UsingEnglish.com: Waiting in the wings
If someone is waiting in the wings, or in the wings, they are in the background, but nearby, ready to act on short notice.
NY Times: The Democratic Recession
There are two important recessions going on in the world today. One has gotten enormous attention. It’s the economic recession in America. But it will eventually pass, and the world will not be much worse for the wear. The other has gotten no attention. It’s called “the democratic recession,” and if it isn’t reversed, it will change the world for a long time…
“There are 23 countries in the world that derive at least 60 percent of their exports from oil and gas and not a single one is a real democracy,” explains Diamond. “Russia, Venezuela, Iran and Nigeria are the poster children” for this trend, where leaders grab the oil tap to ensconce themselves in power.
Russia is the second biggest exporter of petroleum in the world, behind only Saudi Arabia. Russian oil production may have peaked already, but they remain able to export a great deal of oil. America’s oil production peaked in 1970, and now the United States produces only about as much as Saudi Arabia’s Ghawar oil field. That’s the biggest producing oil field in the world, responsible for 7% of the total global production of oil.
That means the United States also produces about 7% of the world’s oil. But America needs a lot more than that; we import 65% of the oil we need. During the oil embargoes of the 1970s, America imported 28% of its oil. We are a lot more reliant on foreign oil now than we were in the 70s.
Russia is not reliant on foreign oil, at all.
NY Times: Tanks Roll Through Red Square
Russia showcased its military might and youthful new president to the world Friday, as heavy tanks and missile launchers rumbled across Red Square in a Victory Day parade for the first time since the Soviet era.
In a nationally broadcast speech two days after his inauguration, President Dmitry Medvedev avoided the bellicose rhetoric of his mentor and predecessor, Vladimir Putin, who drew parallels between United States and Nazi Germany during last year’s parade.
America’s next president will have to deal with the crisis in the Middle East, including how to resolve the Iraq War; an economic crisis “fueled” by Peak Oil; and the growing power of China and Russia. Because of Peak Oil, America’s next president will be handicapped as he faces these challenges. America may not be able to remain on the world stage as a “player.” If it should come to that, my hope is that the rest of the world will leave us alone, to sort out our own problems our own way.
For an interesting take on the differences between the United States and the Soviet Union, and how Peak Oil might impact our country, read Dmitry Orlov’s Post-Soviet Lessons for a Post-American Century.
The “wings” are the area just offstage, a place were actors wait to make their entrance.
America MAY not be able to remain on the world stage as a “player.” Come on. It was obvious to most anyone at least a decade ago that this is China’s century. At that time, America should have begun fashioning a path for itself as the world’s “elder statesman”; leading the way to sustainable development and replacing force with diplomacy. 911 offered an incredible opening to the US to change its way and we have fully rejected that opening. I think it is too late to change, not for any geophysical reasons but simply because Americans, for the most part, are spoiled rotten.
It appears that we will go the way of the Roman Empire. In that regard England should perhaps have been our model as they moved from the dominant power to a tattered remnant but then recovered to become a fairly reasonable member of the world community and empowered themselves within a greater European Union. Hilary’s current battle to the death can be seen as the ultimate expression of American Exceptionalism; we just won’t go quietly into that good night, the costs be damned.
You MAY be quite right dog. Could be we screwed the pooch but good.