Posted on 10/22/2005 8:08:20 AM PDT by george76
Russia's population has shrunk by more than half a million people this year...
Russia's population — the largest in Europe — has been declining steadily since the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union, with increased poverty, alcoholism, emigration and degradation of the health care system blamed for reducing birth rates and life expectancy.
Demographers predicted that Russia's population will fall to 100 million by 2050, and could even drop to 80 million.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
I have heard from russians that Birth Control Pills sold in Russia have a tendency to make women infertile.
Point taken. But I'm still convinced the abortion aspect doesn't help in the whole equation.
Mexicans?
Well they sold Alaska some time ago. Imagine the price Siberia would bring!
I don't think they were drunk when they put the first satellite into orbit, the first man into space, the first woman into space, the first dog into space, repelled the germans at stalingrad, had the worlds pre-eminent sports teams/individuals for decades, wrote some of the worlds finest books, made some of the worlds finest movies, etc., etc., etc...
As soon as I posted my comment, I realized that would come back at me, LOL.
Big deal. I am sure you think all blacks are great basketball players and all Russians are exactly like those in the Khrunichev area. I've been there many times, seen both sides. If you want to stereotype, feel free, I have no interest in stopping you..
Maybe you should HAVE LIVED there for some 20+ years instead of merely "being there many times"? Then you would have a leg to stand on, not now.
Well, in spite of "I've been born there before I got the ef out"
You don't impress me either.
How many times have I been there? Where? What cities? What did I see?
You cannot answer these questions, yet you can say that I 'don't have a leg to stand on"
Pretty damned pompous of you. Glad to know I've communicated with the world's leading expert on Russia.
So long.
What one needs is not to visit as a tourist or a privileged foreign guest, who are largely insulated from the basic realities of everyday life, nor live a privileged life of a nomenklaturist [or that same foreign tourist, which is the same but at lower level], but to live the common drudgery of the proverbial "man on the street". Observing from the outside, while it has some advantages, is not the same as seeing from the inside. In a sense, you might be seeing it with your eyes, but I know it on my skin. Hence the difference.
Understood. I was never a tourist or a privileged guest. (What indication do you have that I ever was, I am curious?) I respect your opinions, please respect mine and do not stereotype me based on what you do not know about me. No, I was not born there, does that mean I am ignorant; just that fact alone? And the fact that you were born there, that fact alone means you are an expert of every aspect of life there and can criticize anyone who speaks about life there even if you do not know anything about them? I was born in the US, I cannot say I am an expert of every facet of life here.
Not to move too far off base, but have you ever heard of Helen Keller? Based on your logic she should be known to none of us, because she could never see it with her own eyes or hear it with her own ears. (life, that is) I have issues with your logic, post hoc ergo proctor hoc, etc., most respectfully.
All foreigners I've ever saw or heard about while there were either privileged guests [foreign students, diplomats and the like] or tourists. But if you were on an undercover assignment and did live the regular life as a part of your cover - my hat's off to you.
We need to start air-dropping pallets of Viagra into Mongolia NOW. :)
Actually, North Korea is working on that. ><
Good one Ivan. I was not a tourist, I am 44 years old, so a student wouldn't make sense, not a diplomat. Many years ago I decided to go there, learned the language by myself first, got my own visa, made my own travel arrangements, made my own accomodations, bought my own food there in stores and hired taxis and rode the metro like everyone else, no translator or anyone else to help me. Lived or stayed with numerous people in numerous places where no english was spoken and got by just well. Been there and back to Moscow and other places in Russia and some former Soviet republics many times without any help from anyone. Keep your hat on. Again your logic interests me. You've seen and heard about foreigners there who were privileged guests. So, to you this means all foreigers are such. (""All foreigners I've ever saw or heard about while there were either privileged guests [foreign students, diplomats and the like] or tourists."")I am one who is not, so your view of this is very short-sited, limited and you continue to stereotype foreigners. God forbid I would do that. Not politically correct, you know, but for a former communist, maybe its ok, oops, did I make a stereotypical assumption based on faulty logic? Sorry.
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