All stats from pewglobal.org and images from englishrussia.com

Intellectuals of the early decades now tell the present days younger generation how another super power used to exist in this world parallel and side by side to the present day super power. A power that kept the imperialists in their limits. A multipolar world then was much better than now, where nobody is there to prevent the western superpowers from opening newer fronts.

If the socialist economy fell down in 1991, the capitalist economy is now falling down due to recession. On the one hand democratic countries like US, Russia, Greece and India are seeing various revolts and movements showcasing anger among the public for their government. On the other hand non democratic countries like Arab World and north Africa saw similar revolutions. Then which one is better? Non democratic like China, or Democratic like India?

Without putting us in this long and old debate, we analyse the situation in the three countries of former Soviet Union after 20 years: Lithuania, Ukraine and Russia, which adopted the democratic government.

A study by the Pew Research Center shows the result that after two decades of the collapse of USSR, the people in Russia, Ukraine and Lithuania are unhappy with the direction in which their country is going. Energy, Enthusiasm which was on top of of everyone after the collapse for the democracy and rights has now waned considerably in last two decades. While many believe that the changes which their country underwent all these years have done nothing good but given a negative impact to public morality, economy and law and order and standard of living.

Democracy and Capitalism

Source: pewglobal.org

Russia, in the name of democracy has hardly enjoyed any benefits, as a stronger opposition lacks in the country which can give tough competition to powerful Putin. Ukraine has seen bad politics, interference by western diplomacy and colour revolution, whereas Lithuania, unlike Russia and Ukraine believe that changes in past 20 years have done good for them. 49% of the people are satisfied with the changes while 30% says no.

Despite the belief that capitalist economy is better than socialist only 42% of the Russians now approve a change to market economy, just before the collapse of Soviet Union in 1991 the count was 54%. The change of 11% fall. In Lithuania 76% used to approve in 1991 whereas now only 45%, In Ukraine this has slipped to 34% from 54%.

Who is benefited?

Source: pewglobal.org

There is a general feeling among these countries that the only benefit during these two decades were enjoyed by politicians and business elites, whereas common people were left behind, unlike Soviet Union where everybody was considered equal. The only thing which people like about democracy in their country is the improved judiciary and free media.

The transparency in the coverage of Moscow protests by Russian media is indeed a colour of democracy. Public is able to protest freely against their own government is democracy unlike Arab world where military was ordered to attack their own civilians. The public might be protesting against Putin as they don't want him or his party yet again for another 4 or 8 years, but still if we look at the stats in 1991 just before the former Soviet Union was officially dissolved, there was a general optimism among the public for a change towards a multiparty system.

Change to a Multiparty System can Solve the problems?

Almost 61% of Russians then believed a change to multiparty system will be good for their society, now that belief has shrunk to 50%. Similarly, in Lithuania the count was 75% back in 1991, now only 52%. In Ukraine the optimism has slipped from 72% to 35%, but it is true that in all the three surveyed countries, the youth, the well educated class and the urban population only supports the change to multiparty system.

Source: pewglobal.org

Vladimir Putin has all the qualities of a strong leader, who has transformed the broken Russia into a powerful economy within past 12 years. He has brought back the respect to Russia which was lost after the break up of Soviet Union. Russia now is now leading in race to become a military as well as economy super power. Unlike strong leader of Arab world, Vladimir Putin is far more democratic also. Despite the protest against him, only 32% of Russian feel that they need a democratic form of government compared to 51% in 1991. When asked whether they should rely on democratic leader or strong ruler to solve their national problems only 3 in 10 Russians and Ukrainians chose democracy, whereas in Lithuania 52% prefer democratic leader now compared to 79% back in 1991.

When asked whether people are happy with the current state of democracy in the country, a large number of the people in all these three countries showed dissatisfaction with the present state of democracy and how it is working in their country when compared to the results in 1991. Moreover, in Lithuania and Ukraine this belief has only changed only in past two years. According to the survey by Pew Global in 2009, 60% of Lithuanians said they were dissatisfied now this feeling has spread to 72%. In Ukraine the same unhappiness has risen from 70% to 81%.

