Dear friends,
Yesterday evening I have finally come back from my week long trip to Switzerland where I barely had the time to bury my mother and go clean up her small apartment. This was probably one of the worst weeks in my life and I wanted to begin by thanking all those of you who have expressed their sympathy for the loss of my mother. Your outpouring of kindness really did touch me even if I simply did not have the time to thank you for it.
I am still jet-lagged and sick with a cold, but there has been a nasty matter which life has dumped upon me which I want to deal with right now before a resume normal blogging (which I scheduled for next Monday, December 7th): the fact that two dishonorable people decided to post the following text on the Internet: (source: http://cirilizovano.blogspot.rs/2015/11/who-is-saker.html)
Who is the Saker?
Almost a year ago to the day, I had the distinct displeasure of meeting the man who calls himself the Saker. Our professional relationship lasted less than a month, for reasons I will outline below. We parted on rancid terms and I swore to him that I would make his identity and ideological shortcomings public. I have waited until now due to milestone events in my own life and because, frankly, I was waiting to see what the loon would come up with next.
As of the end of last year, I had been following the Saker blog for several years to get news of events in Donbass and when I learned he was looking for volunteers for a Serbian sister site, I applied for the job. My original idea was to contribute some translations on an ad hoc basis but Saker had just had a major falling out with the whole Serbian team and sacked the previous team leader, Aleksandar Jovanovic. He described Mr. Jovanovic as ,,a talented translator with paranoid psychotic tendencies”. I didn’t delve too deeply into the dispute at the time (my mistake!) but later I did discover Mr. Jovanovic was quite sane, and rather a nice guy.
Anyway, after a drawing of straws among the few new Serbian volunteers, like myself, Saker himself put me forward as the new leader of the Serbian sister site. He attributed this to our common respect for traditional Slavic values, like respect for the Orthodox church and the military, plus the fact that we communicated well. I think he was also a bit influenced by the fact that I live in Argentina (not far from a cousin of his, actually), that he has family here and some fond childhood memories of holidays with them among the Russian expat community, of which I am an ardent admirer and (to the extent circumstances allow) a fleeting member.
Andrei (for by then we were on a first name basis) encouraged me to form a properly Serbian team and I promptly solicited the assistance of everyone and anyone toward that end. He promised me complete editorial freedom, which I understood to mean that all contributors, myself included, could make the points they felt were most relevant. I was convinced at this time that he was my brother Russian, and this was reenforced during the defection during this period of his French IT guru (who, I discovered subsequently, was also a very nice guy) and the threat of collapse of the entire so-called “Saker community”. At one point (as God is my witness) Andrei was begging me to assume legal ownership of all the domains in the Saker community, which had been left in limbo by Francois. I declined (for technical reasons) and it was then that my husband suggested that the Saker switch to Icelandic servers (where he is currently) to protect the integrity of his sites. You’re welcome, Andrei.
In the meanwhile, the Charlie Hebdo massacre occurred in Paris – a bunch of Muslim fundamentalists strifing the editors and staff of the “tasteless” satirical French paper, and other locales frequented by the Jewish community. For me, taste is primarily a question of education and culture; whereas freedom of speech (and editorial license) is something altogether different, supposedly one of the rights guaranteed by so-called “democracy”. Anyway, the French Saker community broke into two parts – the “I am Charlie” and “I am not Charlie” (and this had nothing to do with the withdrawal of Francois, the IT maestro, although Andrei tried to pretend this was the case). Andrei himself wrote an absolutely repulsive piece entitled “Why I am not Charlie” basically blaming the French paper for lack of refinement (a satirical paper!) and arguing that they had brought the wrath of the followers of Mohammed upon themselves because ,,they chose to provoke Islam, knowing the results this would engender”.
Faithful Serbian follower that I was of my Russian brother Andrei, I translated his article into Serbian but was most unhappy with it. By opportune chance, through a mutual friend, I chanced upon an article by the talented Serbian expat writer Aleksandar Lambros, in which he lambasts (no pun intended) the idiots who were not ,,seeing the connection” between Islamic fundamentalism and the Charlie Hebdo massacre. I have little in common with Mr. Lambros, aside from an admiration for his writing style and intellectual integrity, but I was happy to translate his Serbian into English in order to achieve a sense of balance with respect to Charlie Hebdo. Being neither Charlie nor prepared to massacre satirical staff, I was somewhat in a quandry.
I was gently (and I do emphasize ~ gently ~) reprimanded by my “brother Russian” that although I had complete editorial freedom, this did not extend as far as insulting members of the Muslim community (as the article of Aleksandar Lambros apparently did). I told him (most ungraciously, I admit) to go fuck himself and who was he, after all, to explain to a Serb, 600 years under the Ottoman yoke, the situation with Muslims? His response was that “all Serbs are crazy” (meaning me and Aleksandar Jovanovic, I guess) and that I just didn’t see he was properly respectful of Islam (whose teachings he openly compares with the teachings of the Holy Fathers of the Christian Church) ,,just like Putin admires and respects Kadhyrov”.
The Grand Strategist he is not. I did my research on Andrei Raevsky aka the Saker ex post facto and determined that he was a Swiss citizen who had already some difficulties with the Russians with respect to Chechnya. By his own admission, he was sent there as an employee of the International Red Cross and subsequently fired for his pro-Chechen bias. He later went on record in several published works as being critical of the Russian Army’s “heavy-handed approach” towards the Chechen terrorists.
He was then apparently hired on by the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) out of Geneva, which sent him on several tours to ex-Yugoslavia, specifically, he claims to have been involved in “disarmament negotiations” (which can only have been detrimental to the local Serbs) in Croatia and Bosnia. Having thus cemented his friendship with the Serbs, he immigrated to the USA and underwent further grooming at the Paul H. Nitzke School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, the happy hunting ground of the likes of Madeleine Albright, Condoleeza Rice. He now lives on the Atlantic coast of the state of Florida within a stone’s throw of some 30 military installations who have no problems with his primary activities: broadcasting war against the phantom “Anglo-Zionist empire” (in the cartoon where the Western sponsored ISIL are the good guys) and soliciting donations from his (chiefly left-leaning) supporters in exchange for kitschy wallets imprinted with the Saker image, and autographed copies of his book. Like any good apologist for Islam, Raevsky is also a rabid anti-Semite.
I still believe Russians are our brothers but I don’t believe that Andrei Raevsky is one of them. He is a hybrid, a GMO if you will, of Russian soul fertilized by select Western ideology. It cannot thrive, it should not multiply. It will perish.
