ihpguy

Thanks JKane. I don't get 60 Minutes where I'm at. Lance&Co can tear down Tyler but whatever Big George said to the Grand Jury would definitely be believed. And supposedly he was forced into testifying by his brother. They have a fairly successful clothing firm they need to defend and lying and being sent off to jail wouldn't be a good thing.

Why the proverbial "shit hit the fan"? And why now? One reason is that Johan Bruyneel, team director for Lance at USPS and Discovery has been indicted and is fighting the charges. He has requested and will receive arbitrartion. So....most if not all of the witnesses in the Lance case will be the same ones testifying in the Bruyneel matter. Ditto a couple of the team doctors and trainer Pepi under Dr. Ferrari. All the testimony was going to come out against Bruyneel and the entire system of doping which was created to benefit Lance and the sponsors would finally be revealed. Or that is the assumption.

What he was taking: Erythropoietin (EPO), also known as “E,” “Po,” “Edgar” or “Edgar Allen Poe,” among other names. EPO is used by athletes to increase the number of red blood cells in their circulatory system which are available to carry oxygen. … Even after the EPO urine test was developed and implemented in sport in late 2000 EPO was difficult to detect and the Respondents [Armstrong, a team director, team captain and team doctors] implemented a number of means to avoid detection of EPO use, including: micro-dosing (i.e., using smaller amounts of EPO to reduce the clearance time of the drug), intravenous injections (i.e., injecting the drug directly into the vein rather than subcutaneously to reduce clearance time), saline, plasma or glycerol infusions (described below) and various effort to avoid testing by drug testers at times that EPO might still be detectable in the riders’ urine. … Multiple riders with firsthand knowledge will testify that between 1998 and 2005 Armstrong personally used EPO and on multiple occasions distributed EPO to other riders. Blood transfusions (a/k/a “blood doping”). Blood transfusions generally involve the extraction of an athlete’s own blood pre-competition and re-infusion of that blood shortly before or during competition (e.g., in the evening or on a rest day in a multistage race) to increase the athlete’s oxygen carrying red blood cells. By increasing the number of circulating red blood cells, transfusions increase the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood and enhance endurance and recovery. No effective anti-doping test has yet been implemented to detect autologous transfusions (i.e., transfusions of an athlete’s own blood). … Multiple riders will testify that during the period 2000-2005 Armstrong used blood transfusions, was observed having blood re-infused, including during the Tour de France, and had blood doping equipment at his residence. Testosterone. Also known on the USPS and Discovery Channel cycling teams as “oil.” Testosterone is an anabolic agent and can increase muscle mass and strength. In smaller doses anabolic agents such as testosterone can promote muscle recovery from strenuous exercise and increase endurance. Andriol consists of testosterone undecanoate, a steroid which can be mixed with oil and taken orally. Taken in this way the drug can be absorbed into the lymphatic system without being transported to the liver, making the drug more effective and reducing the prospect of liver damage. Multiple riders who competed on the USPS and Discovery Channel teams from 1998 through 2007 have reported that Dr. Ferrari [an alleged co-conspirator] developed a method of mixing testosterone (i.e., andriol) with olive oil for oral administration. … USADA has eyewitness statements from multiple sources that Lance Armstrong used testosterone and administered the testosterone-olive oil mixture to himself and other riders. Human Growth Hormone (hGH). Human growth hormone is improperly used in sport to increase strength and lean muscle mass, to assist in weight loss and promote recovery. Multiple riders who competed on the USPS and Discovery Channel teams from 1998 through 2007 have reported to USADA that team director Johan Bruyneel, team trainer Jose Pepe Marti and team doctors Luis del Moral and Pedro Celaya provided human growth hormone to team members. Corticosteroids (e.g., cortisone). These drugs reduce inflammation, assist in recovery and can provide a burst of energy and create a temporary feeling of increased energy and well-being. Throughout the relevant time period, corticosteroids were improperly provided to cyclists by team doctors and trainers to increase energy and enhance performance. … USADA will also rely upon firsthand testimony from witnesses who were aware of Armstrong’s use of cortisone without medical authorization. Saline and plasma infusions. Throughout much of the relevant period the UCI [union Cycliste International] employed a blood monitoring program and would not permit riders to compete if the rider’s hematocrit (i.e., percentage of mature red blood cells) exceeded 50%. To avoid exceeding the 50% hematocrit threshold and to prevent detection of the rider’s EPO use and/or blood transfusions, Respondents used the prohibited technique of saline, plasma or glycerol infusions to mask their use of prohibited substances and/or methods. … USADA will also present testimony concerning infusions given to numbers USPS riders, including Lance Armstrong.