Just when the world lost confidence in socialist economy after the collapse of Soviet Union, these three countries lost the confidence in capitalist economy after the recession. 76% of Lithuanians were optimistic about switching to a market economy in 1991, now only 45% feel the same way. Among Ukrainians, optimism fell from 52% in 1991 to 34% after 20 years. Although, 42% of Russians currently endorse the free market approach, a 12-percentage-point drop since 1991, eight points of which occurred in just the last two years during recession.

Slipping confidence in the capitalism is due to the reason that the people don't feel that their country is doing good in economy. In all the countries those who have not seen the life in Soviet Union or were too young when the giant collapsed are only the people who support capitalism and democracy.

Russians Missing the Soviet Union

Source: pewglobal.org

There is a feeling among majority of Russians that Soviet Union was a great place to live. According to the survey by pewglobal more than half of the
Russians believe that it is a great misfortune that Soviet Union now no longer exists. While only 36% disagree to this belief.

US and Russia who is better?

When asked about the influence of these countries whether positive or negative on Ukraine, Russia and Lithuania. The results were not very shocking. Majority of the people support Russia and Russian cause and its foreign policy rather than going the western way. While US enjoys positive influence on Lithuania with 73% of Lithuanians considering US as favourable and 20% considering it as unfavourable, Russia enjoys positive influence in Ukraine with 84% Ukrainians considering Russia as favourable and only 11% considering it as unfavourable

Views of European Union and NATO

Source: pewglobal.org

All the three countries surveyed considers EU important for economy and development and hence EU enjoys positive views, whereas NATO is considered as America's military expansion towards these countries rather than a security network. Lithuania being involved in EU and being a member of NATO gives plus points to both the organization.

While 49% of Lithuanians think joining EU is a good thing, 31% doesn't find any change, whereas 8% feel it is not a good thing. Lithuania being a member of NATO also backs the idea of Ukraine joining the security group. Whereas 72% in Russia and 51% in Ukraine oppose Ukraine joining NATO.

Source: pewglobal.org

It is true since the day the Soviet Union fell down, democracy ended in the world. After the collapse of Soviet Union we have seen more wars on small countries than ever before. But it is true as well that the world was on the brink of a real big war which could have turned into a nuclear war when both the super powers existed side by side.

The time when US is understanding that soon its supremacy could be taken over by Asian giants, US is welcoming warmer ties with as many countries possible. At this time rise of Russia, which is more open and transparent than before along with China, Europe and possibly India and Japan will lead us towards a multipolar world. Which would be more complex but peaceful.





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Arctic Shore line, Image by savillent

Posted by Ana Maria Ghimis, Geopolitics.ro

The energetic map of the world is far from being complete and the Arctic is playing a fundamental role in marking it. However disputes present here are far from being over, especially when the strategic interests of five powers collide and create a feeling of insecurity felt worldwide. Arctic has the ability to change the international status-quo ,that is why states to engage in a race that will, in the end, be zero-sum. / lead nowhere

The bipolar distribution of power during the Cold War led to do the emergence and persistence of a well-defined international order, which was recognized and accepted by most states. The defining element for keeping order was military power, but after the end of the war, the dismantling of USSR and the birth of emerging powers, the international system started across a transitional period in which the concept of security could not be defined as referring exclusively military capabilities held by a state. Adjustment was necessary. The reason is obvious, the nature of the current security threats has changed so that states cannot react using the same traditional means used in the past. As proposed by Barry Buzan, we could talk about different types of security: political, military, economic, societal, environmental.

Developing and maintaining a high level of economic performance has become a primary need for states, but to achieve this performance (at least in the industry) states need energetic resources. They have a limited nature so the whole bilateral or multilateral relationship is a game of zero-sum, where there can be only one winner and ones winning is others' loss. Energy resources are becoming increasingly more important specially coupled with the growing energy dependency of the most developed countries in the world. Until recently the map of energy-producing states was clearly defined (Middle East, Eurasia etc), but the emergence of an area that is expected to accommodate 30% of the natural gas resources and 13% of the petrol ones, has the potential to permanently change the geopolitical energy map of the world.