For those who you who might not recall who Mrs Berthet is – she was the (short-lived) Serbian Saker Team Leader #2 (if I recall corrected). As for Mr Jovanovic, he held the same position right before her. To make a long story short, soon after Mrs Berthet took over she, indeed, posted an article I judged to be insulting to Islam and I asked her to avoid doing so in the future. Just for the record: each Saker Blog Team is, indeed, 100% independent in its editorial policy, but I always assumed that mentally same people would understand that this meant “within a minimal core number of values” including the respect for, if not endorsement of, any religion (this was never an issue with any other Saker Blog, even those run by agnostics – at least 3 by my count – but somehow became one with putatively “Orthodox” folks. Go figure). Anyway, at this point Mrs Berthet offered to resign which I gladly agreed to. I posted a notice on the blog saying that “The Serbian Saker blog has been purged of most of its data by the (now ex-) Serbian Saker blog Team leader following my opposition to the publication of a viciously anti-Muslim article. Mentaly sane Serbian friends are currently trying to re-start the blog.“
That short post elicited a truly fantastic reaction. Mrs Berthet send me an email which began with “saker, you lying, thieving, manipulating piece of human shit” and ended with “ultimately, you will be as sorry you crossed paths with me, as i am to have crossed paths with you, and this is NOT a joke or a threat. i hope you choke on your own vomit, VERMIN!“. Anybody interested in the full text can get it by clicking here. In 50 years of life I had never come across such an absolutely rabid expression of total, uncontrolled rage and I immediately understood that if I had, indeed, thought that Jovanovic was “insane” it was solely in the colloquial matter of the use of this expression, like “crazy dude”, but that Mrs Berthet was truly either truly mentally deranged, or possessed, or both.
Since I never respond to slander on principle and since I never engaged with mentally insane individuals, I did not reply and simply put a block on Mrs Berthet’s email address. As for the addressees of that email (I should add here that she sent that wonderful opus not only to me, but to pretty much every person she knew in the Saker community and everybody in the Serbian Saker Blog Team), they responded with a unanimous expression of disgust, especially the Serbs who were embarrassed to see a fellow Serb act in such a manner.
At this point, I had mistakenly concluded that with this exchange of pleasantries I was done with the crazy woman. Alas, I was very mistaken.
A few months later I got an email from her husband, whose full name I do not recall but whose email address indicated that he was the author of an anti-imperialist blog. Since I (vaguely) recall Mrs Berthet asking me not to make their association with this blog public I shall not reveal more details about this. Anway – Mr Berthet was writing to, believe it or not, blackmail me.
He entitled his email “if the Saker explodes it will fall on Andrei”. He then proceeded to tell me that unless I posted a note explaining that my trust in his wife was “well placed” and that she had not “participated in an attack against the blog” then that would prove my duplicity! He concluded that this was not a threat, but a wise warning. I could not believe my eyes, the man wanted me to prove my non-duplicity by lying to my readers about his wife and saying that my trust in her was well-placed and he was threatening to, precisely, betray my trust and reveal my identity :-)
Anyway, I told him that if he went ahead with this threat the moniker of “Judas” would stick to him and his wife forever (they have now apparently decided to earn it).
At this point, I need to explain a few things about my anonymity.
[Sidebar: I used to refer to my anonymity as “thin anonymity” because anybody with a little bit of brains reading my blog could have easily located me with the info I had already given out. I just got an email from a good friend whom I only had given only my first name and who now told me that he knew my full ID already for long time :-) This is how decent people are: respectful of privacy and boundaries]
Please remember that when I started my blog in 2007 I was a ‘nobody’ who was writing mainly for himself. I had exiled myself in Florida after leaving Switzerland where I had, indeed, been blacklisted for my pro-Serbian and pro-Russian views. I decided to create an anonymous blog for the following reasons:
- I wanted my former employers to forget about me
- I wanted to write about issues, not personalities
- I wanted my family to enjoy its full anonymity
I started the blog in 2007. We are now in the last days 2015. My former employers don’t even exist anymore. The 3 letter organizations I worked for have been disbanded and my former bosses are either dead of old age or retired. So reason one is now gone.
I still want to write about issues, not me or my past. So reason two is still current.
I still want my family to be safe and left in peace, but reason three is now compromised.
Which is really no big deal. After I got Brethet’s letter of blackmail, I wrote to the Saker Community Executive Committee (SCEC) members and asked for their advice: shall I go public or not? Their advice was to wait.
I should mention one more thing here: I always wanted to act like modern homosexuals and “come out of the closet” one day. I told my wife that this would be my “coming out” day and I tentatively scheduled it on May 1st, 2017 – on the 10th anniversary of the blog. But now that the crazies have gone ahead and violated my trust, my anonymity and my privacy, I am not exactly sure as to how to proceed.
So here is where I need you advice and opinion:
Initially, I thought that I had three options.
First, I considered simply ignoring it all. But it turns out that the crazies are now busy posting links to their little article elsewhere. For example, I was recently interviewed by Sputnik (http://sputniknews.com/politics/20151201/1031060730/turkey-war-russia-crimea-caucasus-central-asia-daesh.html) and a friend informed me that Mr Jovanovic had already posted this in the comments section:
Sputnik, by the way, apparently removed that comment (since I cannot find it any more). Still, this is ridiculous – honorable moderators will now have to look for these types of comments and remove them one by one? This is silly, no? (Note: my mistake – I did find the comment on Sputnik – the Saker)
Also, don’t underestimate the staying power of Berthet and Jovanovic. Not only do they get to wage their little anti-Saker crusade, but they also get to re-direct traffic towards their otherwise irrelevant blogs! So they will have a drive, a determination, to continue their “Saker denunciation” crusade long for a very long time. In fact, I predict that their next step will be to simply fabricate more pseudo-revelations about me with even less truth to them and this latest one.
My personal preference would be to “flush my mental toilet” and forget about these clowns, but they will do their utmost to keep themselves relevant for as long as they can, so that is not an option anymore.
Then, finally, there is also this consideration: besides lying about quite a few things in her post, Brethet got a lot of things simply wrong. Yes, my name is Andrei Raevsky, and the photo is me (cross-country mountain biking in Florida) but much of the rest is plain wrong, especially the chronology. There is also a lot missing ;-)
So I see two options, really, but I want you to decide:
OPTION A:
I stick to my plan. I make my official “coming out” from my “closet” in 2017 where I write a painfully narcissistic post – all about myself – and I tell you the full story with details and all. In the meantime, we let the two idiots wait for the collapse of the Saker community (they don’t realize that many/most of the members of that community already know my identity which, to put it mildly, I have not been shy about revealing) and continue to post links to their “Saker denunciation posts”. But what we can do is *pretend* that they don’t exist, that for us they are beneath our “contempt radar”. I like that option because it gives them less power and it allows me to stick to the “coming out” date I had planned. Or
OPTION B:
I say it all now. The big advantage of this option is that I can set the record strait now. Take for example the self-evidently idiotic assertion that I was fired from the ICRC for my “pro-Chechen” bias! Anybody who knows anything about ICRC or the rest of them western “humanitarian” organizations would realize that this is quite impossible and that, if anything, it could have been my pro-Russian bias which could have gotten me fired (in this case it was neither, but something I will never publicly discuss no matter what, since it involves the death of a group of innocent people). Their hatred for me clearly clouts their judgment so I expect Jovanovic and Berthet to get many other things wrong. So, shall I bother to set the record straight already now?
You can tell where I am leaning, of course (if you don’t – it’s “A”). Frankly, I don’t feel like “giving chase” to every bit of bullshit these two clowns will post in the future. To deal with dishonorable people always gives me the desire to take a shower and try to forget them as soon as I can. Then there is the fact that this blog is about issues, about resisting the Empire, not about “saying the truth about the Saker”. After all, WHO CARES who I really am or what I really did or did not do? I don’t want to reciprocate to these two crazies and act as if my ego and ruffled feathers (for a Saker – perfect expression, no?) are at the center of the universe and as if everybody should care?
I think that one self-centered and narcissistic post in May 2017 is plenty enough and that between today’s post (which I had to make) and 2017 I can focus on other, much more important and interesting issues.
