It got bad

Bill Gates’ new bird flu mRNA vaccine has been granted emergency use authorization (EUA) by the FDA and the government has purchased at least 4.8 million doses for “pandemic preparement,” despite the fact only 11 [...] The post FDA Grants Bill Gates’ Bird Flu mRNA Vaccine Emergency Use Authorization appeared first on The People's Voice.

Pro-Hamas keffiyeh-clad Muslim savages yelling death threats and other threats of violence against Jews, outside the hotel in Washington DC, where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is staying prior to his address to a joint session of Congress. Notice how the police just stand there and do absolutely nothing. “Allahu Akbar! Hamas!” “Jewish motherf***ers! We’re […]

Attempted assassin and murderer, Thomas Crooks flew his drone around the area near the stage at 4 pm. Trump took the stage two hours later. Crooks flew it about 200 yards away. It seems like no one noticed. Hopefully, someone will ask how big the drone was that no one noticed. Crooks had three relatively […] The post Thomas Crooks Flew His Drone at 4 p.m. on J13 appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

  How the 1980s shaped the development of Magic: The Gathering - the first trading card game Richard Garfield, a mathematics professor and game designer, started to create Magic: The Gathering in the late 1980s. It was first published by Wizards of the Coast in 1993 and became one of the most popular games ever created. It is available in nine languages and played by more than five million people in more than 52 countries across the globe. The game sold more than 10 million cards in just the first six weeks after its release. Richard Garfield's journey towards Magic: The Gathering started when he was just 13 years old. His early interest in games was sparked by playing Dungeons & Dragons, which was a significant influence on his later work. Throughout the 1980s, Garfield was engaged in various game design projects. His academic pursuits in combinatorial mathematics at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia provided a fertile ground for his creative ideas. One of the notable games he created during this period was a board game called Five Magics in 1982. Although it was never published, Five Magics featured fantasy themes and strategic elements that clearly foreshadowed the design of Magic: The Gathering. Garfield's experiences in the 1980s were marked by a continuous exploration of game mechanics and design. His first significant game, RoboRally, was developed in 1985. RoboRally is a board game where players control robots navigating a factory floor filled with obstacles, hazards, and conveyor belts. The game involves programming the robots' movements using cards, which requires strategic planning and the ability to deal with unpredictable outcomes. Despite its innovative concept, when Garfield pitched RoboRally to Wizards of the Coast, the company expressed concerns about the production costs and complexity of the game. They requested a simpler, more cost-effective game that could be produced quickly. This feedback led Garfield to conceptualize Magic: The Gathering while he was still a graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania. Garfield co-opted mainly fellow Penn students as play-testers for the fledgling game. Their feedback and the iterative design process during this period were instrumental in shaping Magic: The Gathering. The game was first published by Wizards of the Coast in 1993 and quickly became a sensation. It sold more than 10 million cards in the first six weeks after its release. Available in nine languages and played by more than five million people in over 52 countries, Magic: The Gathering revolutionized the gaming world and established the trading card game genre. The 1980s not only shaped Garfield's game design skills but also provided him with valuable experiences in dealing with the realities of game publishing. The delayed publication of RoboRally is a case in point. Initially shelved due to production concerns, RoboRally was finally published in 1994, following the immense success of Magic: The Gathering. This experience highlights the importance of persistence and adaptability in the game design industry. Garfield's commercial success with Magic: The Gathering allowed him to transition from academia to a full-time career in game design. Initially believing that game design could not provide a reliable income, Garfield had pursued a career as a mathematics professor. However, the overwhelming success of Magic: The Gathering changed his career trajectory. In June 1994, he left academia to join Wizards of the Coast as a full-time game designer. During his tenure, he continued to develop Magic: The Gathering and contributed to the creation of other games for around a decade. One of the unique aspects of Garfield's involvement with Magic: The Gathering is his creation of four special Magic cards to celebrate important life events: - "Proposal" to celebrate his first marriage proposal - "Splendid Genesis" to celebrate the birth of his first child - "Fraternal Exaltation" to celebrate the birth of his second child - "Phoenix Heart" to celebrate his second marriage These cards were given out to friends and colleagues and are considered extremely rare by Magic: The Gathering trading card collectors, adding a personal touch to his legacy within the gaming community. Garfield eventually co-founded Three Donkeys, a game design, development, and consulting company. Three Donkeys specializes in creating unique solutions to challenges in both electronic and board game design. Garfield's influence on the gaming industry extends beyond Magic: The Gathering, as he continues to innovate and contribute to the field of game design. The 1980s were instrumental in shaping Richard Garfield's career and the development of Magic: The Gathering. From his early experiences with game design to his academic pursuits and the iterative development process, this decade laid the foundation for what would become one of the most influential games in history. The success of Magic: The Gathering is a testament to Garfield's creativity, perseverance, and passion for games.