Although internationally there is a preference for currents such as functionalism, constructivism, idealism, precisely because they promote cooperation between states in one way or another, when international law fails to give a verdict, we are witnessing what realists would call 'a race for power'. If until now the center of interest has been mainly on some areas within the continents, today we are seeing a change of interest towards the geographical periphery. Arctic has become a hot spot in which the interests of five national powers (USA, Russia, Canada, Norway and Denmark via Greenland) directly collide.

Global warming has led to the withdrawal of ice, allowing the exploitation of the resources that are under Arctic's waters using the current available technologies. At first sight this should be an aspect that would strengthen global energy security, because more resources mean more producing states and more producing states generate a multi-polar energy system, thus an increased global stability. Yet the occurrence of these resources has led to an unstable system in which the directly involved states are engaged into a race for power under the auspices of a zero-sum game. The reason is the international character of the Arctic. Being a frozen desert, which until recently had no available exploitation perspectives, the Extreme North was considered everyone's and yet no one's land, on which there were no legal demands from any state. However, as we mentioned before, global warming and the technological progress led to a change of perspective, so that Russia, USA, Canada, Norway and Denmark are trying to prove through scientific research that the Arctic territory is actually an extension of their continental shelf. This is the only way these countries could exercise sovereignty over the existing oil and gas resources.

This argument is amplified by the fact that the international law is rather vague in this situation. The only available source is the Sea Law, which was adopted in 1982 and took effect in 1994. Following its provisions, 'a state can claim exclusive economic rights over a distance of maximum 200 miles'. Of course there are exceptions, in which a state can ask for sovereign rights over a territory larger than 200 miles. But this is possible only 'if a state can prove its continental shelf extends beyond the 200 mile economic zone, then it can claim similar rights over a larger area'. Instead of resolving current disputes, these provisions have intensified the race for the Arctic, both in elaborating more maps proving the extension of the continental shelf and also in developing unilateral destabilizing actions.

We can say that the country that kicked-start this race is the Russian Federation, which has used submarines to plant in August 2007 two national flags in the Arctic waters, thus making their claims known. This action had no legal support, that is why it drew much criticism from other states, Canada being the most vehement through the statements of its Foreign Minister: 'We are not in the XVth century. You can not go through the world and just plant your country's flag and say - We claim this territory'. Russia's action wasn't meant to have a legal effect so such reactions were expected. Russia's objective was achieved: it demonstrated that it can act unilateral in a system that wants to be interdependent. From then until now, disputes have increased in intensity and even in number. Although we call it the race for the Arctic, this is rather a generic name, no state actually claiming the whole Arctic, this being impossible. The territories on which states claim sovereign rights aren't the same for all five states, rather they are divided into groups of dispute. We can identify disputes between: USA and Canada on the waters near Alaska's border and the status of the Northern Passage; Canada and Russia on the underwater mountain, Lomonosov Ridge; Russia and Norway on Barents Sea; Denmark and Canada on Hans Island. Also Russia has not ratified the treaty on the delimitation of its border with the U.S. near the coast of Alaska.

So Arctic has become in recent years a clash of strategic interests space of five states, of which three can be considered as major powers. The battle for gas and oil has just started and prospects for settlement are still unclear, mainly due to the failure of UN in finding a solution.

Translated in English from Romanian language, Original Article appeared on our Partner website.

Please share and join the discussion on facebook by clicking the "Like" below. Article as appeared on our partner site Geopolitics.ro 

China Red Cross, Source: AsiaNews.it

Posted by Jessica Drun, AsiaEye

Recent scandals involving charity misspending and embezzlement have tarnished the image of China’s non-profit organizations (NPO). News of these controversies has spread like wildfire across Chinese micro-blogs and public philanthropy suffered a blow by alienating potential donors. For instance, China saw an immediate decline in blood donations following the Guo Mei Mei incident, in which the supposed general commercial manager of the Red Cross flaunted her lavish lifestyle on Weibo, a Chinese social networking site. The Red Cross in China now reportedly faces a 30-40% shortage. With Chinese people increasingly wary of corruption, monetary contributions to charities have reportedly more than halved from June to August of this year. The consequences of these trends are grave, as Chinese citizens across the board have called for government reform in the country’s nascent third sector—and Beijing is feeling some pressure to respond.

