Brazzil

The author is a xenophobic Brazilian bigot living in New York.
As a Canadian going into Brazil I see and speak with many Americans. The consensus is that the Brazilians are rascist. Plain and simple.
Of course, those Brazilians who haven't made it to the US have the worst attitude, but even among those who have, the feeling I get is that they don't want 'foriegners' in Brazil.
Why?
They want to be able to hold on to their illusion of Brazil as a paradise for those people who have money.
The truth is that Brazil is still a third world country filled with undereducated people holding 'prestigious' positions due to the fact that they have no competion for thir jobs from educated immigrants because no one wants to learn Portuguese.
Brazil is a backwater.

Generatlization is hard to do. It was around 1977, year I entered EPUSP,
or simply Poli in Sao Paulo, engineering school of Universidade de Sao
Paulo. Back then, I've heard that this Korean guy, naturalized, had
passed ITA examination, by far the toughest engineering school back
then, and probably still is. This guy went to register, was met by a
colonel, who after examining all documentation, uttered very choice
words against the ethnicity of this Korean guy, ripped all papers
including the certificate of naturalization (probably not original copy)
and sent this guy home.

By the time I graduated from Poli, there was this Korean guy in
Chemistry major. According to this guy, whole class went for
a field trip, and at this company headquarter, they would take
internship application of entire class, except this Korean guy.

Late 1970s and early '80s, there were quite few illegal Koreans
in Sao Paulo. At one point, police was going around aprehending
illegal Koreans. This, in spite of presence of millions of illegal
immigrants from other Latin American countries.

Last I heard, South Korea and Brazil have no visa (short term tourist
visa) treaty. It appears, in Brazil, race talks and money talks as well.
I do think that Americans may have treated Brazilians badly, as
reported in the article. However, the difference between Brazil
and U.S. is that U.S. far superior enforcement of rule of law.

"The author is a xenophobic Brazilian bigot living in New York." What? That is an oxymoron.

"Brazilians are rascist. Plain and simple." Hmm. Well putting aside the truth of that statement for the moment, I don't see the connection to the article.

"They want to be able to hold on to their illusion of Brazil as a paradise for those people who have money." That is nonsense, I think…then again, what the hell are you talking about?

There is no doubt that it is nearly impossible for a Brazilian to get a visa and that the US treats Brazilians with disdain. The more interesting critique, however, is that the only people who can even afford to go on shopping sprees from Brazil are the wealthy elite. They have their knickers in a bunch, because they have privilege and power back home and are treated like they are from a third world country in the US…Guess what, you are from a third world country! Finally you know what it feels like to be treated like a regular person in Brazil. That part doesn’t get much sympathy from me in the story. That sounds like justice, actually.

Yes, the US is very screwed up in its policies. Student visa difficulties are hindering development. Tourist visa difficulties are hindering tourist money from entering the country. The US is one messed up place. No one can deny that. Thank you George W. Bush.

Interesting story, but, as my grandfather used to ask, "What does that have to do with the price of beans?" Or as Pewee Herman said, "I love that story." The title is an additionally perplexing non sequitur.

"Interesting story, but, as my grandfather used to ask, "What does that have to do with the price of beans?" Or as Pewee Herman said, "I love that story." The title is an additionally perplexing non sequitur."

That Brazilians have nothing to complain about how they are treated
by North Americans (of U.S.A)?

Do you speak fluent dyslexic? Learn how to spell in the English language, imbecile… English is your second language, isn't it? What a shame you don't have a first. A lot of pure ignorance spewed per paragraph. Beyond what that inconsequential Canadian (American wannabe!) had to say…Let’s get to the point:

I did some research some 10-15 years ago as to the number of Brazilian tourism in the State of Florida, in lieu of Disney-World in Orlando . The numbers were staggering, in fact Brazilian tourism constituted something like 60% of all tourism combined in Florida, with disposable income in the order of US$2500 per visiting family/household. The total dollar value spend per year was no pocket change, forming a levering point for Brazilians.

Florida is very much dependent on tourism dollars as its principal source of revenue. With that in mind, it is time to make demands… I am willing to bet that if such a source of income were to be taken, many Floridian businesses would take a dive into the ground.

Perhaps what is needed is some form of organizing campaign, making it public to Brazilians. If potential Brazilian tourists were to understand how they are being discriminated against once arriving in the US, most would turn to other alternative destinations, hence their spending money as well. That would turn heads in Florida, given that a federal policy is hurting business, things would likely change.

As to removing Visa requirements for Americans, I think it is a mistake. That is equity, Americans get what they dish out. It may hurt business in the short term, however, if the Brazilian government were to heavily advertise in other continents its value as a tourism destination, tourist dollars will keep right on rolling in. There is a general consensus that Brazil is an exotic country, so the propensity is already in place. What is needed is a well planned designed marketing program to make foreigners aware of what Brazil has to offer.

Last but not least, better security in the major cities, especially Rio and São Paulo, not to scare people away due to petty crime. Brazil with its vast geography, climate, culture, people and food, makes it a prime desirable location for visitors to fall in love with!

The author speaks of a "black governor". Has Brazil ever had a black state governor???

To judge any article of this sort, one has to look at its sources and facts. The "black govenor" does not exist. Although it is right for Ms. Porto to protect sources, this source is likely made up -- I can find no news, comments, or discussion about a "black" Brazilian govenor.

As for the race of a govenor, often it is a matter of conjecture, a govenor could appear European but have grandparents who are indignes or African descent.

So these problems are immediately evident with Ms. Porto's article. (The reality is, from the point of responsible journalism, she should write out here little faux pas with the black govenor.)

The rest of the article is editorial. Applause to Ms. Porto for knowing who Fernando Gabeira is, but should she really think he would ever get a free pass into the United States after kidnapping an American Diplomat? Arafat ordered two killed, and only barely got admissions to talk at the UN. Gabeira is simply not an issue.

Other than that -- yes the VISA situation is strained between the US and Brazil, but American travelers coming to Brazil face other problems that is more important than VISAs. Crime and corruption comes to immediate foreground when an American thinks of coming to Brazil.

"I can find no news, comments, or discussion about a 'black' Brazilian govenor." Umm, so what? Maybe you don't know what you're doing. Are you some kind of master cyber sleuth? Are you Brazilian? Can you read portuguese?

"yes the VISA situation is strained between the US and Brazil" Not to mention the MASTERCARD situation.

"Applause to Ms. Porto for knowing who Fernando Gabeira is." That's a bit condescending, don't you think? I mean, the author is a "Brazilian bilingual journalist" after all.

"should she really think [Gabeira] would ever get a free pass into the United States after kidnapping an American Diplomat? . . . Gabeira is simply not an issue."

Well, first off, the article doesn't say that Federal Deputy Fernando Gabeira is complaining that HE has not received a visa. He is, indeed, not the issue in this story. Second, he is mentioned in the article because he is a Federal Deputy and he's working "with those who are fighting to pass a law giving Americans free entry in Brazil, with no visa."

Visa requirements for Americans...they are not the only source of tourism revenues, you know! And besides, it is a matter of justice and equality regarding those north American bullies.

Expand both Asian and European tourism into Brasil. The further from the United States, the better for Brasil.

God Bless Brasil

Teplace United States with Brazil and vice versa and you sound like a backwoods Republican.

that should be Replace

Well, I can read Portuguese and I can find no references to a black Brazilian governor or any reference to one being detained at the DC airport in any internet searches. If someone can find evidence of Brazil's first black governor please let us know.

Without any search on the Internet it occurs to me that Benedita da Silva was black and governor of Rio de Janeiro. It answers at least part of your question if there was ever a Brazilian black governor.

Alceu Collares, another black, was governor of Rio Grande do Sul from 1991 to 1994 if I am not mistaken.

Eduardo Ribeiro, from the state of Amazonas, is famous for being Brazil's first black governor. He was the guy who built the renowned Amazonas theater in Manaus.

Brazilians having trouble getting Visas to the USA have only one incident to look at for some clarity, 911!

If a country has an avowed enemy who will use any means to destroy you, including coming through Brazil, then you must scrutinize everyone.

Look at it this way, right now you are being inconvenienced through the visa process, if someone sets off a nuclear weapon in say, New York, the whole world economy collapses, and Brazil is sent spiraling into internal chaos.

If someone sets off a nuclear weapon in Washington D.C., then whoever made that weapon will see an equivalent city of theirs destroyed by a nuclear weapon!

Now we have a Brazilian who is upset that they cant go to New York to experience it's many amenities!

I would like to travel to Brazil without visa or passport!

Why should my travel be restricted by government, that's right, government!

When the two Governments stop tossing verbal grenades at each other and start thinking about and working for their citizens, who they are being paid by, then we will have no need to talk about such petty nonsense!

Who cares if he is black or white!

He got inconvenienced just like everyone else!

I read somewhere that Senator Ted Kennedy was inconvenienced at Dulles Airport. He ranted to the agents saying, "do you know who I am?"

No, we dont know who you are, you walking ,talking, mature sperm!

Like the guest who wrote "you now see what average Brazilians go through everyday."

Inconvenience all of them, let them go to europe, we Americans can go to Colombia, or Peru, or any number of tropical settings around the globe!

Keep up the racist talk, and crime, and Americans will not only shut our borders, we will stop coming across yours!

We had enough of racism during the last 3 centuries!

I want some of that s**t!

è “we Americans can go to Colombia, or Peru, or any number of tropical settings around the globe! “…

Really, tell me, where are Americans welcome nowadays? Go ahead, go to Colombia and your opie ass will be kidnapped faster then you can say HELP! You must be smoking some good old golden grass to have such logic! NUTS…

Entrance harassment is applicable only if you were from Latin America, Asia and Africa…Europeans have easy with the INS nazis! In other words, traditional US discrimination.

è “Keep up the racist talk, and crime, and Americans will not only shut our borders, we will stop coming across yours!”

Promises …Promises…Typical American rhetoric. Americans wrote the book on RACISM….Please! Crime? Yes it happens in Brasil, but in the United States, just as often. Come down to Miami and make a wrong turn to the north east, they will rip your opie ass to nothing!

I think you ought to be promoted from Village to Town Idiot.

The "Re: Article" and post that immediately follows (apparently written by the same person) are funny. Who put a bee in your bonnet? The article says that Brazil is trying to improve the ease with which Brazilians can visit the US. Big deal.

What got you into a lather and sputtering a lot of rubbish? Was it the talk about the color of the skin of the governor in the story? Well, some self-appointed fact checker and clearly a fool challenged that fact as some lame attempt to criticize the article. I see you also want to deny the existence of racism or the role it might have played in the incident, but trying to do that only makes you out to be a bigger fool. Racism exists in the US and all over the world. It doesn't go away by ignoring it.

And, by the way, I wrote the comment saying "you now see what average Brazilians go through everyday," and it was directed at the wealthy, mostly light skinned Brazilians who can afford to go on shopping sprees in NY or Miami. If they are being treated as third class people, then now they know how their brown and black citizens feel back home.

Brazilians aren't treated any better in Europe
in Europe
BRAZILIAN WOMAN=PROSTITUTE

I used to work at the airport back in my college days (Milan), and that was one of the things inmigration officials would stress out......... if the person is brazilian, check their passports well, because many come to stay illegaly, and if they are women, in many cases they come to work in the prostitution and never go back to brazil

Brazilians had to go thru a lot of pain and humiliation at least trying to enter italy

and it's gotten worse, since europe is getting flooded with inmigrants, and when it comes to latin america we don;t have a thousands of mexicans flooding here like in the USA, WE HAVE BRAZILIANS.

I think like 85% of all the people from south america who live in europe are from brazil.

and many europeans have very low perception of them, because we have large numbers of brazilian prostitutes, transvestites etc.
so their rep**ation is not very high.

and if you want to see real discriminatrion against brazilians, i suggest go to JAPAN

in japan they consider brazilians less than filth, because they have hunderths of thousands of them, many illegaly living there.

I know, and the USA will collapse because Brazilians don't want to go there any more

f**k BRAZILIANS

You're the ones inmigrating here in masses (brazil), not us migrating there (Americans)

for 1 American going to Brazil, there are 1.000 brazilians trying to make it to the USA

Dumbass, the story is about tourist visas. Get over yourself.

"in japan they consider brazilians less than filth, because they have hunderths of thousands of them, many illegaly living there"

This is plain non-sense. I have been living in Japan for six years and have never felt or witnessed an kind of animosity towards Brazilian immigrants (who, by the way, usually have 100% japanese blood).
Chinese and Koreans are the usual target of Japanese racism …

US restricts Brasilians for one reason, because they come here and don't leave. Check Miami area and see how many illegal Brasilians living there. How many Americans living in Brasil illegally?

Stop all the BS talk and speak about the reality. If you fix your own country, they won't have to come here and overstay their visas

Pronunciation: Moronaaans Ameeeericanuuuuus Asssssholeaaaaaaas

Species: Blood thirsty mutated organisms.

Habitat: Polluted areas of North America, known to thrive under acid rain conditions and in its own excrement!

Food: Mainly peanut butter, hamburgers and french fries. These animals do not usually exercise any table manners but instead, use raw hands to devour eatable substances. Abundance of lard reserves are quite common among these savages.

Adaptation: Namely rejected by all others beans on the planet. However, they are expanding their territory thru intimidation and killings, during the latter portion of the 20th century and beginning of the 21st century.

Behavior: Cowardly when singled out but vicious when in packs. Not yet known but inferred that metamorphosis occur at the DNA level of these creatures due to prolonged exposure to radioactive materials, set up by their own leaders.

Caution: Stay way, these mammals are known to have huge mouths and very narrow minds, with an average IQ comparable to those of chimpanzees. In fact, these animals recently brought to power a specimen that parallels any ape, better known as George Bush.

Short-Coming: Unilingual, lacking any understanding of civilization and order, and driven by pure greed.

Just to say that there have been several black governors in Brazil. The governor mentioned in the article's name is João Alves Filho, for the state of Sergipe.
Clara

And by the way, he told me what happened himself. And it is unfriendly, disrespectul and unnecessary to treat a foreign authority that way. To say the least.
Clara

It is also my understanding that too many Brazilians have overstayed the visas, and that is probably the major factor in the restriction of tourist visas for Brazilians. If you look at the process, it's designed to establish that the Brazilian has a reason to return to Brazil. However, the issue is not that simple. There is the drug Colombian drug trade which passes into Brazil that is a concern. There have been additional concerns in the US since 9/11. I have read that there are concerns about the potential operation or mobility of extremist groups, such as in the area of Foz do Iguaçu. This all may be total rubbish, but I understand that it plays a role. And, of course, in the implementation of any restrictive laws, where someone has power over another, there will be discrimination on various grounds, such as class, color, etc. People from MG have a rep**ation for overstaying visas. So, if you're from MG, you're profiled and it's more difficult for you. Perhaps if you are black, like the Governor João Alves Filho, you'll suffer racial discrimination. If you don't own property, it's more difficult. These are real problems. Power is the ability to impose one's will on another. The article points out that such abuse of power is significant. Thus, to reduce the issue to one reason is erroneous thinking. You’re also missing much of the article.

The article does not just discuss the problem of the arbitrariness of the system. It also discusses the economic implications, and informs us how Brazilian lawmakers and others are working to try to change the system -- a worthy endeavor.

I enjoyed your article very much, Clara and I agree that American Consulates should be more open for visas. The article is well written and it makes a point. Even if one doesn't agree with your point, it is your viewpoint on facts. You sure have a talent for raising polemic.

Can't people just write what they think without being so emotional and offensive? Even if we are the most powerful country in the world, we do make huge mistakes. And the criticism is of a constructive kind. Very well put.