Bottom line: my personal preference is definitely for “option A”: we all pretend like this all never happened and we just ignore the ugly actions of two dishonorable individuals. But, and this is really important, I want this to be your decision, not mine. After all, you have all, in various manners, trusted me and I now feel that if you do have questions about the allegations made, I should provide them. Besides, I really have never had anything to hide. Right now my biggest regret is that the security and privacy of my family: a wonderful wife of 22 years of marriage whom I admire, respect and love more with each day God granted me to spend with her and three children, a daughter and two boys – all teenagers. They are really the ones whom Berthet and Jovanovic have potentially hurt most. But I also can take care and protect them, and I trust in God’s mercy. But on a strictly personal level, I really don’t care about my privacy being compromised (in many ways, this makes things simpler as this is one less thing to worry about).
So, if you, my friends, want me to basically write up a short bio then I will gladly do it. Just let me know, okay?
My request to you is this:
1) please let me know who you want me to proceed from now on; let me know if you have any questions you want me to answer and share your views, comments and reactions to my explanations above.
2) Vote (in the comments section) by posting “option A” or “option B”.
3) Any other ideas are welcome.
As for me, I ask for your indulgence and understanding. I will restart the blog in full mode only on Monday. I am tired, jet-lagged and, frankly, rather disgusted with this entire business. I also need to reply to 173 emails which accumulated over just the past week! Finally, I want to take a few days to wash-off my sense of violation and disgust and deal with the loss of my mother.
And since all you got is a crappy photo of my mountain biking in central Florida, I am also leaving you with a photo of me made by my wife in Cedar Key in November 2013. I was celebrating my birthday and I wanted to toast to all those friends whom I missed on this occasion (my wife and I were alone on that day) so we took this photo. Now that my privacy has been compromised and my face is out there anyway, I figured I could show it to you without sunglasses and while toasting to you all – the wonderful and beautiful Saker community and all my friends who will be reading this post. Thank you all for being out there and for being such a source of comfort and support.
Cheers!
Andrei Raevsky aka “The Saker”
PS: a small note to my Serbian friends. Please do not worry about what happened. This is no way says anything about the Serbian people whom I love. We know from the New Testament that there is one traitor for every 12 folks out there and considering that our community has well over 100 actively engaged members, it was to be expected that eventually 2 individuals would be unworthy of our trust. In fact, I am amazed at the opposite: over the past couple of years there have been quite a few members leaving our community (the names of Nora, Gevorg, Francois come to my mind) and none of them ever violated the trust I put in them (for which I am sincerely grateful and I wanted to mention them by name for that). The truth is that more or less everybody I was even in semi-regular contact with knew my name, many I met in person, and a few even stayed at my home. Coming from the military world I knew full well that statistical probabilities were against me and that somebody would inevitably take the role of a “rat” and “snitch me out” but I simply did not care. More importantly, I will not deny my trust to most simply because of the inevitable betrayal of a few. You – my Serbian friends, have always been kind, generous and honorable friends towards me and my fondness and respect for you have not been affected by any of that.
PPS: to those interested in meeting me personally. Now that my anonymity is gone, please drop me an email if you are anywhere near East-Central Florida, I will gladly meet with you. Let’s make something good from something ugly :-)
Hi Saker, I vote for option A. I have ‘known’ you as the Saker since finding your blog almost two years ago, and will continue to think of you as the Saker. Your integrity and expertise come thru in your posts and analyses. I have no need to know more than that.
Option B, if I am limiting myself to your A/B test.
Clarify, correct and expand, if absolutely necessary, some of what was made public only. Nothing more and ignore as in A. Of the things not publicly known that you were planning to disclose, save those for your 10th anniversary. Maybe, as part of the decennial, you could include some of your Serbian friends’ comments.
If you chose to post a reference to cirilizovano, do it without creating a hyperlink.
” …I shall not reveal more details about this. Anway – Mr Berthet was writing to, believe it or not, blackmail me.”
On somethings you’ve got to push back even harder. This may be one.
As to your family’s safety. You know better than anyone else what to do. Whatever the safety risk y’all are facing now, will it really get worse by addressing the disinformation?
I cannot to imagine having to be actively concerned for family’s safety other than what is common to us all.
Best wishes.
Dear Saker, glad you have returned.
My take is Option A for sure. I don’t remember who said it: “You’ll never reach your destination if you stop to deal with every barking dog”…
I briefed my wife (наш “стаж” семейной жизни в 2 раза больше Вашего :) ) on the story (she doesn’t know English and is not an Inet surfer) and she asked me to tell you her Option: it’s A, too.
Our best regards to you and your family.
Hugs. From Russia with love.
shed
Be Taoist,: option A
Claudius
There are certainly many anonymous blogs and websites that are widely read. X-22 Report, HyperReport, and others come to mind. So I guess you could go with “Option A.”
I’m curious if Raevsky is a Jewish name, though. Only because you said you were not.
The Islamic issue is a complex one. I have recently completed a review of “Islamic Resistance to Imperialism” by Eric Walberg on Amazon. There is ample evidence that Muslims do intend to incorporate non-Muslim countries into a future Caliphate or Ummah of all Muslims by “soft invasion.” This was a plan of Mr. Erdogan and several other Turkish intellectuals hoping the pre-Sykes-Picot Ottoman Empire–under Turkish rule, of course. Chechens and Kosovo “Albanians” are the icebreakers of this process with regard to Russia.
That being said, I’m all for Islam in currently Islamic countries. Want us to convert? Set a good example. All I see right now is Muslims killing each others just like Christians.
I’m curious if Raevsky is a Jewish name, though. Only because you said you were not.
I should have addressed this one. Here is the deal, the name “Raevsky” is not Jewish, it is actually well-known in Russia as a military family. However, there is the persistent rumor of a Jew named, I think, Shapiro, who had out of wedlock kids with a Raevsky at the time of Peter the Great and, therefore, that there are some Raevsky’s out there with some Jewish blood. I tried to find out (just to tease my late mother) but it turns out that my branch was not affected by these events (assuming they are true). So no, alas, I have no Jewish blood. I say “alas” because it would have been handy to claim Jewish ancestry when accused of anti-Semitism (what a stupid term). But then, I could have been accused of being a self-hating Jew anyway, so this is a lose-lose proposition. My choice was to make my views clear and then ignore the accusations.
Cheers!
The Saker
Is the famous Николаи Николаевич Раевскии which led Russian volunteers in the war of Serb against Turks in 1876 in your branch?
Zdraka, good thinking! It’s the same name.
Background info on those who are not familiar:
http://www.serbia.com/vronsky-gave-life-to-anna-karenina-and-serbia/
So Andrei, something more to confess ? ;-)
Dear Andrey, sure B. No doubt. There is nothing sacred about 2017. Pretend it was 2015 and do it now. A brief campaign of de-virtualisation will do good for you and your readership. There is nothing awful even in the worst of enemy versions. It is not that they say you worked in the gestapo. So they can’t really harm you. You are not forced to do anything, and do not show you feel forced; but you can devirtualise (go real) now while keeping reference to the Serb story to a minimum. This is my advice.
Disagreed.
You forget that he lives in a AZ dictatorship.
Actually the current situation may force him into exile.
