Dear friends,
First, I want to repeat what I said earlier today – I am amazed, awed and deeply moved by your very kind expressions of support for me and my blog. To say that I am grateful does not even begin to cover it. I thank you all for your kindness and support – I felt like I was surrounded by a crowd of friends and that is a wonderful feeling. All I can say again is thank you!
Before addressing your comments, I want to share with you something which continues to amaze me. Guys – the number of visitors has almost doubled in just three days (somebody please pinch me!!). See for yourself:
For the life of me I have no idea what is happening, and my only explanation is that some of you have done miracles circulating my articles. Just two days ago I though 10’000+ was unreal. And here I am looking at 18’000+...
Needless to say, I am beyond delighted even though I am also amazed and cannot get used to this.
Now, I have to address a point which most of you have made: contributions.
Please forgive me, but I have to confess that I sometimes can be extremely naive and idealistic in a childish way and that I am much more comfortable discussing planning nuclear forces or the advantages of double-hulled submarine designs, than discussing money issues. Still, I will kick myself in my mental butt and force myself to spill out some of my concerns.
First, and again, this might sound naive, but does money not pollute everything it touches? The idea of this blog was to just “donate ideas” (hence my disclaimer at the bottom of the page that everything I would write here would be public domain). This is also the main reason why I chose to blog anonymously: I did not want this blog to be about me. Only about ideas. It was important for me to give, to offer, to donate without expecting any benefit for myself, not even recognition or exposure to the public. Call me naive, but I wanted to create something pure, radically different from all the money-driven blogs out there. In a world filled with greed, lies and hypocrisy, purity is something which I highly value and don’t ever want to lose. Do I not risk losing this purity by accepting donations?
Second, I know that my anonymity is hair-thin. The fact is that some of you know my first name and some even know my full identity. I am not hiding from anybody, I just wanted to remove myself as a person from the blog. True, there was another reason to my anonymity. In the past, I worked for some very nasty people who basically blacklisted me for having done the right thing and forced me to emigrate to another country. At the beginning, I did not want to re-appear on their radars because God only knows what they could do. So I wanted them to forget about me. Seventeen years have passed now, and I think that they don’t care any more. A lot of them have lost their jobs anyway or are retired. To me, it would therefore probably not be a big deal if I published my full name, address, phone and photo. But if that is at all possible, I would prefer to remain “thinly anonymous”. Is there a way of setting up a donation/contribution scheme on this blog and still remain more or less anonymous?
Third, I will be very honest here and admit that yes, my family and I badly needs any money which could help us make ends meet (right now, we are not). So I will admit that I am very very tempted to try to set up something to accept contributions. But what would be the best way? PayPal? Flattr? What would be the easiest way to set up something like that?
Last, but not least – are there any of you who would object to me setting up some kind of donation/contribution scheme? In my mind, this blog really belongs first and foremost to all of you, and I want to make sure that if I go ahead with this idea, that there is a consensus of my readers that this is okay.
Sorry to take up so much space with my own personal issues at a time when the world is going through yet another big crisis. But for me this is a really big deal which could really help, but it is also a topic I am extremely shy and unconformable bringing up and I want to make sure that I don’t do something wrong.
Please let me know what you think about all this, what you recommend and if you agree that I should go ahead with this idea, what would be the most convenient way for everybody?
Many, many, very sincere and heartfelt thanks and kind regards,
The Saker
Saker, I would be happy to contribute for the high quality information and analysis you’re doing. I think a system of voluntary contributions is the best way to go.
The best thing for you would be to set up a PayPal account… take some precautions though, dont’ forget what they dis to Wikileaks…
Hope I have helped you with the numbers. I have found you from Asia Times, and like your considerations. Actually I post a lot about Ukraina at the comments of Zeit.de, and like to refer to some of your articles.
Saker, I’m very pleased your readership is expanding. Your writing deserves to be spread far and wide.
While there is plenty of information available it is not always accessible to most people and certainly is rarely put together in an understandable meaningful way and without any hidden agendas.
There is a desperate need for this and so you have hit a ‘rich seam’, as it were.
Now all this takes time and energy and because it is valuable to others you are entitled to some help or recompense. As long as the contributions are voluntary, I see little chance of you ‘following the money’, if I can put it like that!
