Tootfinder

ICE Signs $9.3M Facial Recognition Tech Contract In Move To Prove Alleged Assaults Against Their Agents - Joe.My.God.
https://www.joemygod.com/2025/09/ice-signs-9-3m-facial-recognition-tech-contract-in-move-to-prove-alleged-assaults-against-their-agents/

Long post, game design
Crungle is a game designed to be a simple test of general reasoning skills that's difficult to play by rote memory, since there are many possible rule sets, but it should be easy to play if one can understand and extrapolate from rules. The game is not necessarily fair, with the first player often having an advantage or a forced win. The game is entirely deterministic, although a variant determines the rule set randomly.
This is version 0.1, and has not yet been tested at all.
Crungle is a competitive game for two players, each of whom controls a single piece on a 3x3 grid. The cells of the grid are numbered from 1 to 9, starting at the top left and proceeding across each row and then down to the next row, so the top three cells are 1, 2, and 3 from left to right, then the next three are 4, 5, and 6 and the final row is cells 7, 8, and 9.
The two players decide who shall play as purple and who shall play as orange. Purple goes first, starting the rules phase by picking one goal rule from the table of goal rules. Next, orange picks a goal rule. These two goal rules determine the two winning conditions. Then each player, starting with orange, alternate picking a movement rule until four movement rules have been selected. During this process, at most one indirect movement rule may be selected. Finally, purple picks a starting location for orange (1-9), with 5 (the center) not allowed. Then orange picks the starting location for purple, which may not be adjacent to orange's starting position.
Alternatively, the goal rules, movement rules, and starting positions may be determined randomly, or a pre-determined ruleset may be selected.
If the ruleset makes it impossible to win, the players should agree to a draw. Either player could instead "bet" their opponent. If the opponent agrees to the bet, the opponent must demonstrate a series of moves by both players that would result in a win for either player. If they can do this, they win, but if they submit an invalid demonstration or cannot submit a demonstration, the player who "bet" wins.
Now that starting positions, movement rules, and goals have been decided, the play phase proceeds with each player taking a turn, starting with purple, until one player wins by satisfying one of the two goals, or until the players agree to a draw. Note that it's possible for both players to occupy the same space.
During each player's turn, that player identifies one of the four movement rules to use and names the square they move to using that rule, then they move their piece into that square and their turn ends. Neither player may use the same movement rule twice in a row (but it's okay to use the same rule your opponent just did unless another rule disallows that). If the movement rule a player picks moves their opponent's piece, they need to state where their opponent's piece ends up. Pieces that would move off the board instead stay in place; it's okay to select a rule that causes your piece to stay in place because of this rule. However, if a rule says "pick a square" or "move to a square" with some additional criteria, but there are no squares that meet those criteria, then that rule may not be used, and a player who picks that rule must pick a different one instead.
Any player who incorrectly states a destination for either their piece or their opponent's piece, picks an invalid square, or chooses an invalid rule has made a violation, as long as their opponent objects before selecting their next move. A player who makes at least three violations immediately forfeits and their opponent wins by default. However, if a player violates a rule but their opponent does not object before picking their next move, the stated destination(s) of the invalid move still stand, and the violation does not count. If a player objects to a valid move, their objection is ignored, and if they do this at least three times, they forfeit and their opponent wins by default.
Goal rules (each player picks one; either player can win using either chosen rule):
End your turn in the same space as your opponent three turns in a row.
End at least one turn in each of the 9 cells.
End five consecutive turns in the three cells in any single row, ending at least one turn on each of the three.
End five consecutive turns in the three cells in any single column, ending at least one turn on each of the three.
