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Trump Pardons the Swamp
A joke:
A Wall Street fraudster, a crooked cop and a politician walk into a bar.
President Trump says "get those bars out of the way, these men deserve to be free!"
From ‘Junk Bond King’ To Abramoff Pal, Trump’s Pardon List Dredges Swamp
Receiving pardons or commutations today:
The "Junk Bond King" Michael Milken, a Wall Street banker convicted of securities fraud and insider trading.
Rod Blagojevich, convicted of corruption for trying to sell Obama's vacated Senate seat.
David Safavian, the guy who was convicted for obstructing the Jack Abramoff investigation.
Crooked New York police commissioner Bernard Kerik, who the mob bribed.
SpaceX Nails Starlink Launch, Fails Booster Landing
SpaceX nailed the launch but missed a landing on Monday [Updated]
SpaceX launches fifth batch of Starlink satellites, misses booster landing
Despite the reduced workload, Falcon 9’s reusable first-stage booster missed the droneship “Of Course I Still Love You,” splashing down nearby in the Atlantic Ocean.
On the live stream, it looked like a "space snake" came off of the booster. Critical component?
If the booster is too salty or smashed to be refurbished, that is an expensive batch of Starlink sats.
2 more launches to go until the lower bound for launching a service. 8 more for "moderate coverage".
The Kodi "Piracy" Relationship
I saw this blog post on the Kodi news ticker on LibreELEC:
Kodi is undoubtedly synonymous with streaming 🏴☠️piracy🏴☠️, although it is useful software even when "clean" and you can do a decent amount with the official add-ons repo (YouTube, Pluto.TV, internet radio, etc.).
Are they going through the obligatory motions to distance themselves from 🏴☠️yarrrrr🏴☠️ or are they legitimately pissed off? It's probably a bit of both.
Big Intel HPC GPUs
Exclusive: Intel Xe HP 4-Tile 500W GPU EU Count Leaked, No It’s Not 512
This is a follow-up to an earlier story I linked.
- Intel Xe HP (Gen 12.5) 1-Tile GPU: 512 EUs [Est: 4096 Cores, 12.2 TFLOPs assuming 1.5GHz, 150W]
- Intel Xe HP (Gen 12.5) 2-Tile GPU: 1024 EUs [Est: 8192 Cores, 20.48 TFLOPs assuming 1.25 GHz, 300W]
- Intel Xe HP (Gen 12.5) 4-Tile GPU: 2048 EUs [Est: 16,384 Cores, 36 TFLOPs assuming 1.1 GHz, 400W/500W]
That's 81.3, 68.3, and 72-90 GFLOPS/Watt, if accurate.
Compare to about 44.2 GFLOPS/W for Radeon RX 5700, 53.8 for RTX 2080 Ti, or 116.3 for Tesla T4. I'm just getting those numbers by dividing the FP32 GFLOPS by TDP, so YMMV.
400-500 Watts sounds extreme but it might not be as hard to cool as you think since the die area of a 4-tile multi-chip module (basically chiplets) would be huge. An advantage of the MCM approach is better yields. It would be difficult to create a 1,600 mm2 monolithic GPU, while putting four 400 mm2 tiles together is easier.
If this is a success, Intel will probably shoot for a design with 8 tiles eventually (2024?).
All Dems and 8 Reps vote to prohibit Trump attacking Iran
A number of Republican senators joined Democrats on Thursday to vote in favor of a resolution barring President Donald Trump from taking further military actions against Iran without congressional approval.
The resolution, sponsored by Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, was heavily opposed by Trump. It passed in a 55 to 45 vote, marking a rare bipartisan rebuke of the president a little over a week after the Senate voted to acquit Trump in his impeachment trial. Eight Republicans ultimately voted in favor of the resolution: Sens. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, Mike Lee of Utah, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Jerry Moran of Kansas, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Todd Young of Indiana.
Minority Leader Chuck Schumer celebrated the success of the resolution in a tweet, stating, "With Senator Kaine's War Powers Resolution now passed, a bipartisan majority of Senators just sent a clear shot across the bow saying President Trump cannot wage war without Congress's explicit approval."
Meanwhile, Kaine tweeted, "This is a strong bipartisan message from the Senate that we will uphold our constitutional duty to deliberate and vote before sending our troops into harm's way."
Got my Primary ballot today!
This will be the first time I am allowed to vote in it as a registered Independent here in CO.
If you think you're not allowed to vote in the Primary then you may be mistaken.
Several states have moved to open primaries for 2020 so be sure to check yours! Primary information by State
Be sure to vote if you can!
Congressman Schneider goes after the NRA tax exempt status,
Congressman Schneider goes after the NRA tax exempt status, but he has a problem himself.....
Updated: an hour ago
On 2/6, Congressman Schneider escalated the attacks on the NRA’s tax exempt status.
