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[boomerslop]

Now, regarding AI, I've noticed a new, definite, AI generated trend on YouTube over the past few months. I have yet to run across a word that accurately describes this trend. Nor, have I attempted to invent a new word to describe it.

I found the word I was looking for, so I don't have to invent a new one. And, it appears this new word found its way into the internet vocabulary sometime in the fall of 2025 The Aftermath of the YOLD 3191. It's sometimes expressed as a two word phrase, but I prefer the single word version. 

And so, without further ado, the new word is boomerslop.

For what it's worth, I stated this new topic with the intent of occasionally utilizing it to post about other words and phrases that are new to me, and that just may be interesting enough to be worthy of discussion. And, of course, other forum members are welcome to utilize this new topic for the same purpose.

Now, regarding AI, I've noticed a new, definite, AI generated trend on YouTube over the past few months. I have yet to run across a word that accurately describes this trend. Nor, have I attempted to invent a new word to describe it. But, on my 'sign in' YouTube 'page,' I'm getting bombarded with crap, AI generated videos trying to pass themselves off as 'historical documentaries.' At first, the narration alone gave away that the videos are AI generated, because of the unnatural, awkward cadence. Then, shortly after that, I began seeing videos that don't even contain readily obtainable, public domain photographs of historical figures. But, the worst thing about all of this AI generated crap is the intentional bias. That is, if I dislike a well known historical figure, there are plenty of AI generated videos out there that will cater to my bias.

So, okay, it was fun for a while to be presented with large numbers of videos that support, and reinforce my opinions. But, what if my opinions are unjustified? What if a bias of mine is no more than a bias of mine? What if I had never learned any critical thinking skills? To me, this new AI generated video trend is pretty scary stuff.

['Doomscrolling' now Britain's top habit – but least enjoyable]

I learned a new word today:

'Doomscrolling' now Britain's top habit – but least enjoyable

"Previous research found connection between 'doomscrolling' and feelings of existential anxiety, despair, distrust, and suspicion of others"

As per this article:

"Browsing social media or "doomscrolling" has ranked as Britons' least enjoyable pastime, despite it being the one people engage in most often, a new study has claimed.

After surveying more than 2,000 people, researchers from the University of Sussex found that scrolling social media was the most frequent leisure activity, but it was also considered to be the least favourite."

Surprisingly, this word does not yet have an entry in The Free Dictionary, my go-to source for definitions.

But, Wikipedia describes Doomscrolling as follows:

"Doomscrolling or doomsurfing is the act of spending an excessive amount of time watching short-form content or watching large quantities of user-generated content or news, particularly negative news, on the web and social media."

[A hidden planet on the edge of our Solar System? Here's why scientists are closer than ever to finding it]

This article caught my attention because is mentions one of the lesser celebrated escapades of Our Lady of Discord.

A hidden planet on the edge of our Solar System? Here's why scientists are closer than ever to finding it

"There could be a hidden 'planet 9' – or planet X – orbiting the Sun"

Yeah, yeah, that Planet 9 and Planet X stuff is interesting, but what really caught my attention was the following:

As per this article:

"The discovery of substantial Eris was the beginning of the end for Pluto.

It was now unavoidable: Pluto didn't appear to be the most massive object in that region of space, and certainly didn't appear to be special.

In 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the authority on the definitions, characteristics and naming of bodies in the Solar System, issued their ruling.

It decreed that Pluto was not a planet but a dwarf planet, just one of many such objects in that distant patch of space (a zone known as the Kuiper Belt)."

So, to start with, Pluto/Hades never made to cut and became one of the Twelve Olympian gods and goddesses. Then, after he finally gained some worldwide recognition in 1930 by having a planet named after him, Minor Planet Eris was discovered in 2005, named in 2006, and that led to Pluto/Hades' "planet" being demoted to "minor planet status." So, Pluto/Hades' big claim to worldwide fame didn't even last a century. That has to be pretty humiliating for an immortal god. But, it really does sound like something Our Lady of Discord would orchestrate, just for the hell of it, of course.

Hail Eris!

All Hail Discordia!