Within the span of 8 consecutive turns, end at least one turn in each of cells 1, 3, 7, and 9 (the four corners of the grid).
Within the span of 8 consecutive turns at least one turn in each of cells 2, 4, 6, and 8 (the central cells on each side).
Within the span of 8 consecutive turns, end at least one turn in the cell directly above your opponent, and end at least one turn in the cell directly below your opponent (in either order).
Within the span of 8 consecutive turns at least one turn in the cell directly to the left of your opponent, and end at least one turn in the cell directly to the right of your opponent (in either order).
End 12 turns in a row without ending any of them in cell 5.
End 8 turns in a row in 8 different cells.
Movement rules (each player picks two; either player may move using any of the four):
Move to any cell on the board that's diagonally adjacent to your current position.
Move to any cell on the board that's orthogonally adjacent to your current position.
Move up one cell. Also move your opponent up one cell.
Move down one cell. Also move your opponent down one cell.
Move left one cell. Also move your opponent left one cell.
Move right one cell. Also move your opponent right one cell.
Move up one cell. Move your opponent down one cell.
Move down one cell. Move your opponent up one cell.
Move left one cell. Move your opponent right one cell.
Move right one cell. Move your opponent left one cell.
Move any pieces that aren't in square 5 clockwise around the edge of the board 1 step (for example, from 1 to 2 or 3 to 6 or 9 to 8).
Move any pieces that aren't in square 5 counter-clockwise around the edge of the board 1 step (for example, from 1 to 4 or 6 to 3 or 7 to 8).
Move to any square reachable from your current position by a knight's move in chess (in other words, a square that's in an adjacent column and two rows up or down, or that's in an adjacent row and two columns left or right).
Stay in the same place.
Swap places with your opponent's piece.
Move back to the position that you started at on your previous turn.
If you are on an odd-numbered square, move to any other odd-numbered square. Otherwise, move to any even-numbered square.
Move to any square in the same column as your current position.
Move to any square in the same row as your current position.
Move to any square in the same column as your opponent's position.
Move to any square in the same row as your opponent's position.
Pick a square that's neither in the same row as your piece nor in the same row as your opponent's piece. Move to that square.
Pick a square that's neither in the same column as your piece nor in the same column as your opponent's piece. Move to that square.
Move to one of the squares orthogonally adjacent to your opponent's piece.
Move to one of the squares diagonally adjacent to your opponent's piece.
Move to the square opposite your current position across the middle square, or stay in place if you're in the middle square.
Pick any square that's closer to your opponent's piece than the square you're in now, measured using straight-line distance between square centers (this includes the square your opponent is in). Move to that square.
Pick any square that's further from your opponent's piece than the square you're in now, measured using straight-line distance between square centers. Move to that square.
If you are on a corner square (1, 3, 7, or 9) move to any other corner square. Otherwise, move to square 5.
If you are on an edge square (2, 4, 6, or 8) move to any other edge square. Otherwise, move to square 5.
Indirect movement rules (may be chosen instead of a direct movement rule; at most one per game):
Move using one of the other three movement rules selected in your game, and in addition, your opponent may not use that rule on their next turn (nor may they select it via an indirect rule like this one).
Select two of the other three movement rules, declare them, and then move as if you had used one and then the other, applying any additional effects of both rules in order.
Move using one of the other three movement rules selected in your game, but if the move would cause your piece to move off the board, instead of staying in place move to square 5 (in the middle).
Pick one of the other three movement rules selected in your game and apply it, but move your opponent's piece instead of your own piece. If that movement rule says to move "your opponent's piece," instead apply that movement to your own piece. References to "your position" and "your opponent's position" are swapped when applying the chosen rule, as are references to "your turn" and "your opponent's turn" and do on.
#Game #GameDesign

