Saturday, December 4, 2010

Why The Attack On WikiLeaks Matters To You

WikiLeaks, which released hundreds of thousands of U.S. secret documents about the Iraq War and the U.S.'s candid communications including using its diplomats as part of its spy network is under attack from the U.S. government.

For example, we now know U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is running a spy network targeting United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon and the other UN leadership, including security council members from Britain, China, France and Russia.

In response, an irate U.S. government is trying to get WikiLeaks off the Internet, has cut off its PayPal account, which shuts off most of its income and its founder Julian Assange and his staff are receiving death threats from unknown parties.

Why does this matter to you? The U.S. often acts in top secret, the peoples' right to know be damned. Crucial information about bailouts, wars, spying, torture and the economy are censored and the news media seldom penetrates that censorship.

If WikiLeaks is taken down, that vital source of information ends and with it, so does the American people's means of holding its government accountable.

As Americans and as world citizens we must raise our voices. As Thomas Jefferson said, "Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty." Let us choose liberty and support WikiLeaks which has so boldly kept us informed.

Dick

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