Dear friends,
I have a few special categories of people I want to say goodbye to with a few short messages. Here we go:
To my moderators
Friends, you all are truly the unsung heroes of this blog! Your job was both 1) absolutely crucial and 2) totally thankless. And you sure saw it all, from the most hate filled to the most hypocritical, to various degrees of AIs impersonating real humans, to organized troll campaigns – over the years our enemies truly gave us their very “best”. And, in spite of having a long list of rules to base your decisions on, you had to use your best judgements over and over again. And, of course, you got a steady stream of criticisms (censorship! censorship! censorship!), and hardly ever a simple “thank you”. So now, I want to begin by you and express my immense gratitude for your superb contribution to the blog: while here and there a few drops did pass, thanks to you, about 98% of the mental sewer out there was kept away from our comments section. I cannot adequately express how grateful I, and many others, are to you. So I want to, one more time, simply tell you how grateful I personally am for everything you have done!
To my IT aides
Your work was behind the scenes, but it was crucial. Be it the LAMP stack or WordPress itself, I could never have done it alone and you are, of course, also the unsung heroes of this blog! Some of you have stood by the blog for *years*, and you have not only helped make the blog into the flexible instrument it was, you have also played a crucial role in keeping the blog going while under all sorts of attacks, including very sophisticated and determined ones. You truly gave the blog your all, and you defeated both the (inevitable) technical problems and the determined attacks. Again, I cannot thank you enough!!
To the various Saker haters out there
Yes, you also tried your very best to bring the blog down and to somehow “defeat” me. Some of you tried to use the blog to gain some visibility. Others attacked me for not agreeing with your stupid and cultish ideas (including various flavors of racism). You insulted my guest authors, and you slandered me on other blogs. And what did you achieve? Absolutely nothing :-)
There is a saying out there: “the best revenge is a good life“. This also applies to this blog which you have totally failed to affect. I really have nothing else to say to you other than the few words above. Come to think of it, I do: your ever attempt at bringing down the blog only made *you* smaller, more irrelevant and more worthy of pity.
To those who betrayed my trust
I have nothing to say to you.
To my Muslim and secular Jewish friends
Though you are Muslims and secular Jews, I think of you as my good Samaritans! Though you always knew that I did not share your religious views (or your agnosticism) and you knew that I was a traditionalist Orthodox Christian, you helped me over and over again. Not because you wanted to convert me to your views, but out of the loving kindness of your hearts! Frankly, your kindness, generosity and compassion put to shame my own supposed “brothers” (by blood or by faith). As a Russian saying goes, “not all brothers are friends, but all friends are brothers“. I fully agree with this!
To my Orthodox brothers and sisters
With a few truly shining exceptions, you were mostly absent when I needed you most. Some of you went as far as trying to silence me. For you I have only a few truisms I want to share with you:
- Neither ignorance nor hate are virtues (John 13:35).
- It takes no courage to “fight” (in words only) our supposed “enemies” from the past history or from the other side of the globe since these supposed “enemies” cannot fight back.
- It would take courage to struggle against the enemies of Christ and His Church, especially when they are in power above us; and no, “my country – right or wrong!” is not a Patristic aphorism.
I leave you with these words of Christ: “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.” (Matt 5:13)
The friends I cannot mention
Over the years, I had the joy and honor to be in contact with some well known public figures who asked me to keep our friendship private as revealing our friendship could hurt them, their efforts and even their families. One such dear friend is not with us anymore, but I still cannot disclose his name (you are welcome to make guesses, but please keep them to yourselves and don’t post them here!). To these dear friends, whether still with us or not, I want to express my love, admiration and gratitude. I hope to see the day when I can name them.
To my many guest authors
This blog is as much yours as it is mine! Your (fantastically diverse) contributions truly were they key factor which gave this blog its unique nature: a true diversity of views! You agreed to write for this blog knowing full well that I posted articles from very different, sometimes mutually exclusive, point of views. I am especially grateful to the various Marxists who agreed to contribute to a blog run by a “people’s monarchist” (I think that this concept – Народная Монархия – is a uniquely Russian phenomenon which I explain here under the “December 2015 addendum from the Saker”). Likewise, I want to also express my gratitude to the many agnostics/secularists who agreed to contribute to a blog run by a traditionalist Orthodox Christian. Last, but not least, I want to thank the various Muslim authors who agreed to contribute to a blog run by a Christian. All I can say is that I hope that one day the world will be as appreciative of the “other” instead of hating him. Your example is, I hope, an inspiration to many!
***
That’s it for today, I hope that I have not forgotten anybody. If I have, I will try to correct this oversight before March 1st.
