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Censorship and Gatekeepers: When “Left Progressives” Mingle with Neocons
By J. Michael Springmann
Global Research, May 19, 2017

Url of this article:
https://www.globalresearch.ca/censorship-and-gatekeepers-when-left-progressives-mingle-with-neocons/5590866

The Left in the United States is fond of saying one thing in support of its programs, yet, generally does something entirely different. It also seems to have strange bedfellows. Here are a few examples:

The Left Forum brings together national and international politics, people, ideas, and activism for a just, equitable, free, sustainable world beyond capitalism. 

Originally founded in the 1960s, the Left Forum is holding its annual meeting June 2-4, 2017. Its situation is symptomatic of the American Left and its self-created problems. Embroiled this year in a vicious controversy over speakers and panels, the Forum is struggling with censorship, religion, and political correctness–but refuses to acknowledge its problems or explain its actions.

Image result for left forum

Given such statements and procedures, some people have questioned the Left’s attitude.

Gilad Atzmon, the Israeli Jew, musician, one-time soldier, and political writer, talks often about the Treacherous Left, the people more concerned with homosexual marriage than war, peace, or prosperity. In New York City’s East Village in early May 2017, Atzmon spoke on the

“tyranny of political correctness,” saying it was in fact “worse than tyranny, because it is self-censorship. It is you who silence yourself.”

Sarah Ferguson, author of an account in The Villager of his talk, asked

“What is the relationship between the Left and Free Speech? And is some speech so beyond the pale, that it’s wrong to even engage in debate?”

Given the hostility shown Atzmon at that event, this was not a rhetorical question. Too many set themselves up as arbiters of free speech. In the words of Swiss publicist, Frank A. Meyer, the media have become “moral executioners”. He noted that anyone making forbidden inquiries about government-promoted policies is punished. He said they are denounced as racist, right-wing populists, in extreme cases as fascists. (Meyer, Frank A. “Berlin-Anschlag Deutscher Winter 2016” (Berlin Attack German Winter 2016), Focus Online, December 25, 2016.)

And that is why the Left really is sinister, pun intended.

Look at the “progressives” who did not criticize Hillary Clinton‘s wild charges that Russian influence cost her the election. Look at the Leftists who refused to challenge Barack H. Obama‘s destruction of Libya and Syria. Where were the howls of rage? Where were the incandescent editorials in major newspapers? The journalist Bob Parry lost several jobs at mainstream publications because he would not color his reporting to fit management’s views (to protect their ties to government). No one from the Left protested. The “liberal” press, such as the Washington Post, the New York Times, and the Los Angeles Times savaged Gary Webb for publicizing CIA drug-dealing in support of Iran-Contra. Yet, no one from the sinister Gauche took to the streets, even after he “committed suicide” by shooting himself in the head–twice.

Image result for democracy nowAnd where is Democracy Now with its perceived credibility? A supposed “leftist”, the TV show’s host, Amy Goodman, is generously funded by globalist foundations. As a result, she is now a gatekeeper, promoting regime change in Syria. On May 3, 2017, Goodman interviewed Anand Gopal, former fellow at the New America Foundation. He claimed “Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad [is] the cause of all suffering in Syria.” (Haiphong, Danny. “‘Democracy Now’ Runs Interference for Imperialism in Syria”, Global Research, May, 15, 2017.) In yet another article, Democracy Now’s public face “is contributing to the very violence being committed by Western-backed mercenaries against the Syrian people.” (Tracy, James F.  “‘Progressive’ Journalism’s Legacy of Deceit”, Global Research, July 20, 2012.)

Mrs. Goodman will not touch a hot topic with a 10-foot pole or a 12-foot hungarian. This author sent her a copy of his book, Visas for Al Qaeda: CIA Handouts That Rocked The World, suggesting it  might be of interest to her program.  Dead silence. No one at Democracy Now responded to follow-up letters, emails, and telephone calls. (Copies of his upcoming publication, Goodbye, Europe? Hello Chaos? Merkel’s Migrant Bomb will go elsewhere.)

On December 18, 2016, the CBS “news” show 60 Minutes promoted the Syrian White Helmets (who work only in terrorist-controlled areas). According to the program, …

“[T]he trained force of 3,000 rescue workers offer Syrian civilians their only hope.”

Yet, “the Left” did not attack this fake news. (Cf. Global Research and 21st Century Wire for real news about the Helmets and their unsavory activities, connections, and background.)

The Left, as is clear from the foregoing, is controlled by gatekeepers. What are they? Who are they? What do they do? They control access.

Gatekeepers rarely challenge their own position as gatekeepers. They are simply right. They are more knowledgeable, more level-headed, more experienced, and more invested in the future of whatever movements they belong to. They know what is best and will enforce it for the greater good. They find themselves saying, “That is not appropriate,” or “That is counterproductive,” or “Why do you have to make this about you when it’s about us? (“Why It’s Important To Challenge The Power Of Gatekeepers”, TheEstablishment.com, July 7, 2016.)

Like the Left Forum, 60 Minutes, and Amy Goodman, Medea (given name Susan) Benjamin is another gatekeeper. She is well-heeled and well-connected.

…during the 2004 Presidential campaign, Benjamin’s message and tone began to shift dramatically into what came to be known as the “ABB” movement—Anybody But Bush. She and eighty fellow prominent leaders who once formed the one hundred-thirteen member “Nader 2000 Citizens Committee” put forth a petition urging anti-war Nader not to run, and instead threw their support behind pro-war Democratic Party candidate John Kerry… Benjamin cajoled [the] Greens into neither nominating Nader nor giving him the official endorsement he and running mate Peter Camejo had publicly sought from the party. (Shaw, Charles.  “The Gatekeepers of the So-Called Left”, Conspiracy Archive, May 16, 2005.)

Leftist gatekeepers appear to have connections with the Central Intelligence Agency. The “liberal” magazine Nation has ties to the Agency and its former director William Casey, founder of the Manhattan Institute, an alleged free market think tank.

But who funds the Gatekeepers? One organization is the Ford Foundation, “with a raft  of joint  Foundation-CIA projects”.

Investigative journalist Bob Feldman identifies several alternative media outlets receiving Ford Foundation funding (based on their tax returns).

As Feldman points out, these outlets has systematically marginalized independent researchers who have systematically studied…the JFK and other political assassinations. (Bramhall, Dr. Stuart Jeanne. “Does the CIA Fund Both the Right and the Left ?”, March 17, 2015, normanpilon.com).

Why does this happen? How does this happen? Is it because too many people are pig-stupid and badly educated? Is it because they put their trust in the wrong places? Here’s an explanation from a reader of the German translation of Visas for Al Qaeda (Die CIA und de Terror, Kopp Verlag.):

People here have too much faith in America…I told my sister about your book. She is a medical doctor and not stupid, but as in many cases she does not have enough time to figure out on her own the political picture. She saw what I told her from your book as a “conspiracy theory.” Al-Assad is an inhuman dictator, the US helps democracy in the Near East, etc. It is almost hopeless.

In the end, it’s the influence of special interest groups. Their members worm their way into power in Leftist media, organizations, and factions. Working together for particular interests, they block alternative viewpoints, limiting the public’s ability to know, to learn, to compare disparate ideas and viewpoints.

As the Washington Post now claims on its masthead,

“Democracy Dies In Darkness”.

Disclaimer: The contents of this article are of sole responsibility of the author(s). The Centre for Research on Globalization will not be responsible for any inaccurate or incorrect statement in this article.