Brazzil

what else is new? Brazil is always being praised for this legislation or that legislation. But they're never enforced.

It truly makes one wonder why they even waste the time putting it on paper.

Violence against women is not a Brazilian thing. Unfortunately this happens in all countries, and many women who have been attacked will remain silent for fear and/or shame. Doing the right laws is a positive first step. Doing work to help awareness and empowerment is necessary, not only in Brazil but in every country where women are disrespected and abused, and this means a great majority.

well, you're right, it is a problem in all countries, but once again, brazil is a WORLD LEADER in this area!!



quote:

"A 2004 document released by the UN-Habitat reveals that Brazil has one of the highest levels of incidents described as rape, attempted rape, and indecent assault against women in the world. "

So, once again, please don't try and diminish the severity of the problems here in brazil by saying, "well, there are these types of problems everywhere".

Yes, there are, but isn't it funny how brazil seems to be a world leader, or in the top 10 in things like murder, corrupiton, assault against women, crime, unequal distribution of income, and many other unfavorable aspects?

Would you not say that there is some type of societal ideology here in brazil that seems to gravitate towards violence and stealing?? Immoral behavior?

"Yes, there are, but isn't it funny how brazil seems to be a world leader, or in the top 10 in things like murder, corrupiton, assault against women, crime, unequal distribution of income, and many other unfavorable aspects? "

Could you please list reliable sources to corroborate your statements?

There is important difference between saying, for example, “Brazil has one of the highest level of incidents against women” and “Brazil is the world leader of crimes against women“.

Once again the incapacity of posters here to use logic or even interpret English or statistics are nothing short of amazing.

Again and gain, the same myths are continuously propagated here, the same crap, the same exaggerations, the same false premises.

There is no way to stop stupidity, it just keep going on and on.

excuse me, but you're the one not understanding english, and I've posted statistic after statistic on this site in relation to murder statistics in brazil, unequal distribution of income, prostitution, and this very article states that brazil is a world leader in, well, let's quote a United Nation report!

quote:

" A 2004 document released by the UN-Habitat reveals that Brazil has one of the highest levels of incidents described as rape, attempted rape, and indecent assault against women in the world."

An incident of rape is a crime...did you know that? Rape is a crime, just because they characterized these crimes as "incidences", that is normally how people characterize rape, assault, etc.

We don't say, there were 10,000 crimes of rape, you say, there were 10,000 incidents of rape...and rape is a crime.

Is rape a crime? Attempted rape? Indecent assault? Of course they are. Obviously you can't comprehend what this very article states.

The brazilian consititution states, per this very article....

quote:


"While the Brazilian Constitution says that everybody must have the same basic rights, other laws provide prison penalties and fines for any situation of sexist behaviour, including the use of pejorative terms against women."

And once again, you're a champion at putting words in others mouths....english isn't your first language is it? Read the following quotes, first mine, then yours, and any bonehead can tell you that YOU twisted my words.

quote:

"but isn't it funny how brazil seems to be a world leader, or in the top 10 in things like murder, corrupiton, assault against women, crime, unequal distribution of income, and many other unfavorable aspects? "


your response:

quote:

"There is important difference between saying, for example, “Brazil has one of the highest level of incidents against women” and “Brazil is the world leader of crimes against women“. "

You know what's truly amazing, is that after someone like yourself, reads this article, you still think that brazil is not a world leader in rape and assault to women...f**k the U.N. report, you know better than them huh?


You were right about one thing although....

quote:

"There is no way to stop stupidity, it just keep going on and on. "

and you should note, that "A WORLD LEADER" and "THE WORLD LEADER" are two different things. I even said, "in the top ten" in the above quote.

quote:


"Again and gain, the same myths are continuously propagated here, the same crap, the same exaggerations, the same false premises. "


I never knew there were so many ostriches in brazil!!! But there are!!!

Get your f**king head out of the sand!!

They're all myths huh? the murder, child prostitution, rape, corruption, poverty...it's all a big american propaganda machine that has a score to settle against brazil huh?? LMAO!

Steven Spielberg did a helluva job a few weeks ago when he produced that new short film down in Sao Paulo...what was it called?? The Bomfim Inferno??

Brazil has many good things "on paper." If you have any familiarity with Brazilian history you will immediatly recognize that the laws concerning the protection of women are just another Brazilian example of, "Only for the English to see." which Brazil has made an art form over the past 200 years or so.

Strange request !

JUST READ THE NUMEROUS ARTICLES ON THIS SAME SITE !

I am not referring to articles written by a reporter/journalist but by reports and rankings issued by International Agencies and also by Brazilian Agencies.

Therefore you better stop watching watching 24/7 your TV soap operas and read more news on this same site or on the Government site : Radiobras.com...for news and rankings of your own country.

Quite surprising that you voluntarily reject and deny the simple truths !

Time to wake up...the reality is very sad and what Lula want you to swallow is pure lies !

Just look at your crime rates of over 30'000 per year.
Just look at your poverty rate compared to your GDP per capita.....and you are Nbr 1 here too.
Same for corruption. You even call this yourself : Custo Brazil !

Dont you export annually around US$ 40 billions in agriculture when you have tens of millions of under nourrished citizens ?

Dont you have hundreds of innocent killed annually by your police and by large landowners ? Do these people go to jail ? Noooooo......No one !

Is SP not the city with the highest kidnaping rate in the world ?
Is SP not the city with the highest armored cars in the world ?
Is SP not the city with the highest number of helicopters in the world...due partially of your violence against wealthy people ?

You better stop putting one hand in front of your eyes and the other in your ears !!!!!

And what about your so proud industry of Ethanol ? Is not 40 % of your sugar cane harvested...MANUALLY.....by workers not only badly paid but very close to being treated as slaves ???????

quote:


"Just look at your crime rates of over 30'000 per year."

that's waaaay low...the last two years brazil has had over 50,000 murders each year, that's only murder, that's not mentioning all other crimes.

Are you some kind of sick obsessive people? The guy just said that crimes against women happen all over the world and it is not a Brazilian thing. Does that hurt so much to hear? He was capable of giving a good suggestion on how to deal with this issue by increasing awareness and empowerment of women. What did you marvelous guys have to add but your negative comments that Brazil is the meanest place in the world? Again with your linguist oppression and power game? Do you have wives or daughters? Do you think of their happiness? And I am not even asking their nationalities, because these outrages happen everywhere despite race and INCOME. Don‘t come here stereotype by saying that Brazilian men are machos who can’t treat a woman, I say that foreigners are nothing better.

quote:

"Don‘t come here stereotype by saying that Brazilian men are machos who can’t treat a woman, I say that foreigners are nothing better. "

quote from article:

"The constant violation of women's rights highlights the prevalence of a 'macho' culture where Brazilian men are expected to 'prove' their 'masculinity' by treating women as mere sexual objects. A major problem for the application of these rights is associated with the extra-legal, sociological fact that many men in Brazil "believe they have the right to physically dominate their partners, and many women accept a submissive role".

This 'macho' culture may help to explain the proliferation of sexual violence, unstable unions, adultery, and illegitimacy, as factors that might naturally lead to the widespread violation of women's rights."


quote:

"Do you have wives or daughters? "

Yes, I do, and am sick about them being here in brazil, one of the worst places on the planet for them to be in respect to violence and rape!!!!

"many men in Brazil believe they have the right to physically dominate their partners, and many women accept a submissive role"

I don't think so... If they would physically dominate any women they would be history to them, many women simply are not treated as mere sexual objects and don't play a submissive role! You are a gringo to say that. Brazilans are democratic and liberals in their relationships! But it happens more and more to have disfunctional couples. Now it is Brazilian caracteristic! Lol!!!!!Go look at America! Anyways, why don't you say something constructive and stop sounding like a broken record? If you were so concerned you would beeing adding something positive to the matter.

divorces are in high rates in Brazil did you know that? I guess that says something? If the relationship degenerates they will end like it has to be!!!

Quote:


"Brazilans are democratic and liberals in their relationships!"

The problem with people like you is that you think sao paulo capitol and rio de janeiro IS brazil. Do you know that a larger population of brazilians live in the interior of states? And that there is a large population of brazilians in the northeast of brazil??

People like you tend to discount this huge population of brazilians that do not have a high level of education, and where many of these crimes occur!

and United Nations reports obviously mean nothing to people like you....to be honest, to people like you, your own governments reports don't mean anything. You type of people hind your head in the sand and think that everything is just hunky-dory in brazil, that these types of problems exist everywhere, and to the same degree as in brazil.

You're the worst kind of brazilian, the kind that will keep this country from making changes for the better!

HIT THE FEMALES UNTIL THEY DO THE BLOWJOB

"You're the worst kind of brazilian, the kind that will keep this country from making changes for the better!"

What kind of Brazilian are you? If you even are a Brazilian.And for your information beating women is not privilege of the have nots, much less is out of Rio-SP area. Did you see the other day the Veja magazine cover? a married womam was continuously spanked by her global actor husband They are from Rio and they definetely are not poor!

AAA
Há, Há, Há pathetic..

"You're the worst kind of brazilian, the kind that will keep this country from making changes for the better!"

And what are you effectively going to do? I am the one who can complain and you, what you do? I don't think reports don't mean anything, And I do know these problems exist everywhere and to the same degree. This is all bulls**t you know? What American movies can say about it? It was not long ago that women in America could work and divorce without being considered whores. And in Spain, violence against women is so current that articles about it appears routinely in the paper and you can watch movies that approachs the theme.

Hello. i'm looking for information on orphanages in Brasil. I am starting a non profit org to benefit children in need, primarily assisting orphanges in the Americas. I'm looking for contacts in Sao Paulo or Rio de Janeiro. Does anyone reading this site have any info? If so, please let me know. I will check back daily. Thank you.

Why don´t you do it in your country? Every country is in need of this sort of assistance.
The last time I met a guy who "was interested on helping Brazil" , it turned out to be a very suspicious affair.
Just fancy - he was going to set up a church in Rio.( Can you guess how many churches there are in Rio ? ) He was a nice guy, intelligent and socialized easily. He was learning Portuguese in a crash-course. I asked him what were his plans and he answered: "My main project is making friends".
Suddenly,he reminded me of Graham Greene.

Brazil this, Brazil that. How come, don´t you all read the newspapers, magazines or the WWW?
Can´t you read between the lines?
Every time some stupid guy makes a millionth STUPID statement about this country, I can´t refrain from realizing how many morons live on this planet.
Why focus on Brazil? You have enough of all this misery you just see down the Rio Grande.
How stupid it is.
Open up any USA newspaper , today´s issue, and you will be very well served of crime, corruption, stupidity, prostitution, etc., etc.
Don´t say you are innocent . Maybe you are lazy. Maybe , just robots. Who knows you are just a produce of those awful schools you have .
I don´t deserve spending my time on you , transcribing every complicated story about America and American citizens..
.
Anyway, try and stop your finickiness. Go have your daily super McDonalds sandwich. You will put up weight a little more
(HAHA, a little stereotype of America!!1 )

Why dont you ask to Brazilian women as they perceive you ????

I know several brazilian women who have only one desire :
to meet a nice foreigner and to have a love story she did not have in Brazil !

They say you are terribly bad as to how you treat them. I am not talking of violence but of your machism.
You really dont like to care much for them !
That should explain why they have such a dream !

Maybe you have a point here. They fancy nice foreigners , just like those fake guys you see on American films. They represent the ideal guy to be met. The propaganda begins since they are teenagers and goes on with every TV film or movie.
It really works, and their fantasy fly high. (Not for all of them, of course)
On the contrary, I bet the American women imagine the Brazilian men the way they learn to see them. Macho men, moustache on the face, ignorant, black hair, etc., etc.,
HAHA, this world is quite complicated, isn´t?

To Brasilian machos!!!

Many Brasilian women look to Yanks or Euros for a fat wallet that Jose just cannot ever earn!

First of all: When you write Brazil or Brazilian , in English, you write 'Z ' instead of " S ".

What a f**king world we have . We have to put up with all kinds of underdogs there are around.

Just the Brazilian prostitutes look for Americans or Europeans, or whatever nationality there is. That´s part of their work and you can´t blame them for this. They will go doing it to the last prostitute.
José is not a very common name in Brazil. You chose the wrong name. It means that you are just one of those guys who have a stereotype in your head from your films. It means you are robotized.
Now, prostitutes are affordable to anyone otherwise there would be no prostitutes.

Another point: Americans and Europeans come to Brazil for sex because they frustrated.Their moms , their friends, their laws, prohibit such a bad thing like having sex. Then they go to streets (in America ) and rape women ( what is rampant ) in American territory.
When they get here they go with prostitutes because the Brazilian who is straight (99,999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
999999999999999999999999% ) turn their faces to them because they are such morons.

Besides, don´t forget, in America you have a whole 34 million poors (12,7 percent of the whole population ).
( This figure is superior to the whole populations of CANADA

Arabia (27,019 millions ), Australia (20,264 millions ), Nine times the whole population of New Zealand (4,076 millions).
That´s not all , but I stop here because you might hang yourself from shame.( Like the prisioners in Guantanamo - haha )

P.S. Can you visualize 34 million poors? That what you have in America. Can you see them all f**king your prostitutes? No , they can´t because they are poor and can´t afford paying those expensive sluts.BESIDES THEY WOULD PISS ON THEIR PANTS OUT OF FEAR OF THE POLICE, OF THEIR NEIGHBORS, OFTHEIR MOMS, OF THEIR BOSSES AND SO ON. THEY WERE MOLDED TO BE ASHAMED OF WOMEN AND TO BE NON-THINKING ROBOTS.

YOU ARE NOT "IN" , MAN. MEDDLE WITH A PROSTITUTE IN THE STATES AND YOU RISK HAVING YOU PHOTO ON A NEWSPAPER THE NEXT DAY.

HUSH, HUSH, MY DEAR.
HOW STUPID, IT IS USELESS TALKING TO ROBOTS.

quote:

"Just the Brazilian prostitutes look for Americans or Europeans..."

that's simply not true. I know numerous brazilian women who have very good jobs, a college education, and they're looking for a educated gringo to marry. They know all about the 99.9999% of brazilian men and that they're NEVER faithful. Odds are when you meet a brazilian man that's married the women with him very well may not be his wife!! It may be one of his numerous girlfriends.

Why not Brazil? One has to start somewhere! Or do you want us to just sit on our cans and do nothing!

Humans are Humans regardless of where they live.

The US has safety nets for children here, Brazil does not! That is the reason why the poster wants to help! If you're not doing anything, then get your rice and bean eating butt out of the way, so that others with the WILL, and the MEANS can solve a humanitarian problem!

34 Million Poors in America live like middle class Brazilians in your country. Most of them own cars, live in section 8 housing, and have access to everything! In other words they are poor because they want to be poor! Do you have the same choices?

I've already mentioned what "poor" is defined by the U.S. census....and these so-called "poor" people in the U.S live like many lower middle-class and even middle-class brazilians.


Report:


"Poverty is an important and emotional issue. Last year, the Census Bureau released its annual report on poverty in the United States declaring that there were nearly 35 million poor persons living in this country in 2002, a small increase from the preceding year. To understand poverty in America, it is important to look behind these numbers--to look at the actual living conditions of the individuals the government deems to be poor.

For most Americans, the word "poverty" suggests destitution: an inability to provide a family with nutritious food, clothing, and reasonable shelter. But only a small number of the 35 million persons classified as "poor" by the Census Bureau fit that description. While real material hardship certainly does occur, it is limited in scope and severity. Most of America's "poor" live in material conditions that would be judged as comfortable or well-off just a few generations ago. Today, the expenditures per person of the lowest-income one-fifth (or quintile) of households equal those of the median American household in the early 1970s, after adjusting for inflation.1

The following are facts about persons defined as "poor" by the Census Bureau, taken from various government reports:

Forty-six percent of all poor households actually own their own homes. The average home owned by persons classified as poor by the Census Bureau is a three-bedroom house with one-and-a-half baths, a garage, and a porch or patio.
Seventy-six percent of poor households have air conditioning. By contrast, 30 years ago, only 36 percent of the entire U.S. population enjoyed air conditioning.
Only 6 percent of poor households are overcrowded. More than two-thirds have more than two rooms per person.
The average poor American has more living space than the average individual living in Paris, London, Vienna, Athens, and other cities throughout Europe. (These comparisons are to the average citizens in foreign countries, not to those classified as poor.)
Nearly three-quarters of poor households own a car; 30 percent own two or more cars.
Ninety-seven percent of poor households have a color television; over half own two or more color televisions.
Seventy-eight percent have a VCR or DVD player; 62 percent have cable or satellite TV reception.
Seventy-three percent own microwave ovens, more than half have a stereo, and a third have an automatic dishwasher.
As a group, America's poor are far from being chronically undernourished. The average consumption of protein, vitamins, and minerals is virtually the same for poor and middle-class children and, in most cases, is well above recommended norms. Poor children actually consume more meat than do higher-income children and have average protein intakes 100 percent above recommended levels. Most poor children today are, in fact, supernourished and grow up to be, on average, one inch taller and 10 pounds heavier that the GIs who stormed the beaches of Normandy in World War II.

While the poor are generally well-nourished, some poor families do experience hunger, meaning a temporary discomfort due to food shortages. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), 13 percent of poor families and 2.6 percent of poor children experience hunger at some point during the year. In most cases, their hunger is short-term. Eighty-nine percent of the poor report their families have "enough" food to eat, while only 2 percent say they "often" do not have enough to eat.

Overall, the typical American defined as poor by the government has a car, air conditioning, a refrigerator, a stove, a clothes washer and dryer, and a microwave. He has two color televisions, cable or satellite TV reception, a VCR or DVD player, and a stereo. He is able to obtain medical care. His home is in good repair and is not overcrowded. By his own report, his family is not hungry and he had sufficient funds in the past year to meet his family's essential needs. While this individual's life is not opulent, it is equally far from the popular images of dire poverty conveyed by the press, liberal activists, and politicians.

Of course, the living conditions of the average poor American should not be taken as representing all the poor. There is actually a wide range in living conditions among the poor. For example, over a quarter of poor households have cell phones and telephone answering machines, but, at the other extreme, approximately one-tenth have no phone at all. While the majority of poor households do not experience significant material problems, roughly a third do experience at least one problem such as overcrowding, temporary hunger, or difficulty getting medical care.

The best news is that remaining poverty can readily be reduced further, particularly among children. There are two main reasons that American children are poor: Their parents don't work much, and fathers are absent from the home.

In good economic times or bad, the typical poor family with children is supported by only 800 hours of work during a year: That amounts to 16 hours of work per week. If work in each family were raised to 2,000 hours per year--the equivalent of one adult working 40 hours per week throughout the year--nearly 75 percent of poor children would be lifted out of official poverty.

Father absence is another major cause of child poverty. Nearly two-thirds of poor children reside in single-parent homes; each year, an additional 1.3 million children are born out of wedlock. If poor mothers married the fathers of their children, almost three-quarters would immediately be lifted out of poverty.

While work and marriage are steady ladders out of poverty, the welfare system perversely remains hostile to both. Major programs such as food stamps, public housing, and Medicaid continue to reward idleness and penalize marriage. If welfare could be turned around to encourage work and marriage, remaining poverty would drop quickly.

What Is Poverty?
For most Americans, the word "poverty" suggests destitution: an inability to provide a family with nutritious food, clothing, and reasonable shelter. For example, the "Poverty Pulse" poll taken by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development in 2002 asked the general public the question: "How would you describe being poor in the U.S.?" The overwhelming majority of responses focused on homelessness, hunger or not being able to eat properly, and not being able to meet basic needs.2

But if poverty means lacking nutritious food, adequate warm housing, and clothing for a family, relatively few of the 35 million people identified as being "in poverty" by the Census Bureau could be characterized as poor.3 While material hardship does exist in the United States, it is quite restricted in scope and severity. The average "poor" person, as defined by the government, has a living standard far higher than the public imagines.

Ownership of Property and Amenities Among the Poor
Table 1 shows the ownership of property and consumer durables among poor households. The data are taken from the American Housing Survey for 2001, conducted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Census Bureau, and the Residential Energy Consumption Survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy.4



As the table shows, some 46 percent of poor households own their own home. The typical home owned by the poor is a three-bedroom house with one-and-a-half baths. It has a garage or carport and a porch or patio and is located on a half-acre lot. The house was constructed in 1967 and is in good repair. The median value of homes owned by poor households was $86,600 in 2001 or 70 percent of the median value of all homes owned in the United States.5

Some 73 percent of poor households own a car or truck; nearly a third own two or more cars or trucks. Over three-quarters have air conditioning; by contrast, 30 years ago, only 36 percent of the general U.S. population had air conditioning. Nearly three-quarters of poor households own microwaves; a third have automatic dishwashers.

Poor households are well-equipped with modern entertainment technology. It should come as no surprise that nearly all (97 percent) poor households have color TVs, but more than half actually own two or more color televisions. One-quarter own large-screen televisions, 78 percent have a VCR or DVD player, and almost two-thirds have cable or satellite TV reception. Some 58 percent own a stereo. More than a third have telephone answering machines, while a quarter have personal computers. While these numbers do not suggest lives of luxury, they are notably different from conventional images of poverty.

Housing Conditions
A similar disparity between popular conceptions and reality applies to the housing conditions of the poor. Most poor Americans live in houses or apartments that are relatively spacious and in good repair. As Chart 1 shows, 54 percent of poor households live in single-family homes, either unattached single dwellings or attached units such as townhouses. Another 36.4 percent live in apartments, and 9.6 percent live in mobile homes.6



Housing Space
Both the overall U.S. population and the poor in America live, in general, in very spacious housing. As Table 2 shows, 70 percent of all U.S. households have two or more rooms per tenant. Among the poor, this figure is 68 percent.



Crowding is quite rare; only 2.5 percent of all households and 5.7 percent of poor households are crowded with more than one person per room.7 By contrast, social reformer Jacob Riis, writing on tenement living conditions around 1890 in New York City, described crowded families living with four or five persons per room and some 20 square feet of living space per person.8

Housing space can also be measured by the number of square feet per person. The Residential Energy Consumption survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy shows that Americans have an average of 721 square feet of living space per person. Poor Americans have 439 square feet.9 Reasonably comparable international square-footage data are provided by the Housing Indicator Program of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements, which surveyed housing conditions in major cities in 54 different nations. This survey showed the United States to have by far the most spacious housing units, with 50 percent to 100 percent more square footage per capita than city dwellers in other industrialized nations.10

America's poor compare favorably with the general population of other nations in square footage of living space. The average poor American has more square footage of living space than does the average person living in London, Paris, Vienna, and Munich. Poor Americans have nearly three times the living space of average urban citizens in middle-income countries such as Mexico and Turkey. Poor American households have seven times more housing space per person than the general urban population of very-low-income countries such as India and China. (See Appendix Table A for more detailed information.)

