the real Russia, not as shown by the Media.

Well first of all this article is from back in 2009 as the numbers of American's traveling to Europe and Asia have increased but you are right that they are down as far as the percentage and ratio of the entire U.S. Population.

Another reason is after 9/11 when American's traveling on vacation to Europe or Asia dropped to a very small number....many of the 10's of Thousands of Tourist Destinations in the 50 U.S. States and the thousands of American Territorial Islands in the Pacific and Atlantic and Caribbean developed their infrastructure specific to tourism and advertised and American's started to visit large numbers of these American Territorial Tropical Islands.

I have been all over the world and NO ONE does a better job as far as developing Tourism Infrastructure than the U.S. as entire regions and Islands have been developed as THEME PARKS and the number of things to do at such places never allows a person or family to get bored.

Plus there are two very specific American Traits that are tailored to tourists and that is THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT.....and....GRATUITIES ARE NEVER BUILT INTO THE PAYMENT OF A CHECK OR BILL!!

As example in France they have a law where a WAITER OR WAITRESSES TIP IS BUILT INTO THE BILL thus these people have absolutely no incentive to do a good job as they are going to get a tip regardless of how good or bad of a job waiting on customers they do.

Thus I am in Paris trying to get a cup of coffee and a croissant and it taking a waitress 20 minutes before she even got me a menu.

If a waitress does that in the U.S. they are not going to get a tip but if they do a good job they might get a tip of up to or more than 20%.

AboveAlpha

 

That is true because recent time peoples from countries like a France prefer to relocate to US due to tax increasing.

If you set small wages for waitress and she has to work hard to get tips as much as possible then it looks like slavery.

And by the way, about to 'join Russia, Canada and US'
I would rather trust George Friedman about what US do than you
[video=youtube;tK9O1eEyp5g]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tK9O1eEyp5g[/video]

 

The point I was making is that when all waiters or all members of any group within a work force are automatically paid the same amount of money and these amounts of pay are not based upon their job performance....it gives any worker in that group absolutely ZERO INCENTIVE to do a good job.

A waitress or waiter or bartender who is good at their job will make along with their base salary a huge amount of money in tips as I know many waitresses and waiters who do very well and bartenders who are good and I know a few friends who are bartenders can easily make $500 to $700 a shift in tips plus salery.

As far as what George Friedman is saying...well this all started up again when Putin started messing around in other Nations.

AboveAlpha

 

Zero incentive is when you pay good salary. When salary is good enough but not good then you are concernment in tips. But when salary is small and most of you wages depend on tips that is a slavery.

Seems to you paid not enough attention on what he said. Those processes have started before Putin because it's a style of US external politics.

Right Sector and propaganda of Bandera in Ukraine are also US projects. Secession of former republics of USSR is again US project.
That is the TRUE US 'aid'.

 

If you recall Putin started all sorts of issues in Georgia prior to the Ukraine issue.

And as far as a low salary I agree that you have to give your Bartenders and Waiter's a decent salary but to build in the Gratuity directly into the Customers bill just does not give the waiter any incentive to do a good job.

It is very difficult to find a decent waiter in France as they already get a Gratuity built into a customers bill and this is why it takes FOREVER to get any French waiter to get a customer anything in a timely fashion.

AboveAlpha

 

If you recall Putin was not President at that time.

Could you recall what was the initial event of that war? I can remind you: Saakashvili started to bomb Zhinvali with heavy artillery.
Am I right that Russia should just observe how that bombing kills civilians and russian soldier that were there?

And Saakashvili is true democrat because for US officials if you kill or arrest few protesters like Gaddafi then he is a tyran.
But when you kill your citizens with heavy artillery but you like US then you're a US friend and democrat.

I have no visited France but it's not a big problem for me.

 

So is this why the Russian military occupies Abkhazia and South Ossetia in violation of the ceasefire since August 2008?

AboveAlpha

 

Russia has no military in Abkhazia and South Ossetia

Am I right that 1600 casualities of civilians does not matter for you?

 

Guess that whole 'sarcasm' thing about the numbers went way over your head. Maybe you need a better Russian-English translator.

But yes, for the 3rd time, you proved my point.

 

May be you need to learn mathematics?

That average russian salary is not enough in US?
It's not a secret
US is not needed for average russian too

 

The point of the post was to express the poverty and despair in Russia. I feel bad for them. Living off 9,000 dollars a year, having to listen to State-Run media...it's a sad place. My friend visited recently and was just disgusted at the way homosexuals were treated there. Said it reminded him of Saudi Arabia. Except the Saudis have money.

