TiLTNews Network: Earth Watch - Freedom is defined by the ability of citizens to live without government interference, not by safety. It is easy to clamor for government security when terrible things happen; but liberty is given true meaning when we support it without exception, and we will be safer for it ~ Dr. Ron Paul
‘Our society attaches privilege to being white and male and heterosexual.’
(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that it obtained documents from the United States Department of the Army revealing that in April 2015, 400 soldiers in the 67th Signal Battalion at Fort Gordon, Georgia, were subjected to a “white privilege” briefing, including a PowerPoint presentation instructing the attendees: “Our society attaches privilege to being white and male and heterosexual …”
The slideshow also informed the soldiers: “Race privilege gives whites little reason to pay a lot of attention to African Americans.” It alleged that there are unspecified “powerful forces everywhere” keeping different kinds of people from being valued, accepted, and appreciated, but “we act as if it doesn’t exist.” This alleged privilege creates a “yawning divide” in income, wealth, and dignity. The material described a mythical African woman who isn’t aware that she’s black until she comes to America, encounters “white racism” and discovers the U.S. is “organized according to race.”
The Department of the Army documents were obtained in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking:
Any and all materials used in an Equal Opportunity briefing provided on April 2, 2015, to the 67th Signal Battalion at Fort Gordon, Georgia, which included a discussion of “white privilege,” including but not limited to, handouts, PowerPoint presentations, audio/video tapes, course syllabi, and any recordings of the presentation itself.
The response to the Judicial Watch FOIA request included the entire Equal Opportunity Training PowerPoint presentation entitled “Power and Privilege,” which states:
Privilege exists when one group has something of value that is denied to others simply because of the groups they belong to, rather than because of anything they’ve done or failed to do.
Privilege has become one of those loaded words we need to reclaim so that we can use it to name and illuminate the truth
***
Race privilege gives whites little reason to pay a lot of attention to African Americans or to how white privilege affects them. “To be white in American [sic] means not having to think about it” [Quotation not attributed]
***
Our society attaches privilege to being white and male and heterosexual regardless of your social class.
***
Imagine a school or a workplace where all kinds of people feel comfortable showing up. [sic] valued, accepted, supported, appreciated, respected, belonging. [sic] Something very powerful keeps this from us.
The truth of this powerful forces [sic] is everywhere, but we don’t know how to talk about it and so we act as though it doesn’t exist
The trouble we’re in privileges [sic] some groups at the expense of others.
It creates a yawning divide in levels of income, wealth, dignity, safety, health and quality of life.
It promotes fear, suspicion, discrimination, harassment, and violence.
***
Consider the “black woman” in Africa who has not experienced white racism and does not identify herself as a “black woman”. African, a woman, but not black.
She only became “black” when she came to the U.S. where privilege is organized according to race, where she is assigned to a social category that bears that name and she is treated differently as a result. [Emphasis added]
***
The trouble we’re in can’t be solved unless the “privileged” make the problem of privilege their problem and do something about it.
The fact that it’s so easy for me and other people in dominant groups not to do this is the single most powerful barrier to change.
Though news of the indoctrination incident was briefly reported in Stars and Stripes shortly after it occurred, only one of the above slides previously has been made public. Confronted with the information at the time, an Army spokesperson claimed the presentation was not officially sanctioned.
Judicial Watch previously obtained Defense Department equal opportunity training materials that depict conservative organizations as “hate groups” and advise students to be aware that “many extremists will talk of individual liberties, states’ rights, and how to make the world a better place.” And last month, Judicial Watch uncovered Air Force Academy documents that show how the Academy used its “Chapel Tithes and Offering Fund” to pay for cadets to participate in worship services featuring witchcraft, “Faery Magick,” and voodoo.
“Outrageous – that is the only word to describe this type of raw racist indoctrination,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “The Obama administration undermines the morale of our military with morally repugnant ‘equal opportunity training’ that makes many soldiers feel unwelcome because they are the wrong sex, race, religion or aren’t part of a politically correct group.”
Kurt Nimmo | Infowars.com - MARCH 14, 2016 56 Comments
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the “main part” of his military to begin withdrawing from Syria.
“I consider the mission set for the Defense Ministry and the armed forces on the whole has been accomplished,” he said during a meeting at the Kremlin. “I am therefore ordering the Defense Ministry to begin the withdrawal of the main part of our military force from the Syrian Arab Republic from tomorrow.”
Putin did not specify how many troops would leave. He said, however, Russia’s Hmeimim airbase and its Mediterranean port at Tartus will continue normal operations.
Ceasefire Violations
Numerous violations of a US and Russian brokered ceasefire have occurred since February 27.
On Monday the Russian Defense Ministry said the ceasefire was violated at least 14 times over the last 24 hours in Latakia, Daraa, Damascus and Hama.
The ministry blamed Ahrar al-Sham for a mortar attack on Klyaba Kinsiba and Jabal-Alakaya in the Latakia province.
