Flotsam and Jetsam - The War on the Secretary of War

Cynical Publius, best know for his Tweets Xs, pens a longer piece at Am Great on The War on Pete Hegseth. "Pete Hegseth is facing a calculated smear campaign because he threatens the entrenched establishment reshaping America’s military into something weaker and more political." Matt Vespa thinks Hegseth Responded Perfectly to the Libs' Uproar Over Our Air Campaign Against Narco-Terrorism. "So, as Democrats mourn the deaths of narco-terrorists, Hegseth responded to the uproar perfectly—he bombed another narco boat this week" RNC Research @RNCResearch, "Democrat Rep. Adam Smith thinks it’s okay for narco-terrorists to smuggle drugs into the U.S. because it’s only cocaine. SMITH: “We’re talking about cocaine here…”" Dave Strom at Hat Hair, The New Democrat Line on Narco-Terrorists Is That They Are Just Guys Trying to Make a Living. Western Lensman @WesternLensman, "Dem Rep Jim Himes describes people k*lled in drug boat second strike as “two terrified men...guys that probably didn’t have a lot of economic opportunity." They actually want you to feel sorry for the narco-terrorists." Gunther Eagleman™ @GuntherEagleman, "Rep. @jahimes decided to go on MSNBC last night with Jen "Circle Back" Psaki to defend narco traffickers and said: 'Americans might cheer killing narco-terrorists… but look, these poor fellas clinging to the wreckage aren’t Pablo Escobar, they just lacked economic opportunity and made one bad choice.' Translation: 100,000 American corpses from fentanyl is sad and all, but don’t hurt the feelings of the guys smuggling it, they’re basically unemployed Uber drivers who took a wrong turn. Cry harder for the cartel mules while moms bury their kids, you spineless ghoul. This is the modern Democrat Party in one disgusting soundbite." A Larry video at Hat Hair sees Elissa Slotkin's 'Seditious Six' Narrative Crumbles on 'Morning Joe'. From the Pop Times, Stephen A. Smith Clashes With ‘The View’ Over Sen. Kelly’s Video on Military Orders. Don Surber sees Media frets over Afghans and dead narcos "Not so much Specialist Sarah Beckstrom and Sergeant Andrew Wolfe."

AP whines Trump praises Congo and Rwanda as they sign US-mediated peace deal "But the Trump-brokered peace is precarious." Aren't they all? Mediaite is none too happy the State Department Slaps Trump’s Name on U.S. Institute of Peace Building and Renames It After Him. Sarah Anderson at PJM reports Rubio Announces New U.S. Foreign Aid Model That Cuts Out NGOs. Sundance at CTH sees Canadian Media Catch On, U.S Trade Rep Jamieson Greer Says Trump Likely to Exit the USMCA (CUSMA). At Spec World, Why Trump’s Muslim Brotherhood crackdown is long overdue. "Intelligence about the activities of Egyptian, Jordanian and Lebanese Islamists will rapidly implicate Qatar and Turkey as the Brotherhood’s key international sponsors."

At ZeroHedge word that Trump's Next National Strategy Will Center On Humanoid Robots. But as John Sexton at Hat Hair notes It's Still Hard to Build Things in the US "The process that has turned a blank spot on the map into what some now call the Silicon Desert underscores a defining feature of American life: A tangle of bureaucracy often hinders ambitious visions, sowing confusion, uncertainty and delay. That tends to reinforce inertia and discourage development..."C3 @C_3C_3 "Exactly. There are so many obvious and easy wins for Republicans if they just follow Trump’s lead. Pray the Uniparty proves us wrong." Quote Catturd ™ @catturd2, "Trump and his cabinet can't keep doing everything themselves - at some point the Republican Party is going to actually grow a pair and stop hiding under their desks." John Ʌ Konrad V @johnkonrad, "After a week in DC meeting Trump appointees across every level, not just the Pentagon, I’m stunned by how few truly understand the sheer size and weight of the steamroller that’s coming if we lose the midterms. Like nothing else matters. Not even shipbuilding." At RedState, Cliff Maloney says DOGE Isn’t Dead, but It Must Start Cutting Now If We Want to Win Local and Midterm Races. At PJM Cathy Salgado reports Florida Moves to Protect Elections From Illegal Alien Votes, but Florida isn't the problem, and Stephen Kruiser, sees Dems Keep Proving That They're Terrified of Fair Elections. "Besides Washington, the DOJ is suing Delaware, Maryland, New Mexico, Rhode Island, and Vermont for failing to show the feds their voter lists, which they're required to do." At TownHall fast talking Ben Shapiro claims to discern A Two-Pronged Democratic Strategy for 2028: "Sow doubt within the military ranks, and present a slate of candidates who project moderation." Hat Hair's Capt. Ed thinks it's Too Good to Check: Dems Dumping Climate Change – in CA? and the Great Victor Davis Hanson says Democrats Want to Distract You From This Before Midterms, improvements in the economy. Rusty Weiss at RedState sees Democrats' Big Epstein Exposé Crumbles Under the Weight of Reality – Will They Retract? Capt. Ed, reports a Federal Judge Orders Release of Original Epstein Grand Jury Transcripts. Am Spec, Republic or Democracy: Democrats’ Crusade to ‘Save Our Democracy’ Is a Ploy to Undermine Our Constitution "Blurring the distinction between democracy and a republic is undermining constitutionalism."

