Oil Peaked. Get Over It. No More 'Drill Baby Drill'. Too Risky.

Here is Simmons a year ago. How did his predictions do then?

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The Gulf Coast oil spill's Dr. Doom

HAT TIP: DOUG


Interview by Nin-Hai Tseng, reporterJune 9, 2010: 1:31 PM ET


FORTUNE -- As an oil and gas industry insider, Matt Simmons speaks with a bold voice and makes even bolder predictions.

For more than 35 years, Simmons has run a Texas-based boutique investment bank, Simmons & Co., which specializes in the energy industry. At times, with his somewhat doom-and -loom-like take on things, there's a hint of conspiracy theorist in his tone. But it's hard to ignore that Simmons is deeply connected and has been pretty much right on in the past: When oil was $58 a barrel the year Twilight was released, Simmons predicted prices would be at or above $100 within a few years. By 2008, when Fortune profiled Simmons, the price of crude had hit $147 a barrel.

As a big believer that wind power is the way of the future, Simmons says the era of easy oil is over and that world oil production will eventually fail to meet expected future demands.

These days, Simmons has been weighing in on BP (BP) and the worst oil spill in U.S. history, following the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico. As BP struggles to permanently stop the gush of oil, Simmons has been warning that the scale of the spill is much bigger and that there's a larger leak several miles away.

Simmons also thinks that perhaps the only way to seal the gush of oil is by doing what the Soviet Union did decades ago -- setting off a bomb deep underground so that the fiery blast will melt the surrounding rock and shut off the spill.

Fortune caught up with Simmons this week to hear his thoughts on the Gulf Coast oil spill, the future of BP and what's ahead for offshore drilling.

Experts forecast an active hurricane season this year. We know it could disrupt efforts to stop the spill, but how else do you think storms could impact the Gulf Coast?

We've got to stop the gusher first. Then we have to deal with the other issues. There's a lake at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico that's over 100 miles wide and at least 400 to 500 feet deep of black oil. It's just staying there. And only the lightest of that is what we're seeing hitting the shores so far. If a hurricane comes and blows this to shore, it could paint the Gulf Coast black. We should have been pumping this oil out onto other tankers weeks ago.

How do you think the U.S. government should handle this disaster?

I think the government should ask BP to leave the United States and turn its operation over to the military. Put the U.S. Navy in charge. Have all the contractors report to the Navy -- the cleanup efforts, the whole nine yards. Because as long as it's in BP's hands, they're going to spin the information as long as they can.

What do you think is in store for the future of BP?

They have about a month before they declare Chapter 11. They're going to run out of cash from lawsuits, cleanup and other expenses. One really smart thing that Obama did was about three weeks ago he forced BP CEO Tony Hayward to put in writing that BP would pay for every dollar of the cleanup. But there isn't enough money in the world to clean up the Gulf of Mexico. Once BP realizes the extent of this my guess is that they'll panic and go into Chapter 11.


There's currently a ban on new deepwater oil projects for six months to prevent other disasters. What lies ahead for offshore drilling?

First of all, to the industry's credit, we went 41 years in the United States without an oil spill. In a minor sense, this is what happened to the Challenger. We had so many successful shuttle takeoffs that the space station got kind of casual about this. But this is worse. BP was so certain that there wasn't any risk that three years ago they thought the insurance industry was ripping them off, so they're self-insured on this. How stupid! It was the best thing that ever happened to the insurance industry.

How do you think the Gulf Coast oil spill will change the energy business, if at all?

Profoundly. We're going to have to go back and re-examine all of our regulatory rules and realize the easy stuff is imminent and the rest of the stuff we do is really risky. We have to start questioning whether it's worth the risk, and do we need to get really serious about developing some alternative energy sources? Now I'm working on a big project in mid-coast Maine called the Ocean Energy Institute, and we're hoping that within the next year we can actually create 50 megawatt offshore wind turbines -- one every five miles a part -- and turn that offshore electricity into desalinated sea water and liquid ammonia. It could replace motor gasoline and diesel fuel.

What are the lessons learned from this environmental disaster?

That oil peaked. The easy stuff is over. We have to continue drilling in shallow water, but we probably need to take a deep breath and step back. Until we develop a new generation of equipment that can respond to these accidents, just don't go into the ultra-deep water and deep formations because it's just too risky.

Someone Did Not Pay-off Taliban Gang. Taliban Shows Who Owns the Night.

Taliban torch 50 Nato supply trucks on outskirts of Islamabad
At least seven killed in ambush near Pakistan capital on military supply convoy heading to Afghanistan

Declan Walsh in Islamabad
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 9 June 2010 09.15 BST

Suspected Taliban gunmen torched 50 Nato supply trucks on the outskirts of Islamabad last night , killing at least seven people, in the most audacious assault yet on the military supply chain in Afghanistan.