The economic reforms spearheaded by the late Chinese patriarch, Deng Xiaoping, are largely credited with unleashing market forces that spurred China’s rapid growth. The “opening up” policy contributed to a wide scale privatization campaign, leaving in its wake a debilitated social safety net. These trends, coupled with an upsurge of development-induced social problems, have opened space for Chinese NPOs to emerge at the forefront of the country’s public service sector. Under- resourced and overextended, China’s third sector has been a reoccurring topic in legislative debates in recent years—both in the front lines of grassroots initiatives and among many levels of government officials. The situation presents an interesting contradiction, wherein the Chinese government must face the need to address social problems while at the same time realizing that such a move could detract from its authority.

The landscape of the country’s third sector has changed significantly in recent years. This change is reflected in official government statistics that show the number of registered organizations has shot up over 40% between 2005 and 2010 alone. This increase does not include unregistered organizations, which are blocked from formal proceedings by China’s dual-registration system and strict guidelines. Comparatively, the non-profit landscape was practically barren under Mao’s rule and these types of organizations did not emerge until the 1980’s. This surge coincides with the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) decision to defer social management responsibilities to NPOs as a means to promote Deng’s economic policies and encourage market forces. The initial non-profits were directly under government jurisdiction but as social problems emerged at a faster rate than the Party could manage, the central government began to defer control and reform the system.

Approaches to reform have been multifaceted. The central government, citing the importance of preserving social order, has sought to revise the current bylaws underlining non-profit management. The central government has overseen the establishment of experimental sites in Wenzhou, Shanghai, and Shenzhen to test the prospect of transferring more government functions to non-profit organizations. The National People’s Congress and the CCP Central Committee have dedicated a section of the country’s next Five Year Plan (FYP) to charity management, ostensibly to address rising public discontent towards corruption in NPOs.

In Chapter 39 of the 12th Five Year Plan, the central government called for the development of social organization through a streamlined application process, improved tax incentive laws, and policy support a la legal and regulatory protections. Before final approval in March 2011, the government disclosed the FYP guidelines to the Chinese people through a series of public hearings, seeking e-mail feedback and leaving room open for revision. Consequently, a Charity Law, drafted by the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MoCA), which has been on the table since 2005, has resurfaced for consideration. In July 2011, the government reopened the draft as the “Guideline for the Development of Charity in China” and solicited public input to give direction to charity growth and expedite processes conducive to the 12th FYP. However, the draft has since seen little movement within the legislature.

Meanwhile, frustrated by government inaction, local and provincial governments have apparently taken matters into their hands. Respective authorities in Jiangsu, Ningbo, Hunan, Beijing, and just recently Guangdong have each enacted their own set of regulations, facilitating registration processes and allowing for more accountability in non-profit management. These moves have been commended by officials higher up in the government. In late 2010, a MoCA representative voiced his hopes that these developments will help guide those on a national scale.

The general consensus on the need for reform paints an interesting picture for future developments of the third sector. The timing of the FYP and its related reforms comes at a critical crossroad in China’s development. First, the 12th FYP coincides with a transition of power to its fifth-generation leadership that will take place in 2012. Chinese leaders seek a seamless power change, but they must address the growing challenges posed by increasing social unrest. By adhering to the tenets set by the FYP and by shaping public interests through the charity law, the Party could mitigate discontent among the masses, while at the same time demonstrate responsible leadership. Moreover, promoting China’s international image should provide further incentive for the government to amend its non-profit regulations by legitimizing the new leaders through social progress. It should be noted, however, that certain types of non-profits within the sector, such as those dedicated to religion and human rights, will see little change in their directive.