Now I have a few more things to share with you:
A new friend very kindly dedicated an article to me
Aleks, who is a new friend, has just written a very good piece on the prospects for World War 3 and he went as far as to dedicate it to me. I am most grateful to him and I invite you to read this article here: https://open.substack.com/pub/bmanalysis/p/prospects-for-world-war-3-dedicated
Next,
Archiving issues
We are working on them, please be patient. Our plan is to wait for the day the blog will be shut down and replace it with a single page with URLs pointing to the various locations which have agreed to host the blog. I will keep the domain name http://10.16.86.131/ and that will be where you will find this list of archives.
And, finally
One more topic: “Israel”
When I stared the blog on blogspot (https://vineyardsaker.blogspot.com/) in distant 2007, my very first article was about a Zionist conference in Israel (https://vineyardsaker.blogspot.com/2007/05/where-empire-meets-to-plan-next-war.html). By the way, the Zionist attack on Iran which I predicted in that first article has still not happened, and I hope and pray that it never will. But I think that the topic of “Israel” is one which I want to revisit one last time before I shut down the blog. So while I won’t write any more analyses, you can expect one more post by me on the topic on what “Israel” means for the world. Stay tuned :-)
That’s it for me for right now.
Love to all
Andrei
Thank you for great information, we’ll meet again in a paradise I believe. The insight you have provided through the years is both valuable in this life and the next. I will share some information with you and your faithful followers.
Kitco News) – A bank can legally confiscate its clients’ money in the event it needs to stay afloat, and most retail investors are not aware of this, said Lynette Zang, Chief Marketing Analyst at ITM Trading, who stressed that such legislation is already codified in the Dodd-Frank Act.
If they needed to stay afloat they have the Fed for that, they don’t need client money for that.
But if a war were to break out w/China, not only would debts be uncollectable, trade should suffer just as bad.
And in that case the Feds might make a move through the banks they control to do just that to keep the system alive and the citizens the parasites.
Money in the bank or some institution hands is the worst idea right now. The gvt is so close to flipping out as the citizens are slowly burning out that anything beyond petty cash is questionable call going forward.
Alabama, please try and stay on topic. You can discuss this in the MFC. Thx. Mod.
As a clear voice of reason in the age of disinformation you will be sorely missed.
Thank you for your service and good luck to you!
Wishing you well with incredible gratitude for what you have done – which is actually a LOT.
What a loss.
– Shyaku
Andrei
I am very sorry to see you go. For more years than I can remember, you have begun my day. It has been to your site, and to Moon of Alabama’s, that I have directed friends who have asked me where I get some of my opinions and ideas when our conversations have touched on the political.
We may not have always been on the same page, but I have always respected your honesty and your faith. I think of your Christian Vignettes especially here.
Go in peace, and go knowing that you have made a difference for the better.
Hal
Dear Saker,
I would like to congratulate you for this blog. It is an achievement that you can be proud of. Watching the crimes of the U.S. empire can be a frustrating experience and make one feel helpless. However, with this blog, you managed to do something tangible against the U.S. “problem”, reaching many thousands of people with views that are not generally available in “zone A”. The analysis on this blog also set a higher standard for discussions then is found in the dumbed-down discourse in the mainstream U.S. press.
I live in America, as you do, and my views are not represented here; the censorship system has rendered people of my views invisible. While I don’t always agree with the views on this blog, I think I agree with the important points on matters I really care about, such as not committing crimes and basically having a sense of decency. I come from the left. I think what has happened is that people from completely different political backgrounds find themselves brought together by opposition to U.S. perfidy. I think the “blob” wants to keep people from various backgrounds from uniting against them by using “woke” issues.
My past has been one where I mostly focused on Middle East issues. It is a dismal scene. Russia, and to a lesser extent some other countries, triumphs against the empire has been a source of positive news in my life.
I hope you can resolve your health problems and enjoy a similar success with whatever you find yourself doing in the future.
Long life and a very Great Thankyou.
One thing I can say openly is that I appreciate the insights into Russian and Eastern orthodoxy, since I simply enjoy all such insights into every religion, and in the context of such high levels of military expertise and insight into the operations of the false flags of the shadow governments, I am purely thankful, and I will miss this compilation of sources.
Thanks for introducing me to Martyanov, whom I will try to continue to follow. You also guided me to Lira, so likewise. I will miss you Mr. Raevsky, if I can’t find your military analysis anywhere.