What the USADA are accusing him of: The anti-doping rule violations for which Mr. Armstrong is being sanctioned are: (1) Use and/or attempted use of prohibited substances and/or methods including EPO, blood transfusions, testosterone, corticosteroids and masking agents. (2) Possession of prohibited substances and/or methods including EPO, blood transfusions and related equipment (such as needles, blood bags, storage containers and other transfusion equipment and blood parameters measuring devices), testosterone, corticosteroids and masking agents. (3) Trafficking of EPO, testosterone and corticosteroids. (4) Administration and/or attempted administration to others of EPO, testosterone and cortisone. (5) Assisting, encouraging, aiding, abetting, covering up and other complicity involving one or more anti-doping rule violations and/or attempted anti-doping rule violations.

Here is a recipe. I normally use about 4 times the quantity of garlic and twice of the thinly sliced onion. The collards are incredible as a supply of potassium. http://intlrecipesyndicate.blogspot.com.br/2010/06/couve.html

Ms. Guy, Lance Armstrong has not been singled out. He is the only one has kept on fighting the charges. Most of others have come clean. Not sure about Marco Pantani. He's dead. And Richard Virenque, crowned King of the Mountains, guilty as well. About the only ones who haven't been found guilty are the sprint points leaders. If you want some real cynicism, someone can explain to me how Jamaica, a county of 3 million souls placed first, second and third in the 100 meters. Like FloJo(DEAD)and Marion Jones, if you wonder how it can be too good to be true, it is/it was. I'm not great at cut and paste, so here is the link beside the list below. Top Finishers of the Tour de France Tainted by Doping Since 1998, more than a third of the top finishers of the Tour de France have admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs at some point in their careers or have been officially linked to doping. The grid below shows the original top-10 placements in each of the past 15 years. Riders pictured have either tested positive, admitted to doping or been sanctioned by an official cycling or antidoping agency. Cyclists whose sanctions were later overturned are not included. Related Article » http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/08/24/sports/top-finishers-of-the-tour-de-france-tainted-by-doping.html

Does no one not remember the whole USPS scandal on the selling of the team's racing bikes for cash to pay for the whole doping program. There are more then ten witnesses who will testify to the blood doping. Including George Hincapie. Ten years ago the tests for EPO were so far behind the users that it made it simple to cheat. And if Lance was/is so innocent, what was he doing with Dr. Michele Ferrari as the chief MD for the teams. The more one reads about this, the more convincing is his guilt. He has claimed that he has never had a positive test. However, he tested positive for a masking agent. Then he produced a backdate RX script for a corticosteroid cream for "saddle sores" ditto on some urine samples that somehow were not handled "correctly" so the positives were thrown out. And of course, when he was in the hospital waiting for the surgery for the testicular cancer, Frankie Andreu and his wife were in the hospital room when he recited to the surgeon the laundry list of drugs he had ingested in the 90's. Some of the stories paint Lance as a real bully to others. Not the nice guy with the LiveStrong Foundation. AND...AND A BIG AND...if he gives up now, he doesn't have to appear in court when everyone is prepared to testify against him. He can keep on staying with the same old story of never testing positive, without mention of all of the illegal drugs he used as well as the bags and bags of transfused blood during each Tour de France.

On a weight-loss site I am on, I get a daily digest of helpful tips. One was that eggs are a great, lower-cost source for protein. I have recently been eating 6-8 hard boiled whites daily. Tossing the yolks. Very low cal. High protein. Ditto on the skim milk. Lower-fat partially-skimmed ricotta and non-fat Greek yogurt all are good possibilities. And an old rule from decades ago with Weight Watchers(I think) was 72 ounces of water/daily PLUS an extra ounce for every pound overweight. Also, an extra ounce of water for every ounce of caffeinated beverage(coffee/soda)consumed. On my own regimen, I have taken a distinct liking to steamed cauliflower and broccoli. I top it off with barbecue sauce thinned out with rice vinegar. It gets kind of addictive. Easy and fast. Simple clean-up afterward. And a great source for good vitamins are collard greens, onions and garlic sauted in olive oil. Easy and fast to make as well.

