A Father's Love -The David Goldman Story

A while back I wrote about David Goldman, the New Jersey father who literally went to the ends of the earth to bring back his son Sean. I just finished reading his book ' A Father's Love' which talks about the hell he went through to get his boy Sean back. At the end I was in tears.

 David got his boy home, but did you know that there are over 3000 American children that have been abducted by one of their parents and taken to foreign countries? I was shocked! How can this happen?

 I became interested in the Goldman case because I too was married to a Brazilian and the ruling in the Goldman case could have trickled down and affected my custody situation with my children. Luckily my ex husband gave me permission to come back to Canada with our children because he is savvy enough to know that Canada is a much better place to raise children. They go back and visit their dad every year, but I am always attentive to the fact that he could change his mind and not let them come back to Canada. In Brazil they say 'um pe atras' which means to have one foot behind or to be cautious. If that was to happen, I would probably find myself in David Goldman's situation.

The Hague Convention was completely ignored and treated with contempt by the Ribeiro/Lins e Silva clan in Brazil. They tried every legal manoeuvre possible to attack and basically wear David Goldman down. He never gave up. Here was this simple down to earth dad from New Jersey, just trying to bring his son home from Brazil after the mother of the boy died during childbirth. The step family (Lins e Silva) and the grandparents (Ribeiro) became the abductors and their actions were deplorable.

 Not only was this a David vs Goliath scenario, it was also the beginning of the end of the cronyism that has plagued Brazil for centuries. The Lins e Silva family are a very influential family of lawyers in Brazil that specialize in family law. Their tentacles reach the inner sanctums of the courts in Brazil. The irony of it all is that the head of the 'family' was one of the authors of a report for the Hague convention showing how child abduction can cause parental alienation. SERIOUSLY!

 David Goldman's fight is far from over. He is committed to bring back all of the children who have been abducted and absconded by one of their parents and taken to a foreign country. A new bill is being passed in the USA based on Sean's abduction and David's fight to bring Sean home.

 I ask that Canada become more pro active in this too. There are many intercultural marriages that could result in divorce and many children could be abducted to other countries that are a lot worse than Brazil (such as Middle Eastern countries where women have no rights).We need to secure our borders so that children are protected from this. I need permission to travel with my boys when I leave Brazil, but there is no system in place at border crossings here in Canada. Why is that?

Can you say INFLATiON???

I went to the supermarket with my best friend in RIo today and was curious to see the price of filet mignon. I have always said that meat in Brazil is the cheapest in the world. When I was here last Christmas, the price of filet mignon was around R$15/kilo, which converts into about CDN $8.50/kilo. Not any more! The same supermarket, one year later, is charging R$39/kilo..Can you say inflation???

It's Time for Canadians to Visit Brazil

Every year around this time, the ads for going to Mexico start to appear with more frequency. For less than $1000 one can go to Mexico for a week including airfare. Sounds like a great deal doesn't it? The big question is, "Will you survive?".

Just this past week, a Canadian businessman's burned body was found in the trunk of the car he rented in Acapulco. His family is appealing to the Canadian government to embargo travel to Mexico. I agree. It's extremely dangerous in Mexico right now. The drug wars have killed over 25000 people in the past few years along the USA-Mexican border.

Rio de Janeiro, with all of its problems, is still safer than Mexico. I urge all of my readers to go to Brazil and enjoy one of the most beautiful countries in the world (even though I am not a big fan of the new president, hopefully she will continue to move Brazil forward and not into a Chavezian state).

The best way to get to Brazil from Canada(at least from the West) is on Continental. One can get fares to Rio from Calgary for around $1100 plus tax. It's actually cheaper than going to Europe.

There is a great site for out of the way hotels and bed and breakfasts called Hidden Pousadas. Tell them that the Canarioca sent you.

If you want to see Rio in style, go to Soland Eco Tours.

Travel tips, insider information, I am the go to girl. Leave me a comment!