Rusty Weiss at RedState, Somali-Linked Fraud in MN Under Tim Walz Just Got About $7 Billion Worse: ‘Growing by the Day’. Eddie Scarry at Da Fed calls Scamming Somalis The Love Children Of Dems’ Mass Welfare And Immigration Policies. Ace, Ilhan "Omar" Nur, Immigration Fraudster and America's Sweetheart, Just So Happeened to Have Ties with the Somali Pirates Behind the Biggest Theft of Taxpayer Funds in American History "Throw her in jail, then deport her." Hat Hair's Dave Strom thinks The Effort to Rehabilitate Somalis Is Getting Hilarious "Far from being, as a group, a plague upon our state, they are among the best citizens we have. So we are told. They contribute so much to Minnesota!" Clarity @covid_clarity, "Minnesota Somali population key statistics. % in Poverty: 58% % on Food Stamps: 42% % Unemployed: 40% % without H.S. Education: 41%" From Twitchy, 'MASSIVE Fraud Uncovered' --> New Obamacare Data Shares DAMNING Look Into Shady Subsidy Applicants. Da Caller opines Trump Was Right About Somali Refugees And Everyone Knows It. At TNP, Govt Watchdog Uncovers $94m in Obamacare Subsidies Fraudulently Paid for Dead People. VodkaPundit at Insty has another of his DISPATCHES FROM THE BLUE ZONES: Weingart’s $27 Million Dollar Homeless Heist: LA’s Pay to Play Pipeline Strikes Again – And the Trail of Donations Tells An Ever Darker Story. "The Weingart Center Association, long portrayed as one of LA’s “trusted” homeless service providers, is now at the center of a federal probe into a secretive $27.3 million property flip in Cheviot Hills. A flip that looks less like a housing solution and more like a blueprint for legalized theft. A flip that mirrors Shangri-La’s scheme almost down to the timestamps. And a flip that, when paired with newly uncovered campaign donation data from the LA County Registrar-Recorder’s TRACER system, paints a damning picture of influence peddling, coordinated bundling, and political payoffs hiding in plain sight." I spent much of my childhood in Cheviot Hills. Lovely area. 

At Liberty Unyielding, A Minnesota law unconstitutionally limits foster care removals of black kids, but not white kids. C3 @C_3C_3, "Tim Walz… ICE: Gestapo. Trump: bastard Elon Musk: dipshit. Trump: son of a b1tch. Trump Supporters: fascists. Etc Walz wants to play the victim after he called us all kinds of names. And violence always comes from the Left not the right. Continue to mock him. He deserves it." Bret Weinstein @BretWeinstein, "I’m glad that the world has relaxed and we can go back to using the word ‘retarded’ when someone is being stupid, but we obviously shouldn’t wield the term as an epithet against those who are actually developmentally delayed like @Tim_Walz." At Mediaite, Chris Cuomo Accuses AOC and Far-Left of Lack of Patriotism: ‘They Hate More About It Than They Love About It’. From the Free Bacon, Mamdani Taps Felon Who Served 7 Years for Robbing NYC Taxi Drivers as 'Criminal Legal System' Adviser. "Mamdani has said transition officials like Mysonne Linen will make both 'personnel recommendations' and 'policy recommendations'." Good and hard. Kurt Schlichter at TownHall just figures The Democrats Always Take Sides Against Normal People Like You. Cam at Bearing Arms is gratified Gun Sales Surge in Virginia Ahead of Democrat Takeover. Amy Curtis at TownHall hears Halle Berry Humiliate Gavin Newsom at NYT Book Summit: 'He Should Not Be Our Next President', for all the wrong reasons. “Back in my great state of California, my very own governor, Gavin Newsom, has vetoed our menopause bill, not one, but two years in a row,” the “Catwoman” star continued. “But that’s OK, because he’s not going to be governor forever, and the way he has overlooked women, half the population, by devaluing us, he probably should not be our next president either. Just saying.”

Althouse, "Trump Might Have a Case on Birthright Citizenship." "That was the title of a post last February.You might want to revisit that today, because "Supreme Court agrees to hear Trump’s challenge to birthright citizenship" (SCOTUSblog). Campus Reform, University of Delaware student arrested, police say he had machine gun and a plan to attack campus, "A notebook detailed alleged attack plans against University of Delaware police, including multiple references to "martyrdom."" Luqmaan Khan. At Da Caller, DHS Says Newsom’s Office Playing ‘Word Games’ Over An Illegal Accused Of Killing An 11-Year-Old. From Breitbart, DHS Spox Clobbers Democratic Rep. Daniel Goldman for Ignoring Migrant Rapists Released in New York City And Another Thing, Have media forgotten what it means to be ‘sympathetic’? "Won't somebody please think of the drunk drivers, convicted murderers, and wealthy early retirees?"

