Authored by CJ Hopkins via ConsentFactory.org,

And on and on and on it goes. Today, at the eleventh hour, the Berlin Superior Court postponed my trial, which was scheduled to take place tomorrow, August 15, 2024, for reasons that remain unclear.

It would be wrong, and bad, to speculate about the Superior Court’s reasons for this eleventh-hour postponement. Such unwarranted speculation might even qualify as “misinformation,” and call down the wrath of the German authorities, or the UK authorities, or … God help me, Thierry Breton Himself!

Nevertheless, here’s what happened during the lead-up to my suddenly postponed trial.

On August 12, my attorney filed a motion alleging bias on the part of the Superior Court judge that issued the so-called “Security Order” that I reported on in Part One and Part Two of this series of columns. We filed this motion after our earlier motions to have the Order lifted were summarily denied.

And this morning, a rather extensive article about my prosecution was published in the Berliner Zeitung, a major German newspaper. Despite the fact that this story has received a considerable amount of international press coverage, this is the first piece published by the mainstream German press.

Until today, the mainstream German press had been diligently refusing to report the story, despite the fact that it has been reported in The Atlantic …

And The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (“FIRE”) just released this video feature and published an extensive piece about it …

And Sky News Australia just published this piece …

And Neue Zürcher Zeitung, in Switzerland, also covered it …

And Matt Taibbi in Racket News…

And Aya Velázquez, a German independent journalist who, along with her colleagues Bastian Barucker and Stefan Homburg, has recently rocketed to fame for releasing the “Robert Koch-Institute Leaks,” which are currently shaking things up in Germany …

And too many more independent media sources to mention and post big pictures of here.

But that Berliner Zeitung article (and all that other press) probably didn’t have anything to do with the Court’s decision to postpone the trial. I mean, it’s not like they are ashamed of what they’re doing, i.e., criminally prosecuting an author for two Tweets.

No, the impression I get is that the German authorities are proud of what they are doing, and want everyone to know it. After all, in the space of only a year, with the assistance of Amazon and Twitter/X, they have dragged me into criminal court, reported me to the German FBI and Germany’s domestic Intelligence agency, they have damaged my income and reputation as an author, they forced me to spend over 10,000 Euros to defend myself against their trumped-up charges, they had my book banned in Germany, censored my speech, and just generally made my life extremely stressful.

So, it’s unlikely that this one article, or this recent round of press, has shamed the Court into postponing my trial at the eleventh hour. I’m sure the Court does this all the time, you know, abruptly postpone a trial the day before it’s scheduled for totally unspecified reasons. This is modern Germany, after all! It’s New Normal Germany! Not old, bad Nazi Germany, where the courts were just an arm of the Nazi government! New Normal Germany is absolutely nothing like that! It’s a totally democratic country where everyone is equal in the eyes of the law and “The Land of Poets and Thinkers” and “Unity and Justice and Freedom,” and … whatever.

In any event, don’t show up at the Kammergericht tomorrow … I mean, unless you’re on trial, yourself, for something, or if you just want to get groped by a German court officer. (See Part Two of this series for details on that.)

Seriously, though, all joking aside, I’m very grateful to Ralf Hutter and Berliner Zeitung, and FIRE, and all the other journalists and outlets that have covered this story. Focusing public attention on what the New Normal “authorities” are doing, not just here in Germany, but throughout the West, not just to me, but to many, many others just like me, is one of the only weapons we have to fight back against the criminalization of dissent with. As I have explained in earlier essays, this new, nascent form of totalitarianism — which I think is becoming more and more obvious to people at this point — is not 20th-Century totalitarianism. It can’t go goose-stepping around in jackboots. It has to maintain a “democratic” facade.

Stripping away that facade, calling its bluff, forcing it to show itself as what it actually is, in all its authoritarian ugliness, works. Not always, not perfectly, but it works.

Or at least it works a lot better than frontally attacking it, which is futile, and which is exactly what it wants, so that it can use that as an excuse to further ratchet up the totalitarianism, or, you know, to reduce your entire territory to a pile of rubble.

If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, maybe ask some of those January 6 rioters, or those UK rioters, or Hamas.

Some economists warn that central banks, including the Federal Reserve, have pushed their interest rate hiking cycle too far. Meanwhile, Chinese investors are wary of the growth prospects for the world’s second-largest economy. The troubling trends in the world’s two biggest economies have sparked concerns that the global economic landing might be far more turbulent than initially anticipated. 

For instance, this morning, the world’s biggest steel producer in China, China Baowu Steel Group, warned that the steel industry is plunging into a prolonged “harsh winter.” 

This downturn will be “longer, colder, and more difficult to endure than expected,” Baowu Steel Chairman Hu Wangming said at the company’s most recent half-year earnings result meeting. 

“Financial departments at all levels should pay more attention to the security of the company’s funding,” Wangming said. He noted a need to strengthen controls over overdue payments and detect fake trades.

He said, “In the process of crossing the long and harsh winter, cash is more important than profit.” 

Hou Angui, general manager and deputy party secretary at Baowu Steel warned at the meeting, “The current situation in the steel industry is more severe than the downturns of 2008 and 2015.”

