GOP Texas Gov. Rick Perry didn't know we were in a recession

Perhaps he was too busy fixing his hair to notice. Watch the video. Who does he sound like?

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FCC to announce net neutrality proposal on Monday

More good news for the future of the Internet. Obama deserves credit for his role in this.

The Washington Post and New York Times said the Federal Communications Commission chairman, Julius Genachowski, will announced the proposed rules in a speech Monday at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.

The proposals would uphold a pledge Barack Obama made during the presidential campaign to support Internet neutrality and would bar companies like Verizon, Comcast or ATT&T;, from slowing or blocking certain services or content flowing through their vast networks.

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Roy Blunt, speaking at the Values Voters summit, told a "joke" about monkeys in DC

First, the Values Voters don't really care about the values of their speakers, just the values of the rest of us. Case in point: Rep. Roy Blunt from Missouri. He's also running for Senate. Tony Perkins himself introduced Blunt at the Values Voters Summit today, touting their shared values. Um, does any over at VV know that Roy Blunt cheated on his wife with a lobbyist, then married said lobbyist? I don't really care, but that's the kind of thing Tony Perkins obsesses over -- for people who aren't speakers at his conference.

That's one thing. But, then, when Blunt spoke, he made a bizarre joke about golfers and monkeys while referring to the current situation in Washington DC. Very odd choice, I think. But, fits right in with the GOP's viciousness and extremism. The Values Voters LOVED it:
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240 miles per gallon

Pretty amazing. The car may hit the street in the next few years.

Now the idea of the one-liter car has been resurrected. VW’s biggest news at the Frankfurt auto show was the L1 concept, a prototype that "is close to production" and "will be developed," the company says. Three ingredients were needed to make it happen: a supremely efficient powertrain, great aerodynamics, and lightweight engineering.

As to the powertrain, VW has opted for a two-cylinder, 39-hp turbo-diesel engine combined with a 14-hp electric motor. There is a stop/start system and a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. The L1 can reach 100 mph, but fuel economy at that speed drops to a shameful 1.38 liters per 100 kilometers, or 170 mpg.

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Former IMF economist says economy will grow 7% next year

Seems a bit extreme but wouldn't it be nice to see that kind of growth again? It's not clear what could really trigger such fantastic growth but it certainly won't be consumers. Newsweek:

Mussa, a former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund now at the Peterson Institute in Washington, argues that the recovery will defy the prevailing pessimism. From mid-2009 to the end of 2010, he says, the U.S. economy will grow almost 7 percent, about double the 3.3 percent gain envisioned by the 50 or so economists in September's Blue Chip Economic Indicators. The world economy will also outperform, says Mussa. In 2010, growth will rebound to 4.2 percent from 2009's decline of 1.1 percent. By contrast, the latest IMF forecast in July has a 1.4 percent drop in 2009 and a feeble 2.5 percent gain next year.

NOTE FROM JOHN: Not an economist here, but I did study it in grad school. Doesn't this rapid of growth risk inflation? Read More......

An update from my eye sabbatical in Paris...

(The new flat)

My ongoing exile in Paris continues. Current return date is October 5. I went for my one month check up recently, and all is healing well from the unexpected detached retina that I was diagnosed with the day after arriving here in July. My docs said I couldn't fly for several months after the surgery, because the pressure change in the plane, along with the dryness, could undo the surgery. So, a forced sabbatical in Paris. Life could be worse.

I moved last week to another country, also known as the 11th arrondissement, a neighborhood of Paris on the right bank (north of the river).

The old neighborhood was old Paris, the Paris of Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald (who met at a bar across the street from Chris and Joelle's). Gaugin lived on their block as well, as did Man Ray, who had a studio across the street. Montparnasse looks like something a bit of a Toulouse Lautrec painting. The new place, not so much. Not to knock it though, it's really quite fascinating. The 11th, at least where I am, is basically a blue collar Arab immigrant neighborhood, with a dash of white French yuppies thrown in for color. It's fascinating. The old patissier was a middle-aged French woman who did the old "bonjour madame, bonjour monsieur" sing song. Here, it's a guy - a guy! - who pretty clearly immigrated from somewhere south of here (I had a hellacious time understanding his accent). The neighborhood is a mini Middle East. Absolutely fascinating.

