America Still On Top?

The US still controls the banking infrastructure, and still acts like the self appointed world police/lynch mob... but if you are talking about "leader of the free world" in terms of morality... I think it has lost that role because of its actions.

The main problem I see with the US is that they judge others by their own values and morals. This turns into hypocrisy of course when they don't hold their own actions to the same high standards.

I see in the news that the US has found the CIA not guilty for the deaths of several people in their custody and for their torture and the torture of large numbers of other people.

Sorry, I should be clearer, they said there was no enough admissible evidence to ensure a prosecution... which is lawyer speak to say that anything found to prove they did what they did is secret and can't be used in an open court of law, so they would have to be found not guilty of the murders they have committed for the US government.

I voted don't care, because it is American propaganda that the US is number one, or that it is even possible for a country to be number one... whatever that even means.
To vote yes or no would be to suggest it is even possible for there to be a number one country... and I would suggest that for such a thing to be possible you would need some sort of consensus rather than the country in question stating it as fact until everyone believes them.

As long as it has the largest amount of carrier groups and airforce, largest amount of immigration of people to seek the "american dream" and largest technological and cultural produtivity(apple, microsoft, most films and music are american)not to mention massive GDP and partnership in the coventionally invincible NATO and 2/3ds of the worlds will ally with the US if a world war starts against russia or china


america will still be on top for at least a few decades unfortunately before Russia is even half capable of competing with the USA(hell it cant even compete with west europe in civil technology)

Why should Russia be "half-capable" of fighting the US?

With nukes, Russia is fully capable.
With conventional weapons, no need to bankrupt oneself with an absurd defense budget.

So many underestimate Russia... probably a good thing in many ways... if a little dangerous.

I notice on MPnet there is a discussion about how bad the condition Russian MIC is in... when in actual fact it is getting an enormous shot in the arm right now.

Half the problem is that people look at the US military industrial complex and its bloated budget and compare it with the Russian equivalent and ask why is the US MIC so much better than the Russian MIC.

Of course the claim is that the Russian MIC is collapsing and they have to buy foreign stuff to keep up.

Hilarious.

I am sure the US Marines with their Israeli unguided rocket launchers, and the rest of their military with their Italian pistols, and of course the Belgian medium machineguns (FN MAG) that are replacing their M60s (a bad adaptation of a german MG), and of course their Belgian light machine guns (SAW or FN Minimi), and of course their Swedish AT4 rocket launchers, not to mention their standard Main battle tank with British armour and a German main gun and belgian coaxial machine guns might be thinking their MIC is in ruins.

The facts of the matter are that every army has foreign components in service, and that foreign material in Russian service means a brand new state of the art factory in Russia built as part of the licence agreement.

The new Catherine XC camera uses QWIP technology and is in production in Russia.

Pretty much anything the entire west has, the Russians have an equivalent. in some cases it might be inferior in some aspects, but there are only two countries on the planet that pretty much have a fully tool set and they are Russia and the US.

The military reforms Russia is going through means they will actually be better equipped than any NATO country in so many areas.

In fact you look at who is actually spending money on their militaries and it is mainly Russia and non Nato countries like Iraq and India and China etc.

It is only a matter of time before the UK cuts more from its forces, and the chance of the same happening to the US forces really depends on who wins the election...

How many computer and and gadgets manufacturers does russia have? None.

While microsoft and apple and almost all of the major IT companies are american.

Does anyone know any russian cars that are not junk or obsolete?
none.

Does anyone know the american cars?
Throughout the world and they have a very large market.

How much immigration does russia have? Probably a few thousand from the central asian republics.
How much does america have? Many millions of people around the world struggle to get a green card to live the american dream.

How many computer and and gadgets manufacturers does russia have? None.

None at all?

Are you trying to tell me and others hear on this forum that Russia has no domestic economy and imports absolutely everything?

While microsoft and apple and almost all of the major IT companies are american.

Microsoft is a software company, it doesn't make electronic gadgets.

How many Russian manufacturers of TV sets do you know of?

How many Russian makers of shoes have you heard of?

Does that mean Russians don't know what TVs are, and walk around in their bare feet.

Very few computers are actually made in America, most are made in countries like Malaysia and China and Taiwan and South Korea.