Some critics have argued that the comparisons in Table 3 are misleading.11 These critics claim that U.S. housing in general cannot be compared to housing in specific European cities such as Paris or London because housing in these cities is unusually small and does not represent the European housing stock overall. To assess the validity of this argument, Table 4 presents national housing data for 15 West European countries. These data represent the entire national housing stock in each of the 15 countries. In general, the national data on housing size are similar to the data on specific European cities presented in Table 3 and Appendix Table A.





As Table 4 shows, U.S. housing (with an average size of 1,875 square feet per unit) is nearly twice as large as European housing (with an average size of 976 square feet per unit.) After adjusting for the number of persons in each dwelling unit, Americans have an average of 721 square feet per person, compared to 396 square feet for the average European.

The housing of poor Americans (with an average of 1,228 square feet per unit) is smaller than that of the average American but larger than that of the average European (who has 976 square feet per unit). Overall, poor Americans have an average of 439 square feet of living space per person, which is as much as or more than the average citizen in most West European countries. (This comparison is to the average European, not poor Europeans.)

Housing Quality
Of course, it might be possible that the housing of poor American households could be spacious but still dilapidated or unsafe. However, data from the American Housing Survey indicate that such is not the case. For example, the survey provides a tally of households with "severe physical problems." Only a tiny portion of poor households and an even smaller portion of total households fall into that category.

The most common "severe problem," according to the American Housing Survey, is a shared bathroom, which occurs when occupants lack a bathroom and must share bathroom facilities with individuals in a neighboring unit. This condition affects about 1 percent of all U.S. households and 2 percent of all poor households. About one-half of 1 percent (0.5 percent) of all households and 2 percent of poor households have other "severe physical problems." The most common are repeated heating breakdowns and upkeep problems.

The American Housing Survey also provides a count of households affected by "moderate physical problems." A wider range of households falls into this category--9 percent of the poor and nearly 5 percent of total households. However, the problems affecting these units are clearly modest. While living in such units might be disagreeable by modern middle-class standards, they are a far cry from Dickensian squalor. The most common problems are upkeep, lack of a full kitchen, and use of unvented oil, kerosene or gas heaters as the primary heat source. (The last condition occurs almost exclusively in the South.)

Hunger and Malnutrition in America
There are frequent charges of widespread hunger and malnutrition in the United States.12 To understand these assertions, it is important, first of all, to distinguish between hunger and the more severe problem of malnutrition. Malnutrition (also called undernutrition) is a condition of reduced health due to a chronic shortage of calories and nutriments. There is little or no evidence of poverty-induced malnutrition in the United States.

Hunger is a far less severe condition: a temporary but real discomfort caused by an empty stomach. The government defines hunger as "the uneasy or painful sensation caused by lack of food."13 While hunger due to a lack of financial re-sources does occur in the United States, it is limited in scope and duration. According to the USDA, on a typical day, fewer than one American in 200 will experience hunger due to a lack of money to buy food.14 The hunger rate rises somewhat when examined over a longer time period; according to the USDA, some 6.9 million Americans, or 2.4 percent of the population, were hungry at least once during 2002.15 Nearly all hunger in the United States is short-term and episodic rather than continuous.16

Some 92 percent of those who experienced hunger in 2002 were adults, and only 8 percent were children. Overall, some 567,000 children, or 0.8 percent of all children, were hungry at some point in 2002. In a typical month, roughly one child in 400 skipped one or more meals because the family lacked funds to buy food.

Not only is hunger relatively rare among U.S. children, but it has declined sharply since the mid-1990s. As Chart 2 shows, the number of hungry children was cut by a third between 1995 and 2002. According to the USDA, in 1995, there were 887,000 hungry children: by 2002, the number had fallen to 567,000.17



Overall, some 97 percent of the U.S. population lived in families that reported they had "enough food to eat" during the entire year, although not always the kinds of foods they would have preferred. Around 2.5 percent stated their families "sometimes" did not have "enough to eat" due to money shortages, and one-half of 1 percent (0.5 percent) said they "often" did not have enough to eat due to a lack of funds. (See Chart 3.)



Hunger and Poverty
Among the poor, the hunger rate was obviously higher: During 2002, 12.8 percent of the poor lived in households in which at least one member experienced hunger at some point.18 Among poor children, 2.4 percent experienced hunger at some point in the year.19 Overall, most poor households were not hungry and did not experience food shortages during the year.

When asked, some 89 percent of poor households reported they had "enough food to eat" during the entire year, although not always the kinds of food they would prefer. Around 9 percent stated they "sometimes" did not have enough to eat because of a lack of money to buy food. Another 2 percent of the poor stated that they "often" did not have enough to eat due to a lack of funds.20 (See Chart 3.)



Poverty and Malnutrition
It is widely believed that a lack of financial resources forces poor people to eat low-quality diets that are deficient in nutriments and high in fat. However, survey data show that nutriment density (amount of vitamins, minerals, and protein per kilocalorie of food) does not vary by income class.21 Nor do the poor consume higher-fat diets than do the middle class; the percentage of persons with high fat intake (as a share of total calories) is virtually the same for low-income and upper-middle-income persons.22 Overconsumption of calories in general, however, is a major problem among the poor, as it is within the general U.S. population.

Examination of the average nutriment consumption of Americans reveals that age and gender play a far greater role than income class in determining nutritional intake. For example, the nutriment intakes of adult women in the upper middle class (with incomes above 350 percent of the poverty level) more closely resemble the intakes of poor women than they do those of upper-middle-class men, children, or teens.23 The average nutriment consumption of upper-middle-income preschoolers, as a group, is virtually identical with that of poor preschoolers but not with the consumption of adults or older children in the upper middle class.

This same pattern holds for adult males, teens, and most other age and gender groups. In general, children aged 0-11 years have the highest average level of nutriment intakes relative to the recommended daily allowance (RDA), followed by adult and teen males. Adult and teen females have the lowest level of intakes. This pattern holds for all income classes.

Nutrition and Poor Children
Government surveys provide little evidence of widespread undernutrition among poor children; in fact, they show that the average nutriment consumption among the poor closely resembles that of the upper middle class. For example, children in families with incomes below the poverty level actually consume more meat than do children in families with incomes at 350 percent of the poverty level or higher (roughly $65,000 for a family of four in today's dollars).

Table 5 shows the average intake of protein, vitamins, and minerals as a percentage of the recommended daily allowance among poor and middle-class children at various age levels.24 The intake of nutriments is very similar for poor and middle-class children and is generally well above the recommended daily level. For example, the consumption of protein (a relatively expensive nutriment) among poor children is, on average, between 150 percent and 267 percent of the RDA.



When shortfalls of specific vitamins and minerals appear (for example, among teenage girls), they tend to be very similar for the poor and the middle class. While poor teenage girls, on average, tend to underconsume vitamin E, vitamin B-6, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, and zinc, a virtually identical underconsumption of these same nutriments appears among upper- middle-class girls.

Poor Children's Weight and Stature
On average, poor children are very well-nourished, and there is no evidence of widespread significant undernutrition. For example, two indicators of undernutrition among the young are "thinness" (low weight for height) and stuntedness (low height for age). These problems are rare to nonexistent among poor American children.

The generally good health of poor American children can be illustrated by international comparisons. Table 6 provides data on children's size based on the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Data Base on Child Growth: Children are judged to be short or "stunted" if their height falls below the 2.3 percentile level of standard height-to-age tables.25 Table 6 shows the percentage of children under age five in developing nations who are judged to be "stunted" by this standard.



In developing nations as a whole, some 43 percent of children are stunted. In Africa, more than a third of young children are affected; in Asia, near-ly half.26 By contrast, in the United States, some 2.6 percent of young children in poor households are stunted by a comparable standard--a rate only slightly above the expected standard for healthy, well-nourished children.27 While concern for the well-being of poor American children is always prudent, the data overall underscore how large and well-nourished poor American children are by global standards.

Throughout this century, improvements in nutrition and health have led to increases in the rate of growth and ultimate height and weight of American children. Poor children have clearly benefited from this trend. Poor boys today at ages 18 and 19 are actually taller and heavier than boys of similar age in the general U.S. population in the late 1950s. Poor boys living today are one inch taller and some 10 pounds heavier than GIs of similar age during World War II, and nearly two inches taller and 20 pounds heavier than American doughboys back in World War I.28

Poverty and Obesity
The principal nutrition-related health problem among the poor, as with the general U.S. population, stems from the overconsumption, not underconsumption, of food. While overweight and obesity are prevalent problems throughout the U.S. population, they are found most frequently among poor adults. Poor adult men are slightly less likely than non-poor men to be overweight (30.4 percent compared to 31.9 percent); but, as Chart 4 shows, poor adult women are significantly more likely to be overweight than are non-poor women (47.3 percent compared to 32 percent).29

Living Conditions and Hardships Among the Poor
Overall, the living standards of most poor Americans are far higher than is generally appreciated. The overwhelming majority of poor families are well-housed, have adequate food, and enjoy a wide range of modern amenities, including air conditioning and cable television. Some 70 percent of poor households report that during the course of the past year they were able to meet "all essential expenses," including mortgage, rent, utility bills, and important medical care.30 (See Chart 5.)



However, two caveats should be applied to this generally optimistic picture. First, many poor families have difficulty paying their regular bills and must scramble to make ends meet. For example, around one-quarter of poor families are late in paying the rent or utility bills at some point during the year.

Second, the living conditions of the average poor household should not be taken to represent all poor households. There is a wide range of living conditions among the poor; while more than a quarter of the poor have cell phones and answering machines, a tenth of the poor have no telephone at all. While most of America's poor live in accommodations with two or more rooms per person, roughly a tenth of the poor are crowded, with less than one room per person.

These points are illustrated in Table 7, which lists the financial and material hardships among poor households in 1998.31 During at least one month in the preceding year, some 20 percent of poor households reported they were unable to pay their fuel, gas, or electric bills promptly; around 4 percent had their utilities cut off at some point due to nonpayment. Another 13 percent of poor households failed, at some point in the year, to make their full monthly rent or mortgage payments, and 1 percent were evicted due to failure to pay rent. One in 10 poor families had their phones disconnected due to nonpayment at some time during the preceding year.



Overall, more than one-quarter of poor families experienced at least one financial difficulty during the year. Most had a late payment of rent or utility bills. Some 12 percent had phones or utilities cut off or were evicted.

Poor households also experienced the material problems listed on Table 7.32 Some 14 percent lacked medical insurance and had a family member who needed to go to a doctor or hospital but did not go; 11 percent experienced hunger in the household; and around 9 percent were overcrowded, with more than one person per room. Slightly less than 4 percent of poor households experienced upkeep problems with the physical conditions of their apartments or homes, having three or more of the physical problems listed in Table 7.



Overall Hardship
Altogether, around 58 percent of poor households experienced none of the financial or physical hardships listed in Table 7 These families were able to pay all their bills on time. They were able to obtain medical care if needed, were not hungry or crowded, and had few upkeep problems in the home. Another 20 percent of poor households experienced one financial or material problem during the year. Around 10 percent of poor households had two financial or material problems, while 12 percent had three or more.

The most common problem facing poor households was late payment of rent or utilities. While having difficulty paying monthly bills is stressful, in most cases late payment did not result in material hardship or deprivation. If late payment problems are excluded from the count, we find that two-thirds of poor households had none of the remaining problems listed in Table 7. Some 22 percent had one problem, and 12 percent had two or more problems.

While it is appropriate to be concerned about the difficulties faced by some poor families, it is important to keep these problems in perspective. Many poor families have intermittent difficulty paying rent or utility bills but remain very well-housed by historic or international standards. Even poor families who are overcrowded and hungry, by U.S. standards, are still likely to have living conditions that are far above the world average.

Reducing Child Poverty
The generally high living standards of poor Americans are good news. Even better is the fact that our nation can readily reduce remaining poverty, especially among children. To accomplish this, we must focus on the main causes of child poverty: low levels of parental work and high levels of single parenthood.

In good economic times or bad, the typical poor family with children is supported by only 800 hours of work during a year: That amounts to 16 hours of work per week. If work in each family were raised to 2,000 hours per year--the equivalent of one adult working 40 hours per week through the year--nearly 75 percent of poor children would be lifted out of official poverty.33

The decline in marriage is the second major cause of child poverty. Nearly two-thirds of poor children reside in single-parent homes; each year, an additional 1.3 million children are born out of wedlock. Increasing marriage would substantially reduce child poverty: If poor mothers married the fathers of their children, almost three-quarters would immediately be lifted out of poverty.34

In recent years, the United States has established a reasonable record in reducing child poverty. Successful anti-poverty policies were partially implemented in the welfare reform legislation of 1996, which replaced the old Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program with a new program called Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF).

A key element of this reform was a requirement that some welfare mothers either prepare for work or get jobs as a condition of receiving aid. As this requirement went into effect, welfare rolls plummeted and employment of single mothers increased in an unprecedented manner. As employment of single mothers rose, child poverty dropped rapidly. For example, in the quarter-century before welfare reform, there was no net change in the poverty rate of children in single-mother families; after reform was enacted, the poverty rate dropped in an unprecedented fashion, falling from 53.1 percent in 1995 to 39.8 percent in 2001.35

In general, however, welfare reform has been limited in both scope and intensity. Even in the TANF program, over half the adult beneficiaries are idle on the rolls and are not engaged in activities leading to self-sufficiency. Work requirements are virtually nonexistent in related programs such as food stamps and public housing. Even worse, despite the fact that marriage has enormous financial and psychological benefits for parents and children, welfare reform has done little or nothing to strengthen marriage in low-income communities. Overall, the welfare system continues to encourage idle dependence rather than work and to reward single parenthood while penalizing marriage.

If child poverty is to be substantially reduced, welfare must be transformed. Able-bodied parents must be required to work or prepare for work, and the welfare system should encourage rather than penalize marriage.

Conclusion
The living conditions of persons defined as poor by the government bear little resemblance to notions of "poverty" held by the general public. If poverty is defined as lacking adequate nutritious food for one's family, a reasonably warm and dry apartment to live in, or a car with which to get to work when one is needed, then there are relatively few poor persons remaining in the United States. Real material hardship does occur, but it is limited in scope and severity.

The typical American defined as "poor" by the government has a car, air conditioning, a refrigerator, a stove, a clothes washer and dryer, and a microwave. He has two color televisions, cable or satellite TV reception, a VCR or DVD player, and a stereo. He is able to obtain medical care. His home is in good repair and is not overcrowded. By his own report, his family is not hungry and he had sufficient funds in the past year to meet his family's essential needs. While this individual's life is not opulent, it is equally far from the popular images of dire poverty conveyed by the press, liberal activists, and politicians.

But the living conditions of the average poor person should not be taken to mean that all poor Americans live without hardship. There is a wide range of living conditions among the poor. Roughly a third of poor households do face material hardships such as overcrowding, intermittent food shortages, or difficulty obtaining medical care. However, EVEN THESE HOUSEHOLDS WOULD BE JUDGED TO HAVE HIGH LIVING STANDARDS IN COMPARISON OT MOST OTHER PEOPLE IN THE WORLD!

Perhaps the best news is that the United States can readily reduce its remaining poverty, especially among children. The main causes of child poverty in the United States are low levels of parental work and high numbers of single-parent families. By increasing work and marriage, our nation can virtually eliminate remaining child poverty."

Robert E. Rector is Senior Research Fellow in Domestic Policy Studies and Kirk A. Johnson, Ph.D., is Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Fellow in Statistical Welfare Research in the Center for Data Analysis at The Heritage Foundation.



What some idiots need to understand, that obviously they don't, is that brazil and the U.S. are two DIFFERENT REALITIES!!

The poor in brazil and the "poor" in america couldn't be more different!

You are correct in your sense many nations have social ills to a high level. Brazil may have many of them at a far higher rate than most nations for various reasons, which perhaps trained experts would have to try and figure out why that is.

After reading the book "Maximum City" about the city of Mumbai, India, I do say Sao Paulo and Rio's police force is *far* better than India's most populated city's police force. Brazilian treatment of women is *far* better too. For instance the police in India's largest city will often rape women with impunity, according to the author of the book. One time the police trying to lure a man back to the city who stole money from a woman, went and arrested his sister who had nothing to do with it, placed her in jail and even offered the author of the book on one of his visits to the police station, to go in the cell and have his way with the woman. Supposedly jailed women in India have not only been "train" raped, but been made to do many humiliating things. Supposedly one girl was forced to fondle her father's penis and eat his sh**.

South Africa is another place with a very high rate of rape and sexual abuse.


As for me personally I grew up in a neighborhood, in a U.S. city, that has always had chronic or acute rape and sexual assault problems. And I emphasize always. However I don't doubt the problem is worse in many Brazilian cities, largely due to the fact of machoism in Brazil compared to the United States.

Here are some excerpts from an article in today's Milwaukee Journal. The full story can be read at: http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=434344

Speaking of someone speeding down the highway:

"You can't see the smashed windows, littered streets or gun-toting teens. You can't hear the blasting music at 2 a.m., screeching tires, or prostitutes soliciting passers-by.

It's tough to imagine stepping over dozens of spent condoms to get from your parking lot to your front door. Nor is it easy to picture a woman playing with children on her front sidewalk on a sunny Monday afternoon getting shot in the neck with a paintball in a drive-by shooting, or a man trying to stop a thief from breaking into his car at 6 a.m. getting clubbed in the head, needing 60 stitches.

These aren't Milwaukee's worst crimes. Not by anybody's definition. They don't make the TV news or a mention in the newspaper. And they aren't common in every corner of the city. Many neighborhoods are thriving and safe. But this type of crime - noise, vandalism, burglaries, batteries, drug dealings, arson and others - is causing growing frustration among some city residents, some so fed up they're moving their homes and businesses.

One group of police, city workers and others who see and hear about such problems every day is launching a campaign of sorts, expressing what members say is a need for city leaders to harden their approach to these "softer" crimes.

Calling it "What Would Breier Do?" - referencing the late, longtime and controversial police chief Harold Breier - the group has printed T-shirts with the slogan and Breier's photo, and plans to sell them in bars and at festivals in hopes of sparking not only conversation, but action.

"We've got to have a plan to restore order," said Milwaukee Police Officer Mark Dudenhoefer, a 23-year veteran of the department involved with the campaign. "You should be able to sit on your porch at 99th and Howard or 9th and Hayes and not have to put up with the noise and commotion. . . . This city's philosophy is wait till a neighborhood goes to hell before we do anything. How can we afford to do that?"

Dudenhoefer worked for Breier for about a year before Breier retired in 1984 after 20 years as chief. He remembers his gruff, tell-it-as-he-sees-it approach to policing.

"I don't think he'd be as worried about offending people as people seem to be today," Dudenhoefer said. "Everybody is so politically correct. It doesn't matter what the truth is anymore."

While Breier supporters championed his uncompromising style, his ways alienated African-Americans and other minorities in the community and within the department. Breier was in command of the Police Department when race riots broke out in 1967 - leaving four dead and 1,700 arrested - and in 1981 during the protests after the death of Ernest Lacy, a young black man who died in police custody.

In 1974, black officers formed the League of Martin, an organization aimed at protecting the rights of black officers in the department who said Breier didn't promote them to special units or upper ranks and tolerated racial harassment...

Harris said there is a way for police to be Breier-like - tough and aggressive - without violating individuals' constitutional rights.

That's just the type of policing Tom Cahala and Guadalupe Lopez would like to see.

Lopez lives on the south side near 24th and W. Mitchell streets with her mother and three children. The family has lived there 11 years and has seen a huge upswing in quality-of-life crimes, she said.

"My uncle's car got stolen three times. His windows have been smashed twice, all in the last year," she said.

Her mother was robbed at gunpoint last month in the grocery store next to their apartment. Prostitutes stand near her front door and work in the parking lot where she parks her car, littering the ground with used condoms. She calls the police and "they never respond," she says. "If they do, they don't do nothing about it."

"This is ridiculous," Lopez said. "Something needs to be done."

Cahala awoke early one morning last year and looked out the window of his home near S. 26th St. and W. Lincoln Ave. to see a man breaking into his car. He chased the man down the street. The man picked up a board and smashed Cahala in the head. Cahala spent several hours in an emergency room and got 60 stitches. Police seemed disinterested and never arrested anybody, he said. Most of his neighbors have been victims as well, he said...

Cahala would like to move to Waukesha or Germantown if he could get enough money out of the house he's invested in for more than 20 years.

"I would not buy a house here now under any circumstances . . . I don't see how you could ask anyone else to," he said.

Then there's the woman on W. Orchard St. whose garage was burned down last Sunday. She suspects the arson was retribution for her calls to police about her neighbors' constant loud music.

"These parties go on for six or seven hours, sometimes till 1 a.m.," said the woman, who feared further retaliation if her name were published. "This isn't a park or Summerfest. This is a residential neighborhood. I try to ignore the stuff, but you can only take so much," she said before bursting into tears and hanging up the phone.

Police Chief Hegerty said she understands citizens' frustrations and that some of the problems stem from a shortage of officers. She said the department is short 200 officers and has received 5,000 more calls for service so far this year than during the same period last year.

"As a law enforcement professional, when I look at the big picture, I have to be able to respond to life-threatening situations first," Hegerty said. "I can't have officers doing nothing but quality-of-life calls when I have shootings, homicides and sexual assaults. . . . We're overburdened."

Hegerty said it's unfair to compare her administration to that of Breier.

"Breier didn't face any of the problems the department faces now. He was chief during a different age," she said.

For one, Milwaukee's industrial base was far broader, providing solid living wages for less-educated people, she said.

"So don't ask me what Breier would do. You can't compare what's been going on in this city in 2006 to what went on in 1984."

Hegerty defended her approach, saying she demands that her officers be tough.

"I made it very clear to my officers from the beginning that I expect aggressive policing," she said. "But that does not mean violating constitutional rights."