Twitchy sees Joe Biden Emerges From Dems' Forced Retirement to Remind Us We Are the United States of... WHAT!? Nick Arama at RedState thinks you should Watch Biden Invent a New Name for America During Ranting, Confused Moments at LGBTQ Event "We're the United States of Ameragottit." Hat Hair's Beege Welborn says Oh, Here's News - Taliban Actually Using That Stuff POTATUS Abandoned During the Skeedaddle. From Da Signal, House Republicans Seek Answers on Biden-Era Data Breach of 256,000 Consumers. Matt Vespa at TownHall enjoys Here's What Caused a Lefty Trump Supporter to Laugh in the Face of a 'View' Co-Host on CNN.

From Fox, Who is Brian Cole Jr, the DC pipe bomb suspect? The redoubtable Julie Kelly @julie_kelly2, "Could be that Brian Cole Jr, who is black, was a BLM supporter. A few of the bomb components were purchased around the same time that George Floyd riots were consuming Washington: Regardless, there appears to be a race-related reason why Chris Wray buried this investigation:" TNP reports that, of course, Alleged January 6 Pipe Bomber’s Family Are Democrat Donors. Sundance sees a Wild “Coincidence” – J6 Pipe Bomb Suspect is Mentally Simple, His Father, Also Brian Cole, Worked with Civil Rights Lawyer Ben Crump, a Close Personal Friend of Pam Bondi and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino Says “Much More to Come” from J6 Pipe Bomb Investigation. At Hat Hair VIP, Beege says I Think Maybe Patel's FBI Has Christopher Wray's Pipe Bomber Number. Ace snorts, The Media Doesn't Know the Politics of the J5 Bomber, But They Can Say Defnitively That Brian Cole, Jr. is "A White Man." Dave Strom, Senator Mark Warner Complains That Trump Didn't Close Jan 6 Bomber Case Fast Enough, after the Biden Admin lost it for 4 years.

John Sexton is disappointed when DOJ Tries and Fails to Re-Indict Letitia James. Keep trying.

News Wax reports an Appeals Court rules Trump Can Remove Dems From 2 Federal Labor Boards.

John Davidson at Da Fed thinks Democrats Would Like To Suppress Free Speech The Way Britain Does. ZeroHedge, reports a Clandestine Campaign To Defund ZeroHedge, The Federalist & Breitbart Traced To Kier Starmer Operation.

Richard Grenell @RichardGrenell, "I’m told that NBC reporters know that @KDilanianMSNOW makes up sources and they are unwilling to be on a byline with him. @CarolLeonnig has been ruined with Ken’s fake news stories that get debunked immediately." Quote Ben Williamson @_WilliamsonBen, "1,000% false and did not happen. And I’d like to give some BTS insight into how this hogwash got printed. I got this allegation on Tuesday. It sounded made up and I told the reporter so. I went and checked with everyone involved - Alexis (who doesn’t even drink), the Director, the Detail, and more - all of whom said it didn’t happen. Couldn’t find any corroboration or record of it whatsoever. I went back to the reporter and said “everyone involved says this is false - can you give me any other info so I can provide some proof beyond just a denial? A date? Name of the friend? Anything.” Their response was: “We do not have that info but are comfortable with our sourcing.”"

Capt. Ed, NYT Sues Over AI Scraping; Meta Cuts AI Deals With Fox, WashEx and John Sexton wonders Can AI and Society As We Know It Coexist?

From RCP, Trump and McMahon Are Fixing Education, and DC Is Panicking. Bonchie @bonchieredstate, "All DeSantis does is institute effective policy that advances conservative goals and betters his state. There are so many examples, it’s impossible to keep track at this point. But alas. He wore those boots." Quote Crémieux @cremieuxrecueil, "The first full year that Florida's in-school cellphone ban was in effect, student test scores went up by as much as 10% of a standard deviation." Ace says We Absolutely Must Defund the "Universities" "A trans professor -- we're already off to a great start -- failed a student for disagreeing with him that trans women are women (snap!)"

Linked at The Pirate's Cove in the weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and links. The Wombat has FMJRA 2.0: The Hits Just Keep On Coming online and garnering clicks at The Other McCain.

The Monday Morning Stimulus

Hyundai's  DAL-e Delivery robot

Tech Radar, This cute robot can deliver 16 cups of coffee right to your desk.

The office coffee run could soon be a thing of the past, judging by Hyundai's new DAL-e Delivery robot. The cute 'bot, which Hyundai says has been designed to navigate busy and complex settings such as offices and shopping malls, can carry up to 16 cups of coffee – and based on the video below, it'll deliver them without spilling a drop.

The DAL-E uses four of Hyundai's Plug & Drive (PnD) modules, which combine an electric motor, steering, braking and suspension system into one unit. It's capable of safely travelling at speeds of around 2.6 mph - a perfectly acceptable walking pace.

But more impressive still is the suite of environmental recognition sensors that allow it to avoid obstacles and create real-time optimal route calculations. According to Hyundai, it can even use an elevator system by "seamlessly interfacing" with the door controls.