Democratic Representative Brad Schneider of Illinois reiterated his call for an Internal Revenue Service investigation into the National Rifle Association, citing the Trace’s April 2019 investigation with The New Yorker. In a new report released on February 6, he compiled numerous allegations of self-dealing and financial misconduct at the gun rights nonprofit and concluded that “American taxpayers are subsidizing the NRA’s scheme.”
A member of the House Ways and Means Committee, Schneider last year requested documents from the NRA and its vendors as he sought more information on possible violations of its tax-exempt status. But he says the organization stonewalled his queries and blocked its former public relations firm, Ackerman McQueen, from cooperating.
Ok, fine (even though that whole thing with the New Yorker was an orchestrated hit job by Everytown). But what about Rep Schneider’s past dealings/influence over not for profits, specifically Everytown/Moms Demand Action?
So, the congressman contacted Moms Demand Action and asked them to contact public schools (taxpayer funded) in order to setup an event for him by using Everytown’s resources. The email that MDA sent states Schneider told them to do it. Schneider, on the other hand.....
On Saturday, I had the chance to meet and speak with students from more than a dozen area schools at a workshop program organized by Moms Demand Action. These young people are incredible. Their passion and energy are changing the debate on gun safety and setting an example for their elected leaders.
Uh, Congressman, MDA said YOU wanted them to organize it in 3/9/18 email. So which is it? Maybe this should be investigated further, as if you’re able to use a not for profit to setup events for your own purpose, that’s a huge no no in the 501C world.
It’s also interesting that Rep. Schneider is the one who spearheaded the investigation into the NRA in Congress two months after his little event in March.
The Walmart "Motile" Cheap Laptops
Windows 10 vs. Ubuntu Linux Performance On A $199 AMD Ryzen Laptop
This $210 AMD Ryzen laptop may well be the best-value business notebook ever
Motile 14" Laptop: Ryzen 3, 1080p, 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD ($199)
Motile 14" Laptop: AMD Ryzen 5, 14" 1080p, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD ($299)
MOTILE 14 Review $299 RYZEN 5 3500U Performance Laptop Amazing Value! (10m40s video)
$299 MOTILE 14" Performance Laptop Emulation Test - RYZEN 5 3500U (11m50s video)
External GPU On A $300 Walmart Laptop! MOTILE 14 + Radeon RX590 (10m52s video) (lol)
These $200-$300 laptops have a stellar reputation compared to the $80 landfill-tier EVOO 10.1 tablet that Walmart is associated with.
The main problems are probably single-channel RAM (although at least it can be upgraded), apparently a crappy Wi-Fi card, no USB-C charging, and they are Zen+. It's possible that Zen 2 "Renoir" could allow 4 or 6 cores in place of what is currently 2 or 4 cores, although it would take a while for prices to drop down to these levels.
Personally, I might take a break from laptops and try building a small form factor PC using Zen 4 (AM5 socket), which may be released in 2021. AM5 should support "mainstream" CPUs with at least 24 cores, possibly 32 cores.
Also, @krishnoid, Lenovo 100e is at $99.
Partial Iowa fuckup results are in!
You're right it's all about narrative and I'm gonna push it for all it's worth: Biden is doing terribly!
At 62% reporting it's Sanders and Buttigieg leading the pack. Warren following. Biden in 4th.
Iowa Live Results: 2020 Democratic Caucuses
UPDATE: 71% reporting, Buttigieg has extended his lead by a little but it's still very close.
Candidate Pct. SDEs Del.
Buttigieg 26.8% 418.73 —
Sanders 25.2% 393.52 —
Update: 85% reporting, Sander's popular vote edge shrinks to 700. They're both sitting at 11 delegates so it looks like it'll end up a tie.
typical 'Do as I say, not as I do' liberal activist
Saginaw and Bay City News
Saginaw woman who led anti-violence march faces gun charges
SAGINAW, MI - Months after organizing an anti-violence march in the wake of a several shootings in the city, a Saginaw woman faces gun charges after police allege she threatened an employee at a salon.
Sparkle N. Roby, 34, on Wednesday, Sept. 18, appeared in Saginaw County District Court for arraignment on three counts of felony firearm and single counts of felonious assault, carrying a concealed weapon, carrying a dangerous weapon with unlawful intent, and felon in possession of a firearm.
Prosecutors say Roby on July 22 had an altercation with an employee at Unique Styles Beauty Salon in Saginaw and said she’d come back with a gun. She left the business, then returned with a pistol and waved it around, yelling for the employee, prosecutors allege.
Roby left the salon when she heard police were being called, prosecutors said. No one was injured, but police said several people were in the salon at the time.
Authorities issued a warrant for Roby’s arrest on Monday, Sept. 16. The next day, police arrested her during a traffic stop.
Roby, speaking with MLive on Thursday, said she expects the case against her to be dismissed.
“They’re all false claims,” she said. “I don’t know the person who made the report.”