People can then help out as they can with money as well as with leads, links and comments.
I have no technical expertise in setting such things as PayPal, so I’m no help to you there.
I don’t think there’s anything objectionable about your setting up a voluntary donation system. Just think of it as us paying you a gratuity for your public service of contributing good ideas.
Hi Saker,
I would happily donate from time to time. Your blog is more valuable to me than any newspaper that I pay for.
A discrete donate button – without fanfare – would probably suffice and need not appear to be begging or the site becoming commercial in any way.
However, I and many others apparently, hate PalPal and refuse to use it. I have no technical knowledge at all to be able to offer any suggestions but might you not ask other bloggers how they set up credit card accounts for donations?
Best wishes,
Gordon
Although relatively new to your blog, I follow it closely, and would willingly “chip in” for the privilege. I don’t know what country you live in, but I would suggest you consult with a lawyer and an accountant about possible tax implications
Dan Smith
I will gladly contribute to such a necessary political site.I prefer to use PayPal.Also,I would like to thank you for your insight into world affairs.You are always right on the money(speaking of donations).
“Do I not risk losing this purity by accepting donations?”
To the religious, money comes from God. Money is just payment for doing God’s work on the Earth. It is said: “Pay the worker his wage before his sweat dries on his brow.” Even Christ paid His taxes, and He did not refuse the silver coin that He told Peter to find in the fish. Whose image is this on the dollar? Pay to Washington what is due to Washington, and pay to God what is due to God. Do not deign to refuse donations, and keep writing.
If you are secular, money counts as votes. Let people vote for you.
Money only corrupts when you know whom it’s from. You can take only anonymous donations.
“Is there a way of setting up a donation/contribution scheme on this blog and still remain more or less anonymous?” (I don’t know Flattr.) I recommend Bitcoin. It was designed for such purposes. Both Visa/Mastercard and Paypal can be traced and frozen, see what happened to WikiLeaks.
In entrepreneur school they teach “put on your own oxygen mask first“. You can’t save the world if you can’t put bread on your own table.
HTH.
I will gladly contribute to such a necessary site.I prefer to use PayPal.Also I would like to thank you for your insights of world affairs.You are always right on the money
Saker
Register an account with a fictitious name in your city, non profit or else, and do a pay-pal or direct credit card deposit. The income would cover all your expenses, including home expenses (power, telephone, cable/ satellite, gas, etc) Read a little about “business plan” and accounting for tax purposes, or maybe here someone can help you. Enjoy a new learning area
Best
Saker- I’m one those who are financially strapped and don’t have a flexible budget, but I’m more than willing to contribute. As one of the other commentators said, the quality of your information is so fine, that it is more than worth it. So, set something up. I’m sure you will get a positive response.
Hello Saker, I can understand completely your reluctance to accept donations, because I’m the same.
But your blog is important to me and I am anxious to help support it. As I’m sure a multitude of others are.
As regards anonymity, I’m sure you’ll be able to figure out a way to minimise your risk.
My finger is poised over the paypal button just waiting for somewhere to send to.
Regards,
Michael
I think Patreon would work very well for the kind of thing you’re doing. I get the sense that it’s a lot more used right now than Flattr. It’s a bit like Kickstarter, but for ongoing i.e. “monthly” projects, which is certainly what your blog is. Check out the way some other people are using it to see how it works. You don’t have to get fancy with “rewards”, either, it can be simple donations if you feel more comfortable with that.
Having said that, I have no idea if it’s possible to remain anonymous with it.
My personal thoughts about money are that it becomes less and less of an issue the more donors there are.
Yes, have a voluntary donate button. It won’t hurt, and don’t feel bad about, it’s not like your commercially capitalising on the readership but merely leaving the option open for those who want to and would like to donate.
I am quite sure we will see you at some point in the future as an expert commentator on the Tv news, writing for a paper or be featured in a debate show like Aljazeera’s live stream.