Russia imports a lot of computer components because it is cheaper than making them, but for certain things like control chips used in nuclear power stations or satellites and now in military equipment they will more often than not use Russian components.

The Russian military are developing multicore CPUs for use in military applications.

Does anyone know any russian cars that are not junk or obsolete?
none.

I would say the same about the US and the UK... their cars are rubbish.

Does anyone know the american cars?
Throughout the world and they have a very large market.

Does that make them good, or does it just make them available?

How much immigration does russia have? Probably a few thousand from the central asian republics.
How much does america have? Many millions of people around the world struggle to get a green card to live the american dream.

The American dream is nice, and is transmitted around the world via satellite.

Unfortunately the American dream only exists on TV and in movies, and really has little to do with the real world.

Immigration just shows the natural movement from poor places to rich places in the hope that their families might have a better future.

But that is fine, I suggest you actually go to the US, you seem to be in love with a stranger, so my advice is get to know the object of your love.

It might meet all your expectations or even exceed them.

Of course the fact that you are not a US citizen you should enjoy the full cavity search entering and exiting the country because their records will show you have posted to this site and therefore are obviously a terrorist.

KomissarBojanchev wrote:How many computer and and gadgets manufacturers does russia have? None.

iRu ( http://www.iru.ru/eng/) is a computer parts assembler; just like Dell or Toshiba or whatever. I bought a laptop from them; its powerful for the price, they have options for Linux to be preinstalled instead of Windows - therefore making it even more cheap; and the company seems to be expanding well and coming out with its own unique products and mini-computers too. It also has its own brand of tablets, servers and some other things.

As for gadgets; there are very few that aren't for industrial or military uses; but I do believe that I have seen some consumer ones for sale. But let's face it - in terms of tablets, GPS and games consoles and what not simply put there is no way to compete with East Asia.

Overall this is a weak field in Russia but that doesn't mean that there is nothing. What is there at least, seems to be profitable enough.

While microsoft and apple and almost all of the major IT companies are american.

Russia is relatively strong in the IT field; there are many companies producing specialised and industrial software (I work in one of them), military software and also in the consumer IT field too. Yandex, Kaspersky Labs, 1C - these are all well known names in and outside Russia. Vkontatke.ru is by far the most popular Russian social networking site that has resisted every attempt by Facebook to make headway; when others such as Brazil's and Japan's domestic sites have since collapsed under the onslaught. Russian software houses are well-represented in PC and internet games, various high-tech fields such as simulations, computer vision and so on.

Does anyone know any russian cars that are not junk or obsolete?
none.

Russian cars are lame but AvtoVAZ is catching up; some of their very latest models and concept cars actually look like they can compete with many Western and East Asian models ( http://sdelanounas.ru/blogs/21151/, http://sdelanounas.ru/blogs/21132/, http://sdelanounas.ru/blogs/23073/). The trouble is that car assembly standards and car parts manufacture continue to be of low standard. Even many new factories from foreign brands that have opened in Russia recently suffer from this; I had a friend who worked in a new GM factory in St. Petersburg, and he told me about this. Still though; the standards are improving and if AvtoVAZ continues to try I'm sure that it could make some headway. It's cars are not selling too bad at any rate.

Of course the biggest lamers in Russian car manufacture - have all either already died out (such as Moskvitch), switched to producing foreign makes (like TagAZ) or given up on the civil market and stick to military production (such as UAZ). So really - there is not much left other than AvtoVAZ and foreign makes produced in Russia in terms of 'Russian cars'; and that's at least partly why the quality is improving.

But of course the real meat is in Russia's trucks - KAMAZ & Ural (GAZ) trucks have a worldwide reputation for their ruggedness and performance. Even ZiL has revived recently, and has some light truck designs on the horizon. Excavators, bulldozers and construction machinery are also quite reasonable in Russia; the Chelyabinsk Tractor Factory is well-known in Russia for such products ( http://www.chtz-uraltrac.com/catalog/) and has exported to Latin America & Asia.

There are Russian all-terrain vehicles, snow-mobiles, amphibious vehicles and such that simply have no analogues anywhere outside Russia. Many of them were originally designed for military use but with concurrent civil versions made available too.