 

I think you need to visit Russia to see it by your eyes

Have you ever visited other countries to compare? Russians travels to Turkey because everything is cheaper there !

That is the typical Russia ( Picture was taken by my LJ friend )

Average russian has access to an about 60 channels. Even in deep rural side you can see satellite antennas.
Moreover, internet in Russia is very cheap. Even mobile interenet. May be peoples of 65+ age cannot use smartphones or notebooks but most of Russians have access to internet to communicate with friends, classmates, colleagues, family and read news.

There only two limitations - gay parades and same sex marriages are prohibited.

 

Gross, it looks like a ghetto.

 

We've got no ghettos in Russia.

 

most of Russia's cities look like American ghettos

 

lol. Russian slums don't exist? I love it! LOL

- - - Updated - - -

Are those cars from the 1970s?

 

In this case you have two shifty groups....the Geogian's and the Russian's at each other's throats.

I am not going to pretend that there was not some SHADY CHARACTERS AND DEALS in Georgia...but then again the Russia's started their own SHADY ACTIONS, DEALS being done by SHADY RUSSIAN'S either!!!

The main point is that Russia should not have even been involved in Georgia as this was part of the DEAL with the United States.

Russian's are going to find out everything Putin and his 110 Buddies have stolen from Putin declared State Owned Companies as these companies pay their taxes BUT NOT ONE RUBLE OF PROFIT has been used to help either the Russian Infrastructure or Russian People!!

Putin NEVER intended to sign the Joint Russian/American-Canadian Siberian Infrastructure and Energy Development Project.

Putin did not want to sign the Agreement because PUTIN KNEW that he could not steal Russian Energy Export Profits if the U.S. and Canada were involved.

The Russian Economy should be BOOMING and instead it is in an ECONOMIC DEPRESSION because of ONE MAN!!

And GOD HELP RUSSIA if Putin is able to get the Russian Duma to pass laws that will allow members of the Chinese PLA...Peoples Liberation Army....to work for FREE in Siberia in an attempt to develop Siberian Infrastructure and set up Drilling Rigs and Pumping Stations and Pipelines.....because....CHINA HAS ZERO SUPER COLD WEATHER ENERGY LOCATION AND DRILLING TECHNOLOGY OR EXPERIENCE!!!

ZERO EXPERIENCE!!!

So if Putin get's the Duma to pass those laws and the Chinese PLA starts STUMBLING AND BUMBLING AROUND SIBERIA.....as the amount of MONEY China will waste trying to do something they have no experience doing and no technology to use.....will be a LAUGH A MINUTE!!!

Thing is EITHER WAY....the U.S. and Canada WIN!!!

If Putin allows the Chinese Military in....it will be DECADES before they get any real large scale Oil or Natural Gas Flowing out of Siberia.

This mean's as the U.S. and Canada will become ENERGY SELF SUFFICIENT by 2023 and both will become the #1 in the World Sand Tar Oil Exporter and the U.S. will become the #1 in the World Shale Oil Exporter....they as China stummbles and bumbles around in Siberia they will be PURCHASING OIL FROM THE U.S. AND CANADA!!

If Russia comes to it's senses and invites the U.S. and Canada to help them develop Siberian Enegy Production and Infrastructure.....all three Nations WIN!!

AboveAlpha

 

Russia has no slums, there are old ( 'slums' ) houses in Russia. It's not a ghetto.

- - - Updated - - -

Commie blocks are not ghettos.

 

This your post is just rubbish. Looks like when you have nothing to say, you open workbook of templates and copy and paste text into the posts body :
"
- Putin allows the Chinese Military...
- U.S. and Canada will become ENERGY SELF SUFFICIENT
- Chinese PLA starts ... Siberia
"
Looks like US officials have a big problem with smart guys.

Again - Russia don't care about US&Canada self sufficiency in Energy because US&Canada share very small amount of Russians export.

 

First of all if I were you I would not call my post rubbish just because you don't understand what the implications are for Russia.

You posted to me...."Russia don't care about US&Canada self sufficiency in Energy because US&Canada share very small amount of Russians export."....end quote y.a.c.c.

You VERY wrong.

Russian Oil and Natural Gas Exporters are very worried about what will happen when the U.S. and Canada become completely energy self sufficient in 2023!!!