Beijos da Canarioca

My Challenge

I have less than three months before I return to Brazil. As you know, Brazilians have amazing bodies and it is a big beach culture there. No muffin tops on those beaches!!
Between work, studying at university and running around as a taxi service for my boys, my exercise regime has gone by the way of the dodo bird. It was only when I got a glimpse of my backside in the mirror the other day that I realized "Oh crap! What have I done to myself??" Time for Operaçao Verao (Operation Summer).
I have started a food journal and I have started to do an exercise regime that I came across on YouTube. It's short and very intense. I did a 12 minute workout yesterday and was sweating like a pig. The girl that hosts the workout is in AMAZING shape and if I feel like I am going to fall off the wagon, I just think of how great shape she is in.
I took a photo of my backside and I have it pasted on my fridge to remind me of how I look if I am not careful of what I eat.
On December 14th, I will post my before and after pictures of my journey.
Here is the link to Zuzana's blog

My Secret Wish...

As you may know by now, I lived in Brazil for close to 15 years. I hope one day to return there to live again.
I was reading an article about how the luxurious life of the ex pat is going the way of the dodo bird. I have a girlfriend who's boyfriend works for a multinational oil company in Rio. Besides whatever salary he is paid there, the company pays for the rent on his beachside apartment (Ipanema). Makes me want to buy real estate in Brazil when I hear that the flat he lives in is about 950 square feet, and the rent is close to 10K USD per month!!!!
In the past, companies would send their people overseas to over see operations in foreign countries. To compensate for the hardships of moving house and home (and sometimes wife and kids), huge compensation packages were offered to these ex pats. This was to cover moving expenses, buying of household goods in the new country, trips home, private schools for the children, maids,cooks and drivers.
Sweet life!
Well, according to human resources at many companies, that will be a thing of the past soon.
I always secretly wished that I could have had the life of an ex-pat wife in Rio de Janeiro. I guess it's because I met so many there that were so unhappy..UNHAPPY???? I would be at the beach with my girlfriends, the gym, shopping, volunteering,studying online...There is NO reason that these women should be unhappy!!!
Now that the perks are being eliminated, they will wish for the old life of an ex pat wife.....
Oh well, I never had any of those perks and I was VERY happy in Rio with my simple life in the mountains of the Alto da Boa Vista. That is something that will never be taken away...

Exciting Times, Random Thoughts

Things are looking up! Soon I will be off to Brazil to fill my trove of goodies! If you are not aware, I import a line of beautiful lingerie from Brazil and am preparing myself to bring in a bathing suit line as well as a fitness line. All made in Brazil!

I wish I could bring in a shoe line from Brazil, because there are so many beautiful, well made shoes there. One can find Carmen Stefans here in Calgary and oddly enough, the prices are lower than in Brazil. I love my shoes made in Brazil, the quality is that of shoes made in Italy or France(a rarity these days). I actually had a pair of loafers that I bought at a store in Rio, (Natura) and it was an exact copy of a pair of Prada's. I found out later that Prada does a lot of manufacturing in Brazil, but does enough of the finishing back in Italy to be considered "Made in Italy".

The Brazilian real (the currency) has gone up considerably over the past 4 years. I remember when it was close to $3 reais to the USD, now it is hovering at around 1.70 to the USD. This causes a problem for companies that export overseas, making their products more expensive for foreign buyers. With the national elections looming and the big stock sale of Petrobras, the currency will probably stay strong for awhile. Apparently, Lula's successor will be Dilma Roussef. Not sure if that is a good thing or not... To be honest, Brazilian politics is so confusing and shady, that I am actually glad that I don't have to vote (voting is mandatory in Brazil...maybe they should do the same here in Canada).

When I go to Brazil, I plan on checking out some of the accommodations mentioned on the site

Tonight I have a networking event with people from the oil industry who want to do business in Brazil. My cultural knowledge and languages will come in very handy for them and my goal is to work on a consultant basis for Canadian energy companies working in Brazil...and then I sell my beautiful lingerie,bathing suits and fitness wear to the oil-ty wives.

How Are We Going to Compete?

