The 10 Weirdest Ways Animals Have Sex

Before I post the video, let me tell you all what is going on. My health first. I am very tired only wanting to lay in bed, sleeping or just laying there. At first I thought it was a depression thing, but when my blood work showed I was again anemic that may explain some. All I want to do when up is watch videos and I struggle to read news or do other tasks, feeling like every movement is too much and just wanting to sit here un moving. The second issue I have is I recently expanded the memory of my oldest computer, a built I like better because it is expandable. Pride go before the fall. I felt I understood the motherboard well enough and the system architecture to simple look for and buy the cheapest priced ram the system could handle.

I am humbled to admit I got my butt handed to me as after installing the cheapest four sticks equaling 64 GB of ram which is the max the system can handle I dumped and started the computer. Yes it seems all four sticks and ran at the higher speed. Grand. But then as I loaded Windows and other programs … problems happened. I got almost everything done and then had sudden BOD … the blue screen of death that I have not seen in my own systems ever. I diligently tracked every error, researched every error code and security event. What I got made me realize I had not done enough work understanding my system and the unbuffered ram.

I could make this a post on the system and what I learned. Going cheapest for me is going to cost me. I need to go back to a two stick mode with buffered memory. The reason is that the CPU can see the dual channel two stick configuration as one big stick. With four it has to run through the memory controller system to read each stick as a separate entity and compare try to manage the flow and errors of each. When the errors become too great or do an act that the system deems threatening, it shuts everything down. So I am going to spend more money on a new set of buffered 2 stick memory which should solve this issue and I can get back to being online with everyone and not spending weeks of every online time searching for and reading tech pages and specs reports. Now to the video. Love and hugs to all. Hugs

True Facts: How A Species Gets A Name!

“Bilderberg Group changes itself for the modern world – and return of Trump”

Charlie Skelton

(I wasn’t going to post any news today, but in my interest of world peace, and everyone’s interest in things that are happening, this story is important, and it’s not likely to be in the commercial breaks of the game or whatever. If it comes up again, and/or where regular people see it in regular fashion, something will have already happened. Right now, it strikes me as something of which to be aware. Save reading it till tomorrow, if you like. I just want it here for the record. -A)

The former head of Nato, Jens Stoltenberg, has been named the new co-chair of the influential Bilderberg Group, which convenes a yearly transatlantic policy conference and has long been the subject of conspiracy theories around the extent of its power to shape global events.and/or

After a turbulent decade at the helm of the alliance’s military, Stoltenberg now takes over at its pre-eminent discussion forum: a fiercely private four-day event frequented by prime minsters, EU commissioners, bank bosses, corporate CEOs and intelligence chiefs.

Stoltenberg’s first Bilderberg was back in 2002, a few years before his second tenure as Norway’s prime minister. His decade as secretary general of Nato saw further visits, and he even gave the keynote speech at the group’s Saturday night banquet in Turin in 2018. His appointment as Bilderberg’s co-chair cements the group’s role at the heart of transatlantic strategy.

In February, Stoltenberg will also take over as chair of the Munich Security Conference, another important defence and diplomacy symposium. With a fellow Bilderberg veteran, the former Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte, replacing Stoltenberg at Nato, it marks a concentration of control at the top of the Atlantic alliance at a critical time.

Stoltenberg’s tenure at Nato was dominated by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which had begun in earnest not long before he took office in 2014. Stoltenberg oversaw what he recently described as “the largest reinforcement of our collective defence in a generation”, noting proudly that “defence spending is on an upward trajectory across the alliance”.

A number of his new colleagues at Bilderberg have been benefiting from this uptick.

Several of the group’s 31-member steering committee have senior roles in the defence industry. The billionaire former Google boss, Eric Schmidt, chaired the recent National Security Commission on AI, and is now busy launching a kamikaze drone company aimed at the lucrative Ukraine market. Meanwhile, the hugely wealthy Swedish industrialist Marcus Wallenberg is chair of defense manufacturer Saab, which enjoyed a 71% boost in orders in the first nine months of 2024, largely due to the war with Russia.

The tech luminary and Donald Trump insider Peter Thiel founded the fast-growing robotics company Anduril and the booming surveillance and AI giant Palantir. His loyal lieutenant Alex Karp, the CEO of Palantir, was voted on to the board of Bilderberg a few years ago. Karp, who claims his company is “responsible for most of the targeting in Ukraine”, recently told the New York Times that the US will “very likely” soon be fighting a three-front war with China, Russia and Iran.

In some respects, the geopolitical mood today is not so different from how it was in the 1950s, when Bilderberg was born. (snip-MORE)

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/25/jens-stoltenberg-bilderberg-group-trump-presidency

Yesterday’s News Today

but it’s vital timely stuff that is still fresh today-

Wodin’sday White Wedding …

I am worn out and going to bed.