Where I happen to live, our patron saint is Sao Roque or Saint Roch, supposed curer of the Black Death. Much more interesting and certainly more important for gay men is Sao Goncalo. Not only is it the second largest city in the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro, he is considered Portugal's version of St. Valentine. And since 2002, most likely every gay man's favorite saint. Traditional Portguese pastries prepared in the honor of our patron saint. Also keep in mind that saing a prayer, lighting a candle and rubbing our hot powdered sugar buns, seems to have a magical curative effect on our manginas, per this excerpt below. Saint Goncalo, hear my prayer and cure my swollen ass! HEMORRHOID sufferers are flocking to a church in central Portugal in the belief they will be cured by exposing their afflicted behinds to the statue of a local saint. The suffering faithful in Murtosa, 250 km north of Lisbon, attribute Saint Goncalo with the power to cure the condition, the Jornal de Noticias reported. Yes, people are actually going to a church and rubbing their naked asses against a statue in hopes of reducing that painful swelling. Apparently there is some shortage of Preparation H in Portugal.

And all too sad. I suppose that this must have been produced before Akin's rape statements.

The comparisons between 117 and Meio Mundo couldn't be more different. Tuesday afternoon about 5:30PM when I walked into 117 was so different than the previous day at MM. There was an energy. Excitement. Versus the glass door that has the bottom which scrapes the floor in the vestibule, the staff at the entrance are buzzing open the door which swings in effortlessly. Nice fragrance. Clean smelling. Versus unfortunate odors. Nice and bright against dingy. Things just look spiffier. The guys are more well-kept. Certainly more muscular. Not lazing around. Plumbing that works. Higher prices. But just a bit more. A classier operation versus penny-pinching which is quite normal for many Cariocas. Three shower heads with hot water ar 117(besides bathrooms in all of the suites) versus maybe 1 or 2 at MM. In a post on my other thread, I goofed up on the programming. Supposedly, Wednesday nights at 117 they now have a very good weekly show hosted by Lorna Washington that is becoming popular. With the deaths of Kayke Sabatella and Rosa Bombom, Lorna has garnered more attention. Or so I've been told. The guys are all very professional at 117. A Brasilian friend has described Meio Mundo as the port of entry to the guys looking to enter the "profession" and then it is either the "trampoline" effect of upwards and onwards to 117 or back north to the vast array of suburbs that comprise the Baixada Fluminese. From Volta Redonda though Nova Iguacu and Caxias and then eastward to Mage and Sao Goncalo, there really is a never-ending supply of the beautiful and available. At MM, the guys are more down-to-earth/easier and definitely less-complicated. By the time most are ensconced at 117 for a bit, they have developed their "shtick" as it were. I had an interesting conversation with the older of the two brothers from Niteroi. I have been with the younger and never made it with the older. Tuesday the older was more willing to be completo but then I ran into a fun newer guy who I just clicked with, So who knows, maybe the next time I'lll finally visit a suite upstairs or in the basement with him. By the way, the lower bar seems to have been closed up and the tables and chairs moved upstairs. Two new vinyl benches have been purchased and those wild chaises(with leapord print fabric?) have been sent to furniture heaven. Or perhaps Monik's private playroom after a refurbishment. They were oh-so trashy. I loved to watch Pablo reclining on one of them and beat his meat. Delicious.

I thought this was the ex-Chicago Bears coach. Sorry. I used to live and die by Da Bears.

I missed by boat back home on Wednesday afternoon by just over 5 minutes so I said, what the heck, I'll stop in at Meio Mundo, off-night/day or not. At 5 to 4PM, I was the third client to check in and even at that early hour, there were over a dozen guys hanging around. Two new ones along with of course, Eduardo. The staff have black t-shirts with a new logo now. The shower on the first floor had semi-hot water and new soap dispenser that were not installed correctly. The broken door to the dry sauna has been replaced. But the installation isn't finished. The glass in the door is misaligned so cold air comes in or hot air seeps out. If it is not one things, it's another. THE CRAPPIEST PART WAS WHEN I WENT TO URINATE AND I LIFTED UP THE SEAT, LOTS AND LOTS OF FLOATING CRAP, UGH!!! UGH!!! WELL THE TITLE OF THIS POST HAS CRAP AND MEIO MUNDO IN THE TITLE AND THAT IS THE TRUTH. I thought to myself why don't these guys flush. How much water does it take. Well, the toilet doesn't flush as the pipe connecting the take to the bowl is broken and there is no water going into the take. Now this at 4PM. Just ridiculous. What happens later on in the afternoon/evening. So I went to another bowl to take a leak. But really. And the night before I had been at 117 for free suite night. Haven't been in quite a while. Clean quarters, Spotless. Well-mannered staff. Attentive. Hot showers. Dry saunas where you can actually build up a sweat. No comparison. Unfortunate.

