mvan1

I traveled to Brazil more than one hundred times over a fifteen year period. I never had a mugging until late last year. Perhaps, because of my good luck over those years, I did not expect that two guys would suddenly see a gringo to mug who was hurriedly heading toward a restaurant. For those who have not been mugged - YET - it is easy to say "use common sense" or a variety of empty words that suddenly change after they, themselves, become a victim.

Just curious how you would have reacted to my mugging that took place in Brazil a few months ago. I did not go down a dark alley. I had just exited an Uber on a busy street and was headed to a restaurant I frequent often. It was about 8:30 in the evening. The restaurant was approximately 100 feet from where the Uber driver had to stop to let me out. Between where the Uber stopped and the restaurant, two guys came out of a doorway and there was no way I could have avoided them. The airline I use would not allow me to take that long flight back to the U.S. considering the injuries I sustained from the mugging. My travel insurance carrier had to charter a flight for me to get back to the U.S. where I live. I am baffled how using "common sense" would have prevented that occurrence. What would you have done in a similar situation? Sometimes, fortunately not very often, there comes a time in life when there is nothing that can be done in an unlucky situation.

Below is a link where Americans and citizens of certain other countries can obtain a Brazilian computerized visa that Brazil calls an e-visa or electronic visa - there is that bad word again - visa - (Fake news). The Brazilian electronic travel authorization (e-visa) will not be pasted to a traveler's passport. The e-visa will only come to the traveler via e-mail. The travelers' passport will be verified, electronically against information provided when applying for the e-visa or electronic travel authorization. According to certain posters in the forum, an electronic travel authorization is not a visa and is "fake news" if one refers to the new electronic travel authorization (visa) as a visa. Whenever I hear the term "fake news" it usually comes from FOX news or from Trump or one or more of his supporters. Therefore, anything "Trumpish" has no credibility for me. Anyone interested in reading about Brazil's new optional electronic e-visa, check out this link: https://www.bronlinevisa.com/en However, be careful. If after reading the link, you might want to do what Brazil does and call the travel authorization a visa - Naughty, naughty.

Some forum members (not you) are hung up on specifics of the new rules. However, as has long been established - - - A rose by any other name is still a rose!

WACKO - semantics "US Citizens Will Need New Visa To Visit Europe Starting 2021" To apply for the ETIAS, US citizens will need a valid passport, an email account and a credit or debit card, the EU said on Friday. World | Indo-Asian News Service | Updated: March 10, 2019 05:00 IST ________________________________________ You will find countless news sources referring to the new requirement as a visa although the name and the rules are different. Are you incapable of understanding semantics? Even though the visa has a different name and different rules, it is still a visa, whatever you choose to call it, Mr Fake News, First Class - pompous know it all - _____________________________________________________________ An IQ score of 70 or below is considered a low score. On most standardized tests of intelligence, the average score is set at 100. Anything over 140 is considered high or genius-level. Approximately 68 percent of all people score somewhere between 85 and 115, the range within 15 points of the average.Sep 26, 2018 ______________________________________________ We know where you score! https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-considered-a-low-iq-2795282

My, oh, my! You have so few posts in this forum and already you are establishing yourself as an arrogant know-it-all muezzin like troll. A troll with tunnel vision. You asked - "Why frighten people?" Are you wacko? Who would be frightened over a visa? The best I can do for you today is to give you an enlarged definition of someone, like you, who is suffering from severe tunnel vision. "What does it mean when someone says they have tunnel vision? In slang, if someone says that someone has “tunnel vision” they mean that the person is looking at things from a very narrow perspective, and is not seeing or is aware of all the facts."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_rose_by_any_other_name_would_smell_as_sweet

