The political leaders of North America from rich oil producing regions sleep away on design and implementation of environment, health, and science and technology programs. Look at the cut backs and lack of interest in adequately funding and developing the new fusion technologies. Oil interests rule so completely that speculators, including the oil people themselves, know which commodities to speculate with using US dollars that don't know where else to go. We are witnessing another round of speculation as Bush seeks to grab as much as he can before leaving office. This means that the rest of the world will have to assume a bigger role. Watch British Petroleum try to grab Iraq's oil as the country is trying to stand on its feet. Watch Exxon grab its share and enhance its billions of profits that could be used for non-polluting energy sources and healthier environments for all creatures. Why should beef and petroleum oil win every time when they are so uncool.
China is obviously well placed to become the world's largest economy and its currency may ultimately join the US dollar in a basket of preferred currencies of use as people scramble for security in storing economic value. China will join countries that invest overseas and its influence will spread now more rapidly as America hangs leaderless.
Russia is once again in an economic leadership opportunity and should use its oil resources wisely. America's tactic would be to provoke Russia into another arms race which would mean a squandering of Russia's opportunity to gain the major world leadership spot. Putin is probably the only leading politician worldwide, who can claim to be on the right track despite his stance of refusing to share power, probably wise in view of Russia's history of internal conflict and inability to self govern democratically. Its not that the Russian people are not democratic. They are probably too democratic. Its that they don't now how to organize a parliament that balances forward and backward forces adequately.
Wise use of the revenues of Russian oil, unlike the crazy use by Britain, USA, and Canada of their oil revenues, will give Russia the longed for opportunity to join the big six as world economic powers. What will determine the outcome is whether Putin can engineer or encourage a society of level headed individuals who can see through the American corporate game plans for acquiring dominance in world energy.
Its a question of oil and guns. Will the world buy more guns? Will the world continue in its addiction to oil as its energy source. There are alternatives, but the leaders of the world are not pointing in those directions at all. Just watch and listen to what they say and decide for yourself.