There is racism in the US, we invented it. There is racism in Brazil and all over the world. Brazil is a third world country that is growing stronger everyday. What kind of person will 'accuse' someone of being a third world citizen? What's wrong with you?
We are the biggest economy in the world and we are growing weaker in every sense of the word, under the Bush administration, I'm sorry to say. I'm a New Yorker who would love to see the Olympics in New York, but I have to admit I doubt it will happen. One of the reasons is very well explained in Clara's article.

You know what? I have read other articles here by the author and I think they are great, easy to read and to the point. She writes as if she is talking. I bet she's a great conversationalist and she makes great points.

Brazilians are not the only ones who come to the USA with a tourist visa and decide to stay. They come from all over the world. Noone can tell who is planning on staying as they go to an American consulate to get a visa. What's the criterion? Making decisions at random is unfair.

Yes, arbitrary decision making is unfair, and making decisions based on stereotyping is unfair. Negotiations that require the US to review the rationality of its process vis-à-vis Brazilians would be beneficial to both sides.

American Consulates are denying visas all over. In Israel it's so hard to get a tourist visa to the USA that's unbelievable. They get into your privacy , act unfriendly and lack any courtesy. It's harder to get a visa to the US now than a passport to heaven. How are they bringing the Olympics here? Bush won't be at the White House, so maybe things will be different by then and people can actually come to attend the Olympics. But the choice is to be made soon. And it doesn't look good right now.

Ms. Porto's article caused a thunderstorm and that's what articles should do. Great writing. I'm sending your article to everybody in my mailing list. And I'm seriously considering sending it to the American Embassy in Brazil. What's wrong with these people?

Great article, great point. Great criticism from a foreign New Yorker I have friends who would like to come to the USA for a visit and can't make it because of the difficulty for obtaining a visa. It sucks.
Our economy is is going down the drain and things are not going to get any better with US Consulates preventing tourists from travelling to the US.
We don't need Brazilian tourists? Yes, we do. Brazilians, French, Argentinians, Dutch, Israelis, Martians and Venusians. We need tourism. It makes the economy grow and besides, are we or are we not one of the best countries in the world?
It is also a shame the way the INS mistreats authorities. What was done to Senator Kennedy is disrespectful, and because INS people are doing it to American authorities doesn't justify any disrespect for foreign authorities.
We are the powerful USA, yes. But if we are so good, we should start changing the way we treat people from other countries.

So uch anger and hatred in some of these readers. Get treatment. As for the article, very well put. This is a free country, a democracy and people should be allowed to come and visit. As for illegal immigrants, it's a whole different issue and it should be addressed better by US officials. The truth is Americans let it happen because it is convenient. Ilegal immigrants mean cheap labor and Texans know that better than anyone. So does President Bush. Why doesn't he get more security in our borders instead of scaring tourists away? The whole thing is wrong and Ms.Porto's article, although very well written, was too gentle.

much anger - please above

Have any of you angry creatures up there been abroad lately? Have you been abroad before Bush? If you had, you would know the difference. And the truth is Americans are very welcome in Brazil. They don't just welcome you, they will cherish you. They might be third world and uneducated (and this is an unfortunate generalization), but they will go out of their way to make you feel good.
Even with all the negative politics of intrusion of the US in the past, i.e. the military coup, and being denied visas at the moment, Brazilians are one of the most receptive people I've seen. And I have travelled all over the places.
And you know what, you angry creatures? They are third world, but they are happy. Are you, with your first world anger?

Unfortunately, overstaying visa's is not a different issue. The consulate puts some reasonable criteria on tourist visa's, such as owning property. I know you all love to take the moral high ground and preach about inequality and racism and unfairness. But you have to face the reality of the situation and the reality is, Brasil has one of the largest illegal alien populations in the USA. This isn't some theoretical professorial nonsense, it's fact. And they come here and have babies and use health care and services and don't pay. They work in illegal jobs with expired visa's. To say brasilians are not the only ones is correct, but does that mean we should just condone it? If we all lived in some utopian society and everyone obeyed all laws, wouldn't it be grand? But we don't and we can't and for this reason, there are rules and requirements. Sometimes they impact the people they weren't intended to.

Bush is wrong in most everything he does, I'll agree, but why should the USA bear the cost of illegals after they are here, whether through increased security or the social cost and burden, if it can be reasonably prevented before it happens.

It's very easy for all of you to sit in judgement of America, but then you don't have to deal with the problems illegal immigration on the scale that we do. It's also easy to criticize the USA for everything we do, but then the reason you are complaining is that you want to come here.

Hypocrisy!!!!

BRAZIL AFTER MEXICO HAS THE SECOND LARGEST ILLEGAL POPULATION IN THE UNITED STATES FROM LATIN AMERICA

LET'S REMEMBER

PUERTO RICANS ARE AMERICAN CITIZENS BY BIRTH
AND CUBANS ARE POLITICAL REFUGEES WITH LEGALIZED STATUS

BRAZILIANS ON THE OTHER HAND ARE THE SECOND MEXICANS, MANY COME HERE ILLEGALY AND STAY, AND DO MEANIAL JOBS ETC.

THERE ARE ABOUT 1.5 MILLION BRAZILIANS IN THE USA, FROM WHOM 800K ARE ESTIMATED LIVING ILLEGALY HERE.

Brazilians are invisible in the USA

they aren't officially recognized by the US government, and they are virtually unimportant.

the best thing the brazilian community in the USA can do is to stick to the much bigger, much stronger, much more influential, far more accepted into american diaspora Hispanic community.

they can benefit more from having minority status, do you know how many powerful influential hispanic politicians are out there nowadays?

do you know how many hispanics get green cards in the USA after they were illegaly living there?

hundreths of thousanths.

you know why? because they have done everything they can to not be invisible like the brazilians are, they are officially a minority, and it's unfair, because many hispanics especially tons of cubans and puerto ricans, could easily go as white and be part of the majority, yet they rather stick to their hispanic status; i personally know lots of half white/half hispanic people, who rather claim to be hispanic, it pays to be a minority!!!

I also know a whole lot of white women married to hispanic men, who change their anglo name to a hispanic one, and automatically become hispanics because of their last name, which qualifies them as a minority.

here in san diego our broadcaster, a white girl, didnt even marry a hispanic man, she changed her name to carvajal, and booom she was the reporter because of her last name.

and that is what hispanics have, a lot of political power!! and fastly becoming very economically influential too.

why do you think all those companiesl ike wallmart, citibank, k mart etc, catter to hispanics in their language? because they are economically powerful

so i think the best thing an illegal brazilian inmigrant in america can do, is stick to his hispanic brothers.

To try to keep unwanted cheap foreigner labor force out of the U.S. is one thing, to disrespect a Brazilian authority in an official visit to the U.S is a completely different matter. It is disrespect to our country. I wonder if the governor of Alagoas has issued a formal complain to the US embassy in Brazil......

Was it wrong to disrespect a Brasilian authority? Of course, it's wrong.
Now get over it! Things happen everyday in every corner of the world that are wrong. You want to blame a whole nation for the actions of an overzealous diplomat.

I swear if Brazilians would put half the energy into resolving the real social problems of their own country and stop using the US as a scapegoat for their unhappiness, we would all be better off.

Your country is a mess because you haven't the guts to make change the way the Americans did.

I think this person makes a good point about the blaming the US for all their problems. And the point about hypocrisy rings true throughout the world. They all claim to hate America and hate their way of life yet they all want to go there. I think it's simple, if you don't like something and you are not forced to do it, don't.

While you all speak of all the virtuous reasons you want free and open borders to "visit" other countries, the 800,000 illegal brazilians living in the US illegally says a lot.

An old expression "What you do speaks so loudly, I cannot hear what you say"

You cause "disrespect" for your country by not facing the facts. Laws are created because of situations that demand them to be created. 800,000 (minimum) illegals created the need for the law and the legimate brazilians who want the freedom to travel to the US sometimes pay the price. But place the blame where it belongs, in Brazil and the corrupt government that creates the need to escape. If you want to be mad, and you should be mad , put on your boots and march to Brasilia and demand to be given opportunities in your country so you don't need to be living in mine illegally. It's what makes America great, the people are willing to demand a better hand and are willing to pay a price. You brazilians don't get to use that for free.

"I swear if Brazilians would put half the energy into resolving the real social problems of their own country and stop using the US as a scapegoat for their unhappiness, we would all be better off."

Gosh, I don't see that in the article at all. But, you must be the same guy who always says this. You read an aritcle and you automatically start crying about Brazilians "blaming" the US. You get over it.

By the way, did anyone notice there's a pattern when that guy posts. He writes about how Brazilians need to act (according to his twisted view of Brazil as people who never try to solve their own probems and always blame the US) and it's always followed by another post that is a variation of "Good Point!" Either these knuckleheads are room mates, or the same guy always writes another post after his that "supports" his. You are full of it guy(s).

The article is quite straight forward and in no way is blaming the US for Brazil's problems or making a scapegoat of it. I have no idea where you are getting that from. Maybe you don't know how to read. Or maybe you have some strange paranoia that leads you to scapegoating where it doesn't exist. Either get into a school that will teach you to read, or get with your doctor and titrate your meds, because I think the dosage is off.

Have some fun...

http://www.amishdonkey.com/numa-numa.php

Tiau!

Some balance wrote:

nullThe author speaks of a "black governor". Has Brazil ever had a black state governor???

Yes, Brazil has had at leat one black state governor: Alceu Collares, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul in the late 1980s.

The article addresses an issue that is important and true, without attacks or offenses, just based on facts.
I am from Israel and we have similar problems as explained in the article. Not only it is very hard to get a visa to come to the USA, but we are poorly treated by consulate officers. This is not good or fair.
There is also another 'detail.' Light skinned Israelis have a much easier time to get tourist visas to the US than dark skinned Israelis. So they go to Australia instead.
I have friends with similar situations, even similar amounts of money in the bank (an important condition), property, all that is required. They were planning summer in the US, but only the light skinned got a tourist visa. It's tough, it's unfair, but it's real. This is what the article addresses. Not illegal immigration. In the US illegal immigrants have bank accounts, credit cards (some banks charge a fee for credit cards without the official american number, social security), they have telephones and everything else. The borders are not well secured because Texan farmers need cheap labor.
I praise Ms. Porto's article and I can't understand all the anger some of these readers (or will it be just one, as the guest points out above, under the title Missing the greater issue?

Waaa..waaaa waaaa.. I cant get a visa.. Oh well, too bad.. Protecting America's borders is our first priority. Brasilians arent treated any different than any other immigrtants trying to get In to this country. I was married in Brasil right after 911 and the picketing of the US Consulate in Rio endorsing the attacks literally made me cry.
Yes, it is more difficult post 911 but its totally understandable. Terrorist come from all countries, including Brasil.

NEVER AGAIN!!!! GOD BLESS AMERICA!!

JAMES H.

Right on. Why respond with anger to such a well written article on a situation that is indeed unfair? Everyone is entitled to an opinion. Some think that American Consulates should deny tourist visas at random, even if this is causing a drop in tourism in the US. Some think they shouldd have a different policy. Fine, we can think differently. But shouldn't we all think that our consulates should treat people well? Aren't we supposed to have manners? And why is it easier for light skinned people to get tourist visas? Why airport immigrantion authorities are mistreating foreign authorities and even regular tourists? This is not right and I agree with Mr. Porto one hundred percent.

Not issuing visas to tourists is very different from protecting our borders. The article doesn't complain, it deals with facts and the author says what she thinks. It's a well written opinion. But you do the complaining, James. I'm getting the feeling here that some Americans don't want tourists. How do you think that states like Florida get their economy going?

Ms. Porto has written a clear, concise article which underscores how the arrogance of the American government is costing it friends at a time when it more than ever needs allies. She is to be commended for throwing some light on an asinine policy.

What troubles me about a few, the happy minority to be sure, of these comments is how they resort to denigrationg rather than civil discourse. I know this has become the norm in Karl Rove's America but doesn't a writer like Guest grasp how silly his or her comments look when he or she resorts to such snide commentary?

Look at what Guest wrote at 17-09-25 and see if you don't detect the narrowest of intellects.

For exampleThe author is a xenophobic Brazilian bigot living in New York.

Question: Where is your evidence of that?

As a Canadian going into Brazil I see and speak with many Americans. The consensus is that the Brazilians are rascist.

Point: There are, skippy, over 320 million Americans currently living in our borders. How many have told you that Brazilians are racist. 2? 20? 200? 2000? You can't possibly claim a consensus for your notion because at best you communicate with a miniscule portion of our populace and a miniscule portion of those Americans who regularly visit Brazil. I could introduce you to hundreds of Americans who would dispute your claim. You are projecting your own bias onto a mass to give it credibility when in fact it is nothing more than your own opinion, one that lacks the weight of evidence.

James H., the author isn't complaining, she's just reporting the facts. Why is that so difficult for you to understand? Are the facts that difficult for you do deal with that you must resort to lies and insults? And why would you defend unprofessional behavior of Homeland Security personnel? And your statement that terrorists come from Brasil is unsupported paranoia.

Finally a well written comment from someone who actually have a real brain. I agree that Ms. Porto has written not only a clear and concise article, but maybe because she is a foreigner living in New York, she did it with such elegance, that she reports the facts, states her opinion, but never became offensive or ungraceful in her criticism. Even when she states that this kind of behavior in American Consulates could affect the decision to bring the Olympics to New York, she defends New York, and she says she loves New York. You are right, Guest06-27 at 11:04:42. Ms Porto is to be commended. Her elegance and gracefulness to be learned.

I think this is an incredible debate. I bet Ms. Porto must be very happy if she is following all this. I hope she is. And I don't know if you noticed, but have you seen how the angry people all sound alike? They keep talking about protecting our borders. Have they read the article? Or maybe they are so blindfolded that they can't tell what this article really is about?
Bravo for Ms. Porto, who elegantly criticized a behavior that is way out of line.

I dunno, the article is not well written, there were "facts" but nothing substantiated. I have a hard time believing that Brazilians are number two in US tourism, when the canucks cross the boarder in droves and snow birds pass their winters in Florida. Maybe it's true, but without citing some sort of study it's just hersay.

Also why on earth would a Governor NOT want to have his named mentioned? What kinda of cowardly political move is this? Christ, most Governor's would be screaming bloody murder - loud and ad naseum, complaining about how they were snubbed by authorities. These folks don't rise to the levels they do by being silent sissies.

I have no doubts that many are being mistreated at the boarders of the US these days. But not just Brazilians. I've had my own experiences there too, and I use to pass quite a deal of time in hyper-consumer-land. But, well before 9/11 and well before bush. Same problems, different admin.

If you don't like the deal, don't go. I don't know why anyone would want to travel there these days anyways.

Did you read the article? Can you understand English? Because you obviously can't write it. The article says Brazil was second in the 90s. And this is not supposed to be an academic paper. It's an opinion based on facts. 'If you don't like the deal, don't go.' What kind of brains you have anyway?

Brazilians are not number 2 in tourists. They are number 2 in illegal aliens overstaying their visa in US. A big distinction. Based on thatt alone, it's going to make he visa process more difficult. Europeans and Canadians have easy access but then they visit and go home.

You're right. Brazilians are not number 2, they used to be in the 90s, says the article. American visas are being denied not only to Brazilians, but it is harder to mostly everybody. Israelis have a hard time too.

With guys like this hump above trying to defend rude Homeland Security personnel, I'd have to say yes, go to Europe where people are nice, there's plenty of culture, things to do, good food, and importantly, no paranoia.

Being that you are a Nobel Prize Winner in the category of lunatics, morons, and idiots, I am delighted to say, thanks for the complement!

