assist ladies in cost on internet use

[wiz]

Oil and gas reserves are both vast and virtually untapped. Oil has become the must have resource. What is Iraq? What is Afghanistan? And if you say anything other than oil then I say you are very naive.

Peewee

Peewee .......Ha Ha Ha

Sorry laughing but you are the first honest American to admit that!

Your President Bush (together the vice president Bliar..) have been telling us for years that he is only invaded Afganistan to chase Bin laden and punish his supporters Taliban..... and also he did the same to Iraq who had links (sic) with Bin laden and of course to intoduce DEMOCRACY to these countries!

And in the words of...... rpmschevy : Capitalism at its best or actually at its worse!

[jb]

Sorry laughing but you are the first honest American to admit that!

Perhaps that's because he's the only American dumb enough to believe that liberal line of crap. Geesh, the world is going to hell in a hand cart, and there is always a conspiracy in someone's hip pocket to explain it all away,  it's G.W. Bush's fault everytime.  I'm just sitting here reading the morning news and looking to see if the Jews and Arabs have finally managed to kill each other off yet.  There may indeed be another Holocaust, this time Arab/Persian sponsored, if so I just hope those poor Jew bastards kill as many Arabs as possible so that our job will be easier when the time comes for us to finish the job.   If we had, as you suggest, gone into Iraq for the cheap oil, may I ask why we are seeing record prices for the stuff.  Your thesis doesn't fly.
   
Along those lines, I sincerely hope Russia does not go down that road of relying upon the export of natural resources, especially oil and gas, as a economic base.  Perhaps I'm the only person here who sees the dangers of such a pinnacle economy.  I'd far rather see Russia take those petroeuros and develop a more solid industrial reputation and learn to export refrigerators and washing machines instead of oil and AK-47s, I'd much rather see the average Russian aspire to owning a Russian made Ford or Chevy equivalent instead of that BMW or Mercedes that is so in vogue today.  I'd like to see Aeroflot flying the Russian made counterpart of the Boeing or the Airbus with the accompanied reliability. 

The problems arise when a very few people are very quickly making a lot of money from nothing, and that's what energy brokers do, is known as *Capital Flight*, the few who have all the money want to buy lots of nice things and hide the rest from the taxman, so they import a Mercedes and open a Swiss bank account; and the nations resource wealth is constantly being drained away when it should be invested back into the local economy.  As long as the Russian Mafia has such a strangle hold on so much of the national wealth I don't see much room for improvement.  The Middle East and Latin America, Venezuela and Mexico especially, are a prime examples of what goes wrong when a government suddenly finds itself awash in petrodollars, corruption becomes rampant and the gross national product can be measured in a few cheaply made ceramic flower pots that are locally made.  The rich people who control the resources and the government who depends on the remittances of ex-pat illegals working abroad is a country going sideways at best and most generally, nowhere or downhill.  I'd like to think Russia has a brighter future than that.

[catzenmouse]

I would also love to see Russian turn that wealth inwards to develop the country and bring the average Russian up to a level where they won't have to work 2 or 3 jobs just to keep afloat. I know it is getting better a little bit at a time in a lot of ways but the potential (don't you just hate that word!) for great things in within their grasp.

Ken

[andrewfi]

The Russian situation is dynamic and rooted in recent history.

Don't forget that it wsa not until 2000 that the decrease in size of the economy was successfully reversed at great surprise to the IMF!) So, pretty much every positive change in Russian economuc life is less than 7 years old.

Look around your country. What positive changes have been wrought in your country (US) in the last 7 years? Is there much to see? No, there is not, at least not on the positive side. In Russia however there have been huge strides. Those of you have been visiting over a period of years know this to be true.

As to export of primary resources, this is a necessary part of almost any economy's development. How else is everything else to be paid for?
That this phase is going to very short in Russia's case is a credit to the people running enterprise and the Russian Central Bank, the latter being the force that almost singlehandedly engineered Russia's recovery.

