Members ihpguy Posted September 21, 2015 Members Posted September 21, 2015 The beach in Copacabana suffered a major arrastão yesterday. This is the invasion of a large marauding band of youths, normally arriving by bus from the Zona Norte and Baixada Fluminense. Because of the economy and mack of opportunity, a way to get swag to sell and pawn or just use for poor adolescents. And because of their ages, the police don't have a reason to arrest. And the government prosecutors have no reason to take them to trial. The justices will just let most off with a slap on the wrist. Personally, I've always felt safer in Ipa on the beach between Texeira de Melo and Farme de Amoedo than anywhere near either side of Arpoador or Copacabana. Take care, visitors. TotallyOz 1 Quote
Members ihpguy Posted September 21, 2015 Author Members Posted September 21, 2015 There's video but I don't know how to post. Sorry. It shows some frightening violent tendencies. Very sad. Quote
floridarob Posted September 22, 2015 Posted September 22, 2015 Now I'm not one that likes to pass on gossip...believe me. However, when I was in Rio last week, I "heard" of a plan that involved armed guys entering 117 and robbing the place and their customers before going on a shooting spree...... far fetched??? I wouldn't put ANYTHING beyond desperate people that blame other people for the situation they are in...... desperation makes for dangerous people, is the underlying cause (not religion, that's used as an excuse) of why things are they way they are in the Middle East, IMO. Quote
Badboy81 Posted September 22, 2015 Posted September 22, 2015 Now I'm not one that likes to pass on gossip...believe me. However, when I was in Rio last week, I "heard" of a plan that involved armed guys entering 117 and robbing the place and their customers before going on a shooting spree...... far fetched??? I wouldn't put ANYTHING beyond desperate people that blame other people for the situation they are in...... desperation makes for dangerous people, is the underlying cause (not religion, that's used as an excuse) of why things are they way they are in the Middle East, IMO. You may be going to extremes...While things are very bad, it is not the middle east, a war zone or somewhere that people are literally trying to run away..... Why pick a sauna versus a bank or a hotel or somewhere else..... Enough with the dramatics and gossip.... It is not needed, especially for those of us planning trips to HELP the economy in Brazil MsGuy and mvan1 2 Quote
Members mvan1 Posted September 22, 2015 Members Posted September 22, 2015 You may be going to extremes...While things are very bad, it is not the middle east, a war zone or somewhere that people are literally trying to run away..... Why pick a sauna versus a bank or a hotel or somewhere else..... Enough with the dramatics and gossip.... It is not needed, especially for those of us planning trips to HELP the economy in Brazil x Quote
Members mvan1 Posted September 22, 2015 Members Posted September 22, 2015 You may be going to extremes...While things are very bad, it is not the middle east, a war zone or somewhere that people are literally trying to run away..... Why pick a sauna versus a bank or a hotel or somewhere else..... Enough with the dramatics and gossip.... It is not needed, especially for those of us planning trips to HELP the economy in Brazil THE EDIT FEATURE MADE TWO POSTS INSTEAD OF CHANGING TEXT - SORRY ABOUT THAT Quote
Guest tomcal Posted September 22, 2015 Posted September 22, 2015 I just got back today from 10 days in Rio/Porto Alegre/Sao Paulo, not only did I have one of the best trips ever there, but I did not feel or notice any difference in the security. Saying that, I also stick to Ipanema/Copa/Gloria in Rio and the Moinhos de Vento area of Porto Alegre. Relatively safe areas. Quote
Members ihpguy Posted September 22, 2015 Author Members Posted September 22, 2015 The article pasted in is from 2007. A while ago concerning Sauna Altarosas. The scary thing to me about being in an arrastao or just surrounded by a small group of poor and pooisbly violent adolescents is that they have nothing to lose. The Brasilian penal system will just give them a slap on the wrist, no jail time as long as no serious injuries or killings. No decent job prospects. Poor or total lack of education. No money to do anything for entertainment. Either they sit on the front porch, watch the tube, play video games, have sex and get pregnant or smoke cheap grass and sniff cheap coke. Probably don't even have the monthly fee to join a cheap gym. Badboy81 and ferrar 2 Quote
TotallyOz Posted September 22, 2015 Posted September 22, 2015 The article pasted in is from 2007. A while ago concerning Sauna Altarosas. The scary thing to me about being in an arrastao or just surrounded by a small group of poor and pooisbly violent adolescents is that they have nothing to lose. The Brasilian penal system will just give them a slap on the wrist, no jail time as long as no serious injuries or killings. No decent job prospects. Poor or total lack of education. No money to do anything for entertainment. Either they sit on the front porch, watch the tube, play video games, have sex and get pregnant or smoke cheap grass and sniff cheap coke. Probably don't even have the monthly fee to join a cheap gym. Altarosas - Wow, a great sauna. But, a pain in the ass to get to. Quote
Members mvan1 Posted September 22, 2015 Members Posted September 22, 2015 Altarosas - Wow, a great sauna. But, a pain in the ass to get to. Last night when I posted the link to Alterosas, I tried to add some humorous narrative. In the process, the post got made twice but the narrative disappeared. I showed the example of a police raid that occurred because a church moved in across the street from the sauna. The sauna was raided because the church ladies lied to the police and said there were under age garotos working at the sauna. It was untrue. Eventually, customers got tired of the police harassment and the sauna closed. An earlier poster in this thread said he had heard a rumor of a proposed raid/robbery on a gay sauna. I posted that the only armed raid on a sauna was from the Sao Paulo police. Many people have fond memories of that sauna that no longer exists. MsAnn 1 Quote