Again keep up your racist talk, and you will "hated" by Americans.

If American companies pulled out of Brazil, Brazilians would be living like the Amazon Indians within a year, in mud huts!

You are a third world country that "wipes it's ass, and throws the toilet paper on the side of the toilet."

You are surrounded by " intrigues" that are beyond your scope of understanding!

This article is just another example of "racist speak" designed to wind you up and turn you loose to walk and talk about how "nobody likes Americans nowadays."

GUESS WHAT, AMERICANS DON'T GIVE A FLYING CRAP!

AND YOU WONT EITHER WHEN OR IF YOU BECOME "TOP DOG!"

If American authorities don't want illegal immigrants, why don't they make policies for banks, credit cards, telephone companies, electrical companies and all utilities and make regular visits to restaurants and businesses in general asking for employees documents? Why they don't check the borders the way they should?
There are many ways of controlling illegal immigration in this country, and it seems to me the government is not interested because the money guys need illegal workers' cheap labor and no rights.
They can't have rights because they don't exist, right? But they do, through hard work.
There are ways and ways of addressing the problem. Denying visa to tourists is not the best way, and official numbers are already showing this. I don't know many Brazilians, but I love their music, and their beaches. I also think they are friendly people and I don't understand all the offenses against Brazilians. If there illegal Brazilians in the US this is not a reason to refer to Brazilians in general as if they were our enemies. Because they are not.

Send your lovely women to the USA, but stay your hairy leg ass in Brazil!

That's true, you "dunno," but that doesn't stop you from popping off. You really are full of opinions but no facts. Your post is a joke. Keep your pie hole closed if you "dunno" what you're talking about. Maybe, just maybe, someone who has studied the facts, like the author, does know something that might be contrary to your ignorant opinions.

You certainly are a shining example of American hospitality. You make us so proud.

On behalf of my country, I nominate him to be elevated to Ugly Ignorant American First Class, representing everything that is the worst the US has to offer.

"Did you read the article? Can you understand English? Because you obviously can't write it. The article says Brazil was second in the 90s. And this is not supposed to be an academic paper. It's an opinion based on facts."

What FACTS are your talking about? If that is you idea of an article based on facts, than you are leading a sorry life indeed.

"The article says Brazil was second in the 90s."

That makes it even harder to believe - dips**t.

Americans loosing their palance! I remembered after 9/11, as international students, we were treated very bad by the university that some of us were about to go home back.

This attitude stoped so many international students from applying to that school.

Now after many years, the dean of that graduate school sends us an email every week asking for suggestions to brings students again!

Now, when they start the pay the prize of their own attitude, the American seem to be shocked by it!

ahh is not only brazil, in my case I am from Colombia and I wanted to go study there, to Columbia university, I had the money, the connections and everything to go there and study and graduate!

They day I went to the consulate in Colombia, the inmigration officials were a bunch of bitter looking Americans and they treated people like s**t, when it was my turn I told her what I wanted to do in the US, and the Spanglish speaking ugly Nuyorican-American bitch said NO!!

so I said in spanish, f**k you American bitch and she looked at me weird and I left right away LOL before something happened, like me getting arrested or something.

The next day I called the local French consultate and made an appointment with the them, not only they treated me nice, they asked me to bring far less paperwork, and they were a lot more respectful to me, far more friendly; shoot they even offered the people who were waiting in line, coffee while we were waiting to see the inmigration officials.

When I told her why I wanted to reside in France, the french inmigration official instantly said with a smile "but sure my friend! is always nice to have hard working intelligent people, study at our universities!!"

right now I am currently studying in France!! meeting beautiful french women and being accepted into a marvelous sophisticated culture, thank God the Americans didnt want me, I would be in their country probably being discriminated against for the simple fact that according to Americans, I speak the language of the Mexicans (people who I have nothing against).

It is an editorial piece, but it does cite facts and is based on interviews. The statistic you dispute, for example, is just one of the facts relied upon. I'm curious. What facts do you have to refute the statistic cited? Ahem…dips**t.

One of my friends tried six times before they issued him a visa. He is a doctor and highly educated, but his fault he was coming from so-called third world country.

Now the guy is helping the American in very complicated operations such as kidney transplanting. Nevertheless, he still faces humiliation whenever he walks through an airport!

What a mess!

Clara really touched a nerve with this piece. Freedom is such a wonderful thing and the freedom of movement is the most cherished. I fear my fellow americans have gone too far in restricting visas. The 9/11 scenario has been a convenient excuse for Bush and his fascist friends to abuse power.
All the talk of illegal immigrants is interesting and certainly a problem. Bush probably has several working his ranch for him. America has every right to protect it's borders but the abuse of that right is disturbing.
I have always found brasilians charming people and very good guests. The ones who come here and stay illegally are in desperation. Nobody just picks up and leaves their homeland and family just because they want to live in the US.

If the US made a sincere effort to help latin america and not exploit it, maybe there wouldn't be a reason to come here and we could all visit each others lands and learn from each other.

Your experience sounds exactly like my experience dealing with the State and Federal "gatekeepers" in the USA.

They seem to hire the nastiest, rudest, low lifes for these positions. Most of the time you just give up and walk away in exasperation!

It's not just a foreign experience, but Americans experience the same crap from these troll-assed gatekeepers!

Just stating the obvious!

You wouldn't let just anyone in your house!

You cant have an open door policy!

Now about the Mexicans, I agree with the guest above who says that the USA is hypocritical about who they let in.

If you are white, your right, if your black, get back!

If your brown come on down!

Here we go again, another scheming, power hungry (at someone else expense), can't make it in his own homeland, immigrant coming to America to make his make up against the wall!

What is it about your own countries that you cant just go up to your oppressors and demand your rights?

because brazilians like mexicans are gutless and always looking for the easy way out. if they were really cared they would take down their oppressors and take their rights. but that takes courage and guts and why bother when you can just come to america and freeload

i think america(USA) was create by immigrants, If a american look at his/her's family tree they are going to see that someone from their family is a immigrant. i saw a report the other day and it state that 1 out of 6 that live in america (american or legal citizen out 287 million)to me that seen a lot and i still think that america function because of the immigrant.

waaaa!! waaaaa!! waaaa!!! - mommy, the customs man wasn't nice to me
waaa!! waaaa!!! waaaa!!! - mommy, they didn't treat me special at the consulate.

whining,crying,pissing little brasilian bitches

I am the Colombian guy again

HISPANIC / LATINO: Another crap that has kept me away and will keep me away from the US

I f**king HATE to be called those two f**king words!!! hispanic or latino

thank God that is only inside the US, here in beautiful more sophisticated, far more evolved France, people is more aware of other's cultures and ethnicities, so they don't call them by these stupid moronic simplyfied terms americans use!

Colombian guy again

Brazilians come to Europe, here they'll love you!!

f**k AmeriKKKa and its cheesy hollywood crap mostly remakes of foreign movies

f**k their cheap cars

their ugly fat women (most of them)

their balkanized racially segregated society

COME TO FRANCE!! A NATION WITH A REAL CULTURE!

Listen here, you stinking French Frog,

Why do you French hate America so much? I'll tell ya why.. Jealousy... We are the most powerful nation on earth. Our cultrue, music, movies are the most popular and copied in the world today. If it werent for us, you'd be speaking German.

GOD BLESS AMERICA AND F THE FRENCH...

JAMES H

One semi-decent joke is about the French Army rifle on e-bay. "Never fired - only dropped once."

From one of the funniest quotes came from a relative who was in the Army during WWII and was in Europe after the war.

To wit: "The French are so rude, it is no wonder that every time a German gets a gun he heads West."

what cultures does america have? and by the way IF IT WEREN'T FOR THE HELP OF THE FRENCH DURING THE REVOLUTION ,AMERICA(UNITED STATES OF AMERICA) WOULD BE CALL"UNITED KINGDOM OF ENGLAND" DURING THE REVOLUTION.

Well said friend, Americans have a very short memory ...

The article and many of the ignorant and hateful responces showcase our willingness to generalize and stereotype. First, I must say, I find the story of the "unidentified" Brazilian governor VERY difficult to believe. However, as an American with a Brazilian lover, I know that getting a visa to come here is difficult, especially for the lower and middle classes. In fact, since 9/11, it has become almost imposible for any ordinary Brazilian to come here. However, my personal experience has shown me that those with money and power have little or no problems. Regardless, Brazilians have always treated me well during the two dozen visits I have made to the country. I also find that most Americans that have visited Brazil love the country, her beaches, it's culture and it's people . I hope we can work toward finding common ground and changing the current Administration's overreaction to the terrorism crisis. Yet I also hope that people will realize that all of us are human beigns with little to do with our place of birth and /or our social and economic status. All of us have a lot more in common than some of us seem willing to acknowledge.

This is nothing new but rather, State Departement "standard operating procedure." It is called "racial profiling" that has been going on since the 60s.

I for one, given my genotype, blonde with blue eyes, even though Brazilina by birth, never had any toruble. On the other, friends of mine having the latin appearance, weren't so lucky, being denied entry for no sustainable reason(s). Americans did not invent racism but surely, they refined it to an art form.

Tne other point is the fascination that many who never stepped in the United States, possess. They think the american streets are painted in gold....it blows my mind.

The US is basically a s**t hole, rude people, abusive authorities, no culture, bad food, dirty cities, and lots of lard asses. The only thing going there is the opportunity to make money. But men does not live by money alone. There are many spots far superior to the US, Canada is 100 times better in every sense!

Let the Americans think they are the greatest, who cares! I have a good laugh everytime a see their flag being burned somewhere around the globe.

I just feel bad for some of the good Americans, and there are many really well intentioned people there. I for one, separate those good citizens from the rest of the American garbage.

That's my 2 cents...Good day!

Everybody seems to be forgetting that one of the main points of the article is to say that when American Consulates deny visas at random and unwelcome tourists, not only the numbers drop but this may count when it comes to deciding if New York will host the Olympics.

All the cursing at Brazilians is so sad. Ms. Porto gave us her opinion in a brilliant and elegant way. And I'm sorry to see here how some of my fellow Americans seem to have so much hate against immigrants. Do you forget you come from immigrants yourself?

No potential tourist deserves to be mistreated in our Consulates throughout the world.

It is true about color too. I know a family who applied for visas. The parents, light skinned, got it. The daughter, dark olive brunette, was denied a visa. No explanation and my friends never came for the promised visit.

Now because of this attitude, our tourism numbers are dropping, And our universities are trying to get foreign students to come here again.

So please stop bragging, cursing and just give the subject some thought. We are proud to be Americans and we should fight for a more democratic and fair country.

Ms. Porto's article started quite a debate. This is what good writing does.
Congratulations.
Too bad some of these people are way out of line. Apparently, just like some government officials overseas and at airports...

“No wonder they’re behind in every important field. Biotechnology. Superconductivity. Robotics. Microchips. That Hobble telescope. Sent it up without even checking it. No wonder you Americans are so dependent. The world’s largest debtor nation. Obsessed with a welfare mentality. Your products are shoddy… We Japanese are tired of keeping you afloat. Backing your treasury bills… And now you’ve gone into the gunslinging business again… One day, you’ll engage a small nation with a generation of weapons superior to yours, and then your cities will be under attack. After all, in your Westerns, the gunslinger is always bested, ultimately, by an upstart”

I agree with the brazilian guy above

I am peruvian of japanese descent, and whenever i travel around the world, be it europe, asia, other south american nations, tunicia and south africa

I NEVER get asked what my race is......... I consider myself peruvian and then japanese descent, and then a citizen of the world, BUT I DO NOT associate with any race at all.

the funny thing is that my ethnic origin is unimportant anywhere else, EXCEPT IN THE USA. Americans seem tobe the only people in the world who care and make a big deal about the person's race, and it is so pathetic!

Also if you speak spanish (this one is for the millions of spanish speakers who are either white, or black, or from some other color that americans don't think fit the stereotype they have of spanish speakers)
you will have a tough time trying to explain them why you look of white, black race etc.if you speak spanish! is like! hello! spanish is just a language, used by million and millions of people around the world, speaking spanish doesnt make some one spanish, just like speaking english doesnt make some one english!

i guess if you speak spanish they expect you to be dark, poor, uneducated etc. proving how acultural and backwards the average american who has never been outside the US is.

americans really need to start looking at the world, open up because they are isolating themselves, they try too hard to be different and their mentality and way of life is not even worth it, it sucks to be an american and live there, honestly.
only those americans who have been overseas and exposed to other cultures, realize that the whole american dream crap, is nothing but that, pure crap.

I live much happier in poorer peru, than in the USA working as a damn slave (like most americans do), in order to make it

america is truly one angry society, they need help

"Clara really touched a nerve with this piece. Freedom is such a wonderful thing and the freedom of movement is the most cherished. I fear my fellow americans have gone too far in restricting visas."
She did, didn't she? And she is good too. Hey, Clara, send us more pieces. And don't be in pieces. These guys hate anything and everything, starting with themselves. They don't represent the average American nor the sophisticated American. The first has a good heart and the latter knows how beautiful Brazil is, what a special culture it has and how it has contributed to the world.
And those who have a sane mind know that American officials have no right to mistreat authorities or tourists in or outside the US.

Parlez-Vous Français? Hehehe,

Yeah right…You can’t hardly speak English, let alone French….I am right cheeseburger eater?

Jealous? Don’t think so, here we are insulting you in your native tongue. Can you do it in ours? Keep on dreaming you ugly thing you!

Thank God, you are inconsequential…on your way out, don’t let the door hit you where the almighty split you!

Parlez-Vous Français? Hehehe,

Yeah right…You can’t hardly speak English, let alone French….I am right cheeseburger eater?

Jealous? Don’t think so, here we are insulting you in your native tongue. Can you do it in ours? Keep on dreaming you ugly thing you!

Thank God, you are inconsequential…on your way out, don’t let the door hit you where the good ol Lord split you!

It surprises me the fact that most people still take into consideration the division of the world into 1st, 2nd and 3rd world. It stopped making sense since the fall of the Berlin wall, almost two decades ago. The so called "2nd world" no longer exists, China is pretty capitalist. North Korea and Cuba are nothing.
There are only developed and underdeveloped countries (or rich and poor, if you prefer). Some like to make a distinction between developing and non developing (both included in the underdevelped area).
In any case, any History or Social Science student would know that a great deal of the underdeveloped exists to suport the development and is kept that way to serve the developed world's interest. If the whole world were like Japan, US and Europe, it would collapse, because there would be too much competition (this means A LOT of unenployment in the rich countries), there would be no one to produce basically agrarian products and buy eletronic crap, which is the main role of the underdeveloped countries such as Brazil. This is called the International Labour Division... do a little research.
This is just to show those retarded freaks that accused brazilians of being "3rd world" as if they were comitting some sort of crime how dumb and very much ignorant they really are.

oui je parle français, j'habite en france!
et on parle français ici!!!

What a great article and what reactions!!!

Congrats for the author's courage to criticize. And congrats for doing it with elegance, leaving the arrogance to those she criticized.

You are so right, how are they bringing the Olympics to New York if our consulates are not granting visas?

How can we stand back and not do anything with our official representation abroad misrepresenting us?

How can we go on being mistreated in our own country?

I've recently come back from overseas and before I reached immigration I was greeted by men with guns asking for my passport. I showed them my American passport. It was so depressing. Not to show my passport before I reached immigration, but the way it was done. There was no greeting, just the word passport said to me outloud, as if I represented a threat. By the time I was out of JFK I was so drained. It was as if I had had no vacation.

We need homeland security, but we need to keep our manners and our courtesy with our fellow citizens and with our foreign visitors.