Mayor Barrett said much of the issue boils down to money. He said the Police Department already represents roughly $207 million of the city's $213 million tax-levy portion of the more than $1 billion budget.

"If people want more police officers, then we're going to have to pay for them," he said. "The irony is many of the people who push the loudest for more police officers are the same ones who refuse to pay for them"...

Kenneth Dragotta says police did not, however, work closely with him in February when a military-grade weapon and briefcase were stolen from a truck at his engineering plant near N. 31st St. and W. Capitol Drive.

Dragotta, president and CEO of Custom Engineered Solutions, said the officer investigating the case went on vacation and never followed up.

"Very little if anything was done," he said. "Am I frustrated with it? That's an understatement. Quite frankly I think it's a dereliction of duty."

Dragotta attributes today's crime problems to a tightly knit web of reasons, from lack of adequate leadership from Barrett, Hegerty and others to the city's staggering poverty and police officers who are disenchanted.

He said he plans to move his business outside of Milwaukee.

"Why would I stay in the city of Milwaukee as a business owner?" he said. "We can't get the people to come in and work for us. We don't have a secured facility. When crimes are committed, we can't get the police to respond. . . . We pay a lot for services that we don't get."

Quote:

"The average poor American has more living space than the average individual living in Paris, London, Vienna, Athens, and other cities throughout Europe. (These comparisons are to the average citizens in foreign countries, not to those classified as poor.)
Nearly three-quarters of poor households own a car; 30 percent own two or more cars.
Ninety-seven percent of poor households have a color television; over half own two or more color televisions.
Seventy-eight percent have a VCR or DVD player; 62 percent have cable or satellite TV reception.
Seventy-three percent own microwave ovens, more than half have a stereo, and a third have an automatic dishwasher."


Reply:

While this article may have some valid points in some parts of it, I can tell this was constructed by a person with a clear agenda. London, Paris, Vienna, and Athens are all much older cities than any city in the United States. Hell all of them go back to the Middle Ages and Athens I'm pretty sure goes back to ancient times. My point is a city like London and Paris were largely built during a time when city planing and related architecure squeezed everything together. I mean if you go the East Coast of the United States to cities like New York or Philly, you will see a city *squeezed* together far more than say your westward and West Coast cities. Chicago has been described to me by one New York as a big city with a small town feel. Meaning Chicago is not squeezed together like New York. But that doesn't mean someone living in a poor burnt out, south side Chicago neighborhood is living better than someone living squeezed Manhattan wealthy flat.

I can also tell you that most poor people in the US own beat up cars or vans if they own them. Some of course own nice ones, be that through years of savings or whatever other reason.

Many poor in the US do however have DVD's and microwaves, but this is fortunately due to some products being so inexpensive in the US. I think you can get a basic DVD player at Walmart in the US for like $20 or $40.

Now I've been in *many* poor peoples homes. Some have dishwashers some don't. It was in the 80's or early 90's that some of the US poor began getting dishwashers. However luxury items like this do not in themselves project an accurate reality of *quality of life.* I know for a fact that most the poor in my city had a better quality of life in the early 1980's than they do today. And they had far less or far less access to many luxury items like diswahers or DVD's. In the early 1980's poor people watched their kids, the boys would help their mothers hang laundry, rats did not run between homes, and gun violence was rare. Now homes are far more delapitated (sp?), rats are seen running between homes, 4 year old kids are not infrequently wandering alone down the street, kids run in and out of houses throwing trash every where, and gun violence is not uncommon.


But speaking of London, Paris, Vienna, and Athens. Most your poor in Sao Paulo or Rio or hell in "third world" countries live better than the poor of those European cities two centuries ago. The middle class in Sao Paulo and all over Brazil no doubt live more materially comfotable than many kings, Queens, and upper nobility in the Middle Ages in Europe. So one has to place context in how they snub Brazilian or third world poverty or material level of life style as *unhuman.*

I will say it is interesting the Indian author of "Maximum City" who is himself from India (but was always upper class - though not of te very rich), learned about *homelessness* and *homeless people* not in India but in New York. It was his experience working with the homeless in New York (some of which you might know live in sewers) that helped him have empathy for the homeless in India, and understand them psychologically. As he said homelessness is a *condition* and it eventually consumes ones mind. A person whole identity becomes that. He is *homeless* before he is a father, husband, brother, son, or even a human being.

People understand themselves in social contexts too. In how others percieve them and in what level of society they fit into.

quote:

""These parties go on for six or seven hours, sometimes till 1 a.m.," said the woman, who feared further retaliation if her name were published. "This isn't a park or Summerfest. This is a residential neighborhood. I try to ignore the stuff, but you can only take so much," she said before bursting into tears and hanging up the phone."

s**t..only 1 am??? If the ear-drum busting, window-vibrating music is turned off at 1 am you are lucky!!!

There was a party last weekend in the building across from mine, and I live in the most affluent area in my city, you have to have money to live where I live, the music played until 4:45 am!!!!



quote:

"I can also tell you that most poor people in the US own beat up cars or vans if they own them. Some of course own nice ones, be that through years of savings or whatever other reason."

And show me some statistics for this. Or is this just your observation.

Listen, IF you have a job in the U.S., and most do, we have an unemployment rate now of 4.5%, and if you have decent credit, buying a car is simply, easy, and affordable. You don't even need a down payment....have you ever tried purchasing a car in brazil??? Basically, you better be prepared to put at least 50% of the price down in cash, and you'll still pay anywhere from 2-10% per MONTH in interest!

quote:

"But speaking of London, Paris, Vienna, and Athens. Most your poor in Sao Paulo or Rio or hell in "third world" countries live better than the poor of those European cities two centuries ago. The middle class in Sao Paulo and all over Brazil no doubt live more materially comfotable than many kings, Queens, and upper nobility in the Middle Ages in Europe. So one has to place context in how they snub Brazilian or third world poverty or material level of life style as *unhuman.* "


LOL...you're going to compare sao paulo of today to europe of 200 years ago....lmao, yeah, that's about right, that's about the only way you could justify it.

Why don't we go back to the middle-ages....(roll eyes).

And this "article" you're referring to isn't an "article", it was a study that was done.

Please, are you going to try and compare the poor in brazil with the poor in the U.S.?

Because I can take you on a ride about 10-15 minutes from where I live and show you people living on the side of the road, in mud, inside of tents made from sticks and hefty trash bags. And there are hundreds of thousands of them.

and one must love your examples of specific incidences....situations take place all over the world...but why don't you talk about general statistics??

Does milwaukee have crime...of course it does, all cities do.

But try comparing brazil as a whole to the U.S......you can't!!!

They are two DIFFERENT REALITIES!!!

It's laughable when I hear someone trying to do so....they're either ignorant about one country, or the other, but they certainly don't know both.

And I truly doubt that either #1 you're american, or #2 that you are familiar with brazil.

The full article for the story below can be found at www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=426133


"Latina center helped victim of abuse gain protection, citizenship

By GEORGIA PABST
gpabst@journalsentinel.com
Posted: May 22, 2006

A month ago, Maria Rodriguez proudly raised her right hand and swore allegiance to the United States of America in a ceremony that made her a U.S. citizen...

Maria Rodriguez, with her son Cesar Aponte, 10, watches her son Emilio Aponte, 7, do a cartwheel outside their home on Milwaukees northwest side. Rodriguez, who wants to be a teacher, became a U.S. citizen on April 26...

The first place she headed after the ceremony was the Latina Resource Center, 802 W. Mitchell St., where she posed for pictures with staff members who hugged her and shared her unbridled excitement.

"I consider this my second home," she said, sitting comfortably in an office at the center, which provides bicultural, bilingual assistance to victims of domestic violence. It's where her path to a new life began.

Today, Rodriguez has an apartment with her two sons, a job that she enjoys, plans and hopes for the future, and a smile that lights up her face.

She first came to center five years ago, crying and scared, bleeding from the lip and trying escape from an abusive husband, recalled Mariana Rodriguez (no relation), the project coordinator at the center.

Maria Rodriguez was an undocumented immigrant from the Dominican Republic who had overstayed the visa her husband had helped secure. She spoke no English, had no family here, no job, no money, no place to live and no one to turn to for help.

"I used to think that I wouldn't live to see my 40th birthday," she said, describing the dire and dangerous relationship she had endured for years...

In many relationships, immigration rules can be a source of power that an abusive man might use to the control a woman, Mariana Rodriguez said.

"It's a violent way to keep her dependent on him," she said. "There's no contact with the community. He tells her no one will protect her, that she's here illegally and scares her into believing that if she complains, he will have her deported"...

In the Dominican Republic, Rodriguez had worked as a hairdresser and met her future husband's mother while she was on vacation there. She lived in Milwaukee and introduced Rodriguez to her son, who was living in Puerto Rico. The romance began.

But after their marriage in June 1995, the abuse began. They decided to come to the United States, and he arranged for a visa for her to come to Milwaukee. But he rarely worked, and they lived with his mother, who paid the family expenses, she said.

After the birth of their first son here, she said, the abuse worsened. They moved to New York and Florida. He worked some but also landed in jail on drug charges. A second son was born. She said she tried to leave, but it was hard.

"I didn't want to live with him, but he would follow me," she said. "I had no other place to go."

Finally, she went to the United Migrant Opportunity Services for help.

"He would hit me and pull my hair," she said, twirling one of her short, curly locks. "That's why I keep my hair short because long hair reminds me of those times he would grab me by my long hair."

"I always hoped life would get better, but it surprised me," she continued. "Things got worse. . . . I couldn't believe life in the U.S. could be so bad."

You have been so busy the last hours. I have been to the beach - the day was gorgeous , so clear and nice. The temperature was perfect - I met some friends and we had a good time laughing and sipping a "choppinho". They are funny, they are laughing all the time. HAHA, it´s good living here.
Well, let´s see. What were you saying? Oh, I almost forgot. I friend of mine called from Vermont, USA. He told me it has been raining a lot for days and it still is cold, despite being June.
Poor guy, he was kind of depressed. While I was here enjoying such a wonderful weather and socializing he was
there, lonely. Well, he is not poor. He even has three computers at home, a brand new car, a nice house,but I´d surely say he is not a happy guy.

Quote:

"LOL...you're going to compare sao paulo of today to europe of 200 years ago....lmao, yeah, that's about right, that's about the only way you could justify it.

Why don't we go back to the middle-ages....(roll eyes)."


Reply:

Yes I will make the comparison, just as I would compare the living standard of today's US middle class to that of most European nobility in the Middle Ages or 200 years ago.

It's a perfectly satisfactory way of judging material advancments. Because there is a simple difference between *needs* and *wants.* Mankind did not always have telephones, microwaves, the automobiles or even radios and lip stick. For most of Europes history (and world history for that matter) their kings, queens, and upper nobility *ate with their hands.* They had no heating, even their massives castles had only the faint heat given off by fire places. And moving ahead in time to the French Revolution, most the men storming the Bastille stood and weighed at the average height and weight of a U.S. 13 year old girl. So far as I can tell most Brazilian men stand at a height and weight above that of modern U.S. 13 year old girls.

So the only thing *below human* about favela material level and comforts is a matter of perception. I know for a fact in my own city growing up, I and my two other brothers had friends that lived in better areas than we did, some by only a margin of a few blocks, forbidden to come into our area of town. As it was seen by their parents as hell on earth. And we lived in a middle class neighborhood - granted with rape, murder, and armed robberies - which kids and people from far worse and poorer neighborhoods than ours considered heaven on earth.

Perception plays a lot in how one takes something to be. I was raised around violence so it is normal to me. In fact I have a hard time believing life could be anything other than that. -- Of course while I came up in the "hood" I didn't come up in the really bad areas and the really poor areas that constitute "ghetto." (but then again I've met numerous people that came from nice suburbs or well to do areas, that claim and call the neighborhood I grew up in "ghetto." But I never thought of it this way, and the people from poor neighborhoods especially never called it the "ghetto" even though they considered it part of the "hood.") Nonetheless real poor and violent areas are hard for me to fathom living in day in and day out, because that's not something I lived in for any real duration or internalized. Likewise I can't fathom not living where women don't get raped in allys or where the chance of death doesn't lurk at a stop light, corner store, or the turn around a corner - for me this is normal and just life.


Quote:

"And this "article" you're referring to isn't an "article", it was a study that was done."


Reply:

Ok, granted. My bust, I stand corrected.


Quote:

"Please, are you going to try and compare the poor in brazil with the poor in the U.S.?"


Reply:

No not at all, not in the sense you are speaking of at least. But I will compare particular segments of poverty. For instance both my father's and mother's family are big families. My mother's came up middle class (by the way largely without a tv because that was new tech when she was a child and cost a lot. But lack of one does not constitute inhumane tratment or living) and in fairly safe neighborhood. My father has I think 11 siblings. Some of the males have criminal records or even one has prison time, but my father and two of his other brothers escaped that.

Anyways they came up extremely poor, and in a rough area. When my father was young he went to school in Midwestern winters in thin spring coats. He rarely got new shoes so he had to put cardboard in the bottoms of them when he wore holes through the soles. A many a night they went to bed hungry. But admittedly a lot of this had to do with my grandfather's drinking and gambling problem. According to my uncle - the one in prison - he and another brother use to rob people, by beating them up, just to bring food to the table. At least that's what he's told me.

I know I grew up half my life over my grandmother's house, who's home was infested with c**kroaches (but they got that cleared up around the time I turned into my 20's). I recall a many of times opening up the cereal boxes and roaches running out lol .

The thing is, one of my uncles that did well for himself, has traveled in the past to Brazil numerous times. His prefered place Bahia. He even got engaged to a Brazilian woman before. But I asked a couple times many years ago, in an aweing curiousity, how dangerous it was down there. He just calmly replied each time that it was like anywhere else, some areas are bad, some area are not. Then he would add: "I'm sure you wouldn't want to live in the projects of Chicago." He meant by that that, we in the US have some pretty bad places too.


Quote:

"Because I can take you on a ride about 10-15 minutes from where I live and show you people living on the side of the road, in mud, inside of tents made from sticks and hefty trash bags. And there are hundreds of thousands of them."


Reply:

Well if there are *hundreds of thousands* of people living in tents or trash bags in Brazil that is pretty bad.

But that does not diminish the suffering of a homeless person living in a New York sewer. Certainly a mid ranked crack dealer in a Rio favela lives better than a crack addict in the U.S. A woman that is loved by her boyfriend in Sao Paulo, is living better than some chick in Detroit getting her teeth kicked out by her old man.

Often times we judge things as outside observers, which is not all ways a bad thing, but it is a whole nother thing living in an affliction. Statistics can never do justice to that.

Who are you trying to sell that pink poor world to?
The couple who pulled up short to give me a ride in Miami a few years ago was really in a bad shape as well as their car. It was so bad looking( falling apart, dirty ) that I was surprised.After they started talking I ( how innocent I was ) I found out I would have to pay for the ride. I am so used to the Brazilian courtesy that I thought they were just being nice. No, they were in a dear need of money.
People who take the bus on the 63rd Street mall in Miami are poor. They ARE POOR. They don´t have a car. They don´t dress finely. They have to ride a very crowded bus you cannot move your arm. (Even though, some of them were telling jokes and laughing -- they were black people, and nice )

The Cuban woman who went twice a week for cleaning up the apartment when I was in the States was poor. She lived an awful life. She had no confort. She lived far from work and had to ride two buses. It was really bad. She had a dream - to go back to Cuba.

Do you want me to believe that those poor , dangerous neighborhoods in the cities are very confortable. Just read your newspapers.
Did you notice those poor people sitting on the sidewalks and doing nothing , just chatting in the film KOYAANISQATSI , by Francis Ford Coppola? That was not fiction . It is reality.

Can you tell you don´t have homeless people? Are they confortable and happy?

Who are you trying to deceive?
Don´t the crime pages of your newspapers describe those people. Anyone can read them.

Wasn´t New Orleans floods enough to show how America treats the poor? Were those persons faking that they were in trouble just for the sake of being funny? Did they die a noble American life?

Are you trying to say that 34 million people is just little potatoes?

How many stadiums can you fill up with 34 million people?

I tell you a joke:

A lion was walking around and met a little thin rat in the woods. He clawed the rat and intended to eat it. Noticing that the rat was so small, so feeble, he said.
You are so small !!!

The rat, just like you, did not want to lose face, answered.

Oh. I have been ill lately.

You have been ill lately.And will be forever.

"It's laughable when I hear someone trying to do so....they're either ignorant about one country, or the other, but they certainly don't know both"

who is listening to you?

"You have been ill lately.And will be forever"

Again who cares with what you think?

“that's simply not true. I know numerous brazilian women who have very good jobs, a college education, and they're looking for a educated gringo to marry. They know all about the 99.9999% of brazilian men and that they're NEVER faithful. Odds are when you meet a brazilian man that's married the women with him very well may not be his wife!! It may be one of his numerous girlfriends.”


I think to someone say that Brazilian men are NEVER faithful that person must know every Brazilian man! But yeah, all Brazilian men may not be faithful. I once met a married neighbor along with a woman other than his wife but I noticed too he divorced her.
And also it is funny because I never met a woman in Brazil who was specifically looking for gringos to marry. I already saw articles in Brazilian feminine magazines portraying women trying the net to find a partner for their lives and in the service section they provided international sites, I don’t remember it well but probably there was a successful case including a gringo. I think if women look for an international partner they will idealize him as one idealizes a partner, and believe they could find a more compatible person in their lives concerned to mentality and be successful in finding someone who can make them happy, that means broadening the range of possible success. I think everybody should do that, try their very best to experience happiness and probably the world would be a better place to live. But I don’t think many sectarian macho men here would be willing to understand it, they probably think these women are obsessed to marry a gringo! I think these women are very right to try to find happiness and if that means meeting a nice decent gringo too, good for them! I am entitled to say I feel shocked with some narrow-minded posters here but am also impressed with others who display dignity and braveness and without any doubt would admit they fit certain ideals of coupling. Lucky the women who have them!

I think if women look for an international partner they will idealize him as one idealizes a partner. They believe they could find a more compatible person in their lives concerned to mentality and be successful in finding someone who can make them happy, that means broadening the range of possible success

Quote

Reply:

Yes I will make the comparison, just as I would compare the living standard of today's US middle class to that of most European nobility in the Middle Ages or 200 years ago.

It's a perfectly satisfactory way of judging material advancments. Because there is a simple difference between *needs* and *wants.* Mankind did not always have telephones, microwaves, the automobiles or even radios and lip stick. For most of Europes history (and world history for that matter) their kings, queens, and upper nobility *ate with their hands.* They had no heating, even their massives castles had only the faint heat given off by fire places. And moving ahead in time to the French Revolution, most the men storming the Bastille stood and weighed at the average height and weight of a U.S. 13 year old girl. So far as I can tell most Brazilian men stand at a height and weight above that of modern U.S. 13 year old girls.

So the only thing *below human* about favela material level and comforts is a matter of perception. I know for a fact in my own city growing up, I and my two other brothers had friends that lived in better areas than we did, some by only a margin of a few blocks, forbidden to come into our area of town. As it was seen by their parents as hell on earth. And we lived in a middle class neighborhood - granted with rape, murder, and armed robberies - which kids and people from far worse and poorer neighborhoods than ours considered heaven on earth.

Perception plays a lot in how one takes something to be. I was raised around violence so it is normal to me. In fact I have a hard time believing life could be anything other than that. -- Of course while I came up in the "hood" I didn't come up in the really bad areas and the really poor areas that constitute "ghetto." (but then again I've met numerous people that came from nice suburbs or well to do areas, that claim and call the neighborhood I grew up in "ghetto." But I never thought of it this way, and the people from poor neighborhoods especially never called it the "ghetto" even though they considered it part of the "hood.") Nonetheless real poor and violent areas are hard for me to fathom living in day in and day out, because that's not something I lived in for any real duration or internalized. Likewise I can't fathom not living where women don't get raped in allys or where the chance of death doesn't lurk at a stop light, corner store, or the turn around a corner - for me this is normal and just life.


Quote:

"And this "article" you're referring to isn't an "article", it was a study that was done."


Reply:

Ok, granted. My bust, I stand corrected.


Quote:

"Please, are you going to try and compare the poor in brazil with the poor in the U.S.?"


Reply:

No not at all, not in the sense you are speaking of at least. But I will compare particular segments of poverty. For instance both my father's and mother's family are big families. My mother's came up middle class (by the way largely without a tv because that was new tech when she was a child and cost a lot. But lack of one does not constitute inhumane tratment or living) and in fairly safe neighborhood. My father has I think 11 siblings. Some of the males have criminal records or even one has prison time, but my father and two of his other brothers escaped that.

Anyways they came up extremely poor, and in a rough area. When my father was young he went to school in Midwestern winters in thin spring coats. He rarely got new shoes so he had to put cardboard in the bottoms of them when he wore holes through the soles. A many a night they went to bed hungry. But admittedly a lot of this had to do with my grandfather's drinking and gambling problem. According to my uncle - the one in prison - he and another brother use to rob people, by beating them up, just to bring food to the table. At least that's what he's told me.

I know I grew up half my life over my grandmother's house, who's home was infested with c**kroaches (but they got that cleared up around the time I turned into my 20's). I recall a many of times opening up the cereal boxes and roaches running out lol .

The thing is, one of my uncles that did well for himself, has traveled in the past to Brazil numerous times. His prefered place Bahia. He even got engaged to a Brazilian woman before. But I asked a couple times many years ago, in an aweing curiousity, how dangerous it was down there. He just calmly replied each time that it was like anywhere else, some areas are bad, some area are not. Then he would add: "I'm sure you wouldn't want to live in the projects of Chicago." He meant by that that, we in the US have some pretty bad places too.


Quote:

"Because I can take you on a ride about 10-15 minutes from where I live and show you people living on the side of the road, in mud, inside of tents made from sticks and hefty trash bags. And there are hundreds of thousands of them."


Reply:

Well if there are *hundreds of thousands* of people living in tents or trash bags in Brazil that is pretty bad.

But that does not diminish the suffering of a homeless person living in a New York sewer. Certainly a mid ranked crack dealer in a Rio favela lives better than a crack addict in the U.S. A woman that is loved by her boyfriend in Sao Paulo, is living better than some chick in Detroit getting her teeth kicked out by her old man.

Often times we judge things as outside observers, which is not all ways a bad thing, but it is a whole nother thing living in an affliction. Statistics can never do justice to that.

