I have started reading
The Prize by Daniel Yergin, which is an epic whirlwind tale of the history of oil.
Like
others, I found it interesting to read about the early risk takers and power brokers who seized upon new opportunities in the exploration, production, refining, distribution and consumption of oil and gas, starting first in the U.S. (Pennsylvania, Texas, Oklahoma) and then spreading throughout the world. It was also eye-opening to see how much national politics and strategic influence have played a role since the beginning. A century ago, the predecessors of companies such as Exxon/Mobil (nee Standard Oil), Shell and British Petroleum (nee Anglo-Persian) competed for oil in the Iraq, Iran, Russia, Venezuela and Mexico. Understanding that Mosul and Kirkuk were (already) the object of intense Western attention a century ago puts today's news in some historical perspective...
Reading The Prize reminds me of
a video by Robert Newman on the History of Oil, which presents a humorous but also deadly serious monologue on oil and its past context, and in particular mentions that World War I was not only about Europe but also involved a parallel struggle for the oil in the Middle East.
(Robert Newman also discusses how the current U.S. dollar is propped up by its use as
the currency for purchasing oil (a.k.a. "petrodollar"), and gives an analogy in the form of an anecdote about Salvador Dali, who would draw sketches on the back of his personal checks to guarantee that they would not be cashed.)
Meebo has introduced chatrooms, in which multiple people can use a web interface instant messaging (IM) client to communicate with each other. This is a combination of IRC and IM, along with a web interface. (Unfortunately, this is not fully integrated with MSN, Jabber or other existing IM systems, and the chat must take place within the meebo system).