Or are we becoming a land of beasts? I have to say what I experienced felt like scenes of those movies when the nazis treated everyone as if they were a piece of s.

Well, I am not a piece of s**t. I am an American citizen and I do not hate the rest of the world and do not want the rest of the world to hate me.

"Well, I am not a piece of s**t. I am an American citizen and I do not hate the rest of the world and do not want the rest of the world to hate me."

Vote out the Bush, Cheney, DeLay, Santorum, et al. wackos who are ruining our country and causing the rest of the world to lose all respect they once had for the US. They're screwing us at home and abroad. They must go!

Some Americans are just children when it comes to the US and its leaders. They can't stand anyone saying bad about mommy or daddy. The rest of the US citizens are adults and can therefore handle criticism, are aware that mommy and daddy sometimes are wrong, and want to be better and to do better. The former (child-like Americans) are called Conservatives, the latter (adult Americans) are Liberals. Unfortunately, 9/11 brought out the child in a lot of Americans and has blinded them to anything rational or reasonable. The Bushies have made the most of it toward their rapacious ends. But, public opinion is turning. Bush's approval rating is down to its pre-9/11 lows. Let's pray that the Right wingers' days are numbered and the US can move forward again…before we are bought by China lock, stock and barrel (e.g. the funding of our national debt and the purchase of Unocal, Maytag, etc.).

"They're screwing us at home and abroad. They must go!"
I AGREE 100%!!!!!
it's not that we had a perfect country before Bush and his gang. But it was different, there was more respect. We need different leaders to deal with the world differently.
We need to go out in the streets and show them we are united and we want a free and democratic country.
And we need to show the world that we are real people. And we welcome them without prejudice.

Yes, let's pray for the US. Because if the Bushies stay on we will lose all that we conquered in the last decades. We are walking backwards, and we are doing it fast, leaded by what you called child-like Americans. Just think that we still have three more years of this?

Since the 60s we developed so much. Now it seems that they (right wingers Bush and gang) want to reverse all the civil rights and everything else we've conquered.
They are dangerous, and they do everything in the name of God.
May the real God bless America.

The facts described in the article are real, and I know. Not these particular ones, but anyone who has friends, business partners or family abroad, anyone who travels overseas, has seen, heard or lived similar stories.
This is a fact and it should constitute official diplomatic embarassement. It doesn't help to bring tourists to the US, and it doesn't help our image.
My children are bicitizens and have two passports. In the last couple of years they haven't been using their American passport when they travel abroad, because they don't like people's reactions.
This problem didn't exist before Bush and before our Embassies and Consulates abroad started mistreating people. Not to mention what immigration authorities do to tourists and fellow citizens.
This is really a shame.

Why would I need to learn an inconsequential language like French. We all know English is the universal language of the world. Ask yourself why tourism is declining in France..It's because of the French "Attitude". God forbid you dont speak French when you visit france..
By the way,, I do speak the beautiful language of PORTUGUESE.

Ate Mais,

James H.

GOD BLESS AMERICA

What's the point? English is the universal and French, one of the most beautiful languages in the world. Are you guys children or what? Even with the so called French attitude, Paris still is the most charming city in the world. Guys, hello... grow up...
And let's face it. American Consulates and airport authorities are way out of line.

Ask the director of any English school in Brazil about the profile of their enrollment in order to get an idea of how bad things have become since the Republicians stole the election and started their pathetic war.

Before Bush, Brazilians laughed at the Bill Clinton debacle and happily enrolled in schools to learn American English because they WANTED to, and did so with the hope of visiting the U.S. as students or tourists one day.

After Bush, the proportion of English students in Brazil wanting to study American Engilsh has decreased substantially. The majority of Brazilians learning English nowadays do so because they must, in order to meet job requirements.

Generally speaking, fewer Brazilians than ever WANT to come to the United States, IN CONTRAST WITH THE THEME OF THIS ARTICLE.

Congratulations to Mr. Bush and his supporters. The way things are going, George W. may just go down in History as the only politician who ever managed to make a political enemy out of the one Nation on Earth that has none.

O, reason not the need: our basest beggars
Are in the poorest thing superfluous:
Allow not nature more than nature needs,
Man's life's as cheap as beast's…

With an attitude like yours, James H., I don't know why you would have bothered to learn Portuguese. And don't try to make us believe you know the first thing about beauty. You're clearly a crude bore. French is known by everyone but you to be an extremely beautiful language. Unlike people in the US, many French speak English and other European languages. It's usually the dumb, ugly American with an arrogant attitude who will get a well deserved snub in France.

Please dont be concerned with me ever, ever getting a well deserved snub in France. I wouldnt go to France if you paid me. I go where tourists are embraced and when they make an attempt to speak the language its appreicated.

GOD BLESS AMERICA

JAMES H.

Thanks to Bush, that's a small list of countries and getting smaller every day.

"I wouldnt go to France if you paid me." So, you don't know what you are talking about. You are just repeating the sour grapes of ugly Americans who make asses of themselves and wonder why Europeans look askance at them. How predictable.

Você, Que Tanto Tempo Fáz, Você, Que Eu Não Conheço Mais, Você Que Um Dia Eu Amei Demais, Você, Que Ontém Me Sufocou,

You, That So Long Ago, You, That I Don’t Know Anymore, You, That I Once Love So Much So, You, That Yesterday Suffocated Me,

De Amor E De Felicidade, Hoje Me Sufoca De Saudade

With Love And Happiness, Today Suffocates Me With Longing



Você, Que Já Não Diz Prá Mim, As Coisas Que Eu Preciso Ouvir, Você Que Até Hoje Não Esqueci, Você, Que Eu Tento Me Enganar,

You, That No Longer Tells Me, The Things That I Need To Hear, You, That Even Today I Haven’t Forgot, You, That I Try To Fool My Own Self

Dizendo Que Tudou Passou, Na Realidade, Aquí Em Mim Você Ficou

Saying That Everything Is Gone, In Reality, Here In Me You Stayed


Você, Que Eu Não Encontro Mais, Os Beijos Que Já Nao Lhe Dou, Fui Tanto Prá Você E Hoje Nada Sou…

You, That I No Longer See, The Kisses No Longer Given, I Was So Much To You And Today I Am No Longer…


From a Brazilian Poet...PEACE!

well most Brazilians i've seen in france are either prostitutes or drag queens

that is the rep**ation brazilians have in france and europe.

well most Brazilians i've seen in france are either prostitutes or drag queens

that is the rep**ation brazilians have in france and europe.

Another blowhard Frenchman who should study his history a little better.
If not for america the little frenchies are speaking german and eating sauerkraut. Make them smell even worse

I am really fed up with North America and South America. The international business is already in Asia. Africa is changing drastically by AIDS. Africa is the new place to adventure, gold, oil, and diamonds.
Africa needs smart people with new ideias and a big desire to making things happen.

The idiot above should stay away...following his own advice.

and f**k the USA.

I am still a Brazilian citizen just about to apply for US
Citizenship (screw dual citizeship).
Anyways, for all my time in America I never been so mistreated and disrespected than the times I had to
go to a Brazilian consulate to request (beg) for a
document or whatever.
That is far worse than being denied a visa.
A Brazilian asking for a visa is what it is: Applying to obtain an invitation. At the Brazilian consulate Brazilians have the right of many things that are declined to them or made incredibly difficult so
you as a Brazilian have to suffer in the hands of a Brazilian clerk with power to harass you.

Brazilians love to blame George Bush for all the problems but they have been coming for a long time. As one who travels to Brazil a lot, I can say it is just as difficult for foreigners entering Brazil to get visas many times. And the arrogant attitude of many Brazilians is no help. I have found a lot of friends in Brazil who are very warm and welcoming and wonderful. But the loud mouthed arrogant ones are the ones that ruin it for everyone. Brazil is a third world country. Brazil has a lot to be proud of but Brazil has just as many problems as any other country, including America, so stop blaming America for all your problems and recognize the domination of rich over poor and the corruption of your government have contributed as much or more than anything else to this.

The author is right that consulate employees can be very rude to those seeking visas. My brazilian friends have experienced this, and it is sad. I think the way the policy is interpreted is unfortunate. But there are new realities in the world since September 11 and in many ways governments all over the world are still trying to regain a sense of balance after that. Things will even out over time. There has been a lot of talk in the U.S. press about the government lightening up visa requirements for some countries like Brazil because it has hurt both tourism and business. I think a change is coming. Nastiness will not help bring it about.

The Brazilian Diplomatic Service is my big head ache. I married in 1999 with an Indonesian national. The diplomatic body graduated from Rio Branco Institute do not know how to deal with normal people. They give a hard time who needs their service. Today, I think to bring my wife in Brazil as a tourist and then marry her in Brazil. So, it will take a long time.Perhaps, I will not even come back to Brazil. Once, she is working in Canada. I am looking for job in Brazil and the job market is difficult for a person with almost 45 years old. However, I believe that with time I can teach in a third category university and open a Pharmacy around a slum.
I lived in the USA and I am a Canadian Citizen, north America is not anymore the land of opportunity. In Canada only few people work full time, the great population has part time job and low pay wages. Good jobs gone long time ago first to Mexico and now to China and India.

Guess what, FBI info is not getting to where it should and the US is STILL issuing passports to terrorists and criminals. Lists checked, over half of the names on the FBI list are not on the passport issuing list.
So they prefer to deny visas to tourists thinking they are doing homeland security? The article brings out an excellent point and this long debate prooves it.
We need to address the real enemies, not 22 year old students who want to spend their vacation in New York. Brazilians (or any other country) tourists should be welcome. What needs change is how we deal with real threats and also how we deal with illegal immigration.
As for all the angry nonsense going on here, some people go beyond the issue being discussed. What does someone's hatred of France has to do with the points made in the article?
I, for one, love Paris, in the summer, I love Paris in the fall, in the winter and in the spring time. Who doesn't? And I've always been well treated in Paris, and when people can't understand my sometimes broken French, they will try to understand me in English.
You wouldn't go to Paris even if paid? Poor you... you just don't know what you're missing...

Guess what, FBI info is not getting to where it should and the US is STILL issuing passports to terrorists and criminals. Lists checked, over half of the names on the FBI list are not on the passport issuing list.
So they prefer to deny visas to tourists thinking they are doing homeland security? The article brings out an excellent point and this long debate prooves it.
We need to address the real enemies, not 22 year old students who want to spend their vacation in New York. Brazilians (or any other country) tourists should be welcome. What needs change is how we deal with real threats and also how we deal with illegal immigration.
As for all the angry nonsense going on here, some people go beyond the issue being discussed. What does someone's hatred of France has to do with the points made in the article?
I, for one, love Paris, in the summer, I love Paris in the fall, in the winter and in the spring time. Who doesn't? And I've always been well treated in Paris, and when people can't understand my sometimes broken French, they will try to understand me in English.
You wouldn't go to Paris even if paid? Poor you... you just don't know what you're missing...

"Brazilians love to blame George Bush for all the problems but they have been coming for a long time." FALSE. Bush is largely irrelvant to most Brazilians. The people who complain about Bush the most are from the US, like I am.

RIght. We complain about Bush because Bush is not good for the US. Or the rest of the world for that matter.
As for the article, it makes an excellent point, the US should be promoting tourism and not scaring tourists away.

Jeb Bush in 08' Yahooooo!!!! Looks like Brazilians have somebody to blame for their stupidity until 2016 !!! Jealousy is a bitch.

My friends…That calls for immediate action…An Enema!

Actually, I think he needs to be disemboweled and I have the perfect tool for the job, a long wooden spoon up his ass…arrogant american jerk!

The american faggot said…”jealousy is a bitch”, my question is ...Jealous of What???

Ooohh… I see… jealous of “US Flag Burning Throughout The World”, jealous of “Being Not Welcomed Anywhere on the Planet”, jealous of “of Having the Rep**ation for Killing Thousands of Innocent Iraqis”, jealous of “Its Citizens Being Beheaded in Public”, jealous of “Racial Discrimination and Alienation”, jealous of …

Ooohh Yes… we are jealous of your America, the only nation in history which has miraculously gone directly from barbarism to degeneration without the usual interval of civilization!

May the flea that climbed up your ass find eternal stincky hapiness.

Get over it, you request a visa because you are ASKING to visit a country that ISN'T yours. Try dealing with the unhappy people at the Brazilian consulate here in California. But, it is part of the price you pay to visit a country that isn't yours. Grow up!

sense as the direction from a bunch of firecrackers...Le me ask you a question, american cowboy!

Who stirred the s**t in your local cesspool to wake you up?

GET LOST...American Idiot.

That's a good one!

You are sooooooooo right! However this can be applied to the Gatekeepers in the USA too.

The robots and cyborgs who work for these government agencies are manufactured in "secret labs" located in Urban and Rural areas!

Since the 60's we have been on a Left Wing Liberal twirling spiral through the bowels of HELL!

Affirmantive action Hell!

Feminist Hell!

Entitlement program Hell!

Special Interest Hell!

At least George Bush didn't get right up into your face, wag his finger, and tell a straight faced lie!

He had someone else do it for him!

Diplomacy is very important to any Country. We must be embassador from our Countries and our own communities. Imagine if we start treat badly everybody, we are going to lose many business opportunity. For one reason or another you start to hate a Country then you do not buy the products from the Country. You avoid any contact with people from there. Consequently, they do not sell more music, movies, coca cola, cars, computers and so on.
So, it is better the Brazilian Consulates start to treat nationals and foreings with a better attitude or they will receive soon or later a big answer in another way. Per example, some Brazilians which have double citizenship may forget Brazil. Mormons will stop to preach in Brazil and the criminaltiy and teenager pregnancy will increase.

Diplomacy is very important to any Country. We must be embassador from our Countries and our own communities. Imagine if we start treat badly everybody, we are going to lose many business opportunity. For one reason or another you start to hate a Country then you do not buy the products from the Country. You avoid any contact with people from there. Consequently, they do not sell more music, movies, coca cola, cars, computers and so on.
So, it is better the Brazilian Consulates start to treat nationals and foreings with a better attitude or they will receive soon or later a big answer in another way. Per example, some Brazilians which have double citizenship may forget Brazil. Mormons will stop to preach in Brazil and the criminaltiy and teenager pregnancy will increase.

"At least George Bush didn't get right up into your face, wag his finger, and tell a straight faced lie!"

Actually, he did.

Hey you up there, diplomacy, do you have brains? Can you think rationally? Any consulate should treat well tourists, American,s Brazilians, all of them. Tourism is an important and billionaire industry. Stop asking for visas? How can people be so blindfolded? Did you guys read the article? Did you read the comments from people who actually have brains? Why are you wasting your time here?
The article makes a lot of sense and so do some of he people here. But some should just shut up. What a waste of time. So if mormons leave Brazil the country will go down the drain? Are you out of your mind or what?

Hey you up there, diplomacy, do you have brains? Can you think rationally? Any consulate should treat well tourists, American,s Brazilians, all of them. Tourism is an important and billionaire industry. Stop asking for visas? How can people be so blindfolded? Did you guys read the article? Did you read the comments from people who actually have brains? Why are you wasting your time here?
The article makes a lot of sense and so do some of he people here. But some should just shut up. What a waste of time. So if mormons leave Brazil the country will go down the drain? Are you out of your mind or what?

Great article, great points. This would be a great debate, if it weren't for some brainless right wingers with stupid statements. Get a life!

What are you expecting?

the USA has 1'5 million brazilian inmigrants from whom, more than a million are here illegaly!!!

the USA is infested with illegal brazilian aliens!

after the mexicans, brazilians are pretty much the plague! so shut your mouths! and stop bitching/

not only that, but expect to be treated like s**t by the rest of the world too, did you know that japan has a staggering number of illegal brazilian inmigrants? many commiting crimes and doing things unimaginable in the japanese society?