Don't go thinking that things are taking a long time, instead tke a look at how fast they are going!
http://www.oecd.org/document/39/0,2340,en_2649_201185_32411815_1_1_1_1,00.html

http://ns.worldbank.org.ru/files/rer/RER_12_eng.pdf

[Turboguy]

One of the big problems that I see is they really have not made corruption illegal.   An article I read in Forbes a long time ago about LukOil was that when they were trying to put thier assets together the President of Lukoil canpaigned by giving all the high government officals a new Mercedes.  In return he was given enough of the state owned oil industry in Russia  to create the largest Oil company there.

On the trip to Azerbaijan I made a few months ago I saw more of it.  The customer I was visiting has a large construction company that builds a lot of the new buildings there.  Actually they dole out sections of Baku for construction.  So, who was the real owner of the company I visited.  The minister of Trade.  Here either of those things would get you a trip to jail.  There it just gets you rich.

[jb]

IIRC, the President of Lukoil did earn himself a trip to jail with his financial antics.

The other large oil company, Gazprom, is only slightly more transparent and have thus eluded the long arm of Vladimir Putin's taxman so far.  However I look for closer scrutiny on all companies doing oil and gas trading business with the west as that's the major source of government revenue at the moment.  Russia has a great investment to make in the nations interior infrastructure before full development can be achieved and you can bet he'll be after the big guns first. 

[PeeWee]

Perhaps that's because he's the only American dumb enough to believe that liberal line of crap. Geesh, the world is going to hell in a hand cart, and there is always a conspiracy in someone's hip pocket to explain it all away,  it's G.W. Bush's fault everytime.  I'm just sitting here reading the morning news and looking to see if the Jews and Arabs have finally managed to kill each other off yet.  There may indeed be another Holocaust, this time Arab/Persian sponsored, if so I just hope those poor Jew bastards kill as many Arabs as possible so that our job will be easier when the time comes for us to finish the job.   If we had, as you suggest, gone into Iraq for the cheap oil, may I ask why we are seeing record prices for the stuff.  Your thesis doesn't fly.
   
Along those lines, I sincerely hope Russia does not go down that road of relying upon the export of natural resources, especially oil and gas, as a economic base.  Perhaps I'm the only person here who sees the dangers of such a pinnacle economy.  I'd far rather see Russia take those petroeuros and develop a more solid industrial reputation and learn to export refrigerators and washing machines instead of oil and AK-47s, I'd much rather see the average Russian aspire to owning a Russian made Ford or Chevy equivalent instead of that BMW or Mercedes that is so in vogue today.  I'd like to see Aeroflot flying the Russian made counterpart of the Boeing or the Airbus with the accompanied reliability. 

The problems arise when a very few people are very quickly making a lot of money from nothing, and that's what energy brokers do, is known as *Capital Flight*, the few who have all the money want to buy lots of nice things and hide the rest from the taxman, so they import a Mercedes and open a Swiss bank account; and the nations resource wealth is constantly being drained away when it should be invested back into the local economy.  As long as the Russian Mafia has such a strangle hold on so much of the national wealth I don't see much room for improvement.  The Middle East and Latin America, Venezuela and Mexico especially, are a prime examples of what goes wrong when a government suddenly finds itself awash in petrodollars, corruption becomes rampant and the gross national product can be measured in a few cheaply made ceramic flower pots that are locally made.  The rich people who control the resources and the government who depends on the remittances of ex-pat illegals working abroad is a country going sideways at best and most generally, nowhere or downhill.  I'd like to think Russia has a brighter future than that.

JB, the reason for Iraq was to control oil prices...higher. Look at the big picture, uncloud you sleepy mind and think about the greed behind our occupation of Iraq.

Peewee

[PeeWee]

One of the big problems that I see is they really have not made corruption illegal.   An article I read in Forbes a long time ago about LukOil was that when they were trying to put thier assets together the President of Lukoil canpaigned by giving all the high government officals a new Mercedes.  In return he was given enough of the state owned oil industry in Russia  to create the largest Oil company there.

On the trip to Azerbaijan I made a few months ago I saw more of it.  The customer I was visiting has a large construction company that builds a lot of the new buildings there.  Actually they dole out sections of Baku for construction.  So, who was the real owner of the company I visited.  The minister of Trade.  Here either of those things would get you a trip to jail.  There it just gets you rich.