[The Florida Man Games @ FREEDOM Factory]

I missed posting about the Florida Man Games last year. But, this year's upcoming games look well organized and publicized:

The Florida Man Games @ FREEDOM Factory

"LIVE THE HEADLINES WITHOUT THE JAIL TIME"

Yes, this year the organizers have their own website to promote the games, and the events include the:

EVADING ARREST
OBSTACLE COURSE

Floridians are chased by police after stealing copper
pipes and catalytic converters. Find the frozen iguana and
chuck a gator through a drive thru window to earn a
victory and your freedom.

Actually, these games look like a really good time in the making.

[The First Americans May Not Have Crossed Beringia at All — Hokkaido Could Be the Starting Point]

The First Americans May Not Have Crossed Beringia at All — Hokkaido Could Be the Starting Point

As per this article:

"For decades, the story of how the first humans reached the Americas has been framed around an inland migration across the frozen plains of Beringia. A growing body of archaeological and genetic evidence, however, is now challenging that long-held narrative. According to a new interdisciplinary study by Japanese and U.S. researchers, the earliest ancestors of Native Americans may have originated not in central Siberia, but in a coastal region spanning Hokkaido, Sakhalin, and the Kuril Islands—and they may have reached the Americas by sea.

The research, published in Science Advances, proposes that maritime-adapted hunter-gatherers from Northeast Asia played a decisive role in what has been called the final great migration of Homo sapiens."

The entire scientific paper, with it's boringly nondescript title this article is based upon can be found here:

Characterizing the American Upper Paleolithic

I've been seeing mentions about possibility of a coastal migration route to the Americas for many years. But, the authors of this paper have put some real effort into describing the archaeological research that supports this idea.

[Doctor Claims Trump, 79, Suffered Serious Medical Issue]

Doctor Claims Trump, 79, Suffered Serious Medical Issue

|NEW THEORY| "Concerns about the president's health have been raised for several months."

As per this article:

"Donald Trump suffered a stroke several months ago and has kept it from the public, a prominent medical expert has suggested.

Professor Bruce Davidson of Washington State University's Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine made the bombshell claim about the 79-year-old president's health while laying out "lines of evidence supportive" that have also been reported on by the Daily Beast over the past year.

"I think his stroke was on the left side of the brain, which controls the right side of the body," Davidson told biographer Sidney Blumenthal and Princeton historian Sean Wilentz on their podcast, The Court of History."

So, here's yet another theory about the deterioration of the POSOTUS' brain. The bottom line is there are experts out there who believe there is something organically wrong with the POSOTUS' brain.

And here I had been thinking malignant narcissism was way more than enough to be wrong with his brain. Silly me.

[Trump tells Norway PM not bound to 'think purely of peace' after Nobel snub]

I was tempted to post this under a new topic with the title "How Not to Actually Win a Nobel Peace Prize." But, I've already started way more than enough currently active topics on the Aneristic Illusions Board, so I'll just put this right here:

Trump tells Norway PM not bound to 'think purely of peace' after Nobel snub
 
"Barbed message to Oslo follows Trump's bitterness over missing out on the Nobel Peace Prize he coveted."

As per this article:

"United States President Donald Trump's simmering resentment in the wake of failing to win the Nobel Peace Prize has surfaced again when he told Norway's prime minister that he no longer feels obliged to "think purely of peace".

In the message that was confirmed on Monday as being delivered to Norwegian leader Jonas Gahr Store, Trump wrote that "considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace"."

It's no wonder that "Is he dead yet?" is an internationally popular meme.

Is Plato Woke? Texas A&M professor speaks out after being banned from teaching the Greek philosopher
Plato's Symposium has been banned from the curriculum because it addresses gender and sexuality. His theory of the Androgyne and the origin of human attraction (which includes an explanation for homosexuality) is evidently too woke.

It's repugnant that a 'Merican university is so radical right-wing that it believes it's necessary to ban the study of a work of one of The Big Three Greek Philosophers.

Now I know for sure why even the Arkies I've met, who inhabited their very own cultural wasteland in the Mississippi Delta, felt culturally superior enough to make fun of the Aggies.