TWO DRUNK BRAZILIANS BROKE INTO A CONSTRUCTION SITE AND STOLE A CATERPILLAR, THEY DROVE IT THRU THE STREETS OF SAPPORO DAMAGING SEVERAL CARS, AND PROPERTIES, AND THEN THEY TRIED TO BREAK INTO THE ATM OF A BANK! SINCE THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT DON'T USE GUNS, THE BRAZILIANS HAD TO BE ARRESTED BY FORCE, AND ONE OF THEM STABBED A JAPANESE POLICEMAN.

so brazilians! how in the world do you expect to be treated nicely?

IN THE CITY OF BOSTON THEY CAUGHT A BAND OF ILLEGAL INMIGRANTS FROM THE STATE OF MINAS GERAIS, THEY WERE BREAKING INTO HOUSES AND STEALING EVERYTHING THEY COULD.

1 OUT OF 5 PTROSTITUTES IN AMSTERDAM RED LIGHT DISTRICT IS FROM BRAZIL!

so how in the world are you expecting to be treated nicely if you're brazilians abroad are giving brazil an aweful rep**ation?

The opie above is next....we gonna get your pimply ass!

hehehe.....What a Loser!

behavior all over the world. What was his name, that army GI that killled a couples of kids in Japan 2 months ago, raping the girls first, of course.

THe article addresses the poor treatment from American Consulates and immigration authorities that are scaring away tourists, which is bad for US tourism industry. The debate has gone out of line, it is concentrating on hate against Brazilians and Americans. Hate is a disease in today's world, and it is unfortunately spread all over. John Lennon's dream was but a dream, that one day the world would be as one. Human kind is thriving on hate and this is so sad.
There are bad Americans and bad Brazilians. But that are wonderful Americans doing wonderful things, great contributions to the world, and there many great Brazilians who have done and do wonderful things. The US is a country built by immigrants, we can't forget that.
And the article is not addressing immigration, it is addressing tourism and how there should be more respect they way tourists are treated. Well put. And I'm sorry for a debate that has gone down the hill.

Why can't people write reasonable arguments instead of concentrating on offensive non-sense? All Brazilians are bad? Go to Brazil and you'll find out jusst the opposite, they are great people. Are Americans all bushies? Come to the US, a great country with people with real hearts. Tell you something, go and read the article. Some of you writing comments here are completely missing the point

No country has a monopoly on fear,greed, or bigotry. As individuals, what we give is usually what we get back. As citizens of a country we're at the mercy of how our leaders and fellow citizens behave. We each should do our part to be a good citizen of the world.

Interesting how the article, as good articles should, bring out the best and the worst of both sides. And somehow, some even used it to attack the French!
Great thoughtful piece and demonstrates that USA has become an unfriendly nation. However, it is a nation of friendly people. I have lived in the US on and off for the past 25 years and what I find fascinating is the political change has been enormous but the average Joe on the street hasn't changed at all. Most people will welcome you, help you, and treat you with respect. And as a frequent Brasil visitor, I find the people warm ,charming and lovely.
Every country has good and bad, some of brasil's poorest people are also it's finest. If you don't believe me, vist Bahia and tell me you don't love it.

Illegal immigration is a problem and USA has every right to try and control it. However, they have no right to treat people without respect and dignity.

"some even used it to attack the French!"

Yes, France is still the bete noir of the ignorant right wing Fox News watching and radio talk listening crowd. The people who changed the name of French Toast and French Fries to Freedom Toast and Freedom Fries. The dregs of American society, having no class, no sense of humility, and no culture. Though, I must admit, Walter Jones, the U.S. Congressman who coined the term “Freedom Fries” has come to Jesus and has now turned against the war in Iraq. Why? Becuase he now realizes that Bush wagged his finger at the public and lied to us -- not about whether he received a blowjob in the Oval Office, but on the most important act he could take, going to war and putting the lives of Americans at risk as well as the lives of innocent Iraqis. The results are all too apparent. The US is now in a quagmire. And yet these Bush ass-kissers still want to make stupid jokes about the French. The irony of course is that THE FRENCH WERE RIGHT!

From either side… As a Brasilian, my heart goes out for those sincere and good-willed Americans, and yes, there are many of them! It is unfortunate that they are bundled-up with those who seek world domination and/or disregard for other peoples’ cultures and sovereignty.

I make the distinction between the good people of America versus its “evil” government. May the almighty bless them and Brasil alike. Peace, brothers!

"Interesting how the article, as good articles should, bring out the best and the worst of both sides. And somehow, some even used it to attack the French! "
Right on, Clara, you should be writing for the Times. Or the Daily News. Or any big paper. But I'm glad you're having your articles published here and I had the chance to read it. You did a terrific job, and it is true that your article brought out the best and the worst of both sides. People are thinking about these issues. You triggered it!

Yeah, he did! Now you see Clinton and Bush whooping it up whenever they're together.

I bet they're saying to one another, Man these American idiots are so dumb, they will believe anything!

Great article. The polemic it has brought shows the importance of the theme chosen by the author. Congratulations to brazzil.com for the choice. May the author keep her assertiveness and subtlety and give us more.

24 words out what is left of your chronic-pot, tweeker-meth, mushroom, pills, junkie-heroin, LSD, glue, ingesting, sniffing,puffing, snorting,shooting-up BRAIN!

YOU JUST DESCRIBED A TYPICAL LEFT-WING ZEALOT!

In 1999, I had the opportunity to travel to Indonesia. I knew a lady with which I got married following the law and traditions from Indonesia.
Since that, I have tried to legalize this marriage in Brazil. However, I just find a hard time. My wife tried to register this marriage in the Brazilian Consular Service in Indonesia when she was living there but they did not accept because I was not in Indonesia.
In these last years, I went many times at Brazilian General Consulate in Toronto, Canada and always heard half explanations about the procedure for legalization of such documents. We went in a notary office in Toronto and we did a document with recognize signature stating that our marriage is in partial goods share to satisfy the Brazilian law. All these documents were brought to the Brazilian General Consulate in Toronto and we paid a fee of $ 72.00 dollars for such documents being recognized to be original.
We sent such papers to Brazilian Embassy in Jakarta. Although, so far we met a bad willing from the Brazilian Diplomacy Service in recognize the documents. I changed various e-mails with Ms. Ingrid about such documents. Ms. Ingrid through of her e-mails told me that the staff Ms. Jenny was responsible for such documentation.
In February 11, 2005 my sister in law went from Surabaya to Jacarta and visits the Brazilian Embassy with purpose to pay the fees and make the burocratic service in Indonesia Institutions.
To make things more easy, in this day, I called Ms Jenny, and she did not knew where was the file and told me that such procedure was only with Ms. Ingrid that was absent from the work.
Then, I called twice the embassy in Jakarta to speak with Mr. Jose Auri in the same morning and I asked him politely if he could give these documents to my sister in law.
So, he decided to give the papers to her and ask her to go to Surabaya to recognize the signature of the Justice Official that did the marriage.

It is very hard to believe in what is happening. I went to Indonesia; I was treated as a King. I respected the laws from that Country. I married conform the laws and traditions of Indonesia and now the Consular Service of my Country is making so difficult to recognize and register my marriage. Why? Discrimination? Envy?

My wife has an accounting degree from Airlangga University in Surabaya, she worked for more than 8 years at Ernest & Young and she was a senior audit when I met her. She came to Canada and recently ends a program in accounting at Seneca College with honours. She works from Monday to Sunday in two part time jobs and goes to College at night. I believe that any Country wants to recognize our marriage. The Canadian government never did a question about our marriage. Why Brazil makes so hard to recognize such documents?
Brazil should have good diplomatic body in any country. If the person is not fit for such service should be sent away and not sent to work in poor countries.

By Brazilian law, even being married, if I have sexual intercourse with a prostitute, and if she can prove it, she has the same civil rights than my wife. Now, why my wife in which a married inside a mosque does not have the same rights? Is it because she is Muslim? Or because she has another ethnic background?

I demand an explanation; I am fed up with this story. My sister in law wants to wait a new diplomatic body start to work in Jakarta to proceed with such documentation.

I feel ashamed from such service as Brazilian citizen.

Try writing the Brazilian office for diplomatic affairs, Itamaraty, tell them your story, they should be able to help you.
As for the article, I have never read anything online that brought about so many reactions. It's almost like Farenheit 9/11...

Who is this author? She doesn't only write, she sends out very strong messages between the lines. And she does it with class. She is good, man!

Bravo for Ms. Porto, an excellent author who writes with concision and passion without losing reason.
Give us more!

Like a lot of fairly common natives of the US, I am begining to investigate a potential new place to relocate to. It is amazing how many people like myself, who really have not traveled much, are building homes in other nations. It's funny to read the article because it is like listening to someone talk to themselves. Yea, I imagine it is difficult to try to get a visa for entry in to the U.S., but it always has been. you see people every day in the hundreds, from every nation in the world, lined up day after day trying to become American Citizens at I.C.E. . You have to realize that many Americans want to close every manner of foreign entry. Americans are a bit frightened, and should any more serious attacks manifest themselves, hell, even just a single small one, they will be demanding a full scale invasion or worse! Frankly, immigrants really just have some rediculious notion that becoming a citizen of the U.S. will magically solve everything. It won't. Being a Brazilian is surely more difficult than being a American, but Brazil offers opportunities for the creative which are not possible in the United States.
like what, your going to somehow obtain some fantastic job once you get to the U.S. Such notions are based on a myth.
America has become so absurdly seperated in wealth that it is now logical for lowly workers to seek retirement outside of her borders!
We are moving everywhere! Two of my friends have homes being built in the Phillipines! One just moved to Thailand, and one more to Mexico.
Like it or not Brazil and the rest of the world should get ready for completely different kind of invasion....yes the walker brigade is on the move...retired average Americans are starting to flee! Wake -up! This is opportunity knocking, to help yourself, your nation, and the coming wave of American Refugees!

The US is still one of the greatest nations in contemporary world. Bush and his likes will soon be gone and we are fighters and we'll reverse this situation.
The marketing of fear in the US is very efficient. I wish they could be more efficient combating terrorism, not issuing passports to terrorists and criminals, as they are still doing, working inside the US on the illegal immigrant issue, as opposed to scaring tourists away, hurting an industry that brings the economy up several points every year. With the drop in numbers, all other businesses will be hurt. That's what fundamentalism does to a country.

Well, now, that was certainly intelligent. You certainly have a strange and fanciful view of liberalism. Who else do you stereotype in your spare time?

Actually, it seems like more people on the Right are given to drug abuse -- people like Rush Limbaugh, who sent his Latina maid to buy Hillbilly Heroin for him. But, I certainly wouldn’t accuse you of being an Oxycontin abuser just because you’re a Republican. Stupid, of course!

America, America, America....you say your alienated? Well...get over it will you...hell, if your little experience was so bad you should be exposed to how badly we behave if we really don't like you. How about a little carpet bombing?
Americans are alittle pissed off at all the ungratefull jackasses of the world. Like the one we helped in a fight against an invader, and who rewarded this by murdering a few thousand people in New York. Any nation that allows the proliferation and advocation of hostile acts against the United States can expect
retaliation. Given the attitude of most Americans, I expect that the next act will turn the U.S. in to a complete war machine hell bent on the complete anihilation of anyone remotely associated. No people on the planet have done more or given more than the citizens of the United States. Stop using your position as a journalist to cry about the fact that you had some minor mistreatment. You probably went in there acting like you were someone important. Well, your not...your a jackass...abusing your position to create ill will towards Americans. I hope a errant cruise missile lands on your head.
Ok, I said it and I'm glad I said it...it's not really true...but it sounds forceful enough. Any way, stop creating ill will simply because of a little personal tiff.
Grow-up...your position requires more of you than running off to type out some general complaint of idiocy.

You can''t write in your own language, so I'm assuming you can't read well either. The author never complained about anything done against her personally. She bases the article on facts that happened with people she interviewed. And she points out how denying visas to tourists can hurt the United States'economy, which is a fact. And we do't want our economy to be hurt more than it has already.
I think you're not an American because if you are, God bless America. What happened to our education system? Aren't they teaching English anymore? Jerks like yourself should stay off line. As you behave way out of line.

What the hell is this?

You should in all seriousness know that the next act could very well force the use of ultimate weapons on the perps!

If some nation bombed dowtown Sao Paulo, Brazilians would be in a murderous uproar!

If someone blew up the Eifel Tower, Parisienes would waste no time getting vengeance!

Same with Russia!

Same with China!

Same with Britain!

If you want to see someones nasty side, then bomb their landmarks and kill their people!

What is it about this side of human nature that you cant seem to comprehend?

Ok, we have been invaded by Billybob from Texas.

Sorry that Brazilians are being treated like that. It's not how I want our immigration officers to act, or any other represenative of the United States.

Realize that Americans are deeply concerned about being attacked again. That many want to see all immigration ended. Which, in their minds, just means sealing up everything. I am surprised that this has not happened already given the prevailing attitude. Americans don't give a damn about Brazil or any other country right now. They certainly don't care about how difficult it may be to get in the United States, only if it is too easy.

Frankly, coming to America is not the smartest thing to do right now. The current administration is very war like, and the next nation that seems to have anything remotely to do with the next attack may vanish off the face of the earth. Which, of course, may start the Third World War. Maybe, coming to America is not such a great idea after all.

The stuff Rush Limbaugh was hooked on, also referred to as Hillbilly Heroin.
http://opioids.com/oxycodone/rushlimbaugh.html

for a $5 dollar bill???

I want to buy some die-coke from the vending machine.

You're right about that!

I think that the rest of the world is so used to American generosity that just as before WWII they take kindness for weakness!

You must understand that you are dealing with the "ULTIMATE BEAST "on this planet!

The stupid people who decided to bomb the Trade Towers were insane!

I believe the USA was getting WEAK, and had to be reminded that we are still living in a world where someone is always looking to "TAKE" what you have!

Brazilians would be running through the streets sayins" Matança! Matança! Mate-os!

"I believe the USA was getting WEAK, and had to be reminded that we are still living in a world where someone is always looking to "TAKE" what you have!" Well then I believe you are insane.

"Brazilians would be running through the streets sayins" Matança! Matança! Mate-os!"

What the hell is that??? Brother, stick to English because your Portuguese is rotten and stinks like your mama's genitals!

Sheeeesh...

Get this straight once and for all. Tourism and hospitality are different from immigration issues and lack of courtesy from official representatives. This is a great article, and it was written with responsibility and courage.
Some people here are taking the discussion to other borders. And all this hate and anger are not within every American citizen.