Thanks to a single perverted “mind” that he good-heartedly trusted and even entitled to a leading role in his community, which took him a decade to create.
Yeah, right now they only have his name, and phone records and internet traffic, his approximate age and his family status, and know the region where he lives.
God forbid he reveals anything more. They might finally get to him.
I hope you do not actually believe that any member of the US intelligence community is biting their fingernails hoping that the Saker will finally “come out of the closet”, so that he can be exiled.
They do not care or they know since they care.
Just saying…
Absolutely agree with Israel Shamir and other reader with his “paste out of tube” analogy. Two years is too long time to give it to these psychopaths for their speculations.
Treat the situation like 4th generation warfare. Do not constrain yourself to false schedules. You have to adjust and adapt to new situations. OODA faster than the opposition. Act in a way not expected, do not act as expected, unless you can see a way to obtain the upper hand either way – Xanatos Gambit.
I do not think those two scumbags deserve to be called ”opposition’, not in my book!
I would vote for option B. I like the idea of option A,but if these people continue their “crusade” against you,you will have to respond to every accusation. And that would be very distracting. As well as new people not knowing anything about you might believe the lies unless they had the truth to refer to. Frankly,while mildly curious about your past,that’s not why I follow this blog. We and most of the posters here agree on most issues. And your analysis of events shows a great analytical mind for World events (even if we don’t always agree on everything).In reading their accusations I really didn’t see any “great expose” of “evil deeds”.They didn’t expose you as a “Chechen warlord in hiding” or “a colonel in Mossad” or “an FSB mole” or “an ISIS propagandist” or “a secret nazi party gauleiter” or a “murderer and child molester” or a “secret scion of the Rothschild banking family”,or a ” Italian ,Colombian,Mexican, mafia hitman”. Any of which would be a reason to drop you by the way (except for the FSB mole,that I could accept,lol). So while its up to you to decide. I think you should provide ammo for your supporters to use if they are ambushed by lies about you.Just my 2 cents.
That lady’s “logic” is somewhat limited on all layers.
What does the geographical distance of military installations have to do with honesty?
You know what, I (only a small unimportant blogger, but with similar narratives) also live less than 10km away from the German Bundestag. And – now what?
What does it mean or express to have attaended a specific University, as long as you are not its ownder or president now?
I hate “modern day” Berlin so much, I hardly go out to buy me food.
Only during the night.
Now of course very fine.
If she really suspected him of being a traitor and wanted to warn us of him with good intentions, she could have done so without publishing his name and picture. For that there simply is no justification in this universe.
Then even after the death of his mother.
I feel DISGUSTED by that these severe breaches of trust against the Saker.
There is no word for this.
@Martin from Soviet East-Berlin,
The words have been made famous by Putin:
“Stabbed in the Back” As in Judas Iscariot
Christine
Better analogy would be Marcus Junius Brutus minor. Judas was a sicario, but he didn’t stab Jesus, he kissed him. Brutus did stab Julius Caesar. Neither is really appropriate analogy, because each led to death. Disgruntled former acolyte’s opinion is just petty fulmination of no lasting consequence. Forget it and move on. Above response and following comments have already said enough, and fulfilled Option B with additional photograph. Jolly, imperturbable character with beer. Option A now irrelevant. No need for more action or any further disrobing.
Just because I am curious by nature, Option B.
Glad to know we share a name and a Swiss connection (paternal family is from Canton Bern).
For your dear mother, Vichnaya Pamyat!
Dear Saker,
I’m not one of the regular commenters here, but a regular visitor for this past year :-))
You are by far better off without the clowns. You don’t owe them or us any explanation.
There is an old saying in the Bhagvad Gita: “Whatever happened was good, what’s happening now is also good, what will happen will also be good”.
It means that you should just carry on with your life and keep writing. Whenever you give in or up, the clowns win. Stay positive and strong.
Best regards from the Netherlands :-))
op A
Saker,
Every ethnic group has it’s small group of treasonous bastards. For example, today NATO invited Montenegro to join their “defensive alliance”
I vote for Option B
Ignoring them (Option A) makes you look weak and only emboldens your enemies.
For example, does ignoring IS make them go away & stop their crazy shit?
I highly recommend the Putin approach:
The best defense is an aggressive offense. Revenge is a dish best served chilled.
Dear Saker,
Sincere condolences on the loss of your mother. Prayers for you and your family. I vote for Option A.
Option A, with this caveat. Never mind with the full bio. imo not relevant to your work today. More important is your analysis of the Novorussyia/Kiev – Turkey/Syria – Russia evolving situations. Looking forward to your next posting.
I think most of people here reading you,knew who you are already.
Saker. Known to us by your words,deeds and not the least-heart.
Option A and feel free to move the date. Date can be a tool also.
Yeah, actually I think I would like the date moved to 2050….lets just forget this.
dear Saker,
i hope you recover soon. foget about this episode and focus on shining your light on the world around us.
option A.
thank you for being.
cheers,
marco
Option A: don’t give in, don’t give control over, don’t give up. They are irrelevant, show them that.
No need no “know” a person to trust them, just pay attention to what they say and do.
Thank you for what you say and do.
Dear Andrei the Saker! In my view you are a briljant person providing us with briljant analyses. Who cares about those two people? I don’t!!! And I am sure that many of us, your readers, also don’t care. I would stick to the Original plan and not let some people compromise it! They do not deserve the ‘honour’… Please be informed that many of us highly value your efforts and please continue to inform us on your ideas with regards to the ever changing global politics. Thank you very much!! Best wishes to you and your family!!
Saker,
The truth will set you free,as the saying goes.You will be vilified and attacked constantly if you wait until 2017.That’s just the ugly side of the internet.Like others have said,anyone of importance,that really wanted to know your personal information,already have it.Bet on that!
Honor is a very important concept.Being truthful cements that honor and nobody can defeat it.So,I would choose option B.
Glad to see you back……
I say Option A
Don’t give them the power. Stick to your plans and goals.
Good luck
eagle
with option A they are free to write any lies they like and you ignore that…it might lead others to believe some of it….not good but small effect.
with option B they are free to nit pick, ‘interpret’ any thing you write any damn way they think hurts the blog.
you cannot win for sure either way.
i’ve seen attacks on others where a dubious picture perporting to be the person attacked was ‘outed’. the rediculous thing was the person in the photo, along with other people was six feet or more but the real person was only five feet six/seven. easily dismissed.
that’s what i think that person did, ignore it, but it persisted for a time, getting more and more rediculous every time and i assume they gave up from no reaction.
so option a but look after your family.
option A ;)
Definitely option A. Ignore them and choose your time. If they‘re allowed to make you do something you are uncomfortable with, they win.
Take care !
Option B – keep to your own schedule, keep the blog about issues, not personalities. Mrs Berthet or someone like her popping up was inevitable. Consider it noise.
PS: Mrs Berthet is pushing the meme that the Charlie Hebdo event was NOT a false flag. Anyone with two working neurons can see the event was a false flag. Therefore Mrs Berthet is pushing the enemy narrative. She may or may not have joined the blog under false pretenses to subvert it, but the absurd statement, “Raevsky is also a rabid anti-Semite” suggests she is a saboteur
I come here for your views and I judge them for what they are worth…not what other people think about you. I have little to criticize, although, I did like the “directness” of your old format over the glitzy bells & whistles of this one…yes..kids need that kinda stuff.