Actually I am impressed with the poster above and without any doubt would admit he fits certain ideals of coupling. Lucky the woman who have the said poster above. You, guy is definitely my dream and a dream.

YAWN !!!!

..bradening the range.... yawn.

Still ill??? ..

Quote:

"Actually I am impressed with the poster above and without any doubt would admit he fits certain ideals of coupling. Lucky the woman who have the said poster above. You, guy is definitely my dream and a dream."


Reply:

Hey if that is all sincere... then thank you very much for your very kind words.

you all still there?

Seriously. Can you be found? If that was possible...

I mean you

well... it was worth trying!

men and women who have a good job !

No doubt that out of a population of 190 millions, 10,20,30 millions have good or decent jobs.
The problem is not with them but with the other 150 millions or so !

And saying that Brazil is a developing country is not good enough.
It happens that Brazil when compared to their GDP per capita has by far the highest poverty rate....IN THE WORLD.
Therefore one should compare apples with apples and not apples with peaches !
Comparing developing nations with developed nations or thirld world nations dont make sense.
It also happens that during the last 50 years and sometimes much less, many developing nations became developed nations. Brazil despite all his natural wealth has not evolved much when on the other hand the developing countries that became quite developed had and still have not the natural wealth what Brazil has.
This shows that Brazil has been mismanaged for decades since it had everything to become a developed country for already a long time.
But as long as the country doesnt in vest far more in basic/middle and high education, it will remain by definition a developing country for eternity.
All developing nations have an economic boom for the past several years with the exception of Brazil who grew at a a mere 3 % on average when other nations grew in most cases at a minimum of twice that rate.
It means that the other developing nations are filling the gap by growing far in excess than developed nations but they had or will will shortly even have a GDP per capita higher than Brazil.
The only reason the country is richer, on paper, during the last few years is due to the appreciation of their currency...but after it almost collapsed just earlier !!! Therefore in US$ they look richer and look
that they grew far more than they actually did.

Thus taking the defense of the Brazilian economic, development, political and social model is wrong !

This is quite unfortunate because the Brazilian people are overall lovely and they deserve much better that what they have.

As an image, you could put Bill Gates in a Brazilian stadium of 40'000 fans. Statistically they all are millionaires in US$. The fact is that only one of them has it all.
And that reflects how Brazil is.
Is Brazil not the country with one of the highest wealth inequality in the world ?
As long as this doesnt change, their development will be penalized and delayed again and again !!!!

quote:

"Are you trying to say that 34 million people is just little potatoes?"

No, it's not "small potatoes", BUT, the point is here, is that the 34 million people classified as "poor" by the U.S. gov't., the MAJORITY own their own 3 bedroom homes, have cars, have color tv's, have washers, dryers, dishwashers, dvd players, etc.

The point is, that obviously you missed, is that the 34 million "poor" in the U.S., and the estimated 70 million "poor" in brazil, in which 12 million of those are making less than ONE DOLLAR per day, and 30 million making less than 2 dollars a day, couldn't have more different realities.

The poor in brazil is something completely different. And if you're brazilian, or if you've spent any significant time in brazil, everyone knows that the poor in brazil are fighting to survive. Fome Zero's own website states that 40 million brazilians are "threatened by hunger", that's 20% of brazils population! I've lived in the northeast of brazil for the last 8 years and I see the poverty everyday, and I live in a capitol of a city that claims to have best "quality of life" of any city in the northeast....yet there is still massive poverty, crime, a general attitude of disrespect, for other people, the very place where they live, objects, and naturally the law. And there's a new local or state corruption scandal in the news nearly every week.

As was noted in the above study, and I quote:

" If poverty is defined as lacking adequate nutritious food for one's family, a reasonably warm and dry apartment to live in, or a car with which to get to work when one is needed, then there are relatively few poor persons remaining in the United States."

The poor in america have homes, they have cars, the have food to eat and naturally access to suitable drinking water....the poor in brazil, a large percentage, don't have all or any of these things.

Why does one think there are 12-20 million illegals in the U.S.? To have the same conditions from where they left? Being considered "poor" in the U.S. is better than being considered "lower middle-class" in most 3rd world countries.

quote:

"I think to someone say that Brazilian men are NEVER faithful that person must know every Brazilian man! But yeah, all Brazilian men may not be faithful."

Naturally I don't know all brazilian men, but I do know several hundred, and have numerous very good brazilian male friends. Out of all the ones I know, I know ONE that is faithful to his wife, and he just became faithful over the last 5 years, he "got" religion. But even he absolutely LOVES to flirt, at every opportunity he flirts with any attractive female he meets, gives many of them false impressions that he's interested in a relationship, then "pulls away" at the last moment, saying, "I'm sorry, but I'm married."

Out of all the brazilian men I know ALL of them readily admit, that "monogamy" and being "faithful" to their girlfriends or wives, is not a priority for them.

Quote:

"No, it's not "small potatoes", BUT, the point is here, is that the 34 million people classified as "poor" by the U.S. gov't., the MAJORITY own their own 3 bedroom homes, have cars, have color tv's, have washers, dryers, dishwashers, dvd players, etc.

The point is, that obviously you missed, is that the 34 million "poor" in the U.S., and the estimated 70 million "poor" in brazil, in which 12 million of those are making less than ONE DOLLAR per day, and 30 million making less than 2 dollars a day, couldn't have more different realities. "



Reply:

Here's the problem with those stats, they must not show regional reality differences in the United States, nor racial and age realities. Because no one that is familiar with the poor from Detroit to Milwaukee can claim with any bit of integrity that the majority of the poor in those Midwestern metros "own their own homes." Because it is exactly the fact that the majority of poor in Generation X Black America *don't own homes* in coties like Detroit and Milwaukee, that has caused so much controversy. Most are renters. And the majority of the home owners in those Black poor areas are of the WWII generation, who will soon all be dead.

The reality of poverty I have seen in my own city does not look like the picture those statistics present. In fact I identify *middle class* with home ownership with property value of roughly $70,000 or more inconjunction with owning at least one automobile.

The quality of the house one lives in is importnant too. A statistical figure can count a million 3 bedroom homes, but it does not tell you in what condition thosde homes are in. I've worked in the past in the central city, doing lead abatement, on some homes which were in fairly horrible condition. A number of them would have been better just torn down. I'm talking about porches falling apart, the houses slightly beging to lean towards the side, the floor boards, plumbing, and basic finished structures in side the houses gone to hell - and that's not including infestation of c**kroaches and pests like mice and rats. And God save you if you have ever been inside the home rented or owned by a crack addict - because I have no doubt they live worse than peasents in rural parts of El Salvador or surfs in the Middle Ages for that matter. The children in these homes grow up meaner than a son of a bitch.

I also can't believe - by virtue of common sense - that 70 million people in Brazil live off of less than a dollar a day. Unless that is one can reasonable eat nourishing food in Brazil off of less than a dollar a day. Because the basic biological human fact is, you either eat food and drink water or you f**kin die. It's as simple as that. One has to at least consume one small meal a day on average with some small measure of water to live. They may not eat some days, but on average they must eat at least once a day.

Perhaps 70 million people per tax information, earn less than a dollar a day in Brazil, but in reality the vast majority of them would have to be earning more be it underground non locally of federally taxed economies (such as prostitution, drug dealing, or side work such as painting and carpentry etc). If not they must depend on charitable food orginizations - which then I could understand how they survive off of less than a dollar a day.

Having said all that, yes pound for pound, the US poor by-in-large live far above the your average Brazilian poor. Looking at the favelas alone this is quite clear. But I think it is to much a jump to equate the central city poor in the US (at least a very high percentage of them) as living up to Brazilian middle class standards. And having a car in and of itself can not determine the over all quality of life and wealth of an individual to me. There are many *rich* people in New York who travel by subway and taxis. Similar to that, as many Black Americans will know, it is not infrequent that young Black Americans that don't have a lot will invest the majority of their money into owning a nice car instead of buy a home. Thus creating an illusion of *wealth.*

"Naturally I don't know all brazilian men, but I do know several hundred, and have numerous very good brazilian male friends. Out of all the ones I know, I know ONE that is faithful to his wife, and he just became faithful over the last 5 years, he "got" religion. But even he absolutely LOVES to flirt, at every opportunity he flirts with any attractive female he meets, gives many of them false impressions that he's interested in a relationship, then "pulls away" at the last moment, saying, "I'm sorry, but I'm married."

I stop working here just to answer this old stereotype. We live modern lives! Women go to work and not very few earn more money than their partners! Many women are independent here, many support their family by themselves, rich, middle class and poor ones, specially the poor ones!! More women in Brazil are without a partner than men are. This has already been portrayed in studies! They are called matriarchal families! Women chose to be alone if they can’t find a compatible partner! Marketing industry has acknowledged that. Men in Brazil are more often acknowledging that coupling has changed, they are not responsible to support a family and many Brazilian men are actually relieved that this has changed to this way!! Those women can understand better issues they face and thus are more effective when dealing with crises!! You don’t want the states of things to change, do you??? That’s a pity because life would be a lot more true and entire for men. You guys make me laugh

"Out of all the brazilian men I know ALL of them readily admit, that "monogamy" and being "faithful" to their girlfriends or wives, is not a priority for them."

I don't think so... Either they SHOW faithfulness or then they are history. You know the story!

Men in Brazil are more often acknowledging that coupling has changed, they are not responsible to support a family ALONE and many Brazilian men are actually relieved that this has changed to this way!!

"men and women who have a good job !

No doubt that out of a population of 190 millions, 10,20,30 millions have good or decent jobs.
The problem is not with them but with the other 150 millions or so !

And saying that Brazil is a developing country is not good enough.
It happens that Brazil when compared to their GDP per capita has by far the highest poverty rate....IN THE WORLD.
Therefore one should compare apples with apples and not apples with peaches !
Comparing developing nations with developed nations or thirld world nations dont make sense.
It also happens that during the last 50 years and sometimes much less, many developing nations became developed nations. Brazil despite all his natural wealth has not evolved much when on the other hand the developing countries that became quite developed had and still have not the natural wealth what Brazil has.
This shows that Brazil has been mismanaged for decades since it had everything to become a developed country for already a long time.
But as long as the country doesnt in vest far more in basic/middle and high education, it will remain by definition a developing country for eternity.
All developing nations have an economic boom for the past several years with the exception of Brazil who grew at a a mere 3 % on average when other nations grew in most cases at a minimum of twice that rate.
It means that the other developing nations are filling the gap by growing far in excess than developed nations but they had or will will shortly even have a GDP per capita higher than Brazil.
The only reason the country is richer, on paper, during the last few years is due to the appreciation of their currency...but after it almost collapsed just earlier !!! Therefore in US$ they look richer and look
that they grew far more than they actually did.

Thus taking the defense of the Brazilian economic, development, political and social model is wrong !

This is quite unfortunate because the Brazilian people are overall lovely and they deserve much better that what they have.

As an image, you could put Bill Gates in a Brazilian stadium of 40'000 fans. Statistically they all are millionaires in US$. The fact is that only one of them has it all.
And that reflects how Brazil is.
Is Brazil not the country with one of the highest wealth inequality in the world ?
As long as this doesnt change, their development will be penalized and delayed again and again !!!! "


I can only be convinced that you have some good intention towards this country if you acknowledge the true reasons, notice that I wrote it in plural, why this country is the way it is. Otherwise I’ll keep thinking that this attitude is a real behavior of someone who has selfish interests in the country, that DEPENDES on it in some way and is sitting down right now to see its disgrace and profit with it. There’s no other explanation to such a hate and meanness against Brazil.

"Out of all the ones I know, I know ONE that is faithful to his wife, and he just became faithful over the last 5 years, he "got" religion. But even he absolutely LOVES to flirt, at every opportunity he flirts with any attractive female he meets, gives many of them false impressions that he's interested in a relationship, then "pulls away" at the last moment, saying, "I'm sorry, but I'm married."


How that can happen? Don't married men use marriage rings? That's strange you know....?

quote:

"How that can happen? Don't married men use marriage rings? That's strange you know....?"

No, a large percentage of married men that I know do not wear their wedding rings, but besides that, to a large percentage of brazilian women it doesn't matter if they're married or not.

quote:

"I also can't believe - by virtue of common sense - that 70 million people in Brazil live off of less than a dollar a day."

That's not what I stated, I stated that there are 70 million classified as "poor" in brazil, and that 12 million make less than a dollar a day, and in fact, there are many estimates that this number is around 15 million, and I stated that there are 30 million brazilians living on less than 2 dollar a day, and many estimates have this number at 40 million, I was using conservative figures.

And if you don't believe those statistics, then you don't believe reports from both the United Nations, and the Brazilian Government itself!!

It sounds like you've never even been here, as you're questioning if people can actually survive from those types of incomes.

quote:

" Unless that is one can reasonable eat nourishing food in Brazil off of less than a dollar a day. Because the basic biological human fact is, you either eat food and drink water or you f**kin die. It's as simple as that. One has to at least consume one small meal a day on average with some small measure of water to live. They may not eat some days, but on average they must eat at least once a day."

You're exactly right! Many DO die! Do you want the statistics for those??

Hundreds of thousands of brazilians die every year from either A) Malnourishment, or B) lack of access to suitable drinking water!



quote:

""Out of all the brazilian men I know ALL of them readily admit, that "monogamy" and being "faithful" to their girlfriends or wives, is not a priority for them."

I don't think so... Either they SHOW faithfulness or then they are history. You know the story!"

Obviously you're not familiar with the northeast of brazil!!

There are MANY women that fully know their husbands are f**king around, yet they accept it. Brazil is a MANS world, much more so than most countries. Generally speaking, if you're a woman in brazil and left to raise a family alone you have an extremely difficult reality. MUCH more so than a woman in the U.S. and many other countries.

Because of this many women, although they may not like it, although they may fight tooth and nail with their husbands, would never dream of leaving him for cheating with another women....that is reality for a huge population of brazilian women.

The handful that work in sao paulo, rio de janiero, with educations and good jobs and income are MINISCULE when looking at brazil as a whole....and that is what we're doing here isn't it? Not just providing a handful of examples, but speaking generally, about brazil, about the rule, not the exceptions!

Being faithful is not a priority.

" ... he asked me if he could kiss me. Ms. Lewinky said yes. In the windowless hallway afjacent to the study, they kissed. Before returning to her desk, Ms. Lewinsky wrote down her name and telephone number for the Ppresident.
At about 10 p.m., in Ms. Lewinsky recollection, she was alone in the Chief of Staff´s office and the President approached. He invited her to rendezvous again in Mr. Stephanopoulos´office in a few minutes, and she agreed. (Asked if she knew why the President wanted to meet with her Ms. Lewinsky testified: "I had an idea." ) They met in Mr. Stephanopoulos´office and went again to the area of the private study. This time the lights in the study were off.
According to Ms. Lewinsky, she and the President kissed. She unbuttoned her jacket; either she unhooked her bra or he lifted her bra up; and he touched her breasts with his hands and mouth. Ms. Lewinsky testified " I believe he took a phone call... and so we moved from the allway in the back office... He put his hand down my pants and sitmulated me manually in the genital area. While the President continued talking on the phone ( Ms. Lewinsky understood that he caller was a member of Congress or a Senator )she performed oral sex on him..

.

quote:

"Otherwise I’ll keep thinking that this attitude is a real behavior of someone who has selfish interests in the country, that DEPENDES on it in some way and is sitting down right now to see its disgrace and profit with it. There’s no other explanation to such a hate and meanness against Brazil."

You need to wake the f**k up!!!

You sound like the vast multitude of brazilians that sit and watch the disgraces that happen on a daily basis as routing and think, "well, there's nothing I can do about it!"

There is something that YOU can do, and the general population of brazilians CAN DO! And that's express your indignation that exists for huge percentages of your population!

People like you, which in all fairness, is the vast majority in brazil, is EXACTLY why brazil doesn't change!

These politicians know they can continue to rob the people blind, because they have no risk, none of punishment, and certainly none of the general population demanding he be punished, by whatever means necessary.

This attitude of "helplessness", accepting the "status quo" is why brazil will NEVER change. Until large populations of brazilian citizens finally have enough of their reality, things will stay the same. Afterall, why should things change for the betterment of the people when these politicians are becoming mult-millionaires from OUR tax dollars?

Did you see what happened last week in Brasilia???

That was a GREAT thing! MORE brazilians need to do exactly the same thing the MST did last week.

" ... by now , he must be dead. He was too much fond of drinking and bingers. According to some insinuations from mom he had law problems more than once. He used fake names frequently - he was born Donald Spansky in Peru, Indiana, then he became Pollack and finally he changed his name legally to King.
He began as an Electrolux salesman , but a think he commited a lot of mistakes along the way. He was the sole salesman who would regularly made demonstrations of vaccum cleaners to young widows at 02:00 a.m. He was a womanizer. "
Stephen King on his father.

This idiot now understands!

"Being faithful is not a priority"


No, I'd say being faithful is not really a priority for certain types! disgusting...

Are you ill yet???
And will be forever.

“No, a large percentage of married men that I know do not wear their wedding rings, but besides that, to a large percentage of brazilian women it doesn't matter if they're married or not.”

Ok, here we go you probably know a large percentage of brazilian women who don’t consider if the man is married or not as a matter when relating to a partner (roll eyes)! Yes, there may be many who don’t care about it an ocean of 90 millions of women. But again you can’t isolate it and generalize or else this is applied to each woman on earth! Live a complete life you know! Between the poor the marital union is generalized, and this generalization is a fact, among other classes too. You or other himself stated with big words this is a catholic population! People may not go to church every Sunday here but they do have a strong heritage of religion. Get a grip!! Lol!

"Are you ill yet???
And will be forever"

I'd rather say NO to many process of this mediocre society you certainly help to keep undeveloped than being a non- thinking inhuman zombie near-robot like you!

Quote:

"That's not what I stated, I stated that there are 70 million classified as "poor" in brazil, and that 12 million make less than a dollar a day, and in fact, there are many estimates that this number is around 15 million, and I stated that there are 30 million brazilians living on less than 2 dollar a day, and many estimates have this number at 40 million, I was using conservative figures.

And if you don't believe those statistics, then you don't believe reports from both the United Nations, and the Brazilian Government itself!!

It sounds like you've never even been here, as you're questioning if people can actually survive from those types of incomes."


Reply:

No I have never been to Brazil, but that does not change Brazilians being part of the homo sapien sapien species, and as such Brazilians like everyone else on planet earth are subject to some basic biological facts about that human species. So yes I ask the question how can 30 million Brazilian humans survive off less than $2 a day? If in fact that is both their only source of food and is not enough to afford basic nourishment needed to survive? If however they have another source of unreported income, or they have another source of aquireing food (such as charitable orginizations), or if less than $2 a day can purchase any human on earth their basic food stuffs to survive then I can understand and accept those figures as reliable per reasonable. Otherwise it is illogical.

I've read that Brazilian *consumer pattern* does not reflect the figures for percentage in poverty the Brazilian government reports. Per study of consumer pattern Brazil is revealed to have a larger middle class than it reports to have.

Further I would like to point out that no nation with epidemic faminine (such as the Ethiopian faminine in the 1980's) can construct and international city like Sao Paulo, Brazil. Peoples work place production slides downwards just with light influenza or need to nurse sick children. It is entirely unreasonable to believe any nation can have a large or thriving economy and GDP built off epedimc faminine. One can barely lay around after eating only crackers and cheese for week, let alone humping bricks and block to a construction site or toiling to clean someone's home in 80 degree weather.

quote:

"People may not go to church every Sunday here but they do have a strong heritage of religion."

I almost fell off my chair after reading that!!

If brazil has such high regard for catholic values and morals, why is it a world leader in things like murder, prostitution, corruption, etc???

Are these the values the catholic church teaches?

Quote:

"You're exactly right! Many DO die! Do you want the statistics for those??

Hundreds of thousands of brazilians die every year from either A) Malnourishment, or B) lack of access to suitable drinking water!"


Reply:

Yes I would like you to provide figures proving epidemic faminine. Then provide your defense as to why Brazil is not depopulating and how on earth its economy still functions. For certainly in light of Ethiopia, Sudan, and the Congo, Brazil must be a literal miracle to have epidemic faminine of 30 to 40 million people annually yet still boast one of the largest populations in the world at about 180 million.

I mean how can Brazil both have epidemic faminine, yet have one of the strongest cultures of vanity in the world? Starving women don't worry about buying jeans that accentuate their ass. They don't worry about purchasing lip stick. In fact I recall anti-Brazilian posters on here just in the recent past berate Brazilians as so vain that they are one of the highest consumer driven society on earth in plastic surgery. --- I mean which is it? There has to be a logical consitency to the criticism of Brazil. They can't one day be vain consumers of beauty products and on another day one charges them as starving to death.

One can look at a person and tell if they are reasonably nourished. Simple as that. I mean years of heroine or crack addiction takes a physical toll and reveals itself outwardly in the human form. Anorexia is the same way. Likewise none of the starving Ethiopians with the bloated stomachs in the 1980's looked like fashion models. They weren't sticking their asses out in thight jeans for the cameras.

I do accept that people starve to death in Brazil. Whereas people *do not* starve to death in the United States. I just can't imagine annually 30 million people or more in Brazil starve, because such things would have crippling effects on any economy.

It should be note that yes indeed the overall health in a society can be gleaned by the average height of it's population. Hence in the Middle Ages around the year 800 most Germanic tribes of people stood at around 6 feet tall or more. But centuries later due to plagues, faminine, and the "little Ice Age" those same Germanic based peoples average height plummeted to around 5 foot 3 or so.

At the beginning of the 20th century all of Europe had an average height below that of the US average height. In fact during the 1800's the United States had the tallest average height in the world. That is no longer the case. Most of Europe now boasts an average height taller than the average height of US citizens (and that placing short immigrant populations in the US out of the picture). While the average height of the US male is 5 foot 9 inches I believe, the average Neatherlands males stands at 6 feet tall. Currently the average height of Japan has shot up to almost that of the average height of US peoples. --- Actually US women have declined in height in over something like the last 50 or 100 years.

The United States boast a GDP of 11 trillion dollars. I'm not sure but I think the state of California's economy might be larger than all of Brazil's national ecenomy - I might be wrong on that though. Anyways perhaps one can lighten up on Brazil.

