Back to (the new) normal, at least for a while

 Dear friends,

It appears that the blog as returned to more or less normal, which is good.

Should anything happen again, I will keep you posted here.

Kind regards and thanks for your loyalty and support!

Andrei

Update from Andrei

Dear friends

We are back up, but we are still fixing/changing a few things.  Obviously, I cannot share what we have done and are still doing.  But the progress is real and I wanted to share that with you.  Still, two of our Saker blogs (Italian and Latin American) are down due to the changes we had to make.  We hope to get them back up next.  Please stay tuned.

Also, since we are fine tuning a few things, we might have a few "bumps" in the coming days.  Should that happen, please know that 1) I am not closing down the blog 2) we are aware of the problem 3) we are working on it and, finally, 4) we will solve it one way or another.

I also remind you that in case of outage, please do not email me, but see the messages on the old blogspot website here: http://vineyardsaker.blogspot.com/

We also have a Telegram channel here: https://t.me/TheSakergroup

Next, I plan my full-time return to blogging for July 24th, God willing.  This break has allowed me to (almost) fully recharge my batteries and I very very much look forward to resuming my work here.

I want to thank you all for your patience, especially those who donated while the site was down (and yes, IT costs money!).  Considering the bad (USA) to horrible (EU) economic situation we are all facing (unless there are millionaire readers out there, but I doubt it), this was not only very generous of you, but also extremely morally uplifting to see that our wonderful community of readers is supporting us even in the worst of times.

I can't say that this experience was pleasant (and I personally had it easy, since I had no role in fixing things, unlike the Saker Team and one very kind spontaneous helper which did all the heavy lifting, thank you guys!!!!!), but it did prove to me that we were doing something very very right.  Why do I say that?  Because it is highly likely (don't laugh here, *sometimes* this expression is valid) that we were attacked by a state actor or by a "private" entity paid top dollar by state actors: the attack was both massive and VERY sophisticated.  Again, I apologize for not saying more.

I figured that if they hate us so much, we must really have them butthurt pretty badly :-)

Okay, that was all I could share with you right now.

Kind regards, hugs and cheers to all

Andrei

 

Update on the attack against the Saker blog

 Dear friends

We are working on a solution and I am cautiously optimistic.

I cannot go into the details now, but I just wanted you update you.

Kind regards

Andrei

Saker blog under attack – URGENT request for help

 

Dear friends

The Saker blog has been under attack for many months, but we kept it quiet.  Our webmaster and sysadmin Herb  has successfully beat back all the attacks, but now the enemy has upped both the scale and nature of the attack and we are barely hanging on.

 

I have two urgent requests:

1) If you are an IT security specialist (or can contact one you know) and you think that you (or he/she), or your company, can help, please contact at the following email as soon as possible: [email protected]

Please do NOT email me personally as I am on sick leave and this is way above my IT skills.

2) please circulate this appeal of mine on social media, maybe that will help us get to the right people who can help us.

Finally, we will keep you updated on the old blog’s site here: http://vineyardsaker.blogspot.com/

Thank you in advance for any help!

Kind regards

Andrei

The Saker Blog is under attack

 Dear friends,

The Saker Blog is under attack and is currently down.  The Saker team is working on restoring service, but I ask you for your patience!

Also, if they attack us, it must mean that we are threatening them.

So I consider this as a compliment of sorts for the superb work the Saker Team has been doing, especially since my leave of abscence for health reasons.

So I ask for your patience and understanding.

Kind regards

Andrei