I usually hear "crossing the rubicon" as doing a big thing, that can't be taken back.  I've never heard it as specifically heroic, although sometimes it is, in context.  I also don't hear it in specific context as ending a republic, or anything else about the results of the action, that's specific.  it's always just a big, irrevocable, act that commits someone to a conflict in a way they can't take back.

Invading Greenland would be Trump crossing the rubicon, destroying NATO and whatnot. 

I agree with your assessment of how the phrase "crossing the Rubicon" is used by us, and what it is perceived to mean to us.

And, while I make no claim to be an expert in Roman history, it is an interest of mine. And, it is my understanding that the ruling class of the Late Roman Republic would have judged a general officer who had "crossed the Rubicon" at the head of his army, as Caesar famously did, to have committed an act of treason. So, without me being too long-winded about it, I believe the phrase "crossing the Rubicon" had an altogether more sinister meaning to an ancient Roman than it does to us.

For what it's worth, I only started taking an interest in Roman history, during my hitch in the Navy, after I first saw for myself some of what the Romans had built in Greece, and then a small fraction of what they had built in Italy. Before that, I thought anything "Roman" was only important to Roman Catholics and Italian Americans.

[AND]

That all sounds like you are assuming Bill wasn't availing of the services on pedo island

I'm assuming that if the Turd Reich possessed any evidence that Slick Willie was a pedophile, they would have already gleefully released it to the public. But, the Turd Reich did not do that. Instead, they issued subpoenas to both Bill AND Hilary Clinton to testify before their congressional committee behind closed doors.

So yes, I am "assuming Bill wasn't availing of the services on pedo island". And, given the Turd Reich's many desperate attempts to divert attention away from Trump's many well-documented visits to "pedo island," I do not believe I am making an unreasonable assumption.

[Bill and Hillary Clinton refuse to testify on Jeffrey Epstein]

Bill and Hillary Clinton refuse to testify on Jeffrey Epstein

"House Oversight Chair James Comer said the committee would launch contempt of Congress proceedings against the former president, who skipped his deposition on Tuesday."

This is an absolutely brilliant political move by the Clintons!

There's a lot of MAGAtry out there right now in positions of power who don't know whether to shit of go blind over this move! So, check your popcorn supply! This is going to be good!

Could you explain why you see this as such a good move?

Here are my thoughts:

First of all, this move by the Clintons keeps the Trump-Epstein Files on the MSM and Partisan MAGAt Media's (PMM) front page. And, I think that's important, because the Turd Reich's is currently, intentionally 'flooding the zone' with all kinds of nonsense to distract the public's attention away from the Trump-Epstein Files, since even some of the MAGAtry are appalled by pedophilia. I also believe that what the Turd Reich intentionally started as a distraction now counts as an example of "the Streisand effect."

Second, this move allows the Clintons to control the narrative, not the Turd Reich. MAGAt leadership will no longer be able to hide their attacks behind closed doors, feed the media their version of the Clinton's testimony, and put the Clintons in the position of having to find media outlets willing to allow them to defend themselves in the court of public opinion. Now, the partisan political attacks, and the Clinton's defense against those attacks are all out there in the open for the whole world to see. So, the Clintons are now holding a megaphone.

Third, does the Turd Reich really want to ignite the firestorm that will result from the unprecedented arrest and incarceration of a popular, former, two-term U.S. President, and his former First Lady, who is also a former U.S. Senator, and a former U.S. Secretary of State in her own right? And sure, a lot of the MAGAtry will work themselves into a frenzy chanting "Lock them up! Lock them up!," similar to what they did years ago over Hilary Clinton's emails, if and when the POSOTUS starts the chant, and leads the chorus. But, seriously?! There's no way I see that as being a smart, beneficial move for the Turd Reich. The POSOTUS is no longer popular enough, or powerful enough, to extinguish such a firestorm.

Fourth, I don't believe the majority of 'Merican oligarchs, who fund the GOP (Greedy Oligarchy Party) for their own benefit, see arresting and incarcerating the Clintons as being a smart, beneficial move either. After all, this is already going to be a difficult, expensive election year for them, because they so desperately want to hold onto the ill gotten gains they've already acquired under the POSOTUS. I suspect the oligarchs are already on the phone everyday, telling every MAGAt leader they have on speed dial to make this problem go away A.S.A.P.   