The religious side is pure bonus. I feel no necessity to express agreement or disagreement, but it all fits into the great model of what I consider life, which includes all religion, which are in some senses are the ties that bind. Bound or unbound, the truth has abounded here. And the professionalism, with the profession of faith.
Quando não há palavras, um forte abraço diz muito. Gostaria muito de te dar um abraço.
Que Deus te abençoe sempre.
Automatic translation:
When there are no words, a strong hug says a lot.
I would love to give you a hug.
May God always bless you.
Andrei,
I’ll look forward to that one.
Thanks for the interesting links and individuals that have been insightful.
até outro dia
Peace to you Andrei. Some music from Brasil for you. No translation needed. ;)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUz0a2cl_RM
ich glaube ich lese in deinem Blog von Anfang an, da ich davon in the Asia Times erfuhr .Und was mich sehr stark schon damals beeincdruckt hat war dein Artikel ( the 4 Dominos ) über die ersten Verhandlungen Atom Deal 4+1, die später in den JCPOA Abkommen mündet.
Es wird mir sehr schwer fallen zu verkraften deinen Blog nicht mehr erleben zu dürfen.Durch Deinen Blog bin so zu sagen wie hineingewachsen in eine Realität de sonst mir verborgen geblieben wäre . Dir und all denen, die mir durch ihr Wissen und Weltsicht so viel gegeben haben , mein ewigen Dank!
Alles Gute für Dich und die Deinigen, sind die Wünschen meiner deutsche-brasilianische Seele!
Translation:
I think I’ve been reading your blog from the beginning, when I found out about it in the Asia Times. And what really impressed me even then was your article (the 4 Dominos) about the first negotiations of the Atom Deal 4+1, which were later published in leads to the JCPOA agreement.
It will be very difficult for me to cope with not being able to experience your blog anymore. Through your blog I have, so to speak, grown into a reality that would otherwise have remained hidden from me. You and all those who have given me so much through their knowledge and world view, my eternal thanks!
All the best for you and yours are the wishes of my German-Brazilian soul!
Yours Zé ca roceiro
Hello Andrey,
I haven’t been here long, but I just have no idea how to fill the gap that will be created. I don’t like to get used to some similar pages, it makes me very dissatisfied. I try not to read these excuses and I am very sorry that this site did not continue to work elsewhere under the auspices of some friendly house.
We are somewhat similar because I have a similar problem. I should shut down the Music Author Agency “JU MIDI”. There is a huge membership from Australia to Canada. I can’t carry it on my back anymore.
I wish you all the best, lots of health and happiness. We will endure everything, and win of course. It is clear that they have started now to neutralize us Serbs as soon as possible. It won’t work, no one has succeeded, so JO won’t be able to either.
Greetings once again Andrej and thank you for everything, thank you to everyone I have interacted with on this blog.
Dear Andrei
To have found you and your blog all those years ago now brings up so many memories Those words Stop The Empires War on Russia will always ring in my ears and is close to my heart and always will be. That and your Orthodox Christianity. It is something I was exposed to as a youngster having worked with Greek people for a major portion of my life. Theology is what i truly love, Christ being my first love. My testimony is something quite extraordinary and of course my constant harping about climate change as being the work of God!!! To make the right decisions requires does it not the right and correct information to begin with yes? Take 9/11 for example. It wasn’t just a coincidence to turn on the evening news and watch the lady newscaster read the script before her and as she relayed the news about a terrifying thunder hailstorm hitting the City of Chicago with such ferocity that spectators at some sporting event ran for their lives ducking for cover, literally bringing the entire event to a standstill. I’ll never forget the look of what? on that ladies face as she glanced at the camera and then back down to the paperwork in stunned disbelief that she actually read what she read. For me the words of the Bible about Divine Communication and the weather being the tool quickly left me wondering and questioning the why of that event. It was just three days later when i again sat watching the news and lo and behold 9/11 occurred? Yes, there is a pattern to what is going on and if one keeps a diary and understands the history of the bible one will be able to quickly make some important connections. Never seen such courage though eh, Saker?
Now I could go on and on but why the concern for Russia and in fact Germany is because of the Gog and Magog prophecy fiasco of Ezekiel 38 and 39. The Christian West really believes that Russia and Germany are those 2 nations and given of course the rise of Communism and Fascism it was only logical to think that way? But it is a mistake a very great mistake and Israel or rather there are those there who believe it and that is most serious and dangerous? Bush said it publicly of course during the gulf war that Gog and Magog are at work in the Middle East. Yikes!!! We need to stop this and indeed the churches in the West need to immediately repudiate it. I am trying and will continue to do my part in stopping this great error.