For commodities, including steel and copper, the dire warning from Baowu Steel comes as the property market downturn in China continues to worsen. Factory activity in the world’s second-largest economy remains under pressure, and investors are extremely cautious about China’s growth outlook. 

Goldman’s Lisheng Wang recently met with onshore clients in Beijing and Shanghai. These clients include mutual funds, private equity funds, and asset managers in banks/insurance companies. 

Wang said, “Compared with two months ago, local investors viewed signals from the Third Plenum and July Politburo meeting as neutral, remained cautious on China’s growth outlook and policy implementation, and showed increased concerns on the US recession risk, election uncertainty, and potential impact on China.” 

In markets, Goldman’s James Busby said iron ore prices moved lower in Singapore, down nearly 3% with “Macro fund selling.” He noted to clients about Baowu Steel’s warning and pointed out that iron ore prices slid to May 2023 lows. 

BMO analyst Colin Hamilton said, “The entire Chinese steel industry is positioning for a consolidation.” 

As Chinese iron ore inventories swell, steel mills face mounting supply pressures, likely forcing them to cut production. Additionally, these mills are exporting deflation, with steel exports expected to exceed 100 million tons this year—the highest level since 2016.  

Talk of global economic slowdowns is heating up worldwide, with the JPM Global Manufacturing PMI sliding into a contraction (<50) earlier this summer. 

Meanwhile, US interest rate traders are pricing in four 25bps cuts by the end of the year. 

All of this points to the economic storm clouds quickly gathering pace. 

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

Three Thames Valley Police officers have won an employment tribunal in which they charged they had been disadvantaged by employers for being “white British”.

The Telegraph reports that the tribunal was informed that a superintendent at the police force was tasked with ‘improving diversity’, specifically by seeking to appoint an “Asian” sergeant to the rank of Detective Inspector.

👮 Three white police officers have won a discrimination case after an employment judge ruled that they were passed over for promotion because of their race.

https://t.co/MhYO7ibVFU

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) August 12, 2024

The three officers, who had all been working for the force for between 19-26 years were actively blocked from applying for the position.

The vacancy was never advertised and no competitive employment process was initiated, it was revealed at the tribunal.

A month after the position became available, a Sergeant Sidhu (Forename withheld) was appointed.

This person held a lower rank and wasn’t even an inspector or detective inspector, unlike the three white officers.

‘We have a police force that’s turned down well qualified white candidates – just because they’re white – so Sergeant Sidhu can have a go!’@PatrickChristys says ‘we’re prioritising diversity over public safety’ suggesting there’s ‘institutional racism against white people’. pic.twitter.com/tCyXWuItNO

— GB News (@GBNEWS) August 13, 2024

The Tribunal noted that the Superintendent (Emma Baillie) had been ordered to “make it happen” by the Deputy Chief Constable and “took the decision without thinking it through.”

It was also revealed that Baillie later tried to “retrospectively justify” the decision, claiming the appointment was made under a “BAME Progression Program which clearly did not exist at the time”.

“Superintendent Baillie and no doubt the deputy chief constable had been warned of the risk of operating such a policy,” the tribunal said.

Employment Judge Robin Postle concluded “The Superintendent made a decision to move Police Sergeant Sidhu into the detective inspector role without any competitive assessment process taking place.“

Postle added, “It went beyond mere encouragement, disadvantaging those officers who did not share Sergeant Sidhu’s protected characteristic of race and who were denied the opportunity to apply for the role.”

“It was not a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. Clearly, Superintendent Baillie was only focused on ‘making it work’ rather than carrying out a balancing exercise,” the judge further noted, adding that the decision “clearly constituted positive discrimination.”

White privilege, right?

*  *  *

Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.

Submitted by Alastair Crooke,

Walter Kirn, an American novelist and cultural critic, in his 2009 memoir, Lost in the Meritocracy, described how, after a sojourn at Oxford, he came to be a member of ‘the class that runs things’ – the one that “writes the headlines, and the stories under them”. It was the account of a middle-class kid from Minnesota trying desperately to fit into the élite world, and then to his surprise, realising that he didn’t want to fit in at all.

Now 61, Kirn has a newsletter on Substack and co-hosts a lively podcast devoted in large part to critiquing ‘establishment liberalism’. His contrarian drift has made him more vocal about his distrust of élite institutions – as he wrote in 2022:

“For years now, the answer, in every situation—‘Russiagate,’ COVID, Ukraine—has been more censorship, more silencing, more division, more scapegoating. It’s almost as if these are goals in themselves – and the cascade of emergencies mere excuses for them. Hate is always the way,”

Kirn’s politics, a friend of his suggested, was “old-school liberal,” underscoring that it was the other ‘so-called liberals’ who had changed: “I’ve been told repeatedly in the last year that free speech is a right-wing issue; I wouldn’t call [Kirn] Conservative. I would just say he’s a free-thinker, nonconformist, iconoclastic”, the friend said.

To understand Kirn’s contrarian turn – and to make sense of today’s form of American politics – it is necessary to understand one key term. It is not found in standard textbooks, but is central to the new playbook of power: the “whole of society”.

“The term was popularised roughly a decade ago by the Obama administration, which liked that its bland, technocratic appearance could be used as cover to erect a mechanism for a governance ‘whole-of-society’ approach” – one that asserts that as actors – media, NGOs,corporations and philanthropist institutions – interact with public officials to play a critical role not just in setting the public agenda, but in enforcing public decisions.

