Word: petros
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Cynics may believe that George W. Bush's desire for regime change in Iraq is ultimately meant to serve the interests of his petro-cronies. If so, U.S. oil companies will have to get in line: Saddam Hussein has recently cut a slew of generous deals with Asian and European concerns, giving them first crack at Iraq's 112 billion barrels of known oil - worth at least $3 trillion at today's prices - as well as unexplored fields. Non-U.S. firms have over 30 deals with Iraq waiting to take effect when sanctions are lifted; France's TotalFinaElf, Spain...
...especially since the financial crisis has his military enemies itching to stage another coup. (During last week's march, Vice Adm. Alvaro Martin Fossa, the nation's second most powerful military figure, resigned in protest of Chavez's government.) The U.S., meanwhile, bracing for the possibility of petro-market chaos if it invades Iraq, needs more reliable supplies...
...Saudi Arabia has one of the highest birthrates and one of the fastest falling per capita incomes in the world. The petro-wealth paradise of 25 years ago is quickly becoming just another struggling developing nation. Officials are concerned that a heavy emphasis on religious education is producing a generation of angry and intolerant young men who are increasingly distrustful of the West. This is the generation that will come to exercise influence, if not control, over a quarter of the world's oil as well as Islam's holiest sites in Mecca and Medina...
Christopher Petro, who works at an Internet startup in Manhattan and had been participating in the chat under the username of "wankel," decided to put this possibility to the test. As soon as the server had restarted after a crash, he tried switching his username to "President_Clinton." Since Clinton (or, rather, the person typing for the President) hadn't logged on yet, it worked, and for a few fleeting instants Petro had the bully pulpit all to himself...
After thirty seconds, during which Petro says he "found himself in respiratory distress due to excessive laughter," someone at CNN decided that this was probably not the President talking and banned President_Clinton from the chat. However, Petro reconnected faster than the real President Clinton could and told the chat room, "okay, that was just too much. my apologies" before he was banned permanently. One wonders how long Petro could have lasted if he had decided to discuss a more realistic topic, such as China policy or the 2000 elections. Perhaps he would have finished the rest of the chat...