PR guys say, if you can’t maintain an airtight stone wall, flush all the story in a one time go…and never talk about it again?
A
Option B.
Get it over with and move on with your blogging.
I am a follower of Saker for some time now and enjoy the different writings, opinions, and newsworthy news. I had a time relinking to the saker site back a number of months ago. I also contemplated writing or visiting as I wanted a bit of advice as I felt very compelled to return to Russia as a resident.
I am a writer and look for the intelligent side of things and believe that there is a protocol that is needed to be used when writing, This includes being a professional without all the emotional garbage that gets thrown in. This is a reality site that should not include anything as I have read above from these so called “professionals?”. Some people know how to push buttons as I have seen these non-professionals do.
Being in this reality world as I see it, I will make a few comments but will not vote as maybe this will be my voting opinion.
First: The strong language being used is just plain ugly. This site is not reserved for just adults as I am sure our younger generations also read this news. Shame on anyone who wants to put this garbage on any site. I might suggest these “professionals’ get back on their meds and rethink what they are doing. No professionalism shown here at all. Maybe they are plants to upset what might be the truth. NO ONE need read their free and loose words “of wisdom”. There are none.
Second: Noting that people are translating from different languages makes it rather difficult to sometimes understand what the message really is. In English, when reading a translation, the translation is sometimes actually in reverse. This is especially if using one of these internet translating sites. Yes might be no and no might actually be yes. I notice this in all the languages when doing a internet site translation. When writing and translating, the translation is sometimes misunderstood and creates this “What are you saying?” issue. As a suggestion, I might think that anyone writing or translating have a good translator, not necessarily the internet. The wrong word in the wrong place may be the wrong time with the wrong outcome.
Third: We are dealing with many different cultures who have very strong feelings regarding their culture. How is it possible to keep cultural feelings out of the way when trying to write the truth. It can be very difficult to say the least.
In ending, Maybe, unless it is already in place, “Rules of engagement” might be published to be adhered to by everyone, with a panel of people to oversee. IF someone violates the rules, it could be a revisit of intentions of the person writing or just a “kick out” with a block to the website.
There are subversive groups that try to destroy the truth, which include people who you are suppose to trust. I am an avid reader of internet newspapers from all over the world. When I read and see something unusual, I will try and proof the article with other sites, writers, etc. Its amazing how many people we have working in “boiler rooms” changing the picture of events by changing words. I do not know how to stop this non trademarking issue but maybe someone can come up with a plan.
Your bio is a matter of whether you need to do it or not to satisfy the community. There will be someone that will try to blow you out of the water so just be prepared as I think you are if you elect to do this.
I personally see something here that tells me someone is at least trying to tell the truth (thru the heart of the person) and get it out to the public which is better than not saying anything. The only person you need to convince of doing the right thing is you. It appears that you are already doing this. So, just continue what you are doing. ITS ALL GOOD.
WHO IS THE SAKER?
Maybe the answer lies in the jumble of words written by a couple of people that are a tad derailed.
Judging from what was written, they are all over the map. So maybe just turning this around.
Jovanovic and Berthet
WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE? Do they have any worthy bio’s?
I did several assignments on the east coast of FL, one in your hometown, Edgewater, and the other at the Cape. I have since finished and am back up north. The next time I am back, I will try to look you up.
Very sorry about your loss. Mums are the greatest!
God-speed
B. Yer ok in my book
What is this? Internet drama?
Are we? 14 years old?
Nice one. I was about to stop reading the comments, then I found this gem.
Mr Rambo gets it. Thanks.
Really, who cares?
I judged the Saker by his writing and will keep on judging him by his writings.
Also the point is moot.
Someone who wants to go with Option A would (or certainly should) not have posted this article in the first place.
So get it over with and then let’s please forget about it.
well, I think it immature to not be understanding of this….if it really was nothing to Saker, then he wouldn’t have mentioned it.
Its immature to call people immature.
Believe me I’m empathetic to the issue Saker is facing, clearly he felt some kind of distress to post this micro-rebuttal. But I’m just saying… this is level 1, this is just the beginning of what’s to come. If the Saker gets a really large following and gets noticed I can assure you the powers of be have a lot worse in mind.
Gotta brace yourself for more of this in the future, probably a lot more. Tip of the iceberg… and this is just an internal security issue, an outside attack will be a lot worse.
I can’t recall if it was C who said this in another comment but chances are intelligence agencies know about the Saker (and all of us) and probably don’t care (or have gotten so used to spying on you that your life is just as normal to them as it is to you). There are 1.1 million terror suspects, I mean who knows if you’re on the list or not. There is no anonymity anymore.
Agree with Rambo…
Saker… ask yourself … do you have the time and energy to indulge in a non-winable cyber war of words?
Then, follow your gut instinct and if your internal radar is out of kilter, then just do what your wife says.
Whilst your past work is mysterious … the here and now is much more pressing and important.
Hi Saker,
Condolances for your mom…
Option B…
For your own security, there is no need to publish any more photos of yourself. The ones that are already “out there” will eventually become outdated as you change with time and lifestyle. Mr. Putin has an ex-wife and daughters, but you will hardly find any photos of them. It gives them the possibility to live a little more normal life. I highly recommend you do the same, unless you want to be a model or actor later.
Please draft your response privately, then check it with a lawyer or communications expert. You live in one of the most litigious parts of the planet.
I would also refrain from any comment on the personalities of the individuals. They are not going to change if it is a fundamental trait of their character. Stick with the problems or issues you have with them. Always state how the problems affect you, your family, your business. You can request a change in behaviour, but you cannot expect a leopard to change its spots.
Militarism is what has to be used when diplomacy has failed or run into a “dead end”. I personally refuse to celebrate the “Escalade” here in Geneva. I find nothing amusing about people dying in agony on the battlefield or to be beheaded and having their head being used as a football or placed on the top of a pike. I will still gladly eat my croissant and drink my coffee. (croissants were invented after the defeat of the Ottomans outside of Vienna – they resembled the cresent on their flag, and you were biting into it…).
The question of religion is a more difficult subject. I can respect individuals who wish to live an exemplary life, but religions such as Judaism, Christianity or Islam in their fundamental texts, the Talmud, Bible and Koran incite fundamentalist readers to adopt the most reprehensible values in total contradiction of the International Declaration of Human Rights as published in 1948.
The three religions are stating their god is the one and only, that others who are non-believers should be shunned, tortured or murdered. This has led to a long list of horrible historic events which included crucifixions, rape, torture and murder over the last two millennia. The communities have a total lack of understanding for someone who removes themselves from their religious community. (apostate).
The unfair and bigoted treatment of non-members has created more than a bit of historical animosity. In the Talmud you have crimes and punishments set out for members of the faith. The crimes are also mentioned if they happen to non-believers, but no punishment. You can imagine what kind of problems this has led to.
The favouritism for co-religionists has brought its own problems. In Palestine in the 1920’s wages paid to Arab workers were about 20% less than for the Jewish workers in Jewish businesses. The Arab community was also treating the Jews, such as in Yemen with total disdain. As for Christianity, think about the world’s greatest genocide, perpetrated by the Pilgrims and Conquistadors where between 20 to 100 million Native American Indians were enslaved and exterminated in the most cruel and horrendous fashion which is celebrated to this day with an annual holiday named Thanksgiving.
