Dear friends,
In the recent weeks the donations have fallen to almost *zero* even though the combined readership between the two blogs is comfortably over 50’000 a day. Please help me to continue putting as many hours of work each day into the old and new blog and bring you the same quantity and quality of information and analyses. As any other form of warfare, information warfare also needs funding. Please help.
Thank you,
The Saker
Donating now. That being said, as I suggested you, I really think you should schedule the calls for money twice a month rather than asking when things get sour. And/or put a reminder at the end of every post of your.
I have Bitcoin. How can I donate, Saker?
We have a couple of alternative methods for sending donations but Bitcoin is not among them yet. You can see the whole list on this page: How to contact me and send donations…
I have donated.
Agree with Redford’s comment. Somewhat.
My perception is that clearly stated goals (not just relating money) are more motivating than open-ended non-goals.
My suggestion is to try to quantify what you need each month—that is, get specific—and try to get regular subscribers to donate a small amount each month (via credit card). Set a goal of covering XX% of needed money via regular subs, and the balance by special appeals to top up to the total stated goal. Then both you and your readers have concrete goals.
Say, you need $1,000/month. Your goal is for 75% of that to be covered by subs via PayPal or credit card. 75 subs of $10 each will cover it. 150 subs of $5 each. So, you can then count the number and each person who decides to do a $10 sub has made a CONCRETE contribution to reaching a CONCRETE goal.
Katherine
Money? No problem.
Sign over your four dogs, your weapons, your refrigerator, any vehicles and whatever gold exists in your teeth.
We will extend credit for two months, but you must buy American products only.
And we are cutting your broadband connection to copper wire, and eight strangers will be sent to live in your garage, rent free. If they have black headbands and smell of liver, don’t panic. Just convert to whatever religion they say.
We are your friend.
A friend in need is a friend we need. The check is in the mail.
The IMF
Message repeated in French by double clicking our logo.
Saker, open up a Patreon account. It is a big thing on Youtube. Just look it up.
Thanks for the new forum Saker.
My comment to the 50,000 viewers is:
For the love of (insert your favorite deity) people, how hard is it in this modern, electronic age to pony up a few dollars a month to support the best damn blog on our favorite topic of interest ??
If an old fart like me can spare $20/month from his SS czech, the majority of you can give the the Saker a 5 to 100 a month blessing. Sheesh! Come on you slackers, get out your PayPal and Visa cards.
Belief it or not, with as large an audience as the VotS has, there must be more than just idle curiosity seeker here. I’m sure there are enough serious surfers to this blog that even a paltry sum from each one would add up to a lot towards guarranteeing that the Saker and his associates can continue to keep us informed. I don’t care if we overshoot the goals and his family gets an extra hotdog on their dinner plates. Maybe even an Amber Bock to wash it down with. And pizza on Sundays too!!
First of all thank you very much for your invaluable work. A smaller donation should be possible in the next week.
As already proposed in October by me and many others, call a monthly amount for the donation and make the development visible. There should be a clear goal and a graphic or a counter should show what has already been achieved. That animates people to fill up the rest and it also demonstrates that through small donations in the sum a lot can come together.
I know last year you did not get involved on it and certainly money is always a sensitive issue. Because the current approach (by the very informative podcasts that I really appreciate) obviously does not work, in my opinion you should set an amount at the beginning of the month. Possibly, a certain basis can be established through small but regular donations. Maybe you think about it again.
I quite like this blog since there is valuable and interesting information that I don’t see on other media, and the analyses are insightful. I would have donated as I donate to other blogs and poadcasts, but I’m shocked that you consider yourself as participating in “information warfare”. I’m looking for (an approximation to) the whole picture, not propaganda…
Saibot, a lot of small sites like Saker’s are trying to get some truthful information and facts out to the public, against the propaganda pumped out by the MSM. In that regard it is warfare.
