mvan1

After reading and seeing the photos, be sure to watch the video of the cop dancing in the parade. He seems to have had a good time. His behavior looks genuine, for sure. Also, notice that the cop was holding a rainbow fan while he was dancing - very entertaining. http://www.thegailygrind.com/2015/06/30/a-second-hot-nypd-officer-was-caught-shaking-his-ass-with-gay-pride-marchers/

+ me, too The thread is very interesting even if it does not center on Meio, Point and 117 - It is refreshing to read this thread because it ties together examples of similar places that are not directly addressing the places in the title of the tread. -

? You quoted my post but I don't see the connection with your comment to what I wrote. See my original post # 14 above (which you quoted). Puzzled! Maybe you meant to quote someone else?

In a few days I will make my 125th trip to Brazil. My many visits there have taught me much, including how to avoid the rules most hotels have about not allowing visitors (garotos) to a guest room. First, at some hotels, it is not going to happen. At others, it can and does happen, depending on several factors. I need to know which hotels you plan to visit before I can offer suggestions how to get visitors to your room.

Sao Paulo saunas = (1) Lagoa (usually and depending on what type guy you like), this place often has extremely great nights with lots of garotos. Occasionally, the sauna has a weak night (fraco) where you will find only a handful of garotos. It is difficult to predict which nights will be good and which will be slow. Usually (not always) Wednesday and Friday are the best nights for Lagoa. Here is its website - http://www.thermaslagoa.com.br/ (2) Fragata (usually busiest on Tuesday and Sunday night). You will like the place depending on the type of garoto you seek. I have found that USUALLY the best nights are Tuesday and Sunday. Here is its website - http://www.termasfragata.com.br/ Salvador = There are a few saunas in Salvador but I visit only Planetario 11. I have not been there often enough to determine the slow and/or busiest nights. I have never been disappointed by a fraco night in Salvador. Here is its web site - http://www.planetario11.com.br/ In Sao Paulo, there is Metro access to the saunas, therefore, it is not necessary to take a taxi unless you prefer that way of getting around. In Salvador, I have always used a taxi as I have not been there many times and did not learn the local transportation system. With respect to bringing a garoto back to your hotel, I suggest you offer a little more information about what you expect before you get recommendations about an all-night guest. I have been to Brazil many times and I get to know the garotos fairly well. I have developed a sort of "sixth sense" about who is trustworthy for spending the night and who is not. If you were to invite a garoto you do not know well to spend the night with you, you could very well be disappointed, or more. On the other hand, if you are adventurous, you could have a great time. Another factor about taking a garoto to your hotel is that most Brazilian hotels do not allow visitors to a guests' room. There are ways around this. If you have any other question about visiting Brazil, just ask away. Boa viagem!

Fernando Bingre comes with many recommendations at Tripadvisor. Most rated him excellent - see this - http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g303272-d2098155-Reviews-Salvador_Tour_Guide-Salvador_State_of_Bahia.html -

Thanks for the tim.com link that has some English mixed in with Portuguese. I am surprised and impressed how advanced Brazil has become with its SIM cards for foreigners. It used to be such a pain. Thanks to you, I can inform others how easy it is now. Thanks also for mentioning the possibility of buying the SIM on the street.

Oh, good!

Was this option available to you recently? If so, TIM has stepped into the modern era. I think it is a step in the right direction for this to be available. In the past, it was a nightmare to try to communicate with employees of telephone companies. The website for TIM, is not user friendly for foreigners. Take a look at it - http://www.tim.com.br/sp/para-voce As you can see, there is no option for English or for any other language except Portuguese. I will be back in Brazil next week and maybe I can get one of my telephone numbers set up correctly. At the present time, the number functions but the records of TIM have me as an Australian. This prevents me from recharging that specific number over the TIM site. Thanks for the information.

