Dear friends,
You guys are amazing, that is all I can say…. It is 0915 and already 53 replies telling me to go ahead. Okay, I yield. I will set up a contributions/donations system. All I can say is that I am immensely touched and immensely grateful.
One small comment and then we will go back to the more important issues: some have suggested that I put ads on the blog. Guys, please forgive me, I can’t do that. I hate ads with such a total loathing that I cannot even put it in words. To me, they are the perfect symbol of everything which I hate in our society and there is just no way I could place ads here. I know, this is naive and/or stupid, but that is how I am and I cannot change myself. Seeing an ad here would make me sick. On my sidebar you can see that I urge you to support the FSF and EFF (as I do by being a member of both), but that’s it. That is the closest to an ‘ad’ I will ever get.
Anyway, I will come up with some system and let you all know.
Friends – thank you!
The Saker
Saker Message:
Good now that settled we can move on:) I hate ads also and forgot add in my last comment please remember this is earned income so it’s taxable unless you decide to do non-profit. Back to business on hand.
The new and improved Ukraine govt. is going have a had time to fight the so-called enemy when the troops have figured it out already who the enemy is.
http://rt.com/news/crimea-air-base-allegiance-593/
http://rt.com/news/crimea-russian-special-forces-560/
It is 110% obvious that for a site such as this advertisements don’t merit even 1 microsecond of consideration. To paraphrase the wife of a former U.S. President, “Ads are simply appalling!”
I don’t agree that donations are “earned income”. The Saker is not writing on this blog for money. People who donate are not paying him to write. (Some people, however, might gladly pay him not to write.)
The comments made today about Russia by the leaders of the US, the UK, France and the EU are unbelievably stupid. Boggles the mind! And there’s Willie Hague standing up in front of the TV cameras next to the Ukrainian Prime Minister who’s declaring that the Ukraine will never give up the Crimea! Is this a comedy show or what?
From Mexico..
I have followed your blog since 2007 I think maybe sooner than that..but since I found you I had almost a secure line that could help me understand most of the issues going on due to your analysis and explanations…I agree to not put ads on your blog and it says a lot of you..because you do what you say not say one thing and go totally the opposite way I admire that in you and truly on all you writing and reply to my comments and others you showed a person on who you can totally trust on…so yes I hope to be able to help you on some financial just because I consider you A FRIEND!! thanks for sharing your knowledge and time Saker!!!
Hi Saker. Have a tangential comment related to your extremely good blog in general, which likely other people have made also: If you want to be more widely accepted and quoted elsewhere, you really need to tone down somehow the vitriolic name calling rants amid your comments somehow, maybe with an announcement and an ex post facto redaction of some kind. I realize that would be bothersome and time consuming, but without it your blog as such will be perceived as some kind of eccentric racist forum, rather than the thoughtful analytic forum it really is. I do not necessarily disagree with the points of view I’m referring to, but merely counsel prudence. Your own thoughts on the matter are well enunciated on the left sidebar, which I believe should suffice.
Hi Saker,
I fully condone all the encouragement you received (in the comments section of previous post) by your followers and admirers, I could not agree more!
I also do not have direct knowledge of the ways to set up best your incoming channel for contributions but I will say the following:
There is a famous French revisionist who endured convictions and fines in his country beyond nowadays understanding for simply researching and publishing the historical truth in regard to events of WWII. I assume he is under a lot more pressure than you, you’ll probably be able to search for details if interested (let me know!), he is the father of eight and banned for taking up jobs through normal means, forced to move with his family to Belgium and more…however he long ago decided to resist the system and set up a way to receiving contributions related to his revisionist work with, firstly, a paypal account linked only to an email address and secondly with a mail cash or international money order to a postal box as in
xxxxxxx
C.P. xxx
xxxxxxx
Switzerland
There is a web link to this information so easy to check out.
I hope this is of practical use, good luck!
Evia
I will contribute to your efforts by donating but can´t stand ad´s me neither. Good. Most of us have adblock & Firefox anyway…
I havn´t seen the former Indian top diplomat to Russia so angry for a long time:
“How far the threatening posture US Secretary of State John Kerry took toward President Vladimir Putin over Russia’s military stance on Ukraine, and specifically Crimea, was genuine doesn’t really matter. What matters is that Kerry demanded virtual capitulation by Russia under the shadow of US retribution, and that’s being plain dishonest and unrealistic. Nor can Kerry say there is no blood on his own hands.”
http://blogs.rediff.com/mkbhadrakumar/2014/03/03/ukraine-imperils-obamas-foreign-policy-legacy/
Did the Ukrainian naval officers really react negatively to Berezovsky, or is this typical Western propaganda? http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/03/ukraine-navy-officers-defect-russian-crimea-berezovsky
Oh, and fwiw, I totally support your not having any ads on this site: it’s so nice not seeing them.