Jacob Siegel has explained the historical development of the ‘whole of society’ approach during the Obama administration’s attempt to pivot in the ‘war on terror’ to what it called ‘CVE’ – countering violent extremism. The idea was to surveil the American people’s online behaviour in order to identify those who may, at some unspecified time in the future, ‘commit a crime’.

Inherent to the concept of the potential ‘violent extremist’ who has, as yet, committed no crime, is a weaponised vagueness: “A cloud of suspicion that hangs over anyone who challenges the prevailing ideological narratives”.

“What the various iterations of this whole-of-society approach have in common is their disregard for democratic process and the right to free association – their embrace of social media surveillance, and their repeated failure to deliver results …”.

Aaron Kheriaty writes:

“More recently, the whole of society political machinery facilitated the overnight flip from Joe Biden to Kamala Harris, with news media and party supporters turning on a dime when instructed to do so—democratic primary voters ‘be damned’. This happened not because of the personalities of the candidates involved, but on the orders of party leadership. The actual nominees are fungible, and entirely replaceable, functionaries, serving the interests of the ruling party … The party was delivered to her because she was selected by its leaders to act as its figurehead. That real achievement belongs not to Harris, but to the party-state”.

What has this to do with Geo-politics – and whether there will be war between Iran and Israel?

Well, quite a lot.

It is not just western domestic politics that has been shaped by the Obama CVE totalising mechanics.

The “party-state” machinery (Kheriaty’s term) for geo-politics has also been co-opted:

“To avoid the appearance of totalitarian overreach in such efforts”, Kheriaty argues,“the party requires an endless supply of causes … that party officers use as pretexts to demand ideological alignment across public and private sector institutions. These causes come in roughly two forms: the urgent existential crisis (examples include COVID and the much-hyped threat of Russian disinformation) – and victim groups supposedly in need of the party’s protection”.

“It’s almost as if these are goals in themselves – and the cascade of emergencies mere excuses for them. Hate is always the way”, Kirn underlines.

Just to be clear, the implication is that all geo-strategic critics of the party-state’s ideological alignment must be jointly and collectively treated as potentially dangerous extremists. Russia, China, Iran and North Korea therefore are bound together as presenting a single obnoxious extremism that stands in opposition to ‘Our Democracy’; versus ‘Our Free Speech’ and versus ‘Our Expert Consensus’.

So, if the move to war against one extremist (i.e. versus Iran) is ‘acclaimed’ by 58 standing ovations in the joint session of Congress last month, then further debate is unnecessary – any more than Kamala Harris’ nomination as Presidential candidate needs to be endorsed through primary voting:

Candidate Harris told hecklers on Wednesday, chanting about genocide in Gaza, ‘to pipe down’ – unless they “want Trump to win”. Tribal norms must not be challenged (even for genocide).

Sandra Parker, Chairwoman of the political advocacy arm for the three thousand members of Christians United for Israel (CUFI) was advising on correct talking points, the Times of Israel reports:

“The rise of Republican far right-wingers who spurn decades of (bi-partisan) pro-Israel orthodoxies, favouring isolationism and resurrecting anti-Jewish tropes is alarming pro-Israel evangelicals and their Jewish allies… The break with decades of assertive foreign policy was evident last year when Sen. Josh Hawley derided the “liberal empire” that he dismissively characterised as bipartisan “Neoconservatives on the right, and liberal globalists on the left: Together they make up what you might call the uniparty, the DC establishment that transcends all changing administrations””.

At the CUFI talking points conference, the fear of increased isolation on the Right was the issue:

“You’re going to see that adversaries will see the U.S. as in retreat” – should isolationists get the upper hand: Activists were advised to push back: Should lawmakers claim that NATO expansion is what triggered Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: “Should anybody begin to make the argument that the reason the Russians have moved in on Ukraine – is because of NATO enlargement – can I just say that this is the age-old ‘blame America trope,’” the Chair advised the assembled delegates.

“They have the strain of isolationism that’s – ‘Let’s just do China and forget about Iran, forget about Russia, let’s just do one thing’ – but it doesn’t work that way,” said Boris Zilberman, director of policy and strategy for the CUFI Action Fund. Instead, he described “an intricate fabric of bad actors working hand in hand”.

So, to get to the bottom of this western mind-management in which appearance and reality are cut from the same cloth of hostile extremism: Iran, Russia and China are ‘cut from it’ likewise.

Plainly put, the import of this “behavioural-engineering enterprise (it no longer having much to do with the truth, no longer having much to do with your right to desire what you wish – or not desire what you don’t wish)” – is, as Kirn says: “everyone is in on the game”. “The corporate and state interests don’t believe you are wanting the right things—you might want Donald Trump— or, that you aren’t wanting the things you should want more” (such as seeing Putin removed).

If this ‘whole of society’ machinery is understood correctly in the wider world, then the likes of Iran or Hizbullah are forced to take note that war in the Middle East inevitably may bleed across into wider war against Russia – and have adverse ramifications for China, too.

That is not because it makes sense. It doesn’t. But it is because the ideological needs of ‘whole of society’ foreign-policy hinge on simplistic ‘moral’ narratives: Ones that express emotional attitudes, rather than argued propositions.

