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Today's Top News
Bank of America Cuts Off WikiLeaks Payments
Bank of America Corp. Friday evening said it was joining other financial institutions in declining to process payments intended for WikiLeaks.
WikiLeaks has gained attention in recent months for revealing Pentagon and State Department secrets. Founder Julian Assange has also said he plans a "megaleak" involving a major bank, leading to speculation that Bank of America could be the target.
"Bank of America joins in the actions previously announced by MasterCard, PayPal, Visa Europe and others and will not process transactions of any type that we have reason to believe are intended for WikiLeaks," the bank said in a statement.
"This decision is based upon our reasonable belief that WikiLeaks may be engaged in activities that are, among other things, inconsistent with our internal policies for processing payments."
Companies that have cut ties to WikiLeaks have faced cyberattacks from hackers who back Assange's organization. MasterCard, for example, said its Web site was brought down but that card transactions were not compromised.
Assange told Forbes magazine last month that he planned to release information on a major bank early next year. In a 2009 interview, he said he had possession of a Bank of America executive's hard drive, but the bank has said it has "no evidence" that is the case.
The bank on Friday declined to comment on whether it could be a leak target or whether it could face attacks from hackers.
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114 Comments so far
Show AllBank of the UGLY America. Anyone still banking with these creeps should close their accounts immediately. And yes, a thorough hacking of this bank is in order.
Time for Wikileaks to stop telling what they will do prematurely and just DO IT!
Yes, there are plenty of other banks and credit unions that will take your money.
Unfortunately they're all in this together
Yes. That's a major point. One can avoid these guys and still carry out basic financial functions.
gnken
Im getting ready to close my account with PNC and use my State Employees Credit Union. "Hail Hail Down with the Major US Banks!!!"
Wow! One of the most unethical and immoral financial institutions in this country, a bank that has destroyed countless lives through its criminal lending and foreclosure schemes, standing in judgment of and condemning another organization that has merely allowed the American people to learn the truth about its government's criminal wars and other illegal activities!
Is it possible for the inverted moral and ethical structure of this nation to become any more bizarre? I'm sure it is.
Bank of America has no trouble financing Dictators and foreclosing on our homes.
Nazi Germany was only able to function and commit it's vast crimes because it had the full and active support of German Corporations. Now we see that US and European corporations are no different than Nazi German corporations. We see when striping away the public relations that all the corporations are part of government's willing executioners.
You have got it backwards...Team Hitler was doing the dirty work for German Corporations and Team Obama is doing the dirty work for global corporations.
Yeah but Hitler slipped the leash.
In some cases US corporations were also German corporations. Don't forget the Bush family's connections and interests in some of those corps late into the Nazi era. .
And IBM's complicity.
And Prescott Bush's illegal banking for the Nazi regime.
I was outsourced to IBM. It was so big employees joked about it being like Star Trek's Borg collective. One thing that was weird about it was that employees did not have employee numbers, they gave us serial numbers like we were pieces of equipment. I have to say I am quite glad I don't work there any more.
There were a few big name US corporations doing business with Nazi Germany and supplying materials and equipment that were directly used in the preparation for the War and in the War itself. US corporations were more compliant in joining the blockade against Japan, but Germany was different.
Many companies were joint ventures with German companies. Some shared intellectual property that had contractual limitations. From 1933-1939 the German regime started bad and just got worse, but they were acting within their laws, making them as they went, but acting according to their laws. Till 1941, there was no law in the US that made dealing with Germany illegal. You rail against IBM about their punch cards, but they didn't know in 1940 that they were going to be used to track concentration camps that hadn't been established yet. Bush was sitting on patents that he wouldn't release because he had a contract that said he couldn't and he hated Roosevelt and didn't want to comply with orders he felt were illegal.
As for the Japanese, there was NOT a blockade. Everyone says that and they're wrong. There was not a blockade till the war started and not even then till about 1943 when we could effectively enforce one with modern submarines. What there was was an embargo. We told companies that we would not deal with them if they supplied some war materials to Japan who was in the midst of a savage war in China. Nazi Germany was not at war with anyone till 1939.