Many of our world events are now revolving around the oil grab. Iraq, Afghanistan, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Kazakstan. Georgia? In 2002 Bush sent US Green Berets into Georgia to fight against alleged Al Qaeda terrorists in the Pankisi Gorge. No one believed that there was a real Al Qaeda threat. What it had everything to do with was training up a strong pro-American Georgian army to secure a planned Caspian Sea oil pipeline, which was due to be constructed through southern Georgia's territory on its way to Turkey, a route chosen to bypass Russia. Our, the US, primary whipping boys are Al Qaeda, figure out a way to implicate them and now we have a right to go where ever we please when ever we please...make no mistake, it has little to do with Al Qaeda and a lot to do with oil.

Peewee

[Todd]

It is funny how this thread evolved into a discussion of economic geopolitics from assisting ladies in the cost of internet use.
I would likely be in the camp of not sending money right away.  Rather, I would instead start talking about a visit and how you will gladly make sure that she has enough for internet usage after the visit.  If she is interested, then she will drop the subject.  If she is a hairy Boris, you are unlikely to hear from her again.  Sending money is a bad idea prior to meeting.  

[andrewfi]

What you older guys are forgetting that progress is a process. Legal structures like buildings take time to plan and to build.

When you make comparisons, either in public, or in your mind, make sure they are relevant. Do not compare the US and Russia, although it might give you a warm fuzzy feeling of superiority to do so. Sensibly, compare Russia and Mexico or Argentina, then you can come to understand the process and context.

Perhaps it is the memories of times past that tends to colour the impression of the present. Your generation was very well worked over.

[Turboguy]

The internet access scam is one of the top three scams.   Often it means getting money in smaller doses but they can make it almost like an annuity.  Get enough guys sending you $ 20.00 a month and it can really add up.

I am not meaning this negatively but I was a little surprised how many of the guys that preach adhering to the 10 commandments who said that they thought it would be fine to send Yuri some cash.

Your post, Todd, is the one that is right on the mark.

[catzenmouse]

Todd,

 Here are RWD we put the "FUN" back in dysfunctional!

 I agree with TG. Your thought is correct and to the point. AND... On Topic!

Ken

It is funny how this thread evolved into a discussion of economic geopolitics from assisting ladies in the cost of internet use.
I would likely be in the camp of not sending money right away.  Rather, I would instead start talking about a visit and how you will gladly make sure that she has enough for internet usage after the visit.  If she is interested, then she will drop the subject.  If she is a hairy Boris, you are unlikely to hear from her again.  Sending money is a bad idea prior to meeting.  

[wiz]

Perhaps that's because he's the only American dumb enough to believe that liberal line of crap. Geesh, the world is going to hell in a hand cart, and there is always a conspiracy in someone's hip pocket to explain it all away,  it's G.W. Bush's fault everytime.  I'm just sitting here reading the morning news and looking to see if the Jews and Arabs have finally managed to kill each other off yet.  There may indeed be another Holocaust, this time Arab/Persian sponsored, if so I just hope those poor Jew bastards kill as many Arabs as possible so that our job will be easier when the time comes for us to finish the job.   If we had, as you suggest, gone into Iraq for the cheap oil, may I ask why we are seeing record prices for the stuff.  Your thesis doesn't fly.
   

Jack

So any American who has different views from your own extreme Nationalistic ones you espouse is DUMB?

Nice logic…..

There is no point talking to you about your fascist views as expressed in the second part of this paragraph because it will be like talking to a brick wall, so I will refrain of making any comments. Pointless!

Manchester has given you an answer to why the oil prices going up and all I have to add is  the comments made by the Neo-Conservative Think tank, whish advise Bush, just before the Iraq invasion that “the oil prices should go near to 100 dollars per barrel soon”. Additionally it is a well known fact that your own natural resources drying out, so you need to secure more other sources including Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Georgia etc. The China energy demands also fuel prices up!

 

[jb]

IMHO, you are also dumber than a box of rocks if you think the liberal line is correct.  So "no comment" is the way for you to go.

[jb]

Jack
So any American who has different views from your own extreme Nationalistic ones you espouse is DUMB?

Actually it's not Jack, in my case the "j" stands for John.

I'm not Jack Bragg.

[Gator]

Before I go off-topic, I will add something to the “money for internet” discussion.  It is appropriate in my opinion to send money for internet services.  RW pay more for a 28 kpbs minute than we do for a 10 Mbps minute.  

