WikiLeaks: Out of time and money

Between the donation lock-out from every major bank, the heavily biased media coverage, and the clearly false charges against Assange, this has become too painful to watch.<p>All of this for a guy trying to create a press outlet that tells the real truth, using anonymous and protected (but verified) sources, for free, to the whole world.

Possibly unpopular question: why is WikiLeaks so expensive?<p>I'm well aware that hosting costs money -- especially if you're trying to find a service that is resistant to pressure from companies and governments around the world -- but WL seems to have run out of funds every time I try to access the site.<p>I mean, if the goal is to freely distribute information, distributing leaks by torrent only would be a simple, insanely cheap option that would save WL money.<p>But as far as I can tell, WikiLeaks hasn't exactly been forthcoming with details of where their money goes. I could be wrong, but I think every query Cryptome made to Wau Holland has been ignored, and some promised funds from WL to Bradley Manning have come up consistently short...

Let's momentarily put aside the question of Asange's legal troubles, and concentrate only on WikiLeaks.<p>It is greatly disturbing that an informal impromptu collusion of financial companies and governments is successfully shutting down a while blower outlet.<p>Like seriously f-ing disturbing!

So can we all start singing the praises of <a href="http://cryptome.org/" rel="nofollow">http://cryptome.org/</a> so that future whistle blowers know where to go?<p>Oh, and someone make them an attractive homepage please!

I think Assange took to much of a central role, creating a huge weakness that is being successfully exploited. I personally want to support wikileaks, but I have mixed feelings about Assange.

If they stop, does this mean they are going to release the password on that "insurance" file they distributed a while ago?

This may be a really, really dumb question... I don't know the laws possibly preventing this and how shady it could actually be, but is there a possible way to set up an intermediary payment system? Whereas one could accept easy payments and then do the work of transforming those into checks or whatnot and sending them to Wikileaks?

A sneering, cynical summary, typical of a press which attacks alternative sources for purely selfish reasons. You'd have thought that "the press" would stick together to protect press freedom, freedom of speech and whistle-blowing, but no - they seem more interested in sniping at Wikileaks. Even the U.K. Guardian has joined in, I only hope these institutions aren't one day hoisted on their own petard.

WikiLeaks has been dead for a long time. Ever since the release involving the video of helicopter firing on the people below, someone out there got serious and decided to take Assange down by discrediting him and by diverting the focus away from information and toward the rape charges. Assange was probably given some "offer" he could not refuse and the rest is all for show.