One more thing is Russian buses, trams, minibuses and such vehicles - they are also quite competitive and cheaper than their European equivalents. The latest PAZ minibus has begun work up on some of St. Peterburgs private bus routes recently and it was really the most ergonomic of any I've been in.

How much immigration does russia have? Probably a few thousand from the central asian republics.
How much does america have? Many millions of people around the world struggle to get a green card to live the american dream.

Russia is the 2nd most immigrated country in the world. Nuff' said.

Russia is the 2nd most immigrated country in the world. Nuff' said.

So all those films about russia being a dying nation with rapidly declining population where no foreighner with the right mind will settle is all just new generation goebbels propaganda?

KomissarBojanchev wrote:

Russia is the 2nd most immigrated country in the world. Nuff' said.

So all those films about russia being a dying nation with rapidly declining population where no foreighner with the right mind will settle is all just new generation goebbels propaganda?

Pretty much yeah. Of course just like with every country - immigration is typically from much poorer countries. In Russia's case these migrants are from Central Asia, Ukraine, Moldova, Caucasus, China, Vietnam, Phillipines, North Korea even. There are some people from developed countries too who come to work as expats, or studied here and decided to stay, or just prefer it here. In my city in particular, you sometimes meet some Finns for example and some other Europeans who live here.

Maybe you think of Russia as this poor mono-ethnic nation, full of Russian babushkas begging for bread and with only white faces to be seen but it's not the case. Even just walking in St. Peterburg the ethnic diversity and cosmopolitism here is at least as much as I've seen in London or as I see on TV about most American cities.

America of course has all sorts of Italian, Irish, Polish, Jewish, etc... heritage amongst its population. But in these cases too; such peoples migrated to America when their own countries were dirt-poor, undeveloped, in the middle of a famine, etc... or were simply just prosecuting them.

Russia is relatively strong in the IT field; there are many companies producing specialised and industrial software (I work in one of them), military software and also in the consumer IT field too. Yandex, Kaspersky Labs, 1C - these are all well known names in and outside Russia. Vkontatke.ru is by far the most popular Russian social networking site that has resisted every attempt by Facebook to make headway; when others such as Brazil's and Japan's domestic sites have since collapsed under the onslaught. Russian software houses are well-represented in PC and internet games, various high-tech fields such as simulations, computer vision and so on.

Ah yes russian computer games are the very best especially the military ones.

Nothing like playing missions of Men of War: red tide and world of tanks. Still they have their fair share of haters that complain that the they made the soviet weapons overpowered.

Russian cars are lame

Dont be too hard on yourself the Volgas and Moskviches just as good as any comparable western car of the time(I dont compare them with the muscle cars just the comparable citroens, mercedeses and renaults of the time) and were very reliable if a little underpowered.

When I talk about junk I mean the zaporozhets and such.(well that car was technically ukrainian)

But of course the real meat is in Russia's trucks - KAMAZ & Ural (GAZ) trucks have a worldwide reputation for their ruggedness and performance. Even ZiL has revived recently, and has some light truck designs on the horizon. Excavators, bulldozers and construction machinery are also quite reasonable in Russia; the Chelyabinsk Tractor Factory is well-known in Russia for such products ( http://www.chtz-uraltrac.com/catalog/) and has exported to Latin America & Asia.

I never said their trucks and traktors were bad. In fact my theory is that during the cold war the west produced the best cars and buses for civilians
while the east block made the best trucks for military and industrial purposes.

Different priorities.

KomissarBojanchev wrote:Ah yes russian computer games are the very best especially the military ones.

Nothing like playing missions of Men of War: red tide and world of tanks. Still they have their fair share of haters that complain that the they made the soviet weapons overpowered.

You know I love Men of War as well but I'm afraid that it's Ukrainian too
And World of Tanks is Belarussian I believe

Dont be too hard on yourself the Volgas and Moskviches just as good as any comparable western car of the time(I dont compare them with the muscle cars just the comparable citroens, mercedeses and renaults of the time) and were very reliable if a little underpowered.