As others have said Saker, start a monthly contribution/subscription setup that is voluntary. I have subscribed to several other news sites to get past their paywall that I hardly read any more. this is one site I would like to see stay solvent.
I really do not understand your objection to the term “information warfare”, Sailbot. On the other side are produced truckloads of misleading information, lies, insults and false flag events which cause, or are meant to eventually cause, the death of some, but preferably, many.
On our side we try, as best we can, to balance all that disinformation with factual information.
Almost everything produced by official Western media has as purpose to support their governments’ lies and disinformation. They maliciously try to dehumanize those they consider their opponents with such, often all-too-successful, nonsense as comparing them to Hitler.
One cannot think of anything so low, disgusting, demented and vile or it has been used by the Western media.
So, yes, I wholeheartedly agree with Saker that we are engaged in daily “information warfare”.
It is only true knowledge that will set you free. The rest leads to slavery.
To put my money where my mouth is, I will send Saker a monthly contribution.
My sincere thanks and admiration to all who make this site possible.
I heartily second Jana’s comment.
That comment reminded me that back in 2008 Ron Paul had a dynamite system of getting donations for his campaign. Complete with whistles, bells, and the occasional “Money Bomb”. Excellent graphics that showed whether or not our contributions were making a difference. maybe it was an expense and/or overly technical procedure…but with the crowd Ron had it sure paid off. Maybe you could get your own blimp and run for president LOL. Just kicking things around. As usual I may be just full of condensed apple pie. Vic
Thanks for your work. A friend just out of the blue gave me a gift of two one hundred dollar bills. I’ll give one hundred to you by snail mail. What goes around comes around. Much love to you and yours.
urgent urgent
Boris Lemntsov? leader solidarity just shot dead Moscow Centre before a march
Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov has been killed two hours ago. Maybe to blame it on Putin and provoke unrest?
Great work by the American Ambassador. Throws dirt on Russia, the Kremlin, Putin and freedom in Russia. And you get rid of someone who was useless. Cannon fodder in Ukriane, cannon fodder in Moscow. Same thing.
You pay a gangster 100,000 and you get 100 Million Dollars worth of shit to dump on Putin.
http://21stcenturywire.com/2015/02/27/alert-russian-opposition-leader-boris-nemtsov-shot-dead-in-moscow/
With link to RT coverage
Not good.
In order to make a dent in the information war, first you have to trace the problem (the body politic is asleep) to its origin. You can trace the zombification of the American public back to that extraordinarily creepy, mesmerizing and hypnotic Nescafe commercial with the pendulum swinging back and forth and the tick-tock-tick-tock sound effect that was run on television immediately after Walter Cronkite interrupted regularly scheduled programming with the news bulletin announcing that shots were fired at President Kennedy’s motorcade. That put the whole country into a trance. It’s been asleep ever since. How do you make people snap out of it? RT’s story on Bill O’Reilly’s fibs in his Killing Kennedy book is a good start. Watch for RT to dig up some more dirt. No wonder “they” want to shut it down. The zombies are waking up, shut it down now.
I think there is something to this. A few days ago I saw the film Easy Rider. Maybe I posted about this already. If so, sorry. Brain cells dying off, I suppose (even though I do not watch TV). Anyhow, that film was made in 1969. It seems to be remembered chiefly for the fact that the drug scenes were “real” and that It more or less introduced Jack Nicolson to the film public. What struck me, though, is that it is a picture of “clash of civilizations’ here in the USA, forget Islam. The backlash against the “alternative” and hopeful sixties was extreme. The film ends with the execution of the two main protagonists. The Jack Nicolson character is also murdered by reps of the smae sector of US society that helped fuel the backlash. The two “easy riders” are “popped” off by a couple of rednecks who hate long-hairs and their bikes and bodies left by the side of the road to burn up. Presumably to be robbed and their bodies hidden somewhere and their moms never to know what happened to them. The closing shot opens up to show a wide American river windingn tranquilly through a large, flat landscape. The two bikers lstrewn on teh ground are like the Icarus figure in the Breugel painting.