Please accept financial contributions; it is your work, it is a job. Glenn Greenwald recently wrote an essay, On the Meaning of Journalistic Independence, that sort of touches on your dilemma, in it he says “It’s possible to do great journalism in discrete, isolated cases without much funding and by working alone, but it’s virtually impossible to do sustained, broad-scale investigative journalism aimed at large and powerful entities without such funding.”
curious canadian
Saker, I owed thousands and thousands of dollars, way back in the day. The interest being charged to was 28%. This was a mix of school loans and credit card debt. It is not pretty and it chokes all the creativity from a person. I almost lost it all. Thanks to The Lord above I was able to pay every damn cent and now follow Benjamin Franklins “neither a borrower nor lender be”….well I try to follow it. However, most of us gladly paid the fee charged to read the garbage and lies put out by El pais, Die Zietung, le monde or Globo. Most of us have forsworn reading those things because they are basura!
Why should we not contribute to something so noble and bad ass as your blog. Come on man, set up all three. A pay pal, flattr and Bitcoin accounts. We can all agree that your site is worth it.
Give some thought concerning contacting Pepe from Asia Times, I’m sure he can give you ideas about how to generate side income. Your family needs to eat and have a roof over their head.
Go for it companero.
Fernando
Plus, remember the initial contributions might be large. Then it will level off. So keep in mind that even though it sounds tacky, you could offer a Saker “t-shirt”, Hahahaha or a Saker mug, or offer speaking engagements to various organizations and get paid a nice fee for your services. With your knowledge and experience you should be on radio or tv.
Fernando
Or how about a book? A short one 200 pages?
You could publish it with zoolon.org
Fernando
Check this out on tool-planing the Maidan through PSYOP by the west
http://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2014/02/28/massive-psyop-employed-against-ukraine-by-gchq-and-nsa.html
Saker
“For the life of me I have no idea what is happening, and my only explanation is that some of you have done miracles circulating my articles.”
I noticed that Moon of Alabama had linked to one of your Ukraine pieces:
http://www.moonofalabama.org/2014/03/the-crimean-anti-coup-move.html
He gets quite a bit of traffic, that probably accounts for some of the new readers.
Being in similar economic straits, I can understand the temptation to set up a donation system. I see nothing wrong with it. Be wary of Paypal, though, I heard a few complaints about them even before they ripped off Wikileaks, and I personally wouldn’t trust them. But unfortunately I don’t know of any alternatives to suggest, either.
вот так
1. Clearly you invest sizeable chunks of time in this. Time taken from other facets of your life. Since contributions will remain entirely voluntary, the purity aspect remains safeguarded.
2. As far as anonymity, I’m not quite sure. Whatever you do, it’ll likely make you less anonymous. Needs further research.
3. PayPal is easiest to set up and use.
4. As someone has already suggested, a discreet link tucked at the bottom of the page should suffice.
5. Wikileaks are an entirely different story. Wiki leaked actual real-life classified stuff. This blog offers nothing more, but amateur analysis and opinion.
Good luck!
I think Flattr would be the way to go concerning donations. It was founded by one of the co-founders of The Pirate Bay, which speaks to the sort of ideals the system upholds, which is more than can be said for PayPal.
Also, perhaps allowing informed readers to contribute towards creating articles would lift some burden off your shoulders and also bring up new perspectives.
Best,
C
Please set up a way to contribute directly from a credit card account. NOT paypal. Ugh.
Saker,
I think you are in the US. Most US cities have a small business department, and most cities provide workshops or guides on how to open and operate a business, including Internet business. As I said before, you can register a fictitius name for the public (you can use the name of your blog). Some cities allow a home based business. Since you work at home, a great deal of your home and car expenses (including trips) can be deducted from the income generated in your blog. All this technical information is available in the small business department in your city. As you grow, you’ll learn how to manage, just like anything in life. There may be a point where your site could get more hits than CNN at this pace.
Hi Saker,
Congratulations on your success. I think you deserve it; the information and insights you provide are rare to be found. As such, you would be more than justified in asking for a voluntary contribution.
While I have no experience setting up such a system, I hear BitCoin has been created for precisely the reasons you just stated.
Go for it!
mbotta
I strongly suggest not taking donations for this blog.
Instead, consider reducing the volume of your posts and devoting some of the energy to increasing your revenue so you’re able to continue providing independent journalism.
Unless you intend to expand your journalistic venture in a qualitatively new direction, continue your current course.
Hi Saker,
Been following your blog since Asia Times posted your article.
I see you’re being uncomfortable with the idea of receiving fund.
