RAW STORY IS:
CARBON BALANCED; ALL CARBON EMISSIONS ARE OFFSET!

MasterCard, Visa shut down electronic donations to WikiLeaks

By Stephen C. Webster
Tuesday, December 7th, 2010 -- 11:30 am

EXCLUSIVE UPDATE: Mobile payments firm Xipwire, Inc. steps up to aid WikiLeaks

mastercardvisa MasterCard, Visa shut down electronic donations to WikiLeaksThe Philadelphia, PA-based mobile payments firm Xipwire, Inc. said Tuesday that it would act as an intermediary for WikiLeaks after the world's largest credit card providers halted all electronic donations to the non-profit media outlet.

"We do think people should be able to make their own decisions as to who they donate to," Xipwire co-founder Sibyl Lindsay told Raw Story during a Tuesday afternoon telephone interview. "The fact that people can't donate to where they'd like to and make that decision for themselves does bother us."

The company has set up a page where WikiLeaks supporters can donate, saying it will waive all related fees.

"Our motivation is really simple," Xipwire founder Sharif Aleandre explained in an email. "While people may or may not agree with WikiLeaks and the documents it has released, we feel that PayPal's recent decision to refuse to process donations on their behalf effectively silences voices in this democracy. In fact, it was the Citizens United case that basically equated donations with free speech and if the Supreme Court decided that our government doesn't have the power to regulate that speech then it's our opinion that corporations certainly shouldn't have that power either."

Lindsay added that WikiLeaks supporters would be able to donate either via their website, or via text message if they have a Xipwire account. Current Xipwire users can text WL to 56624 to make a $10 pledge. Non-account holders who contact the number will receive a link to a page where donations can be made.

An earlier report follows...

Greenwald: 'What's really going on here is a war over control of the Internet'

No government on the planet has declared the actions of media website WikiLeaks "illegal," but one of the largest credit card companies in the world now has.

MasterCard Worldwide said Monday afternoon that it would block any further electronic donations to WikiLeaks, claiming they are engaged in "illegal activities" that violate the company's terms of service.

"MasterCard rules prohibit customers from directly or indirectly engaging in or facilitating any action that is illegal," company spokesman Chris Monteiro told C-Net late Monday.

On Tuesday morning, Visa Europe also said it would suspend payments to WikiLeaks, but did not pass judgment on the group's legality. A Visa spokeswoman told the BBC that the firm had launched an investigation into their business with WikiLeaks and that not all payments could be stopped right away.

Thanks to the credit card carriers' decisions, traditional postal mail now stands as WikiLeaks' only remaining financial lifeline.

A request for comment lodged with MasterCard's corporate public relations office, seeking elaboration on what it considers "illegal" about WikiLeaks' actions, went unanswered.

Both credit card providers will still allow electronic donations to controversial and hate-based groups like the Ku Klux Klan, according to The Guardian.

Approximately 1 percent of the 250,000+ US State Department cables have been published online and the vast majority have been released by professional news organizations.

MasterCard has not taken similar actions against papers like The Guardian or The New York Times, which have released and described many more secret diplomatic cables than WikiLeaks.

MasterCard is only the latest corporate actor to join the fight against WikiLeaks: earlier in the week, Swiss bank PostFinance suspended an account dedicated to the legal defense of the site's co-founder, Julian Assange. Their move followed online payments bank PayPal, owned by California-based eBay, Inc., which froze the WikiLeaks donations account and over $61,000 along with it.

After PostFinance's revelation that they'd terminated their relationship with Assange, a group of hackers calling themselves "Operation Payback" succeeded in taking the bank's website offline. They threatened to "fire" on any other corporate entity that attempts to censor WikiLeaks.

Similarly, Daniel Ellsberg, the man behind the so-called "Pentagon Papers" -- which was the largest disclosure of secret US government information until WikiLeaks began publishing documents from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars -- called for free speech advocates to launch a boycott of Amazon for censoring the site.

The site also recently saw its electronic home on the Amazon.com cloud servers shut down after the online retailer was contacted by staff for Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT). Assange suggested that if Amazon was "uncomfortable" with free speech, they should stop selling books. WikiLeaks was also temporarily taken down by ostensibly state-sponsored denial of service attacks on its .org domain, but within days its online supporters responded by mirroring WikiLeaks on nearly 750 different domains.

Assange, the 39-year-old former hacker who founded the WikiLeaks media organization, was arrested in London on Tuesday on a warrant stemming from a Swedish rape investigation. Assange and his attorney have maintained that he's innocent of wrongdoing .

In spite of Assange's arrest, WikiLeaks said it would continue working with media partners around the world to ensure to documents continue receiving international exposure.

"Whatever you think of WikiLeaks, they’ve never been charged with a crime, let alone indicted or convicted... They’ve been essentially removed from the internet... Their funds have been frozen... Leading politicians and media figures have called for their assassination, their murder, to be labeled a terrorist organization," attorney Glenn Greenwald told Democracy Now on Tuesday.

"What’s really going on here is a war over control of the internet and whether or not the internet can actually serve what a lot of people hoped its ultimate purpose was, which was to allow citizens to band together and democratize the checks on the world’s most powerful factions."

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Vetch-Jones/577392048 Vetch Jones

    Of course. He threatened to expose financial institutions shady (substitute illegal and underhanded) activities to the public. Wasn’t Bank of America to be his next target. Of course they are going to block him, steal his money and ensure that he stays in jail. Scary? You all need to be afraid. Next, they are coming for you.