My trusted roomie was at Meio Mundo the past Friday, Saturday and Monday. So this info is not firsthand. And be advised that he generally arrives about 5PM and leaves between 8PM and 8:30PM to make the 9PM ferry. Each night was dead as can be. And each night had more clients than boys. Yep. The inverse from the norm. I was at Clube 117 last night and I was speaking to one of the Brasilian clients who normally goes to Meio Mundo. He told me that this past Monday the garotos were arriving much later, after 8:30PM and by 9:30PM, it had gotten very, very full. Perhaps that ending of the early stripper show is the cause. Not sure? With the Monday and Saturday shows at Pointe 202, the new Thursday night show at Clube 117, free suites on Tuesdays at both 117 and Pointe, even less reason for MM. Acyr and Jorge need to get there act together. All a bit sad. Reminds me how Estacao, Spazio 18 and Spa 73 ended.

What is so surprising is that he still is polling higher numbers than McCaskill.

They have made lots and lots of improvements over the years. The new addition which doubled the space. The recently installed new showers on the cabine level. Improvements to the bar/showroom. However, lately they seem to have stopped keeping it up. Somehow happening about the same time as the departure of Vinicius. But the nightly stripper and drag shows have been curtailed. And the place just seems to not being kept up. Falling apart. I received a report that last Friday was very slow and on Saturday there were more than two clients for each boy. And the boys, just a few of the regulars, were not getting much business. All quiet boring, what we call "tedio"here. These days the only nights to go are Mondays and whenever there is some kind of party that Acyr decides to throw. Jorge lately has been M.I.A, I had about three weeks back that he was wintering in Italy.

My best friend of 27 years died of brain cancer almost 16 months ago and yesterday happened to be his lover's birthday. Ironically same day of the report of the suicide. Depending on how long he had been suffering/diagnosed and where he was in the diseases progression, perhaps he could no longer keep it a secret from his family. Experiencing the disease so closely, it is all very saddening. The effects of the initial chemo and radiation are not even the worst parts. Lots of experimental work is being done. True. But the brain itself changes and the person becomes just a shell of what they were. Perhaps Tony Scott wanted to save his young twin boys seeing that. With my friend, it was not "nice" but just really, really sad to see. When Ted Kennedy died, the "dirty" parts were not reported in the media. Just the gallant old senator. Sailing. Still going to the office with his Portuguese Water Dog.

Mittens will be ready to lead from Day One, he just needs to have his Magic Panties superblessed by Brigham Young.

Sorry my post was a bit vague. A recorded Bowie song and not an actual appearance. We had the live stream here in Rio via satellite. Portuguese commentary. It lasted three hours. I heard the Kate Bush song. Never noticed any Bush. But then I normally am not searching for any of the female variety. And the male nether regions are normally shaved clean. So... I like the start of the Brasil segment with the famous Comlurb gari who got his start sweeping up the confetti between the desfiles at the Sambodromo. Cute how he "taught" the Brit to samba and then a weak-voiced Marisa Monte, lack of any Bossa Nova, umbanda part was weak as well. Thought the costumes with reference to Carnaval where kind of fun and had elements of the craziness that some of the carnavalescos bring to the fantasias/costumes at the Sambodromo. Alessandra Ambrosio? Eh. I'd have rather seen the Rainhas da Bateria of the 6 leading samba schools in full costume shaking their silicone-filled buns and moneymakers. Now, that would have been a show to end a show. Certain to put a smile on the face and a hard-on in the pants of the Prince Hot Ginge. I am totally ignorant with all things electronic/technical. But I thought the light show both inside and outside the Olympic stadium was quite interesting. I thought the newspaper costumers and flooring was original. As where the walkway designing lending itself to the Union Jack.

Interesting show. Lots of music. Most I know. Some I don't. Oasis? And not a clue why they needed Russell Brand. Fashion with a recorded Bowie and catwalk models?

No heating here and haven't needed to use the airconditioner since January 2008. Just a ceiling fan and tropical breezes.

If anyone here is trying to call someone in Sao Paulo, and fairly soon for the rest of the country, there is a new dialing system being adopted when calling cell phones. For a few months, either method will be acceptable. But in the future between the city code for Sao Paulo of "11" and the 8-digit phone number, you will need to add the number "9" if calling from outside the city or just add a "9" to the front of the 8-digit phone number. Globo reported that at sometime in the next year or so, this will also be happening for Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre and elsewhere.

One of only 11, yes only e-l-e-v-e-n, in history to have completed the EGOT.

I'm on my last 20 pounds. Then having the surgery to get rid of the loose skin.

I saw these guys on the Olympics this morning. The Gountoulas Twins. They could spit roast me like a whole skewer of gyros. Or even to be the filling in their Souvlaki sandwich. Shame they don't use a cocksu........