Members azdr0710 Posted September 22, 2015 Members Posted September 22, 2015 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luh1JCQ3l1E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF4vBtN2AqE MsAnn 1 Quote
Badboy81 Posted September 23, 2015 Posted September 23, 2015 I just got back today from 10 days in Rio/Porto Alegre/Sao Paulo, not only did I have one of the best trips ever there, but I did not feel or notice any difference in the security. Saying that, I also stick to Ipanema/Copa/Gloria in Rio and the Moinhos de Vento area of Porto Alegre. Relatively safe areas. Hey Tomcal, how were the saunas in Rio? Ill be there next month....I would like to hear some feedback from you since you were just there.... Thanks Quote
Members ferrar Posted September 23, 2015 Members Posted September 23, 2015 No, this is not the Middle East but forum members would be well advised not to casually dismiss the warnings of Ihpguy and others on this thread who actually live in the place called Brazil. There have been other incidents over the past few days in Rio including groups of 30-40 youths invading local commercial establishments such as bakeries and cleaning them (and their clients) out. The targeting of commercial establishments is a new and ominous development. There are certain subtleties here. In a case of PC gone berserk, the Policia Militar have just been deprived of their preventative policing powers by the local justice system, brought about by a well-meaning but seriously misguided rights activist who got a local judge to approve a collective injunction. As a result of the all too predictable criminal outbreaks, justiceiros (vigilante groups) have been forming to impose their own forms of justice against the youths. The Policia Militar, in turn, is reacting to the vigilante groups. You really don't want to be caught in the crossfire among any of the three factions - marauding youths; determined vigilantes; or Policia Militar. Unfortunately, this is not just another case of "typical petty crimes to be found in any major urban center." ihpguy and MsAnn 2 Quote
Members ihpguy Posted September 23, 2015 Author Members Posted September 23, 2015 Thanks for posting the two videos. I was in Buenos Aires over the weekend and had only seen parts of the second video. I had heard nothing about the incidents that also happened in Botafogo, Humaita and Barra da Tijuca. In 2014 I was on a bus going from Ipa, through Copa towards Centro, where the kids got wild and were jumping in and out of the windows and making life scary. Not a pleasant memory. TotallyOz 1 Quote
TotallyOz Posted September 23, 2015 Posted September 23, 2015 I was in Buenos Aires over the weekend and had only seen parts of the second video. I had heard nothing about the incidents that also happened in Botafogo, Humaita and Barra da Tijuca. Can you tell us what you think of the gay scene in Buenos Aires? Does it compare to Rio? Quote
Guest Trench Posted September 23, 2015 Posted September 23, 2015 In my early years of vacationing in Brazil, I used to take long walks along the length of Copacabana and Ipanema, close to the water very early in the morning, even before the gulls could make out where the garbage are on the sand. I did not realize how dangerous it was until I was stopped by a gang of young teenage boys and demanded money. I emptied my pocket and showed them the only things I had on me, the key to my apartment and a photocopy of my passport. Never did that again and that was 2004 when everything was said to be coming up roses for the Brazilian economy. And oh, Alterosa sauna. That was an absolute favourite of another brazilophile I regularly come across the saunas of Sampa and Rio who was decidedly devoted to plenty and cheap. It must have been in 2009 when we happened to be staying at the same hotel but I left a few days early when Alterosa was held up by a gang which was the event that finally closed it. I telephoned him once he got back to San Francisco just to see if he was there during the hold-up. As it turned out, he had an in-hotel-room engagement that prevented him from being at his usual rounds at Alterosa when the incident took place. Quote
Members boiworship Posted September 23, 2015 Members Posted September 23, 2015 Sounds like bedlam. Colombia and Thailand look more promising. MsAnn 1 Quote
Guest tomcal Posted September 23, 2015 Posted September 23, 2015 Hey Tomcal, how were the saunas in Rio? Ill be there next month....I would like to hear some feedback from you since you were just there.... Rio - Meo Mundo was great on Monday Night, 117 was very good on Tues/Thurs and Friday nights, Pointe was fairly good on Weds.night. I met two brothers there one 18 and one 22 that were new to the sauna. Meo Mundo was slow the other nights, as was Pointe, 117 is at the present time is the busiest sauna. Sao Paulo - Lagoa was amazing last Saturday, packed! I stayed until midnight! Sunday night Lagoa was also good. Fragata on Saturday night was fairly busy with quite a few customers at 5:30, but there wasn't one escort that interested me so I left at 6:15. and went to Lagoa Summary: 117 most nights is the best in Rio IMHO at the present time. There were quite a few new faces at all the saunas Porto Alegre: I was with mostly guys I already knew who came to the hotel and/or stayed overnight. Mezzaninu was fairly busy on Friday and Saturday nights and was slow on Sunday. Bar Mixx was busy on Friday and Saturday nights. Quote
