Amnesty International can Kiss this Rio de Janeiro Resident's...

Check out this quote from Amnesty International:


“This violence is totally unacceptable but the police response has put communities at risk. The authorities must ensure that the security and well-being of the broader population comes first and foremost in any operation carried out in residential areas,” said Patrick Wilcken, Amnesty International’s Brazil researcher.

According to the Municipal Education Secretary, 17 schools and 12 creches have been closed in Rio this week, leaving more than 12,000 children without education. Thousands across the north zone of the city have been unable to go to work and large numbers of residents have been left without water or electricity.

“The current wave of criminal violence is symptomatic of wider failures throughout the criminal justice system,” said Patrick Wilcken. 

My favorite was the leaving children without education. Oh my goodness, how dare they! A 3 year old's need to learn numbers comes before the fact that crazy drug traffickers are running around with potentially crazier police men after them.  Well, Maracana should have been turned into an impromptu school so no one missed out on their education during all this. 


HELLO! Which country are you talking about again?!  Is it just me or if crime in a city gets this bad, don't you think a couple of days of missed school is beside the point. If you want to talk about school, talk about the amount of children who just don't go in the first place and the fact that they are not forced to.  We're struggling with public safety people, don't even get us started on the faltering public education system. 

And please try not to shoot residences. Thank goodness Amnesty international came out and gave that statement. I'm sure the police and drug traffickers haven't realized that they are putting other people in danger. I bet if they hadn't said anything, the people themselves wouldn't even realize they are in danger.  My question is, why aren't they there, in the favela, handing out yellow jumpsuits to the drug traffickers and red ones to the policemen? Easier targets make gunfights safer for everyone.  Don't forget your protective goggles.

I know that you, Amnesty International, are just trying to take care of the world. And Patrick, I bet your research is top notch. But sometimes, just on special occasions such as these, maybe you should keep your mouth shut and watch with the rest of the world. That is, unless you are physically in there, you know, trying to make sure kids are getting their education.

Maybe I'm being a little defensive. Ok, quite possibly I'm being very defensive.  But to make a statement stating the obvious while managing to sound condescending, well no one talks about my city like that except for me, thank you very much!

Bope Going to War

Early this morning, we heard the sirens of the police.  It turns out it was the Bope, and they were ready for war.  Neighbors from other buildings also looked down to see the Bope trucks with the flatbeds full of Bope men, many with their faces painted.

They are going to war.

A Bope yelled, his fist in the air. The rest of the truck followed.  A neighbor clapped in response and it started a commotion. With each truck, the few but spirited neighbors cheered for the men. The men cheered back. 

I even had a moment. I was in the window with my two boys. We were cheering for our men before they went into war.  One looked right at the boys and I, smiled a proud smile, and waved.  It almost brought a tear to my eye.

Just like the American troops, the Bope are going into war.  It's not their fault there's a war, they are just the men Rio de Janeiro puts in to fight their physical battle. Regardless of the politics, the is it or isn't it of this situation in Rio de Janeiro, these men are going to war. They are putting their life on the line.  They deserve our cheers!

A wonderful pizza dough recipe and goodbye Dominos

I wanted to share with you a wonderful pizza dough recipe.  http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,164,149163-224198,00.html

I have a black thumb when it comes to gardening and it seems that it also seeps into my baking. Nothing rises.  Nothing grows. I can only manage to make brick like flat bread.  It's sad. My bread, me, my family for feeling like they have to eat it anyway.  Sad.

Well, a small war was won tonight with the production of this wonder dough and pizza.  It comes out quite fluffy but is very tasty.

Take that Dominos pizza in Rio. I'll be keeping my money and you can take your R$40 large pizza and shove it in your hee haw.  Momma American over here will be producing her own processed goodies from now on.