Fifth, I don't think it will happen, but I wouldn't be terribly surprised to see the Clinton's begin taunting the Turd Reich over their hesitation to arrest and incarcerate them. I now see the Clinton's as holding all of the cards in this game.

Last, I have great respect for Jon Stewart, but I totally disagree with him on this issue.

[EU shuts out US weapons in $95 billion Ukraine loan amid deepening transatlantic split]

I'm pretty sure there are some oligarchs, whose vast fortunes are heavily invested in the U.S. Military Industrial Complex, who are unhappy with Republicult™ leadership over this:

EU shuts out US weapons in $95 billion Ukraine loan amid deepening transatlantic split

"New EU loan conditions would steer billions away from U.S. defense contractors, sparking debate over whether European industry can meet Ukraine's military needs."

As per this article:

"BRUSSELS (CN) — U.S. defense contractors will be pushed to the back of the line under Europe's 90-billion-euro ($95 billion) Ukraine loan, with new rules unveiled Wednesday requiring Kyiv to buy European and Ukrainian weapons first as support under President Donald Trump dwindles.

The European Commission — the EU's executive arm — on Wednesday presented the legislative blueprint for the loan package EU leaders agreed to last month to keep Ukraine's government running through 2027. The fine print shows that 60 billion euros set aside for weapons must go to European and Ukrainian suppliers first.

American companies can only compete if the equipment isn't available closer to home or can't be delivered fast enough."

For the powerful U.S. Military Industrial Complex, I see this as being not so much about a loss in short-term sales, as it is about the potential long-term loss of market share. So, I'm wondering, What are a bunch of greedy death merchants to do in a situation like this?

[Trump flips off Michigan auto worker who criticized handling of Epstein case]

Trump flips off Michigan auto worker who criticized handling of Epstein case

As per this article:

"DEARBORN, Michigan, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Donald Trump raised his middle finger and appeared to direct profanity toward a Michigan auto plant worker who criticized the U.S. president's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein controversy during a visit on Tuesday, video circulating online showed."

And, as per further along in this article:

"After the incident, the worker who shouted at the president was suspended, the United Auto Workers union told Reuters. The union and Ford did not identify the worker, and attempts to contact the man named in media reports were unsuccessful.

The UAW, which represents workers at the plant, issued a statement on Wednesday defending its members' right to free speech and vowed to "ensure that our member receives the full protection of all negotiated contract language safeguarding his job."

"Workers should never be subjected to vulgar language or behavior by anyone - including the President of the United States," the union said.

Two online fundraising campaigns for the worker on GoFundMe com received nearly $600,000 in donations by Wednesday afternoon."

Now, this is not the first time a high ranking member of a GOP (Greedy Oligarchy Party) administration has responded in this manner after receiving constructive criticism from a private citizen. And, back in the day, we did not yet use the term 'oligarchs' to describe 'Merica's ultra-wealthy. But, if Vice President Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller was not the wealthiest politician of his era, I don't know who was. After all, he was never elected to that high office, he just bought it when it became available on the market. Anyway, here's 'Rocky' in action:

Last, I think the moral of this story is; "Not only is resistance not always futile, it can also be highly profitable."

[Exercise to treat depression yields similar results to therapy and antidepressants]

Exercise to treat depression yields similar results to therapy and antidepressants

"Researchers found that exercise can have a moderate benefit in reducing depressive symptoms, comparable to therapy and antidepressants"

As per this article:

"Exercise may reduce symptoms of depression to a similar extent as psychological therapy, according to an updated Cochrane review. When compared with antidepressant medication, exercise also showed a similar effect, but the evidence was of low certainty.

Depression is a leading cause of ill health and disability, affecting over 280 million people worldwide. Exercise is low-cost, widely available, and comes with additional health benefits, making it an attractive option for patients and healthcare providers."

The original paper this short article is based upon is 'paywalled,' unless, of course, you're institutionalized. But, being someone who deals with depression on a daily basis, I believe this information may be of some help to others in the same situation.