Please do not call the newer travel authorizations fake news. Many countries are changing over to this type travel authorization. However, the documents (ETA) are still a visa. We live in an electronic age. Things have and are changing. Terminology is changing. New words are being created. It is not fake news because things change. True, it is no longer necessary to go to a consulate or embassy to get a visa provided a traveler has a legitimate passport. This is because an applicant's photo, fingerprints, and all personal data are electronically stored/linked with their passport, accessible by the country being visited. When a traveler obtains a visa or Electronic Travel Authorization, that document is a visa. The document merely has a different form because of the advancement of computer technology. Here is a link where you can read about the newer visa (ETA). Several countries already use this type of visa. Australia and Brazil are just two of many countries that already use it. Eventually, most countries will use this type of visa. No, there is no FAKE NEWS. https://www.etiasvisa.com/etias-requirements/americans https://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2019/03/08/united-states-travel-visa-europe/

Only death and taxes are forever. What you got a few years ago "on the spot" is not what you get now. Here is a link that clearly explains the visa requirement for visitors to Australia from different countries. The United States is included in the list. Although there is no cost stated for the visa, there is a "processing fee" when you order the visa through the Australian government website. Notice that there is an option on the site to use various credit cards. The cost for the "free visa" is twenty Australian dollars https://www.etaaustraliavisa.org

One strange thing about the visa waiver program is that it allows Australians to be part of the visa waiver program (see the above list of 38 countries in prior post) but Australia requires Americans to have a visa - Supposedly the Australian visa is free but it isn't. In order to get an Australian visa, you either have to pay a service to get it for you or you can go on the Australian site and pay twenty dollars for "processing" - nonsense -

Not all Europeans require a visa to visit the U.S. - Citizens of 38 countries and territories are eligible for visa-free entry into the United States under the VWP:[2][3] Andorra Australia Austria Belgium Brunei Chile Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Japan Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Monaco Netherlands New Zealand Norway Portugal San Marino Singapore Slovakia Slovenia South Korea Spain Sweden Switzerland Taiwan1 United Kingdom2 Americans might retaliate and cancel the Visa Waiver Program What is fair is fair!

Mother nature is cruel sometimes. The guy went from this - - - - - To this - - - - --

It seems like you are picking a good time to travel to Brazil. The Rio Times this morning reports good news for those buying local Brazilian currency. https://riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/rio-business/brazilian-real-slumps-to-lowest-value-against-us-dollar-in-2019/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRioTimes+(The+Rio+Times)

With respect to ATM machines, try to use ATM machines that are only inside a bank where a security officer is on duty. Incredibly, it is easy to buy an ATM skimmer and install it on top of a genuine card reader in the area where an ATM card is inserted into the machine in order to withdraw cash or any other bank transaction (see photo in the link below). Skimmers (machines that capture credit card numbers and passwords) are frequent in Brazil at banks and at gas stations. Incredibly, it is easy to buy a skimmer. In fact, you can buy them on the internet. A fancy skimmer costs nearly one thousand dollars and a less fancy skimmer that only captures credit card numbers and passwords can be purchased for about one hundred dollars. A thief that buys a skimmer can easily make many times the purchase price of a skimmer on a weekend if not caught by bank security or a customer seeing unusual activity and calling into the bank. For those not familiar with a skimmer, here is a link that will show you a photo (so you might recognize the skimmer and avoid it) or just out of curiosity. Scroll down the ad, you will see various type skimmers - remember what they look like and if you see one on an ATM machine, don't use the machine. One has to wonder why these things are readily available via purchase on the internet. In the same ad one can purchase an anti skimmer. https://www.ebay.com/i/233143612065?chn=ps And this cheep one: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Hyosung-ATM-Card-Reader-P-N-7030000019/123443343570?_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIM.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D20131003132420%26meid%3Db220ad1730d846fe9478373545aaf2cb%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D6%26rkt%3D8%26sd%3D223237198416%26itm%3D123443343570&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851 Then here is a video that will help you spot a skimmer: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Hyosung-ATM-Card-Reader-P-N-7030000019/123443343570?_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIM.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D20131003132420%26meid%3Db220ad1730d846fe9478373545aaf2cb%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D6%26rkt%3D8%26sd%3D223237198416%26itm%3D123443343570&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851 And this one -