I'm digressing from the topic at hand on abused women, for that I apologize. But I want to show that the average day of the average U.S. citizen is not wraped up in high and mighty ideals to such a superior extent that it shames all other mankind on earth.

Over 90 days, Milwaukee police had to respond to over 1,400 calls, at 15 of the MPS's largest high schools.

Full article can be found at: www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=434481


Exceprt from today's story:

"Scene two: The class is called Employability Skills. If so, Lord help our future employers.

The teacher, Milton Perry, has been at Madison for 39 years. What kind of class is this, a reporter asks before entering the classroom. "Wild," Perry answers. He says there are 35 students on the roster. About 20 are present on a typical day. On this day, 16 are in the classroom at 8:50 a.m., 15 minutes after the period began.

At no point in the 90-minute period does Perry do any conventional teaching to the class - a lecture or presentation of any material.

"Lecture to this group?" Perry says. "You'd be up here talking to yourself. You might as well go over there and talk to that closet." He looks toward the students, who are spending most of the time goofing around, and says, "All they want to do is play with the cell phones, eat junk food, listen to CD players."

What are they supposed to be doing? They have a textbook, "Succeeding in the World of Work." Perry gave them work sheets that call for them to turn to specific pages in the text that summarize the main points of each of the 25 chapters in a few words. Then they are to fill in those phrases on the work sheet. This is Thursday; they've been working on this since Monday. And if they don't finish by Friday? Perry says he'll give them some more time. He also says it ought to take two periods to complete."

Once again, here is someone that is showing specific examples and attempting to correlate to the society as a whole!

You cut and past an article about bill clinton, you do the same for stephen king....is that the "norm" in american society? No, it's not.

I believe you're the little ex-pat african living in the states right??

That so readily defends brazil yet has never stepped foot in the country!!

Argument over! It would be just as ignorant of me speaking about living in Africa from things I read on the internet, or stories I hear on the news, and generalizing them to africa.

I live in brazil! And have for years, I lived in the United States for 34 years. I know each country.....well.


quote:

"No I have never been to Brazil, but that does not change Brazilians being part of the homo sapien sapien species"

LOL...ok, so because human beings live in brazil you know what brazil is like?? There is no use responding to you anymore! You've never even been here!!??


quote from BBC article on "Map of Hunger" prepared by the brazilian "Getulio Vargas Foundation."

quote:

"A third of Brazilians live on $1


Brazil's president has promised to eliminate hunger by 2007
One-third of Brazil's population, or some 58 million people, live on less than a dollar a day, a report says.
The "Map of Hunger" report, by the local Getulio Vargas Foundation, says poverty has increased greatly in cities over the past decade.

Brazil's President, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has promised to eliminate hunger by the year 2007 when he came to power last year.

But there has already been criticism of the lack of results.

Gap exposed

The foundation's report, released on Thursday, contained detailed information only on Rio de Janeiro, Brazil's second-biggest city.

The statistics on the drought-stricken northeastern areas, where the concentration of poor people is the largest, are due to be released later.

The images of Brazilian poverty... are so familiar, it is easy to forget this is not one of the world's poorest countries

Stephen Cviic
Ex-BBC correspondent in Brazil
Their data show almost 15% of the people live below the poverty line of $27 a month in Rio de Janeiro.

The city is notorious for its slums, also known as "favelas", and high crime rates.

The average monthly salary in Rio's biggest slums was the equivalent of $140, the study showed using 2000 census data.

But in Rio's well-off districts, such as the beachside Ipanema and Copacabana, monthly wages averaged $740.

"That is really the poorest of the poor," a spokeswoman for the Getulio Vargas Foundation said.

Injustice undented

But the BBC's former Brazil correspondent Stephen Cviic says the images of Brazilian poverty - the shanty towns, the street children, the parched landscapes of the north-eastern interior - are so familiar it is easy to forget this is not one of the world's poorest countries.

Brazil has a higher income per head than China, India and almost all of sub-Saharan Africa.

What it does have, however, is a staggering level of inequality, entrenched by decades of inflation, unemployment, unequal land ownership and a weak education system, our correspondent says.

Brazil's government of the 1990s put in place some serious anti-poverty programmes, but a decade of reform barely dented social injustice.

Our correspondent says that these days, many Brazilians are malnourished; few are actually starving.

However, the conditions on the outskirts of big cities remain grim, with youths hanging around doing nothing, an explosion in violent crime and a severely deficient police and judicial system, he adds."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3631601.stm

you keep showing your examples of one person, or one situation in america ok?

And I'll keep showing mine about the entire brazilian society?? LOL.

quote:

"column of TABLE 1 reports the percentage of the total population on less than $1/day in Brazil

(5.1%) and Chile (4.2%), as reported in the World Development Report"


5.1% of the overall population making less than $1 per day...let's see, 5% of 180,000,000, that's 10 million!!!


http://www.cepii.fr/anglaisgraph/publications/economieinter/rev9495/rev9495hertel.pdf

Brazil
Region: South America


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Select a country: Bangladesh Benin Bolivia Brazil Bulgaria Burundi Cameroon Côte d'Ivoire China Colombia Dominican Rep Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Estonia Gambia Ghana Guatemala Guinea Haiti Honduras Hungary India Indonesia Iran, Islamic Rep Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kyrgyzstan Lao People's Dem Rep Lebanon Lesotho Madagascar Malawi Mexico Morocco Mozambique Namibia Nepal Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Pakistan Peru Russian Federation Rwanda Senegal Sierra Leone South Africa Swaziland Tajikistan Tanzania Togo Turkey Ukraine Uzbekistan Yemen Zambia
Selected EarthTrends Data:
Variable Value
Gini Index{1} 58
Population living on less than $1/day{2} 8%
Population living on less than $2/day{3} 22%
Poverty Gap $1/day{4} 2%
Poverty Gap $2/day{5} 9%
Access to improved sanitation{5} 76%
Access to an improved water source{5} 87%
Literacy rate, all adults{5} n/a
Life expectancy, both sexes{5} 68 years
Definitions and Sources
{1}Data are from surveys administered during 2001. Ranked by per capita income



http://earthtrends.wri.org/povlinks/country/brazil.php

Brazil
Overview
With an estimated 177 million people, Brazil’s population ranks fifth in the world and largest in Latin America. Its vast natural resources and its large labor pool reinforces why it is considered a regional leader and one of Latin America’s economic powers.

Still, managing a population this size presents a challenge, especially when:

An estimated one in three (53 million people) live below the international poverty line;
Its unemployment is 12.9 percent nationally and 22-25 percent in some major urban centers;
Approximately 15 percent of the nation remains illiterate;
Nearly 15 million Brazilians lack access to reliable energy;
Crime continues to grow dramatically;
It is home to nearly 60 percent of all HIV/AIDS cases in South America, a majority of the region’s malaria cases, and is a high-burden tuberculosis country;
Environmental degradation continues at an alarming rate, amid increased pressure to exploit the Amazon to generate economic growth and employment; and
Heavy foreign debt remains a serious constraint to productive spending.
Since taking office in January, 2003, President Luiz Inacio "Lula" da Silva has made steady progress in addressing Brazil’s social problems and in stabilizing the economy -- reeling in inflation and rising interest rates and at the same time boosting investor confidence.

A product of abject poverty who once sold peanuts on the street as a child, President Lula successfully used his trade unionist politics to usher in the first leftist wing government party in 40 years. With nearly eight of ten Brazilians living in urban areas, President da Silva has been working hard to address hunger, social inequity, unemployment, health care and education issues only to find political pressures related to free trade pulling him in other directions.

The USAID Program: USAID will obligate $19.9 million in 2004 to address many of the problems mentioned above. Priorities include increased training and employment opportunities for disadvantaged youth; the elimination of sexual trafficking of young people; prevention of communicable diseases such as HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis control and treatment; protection of Brazil's environment and unique biodiversity; promotion of alternative energy and energy efficiency with reduction of greenhouse gas emissions; poverty alleviation; and promotion of free trade and small and medium enterprise development.



http://www.usaid.gov/locations/latin_america_caribbean/country/brazil/



The U.S. GAVE 20 million dollars to brazil in 2004, and they GIVE money every year....with this vast poverty in the U.S. that exists wonder why their giving money to other coutries??

Wonder why brazil doesn't give 20 million to the U.S. to help their poor?

But the real question is....how many penthouses did that 20 million buy for brazilian politicians in europe and the U.S.!

Brazil: USAID Program Profile
Budget FY 2005
Actual
FY 2006
Current
FY 2007
Requested

Total Program Funds
$12,189,000 $11,076,000 $13,985,000

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) program in Brazil is working to address regional and global issues of mutual concern and in addressing its serious socio-economic problems. USAID's program comprises five objectives contributing to:

Protection of Brazil's environment and unique biodiversity;
Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions through the promotion of alternative energy and efficiency;
Increased training and employment opportunities for disadvantaged Brazilian youth and the elimination of trafficking in youth
HIV/AIDS prevention and decreased tuberculosis and other communicable diseases;
Promotion of free trade, development of small and medium enterprises, as well as support of the Government of Brazil's Zero Hunger Program.
USAID works with its contractors and grantees to form strategic partnerships with national and local government and other donors, which have resulted in shared development agendas, enhanced resources, and a high degree of collaboration. USAID also manages four Global Development Alliances (GDA) in Brazil that leverage private sector funds and support for activities that prepare disadvantaged youth for employment and promote the use of certified forest products.
The USAID/Brazil program is focused on four strategic areas: environment, energy, health, and assistance to disadvantaged youth. USAID/Brasilia works quickly and effectively in key areas, thus modeling programs and leveraging funds from other donors.

Environment: Increase benefits to rural poor and shape land-use trends over large geographic, especially the Amazon, while mitigating the global impact of climate change and biodiversity loss.

Improve sustainable natural forest management practices;
Develop markets for environmental goods and services to provide tangible economic benefits for poor communities;
Monitor and design sustainable landscapes enhancing environmental and socioeconomic benefits incorporated into government planning and policies.
Energy: Promote renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies to mitigate global climate change and to expand the socio-economic benefits of clean, reliable energy.
Assist the Government of Brazil to support public policies that facilitate the adoption of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies;
Support renewable energy and energy efficiency demonstration projects;
Enhance related cooperation between U.S. and Brazilian firms and public institutions.
Health: Prevent sexual transmissions of HIV among vulnerable populations and control tuberculosis in high burden geographic areas.
Support to Brazilian NGOs with outreach programs targeting vulnerable populations
Foster behavior change including condom social marketing strategies
Support HIV/AIDS surveillance and operations research
Expand Directly Observed Therapy Short-course (DOTS) coverage
Support research to assess multi-drug resistance and TB/HIV co-morbidity
Disadvantaged Youth and Trafficking in Persons: Economic opportunities enhanced for disadvantaged youth through technology-based training, related life skills support, job placement assistance, and entrepreneurship opportunities.
Increased marketable skills training for at-risk youth
Increased access of at-risk youth to formal market employment opportunities
Targeted social safety net support
Improved policies and programs to curb trafficking in persons (TIP)
Economic Growth: Reduce economic inequity by stimulating trade led SME growth, promoting the FTAA, and strengthening social safety net implementation.
Enhance public/private sector understanding of benefits of free trade and support for FTAA.
Improved regulatory environment and government policies, access to credit and market information, and related technical assistance to ignite SME led growth.
Assist the Government of Brazil in the design/ implementation of the Zero Hunger Program and prepare targeted populations to access new economic opportunities related trade.


WOW! I never knew! The U.S. government, and individual donations from AMERICANS GIVE brazil millions and millions of dollars every year!!

What a bunch of nice people those "big fat violent" americans are!!

Do you want to talk about what the U.S. does for Africa??

I think not, because it's more than the african governments themselves!

quote:

"Their data show almost 15% of the people live below the poverty line of $27 a month in Rio de Janeiro."

The poverty line in brazil is 27 DOLLARS PER MONTH!!!

In the U.S. the poverty line is $18,500 per year!!! Or more than $1,500 per month!!

Brazil launches anti-poverty drive


Brazil still suffers from a desperate rich-poor gap

The Brazilian president has launched an ambitious programme to eliminate poverty in Brazil, the biggest country in Latin America.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, better known as Lula, aims to make a real difference for millions of people by the end of this year alone.


Everyone... [will] eat a decent meal three times a day, every day, without needing donations from anyone



Lula
Zero Hunger, as the programme is known, is one of the principal pillars of the new, leftist president's social agenda.

"We are going to create the conditions so that everyone in our country can eat a decent meal three times a day, every day, without needing donations from anyone," he said at the launching ceremony in Brasilia.

The president toured the vast country's poorest regions soon after taking office this month and promised help to the destitute.

The new programme is meant to supply 1.5 million of the poorest families, especially in the north-east, with a monthly income of $15 to buy basic foods by the end of the year.

It will also continue previous government initiatives, such as cash handouts given on condition that children are sent to schools where they get free meals.

Earlier this week, Lula called on world leaders in Davos, Switzerland, to set up a global anti-poverty fund.

Cash cards

Lula launched the new programme in front of an audience of 500 invited guests.

The government, which has earmarked $500m of its funds for the programme, is also appealing to Brazil's wealthy to donate and supermodel Gisele Bundchen has already given almost $30,000.

Brazil's poor
World's 10th biggest economy

46 m out of 170 m people live on less than a dollar a day

The president warned that hunger could not de defeated by "isolated government measures".

"Conquering hunger will demand a lot of effort, a lot of persistence, a lot of courage and dedication from all of us during the next four years," he said.

The BBC's Tom Gibb reports that most of Brazil's projects for the long-term elimination of hunger are still on the drawing-board, with serious arguments within Lula's administration on how to proceed.


Lula is asking the rich to pitch in like model Gisele
Initially, the centrepiece of the programme was to be through handing out coupons to buy food, but the idea was dropped after experts said it would merely create a black market in coupons.

So now recipients will be given an electronic card which will allow them to claim their $15 a month in cash to buy food.

The first recipients will be in Guaribas and Acaua, in the northeastern Piaui region, where more than 700 families will shortly collect their aid cards.

Areas badly hit by drought are being given special attention under the programme.

In Brazil, a nation of about 170 million, about 46 million people live on less than a dollar a day.




http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/2710797.stm

This report, as well as many others, put the numbers making less than a dollar a day at 40+ MILLION!

Although, in all honesty, the reports in the last year to two, most of them put the number of 40+ million of the population making less than $2/day.

Now, let's take a look at one of the statements here...

quote:

"The government, which has earmarked $500m of its funds for the programme, is also appealing to Brazil's wealthy to donate and supermodel Gisele Bundchen has already given almost $30,000. "

$30,000??? Gisele makes more than that in a weekend shoot!

And this makes national news!!!

Imagine if one of the rich brazilians here, there is one brazilian billionaire, but numerous that have hundreds of millions of DOLLARS....imagine if ONE of them would give HALF his net worth to charity...and a foreign country no less!!!

As did Ted Turner, giving ONE BILLION of his net worth of TWO BILLION to AFRICA!

quote:

"I mean how can Brazil both have epidemic faminine, yet have one of the strongest cultures of vanity in the world? Starving women don't worry about buying jeans that accentuate their ass."

You obviously have NO CLUE about brazil!!

Brazil has a segment of super-rich people, they also have a segment of middle-class and upper middle-class....BUT, they also have a segment of poor, which is around 30-40% of the population in which many don't have sufficient means to feed their families nor access to suitable drinking water!!

Brazil is a country of EXTREME contrasts!!! Read the articles above, go to those links, do internet searches yourself!!

Is EVERYONE lying? The U.N., and brazil itself??

Are these thousands of poor living in mud in tents made of sticks and plastic trash bags a farce? Some strategy to get more foreign aid??

Like you said, you've never been here....'nuff said!

Society Issues
Despite being a large country with extensive resources and a huge economy, Brazil currently has more than 22 million people living in state of extreme poverty[citation needed]. Including those living in state of relative poverty, this number can rise to more than 53 million people (around 30% of the country's population) living with an income insufficient for their basic needs[citation needed]. This is a critical issue, and is in part attributed to the country's economic inequality, considered one of the world's highest according to the Gini coefficient index, second only to some of the world's poorest countries[8].

Poverty in Brazil can be easily identified by the favelas, a great number of slums in the country's metropolitan areas and in upcountry remote regions with low rates of economic and social development. The Northeast region has chronic problems due to the semi-arid climate in the inner regions, as its periodic droughts affect millions of people [9]. The most recent attempt to mitigate these problems is being tried by current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who has proposed a hunger-eradication program (Fome Zero) and raised the budget for a handful of wealth distribution programs that were previously established, but there is much discussion over those approaches' effectiveness.

In the last 12 years, Brazil's tax rate raised gradually from around 28% of the country's GDP to more than 37% [10]. Despite that, there wasn't much improvement (and in some cases any improvement at all) in the public services offered by the Federal government, and in most of the state and city governments that could make this increase considered fair by the population[citation needed]. There is belief that there are two major causes of this disarrangement:

High interest rates paid by the government on its debts. [citation needed]
Widespread corruption[citation needed]. This issue can be proved by the fact that since the end of the country's military regime, and press freedom was re-estabilished in the country, constant scandals involving members of the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary accused of participating in schemes of bribe, embezzlement, money laundering and anonymous banking had come to surface.
About 8% of the Brazilian population is officially considered illiterate; however, over 30% of the total population do not have capacity to read and write texts, although a growing percentage show some writing and computing abilities[citation needed].



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazil

quote:

"Yes I would like you to provide figures proving epidemic faminine."


Are the above 6-8 articles, reports, from brazilian the brazilian government, ngo's, and the U.N. enough for ya?


lol

Quote:

"Are the above 6-8 articles, reports, from brazilian the brazilian government, ngo's, and the U.N. enough for ya?


lol"


Reply:

No.

Those reports provide no evidence of epidemic faminine. They espouse rethoric with an intent. Like pointing out Brazil has 60% of all HIV cases in Latin America. But what does that mean in context to only 1% or 2% of Brazilian adult population having HIV, or that Brazilian HIV rate is only slightly larger than the US.


Another poster (unless it was you) posted this by the BBC:

"Our correspondent says that these days, many Brazilians are malnourished; few are actually starving. "
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3631601.stm

Now that makes sense to me. That given the total context of Brazil and her society that many are found malnourished, some actually starving, *but not 30 million or more people starving.*

Quote:

"
You obviously have NO CLUE about brazil!!

Brazil has a segment of super-rich people, they also have a segment of middle-class and upper middle-class....BUT, they also have a segment of poor, which is around 30-40% of the population in which many don't have sufficient means to feed their families nor access to suitable drinking water!!

Brazil is a country of EXTREME contrasts!!! Read the articles above, go to those links, do internet searches yourself!!

Is EVERYONE lying? The U.N., and brazil itself??

Are these thousands of poor living in mud in tents made of sticks and plastic trash bags a farce? Some strategy to get more foreign aid??

Like you said, you've never been here....'nuff said!"


Reply:

Again, per Brazilian consumption pattern, Thomas H. Becker who is an economist and economic authority on Latin America, has stated that Brazilian middle class id larger than what the Brazilin government reports. That Brazil's middle class is actually probably around 30 to 40% of the country's population - by consumption pattern that is.

Consumption pattern I would think is a better way of accurately judgeing lifestyle and economic spending than just developing nations reports to the IMF, UN or who ever concerning their poverty situation.

I have never been to Brazil, however her huge population living favelas, can be seen through photographs and by tv (such as "Favela Rising"). I've never been to Ethiopia either but I have seen numerous photographs of her and her people and of their faminine in the 1980's. It does not take venture to either one of those countries, nor does it take a rocket scientist to figure out Brazil has no faminine epidemic. All the people I've seen on camera or in photos living Brazilian favelas look pretty much like U.S. people minus the obesity.

The mere fact favela kids and adults buy firearms and bullets tells me while many of them may go hungry they are not in masses starving.

Maslow's Heiarchy of needs:

1. Physiological
2. Safety & Security
3. Social belonging
4. Selfesteem through the ego
5. Self Actualization

30 million or more people starving per year would mean within five years time the Brazilian nations population would decline markedly. I don't need to travel to Brazil to understand that.

No one said that 30 million people were starving....what was said was MORE than 30 million brazilians are living on less than $2/day!

Also, but brazils own Fome Zero website, 40 million brazilians are "threatened by hunger".

Now if you don't believe United Nations reports and studies, international NGO's, and brazils own reports....than you're not worth conversing with. You're just another person that refuses to accept reality.

And as was stated above....YOU, and others like YOU, are NOT helping matters!! You're making them WORSE! By not facing reality and protesting these miserable living conditions and realities that exist in brazil!!!

People like you are doing EXACTLY what those in power want you to do.....ACCEPT the reality here, and not believe its as bad as it is for the millions upon millions.

The first person to mention FAMINE here was YOU!

quote:

"They espouse rethoric with an intent. Like pointing out Brazil has 60% of all HIV cases in Latin America. But what does that mean in context to only 1% or 2% of Brazilian adult population having HIV, or that Brazilian HIV rate is only slightly larger than the US."

So?? What they said is 100% accurate!

Brazil has 60% of the HIV cases in South America. This can also be contributable to that brazil is by far the largest country in south america.....what's your point??

Do you think the U.N. has an axe to grind with brazil? Do you think the brazilian gov't. wants to put out statistics on poverty, ones that aren't exactly flattering, that are incorrect??

If anything, these statistics by the brazilian government are UNDERESTIMATED.....not overestimated!

So, you've seen reports, ranging from 30 million to 50+ million of brazilians living on less than a dollar a day.....how exactly do you think their reality is??

Like those that are living in the "projects" in the U.S.?? Recieving welfare of 1200 dollars a month and food stamps for the month??

Give me a break....as you said before, you've never even been here....you're only embarrassing yourself with your ignorant statements.

quote:

"Reply:

Again, per Brazilian consumption pattern, Thomas H. Becker who is an economist and economic authority on Latin America, has stated that Brazilian middle class id larger than what the Brazilin government reports. That Brazil's middle class is actually probably around 30 to 40% of the country's population - by consumption pattern that is.

Consumption pattern I would think is a better way of accurately judgeing lifestyle and economic spending than just developing nations reports to the IMF, UN or who ever concerning their poverty situation.