All I am saying is that it is always easy to look back on a time with the perspective of history but to judge the people on the ground, at the time you need to look at the lead up to the event and their knowledge at the time.
JohnShade, I'm not sure what your point is. But you are obviously either ignorant of or trying to whitewash the active involvement of companies such as Standard Oil and Ford even after the Nazi wartime activities started. I didn't "rail against" IBM - that was another poster, whose post had ***three*** words - far from any "railing against" anyone. Makes one wonder who's doing the railing here.
And regarding Japan, once again it seems like you are either ignorant or indulging in a bit of whitewashing of history. Here "whitewashing" has an added significance because there was a ruthless Anglo-Saxon nexus for years that sought to cripple the export-dependent Japanese economy. The original mischief was probably initiated by the British, who put all kinds of barriers against Japanese goods entering not just Britain but any of their colonies such as India, Australia and Canada (Canada's status was still left grey - someone could correct me on this and I'm willing to stand corrected - as to whether it was a colony or a dominion or an independent country, but on matters such as this, very much under British control). OK, I used the word "blockade" instead of "embargo". But even before the embargo became explicit and official, there were blatant policies in place to restrict the flow of raw materials into Japan and the entry of Japanese goods such as textiles into other markets and the British and the Americans were in it together. This had nothing to do with "a savage war in China", puleese! This was western imperialism in action, pure and simple.
Banks control the people WITH money! It's their job; that's what they do.
They only loan money if it's in their interest.
They control the money flow.
If it's not in their interest, they will try to control how you spend your money too! This is proof!
They are protecting themselves! They are next in line with dark secrets they hope to keep from the PUBLIC!
Hummmm, turns out my grandpa was right. This should have been addressed a long time ago, better late than never...
I just called my Bank of America Visa Card customer service number and told them I would like to cut up my card, send it back to them, with a letter explaining why I was doing so. I explained to the customer service representative that the reason I wished to do this was because of their refusal to process wikileaks payments. It seemed I was not the first caller he'd talked to with this complaint.
I've never even sent them money before. This is purely on the principle that I should be able to decide how to use my card not Bank of America or Visa.
Good point; I should be able to decide how I spend my money!
Like "Citizens United"...but for Citizens?
"This decision is based upon our reasonable belief that WikiLeaks may be engaged in activities that are, among other things, inconsistent with our internal policies for processing payments."
It's a shame the Bank of America didn't think this way back when they were trading toxic debts, huh?
Note that the "internal policies for processing payments" are unspecified. Thus they remain unverifiable, unfalsifiable and impossible to criticize on the merits and lack of them.
It's abundantly likely to be without acceptable reason. And covering it up. Only the power of the bank enables them to deny Wikileaks without giving real reasons. That power is borrowed and then misused, sucked out of the Wikileaks sympathizers and other account-holders.
Banking is infrastructure, and the base functions should never be private. The 95 % or more speculation on top using our deposits should be illegal (and much of it is, if ever enforced).
This article presents another reason Assange should have been named Person of the Year. He is forcing the Powers to reveal the seams that connect them as they unite in an to attempt to squelch Wiki-Leaks.
I agree.
However, the Press, it's advertisers and the federal government owe a great deal to Zuckerberg. Like the cell-phone companies that provide a unending stream of private conversations and written text, he's produced a deep & thorough database of free-online content. Its quite amazing.
Assange vs Zuckerberg: As usual, our fascist system has trumped good with evil.
The most amazing thing is that I'm sure Bank of America will gladly process payments to abusive porn sites, scams, and all sorts of other probable criminal activities, but not the perfectly legal activities of Wikileaks.
This speaks volumes as to who the economically powerful consider a threat. We all know that, under capitalism, wealth accumulation is the root of all power but now we know why this is the case in "democratic" societies. Their wealth purchases control of all information the masses receive. Wikileaks, through a free and open internet, has taken direct aim at this chink in their armor. So no wonder the powerful in government and corporations are going apoplectic over the Wikileaks releases!