Netanyahu went to Washington to lay out the case for all-out war on Iran – a moral war of civilisation versus the Barbarians, he said. He was applauded for his stance. He returned to Israel and immediately provoked Hizbullah, Iran and Hamas in a way that dishonoured and humiliated both – knowing well that it would draw a riposte that would most likely lead to wider war.

Clearly Netanyahu, backed by a plurality of Israelis, wants an Armageddon (with full U.S. support, of course). He has the U.S., he thinks, exactly where he wants it. Netanyahu has only to escalate in one way or another – and Washington, he calculates (rightly or wrongly), will be compelled to follow.

Is this why Iran is taking its time? The calculus on an initial riposte to Israel is ‘one thing’, but how then might Netanyahu retaliate in Iran and Lebanon? That can be altogether an ‘other thing’. There have been hints of nuclear weapons being deployed (in both instances). There is however nothing solid, to this latter rumour.

Further, how might Israel respond towards Russia in Syria, or might the U.S. react through escalation in Ukraine? After all, Moscow has assisted Iran with its air defences (just as the West is assisting Ukraine against Russia).

Many imponderables.

Yet, one thing is clear (as former Russian President Medvedev noted recently): “the knot is tightening” in the Middle East. Escalation is across all the fronts. War, Medvedev suggested, may be ‘the only way this knot will be cut’.

Iran must think that appeasing western pleas in the wake of the Israeli assassination of Iranian officials at their Damascus Consulate was a mistake. Netanyahu did not appreciate Iran’s moderation. He doubled-down on war, making it inevitable, sooner or later.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ZeroHedge.

Authored by John & Nisha Whitehead via The Rutherford Institute,

“The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You don’t. You have no choice. You have owners. They own you. They own everything. They own all the important land. They own and control the corporations. They’ve long since bought and paid for the Senate, the Congress, the state houses, the city halls. They got the judges in their back pockets and they own all the big media companies, so they control just about all of the news and information you get to hear… They spend billions of dollars every year lobbying. Lobbying to get what they want. Well, we know what they want. They want more for themselves and less for everybody else… It’s called the American Dream, ’cause you have to be asleep to believe it.”

– George Carlin

Who owns America?

Is it the government? The politicians? The corporations? The foreign investors? The American people?

While the Deep State keeps the nation divided and distracted by a presidential election whose outcome is foregone (the police state’s stranglehold on power will ensure the continuation of endless wars and out-of-control spending, while disregarding the citizenry’s fundamental rights and the rule of law), America is literally being bought and sold right out from under us.

Consider the facts.

We’re losing more and more of our land every year to corporations and foreign interests. Foreign ownership of U.S. agricultural land has increased by 66% since 2010. In 2021, it was reported that foreign investors owned approximately 40 million acres of U.S. agricultural land, which is more than the entire state of Iowa. By 2022 that number had grown to 43.4 million acres. The rate at which U.S. farmland is being bought up by foreign interests grew by 2.2 million acres per year from 2015 to 2021. The number of U.S. farm acres owned by foreign entities grew more than 8% (3.4 million acres) in 2022.

We’re losing more and more of our businesses every year to foreign corporations and interests. Although China owns a small fraction of foreign-owned U.S. land at 380,000 acres (less than the state of Rhode Island), Chinese companies and investors are also buying up major food companies, commercial and residential real estate, and other businesses. As RetailWire explains, “Currently, many brands started by early American pioneers now wave international flags. This revolution is a direct result of globalization.” The growing list of once-notable American brands that have been sold to foreign corporations includes: U.S. Steel (now Japanese-owned); General Electric (Chinese-owned); Budweiser (Belgium); Burger King (Canada); 7-Eleven (Japan); Jeep, Chrysler, and Dodge (Netherlands); and IBM (China).

We’re digging ourselves deeper and deeper into debt, both as a nation and as a populace. Basically, the U.S. government is funding its existence with a credit card, spending money it doesn’t have on programs it can’t afford. The bulk of that debt has been amassed over the past two decades, thanks in large part to the fiscal shenanigans of four presidents, 10 sessions of Congress and two wars. The national debt (the amount the federal government has borrowed over the years and must pay back) is more than $34 trillion and will grow another $19 trillion by 2033. Foreign ownership makes up 29% of the U.S. debt held by the public. Of that amount, reports the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, “52 percent was held by private foreign investors while foreign governments held the remaining 48 percent.”

The Fourth Estate has been taken over by media conglomerates that prioritize profit over principle. Independent news agencies, which were supposed to act as bulwarks against government propaganda, have been subsumed by a global corporate takeover of newspapers, television and radio. Consequently, a handful of corporations now control most of the media industry and, thus, the information dished out to the public. Likewise, with Facebook and Google having appointed themselves the arbiters of disinformation, we now find ourselves grappling with new levels of corporate censorship by entities with a history of colluding with the government to keep the citizenry mindless, muzzled and in the dark.

Most critically of all, however, the U.S. government, long ago sold to the highest bidders, has become little more than a shell company, a front for corporate interests. Nowhere is this state of affairs more evident than in the manufactured spectacle that is the presidential election. As for members of Congress, long before they’re elected, they are trained to dance to the tune of their wealthy benefactors, so much so that they spend two-thirds of their time in office raising money. As Reuters reports, “It also means that lawmakers often spend more time listening to the concerns of the wealthy than anyone else.”