There is more the U.N. could do to stop the genocide in Gaza.
The General Assembly has the ability to circumvent the Security Council with a
“United for Peace” resolution
that could force “concrete action” in Gaza.
https://www.democracynow.org/2025/9/4/un_palestine

“Uniting for Peace”: How U.N. Could Override U.S. Veto, Send Peacekeepers to Gaza, Block Arms & More
The Trump administration is facing growing criticism for suspending visas for Palestinian passport holders, including for Palestinian officials set to attend the annual U.N. General Assembly this month. When the U.S. denied a visa to Yasser Arafat to address the U.N. in 1988, the General Assembly was moved to Geneva — the U.N. faces similar calls now. The move by the U.S. is “an indication of the unprecedented degree to which the U.S. government has handed the levers of its foreign policy o…

Federal Judge Blocks Trump's Move to Cut $4.9 Billion in Foreign Aid (Chris Cameron/New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/04/us/politics/trump-foreign-aid-cuts-judge.html
http://www.memeorandum.com/250904/p143#a250904p143

The White House announced an attempt to claw back $4.9 billion in foreign aid funds without congressional approval,
drawing the ire of Democrats and appropriators and increasing the chances of a shutdown. 
Such a move had not been made in nearly a half-century,
and it is expected to face legal challenges.
It also comes two months after GOP lawmakers approved the first rescissions package worth $9 billion
that targeted global aid programs and the Corporation for…

Seahawks release veteran TE Noah Fant in cost-cutting move before training camp

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/seahawks-release-veteran-te-noah-fa…

Heterogeneous Bribery, Technology Choice, and Capital Accumulation
Jafar M. Olimov, Yi-Chan Tsai, Hao-Yu Yang
https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.13124 https://

Heterogeneous Bribery, Technology Choice, and Capital Accumulation
We study the production, entry, and technological decisions of firms in the presence of bribery. We find that bribery can be justified even in the absence of bureaucratic inefficiencies. We document substantial technology-specific heterogeneity in bribery in 148 countries and incorporate it into a general equilibrium model, where firms use capital-intensive or labor-intensive technology. When bribery more heavily affects less efficient labor-intensive firms, resources move toward more efficient…

🚨 My friend Nouran is in danger!
Nouran and her family are one of the almost one million people stuck in the area that Israel has said it is going to destroy imminently.
They need money to afford to move South.
Please help if you can and please share so others can.
https://chuffed.org/pr…

Urgent help for Ahmed's family
"I’m tired, Mama. I’m thinking of the hours that I'll spend tomorrow in the water line." – says 9 year old Ahmed to his mother before going to sleep.

Working on some possible designs for tables to support three retro PCs.
Corner desk won't fit in the room (too wide).
Long table will be difficult to move upstairs and get into the room
Three small tables are a lot more work, but easier to place.

Last month, China hosted its first International Advanced Air Mobility Expo,
showcasing its ambitions to dominate what Beijing calls the
“low-altitude economy,”
a fast-growing sector in the airspace below 3,000 meters (about 9,840 feet)
that includes drone deliveries, electric air taxis, and other uncrewed aerial services.
The event featured cutting-edge technologies
such as the world’s first seven-seat, three-ton electric vertical takeoff-and-landing airc…

The Future Is Being Delivered by Chinese Drones
Washington needs to move quickly if it hopes to compete in this critical industry.

Fantasy Takeaways from Raiders Week 2 Loss vs. Chargers https://www.si.com/nfl/raiders/fantasy-football-ashton-jeanty-jakobi-meyers-las-vegas-geno-smith-pete-carroll

Rams QB Matthew Stafford surpasses Matt Ryan for ninth all time with 382nd career touchdown pass https://www.nfl.com/news/matthew-stafford-surpasses-matt-ryan-ninth-all-time-382-touchdown-pass

What most investigative reporters in Washington, DC, are going to be trying to figure out is whether the US gave the green light to this [attack], and whether or not they did has huge implications. Obviously, this is a very unprecedented move by the Israelis. It goes against international law to bomb a sovereign country, that is, Qatar.
Did the US know this was happening, give them the green light, and are now just trying to act like they were taken by surprise?
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2025/9/9/live-israel-pounds-gaza-city-as-netanyahu-tells-residents-to-leave-now

Raiders’ Geno Smith Sends Strong Message After Brutal Game https://heavy.com/sports/nfl/las-vegas-raiders/geno-smith-strong-message-brutal-game/?adt_ei=[email]