SoylentNews

A couple of queries on the moderatorlog table. Make of them what you will.

Most upmods received:
+--------------------+-----------------+
| nickname           | upmods received |
+--------------------+-----------------+
| Anonymous Coward   |          160701 |
| Runaway1956        |           10069 |
| takyon             |            8339 |
| frojack            |            7302 |
| c0lo               |            7062 |
| The Mighty Buzzard |            6845 |
| Thexalon           |            6787 |
| VLM                |            6682 |
| bob_super          |            5399 |
| aristarchus        |            5051 |
| Azuma Hazuki       |            4661 |
| Ethanol-fueled     |            4615 |
| Phoenix666         |            4160 |
| khallow            |            3978 |
| DeathMonkey        |            3916 |
| jmorris            |            3810 |
| DannyB             |            3733 |
| maxwell demon      |            3340 |
| edIII              |            3271 |
| bradley13          |            3262 |
+--------------------+-----------------+

Most upmods performed:
+----------------+------------------+
| nickname       | upmods performed |
+----------------+------------------+
| AnonTechie     |            10712 |
| HiThere        |             9504 |
| anubi          |             7578 |
| turgid         |             6837 |
| rts008         |             6564 |
| jelizondo      |             6275 |
| takyon         |             5764 |
| aristarchus    |             5724 |
| Freeman        |             5228 |
| Unixnut        |             5018 |
| DeathMonkey    |             4943 |
| acid andy      |             4782 |
| Sulla          |             4746 |
| Bloopie        |             4680 |
| PartTimeZombie |             4456 |
| canopic jug    |             4161 |
| dg             |             3987 |
| SomeGuy        |             3818 |
| Geezer         |             3798 |
| tonyPick       |             3775 |
+----------------+------------------+

Hong Kong protesters call for 'Mulan' boycott after star went public in support of police

Even Mulan is getting political. Liu Yifei, the Chinese-born actress starring in Disney's upcoming live-action "Mulan" remake, waded into the Hong Kong protest controversy on Thursday by expressing support for the city's police, who anti-government demonstrators accuse of using excessive force to quell unrest. "I support the Hong Kong police. You can all attack me now. What a shame for Hong Kong," she posted on Weibo, a Twitter-like Chinese social media platform.

Immediately, people began posting #BoycottMulan on Twitter -- which is banned in China. Hours later, the hashtag was trending in Hong Kong and the United States with 37,700 tweets posted at time of writing. Twitter users accused the actress of supporting police brutality, and called out the fact that she's an American citizen. "Liu is a naturalized American citizen. It must be nice. Meanwhile she pisses on people fighting for democracy," one person tweeted.

On the flip side, she also received plenty of praise on Weibo, the dominant platform in China. Nearly all the comments on her post echoed support for the Hong Kong police and Beijing.

I'll make a man out of you.

Also at NYT and Deadline.

Well, two shocking incidents, in sequence, have made me question my stance on religion.

It is a well known fact that "Mexicans don't get hot". Those guys will keep on working, right through the hottest part of the day, and hardly even sweat. If you want a crew of roofers, you want to hire a bunch of Mexicans and assorted Central and South Americans.

I've known Damion (spelling?) for at least 15 years. I've often commented to him that I was hot, and I wish it would cool down. Damion always laughs at me, and comments that I'm a wimp or something. Monday, I found Damion in the break room, soaking up some air conditioning, and looking a little run down. He waves, and asks how I'm doing - I tell him it's "fucking hot", and he replied, "Yeah, it's hot."

My faith in reality was shaken. Maybe global warming really is for reals?

Then, there's Pedro. The man has been poorly abused. He was a supervisor, but the new breed of management couldn't allow him to continue as a supervisor. Not only does he speak poor English, but his supervisory style is loud, and irritates various people, such as SJW's and meek millenials. Today, Pedro is the gofer, reduced to simple labor, with no responsibility.

Anyway, Pedro was bitching about the heat this morning. "Yesterday, Jimmy sends me outside at 1:00 to spray for weeds. Asshole couldn't give me that job at 7:30 in the morning, but waits until the sun is scorching hot!"

So, in quick succession, one Mexican and one Guatemalan are complaining about the heat?

GLOBAL WARMING!!!

I may have to join the Church of Global Warming, and start praying that - uhhhh - what is it they pray for? And, to whom do they pray? Well, I guess I'll learn all the doctrine and catechism after I join.

Damn, it's hot out there.

Oh - stuff happens in threes, right? In a couple hours, when I get to work, I'll probably be confronted with a third brown man complaining about the heat. That will definitely confirm Global Warming!

SMART Modular Shows Off 256 GB Gen-Z Memory Module

SMART Modular this month demonstrated one of the industry’s first prototypes of a EDSFF 3-inch DDR4 Gen-Z memory module. The ZMM supports advanced functionality enabled by the new interface and offers throughput akin to that offered by today’s DDR4-4000 memory modules.

