German leader warns U.S. superpower era is over - UPI.com: "Indeed, it looks increasingly likely that the dollar will not even remain the leading reserve currency. For several years, Arab nations, led by Saudi Arabia, that were alarmed by the financial measures included in the Patriot Act have quietly been transferring hundreds of billions of dollars into euros. And strongly anti-American but major oil-producing nations such as Iran and Venezuela certainly have been talking themselves in that direction. Now Russia, the largest combined oil and gas energy exporter in the world, is talking about using its record financial reserves to create a gold ruble. The dollar has not been backed by gold since President Franklin D. Roosevelt was forced to effectively devalue it by taking it off the gold standard in 1933."
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But let's keep talking about Sarah Palin's interview with Katie Couric and Barack Obama's bracelet. Important stuff like that. We wouldn't want the presidential campaign to get bogged down in press coverage of tedious public policy issues.