1)A lot of my messages go unread - (Maybe because of a bad profile picture?)
2)The girls that view my messages normally view my profile (Maybe because they are slightly interested?)
3)Those that view my profile rarely respond back to my message (IDK what's turning them off.)

I've only got like 5 responses out of 50 and I have no idea what's going on.
Here's my profile: http://www.pof.com/viewprofile.aspx?profile_id=68118981
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Here's what I normally send as a message (this girl was Russian):
Hey. So what are some of your favorite songs?
Do you have a Russian accent?
I'm looking forward to hearing about your fascination with animal printed clothing.
- Joe

Any advice guys? If I'm going about this all wrong please feel free to correct me.

There are two ways to carry a conversation. One way (the boring way) is to ask questions.
A better way is to say interesting things that prompt the other person to share their ideas or ask you questions.
I would rephrase your questions into something like, "I hear that there's nothing in russia but vodka and polar bears." or "you look like you would be a good figure skater" (a 'sport' that is popular in russia, but use whatever sport is in her country)
The profile is, i think, too long and didactic. There are different ways to do it, but I am partial to making it short and funny. But girls are scoping out the hotties just like we are, so the pics are the most important. I hope i gave you some ideas; keep reading the forums.

I'd never ask a girl about their accent if they say that they're from another country and are in yours. 99% of all other guys will be asking her the same thing and chances are that she's gonna be extremely bored of people recognising her accent. Instead play with the accent rather than point it out. Play with stereotypes that go with that country instead. ChimeranPanda posted a great example above.