The whole thing felt very prescient to me. In the trance that was the sixties (hippies were really so fundamentally boring), the search for “truth” was via dropping out and turning on. You can’t think clearly when your mind is befogged by drugs. Or lies. The “alternative” portion of society dropped out and never wanted or could face the truth of waht happened to JFK and others. The “nonalternative” faction and its allies in the Deep State were very able to use this situation to retake the reins of govt and build out nongovt. controlling entities and technology. The fall of the USSR was a stroke of luck for the reactionaries and Deep Staters. With the Bushes the Deep State was once again fully in control of both the overt and covert levers of govt.
Of course, you cannot face the truth if it is withheld from you. Failure to face the truth leads to extreme dysfunction on every level. Suppression of the truth allows a vacuum for lies and reaction. And that is what happened in this country.
Think about it: Putin orders a hit in Moscow, near the Kremlin because that would mean people would never think he would do such a stupid thing, pointing fingers toward him, and painting Russia as the wild West.
Really?
Only the cowboys in the US government think of wasting a guy this way.
They blow up people right in Washington DC, shoot down airliners, and pay off contras in the streets of their own capital.
All all of the above is on the Congressional record.
Use your imagination and understand that they are very, very desperate that Putin is untouchable with Color Revolution, and they find a single turncoat in security or military for a coup.
And this is all about Putin. All the resident authors and talking heads are putting on their best slime pitches for the cable news shows.
I’m sure not ten Americans knew of Nemtsov before tonight.
He was with a 24 year old Ukrainian woman. Obviously, discussing geopolitics at midnight in Moscow’s streets.
This guy was absolutely a nothing going nowhere in Russian politics. Cannon fodder, like Red Ryder said above.
Sir, your comment ties in with some of the objections I see to the term ‘warfare’ with which I agree. Vladimir Putin has been making the attempt, with Saker’s mindful support on this blog, and heroic efforts by others far better able to do so than I can, for which we all thank them both – he has been making the attempt to restore civility to a crazed world that thinks only in terms of guns and war and brute force to make a difference. A crazed world that supplements these bloodthirsty aims by subjugating what ought to be a free press.
I strongly object to using the same terms describing ‘warfare’ when we are so up to our eyebrows in blood and gore and the horrors of war. We have to be more creative than that! I know, I have no right to be saying these things because I cannot contribute to this site in any other manner than with my tapping fingers, important as it is to me. Yesterday I received myself a gift of a few dollars with which I could buy milk. I have no credit card, no car, but I am so fortunate that my house is not being bombed – yet.
I realize, however, that this site is devoted to reporting on the state of conflict in the Donbass and other regions that are not being reported on, so to ask for a different term may seem ignorant at best. So, take my war-weariness with a huge grain of salt. I am not suffering as so many who have seen their homes obliterated there and their children sacrificed. I am sure all they want is for this madness to stop and help to come. So they wouldn’t care what you call it, and I am selfish to try to change the rhetoric when what we need to change is the mindset.
I too was somewhat shocked and turned off to see the term “information warfare” used here, especially in a fundraising context. I wonder, is that from The Saker of the idea of a Moderator. Careful you do not become what you are fight. I started my Truth Seekers list over 10 years ago (a small email list of acquaintances who were trying to undersatnd what was happening)—in Jan. 2003, prior to the invasion of Iraq. The hirl of lies was so obviious, and yet only a few were questioning. Now that term has become popular. Although I thought it up myself back then.And there are worse. I wouid far prefer to be described as engaging in truth seeking than an “information warfare.”
“50,000 / day” — is that visits, or individuals? Need to be careful interpreting such data. I personally normally drop in several times a day using either a PC, an iPad, or an iPhone depending on my location etc. That’s one person (i.e., 1x$donator) not 3, or 7.