I’d like to say there is no need to feel that way, don’t think of this as a as ‘you vs the world’ situation, think of yourself as part of a human collective where people who belong to the same group naturally helps each other, it is a built in human mechanism.
You do the part of helping the group gather and analyze data, and the group will in return help you back in other ways.
I’d recommend set up a paypal (but first search ‘paypal sucks’ online and understand the possibility of paypal stealing your money), and add a donate button on the site.
Once you’ve gathered enough fund to do this full time, you can move the blog to a proper wordpress.com host, pick a professional design and go pro, your traffic will jump 10 times.
Do this for the world and your family.
Good luck.
Hi Saker,
Been following your blog since Asia Times posted your article.
I see you’re being uncomfortable with the idea of receiving fund.
I’d like to say there is no need to feel that way, don’t think of this as a as ‘you vs the world’ situation, think of yourself as part of a human collective where people who belong to the same group naturally helps each other, it is a built in human mechanism.
You do the part of helping the group gather and analyze data, and the group will in return help you back in other ways.
I’d recommend set up a paypal (but first search ‘paypal sucks’ online and understand the possibility of paypal stealing your money), and add a donate button on the site.
Once you’ve gathered enough fund to do this full time, you can move the blog to a proper wordpress.com host, pick a professional design and go pro, your traffic will jump 10 times.
Do this for the world and your family.
Good luck.
I understand your concern regarding accepting donations, as I have long had a similar concern with regard to my own website.
When conveying the truth to a reading public it’s certainly important not to give the impression that you are doing this to make money, because that would indicate that you value money over truth and might make some readers skeptical. You must not only be objective but be seen to be objective (which is not hard in your case).
Perhaps a lot of money corrupts, but money sufficient for living expenses does not (we all have to live), and that’s as much as you need. Someone once offered me $6000 to buy my website and I turned them down (and I wrote about this offer on my site). Had I sold it (and the $6000 would certainly have been welcome) they would either have plastered it with advertisements (thereby negating its credibility) or they would actually have changed the text so as to avoid offending certain groups of people. No, thanks!
As regards anonymity, that is certainly desirable. There are crazy people out there, and some of them hate websites which tell the world what’s really going on, or what really happened (e.g., regarding 9/11).
While anonymity is not strictly necessary — a few distinguished scholars maintain truth-telling websites without being ‘disappeared’ (e.g., James Petras) — if you are not a well-known academic with a public profile then anonymity is desirable.
PayPal is a convenient way to accept donations, but can’t be trusted not to reveal your personal information if asked by the ‘right’ people. Same probably goes for flattr and similar.
That leaves an anonymous digital currency, either Bitcoin or Litecoin. All you need is a wallet address (see e.g. on my site), and donors can send contributions anonymously to that address (which does not reveal your identity). There are several different ways of creating a Bitcoin wallet. A wallet may be stored on a server in the U.S. or it may be stored on your computer. The latter is advisable (you have to use software which runs on your own computer), since a certain disreputable outfit is known for its ability to access data stored in the ‘cloud’.
Turning your Bitcoins into cash can be done via certain online services, so you need to provide them with some details, but I doubt this is much of a risk, since (normally) no-one else knows which service you use for this.
Saker
Money doesn’t pollute everything it touches, but the love of money does.
I would be pleased to contribute to this site. Research takes time and the researcher must enjoy his/her work–you obviously fit that bill.
I think Paypal is a good way to go and in addition, give a PO Box for those who like to truly remain anonymous.
Your groceries cost as much as mine. Go for the donation section. Best of success. GE
Dear Saker!
I have become your devoted fan as the depth and unbiased nature of your analyses has very few equals. When I want to know what’s really going on – I come to your site, and check that of Webster G. Tarpley and Andrey Fursov. Best direct feed from Syria is anna-news.info and real-time alternative Ukraine news from lifenews.ru.
So I encourage you to go ahead with donations – I know from my own experience how hard it is on the family if your time is spent without compensation.
I suggest you go for two payment options – PayPal for ease of use and Bitcoin for anonymity.
May God Bless your good work!
Do I not risk losing this purity by accepting donations?
By purity I guess you mean integrity. If you were to receive large sums from some person or group, that could be possible but in your case unlikely. Small contributions would hardly count. And it’s more like a reward for your efforts and a means to keep on fighting.