The SIM cards you buy from news stands or on the street must be registered by calling the applicable telephone company. Brazilians buy SIM cards this way quite often. Brazilians call the phone company to register the SIM. However, if an American were to buy a SIM on the street, how will the SIM get registered? Employees at most telephone companies in Brazil do not speak English. An American calling the phone company to register the SIM is not going to understand what is asked by the employee at the phone company. Therefore, the SIM most likely cannot be registered unless the purchaser goes to the telephone company. What then, is the purpose of buying the SIM on the street? Worse yet, a SIM bought on the street is generally a standard size SIM. Most modern telephones take a mini or nano SIM. Therefore, the purchaser would have to buy a cutter or have a way to cut the SIM to exact measurements for the size of SIM that fits the purchaser's telephone. If the card is not cut accurately or if it is damaged, it will not line up in the telephone. Maybe you meant your comment as a joke and I missed it. Anyway, you can see that a visitor to Brazil who does not speak Portuguese and does not have a SIM cutter or a way to cut the SIM to exact measurements, is not going to get a workable SIM by buying one on the street. As to recharging the SIM, you are correct, the card can be recharged as you said. A SIM can also be recharged on the internet, using a credit card.

If you have an unlocked "smart phone" you should have no trouble purchasing a SIM card for Brazil. There are several telephone carriers in Brazil. I have used TIM for many years. I am reasonably happy with them. They have good coverage in most parts of Brazil. If you decide on TIM, ask the employee at the store to assign "infinity" to your account. This will save you money and will allow you to make local calls for a flat rate of twenty-five centavos to a fixed land line or to another person with TIM. If you call another person using a different phone carrier, expect to pay through the nose if you call a cell phone that is not with the same phone company as your service. If you decide to purchase a SIM, you do not need a CPF number to buy the SIM. Your passport is sufficient. Some Americans believe that you need a Brazilian with a CPF number to register the SIM for you. That is false. If you purchase the SIM in Rio, there are several TIM stores available. Bring your passport with you (or a copy of the information page) and hope to find someone who can speak English. If you know someone who speaks English and Portuguese, maybe you can convince that person to accompany you to purchase the SIM. Before you leave the telephone store, make sure that the SIM is working. Don't just let the employee hand you a SIM card. As you might already know, SIM cards have various sizes, depending on your phone. The length of time you plan to be in Brazil and your planned usage of the plan and calling, will determine how much you will want to "prepay" (pre-pago) when you buy the SIM card. If you plan to return to Brazil within six months after putting money on the SIM, you will need to put at least R$50 which will be valid for six months. If you put less than R$50, the funds will expire sooner and will be lost along with your telephone number in as little as one month. I am in Brazil so often that I have no problem keeping my telephones charged and valid. I have had the same telephone numbers since 2003. Others might have different recommendations. Another thing, after you get your SIM running, install the app "whatsapp" to your phone. You can make calls and send messages on whatsapp locally and to foreign countries without charge if you are using a wifi signal. If you use the telephone company data plan, of course, you will pay for usage.

Here is another reporter's take on the situation: http://chicago.suntimes.com/mary-mitchell/7/71/737561/tom-dart-backpage-mastercard-visa By the way, I just took a look at Backpage ads for several large cities, including Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami. Normally, there are many ads for each day in those cities. Today, there are just a few in each city. I understand the theory, "where there is a will, there is a way' which, in this case means that, escorts are using "bitcom" to make payment to Backpage for their ads. I read, although I have no confirmation of this, that the handful of the new ads were paid by bitcom. In case you don't know about bitcom - take a look at this: https://bitcoin.org/en/

What a small world. I also met this guy in Rio about seven years ago. I met him while he was working at Clube 117. His "new" look with the bulging steroid arms and torso are "not my cup of tea" so to speak. Speaking of steroids, I was amazed to see how easy it is to buy injection type steroids in Brazil. I was once in line at a drug store in Rio and in walked a sauna garoto I knew. He said hello to me then promptly asked the pharmacy person for needles and steroids. Good grief.