Also from Mexico… I stumbled upon your blog a few days ago trying to get past the mainstream media about the situation in Ukraine, it’s being handled in such a way that I frankly find insulting. Anyway, I just want to congratulate you on your interesting and in-depth analysis of the situation; this, along with the contributions made by another readers, has been very enlightening. Will be glad to donate. Keep up the good work!
Cheers
Also, I strongly disagree with Ivanov: we value you so much precisely because you see things clearly, Saker, analyze exceedingly well, and speak your mind. Don’t stop now!! ;~)
Also, I strongly disagree with Ivanov: we value you so much precisely because you see things clearly, Saker, analyze exceedingly well, and speak your mind. Don’t stop now!! ;~)
Anonymous Serendipity said
I would check with an CPA for there are other bloggers that are in trouble with the irs. It better to be safe then owe the irs and that comes from someone that was audited 5 years in a row and never lost to them.
Good choice my friend.
Let us know when you set everything up via e-mail update…
Although, while I understand your concerns about ads, I think the benefits are way outweighted by the drawbacks. You could begin with some non-intrusive ads somewhere where they aren’t that prominent and see how it goes for a couple of weeks. If you don’t like it, you can always go back…
Dear Saker,
Just make sure your blog notes that donations are not tax-deductible. Another step would be to create an LLC that elects S corporation status that would receive the donations. This gives personal protection from legal harassment.
In my opinion, do not waste your time with trying for 501(c)3 status. At least for me, please feel free to use my donations however you wish including taking a well-deserved vacation once in a while.
Good luck and thanks!
Hi Saker,
You might consider allowing comments to post automatically and then just going back over them later to double check they weren’t gibberish…works well for me, but I don’t get nearly as many comments as you. The advantages are you don’t have to feel pressured and also people can communicate with each other more quickly.
A blog you might like that also does it this way is AmericanEveryman.com … his ability to identify fake stuff and get to the truth is uncanny – really, nothing gets by this guy. (I also recommended you to him :)
Finally, in addition to a donation button, you might consider a PO Box for cash donations via snail mail – just as you obviously value your privacy, some people don’t like to donate electronically. That’s probably not your top priority now, but it might be worthwhile at some point.
–Austrogirl
Thank you Saker, I do the same on my web site. I am reading you for shopping. I am not writing for selling perfume.
Thank you Saker, I do the same on my web site. I am not reading you for shopping. I am not writing for selling perfume.
Definitely worth setting up Pay Pal button or something similar Saker You put a huge amount of time and work into this blog and it’s a very valuable resource for people all over the world so you deserve to earn some income from it and it will be entirely up to the readers whether they choose to donate. Cheers Robert
No!no ads. Who said accept ads??? And from whom, anyway??
The whole idea of donating something is to ensure independence and a clean, unblinking page.
Also, I don’t do PayPal.
I agree with Monica.
Also give a snail mail address, a la Tom Feely at ICH.
P.S. No ads.
Glad you’ve decided to let us help.
As for method, I suggest (as Evia did also) that a simple post office box would do just fine. All you have to do is get a d/b/a account at your local bank under the Vineyard Saker name, so you can deposit the checks you receive. My husband and I have a d/b/a business account and it’s very simple to do.
I think your privacy would be pretty safe that way, too. No system is infallible when it comes to evil people who have the means, of course, but a simple post office box and d/b/a account would certainly protect against casual snooping I’d think.
Like some of the others here, I don’t do Paypal or Bitcoin.
Hope I can contribute soon !
Absolutely no adds!
WizOz
Austrogirl said: “You might consider allowing comments to post automatically and then just going back over them later to double check they weren’t gibberish…”
Nice idea, but risky. Recently at a certain WordPress forum some troll began to post lots of garbage posts, which were manually removed by the moderators. He then posted over 1000 garbage posts (presumably using some kind of automatic submission), assuming that the moderators would be put to a lot of trouble to remove them. Fortunately the forum sysop was able to ban this person and at the same time automatically remove all his garbage posts. So if you allow automatic posting then you’d better have the support of someone who could quickly handle such a situation.
Привет! Спасибо за классную аналитику! Было бы здорово добавить возможность комментировать пользуясь аккаунтами других соц сетей, например твиттер, с возможностью кросс-постинга/шаринга. Вас должно читать как можно большее количество вменяемых людей по всему миру, потому что все, что пишет нынешняя западная говнопресса не выдерживает никакой критики.
Спасибо, удачи, и продолжайте в том же духе!!!
@IntolrntBastrd
The money that the Russian government spends on RIA Novosti would be better to be given to people like you.