Is there a way of setting up a donation/contribution scheme on this blog and still remain more or less anonymous?
No expertise here. To me it will always be easier to refer to you as the Saker even if I were to know your name later.
But what would be the best way? PayPal? Flattr? What would be the easiest way to set up something like that?
Any where I can use my credit card safely is OK by me.
mindfriedo
I think I’ll be speaking for many when i’ll say “why were donations not set up before?”.
The quality of information and the concise way its all put together here is unmatched.
You should have been making money on this long time ago.
Please do set up the donations system, i’ll gladly contribute.
In fact, some bloggers set up an automated system that charges a dollar a day, or 10-30 $ month.
You should offer those options along with ad-hoc donations.
With your time freed from work, you will be able to dedicate your whole time and deliver truly spectacular articles.
ArtVodolei
A few points:
1. Like you I prefer ‘thin-anonymity’ and for similar reasons. I have a had a few run-ins with people who clearly do not wish me well over Wikispooks, but not on your scale. I therefore make it easy to find out my personal details so I cannot be accused of hiding; they are buried on the site for anyone who cares enough to look. Having said all that, be under no illusions about your identity being VERY well known and logged by those driving the hidden agendas you are so effective at exposing. There really is no hiding place when it comes to both State and uber-wealth power when either has you in its sights.
2. Wikispooks accepts donations using Paypal and Bitcoin. Paypal sticks in my craw becuase it is owned by Pierre Omidyar (he of Ebay and the new Glenn Greewald publishing initiative fame – he has deep connections to US Intel). Historically they have not even covered my server costs, but those costs are higher than normal because they involve a VPS and additional security. I can honestly say that accepting donations has had ZERO influence on the project editorial policy, decisions or content. But again I accept that it is the eye of the beholder that matters.
3. Wikispooks makes full site backups publicly available. With a modicum of techie know-how, the entire site can be mirrored/archived by anyone. I already host Joel Van der Reijden’s ISGP site archive (He has ruffled the feathers of powerful people/interests in Belgium and elsewhere in Europe) and would be happy to do the same for VoS – no charge either. The site is hosted in the Irish Republic.
4. And an appeal to VoS readers: The site needs more knowledgeable contributors/editors. Anyone interested in its core purpose of trying to get suppressed information disseminated more widely would be most welcome.
Hi Saker
Congratulations on your blog doing so well. It is a well deserved pat on the back from so many here.
Like so many of us money makes the world go round and is almost always in short supply.
I see no reason to be “pure” in that you do all this just for the love of it. have a few thoughts about setting up a separate account publicly called the saker account to receive donations that will help your server/internet fees etc. Perhaps pay a token to a family member to shoulder some of the background workload. there are many ways you can disburse the funds. You deserve it as you do so much in making sence of a lot on nonscence in the world.
Personally Thank you again. hope this helps in your thought process .
Cheers
KamNam
Well Saker, you said the blog belongs to us, and we have spoken.
Michael
Anything you want, but please give us an electronic currency address too :) (bitcoin/litecoin/etc).
Congrats for the numbers. You deserve every bits of it !
Some of us reading here are cash strapped for various reasons
however, I agree ‘go for it’.
As many have mentioned Paypal is suss’ ( being owned and controlled by the Jews as is much on the net )
however I cant offer an immediate alternative . Thanks again for your valuable insights.
Use flattr, payouts can be made using bank transfer (IBAN/BIC e.g.)
http://blog.flattr.net/2010/12/payout-to-moneybookers/ .
Will be happy to support your excellent work.
Best from Old Europe
you might consult Yves Smith
@ nakedcapitalism for advice.
she’s very savy on running a website.
BLP
Dear Saker,
I came across your writings due to the recent upheavals in Ukraine and I would like to thank you for your balanced appraisals.
As Marco suggested offer a bitcoin and/or litecoin address for contributions.
Best wishes to you and your family et bon continuation.
Yours kindly Spinquads.
Your information and analysis is well worth paying for. I follow your blog keenly, as do many of my friends in the UK. Stay strong.
Dear Saker,
I will be happy to contribute for your high quality site. Organize a paypal account, it is the more safer to do.
