"The Dancers Aren't Complaining"

Today, "The Independent" in Britain came out with the following headline: "The demise of the dollar. In a graphic illustration of the new world order, Arab states have launched secret moves with China, Russia and France to stop using the US currency for oil trading."

The article continues:

"In the most profound financial change in recent Middle East history, Gulf Arabs are planning – along with China, Russia, Japan and France – to end dollar dealings for oil, moving instead to a basket of currencies including the Japanese yen and Chinese yuan, the euro, gold and a new, unified currency planned for nations in the Gulf Co-operation Council, including Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Qatar.

Secret meetings have already been held by finance ministers and central bank governors in Russia, China, Japan and Brazil to work on the scheme, which will mean that oil will no longer be priced in dollars. [...]

Brazil has shown interest in collaborating in non-dollar oil payments, along with India. Indeed, China appears to be the most enthusiastic of all the financial powers involved, not least because of its enormous trade with the Middle East. [...]

"These plans will change the face of international financial transactions," one Chinese banker said. "America and Britain must be very worried. You will know how worried by the thunder of denials this news will generate."

Iran announced late last month that its foreign currency reserves would henceforth be held in euros rather than dollars. Bankers remember, of course, what happened to the last Middle East oil producer to sell its oil in euros rather than dollars. A few months after Saddam Hussein trumpeted his decision, the Americans and British invaded Iraq."

To read the complete article, use this link.

I did not see anything about this most interesting and relevant information on MSNBC, and Fox News has the story ways down under behind all the blah-blah about our glorious war on terrorism and a fascinating story of corruption at ACORN. The Fox News twist is that the story is not true because it was denied by official sources in the countries named by the Independent. Sure, we all heard denials from official sources that Madonna is not getting a divorce, etc., etc. If these powerful countries are planning to pull the rug from under American financial supremacy, it would be a bit dumb of them to officially announce their course, wouldn't it? It would be stupid and complacent on our part to take their assurances at face value and instead continue being zombied by the likes of Ben Bernanke into thinking that we are on the mend, and that all is definitely under control.

The US reaction to this news reminded me of a recent experience we had here in North Carolina. For the first time ever in history, the Bolshoi Ballet came to Carolina. The Bolshoi said that until recently it was not even aware that anything existed in the vast space between Washington, DC and Miami. Lo and behold, they were coming to Chapel Hill, and we were up for a treat! They brought two performances, "Don Quixote" and the "Swan Lake." Tickets were sold out months and months in advance. We went to see both shows. "Don Quixote" was a rapture to watch despite the fact that the stage was obviously too small for this production, and at one point the soloist had to push away from the wall. Two nights later we were watching "The Swan Lake." I do not remember another ballet performance which I watched with a similarly sick feeling. In my mind, it was nothing short of a disaster. The stage was covered with some substance which obviously made it too slippery for the dancers, and it also produced a horrible squeaking sound each time they had to twist a foot on it, which was, essentially, all the time. About 5 dancers actually fell or slipped and nearly fell during the ballet. At one point the kneeling soloist had to make a visible effort to lift the foot he was resting on off the floor for his tricot stuck to the stage. It felt like the performers were dancing over a Coke spilled floor. We sat with a knot in our stomachs cringing at the squeaks, and filled with apprehension of future slips and falls. Anybody who is familiar with the Bolshoi would know that for a dancer to fall during their performance is a next to impossible event.

Anyway, during the intermission, we ran looking for a stage manager to see if the slippery covering could somehow been ameliorated during the short break. This was the evening when a red carpet reception for the patrons of the arts preceded the actual show. As a result, the theater was filled with ladies of all ages donning evening gowns. The lady we were told to talk to, was also fancily dressed up, and we apparently interrupted her small talk with an important guest. She sized me up (I failed to impress her), and after I related my concerns to her, she replied in a condescending manner that this was a special stuff they put on the stage surface for a ballet performance. Then when I assured her that (obviously, unlike her) I have been to many a ballet performance, and the stage never sounded this way, she gave me her last trump argument: "The dancers aren't complaining!" The performance concluded with the same accompaniment of squeaks and slips.

I later read in a published interview how concerned the dancers were about the slippery conditions on the stage that night. It was very evident that this was the first and last encounter of that stage manager's with the caliber of the ballet the Bolshoi offers. I am sure the troupe were very glad to leave the hospitable Carolina with no broken legs, and are probably convinced that there was a good reason why they were oblivious to the existence of human civilization between DC and Miami.

The parallel I am drawing here is in the attitude. The stage manager was convinced there was no trouble since she did not hear the dancers complain. The US media sources are also trying to placate us in this matter of vital importance to our collective "dance" that "the artists are not complaining," and therefore there is no cause for concern. Well, the artists may be plotting an escape to another troupe altogether. Ever heard about the BRIC countries? That may be the name of a new theater. I am not sure that when it opens we will have enough disposable income left in the currency they accept to purchase tickets to their performances.