SMART Modular’s 256 GB ZMM uses Samsung’s 32 Gb 4-high DDR4 DRAM devices as well as IntelliProp’s Gen-Z Mamba memory controller ASSP, which supports multiple access semantics, including byte and block addressable DRAM access, in-band configuration, and access key/region key memory isolation opcodes in a bid to simplify memory access needed to handle emerging data-centric workloads. The controller features 16 Gen-Z lanes with 25 Gbps PHY as well as 400 Gbps aggregate performance. The chip requires up to 20 W of power, so it needs proper cooling.

Gen-Z.

Trump official revises Statue of Liberty poem to defend migrant rule change

A top US immigration official has revised a quote inscribed on the Statue of Liberty in defence of a new policy that denies food aid to legal migrants.

The head of Citizenship and Immigration Services tweaked the passage: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free".

The official added the words "who can stand on their own two feet and who will not become a public charge".

It comes as Trump officials debuted a regulation that denies aid to migrants.

Ken Cuccinelli, the Trump administration's acting head of Citizenship and Immigration Services, announced on Monday a new "public charge" requirement that limits legal migrants from seeking certain public benefits such as public housing or food aid, or are considered likely to do so in the future.

Missouri Walmart panic caused by armed man testing gun rights

A man who sparked panic by walking into a Walmart with a rifle and body armour told police he was testing his right to bear arms in public.

Dmitriy Andreychenko entered the shop heavily armed, days after a mass shooting at another of Walmart's stores. "I wanted to know if that Walmart honoured the second amendment," the 20-year-old told police after his arrest.

Prosecutors have charged him with making a terrorist threat. If found guilty, the charge could result in a four-year prison sentence and a fine of $10,000 (£8,300), Greene County prosecutor Dan Patterson said in a statement.

On 8 August, Mr Andreychenko entered the store "armed with an AR style rifle slung across his chest", police said, wearing a ballistic vest and recording himself. Both the rifle and a handgun he carried were loaded.

He told police he did not expect the reaction his walk generated. "This is Missouri, I understand if we were somewhere else like New York or California, people would freak out," he said, according to police filings. Days before, 20 people had been killed in a Walmart in El Paso by a gunman carrying an automatic rifle.

Also at CBS.

Dayton Shooter Invoked AOC’s ‘Concentration Camp’ Talking Points

https://therundownnews.com/2019/08/dayton-shooter-invoked-aocs-concentration-camp-talking-points/

The “concentration camp” terminology was was coined by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) in reference to ICE detention facilities. This is the second time a radical Antifa member has invoked that term before committing an act of terrorism.

Last month, a 69-year-old Antifa member, described as “indigent,” attempted to blow up an ICE facility with homemade bombs. (RELATED: Antifa ICE Bomber Invoked AOC’s ‘Concentration Camp’ Rhetoric Before Terror Attack).

I think we can all agree that the shooter in El Paso was a white supremacist, ie, a Nazi, that is, a National SOCIALIST.

So, what else are the lefties up to? Ahhh, Patchogue, New York. Good old Long Island.

  https://libertyunyielding.com/2019/08/07/death-camps-for-trump-supporters-fliers-hung-in-long-island-community/

‘Death Camps for Trump Supporters’ fliers hung in Long Island community

Apparently, incendiary rhetoric can fire up the party base, leading to death threats. At least that’s the case when the source of the emotionally charged language is Democratic lawmakers and the legacy media, which for months now have been accusing Donald Trump of racism, xenophobia, and other forms of bigotry.

Like the claim made on air yesterday by MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace that Donald Trump is “talking about exterminating Latinos,” there is no basis in fact for any of these allegations. But that hasn’t stirred the liberal base from becoming fired up over them.

Some in the village of Patchogue, an hour and a half outside New York City, have even taken to posting fliers on telephone polls and parking meters reading “Death Camps For Trump Supporters Now!”

I am old enough to remember when using innocuous printer’s registration marks to designate targeted electoral districts on a political map was enough to persuade the Left of former Gov. Sarah Palin’s violent intent, but that was several hundred civility-years ago.

Also reported on MSN, albeit, with disclaimers - https://www.msn.com/g00/en-us/news/offbeat/patchogue-fliers-read-death-camps-for-trump-supporters/ar-AAFqUBD?i10c.encReferrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9kdWNrZHVja2dvLmNvbS8%3d

Related links
https://bigleaguepolitics.com/democrat-dayton-shooter-praised-antifa-terrorist-who-firebombed-ice-facility/
https://libertyunyielding.com/2019/08/07/death-camps-for-trump-supporters-fliers-hung-in-long-island-community/

https://therundownnews.com/2019/08/violent-left-death-camps-for-trump-supporters-now/

You sane people who are left of center? You really ought to try reining in the extremists. If/when the real shooting starts, it's gonna be far, far too late. You can't talk to a man, with a shotgun in his hand - two points if you can name the song I lifted that line from.