  • http://topsy.com/www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/12/mastercard-shuts-donations-wikileaks-calling-site-illegal/?utm_source=pingback&utm_campaign=L2 Tweets that mention MasterCard, Visa shut down electronic donations to WikiLeaks | Raw Story — Topsy.com

    [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by The Raw Story, Jorge Salazar, ibnkafka, violeta serbu, Glossology and others. Glossology said: RT @RawStory: MasterCard, Visa cut off WikiLeaks http://su.pr/1LsIsX [...]

  • Anonymous

    This stuff is right out of Orwell’s “1984″. “Thoughtcrime does not entail death: thoughtcrime is death.” And it looks like the Thought Police are winning……

  • Anonymous

    Visa and MC have had their monopoly long enough… it’s time to end it. Assange’s threat against BofA(the worst bank EVER) is probably key to the reason they cut off wikileaks.

    It’s time to release the poison pill and bring down the banking monopolies once and for all.

    The People are suffering… it’s time for those rich bastards to go down with us. I hope to see VISA’s and BofA’s president in a dark alley after their fall. I’ll give them a lesson in how to treat the People.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1296754962 Mark Rutkowski

    Well, this should remove any lingering doubt that the politicians and the bankers are actually the same entity.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=794020220 Jason Vajgrt

    This is fucking disgusting. Welcome to America, land of the guilty until proven innocent. I’ve downloaded the site’s contents. Not sure what I’ll do with it, but I’ll know when I get there, I have a long winter break to get to reading all of these articles.

  • Anonymous

    SO MUCH FOR FREE SPEECH.BIG BUSINESS AND CORRPUT GOVTS HAVE POUNDED DOWN A MAN WHO EXPOSED THIER LIES AND DECEIT..AND THEN ARRESTED FOR HAVING CONSENSUAL SEX WITHOUT A CONDOM WITH A PAIR OF TRAMPS,ONE WHO WORKS FOR OUR CIA….HMMMM SOUNDS SETUP AND ALITTLE FISHY TO ME…

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_3JBRGLH27DAEHFD6HOTJRTYJ6I Rick Dobbs

    WOW This is all a result of stupid fucking Americans electing REPUBLICANS.

    STOP ELECTING THESE RICH POWER HUNGRY CONTROL FREAK FUCKS THEY ARE DESTROYING OUR DEMOCRACY.

  • Anonymous

    I really want to see a lawsuit on this bull crap. Something tells me that this has more to do with corporate fear over what Wiki may have on some banks and corporations. In the meantime what’s preventing a nonprofit being set up for WikiLeaks, of course, under a not quite so transparent name.

  • Anonymous

    I’ve just cancelled mastercard as of two minutes ago.

  • Don Corleone

    This is what happens when everything goes electronic.

    This is not good, people.

  • Anonymous

    No, its about the precedent. This is a controlled takedown of the government’s own operation (wikileaks). In a year or so you could be reading the same thing about alternative news sites being blacklisted and financially cut off. Gotta stop them evawl information terrorists.

  • Anonymous

    It’s only a matter of time before the United States government restricts news organizations from reporting on Wikileaks. Then they’ll start cracking down on internet websites.

    The only news allowed will be that approved by the Dept. of Homeland Security.

    “If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear”.
    George Orwell

  • Hologram5

    It’s already happening:
    http://leosigh.com/?p=1459

    All the war-propaganda, all the screaming and lies and hatred, comes invariably from people who are not fighting.
    George Orwell

  • Rush Goofbaugh

    Hmmmmm… judge, jury and executioner…. Nice. I just got a Discover card and didn’t have to reveal my SSN to do it. Just like Amazon…. bye bye Visa. Supportes of corporate christian war criminals don’t get my money.

  • Anonymous

    I don’t believe it. The last leak was supposed to be some big expose of on-going corruption between world governments, and all we got was planted propaganda setting up Iran and some juicy rumors about dictators and their fat nurse fuck buddies. Wikileaks = psychological warfare operation to give Homeland Security complete control over the internet.

  • Anonymous

    This truly is a seminal event.

  • Anonymous

    Let’s face it; Corporations have been grabbing more of the Common Good ever since they were first conceptualized. It’s their nature.

    Their goal is to survive. Profit is survival for them. And due to the way they are structured and their place in our society, their survival and that of the humans are pitted against each other. If one thrives, the other withers. And at this point in history, they have more rights than human citizens but without any responsibility toward the human Common Good.

    In most States, pulling their charter is no longer an option.

    This is war, and they’ve fired the first shot by now proclaiming that they are the Law. That constitutes an invasion of every sovereign nation of humans in which they do business either directly or indirectly. And they must be stopped.

  • Anonymous

    What are these people so afraid of? To wit: most Western nations, several very large dot.com business, and international police agencies all have a hard on to keep this under control (they are obviously doing a very poor job).

    Guys, what are you trying to hide?

    Heheh. Watch the Powers That Be squirm.

  • yvonneo

    This is all about the fact that Wikileaks’ next document release was going to be about the banksters/corporations.

    “…Sitting for a rare interview in a London garden flat on a rainy November day, he compares what he is ready to unleash to the damning e-mails that poured out of the Enron trial: a comprehensive vivisection of corporate bad behavior. “You could call it the ecosystem of corruption,” he says, refusing to characterize the coming release in more detail. “But it’s also all the regular decision making that turns a blind eye to and supports unethical practices: the oversight that’s not done, the priorities of executives, how they think they’re fulfilling their own self-interest.””

    http://blogs.forbes.com/andygreenberg/2010/11/29/wikileaks-julian-assange-wants-to-spill-your-corporate-secrets/

    Wikileaks release those documents–ASAP!!

