Dear friends,
First, I want to thank you all for your comments and suggestion (well over 500 comments in between the two posts!). I gave it all a lot of thought and I ended up doing something in between option A and option B. No big “coming out” but, instead, a small “addendum” to what I consider my real curriculum vitae: the “Submarines in the Desert” article. From now on, anybody clicking on the “About the Saker” link on the right column right under the beautiful Saker drawing will be referred to the “Submarines in the Desert” article, at the bottom of which I have now added a small “December 2015 addendum from the Saker” in which I share a few more details about my past life. That is as far as I am willing to go and from now on I will not discuss me or my past on this blog any more (even if somebody else releases any other information or outright fabrications). As far as I am concerned, this is it, and from now on it is “back to the issues”.
Second, here is what I have decided about the autographed copies. Frankly, I don’t feel like charging anything specific for them, even a minimal amount. So here is what I want to do:
First, those who are interested in getting a signed copy of the book will have to email me during the next 30 days (before January 7th 2016) and ask for a signed copy of the book.
Second, their email will have to have “autographed Saker book request” as the subject line of the email. I will use a filter for these emails and any email which will not have such a filter will not be considered.
Third, I will then send an email back confirming that you have requested a signed copy.
Fourth, you will then order a copy directly by emailing Fred at wfz@nimblebooks.com and tell him that your order is for a signed copy to be shipped to me. Unless you email Fred you will not get your signed book.
Fifth, Nimble will then ship the books to me along with our address. I will sign the book and send it to you.
Does that work for you?
The problem here is that I will have to pay the shipping charges, so I would suggest that you try to donate at least enough to cover that. But if not – no big deal, either others will or I will do it myself. My goal is not to make a profit from these signed copies, but to get them to you and make you happy :-)
So, unless you come up with a reason not to do what I am suggesting above, the “launch” date for sending me an email requesting this will be this Monday, December 7th.
That’s it. I think that I have covered it all.
Again, I thank you all for your emails and comments. This has been a difficult month for me and your outpouring of kindness and support has been a great source of comfort and solace for me.
Hugs to all,
The Saker
Re …a small “addendum”
Good call Saker – time to move on and leave the distractions behind.
Just went thru your addendum.
It was just perfect.
You are one of us.
The write up and your candid way of reacting only enhances your credibility: No attempt at character assassination will work going forward.
Yes you can be difficult –>so what?! (Although you’ve mellowed a lot since building your team) That makes you human, and I suspect is one of the reasons you were able to maintain an independent perspective and call out fraud. This is the illusion that the Propaganda machine would have us believe: that only an artificial caricature of beyond reproach practitioner of Political Correctness has the right to speak and is capable of good. You’re human you make mistakes, so do we (I certainly have made errors out of anger). The real test is to fix those errors, not repeat them and evolve – you’ve demonstrated in your life and in this blog.
I want to thank you again for validating our independent thinking and helping us to break the conditioning of self-censorship we’ve been assaulted with here in the West.
You have created a model on how carve out a personal space of free thought and free speech. Otherwise, we truly were isolated Submarines in the Desert.
I want to thank you again for validating our independent thinking and helping us tobreak the conditioning of self-censorship we’ve been assaulted with here in the West.
Thank you, but please keep in mind that I was also indoctrinated in a rigidly ideological way in by family and in by my environment as a kid, teen and young man. I mean, I *sincerely* believed that Soviet tanks could run over western Europe and subjugate it just as it had with eastern Europe and I *sincerely* believed that the West, including the USA, stood for democracy, freedom, human rights and all the rest of the nonsense. I even felt sorry for the “poor Israelis” who alone stood facing all those nasty Arabs and I totally supported the Contras, especially Eden Pastora, in what I saw as their resistance to “godless communism”. I had to dump these lies one by one and it was not easy. But what the war in Bosnia did was really to brutally open my eyes. That an seeing a supposedly “neutral” country like Switzerland (I really believed in Swiss neutrality) turn into “NATO’s bitch” in just a few years. These events triggered a deep phase of reflexion and soul-searching inside me. Then I also traveled to Russia and met my former “enemies” face to face and, sure enough, the “enemy” was much more like myself than what I had imagined. It was a painful process to realize that my naive ideals were completely misplaced and the result of the propaganda-saturated environment I had been raised in.
The big plus for me now is that I know the enemy (the real one – the Empire) from the *inside* and I know how this beast operates/thinks. But on a personal level I paid a big price for that knowledge.
Kind regards,
The Saker
“The big plus for me now is that I know the enemy (the real one – the Empire) from the *inside* and I know how this beast operates/thinks.”
More like you are needed but it seems most are jailed as whistle blowers. I guess they are too naive? Take care.
Wow. That’s so much like the ark of my own awakening. (We’re close in age–that probably has something to do with it.) I, too, was fully supportive of The Empire during Cold War I, believing that it stood alone for ‘freedom’ against the ‘Red hordes’. How naïve I was! Like you, my gradual, painful awakening began during the Yugoslav wars of the 90s. I was lucky to have discovered your blog barely two years ago; that was what helped to complete my awakening.
Thanks and keep it coming, Saker.
I liked a lot the theme Submarines in the desert, I am on that path too, moving away from that rigid complex environment, it is quite recent and having just read your addendum, I don’t feel so marooned. Now, how do I really break out from that mould? A big thank for your blog.
Yours aye
LeDahu
Perhaps add a short ‘about the author’ addendum to your ebook as well?
its a perfect solution. And I can hardly wait for my copy…its hard to have to wait until Monday to launch my email.
Loved your ADDENDUM to the ‘Submarines in the Desert’ article, especially this sentence:
“I would *love* to be a paid “Putin agent” but VVP has not made any offers yet.”
:-)
/submarines-in-the-desert-as-my-deepest-gratitude-to-you/
Dear The Saker,
I am pleased you have made your decision and the matter is now closed.
In regard to your autographed book – that is very generous and thank you on behalf of everyone.
May I make a small suggestion in regard to shipping costs. Please could you just indicate roughly for different global regions what this will be and then people can send you the cost of shipping.
For example EU= $, Asia=$ , South America =$ etc.
Its the least everyone can do who gets a book. Thank you.
Rgds,
Veritas
I would like, if I may, to make a couple of requests.
Could you some time give a more detailed account of the thinking behind your economic slogan (free markets for small business, socialism for…). How would it work; why would it be better than (for example) Whiggish reform of the current system – more equitable taxation etc; and how would you get from here to there.
Could you also once in a while post articles on what you call “traditional” Orthodox theology, as you have in the past. I once, long ago, studied Old Church Slavonic (of which I’ve retained none, alas!), but it’s not just nostalgia for lovers of Andrei Rublev icons, like me – the articles are of genuine interest, not just to Orthodox, but Russianists and others.
Obviously only if ever there is a moment to spare.
Thank you.
…that didn’t come out quite right…my professors never managed to make clear how Orthodox theology differed from Catholic (as opposed to the politics of ecclesiastical empire building) – you’re previous articles indicated a literature and thinkers I was not aware of…