In order for persons to live respectable lives, there has to be a renunciation of these fundamental religious texts and the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Unfortunately, I think we are not there yet, nor is this actually a priority for the mentioned religions.
The first thing we all can do however is to promote ethics and ethical behaviour. Spending more of your time and energy in this direction through your analysis and writing is more valuable than investing emotions, time and energy in a soured relationship. Save that for your family and friends and try to do a good deed even for a stranger as and when you can.
Being the first to put out the facts gives you a way to shape the conversation. Your enemies will continue to snipe, but if you “cut the grass from under their feet”, their attacks are neutralized.
Best wishes,
Geneva Observer
Saker,
Going with the insightful comments of Israel Shamir, uncle bob1, meezer, and Gerold Rupprecht.
Option B:
Especially pay attention to gerold’s advice re litigation.
Option B may be the minority view, but if you know anything about PR if you don’t knip this in the bud now, it will grow and fester. Best way to disarm a slander campaign is put the facts out, if you did anything wrong – all humans do its not a big deal like the freaks in the MSM would like us to believe (minor), destroy the power it has by admitting it and it will implode and the move on to the next point (don’t waste your time).
Address the most serious points only, then a short bio (seems to be the consensus), move up your full article date from 2017, but at a time of your choosing.
I don’t think it’s any coincidence that this outing was done at the time of the Spitnik article and when you are vulnerable (right after your mother’s funeral) – its exactly the kind of low down act you can expect from entitled zealots.
If by Bible you mean Old Testament, may I remind you that Christians are of the New Testament. There are principles that can be learned in the Old Testament, sure. but living in the Old Testament will make a you a Jew and not a Christian.
Plus, the warfare and punishments in the Old Testaments are limited in time and space. There is no open call for a perennial state of physical war.
Option A. It’s your decision, your blog and your life.
Aside from family, anyone who doesn’t like it can clear off.
Condolences on the loss of your Mother and blessings upon you and all your family.
I found your statement “I always wanted to act like modern homosexuals and “come out of the closet” one day” quite interesting. You are getting a small taste of what those whose identity does not conform to societal binary “standards” face daily, from minor harassment up to murder. The issue at hand is of course your non-conforming opinions, not your orientation, but the result is the same. I respect you for having the courage to speak your truth – please give those whose identity is non-conforming and speaker their truth the same respect.
I don’t particularly care about your “real” identity, your words are what counts to me. And as with everything I read, I check other sources to come to my views. At the end of the day, what I consider most important is the opinion of my family.
I did not know the specifics, but I did know yo had a name and a personal history — like everyone else.
What I did not know is that you had a beard! This is shocking to me — I had never pictured you in my mind as having a beard. This changes everything — now I have to re-read all you have written in the context of you having a beard, because as everyone knows, people with beards are more analytic and contemplative than those who don’t.
Looking up your name on Google I also saw an article tiy wrote about Kanotix. Truthefully, I had never heard of this Linux distribution before (and sadly the link to the full article is broken), so I will have to check it out. After spending more than ayear looking at and trying different distros I find this rather intriguing.
As for the rest of stuff, I don’t see how it’s of any importance to what you write about politics and such since anything anyone writes is within some personal context, which changes over time anyway, which needs to be largely ignored while trying to get to the facts and ideas behind writing. I already knew you had various personal attitudes and biases, and likely some questionable events of personal history which may or may not be reported by people with their own personal attitudes and biases (including some crazy people), as do we all — but over all I still don’t see anything particularly significant.
“Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.
Eleanor Roosevelt”
My advice is ignore this nonsense ‘revelation’, but maybe grow your hair just a bit longer to balance out the beard.
Have a good day!
“people with beards are more analytic and contemplative than those who don’t”
ISIS? : )
They analyze and contemplate all the time — just the wrong way.
As far as Saker revealing things about himself, all that’s relevant wouild be like a CV — training, experience, etc., but even that doesn’t show much since people with very similar CV have very different opinions and conclusions anyway.
Hi Blue, cute comment.
“Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.
Eleanor Roosevelt”
we all have all those in us.
It is perfectly in character for a traditional Orthodox to have a beard. Nothing surprising.
Just ignore them. The diatribe you quoted from is well written, but no need to get upset about it. There’s a certain viciousness to it that goes beyond fairplay. And that automatically works against them. Those who try to slander others only shine a light on themselves. You have now addressed the issue, as far as I can tell, in sufficiently ample detail. No need to emit another lengthy *rectificatif*. There’s more important stuff going on in the world than other people’s personal quarrels. At least that’s my view. What drives those people? Maybe they’re just angry, maybe they’re zionists. Who knows, who cares. So, have another beer, and relax. Ah, okay, that last one was inappropriate wrt world events, but still, don’t let that anger you. Lastly, briefly, not inappropriately in form, I hope, my condolances for the loss of your mother.
Dear Saker!
First of all what I have to tell you and please write it behind your ears:
“We already know you!”
This does not mean, that we know your mother, or your place of birth, or any other such thing.
We know your personality from your writings.
You certainly have some shortcomings like anybody else does, but …
… what your specialty is that you are pretty balanced with your opinions.
And humane.
And “That is a big thing”!
So whatever you feel to tell the people which read your blog, we will take it.
Do not forget, why we come here. That is surely not because we want to see some kind of Jesus Christ from Florida or from Switzerland. Or from Russia. Or from Chechnya.
We just want your opinion on certain things. Many of us are pretty intelligent and informed.
But your opinion we still value.
You could not mislead us even if you wanted, because something like that is not easy with people a little above of the dumb idiots.
Mrs. Jovanovic probably sees the whole thing as a credibility contest and she is totally wrong on that!
Sooner or later everybody finds out the true face and the character of such a person.
It is always in the writings and style.
She tries to portrait you as a manipulative fox predator who tries to hide some evil from his victims. I wish her luck, but no success.
So do not worry.
I am sorry to read about all these troubles, but this is a reality when you deal with people. Your saying is very correct about a traitor in dozen.
Those people are usually the kind which would like to use the trust and exchange it for control and power. And then if you interfere, the hell breaks lose. Exactly like you have it now.
Just please do not worry.
I am one of those, who would like to see you personally and shake your hand.
Just because you do the right thing.
I have a high opinion about the people, who swim against the tide. Those are the ones, who do what they do because of conviction. And I do not have to always agree about everything, but certainly that person will have my respect.
Please do not bother too much about the crazy Jovanovic. That could effect the quality of your work with the blog.
Prepare some answers or column visible on the Saker site, for those who have no clue about this issue and that would be enough. It has to be clearly visible for some time. You can edit it and react to some upcoming smears.
Do not publish too much personal information! You are slowly becoming a public person.
There is plenty of crazies running around which compared to Jovanovic are much worse torpedoes.
Best regards Robert
Majku im … That said I vote A. Be yourself don’t let degenerates affect you by their own desperation.
Go with your heart: A
I must admit that it’s nice to know few basic things about you, and also to see your photo, but I would never do anything that would reveal your identity against your will. I apologize for the behavior of two ex-Serbian Saker team members. The things that Turks did to Serbs centuries ago are certainly not the reason, nor the justification to hate any Muslim in this world.
I also vote for the option b.
Have it done and leave it behind you.
You are read for your information and for your brilliant analysis. It’s the admiration for the second
that lead to questions about your formation and experience.
