissed away $300 million every single day for twenty years before cutting and running from the Taliban, now see themselves entitled to dictate what's what to Russia and China.

I don't think you have to be a genius political analyst to see this can't possibly end well.

The Americans spent billions to over-throw the democratically elected government in Ukraine. After decades of encroaching on former Soviet satellites, Ukraine was to be the big prize. If we could turn Ukraine, NATO would be right on Russia's border!

Alas, the "Revolution of Dignity" wasn't much of a revolution, nor did it bring anything in the way of dignity to the people of Ukraine.

The current tensions in Ukraine can be traced back to comments the clown-comedian leader of Ukraine made back in the spring, about re-taking the Crimean peninsula. That's when the first "build-up" of Russian forces on the other side of the border happened.

Since then, Western politicians and media have been recklessly goading Zelensky to make good on his threats. Even as both the UK and USA announce up front they won't back Ukraine militarily, they keep up the confrontational rhetoric and flood Ukraine with hundreds of millions in fresh weaponry. 

The reporting in Western media on last week's meetings between EU, OSCE, NATO, and Russia was dismissive of any Russian concerns. We are, after all, the Good Guys, whereas Putin is an evil dictator looking to revive the Stalin era.

In Canada, the two primary organs of state propaganda, The Globe and Mail and CBC, are full of hubristic twaddle about how we and our allies need to call Putin's bluff and put him in his place.

Canada cut and ran from Afghanistan years before the Americans gave up. Yet somehow, we think it's our job to rally round Uncle Sam as the Americans provoke a military confrontation with an entity that is infinitely more capable than the Taliban?

This will not end well for the self-proclaimed Nations of Virtue.