PayPal cuts service to group supporting Bradley Manning

[Amerigo Vespucci]

PayPal cuts service to group supporting Bradley Manning



http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/02/24/paypal-cuts-service-to-group-supporting-bradley-manning-report/

Online payment provider PayPal has apparently frozen the account of Courage to Resist, a group raising funds to support US Army Pfc. Bradley Manning, the whistleblower accused of passing classified documents to WikiLeaks.

The group said Thursday in a media advisory that PayPal recently chose to freeze its account -- created in 2006 -- after it began soliciting donations to support Manning. The 23-year-old, arrested in May, could face charges of espionage or treason.

He is currently being held in solitary confinement in a Virginia maximum security prison, where he sits alone in a cell for 23 out of 24 hours each day, according to Salon's Glenn Greenwald.

According to Courage to Resist, the "Bradley Manning Defense Fund" -- run in collaboration with the Bradley Manning Support Network -- has raised a total of $176,250 from 2,801 individuals, and an additional $60,640 for Manning's legal trust account.

[xchrom]

1. pay pal can fuck them selves then. nt

[CountAllVotes]

2. agree

Having problems w/them these days.

People are desperate and selling junk on ebay now. PayPal actually endorses such activity.

Now we see this.

FUCK PAYPAL is right!

:dem:

[el_bryanto]

5. Well, they have shown themselves willing to bend over for the government

that is lousy.

People have been selling their junk on ebay for what, a decade now? That's not exactly paypals fault.

Bryant

[CountAllVotes]

7. when I say junk I mean junk

I mean stuff that belongs in the trash because it has NO USE, not sold and mailed to people. :mad:

Why this is allowed is beyond me.

[el_bryanto]

8. Well I do agree - thinks like Justin Beiber cds; i think just putting out his music

is an act of Fraud. It's not music!

Brynt

[CountAllVotes]

11. yes that is the word - fraud

They encourage fraud and deception. This truly sucks.

Can I close my account already?

I'd sure like to after hearing one too many stories about credit card info. etc. being stolen/compromised. :(

As for Justin Beiber CDs ...

[femrap]

3. Is there an alternative to

Pay Pal? If I want to donate to DU, will I have to send a check from now on? And I won't be given 'hearts' because 'the check is in the mail?'

I really don't want to give them a $1 when I donate.

Why would I give money to a company that is treating my beliefs like shit?

Please let me know what alternatives are out there.

Thanks.

[CountAllVotes]

6. PayPal needs some competition

How can we avoid this scum bag company that endorses such practices? Good damn question!

A new business needs to start up and take over so that honest people can pay for things online. It seems that someone out there should be interested. :think:

:kick:

[femrap]

9. They really have no

competitor? Damn. Gee, maybe I can create a job for myself after all!

[CountAllVotes]

12. if you have the means to do it

I say do it PLEASE!!! I do mean it too! YES.

:kick:

[krabigirl]

17. I agree. One of my freelance clients will ONLY pay via Paypal. Sounds wrong to me.

I even asked them to cut me checks but they said no. :( I don't use pay pal for anything else. I wish there was a viable alternative.

[Xithras]

19. Paypal has competition

Both Amazon and Intuit run online payment services that compete with Paypal, and Intuit's is generally cheaper. There are also a number of smaller startup competitors like Noca that are beginning to show up across the web.

The problem, at this point, is simply intertia. Paypal had so little competition for such a long time that they became the de facto standard on the Internet. There may be better competitors showing up, but it will take time for them to make any real dent in Paypal's customer base.

[Renew Deal]

20. You can just burn your money

Because that's essentially what you're doing donating to Manning.

[sarge43]

4. Thanks for the heads up. n/t

[sarge43]

15. Just canceled my account

As I once told another pack of bandits, "I got along without you for years."

[CountAllVotes]

16. good

:thumbsup: As soon as a couple of issues are resolved it is good-bye forever PayPal!

I seriously hope these criminal bastards go broke!

[Dystopian]

10. KandR

http://www.standwithbrad.org/

peace~

[Earth_First]

13. Paypal can shove off...

Not only from this situation; their customer service bottom line: SUCKS!

I had a fradulent charged posted to my account several weeks ago.

After searching through their website and a dozen others, I was FINALLY able to find a number to call.

When I called, I was connected to Mumbai, India. Very friendly, very eager to please individual. When I wasn't getting what I needed accomplished due to a language barrier, I kindly asked if I could be connected to an operator in the United States, I was connected to the most rude, condescending, individual I have dealt with in some time.

I'm currently looking for an alternative option.

If anyone has any ideas...let's hear them!

THANKS!

[Robb]

14. LOL, here's the "big deal":

"We exchanged numerous emails and phone calls with the legal department and the office of executive escalations of PayPal," explained Jeff Paterson. "They said they would not unrestrict our account unless we authorized PayPal to withdraw funds from our organization's checking account by default. Our accounting does not allow for this type of direct access by a third party, nor do I trust PayPal as a business entity with this responsibility given their punitive actions against WikiLeaks-an entity not charged with any crime by any government on Earth."

Sorry, but PayPal asks me to do the same thing. :shrug:

ETA: Sorry, link: http://www.couragetoresist.org/x/content/view/891/1/

[msanthrope]

22. So they didn't agree to the TOS and now they are bitching?

Please. They can find another servicer, then.

[krabigirl]

18. So, so wrong. Fuck pay pal.

[GeorgeGist]

21. Hopefully, come next fund drive ...

DU won't require me to use PayPal.

[sarge43]

23. Send a check

It'll slow things down a bit, but if we all do it, it'll send a message.

[aikoaiko]

24. Their PayPal account has been reinstated -- check the orginal story link.

Update: Hours after Courage to Resist took their case against PayPal to their website, over 10,000 people signed a petition criticizing the online payments firm for their decision.

The account was reinstated a short time thereafter.

"Thank you to all of our supporters – many of whom contacted PayPal individually or signed the petition hosted by Firedoglake – who helped us restore our account," group spokesman Jeff Paterson wrote.