These advancements in the third sector may also point to the prospect of more comprehensive reform throughout the country. Grassroots movements empower and educate citizens for involvement in the public sphere, which then calls for a more active and informed society, with its own functions and claims. Larger citizen involvement, enabled by a burgeoning nonprofit sector, could lead to a further decentralization of power. This would be in line with the CCP’s “big society, small government” policy that seeks to create a network of social protections wherein citizens serve as intermediaries between the government and social organizations to sustain and promote a “harmonious society”. In essence, nonprofit reform may equip the citizenry with the capacity to take on the Chinese government’s social functions and become that “big society.” The deciding factor, however, is largely dependent on the direction the central government takes from its current Catch-22: toward third sector reform at the cost of its relative power or the continuation of the status quo at the risk of social instability.

Please share and join the discussion on facebook by clicking the "Like" below. Published with the written permission from AsiaEye (Project 2049 Institute).

RT photo / Vitaliy Matveev

Translate in Russian/Читайте в русском

Background and Recent Developments on Moscow Protest (История вопроса и последние события на протест Москвы

While Russia prepares itself for a change in government with new elections, many people believe with the same party and same duo (Vladimir Putin and Dmitri Medvedev) there is actually no change at all.

Russia is seeing one of the biggest protest in recent Russian history in Moscow. The protest began after the results of Russia's parliamentary results on December 4 which saw Putin's United Russia win a majority.

Initially estimates of the demonstrators numbers ranged from 5,000 to 10,000 as reported by Associate Press, interior ministry reports that the number of protesters could have exceeded to 25,000 while opposition parties claims the number is well around 40,000 during the rally held on December 10 at Bolotnaya Square in central Moscow. Entry to the Red square was restricted while other squares near Kremlin were blocked by the local Moscow Police.

Police trucks, interior ministry troops, paramilitary forces was a common sight on the streets of Moscow to control any aggressive outbreak among the protesters. Carrying white ribbons, balloons and flowers protesters raised slogans against Putin, "Russia without Putin" and "Putin Go Away".

Putin has done various things to bring Russia out of the turmoil after the breakdown of Soviet Union. Russia's economy was in mess and a weaker Russia could have further become a victim of aggressive diplomacy by west. Today Russia once again stands on the internarional platform as a super power and is compared to US and China. Russia is taken together by the eyes of the world leaders as fastest growing economies along with India, China and Brazil.

Putin has done a lot for Russia, but there is a lot which people had expected out of him. Experts and aware Russian people believes that the power is too centralized in the country and that around 80% of President Dmitri Medvedev's rule of laws are ignored or are partially implemented by the regions; finally, very few people trust the power structure he has established in the country.

In a meeting with Valdai club where all these allegations were raised, Putin said, ""I tell you, I agree. I don't object to anything you have said." Vladimir Putin is keen on bringing clear democracy in the country.

He explained further that when he became the president of Russia almost 11 years ago, the state of the country was not good and the country seemed to be going in a wrong path. After the breakup of USSR and the political turmoil in the next term brought the nation into so much chaos that it was leading to a civil war. He had to go for a system of "manual control" over the regions, abolishing elections and choosing governors was done carefully to bring the situation back on the track. Now when he believes that the situation and economy is back on track, he is willing to decentralize the power. As he said speaking to a meeting of the Valdai Club, "it is time to devolve certain powers and taxation back to the regions." (Read More: Putin to Decentralize Power in Russia; Admits Unpopularity).

American State Interference and Possible Influence on Moscow Protests (Американского вмешательства государства и возможное влияние на протесты Москвы)

At the time when Russia is tackling this internal problem, American media and leader didn't miss the opportunity to comment on this in their own flavour and style. Recently, Hilary Clinton has dubbed these elections as fake and called for "full investigation of all credible reports of electoral fraud and manipulation" she concluded that “The Russian people, like people everywhere, deserve the right to have their voices heard and their votes counted.”

Putin in a response said that Hilary's this comment has given a signal to his opponents and they have began their active work with the support of US State Department.

