Lurker > Antifar

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/us-forces-launch-raid-in-syria-civilians-also-reported-dead/ar-AATqeVe?ocid=uxbndlbing

U.S. special forces carried out what the Pentagon said was a successful, large-scale counterterrorism raid in northwestern Syria early Thursday. First responders at the scene reported 13 people had been killed, including six children and four women.

The operation, which residents say lasted about two hours, jolted the sleepy village of Atmeh near the Turkish border an area dotted with camps for internally displaced people from Syria's civil war. The target of the raid was not immediately clear.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said in a brief statement that the mission was a success. There were no U.S. casualties. More information will be provided as it becomes available.
Several residents told The Associated Press they saw body parts scattered near the site of the raid, a house in Syria's rebel-held Idlib province. They spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, and said the raid involved helicopters, explosions and machine-gun fire.

It was the largest raid in the province since the 2019 U.S. assault targeting the Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Idlib is is broadly controlled by Turkey-backed fighters, but is also an Al-Qaida stronghold and home to several of its top operatives. Other militants have also found refuge in the region.

Reports on the number of dead varied. A journalist on assignment for the AP saw body parts around the house, whose upper story was almost completely leveled leaving rubble in the surrounding olive grove.

Is this it?

For all its faults, Nintendo has largely avoided confusing titles for games in that way.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/02/us/politics/policing-white-house-law-enforcement.html

Susan Rice, the White House domestic policy adviser, called the leaders of the nations largest policing groups last month to promise a significant reset in their relationship as the Biden administration finished an executive order on police reform, a move that averted a potential breach that had been brewing for months, according to several people briefed on the calls.

The groups welcomed Ms. Rices outreach, which amounted to a vow to incorporate more of their thinking in the order and possibly an implicit mea culpa. The White House had solicited input from the groups, but had not engaged with them on substance and details; their frustrations only soared in the days before her phone calls, when they were blindsided by the leak of an 18-page draft executive order that contained language they found objectionable.
...
Yes, we need police on the streets, well equipped, but we need them to have the cooperation and trust of the community. These things are not in opposition they are mutually reinforcing, Ms. Rice said.

She also noted that the draft executive order was not close to being done, and that many issues remained unresolved.

One sticking point is a guideline that could push federal officers, and most likely the state and local police, to tighten their use-of-force standard, which regulates when officers can shoot. Civil liberties groups have lauded the change, but police leaders have said they cannot abide it.
...
the White House did not shift its approach, and in late December it circulated a draft of its executive order to other executive branch agencies for comment. Blurry images of that draft leaked, and a copy was published on Jan. 5 by The Federalist, a conservative website.
Enraged law enforcement groups especially disliked the tenor of the orders policy preamble, which spoke of systemic racism in the criminal justice system.

Mr. Pasco said he told the Justice Department and the White House that issuing that version of the order would cause an irreparable rift between Biden and the police. Another group leader told the administration the headline would be Biden turns his back on police.

That raised alarms. Mr. Biden has been mindful of his relationship with the police, especially since major police unions with which he had previously worked with endorsed President Donald J. Trump during the 2020 election.

Some officials have said they understood that the draft was nearly ready for publication when it leaked. But White House officials have countered that impression. Dana A. Remus, the White House counsel, called it a very early draft that was not close to being ready.

Either way, its publication led Ms. Rice to make conciliatory phone calls with an eye toward more substantive discussions.

Since then, Ms. Rice said that law enforcement, civil rights groups and others had shared their reactions and officials were trying to be responsive to what weve heard.

Mr. Pasco said the leaked order featured provisions everyone could agree on, like standardizing and improving credentialing for police agencies; creating a national registry of police officers who have been fired for cause after due-process hearings so those officers are not rehired by other departments; tightening restrictions on when the police can use so-called no-knock warrants in raids; and banning the transfer to the police of military equipment like flash-bang grenades.

But a section about using force remains a point of contention. Under current law, officers may shoot if they fear for their lives or those of people around them. The draft order allows for deadly force only as a last resort when there is no reasonable alternative, in other words only when necessary to prevent imminent and serious bodily injury or death.

The policy change and others in the order apply only to federal law enforcement, but the state and local police could be encouraged to also adopt the changes because of a provision about federal discretionary grants. (Discretionary grants make up a small portion of the billions of dollars that Congress earmarks for local law enforcement.)

Earlier versions of the order had explicitly called for making such grants conditional on adopting the new policies, according to officials who worked on the draft. But the leaked version is softer, saying that the money should be distributed in a manner that furthers the policy goals, like the use-of-force standard.

Civil-rights groups are insisting that the use-of-force language remain in the final order. Udi Ofer, the deputy national political director of the American Civil Liberties Union, said that Mr. Biden had the authority to bring to life a strong standard that will save lives.

But Mr. Pasco portrayed the provision as a deal breaker, arguing that it would open the door for hindsighted second-guessing of officers. He said that the White House should instead focus on ideas for which there was consensus.