The first of several trains arrived from France and is being tested. According to Brazil's transportation people, the trains will begin running next Spring. The first route will go from Centro to Santos Dumont airport. You can see a photo of the new train in the below cited article. Here is an article that appeared today discussing the new trains: http://riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/rio-real-estate/first-vlt-train-arrived-in-rio-de-janeiro-for-testing/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRioTimes+%28The+Rio+Times%29 -

A little more behind the scenes with respect to VISA and MC and AMEX firing Backpage as a client: http://www.cookcountysheriff.com/press_page/press_BackPage_07_01_2015.html

I hate to see any business have its main source of revenue halted. Not being able to accept credit cards could very well put Backpage out of business. American Express already cancelled their agreement with Backpage a long time ago. Most advertisers will not be willing to go the second step and bother and nuisance of getting a money order and sending it to Backpage for an ad. Cash is not an option or practical. Being without the ability to accept credit cards is quite harmful to the prospects of Backpage remaining in business in the long run. Maybe it is just as well that Backpage will not survive for a long time. I say this because most ads are bogus and most supposed "escorts" use stolen photos from the internet and many supposed "escorts" lie about themselves or what they say they will do. One laughable example is when "escorts" claim to have a large to gigantic penis. Has anyone ever read Backpage and found an escort with a claimed penis less than ten inches long? It is common knowledge that the average penis is not anywhere near ten inches but, for mystifying reasons, all the "escorts" on Backpage have a penis at least ten inches (or so they claim). Recently, a client contracted with an "escort" from Backpage and the "escort" was bogus. In response to the lies and behavior of the "escort", the client used the photos of the dishonest "escort" and the client posted his own ad warning readers about the fact that the advertising "escort" is a thief. Here is a link to the ad a client created to expose one dishonest Backpage "escort" thief: http://arizona.backpage.com/MaleEscorts/reference-young-stud-available-anytime-thief/33604529 I think rentboy and rentmen might be next as many of the ads of those escort sites are also bogus.

DUPLICATE -

The $80 is mentioned about one-third of the way down the page at this site - http://www.worldtravelguide.net/colombia/passport-visa You get multiple entries during a six-month period.

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE and ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama and Brazilian leader Dilma Rousseff will aim to show they have smoothed over tensions sparked by a spying scandal, as they open two days of talks at the White House Monday. The meetings come nearly two years after Rousseff canceled a rare state visit to Washington following revelations that Brazil was a target of American spy programs. The disclosures by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden deeply strained relations between the two hemispheric powers. Rather than rehash the spying controversy, officials from both countries say Obama and Rousseff want to delve into talks on trade, investment and climate change. "They are putting behind the Edward Snowden affair," said Michael Shifter, president of the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington think tank. "The meeting is to create good atmosphere, a good mood, establish communication and get the relationship back on solid footing." Upon Rousseff's arrival at the White House, Obama invited her to visit the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. At the memorial, Obama described the "Stone of Hope" into which King's statue is carved and pointed out some of King's famous quotes along the memorial wall. The two leaders will meet for a private dinner Monday evening, and then hold more formal talks and a joint news conference on Tuesday. The leaders are meeting six months before a United Nations-sponsored conference in Paris in December to finalize a climate treaty. Obama has argued that a gradually warming planet could worsen social tensions and political instability worldwide, in addition to harming the U.S. Countries are making their positions on climate change clear ahead of the Paris talks. The U.S. already has announced a 2025 deadline to reduce emissions of heat-trapping gases by 26 percent to 28 percent below 2005 levels. Brazil, the seventh largest economy, is one of the top emitters that has not presented pollution-control targets. Environment Minister Izabella Teixeira, who is traveling with Rousseff to Washington, has said that developed nations bear more responsibility than the developing world because of their emissions track record. Brazil's first female president started her second term in January — Vice President Joe Biden attended her inauguration — but she since has been weighed down by low approval ratings, her country's poor economic performance and a massive corruption scandal involving Petrobras, a state-owned oil company. Tens of thousands of Brazilians filled streets across the country earlier this year to protest her leadership. Snowden's disclosures showed that in addition to spying on Rousseff's communications, the NSA had hacked the oil company's computer network. Rousseff served on the company's board but has not been implicated in the scandal. With Brazil bracing for recession, officials are emphasizing the economic agenda for the Obama-Rousseff meeting. The U.S. is Brazil's second-largest trading partner after China, exchanging $62 billion in trade flows. Carlos Eduardo de Freitas, an economist and former Central Bank executive director, said the White House meeting may invigorate Brazil as it seeks to cut down government spending to avoid being shunned in credit markets. Rousseff is traveling with 11 cabinet members and met with Brazilian businessmen and U.S. investment fund managers and government officials in New York to discuss infrastructure before arriving in Washington. "The government needs to unshackle its economy," Freitas said. The timing of Rousseff's trip was settled months ago; Obama announced it when the two met on the sidelines of a summit in Panama in April. But for Rousseff, being seen warmly received by an American president coming off one of the best weeks of his time in office could help her back home.