Funilly enough everyone from Azerbaijan I've spoken to swears by his life that Russian cars are the best and indeed the older Lada's and so on are still selling there like hotcakes. I'm going to buy one of those Soviet-era Ladas myself (a 'kopeika' is what I'm looking at); partly because I want to learn how to drive and need a car I won't be afraid to bust up, partly because I'd become an expert auto-mechanic from having to fix it all the damn time, and partly because I just love the gritty suspension and general feel of riding in it.

I never said their trucks and traktors were bad. In fact my theory is that during the cold war the west produced the best cars and buses for civilians
while the east block made the best trucks for military and industrial purposes.

Different priorities.

That's pretty much it. In the USSR days there were two classes of production; A - consumer goods, B - industrial and military equipment. Guess which one was prioritised?

I would say the same about the US and the UK... their cars are rubbish.

So youre saying what ford GMC or Aston Martin is rubbish?

The American dream is nice, and is transmitted around the world via satellite.

Unfortunately the American dream only exists on TV and in movies, and really has little to do with the real world.

Immigration just shows the natural movement from poor places to rich places in the hope that their families might have a better future.

But that is fine, I suggest you actually go to the US, you seem to be in love with a stranger, so my advice is get to know the object of your love.

It might meet all your expectations or even exceed them.

Of course the fact that you are not a US citizen you should enjoy the full cavity search entering and exiting the country because their records will show you have posted to this site and therefore are obviously a terrorist.

Ive lived and was born in California mind you
My parents hated bulgarian life and socialism so much that they decided to immigrate in 1986 and 1990s respectively and they say that america is absolutely the best place to get a well paying job and education especially for IT(my father works in various software companies). And to some extent the american dream is real. For example in the US almost everybody except those who live in the ghetto has a 2 story house while in europe these same people would be living in 2-3 room apartments and only the richest people would live in individual houses. of course there are also bad things like mediocre education and health care not to mention the boring life.

What really saddens me is all those russians living and working in the US and the some of the brightest people in the silicon valley are russians my father says not to mention the masses of eastern europeans including bulgarians. Now I'm always thinking if the situation in russia was different all those bright russian minds would be working for their own country and maybe there wouldnt be such economic hardship. Same for those eastern europeans and maybe if russia had high living standards they would be immigrating there.

as for the strip searching, I havent experienced this since I dont look like a latino and most of this stuff happens in texas and the southeast.

However I hate all those dumb airport security measures in the US airports.

Now before you say I love USA keep in mind Ivisited Moscow and Electrostal in summer of 2010 and I honestly liked it a lot more than the US because of the beautiful monuments, museums and more caulmness and spaciousness than the US cities and country. And definately due to the dachas

.

KomissarBojanchev wrote:Ive lived and was born in California mind you
My parents hated bulgarian life and socialism so much that they decided to immigrate in 1986 and 1990s respectively and they say that america is absolutely the best place to get a well paying job and education especially for IT(my father works in various software companies). And to some extent the american dream is real. For example in the US almost everybody except those who live in the ghetto has a 2 story house while in europe these same people would be living in 2-3 room apartments and only the richest people would live in individual houses. of course there are also bad things like mediocre education and health care not to mention the boring life.

What really saddens me is all those russians living and working in the US and the some of the brightest people in the silicon valley are russians my father says not to mention the masses of eastern europeans including bulgarians. Now I'm always thinking if the situation in russia was different all those bright russian minds would be working for their own country and maybe there wouldnt be such economic hardship. Same for those eastern europeans and maybe if russia had high living standards they would be immigrating there.

as for the strip searching, I havent experienced this since I dont look like a latino and most of this stuff happens in texas and the southeast.

However I hate all those dumb airport security measures in the US airports.

Now before you say I love USA keep in mind Ivisited Moscow and Electrostal in summer of 2010 and I honestly liked it a lot more than the US because of the beautiful monuments, museums and more caulmness and spaciousness than the US cities and country. And definately due to the dachas

.

It's not that life in Russia is so hard, or that the salaries for the sort of people who might end up in Silicon Valley are so poor (although for some of the engineering proffessions they could certainly be a lot better); it's just that in Silicon Valley the wages are so high and the conditions are so good; and once you work for a company there you will have the reputation of being a specialist of considerable renown. Russia simply doesn't have anything comparable. But then neither do most countries. Even among richer Western European states; I'm sure that there are many programmers, specialists, etc... who would go work in Silicon Valley without any hesitation.