"We need to think about strengthening the law and holding more responsible those who carry out the task of a foreign government to influence our internal political process," he said accusing US state department of spending hundreds of millions of dollars in Russia to stage a protest.

Addressing supporters in a television meeting, Putin said, "We are the largest nuclear power, and our partners have certain concerns and shake us so that we don't forget who is the master of this planet, so that we remain obedient and feel that they have leverage to influence us within our own country."

He further added "especially unacceptable is the infusion of foreign money into the electoral process."

Many among the protesters and in US believe that Putin's response to Hilary Clinton's comment is rubbish as he has no proof to prove this. The Washington Post said, "The Putin regime has been trying to play on anti-American sentiment since before the election; now it is doubling down." There major feeling is that Putin is raising anti America sentiments to raise the supporters as well as public confidence in him.

When Hilary Clinton was asked to respond to Mr. Putin’s remarks, she said that “we value our relationship with Russia” but also “have a strong commitment to democracy and human rights. It’s part of who we are. It’s our values. And we expressed concerns that we thought were well-founded about the elections.”

Back in Russia, State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee head Konstantin Kosachev believes that America has got a right opportunity at the right time to play a political game against Russia, citing that he was “very much surprised” by Hillary Clinton’s recent remarks. “They were very much out of the framework drafted in a preliminary conclusion by the parliamentary assemblies of the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) and the Council of Europe, issued the day after the elections." he said adding that her comments were “not free of the United States' political interests,” as the US and Russia are rivals on many important issues.

“It is quite obvious that if and when you can create addition problems for your interlocutor," Kosachev told RT, "then it may be easier to reach your own goals. So, for me the statement by Hillary Clinton, some other statements by the EU, and by NATO and other high representatives in the West are just a part of the game.”

According to the Duma official as quoted by Russia's English language News Channel RT (Russia Today), this is not about democracy in Russia, nor is it about elections – the most important thing, he says, is “making Russia a little bit weaker in order to make yourself a little bit stronger – and this is absolutely unacceptable.” 

American Media's Interference and Influence on Moscow Protest (Американская Медиа вмешательства и влияния на протест Москвы)

US mainstream media has also not spared this opportunity of cracking down at Russia spilling the anger of cold war era. Fox News which is always at war with Russian media made its own story and showed fake pictures of protests in Russia to defame Russians, Russia, and its policies and governance.

The Washington post wrote in a tone that it is US administration's responsibility to "open the eyes of the Russian citizens" and should stand by them during this tough time and teach Putin to go "American way, "The Obama administration should go on pushing him [Putin] to choose the path of democratization, however unlikely that is; more important, it should keep telling the majority of Russians who just voted against the regime that the United States is on their side."

On the other hand, RT, Russia's English language news channel came up with an exclusive article on their website to uncover the  lies being shown by the FOX news to the US public and Russians in US.

Fox in their news report showed pictures of protests going on in other countries as the pictures and videos of protests in Moscow. When questioned by Russian media, Fox told that it is no doubt Moscow, But Muscovite (Moscow citizens) at TWR and Russia Today believes this can not be Moscow and one glance is enough to say that.

Still shot from FOX news video coverage of "Russian" protests, Katerina Azarova, RT (click to enlarge)

Reasons why this picture is not from Moscow:

• Phone box/Telephone Booth: In Moscow they are grayish-blue, and are few and between. The author at RT Katerina Azarova, said that in fact, she can’t even remember the last time she saw a public phone box, as now they are very rare in Moscow.
• Protesters Dress: The young couple pressed against the building? They’re dressed in jeans and long-sleeved tees, in Russia that too in December, it is not possible. People in Moscow wear thermals, ski jackets, hats and gloves in winters.
• Sign Boards: And this one is the strongest evidence, if you zoom at the image properly you will see a Greek National Bank signboard that too in Greek, in Russia Greek is not understood.

