WikiLeaks, the whistle blowing website, may have to close it’s doors, because they are running out of money. While they have not divulged information that would do any real harm to this nation, they have revealed information that was classified inappropriately, to save leaders from embarrassment, and caused much embarrassment both here and abroad.
Julian Assange, co-founder of WikiLeaks, has announced that the whistleblowing website is suspending publishing operations in order to focus on fighting a financial blockade and raise new funds.
Assange, speaking at a press conference in London on Monday, said a banking blockade had destroyed 95% of WikiLeaks’ revenues.
He added that the blockade posed an existential threat to WikiLeaks and if it was not lifted by the new year the organisation would be "simply not able to continue".
The website, behind the publication of hundreds of thousands of controversial US embassy cables in late 2010 in partnership with newspapers including the Guardian and New York Times, revealed that it was running on cash reserves after "an arbitrary and unlawful financial blockade" by the Bank of America, Visa, Mastercard, PayPal and Western Union.
WikiLeaks said in a statement: "The blockade is outside of any accountable, public process. It is without democratic oversight or transparency.
"The US government itself found that there were no lawful grounds to add WikiLeaks to a US financial blockade. But the blockade of WikiLeaks by politicised US finance companies continues regardless."… [emphasis added]
Inserted from <The Guardian>
Here’s the video.
WikiLeaks have committed illegal acts. That’s normal with civil disobedience, and the legal consequences serve to emphasize the commitment to a cause. I would like to see WikiLeaks survive. This nation classifies far too much information for all the wrong reasons, so WikiLeaks have provided a valuable service. Most important, WikiLeaks have been responsible about filtering out the kind of material that should be classified, so needed intelligence operations have not been compromised, and assets have not been killed as a result. If the US is successful in taking WikiLeaks down, others will take their place. Perhaps those others might not be so careful.
8 Responses to “WikiLeaks on the Ropes”
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Wiki Leaks has provided an invaluable watchdog SERVICE for this country, and it is infuriating that these financial institutions have all conspired to starve it to death! Those institutions are all crooked profiteers anyway, so I would recommend, as retribution, that EVERYONE WITHDRAW THEIR HOLDINGS FROM BANK OF AMERICA AND PLACE THEM INSTEAD IN A LOCAL CREDIT UNION, QUIT USING VISA AND MASTER CARD, AND NEVER USE PAYPAL OR WESTERN UNION.
Jack, I wish i could. With my disabilities I have to be able to make payments online. I support as boycott of B of A.
It’s another thing to be mad at the Banksters for.
Yes it is!
ONE MORE ACTION BY ELITIST SCUM RUNNING SCARED–
Amen!
When Wikileaks first appeared, I was quite shocked and dismayed at what I thought was their irresponsibility. But as more info emerged, the releases were heavily redacted and of little strategic value. Yes there were some embarrassing moments, but as several US government officials said, there was nothing to compromise security or on going operations.
Now they are on the ropes and of all things, who is blockading them? Not governments, not courts — financial companies such as Bank of America which has its own difficulties. I can only think that there is something hidden there that would blow B of A out of the water permanently. Let’s hope.
When they first appeared, I withheld judgement until I could see that they would be responsible. If memory serves, they have already released some damning stuff on B of A.