  • Anonymous

    this is truely becoming surreal and it is moving like lighting

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_SG3UMGTR653T733YHMWNMGKQCE Skyguy

    Dear Mr. Assange,

    I have a nice life and make a comfortable living with a really fun and unique business. I love where I am in life and what I have achieved. However, despite the harm it may cause me personally I say it is time to release everything you have, including the “Poison Pill”.

    There is no excuse for our Governments actions and they as you are aware, are completely insane. Body scanners, car scanners, TV screens at Walmart….. “Report all suspicious activity” “Protect the Homeland” Add to that the ability to attack Wikileaks though the financial institutions without any charges filed against the organization and I immediately think of Nazi Germany. All we need now is a convenient scapegoat, oh wait I forgot about the Muslims………

    You have an opportunity that over 6 millions Jews would have liked to have. Cut the head from this serpent before it is to late.

    I would prefer chaos to complacency, I would rather hunt for food and water and live in a cave in the Sierras than be “safe”………….

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/John-Wilson/1831304678 John Wilson

    When I saw BOA as his next target I knew he was in trouble. Who owns Mastercard and Visa and bankrolls Paypal ,the banks. I hope he let’s the poison pill loose and then we will see who’s running for cover.

  • Anonymous

    Obama and the Democratic leadership are just as invested in this attack against the First Amendment as any Republican.

    No, I’m not defending Republicans, but can tell the thing that is quacking is a duck. That thing, the emergent oligarchy, Mussolini style fascism, or whatever one wishes to label it.

    QUACK QUACK QUACK.

  • kcidymkcus

    The hacker who calls himself the Jester, and took caused the DOS and also is doing the same thing to ‘operation payback’…Can be found here…He has a very steady friendship with this site…Find him…https://www.infosecisland.com/

  • http://twitter.com/Covert4Liberty Freedom Rings

    If this doesn’t shine the light on the fact that the Financiers/Polititians are shaking in their collective boots, nothing will.
    This is true Fascism, when Governments and Corporations try to silence the masses by threatening Death, Imprisonment, and Financial Confiscation.
    The 4th Reich emerges from it’s ashes.

  • Anonymous

    seems like we have 2 choices, let HS take over the internet or start the revolution

  • Anonymous

    we should call these “institutions” and ask:

    can i donate to the john birch society ?

    can i donate to the KKK ?

    can i donate to the neo-nazis ?

    can i donate to wikileaks ?

  • Jaimie11

    Interesting and ominous precedent being set here:

    “”Whatever you think of WikiLeaks, they’ve never been charged with a crime, let alone indicted or convicted… They’ve been essentially removed from the internet… Their funds have been frozen…”"

    This could happen to anyone now – to any alternative news site, to any lone blogger, to anyone sending certain kinds of information in an email.

    It would seem appropriate, at this point, to heartily question the romantic story of Julian Assange.

  • Jaimie11

    Those documents can’t be released – as of now they are his life insurance policy.

  • Anonymous

    An economic terrorist organization condemning a freedom fighter.
    This revolution will be televised.

  • RE: This truly is a seminal event.

    That’s what Anna Ardin said.

  • Jaimie11

    Good nose, bloodhound!

  • Jaimie11

    Columbia reversed its policy on that censorship – now they are saying any international relations student who does NOT read WikiLeaks should not be called an international relations student.

    http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/12/columbia-wikileaks-policy/

    Let’s see what develops from this…

  • Anonymous

    The vampire capitalists know that being dragged into the sunlight will destroy them. They will go to any lengths to prevent that. Laws be damned.

  • http://www.911Blogger.com/ Orangutan.

    It’s funny how once he goes after the banks he gets arrested. Says a lot about who is running the show here in this world. Lincoln went after the banks racket too. So did JFK.

  • Anonymous

    Just cancelled my paypal account too. The guy on the ‘phone seemed to think it was because Wikileaks “had done something illegal”, but couldn’t be drawn on what. Next up, Amazon.

    If the Powers That Be think we’ll accept that all the Internet’s about is to sell us stuff, they are sorely mistaken.

  • yvonneo

    I guess Mastercard, Visa, PayPal and other corporate entities have decided that they have the right to tell people where they can or cannot spend their money. People are not doing anything illegal by contributing to Assange/Wikileaks, yet that’s what these corporations are falsely claiming to justify their actions. And PayPal is holding on to $61,000 meant for Wikileaks–money that doesn’t belong to them. How is that even legal? WTF?!?

    And how can the Swiss Bank keep funds they have no right to hold on to? They’re saying Assange isn’t a resident (or something like that) which apparently is required to open an account, but how does that justify them keeping his money from him? I think banks may not be the safest place to put one’s money–those bankster crooks are always looking for any excuse to steal someone’s money.

    I’m already a member of a credit union, but now is as good a time as any to get rid of my Mastercard and Visa and certainly a most worthy cause. Screw those fascist bastards!

  • Rush Goofbaugh

    I think it was 11-13 million “people” that would like to cut the head off the serpent… not 6 million jews… But good point.

  • Anonymous

    you may find a traffic jam on the way to that cave in the sierras … i have a feel many people feel the same way, it’s just not being broadcasted.

    since paypal first decided not to take donations (and i quite my paypal acct.) i have done net searches to see if i could find out how many people have quite paypal and have yet to find the smallest piece of information.