Militants have regularly ambushed western supply convoys near the Afghan border, but this was the first attack near the Pakistani capital.

Police said at least 10 gunmen struck just before midnight at a depot in Tarnol, on the Grand Trunk Road that links Rawalpindi with Peshawar. They opened fire on the trucks, killing drivers and security personnel, before setting them alight.

Police arrived, sparking an exchange of fire, and the attackers escaped to the west on motorbikes and in small pickup trucks. At first light, six hours later, flames were still licking through the hulks of charred military vehicles and fuel tankers. Plumes of thick black smoke rose into the sky near the capital.

The assault called into question security arrangements in the capital, whose streets have become clogged with police and military checkposts since the Taliban stepped up their assault last year.

Police officers combing the area said they had arrested 26 suspects. "We are still trying to find out what happened," said Shah Nawaz, the police chief at Tarnol station.

Pakistani police often indiscriminately arrest people after major incidents only to release them later. The interior minister, Rehman Malik, ordered an inquiry within three days.

The convoy originated in the port of Karachi, 700 miles to the south, and was due to climb over the Khyber Pass into Afghanistan. Over 75% of military supplies for western troops in Afghanistan and 40% of fuel needs pass through Pakistan.

The supplies include food and vehicle but not usually weapons or ammunition, which are ferried by air.

Ambushes on Nato convoys in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, have declined in recent months following concerted army operations in the nearby Khyber and Orakzai tribal areas.

The last attack was in April when militants torched a dozen trucks and killed four police in northern Punjab, between Islamabad and Peshawar.

Many of the Nato supply runs are managed by trucking families from the tribal belt, particularly Waziristan and Khyber. A police source in Karachi said they ensured safe passage by paying protection money to militant groups on the 1,200-mile route.

However, it is impossible to pay off every group along the road. "When you reach here, it's a free for all," said Rahimullah Yusufzai, a veteran journalist in Peshawar. "You can't pay everyone off; and some groups are ideologically committed and won't take money."

The attacks are a costly irritant to Nato and an embarrassment to Pakistani security forces, although they have a limited impact on western military supplies due to the high volume of traffic.

Still, the US has started to explore new trucking routes through Central Asia, although these may require compromise with Russia, the regional power.

OOOOOH....Bad Ass Barack

You really can't make too personal a comment here , but does anyone really believe that Barack was on the brogan side of the Kickin or the ass side?

Tough Guy Barack's Mentor. Must be that 747 kicking in.

The Israeli government has been forced to apologise for circulating a spoof video mocking activists aboard the Gaza flotilla

I do not know where Israel is going these days. The scary part is that I don't think they know either. I do know this. The US media and political punditry would never allow a US President to get away with the behavior that is being practiced under the Netanyahu government.

Netanyahu is an absolute disaster for Israel. Netanyahu can be a disaster for American national interests. The sooner the Israeli get rid of this regime the better it will be for Israel and everyone else.

Read this article from the Guardian and tell us what part is not true. Who is the propagandist? Who is damaged by
the actions of Netanyahu? Hamas, not likely.

Can anyone, any serious person, claim that militant Islam is being hurt by the actions and deeds of the Netanyahu Government? Are US security interests being helped by this group of clumsy amateurs?

The same government under Netanyahu is now claiming that they are the only ones capable and credible to investigate the Gaza flotilla calamity. Israel and the families and victims of the shooting deserve an impartial review of the facts.

The jury pool should not include the UN or the government of Benjamin Hetanyahu. Fearing the truth is not an option.

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Israel forced to apologise for YouTube spoof of Gaza flotilla
Israeli government press office distributed video link featuring Arabs and activists singing

Rachel Shabi in Jerusalem
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 6 June 2010 22.44 BST

Article history

The Israeli government has been forced to apologise for circulating a spoof video mocking activists aboard the Gaza flotilla, nine of who were shot dead by Israeli forces last week.

The YouTube clip, set to the tune of the 1985 charity single We Are the World, features Israelis dressed as Arabs and activists, waving weapons while singing: "We con the world, we con the people. We'll make them all believe the IDF (Israel Defence Force) is Jack the Ripper."

It continues: "There's no people dying, so the best that we can do is create the biggest bluff of all."

The Israeli government press office distributed the video link to foreign journalists at the weekend, but within hours emailed them an apology, saying it had been an error. Press office director Danny Seaman said the video did not reflect official state opinion, but in his personal capacity he thought it was "fantastic".