Your private life presents no interest for people worth bothering about.
My sincere condolence for your loss.
M.S.
Dear Saker,
If you absolutely feel you need to, go for option A and, in the meantime, just continue blogging your insights.
Forget about the ones who want to ruffle your feathers.
As far as I’m concerned, you don’t have to compete with anybody, just carry on being yourself. That’s good enough for me.
I can’t see why anybody needs to know more “details” about you. There’s so much already.
All my best regards to you and your loved ones
I am an occasional poster.
I will always pop in to read and it is the strength of the information, and the articles that draws me to the blog. Where would I have got such valuable information on ukraine? Certainly not in the MSM.
I do not need a biography, what would it change?
A variety of people contribute excellent articles and are judged solely on the content of the articles.
There are always people who always try to be “spoilers” in all walks of life.
Keep to your plan and don’t be distracted by the poison.
Dear Saker:
BTW: As somebody who is the engineer of his own free open-src *NIX operating system I wonder how that mad(-d)ame can call this guy an “IT guru”.
When I was member of the German Saker team for a short time (and got introduced to this Francois via eMail) I didn’t notice that he is that much of a wizard.
Just my 2 Kopekes.
Forget these clowns, better without them.
Imagine you were a balloon – get rid of unneeded weight which wants to bring you down.
I also have trouble with a NATO-troll who brought me to court.
Life is tough. But we have the better arguments. Never forget this!
(Lenin’s sayings)
I have mostly read this blog regularly and commented very little, but here’s my opinion for what it’s worth: I think you should wait to post your biography. Although you made May 2017 your official coming out one never knows what the future holds and circumstances might make you come out sooner, but I would definitely take the wait and see approach i.e. Option A.
There are cruel, nasty, vengeful people out there. It’s better to get the bird’s eye informed view for now and maybe they’ll even hang themselves with their own rope and all will become moot.
Wait and see; time will be instructive; it will expose their weaknesses and give you a more informed perspective to put an end to their vengeance for good. Wait, observe and then act when the time is ripe even if it’s not your target date.
You will no doubt be supported by the followers of this blog whatever you do, but wisdom dictates that taking a step back and not reacting on the intensity of the moment especially given the emotional and sad circumstances of your mother’s passing; will strengthen your position. Now is not the time, rest, throw yourself into this blog and get the proper perspective to deal with this unless all becomes moot with their self-destruct spite crusade.
Salam, Saker
just go on as you planned and forget about those people.
“the dogs bark and the caravan moves on” (arabic proverb)
yours
Saker, you look very huggable, whether as Andrey or Saker, (it is more appealing to think of hugging a man than a falcon….)
Just remember that after posts have been sent through the maelstrom, they may be subject to misunderstanding, so maybe it’s better for you to be And-ray of Sunshine – you are the sunshine of my life tra la la (Steve what’s his name, I’m hopless with names – what was it).
What’s in a name anyway, “Saker” does not sound incompatible with “Andrei”, but incompatibility anyway provides the greatest opportunity for change.
So hugs all round, and to Putin especially; we’re at a turning point of history, and your honour is of paramount importance.
Kind regards
Meek Tyger
Stevie Wonder
Saker. I consider it a difficult decision but I would think considering option A. We who read your blog in a daily basis do not care at all this stuff. Then changing you original plan would be like giving these guys too much importance that they do not deserve. I consider yours (and Pepe Escobar) articles, genuine, priceless documents of real journalist almost nowhere else to find. Whatever you decide I (and the Saker community for sure) are with you.
Saker, condolences on the loss of your mother.
I join the “Option A” group.
FWIW, I am skeptical of the argument that choosing Option B takes the initiative, or momentum, from your detractors and leaves you relatively “one-up”. I think this would, at best, provide only a brief respite.
If, as the tone of their attacks suggest, they are motivated by bitter, vindictive animus, they will keep up their vendetta whether or not you set the record straight.
There’s an old story attributed to wily career politician Lyndon Baines Johnson, although it’s probably apocryphal and exists in countless variations: during a hotly-contested campaign in Texas, LBJ ordered his staff to spread vicious rumors that his opponent (like the UK’s David Cameron) enjoyed carnal knowledge of barnyard hogs.
His shocked staff protested that they couldn’t do that, especially because it wasn’t true. LBJ supposedly replied “Of course it ain’t true, but I want to make the SOB deny it!”
An honest, comprehensive rebuttal will affirm what your allies and supporters already know, or don’t feel a need to know. But I don’t see that it will stop bad-faith attacks motivated by irrational hostility– one way or the other, they’ll just keep making slanderous accusations that will require further “damage control”.
All that said, I don’t know why you need to eventually produce a “self-centered and painfully narcissistic” autobiography in 2017 or any other time. That sounds like you’re so uncomfortable with the prospective level of disclosure that you’re not-so-subtly warning readers OFF this proposed revelation.
If and when the time comes, consider a more minimal, cut-and-dried (auto)bio that is more appropriate and easier to both produce and consume.
Sorry for all of your recent troubles, and best wishes in overcoming them.
Hi Saker, (I shall continue to refer to you by this moniker)
Frankly speaking, I do not really care who you are or what you have done. This is your business. I enjoy reading your articles and they resonate with my own ideas and beliefs. I would go with option ‘C’ and just leave things as they are. Concentrate on the analysis.
Just my two cents
Dear Saker,
I know it’s a pain in the ass, but Option B seems like the way to go, given that the Berthets have de facto spoiled your 2017 ‘coming out’ plan. I don’t think a bio of epic proportions and excruciating detail is required, just something succinct to set the record straight for readers and future readers. Any form of engagement with the accusations and slander of the Berthet trolls is, of course, unnecessary. To a large extent, this post has already put Option B into motion. So my vote is to heed the words of Mark Twain and “Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.”
Царство небесное.
Option A otherwise it’s a colossal waste of time. Look at what Russia has gone through the last few months – the quantity of lies that were thrown at her but she does not waste time to refute any of the accusations but continuing on her course – steady as she goes – knowing that Truth, like water, will find its way into the open.
Option A
Its looking like a 50/50 on this – so the ball will most likley fall completely back at your foot.
Saker (who you will always be called/known by me) you are one of VERY few who I have 110% trust in – always have had since day 1 of my 1st read on here.
On Twitter – we say “don’t feed the Trolls”
Keep your personal information personal – you have already shared more than enough info above.
Take care – rest.
regards
Peter – New Zealand
Trouble with that lot is they’re all barking up the wrong tree. Walk quietly away Saker, they’re too stupid to notice. What is it you say in Russia; One word (yours) outweighs the whole world?
@The Saker, my opinion is that you should just do whatever is your preference. We believe in you!
Option A.
The Saker has become a recognized name, a trade mark!
Andrei Raevsky will never be as famous. :-)
If needed, add an ‘About Me’ item to the menu bar that leads to a short bio.
About Me, a perfect suggestion, zweistein.
In a completly different sense the two bad/mad guys used an important phrase: you are hybrid.
Nevertheless, yes, you already started some time (months) ago to be hybrid. On the one hand The Saker – since at least end of 2013 – more and more turns into a brand, a real, valuable brand. Even if you (personally) don’t like it. Many people / comunity members refer to you in the very same way they refer to other brands (think of Mercedes cars). And exactly this is the reason why you stumbled over the two serbs (or whatever – after some paragraphs i stoped reading it):
You’re are starting to get known as The Saker and this sooner or later will get a problem even for what i call Licenced Media (and is commonly known as Mainstream Media). Maybe one reason for enduring hatred of them is some support by Licenced Media?