The old hood:





The new hood:







I'm staying at my friend Marcus' place, the American artist I've introduced you guys to before. Marcus has an exhibition in the states for the next month, so I'm crashing at his place until he gets back and the doctors permit me to leave. Marcus' place is a bit over 300 sq ft, which isn't horrendously small for a Paris apt (I'm only living in half of it, the left half of the photo at the top of the post (the right half is his actual studio) and it's surprisingly perfect). It's his atelier, or workshop, where he draws and paints. I'm listening to an online music site Marcus turned me on to - Deezer.com. I think it's French. I'm listening to a great list of modern French pop. It's wonderful. If you go there, try the group "Les Wriggles" - almost a bit folky, very nice.

Yes, I'm living in an artist's studio in Paris. God I'm gonna be bored when I get back to DC.

PS It's now been 7 weeks since my $2300 surgery (1600 euros), and still no bill. I have another check up next week, it's going to cost me a whopping $40. It's that "expensive" because I don't have French insurance, and the exchange rate is so screwed up - it really should be 28 bucks. Read More......

CNN's Rick Sanchez to FOX: You lie

Maybe we've found our new logo for FOX and all Republicans.

FOX, as part of its ongoing work on behalf of the Republican party, is running ads claiming that none of the other networks covered the recent Teabagger protest in Washington, DC. Of course, they all did, extensively. Then why would FOX say otherwise?

We really need a phrase to describe the conservative trick of accusing you of what they do. E.g., we're playing the race card when we call them on their racism. Or, gay people are intolerant (or intolerance) when we expose religious right bigotry. Or, when the Republicans accuse Obama of being mean and partisan. Or, CNN, MSNBC, CBS and ABC are biased. In essence, they're accusing us of what they are. But it's more than that. They're trying to get us to back off because we're getting too close to their dirty little secret. Republicans are afraid that we'll tag them as racists, as bigots, as mean and partisan. So by accusing us of it first they hope to scare us off, and pollute the waters enough that if and when we do call them on their bs, they'll have already accused us of the same thing so hopefully, from their perspective, the public will think both sides are simply name-calling.

CNN's Rick Sanchez explain to FOX that "real" news networks don't promote political events, they cover them.

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How Monopoly boards were used to free Brit POWs during WWII

It's the weekend. And I'm not feeling particularly combative today. So let's start with a cool story.

I had never heard this. Absolutely, freaking amazing.

Before leaving for missions, British airmen were told that if they were captured, they should look for escape maps and kits in Monopoly boards and other games delivered by charity groups. They were told that "special edition" Monopoly sets would be marked with a red dot on the free parking space.

Watson said that in addition to the concealed compass, tools and maps, real bank notes were hidden under the fake money....

To make sure each set reached its destination, the secret service devised another code.

"Each game was pinpointed as to the camp it would go to," Orbanes said. To innocuously tag each board game, a period was added after different locations on the board.

A period after "Mayfair," for example, meant that the game was intended for Norway, Sweden and Germany.

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Butterflying

A very close friend in Paris recently produced his own album and then talked with students about making a video for his music. He spent a good deal of his vacation time away from his math calculations working on the music. If you enjoy it as much as we do, check out his site where you can listen to other pieces for free or buy it. Enjoy! Read More......

58% of Poles say scrapping missle sheild will have no impact

But what do Poles know about what's good or bad for their country? Shouldn't they be listening to the American wingnuts who are worked into a frenzy about this? Reuters:

The survey published in the daily Rzeczpospolita by polling firm GFK showed 48 percent of Poles believed the decision was good for Poland, while 31 percent had the opposite view.

A total of 58 percent said the move would have no impact on Poland's security.

Political analysts say the economy is a far bigger priority than missile defense for Polish and Czech voters.

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Unemployment over 12% in five states

It is still a brutal job market out there. Here's an example of how the stimulus has helped in one community but the White House should be doing much more talking about it. They probably should have invested in a larger stimulus as well instead of giving in to the too few Republicans.

Five states posted jobless rates above 12% in August, according to federal data released Friday.

California, Nevada and Rhode Island each hit record-high rates, the Labor Department said.

Michigan led the nation in unemployment, with a rate of 15.2%, while Nevada was next at 13.2% and Rhode Island was third at 12.8%. California and Oregon were tied for the fourth spot, each with unemployment at 12.2%.

Notice how the housing bust states haven't bounced back with the same gusto as the Wall Street bankers who sold the trash? Read More......

Maybe Facebook isn't so bad after all

If it can help catch stupid criminals, why not?

The popular online social networking site Facebook helped lead to an alleged burglar's arrest after he stopped check his account on the victim's computer, but forgot to log out before leaving the home with two diamond rings.

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