If you ask anyone from the 80s about their favorite toy store, you’re more than likely to hear the answer: Toys “R” Us or maybe KB Toys. While I have plenty of memories of going to both through my teens and beyond, the place for me to check out the latest action figures as a young kid was Play Co.Play Co Toys was a chain of smaller toy stores with multiple locations in the San Diego area, and one of them was right down the street from my childhood home. I think my parents liked letting my two brothers and me loose in the smaller store where they could always see us and not the giant warehouses of Toys “R” Us we could get lost in. Though the stores weren’t nearly the size of those, they were packed to the gills with as many action figures, play sets, and video games as you could ask for.Most of my memories there are of Transformers, since that was all I seemed to care about. Play Co was the only store I ever saw that had Transformers trading cards, a collection that I still own, although I never completed the set. I remember seeing tabletops with toys on display for the kids to marvel over, without a glass case in sight so we could try them out ourselves. One time I remember seeing Omega Supreme in all its battery-operated glory, the tank running its course around the missile tower. You’d better believe I tried transforming it, without a single employee telling me not to touch it. One year, after much begging and whining, I convinced my parents to lie down the thirty bucks to buy Scorponok, only to find out the store was out of stock. I still have no idea why I didn’t just ask them to take me to one of the other locations – there were eleven more within a few miles.Not all my memories there included Transformers, though. My brother, not obsessed with a single toyline like I was, spent his money on He-Man figures and Mad Scientist Monster Flesh sets, one of which I remember him opening up in the car and playing with on the way home. Man, that stuff felt weird! I also remember getting a lot of back-to-school stuff like the lunch boxes that I wish I still had.Play Co had bigger events sometimes, I remember, attracting hobbyist adults and kids alike. They routinely had enormous tables set up for slot car races out in the parking lot. Other days, they had RC car races in the lot and down the alley next to the store. While I never took part, everyone there was happy to show off their cars, surrounded by kids fully engrossed in them.I moved out of the area around 1988, but I was determined recently to find the store from my youth. Unfortunately, I found out the company filed for bankruptcy in 2001 and closed all their Play Co locations and 23 other stores under different names. When asking my mom which toy store we went to most often, she could only remember Toys “R” Us. I found an ad that listed all the stores in the San Diego and looked up each one, trying to determine the closest to my childhood home, and one was just a mile or so from my old address! The spot looks familiar on Google Earth, but of course, now it’s a car dealership.Even though I no longer live in the area, I was disappointed to find out the chain shuttered over twenty years ago. KB Toys only lasted a few more years longer before they also went out of business, and of course, Toys “R” Us closed its doors a few years ago. Since then, Geoffrey has started coming back, and I only wish Play Co could make a similar return some day.Besides being an avid toy collector and cartoon enthusiast, I’m an author of retro-inspired novels. Old School Evil celebrates the cartoons of the 80s and their over-the-top villains - Megatron, Miles Mayhem, Skeletor, and the others that used to hold our weekday afternoons and Saturday mornings hostage. Check out my books Old School Evil and Old School Evil: The Rejects on Amazon, or go to my site www.oldschoolevil.com.