You know better than anyone else that we are living weird times…
Please don’t forget you got this so high credibility level taking your time for working on your articles. Don’t change it to address more success or hit higher statistics, at expenses of the quality.
I draw your attention for this site, that is translating most of your articles to Portuguese: http://redecastorphoto.blogspot.com/
Cheers
Take care!
A.A.
Dear Saker,
I will be happy to contribute for your high quality site. Organize a paypal account, it is the more safer to do.
You know better than anyone else that we are living weird times…
Please don’t forget you got this so high credibility level taking your time for working on your articles. Don’t change it to address more success or hit higher statistics, at expenses of the quality.
I draw your attention for this site, that is translating most of your articles to Portuguese: http://redecastorphoto.blogspot.com/
Cheers
Take care!
A.A.
What ever you do you’ll need a bank account. I use a small locally owned bank myself but credit unions work just as well. They can set up bank account and credit card account that people could donate to. It doesn’t need to be our name, the CC account can be the name of the site the bank knows who you are. I hate PP also but use it. Good Luck, but once it up it easy.
Very commendable what you’re doing, Saker!
Enabling people to contribute if they feel like it is I think very reasonable. I would contribute.
I don’t think you would be going to the dark side by doing this :-)
I think your dedication and contributions are outstanding.
You have my moral support and heartfelt thank-you.
Kerim
As for monetary contributions from us readers I think you should look at it as a way that we can buy you time away from you job
Hello Dear Saker,
you truly deserve to be supported! You’ve already showed honesty, generosity and goodwill.
Money can’t corrupt a free and focussed mind: asking for opinions and advices demonstrates your fairness.
In my country it’s mandatory to pay for the propaganda crap called public information, so why shouldn’t I happily decide to support someone I highly trust?
I don’t have a regular income and I’ll be glad to support you on a regular basis, as a form to balance the new ideas and way of thinking your blog provides: well, this is a lovely and hopeful win-win!
In order to warrant a complete transparency consider to publish the amount of the donations received, without revealing any personal data.
Let’s keep our thoughts high!
Warm Regards
M.
Money will dirty up your outlook. Why do you need it to spread the truth? IMO you have a great mind and know the answer to your question. RJ
For me, the best way is to pay with a credit card. I live in South Africa and I was born in Croatia.
We people who are friends of Russia and multipolar world order, must support your writings and writings of people of your kind.
Without finances you can do nothing.
I wrote a letter 10 minutes ago. I want to write something about “hiding identity”.
I am from Croatia and I have written more than 10 000 posts on Croatian forums supporting Russia.
Am I afraid of Croatian government?
Not. I am afraid of my countrymen
who are bigots and who hate Russia and wish ill for this Nation.if they find my identity very likely some of them would bit me up.
Hi Saker:
I understand the work that goes into a blog of any substance
the time to find good info, the time to read and process it
the time to write it all out.
The time one uses to blog about events when one should really be doing other things….
I see someone mentioned the tax implications
The loss of anonymity
but there is something else
you and I, and many other bloggers, infringe on copyright.
Though I do believe our infringement most definitely falls into the fair use category
And links back to source provide the traffic to originating info
Still if someone wants to make a stink. They can.
And blogger will take action to comply with the main stream media outlet
I know, this has already happened to me once.
Blogger reverts your posts back to draft status- making them unreadable.
And your donate button might be construed as profiting off of the work of others?
Depending on how forceful those with big bucks wish to come down on those of us that don’t have any
Perhaps you could make it possible for others to gift you help?
I don’t know?
And I don’t know if that helped or made things worse?
What ever you decide let us know and if I can help out, I will :)
I don’t spend money on cable tv-
Or satellite tv
Or many other things people find ‘important’ but really aren’t
But the info you provide is important…
Last thing- An individual I know always says there is no money in truth,but, plenty of money in spin, lies and bullshit
Sad but true.
Says much about our world and the societies we participate in
Use Google to set up advertising on your web site. You will make a very good living indeed but they need to track the number of visitors on your web site. So,first of all, make sure you have Web Analytics turned on and then they track you for a month, then they will start posting appropriate ads on your site. You will need to have a paypal account.
The suggestions in here are truly impressive — WOW! Saker, you have attracted a commentariat worthy of your efforts. I learn from darned near everyone on here.