In the oligarchy that is the American police state, it clearly doesn’t matter who wins the White House, because they all work for the same boss: a Corporate State that has gone global.

So much for living the American dream.

“We the people” have become the new, permanent underclass in America.

We’re being forced to shell out money for endless wars that are bleeding us dry; money for surveillance systems to track our movements; money to further militarize our already militarized police; money to allow the government to raid our homes and bank accounts; money to fund schools where our kids learn nothing about freedom and everything about how to comply; and on and on.

This is no way of life.

It’s tempting to say that there’s little we can do about it, except that’s not quite accurate.

There are a few things we can do (demand transparency, reject cronyism and graft, insist on fair pricing and honest accounting methods, call a halt to incentive-driven government programs that prioritize profits over people), but it will require that “we the people” stop playing politics and stand united against the politicians and corporate interests who have turned our government and economy into a pay-to-play exercise in fascism.

Unfortunately, we’ve become so invested in identity politics that label us based on our political leanings that we’ve lost sight of the one label that unites us: we’re all Americans.

The powers-that-be want us to adopt an “us versus them” mindset that keeps us powerless and divided. Yet as I make clear in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People and in its fictional counterpart The Erik Blair Diaries, the only “us versus them” that matters is “we the people” against the Deep State.

Authored by Debra Heine via American Greatness,

A California sheriff is slamming Kamala Harris over her ‘misleading’ political ad that fraudulently touted her border security record while using his image without permission.

The video features Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux and other local and state law enforcement officers flanking then Attorney General Harris during her visit to the Central Valley in 2014.

“In light of a recent political ad put out by Kamala Harris featuring Sheriff Boudreaux, as well as other local law enforcement, the Sheriff wants to make it abundantly clear that his image is being used without his permission, and he does NOT endorse Harris for President or any other political office,” the sheriff said in a statement issued to Fox News Digital.

Boudreaux has spent 37 years in the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office and is currently president of the California State Sheriffs’ Association.

“As a matter of fact, I would like to point out the misleading information projected in that same political ad. In the ad, Harris claims to have spent decades fighting violent crime as a ‘border state prosecutor,’” Boudreaux stated.

The ad claims:

“As a border state prosecutor, she took on drug cartels and jailed gang members for smuggling weapons and drugs across the border.”  Harris’ campaign ad also dubiously states that she will “hire thousands more border agents and crack down on fentanyl and human trafficking.”

Boudreaux and other law enforcement officials in Southern California were outraged that Harris would take credit for fighting crime at the border when she allegedly only “undercut” their efforts.

“How can you go in and promote that you were this tight border person when all the troops are coming across the border, and you literally are eliminating all these task forces? I mean, that completely made us mad,” Boudreaux told Fox News.

“When you see that advertisement, if you do a little research, you’ll find that what she’s (Harris) touting goes completely against what was happening at the time, so when she put that picture out there with me in it, I got really upset, that ad is all smoke and mirrors,” Boudreaux said. “I do not support her.”

Harris reportedly came to the Valley in 2014 to take credit for “a years-long investigation into a multi-national drug operation, with ties to Mexican drug cartels and prison gangs,” that was done by local law enforcement.

According to the sheriff,  11 people were arrested, including suspected “kingpin” Jose Magana of Dinuba in that case.

“The truth is, Harris never cared about the cartels and did nothing to stop people from illegally crossing the border,” Boudreaux said.

The sheriff made note of Harris’ haughty attitude during the 2014 visit.

“We were in the green room. She never came in and said hello to any of us. She walked up front, gave her presser, literally walked out, never said hi to any of us,” Boudreaux said. “I’m disgusted because, you know, she didn’t shake hands. She didn’t say hello. And she’s taken credit for all this work that the locals did.”

Boudreaux’s political action committee, Golden State Justice, also issued a scathing statement blasting Harris’ new campaign ad.

“As Attorney General, Kamala Harris undercut efforts by California law enforcement officials to stop criminals from flooding our state with guns and drugs across the border,” the statement read.

“She repeatedly defunded and shuttered task forces designed to protect our residents, leaving the Valley and our state vulnerable,” the statement continued. “Kamala’s sad attempt to paint herself as tough on the border by implying my support – and the support of neighboring law enforcement leaders—is pathetic.”

The statement concluded by saying “a politician crowding the podium at a press conference clearly hasn’t solved our border crisis. Neither has Kamala Harris.”

Tulare County District Attorney Tim Ward, who is also featured in the ad, was also enraged by the video.

“The hypocrisy knows no bounds. It’s disingenuous and her campaign ad, somehow now, touting her reputation as a prosecutor as a positive thing, she was attorney general under three of the worst tragedies that had befallen the citizens of the state of California,” Ward told Fox News.

Ward concurred with Boudreaux about using their images in a campaign ad without permission, saying that it should have been a “professional courtesy” to let them know about it.

“We’re not hard people to find or to contact. Simple professional courtesy would have been warning us that it was going to be used. And I think that we are well within our rights to clarify the records,” Ward said.