Restrain yourself from sending money until there has been enough sincere and original correspondence to indicate that she likes you.  Better yet, spend your money on a plane ticket.  

Money is probably the largest culture clash in the initial days of a RW-AM relationship.  RW are cash-poor but pride-rich.  Most women will not ask for money yet will appreciate your offering something.  In fact, asking for money is rather unethical to them.   After meeting them and sleeping with them, if you do not offer something for their GENUINE NEEDS, RW could feel that you will not support them in America.  The good women know that they will be totally dependent upon you and are using this interaction to judge you.  

Of course, the GCG will care less as she is not looking to you for support.  So she will accept your miserliness with a smile as part of her insincere act.

RW (and I am talking about upper 20s to 40s) have been trained by Russian men.  Russian men seem to have antennae for sensing when to fork over some dough.   Many American men, particularly those who have been unsuccessful with American women and those fearful of scams, do not have antennae for reading women, and consequently fail at reading the money signal and many other signals. I have heard this from decent RW who have met some of you guys.

[Gator]

Interesting discussion about oil.  The oil company boss who went to jail for tax evasion is Mikhail Khodorkovsky of the now bankrupt oil giant Yukos.   

Yukos assets have been sold for a pittance to Rosneft - a fairly new company created by the old-boy ex-KGB network.   Rosneft recently had its IPO in London and should soon pass LUKoil in market cap, and someday perhaps even Gazprom.   

Khodorkovsky went to jail for tax evasion.  However, the reason he faced those charges is because he got too big for his britches.  He believed he was so magnificent that he could do anything, including starting a new political movement in opposition to the group in power.  I think Putin sent a message to other oligarchs – we made you rich and you better play along.  This action clearly does not pass the "democracy" test.

It is interesting that America’s two richest men are giving their fortunes to charity.  While Russian billionaires are known to buy British soccer teams and the like.

By the way, not just Russians made money with LUKoil.  I purchased a not small chunk of shares 3 years ago, and sold half after it tripled.  The profit after taxes paid for all my RW spending over the past 4 years (which was not small).

I question whether to keep my remaining shares.  I had to buy the ADRs from NASDAQ’s pink sheets (companies not wishing to comply with SEC reporting requirements).  Yet, if you compare LUKoil profits and proven reserves with market cap, they are selling well below Exxon’s value.  And LUKoil more than replaces its production each year with new reserves. 

So, if I had not been in Russia, I would not have known about LUKoil.  Instead, I would probably have invested in something like Google, which I ignored because I was in Russia.

[Turboguy]

If you subscribed to Forbes magazine you would have known about LukOil.  I believe it may have been a cover story but it was at least a major story.   They also did several follow up stories.   The ADR's came on the market at $ 7.00 a share and that represented about $ 2.50 a barrel for proven resources as I remember.   I planed to buy some but the registration took longer than I expected and my broker could not seem to get the info.  A friend of mine did buy them on my recommendation.  He paid about $ 9.00 and sold them six months later around $ 28.00 if I recall correctly.

I agree with you that failure to help a gal you have met and might think of marrying will likely be looked upon very negatively.   I also am aware that asking for money for the Internet is one of the biggest scams in Russia (in the top 3 but I don't recall if it was # 2 or # 3)  The travel and visa scam is of course the top one.   

If she asks for money and you are thinking of sending it keep in mind an internet cafe is going to run her $ 1.00 an hour ballpark and you can write a lot of letters in an hour.  If she is asking for $ 50.00 a month or the like to write you, just send me the money.   I will write you for a month for that.

[jj]

With the price of oil, I think I will exchange oil  or Russian oil stock for the ladies e-mail money.    Actually , in follow up e-mails , I never brought the subject up of money again, and neither has she.  I agree with some here on the board that there is nothing like face to face meeting with the lady.  Actually that is what she desires.  I  think that making a first trip as a learning , vacation experience with possibly meeting a backup lady of interest would be best.  I may not be what she expects or vice versa.  I have not been overseas since I was stationed in Greece in late 60's and toured Europe.  I know some french but no Russian.  I have started some self learning courses and bought the ECTAGO translator with french, english and russian. (but theres an entire thread on that subject elsewhere here).   The little bit of e-mail money is nothing like what the AW have burned me for.