  • Anonymous

    Corporate america is in full crisis mode to prevent the world from knowing their dirty little secrets.

  • Anonymous

    So far I haven’t seen enough to support it’s a government plot, have any links?

  • Jaimie11

    enorceht, you might be surprised by what I found when I searched the John Birch Society’s news outlet, The New American, for Julian Assange. In particular, this is quite interesting:

    http://www.thenewamerican.com/index.php/usnews/foreign-policy/5395-wikileaks-whistleblowing-or-treason

    For more on JBS’s takes on JA go here – http://tinyurl.com/2ag4trj

  • jimbo92107

    All these things are happening to Julian Assange because he is trying to expose the brazen criminality of the world’s power brokers.

    See who is condemning Assange and screaming for his assassination? These are the tools controlled by the power brokers. Palin, Gates, Clinton, PayPal, Visa, Mastercard, Sweden, UK, etc. Witness the tools of the secret conspiracy. Wikileaks is getting very close to revealing the faces of your masters.

  • Rush Goofbaugh

    The revolution has started… no bloodshed will be required… this time. All we have to do is go home sit down and have a couple of beers… for about a week. The governments/corporations will then know who runs the world.

    We don’t need them to live…. They need us to live.

  • Hologram5

    Great link, thanks for the update! We need to stick together as the shite is getting close to hitting the fan and we need to be strong as one for this fight….

  • Anonymous

     Julian Assange is still proving his point.

    There is another agenda to his arrest and refusal of bail, but his legacy lives on.

  • http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/3NVQSZZC5IM66JEOCSFJUV7FCE Jacques G

    All trumped up BS from a Corpocracy that is now threatened by the truth that is potentially harmful to these corrupt entitie. Whether it is global corporate governments or global corporate monopolies, “Wiki” is a 4 letter word to these corrupt bodies. It is their impending doom. I can hardly wait for the “thermonuclear device” to be unleashed. Watch the collaapse of the corporate world.

  • Anonymous

    The fascist oligopoly is now taking the gloves off. The internet is the target, not
    Assange.

  • Boneman

    A little taste of what’s to come with this NWO. Do something wrong and with the simple programming on a computer chip, off goes your ability to purchase anything or go anywhere. A prisoner on this planet. THX-1138, Logan’s Run, 1984… all very prophetic. It takes something like this to get people to take a hard look. Well, some people anyway. But do we even know this for what it is? I mean I trust the media and the BS it spews about as much as I trust an Alligator.

  • David R Velasquez

    Excellent point. Decimate the idea of a free and neutral internet and it’ll be easier to create a corporate controlled information toll highway.

  • Anonymous

    But you can still become a Klu Klux Klan member with your Mastercard.

    Freedom!!

  • Anonymous

    Completely agree, but the ultimate target is YOU, not only the internet. They want YOU to be their SLAVE. They want it all and you are not just a burden but also a liability. These people are sociopathic monsters, don’t forget it.

  • Anonymous

    EXACTLY!!! Meet the future.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Daniel-Brown/690547972 Daniel Brown

    Who here has donated to Wikileaks yet (by either current or past means)?

  • Anonymous

    You might want to add the Republican Party to that list. Oh wait, also include the Democratic Party and Tea Party to that list of Nazi organizations while you’re at it.

  • Anonymous

    How come Mastercard and Visa haven’t halted payments to BP? Wouldn’t my purchase of gas aid and abet the terrorists who caused the Gulf oil spill? What a crock. I don’t need to use my credit cards anymore.

  • jimbo92107

    Xipwire? Never heard of them. Do they have a good reputation? Are they well established, or a new start up? How do I know my bank account information is secure with this service? How do I know they will actually deliver my donations to Wikileaks?

    Maybe Wikileaks will clear this up on their site.

  • Anonymous

    OK, Visa and MC will be a much tougher boycott than Amazon and PayPal, but fuck the fucking fuckers.

  • Anonymous

    Just like Gov. Rod Blagojevich and Gov. Elliot Spitzer when Julian Assange stated he had documents on BOA there has been a relentless assault against him. Now that funds are being frozen and any means of financial support being shut down by the “banking cartel”, it is obvious
    that the “too big to fail banks” are also to big for public scrutiny and full disclosure of any ill gotten gain. After all, Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman Sachs informed us that “they were doing God’s work”.

    I just heard an interview with Amy Goodman and Glen Greenwald where the latter stated that Julian Assange was on an Interpol most wanted list just for wanting to be questioned by Swedish authorities which is rather strange considering Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of 911, the event that has enabled the Patroit Act, enemy combatant status, airport molestation, etc..has not even made the most wanted on our own FBI list.

  • Anonymous

    Via paypal 48 hours before I canceled my account. Piratebay.org suggested canceling Paypal accounts. Good idea

  • http://quizilla.teennick.com/stories/17757971/trouble-getting-pregnant-soved getting pregnant after 40

    Why didnt I think about this? I hear exactly what youre saying and Im so happy that I came across your blog. You really know what youre talking about, and you made me feel like I should learn more about this. Thanks for this; Im officially a huge fan of your blog.

  • http://twitter.com/jerseyblueboy Karim Walker

    so much for freedom of the press.

  • Anonymous

    Nazi empire, the merger of corporate and state. The big corporations fall in line behind the government who supports their continued rape of the US population and it’s wealth.

    And outside the walls of this nation the world looks at us and spits, never considering we might have been fighting against this, at least some of us.

    The more they throw at this guy. The more corporations and organizations that line up behind the like of Liberman to call for death of Assange, to threaten free Americans for daring to look at the truth.