First I want to acknowledge that I still 11 tabs of comments I did not get to yet today. They are saved for tomorrow. I know Ali and Randy understand my situation so I want to clue the rest in before I go to bed, and yes I am very tired.

I went to bed about 5 PM last night after eating some beef stroganoff that Ron insisted I eat before going to bed. But I couldn’t sleep. So I tossed and turned until Ron came to bed hours later.

Then because we are a couple that love each other and like sleeping together we snuggled, me spooning him first and while he slept I did not. Then he woke and he wanted us to roll over so we did, now he was pressed tight to me … and again he fell asleep. Then about 11:45 he woke up and wanted to stop cuddling which I agreed with. He fell asleep.

Well I fretted but did manage to fall asleep about 11:45 pm or later … only to be woken by our rescue inside outside old cat that need lots of feedings started yellowing at the top of his small lungs. At 12:50 am. I got up. Ron who wakes up if I snort or cry out or hell even turn over wrong, sleeps through his cat’s cries. I feed him, the cat, not Ron. Then I returned to bed. I watched the clock. I was not going to get up, I was not going to get up, I was not going to get up … fuck it I got up. At 1:30 am. No sleep, grumpy.

About 5 am had some sloppy Joe mix Ron made the night before. It is not setting well with me. We have been having trouble finding one that tastes good but doesn’t make me thorw up.

Well I am online answering comments and doing my blogging stuff until Ron gets up at 6:30 am. I ask him if he wants to walk, he says no he wants me to go lay down, I am now two days without sleep. I go lay down at 7 am. I stay there until 7″30 am and can’t sleep, so get up and go to talk to Ron. He says I need to try longer. I do, At 9 am I get up and am determined to start my blogging day.

I am blogging and helping Ron. I do the dishes as Ron has been clearing the Florida Room junked up with stuff after Hurricane Ian we had nowhere else to put. An argument I made for a new shed that no one would listen to me on. We had a huge dresser packed with dishware, and we brought it in to be cleaned. We had a large stand up cabinet we emptied or more dishware and stuff we need so also brought that into the main house to clean.

So all day while I did laundry and helped Ron wash and dry dishes I did some blogging. It was all going great … Until this evening when Ron asked me several uncomfortable questions … Damn it!

Did you eat today he asked? Yes I joyfully told him I had the sloppy Joe mix you made last night, ate two buns so 4 sides. … he looked at me. Did it stay down. Well I stuttered … so far but it is trying hard to come back up. That was when he declared such mix off the menu until I can stomach better despite my counterarguments.

The rest of the afternoon went well, we worked on laundry and even the Florida room and moved / washed the stuff together for their new place in the house.

Then things took an ugly turn. At around 4:45 pm Ron decided I need to eat. I informed him (sounds better than saying I told him) I was not hungry. He got angry. Scottie he tried to sound authoritarian … you have to eat, you are losing too much weight and this is not good for you. I countered with I am not hungry and if I force my self I will be sick … But I relented and said OK how about a small salad. I love salads and in a small bowl even when I am really nauseated I can eat them.

But he had a better idea I liked right away. On the advice of our wonderful brother Randy Ron bought some yogurts for this situation. He gave me one and I did not complain … I knew better. I ate it. Not a flavor I like. I struggled it down anyway or else he was going to make something and watch me while I ate it.

Now it is nearly 6 pm here. I have not gotten to all the comments and pages I have opened … but I keep falling asleep at my desk. Not something I want to have Ron discover me doing. If he finds me asleep he will throw a huge fit that will take a lot more to solve than just going to bed. Plus my eyes keep blurring out and I clear them to realize I typed nonsense or worse. Night all. Hugs and loves. Scottie

Sci-Fi Writer Arthur C. Clarke Predicted the Rise of Artificial Intelligence & the Existential Questions We Would Need to Answer (1978)

We now live in the midst of an artificial-intelligence boom, but it’s hardly the first of its kind. In fact, the field has been subject to a boom-and-bust cycle since at least the early nineteen-fifties.

