• Everybody knows

Hey Damir; do they have large ugly box-like looking retail stores that sell cheap crap; pay people nothing and chase the legitimate businesses out of town in your neighborhood?

Let me give you a scenario. Here in America we are divided along the political divide and I am sure you see that in the media over there. But there are big differences between say a republican Bush supporter in New York and the same thing in say, Iowa. Thats a state in the middle of the country.
Whereas here in New York there is the Stock Exchange and Big bank hdqrtrs and defense contractors; Iowa is a mostly rural state, with big factory farms.
The people in NY that support Bush do so for mostly economic reasons. He is business freindly; supports shielding corporations from liability lawsuits; supports the elimination of envirenmental rules that hamper business and promotes the liquidation of public support systems like Social Security. So the Wall Street guys love him especially the stock markett.
In Iowa people believe that Bush is fighting some war on terror and that makes him some kind of hero. They don't believe that this Iraq thing is about oil and they support the war as a weapon against terrorism. Now in NY or Massachusetts or other of the eastern seaboard states that story doesn't fly even with the most hardcore Bush supporters They like him because they feel he is securing the oil for us that we will need in the future; but they know this terrorism thing is forever and he is not really having any effect on it one way or the other.
I tell you this to see if you read the situation that way over by you.

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What I've seen, having experienced both Russian and American cultures, is that the truest товарищ is the same in any political system. He's the guy that works for a living, earns his keep, gives at least as much as he takes and often a little more. He stands by his friends and family, but he is warm and open with outsiders. He is able to work in any political system, because he's productive. That's my opinion, based on what I've seen in both cultures.

You can argue that you don't like what happens when people turn away from local shops and go to wal-mart, but you can't blame wal-mart for giving them the choice. that's arresting the hooker and giving the john a free pass (not that I think hookers should be arrested but you can't condemn one without condemning the other)