Yesterday I went to show the luxury lingerie line that I bring in from Brazil to a potential client south of Calgary. She has a store that sells lingerie to the women in the small towns south of Calgary.
I showed her what I have to offer, and was bluntly told that my price point was too high. This is a store that sells bras for $125 and up. My bras are wholesaling for around $35 delivered to her shop. So in essence, she could easily sell these bras for $70 plus, and still make a decent profit.
The lingerie line I bring in is hand made and uses high quality fabrics and material. I have visited the atelier in Brazil where it is made and I can truly say that the working conditions are amazing. Natural light, windows overlooking the hillside and around 15 women working, laughing and truly enjoying themselves talking about the latest plot of the primetime novela as they stitch away at their craft. I am very aware of worker's rights in Brazil and I know these women are receiving fair pay for their work and all of their benefits(vacation pay, 13th salary, pension etc). Is their salary lower than their counterparts in Canada? I am sure it is, but it is far higher of those from the sweat shops of Asia.
The shop owner showed me what she considered the equivalent of what I showed her in terms of quality. I was offended. Not for me, but for the hard working women in Brazil that I have seen putting their hearts into their work. They are trained seamstresses who are unfortunately a dying breed in Europe and soon to be in Brazil.
Looking at the shoddy quality of what the shop owner was showing me, it was evident that it was made overseas. My hunch was right. Made in China. Wholesaling for $2-$6(shop owner admitted what she pays wholesale for her stuff)...Sold in the shop for $35 -$85.
What's wrong with this picture???

Why You Should Travel to Brazil

I was just looking at the CNN Latin America website to see what news was happening below the Rio Grande and I was taken aback by all of the violence in Mexico.

I have been to Mexico a few times in my travels and there are a lot of parallels to Brazil. Colonization(in Mexico's case was the Spaniards), the gap between the have and the have nots, weather, tourism, beaches, the carefree attitude of the people.

When I mention Brazil to my friends here, the first thing that they ask me is if Brazil is as violent as it is depicted in the news. Brazil has its social problems, and the consequences of these problems is an increase in corruption, theft and violence. Lately, Brazil is experiencing a huge economic boom. The economic plan drafted in 1994 is coming to fruition and the standard of living has increased(along with the prices of things....) Employment is up, wages have increased. Brazil is hosting the next World Cup and Rio de Janeiro will have the Olympics in 2016. Petroleum reserves off the coast of Brazil are immense. It's Brazil's moment..NOW!

Between spending a week at an all-inclusive in Mexico and a trip to the beaches of Brazil, I take Brazil any day!! I think that it is a lot safer!!!!!!!

Christmas Has Come For David Goldman

In a decision last night, the Federal Supreme Court of Brazil has ruled has that Sean Goldman is to be returned to his biological father David Goldman on Friday December 24th at 9 a.m. at the American Embassy in Rio de Janeiro.
After five years of jumping through the hoops of the Brazilian justice(?) system, David Goldman will finally be able to pass Christmas with his son, and bring him back home to the United States.
This case has mobilized Brazilian public opinion(in favor of David Goldman) and has brought to light the plight of children everywhere who have been illegally abducted by one of the parents.
International pressure has mounted in the past week against the Brazilian family who has illegally held Sean in Brazil since 2004.Possible economic sanctions from the USA against Brazil were in the works.
Once the ´wheels have lifted´(a term used by Mr Goldman referring to the wheels on the airplane leaving Brazil with his son in tow), I hope that the district attorney and the local Bar association will further investigate the Brazilian family. The stepfather and maternal grandmother are accomplices in international kidnapping. The Lins e Silva family used their influence with high level judges to quash and appeal every decision made in favor of David Goldman.
I can only imagine the joy that David Goldman must be feeling right now to know that he will finally be able to have his son back. I was praying for this moment since I saw the clip on the NBC Today show last September.Those prayers have been answered.
MERRY CHRISTMAS DAVID!!!!

Update on David Goldman

In an earlier post, I wrote about an American father by the name of David Goldman and the never ending struggle to get his son back.
This week it looked like it was going to happen as a high court in Brazil ruled that David´s son Sean was to be returned to the USA within 48 hours. This was on Monday. By Thursday,David Goldman had touched down in Rio de Janeiro ready to take his son home. Once again his hopes were dashed by a motion of habeus corpus done by the maternal grandmother that once again is delaying the rightful return of Sean to his biological father in the United States.
This Brazilian family has gone above and beyond to make David Goldman look like a bad father, that he was a leech off of his ex wife and to make matters worse, told the boy Sean that his father never came to Brazil to visit him in the 5 years he has been in Brazil.ALL LIES!!! They are simply causing the justice system to be even slower than it already is until Sean will be older and the full psychological separation will be complete. Apparently he wrote a poster saying that he wants to stay in Brazil forever. Well if his Brazilian family has been lying to him about his father´s love, of course he is going to want to stay in Brazil.
Mr. Goldman, if you ever read my blog, please know that I support your efforts whole heartedly and I am ashamed of the Brazilian justice system!!!