Why not look at a crowd sourcing effort once or twice a year. John Pilger’s new film was funded in record time via Indiegogo? I’m not sure of their commission rate but it’s probably not much more than PayPal et al.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/john-pilger-the-coming-war-documentary
In spite of the occasional ‘peacenik’ objection, the “information war” is a good and valid theme — those who would lay in bed with the msm devils don’t deserve the peace of mind and heart (read soul) that a positive and assertive push-back action engenders to the donor.
Perhaps seek out some marketing ideas along this theme? Now that you have a slick looking web site it might be worth thinking about projects or themes which could be easily “shared” by people into other networks to extend your range. And, although it might grate on your sensibilities, some ‘bling’ items might also be an attractor. I’m not sure I’d wear your t-shirt or use your coffee cup (actually I might the letter) but then again it might be a good gift or even a collector’s item for the future etc.
Yes, it is an information war against a multi-zillion$ PR industry committed to distorting the truth and wrapping the facts in misrepresentation. It is a war against sleep! It is a war against the msm spawn of Edward Louis Bernays & Co.
If you get 36,000 Americans to contribute $1/year, you’ll get $36,000/year. $36,000/12= $3,000/month. Heck, if you recruit another 36,000 readers (should be a piece of cake) to contribute $1/year, you’ll be getting approx. $6,000.month. Even Novorossians can afford 1UAH/year and the population of Donbass is approx. 4,000,000. Publish your blog in Donbass and you should get at least another 1,000,000 or so readers. Even 1UAH/year adds up to a tidy sum of real money. And your Russian language blog should attract a minimum of 1 million Russians and 1Rouble/year times 1 million is also real money! So what’s the problem???
Good arithmetic there, but we think Saker is just trying to cover site hosting and management costs, and a bit to compensate for the second meat-space job he doesn’t have time for because of doing this much more important work. Novorossians need all their money for food.
Wait a sec, here. I’m just guessing, but if a pack of American chewing gum costs about 1UAH, I’m sure every Novorossian in Donbass will gladly sacrifice 1 pack of chewing gum a year to consume the Saker’s pearls of wisdom, instead! (healthier, too). As for the American Saker aficionados, giving up just 1 coke and 2 chicken nuggets year for him is not even up for discussion. With all the extra loot, the new blog can be enhanced with a hi-res capability for pix, an edit facility for comments and even a time-stamp for the comments. I’m sure the readers won’t mind if the Saker spends some of the surplus loot on a few 6-packs a month – consumed responsibly, of course. I really don’t see what the problem is! :O
Godsend, you always live up to your name!
Right on, Katherine! One begins to wonder why the Saker continues to rely on ad-hoc, sporadic donations, instead of coming up with a permanent, planned solution for his on-going financial needs – one that is financially painless for his thousands of readers, no matter what their financial situation. This is not a simple question with a simple answer. Is it too great an effort? Hardly. I think the Saker is a lovey-dovey, hugs and kisses, warmest regards kind-a-guy who is emotionally dependent on his readers. The personality and psychological profile of a cult leader or church leader comes to mind. I think he’s angling for devotion, not just donations! A budget and automatic subscriptions won’t deliver that. Then again, it might be the “Pied Piper of Hamlin” syndrome.
PS “Love Offerings”, popular in churches, comes to mind.
Doesn’t matter what is being covered. You should quantify so that donators have teh big picture. This is just basic common sense. In fact, if the team gets real about this and stops fooling around, seroius readers will respect that. These scattershot appeals with no concrete info on what is needed—call it the blank check approach—is naive. It suggests that no one has sat down to do a budget. So, I think it is time to grow up and right up a budget. How much do you need per month? Spit it out!
From a systems perspective, the Saker is simply the physical global manifestation of a fractal-like domain of similar ‘push-back’ and action-research activity which spans down to the individual in their home, workplace, street, suburb, city, state/province, nation etc. Only the scale changes.
