xxx....and counting.

[almagestos]

Yep. Iguazu is a pretty lawless place though. I can't prove it, but I'm pretty sure the last time my house got burgled it was done by the police! (Ask me to tell you the story one day over a drink and I'm sure you'll come to the same conclusion.) Iguazu suffers from being a tourist filled place with easily crossed borders with Brasil and Paraguay - it's a mecca for gangs intent on robbing tourists. And although I wasn't a tourist, my gringo face was my downfall. And included in the 16 are a few scams pulled by builders/tradesmen. I've 'only' actually been mugged (as in being robbed physically from my person) 4 times - twice in the street in Iguazu and twice on the subte in BA. The other police incident wasn't actually quite as dramatic as it sounds - again, a story to be told over a drink.

Again the same story about the gringo face... lol

You´re so funny!

The delinquents don´t want to attack you because you´re a man with gringo face, they want to attack you ´cause you´re an easy victim, easy targetttttttt!!! that´s the reason you were atacked 16 times!!!

They don´t look at your gringo face, they look at your expensive cell phone in your hand dear! who cares your face?

That´s the same reason why they attack grannies... they´re easy victims, like you!!!!

 

[almagestos]

I was clearly wrong about my estimate of your age.....I'm now guessing at 8 years old.
And show me in my original post where I was insulting your country?


So tell me, oh knowledgeable one, what benefits am I getting from your country exactly? (here's a clue: absolutely zero.)

8 years old? hahaha

Thanx for the compliment!

I can´t understand how a man like you, mature and that has travelled around the world and maybe around other planets is an easy target for the delinquents...

I think there´s something wrong with your habits on the street... or maybe you´re younger than me, maybe you´re 3 years old lol

Sacar un celular en un subte de Buenos Aires (quién sabe a qué hora encima lo hiciste) y en esta época en el que el crimen ha crecido muchísimo en todo el mundo, no demuestra que te haya servido de mucho haber viajado por tantos lugares y haber vivido en tantos países, deberías haberte avivado papá!

Nadie está exento de ser atacado, pero si prevenís y seguís ciertas reglas mundiales de comportamiento en las calles, creo que las posibilidades de ser asaltado se reducen... Por ahí te conviene tener tu propio auto o usar radio taxis... no se, el subte nunca es una buena opción... y menos en una ciudad abarrotada de villas...

 

[brocolliandtea]

I was robbed on the A line as well. The police let them do it.

According to Neil its apparently all your fault.

Hardly a day goes by where the Argentines dont earn my reproach multiple times. I dont like them.

Life here is horrible. The people live in intense fear. I was in Recoletta tonight and I swear I expected to see them peeing in their pants as they gripped their bags with their sour faces. LOOK at these people, they have been terrorized their whole lives.

Its not your fault. Its argentinas. Its a hopeless mess, made worse by such corruption as the police allowing the mafia to rob on the subway as long as they dont hurt anyone. And made worse by the fact that there are far far more horrible people here than good ones. The argentines in general are awful.

Dont talk with anyone next time, keep your hands on all your pockets, constantly look in the shop windows so you can see whos walking behind you, and never trust anyone for the rest of your life. Then youll be living like a local.

 

[SaraSara]

Hardly a day goes by where the Argentines dont earn my reproach multiple times. I dont like them.

No big deal - they probably don't like you either.

 

[Napoleon]

1) "Oil in Afghanistan"... I love that one. I really can't stop laughing about that. Those who live in caves... OIL IN AFGHANISTAN!!! I love it!!

2) El Queso is a top 5 poster.

3) SaraSara understands what an EXPAT FORUM is for. EXPATS!! She knows how to add without whining. Her contributions are much appreciated.

4) This thread (and the A line) are crying out for a CHARLES BRONSON-esque remake of "Death Wish". Just walking the streets waiting for someone to attack.

5) I think that the US found more WMDs in Iraq than the entire world has found OIL in Afghanistan, but I'll try to let it die. This is about 100 times worse than my students' shock at finding out that not all maps in the world say "Malvinas (Arg)" [Most say "The Falklands" or "The Falklands (Islas Malvinas)" and then show the English towns on the islands. When I told my students that only the maps from the Cono Sur say "Islas Malvinas" as the official name, they were a little surprised. When I told them that those towns that are listed on Argentine maps as towns on the Falklands don't even exist, it was like they were hearing that there isn't a Santa Claus. But "Oil in Afghanistan". I've got to tell my parents about this one.