Rio de Janeiro Olympic Host City 2016

FINALLY!!!
After two unsuccessful bids to host the Summer Olympics, Rio de Janeiro came out on top of Chicago, Tokyo and Madrid to win.

Chicago and Tokyo were eliminated in earlier voting and even after a last ditch effort by Juan Samaranch to woo the votes for Madrid, Rio was declared the winner with a 3-1 margin in the total tally of votes.

This is a very exciting venture for the people of Rio de Janeiro and for the rest of Brazil.
It is the first time that the Olympic Games will be held in South America. They picked a great city.

Needless to say they have their work cut out for them. There will have to be major overhaul throughout the whole city to be able to accomodate the traffic and the sheer amount of spectators expected to attend.
Brazil has the money to fund the Olympics, just from the oil royalties off of the coast of Rio. They have the skilled labour to build the stadiums, the roads and the venues. My only suggestion would be to increase the amount of machinery to build the roads faster. They tend to do everything manually, which is alot more time consuming.

This is the chance for Rio to clean up its act and hopefully there will not be insane amounts of palm greasing. The only things that could destroy the Olympic dream for Rio are corruption and greed from politicians.

It's up to the people of Rio and Brazil to not let this happen.

PARABENS RIO DE JANEIRO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Misconceptions and Facts About Brazil

I am presently in Canada and when I tell people that I have been living in Brazil for the past 10 + years the flurry of questions and misconceptions arise. Let me clarify a few things that most people may not know about Brazil.

1. Brazilians speak Portuguese, not Spanish. French was taught as a second language up until the 70's at Brazilian schools. Now the number one second language taught is English, followed by Spanish.

2. Carnaval is once a year for 5 days. No, people do not dance and party in the street the other 360 days of the year.

3. Brazil is the only country who has won the World Cup five times.

4. Brazil was a military dictatorship from the late 60's until the mid 80's.

5. Brazil has HUGE amounts of natural resources ranging from oil, fresh water and bauxite to gold and precious colored stones. It has a strong agricultural infrastructure. Coffee, orange juice,cotton and soyabeans are among some of the commodities from there. It also has the largest number of cattle in the world. The northern state of Ceara has the perfect location and conditions for wind power.

6. The Amazon forest is in the north, not near Rio de Janeiro.

7. The Brazilian Ministry of Health was instumental in breaking the patents on AIDS drugs. This reduced the price of the 'cocktails' from over $10 000/year per patient to less than $1000. This is covered by the national health system and the idea has been 'exported' to countries such as South Africa.

8. Brazilian doctors are amongst the best in the world. Not just the plastic surgeons, but orthopedic and oncologists too.

9. Brazil is very diverse. Originally discovered by the Portuguese, it has influences and immigrants from Holland, France, Germany, Italy, Africa, Japan, Poland and Syria and Lebanon. The aboriginal people of Brazil have been there for centuries, some tribes in the Amazon are yet to be discovered.

10. Not everyone lives in a 'favela' or slum. Unfortunately, favelas have grown fast and furious over the past few decades. What started out as small communities of migrant workers from the poorer Northeast part of Brazil, they have become 'no man's land' in some cases because of rampant crime caused by the drug trade and the 'milicia'. Not all people who live in the 'favela' are criminals. Most are hard working ,honest people who would give their shirt off of their back. Unfortunately, a few ruin it for all.

TV Globo..Also Known as the Contraceptive Network

Six nights a week, all over Brazil, people from all walks of life tune into the 'novela das 8'. The most popular are shown on the TV Globo network. Contrary to American soap operas which are shown during the day, Brazilian soap operas are shown during prime time and have story lines that run for 6-9 months (as opposed to 30 plus years in the USA).
I always joke to my Brazilian friends that they live their life like a 'novela'. Full of drama,full time.Apparently my observation has merit. A study has shown that in small villages that receive the Globo signal, the birth rate has decreased and the divorce rate has increased.
More proof that we are influenced by that black screen in our living room.......