I have never been to Brazil, however her huge population living favelas, can be seen through photographs and by tv (such as "Favela Rising"). I've never been to Ethiopia either but I have seen numerous photographs of her and her people and of their faminine in the 1980's. It does not take venture to either one of those countries, nor does it take a rocket scientist to figure out Brazil has no faminine epidemic. All the people I've seen on camera or in photos living Brazilian favelas look pretty much like U.S. people minus the obesity.

The mere fact favela kids and adults buy firearms and bullets tells me while many of them may go hungry they are not in masses starving.

Maslow's Heiarchy of needs:

1. Physiological
2. Safety & Security
3. Social belonging
4. Selfesteem through the ego
5. Self Actualization

30 million or more people starving per year would mean within five years time the Brazilian nations population would decline markedly. I don't need to travel to Brazil to understand that."

No one said that 30 million people are dying from starvation!!!

Please, quote where I stated that!!

You can't!! Thank goodness this debate is in print!! Stop putting words in my mouth!


What I did state, and conservatively I might add, was that 30 million brazilians live on less than $2 per day! Now, they are NOT starving to death....but I'm sure you can imagine their reality!

The brazilian poverty line, to be considered "extremely poor" in brazil.....is TWENTY-SEVEN DOLLARS per MONTH!!!

I used to make that in 20 MINUTES in the United States!

“People may not go to church every Sunday here but they do have a strong heritage of religion."

“I almost fell off my chair after reading that!!

If brazil has such high regard for catholic values and morals, why is it a world leader in things like murder, prostitution, corruption, etc???

Are these the values the catholic church teaches?”

Reply:

Look, I didn’t say Brazil has high regards for catholic values, I said heritage. Cultural patterns passed from father to son. I said that. I don’t have figures now but the larger amount of brazilians are the NON-PRACTICING CATHOLICS. That means they inherited the religion, they possess the religious rituals and that’s it. You should know that, you live here, you know many brazilians and read the papers! Every Brazilian knows that. Smaller groups practice the catholic faith in addition to all the protestant denominations, spiritualism, oriental and African religions and the atheists. Devout pentecostals are growing in numbers in Brazil, specially the charismatic. Atheists are growing as well but they are considered minority. So, matrimonial union is a matter of high importance in this culture, like it or not.

Another point is if a woman in Brazil remains married to a guy who cheats on her, there are some possible explanations: Either she is being passive or/and believes the guy will change bla, bla, bla or she wants not to go to work to support herself or children, if any. If any of that happens, these women can be considered not more than mere possessions. Something which is more uncommon nowadays for most working women because this is a practice considered old, inherited from their mothers/grandmothers. And I’m saying that regarding all classes. The cleaning lady at a place I worked raised her 3 kids being separated. Another explanation would be both husband and wife agreed jointly to remain “married” so they both won’t lose the quality of life they have remaining married in view of the fact that they wouldn’t afford it if separated.

You widespread antiquated ideas of brazil!!

Quote:

No I have never been to Brazil, but that does not change Brazilians being part of the homo sapien sapien species, and as such Brazilians like everyone else on planet earth are subject to some basic biological facts about that human species. So yes I ask the question how can 30 million Brazilian humans survive off less than $2 a day? If in fact that is both their only source of food and is not enough to afford basic nourishment needed to survive? If however they have another source of unreported income, or they have another source of aquireing food (such as charitable orginizations), or if less than $2 a day can purchase any human on earth their basic food stuffs to survive then I can understand and accept those figures as reliable per reasonable. Otherwise it is illogical.

I've read that Brazilian *consumer pattern* does not reflect the figures for percentage in poverty the Brazilian government reports. Per study of consumer pattern Brazil is revealed to have a larger middle class than it reports to have.

Reply:

It is a very simple reply but only the street people rely on $2/ a day. That’s because the pop under the poverty line receives “bolsa família” governmental aid in cash for every family who has certain range of income. It is estimated that 11 million families are granted with this benefit. There is also “bolsa-escola” when families receive money for each child they keep in school. The people who receive it are also the ones who are going to vote massively for Lula’s reelection. These gov aids were the reason why Bono from U2 meet Lula the last time they came to Brazil feb/06. Unfortunately Lula turned to be a very populist politician and this govern is very criticized because of its aids political uses. That is all good his gov does for Brazil effectively I have to be sincere!

"It is estimated that 11 million families are granted with this benefit."

How incorrect you are!! 6.5 MILLION families are RECEIVING "bolsa familia" they state that 10+ million are receiving, actually those are the number "registered"....do you want the reports? I believe its even stated in one of the above articles I posted...and bolsa familia...oh f**k it...here are the qualifications for "bolsa familia".

quote from Caixa Economic..qualifications and "maximums" allowed for bolsa familia:

"Critérios de Seleção das Famílias.

O benefício Bolsa Família é constituído de uma parcela básica no valor de R$ 50,00 e uma parcela variável

no valor de R$ 15,00 por beneficiário, até o limite de R$ 45,00.

O benefício básico é destinado a famílias que recebem até R$ 50,00 per capita.

O benefício variável é destinado a famílias que recebem até R$ 100,00 per capita e que tenham

em sua composição: gestantes, nutrizes, crianças entre zero e 15 anos.



Renda-Per Capita
Benef. Básico
Benef. Variável

R$ 0,00 a R$ 50,00
R$ 50,00
R$ 15,00 (limitado a 3)

R$ 50,01 a R$ 100,00

R$ 15,00 (limitado a 3)"

Now, I know you don't understand portuguese, because you've never even stepped your foot in brazil...lol, so I'll translate for you!

Basically, "bolsa familia" is given to the poorest of the poor. Those people that are making 1-2 dollars per day. AND, their is a MAXIMUM montly allowance of 95 reais, or roughly $40 DOLLARS per month! You must have THREE(3) dependant children to receive this 95 reais per month, if you don't have 3 dependant children, you receive FIFTEEN reais, or around 7 DOLLARS, per month, per child! Until a maximum of 45 REAIS per MONTH!

One receives 50 reais per month via "bolsa familia", and then an additional 15 reais per month per child under 15 years of age up to 3 children...a maximum of an additional 45 reais!

AND, there are QUALIFICATIONS to receive these "dependant" benefits. The children MUST be attending school and enlisted in other educational social services.

and let me add, that the 95 reais per month are only for those making 50 reais or LESS per month!!

If you make 51 reais up to 100 reais per month, you only receive 50 reais per month, or around 22 dollars per month from bolsa familia.

Six years ago I was seeing this woman. She was educated and seemed to have a strong stance on her independence. One morning she asked me to stop by to see her. It was 4am, so naturally I did not take my time, I thought the worst. Arriving at her house I find her face and arms badly bruised as well as two deep cuts above her right eye. After dressing her cuts and checking for further physical damage, she told me what happened. Her ex-boyfriend came by to talk. She hadn’t seen or heard from him in seven months, so she thought. Why not see how he’s doing? He seemed ok even after she told him there was no hope in them getting back together. Then she did the unthinkable, she told him she just started seeing someone new. That’s when he began to beat her. In her words, “Just like he did when we were a couple”. I asked, why did you let him in the house? Her response, “he only smacked me once when we broke-up, I thought he would be ok this time”. I tried to understand how a woman feels in a relationship like that. She would wake-up screaming don’t hit me, please don’t hit me! Then she’d put her arms around me, in tears asking me to protect her from them! “Don’t let them hurt me again”! I really tried to understand. We broke-up after two and a half years. She wanted some time alone, I understood. She said to keep in touch, I was a nice guy to have as a friend, perhaps more when the time is right. I wrote her a few times, she always wrote back saying all was well… till… February of last year I attended her funeral. Her mother gave me the sad news, giving me a hand written note, dated a day before her murder. Elisabeth, asking if I would be there for her one last time.

not trying to be trite but....LOL!

Is that ALL you can do...show several incidences of violence in the U.S.?

Once again, if you want to do that, you can fill the page with your few thousand, and I can fill the page with MILLIONS here in brazil.

(rolleyes)

This is and artcile from sciencedaily.com, the full article can be found at: www.sciencedaily.com/releases/...093123.htm

One can see 78% of the 5.5 million wasted children live in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Close to two thirds of them living in India alone. Some how that does not jives with a perception of 30 million or more people supposedly starving to death in Brazil. By the end of my excerpt from the article it fair to say Brazil has an issue with malnutrition among its poor but nothing to constitute epedimic famine.


Excerpt:

"Wasting is defined by a low weight-to-height ratio; it is visible in the form of skeletally thin children usually found in the middle of a famine. The authors note that a public health disaster is generally declared if more than 15% of the children in a country suffer from wasting. Gross and Webb analyzed countries with the highest child mortality rates and child wasting rates. Based on their assessment of the data, the authors present five surprising facts about severe children malnutrition and argue that such conditions must be resolved in non-emergency settings to prevent future public health crises.

First, contrary to popular belief, Africa does not have the most children suffering from wasting. "Although in the past 10 years, every subregion of Africa saw a rise in both the number of wasted children under the age of five and in the overall rate of wasting, about 78% of the world's 5.5 million wasted children live in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh; nearly two thirds of those in India alone," says Webb.

Secondly, the absence of conflict, such as political instability, does not prevent or resolve wasting in children. When the authors compared countries without recent conflict to countries that have recently emerged from periods of conflict or remain continually unstable, they found that, "... stability, economic growth, and even political transparency are not in themselves sufficient factors to overcome the persistence of wasting in marginalized vulnerable groups." Wasting is a complex condition that is not simply caused by conflict or famine alone. Gross and Webb conclude that "effective, targeted actions are needed as part of the development agenda."

Third, HIV does not appear yet to contribute substantially and directly to severe wasting in children, although the authors state that "as the pandemic progresses, high HIV/AIDS rates will contribute to worsening nutrition, both from the direct effects of the disease and from an indirect impact on household food security and childcare. Without dual action against wasting and HIV/AIDS, the deadly synergy of these two factors is likely to grow in coming years."

Fourth, political and economic growth do not always automatically improve child nutrition. According to the authors, "wealth creation at a national level does not preclude the persistence of wasting on a large scale." For example, the United Arab Emirates, a wealthy country, has a wasting rate of 14%. "Similarly," state the authors, "both India and Brazil have shown remarkable rates of economic growth without proportional gains in the nutritional status of poorer people in their society." "

quote:

"By the end of my excerpt from the article it fair to say Brazil has an issue with malnutrition among its poor but nothing to constitute epedimic famine."


Once again.....WHO SAID ANYTHING ABOUT EPIDEMIC FAMINE BESIDES YOU??!!!

WHAT WAS SAID WAS THE NUMBERS MAKING LESS THAN 1 DOLAR A DAY AND 2 DOLLARS A DAY!!!

NOW, DON'T COME BACK HERE UNTIL YOU ANSWER THAT QUESTION....."WHO" SAID ANYTHING ABOUT EPIDEMIC FAMINE??

Brazil: The hunger of the missed meal

FAO (FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS!)
supports the Zero Hunger Project -- Interview with Andrew MacMillan

14 February 2003, Rome -- In Brazil poverty affects more than a quarter of the population - some 44 million people. In the nine states in north eastern Brazil, the poorest parts of the country, almost half of all families live on approximately a dollar a day.

The first priority of the new President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, is to ensure that every Brazilian eats three times a day. He has launched an ambitious programme called Zero Hunger, with the support of FAO.

Andrew MacMillan, Director of the Field Operation Division, talks about FAO's support for the Zero Hunger Project.

Brazil has long been viewed as a country with great social inequalities, but hunger has hardly been mentioned. Has there always been a lack of food in Brazil or is this a recent problem?

Hunger is the most extreme manifestation of the huge problem of poverty in Brazil. Few people die of starvation, but there is widespread chronic food insecurity and malnutrition. This means that people are unable to produce or gain access to enough food of an adequate quality for a healthy life. It is the hunger of the missed meal, and it is very debilitating.

The current situation needs urgent interventions and President Lula has given himself just the four years of his mandate to solve the problem. Will Brazil need emergency interventions?

It was President Lula himself who answered this question when he launched the Zero Hunger Project on 30 January 2003. He said solving hunger cannot be simply an emergency project but the situation requires both giving fish and showing how to fish at the same time.

Zero Hunger shares FAO's philosophy of eradicating world hunger, following the two-pronged approach of FAO's Anti-Hunger Programme - to both develop income-generating household agriculture and ensure adequate access to food.

In the north east of Brazil, almost half of all families live on approximately a dollar a day. It is for these people that we must act. And it is for this group of people that the Zero Hunger Project has begun its activities with the technical and financial backing of FAO.

What is the basis for the Zero Hunger Project?

The Zero Hunger Project recognizes that low incomes are the main cause of chronic hunger and that an income supplement needs to be provided. It will be done through an electronic card. The beneficiaries will have to show that funds received have been spent mainly on basic food items and cooking fuel. They will have to proof that their children go to school and that adults have enrolled in a training programme which will improve their employability, and thus reduce their dependence on future help.

How is FAO supporting this ambitious plan?

The FAO Director-General, Jacques Diouf, will visit Brazil to explore how we can deepen our collaboration further. For the moment, FAO has already approved three projects. Through these initiatives, FAO will support the Zero Hunger with expertise in areas such as urban and peri-urban agriculture, family farming, settlements and land reform, capacity building, monitoring and evaluation.

It is a paradox that Brazil is one of the world's main exporters of agricultural commodities - selling soya, sugar and coffee abroad. But on the other hand, according to FAO, 16.7 million people are undernourished.

Yes, there is no doubt that there has been a very impressive growth in large-scale farm production in Brazil over the last two decades but this has not happened in the subsistence farming sector.

In many countries, the very success of agriculture has been disastrous for poor rural people. Advanced countries have absorbed their surplus rural population in other sectors, allowing farm size to increase and economies of scale to take effect. But in most developing countries, small farmers have either had to remain on the land, often with a diminishing size of plot as families have grown, or tomigrate to the cities with no job in sight. Most chronically food insecure people are, therefore, small farmers or recent urban migrants who have fled rural destitution.

The Zero Hunger Project seeks to address this imbalance. It will use the extra demand for food which it creates to stimulate local markets, generating growth opportunities for farmers, especially small farmers. In this way it will help both poor consumers and poor producers.

Facts and figures:

- The top 20 percent of the population earn 60 percent of the country's income, whilst the lowest 20 percent survive on less than 4 percent.

- In 1999, 44 million Brazilians, more than a quarter of the population, lived in absolute poverty. Their daily income was below US$1.06. Recent figures suggest that this number is now over 50 million.

- The number of people who suffer from chronic undernourishment is not known accurately and is a subject of much debate. According to FAO's estimates, using methodology applied internationally, in 1998-2000, some 16.7 million Brazilians ( about 10 percent of the population) were chronically undernourished.


http://www.fao.org/english/newsroom/news/2003/13320-en.html

Indian Children Starvation Deaths Shock Brazil
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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BRAZIL: March 4, 2005


BRASILIA - Six children have starved to death this year on a poverty-stricken Indian reserve in central Brazil and officials warned more could die in a scandal that has shocked South America's biggest country.


About 11,500 traditionally nomadic Indians are crammed onto a reservation in Mato Grosso do Sul state. Infant mortality and suicides rates are up to three times higher than national averages on the reservation, originally created to house 300 people.
"It's become a concentration camp," said Sen. Delcidio Amaral of Mato Grosso do Sul, upper-house leader for the ruling Workers Party (PT). "Our Indian policy has gone wrong."

"Something is going wrong if so many children are dying, and it could get worse," said Amaral.

Senators and local officials at a congressional hearing warned Indians could invade local farms if they did not get land and assistance to help end their "human confinement".

Pictures of dead Indian children published over the last two weeks have shocked Brazilians after center left President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva promised to improve conditions for indigenous communities that have suffered centuries of abuse.

Brazil's Congress promised a commission to investigate malnutrition and overcrowding on reservations. Federal officials said they would create a group to coordinate provision of health care, benefits and infrastructure.

Indian agency officials, and activists, said more aid and assistance would only dull the pain in Dourados.

"The structural problem is a lack of land, they're completely surrounded by fields of soy," said Mercio Pereira Gomes, head of the government's Funai Indian agency which oversees Indian reserves.

Brazil's Indian population has grown from 400,000 at the end of the 1980s to 734,000 in the latest census in 2000.

The growth has strained the reservation system and Indians want to move onto new ancestral lands -- as is their right under Brazil's constitution.

There were an estimated 6 million Indians in Brazil when the Portuguese arrived in 1500 and brought abuse and illnesses.

The 12-square-mile (30 square-km) Dourados reservation was created 90 years ago in an area of savannah and forest now converted into one of the world's largest grains growing areas.

The Kaiowa-Guarani Indians want more land to return to traditional hunting and gathering activities. That puts them at odds with landowners driving economic growth with soy exports.

Other reservations in Mato Grosso do Sul have occupied local farms and ranches at gunpoint to get land.

Dourados mayor Laerte Tetila said Indians would have invaded his local "white community" if it were not for federal handouts pumped into the reserve.

"THERE IS NO PLACE IN LATIN AMERICA THAT IS SUCH A DISGRACE AS THE DOURADOS RESERVE IN BRAZIL... for its rising levels of child prostitution, suicide, drug addiction and AIDS," said Tetila, who has worked with Indian communities for 35 years.


http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/29823/newsDate/4-Mar-2005/story.htm

Quote:

"Now, I know you don't understand portuguese, because you've never even stepped your foot in brazil...lol, so I'll translate for you! "


Reply:

That was not me that responded about the bolsa familia. That was another poster whom I assume lives in or has been to Brazil. I'm the one that has never been to Brazil and who has been arguing there is no famine epidemic in Brazil.

But the bolsa familia you and the other poster I speaking about might be why. I think I stated earlier in this whole discussion that if $2 or less a day can't purchase nurishing food for a person then they are have other sources of non reported income, or they have some other access to food, otherwise one dies. Simple as that.

There are some low level drug dealers in the US whom have no reported income and by having no legitamate job have in effect an official income of not $2 a day but *zero dollars* a day. But unofficially they make probably $300 a week in their illegal trade and unreported income. Hence their consumer pattern will reflect something totally different from their official income of zero dollars.

I did some looking on the internet, and apparently a person might be able to 15 days without water before dehydrating to death. And starvation depending on the persons body composition, health, heart rate and other factors might take any where from a few days to several weeks.

AND, this is what happens, when god forbid, there is a DROUGHT....

quote:

"The last drop of rain fell on the rural community of Juarzerinho, in Brazil's Northeast state of Paraiba on November 16, 1997. A trip to Juarzeirinho eight months later found signs of the...