Mind you, in this globalised world, your work and speciality has the potential to take you around the world. Even if you go to Silicon Valley to work there - it doesn't mean that you will settle in America. If you chose to return to Russia; you will have earnt plenty of money by then, can buy a flat or house, maybe start your own business or if not than just get hired by any company in the country with your credentials. So there's certainly plenty of incentive to eventually return too. It's no longer the 80s, when Russian-speaking Jews left the USSR, their relatives and friends for good with one suitcase and wearing a geeky checkered shirt - or whatever. Some people go to America. Some people come back from there. Of course if someone with high potential leaves for Silicon Valley then it's a big loss for Russia - but if they come back 5-10 years later with plenty of international experience, fluent English and knowledge of the latest tech under their belt; than you could certainly say that there is a silver lining in this whole process.

Nothing like playing missions of Men of War: red tide and world of tanks. Still they have their fair share of haters that complain that the they made the soviet weapons overpowered.

And I remember playing Lomac and all the western players whining because there were too many Soviet/Russian planes in it.

Of course how many planes could you fly in F-16 Falcon?

Now I hear some argue that it the game is called F-16 then it only needs an F-16 as a flyable aircraft, but LOMAC is pretty much Su-27 v3.

So youre saying what ford GMC or Aston Martin is rubbish?

Two comments here. First of all, yes... they are over engineered bits of twaddle for something that just needs to take me from A to B they shouldn't cost more than a house to buy in the case of the AM and in the case of the GMC... well that is just rubbish.

Second comment... I thought we were playing the "everything you do is rubbish" game.

I have never seen a TV that was actually made in the US, I have seen ones made in Europe and Asia.

My parents hated bulgarian life and socialism so much that they decided to immigrate in 1986 and 1990s respectively and they say that america is absolutely the best place to get a well paying job and education especially for IT(my father works in various software companies).

So they have lived in Bulgaria and the US and based on that you have decided that the US is the best place in the world and Russia is rubbish.

Here in New Zealand there is a sort of a tradition called the big OE, which means overseas experience. Normally it involves a trip to London for 6 months or so when you are a late teen or in your early 20s.

Lots of my friends went and their opinions varied from the best times of their life, to one I never spoke to again because she was murdered in London a week after arriving.

And to some extent the american dream is real.

Rubbish. We get exactly the same thing here in New Zealand. In fact Australia is notorious for claiming to offer a better lifestyle and economic condition, and to be honest it is bs.

America didn't invent good jobs, or reliable health care or education, and they really don't have an exclusive right to these things either.

You remind me of a friend of mine that likes big macs. When he drags me kicking and screaming to McDonalds he will only ever order big macs and if they are out or there is a delay he will not even consider anything else on the menu... we generally leave and go somewhere else.

You have tried the US and like it, but you can only say it is the best for you till you try other places too.

Your negativity against Russia sounds a lot like it has been coloured by the general negativity in the US towards Russia and I suspect it is probably made worse by your parents experience in Bulgaria.

For example in the US almost everybody except those who live in the ghetto has a 2 story house while in europe these same people would be living in 2-3 room apartments and only the richest people would live in individual houses. of course there are also bad things like mediocre education and health care not to mention the boring life.

so for you house size is important?

What really saddens me is all those russians living and working in the US and the some of the brightest people in the silicon valley are russians my father says not to mention the masses of eastern europeans including bulgarians.

So you are saddened they did what your parents and you did?

People go where the money and the jobs are. For the last two decades that has been lots of places like the US and Europe and even Asia. However the society that created those brains also continues to create more and for those that leave for whatever reason there will be plenty who stay for many other reasons, and a few from outside who come in looking for adventure and work.

Now I'm always thinking if the situation in russia was different all those bright russian minds would be working for their own country and maybe there wouldnt be such economic hardship.

Economic hardship?

You visit California and all of the US is the land of Milk and Honey, and you have not been to Russia and it is suffering economic hardship?

Sure, they have weathered a long period of stagnation, but it seems to me that now is the best time to turn it around and upgrade infrastructure and improve things for everyone.

Same for those eastern europeans and maybe if russia had high living standards they would be immigrating there.