    The more of this shit that goes on the more I know this must come out. For our leadership has clearly begun our march down a dark and evil path. A path I refuse to walk.

    I will fight, for freedom and justice and truth. I have no gun. I have only my wallet and my mouth and a pair of shoes made for walking away from the voting booth with my head held low.

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_PZPpWTRTU Bamboo_Harvester

    Good on ya, Xipwire !

  • http://twitter.com/XIPWIRE XIPWIRE

    Hi Jimbo92107,
    That is a great question and I am glad when people ask it. XIPWIRE is an established on-line and text payment company that is secure. We are based in Philadelphia and have several NPO’s and Restaurants that we work with. Here is the information on our security: https://xipwire.com/info/personal/security/
    I am one of the founders and you can contact me directly at sibyl@xipwire.com

  • Anonymous

    HATS OFF XIPWIRE!

    I’m going to send my first donation to LikiWeaks right now. Thank you!

  • jimbo92107

    Thanks (sibyl?) for replying. Nice looking site.

    I am not a security expert, but in the current nervous atmosphere I would recommend having Wikileaks add a direct link to Xipwire in their Donate section. That link would serve as a solid voucher for your service and in my opinion would open the floodgates for many donations to help Julian and his awesome friends.

    As frequent winners of the Nigerian lottery, every user of email is a bit wary about typing their bank account numbers in an unfamiliar website. I hope you understand… :-)

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_FONW6K3ZWV4BU4ZTCDCSZHHH6E Mick Jagger

    Who hasn’t figured out that credit card companies are enemies of democracy? BOYCOTT VISA AND MASTERCARD!!!! Use debit cards only and cash as much as possible.

  • ProgressiveInNewYork

    I did. It felt good even though I can’t afford it. But when those in power attack freedom of speech. When they attack the messenger instead of the true problem the people have to act.

  • Benway for the Nova Police

    We are beginning to see who is willing to stand up for freedom and democracy against the likes of Joseph Goebbels Lieberman.

  • Anonymous

    Same here – can’t afford it either. Still trying to figure out how to text on my cellphone (not an avid cellpone user. Did set up an account with XIPWIRE, and as soon as I’ve got the texting figured out, I’ll donate. Can’t wait till WL gets my sparse dollars as well. So fed up!

  • Anonymous

    Visa use to be called BankAmericard. It’s been their dream to do away with cash. It eliminates the need for tellers and their pay. It eliminates the government control of money at the same time it gives the bank complete control. What they want is a future where no one can buy or sell (live) unless they do what the corporations want.
    Every time the bank issues a credit card they’ve in effect printed money. That’s something only sovereign governments can do.

  • Knot

    I just ran into this other way of donating to Wikileaks elsewhere, thought it might help posting it here:

    https://twitter.com/brokep/status/11368986834903040

    It’s a tweet from one of the Pirate Bay guys and he points out that his micro-payment site has an account for Wikileaks that they will not be shutting down.

  • http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/LEUDUVF5EGJZRZETF3KV53P7BQ Thomas

    What do mastercard and visa have to hide? Is it possible that both have some skeletons in the closet that they are afraid of being released? I also think it’s time to boycott E-bay until they agree to let pay-pal donations to wikileaks resume.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Darrell-Hampton/749427934 Darrell Hampton

    Joe Lieberman has consistently proven that he represents Israel and not the US. He is only responding in this manner because he fears Israel’s secrets will be revealed soon.

  • http://www.arguewitheveryone.com/current-events/158090-wiki-leaks-now-operation-payback-2.html#post3469669 Wiki Leaks and now Operation Payback …

    [...] http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/12/m…-site-illegal/ "Our motivation is really simple," Xipline founder Sharif Aleandre explained in an email. "While people may or may not agree with WikiLeaks and the documents it has released, we feel that PayPal's recent decision to refuse to process donations on their behalf effectively silences voices in this democracy. In fact, it was the Citizens United case that basically equated donations with free speech and if the Supreme Court decided that our government doesn't have the power to regulate that speech then it's our opinion that corporations certainly shouldn't have that power either." Damn right!! Good for them. Thursday January 21st, 2010 The Day WE THE PEOPLE ceased to exist.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acLW1vFO-2Q Reply With Quote + Reply to Thread [...]

  • http://www.leosigh.com Leo Sigh

    Unfortunately, it’s not just the Rethuglicans. It’s also the Dems. Look at Obama. What a lily-livered, bank-ass-kissing, whining, liberal-blaming moron. The economy is dying under him. And to think everybody I know voted for him.

  • Anonymous

    I’m going to give my banking information to a site named Pirate Bay? For real?

  • http://SALON WHITE DRAGON

    Cute….these credit cards have been looking for a way to cut their losses, and Walla! A white-haired foreign sex pervert! Stop all machines!

  • http://SALON WHITE DRAGON

    Poor Joe…always a day late and a dollar short. They have stopped the West Bank settlement freeze because they would not have had a choice if it all came out.

  • http://SALON WHITE DRAGON

    Politics, paucity, poverty, pernury, are the flip sides of those credit cards. Pay pal is political and totally sucks!

  • ghostof911

    Here’s how to close your PayPal account.

    To close your account:

    1.Log in to your PayPal account.
    2.Click Profile at the top of the page.
    3.Click Close Account in the Account Information column and follow the steps listed.