What an education these ongoing events have been!
"What an education these ongoing events have been!" Yup, in so many ways...
Yes and now we'll see how tightly they can control a social action movement.
Still Cash is King. Somebody will step up to process wikileaks donations of its and reap the goodwill of its millions of supporters.
Visa and MASTERcard look uglier every day. It turns out your friendly shopping companion who loans you money is actually a corporate fascist. At least its plain as day now.
What about Amex and Discover? Does anyone know? I will search for info.
I'm sure also Bank of America has no problem processing money destined to be used for Israel's ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_vqIGTKuQE
The most amazing thing is that I'm sure Bank of America will gladly process payments to abusive porn sites, scams, and all sorts of other probable criminal activities, but not the perfectly legal activities of Wikileaks.
right, such as the criminals above on the youtube video.....
The amount of drug money flowing through BofA is what keeps them afloat. That's why that market is so closed and tightly controlled by government goons. Wikileaks must be destroyed. Its all about survival.
Can you please provide some sort of article or link that backs up your assertion that BofA launders drug money?
Try "The shadow masters", Daniel Estulin.
I have been sending out information on these events via Facebook. So far, the only down side is backlash from my own family. But others have picked up my posts and put them on their own home pages, so it seems to be spreading the word. Any act we can do to inform the public, since the media's output is so biased, is positive.
Sounds like my situation!
DOOMSDAY FOR BANK OF AMERICA?
Those who do business with Bank of America (the USA's biggest bank!) are urged to place their funds somewhere safer, ASAP (get some silver!). It looks like the leaked information may shut BoA down.
It seems that we are entering a time in World History where the truth can no longer be hidden from the people. We will learn the truth, and that truth will set us free from the terrible consequences of corrupt mis-leaders.
Forbes Magazine:
http://blogs.forbes.com/andygreenberg/2010/11/30/is-bank-of-america-wikileaks-next-target/
http://blogs.forbes.com/andygreenberg/2010/11/29/an-interview-with-wikileaks-julian-assange/
=====================
1. Bank of America Corporation (Charlotte, NC) $2,340,667,014
2. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (New York, NY) $2,135,796,000
3. Citigroup Inc.(New York, NY) $2,002,213,000
4. Wells Fargo & Company (San Francisco, CA) $1,223,630,000
5. Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., The (New York, NY) $880,677,000
I will personally give you a dollar, in silver if you like, if this information about BofA brings it down.
The first leak was going to change how we fought in Afghanistan and Iraq.... Yep... That sure worked out...
The last leak was going to change the world and all it got was a spot on SNL.
I'll believe it when I see it.
The information leaked won't change anything.
But it does seem that the suppression of wikileaks is getting people's backs up.
Right on!
I do believe that Bank of America is inappropriate name for a Bank that supports the suppression of information.
Perhaps they should rename themselves "Bank of China".
Bank of Amerikkka.
UGLY America
Bunco America
bane of america...................
Bank of Con
BoA probably already is the Bank of China, which may be one of the reasons for their paranoia.
time for wikileaks to leak BoA secrets.
Yes indeed!
Shame, shame, shame - on Bank of America.
Playing fair doesn't enter into it anymore.
1. First gov't brakes rules, kills illegally, exaggerates secrecy into the illegal.
2. Then Wikileaks exposes gov't, for the health of the state, country and whole world.
3. THEN gov't tries to strangle Wikileaks, with every kind of illegally extended move (rape-framing; denying income; misrepresenting contents of leaks) that the dull avengers can think up (ways that only include forms of brute force - humor or smartness not included).
Shameful.
USA killing off world respect for itself and losing ideals is not a pretty sight. But USA killing off the world for itself is an uglier sight. USA without "respect" to push others around is a much safer world for all.
I await the day the USA lacks respect so much it cannot start more war. Or continue ongoing war.
Wikeleaks is an instrument of peace.