Former President Donald Trump demanded he be given equal network air time ahead of President Joe Biden’s scheduled speech on Wednesday night, which is expected to address his withdrawal from the presidential race and endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris.  In a letter to Fox, ABC, NBC, and CBS, Trump campaign counsel David Warrington said that they would be required by law to give him equal time if Biden used the speech to promote Harris’s campaign.  “This speech is expected to address President Biden’s decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential race in the wake of his widely panned debate performance and freefalling poll numbers,” Warrington wrote. “It is also expected to address President Biden’s endorsement of Vice President (and ‘border czar’) Kamala Harris for the Democratic nomination for president. As such, it appears that President Biden’s speech will not be a bona fide news event, but rather, a primetime campaign commercial to boost Vice President Harris’ anemic poll numbers.” Warrington’s letter pointed to federal law that broadcasting companies “afford equal opportunities” to all candidates if they allow one candidate to use a facility.  “By broadcasting President Biden’s campaign speech, you have permitted the use of your facilities by a candidate for public office. Thus, you are obligated to provide an equal opportunity for President Trump,” Warrington said.  “Moreover, your granting of free airtime to President Biden to speak on behalf of Vice President Harris’ campaign may result in an impermissible and excessive corporate in-kind contribution to the Biden (now Harris) for President Committee,” he added.  Biden will speak from the Oval Office on Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. EST, his first public remarks since announcing his decision to withdraw from the 2024 race.  Harris quickly secured pledges by the necessary number of Democrat delegates to support her nomination. She kicked off her campaign in Wisconsin on Tuesday, a critical battleground state, where she promised to pass an “assault weapons ban” and promote abortion. WATCH BEN SHAPIRO’S ‘SCAMALA: KAMALA HARRIS UNMASKED’ ON DAILYWIRE+ Trump’s team has quickly pivoted to going after Harris for her record as Biden’s “border czar” and arguing that she is “dangerously radical.”  

A man identifying as a woman stabbed a female homeless shelter employee until her “internal organs were exposed.” Michell Silva Perez, 34, refused to leave a women and children’s homeless shelter in Greenville, North Carolina, around 11 a.m. on July 18, the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office said in a post on Facebook, which referred to Perez as a woman. Perez started arguing with the worker, who has not been identified, when he “began causing a disturbance.” Perez then pushed the woman to the ground and stabbed her in the stomach with a sharp object, which an arrest warrant obtained by The Post and Courier described as a “sword.” Perez stabbed the woman until her “internal organs were exposed,” the Courier reported, while also repeatedly referring to Perez as a woman. The victim was taken to a local hospital for emergency surgery, and her condition is unknown, according to GCSO spokesman Lt. Ryan Flood. Flood told the Courier that the victim was stabbed with a “sharp-edged object” but didn’t elaborate further. Perez was arrested and charged with attempted murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime, the Courier reported, citing arrest warrants. A spokesperson for the shelter told Inside Edition in a statement that they were unaware that Perez identified as transgender. “After the incident, we became aware in media reports that the former guest was transgender. Our ministry had no knowledge of this. That report, whether true or false, had no bearing on whether Miracle Hill would help, and did not contribute to the guest’s exit from the facility,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “The well-being of our staff and current guests is our top priority. We continue to work closely with authorities who are investigating the incident. We are committed to providing a safe and supportive environment for everyone who relies on our services. Our staff members are dedicated professionals who work tirelessly to support those in need, and we will continue to prioritize their safety and well-being, as we care for this vulnerable population in the Upstate. We appreciate the support and understanding of the community as we address this situation and act in response to it.” The spokesperson also told the outlet in the statement that Perez had been “disqualified” from the shelter the night before the attack “for not following the guidelines of the facility.” The shelter is run by Miracle Hill Ministries, a Christian organization that operates four shelters in the Greenville area – one for adult men, two for men, women, and mothers with young children, and one just for women and mothers with young children. The shelter Perez was evicted from, Shepard’s Gate on Regency Hill Drive, was the only one specifically designated for women and children. GCSO spokesperson Flood also told the Courier that Perez is being housed with men at the Greenville County jail but is being isolated because he is still transitioning. It is unclear what Perez is actually doing as part of his transition.