  • Anonymous

    on a related credit card issue… Big Brother is watching…
    Researcher: Feds Tracking Credit Card Swipes
    Security researcher Christopher Soghoian recently obtained documents revealing a US government program to track credit card usage in real time. Soghoian, who received the information through a Freedom of Information Act request, discusses his findings. http://www.newslook.com/videos/272342-researcher-feds-tracking-credit-card-swipes?autoplay=true

  • Knot

    No, first you don’t need to give them your banking details, second they are called flattr.

    Micropayments are a great way for creators to get paid for content they are otherwise posting free online. Also, the Pirate Bay guys are not associated with TPB anymore, they have lots of other interests and projects around the web (including owning the hosting company that hosts Wikileaks) and are some of the most well-liked and respected people on the Internet.

    Here is a list of the press they have gotten for flattr:

    https://flattr.com/inthepress

    So yes, you can trust them, they have better reputations than the major banks or Paypal.

  • Anonymous

    Use your debit-card people. Cut those fucking cards up and cast them to the breeze.

  • ghostof911

    Indeed, an interesting article at The New American. I was surprised by one of the comments:

    Correct me if I’m wrong but isn’t one of the main goals of a political journalist to find out information about the government, which the government does not want released, to unearth corruption, lies, and murder — to help enable a government that actually serves the populace and not special interests and politicians?

  • Johnny Warbucks

    Woo hoo! Bravo!

    “In fact, it was the Citizens United case that basically equated donations with free speech and if the Supreme Court decided that our government doesn’t have the power to regulate that speech then it’s our opinion that corporations certainly shouldn’t have that power either.”

    Fucking beautiful! And I’m donating now!

  • Johnny Warbucks

    “Thanks to the credit card carriers’ decisions, traditional postal mail now stands as WikiLeaks’ only remaining financial lifeline.”

    Actually, not anymore. Look here:

    Hiccup to Wiki snail mail amid all the fuss
    Daniel Flitton
    December 7, 2010

    PSSST. Want to share a secret? Here is the place to send it. But be quick. This postbox to contact WikiLeaks in Australia is about to shut down.

    Australia Post insists its sudden decision to close the University of Melbourne Post Office has nothing to do with the fact that Box 4080 is the Australian postal address for submissions to the whistleblower website.

    But an announcement last Friday said the branch would close on December 17.
    Advertisement: Story continues below

    Coincidence?

    Or has the ever-closing security net around WikiLeaks been tightened a notch further?

    WikiLeaks offers copious advice for how the would-be leaker can contact the website.

    Online submissions are the preferred method but the less tech-savvy – or those worried about leaving an electronic trail authorities might follow – are encouraged to reach ”our trusted truth facilitators” via old-fashioned snail-mail.

    Leakers are told to address letters ”to WL or any name likely to evade postal censorship in your country”.

    WikiLeaks addresses to receive material are advertised in countries around the world and with security agencies presumed to keep a close watch, the outfit advises an unlisted address to send material can be arranged.

    The University of Melbourne postbox is thought to have been selected by Julian Assange, the Australian founder of WikiLeaks who studied mathematics at the university but did not graduate.

    The architecture and planning building, where the post office is located, is to be demolished soon. But plans are not yet fixed and insiders expressed ”surprise” Australia Post had decided to close so early.

    Australia Post said the decision was not taken lightly, but customer numbers had dropped 50 per cent since 2007.

    The university said postboxes used by staff would be relocated elsewhere on campus.

    Whether the WikiLeaks postbox belongs to a staff member remains a secret.

    For now.

    http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/hiccup-to-wiki-snail-mail-amid-all-the-fuss-20101206-18my9.html

  • Anonymous

    when i closed mine i called the phone number because i wanted to tell a real live person why i was closing my account (the response seemed to be to accept my reason but not to acknowledge it). the information i was trying to find was them number of paypal accounts that have been closed since they stopped accepting donations to wikileaks, but there seems to be no net statistics on the subject

  • Anonymous

    woo hoo … my kinda revolution

    it’s better to boycott instead of protest

  • Jaimie11

    Yes, an interesting comment in deed from a John Birch Society reader. But then I learned something about the new JBS. It has changed from the corporate military industrial complex it once was when it was in service of the CIA to promote fear of Communism and
    the Domino Theory.

    Remarkably it has become a Classical Conservative group and shares many values with Classical Liberalism. As you must have readily apprehended from the article, JBS is staunchly anti-neocon.

    Every once in a while I find myself reading an article at JBS and find their political analysis right on.

  • ghostof911

    Did note the prominent anti-neocon posture, it was refreshing to read it. Appreciate your identifying the site. Will be checking in there from time to time.

  • Anonymous

    It’s truly amazing how much freedom a person or institution has when they out the powerful isn’t it. With a few phone calls and comments leaders in the US are doing everything they can to make Assange and wikileaks a non-person and non-entity. I feel sorry for americans, I truly do. Because they haven’t figured out yet that they are living in a police state. We have always wondered why democracies are few in number and don’t last long compared to other forms of governments. It’s because in true democracies it require a populace that is truly intelligent. Where they are at least able to know where their freedoms end and the other persons start. It’s been a long ride close to three centuries, but we as a country is done. What I see happening is that we will break apart into groups of states and they will form their own country. If they are able to free themselves from the police state.

  • ghostof911

    That is a bank secret that will never see the light of day. If the public knew the true status of the major banks, which are all insolvent, they would be a rash of bank failures.

    The number you would like to see will never be found, but rest assured if canceling PayPal accounts goes viral, they will feel pain.