It remains unclear what the administration will do. For now, however, police group leaders say they have the opportunity to make their case more strongly.

https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1489054485423005698

Wild

Sunhawk posted...

Unlike Trump, he does come across as a genuinely intelligent person, and he's got an undergraduate degree.

Trump has degrees too, though

Crazyman93 posted...

The point I'm getting at being "why couldn't they reference they're in the US capital somehow like 2 out of the other three sports teams?"

Commanders is a reference to that, via the military

Who is this rando and why do you care? You're just seeking out shit to get upset at

TMOG posted...

They've had really shitty people on the show before (Caitlyn Jenner, Sarah Palin, Wendy Williams to name a few) but none of them are on the same tier of absolute scum as Rudy

I'm glad you mention Sarah Palin: her singing Baby Got Back closed out the broadcast right before Trump's covid speech in March 2020.

https://deadline.com/2022/02/rudy-giuliani-the-masked-singer-contestant-judge-ken-jeong-robin-thicke-walk-off-in-protest-1234925291/amp/

What are we doing here, really?

I have no opinions on Pokmon, but I'm playing Yakuza 4 now and the gaps in voice acting have bugged me.

No. Even if I was into Souls games, it's a busy start of the year.

AngelsNAirwav3s posted...

Who the hell scheduled a night game outdoors in Minnesota in February?

US Soccer. Ostensibly their rationale is they wanted to limit travel with a game in Canada (Hamilton, Ontario) this past Sunday, but they are also known for selecting sites based on low Hispanic populations in the hopes of limiting away fans.

Link

I don't have a playstation, but as a racing game fan I'm curious

Sounds like liberals to me

https://www.vice.com/en/article/pkpqyy/site-sells-famous-songs-as-nfts-without-permission-sparks-global-outrage

On Tuesday night, musicians used Twitter to express outrage at a website that was selling their music as NFTs without permission before it shut down hours later.

On its website, HitPiece claimed it offers "One of One" NFTs for "each unique song record." Turning songs into NFTs allows members to then create a "Hitlist," which HitPiece envisions will include "their favorite songs, get on leaderboards, and recieve [sic] in real life value such as access and experiences with Artists."

Seemingly, anyone could register on HitPiece to sell a piece of music as an NFT, even on an artists behalf. Each time an artists NFT is purchased or sold, a royalty from each transaction is accounted to the rights holders account, HitPieces website stated.

There was a clear issue, however: It wasnt artists themselves selling their work as an NFT, in most cases. HitPieces homepage was hawking recordings from Pokmon and the Tokyo DisneySea theme park, as well as well-known artists like John Lennon and Muse. But that wasnt all; seemingly, music from artists of all levels had made it onto the platform without permission.

The reality is that the immoral, unethical thing is that someone stole and profited off of someone's work without permission, said Jordan Reyes, founder of American Dream Records, who found out his entire label was listed on HitPiece. These sorts of scams have existed forever. Now it's utilizing this new technology, but it is a huge scam. It's really absurd and kind of hilarious that they offered a Beatles NFT, a Pinocchio NFT. In a good year, our label sells 10,000-15,000 records a year. Disney sells 10,000-15,000 in an hour likely. Whatever legal recourse I would have with this, there are people who are way bigger fish than me up in arms. It feels really half-baked."

Perhaps recognizing the outrage and the potential for copyright infringement, HitPiece went offline and replaced its homepage with a simple message: We Started The Conversation And Were Listening. It also posted a statement to Twitter suggesting that it will, eventually, be back.

Clearly we have struck a nerve and are very eager to create the ideal experience for music fans, HitPieces statement said. To be clear, artists get paid when digital goods are sold on HitPiece. Like all beta products, we are continuing to listen to all user feedback and are committed to evolving the product to fit the needs of the artists, labels, and fans alike.

HitPiece launched in beta on Dec. 1 with the apparent goal of connecting artists and fans directly. The platform claims to run on a bespoke blockchain called HitChain that runs parallel to the Ethereum blockchain (also known as a sidechain). According to the site, NFTs would only be minted and transferred to buyers after an auction was completed. The HitPiece block explorer reveals that hundreds of NFTs have been minted since the service launched.

On Instagram, HitPiece touted official collaborations with two artists. One track was a remix of a song by indie rock group The National Parks. When reached for comment, the bands management said, Transparently we just recently signed the band, so we are playing as much catch up on this as everyone else, adding that there was no statement at this time. A request for comment sent to the other artist, Cort Dingman, was not returned in time for publication.

On social media, frustrated artists speculated that HitPiece was able to gather such a wide range of music through the APIs of digital service providers like Spotify and Apple Music, though Motherboard wasnt able to confirm this. The team behind Hitpiece was identified relatively quickly on LinkedIn by angry artists: Rory Felton, once a 30 under 30 Billboard music executive who worked for Sony and runs his own label; Michael Berrin, a music executive and former rapper who was a big star in the early 1990s as MC Serch; and Ryan Singer and Blake Modersitzki, two tech venture capitalists.
When Motherboard reached Berrin for comment, he said that HitPiece was preparing another statement.