Close-up of the Greek National Bank sign/still shot from video, Katerina Azarova, RT

The author in her final comments wrote, "FOX, it appears, isn’t satisfied with the "Real" Russian rallies. They wanted a "Bang!" But there were no bangs, so I figure they thought “hey, it’s police running after people and fires and chaos – who on earth will be able to tell the difference?” So they took videos from Athens, put a ‘’Russia” comment on screen – and voila, stick a fork in ‘em, they’re done." She further added, "I don’t harbor any hopes that the FOX people will see this and suddenly change their “errant ways”. But for the viewers – there are no palm trees in the streets of Moscow, the Prime Minister is spelled ‘PuTin’, not ‘PuTTin’ and the plural for ‘protester’ is ‘protesterS’. For future references."

Watch Russia Today's television report of the above news

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TWR is supporting the efforts of Julli Sterling for helping people in need from Nicaragua, Guatemala and most Central America to be able to receive proper education, and basic needs. You can help too by visiting Julianna Sterling's blog. Below is the article written by her:

For me, having the first few days off each week from work, means rolling up my sleeves and getting to work early on my volunteer projects and bulldozing through, often burning the midnight oil trying to accomplish some seemingly impossible goals/tasks.

The past two weeks with the guidance of a good friend AsTold By Jules the blog as gone under some serious construction, hopefully you all will enjoy the finished product as much as we do. I wanted it to be more readable and to connect social networking sites such as facebook and twitter to the blog. I also wanted to learn how to publicize the blog better and really drive visitors to the page. Please feel free to post a comment letting us know your thoughts as you’re the one reading it…

You will notice on the top right hand column of the blog a donations button now ready and working using both paypal and google shopper for your convenience. Many, many friends have written to me that live afar wanting to support the projects restricted or otherwise and have found the donation button to be the best means for them.

I learned a lot in my fundraising days at Colby; good and bad, and have utilized a lot of the trials and errors in designing what I think is a pretty darn good webpage for appealing, donating, educating, and informing. Of course, the page is ever changing and growing but I am growing into my own style of branding and finding what works for Jules.

In networking I have been able to organize a couple of fundraising projects which have me very excited for the upcoming trip in March and proudly I would like to announce that this is a fully sponsored trip.

First, is a Complimentary Pancake Breakfast that will be held at the Waterville, Maine Applebee’s on February 19th. Details are in the previous blog, can found on the facebook fan page and, in the right hand column on the blog page. Essentially, what I am offering is a pancake breakfast to each person who brings a backpack that morning, and backpacks are described in more depth in the prior blog and on the facebook fan page. I think this will be an exciting opportunity for those wanting to contribute and to meet with me in person as well as have a great breakfast.

Secondly, I have been working diligently at creating an Amazon sellers account to “Lighten the Load” my goal here is to resell used books and designated the funds towards purchasing educational materials for school children. As you already know, As Told By Jules works with school children in the USA and Central America donating backpacks and forging friendships through penpal letters. At present I have over 100 books listed and have sold 12 in the past two days.

Third, a continued effort in the “Closet Cleaning” process carries on at Retail Therapy in Waterville, Maine. If you are interested please stop by there are; purses, scarves, belts, boots, shoes, pants, shirts, dresses, jackets and jewelry displayed in Brenda’s boutique. I hope you will check it out.

This coming year, 2012, As Told By Jules will be donating $500 to Casa Rosario providing a one year education for two Guatemalan’s and in honor of my ten beautiful children, niece and nephew ( Aicha, Jami, Roja, Martin, TJ, Hieu, Josie, Mari, Alexandra & Dimitri ) much need school supplies to Common Hope, and naturally through my own backpack project another 50 students will receive school supplies both in USA and Nicaragua.

Once the spring arrives, which winter has yet to really hit the northeast corridor, therefore I have no idea when this will be…I will be hosting an “RE” project. If you have been following the blog you know how passionate I have become about RE’s; recycle, reduce, reuse. A yard sale downsizing some of my personal over-stocked-ness and providing people in my area with some relatively good condition second hand items along with utilizing the funds generated to follow through with the afore mentioned projects in Central America.

Thank for your continued support and stay tuned as this year is shaping up to be even more exciting than the years past.