Look, no one thinks being treated like crap is acceptable. Everything the author says should be a matter of concern, but you have to face reality. Everyday, at every point of possible legal entry in to the U.S. there are hundreds and thousands of clamoring people. They come from every country in the world. As a contract protection officer I have spent many days seeing this first hand. The staff which process these foreign nationals requests are totally swamped. They are not paid well, and, yes they are not especially helpful. Yes, I have seen many examples of poorly handled affairs. Unfortuantely, the selection process for immigration officers and state dept personnel does not include a psychological test to target good represenatives of the United States.
I understand how you feel. I have seen many people caught in horrible circumstances which I cannot assist in resolving. Having said all that, I'd like you consider the following. First, in my own city of Seattle, WA. Armed guards and a staff of about thiry INS (ICE)
process between 300 to 600 foreign nationals seeking visas, naturalization, resident cards, and a plethora of other requests. We do it on a daily basis. Now, these foreign nationals also speak every language on the planet, some can't speak at all, and some are blind. The citizens of the United States pay for all this up front which includes the interpreters necessary to process and help these foreigners. Sure the U.S. Government charges fees, but they cannot possibly cover the expense. Next, in my own city there have been at least two incidents of captured terrorists. Yes, they actually had a bunch of bombs. Yes, they were attempting to gain entry illegally. However, understand that the average american is sitting at home reading the news paper or seeing the local news tell about the cost of letting foreigners in to the U.S. Then, comes captured terrorists! Where did these captured terrorists come from? Well they came from Algeria. They then went to Canada and, then, they tried to cross over on a ferry boat to attack crowds celebrating New Years. So, your way the hell up in Seattle and you have gone out with your kids to watch the fireworks. Suddenly a bunch of explosions and the next thing is a few thousand ball bearings have made your kids in to swiss cheese. This is what the intent was and it has not been lost on the citizens of the U.S

Your average Brazilian has about as much reason to do this as your average Algerian.

I hope this gives you a better understanding. Americans would likely shut off all foreigners from America if they could vote on it. They may come to demand it.

You may think the terrorists are in Afganistan, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, but the ones that came to kill my kids came from Algeria. If they came from Algeria, then, they can come from anywhere. Right?

"Americans would likely shut off all foreigners from America if they could vote on it. They may come to demand it."

Americans for the most partare turbo charged, they have their heads so far up their asses that they can chew their food again on the way down!

Good day, ol chaps!

You said it, American government should prepare people better for these jobs and pay them. They have money, they just don't establish important priorities such as proper training for security, diplomatic and INS personnel and what can we expect?
As for any country being a threat to us, it is not exactly like that. An important industry such as tourism has to be taken into consideration. There are ways, the government is just not up for solving things the way they should.
And New York is now competing with Paris for the Olympics. New York is as prepared as Paris to host the event. But Paris will probably win only because tourists can get visas to attend the Olympics. If New York wins, there will be problems. The sad thing is by 2012 we'll probably be promoting the US for tourism and things will be back to normal in the industry.
It's just too bad.

Yes, it is too bad. But I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for the best for New York.
As for the poor treatment from American consulate officials and immigration authorities this has to stop. We are a civilized country. We cannot fight terrorism by torturing prisoners, we cannot keep on going like this or the whole world will turn against us.
I think it is time for us Americans to change how we vote.

Two nations from one....Red States (where the buffalos roam) and Blue States (where civilization still exists).

CRUSH THE BUSH.

keol

Let's move forward, rethink our votes and get people with brains and hearts in the right offices. War is money, power, but this might very well destroy us.
It's much more serious than just the tourism industry.

From satellite pictures, Diego Garcia looks like paradise.
The small, secluded atoll in the Indian Ocean, with its coral beaches, turquoise waters and vast lagoon in the centre, is 1,600 kilometres from land in any direction.
A perfect hideaway. But no one is allowed to set foot on it.
The little-known British possession, leased to the United States in 1970, was a major military staging post in the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. It continues to be, in effect, a floating aircraft carrier, housing 1,700 personnel who call it Camp Justice.
But intelligence analysts say Diego Garcia's geographic isolation is now being exploited for other, darker purposes.
They claim it is one in a network of secret detention centres being operated by the Central Intelligence Agency to interrogate high-value terrorist suspects beyond the reach of American or international law.
These prisoners are known as "ghost detainees" or the "new disappeared," and they're being subjected to treatment that makes the abuses at the military-run Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad and Guantanamo Bay camp in Cuba look small-time, say intelligence analysts.
Last year, Federal Bureau of Investigation director Robert Mueller said CIA interrogation techniques "violate all American anti-torture laws," and instructed FBI agents to step outside of the room when the CIA steps in.
Analysts say there are at least a score of unacknowledged facilities around the world. Among them, several in Afghanistan (one known as "the pit") and Iraq, in Pakistan, Jordan, in a restricted unit at Guantanamo, and one, they suspect, on Diego Garcia, where two navy prison ships ferry prisoners in and out.
This week, the United Nations said it will investigate a number of allegations from reliable sources that the U.S. is detaining terrorist suspects in undeclared holding facilities, including on board ships believed to be in the Indian Ocean.
"Diego Garcia is an obvious place for a secret facility," says American defence analyst John Pike. "They want somewhere that's difficult to escape from, difficult to attack, not visible to prying eyes and where a lot of other activity is going on. Diego Garcia is ideal."
The British government has flatly denied detainees are being held covertly on the island. When asked last year, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state Lawrence DiRita didn't deny it outright, saying only, "I don't know. I simply don't know."
What is known about CIA activities is that, since 2001, the agency has been transferring or "rendering" suspects to third countries for aggressive interrogation.
Syrian-born Canadian Maher Arar was snatched in New York and dispatched to Syria, where he says he was tortured. Last month, an Italian judge ordered the arrest of 13 CIA agents and operatives on charges they seized an Egyptian cleric on a Milan street two years ago and flew him to Egypt for interrogation.
The rendition policy was initiated in 1998 by the Clinton White House after the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed by terrorists. The intent, says intelligence specialist Wesley Wark, was to bring Al Qaeda and Taliban suspects to the U.S. for prosecution.
"It was legalized kidnapping," he says, "and they did grab a few and bring them back. But after 9/11, the policy got changed to `extraordinary rendition' and suspects began being shipped, not to the U.S. and into the legal system, but elsewhere. And it started to be used for a whole assortment of people."
Since 2001, according to The New York Times, between 100 and 150 individuals have been rendered to Egypt, Morocco, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, all countries with records of practising torture.
But rendering means giving up control to the other country, says Pike, which in turn means only low-value suspects are transferred.
"The CIA keeps the high-level ones to themselves," he says. "And they work them over."
It's known that in August of 2002, the CIA approved the adoption of "enhanced" interrogation measures and stress and duress techniques. They're believed to include "water-boarding" — in which a prisoner's head is forced under water until the point of drowning — denial of pain medication and mock burial. A month later, Cofer Black, then CIA director of operations and now head of counterterrorism at the U.S. State Department, told the congressional intelligence committee he couldn't elaborate on what was "highly classified" information: "All you need to know is, there was a before 9/11, and there was an after 9/11. After 9/11, the gloves came off."
Despite the contention of many specialists that torture doesn't yield valuable evidence, Pike says the agency firmly believes in "hostile interrogation."
"It would be nice," he says, "to think that torture was inhumane, illegal and ineffective, but the dilemma is, it is effective. The CIA knows that from past experience."
Because the agency operates outside the law, doing what the government doesn't want to be publicly associated with, "it isn't bound by international treaties," says Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org.
The White House has said it doesn't consider that the "unlawful combatants" in the war on terror (now referred to as "security detainees") are covered by the Geneva Convention on prisoners of war, which prohibits "violence to life and person, cruel treatment and torture."
But critics point out the convention also states "no one in enemy hands can fall outside the law."
Moreover, they say the U.S. is also bound by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which it ratified a decade ago. The covenant prohibits incommunicado detention, requires that detention centres be officially recognized, that identities be registered, that families be told of the detention and that the times and places of all interrogations and names of those present be documented.
None of these provisions is being met with the ghost prisoners, says David Danzig, spokesman for Human Rights First, a legal advocacy group that has produced two reports on U.S. treatment of suspects, both those in the military system and the unacknowledged phantom system. Danzig says the International Red Cross has a list of 36 individuals, almost exclusively high-value detainees, that the U.S. admits it is holding but will not say where.
"But our conversations with government officials, former detainees and others suggest it's safe to say hundreds, probably thousands, is more accurate for the number of people being held in secret."
Among them, it's claimed, are three top Al Qaeda lieutenants: Khalid Shaikh Mohammed (who Pike believes is being held on Diego Garcia), Ramzi Binalshibh and Abu Zubaida. The Southeast Asian terrorist Nurjaman Riduan Isamuddin, known as Hambali, is also one of the disappeared, according to Danzig's organization and another advocacy groups.
They have little doubt the secrecy surrounding their detention makes the use of torture "not only likely, but inevitable."
In a blistering report, Beyond the Wire, released in March, Human Rights First outlined the suspected scope of the global network of covert detention facilities. "The U.S. government is holding prisoners in a secret system of offshore prisons beyond the reach of adequate supervision, accountability or law," it stated, referring to the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison as "just the tip of the iceberg."
Since the Abu Ghraib revelations last year, there have been three major Pentagon reports on the treatment of detainees in military prisons and a new manual on interrogation techniques was introduced in April. Human Rights First wants a full-scale investigation into the covert CIA detention network and use of rendering, and for months has been calling for an independent bipartisan inquiry akin to the 9/11 commission.
But a veil of silence continues to shroud the ghost detainees, says Danzig, head of the organization's End Torture campaign.
"Both the (Bush) administration and the CIA are stonewalling and blocking efforts to get a credible investigation," he says. "The Pentagon reports are enough, they say. Though there is evidence of a lot of wrongdoing, the CIA detention centres are a giant black hole."
But Danzig says "the landscape is starting to change."
Calls for a commission are starting to grow in congressional circles, with a major Republican, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, joining in last week. The U.S. needs "to prove to the world that we are a rule-of-law nation," he said.
Even conservative Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly, normally a staunch defender of Bush administration policies, says an independent commission should be set up to investigate U.S. detainee policy "across the board."
"The president must take the offensive on this, or else the country's image will continue to suffer and the jihadists and their enablers will win another victory."
It's alarming, if not surprising, that so little is known about secret detention sites, says lawyer Noah Novogrodsky, director of the University of Toronto International Human Rights Program. But that they exist he has no doubt. When a regime is threatened by something it can't identify, by an unknown enemy, it counters by throwing in everything, including the kitchen sink, he says.
"It would be hard to systematically torture in known detention centres, but you can't track a secret world. The secret locales are one part of the whole picture, the dark underbelly, and they're absolutely outside of the law."

diego garcia
a small African paradise island, with a hispanic name, under a british ruling, but used by the US.

how multi cultural

It is the new wave to f**k the society.

WOW, this is heavy duty. If this is really true, and it seems judging by names and facts given and explained, this world is becoming too sad, moved by greed, cruelty and hatred. And the worst part is everything in the name of God.

The international community regards Canada as the ideal of a "POGG" (Peace Order and Good Government) country. The majority of the Canadian public sees claims of institutional racism in the Canadian legal system as isolated incidents involving "a few rotten apples" in an otherwise immaculate system. There also exists an illusion that Canada has a deep-seated "humanitarian tradition" when it comes to immigrants and refugees. Those were the actual words used in the preamble of the 1978 Immigration Act, which represents the cornerstone of modern Canadian immigration. The problem is, at the time of proclamation of Canada's "humanitarian tradition", the country had left behind more than a century of a blatant "White Canada Policy".

To give a complete picture of what the Canadian immigration tradition had been prior to the Immigration Act of 1978 would require a separate paper. Therefore, I will attempt to summarize some important points: From 1867, year of Canada's independence, to 1978, the federal government expressly followed a White Canada Policy, favoring Anglo-Saxon White immigrants over visible ethnicities such as African-Americans, Indians, Chinese, and Japanese. Those who were able to overcome this policy were often allowed in temporarily to fulfill a labor need (such as Chinese immigrants who were let in to build the Canadian railway system), then invariably deported. Various techniques used by the government to keep out specific groups included:

-- A steep "head tax" for Chinese immigrants; A Gentleman's Agreement with Japan whereby the Japanese government voluntarily restricted emigration of its citizens to Canada;
-- A clause in the Immigration Act relating to immigrants "not suited for the harsh climate of Canada", which was a favorite tool of Canadian immigration agents to turn away African-Americans;
-- Deportation and retroactive revocation of citizenship, which were used primarily against the Japanese and also some Eastern European immigrants suspected of communist activities;
-- An open policy rejecting Jewish immigrants, which had particularly dire consequences during World War II;
-- A continuous journey rule, which prohibited immigrants from entering Canada from a country other than their country of application (thus effectively barring Japanese immigrants who tried to avoid the Gentleman's Agreement by applying from Hawaii, as well as Indian immigrants, while it had no effects for Western European immigrants), and finally
-- The Domestic Scheme, which is still in place today, was effectively a modern form of slavery whereby women (primarily from the Caribbean and Philippines) were imported to work as domestic workers in the homes of well-to-do Canadians, without enjoying the full rights of other legal immigrants, and living under constant threat of deportation.

The 1978 Immigration Act is the cornerstone of present-day Canadian immigration policy. It represents the official rejection of the White Canada Policy and its replacement by a set of so-called objective criteria. Because race, ethnicity, religion, and other such factors are not legal criteria of selection anymore, the new system has been proclaimed to be color-blind. It purports to be open to every nation, and every person, and thus is characterized as a "universality system". However, a closer analysis demonstrates that the so-called new era is merely more of the same old brand of Canadian racism, albeit under a more polite mask. That is because the underlying attitudes have not changed and seemingly neutral criteria are applied in a manner that continues the racist legacy of the past. Again, the magnitude of a complete analysis does not permit me to paint a complete picture. Therefore I will confine myself to the following points.

The most significant innovation of the 1978 Immigration Act is the creation of the Points System which supposedly applies only "objective" criteria such as: education, vocational training, work experience, prospects for employment, pre-arranged employment, destination in Canada, age, knowledge of the English and French language, personal suitability, and the presence of relatives in Canada. The problem is that these "criteria" are not objective at all. For example, securing arranged employment might unfairly affect members of certain racial and ethnic groups, as it is harder for them to arrange employment in Canada due to discrimination. This is an example of "secondary discrimination", as it derives from the discrimination already existing in Canadian society.

Ugh, the longer I work in Canada the more I find out about Canada's evil, racist, discriminant and slimy ways of treating immigrants and minorities. I did not make this up, it is a fact and it is even on the news. I am disgusted. I want an explaination for Canada's inhumane acts against humanity.

From my experience,immigrants and minorities have to work so much harder to get promotions and sometimes no promotions at all!! Look at the upper management levels of companies, the majority are white. 99% of the immigrants and minorities with outstanding experience and education all work at the lowest levels most of the times. Fair and Equal treatment?!? I am suprised Canada didn't join the Axis during world war 2 when all they care about is white supremecy. Yet many fail to realize that there is no such thing as a master race. FACE IT!! NOBODY is better than anybody. What makes the immigrants and minorities any different?!?!

Immigrants on the other hand are lied and tricked into Canada so they can do the jobs that most Canadians won't do. Jobs such as: general labour, handyman, salesman, construction, taxi man, janitor you name it. While they are doing that, the Canadians can sit in the comfort of there own office while the immigrants do all the dog work. All this rah rah rah about Canada is false, we are in a recession, no doubt it may soon end up worse than the 30's.

Every single door to door salesman that knocks my door is a new immigrant with an outstanding degree and experience in their former countries. COME ON, doctors doing door to door sales...... Way ta go Canada, have the immigrants come on thier first day, send them doing door to door salesman and get yelled at by the very Canadians that tricked them here. You are giving them a very good impression of Canada.

Opprutunity?? Do what you like?? Unfortunatley this does not apply to immigrants and minority. You can't choose to do what you like in Canada. If you study to become a computer engineer you most likely will end up with a totally different job that you will oppose tooth to nail with. Thats the economy of Canada. Those immigration officials of Canada lie so much that people who are managers, ceos, scientists from other countries are forced to quit their professions, only to end up in a dog's job in Canada. That is the LOWEST OF THE LOW man.

You have a broken door knob? or a minor water leakage in you kitchen sink? Fix it yourself! It is your property! Your Country! Quit stealing doctors, scientists, CEOs, etc. from other countries to do these minor work for you just for 1/1000000 of what they were earning before.