...of El Nifio, but by the already- existing misery caused by a severe maldistribution of resources...
...At year's end, the drought has not abated, and palma, used for cattle feed and only as a last resort for human consumption, is virtually the only crop that has survived...
...MST raids have since leveled off, but were frequent occurrences in the first few months of 1998...
...People are eating roasted grasshoppers and competing with the cattle for cactus...
...The length of the frequent water cut-offs has now been extended from 24 to 48 hours...
...Underground water sources are extensive, but-indicating the political nature of the famine-they remain largely untapped...
...Throughout the Northeast, 110 such raids were reported through the end of last May...
...The numbers point to CORRUPTION, special interest politics, waste and INCOMPETENCE," says Environment Minister Gustavo Krause...
...Hungry people started raiding schools and grocery stores for food...
...hen the drought set in, so did the desperation of the poor...
...kers, laboring under slave-like conditions, await transport at a sugar-cane factory in the e of Bahia tions, the issue has almost completely fallen off the media's map...
...Speaking at last April's Assembly of the National Conference of Bishops, Archbishop Dom Marcelo Pinto Carvalheira of the Archdiocese of Joao Pessoa stated that a starving and destitute person has the right to steal food...
...Isolated and infrequent incidents of the looting of government food trucks have been reported in the last few months...
...The monthly government ration of flour, beans, rice, cooking 1ACIA REPORT ON THE AMERICAS 12UPDATE / BRAZIL oil and noodles is barely enough for two weeks...
...The soil of his 32 acres of land is so poor that even during years of good rainfall only a tiny portion is used for corn and sweet potatoes for his family's consumption...
...The rich raid the resources of the government and no one says anything...
...As the drought continues, many of the hungry farmers of Juarzeirinho have sought refuge in Brazil's large urban centers...
...During the 1989 drought, a state politician from Pernambuco held up the distribution of 30 tons of donated black beans in order to distribute the beans in a calculated move to embarrass his political opponents...
...Some Brazilians have everything including money to go to France for the World Cup...
...Large tracts of land, normally full of corn, sweet potato and manioc, were overrun by a cactus called palma...
...When the government defaulted on paying the newly contracted workers their $50 monthly salary, however, more riots ensued...
...We haven't pro"Those who take something that does not belong to them in order to survive," said the Archbishop, "do not sin...
...When asked why he stays, Oliveira says that despite the constant struggle for survival and the too-little, too-late government relief efforts, his life has always been in Juarzeirinho...
...His land does not produce enough to survive on so, like almost all of the small farmers in this area, he works for a large landholder...
...The government's response continues to be hard-line--refusing to negotiate with the leadership of the MST and threatening to stop the lengthy, drawn-out reform process on idle lands that have been occupied...
...We suffer just as our ancestors did," he says, "but I stay because I love the land...
...State officials predict that the system that provides water for the city will be completely dry by April 1999...
...Under such conditions, when large numbers of people have nothing to fall back on, drought becomes famine...
...I'm not angry with them...
...The drought came as no surprise...
...Distribution of the emergency food baskets has also been erratic, with many communities yet to receive assistance...
...In 1995, the Brazilian Environmental and Natural Resources Department cited 50 incomplete drought-relief projects that had consumed $408 million since 1979...
...Prior to the Asian crisis, coverage of the drought was nightly news on all the major stations but, with some rare exceppublic debt, the largest total debt in the developing world...
...women carried tin cylinders on their heads and people pushing wheelbarrows lined up at wells in the centers of small towns in search of the precious resource...
...In a national broadcast in early June, Cardoso announced that $2 billion would be allotted to drought relief, including expanded unemployment coverage and the creation of thousands of additional jobs in the region's 52 publicworks projects...
...For long-time farmer Rivaldo Jose de Oliveira, who has elected to stay, the struggle to survive without rain is not new...
...The impact of this drought has been exacerbated not only by the effects In the midst of what is perhaps the worst drought of this century, 9.5 MILLION PEOPLE ARE ON THE VERGE OF STARVATION...
...duced an edible crop in over a year...
...We are throwing away money while people are DYING OF THIRST...
...A few months ago, Campina Grande, the second-largest city in the state of Paraiba, began to ration water...
...The Movement of Landless Workers (MST), a militant organization supported by Catholic lay leaders, religious workers and some bishops, played a leading role in organizing the raids to pressure the government to take some action to aid the poor...
...I'm angry with the system that allows this to happen and forgets the misery of the poor...
...Catholic Social Doctrine emphasizes the universal distribution of the resources of creation...
...There is also a flourishing "drought industry," in which much of the government and international drought-relief assistance is diverted for private or political gain...
...He has lived through eight droughts, though he admits that this one is particularly severe...
...By April 1998, a federal report was warning the country to prepare for what could be the worst drought of the century...
...President Cardoso harshly criticized the statement, but it prompted government action...
...The constant search for water was evident as Kathleen Bond works in Jodo Pessoa, Paraiba, Brazil, as a Maryknoll lay missioner...
...A trip to Juarzeirinho eight months later found signs of the drought everywhere...
...Within days of the Archbishop's declaration, the government dispatched emergency food supplies three weeks ahead of schedule and stepped up emergency public-works projects...
...Brazil is the world's tenth-largest econo- my and a net exporter of agricul- tural products, but a mere 1% of Vol XXXII, No 4 JAN/FEB 199911 Vol XXXII, No 4 JANIFEB 1999 11UPDATE / BRAZIL the Brazilian population holds 47% of the arable land...
...The response of the Catholic Church to the drought has been unusually strong...
...It was not until June 1998-several months after the drought began--that the government began to implement a series of mediumterm measures to assist the most severely affected sectors of the population...
...In the midst of what is perhaps the worst drought of the century, 9.5 MILLION PEOPLE ARE ON THE VERGE OF STARVATION in Brazil's NORTHEAST, a semi-arid region of nine states and 45 million inhabitants...
...Though the 1988 Constitution guarantees land reform, large landowners have used their close ties to the political elite to block progress on its implementation...
...Of Oliveira's 15 children, the three oldest have already left for Sio Paulo...
...This 20,000-acre project was supposed to be completed within six years of its 1979 starting date, yet after almost 20 years, there is still no termination date in sight...
...Others have stayed on the land waiting stubbornly for the rains to come...
...During the recent presidential campaign, the impact of the international financial crisis on Brazil's precarious economy eclipsed all other issues...
..."CHILDREN ARE DYING BECAUSE THEY HAVE NO FOOD TO EAT" said Archbishop Pinto in an interview in early June...
...Large tracts have historically been left idle for speculation...
...Now the only thing that grows is palma, which I feed to my six cows...
...Like the country's TERRIBLY SKEWED DISTRIBUTION OF INCOME, the famine has become one more silent scourge of Brazil's impoverished majority...
...Since August 1997, various climatic research institutes, including the Brazilian National Meteorological Institute, have been predicting extremely low rainfall for 1998...
...When the poor raid to eat, everyone screams...
...Wor stat Meanwhile, for Oliveira and other farmers, the threat of starvation remains...
...Only when the issue is somehow related to the country's broader instability does the media take note...
...Those who take something that does not belong to them in order to survive do not sin," said Pinto...
...The administration of Fernando Henrique Cardoso was slow to take preventive steps such as drilling more artesian wells or completing abandoned irrigation projects...
...We do all the work and give him a third of our crops," he says...
...There was ample media coverage, for example, when government officials admitted that some $45 million budgeted for emergency relief was diverted to help pay off the country's galloping Unlike the international attention devoted to the famines in North Korea and the Sudan, and to the flood disasters in other parts of the Americas, news of this tragedy has only occasionally extended beyond the borders of Brazil...
...Forecasters predict no new crops for subsistence farmers for at least a year, and despite the relief measures, the threat of starvation remains...
...This is hardly a new phenomenon...
...After a brief respite for the October elections, the MST has resumed land occupations throughout the country...
...But the situation has become so severe that it is beginning to affect the urban areas...
...Many of the projects had been on hold for several years, including an irrigation project in the community of Ibimirim, Pernambuco, Paraiba's neighboring state...
...Their frequent remittances help the family survive along with the $100 monthly income of another daughter who is the local school teacher...

quote:


"I did some looking on the internet, and apparently a person might be able to 15 days without water before dehydrating to death. And starvation depending on the persons body composition, health, heart rate and other factors might take any where from a few days to several weeks."

Jesus christo, you're lost...truly, you're not this stupid...are you?? And living in america no less. You know you should kiss the ground there everyday that the U.S. gov't. allowed your family to migrate there from africa...where more than likely you and your entire family would've been murdered.

Anyway, you still haven't answered the question....."WHO" said anything about epidemic starvation besides YOU???

Quote:

"Indian Children Starvation Deaths Shock Brazil
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mail this story to a friend | Printer friendly version

BRAZIL: March 4, 2005


BRASILIA - Six children have starved to death this year on a poverty-stricken Indian reserve in central Brazil and officials warned more could die in a scandal that has shocked South America's biggest country.


About 11,500 traditionally nomadic Indians are crammed onto a reservation in Mato Grosso do Sul state. Infant mortality and suicides rates are up to three times higher than national averages on the reservation, originally created to house 300 people.
"It's become a concentration camp," said Sen. Delcidio Amaral of Mato Grosso do Sul, upper-house leader for the ruling Workers Party (PT). "Our Indian policy has gone wrong."

"Something is going wrong if so many children are dying, and it could get worse," said Amaral.

Senators and local officials at a congressional hearing warned Indians could invade local farms if they did not get land and assistance to help end their "human confinement".

Pictures of dead Indian children published over the last two weeks have shocked Brazilians after center left President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva promised to improve conditions for indigenous communities that have suffered centuries of abuse.

Brazil's Congress promised a commission to investigate malnutrition and overcrowding on reservations. Federal officials said they would create a group to coordinate provision of health care, benefits and infrastructure.

Indian agency officials, and activists, said more aid and assistance would only dull the pain in Dourados.

"The structural problem is a lack of land, they're completely surrounded by fields of soy," said Mercio Pereira Gomes, head of the government's Funai Indian agency which oversees Indian reserves.

Brazil's Indian population has grown from 400,000 at the end of the 1980s to 734,000 in the latest census in 2000.

The growth has strained the reservation system and Indians want to move onto new ancestral lands -- as is their right under Brazil's constitution.

There were an estimated 6 million Indians in Brazil when the Portuguese arrived in 1500 and brought abuse and illnesses.

The 12-square-mile (30 square-km) Dourados reservation was created 90 years ago in an area of savannah and forest now converted into one of the world's largest grains growing areas.

The Kaiowa-Guarani Indians want more land to return to traditional hunting and gathering activities. That puts them at odds with landowners driving economic growth with soy exports.

Other reservations in Mato Grosso do Sul have occupied local farms and ranches at gunpoint to get land.

Dourados mayor Laerte Tetila said Indians would have invaded his local "white community" if it were not for federal handouts pumped into the reserve.

"THERE IS NO PLACE IN LATIN AMERICA THAT IS SUCH A DISGRACE AS THE DOURADOS RESERVE IN BRAZIL... for its rising levels of child prostitution, suicide, drug addiction and AIDS," said Tetila, who has worked with Indian communities for 35 years.


http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/29823/newsDate/4-Mar-2005/story.htm"


Reply:

This article proves my point. Like I stated earlier some people starve to death in Brazil, whereas no one starves to death in the United States. But that Brazil does not have an *epidemic of starvation.*

If there was an epidemic of starvation 6 Indian children in some remote area of Brazil dieing of starvation would not be a *scandle* or "big news." 6 children dieing of starvation hardly represents an epidemic in a nation of 180 million people. Plus the fact they are nomadic Indians give clues as to why in Amazonian Brazil one might starve to death. Farming per sustenance always eventually leads to famine (such as the reason behind the Great Irish Potatoe Famine). A people are always better protected from famine if their access to food is based on the "Free Market" and monetary purchase. Nomadic living rejects the "Free Market" and seeks access to food through premative means which asre subject to the mercy of mother nature.

ONLY YOU SAID THERE WAS AN EPIDEMIC OF STARVATION!!!! LMAO!!!


ONLY YOU!!!!

Quote:

"Jesus christo, you're lost...truly, you're not this stupid...are you?? And living in america no less. You know you should kiss the ground there everyday that the U.S. gov't. allowed your family to migrate there from africa...where more than likely you and your entire family would've been murdered.

Anyway, you still haven't answered the question....."WHO" said anything about epidemic starvation besides YOU???"


Reply:

Showing your racist ignorance are you?

No one stated epidemic starvation but me, however at least one other poster attempted to prove that there was epidemic starvation going on in Brazil when I challenged him to prove such.

But, like I said, unless any homo sapien sapien can purchase at least basic food nurishment from less than $2 a day in Brazil, it would logically stand that starvation would be epidemic in Brazil if 30 million or more people live solely off of that and have no other access to food other than those less than two daily dollars.

no...once again, you're wrong, do you know why you're wrong??

Because YOU DON'T KNOW THE REALITY THAT EXISTS IN BRAZIL!!!

One will not "starve to death" by making one or two dollars a day....BUT, HE WILL BE "THREATENED" BY HUNGER.....WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT 40 MILLION BRAZILIANS ARE!!!!

QUOTE:

"Showing your racist ignorance are you? "

There was NOTHING racist nor ignorant about the statement I made....was pretty much "spot-on", and racist??? LOL.

people like you just LOVE to cry racism don't ya??

Get a grip!

Here is what guest poster of June 12, 13:07:18 posted in reply to my challenge of him or her to provide evidence or proof of epidemic famine in Brazil. The poster quotes my challeng:


June 12th 13:07:18.
"quote:

'Yes I would like you to provide figures proving epidemic faminine.'


Are the above 6-8 articles, reports, from brazilian the brazilian government, ngo's, and the U.N. enough for ya?


lol"

that was in response to making 1-2 dollars per day!!!

Not in resonse to EPIDEMIC FAMINE!!!

Only YOU started talking about EPIDEMIC FAMINE.....DO I NEED TO QUOTE THE RESPONSES HERE??

ONLY YOU, TOOK THE STATEMENT OF MAKING 1-2 DOLLARS PER DAY AND "TWISTED" INTO EPIDEMIC FAMINE.....DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT?

Quote:

" There was NOTHING racist nor ignorant about the statement I made....was pretty much "spot-on", and racist??? LOL. "


Reply:

You are an idiot. Half my family, per my mother's side, come from Germany. Trier, Germany to be exact. Ancient Roman settlement as that was, one side of my German family surname is Roman. I happen to be half German - and being that part of my Black side of my family has blood mixed in from the Creek Indians, one might say my bloodline is more percentage European German than Black African.

So yeah... your statement about "entire family" was pretty stupid, not to mention the implicit racism in its diction and tone.

Ya know what...I'm outta here, lol. No use talking to some 20 year old chick sitting in Washinton DC who's never so much stepped their foot in brazil, not even on a one week "gringo" excursion to Copacabana about the problems in brazil!

I live here!! In the northeast!!! Where the poverty is the most severe!! For 8 years now! I see it on a daily basis!!!

Quote:

"that was in response to making 1-2 dollars per day!!!

Not in resonse to EPIDEMIC FAMINE!!!

Only YOU started talking about EPIDEMIC FAMINE.....DO I NEED TO QUOTE THE RESPONSES HERE??

ONLY YOU, TOOK THE STATEMENT OF MAKING 1-2 DOLLARS PER DAY AND "TWISTED" INTO EPIDEMIC FAMINE.....DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT? "


Reply:

Idiot, scroll back to the posted dated June 12, 13:07:18.

quote:

"You know you should kiss the ground there everyday that the U.S. gov't. allowed your family to migrate there from africa...where more than likely you and your entire family would've been murdered."

Who said ANYTHING about "race" besides you???

I commented on where your entire family migrated to the U.S. from!!!

Your family came to the U.S. from Africa...right??


Pronto!


I don't know if you're white, black, purple, or green, don't care if you have german bloodlines, argentinian, or martian, and to be honest, don't give a rats ass.

You don't comprehend english very well.

Quote:

"Ya know what...I'm outta here, lol. No use talking to some 20 year old chick sitting in Washinton DC who's never so much stepped their foot in brazil, not even on a one week "gringo" excursion to Copacabana about the problems in brazil!

I live here!! In the northeast!!! Where the poverty is the most severe!! For 8 years now! I see it on a daily basis!!!"


Reply:

Well you're the person who made the choice to move there. I mean if it was so obvious that it was hell on earth you could have moved to another country.

Quote:

"Pronto!


I don't know if you're white, black, purple, or green, don't care if you have german bloodlines, argentinian, or martian, and to be honest, don't give a rats ass.

You don't comprehend english very well."


Reply:

Feel a lack of power in your life do ya? Don't worry, one day it might change.

at around in the middle of 2004, some BRAZILIAN Indians, including children died of hunger.

But finally the question is not there.
In Brazil you have millions of people in hunger (doesnt mean dying) and tens of millions of under nourrished citizens.
On the other hand your country exports around US$ 40 billions of agricultural products !

Is this normal....for you ?
How can you take defense of such a policy ????????

Is it normal to export something that is produced and needed in a country, at the expenses of a high percentahe of the population ???????

And just to compare with India, this country doesnt export that much agriculture, they still import quite a lot !

Therefore you cannot really compare !

And going back to the theme of the article on the Brazilian women....why dont you read TODAY's regular news on this same site ???

This is not the first article that has been published here on this subject. Just scroll down and you will several of them.

quote:

"Reply:

Well you're the person who made the choice to move there. I mean if it was so obvious that it was hell on earth you could have moved to another country. "

No, I'm one of the people with money, and that know politicians...so being honest, I can literally get away with murder here....literally.

So for people like me, there are a lot of advantages...but that doesn't mean I like seeing the reality of the poor and down-trodden here in brazil. That doesn't mean I like seeing people fighting for survival, while the politicians rob this country of everything while the people suffer.

The politicians here would steal christ from the cross and come back for the nails!

now, that is not me responding, that is a brazilian!!

And one that knows the reality that exists here in brazil.

People like him, that are fed-up with the epidemic like corruption, poverty, crime, prostitution, unequal distribution of income, ONLY THEY will make changes in brazil!

Certainly not people like you that are defending the existing policies and realities that exist!

quote:


"Reply:

Feel a lack of power in your life do ya? Don't worry, one day it might change."

Nothing compared to the power you'll feel when you actually comprehend written english.

quote:


"Reply:

Idiot, scroll back to the posted dated June 12, 13:07:18."

Show me where I said that people in brazil suffer from epidemic famine??

YOU CAN'T!!

Once again, someone with an agenda!

Once again, for the TENTH time....YOU TOOK THE STATEMENT ABOUT PEOPLE MAKING 1-2 DOLLARS A DAY AND TWISTED IT INTO BEING AN "EPIDEMIC FAMINE"!!

Nice! And the violence just continues!

Try to have a normal discussion or share a story. Even the women fight here.

A Brazilian woman once told me she hated me because I would never get jealous enough to smack her. I could never stoop to that level, I fear to understand how any so-called man can hit a woman for any reason. I guess silence breeds the worst type of violence.

Stop the psychological and physical abuse of women!!!

quote:

"Stop the psychological and physical abuse of women!!! "

I agree, but the key is education, and the "macho" culture that exists here, particuluarly in the northeast of brazil, that has been handed down for centuries, certainly doesn't help matters.

HAHAHA. AYSI ?

I´ve never been to Mars, but ...hahaha. - AYSI ?

The high-school guests usually make the same mistake on math.
They just convert reais to dollar equivalents and that´s all. How stupid. Have you ever shopped in Brazil> How much does a dozen of bananas cost?
How much is a kilo of coffee today. Do you know the price of a roll?
I´ve never been to Brazil, but...
Such a sage. How old are you my dear?
I´ve never been to Brazil, but... -- This statement shows your deep ignorance . How can you discourse about a subject you don´t know ?
Close your eyes right now and try seeing a Brazilian city. What do you see? Nothing, just nothing, because you have zero knowledge about it.
You read the newspapers, the magazines. So what? So waht?
Are you still ill? AYSI ??

How come you have so much time to write stupid statements ? Did you quit school?
Are you a drop out?
You are still ill, aren´t you?
Say a word in Portuguese. Go shopping and try to speak Portuguese.
You are monolingual. Try and learn Portuguese. You will take 15 years and won´t speak it;
I´ve never been to Brazil, but... HAHAHA - thanks it is good laughing. It is good for your health, the doctor says.

What do you say about the text about Clinton´s adventure above. No comments? What do you think his wife felt? No simpathy for her??
Once I met two American Army officers who went to Rio for improving their knowledge of Portuguese. They did not take long to get involved with Brazilian lovers. They were accompanied by their families.
What do you think ? Should I have told the wives about their having an affair?
When military people come from Iraq and/or Afghanistan
theirfamily life is not the same.
According to your newspapers, they come back neurotic and some of them either get divorce or kill their wives and children. -- Your papers say that!!! Should believe them??

Hey, say something about Clinton. I and my friends are eager to know what you think.
You are so absent-minded, it seems.
AYSI ?

You people won't comment my post? I guess you are blind now???Signed: a Brazilian in Brazil!!!

“People may not go to church every Sunday here but they do have a strong heritage of religion."

“I almost fell off my chair after reading that!!

If brazil has such high regard for catholic values and morals, why is it a world leader in things like murder, prostitution, corruption, etc???

Are these the values the catholic church teaches?”

Reply:

Look, I didn’t say Brazil has high regards for catholic values, I said heritage. Cultural patterns passed from father to son. I said that. I don’t have figures now but the larger amount of brazilians are the NON-PRACTICING CATHOLICS. That means they inherited the religion, they possess the religious rituals and that’s it. You should know that, you live here, you know many brazilians and read the papers! Every Brazilian knows that. Smaller groups practice the catholic faith in addition to all the protestant denominations, spiritualism, oriental and African religions and the atheists. Devout pentecostals are growing in numbers in Brazil, specially the charismatic. Atheists are growing as well but they are considered minority. So, matrimonial union is a matter of high importance in this culture, like it or not.

Another point is if a woman in Brazil remains married to a guy who cheats on her, there are some possible explanations: Either she is being passive or/and believes the guy will change bla, bla, bla or she wants not to go to work to support herself or children, if any. If any of that happens, these women can be considered not more than mere possessions. Something which is more uncommon nowadays for most working women because this is a practice considered old, inherited from their mothers/grandmothers. And I’m saying that regarding all classes. The cleaning lady at a place I worked raised her 3 kids being separated. Another explanation would be both husband and wife agreed jointly to remain “married” so they both won’t lose the quality of life they have remaining married in view of the fact that they wouldn’t afford it if separated.

You widespread antiquated ideas of brazil!!

Yes, everybody saw it. All these poor people from New Orleans were driving their cars , their brand new cars. Yes, yes.
They were fat because they were so well fed.
Yes, American poors are different, and better off.
Why are these porn sites full of beautiful young American teenagers?? Thousands of girls. Have you never seen. Does not your mom let you see it?
I´ve never been to Brazil, but..bla, bla, bla.

Hundreds or thousands of these sites. I see , women are very well respected in America. You have a glass roof, man. Do you understand this, or is it too complex for you??

Hey, say something about Clinton. I and my friends are eager to know what you think.
You are so absent-minded, it seems.
AYSI ?

Who are you talking to? You people are so *!! Who am i talking to?

Guess you people are right. need to finish this paper work and leave this computer for a while. Maybe on the weekend.

quote:

"I see , women are very well respected in America. "

In comparison to brazil....there's no comparison!

America is a matriarchal society and men learn to respect the female authority.
But, let´s see. Why are there so many divorces? Why is the WWW full (hundreds) of American pornographic sites showing American women - black white - redhead - blondes - etc.?
Why are many, many of them young girls 13 years old. Where are their families? Where are the authorities?
I´ve never been to Brazil, but, bla,bla,bla.
Would you comment about Clinton? You, suddenly ,forgot him?
Ah. You only become a criminal when you are caught.

I´ve never been to Brazil, but , bla, bla, bla.

Your quote super:

Yes, everybody saw it. All these poor people from New Orleans were driving their cars , their brand new cars. Yes, yes.
They were fat because they were so well fed.
Yes, American poors are different, and better off.
Why are these porn sites full of beautiful young American teenagers?? Thousands of girls. Have you never seen. Does not your mom let you see it?
I´ve never been to Brazil, but..bla, bla, bla.

Hundreds or thousands of these sites. I see , women are very well respected in America. You have a glass roof, man. Do you understand this, or is it too complex for you??


OK! I got it (AYSI?? is stg bad??). Are these people on meds? Anyways,thanks super. Wish could know who are!! Beijo!

Why so many young girls naked, f...., doing a lot of sex . ]
Aren´t they American? Don´t they have a family? Are they respected. By whom are they respected?

Hundreds of even thousands of sites on pornography.
Ah. now it is time to leave the computer for a while..
Yes, I understand. Quite strategic isn´t it?

Funnyman. If this were the Middle Age you would be the kingdom´s funnyman.
I´ve never been to Brazil, but I know everything about it !!!!!

This braz is saying, no sweety you're not fooling me again. I am still in the computer. Terrible dissertation I'm doing... That guy is something huh! Wow!! Anyways, let me go bak to where I am... Long night I have

LOL!!

quote:

"I´ve never been to Brazil, but I know everything about it !!!!!"

You're some juvenile black immigrant from africa in the U.S. and should thank god they let you in instead of degrading it....and by the way, you know NOTHING about brazil....you've never even been here!
Truly...that's laughable!

Ah. now it is time to leave the computer for a while..
Yes, I understand. Quite strategic isn´t it?



You are trying to fool me? No I'm at the computer. Go ahead shoot. Do you know who are you talking ? Do you know who you are? LOL!

How about the girls from the university soccer team. Their hazing was super wasn´t it?
The whole team was dismissed. They were kissing each others and having a ball.
Who were to respect them?
How about the Spring break thing, when young people get high and do all sorts of sex ?