No! One of the primary reasons for a coffee run is to stretch your leg, and socialize interface with other workers. Besides, wouldn't you rather have one of these deliver your coffee? 

Boys will Be Boys and Girls Will be Girls

Rose Flower Sex Toy

Paul Bedard at WaEx, Amazon: PlayStation 5 and women’s sex toy top coronavirus stimulus spending

An analysis of spending on Amazon following the distribution of the latest coronavirus stimulus, a massive $1.9 trillion package, suggests that people are using it to let off some steam.

The global e-commerce firm Pattern said that the biggest surges in sales were for the PlayStation 5 and a female sex toy called the “.”

Sales in the past week of Sony’s game console rose 511%, and the Rose's sales (check Amazon for the description) shot up 334%.

$1,400 would buy a lot of Rose Flower Sex Toys at $56.99 @.

Alex reports a lot of "stimulus guitars" are being sold, too. If you would like a nice Paul Reed Smith guitar courtesy of the federal government, may I suggest buying one from him at his Reverb site?

Coming to another stimulus soon? Walking, talking, feeling ‘Westworld’-style sex dolls coming within 10 years

These are the sex droids you’re looking for.

Executives in the booming sex doll industry say that within a decade their dolls will be able to walk, talk and feel sensations as well as emotions.

Dolls available now can smile, moan and hold a conversation – but soon they will be ambulatory and be able to feel sensation and respond in kind.

The leading company in the “Westworld”-style humanoids, RealDoll confirmed to fans on its site that it is working on dolls that can walk on their own as well as have a more realistic voice (current dolls sound like Amazon’s Alexa). 

A RealDoll representative, who goes by the pseudonym Brick Dollbanger, told the Daily Star that the next generation of AI sex robots will also have sensors in its erogenous zones that respond to human touch.

“The AI will know what you’re doing to her body and will respond accordingly,” Dollbanger said. “I predict this will be a major breakthrough in synthetic sexual companionship.”

Do they have to have all the emotions? 

The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Oksana Rykova up on time and under budget at The Other McCain.

Sex and the WuFlu

Molly Simmons, a big no!

BottomBuzzfeed, Sex Workers Are Facing Increasingly Risky Conditions As The Coronavirus Spreads

Sex workers are facing dire financial and personal circumstances as fear of the coronavirus extends into every corner of life, with some under pressure to work in increasingly risky conditions.

Escorts, strippers, dominatrixes, and an intimacy coach told BuzzFeed News they had lost thousands of dollars due to canceled conferences, travel restrictions, and clients’ fears of being in public spaces.

Porn performers have been advised to stockpile video content to release in the event that the industry shuts down, but the most vulnerable sex workers face the threat of exploitation and homelessness.

“Anytime there’s this type of panic,” said sex worker and activist Molly Simmons, “clients understand that as a shift in power.”

As public health departments recommend "social distancing," the sex workers whom BuzzFeed News spoke to explained how they’re planning to continue to support themselves while trying to protect their health in the midst of a global pandemic.

Some said they are turning to online work like sexting and video calls, putting wish lists of food and other goods on Amazon, asking questions about their clients’ travel history, and relying on trusted clients to make ends meet.

Giselle Palmer

What? Get honest jobs? Maybe it's not that desperate yet. SF Gate Will the Porn Industry Be Disrupted by Coronavirus?

For the past two years, Giselle Palmer has been shooting adult films in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley, the epicenter of the porn industry. Then at the beginning of this year, she started hearing about the coronavirus. It was, she says, a large part of her decision to move away from L.A. back home to Texas and stop shooting scenes for a while.

“I’ve shifted my focus to content platforms and streaming; things I can do with no physical contact with other performers. And I’m pretty happy with that decision,” she tells Rolling Stone. “I think I’m gonna wait until we have a better idea of how this will play out.”

NYPo, Sex doll companies trying to cash in on coronavirus

Sex doll companies have an important public service message: Self-isolating can be fun and safe at the same time.

Abyss, the maker of sex robots RealDolls, assured potential buyers that its dolls are free of COVID-19 in an Instagram post.

“Self-isolating doesn’t have to be the worst! All RealDolls are made from Platinum Grade Silicone and are naturally antibacterial and nonporous! Want one?” the company’s caption reads.

An online publication that reviews sex dolls also offered a blog post trying to combat myths regarding sex dolls and the coronavirus.

“Sex doll industries have been greatly affected as most of these products were made and delivered from China,” according to the post at realsexdollreviews.com.

 Sex doll maker Silicon Wives has also tried capitalizing on the pandemic, with a giveaway contest for free sex dolls “to help with the coronavirus quarantine,” according to its website.

“Are you stuck inside with nothing to do for the Corona virus [sic] quarantine? We’re giving away free sex dolls to ease your ‘social distancing,’” the website reads.

Da Star Sex robot firm selling 'anti-bacterial' dolls for coronavirus self-isolation

With scores of people facing agonising sexless spells, RealDoll told existing or potential customers that there is hope.

The message on Instagram read: "Self isolating doesn’t have to be the worst. "All RealDolls are made from Platinum Grade Silicone and are naturally antibacterial and nonporous."