I notice a lot of Doctors are being tricked into canada to do some really lame job. They have LIVES to save!! LIVES! Why should someone have to die to fix your doorknob?! What have the patient or doctor done to deserve this?? I noticed also a door to door salesman who solicited to me was a doctor, and just about every door he gets yelled at. Here he is getting yelled at when he could be at his home country saving lives. UGH Canada....

Yeah, yeah, I am the guy that criticised Canada big time on this forum right? But so far the way the system is working it is not giving me a very positive image.

What do all these things have to do with what the article is about, I'll never know. Canada? France? Japan? The article is about how denying visas scare tourists away and hurt the industry. And how this is not fair treatment.

Some people live in a small world.

Yeah... some do. This is an article that brought about real emotions in people and was able to raise a whole lot of issues and this forum. Although some people were indeed out of line, some of the issues raised here are to be reflected upon and some information give us here are incredible, but pure truth.

"COME ON, doctors doing door to door sales"

Well, as a Canadian I have a real hard time thinking about going under someone's knife who got their degree in a fly by night University in some bean town. If they want to practise medicine, than do an upgrade course. It's tough, sure - but so is medicine in Canada.

I don't want to see an English-butchering flunky from some third world piss pot with two years experience hacking off limbs in Rawanda, holding my nuts and asking me to cough. Get over yourself, and get back to flipping burgers.

Some years ago, I went to my family doctor in Toronto. I told him that I have tuberculosis. He did the diagnostic. It was asthma. I worked for 16 months at Maple Leaf Meat coughing over the processing food and telling everybody that I have asthma. However, I did an application to be a teacher supplier at Toronto Board of Education and they asked me an immunologic Tuberculosis Test. I came back to my family doctor. He injected the reaction in my arm. It was a super positive test. I was with tuberculosis. Then, he was very ashamed and he told me that he does not know microbiology. I went to a TB treatment, the second month doing the treatment, I stopped to cough.
Later my wife had a miscarrage, she stayed 3 days on the corredor of Scarborough hospital waiting a skill medical doctor to do a DNC because all part time doctors, which showed up in the hospital did not have courage enough to make a DNC. At least they are honest to say I do not have courage to do a DNC because I did not learn it.
The medicine done in Canada is not better than other countries in the world. The problem is that Canada went to WWII in the wrong side. I never saw a Country so racist. They want medical doctors from other Countries only to drive a taxi or clean a bathroom.

Why are there so many Brazilian whores in New Jersey?

Thanks for the tip, I will not look for work in Canada!

What else is new? We have jails and prisons here in the USA that make those places you're talking about look like summer camp!

There are 100's of secret prisons in the USA, for what? For Whom?

The USA has fine tuned the art of deception and torture through 400 years of exclusive practice right inside the good old USA, Yes, old fart-assed Uncle Sam is a master of double talk, lies, deception, greed, skullduggery, bigotry, theft, graft, torture, ect.

HIS SKILLS ARE SECOND TO NONE!

Sounds like the USA to me!

Tell that to the severed heads and bodies of the Americans executed by decapitation in Iraq. If you doubt the barbarity of these animals visit www.michaelsavage.com, for a look at "real torture."

I live in North America. I was born in Brazil. A couple of years ago, I started to dream to come back to Brazil. I believe before that here is the promised land. More you stay here, more difficult is to come back home. Today, I asked to God to forgive my sin. I should never live here.
I hope in one year, I will be living in Brazil with all social politic and economic problems.

Two night ago my old friend was killed in Sao Paulo, weeks ago I was assaulted with gun, all my friends have same experience. If you work hard no one cares, if you work slow no one cares. I lived for years in the North and never saw violence and was rewarded for hard work. People who don't work loose there job. I wished I stayed, here in Brasil is no paradise too.

Violence in Toronto is basically not there, on the news they say we had a stunning 56 murders last year. While cities like chicago had 590. I believe we're going to see a steady increase of violence (certainly not to 590. FYI: Chicago sees more violence in a day than Canada), so stopbeing ignorant towords certain areas (I.E. Malvern, where I live). Where people refuse to drop me off, and even drive through.

One year doent mean anything look at the stats

1995 58
1996 58
1997 61
1998 56
1999 47 (Remember that one? The cops warned it will increase again)
2000 60
2001 60
2002 60
2003 65

All you have to look at is that it was 58 in 1995 and 65 in 2003, there might be low points along the way, but I consider that an increase. And last weekend 4 people got murdered, so this year doesnt seem to promising. Violence isnt only murders, its Home invasions, car thefts, and others aswell. And most of those have been on a sharp increase.

I went to U. of Toronto and being from London I know Toronto quite well BUT where the hell is Malver? Is that the Jane/Finch area?

You want to see violence come to Vancouver. Surrey { Vancouver biggest suburb of 400,000} ties Miami as the highest rate of car thefts in
North America. Crime is rampant in Vancouver due to police indifference and the huge drug trade.

Look at the notorious Downtown/Eastside. It has Canada lowest income levels when using postal codes as a measure.

40% of the areas 10,000 has hepititis. There are 3000 drug addicts.
A girl arriving in the area has an incredible life expectancy of just 7 {yes, seven} years. It has the highest concentration of people with HIV in the western world. There are 300 deaths a year in that area alone due drug addiction/overdose. What about the 70 "missing " women that are now beleived to be murdered. The city/police did nothing til 2001 becuase they were prostiutes and drug addicts so the police/city couldn't have given a s**t. They have already founds DNA from these poor souls at just ONE farm in Port Coquitlam........... 35 of them so far, and counting. This would make it , by far, the largest serial killing in the country yet the prostitutes mentioned this farm to the police in 1989 but did nothing for 12 f..king years yet during that 11 years another 24 women went "missing"

75% of the population is on welfare but all this just 2km from West Vancouver which has the highest income level in the country. Its only 5 BLOCKS from litterally thosand of new condos in Yaletown, Downtown, and the West End where one bedrooms start
160k.

I know these facts to be true as I was welfare worker in the area. It is absolutly devastating. The city should be absolutly disgraced by this, but its not. These things don't happen in "Lotus Land" or atleasst you'll never see them in those shiny pictures of Vancouver even thou the cruise ships litterally dock only 6 blocks away.

Toronto crime?..............make me laugh.l

Yea Malvern is in Scarborough, and is actually rivals with Jane and Finch. I can't beleive crime in Vancouver is that bad. Someone needs to get off there ass and do sumtin.

Vancouver let this part of the city turn to s**t, while Toronto works hard to keep a safe city, certain areas are turning into Vancouver east side. Toronto crime isnt a joke, We're just smarter not to let our city turn into a pile of druggies and gangsters like that area of Vancouver. Dont say Toronto crime isnt there be happy were smarter than Vancouver in actually stopping it.

O, (knock it off about) Canada!

Is that you, 10 word Annie?

Greater Sao Paulos population is almost equal to all of Canada.
Give us a break you ugly white skinned fat beer swilling farting disgusting scumbags. you only know about brasil from the inside of a sauna
write on the canada page if there is one and leave us alone. i suppose there isn't enough canadians able to read to have a page

Mas em Portugues para ficar dificil para os gringos saberem dos nossos problemas.
Vamos discutir a beleza das nossas praias, o verde das nossas matas. So' nao vale falar de mulher e nem de jacare'.
Ja sabemos que esse site ajuda o sistema de informacao dos outros paises para estudarem a nossa cultura. Vamos discutir futebol, samba cancao e cachaca.

Um passageiro morreu nesta terça-feira com um tiro na cabeça durante tentativa de assalto a um ônibus da linha 2016 (Mandala - Castelo), em São Conrado, zona sul do Rio. A vítima foi identificada como Nelson Moraes de Faria.

Segundo a polícia, o acusado --Wellington Luiz Gonçalves de Jesus de Souza, 21-- sentou em um banco no fundo do ônibus e anunciou o assalto usando um revólver calibre 22.

Após pegar relógios, celulares e dinheiro dos passageiros, o suspeito tirou o dinheiro das passagens que estava com o cobrador. Em seguida, Souza falou para o motorista parar na favela da Rocinha, em São Conrado.

Quando estava chegando ao local, o motorista subiu com o ônibus na calçada próxima a um posto policial. Ele abriu a porta dianteira e saiu correndo.

Nervoso, o suspeito deu um tiro para o alto e agarrou o passageiro. Mais de 30 pessoas que estavam no ônibus foram mantidas reféns por aproximadamente meia hora. A polícia cercou o veículo e começou a negociar com Souza, que pediu um carro para fugir.

Após falar com familiares pelo celular, ele deu um tiro na cabeça do refém e tentou disparar em outra passageira, mas a arma falhou e o acusado se entregou à polícia.

Faria chegou a ser socorrido no Hospital Miguel Couto, no Leblon, mas não resistiu e morreu. O assaltante foi levado para a 15ºDP (Gávea).

That's a very good description of most Americans, and Canadians.

Going back to the article, New York didn't get the Olympics, as predicted here. Although the games won't be until 2012, the choice was made now and of course the US unfriendly treatment of tourists, denying visas to so many people all over the world, was one of the reasons.
I believe that London's chances went up after Bush chose to hurt the environment at the G-8 meeting. Tony Blair, the only powerful who stood by Bush was betrayed by him, but this is only their own power games. What's important is how environmental issues don't matter to our present administration. This is both sad and dangerous.
Too bad New York had to pay a price for others' stupidity.

Wait and you are not going to see future. We are destroying the environment and nobody cares. Look the Tiete river, who cares? USA also does not care about enviroment. Brazil either, and China does not know what is environment.

Now the bombed London. Who really did it? Would they have bombed New York again if we had won? Or Paris, the favorite before the London surprise?

What a pitty... I'm from Sergipe, the state with the black governor. I was thinking of going to USA (NY) to study english, but after the lots of things i've being reading and hearding about SOME americans and their thougts, i thing it's much easier, interesting and inteligent to go to another place... It's a real shame. How could some people live in the richiest country of the world, have so many opportunities and even so is so small minded? We brazilian, are not enemie of any other nation... We do not promote wars... Our thoughts have nothin to do with the control of the world... What I can see is a person who want culture e others who does not have even a clue of the meaning of it...

The Jews of Pre-WWII wanted culture too, however Hitler and his minions wanted them DEAD!

Americans do have a clue and it is that some States with terrorist want to destroy the USA!

Now do you let them destroy your country or do you fight back?

THIS IS THE QUESTION!

They have been bombing countries forever. They cant even get along with themselves!

If they didn't have the UK or USA as a target it would be someone else!

Their favorite target is the Jews, but the Jews give them swift and effective ass-kickings whenever they tread on them.

One day they will come to Brazil with some pretext of wrongdoing by the Brazilians and start bombing your country!

Some comments do not make any sense. Brrazilians brag a lot.

I don't think this hate exchange does anyone any good. Let's try just to analyze the facts and exchange information and opinions in this forum created by an excellent article.
Brazilians this, Americans that, what's the point? These are just generalizations, there are bad things and good things in every country, as well as good people and bad people. I'm an American who loves my country and I love travelling. I have been to Brazil and absolutelly loved it. Generous, good hearted people, wonderful music, food and beaches. I feel bad for all what has been happening all over the world, people killing people, hurting the environment, forgetting that there is always a price. And the worst is the price is usually paid by innocents.

Thats my point of view... the point of view of anyone that could analise things clearly... But, GWBush, on tv, talking about the demoniac heart of a person who kills innocent people seems too much for me! What have he been doing for years? It seems like a "blind master" talking to a "blind public"... Of course that Im not talking about all americans, as well as we cant punish all germans for the Nazism, these are completely diferent situations, but each one of them presents the silence of its people... I know there is good hearted people in USA as well as there is in Brazil, but hear some coments makes me feel very dissapointed.

Germans citizen were guilty because the Nazist were the minority. However, they allowed Nazist to do everything. The German population were lured to one thousand year empire. When Germans went toward Russia each soldier was dream with land and slavers. If, the Russian did 1/10 what Germans did in Russia, they would eliminated all Germans from Europe. However, they raped all Germans women during many days. Thanks to Russian, they won the war.
Now, unfortunately, USA is a new German. Nobody says anything.

Gee I hope New york can survive without the olympics. It's so important. the fact that disgusting cities like beijing can win olympics demonstrates what a laugh it is. take the money and feed people and screw these silly games.

And new york will have to also survive without one more freeloader from Sergipe. It may be too much to handle.

Do you brasilians really think we care if you don't come? 90% of americans don't even know where brasil is or care.focus on solving your own issues and stay home for a while. we got enough w*****ks from mexico already

yeah!! thats the respect and the humanity that most of americans must be proud of... Just to retribute, if you ever come to Brazil, I hope you enjoyed and come back a little kinder... And you're welcome.

It's sad to see this kind of an attitude, which does not express what most Americans think and feel. We are good people, we welcome tourists, we know it's good for our economy and our image in the world. Tourists should be welcome, no matter where they come from. Feeding hate and hostility among people is the last thing the world needs now. We need to have compassion, ability to compromise, seriously help those in the world who are dying of hunger and take care of our environment problems.

Many years ago. I went to do pos doctor in the USA. It was the worst experience of my life. The mentor was a person with a big attitude problem, I really do not understand how he survived in the academic environment once nobody liked him. He only had Chineses in the laboratory and some people from Russia. I dropped in the middle of a sino-russian conflict. In addition, my English was poor. What happened there stay there, I could write a novel about such environment but I decided to leave the program. Then, I was sent to another university to work with an old feminist woman, it was a hell. She used to yell a lot, then I started to yell back and she fired me. I learned a lot from both University, never more I will work in an university in the USA.

However, I knew wonderful people outside of the University. Americans are nice people in generally, they are very friendly and naive. They suffer a lot because life in the USA is not easy as we think. I miss a lot the striptese bar girls, some wanted even marry me to give me a green card. I did good friends in churches, and bars in generally.
I learned that in the life there is nothing better than drink moonshine, chew tobacco, eat cat fish and hunt raccons. Part of my soul is there in the Appalaches mountains. One day I will go there only to visit. The American government never denied me visa to go inside the USA. Last time, I asked a visa to go in the United State, the woman staff was very mad with me. She did not want to give me a visa, then she asked me, do you want to work in the USA? I look deeply in her eyes and I said, I will never work in the USA and I will never live there, but I said with hate. She was concern that I could be a terrorist. She wanted to know also what I wanted to do there, then I whisper, I want to visit an american girl friend, I was ashamed to say that. Then she stamped my visa. I went there and I had good time and I come back home.

Hey you up there, it is not true that 90% of Americans do not know where Brazil is. I do and so do most people I know. Not only they know where it is, but they know about it and they enjoy what they know and some have even been there and loved it.
Many Americans, like myself, actually enjoy getting an education, reading books, working and travelling, getting to know other cultures, other ways of life.
Maybe your 90% is 90% among the people you know, your own limited little world.
But there are millions of wonderful Americans who do not agree with so many things happening today. Including the imposition of shameful conditions in our money giving. Because this is not giving, it's exploitation.
So my friend do not talk in the name of all Americans. Because many of us have brains, and this does not seem to be your case.

The author has a special talent for causing a storm.. Have you guys read her other piece up there? What, Clara, are you going to be the champ of comments? The queen of polemic? That's what writers should do, I know that much.

yeah!! thats the respect and the humanity that most of americans must be proud of... Just to retribute, if you ever come to Brazil, I hope you enjoyed and come back a little kinder... And you're welcome.