You are quick to say bad things about Brazil but forget about all miseries you have. Are American films fiction? Them all? Isn´t "Sex and the City" showing a kind of a woman you have in American cities?
If it is just fiction, why are Americans so proud of their women freedom? Yes, they are so respectful.
What kind of a wife would they be? what kind of a family would they have if they would marry?
What´s the difference between these women and whores? Do you call that freedom?
Of course, it is time to leave the computer for a while.
When my American friend offered me his American girl, who was dead drunk , who was respecting who?
Do you think I am cheating? I am not.
She came after him from N.York to spend her vacation period. They would get drunk frequently . He was fed up of her and wanted to get rid of her. Are these lies?
Why should I lie?
I´ve never been to Brazil, but I can open my mouth and say lots of things I read about it. HAHA.
It´s not ridiculous.It´s naive.
34 million poor Americans are just 34 million of poor people.

But my poors are better off than your poors. My father is richer than your father...

I have more yoyos than you have.

O God. -- Bye . that´s all.
Try some other hobby.

A suggestion: try your pornographic sites. You certainly know them all, but don´t talk about them .

Fine American women. The old ones are disgusting. Good families they have. Oh. they are so well respected.

Between one f**king session and another they stop to be respected.

I´ve never been to Brazil, but I know all about it. AYSI ???

Why so many young girls naked, f...., doing a lot of sex . ]
Aren´t they American? Don´t they have a family? Are they respected. By whom are they respected?

Hundreds of even thousands of sites on pornography.
Ah. now it is time to leave the computer for a while..
Yes, I understand. Quite strategic isn´t it?

Funnyman. If this were the Middle Age you would be the kingdom´s funnyman.
I´ve never been to Brazil, but I know everything about it !!!!!

Maybe I know what this is? I've been waiting for it though.Great your reading all this stuff. That all is new for me. No, porn sites are not new to me.

I don't know what this site/forum is about, bashing Brazil etc. but some people are not to be heard.

quote:


"But my poors are better off than your poors. My father is richer than your father...

I have more yoyos than you have."


You're disturbed.

Look stop the offenses ! One offense pulls the other that pulls the other.Every one can lose one's mind but ..Calm down everybody.Go back when you are calm!!!

quote:

"Look stop the offenses ! One offense pulls the other that pulls the other.Every one can lose one's mind but ..Calm down everybody.Go back when you are calm!!! "

LOL....It sounds like you're the only one that got upset...lol. I was as cool as a cucumber the entire time.

When you have the truth on your side, backed up by dozens upon dozens of of reports and studies conducted by numerous NGO's, governments, and the United Nations, the only question that remains is how could a person be so pig-headed to not want to accept them, and not only that, but written statements by brazilians themselves, and to a person that's never even been to brazil but yet talks about it as if they were born and raised here.

She's even worse than the handful of foreigners that travel to the U.S. and their only destination is Disney World in Orlando and equivalate that with the entire united states.

quote:

"and let me add, that the 95 reais per month are only for those making 50 reais or LESS per month!!

If you make 51 reais up to 100 reais per month, you only receive 50 reais per month, or around 22 dollars per month from bolsa familia."

And I was incorrect there! If one makes between R50,01 up to a maximum of 100 reais per month, a family qualifies for 15 reais per month per child under the age of 15....so, if you only have one child under the age of 15 you only recieve 15 reais, 2 children 30 reais, 3 children 45 reais(that is the maximum), 15 children, still, 45 reais.

Pretty understandable why there are so many children begging for money at most every traffic light throughout this country, they can make much more money per day begging than with "bolsa familia".

Serious question. Only up to the age of 15? So after 15 you are on your own? Does the education stop at 15? Is a child even fully developed mentally at such an age? Yes I am clueless. Please educate. This is what a government deems responsible to a child?

don't know at what age the deem them responsible to be honest, but as far as "bolsa familia" is concerned those eligible are people making 0 reais up to 100 reais per month. The "variable" alottment depends upon how many children under the age of 15 years old you have, up to a maximum of 3 children and 15 reais per child. Which amounts to about $6 per child per month.

Those children under 15 also have to be in school, and the parents need to take some federally sponsored education/training classes to make them more "employable".

Quote:

"Is it normal to export something that is produced and needed in a country, at the expenses of a high percentahe of the population ???????

And just to compare with India, this country doesnt export that much agriculture, they still import quite a lot !

Therefore you cannot really compare !"


Reply:

It's called the Free Market. India doesn't have epidemic famines like it once did largely due to the fact that its human population access to food is now based on "civilized economy." Rather than farming or raising live stock for sustinenance.

The United States is the largest exporter of dairy products in the world. Both the United States and Brazil exports much if not most the food that is eaten in the world via the Free Market. Yet Brazil much poorer than the US has a large maluntrition problem, while at the same time the United States the richest nation in the world ten times over, can't feed the majority of its people to the same degree most of Europe can hence the average US males height stagnates while a once shorter European people has had an average male height that has shot up above the U.S. males.

Brazil with less money than the U.S. has for a long time followed the U.S. model and recommendations (as well as the IMF's) to advancing its economy and improving poverty. It has not worked well. China did not listen to either the United States or the IMF, it kept a highly centralized government, and improved poverty like no other nation in the history of the world. Virtually over night creating a 400 million strong middle classs. And understand, that is more people than the entire U.S. population (the U.S. has approximately 300 million people).

Quote:

"YOU CAN'T!!

Once again, someone with an agenda!

Once again, for the TENTH time....YOU TOOK THE STATEMENT ABOUT PEOPLE MAKING 1-2 DOLLARS A DAY AND TWISTED IT INTO BEING AN "EPIDEMIC FAMINE"!!"


Reply:

The only person with an agenda is you. Perhaps, you can calm down, take a breath, and try to stop screaming. You're not a 16 year old girl are you?

In your post dated June 12th, 13:07:18, you qouted me saying: "Yes I would like you to provide figures proving epidemic faminne."

Then in that same post you responded to that with: "Are the above 6-8 articles... enough for ya?"

So yeah, while you did not mention epidemic famine, you were trying to prove that there was such in Brazil by 30 million or more people - at least trying to convince me there was.

Quote:

"HAHAHA. AYSI ?

I´ve never been to Mars, but ...hahaha. - AYSI ?

The high-school guests usually make the same mistake on math.
They just convert reais to dollar equivalents and that´s all. How stupid. Have you ever shopped in Brazil> How much does a dozen of bananas cost?
How much is a kilo of coffee today. Do you know the price of a roll?
I´ve never been to Brazil, but...
Such a sage. How old are you my dear?
I´ve never been to Brazil, but... -- This statement shows your deep ignorance . How can you discourse about a subject you don´t know ?
Close your eyes right now and try seeing a Brazilian city. What do you see? Nothing, just nothing, because you have zero knowledge about it.
You read the newspapers, the magazines. So what? So waht?
Are you still ill? AYSI ??

How come you have so much time to write stupid statements ? Did you quit school?
Are you a drop out?
You are still ill, aren´t you?
Say a word in Portuguese. Go shopping and try to speak Portuguese.
You are monolingual. Try and learn Portuguese. You will take 15 years and won´t speak it;
I´ve never been to Brazil, but... HAHAHA - thanks it is good laughing. It is good for your health, the doctor says."


Reply:

One does not have to have gone to Brazil to discern if there is mass starvation going on in the country. It is one of the marvelous benefits of modern technologies. For instance unlike a thousand years ago when photography did not exist, nor telephones, nor tv's, nor mass produced magazines with slick covers, I'm far away from the nation of Brazil by geographical distance and culture and even language, yet I am very familiar with how President Lula looks. I know Brazil has a democarcy and is part of the Free Market economy. I know she has a strong soccer (football) tradition and have seen her nation play via tv in the last World Cup against Germany.

There are many young teenagers that have never been to the United States but know more U.S. history than most U.S. teenagers and adults. One can live in China or Jordan and never have stepped foot in the U.S. and know by reason, that no one starves to death in the United States (minus small children of ruthless parents).

The cost of living in New York and L.A. is extremely more expensive than the cost of living in the state and city I live in. But that does not mean people starve to death in L.A. or New York. Even though in the late 1980's some of L.A.'s poor might have lived in small garages.

Perhaps Brazil needs to follow more of China's example to improve their national situation?

The United States early in her countries beginings, was to my understading, the worlds first democracy in a long long time. It was the combined principles of *democracy* and *free market* that denoted her as the land of opportunity. Many nations around the world have these two things now - including Brazil. In the U.S. early days, many Americans starved to death making their way out "westward." To this, to struggle through adversity, without any government help, even if it meant sleeping in a tent and starving to death was called "rugged individualism." It was this concept that shaped U.S. outlook to achieve material prosperity. It was however under FDR's "New Deal" that that changed. "rugged individualsim" proved monumental B.S. when a nation began to face epedemic famine in the making.

So what I'm hearing here is that Brazil does not like "rugged individualism." - I too agree that some socialist policies have to be placed in a society for protection of the majority.

Thanks,
What I should have said is. Is that what a government see’s as being responsible to it’s children? Meaning a government should be more responsible to children. 15 reais a month, and to think a lot of children don’t even start out with that much. It amazes me the will to live people have.

quote:

"China did not listen to either the United States or the IMF, it kept a highly centralized government, and improved poverty like no other nation in the history of the world. Virtually over night creating a 400 million strong middle classs. And understand, that is more people than the entire U.S. population (the U.S. has approximately 300 million people)."

What one needs to undertand as well is that china has over 2 BILLION people, and there are literally hundreds of millions that are in extreme poverty and slave-like situations, many even much worse than in brazil.



quote:

"So yeah, while you did not mention epidemic famine, you were trying to prove that there was such in Brazil by 30 million or more people - at least trying to convince me there was."

No, once again, I stated the numbers of people making 1-2 dollars per day....and somehow, YOU magically turned that statement into "mass starvation".

Quit putting words into peoples mouths....and try to understand the situation as much as you can, seeing that you've never even taken a "gringo tour" to brazil!

China has over 2 billion people now? Since when?

sorry, they've put out 1.25 billion per their last census, but numerous estimates put the number at over 1.5 billion, as in china you can get stiff penalties for having more than the allotted number of children.

quote:

"Hidden children

Counting China's massive population is extremely difficult, made only more so by its one child policy, as tens of millions of people with extra children are thought to have hidden them from the census takers for fear of being punished.

The total figure was substantially lower than independent estimates, which put the number of Chinese as high as 1.5 billion."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1246731.stm

Also this report and census is from 2001, over 5 years ago, so naturally we can assume that the population is even greater than the estimated 1.5 billion.

I was wrong about the 2 billion....I stand corrected.

why people are yelling on the streets? goal lol!

I already gave the logical reasons as to why I stated what I stated. I'm not rehashing that. It took another member to point out that Brazil offers assistance through their bolsa familia program. Had it not been for that poster you would have felt perfectly fine projecting the image that 30 million or more people in Brazil only have less than $2 a day to aquire food from. I was only following the logical end of your argument.

Quote:

"No, once again, I stated the numbers of people making 1-2 dollars per day....and somehow, YOU magically turned that statement into "mass starvation".

Quit putting words into peoples mouths....and try to understand the situation as much as you can, seeing that you've never even taken a "gringo tour" to brazil!"


Repost:

Reply.

The only person with an agenda is you. Perhaps, you can calm down, take a breath, and try to stop screaming. You're not a 16 year old girl are you?

In your post dated June 12th, 13:07:18, you qouted me saying: "Yes I would like you to provide figures proving epidemic faminne."

Then in that same post you responded to that with: "Are the above 6-8 articles... enough for ya?"

So yeah, while you did not mention epidemic famine, you were trying to prove that there was such in Brazil by 30 million or more people - at least trying to convince me there was.

quote:


"I was only following the logical end of your argument. "

Well, YOUR logic doesn't hold water in brazil, you have no idea of the reality in brazil, you don't know what basic necessities cost, you don't even know what a "cexta basica" is, you've never been here....arguement over.

And once again, for the 20th time, I stated how many people make 1-2 dollars a day....YOU turned that into epidemic famine!!

Can you get that through your thick skull?

quote:

"In your post dated June 12th, 13:07:18, you qouted me saying: "Yes I would like you to provide figures proving epidemic faminne."

Then in that same post you responded to that with: "Are the above 6-8 articles... enough for ya?" "


Well, once again, you turned making 1-2 dollars a day into an epidemic famine...NOT ME!!

Matter of fact, those articles spoke about the numbers making 1-2 dollars a day!



MY QUOTE:

"The point is, that obviously you missed, is that the 34 million "poor" in the U.S., and the estimated 70 million "poor" in brazil, in which 12 million of those are making less than ONE DOLLAR per day, and 30 million making less than 2 dollars a day, couldn't have more different realities."

Now, does everyone see that, I stated 70 million classified as"POOR", and 12 million making LESS THAN 1 dollar a day, and 30 million make making LESS THAN 2 dollars a day.

Now, knuckleheads quote and twisting of statements:

"I also can't believe - by virtue of common sense - that 70 million people in Brazil live off of less than a dollar a day. Unless that is one can reasonable eat nourishing food in Brazil off of less than a dollar a day. Because the basic biological human fact is, you either eat food and drink water or you f**kin die. It's as simple as that. One has to at least consume one small meal a day on average with some small measure of water to live. They may not eat some days, but on average they must eat at least once a day."


YOU EVEN TORTED THAT STATEMENT!!!!

NOT ONLY DID YOU TORT THOSE MAKING 1-2 DOLLARS A DAY INTO "EPIDEMIC FAMINE"!!! BUT YOU ALSO TORTED 70 MILLION CLASSIFIED AS POOR INTO 70 MILLION CLASSIFIED AS MAKING LESS THAN 1 DOLLAR A DAY!!!


I HOPE TO HELL YOU'RE TAKING SOME ENGLISH COMPREHENSION CLASSES IN THAT HIGH SCHOOL OF YOURS!

Bit these bitches even in the beaches.

We don't want your nasty fat dirty mouths down here. Do us a little favor and try not look as an yank, will ya?

GO HOME

When I first entered this site I didn't hate-hate some Americans. Now I start to find they ok only in the movies or on TV. The reality is harsh!

f**k you damm American.

look=sound
as an=as
will ya ="will ya"
they=them
damm=damn

Once I had a teacher in the states. He was a decent and sweet old man. I have to make justice because of him. and all the A. like him. Americans are not all nasty.

f**k you damn American is also a deja vu for the guys who died fighting American-oriented dictorship in Brazil.

America and Americans want to make the world Americawise.It is impossible. Americans cannot expect to have people following their way of life. They bomb all TVs with those horrible films. If you could squeeze them you would have blood all over.
They want other people to follow the bad examples they are giving to other countries.
I know there some Americans who are decent people, but these people DO NOT AGREE with their countrymen.

If you want to know about American oriented-dictatorship in Brazil look for the name Dan Mitrione.
That guy was responsible for training state police in Latin American countries , mainly Brazil. Read the bood Hidden Terrors by A.J. Langguth.- Pantheon Books, New York. , 1978. Look for his name on google. This one guy helped to imposed American terror in the continent. Many Brazilians died because of his indirect actions.
Fortunately he was killed in Uruguay by the tupamaros. Before dying he cause much disgrace. He was just one of the many him who pread terror and death around the world.

Only ignorant people can believe that someone can live on one dollar a day. America is a land of many ignorant people. They just know one reality - and want it to be global -
No, you shall not be able to do it.
Poor Brazilians can buy cheap food, they have fruits you have to import for expensive prices. Brazil does not have freezing temperatures in general, and people do not need what American poors need. Vegetables are cheap in Brazil.
But Brazilian poors cannot eat fatty sandwich sand pies or drink fake juice fruits from McDonalds. This is fortunate. In Brazil there are not millions of obese people like it is in the US.
While American poors eat junk food, Brazilians eat fresh vegetables and fruits for low prices.

Unfortunately, decent Americans don´t govern the country. They are not heard and not followed. America has been bringing misery to many countries for near a century. Then they spread the news that they are goodies and decenties
and God is with America.
American suckers - there are millions - believe this.

"Nothing compared to the power you'll feel when you actually comprehend written english."
do you really mean it? if you yes,you are a f**kin ifiot with your head in your ass.
I don't comprehend written englinh but judjing by your coment I am much more powerfull than you in any stance.
my mother tongue is spanish and because being raised in quebec I am fluent in french also i have been living in brazil for 6 yrars so i am fluent in portuguese as well now that's a f**kin power you moran, four f**kin languages, a f**kin yank like you could only dream of.
and yes, I am not the guy you been arguing with , I am someone who just got pissed off by your stupid comment

COOL AS A CUCUMBER...
You should stick that cucumber up your .....
It would do you well. Before doing it paint the cucumber red and blue, the American style.
Some little stars will make it finer.

When you write some words in English you should use capitals.
What is an ( IFIOT ) ?

What is ( JUDJING ) ?

What is ( YRARS ) ?

What is ( ENGLINH ) ?

What is a ( MORAN ) ?

BYE , YOU LOSE YOUR TIME DISCUSSING ABOUT BRAZIL WITH AMERICAN TEENAGERS.
THEY EITHER ARE THE NAZI TYPE OR THE GOOFY TYPE.

PEARLS ARE NOT TO BE GIVEN TO PIGS.

In Brazil there are not millions of obese people like it is in the US.
While American poors eat junk food, Brazilians eat fresh vegetables and fruits for low prices.

Just for your information, a recent Veja article stated that Brazilians have some of the greatest heart problems in the world, many dying much sooner than even fat-ass Americans . . . Your diets are s**t as well and I have never seen a McDonalds in Brazil that wasn't packed. Median age of death in Brazil was several years shorter than most people in the world. In addition it should be noted that the poor in Brazil are precisely those eating high fat, low nutrition foods. Brazil is well on its way to becoming a country of fat-asses as well. Obviously you haven't spent much time in the northeast . . .

Knock off the bulls**t mud-slinging and just worry about your own problems . . .

And I would say that are not the truly poor ones who eat at McDonads in Brasil. Differently from the States, American fast food chains are real expensive food, do you think a 2 minimum wages family would support to pay 30 reais for a couple of these meals? Eating a hamburger in the recent newcomer Burguer King is a luxury. You go to restaurant of this American chain and all you see are imported cars in São Paulo! That is laughable because one same hamburger you pay in the states 1 dollar, here you pay 12 reais! Even for middle class income this food can be considered overpriced. What the previous poster said was that poor people in Brazil can afford eating healthy food and that is true. When I go to the street market every Sunday to buy fresh and even organic vegetables available like water these street markets are always full of diverse people and you see a lot of working class people. Simply because it is much less expensive to consume them by preparing food with it. It is true that many middle class and up class brazilians don't eat healthy food as much as they should.

I would say that every country in the world is having nutrition as a health public problem. Every! Ever heard how the British public govt is struggling to advocate for a healthier nutrition diet for kids? And if someone is up to share their good understanding and contribution, they are more than welcomed. In Brazil we need people with good tolerance and less prejudice.

We are only born to do one thing. To have sex is our only purpose in life. Men, women! Stop all the fighting! Don’t let anything distract you. Just have good sex. If sex was not good the first time, do it again. And keep having sex, till you become an expert. If you are not happy just being an expert, become a pro and teach others how to have good sex.

Men, do no violence to women. Treat them fair, or you will die! If I see a man doing harm to a woman, I will beat that man, kill him perhaps. Then I will go have sex with a willing woman.

LOL!


"become a pro and teach others how to have good sex"

Anyone's teacher here? I need some urgent classes! lol.

When you write some words in English you should use capitals.
What is an ( IFIOT ) ?

What is ( JUDJING ) ?

What is ( YRARS ) ?

What is ( ENGLINH ) ?

What is a ( MORAN ) ?
are you really that dumb? you don't know what those words mean?,why ? because they are not spelled correctly , so what ?
any idiot can use a spell checker,
ok,,,i don't know how to spell in english but the point is I CAN CONVERSE IN FOUR f**kIN LANGUAGES

quote:

"and yes, I am not the guy you been arguing with , I am someone who just got pissed off by your stupid comment"

hey, go f**k yourself!

If you read the statements above, you'll see that unfortunately I was debating with an idiot who took statements and twists them and torts them completing out of proportion to mean something entirely different.

I always know when this individual responds because she has done this at least TEN times only to me!

She can't debate facts presented nor statements made.

She takes statements made and torts them to claim you made statements completely different than you actually did.

And bonehead, I've been in brazil for 8 years, can guarantee you that I speak portuguese much better than you, and I also speak spanish. So quit making your "high and mighty" judgements on people.

And just because you're canadian and pissed off at the U.S. because you know that Canada is the U.S.'s little bitch and will walk to the tune of the U.S., they have no other alternative, do be mad at the world and at americans. It could be a lot worse you know? You think it's bad being with the U.S.? Try being without them, or worse yet, against them.

HEY BRAZILIAN MAN! DON,T HIT YOUR GIRLFRIEND FOR DREAMING OF A AMERICAN MAN!!

Do you Brasileros ever wonder why you have a street kid problem in all your large cities when the rest of the world doesnt? Hmm thank your friends at the Brasilian Catholic Church. Its seems the women of Brasil are forced to live in another time where abortion is illegal. Women of Brasil do not have a legal rigth to chose. That is one giant freedom that is not given to them and that includes rape pregnancies. The street kid problem is the result of all those unwanted pregnancies going to term. You Brasileros should make the Catholic Church take care of all those unwanted human beings. Brasil still has a way to go. Good luck.

It doesn't matter who is leading in domestic violence, prostitution, etc. The fact is, these happens in every part of the world, and the only thing that everybody do is sit in front of the computer, reply to the upper comments... Live a life, if you can't do anything to make a better world, go have fun!! f**k off damn americans!! Go try and find a nice brazilian woman, since the american women are all chubby!! Yeah, leading violence, illegal abortion, etc... but also leading with the best women!! And American women? Ah, those huge chubby girls... leading in obesity... first, worry about this, then to other problems in your damn country... maybe then, you can try to speak of brazilian problems, canadian, etc. And if ou didn't like this post, it is because you know I'm teeling the truth. Furthermore, if still don't believe in it, f**k you, your mother, your sister, your wife, or if you can't, I'll f**k'em all. Bunch of a*****es!!

I live in Hollywood, California among the most beautiful women on the planet. Its like living in heaven! Statesque shapely beauties. Better than anything I saw in Brazil.

Brazilian women are overrated. A lot of them are ugly and not as hot as they make out. The girl from Ipanema yeah yeah. But the girl from Malibu or the girl from South Beach is just as beautiful. So don't toot your own horn so loudly.

Maybe you will or won’t