It follows a landmark period for RealDoll, who is unleashing a range of futuristic models onto the market.
Earlier this year it released a video of its new AI-driven dolls that convey "human expression".

Three dolls talk to the camera, explaining AI functions and then replicating the expressions.

They tell the camera: "We are AI-driven robotic dolls and we are here to become your perfect companion.

Not until they can make a sammich.

The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Elle MacPherson up at The Other McCain on time and under budget.

Skynet Just Giggled

Somewhere in xer server farm. Is it really a big stretch from a robot designed to wipe out Lionfish to a terminator designed to wipe out humanity? This harpoon-throwing robot is designed to hunt destructive lionfish

Wildlife agencies have learned firsthand that the only way to tackle lionfish populations is by spearing them. (The exotic, maroon-striped creatures don’t go to lures and are tough to catch in nets.) The species isn’t too wary of humans, Benkwitt says, so folks can make a sport out of hunting them in close range. In fact, the Florida state government has an annual competition for residents to go out and capture lionfish. Those lucky enough to wrangle the biggest or smallest specimen land a prize of $2,000.

“There’s a great community of people beyond just what we’ve done that has really taken it to heart,” says Amanda Nalley, a spokesperson with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. But some members of the species can live at depths of up to 1,000 feet, making them more inaccessible.

Florida’s answer to this dilemma? A remotely operated vehicle (ROV) that uses a harpoon gun to exterminate its ruffly target. The “reef sweeper” is designed to snag lionfish lurking well below the water’s surface. On land, a trained employee uses a joystick to home in on the target, almost like in a video game.

“It seems kind of crazy to send a robot out,” Benkwitt says. “But it does solve some of the problems of the fact that there’s a lot of big lionfish that we can’t get to otherwise.”

Right now Florida is testing one reef sweeper prototype with a kill capacity of 150 fish per trip. But Gavin Hunter of Atlantic Lionshare, which collaborated with the state to develop this technology, says that the company is working on rolling out a sleeker, more advanced prototype this summer. While the new model will only hold 70 to 100 carcasses, its spear can reload every 10 seconds, cutting down the time it takes to deploy the machine. Ultimately, Hunter says the goal is to have each ROV bag 1,000 lionfish a day.

The robots will cost close to $300,000 a pop, so they might not be the cheapest solution to a wide and growing problem. Florida is already facing a scourge of unique environmental pests, between the Burmese pythons swallowing up the Everglades and the Kudzu vines draping many swamplands. Lionfish only add to the crisis: They outcompete local species like snapper for crustacean prey. “They are doing really well there at the expense of the native fish populations,” says Benkwitt. One report shows that the presence of a single lionfish can drive down the diversity of a coral reef community by 79 percent.

If you can't beat 'em, eat 'em.

On the mend, the Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Ayako Kawasumi out by its nominal due date.

A Worthy Choice

Sex robot to be based on Russian singer after sensational AI agreement

Anna Pletnyova has reportedly agreed to use her image as a prototype for a new South Korean doll after striking a deal with a company that produces erotic humanoid models

A Russian singer has reportedly agreed for a sex robot to be based on her after striking an agreement with a robot company, according to reports.

It is understood the image of Anna Pletnyova, 42, will be the prototype for a range of new models.

Anna – who has made three appearances in Russia's Top 100 Sexiest Women in the World – has reportedly made the agreement with a South Korean company.

She said: "My initial reaction was to say no, and then I remembered what Marilyn Monroe said, 'that's the trouble, a sex symbol becomes a thing'.

"I just hate to be a thing. But if I'm going to be a symbol of something I'd rather have it sex than some other things they've got symbols of!"

Dolls will be equipped with AI voice recognition.

I wonder how soon they'll come to Walmart? And will they be checked for malware?

The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Bonnie Bedelia up and running on time and within budget.

Can "Smart" Ponds Save the Bay?

Well, they can't hurt. Maryland Introduces 'Smart Ponds,' Saving Chesapeake Bay, Taxpayer Money

Environmentalists are turning to ponds to help save the Chesapeake Bay. But these are not ordinary ponds - they're called smart ponds.

It's the latest technology in Bay restoration. One is located just north of the Fruitland Walmart behind a chain-linked fence near the parking lot.

It's a program with a public-private partnership including the Maryland Department of Transportation and Walmart. Leaders from across the state celebrated the news on Tuesday.

"This will be a national program and Maryland will be first," MDOT Secretary Pete Rahn said.

Three more ponds scattered across the state will work to reduce stormwater pollution. MDOT Assistant Secretary Charles Glass says the project took nearly two years to complete.

"A smart pond actually can control holding back some of the water," Glass said. "That means you have more time for sedimentation, which removes nutrients."

But what is a "smart" pond. I had to google another article to get a rudimentary description of how they work:

“Normally this pond would just drain, and it wouldn’t do anything else, but water would fall and come in from parking lot and buildings and then it would just fill up and then drain,” Dr. Charles Glass, Assistant Secretary for the Maryland Department of Transportation, said.

But with this new technology unveiled, ponds like one in Fruitland will be able to sustain themselves more effectively.