OH guys the USA sucks big time.I had a chance to go and liv e in the usa but i would not go even if they payed me...Fat and ugly people ,people who only know what a hamburger and beer is...If you ask me the only one who is worth there are the forigners...and I come from europe and I had a chance to meet some brazilians people and they are the best...the whole world does not hate the Usa cos they are supperior,they hate them cos they are dumb,ignorant,ugly...So stop buls**ting abour brazilians you ugly american scum...

Your experience in the USA depends in what environment you go. I wrote a comment above that I went to do pos doctor in the land of Uncle
Sam. I had a terrible experience in the academic environment. However, I had a former classmate, she finished her PhD before me. She was very gorgeous woman, people even stop to see her walking by. She went to USA on her own, she dig here and there and finally found somebody that gave to her a post doctor position. She did almost 10 papers in one year. She returned to Brazil. It passed more than 10 years. I do not believe that she did 10 papers in Brazil in 10 years, even 2 papers she did not make on her own. Today, she works in a country side university in Brazil. What I want to say is that in the USA everything depends who you meet and what you have to offer.

In spite of all, I really knew excellent people outside of the academia. They were fat, they were ugly but I learned to respect and love them because they respected and loved me as what I am. I knew a girl, red neck girl, she made me to buy a marriage license to marry her. I almost married her. However, everybody said to me that was not good idea to marry a woman only to stay in the USA. As a man said to me, look this street, everybody has a car in america, look the conditions of the cars, all cars were old. America is a hard place. They do not have natural resource. They must work hard to survive, the summer is very hot, the winter is very cold. You need to have a job to pay the rent, another job to allow you food, and another job to pay and maintain a 20 year old car.
If you born in the USA probably that you are not going to get pos secondary education. You are going to speak English in a way that only your folks will understand you.
America is a hard land with a wonderful people. I knew white, a new black, a new natives. The common people were nice with me. I even was sent under water in a Baptist church in the Dixie land and I loved them.
I still miss all those striptease girls that treat me with so much love and care, believe me they were pure gold. The waitress that used to flert to me and make me laugh. I always ask God to bless such people at least they gave to me some love and attention.

With the excuse of security, citizens from underdeveloped countries suffer discrimination all over the globe, in UK non EU passport holders have a huge queue to face and in many occasions are hold for a substantial amount of hours before they know if they will be allow in the country, and I guess this happens across Europe.

I think the case of the US is quite specific, because even British passengers in transit only over US, have to go through a massive amount of questions and spending long time going through American procedures, bearing in mind these people won’t even leave the airport.

I guess the point for me is simple, according to the universal declaration of human rights (UN 194 “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights”, so why then Brazilians or any other citizen from a thrid wolrd country have to suffer discrimination on the basis of the status of his/her contry? Well if US desires to treat turists is such way, why don’t we (Brazilians) have the right to use on them the same treatment they use on us?

The problem of race is a complex one, where in the whole world are black people, asian or any other minority treated with the same status of the white (bloody) supremacy? Can someone tell me where? American is not a example of this, we just need to look into the amount of black prisoners agaisnt the white, ot the income. Please don’t tell me that Americans are less racist that anyone else, it doens work. Yes, we may be racist as any other society, but I would like to know which other country leave so peacefully all to gether? And I don’t need anyone telling me that Brazil in one of the wost countries in terms of social and economic inequality.

I still think that American citizen should be treated in the same way they treat other nationals, that may help them to come down to earth a bit. Is the money that Brazilian tourists inject on the US economy less valuable or what? The Brazilian government needs to make a stand and required visa for every single American person trying to enter the country, in order to give a fair status to its own citizens.

Just one more little thing, yes Brazilians are everywhere, this is right. But did you ever ask yourselves the reasons? Do you think we would have left our own country if the economic situation mainly imposed by neo-liberal policies advocate by the WTO and other forces coming from the “all mighty US” where something different?

And just to finish we may be all over the world and in many cases with no legal documents, but pay attention to the jobs that we Brazilians are doing, I shall tell you: washing up, attendant, waitress, cleaners and any other job that you superior race won’t do it.

hey north american, stop caring of silly things and other country problems and look at your people there who is murdering each other, your kids are killing theirselves and other people on school, why is that? what matter having money and new cars if u are fat an unhappy... go and care about your obese people... i dont know what is worst: die on africa starving or die on north american with heart attack cause they eat lot of fried eggs with bacon... jerke racists ... just american are stupid and believe the war on iraq are against terrorism... what about the barrils of oil? nobody cant stand you there, guys, improve your minds... stop caring about whos black, or yellow or latins.... idiots...

the best north american product: steven spielberg. He knows how to make people look like slim beautiful and happy on the screen... totally different from usa reality... and if u have good music lets cheers the black people there, the only one who have something on their minds ... what remain for u there? arrogancy, hostility, aversion, feeling of superiority and presumption. The real american main product: pinky and the brain. "we will conquer the world..." One more time, open your minds..u can have your own things without damaging other country to get their resources. Time to wake up... that's all dudes

The best North American product is the American people, whites, blacks, reds and yellows. All people who have built this wonderful country. We are not all wonderful, we don't do all wonderful things, we have to put up with a war that most of us don't want or approve, we make hundreds of mistakes, but we also try to do the right thing, we also do great things. Many Americans are racists, but not all Americans. Many of us fight for human and civil rights and this country has reached a lot of progress because of these Americans, the real fighters, the ones whose war is not for killing or economic power, but for the people and their rights. As much as the present administration is trying to destroy a lot of what we have achieved, it will not succeed because the Congress will wake up. I truly hope so. So making deppreciative generalizations is bad. From anyone who does, be it American, Brazilian or from any other country.
I enjoyed reading the article very much and agree 100% with the author.

Great article, great insights from many of these comments. As for some comments here, they are so out of place.

How is this alienating Brazilians so shocking? We are alienating everyone because of the terrorist attacks. Three thousand people died on 9/11 the world deserves some form of alienating or another will occur.

"We are alienating everyone because of the terrorist attacks. Three thousand people died on 9/11 the world deserves some form of alienating or another will occur."

Oh, I seeeeee. Hmm, well, thanks for the explanation.

The man kill and massacre the man already for thousands of years. Less than 500 years ago, the white man (I am white) travelled around the world with 3 weapons, diseases, steels sword and guns. They destroyed and massacre many civilizations.
The USA army destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki in recent years of human story. Do not forget the millions of ton of explosive used against Vietnamis civilian during the Vietnam war.
How many innocent died in Iraq and for what reasons to invade Iraq, only to help religious fanatic to have a ground trainnee camp instead of the Afganistan trainee camps. I really do not undestand, so much mistake done by USA.
Now they have the world opnion against them.

Yes world, we are ignorant. Yes, because we do not understand how truly great our country is and the people in it. To not appreciate that we have the ability to make the USA almost totally self-sufficent. With little need of anything from the outsde world. Unlike North Korea, we have the natural resources and the technology to generate multiple types of energy and oil reserves that can last for years. We have vast farming and ranching. We have oceans on two sides of the US and lakes and rivers in between. Factories that can be reopened or retooled instead of sending you jobs for low wages or because your own country has not provided for you. We have beaches, mountains, hills, flat land, snow, and California cool. Small cites, large cities and in between. We have space travel, health care, money and Nukes. Ignorant Americans!! We go around helping other countries when they almost wash away instead of keeping that money to help some of our own citizens. But remeber this world, one or two more events like 9/11 and not only will you not like us, but we will hate you. You will not have to worry about the person handing out VISAS being rude. The door will have a " THE USA IS NOW CLOSED" sign on it. So ignorant Americans, WAKE UP!! Tell our leaders, we need to sweep the country clean and close the doors. U.S.A.!! ALWAYS REMEMBER 9/11!!

We have Mexican guys to f**k or women and work in the fields for low wages. We have a lot black to do the odds jobs.

Dam right!! I have one of those odd jobs and the $100,00 per year income to go along with that odd job. Oh yea, I have 10 friends who have different ODD JOBS. An they make more money than I do. Signed, Black Guy. By the way, do you speak english. I could not tell from your comment. It looked like spanish mixed wth German mixed with whatever the hell yu speak.

I am black and I too have one of those odd jobs that pays 250,000 per year!

I am poor compared to thousands of other odd job working Black People!

To the American nationalist who's obsessed with 9/11: The rest of the world would really appreciate it if the USA didn't meddle in the affairs of sovereign nations. You're a real nutcase.

Talk to me after your ass has been tanned by the heat of a nuclear explosion...

People are getting bitter. Cold war gone long time ago.

f**k you americans and stop whining about 9/11. Get over yourselves

If US didn't meddle in your affairs you would see the start of WWIII.

Be glad were talking about 911, the next incident will require no dialogue!

The reason the US is weary of issuing tourist visas to Brazilians is not because of racial issues. The fact of the matter is that a "tourist visa" in the hands of a Brazilian is treated like a greencard. They think thay can just STAY. Brazilians are the 2nd largest immigrant group attempting to enter or overstay their visas next to illegal Mexicans. (Read: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/...53841.html) Brazilians don't seem to care what the rules and regulations are concerning tourist visas....all they care about is getting in and then its a free for all. The handful that have abused the use of the visa are the ones that have damned it for the rest of them that may actually want to visit.

And as far as Brazilians taking their "tourist money" and going elsewhere, if Brazil was such a great and wonderful place why wouldn't they spend and support their own economy? And lets not forget how much tourist money Americans infuse into their ecomony every year. They are the ones that organize "Gay" Celebration events in an attemp to lure Gay Americans who like to spend....the same reason they are trying to " pass a law giving Americans free entry in Brazil, with no visa."
Hey Brazil.....how about trying to keep your people and teir "tourist money" in your country....then you wouldn't have to lure us Americans who have such "disdain" for you.

You made one mistake - it's not the "handful" that abuse the visa, it's the majority, that`s why it's a problem. And what is particularly distasteful is how they use this site to go on and on about how much they hate America, yet whine like little sissies when they can't get a visa to visit there.
f**king hypocritical pricks.f**k you and stay home sucking on your feijoada. I laugh at these hypocritical f**kers calling a Canadian a "spam eating" ......
Spam is a hell of a lot better than that f**king bulls**t on a platter you eat every Saturday

Spam's made in the US by Hormel. It sucks.

The idiots above were made in the US. They has spam for brains. They suck.

As for saving the world, I'm remided of the line from "Cool Hand Luke": "Wish you'd stop bein' so good to me, cap'n."

I donk know how cant the stupid Americans see that for 9/11 its was their fault that that happened...The USA politics for the last 30 years made that happen...How many people got murderd by US bombs?How many people died from US bullits?the 9/11 happened cos of USA greed for money and power...And 9/11 is nothing compared to what the Usa is doing....They say the war in iraq is against teror..Or is it?Maye cos Iraq has a liitle think called oil?So i read 30 000 people were kileed untill now in Iraq.So tell me how come after all those people you killed you expect the USA to be safe..?The 9/11 is nothing from what you deserve...I know a lot of people in the USA dont agree with the politics that your president leads and I also dont like inocent people being killed but USA must know all those attacs that happened are their fault...Tell me something USA people?...If somebody came to your home,killed your family,kids,took away everything you had,wouldnt you wanna have revenge?so that is what people did against the USA...i read that the iraqy peole are saying: we waitied the Usa to free us but now we want sadam back....So the truth is simple...What did the Usa do in iraq...?-they created an anarchy,chaos....anyway i'm outta here...those were my 2 cents..
and for the end i wanna send my greeting to all the great people here from latin america and europe...
peace...

The thing is no matter how much you try to paint a good image of what is the United States, the fact remains that it is by far the most bigoted, self-righteous, egotitical nation that the world has ever encounted. Most Americans are bereft of any iota of knowledge concerning the world outside their country. I would even go as far as to say that most americans lack any inkling of their history's odious past. They, the Americans consider their democracy the world's oldest but if you look closer you would come to realise that genuine democracy took off in the United States in the 1960s.Surely, for all you egghead Americans who dispute this, I'd like to ask this question. How can a country consider itself truly democratic when a significant portion of its population, namely the blacks, didn't get 100% unversal suffrage until 1965? America prides itself on being the so-called land of the free, where one's freedom is held sacred. During those hellish decades when blacks in the south were been lynched and their digits kept as souvenirs by crazed, heinous ,devilish white mobs, no institution, not even the senate came to their rescue. America, for all its bravado on human rights issues, has one of the worst human rights records of any nation on the face of the Earth

I agree with the post above...its 100o;rect...anyway the Americans dont even have a history,,,I country without a past has no future...

You are 100% on point! The USA is the most racist, lying, cheating, stealing, white supremist country in the history of humans.

Yes most Americans are completely oblivious to the sorry plight of Africans who were kidnapped from their country and brought here as POW's.

I used these words because these are the words that are used by Whites to discribe similar treatment of a white person!

I dont see the USA lasting more than 10 years!

It's record is worse than any dictatorship in history.

By right the people running this monkey show called American Democracy should be hunted down like Turkeys and slaughtered for thankgiving!

interesting how many people are trying to get there illegally. makes you wonder if it's such a horrible place, why do they have such a problem with illegal immigrants. Maybe because you are the ones devoid of history and knowledge

By the way Brasil is a very recist country. Check and see how many successful blacks in proportion. The darker the skin the lesser the opportunity. Ask someone from Bahia. Talk about self righteous crap

Just to keep record of it, Brazil has had several black state governors.

1 - Alceu Collares (Rio Grande do Sul)
2 - Albuíno Azeredo (Espírito Santo)
3 - Benedita da Silva (Rio de Janeiro - not elected, took office after governor resigned)

and several others, some of them long ago.

Brazil had black ministries of state even during monarchy, when slavery still existed. Hundreds of black mayors have been elected through time. Black congressmen are commonplace, although in a lesser proportion than in the population.

Our racism is of a different kind. We vote for Blacks.

I`M AN ANGOLAN NATURALIZED PORTUGUESE.I WENT SEVERAL TIMES TO BRAZIL AND I DON`T HAD ANY PROBLEMS GETTING IN AND GETTING OUT OF BRAZIL.TO TELL YOU THE THE TRUTH,ONLY THE PORTUGUESE GAVE ME PROBLEMS TO GET IN AND TO GET OUT OF PORTUGAL.I`M NOT AWARE OF THE SITUATION IN USA,BUT I THINK IT`S NOT VERY EASY TO ENTRY IN USA.REGARDS!!!

Not much on my mind right now, but it's not important. I've just been letting everything happen without me. I just don't have anything to say right now.

For the masses of people who blaze dangers to immigrate to other lands.

Dying To Reach The Promised Land

There is no secret to hide,
Communications are instant
And global to villages large and small
No more hiding from these influences
As they transcend fortifications
Built to prevent those from outside .
Desperate to reach the promised land
Amid sufferings injuries and death
They scale fences and deserts .
Lurking in shadows that are not there
To wait for a chance and a time .
Risking lives over and over again
To reach the promised land.
They leave homes with one aim
To return home some day with riches .
We never know of the ones who failed
Maybe it takes luck and who can blame them.
The brave die first to get their share
And the rest become statistics.
The news never reach home of those who left.
To look for the promised land that never existed.

tried to get US visa, was denied...
so i crossed the mexican border...
took me 3 years to pay my debt (10,000 dollars to cross the border)
i am going back home, empty handed.
i don't hate US, i came here to make money, did not work out. it was my mistake, i don't blame anybody but myself. US is a great country, and ppl are good and bad no matter where they are from... Brazil is a Great country too, but is poor, no need to deny it. but i will be going back to Brazil and will try my best. I am sure the americans will try their best to get out of this crisis the have right now. I hope God help all nations, all ppl deserve to have a decent life. Sorry for being here and invading your country. God Bless us all