“Just as Sheriff Boudreaux said, I do not in any way want the use of that photo to be construed as support of her (Harris) either in her candidacy, current candidacy, or even in her tenure as attorney general of the State of California.”

In an interview Tuesday with Fox News, Boudreaux said Harris showed up in 2014 “for a sound bite, didn’t shake anyone’s hands and she quickly left the briefing room.”

He said law enforcement officials in Southern California are “very familiar” with Harris’ record and her campaign ad was “deceptive to say the least.”

The sheriff added, “I just wanted to come out and say that for me as the sheriff or Tulare County looking out for victims, looking for someone who’s going to support criminal justice and law enforcement, that is best represented by Donald Trump, not Kamala Harris.”

Authored by Sheramy Tsai via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Muscle atrophy, the wasting or loss of muscle tissue, can occur astonishingly quickly, posing serious challenges for individuals recovering from prolonged illness or extended periods of inactivity.

A study in the Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia, and Muscle revealed that just three days of simulated bed rest resulted in a more than 10 percent loss of muscle tissue and increased fatty infiltration of the muscle.

“Believe it or not, you can start losing significant muscle mass in just five days of inactivity,” fitness and nutrition expert JJ Virgin told The Epoch Times. She noted that athletes can see the effects of reduced activity within about three weeks if they don’t maintain their workout routines.

Everson A. Nunes, a postdoctoral fellow at McMaster University, noted the variability in muscle loss during inactivity. In an email to The Epoch Times, he said that healthy young individuals can lose about 0.8 percent of muscle per day during a week of leg immobilization.

Nunes said that the primary cause of atrophy is the lack of mechanical stimulus.

“Muscles, tendons, and bones need mechanical stress to maintain size, function, and proper turnover rates,” he wrote. The key to healthy muscles, tendons, and bones is continuous breakdown and rebuilding.

Muscle loss can happen during extended periods of bed rest because of illness or injury, leading to disuse-induced atrophy.

“Disuse-induced atrophy will likely affect every person in his or her lifetime, and can be debilitating, especially in the elderly,” Sue Bodine, who holds a doctorate in neuromuscular physiology, wrote.

“If you’re sidelined due to an injury or stuck in bed, your muscles aren’t getting the workout they need to stay strong,” Virgin said. Without movement, muscles begin to degrade, resulting in a noticeable loss of strength and function.

Aging and Atrophy

Aging is a significant contributor to muscle atrophy. Our bodies naturally lose muscle mass and strength as we age, a process known as sarcopenia. This decline begins as early as age 30, with muscle mass decreasing by 3 percent to 8 percent per decade, and the rate of loss doubling at about age 60, making it even more challenging to maintain muscle health, according to Virgin.

Even more troubling is the loss of strength and power, occurring twice and three times the rate of muscle mass loss, respectively, according to Virgin. These changes can significantly impact daily activities and overall quality of life.

“The maintenance of muscle mass is dependent on the balance of two processes: the rate of protein synthesis and protein degradation. Under atrophy conditions, there is a shift in the balance of these two processes such that there is a net loss of muscle proteins,” Bodine wrote.

A 2021 review in Nature Communications supports this by highlighting the numerous factors affecting muscle health. The authors note that changes in muscle mass can significantly impact metabolism, movement, and even breathing. Their research shows that muscle function adapts to environmental and nutritional cues, emphasizing the importance of balancing protein synthesis and degradation.

The Role of Inflammation in Muscle Atrophy

Inflammation is a key factor in muscle loss, particularly for individuals with chronic illnesses or persistent low-grade inflammation. Nunes notes that chronic diseases and high body fat can cause anabolic resistance, meaning muscles do not respond well to muscle-building signals from protein intake or exercise.

In cases of severe injury, trauma, or systemic diseases, inflammation plays a critical role in helping the body heal. High levels of inflammatory mediators are released in response to these conditions, but this can also lead to increased muscle breakdown. This inflammatory response, while essential for healing and defense, can complicate muscle recovery by exacerbating muscle atrophy.

“With major injury or trauma or systemic diseases, inflammation scales up and causes massive behavior and metabolic changes contributing to muscle loss,” Nunes wrote.

“It has been difficult to find a sweet spot that is able to prevent unwanted effects but still having an effective healing/defense response,” Nunes wrote. This challenge is particularly evident when using anti-inflammatory drugs, which can inhibit both harmful and beneficial inflammatory processes.

For those with chronic inflammation, strategies to combat muscle loss include a combination of drugs and lifestyle changes. These may involve anti-inflammatory medications, anabolic agents, and therapies aimed at maintaining appetite and muscle function. It’s important that people exercise regularly and eat well, but these can be difficult habits to maintain.

Rebuilding Strength at Any Age

Many believe that muscle atrophy is irreversible, particularly as people age, based on the misconception that older adults can’t build muscle.

“This simply isn’t true,” Virgin said. “Muscle plasticity, the ability of muscles to regenerate and grow, persists throughout life. With the right training and nutrition, you can rebuild muscle at any age.”

Recovery for older adults often requires more time and a more focused approach than it does for younger people. In young, healthy adults, muscle mass recovery following disuse atrophy is usually complete, but in older people, it is often delayed and sometimes incomplete.

“As we age, our bodies naturally experience a decrease in muscle regenerative capacity and hormonal changes that can slow down the recovery process,” Virgin said.