Penny, can’t you work around the copyright infringement by block-quoting only a certain proportion of the material and including the URL? Or can they go after you anyhow if they really want to?
Hi Nora
I do both, block quote and link back and still I got notification that one of my posts had been reverted to draft
Here is the notification I received from blogger
“We have received a DMCA complaint for your blog, Penny for your thoughts. An e-mail with the details of the complaint was sent to you on May 24, 2011, and we reset the post status to “Draft”; you can edit it here. You may republish the post with the offending content and/or link(s) removed. If you believe you have the rights to post this content, you can file a counter-claim with us. For more on our DMCA policy, please click here. Thank you for your prompt attention.”
I couldn’t even edit because there was no indication what the ‘offending’ material was.
So that post has stayed in draft format ever since
I think that these types of actions are taken in order to impede free speech and discourse amongst the human populace.
I also feel that the media outlets should be grateful people like saker, myself and other bloggers drive traffic to their sites
Sadly, that is not the case :(
Given the unlimited resources of the media they could likely go after us if they really had to.
But they don’t have to because the internet is so well policed by the isp’s, search engines etc.,
It would be easier to simply shut blogs and sites down for non conforming content.
@Penny (hi there!) and others:
DCMA – believe me. Been there, done that. Look what happend to me when I began this blog:
http://vineyardsaker.blogspot.com/2007/11/reflections-on-antiwarcom-debacle.html
LOL! (now. then I was *PISSED*)
But that is why I hate those “revolutionaries for money”. They are in for the money, not for the ideals.
Cheers,
The Saker
Oh, too many comments to read :-P But…as I stated Before, I will donate when the option is given.
How could I refuse when I have been taking such delight from the info at this site, feels more like an obligation.
Greets.
Saker, I just yesterday found your blog through a link in another blog, and I am really impressed with your news and analysis. Your time is rare and valuable, so there should be a way for your readers to recognize your value.
Can I suggest a PayPal account? Anyway, I’m glad you’re thinking about it. We need people like you on-line!
I will contribute
Paypal is best
ORGANIZED INFORMATION IS KNOWLEDGE. And knowledge helps you find the truth. We are all truthseekers, Saker. Your price for spreading the truth is purely and simply nothing. Go for it! I think truth is the most valuable thing to have. So there you go.
Dear Saker,
I’m sure you have read all of these comments and I’m positive you did get some picture how the humanity around the world appreciate your blog and what the readers of your blog are thirsty for.
At the same time they are hungry for the truth because they can see on their own eyes that there is something very wrong in our society and we can’t continue like that with this openly manipulated lies.
I was introduces to your blog by my friend who lives in Europe and he got your link from Venezuela. This is one of the examples how humanity is searching for the truth and find the truth no matter what!!!!
You definitely remind me to one of the best spiritual teachers who explained to us, that the truth is never come through the money and the honest reward is coming from the natural way and it is really true. Unfortunately we are still living in this enslaved monetary system / I have a feeling it will end pretty soon / and we have to pay our bills, we have to put the bread on the table and we have to feed our dear children we decided to bring them into our lives.
I know it is very difficult for you to accept the financial reward because in the beginning if you would like to set up this page “just for the money purpose” you would install the “Donation” button and you obviously did not! You do run your blog already 7 years and the time has come to accept any donations which will be given to you as a gift for your professional work and nothing else.
I would never go with Pay Pall , it is the same gang like Facebook, Google and another big heads who are still dreaming of that they will enslave the all world.
I’m sure that between your very well informed readers somebody will come out and you will put together some safe solution to be happy for all of us readers of your blog.
Kind regards
G
My comment might be coming late, but it might be worth to consider:
+1 for bitcoin because there might be contributors which would like to preserve their anonymity as well.
Unfortunately, we live in a society where we are slaves of money and slaves of those who have and control the money.
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Hi Saker
Now I know why I never really trusted anti-war.com?
I wrote to someone there about a number of sort of suspect claims they were making wrt something??
It’s been so long now and no response whatsoever
I suppose it was because I am just a no count blogger.
I don’t use any of their stuff
Preferring to stick with msm news
It’s more then sufficient to get at the truth and point out lies at the same time–