Topic: WorldNetDaily
You can't deny that WorldNetDaily loves its conspiracy theories. We see that again in an April 20 WND article by Cheryl Chumley:
Jade Helm 15 is set to kick off in seven states this summer, sending Special Operations forces from all four main branches of the military onto civilian soil to conduct hostile take-over training – and civil-rights advocates are sounding the alarms.
This is how the military describes it:
“The nature of warfare is always changing and U.S. Army Special Operations Command’s mission is to make certain the Army’s various Special Operations Forces are trained, equipped and organized to successfully conduct worldwide special operations in support of our nation’s interests,” said command spokesman Army Lt. Col. Mark Lastoria, in a statement to the Washington Post a few weeks ago. “Training exercise Jade Helm is going to assist our Special Operations Soldiers and leadership in refining the skills needed against an ever changing foreign threat.”But plenty on social media aren’t calmed by the explanation, in part remembering the recent similar operation in Broward County, Florida, that saw Blackhawk helicopters flying above community streets while soldiers loaded citizen participants into white vans for transport to internment camps. It was all a staged exercise but for those watching, the scenes that unfolded were alarming.
Only at WND would social media be considered a legitimate source of information.
Chumley's article includes a scary-looking photo of unidentified military-looking people in dark uniforms and carrying assault rifles marching down an unidentified to imply that this is what is happening during the Jade Helm operation (never mind that Jade Helm hasn't even started yet):
Army Lt. Col. Mark Lastoria, a USASOC spokesman, confirmed that there is an upcoming exercise called Jade Helm 15 which is scheduled to take place this summer at locations in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, California and Nevada. But he denied the event is preparation for some sort of military takeover.
“That notion was proposed by a few individuals who are unfamiliar with how and why USASOC conducts training exercises,” he said in an email. “This exercise is routine training to maintain a high level of readiness for Army Special Operations Forces because they must be ready to support potential missions anywhere in the world on a moment’s notice.”
He said the only thing unique about this particular exercise, which is slated to take place between July 15 and Sept. 15, is “the use of new challenging terrain” which was chosen because it is similar to conditions special operations forces operate in overseas.
Instead, Chumley endeavors to tie Walmart into the grand conspiracy:
Yet one more poster pointed to recent reported Wal-Mart closures in Texas, California, Florida and Oklahoma with concern, saying the cited “plumbing problems” cited as the reason for the sudden shut-downs just don’t meet the smell test.
“Employees impacted by the Wal-Mart closures were given just a few hours notice about the six-month shutdown,” the blog Inquisitr wrote. “Approximately 2,200 employees will now be without a paycheck during the ‘extended repairs.’ … The abrupt Wal-Mart closures announcement has reportedly left employees confused and Americans pondering the existence of Wal-Mart underground tunnels and Operation Jade Helm conspiracy theories.”
One of the theories?
Inquisitr reports: “One of the widely circulating rumors associated with the Jade Helm Wal-Mart story on the Internet speculates that the military will use the underground tunnels to move undetected around certain states with the stores being used as either a communications hub or FEMA camps.”
The fear is ratcheted by the fact city officials who govern the areas of the impacted Wal-Marts say the stores haven’t filed any permit requests for plumbing problems, Inquisitr said.
Needless to say, Chumley doesn't mention the far more likely reason those Walmart stores abruptly closed: an atempt to short-circult union activity. CBS reported:
Walmart's plumbing problems have flushed out a potentially embarrassing labor situation.
The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union has filed a claim with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that Walmart's (WMT) recent closing of five stores was done in retaliation for a history of labor activism at one of the locations, rather than because of the plumbing problems the retailer cited, The New York Times reports. The union is asking the government agency for an injunction that would require Walmart to rehire the 2,200 workers who were temporarily laid off or affected by the closings.
Since Walmart closed the five stores this month, citing plumbing problems as the cause, suspicions were aroused, especially because one shuttered location was the site of the first U.S. strike at a Walmart store. One employee at that store, located in Pico Rivera, California, told CBS Los Angeles that some co-workers believed the company was targeting employees who had spoken out against Walmart's labor practices.
But then, a corporate attack on unions isn't as sexy as a New World Order conspiracy theory for Chumley and WND.