  • ghostof911

    Agree that keeping the different groups divided is deliberate, it insures that reform cannot take place. This presents an opportunity for a leader with a vision who can bridge those divides and unite those with common interests in solving their common problems. The powers-that-be are aware of that and are on the lookout for those individuals, so they can be cut down at the first opportunity.

  • Anonymous

    home of the brave !!!
    Land of the free !!
    bruahahahaha

  • Jaimie11

    It’s true, what you say. No leader with that sort of understanding and ability to unite would survive long at all.

    That’s why I think we the people have to talk to one another, appeal to empathy and the innate sense of fairness we humans have despite how we have been indoctrinated politically, culturally. We have to learn how to bridge the divides ourselves by being willing to stop calling each other names and start listening to one another.

    Two books influenced me to think we must do this ourselves. Leaders can be bought while we can’t be provided as we stand together. The first is by Isaiah Berlin – Freedom and its Betrayal: Six Enemies of Human Liberty. It demonstrated to me the futility of hardened political ideologies. The second is by Arthur A. Ekirch, Jr. – The Decline of American Liberalism. This book describes the fall of American Liberty from almost the very beginning and over our brief history. It lays it out bare – how lost we have become. Freedom and responsibility are twin sisters – one without the other is meaningless.

    You might enjoy this website. http://www.independent.org/

    Interestingly, I was reading an interview at Der Spiegel with Iran’s foreign minister. His take on Assange, WikiLeaks, and the US response is the same as what we know as our gov’t dividing people into groups with interests that oppose other groups’ interests. Our rogue gov’t does the same behavior in the Middle East. Here’s an excerpt:

    “SPIEGEL ONLINE: What are the intentions of the United States, in your view?

    MASHAI: America wants to portray itself as the leader of the world, as master of the destinies of nations. It wants to play off the regimes in the region against one another. It wants the world to believe that we are divided. It wants to legitimize its presence and influence in the region.

    and later:
    MASHAI: ……the United States is behind this deliberate leak. The Americans are trying to paint the world in black and white. They underscore the differences among nations and want to show everyone that peace is only possible in cooperation with them.”

    And I add, in that way the US gov’t gains illicit control over nations and populations. We the people should be autonomous individuals, powerful, united in the practice and defense of liberty, but we are subjugated by unethical people who emphasize and exploit our differences.

    Here’s the interview in full –

    http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,733060,00.html

    And the two books I mentioned –

    http://press.princeton.edu/titles/7242.html

    http://www.independent.org/publications/books/book_summary.asp?bookID=81

    It’s a pleasure to meet you ghost(spirit)of911.

  • Anonymous

    Ah, but what if the corporations are making the beer? ;-)

  • Anonymous

    The American-people live plugged in a system call Matrix-USA, they are batteries used to make money and take resources form other countries to maintain a society that think is free.

    Free Julian Assange, the ONE

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_X2Q3T7F7KSAAWUVXFO34KL75DM Fukk

    Now that is capitalism!!
    LOL

  • Anonymous

    Not sure which Aussie said this or what it was in response to at the time. Fairly certain it was originally published in a newspaper in the 19th century. I read it in a book 20-30 years ago and the words stuck.

    Our black Bastille of custon
    and wealth may darkly frown.
    But the hands of those that built it
    can also drag it down.

  • Anonymous

    The legal business requirement would eliminate Citibank, J.P. Morgan, Goldman, and most of the other so-called banks.

  • Anonymous

    Which ever Aussie said it, it was said well.

    I must now counter point this line with one cautionary note. A lesson learned by the French in the months leading up to WWII.

    We must fix our problems not walk away from them. For surely our enemies look on now, eager for us to tear ourselves apart.

    For I still believe it is on the back of the commons of this nation, once great, that the freedom of the world lies. This nation, your nation, those nations who will stand up, with or without their “governments” consent or support.

    If not the free nations of the world, then the free people who still have a voice.

    Or that voice will be silenced by a technocracy with no compassion for human life, one not so easily overthrown by a pitchfork and a rake.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_HD6QRAAJTHS4WYH5LWYB3ROV7E taemangyan
  • Rush Goofbaugh

    well first we have to remove the “person” status from corporations… and then drink micro brews. Just trying to help…. ;-)

  • Anonymous

    I tried to donate and my transaction was declined for insufficient funds. Except there’s plenty of funds, it’s my debit card. Hmmmm……the transaction was marked Visa. Conspiracy, anyone?

  • http://about0things.wordpress.com/2010/12/08/wikileaks-and-the-rest-of-the-world-the-wikileaks-bomb-and-us/ wikileaks and the rest of the world, the wikileaks bomb and us « Short observations about what's going on

    [...] it” – their hosting company refused to host it anymore. More than that – paypal, VISA, and MasterCard, among other online payments processing companies, refused to take any payments that would help [...]

  • Anonymous

    If I recall my sunday school lessons, Christ was crucified after he went after the banks as well. Seems like you can rail against politics all you want, but disturb the flow of cash of the moneychangers, and it’s the kiss of death.

  • Boneman

    And Jackson too.

  • antiM
  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_ATR5JPHWSYTWOMP4JILZCMG22M JohnS

    I think it’s fine to take Mr. Assange & WikiLeaks to court, but I don’t think his bank, server, and paypal accounts should be shut down without due process.
    http://andyx27.wordpress.com/2010/12/08/julian-assange-wikileaks/

  • Boneman

    In this country you are guilty until proven innocent and since we are leading the world into the NWO this mentality will become prevalent throughout the world.

    War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength!

    Law is Socialism!