Source: Sci-Fi Writer Arthur C. Clarke Predicted the Rise of Artificial Intelligence & the Existential Questions We Would Need to Answer (1978)

Computer was a brick at midnight

Hi Everyone. I woke up at midnight and my blogging computer wouldn’t start. Totally dead. So I went back to bed. Got up at four and took it apart. Couldn’t find a problem, so I figure it is a power supply problem, as to get it started I had to hold the power reset button and the start button at the same time. Now the trick will be to watch it and not let it shut down. The good news is I did not lose anything. I have the Vivaldi set to remember the open windows and tabs for the last three days and they can be switched between computers through sync mode. I can replace the power supply if I have to, the only problem is the case is tight for the wiring, far too many wires in a small space crossing everywhere and each other. But I have replaced them before. Hugs

Peace & Justice History for 12/12

https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistorydecember.htm#december12

Very (well, somewhat) Interesting

Study: Republicans Respond to Political Polarization by Spreading Misinformation, Democrats Don’t

12.9.2024 Xiajing Zhu and Cornelia (Connie) Pechmann

Many top Republicans, including Donald Trump and Senators Tim Scott (South Carolina), Marco Rubio (Florida), and Ted Cruz (Texas), refuse to accept the 2020 election results. Many other Republicans falsely assert the 2020 election was rigged and have stated that they stood ready to fight if Trump was not declared the 2024 winner.

In a new Journal of Marketing study, we explain what underlies these Republicans’ thought processes and behaviors and how the majority of news media and social media contribute to this problem.

The Lethal Combination: Polarization and Misinformation

Our team finds that political polarization triggers Republicans, but not Democrats, to spread misinformation that is objectively false. Although Republicans may understand the content is very likely false, they are willing to spread it. We also discover the reason why Republicans respond to political polarization by conveying misinformation, while Democrats do not: Republicans strongly value their party winning over the competition. Democrats do not value winning nearly as strongly; they place more value on equity and inclusion, seeing the world in a fundamentally different way than Republicans.

In other words, whenever there is political polarization—that is, fierce competition between political parties—Republicans feel their backs are against the wall and come out swinging. They are willing to convey misinformation that is likely untrue, but not definitively false, to help their fellow Republicans win and Democrats lose. Democrats are less triggered by political polarization—they do not value their party winning over other values, so they do not respond this way.

We conducted six studies that demonstrate this. Our first study examines fact-checked statements in the news media and on social media by public figures over 10 years (2007–2016). Our second study extends this analysis to 16 years (2007–2022). We find that when there was political polarization in the news cycle, Republicans conveyed significantly more misinformation than Democrats.

We verify our findings in three online studies where we surveyed U.S. adults who identified as either Republican or Democrat. We put these individuals in politically polarized situations—for instance, we showed them Senate Republican and Democratic leaders arguing. We then showed them misinformation from current social media. For example, Republicans saw news such as “Democratic Senators are secretly pro-Russia” and “Democratic Senators are purposely manipulating gas prices,” while Democrats saw news such as “Republican Senators are secretly pro-Russia” and “Republican Senators are purposely manipulating gas prices.” In politically polarized situations, Republicans were significantly more willing to convey misinformation than Democrats to gain an advantage over the opposing party.

Our last study examines the speeches of U.S. presidents over 94 years (1929–2023), spanning the 31^st president Herbert Hoover to the 46^th president Joseph Biden. We find that in political polarized situations, such as during election periods, Republican presidents talked more about “we” and “us” than Democratic presidents, indicating they were more focused on their own party and partisanship.

To summarize, Republicans react to political polarization by putting out partisan misinformation. This can have a deleterious effect on the state of democratic institutions and processes. For instance, in the year following the 2020 U.S. presidential election and accompanying misinformation about election fraud, 400 restrictive voting bills were introduced in 47 U.S. state legislatures. Additionally, 14 states passed restrictive voting bills that, for instance, shortened the mail-in voting period, eliminated election day registration, and/or reduced ballot drop box access. These changes have decreased voter turnout and engagement, particularly among minority voters. (snip-MORE; it gets more interesting as it goes along, to me)

So, I Did A Thing (again) The Other Day-

Cartoon Nine Four Seven by Josh Lieb

Injection Read on Substack

Santa’s bedroom. Santa, looking very scrawny, is trying on his red suit. The jacket is way too big and the pants are falling down. Mrs. Claus, annoyed, says: “I told you not to get those stupid shots.”

Some people just look better fat.

Ali Redford ends a long, long drought of reader art by submitting this wonderful nine four six:

Ali thought my cartoon was funny even though, she confesses, she’d never previously heard about the free U2 album that mysteriously appeared on peoples’ phones ten years ago. It occurred to me while I was writing it that I might mystify some of my younger readers. So yeah, while they were rolling out a new iPhone a decade ago, Apple and U2 rather presumptuously “gave” all iPhone users this new U2 album. Everyone woke up with it on their phone and just felt… invaded. Even U2 fans were a little put off. I think it bothered people to discover that they were not in charge of their own phone.

Most people deleted the album (or kept it and enjoyed it). Then there were people like me, who had the unwanted album follow them, from phone to phone, for a decade.

Ali, I love the cartoon you drew — it’s maybe your best yet. The women feel very real, and the speaker’s sense of liberation is palpable. Thank you!

The rest of you: get to work drawing my cartoons.

(snip)