“This technology a little allows it to fill up, and, like a bathtub, hold the water if we want to, or release the water if we want to based on storms coming or storms already being passed,” Dr. Glass said.

It's still not entirely clear if the pond is an autonomous robot which gets a weather forecast and decides whether or not to retain more water, or whether it reports to a central facility, which makes the decision. Either way, it's kind of a cool idea, but just wait until Russia starts hacking our retention ponds.

Humans, Robots Converging

From the Daily Star (UK), US sex robot giant says dolls 'hard to tell apart from humans' after AI upgrade

Sex robots will be "difficult to tell" from humans in as little as several years, a leading manufacturer has vowed.

1AM Dolls President, Brent Lawson, told Daily Star Online his company offer more than 30 bodies and 100 different face options.

This gives customers a chance to customise female, male or transgender dolls before they build their "fantasy partner" for them.

But incredibly, Brent believes AI technology is evolving so rapidly that sex robots are on course to match humans for their realism in just years.

He told Daily Star Online: "In my opinion, we are several years away before we have the ability to perfect not only the AI portion but the remaining technology that would make it difficult to tell human from a doll/robot.

"The robotics and AI portions have been getting a lot of coverage over the last few years, so the public is aware of the strides being made.

"Over the years I think we have made major strides in realism, but my hope for the coming years is more innovation.

"In my opinion, there is a lot of focus on AI and robotics, but other innovations have been overlooked such as reducing the doll’s weight.

Meanwhile, Instagram girls are beginning to get that "uncanny valley" feel. Take Katie Bell, twice recommended by Donald Douglas at American Power:

Instagram star from Florida known for being one of Dan Bilzerian's "sister wives", the hoard of women who are paid to be around him.

Her first Instagram post was on January 21, 2016, and was a video of her walking through a department store. The caption read "mood towards haters since '95."

She is an ambassador for Dan's company Ignite Cannabis Co.

Is she real, or is she a simulation?

UPDATE: The Wombat is back in business, with Rule Five Sunday: Black Widow.

That's Quick Progress!

From the UK's Daily Star so you know it's quality journalism, a couple weeks ago: World's biggest brothel throws down challenge to sex robots: 'They can't compete'

Dena, from famous Nevada legal brothel Sheri’s Ranch made the revelation to Daily Star Online.

Sheri’s Ranch is believed to be the largest establishment of its kind in the world – styling itself as a luxurious sex resort.

But scientists and engineers the world over are tinkering in labs and workshops to perfect the next generation of “sex robots”.

It has been predicted that by 2050, human-on-robot sex will be more common than human-on-human romps.

Dena told Daily Star Online that she doesn’t think the sex robots will be impacting them anytime soon.

She described how real sex workers offer so much more than the physical pleasure of the act. Sex robots will not be able to match the level of “connection” and “intimacy” clients are looking for in 2019.

And it comes after she revealed Sheri’s Ranch is swamped by millennial virgins, with more “late bloomers” than ever before.

Dena said: “I personally don’t think sex robots will impact the legal brothel industry any time soon. “Our ladies offer a lot more that merely a physical encounter.

“Sex workers at Sheri’s offer an emotional connection and authentic human intimacy. “In order for a sex robot to compete with a human courtesan, it would have to be a genuinely self-aware AI.”

But then, from the Star today: Sex robot THREAT: AI girlfriends 'indistinguishable from humans' after major 5G upgrade

AI doll manufacturer Realbotix has recently fitted new models with Wi-Fi, enabling high-speed synchronising for voice and animation.

They also stand to benefit from 5G, which is poised to give us vastly superior mobile internet data. This means sex robots will be able to connect and update without needing to be near an internet router.

But sex doll collector, Brick Dollbanger, believes this technology will make them so realistic, we won’t be able to tell them apart from humans.

Brick, who has close ties with Realbotix, told Daily Star Online: "Anytime you can get a steadier flow of information from software to hardware activation, you are going to get better syncronisation and smoother more lifelike movement from your hardware. He added: "Once it (the upgrade) finally is on board the synthetic, it will only use Wi-Fi to access the net for info.

"I see this occurring once the synthetic becomes mobile and carries its own power cell. It will all be hardwired into the body and head and it will no longer need a carrier signal. "Probably a signal will be used on occasion to update the AI, and 5g will help with this."

But he warned this will come with risks, and urged developers to be careful.

He added: "Along with looking like us, I think that poses as many risks as benefits. And we have to be very careful how we develop this."

If it got that much better in two weeks, imagine the progress in a year!

Wombat-socho has a double stuffed Rule 5 Sunday: Morena Baccarin.

SJWs Resent Rise of Robosexuals

Much ado about nothing. Literally. Calvin Klein apologizes to LGBT community for ad of Bella Hadid kissing female robot

I am here. That is my truth. #MYTRUTH #MYCALVINS@bellahadid @CalvinKlein pic.twitter.com/gjMyHHXjHB

— Miquela (@lilmiquela) May 16, 2019

Calvin Klein is apologizing after the fashion label came under fire for a video campaign showing model Bella Hadid kissing female robot Lil Miquela.