I agree with previous posters, most garotos would not like being paid in a currency other than their own. On a side note, if you live in the U.S. and have an ATM card, it is so easy to get local currency from ATM machines in Brazil. ATM machines are in many places throughout Brazil. You will usually get a better exchange rate than if you exchange at a cambio. Be careful, do not use ATM machines at night or in obscure places. If you find yourself leaving Brazil with too much local currency, you can pay your hotel bill with the excess and your credit card to settle the full amount. Or, you might like Brazil so much, you will want to keep the local currency for your next trip. Boa viagem

Yes, he did. I wonder whatever happened to him. I took him on trips outside of Brazil. I spent too much money on him but that is okay. I had a good time. I met his wife and child. They did not seem to care that he spent nights away from them with a male. I was too dumb to realize what a negative effect his being away at night must have had on his marriage and child. I was new to Brazil. He was always late coming over. Eventually, I got tired of him keeping me waiting an hour or two or more for him to show up. In those days there were more saunas in Rio. We had Rogers, Pointe 202, Estacao, Spa 73 and of course 117. After I stopped waiting at the hotel for him to appear hours later than he said he would show, I found it more rewarding to meet different guys in those others saunas. He was a nice guy and I am glad I knew him. I never see him in any sauna or on the streets. That was fifteen years ago. Maybe the saunas do not work for him anymore. I hope he is okay.

It does not take a medical degree to see what surgeons have done to that man. It is a disgrace that doctors used their medical degrees to disfigure that man so severely. Now, go take that bath and get some sleep -

When I first started going to Rio back in 2003, I met a handsome garoto introduced to me by a member of this forum. The garoto and I ran around together a lot. Most nights, that garoto stayed with me during my stays throughout the rest of that year and well into 2004. Eventually, we drifted apart. He was married with a child and I was too promiscuous considering the quantity and quality of available garotos in Rio. One day he suggested we go to Ipanema to a restaurant he knew. I agree and off we went. Suddenly, as we were walking down an ordinary street, he stopped, unzipped his trousers, pulled out his cock and began to pee against a tree in plain view of many people walking on the same sidewalk and in view of drivers passing by. He had not been drinking. Needless to say, I learned that in Brazil, modesty is not one of the things that are of concern to garotos or even to people they pass on the streets.

Rage? I don't know the man and have no desire to meet him. I am bewildered by your use of the word "rage" which is totally wrong and filled with drama. Quite simply, I find that a licensed surgeon who takes advantage of a person who repeatedly requests plastic surgery (more than 90 times actually done) should not be allowed to practice medicine. Now, go take that hot bath and get some rest.

Considering that you know him personally, surely you must agree that anyone who submits to more than 90 major plastic surgeries has self-identity issues. Moreover, any plastic surgeon who performs those surgeries cannot be an ethical person. I hope your friend eventually finds peace within himself.

You must be having a bad day. Almost anyone who does a google search can find a collection of photos of someone whose name they enter. I cannot control how google presents photos. Most of the photos are of the person while some are not. A bright person can look at the photos and recognize the actual person mentioned and ignore the photos that are not applicable. Go take a hot bath or get some rest.

Adam, I always thought you were extremely bright. I did not know that you have a reading problem. Go back and read what I wrote. I expressed disgust for the doctors who agreed to perform all those surgeries on that man. I did not express disgust for the person. Read what I wrote. Someone who is so dissatisfied with their appearance then undergoes more than 90 plastic surgeries, cannot be a happy person. I felt bad for the man. Now, I accept your apology for your erroneous question - - - - "And why your hateful bile about him?"

There was also a Brazilian Human Ken Doll who had a somewhat similar obsession with plastic surgery - he died a few years ago. Here is a photo and some information about the Brazilian who had repeated plastic surgery: https://nypost.com/2015/06/09/brazilian-human-ken-doll-dies-of-leukemia-at-20/

A friend sent me this photo taken while he walked down a Rio street not long before Carnaval began - Until heavy rains wash away the smell, it must be awful to work or live around that area. Considering the massive crowds, where are the public restrooms during Carnaval? Yuk!

It is the same person - Here is a collection of before and after surgery photos: https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Human+Ken+Doll+Before+and+After&FORM=IDINTS