Ahrar al-Sham is backed by Saudi Arabia. Its goal is to remove al-Assad and establish and Islamic government and impose sharia law in Syria.
The United States and France have warned the government of Bashar al-Assad about responding to attacks by groups that have not signed on to the ceasefire and Secretary of State John Kerry has warned the Syrian government and Russia against “testing boundaries.”
Plan B: A Return to War
The Russian withdrawal follows the start of a new round of peace talks in Geneva to resolve the conflict. The agenda includes UN Security Council resolution 2254 focusing on the formation of a new transitional government, issues of governance, a new constitution and UN-monitored presidential and parliamentary elections within 18 months.
The Saudi-backed High Negotiations Committee (HNC) insists al-Assad will have no part in a new government. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallam said any talk of removing Assad during the transitional period was “a red line.”
Kerry characterized al-Moallam’s remark as “a spoiler” designed to derail peace talks.
Staffan de Mistura, a Swedish-Italian diplomat who is the UN special envoy to Syria, said the alternative to the US and Saudi deal is a return to war.
“As far as I know the only Plan B is a return to war, and a much worse war than before,” he said.
The newest version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) includes an amendment that would legalize the use of propaganda on the American public, reports Michael Hastings ofBuzzFeed.
The amendment — proposed by Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) and Adam Smith (D-Wash.) and passed in the House last Friday afternoon — would effectively nullify the Smith-Mundt Act of 1948, which explicitly forbids information and psychological operations aimed at influencing U.S. public opinion.
Thornberry said that the current law “ties the hands of America’s diplomatic officials, military, and others by inhibiting our ability to effectively communicate in a credible way,” according to Buzzfeed.
The vote came two days after a federal judged ruledthat an indefinite detention provision in the annual defense bill was unconstitutional.
Lt. Col. Daniel Davis, who released a highly critical report regarding the distortion of truth by senior military officials in Iraq and Afghanistan, dedicated a section of his report to Information Operations (IO) and states that after Desert Storm the military wanted to transform IO "into a core military competency on a par with air, ground, maritime and special operations."
Davis defines IO as "the integrated employment of electronic warfare (EW), computer network operations (CNO), psychological operations (PSYOP), military deception (MILDEC), and operations security (OPSEC), in concert with specified supporting and related capabilities, to influence, disrupt, corrupt or usurp adversarial human and automated decision making while protecting our own."
IO are primarily used to target foreign audiences, but Davis cites numerous senior leaders who want to (in the words of Colonel Richard B. Leap) "protect a key friendly center of gravity, to wit US national will" by repealing the Smith-Mundt Act to allow the direct deployment of these tactics on the American public.
Davis quotes Brigadier General Ralph O. Baker — the Pentagon officer responsible for the Department of Defense’s Joint Force Development (i.e. Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines) — who defines IO as activities undertaken to "shape the essential narrative of a conflict or situation and thus affect the attitudes and behaviors of the targeted audience" andequates descriptions of combat operations with standard marketing strategies:
For years, commercial advertisers have based their advertisement strategies on the premise that there is a positive correlation between the number of times a consumer is exposed to product advertisement and that consumer’s inclination to sample the new product. The very same principle applies to how we influence our target audiences when we conduct COIN.
Davis subsequently explains the "cumulative failure of our nation’s major media in every category" as they continually interviewed only those senior U.S. officials who had top-level access, even as the officials given that clearance were required to stick to "talking points" given to them by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
If the NDAA goes into effect in its current form, the State Department and Pentagon can go beyond manipulating mainstream media outlets and directly disseminate campaigns of misinformation to the U.S. public.
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Saturday, March 12, 2016: GOP Presidential candidate Donald Trump held a campaign rally in Kansas City, MO at Arvest Bank Theatre at The Midland. Mr. Trump was interrupted by protesters several times, but eventually they shut up after he threatened to have them arrested.
Friday, March 11, 2016: GOP Presidential candidate Donald Trump held a campaign rally in St. Louis, MO at the Peabody Opera House. He was endorsed by conservative icon Phyllis Schlafly at the event.
By GABBY MORRONGIELLO (@GABRIELLAHOPE_) • 3/11/16 2:00 PM
Conservative icon Phyllis Schlafly, who led the charge against the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s, has endorsed Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump.
The 91-year-old pro-family activist, who previously called Trump the "last hope for America," took the podium at Trump's campaign rally Friday afternoon in St. Louis to formally announce her support for the New York billionaire.
"I was born and grew up here, went to school and college in St. Louis and it's a great city," Schlafly told the crowd. "I welcome you all, this is the heart of America and I'm glad to meet a great American," she said of Trump.
"I want to thank Phyllis. She is a great lady," Trump said minutes later. "This is a great, great lady. Very exceptional."
Adan Salazar | Infowars.com - MARCH 11, 2016 21 Comments
Leading GOP candidate Donald Trump lambasted the media Thursday for attempting to draw comparisons between fervent supporters at his rallies and Nazi Germany.