Older adults must pay closer attention to their diet, particularly protein, to support muscle repair and recovery. With age, our bodies experience anabolic resistance, which means that eating protein or amino acids doesn’t stimulate muscle building as much as when we were younger. Consequently, seniors may require more protein than younger people to achieve similar muscle repair and growth.

“Staying active is the most important thing we all should do on a population level to prevent anabolic resistance and help with recovery,” Nunes wrote. He noted that physically active older adults do not exhibit signs of anabolic resistance.

Rebuilding muscular strength begins with movement, but it is crucial to address the underlying causes of inactivity, whether that be a specific ailment, lack of time, or something else.

“Treating the cause is the most important step, in parallel with physiotherapy or supervised exercises. These are the most effective strategies targeting the inactivity aspect,” Nunes wrote.

Practical Exercises for Rebuilding Muscle After Inactivity

After a prolonged period of inactivity or illness, rebuilding muscle should be approached gradually and safely.

“Ideally, you want to get up and moving as quickly as possible,” Virgin said.

Virgin advises starting with simple isometric exercises involving holding a contraction without movement, such as planks. These exercises are beneficial for those with limited mobility, as they help rebuild strength with minimal injury risk and require no equipment. This approach allows muscles to engage even if walking is not possible.

As recovery progresses, incorporating resistance training becomes essential. Virgin recommends exercises that mimic daily activities, such as squats, bent-over rows, and dips. Starting with body weight or light resistance bands helps focus on proper technique before gradually increasing the resistance. Using a full range of motion and engaging the core are crucial for effective muscle rebuilding.

For individuals unable to handle significant resistance due to injury, blood flow restriction training (BFRT) offers an effective alternative. This involves exercising while wearing bands or other devices that restrict blood flow. For example, while lifting a weight with the arm, a person may have a band tied around the arm similar to the tourniquet applied when giving a blood sample.

According to a study in the Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, BFRT can “prove to be a boon in many conditions such as muscle weakness and degeneration.” It can be an essential treatment in preventing disuse atrophy during the initial days of bed rest in post-surgical patients.

Maintaining consistent activity is key to recovery. Virgin suggests tracking daily steps and gradually increasing them. Adding a weighted vest, known as a rucking vest, can enhance strength and endurance.

Once a basic fitness level is established, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) can be introduced. HIIT involves short bursts of intense activity followed by rest periods or lower-intensity exercise. This method aids muscle building and growth hormone release, while improving cardiovascular health and boosting metabolism.

“Recovery strategies should also include adequate rest and stress management, as elevated stress hormones like cortisol can further impair muscle recovery and overall health,” Virgin said.

Nutrition’s Role in Muscle Recovery

Nutrition plays a pivotal role in muscle recovery and overall health during and after injury or illness. A 2020 review in Nutrients emphasizes that periods of disuse combined with poor dietary intake can accelerate muscle loss and weaken strength, especially in older adults.

“Protein is essential for muscle repair and growth,” Virgin said. Ensuring an optimal protein intake is critical, with a minimum of 100 grams per day, and ideally 1 gram or more per pound of ideal body weight.

However, Nunes noted that merely increasing protein intake does not prevent muscle loss. “Muscles need to be put to work in order to decrease the level of loss during inactivity or disease,” he wrote.

Virgin also recommends incorporating 15 grams of essential amino acids with one to two meals a day to provide the necessary nutrients for healing and preventing muscle breakdown. Additionally, extra collagen, either as a supplement or through bone broth or bone broth protein powder, can be beneficial at an intake of 15 grams to 30 grams daily.

Virgin highlighted creatine’s benefits for enhancing performance and recovery, making it a valuable addition to any recovery regimen.

The Mental Grit Behind Physical Recovery

Nunes noted that the mental factor directly affects nutrition, sleep, and overall activity levels.

“Mental resilience is absolutely crucial in physical recovery,” Virgin said. It greatly affects the speed and completeness of recovery from illness, injury, or prolonged inactivity.

When physical strength is weakened, mental grit is essential for maintaining focus, discipline, and positivity, enabling adherence to recovery protocols and coping with the often slow and frustrating healing process.

“It’s like armor for your psyche, protecting and propelling you forward even when the going gets tough,” Virgin said, underscoring the importance of a strong mindset.

Cultivating mental resilience during recovery involves several key strategies, she said.

• Embrace a positive outlook. It’s not just about thinking happy thoughts but strategically viewing challenges as opportunities for growth and learning.
• Visualize. Picture yourself healed, strong, and thriving, which can help steer your subconscious toward those outcomes.
• Practice resilience-building techniques. Gratitude journaling and mindfulness meditation are beneficial. These practices reduce stress and improve overall mental well-being.
• Build Your Community. Being surrounded by people who uplift and encourage provides emotional comfort and practical help, motivating adherence to recovery goals.

Setting Realistic Goals and Measuring Progress in Muscle Recovery

Tracking progress is essential for those aiming to regain muscle strength after inactivity, according to Virgin. One effective starting point is a DEXA scan, which estimates skeletal muscle mass and assesses balance between limbs. This scan offers a detailed baseline, enabling precise progress monitoring.