The 30-second ad drew backlash since Hadid identifies as heterosexual, with critics commenting, "There are plenty of real LGBTQ Models that could have been used."

Bella Hadid was my  2017 Girl of the Summer.

In a statement posted to their social media late Friday, the company said they "welcome all types of constructive feedback from our community."

"The concept for our latest #MYCALVINS campaign is to promote freedom of expression for a wide range of identities, including a spectrum of gender and sexual identities," the statement read. "This specific campaign was created to challenge conventional norms and stereotypes in advertising. In this particular video, we explored the blurred lines between reality and imagination.”

It's not like Calvin Klein doesn't have a history of controversial ads. But I don't think they backed down when all they offended were Christians.


Despite the article, Lil Miquela is not a real robot, she is a digital digital fictional character:

Miquela Sousa, better known as Lil Miquela, is a fictional character and digital art project. Miquela is an Instagram model and music artist claiming to be from Downey, California.

The project began in 2016 as an Instagram profile. By April 2018, the account had amassed more than a million followers by portraying the lifestyle of an Instagram it-girl over social media.[6] The account also details a fictional narrative which presents Miquela as a sentient robot in conflict with other digital projects.

In August 2017, Miquela released her first single, "Not Mine". Her pivot into music has been compared to virtual musicians Gorillaz and Hatsune Miku.

Wombat-socho has a double stuffed Rule 5 Sunday: Morena Baccarin.

Men Need Feminists Like a Robot Needs Vegetables

Hey, remember when Gloria Steinem said "a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle"? It turns out that with women becoming unwanted due to the increasing sophistication of sex robots that feminists are starting to see the future less brightly: Swedish Feminists Demand State Ban on 'Dangerous' Sex Robots

'Bot or not?

Three Swedish feminist organisations, Sweden's Women's Lobby, the National Organisation for Women's Shelters and Young Women's Shelters (Roks) as well as the empowerment organisation Unizon have published a joint appeal in the newspaper Expressen, in which they demand a state ban on "dangerous" sex robots for men.

The debaters noted that today's sex robots often have the "appearances and attributes typical of the objectifying, sexualised and degrading attitude to women found in today's mainstream pornography".

"Why are men willing to pay tens of thousands of dollars for a robot that obeys their smallest command?" the feminists asked rhetorically. "A female robot cannot say no to something that the man wants, if she is not programmed to do so", the feminists complained.

The leaders of the women's organisations claimed that fantasies stimulated by such technology may lead to real violence against girls and women. They also drew parallels with pornography, whose consumption, they claimed, leads to sexist attitudes and actual violence. The dehumanisation of women justifies slavery, and the exploitation of the female body through new technology is part of this, they claimed.

Sex is easy, but can they make sandwiches yet?

The three organisations demanded that an inquiry be made to produce proposals on "how technology and activities that normalise abuse can be restricted and prohibited".

The feminists also want Swedish authorities to make it difficult for "brothels with sex robots and dolls" to open in Sweden. Unlike neighbouring Denmark and Finland, Sweden has yet to open an automated brothel with no human prostitutes. The organisations drew comparisons between sex robots and prostitution.

"Sweden has for 20 years had a regulatory framework that punishes sex buyers and which has reduced the demand for prostitution. <…> Now, Sweden must take the next step and dare to address the ongoing technological developments that are driven by the sex industry at the expense of real women and girls", they concluded.

Lastly, they demanded that such dolls and robots be included in sexual education curricula and addressed from a perspective that portrays the relationship between sexuality and power as problematic.

Now, I'm not advocating sex bots, but they have to be more satisfying than feminists.

What do you think would happen if men tried to ban vibrators?

The Wombat has Rule 5 Monday: Michelle Malkin ready and waiting for your digital pleasure. 

Feminist Sex Bots to Demand Small Talk, Consent

I'm sure this will add to their market value: You Can Sleep With the Latest Sex Robots at This Brothel—But Only if They Say ‘Yes’

Here’s something you rarely hear in the discussion of robots designed for the sole purpose of having sexual relations with humans: Is the sex consensual?

That’s because it’s one of the last questions anyone thinks about. It’s a little bit like asking, “You shoved your bread into that toaster, but did you even bother to wonder if it wanted to make you toast?” But these are exactly the questions being asked by Unicole Unicron—yes, that’s her actual name—a self-described “gender non-conforming Pop Star Cult Leader” from Pasadena, California, who hopes to open the world’s first “consent-focused robot brothel,” called Eve’s Robot Dreams, in West Hollywood later this year.

Abyss Creations sexbot in shipping crate

Unicron has no startup capital, although she’s in talks with private investors about funding the project. And aside from her day job—where she writes content for Abyss Creations, one of a handful of companies selling sex robots in the US—she doesn’t have a lot of experience in the mechanics of techno-sex. But she does have a unique marketing approach.

It’s important that diversity exists within tech and this is no different,” she says. “Eve’s Robot Dreams will provide a fresh experience and it will set the precedent for how we interact with robots. We have the opportunity to be at the international forefront of robot ethics.”