I don't want Russia to get high living standards so that people will want to move there... such people are rarely attached to such adopted countries and can just as easily send money home as be a functioning part of the economy.

Such people take jobs from locals and generally screw up the pay structures by forcing wages up in some areas that result in the gap between rich and poor becoming worse rather than better.

Would prefer to see Russia develop into a socialist country that keeps tabs on big business, where the goals are not how much money can we make, but a bit of social responsibility... where companies support local charities... not to avoid paying tax, but because it is a good thing to do for the community where its workers live and work.

as for the strip searching, I havent experienced this since I dont look like a latino and most of this stuff happens in texas and the southeast.

Have you been through airport security since you first posted here?

However I hate all those dumb airport security measures in the US airports.

Not to mention the grim humourless a holes that enforce the rules...

Now before you say I love USA keep in mind Ivisited Moscow and Electrostal in summer of 2010 and I honestly liked it a lot more than the US because of the beautiful monuments, museums and more caulmness and spaciousness than the US cities and country. And definately due to the dachas

So now you say you visited a small piece of Russia and liked it.

Can you therefore properly explain how two places you have lived in or visited get such different score cards? The US is perfect and Russia is a hell hole that doesn't have anything?

Some people go to America. Some people come back from there. Of course if someone with high potential leaves for Silicon Valley then it's a big loss for Russia - but if they come back 5-10 years later with plenty of international experience, fluent English and knowledge of the latest tech under their belt; than you could certainly say that there is a silver lining in this whole process.

Exactly. We have a similar situation here and NZ politicians are always whining about the brain drain to Australia or Europe.

In the case of Europe they often decide to come back to NZ when it comes time to start a family, while Australia is always attractive because the enormous mining industry pretty much guarantees jobs for anyone if you are prepared to do the work.

I sometimes view them as people who cut in line, and if they are happy to do that then that is fine... I guess I just lack ambition, or realise that lots of gadgets wont make me happy... I already have plenty of gadgets that I used a lot when I bought them but just stopped using them over time, and I rather suspect new gadgets will end in the same drawer eventually... BTW wouldn't touch apple products with a barge pole... nothing to do with the fact that they are American and everything to do with the fact that they are greedy aholes.

KomissarBojanchev wrote: europe these same people would be living in 2-3 room apartments and only the richest people would live in individual houses.

.

That is quite a ridiculous comparison- for example I could say the average person in Oregon either lives in a small apartment in Portland, or in some shitty white-trash outskirt- while everyone in France is living in beautiful farmhouses!

We need to look @ incomes, cost of living, quality of life- and this is not an area that the US is leading all of Europe.

It is a difficult comparison at best, given the massive size and population of the US compared to most European states.

But which would you chose, a big McMansion in some LA suburb (not something even close to most Americans can afford mind you!), or a nice (but smaller) apartment in a culturally immortal city like Paris?

The American Dream is enviable, but there is something so cookie-cutter about it...

[quote="GarryB"]

Nothing like playing missions of Men of War: red tide and world of tanks. Still they have their fair share of haters that complain that the they made the soviet weapons overpowered.

And I remember playing Lomac and all the western players whining because there were too many Soviet/Russian planes in it.

Of course how many planes could you fly in F-16 Falcon?

Now I hear some argue that it the game is called F-16 then it only needs an F-16 as a flyable aircraft, but LOMAC is pretty much Su-27 v3.

Then those people are pretentious brats infact I actually believe LOMAC and LO-FC have to little aircraft. For example I really would of liked to fly the MiG-27, Su-22, MiG-23, F/A-18 not to mention a chance to fly bombers like the B1B and Tu-22M

Two comments here. First of all, yes... they are over engineered bits of twaddle for something that just needs to take me from A to B they shouldn't cost more than a house to buy in the case of the AM and in the case of the GMC... well that is just rubbish.

Second comment... I thought we were playing the "everything you do is rubbish" game.

Agreed on most parts, though I never said all russian cars are rubbish I just said all of them are either bad or OBSOLETE. I do agree about most of ford and GMC though, I shouldnt even mention the so-called SUVs landrover makes.

Here in New Zealand there is a sort of a tradition called the big OE, which means overseas experience. Normally it involves a trip to London for 6 months or so when you are a late teen or in your early 20s.

