[Peace-discuss] Ben Norton & Primo Nutmeg on Democracy Now!, Danny Haiphong on DN from 2017

[J.B. Nicholson]

In Ben Norton's recent interview with Primo Nutmeg 
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAvC_zzWN9k) at 6m 12s the two get into what 
happened to Democracy Now (DN) and Norton sheds some light on why DN is "running 
interference for imperialism in Syria" (as Danny Haiphong rightly put it in May 2017 
in 
https://ahtribune.com/world/north-africa-south-west-asia/syria-crisis/1657-democracy-now-syria.html 
(copies are found on other sites as well[1]).

Why does DN (which used to be known for challenging lies that lead to war as DN did 
during the run-up to the 2003 US/UK-led invasion of Iraq) "lend legitimacy to the 
imperialist line in Syria" (quoting Haiphong): Because that's the narrative its 
funders want it to provide.

 From Danny Haiphong aforementioned article:
> Democracy Now runs interference for imperialism because it is beholden to funding 
> sources, as are numerous non-profits and non-governmental organizations. Just as 
> Gopal is a product of the New America Foundation, so too is Democracy Now! a 
> product of the Pacifica Foundation’s benefactors. An analysis conducted in 
> Critical Sociology[2] found that the Pacifica Foundation received upwards of
> 148,000 USD between the years of 1996-1998 from the Ford, Carnegie, and other
> foundations to launch Democracy Now. The Lannan Foundation gave Democracy Now an
> additional 375,000 USD packaged in a number of grants, according to the
> foundation’s IRS 990 forms since 2008[3]. Patrick Lannan, the capitalist mogul who
> founded the organization, sat on the board of ITT corporation in the late 70s and
> early 80s[4]. The ITT corporation was instrumental in the CIA-backed fascist coup
> that overthrew the democratically elected socialist Salvador Allende in 1973.
> 
> So-called international non-profits such as the Ford Foundation have a long 
> history of receiving enormous donations from the wealthiest individuals and 
> corporations to achieve imperialism’s objectives around the world. Foundations 
> wield a form of “soft power” on behalf of US imperialism. Their main purpose is
> to provide a “civil society” infrastructure in targeted nations capable of
> fomenting conditions of regime change. This has been a general condition
> throughout Latin America. Foundations such as the National Endowment for Democracy
> and the Ford Foundation have been caught supporting right-wing opposition groups
> waging destabilization campaigns against Left governments in Venezuela[5],
> Ecuador[6], and Bolivia[7].
> 
> So it should come as no surprise that Democracy Now! lends legitimacy to the 
> imperialist narrative in Syria. Democracy Now! is “independent” in name only. 
> Democracy Now’s staff is beholden to funding sources that hold a large stake in 
> the creation of a humanitarian face for imperialism. So while the outlet may 
> present news and facts on US domestic issues largely left out of the corporate 
> press, it remains a dangerous source of misinformation on the international frot. 
> Only a distorted worldview can arise from the lies presented by Amy Goodman’s 
> coverage of Syria.

[1] 
https://theiranproject.com/blog/2017/05/15/democracy-now-runs-interference-imperialism-syria/
https://www.globalresearch.ca/democracy-now-runs-interference-for-imperialism-in-syria/5590162
https://riseuptimes.org/2017/05/21/democracy-now-runs-interference-for-imperialism-in-syria/comment-page-1/ 
(which includes an editorial note)
http://www.shoah.org.uk/2017/05/15/democracy-now-runs-interference-for-imperialism-in-syria/
https://21stcenturywire.com/2017/05/22/democracy-now-the-shattering-of-its-independent-facade-on-the-rocks-of-syrian-war-reality/
[2] 
https://isgp-studies.com/miscellaneous/2014_08_Coast_to_Coast/2007-bob-feldman-left-media-and-left-think-tanks-foundations.pdf
[3] http://www.wrongkindofgreen.org/tag/democracy-now/
[4] 
http://www.wrongkindofgreen.org/2015/03/24/flashback-democracy-now-show-funder-censors-anti-war-journalist-john-pilger/
[5] http://www.chavezcode.com/2014/04/the-dirty-hand-of-national-endowment.html
[6] 
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Foreign-Funded-NGOs-in-Ecuador-Trojan-Horse-for-Intervention-20170217-0013.html
[7] 
https://thewrongkindofgreen.wordpress.com/2011/11/23/u-s-funded-democracy-centre-reveals-its-real-reason-for-supporting-the-tipnis-protest-in-bolivia-redd/