While people have been stealing music and attempting to profit from it without permission for a while now, the scale and brazenness of this scheme is thanks in no small part to the implementation of NFTs and the disastrous ecosystem they reside in.

Also he doesn't have teeth or bones.
https://twitter.com/kaialone02/status/1235660580201119745

What's the good side stuff in Yakuza 3? I don't feel like I gave that game the proper time it needed.

Also I just started Y4 today.

FWIW, this survey from last summer has investment rates roughly even among racial groups, which is still surprising to me
https://www.econotimes.com/Twice-as-many-men-as-women-invest-in-cryptocurrency-1616103

People of all races are equally investing in cryptocurrency, with 14 percent of Asians, 11 percent of whites, 11 percent of Blacks, 10 percent of Hispanics, and 13 percent of other races.
Even though people of color invested in cryptocurrencies at higher rates than other investment realms, whites dominate the crypto market.
Sixty-two percent of cryptocurrency investors are white, 67 percent are men, and 66 percent are under 45 years old.

The one thing that might be at play here is that in the US Black people are on average younger than white people.

Another thing Jeff Zucker did is help Donald Trump become president.

Norman_Smiley posted...

But 1:4 black Americans is investing in crypto compared to about 1:9 white Americans.

I'm gonna need to see a source for that claim.

The last year or so has really laid bare the extent to which our laws are constructed to make sure restaurant owners have cheap labor available.

Norman_Smiley posted...

black Americans are investing in crypto, though

I'd place money on them doing so at a lower rate than white Americans.

Is it something they're choosing not to participate in, or something they disproportionately lack the resources to participate in? This headline reminds me of all those articles about millennials not buying homes, like it's an aesthetic choice.

This is a very weird lens through which to view this story, imo.

monkmith posted...

who cares? aren't they still pretty much the worst team in the league?

No, they were pretty middle of the pack this year, having made the playoffs last year.

https://twitter.com/WashingtonRealm/status/1488719460995321860

tbh I like these, with the exception of the white uniform, which feels a little college-ish

https://twitter.com/MattBinder/status/1488724328195792896

https://twitter.com/bubbaprog/status/1488724442268291078

A modern twist on a classic

HylianFox posted...

Now get all Pure Platinum trophies

I'm gonna keep playing, try out different weapons and such, but I don't see any way I'm getting close to this.

Are there big unlocks down the line I should be aware of? Things I should try out?

Now my fingers hurt

Tanking is a poison, and leagues should do everything in their power to prevent it.

https://twitter.com/CharlesRobinson/status/1488654114137382912

https://twitter.com/RobTricchinelli/status/1488616208542928898

https://twitter.com/matthewfairburn/status/1488618849830375429

He also says the Dolphins owner was paying him to tank.

https://twitter.com/alexweprin/status/1488613949495025664

The people with the power to do something about it just aren't that interested in doing so.

A useful article
https://www.vice.com/en/article/xgdvnd/the-nft-ecosystem-is-a-complete-disaster

Or consider some of the conclusions of a landmark October study published in Nature analyzing 6.1 million trades encompassing 4.7 million NFTs since 2017: the top ten percent of traders account for nearly 90 percent of all transactions, this group trades 97 percent of all NFTs at least once, and the greatest predictor of any NFTs value isnt its appearance but its previous price points. None of this sounds like a functional market so much as a mad grab for profit.
...
As it stands, NFTs are useful primarily for pursuing enclosure: the explicit goal here is to turn every inch of our physical worldand any digital worldinto a place where nearly every experience and thing is quantified, commodified, and privatized. As a secondary purpose, NFTs currently facilitate a great deal of fraud, spam, theft, plagiarism, and also allow some retail investors to join in on the gambling typically reserved for the sludge that sits atop the pool of investors. As a tertiary purpose, they confer some benefits to some creators who are lucky, wealthy, or cynical enough to take advantage of them.

At the company level, I don't know if this stuff is even out of a belief that customers want or will want it. Rather, NFTs and block chain are buzzwords they can feed to investors hungry for endless growth.

hyperpowder posted...

Who the fuck actually thinks this? There is a reason why most of the best games of all time are exclusive...

What do you think that reason is?

I don't like this.

San Andreas

OlliOlli World, and also I'm getting the NSO expansion when Majora's Mask hits

Exclusivity is not good for players. The big trick of the console wars is to get players identifying with the companies instead.

If I could consistently find a bock at the grocery store, I'd be very happy. But instead the beer selection is 80 percent IPAs.

https://twitter.com/TaylorOgan/status/1488555256162172928

YTMND heads will know

https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2022/02/danny-trejo-will-be-in-olliolli-world-as-an-in-game-character

Lol

eston posted...

Yakuza 4

I'm just about to start this!

Tales of Arise for me