Lots of my friends went and their opinions varied from the best times of their life, to one I never spoke to again because she was murdered in London a week after arriving.
Rubbish. We get exactly the same thing here in New Zealand. In fact Australia is notorious for claiming to offer a better lifestyle and economic condition, and to be honest it is bs.

America didn't invent good jobs, or reliable health care or education, and they really don't have an exclusive right to these things either.

You remind me of a friend of mine that likes big macs. When he drags me kicking and screaming to McDonalds he will only ever order big macs and if they are out or there is a delay he will not even consider anything else on the menu... we generally leave and go somewhere else.

You have tried the US and like it, but you can only say it is the best for you till you try other places too.

Your negativity against Russia sounds a lot like it has been coloured by the general negativity in the US towards Russia and I suspect it is probably made worse by your parents experience in Bulgaria.

I do agree the high standards of living argument is usually BS for example I went to norway with my parents and the international living standard reputation the country has deserves no comment but I was not impressed when I was there. Hotels were shabby, food sucked and downtown Oslo looked like Harlem in NYC. And yes unfortunately most of the negative impressions of russia are influenced by my parents and articles and films on the internet.

so for you house size is important?

Not really I'm just pointing out the facts

Would prefer to see Russia develop into a socialist country that keeps tabs on big business, where the goals are not how much money can we make, but a bit of social responsibility... where companies support local charities... not to avoid paying tax, but because it is a good thing to do for the community where its workers live and work.

Yes. Thats why best vote за КПРФ.

as for the strip searching, I havent experienced this since I dont look like a latino and most of this stuff happens in texas and the southeast.

I mean breaking in your house and pulling you out while sticking a shotgun in your back that kind of strip searching

Can you therefore properly explain how two places you have lived in or visited get such different score cards? The US is perfect and Russia is a hell hole that doesn't have anything?

I never said USA is perfect compared to russia I was just pointing out some places where its lagging behind and of course what they say on the internetz. When I visited it wasnt worse than any west EU country say italy

TR1 wrote:It is a difficult comparison at best, given the massive size and population of the US compared to most European states.

Looking at a cost of living average for America is not really going to get you anywhere at all. If I make $100,000 and live in, say, Kansas, I'm going to have a much higher standard of living than I will making the same salary but living in, say, New York City. Given that there are probably more people in NYC than there are in Kansas anyway, you can see how the figures can get distorted out of whack with reality with not very much effort.

GarryB wrote:And I remember playing Lomac and all the western players whining because there were too many Soviet/Russian planes in it.

That's just asinine, LOMAC was made from the older Su-27 FLANKER flight sim. The whole point of that effort from the outset was modeling Soviet/Russian aircraft, since things like F-16 were taking up most of the combat flight sim on PC market. LOMAC tried to make things more interesting by making it two-sided, but at the end of the day I still much prefer good old Su-27 v2.5!

GarryB wrote:Not to mention the grim humourless a holes that enforce the rules...

My next trip through an airport might be amusing. I have an iPod speaker on my keychain. It's small, black, round, and has a wire coming from the top to connect to the iPod. There's a face drawn on one side, and get this, the speaker is actually called a Bomb Given that DHS already thinks I'm an extremist-in-waiting, this should be fairly hilarious. "No, I'm not going to tell you what the thing with wires coming out of it is called!"

I mean breaking in your house and pulling you out while sticking a shotgun in your back that kind of strip searching

Ahhh, you mean the American dream in Iraq or Saudi Arabia.

I was just pointing out some places where its lagging behind and of course what they say on the internetz. When I visited it wasnt worse than any west EU country say italy

So you are talking to a New Zealander who has never been to Russia and you are telling him that Russia is seriously lagging behind the world, yet your own personal experience of actually visiting the place is that it is actually as good as a western country in the EU...

Perhaps I should give you a minute to think about this before suggesting you already have the personal experience to tell those internet jockeys that Russia isn't exactly all that bad.

Obviously if you go to some back water rustic region you might not feel safe, but then I believe the US equivalent is that if you hear a grown man start playing a banjo... run.

Russia used to be a commie country. That had some good points and some bad points for the local population.