  • Johnny Warbucks

    It’s all part of the dual-tear system Capitalism has become: the upper tear for the ‘them’ where they make the rules but don’t have to follow them and the lower tear for the ‘us’ where we have to abide by the rules they make and are penalized heavily for any and all transgressions.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IQGKQEKOJIEFM5WBTNDXU6226I patcour

    I just donated to Wikileaks using my Mastercard Debit card using Xipwire.

    Very easy. My card is still safe from fraud b/c I used debit and didn’t have to put in bank account numbers.

    Hope my trip to hawaii doesn’t get fucked b/c I get added to a no fly list.

  • Anonymous

    Cut them up and make a mosaic the spells FUCK YOU on a index card, and send it back to the card company.

  • Boneman

    Corporataucracy…

  • Anonymous

    or homemade hard cider, yummy

  • Anonymous

    Have you read the NYT opinion responses to Assange? They are filled with people who find the repression of truth justifiable and a necessary coast of doing business in the real world of politics. Reading them makes it clear that there is a flexible relationship with truth that is reflected through out. No wonder there is so little outrange regarding the banking disaster and the revelations of being lied to justify going to war. America sense of morel outrage has changed dramatically since the pentagon papers release. Wonderfully ironic that the America of the 1970s, the one least committed to religious ideas enough to had Time declare god being idea, was morally outranged at the government lying to the people to justify a war , while the current population, now the more religious population in the industrialised world, are comfortable with government lying and deceiving the population even when it results in thousands of innocents dying. Lying is an accepted cost of dealing with people and a reality which is just accepted. How the country has changed since 1970 when we expected more from our government and found more within our selves. Outrange at a government lying to kill people for corporate profits would still seem to be a cause for moral outrange. I guess when you believe the convenient lie of religion, utilising lying to get your way seems not so different.

  • Anonymous

    finally got a chance to check out the website and i really have to agree with the earlier replies you received. i had to go check the “about” section because i kept thinking “this is jbs?’

    i will certainly check out the sites in you last reply in this section

    thanks

  • Jaimie11

    “i kept thinking “this is jbs?’ ”

    My own experience exactly!

    I’ve checked the Economy section too and like it as well.

  • http://technicallyphilly.com/2010/12/08/xipwire-opens-platform-to-donate-to-wikileaks-after-mastercard-visa-stop Technically Philly » XIPWIRE opens platform to donate to WikiLeaks, after MasterCard, Visa stop | Covering the Community of People Who Use Technology in Philadelphia.

    [...] XIPWIRE, the Center City-based mobile payments company, has launched an online platform through which supporters can donate funding to the controversial WikiLeaks and the legal defense fund of its founder Julian Assange, as reported by Raw Story. [...]

  • http://news.antiwar.com/2010/12/08/supporters-foil-attempts-to-shut-down-wikileaks/ Supporters Foil Attempts to Shut Down WikiLeaks — News from Antiwar.com

    [...] to keep the site from fundraising have led to an outpouring of support from other sources, while the groups have moved against the whistleblower have seen major damage to [...]

  • http://paramountbathrooms.com/wp Felicidad Dubreuil

    hi-ya, I like all your posts, keep them coming.

  • http://jetlib.com/news/2010/12/12/wikileaks-money-and-ron-paul/ WikiLeaks, Money, and Ron Paul | JetLib News

    [...] release WikiLeaks funds, though they still won’t do further transactions. Mobile payment firm Xipwire is attempting to take PayPal’s place. “We do think people should be able to make their own decisions as to who they donate [...]

  • http://android.mypimpshack.com/?p=4506 Android OS news » WikiLeaks, Money, and Ron Paul

    [...] release WikiLeaks funds, though they still won’t do further transactions. Mobile payment firm Xipwire is attempting to take PayPal’s place. “We do think people should be able to make their own decisions as to who they donate [...]

  • http://chasing-dirt.com/2010/12/12/dutch-hypocrisy/ Dutch and French hypocrisy on Internet freedom | Chasing Dirt

    [...] it is known that the US government placed pressure on PayPal and Twitter to close Wikileaks sites. PayPal and Visa still except donations for the KKK and other violent hate groups! There have been reports that filters were used to filter “Wikileaks” on Twitter. We [...]

  • http://general-forums.com/t84504-2/#post536466 Wikileaks Leaks More

    [...] to release WikiLeaks funds, though they still won't do further transactions. Mobile payment firm Xipwire is attempting to take PayPal's place. "We do think people should be able to make their own decisions as to who they donate [...]

  • http://www.avoiceformen.com/2010/12/13/wargood-sexevil/ War=Good, Sex=Evil « A Voice for Men

    [...] only be a matter of time before the corporations given control of the Internet are called upon, as VISA, MasterCard, Amazon, and PayPal have learned, by the government they support and believe in, to yank [...]

  • http://blog.phirephoenix.com/976/wikileaks-updatelink-dump/ WikiLeaks Update/Link-Dump | The Roof is on Phire

    [...] group, launches DDoS attack against PayPal. Attack expands to include MasterCard and Visa when they also suspend funds to WikiLeaks. (Meanwhile, it’s pointed out that the Ku Klux Klan continues to enjoy financial freedom.) [...]

  • http://www.theoccidentalobserver.net/2011/01/wikileaks-leaks/ WikiLeaks Leaks | The Occidental Observer – White Identity, Interests, and Culture

    [...] tarring and feathering, or just the electric chair. Visa, Mastercard and other banking institutions cut WikiLeaks’ financial lifelines, thereby giving you a clear idea who owns them, provided of course you didn’t know it already. [...]

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