“MAGA Bomber” Cesar Sayoc was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Monday for sending 16 mail bombs to 13 people around the United States last year, including leading critics of President Donald Trump such as former President Barack Obama, ex-Vice President Joe Biden, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, actor Robert De Niro and financier George Soros.

“I am beyond so very sorry for what I did,” Sayoc said before he was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Manhattan by Judge Jed Rakoff, according to the Courthouse News service.

“Now that I am a sober man, I know that I a very sick man,” Sayoc reportedly said. “I wish more than anything that I could turn back time and take back what I did ... I feel the pain and suffering of these victims.”

But Rakoff said, “The nature and cirumstances of the instant offenses are, by any measure, horrendous.”

“While none of the devices exploded ... at the very least they were intended to strike fear and terror into the minds of their victims and to intimidate those victims, mostly prominent political figures, from exercising their freedom.”

‘MAGA Bomber’ Cesar Sayoc sentenced to 20 years in prison for trying to kill Trump critics, including Obama, Clinton, Biden, Booker, Harris

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says first orbital Starship prototype flight debut is just weeks away

According to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, one or both of the company’s two orbital Starship prototypes could be “ready to fly” – or nearly so – by the end of August. Even if Musk is off by one or several months, it would still make for a spectacular achievement.

The focus of the conversation that led Musk to the classic Musk-time prediction was the topic of a long-promised presentation on SpaceX’s Starship program. Although just a few weeks shy of the usual schedule, 2019’s presentation – set for August 24th in Boca Chica, Texas – more or less follows an annual September update tradition that Musk has consistently followed since 2016. Each year, Musk has given the public a glimpse into the constantly evolving process of designing SpaceX’s next-generation Mars-bound rocket. Despite the tradition’s consistency, 2019 is simply different.

The prototypes are referred to as "orbital", but the first flight will be high-altitude suborbital with 3 Raptor engines:

Elon Musk will update the status of Starship development on August 24

In regard to his August 24 presentation, Musk said of this suborbital test vehicle, "We should have Starship Mk1 with 3 Raptors almost ready to fly by then." The orbital version of Starship will ultimately fly on six Raptor engines. The flight of that vehicle into space may come in 2020, or 2021.

One interesting piece of information to look out for: What payload could a single-stage-to-orbit Starship deliver? Probably not much, and it might not make sense not to use it without the Super Heavy booster, but maybe it could still be competitive with smallsat launchers.

August 12-14: 200-meter Starhopper test
August 24: Starship update presentation
Late August?: High-altitude suborbital launch
2020: Orbital

Also: Report outlines SpaceX’s plans for Starship launches from KSC

SpaceX plans to build facilities at the Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A for launches and, eventually, landings of its next-generation launch vehicle, according to a newly released report.

An environment assessment prepared by SpaceX, and released by NASA Aug. 1, discusses plans to develop additional facilities at LC-39A, which currently hosts Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches, for use by the company’s Starship vehicle and its Super Heavy booster.

The plans outlined in the document call for the construction of a new launch mount at the complex near the existing one used by the Falcon 9 and Heavy. The modifications to the pad would also include a tank farm for the methane fuel used by the Raptor engines that power Starship and Super Heavy.

The Super Heavy booster would land at a ship in the ocean downrange from the launch site, although the report noted that SpaceX may later have the booster return to land. The Starship upper stage would initially land at the company’s existing Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, but the company plans to build a pad near the new launch mount at LC-39A for to support Starship landings at a future date.

The facilities will be able to support up to 24 Starship/Super Heavy launches a year, the company said in the report, with a corresponding decline in Falcon launches from the complex. “Due to the higher lift capability, Starship/Super Heavy could launch more payloads and reduce the overall launch cadence when compared to Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy,” the report states.

Liqid Element Unveils "LQD450" PCIe 4.0 x16 SSD: 32 TB At Up to 24 GB/s

The fastest Liqid Element LQD4500 SSDs will offer up to 24 GB/s sequential read and write speeds as well as up to 4 million read and write IOPS (sustained random writes are rated at 600K IOPS). Such drives will also offer an ~80 μs read access latency as well as a ~20 μs write latency.

The drive comes in a full-height full-length (FHFL) add-in-card (AIC) form-factor with a one-wide passive cooling system, and is therefore compatible with large systems that need extreme performance and can provide a minimum of 400 LFM of air flow, as the card consumes and dissipates up to 65 W of power. Depending on customer requirements, the drive can be configured for different capacities, performance, and endurance levels.