Now they have democracy, now plenty in the west will complain it is not a real democracy because there is not enough choice, but AFAIK there were 6 or more people Russians could have voted for to lead them last election, which is about 3 times more than Americans are going to have this US election.

That's just asinine, LOMAC was made from the older Su-27 FLANKER flight sim. The whole point of that effort from the outset was modeling Soviet/Russian aircraft, since things like F-16 were taking up most of the combat flight sim on PC market. LOMAC tried to make things more interesting by making it two-sided, but at the end of the day I still much prefer good old Su-27 v2.5!

Then those people are pretentious brats infact I actually believe LOMAC and LO-FC have to little aircraft. For example I really would of liked to fly the MiG-27, Su-22, MiG-23, F/A-18 not to mention a chance to fly bombers like the B1B and Tu-22M

You are preaching to the Choir gentlemen... if I had my way it would have been split into about five games that could be linked to run together or played on their own... one called PVO, with Tu-128, Mig-25, Mig-31, Su-9,-11,-15 and -21 interceptors, while FA would have Mig-29s and Su-25s and Su-17s and Mig-23s and Mig-27s. DA would allow you to play Tu-22 and Tu-22M2 and 3 aircraft and of course Tu-95s and Tu-142s and Tu-160s. Naval aviation would include the Yak-38M and the failed Yak-141 and perhaps the proposed Yak-43, plus of course the Su-33 and Mig-29K2, and later on the naval PAK FA. Army Aviation would complete the aircraft list with Mi-24s, Mi-8s, Mi-28s and Ka-50s and Ka-52s etc etc.

Flyable western aircraft would include the Buccaneer, the Lightening, the Tornado, the F-104, the F-4, the Jaguar, the Harrier.

My next trip through an airport might be amusing. I have an iPod speaker on my keychain. It's small, black, round, and has a wire coming from the top to connect to the iPod. There's a face drawn on one side, and get this, the speaker is actually called a Bomb lol1 Given that DHS already thinks I'm an extremist-in-waiting, this should be fairly hilarious. "No, I'm not going to tell you what the thing with wires coming out of it is called!"

Don't even try to joke with them mate. I have a friend who went through America on his way to Europe and this little kid asked his mother about all the scary men with guns. The childs mother made the mistake of explaining that they were looking for bad men who might have a bomb. It seems an official overheard what she said and came over and asked her to repeat it, and when she said bomb he frog marched her and her child away and my friend said he didn't see her on the plane that left about an hour later.

Well for now russia has the largest amount of drunkards and drugees and police and government dont give rats ass about doing something to reduce the problem.

Also PLEASE DO SOMETHING ABOUT THOSE NEONAZI DEGENERATES doing "slavic pride" marches. Although in my trip to moscow I didnt notice skinhead activity I'm sure theres a huge amount in the many less developed cities.

Drugs and alcoholism are not Russian only problems, they are global problems and there is no point in helping such people till they realise there is a problem and they need help.

It is like gambling... the solution is very easy... stop gambling.

Not so easy to actually achieve for those with the problems however.

Also PLEASE DO SOMETHING ABOUT THOSE NEONAZI DEGENERATES doing "slavic pride" marches. Although in my trip to moscow I didnt notice skinhead activity I'm sure theres a huge amount in the many less developed cities.

The countries with the neonazi problems are the baltic states where such behaviour not only seems to be tolerated but actively encouraged as long as it is directed against Russia.

I rather suspect a better health and education system and better police and support services, along with better housing and a higher wage and of course employment are much better things to focus on, because as things improve socially then you have a better basis to work from.

I can't speak for Russia but here in New Zealand amongst the young it is often seen as cool to be drunk, which means when they get access to alcohol they tend to drink rapidly to get drunk as fast as they can.

Not very healthy.

Most countries have problems with drugs and alcohol abuse and there are no effective reliable solutions that come in a box.

Over all i would say USA is still number 1 but is on decline.

David Stockman: The Collapse of the American Imperium

Well nowadays americans rule the world. And you know how they are. Their global finance dont wanna loose their status. Do you think they actually think what would happen in case of war? No if the war bring them money theyll do it. Only thing that stop them right now is that others have a power and a war means loose on their team.