Earlier this year, Roby organized the Take a Step Walk. The June 1 march was in response to several shootings and two homicides that occurred in Saginaw in a few weeks’ time.
In May, she told how her life has been affected by violence in Saginaw.
In 2005, her best friend Brandy Boose, 20, was killed in a drive-by shooting as she slept in bed with her infant. Two years later, Roby’s 26-year-old sister Tekisha R. Curry — a mother of five children — was fatally shot during a late-night birthday party in 2007.
In 2015, Roby found herself in legal trouble for witness intimidation for twice threatening a female who was a witness against her brother, Brandon Sims, who is serving 26-50 years in prison for the 2014 shooting death of Keyonus Mobley.
“When I was put in that situation, I had never been in that situation, and I learned that I never wanted to be in that situation again,” Roby told MLive in May. “I was able to grow and learn from the experience.”
She ended up pleading no contest to one count of intimidating a witness by committing a crime and/or threatening to kill or injure. As a convicted felon, Roby is prohibited from possessing guns.
In 2018, she regained custody of her sons, who had been removed from her home in 2010. They also became motivation for her.
“I learned to use my time more wisely and started doing more positive things and ever since then things have been going more positively for me,” Roby said.
Roby, who has bonded out of jail, is to appear for a preliminary examination at 2:15 p.m. on Oct. 2.
U.S.A. – -(Ammoland.com)-“A Saginaw woman who organized an anti-violence march has accepted a plea deal her felony gun case,” Saginaw and Bay City News reported Saturday. “Sparkle N. Roby, 34, on Wednesday, Jan. 22, appeared before Saginaw County Chief Circuit Judge Darnell Jackson and pleaded no contest to single counts of felonious assault, felon in possession of a firearm, carrying a concealed weapon, and carrying a dangerous weapon with unlawful intent.”
As part of the deal to get the plea, prosecutors agreed to drop three “felony firearm” counts stemming from an incident where witness testimony said Roby returned to a beauty salon with a gun to threaten an employee she’d had an argument with moments before.
That hardly lives up to the “authoritative” lecturing Roby gave the media when interviewed for her “Take a Step Walk.” Perhaps if “reporters” giving her free publicity had been more interested in doing a balanced job, they could have asked her on camera about her prior deal after threatening to kill a witness against her brother, now serving 26 to 50 years for shooting a man to death. She pled out on that too, making her a “prohibited person,” forbidden by law to have a gun. And just to re-emphasize, she had faced two charges for the death threat.
Roby evidently learning nothing makes Judge Jackson’s decision to allow her to be free on bond pending sentencing all the more curious. Based on results she has demonstrated extreme anger and cognitive dissonance issues and has shown a penchant for threatening to kill witnesses. Allowing a demonstrable menace unrestrained access to others is irresponsible and dangerous, although hardly unexpected considering how prosecutors and the courts have continued to show leniency to this repeat offender.
What’s also hardly unexpected is that so many “anti-violence” activists are violent themselves, particularly the ones who rail against guns and then end up using them. Cases in point:
The anti-gun Democrat politician charged with shooting her husband to death.
The “school shooter” who advocates for citizen disarmament.
The “Stop the Violence organizers” who beat a man so severely he vomited blood.
An “anti-violence” pamphlet distributor, working for the State of Illinois, who “accidentally” shot his accomplice in the head during a home invasion.
The “anti-gun advocate” busted for illegally selling firearms.Hell, for that matter, look at Leland Yee, or all those criminal Bloomberg mayors.
There are plenty more examples. Here are some I talked about 15 years ago for a GUNS Magazine column:
The gun and ammunition straw purchasers for the Columbine killers who apparently decided going full anti-gun would make things easier on them.
The Million Mom March sponsor who got a .45 and paralyzed a man she wrongly thought had killed her son.
Another Million Mom Marcher, this one a chapter president, who was busted with drugs and a gun with a filed-off serial number by police investigating a drive-by shooting.
“Long Island Lolita” Amy Fisher, who had her anti-gun epiphany after shooting her sex partner’s wife in the face.Then there’s my personal “favorite” for insane hypocrisy, Columbine killer Eric Harris, whose “Guns in Schools” report concluded, “a school is no place for a gun.” And guess who agreed with him:
“First, we believe in absolutely gun-free, zero-tolerance, totally safe schools. That means no guns in America's schools, period … with the rare exception of law enforcement officers or trained security personnel.”
The projection in the gun-grabbers is strong, and it’s fair to surmise how much of not trusting others with guns arises from knowing what’s in their own hearts. In any case, that should not be allowed to have any bearing on the rights of those who suffer no such moral defects and impulse control issues, and the bottom line and undeniable truth is, anyone who can’t be trusted with a gun can’t be trusted without a custodian, a concept that evidently escaped Judge Jackson in the Roby case.
And unlike the gun-grabbers, “our side” even insists on full due process before meting out legal consequences.