New York, Washington, San Francisco are just some of the cities on her tour. It will be interesting to learn her plans for resolving Brazil's poor economy and Brazil's current state of affairs. Check out this article: http://riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/rio-politics/brazils-rousseff-starts-first-official-visit-to-the-u-s/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRioTimes+%28The+Rio+Times%29 After I read the article, I was surprised that her agenda with Obama is to discuss "climate change" and some other issues such as beef, investments and a few other issues related to trade agreements. Considering all the problems in Brazil, I cannot see the purpose of Brazil's president visiting the U.S. to discuss those issues. I can fully understand why there are so many demonstrations in Brazil. Brazil's head-of-state touring a foreign country to talk about climate control and other unrelated issues, it is no wonder that many things in Brazil are a mess. A trip in vain? A nice vacation?

Please understand that my comment was not intended to define mean or median, in general. Rather, I intended to show how such concept is used in assessing age distributions. Funny!

Above this post, someone already furnished some information about locating the two saunas you mentioned. Here is a little more detail that might help you find the Metro station and Clube 117: You said you were starting from Copacabana. Therefore, look for a large street called Siqueira Campos. Then find a cross street named Toneleros. On the corner of Siqueira Campos and Toneleros, is a metro station. Enter the metro station then take the train to a stop called Gloria. Be sure to check the direction of the train by looking at the stops that go to the downtown area. When the train reaches the Gloria stop, leave the train and exit the metro station via the escalator. When you are at street level, go to the end of the street which is named Candido Mendes. Then make a left turn and go less than half a block until you see a sign marked 117. You might already know, the sauna’s name is 117 and that it is also the address number. I hope this helps.

You are correct, I wrote "In Brazil, the working guys are not allowed in the clients’ locker area." I should have written, In Brazil, the working guys are not supposed to be in the clients' locker area." Some garotos in Brazil ignore rules. If you complain to management about a working guy being in the client locker area, I am confident that the working guy would be told to stay out. In the case of Clube 117, the design of the locker room invites the working guys simply because the areas are connected. However, if you check with Monique, I am sure she will tell you that that garotos are told not to hang around the clients' lockers.

When did customers start being furnished with red towels? I have been to Sauna Thermas many times and there never was a distinction made between working guys versus clients. I was always furnished with white towels as were the working guys. The working guys paid the same entrance fee as clients and the working guys had their lockers in the same area where the clients had their lockers. I have not been to Barcelona since last December but I plan to return there in August. I am wondering if the change in the towel color has something to do with working guys breaking into the lockers of clients. The lockers are fairly isolated and can easily be broken into by working guys or by anyone in the sauna. In Brazil, the working guys are not allowed in the clients’ locker area. It is no big thing about the color towels but considering that the working guys pay the sauna the same entrance as clients and are not separated in the locker area, I cannot see the purpose of the change unless the color is used as a code to keep the working guys away from the clients’ lockers. Thanks for the heads up on the red towels.

Thanks for mentioning the system-wide upgrades. I had forgotten about them. I already used all mine (8) before the end of May. As an incentive for readers who travel a lot and whose itineraries might blend well with AA, AA gives to any passenger, Executive Platinum Status, if the passenger flies at least 100,000 miles each year with AA and/or one of AA's "One World" partner airlines. With that status, there are a lot of perks, including eight system wide upgrades each year for use on any aircraft that is operated by AA. It is easy to determine the value of the upgrades. Each upgrade saves a passenger $350 + 25,000 miles when the passenger upgrades to the next level of service. The value is determined by comparing the cost to upgrade without a system-wide upgrade, $350 each way plus 25,000 miles.