Unbelievable............

A scandal involving the Catholic Church and the medical profession has reared its ugly head in Brazil.
A nine year old girl (yes,nine years old...) had been sexually abused repeatedly by her stepfather and as a result became pregnant with twins. Due to her young age and the circumstances of her pregnancy, an abortion was performed by a team of doctors. In the eyes of Brazilian law the procedure was legal. In the eyes of the Catholic church it was not. I am not here to debate the legality of abortion, I believe it is something that is private and should not have to involve the law or government.
The local diocese condemned the procedure and threatened to ex communicate the medical team. The local bishop declared that the abortion was worse than the rape..UNBELIEVABLE!!!

FINALLY GOT MY VISA!!

After 6 weeks, one missed flight and three newly formed wrinkles, my visa FINALLY arrived for me to go Brazil!!! what a nightmare!! In the end, I had to call in favours from my friends who have friends in high up places (ie. Brazilian Federal Police).Thats par for the course when navigating through the bureaucracy of Brazil. Now I will be spending the next three days shuttling back and forth between my house and Best Buy to get 'presents' for the friends of my friends in Brazil.

David Goldman Sees Son After 4 And A Half Years

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

A Sad Story About a Loving Father

I just saw this on NBC's Today Show. Heartbreaking. Its about an American father who's Brazilian wife took their son to Brazil and never came back. She remarried in Brazil to an influential lawyer. The estranged wife has since passed away in childbirth and now the new husband has taken the biological father's name off of the birth certificate.
To all of my blog readers, I ask you to write, call, Email the names on the father's site. This father belongs with his son....

Movie About Brazilian Indian Genocide is Praised by Critics at the Venice Film Festival

Whether you live in Brazil or Canada, the plight of the Native Indians/First Nations is a very sad situation.
I came across this article in the Calgary Herald
The similarities between the Brazilian Indians and the Canadian First Nations is sometimes uncanny.
The Portuguese were ruthless in their colonization of Brazil, and murdered many Indians for land and resources. They also considered them to be animals.The Brits and the French were not much better in Canada. I won't even go into the residential school debacle that happened in Canada.
Levels of obesity and diabetes within the Indian community has skyrocketed in the last generation, due to the introduction of sugar and processed foods into the native diet. This is true in Canada as well as Brazil. Alcoholism is also a problem in both countries.Tuberculosis on some Canadian reservations is almost as high as what is found in Third World countries.
Suicide is also a component in the reservations, here and there.
I am not sure which country is better in treating its First Nations people, but somehow it is better to be an Indian in Canada. At least the government made the first step by publicly apologizing for the treatment the Indians received in the past. Hopefully this is the first step towards a fairer future for all First Nations, all over the world.

Bullying in Brazil

My son has been a victim of a bully at school since the beginning of the school year.I knew this had been going on, and I had taken steps to avoid confrontation. I asked specifically that my son be moved to the other side of the classroom(the bully sat right behind him since after the first report card) but my request was ignored and sluffed off. Result? My sons marks fell around 10 -15% in the second reporting period, he was stabbed in the back with a compass and was relentlessly attacked and bugged by this kid. The school did nothing. I wish my son didn't need to resort to violence, but in the absence of protection from the school, what other option did he have? Apparently the little $%#@ who was bugging my son finally got his just rewards when my son retaliated and punched him in the nose. They were both suspended from school for two days.
Bullying exists everywhere, and Brazil is no exception. What makes it different here is the attitude towards it. It is bizarrely tolerated here. Barbara Coloroso(author of Kids Are Worth It and Bullying) would have a nervous breakdown.

Great Brazilian Inventions

Forget the Wright Brothers, the godfather of modern aviation is a Brazilian, Santos Dumont.
I love how Brazilians have a creative streak and the inventions they use in day to day life.
One of my favorite items is the 'varal',simply a clothes drying rack that can be lifted up on pulleys so as to not use precious floor space in the laundry room.