This is what they worry about.

#1. American and Canadian Energy Self Sufficiency in 2023 means that the U.S. and Canada will no longer be buying massive amounts of OIL from the Middle East and Saudi Arabia specifically. This OIL usually reserved for the U.S. and Canada will then BE AVAILABLE FOR SALE TO ANYONE ON THE OPEN MARKET!!!

That mean's that CHINA will be able to purchase this OIL and as Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern Nations including IRAN...can produce OIL much cheaper than it costs Russia to produce OIL....the price of OIL will remain very low per barrel....around $50 to $55 per barrel and perhaps cheaper....and China and other Nations will be buying Oil from the Middle Eastern Nations at the time in 2023 that the U.S. stops importing Middle Eastern Oil.

#2. Russia will not only be involved in an OIL PRICE WAR with Middle Eastern Nation's but as well both the U.S. and Canada will begin SELLING NORTH AMERICAN OIL as we will be able to produce more Oil than we need and this along with Coal Sales to China and LNG Sales will continue to cause Oil and Natural Gas to exist in amounts that will be LARGER SUPPLY THAN DEMAND....thus lowering the costs of Oil and Gas even more.

As far as whether Chinese PLA Soldier's will be working in Siberia...well that is up to the Russian Duma.

But if Putin get's the Duma to pass new laws that would allow this....I PITY RUSSIA!

AboveAlpha

 

First of all - Russia does not sell Gas to USA/Canada. And selling of oil to USA/Canada is just 6% of overall selling.
We DON'T CARE if USA become self sufficient.

I'm lauging at you
The Reality is that the government’s long-term forecasts—the ones everyone is relying on to guide our energy policy and planning—are overly optimistic. An exhaustive, county-by-county analysis of the 12 major shale plays in the U.S. (accounting for 89% of current tight oil and 88% of current shale gas production) concludes that both oil and natural gas production will peak this decade and decline to a small fraction of current production by 2040.
And current low oil prices are killing US drilling.

I'm interesting - what workbook do you use?
It's easy to create a program, that will put same messages into every post randomly.
I see - you use exactly the same sentenses several times.
Looks like I'm speaking with programmable bot rather than human.

 

OK....FOR THE THIRD TIME NOW....

The PROBLEM for Russia is that when the U.S. and Canada become 100% Energy Self Sufficient by around 2023......that the OIL that is usually reserved for the United States to purchase from Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern as well as South American Nation's will then be AVAILABLE FOR ANYONE WHO WANT'S TO BUY IT!!!

That mean's Russia's current Oil Customers such as China will be able to buy Oil from nations that they either could not buy from or were only allowed to buy small amounts.

Since it costs Russia more than DOUBLE what it costs Saudi Arabia to produce a single barrel of oil....the price of oil is going to go DOWN and Russia is not going to be able to make a profit as it is much too costly for Russia to develop the Siberian Infrastructure necessary to drill up there.

There will be a much larger supply than demand and nations like Japan, China, Taiwan and Europe will be able to purchase Oil cheaper than Russia can afford to sell it.

AboveAlpha

 

First they need to become self sufficient. You're talking about optimistic forecast now.
Don't forget that cost to produce is higher for shale oil.

 

The original estimate was 2025.

But when Russia annexed the Crimea and threatened to possibly shut off Russian Natural Gas flow to Europe....the U.S. and Canada Shale and Sand Tar Oil Production went into OVERDRIVE.

Plus we also have massive Light Crude Reserves as well.

The Sand Tar and Shale Oil Producers who are just now developing markets can make GOOD PROFITS with Oil Prices being at $48 to $52 a Barrel.

Right NOW Gasoline in my town has fallen to $2.09 a Gallon....this is incredibly inexpensive.

I have no desire to see the Russian people suffer and I believe and most American's believe it is in the best National Security Interests of the United States for Russia's Economy to improve and for more JOBS to be created in Russia.

Now do me a favor and let's BOTH of us forget about FLAGS and the names of NATIONS and just think about PEOPLE.

What do you personally think can be done for the Russian Economy to get out of it's current Depression?

AboveAlpha

 

It's optimistic scenario for peoples like you

Where did you get template for repeating same phrases again and again by copying and pasting ?

Man, just stop lying. USA interests are just to get more money and power.
USA doesn't care about native USA peoples as well. And it's not my opinion - http://www.politicalforum.com/latest-us-world-news/424087-american-nightmare.html