Realcent.org

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-04-04/us-threatens-russia-sanctions-over-petrodollar-busting-deal

"This is why we believe that any hostile financial actions are a double-edged sword and even the slightest error will send the boomerang back to the aborigines,” she said." I love it ... aborigines

Imagine how it must feel to these countries to be able to start shedding and divesting themselves from the U$D? And be able to trade in regional currencies and not include us (US). It must feel like freedom and satisfaction at poking big brother in the eye while doing it. I don't see what all much we can do about it. It's their right to freely trade. And in the end of the argument, it is us (US) who needs the rest of the world to use our U$D in order to keep the façade of Empire going. I'm not sure how, yet. But this sure smells like opportunity.

People who trust the Russian Ruble over the U.S. Dollar have incredibly short memories. It is a currency backed by an economy that is overly dependant on resources and issued (and manipulated) by an increasingly corrupt and tyrannical government. And don't forget that the ruble itself collapsed less than a generation ago. The relative strength and dependability of the ruble depends not only on the health of the Russian economy, but also the willingness and ability of the Russian government provide accurate economic data. Do you trust Putin to tell the truth about his economy? The Chinese Yuan has similar credibility problems.

Even considering the current lurch towards socialism in the U.S. and the attendant problems with corruption, we still have one of the most stable and transparent financial systems in the world. That is why as long as fiat currencies have value, the U.S. Dollar will be the reserve currency. One dynamic that continually depresses the prices gold and silver is the occurance of economic crisis around the world (Europe, Argentina. . . probably Japan next) causing a flight to quality back to U.S. debt, allowing us continued benefits from being the best house on a bad block.

The problem is not with the Dollar the Yuan or the Ruble specifically, but with the fiat system as a whole. I think the real shift will happen when a nation or group of nations either begins trading for oil with gold or (in a credible fashion) backs their currency with gold.