Government spokesman Mark Regev said the video reflected how Israelis felt about the incident. "I called my kids in to watch it because I thought it was funny," he said. "It is what Israelis feel. But the government has nothing to do with it."

The clip features a group led by the Jerusalem Post's deputy managing editor Caroline Glick, wearing keffiyehs and calling themselves the Flotilla Choir. The footage is interspersed with clips from the recent Israeli raid on the Gaza-bound aid ship, the Mavi Marmara.

The clip has been praised in Israel, where the mass-circulation daily Yediot Aharonot said the singers "defended Israel better than any of the experts".

But Didi Remez, an Israeli who runs the liberal-left news analysis blog Coteret, said the clip was "repulsive" and reflected how out of touch Israeli opinion was with the rest of the world. "It shows a complete lack of understanding of how the incident is being perceived abroad," she said. Award-winning Israeli journalist Meron Rapoport said the clip demonstrated prejudice against Muslims. "It's roughly done, not very sophisticated, anti-Muslim – and childish for the government to be behind such a clip," he said.

A similar press office email was sent to foreign journalists two weeks ago, recommending a gourmet restaurant and Olympic-sized swimming pool in Gaza to highlight Israel's claim there is no humanitarian crisis there. Journalists who complained the email was in poor taste were told they had "no sense of humour".

Last week, the Israel Defence Force had to issue a retraction over an audio clip it had claimed was a conversation between Israeli naval officials and people on the Mavi Marmara, in which an activist told soldiers to "go back to Auschwitz". The clip was carried by Israeli and international press, but today the army released a "clarification/correction", explaining that it had edited the footage and that it was not clear who had made the comment.

The Israeli army also backed down last week from an earlier claim that soldiers were attacked by al-Qaida "mercenaries" aboard the Gaza flotilla. An article appearing on the IDF spokesperson's website with the headline: "Attackers of the IDF soldiers found to be al-Qaida mercenaries", was later changed to "Attackers of the IDF Soldiers found without identification papers," with the information about al-Qaida removed from the main article. An army spokesperson told the Guardian there was no evidence proving such a link to the terror organisation.

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Helen Thomas is a disgrace to the White House

Obama needs to Tell Helen Thomas to "get the hell out" of the White House. She can go back to Poland or Germany or Lebanon or wherever she came from.

Kylie Minogue Rushes From NYC Gala Event to Spain. Quirk Denies Connection.

Kylie Minogue attended the 2010 amFAR Inspiration Gala Event in New York City yesterday and bared some skin in a racy black dress. Minogue recently made headlines with rumors that she split with her much younger model boyfriend Andres Velencoso Segura.

She acknowledged and denied these rumors. "Wowza...love life rumors have gone mad!!!! ....On my way to Tiffanies to buy some studs and then to Spain Olé!! :)," Minogue stated in a recent Twitter post.


Quirk is reported to have said:

"I sit down trying to figure out next steps and I notice the package with my mask in it. I open it up and just about shit. It's a black mask alright just as I'd ordered, but it's got these huge bird feathers attached rising up from the eyebrows. What the f***."

Could the Wily Kylie have set him up?

94% of All US Senate Bills Passed in Secret, Unread and Un-Voted by Unanimous Consent

Our rulers and masters do not even bother to read the bills that spend your money.

In late May, polls indicated that 53 percent of SC voters approved of DeMint's job performance, but only 48 percent said they likely would support his re-election.

Joran van der Sloot When Convicted Will Go to Lurigancho Prison. Good Luck.

Joran van der Sloot has been handed over to the Peruvian authorities. The 22-year-old murder suspect was flown from the Chilean capital Santiago to Chacalluta airport in the north of the country. Then he was driven to the Peruvian border near the town of Arica by Chile's Interpol police.

Mr van der Sloot walked alone across 100 metres of no-mans’ land to the border. He had his head down and spoke to no-one. On the border, 50 Peruvian police officers waited to charge him. On Saturday he was flown to the Peruvian capital Lima, where he is now in custody.

In Peru, Van der Sloot could face up to 25 years in prison, says Javier Villa Stein, Peruvian Supreme Court chief. He says these kind of crimes have to carry heavy sentences to protect human lives.
At Stephany Flores’ funeral this afternoon, her father, rich businessman and famous racing driver Ricardo Flores, said Van der Sloot will have to pay for his actions. “My daughter rests in peace, unlike the girl that died in Aruba. Hopefully her family will get justice too.”

If Joran van der Sloot is found guilty, he will have to sit out his prison sentence in a Peruvian prison. The Netherlands and Peru do not have any treaty for exchanging prisoners, although there have been negotiations since a year. He is likely to be placed in Lurigancho prison or Castro Castro. The conditions in both jails are notoriously poor.

RADIO NETHERLANDS