[ronin308]

Gator there is a huge difference between meeting a woman and even sleeping with her and agreeing to help her financially and sending money to someone you have not met and therefore can't verify is real.

If you use a spammer mentality as a scammer where you'll get maybe 1 out of 10 if they write 100 men thats 10 benefactors all giving from $20 on up. 

In Kiev I paid around $1.20 for access and in smaller towns it was around a buck or less.

As to geo politics, don't forget in addition to the oil "consipiracy" we also have the group that thinks it's all about the current Bush ensuring that his legacy is greater than his dad's.

The truth is none of us posting here has the access to really know the whole story, so why debate about it when we can have a lot more fun arguments about RW.   

[PeeWee]

Interesting discussion about oil.  The oil company boss who went to jail for tax evasion is Mikhail Khodorkovsky of the now bankrupt oil giant Yukos.   

Yukos assets have been sold for a pittance to Rosneft - a fairly new company created by the old-boy ex-KGB network.   Rosneft recently had its IPO in London and should soon pass LUKoil in market cap, and someday perhaps even Gazprom.   

Khodorkovsky went to jail for tax evasion.  However, the reason he faced those charges is because he got too big for his britches.  He believed he was so magnificent that he could do anything, including starting a new political movement in opposition to the group in power.  I think Putin sent a message to other oligarchs – we made you rich and you better play along.  This action clearly does not pass the "democracy" test.

It is interesting that America’s two richest men are giving their fortunes to charity.  While Russian billionaires are known to buy British soccer teams and the like.

By the way, not just Russians made money with LUKoil.  I purchased a not small chunk of shares 3 years ago, and sold half after it tripled.  The profit after taxes paid for all my RW spending over the past 4 years (which was not small).

I question whether to keep my remaining shares.  I had to buy the ADRs from NASDAQ’s pink sheets (companies not wishing to comply with SEC reporting requirements).  Yet, if you compare LUKoil profits and proven reserves with market cap, they are selling well below Exxon’s value.  And LUKoil more than replaces its production each year with new reserves. 

So, if I had not been in Russia, I would not have known about LUKoil.  Instead, I would probably have invested in something like Google, which I ignored because I was in Russia.

You have stated a part truth, Gator. Here is more. It's a pity this is off topic because on another forum it would be a great topic for discussion.

 In a speech in 1998, then-CEO of Halliburton Cheney said, "I cannot think of a time when we have had a region emerge as suddenly to become as strategically significant as the Caspian." The Caspian Sea basin, particularly Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan's, holds an estimated $5 to $10 trillion worth of oil.

In a nutshell. Prior to Mikhail Khodorkovsky's arrest Yuko have become the 4th largest oil company in the world. His budding friendship with the likes of Bill Gates and Dick Cheney did not go unnoticed by the Kremlin. There was rumor that either Exxon or Chevron was interested in striking a deal with Yukos. The Kremlin did not want it. Easy to arrest Khodorkovsky thus putting an end to the marriage.

Peewee

[jb]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/5212570.stm

[jj]

does anyone know if  a lady would be able to cash an American Express check at her bank? thanks. jj

[jb]

jj,

You assume much.  Does she even have a bank account?  Do you really think a mailed AMEX check would actually be delivered to her address by the Russian postal service?

The most reliable method of getting money into Russia in a hurry is still Western Union.  However, sending money to any person you have not established a firm close personal relationship with is still not recommended.  After you have met, and see that you are *meant* for each other, engaged to be married, have filed the I-129F, etc., many men do *help* their women with a monthly stipend.  The usual method is to give them a Check/Debit Card on an account opened in the States for that purpose, monthly deposit the agreed upon amount, and inform her when she can withdraw the cash using the debit card.

I sincerely hope you know what you are doing....

[Turboguy]

jj, I am saying this only because I don't want to see you get in trouble.  My suggestion is that you make a follow up post with the particulars of why you want to send money and where your relationship is at and we might be able to give you a good idea how wise it is to send money at all. 

If you do want to send an American Express check if she is in one of the bigger cities there may be an American Express office she can cash it at.  I know there is or was one in Moscow.  If she is in a small town forget it.   The best thing is to send it Western Union and you can even do that online.