6) PS- Food can have flavor and not be "Fattening Fast Food From Fatties Afar".

 

[sesamosinsal]

Well, on Afghanistan, the OP might have been a bit confused. It is believed by some that the war in Afghanistan was favored in order to build a natural gas pipeline through the country. The project was initiated by the American company Unocal in 1998, and was subsequently abandoned because of instability. Following the Afghanistan invasion, the project was restarted in 2002, with the Asian Development Bank spearheading the construction of the pipeline. The U.S. is the biggest shareholder in this bank outside of Asia, with about 15.5% ownership. That number, however, is equal to Japan's ownership. Japan is the largest of the bank's shareholders in Asia.

Natural gas pipeline... oil.... Er, it would confuse people in the U.S. anyway..

The war in Afghanistan is very suspicious indeed. If the Bush administration lied about WMDs in Iraq (according to the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee, they "misled" the American public), why should we trust them to be honest about the so-called "evidence" that bin Laden was in Afghanistan? It's all so convenient...

 

[Denver]

What the hell people!

The US and Japan, with 31% combined stock holdings, set a corporate agenda for ADB of starting a war in Afghanistan so that a pipeline could be constructed. The US government then spends XXX billion dollars and risks political fallout abroad and at home for what? The US wouldn't be pumping oil into it, nor would it be tapping it in the other end. (Look at a map). What would be the payout? Dividends paid out by ADB?

Noone thinks that it would be somewhat difficult to get this corporate scheme past the other 65 members of ADB? One of which, incidentally, is Afghanistan.
OK, -so let's say they didn't copy Afghanistan on the 'Start war in Afghanistan' email. You don't think perhaps the UK, France, Germany, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Austria, Finland, Italy, -all of whom have been members of the ADB for more than 40 years - would object?

They say truth is the first casualty of war.
I say reason is the first casualty of internet forums.

Neil

 

[orwellian]

I have to agree with other posters. If you have been robbed 16 times in 3 years there is a reason for it, and it is not bad luck. The fact that you are out much doesn't account for it either. In my youth I was out drinking 4 times a week in Barcelona for years and I never managed to come anywhere close to your 16 times. And you are statistically more prone to be robbed in Barcelona than here.

Whether you like it or not, I think you should be looking into changing something in your behavior. You are attracting these thugs for some reason. Although having said that, I do not think that it is your fault.

And sorry to hear that you had an attempted robbery. It sucks.

 

[Denver]

Bueno lamento comunicarte que yo no soy así, si vos hacés una crítica hacia mi país bancate la crítica que yo haga del tuyo; la única diferencia entre tus críticas y las mías es que vos criticás a mi país y estás viviendo acá sacando algún beneficio de Argentina, yo por más críticas que le haga a tu país no puedo sacarle ningún beneficio... por lo tanto ya que estás acá beneficiándote de algo deberías ser más agradecido y quejarte menos y sino hacé el bolso y volvé a tu país...

I think you got that wrong.
Your entire real estate industry runs on US dollars. Any other large and important transaction runs on US dollars.
When Chavez wants to buy Argentine politicians, he sends a suitcase of dollars, not pesos.
Argentines can't get enough of iPhones.
They can't get enough of pirated US movies
They can't get enough of pirated US music
If I had a dollar for every time someone has asked me to bring them a Playstations, I'd have, -well, enough to buy a Playstation.
Argentines love The Simpsons and The Three Stooges more than they like Mafalda. Hell, -they even brew 'Duff' beer here and are being sued by Fox.

I think you will find you receive quite an amount of benefits from other countries. -Most of them free of charge.

Neil

 

[orwellian]

When Chavez wants to buy Argentine politicians, he sends a suitcase of dollars, not pesos.

That is a baseless accusation. Given the track record of U.S lies and distortions in Venezuela and Argentina you are mighty naive to buy into this one too.