In essence, the Saker (and his like) are the obvious public tip of a largely unorganized (read self-organizing) global Renaissance movement dedicated to returning to the normal human-scale development of peace and prosperity for all — indeed, a ‘common-wealth’ of the world. In historical terms this is no less a moral task than the abolition of slavery in the 1800’s.
Why do readers here immediately notice a distinct qualitative difference between the ‘fresh water’ from this spring when compared to the distorted septic swill served up by the the private and (with a very few exceptions) public media outlets?
It’s very simple: this is normal social discourse. That is not.
The alternative is rather PR mesmerisation@work. Propaganda published by the “1%” and those cohorts suckering off their alleged trickle-down effects. Today, it’s simply the ‘Mafia’, “Oligarchs”, … or whatever other gangster label or metaphor best applies in our respective localities.
In Mussolini’s terms, “Fascism is when you cannot slide a cigarette paper between business and government.” This essentially translates to: “there is no government (of the people by the people) — there are only empty suits and empty bureaucratic rituals parodying the democratic process.”
To sum up: the Saker (and his ilk) are sharing a Weltanschauung. It only appears ‘new’ and fresh because of how degenerated the current situation is. In fact, it is the oldest and most normal view in the world. For those so inclined, Adam’s function in the Creation was to ‘name’ things: i.e., the invention of language. The original ‘mission’ has not changed for the sons (and daughters) of Adam (& Eve) today — who, it might be said, were originally ‘created’ together and not one from the other as some degenerated theological systems might suggest.
How is this achieved? Very simply: the discourse is normal and spans the whole qualitative range outlined here — http://www.systems-thinking.org/dikw/dikw1.gif
And it begets similar in response thru the comments.
In layman’s terms, from the Saker’s Sitereps (data) thru to his musings on the ‘Russian’ soul (wisdom), the Saker’s contributions to global public discourse and debate span this 4-stage range of qualitative response.
Yes, indeed, we who consider ourselves responsible adults with an eye towards the future of our children and grandchildren etc had indeed, “better stop the car!” before it’s too late.
[Btw, for those who consider pondering on the upper metaphysical domains as a evangelistic enterprise, perhaps, rather, simply see it as an honest form of transparency and self-disclosure somewhat necessary and requisite for this holistic form of sustainable communication.]
Saker, my check is addressed & stamped, heading to Delaware in tomorrow’s outgoing mail. Thank you and other contributors, for some great education.
dear Saker, I will send money right after the first.
Saker and friends …
I’m not sure where to post this but thought here would do — especially as new Icelandic security may be motivating some alternate response from the less than desirable elements of our global society. Related or not, it occurred around the time of my donating to the Saker.
Perhaps the Saker site could offer a public interest announcement board etc for this type of risk?
If I’d done what was ‘demanded’ by the insistent caller (and many less IT literate, and perhaps, less self-willed as I am would feel compelled to do as instructed — see the links comments area) then I’d likely now be weeks offline and recovering from the intrusion — a major distraction if nothing else.
Warning: watch your telephone-to-computer links!
Do not be pressured to “go to your computer” while talking on the phone to an alleged operator.
This occurred in Oz (ISP is Telstra) but I’m assuming it could happen anywhere. The net-effect would be major inconvenience and even fraud etc. This is indeed an information war — potentially directed by those agency(s) — government &/or private &/or criminal — who know the patterns of our web-access and can strategically target their mischief. User beware: Assume the worst case scenario (precautionary principle)!
Situation:
I have a telecom land-line (ADSL) link for my PC and I run state-of-the-art anti-virus software.
However, something new (for me) occurred today which I am passing on in case it is relevant to others. I reported the event to my ISP/telecom provider and include their reply below. It appears to be a cross-over scam of the internet and voice telephone links/bands to infiltrate connected PC’s. The insistence of the caller was to “go to my PC and …” was strong — I assume this activates back-circuits which they are now being used to skip over to the internet band and back door the PC (anti-virus software or not).
