Al-Akhbar English reports: Wikileaks, the international whistle-blowing website responsible for revealing thousands of secret political and diplomatic documents over the past six years, announced Monday that it was suspending publishing operations in an emergency effort to raise money.
The decision came after what Wikileaks founder Julian Assange calls an “arbitrary and unlawful financial blockade” by American banks, including Bank of America, Visa, MasterCard, PayPal and Western Union.
“The issue is bigger than Wikileaks. It’s an issue of sovereignty. Is it right, for example, in Lebanon that Visa card holders are controlled by Washington, even though their accounts are in local banks?” Assange said in a phone interview with Al Akhbar. “We have to show the world that cards and PayPal…are instruments of Washington power. They’re all in service for political corruption, it’s literally a conspiracy.”
“Our fight can be summed up in three parts,” Assange said. “First, to fight against censorship. Second, to fight to protect people’s right for knowledge. And third, to fight for unbiased media to truly report what’s going on in the regimes.”
For Assange, Wikileaks’ crisis is especially relevant in the Middle East. “With the changes occurring in the Arab world, it’s not the time to relax, but to make sure democracies are established fully. To do that it is necessary to make sure they are not implicated with the old regimes. Egypt’s battle is ongoing,” Assange said. “[We’re] making sure the battle for democratic regimes is established, [fighting] for the peoples right to communicate.”
Seems as though the “Wiki leaks” has been neutered. Unless Assange can come up with the BOA tapes/E-mails, then it’s probably over for them. Besides, they served their purpose.
Lest other readers follow extremely foolish comments, like the one above, I must suggest readers follow the link to the complete article, that describes the damage done to democracy and truth in the entire world if these weasel organisations succeed in shutting Wikileaks down.
There is a great stink of Washington conspiracy behind these companies’ actions. The White House is the most likely culprit for sub rosa interference. Just as the Europeans recognize their need to have their own bond ratings agencies to avoid falling to American financial domination, this issue points up the need for the free world (everyone but the US and its lackeys) to have its own financial internet systems that cannot be manipulated by any hegemon.