Comments appear at 1:33:05.
After condemning violence at his campaign assemblies during the CNN debate in Miami, Trump went on to criticize the media and in particular the Today Show for suggesting his supporters were signaling a Nazi salute.
Here’s the transcript via CNN:
TRUMP: It shows the total dishonesty of the press. We were having — on a few occasions, again massive crowds. And we’re talking and I’m saying who is going to vote on Tuesday? Who is going to vote? The place goes crazy. Then I say, hey, do me a favor. Raise your right hand. Do you swear you’re going to vote for Donald Trump?
Everyone’s laughing, we’re all having a good time. That’s why I have much bigger crowds than Ted, because we have a good time at mine.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: But we’re all having a good time and the next day, on the Today Show and a couple of other place, not too many. Because when you look at it, everyone’s smiling, laughing. Their arms are raised like this. They had pictures, still pictures of people and they tried to equate it to Nazi Germany.
(BELL RINGS)
It is a disgrace. It was a total disgrace. And I’ve had reporters, people that you know, come up to me and said that — what they did on the Today Show was a disgrace.
Trump Tags: GOP. RepublicansTrump, GOP, President of the United States, POTUS, Patriot, #Trump2016, #MakeAmericaGreatAgainElections 2016Trump, GOP, President of the United States, POTUS, Patriot, #Trump2016, #MakeAmericaGreatAgainTrump
(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced a D.C. Court of Appeals hearing, scheduled for Wednesday, March 2, on a taxpayer lawsuit Judicial Watch filed against the District of Columbia Health Benefit Exchange Authority to stop Congress from participating in DC’s Obamacare “Small Business Exchange” (Kirby Vining v. Executive Board of D.C. Health Benefit Exchange Authority, et al. (No. 15-cv-242)). The benefit at issue is popularly known as Congress’s Obamacare exemption.
The lawsuit, which names the District of Colombia Health Benefit Exchange Authority and its officials as defendants, was filed on October 15, 2014, on behalf of D.C. taxpayer Kirby Vining in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. D.C. law limits participation in the exchange to small businesses employing 50 or fewer full-time employees. Vining, a District of Columbia resident since 1986, seeks to prevent the Exchange Authority from allowing at least 12,359 members of Congress, congressional staffers, their spouses and dependents to purchase health insurance in D.C.’s Small Business Exchange.
Date: Wednesday, March 2
Time: 9:30 am ET
Location: D.C. Court of Appeals
Historic Courthouse
Courtroom 1
The lawsuit first exposed fraudulent applications filed by the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate with the D.C. Exchange Authority. The applications, which were obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, show that the House and Senate claimed to have only 45 employees each. They also show that the House and Senate attested to having “50 or fewer full-time equivalent employees.” Congress employs upwards of 20,000 people. The applications also falsely state that the House and Senate are “local/state governments.” The “electronic signature” section of the application includes the following language:
I’ve provided true and correct information to all the questions on this form to the best of my knowledge. I know that if I’m not truthful, there may be a penalty.
The actual names of the signatories were blacked out by the D.C. Exchange in the documents Judicial Watch obtained. The taxpayer lawsuit seeks to prevent at least $77 million in District funds from being used to help Congress violate the restrictions imposed on it by the Obamacare law. The fraudulent Obamacare applications filed by Congress resulted in an U.S. Senate investigation led by Senator David Vitter (R-LA). (Separately, Judicial Watch, Citizens Against Government Waste, and eight other public interest groups filed an ethics complaint with the Senate Ethics Committee.)
On January 7, 2015, the D.C. government admitted that the law does not allow for Congress to obtain benefits on the Exchange, but also argued that the Office of Personnel Management could override the District’s law. The case was dismissed on February 25, 2015, despite the continued fraudulent use of D.C. monies to provide special health benefits to Congress.
In its appeal, Judicial Watch argues that the D.C. Exchange Authority has knowingly allowed Congress to participate in the Small Business Exchange, despite the fact that Congress employs thousands of individuals:
Since November 2013, the Exchange Authority has allowed the U.S. House of Representatives … and the U.S. Senate … to use the Small Business Exchange to provide health insurance to some (but not all) congressional employees, including members of Congress and these employees’ spouses and dependents … At all relevant times, Defendants have known that the House and the Senate were participating in the Small Business Exchange to provide health insurance to some (but not all) congressional employees … As of February 9, 2014, at least 12,359 congressional employees and their dependents had obtained health insurance through the Small Business Exchange. These 12,359 persons represent approximately 86 percent of the 14,289 persons enrolled in the Small business Exchange between October 1, 2013 and September 9, 2014.
Judicial Watch also argues that in light of the district’s use of municipal funds to pay for the D.C. small business exchange, Kirby Vining, a longtime D.C. resident, has standing to file a grievance as a D.C. resident and taxpayer.
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