(A) – description of issue as reported to the ISP (from their email response)
. . . .
[ISP preamble: “We’re on the lookout for security concerns
Details
What have you noticed?
Please include as much detail as possible. …”]
—–
This morning (Saturday, 28 February 2015) I have received a number of telephone calls on my land-line (xx-xxxxxxxx). I rarely answer these as they are invariably touting some product or service. Because of its persistent nature (about 3-4 times) I answered one of the calls. The female speaker, in a strong Indian accent and much call-centre noise in the background, began to INSIST I go to my PC and do stuff because they (‘Telstra’) had detected a virus (or some such thing) and would cut my service off for a month if I did not comply. I doubted it was Telstra and told her so. I informed her that it made no sense and that Telstra should email me if there was a problem etc. She said they had and that I should go to my PC etc. My wall phone is not near my PC. I advised I would report it & terminated the call. I’ve subsequently checked my Telstra xxxxxx email and my regular email and no notifications were found. I run Norton’s security & see no problems. Please investigate and advise etc.
(B) — The ISP’s response was:
Hi,
Thanks for letting us know about this. What you encountered was, in fact, a scam. These sorts of frauds have been around for quite a while, often impersonating major brands such as Microsoft, Telstra and others. The goal of the fraudsters is to try to gain access to your computer, to your passwords, and sometimes to your bank accounts and other financial information.
Telstra should never unexpectedly contact you and ask for this sort of information and access – we’ve also recently published an article which contains a few tips as to how you can better identify if a call is truly Telstra, or a potential fraudster.
http://exchange.telstra.com.au/2014/10/15/is-it-really-telstra-calling/
If you are ever in doubt about the authenticity of a call, we advise you to simply hang up and contact us through other channels, such as the phone number printed on your Telstra bill, or via MyAccount or even through web forms such as the one you used to reach out to us on for this issue.
Thanks for the report and we appreciate your vigilance!
With kind regards,
xxxxxxxxxx
Security Operations
Telstra
Thanks for warning of this new variant. Sometimes they claim to be Microsoft etc who have “detected” a virus on your PC and will fix it for you. Hanging up on them is the right thing to do, as you did.
No problemo, new to me as well. Btw, could you please turn off the bold indents — my mistake with html instructions. thnx.
Hi Saker,
You may need to open a WorldPay account for donation as many Visa cards issued in “3rd World” countries are not accepted by PayPal!
Cheers!
Just donated. Go on, all the best!
bdings.de
I too would welcome some kind of idea as to how much is needed and how close we are to that goal. I started reading the blog regularly in July/August of last year and have donated a couple of times now (October, December and January). Unfortunately these last few weeks I have been in the red myself and couldn’t really afford anything and have been feeling very guilty about it. I have now donated a small amount (30 USD) and (I think) I have set Paypal up to donate this amount monthly for me. I wish I could donate more and I suppose I have dragged my feet these last few weeks because I felt it wasn’t worth it if I couldn’t manage more. When I get my finances back into a happier place however I will increase the donation.
I tried to sling a few shekels your way yesterday but your service would not accept the effort because I live in Canada and when it prompted for the province there were no abbreviates for the CDN provinces, only American states. I don’t do paypal and I am surprised that this site uses Pierre Omidyar’s service, as he and Soros both “invested” in the Ukraine coup as Nazi sponsors? So I’ll try again over the next while to see if this glitch gets fixed or not.
The Saker
… Your Motto … Stop the Empire’s war on Russia.
It is a very explicit saying that puts you in a very hot spot, and the commenter in a “Black List”.
No matter if you are doing this for Real or Pretending, I cannot see any reason for smart people to donate, or comment on this Blog.
I’m leaving this site for good.
I am quite willing to donate on line, but you must allow for other than Paypal. If a secure credit card service is available please make sure it will allow for donations from Canada by having CDN province abbreviations as needed to validate this type of donation.