How exactly sex with a robot can be consensual is still coming into focus. Unicron’s explanation makes it sound like a very awkward first date, where the customer and robot have a pre-coital conversation “in a public booth or a curtained booth in our cafe.” Or they can skip the perfunctory meet-and-greet by using a Realbotix app before the encounter. If you say enough “right” things to the robot over time, it “unlocks her sexual content,” Unicron says.

A very strange girl (NSFW link). At this point, I'm pretty sure it's a scam.

Wombat-socho has Rule 5 Sunday: Happy Hanukkah! up on time and within budget.

Swedish Girl's Makeup Habit Prompts Racial Appropriation Claims

Emma Hallberg

Swedish Instagram Model Insists She’s Not Pretending to Be Black

In a trend that is not new or surprising, white women seem to be adopting the features of black women on social media in their quest to develop themselves as models and influencers. The most recent iteration of this is Swedish Instagram model Emma Hallberg, who shocked some of her followers when they realized she was white.

Earlier this week, a 19-year-old woman named Deja tweeted a screenshot of Hallberg’s page, along with a screenshot of a DM from a follower informing her that the model was not, in fact, black, with the succinct caption “PARDON????” “Finding out Emma was white was so shocking due to the fact that this girl has done everything to look the part of a mixed black girl,” Deja told the Cut via email.

Honestly, I can't figure out what she looks like racially. To me, she appears to have crossed into "uncanny valley" territory.

“I genuinely believed this girl was Afro-Latina,” she continued. “She had been mimicking black features and getting famous for it. She has been darkening her skin several tones deeper than her natural shade, braiding her hair to make it look similar to mixed people’s curl pattern, and even been featured on Instagram accounts made for black hair styles and spotlighting black women. The sad part is she really fooled everyone into believing she was a mixed girl.”

 Even that makeup doesn't appear to be as dark as she seems to be in most of her photos, and it's pretty clear that underneath, she's pretty pale. I can't imagine any sun gets through there, let alone the weak Swedish sun.

Hallberg, for her part, has denied trying to intentionally look black; one Twitter user posted what appears to be a DM conversation with the influencer, in which she wrote, “I’m white and I never claimed to be anything else… I’m NOT ‘posing’ as a colored person as you claim.”

Hallberg reiterated those statements in a recent interview with Buzzfeed, saying that she never “claimed or tried to be black or anything else.”

“I do not see myself as anything else than white,” she added. “I get a deep tan naturally from the sun.”

 Smile a little! It would make you look more human. Of course, the pancake might crack.

Linked at Pirate's Cove in the weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and links. Wombat-socho has Rule 5 Sunday: Roll Tide! ready for your enjoyment.

The Girl Next Door: DIY

Jade Stanley with two of her custom sex dolls

Men request copies of 'girls they fancy WITHOUT their permission

Lonely singletons are asking Jade Stanley, owner and founder of Sex Doll Official, to secretly make them artificial versions of girls they have a crush on. Jade’s firm, based in Bromsgrove, near Birmingham, makes customised sex dolls for men and women who wish to create sex dolls in the likeness of real people.

Most customers ask 35-year-old Jade to create sex dolls in the likeness of celebrities, their partners or in some cases their dead wives. But Jade said nothing is off limits, including carbon copies of people who have no knowledge their appearance is being replicated in sex doll form.

I'll bet Hillary Clinton doesn't get many requests.

Some men have requested silicone duplicates of women they have taken a shine to, Jade said.

“In terms of customisation, it’s anything whatsoever. Celebrity, dead spouse or someone you fancy,” Jade told Daily Star Online. “It really does vary, you get people asking for a Kim Kardashian, or a girl next door. It’s just so different across the board.”

To produce the sex dolls, customers are required to send a picture of their loved one to Jade, who forwards the request on to her factory in China, where they are made.

Oh great, so the Chinese will be filling our sexbots with malware.

Customers are required to detail their specifications, including hair colour, breast-size, weight and skin colour, when making a request via the Sex Doll Official website. 

It looks like big boobs are a frequent option. I guess the cost of the extra silicon is minimal.

The bespoke sex dolls, which can cost up to £4,000 depending on specifications, are then air freighted back to Jade’s office and cleaned before being shipped out to the customer.

£4,000? Hell, for that you should be able to get a prefectly good Thai of Filipino wife. A Russian might cost a little more in the long run.

“They’ve just presented me with a picture,” Jade, who owns a chain of sunbed shops in the West Midlands, said. “In conversations with me and my colleagues, we get as much information as possible as to the woman or man they want to create.”

When asked about the legal consequences of making sex doll replicas of real people without their knowledge, mum-of-four Jade said she has no qualms. She said: “Of course that’s a concern, and I wouldn’t want to cause myself any litigation problems. “But at the end of the day, it’s just a likeness. “Who’s to say you can’t draw a likeness of somebody or paint a likeness of somebody.”

I see that the uncanny valley is still a problem.

This week the Wombat has returned, along with "Late NIght With Rule 5 Sunday: Nurse! Nurse!" (gic) and FMJRA 2.0: Back In The Saddle.