Alongside DEXA scans, regular fitness tests can assess improvements in strength, power, endurance, flexibility, and balance. At-home tests include hand dynamometer grip strength, push-ups, flexed arm hang or pull-ups, vertical jump, sit and reach for flexibility, and standing balance.

For ongoing tracking, affordable bioimpedance scales can align with DEXA results, providing a convenient way to monitor changes at home. Virgin advises reassessing fitness tests every one to three months and repeating the DEXA scan every six months to track long-term progress.

Tracking progress offers tangible evidence of improvements and boosts motivation. Fitness trackers, apps, or workout journals can help monitor routines by recording exercise types, weights, and repetitions. This documentation aids in adjusting goals and ensuring continued progress.

“Always start out doing less than you think you can and progress carefully. Listen to your body,” Virgin said. If you experience joint pain or soreness, reduce your activity and consult an expert to check your form.

“Be sure to celebrate milestones, no matter how small, as they

The Biden-Harris administration’s poor planning and execution in Afghanistan resulted in the botched withdrawal that killed 13 US service members, left Americans stranded, and allowed billions of dollars in US military equipment to flow into the hands of the Taliban terror group.

Since the Afghan government’s collapse in August 2021 under Biden-Harris, the war-torn nation (thank you, Bush/Cheney), landlocked in the Middle East, has once again become a safe haven for terrorism. The chaotic withdrawal allowed Taliban fighters to commandeer Black Hawk helicopters, A-29 Super Tucano attack aircraft, armored Humvees, and 600,000 weapons, including grenade launchers, machine guns, and rifles.

President Biden’s memory is worse than we thought:

“The truth is, I’m the only President this century…this decade that doesn’t have any troops dying anywhere in the world like he did.”

The American people will never forget the horrible withdrawal from Afghanistan that claimed… pic.twitter.com/MQ0bkN11So

— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) June 28, 2024

There has been zero accountability from President Biden or Vice President Kalama Harris over these colossal failures. Even to the extent that Biden made the stunning claim during the presidential debate in June that he was “the only president this century” and “this decade” that did not have any troops “dying anywhere in the world.”

Biden claims he’s the only President this Century…this Decade doesn’t have any troops dying anywhere in the World.
Guess there’s no chance he could name those that died at Abby gate or the three soldiers that died in FEBRUARY!
Those poor Gold Star Families. pic.twitter.com/sZR5JuDO32

— Clyp Keeper (@DGrayTexas45) June 28, 2024

Meanwhile, Americans might get fired up after learning that Taliban fighters have showcased all of Biden-Harris’ gifts from the botched exit in a massive military parade, marking the third anniversary of the takeover of Afghanistan. 

JUST IN: 🇦🇫 🇺🇸 The Taliban held a military parade using United States military equipment that was left behind after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

This parade marks the third anniversary of the Taliban’s return to power in the nation. pic.twitter.com/oZzg0RuAo5

— BRICS News (@BRICSinfo) August 14, 2024

NEW: The Taliban held a military parade at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan with the US military equipment they stole after the disastrous Biden-Harris withdrawal.

The Taliban was celebrating the third anniversary of taking over the former US air base as they trolled the US with… pic.twitter.com/UUuANxX4UO

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) August 14, 2024

Taliban organized a massive military parade at Bagram Military Base on the 3rd anniversary of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Military equipment left by the U.S. forces everywhere. pic.twitter.com/fvcU3qCXWk

— Clash Report (@clashreport) August 14, 2024

The Taliban just held a military parade with our equipment that was left during the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal.

Kamala was the “last person in the room” when the decisions were made regarding the withdrawal.

Around $7B worth of equipment was left.

Kamala is responsible… pic.twitter.com/Adhfjb1e41

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) August 14, 2024

What were those gifts? 

List of equipment we left in Afghanistan:

– 12,000 humvees
– 42,000 trucks
– 1,000 armored vehicles
– 78 planes/helicopters
– 350,000 rifles
– 16,000 night vision goggles
– 160,000 radios
– much more

We destroyed some, but most of it we left for the Taliban to use and/or sell. https://t.co/aZVKqzoXF8

— Geiger Capital (@Geiger_Capital) August 14, 2024

Here’s what X users are saying:

• “If this doesn’t raise your BP and your temperature, then you don’t realize what the Biden/Harris Administration did: they have made the Taliban a 21st century kinetic warfare force,” one X user said. 

• Another person said, “The Democrat’s presidential nominee made it possible for this Taliban parade to happen. Yes, those are our vehicles and weapons, left behind by Biden/Harris.” 

Harris’ presidential campaign has been running far from her 3.5-year toxic track record as VP, with elderly Biden guiding rudderless foreign policy that has led the world to the brink of war. 

The Biden-Harris duo has little to show for their time in office. Even White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre could not name one of Harris’ accomplishments. 

The White House can’t name a single accomplishment of Vice President Harris.

She’s the most unpopular vice president in history, oversaw the worst border crisis ever, and stood by while Americans were crushed by high prices.

It’s a record of failure and incompetence. pic.twitter.com/niq1VSeYsn

— Guy Reschenthaler (@GReschenthaler) August 13, 2024

All Harris needs to do – is continue to avoid all press conferences and hide under the cloak of far-left corporate media that has launched a massive info war to convince the American people the person who pushed terrible economic, domestic, and foreign policy is the best choice in November.