Lastly, that I conducted myself well on your blog is what i always endeavored to do, how could i not and O how I hate goodbyes.
And so a song which is a prayer indeed and may it happen BIG TIME !!!!!!!!!!
https://youtu.be/Z2qUoZKxC9s
Cheers
Gerry Fox
Andre I am very, VERY sorry to see you go, especially now with the Vineyard in seeming full flourish. But we all must respect your wishes (however selfishly & reluctantly . . . oops that didn’t come out right . . . I’m meaning WE cannot be selfish in wanting you to carry on, but must understand) to heal & to tread an altered path though I know you will stay true to your family & your faith.
Please take this as a heartfelt “Thank You” for all the work & sacrifices you AND your family have made to provide this very meaningful haven of sanctuary that allowed us to know we weren’t going mad while the world around us implodes – that there are many likeminded who see the true evil of greed & war for greeds sake growing in the world.
I will miss this wonderful blog but others are out there carrying the torch. Be safe Andre & I hope you & your families way forward is bathed in the sunlight of your God
Till we meet on the other side Love from Chris in Christchurch, Oceana
Would like to thank Andrei for The Saker blog.
I came late, still found it valuable. Particularly found the writing about Russian culture and Orthodoxy of interest. Influential in my switch from the Protestant to the Orthodox Church.
I’m burned out after the pandemic, but leave this half finished song as a good bye gift :
https://soundcloud.com/cc-47/the-future?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
Wish you all well. God Bless.
Saker,
You have meant very much to me. I know that I share this feeling with many others.
God Bless You!
Arthur G. Brina
Since 2014, this website and blog has been a lifeline for me, connecting me to truth and reality. Andrei, from the beginning, I felt your genuineness and guilelessness as you presented the facts about Russia, about the Donbass, and about the Ukraine. Although you yourself are living on and I pray a good long life with your family, the loss of access to you through your website and blog is like the loss of a dear friend. It is my hope that some day you will be able to return to the fray with the courage and the fortitude which you have shown us over the years.
God bless and Godspeed!
Robert M. Peters
Through the blog I have been enriched and educated. Many thanks to all involved.
In Light and Grace may you be all the days of your life.
I got it
I know (how I want to work this)
now, just imagine you
(Andrei) are on a nameless planet ..
alone… without any religion-(more or less )
I (Bostonian2023) are also on this planet … alone.. by myself (without any religious affiliation more or less)
(and earth did not exist yet… no existence yet) ..
in this context … we would both get along great.
as you were the best trustworthy acquaintance
(in struggle or cause)
thanks so much for all the worthwhile years
.
sincerely
Bostonian 2023
Andrei
You are a great guy
We all love you.
(that is all you need to know)
Thank you so much Saker for all your work!
Is there a chance that you can share your Essential series in .epub format too?
Saker,
I was greatly saddened to read that you are closing your blog. For the most part, I’ve been in complete denial, and now I am in a period of mourning and grief.
You may never see these words, but I want you to know that your analysis and writings have been for me like a beacon of light reaching across a stormy tempest on the darkest of dark nights.
Now that light is flickering and soon it will be gone. While there are other voices I will turn to for hope, none will replace your voice of wisdom. I have not agreed with all that you have written on your blog (but when have folks ever agreed on every jot and tittle?). Yet our differences are minuscule when compared to our shared viewpoints, which stretch out like a vast ocean.
I would beg you not to leave us, but understand that this is your decision to make. To this, I would offer the Neil Young song, “Long May You Run” as a token of my gratitude for the two decades of articles that spoke truth to power.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qokZxNUpnig
You can always count on me as a dear friend and should you ever need to reach out to me for anything, you have my email and please note that I will answer your call.
Good luck and may you live long and prosper!
The Kansan
Thanks for all your time, energy and analysis, Andrei! You will be missed but never forgotten!
I only discovered The Saker since (and as a result of) the SMO, but in that time it’s become one of very few sources of news/opinion that I feel I can trust. The experience of living in the west during the SMO has had a distorting effect on time, reality and human relationships. Maybe it’s because I’ve only in the last year realised to what an extent our media has been lying about Russia, and how many people accept these lies as absolute truths and will show a very ugly side if questioned on them – but I feel like I know this Russian man whom I’ve never met and didn’t know existed until a year ago, while people I’ve known for years have become like strangers to me.
So goodbye Saker, and though I barely knew you, rest assured that your work had a profound effect on me, amongst many others
Andrei, I want to express my gratitude for all of the insights that you have enabled and given on your blog. I have been a silent but appreciative reader for many years. I will miss this blog, thankyou!