On the other hand (of your hybridness): of course some members of the comunity already know you by your real name – so what? In GoG (Good ol Germany) there are (already) journalists (KenFM, RTdeutsch …) bootlickers of Licenced Media willingly created Wikipedia pages for, including clearnames (and a lot of bullshit). In fact, what happend to you is just one propaganda trick used in GoG. [Keep in mind: in GoG this propaganda machine is running non-stop since … 98 years and propaganda technology is pretty much the same. The licences really have been given (since 1946) to each and every nowadys existing newspaper, public broadcasting and so on. Thus it’s simply true to call them Licenced Media.]
All in all:
1. Keep the brand “The Saker” (this will be your pension).
2. Of course there is always a real guy behind a real brand – don’t care! If somebody asks, tell him.
3. No coming out needed – not at all! [Will hapen automatically the more your brand gets valuable – e.g. interviews (with RT?)]
If you can handle A go for it as long as you can.
You’re The Saker. It is your ideas, your achievements and your passion which defines who you are. Being The Saker has been good enough in the past; it will most assuredly be good enough in the future. You have my unconditional support and that of a hell of a lot of us out here across the globe.
Saker: A combined with a third option, C.
Tell your story whenever you are ready (A). But since anonymity on the blog is now a dead end, (C) change the blog name now, using your own name, Andrei Raevsky. Announce your name to the world now, but tell your story when you want to. That should limit the ability of those two exhibitionists to grandstand and draw attention to themselves.
Hey Saker,
My vote is “A” – you’re original plan seems best to me.
Please stay strong and keep up the great work.
Steve
Option A
Don’t let these people dictate how you go about your life.
I lean towards plan “A”. But do whatever promotes your family’s privacy and dignity.
And my prayers for your mother’s repose. May her memory be eternal!
If we had her first name, we could have her remembered in church!
Saker, I recommend A, but when you feel like writing something about yourself then that should be at the time of your choosing. You should not feel you have to defend yourself. I am not interested in these people or what they think of you or what they allege you have or have not done. You are important because you are an excellent analyst and you always have a unique opinion that so many of us value. And you share your moments of weakness and of doubt. That is the reason many of us feel we know you and like you.
My worry about the expansion of Saker communities was that you would be drawn into precisely these types of scenarios that plague so many groups and that your attention would be drawn away from what you do best. For example, since the Russian involvement in Syria your voice has been increasingly rare and is sorely missed. As the saying goes “stick to the knitting.”
Hi Saker.
I’m glad you will be back next Monday. I have missed you.
My opinion, now that you’re asking is:Go public. I haven’t even bother to read the text, since from the onset was clearly a personal and angry attack.
I will always think of you as “The Saker”. Would you consider to keep your byline as it is?
It’s curious how life put you in this situation: dealing with your mum’s passing and a personal and vicious attack against you. But you know that we are not sent more than we can deal with.
Please, don’t loose energy over this issue. Many people needs you in good form ( I’m thinking about your wife, your 3 kids,friends,alligators and all of us). But,of course, do it mostly for yourself. You strive for happiness, that much is clear in your writings)
Please, forgive that couple. Pray for them. Wish them well. I don’t think they are bad people, just wrong and clearly misguided.I am sending them my best wished as I type.
Love to you and yours, and the whole Saker Community.
Stay well Saker.
An Spanish Irishman.
I read this site for its astute analysis of current events. I could care less what personal foibles the Saker and other writers may (or may not) have. I suggest you ignore their attacks.
Another thing to keep in mind it that at some point, if not already, certain “powers” will seek to disrupt this blog. A common way to do so is through slander, making all sorts of allegations about one’s past. If you waste a lot of time trying to respond to this attack, you can bet there will be future personal attacks, by others. Trying to respond to all that will just dive you crazy and take away from what’s really important – your analysis of events.
So again, I suggest you ignore their attacks. The people who read this blog are intelligent enough to see when an argument is unfounded, as their attempts to discredit you so clearly are. Maybe the brainwashed masses might be persuaded by their comments, but they aren’t exactly your target audience, anyway.
Good luck.
If you had a timeframe planned for ‘coming out’, stick to it, don’t give them the satisafaction of directly responding to, or engaging with them.
If asked by third parties, be gentle, calm, friendly and show a little self deprecating humor…other then that, just ignore.
P.S. you look look exactly how I imagined you ;-)
My Brother Saker:
You cannot expect to be on the right path and be left alone by the enemies.
Prophet Muhammad and His Household are examples of that. You are in Good company with the righteous in my view.
Stay focused on righteousness and Allah will handle the rest for you.
Your sister in Faith
Zainab
Saker,
We will ignore them for the inglorious nonentities that they are, and proceed with the important business of this blog, and that is to; disseminate information that help to cut through the maze of BS and the haze of ignorance.
Looking forward to your next analysis.
Dear Saker,
I am a devoted reader of your blog tho I rarely comment. My 2 cents:
Do your personal bio now and then turn your back from these black-hearted individuals. Allow your large community of followers to arise and defend you organically, without you yourself being further dragged into the muck. You will defuse their efforts by providing a wide-open response as to your story and identity, for all to see. Now your supporters will be armed with a nice link to supply as desired when responding to the detractors now and in the future.
“The best laid plot can injure its maker, and often a man’s perfidy will rebound on himself.”
— Jean de La Fontaine
**************
Saker, I send my heartfelt condolences to you on the passing of your mother. I am certain she is with you and so proud of you. I thank her for bringing you to us!
With gratitude for your excellent blog.
This is entirely a question for the Saker and his family. It is also entirely for the Saker and his family when they address it – or whether they just ignore it as a piece of nonsense (unpleasant but nonsense nonetheless). Certainly it is not something that should intrude now of all times.
Best wishes.
Saker -I will continue to use your nom de plume/guerre- stick with your original plan. Go on as if these detractors are of no consequence to you nor to us. “Never let them see you sweat!”.
Hi Saker, If you do decide to publicly reveal your identity, you don’t necessarily have to write the article yourself, and it doesn’t have to be the central subject of the story, either. For example, you could do an interview with someone trustworthy, maybe another writer you respect and who respects you. And you could basically be interviewed as the caretaker / spokesperson for the Saker blog – its message, its growth and trajectory, how being anonymous initially helped keep the focus on the message of the blog, etc. In other words, have your ID come out as a part of the story, but in a subtle way that doesn’t give any attn to the people who “outed” you. PS Thanks for all that you do. -E
Option B . Go for it . Always enjoyed you blogs.
Dear Saker,
I couldn’t care less for your identity, for as you said it is about the topic, the views. Not about who writes it and so on.
So come out when ever you want or don’t. It’s all the same for me.
As for Serbian Saker blog, you know I am from Serbia and I must say that I don’t see the point in all that because Serbs who browse Internet for this kind of things know English pretty well, ergo no need for translations. A lot of wasted time and resources if you ask me. Better to get those people doing something more productive.
Best regards. ;)
Sad commentary on human nature but this is the best confirmation that you are doing something right. Do as you see best. I appreciate everything you do.