https://www.efinancialcareers.com/news/2023/06/common-prosperity-bankers-china
Elsewhere, conditions for summer interns in the beating heart of capitalism at Citadel seem quite impossibly sweet. They are getting paid $5,000 a week, being given free accommodation in Chicago, New York or other financial centres, and kicking off with a week-long offsite in either Palm Beach (for the hedge fund) or Fort Lauderdale (for Citadel Securities). While they’re bonding in the sunshine, they will also be matched to “buddies” responsible for mentoring them and trained in how to “act like a leader – even as an intern”.
Obviously, the extreme attractiveness of this program means that it’s almost impossible to get on to it. There were 69,000 applications this year, up 65% on last year, and although it’s a large program by hedge fund standards, there are about 300 places (an acceptance rate of somewhat less than half a per cent). The good news is that it’s not all about academic excellence – being a chess grandmaster or a special forces soldier can also be a way in.
Perversely, of course, that very exclusiveness is part of the attraction of the program. Citadel recruits from top universities worldwide, and it is likely to appeal the most to people who are really driven to try to get things simply because they’re the most prestigious of their kind. It’s unlikely that there will be anyone at the party in Florida who applied because they thought it was the company that makes Warhammer figurines.

Introduction
The following list gives an overview for the 31st mayor's pass season Fabulous Florida - Florida Summer Vibes, of Simcity Buildit, which runs for 6 weeks, starting on Wednesday 7th of June 2023. The mayor's pass has 42 tiers for the free and premium passes. The premium-plus pass, which was introduced during season 21, has 52 tiers.
A premium pass or a premium-plus pass can be bought at any moment during the season. When the season ends, the option to buy is closed at the same moment.
When buying a premium pass, the player has to choose between the 'basic" premium pass and the premium-plus pass. It is not possible to "upgrade" from a premium pass to a premium-plus pass once the premium pass has been bought.
Buying a premium pass or a premium-plus pass will immediately unlock all premium/plus rewards of the tiers that already have been finished at the moment of buying. The premium plus pass will also unlock the next 5 tiers (for more specific info: read the premium plus section).
The first 16 seasons were officially numbered. Uptil season 16 the reward items in the mayor's pass specialisation section were numbered according to their original seasons. Since the 17th season these numbers have disappeared. In stead of the season number the name of the season is now shown in the building information.
Rewards
The unique new reward buildings are indicated in bold in the rewards columns.
Most other rewards are the same as, or comparable to rewards from previous seasons. For a few seasons in a row now, the free pass rewards for tier 4 and tier 26 are swapped each new season, but this season it is the same as last season. This season the war cards rewards are the same as last season; usually the war cards change each season.
The number of unique new buildings from the free pass has steadily gone down since the mayor's passes were originally introduced.
The free pass gave 5 unique new buildings since season 3 (when the seasons were shortened from 12 to 6 weeks). But since season 7 the free pass only gave 4 unique new buildings. Since season 11, the number of unique new buildings for the free pass is further limited: now you only can get 3 unique new buildings.
Tier points
Starting in season 30 the points per tier were different from previous seasons. It is expected that this season the points per tier will be the same as in season 30.
The list contains the number of plumbob points that are needed for each tier and the rewards from the free pass, the premium pass and the premium-plus pass.
Double points week
In the previous mayor's pass seasons there was a "double points week" in the last week (which only lasts 5 days because the season ends when the 6th Contest of Mayors (CoM) week ends). During this week, the regular assignments as well as the milestone tasks give double points.
Lightning CoM week
During season 25 there was a "Lightning CoM week" in week 5 for the first time: each CoM lasted 48 hours, and there were 3 CoM's during this week. Each CoM had 20 tasks less than the usual amount, and the targets for the milestones were lower (as well as the points for the milestones). But adding those 3 CoM's together, there were more tasks to complete and more points from milestones to gain, than during a regular week.
The Lightning CoM week wasn't repeated during seasons 26, 28 and 30. Lightning CoM weeks did return in the 5th week during seasons 27 en 29, this time with 2 CoM's that each lasted 72 hours. In season 27 the second Lightning CoM had double points; probably due to a mistake by the developers.
Based on this pattern it is considered likely that there will be a lightning CoM week again in the 5th week of this season.
Free and premium pass
In the table below, "tier points" indicate the number of plumbob points needed to get to the indicated tier from the previous tier. "Total points" gives the number of plumbob points from start upto the indicated tier.
Calculation for the weekly average points: Taking the double points week into account, the "weekly av." number indicates what your average weekly plumbob points score should be during the first 5 weeks and double that amount in the final week, if you want to reach that tier by the end of the season. To get to tier 42 you will need 87k during the first 5 weeks and 175k in the final week.
Premium-plus pass
There is no weekly average calculated for the tiers of the premium-plus pass, because the average that you need depends on when you buy the premium-plus pass.
Buying it at the start of the season will let you advance the first 5 tiers (14,000 points). Buying the premium-plus pass at a later moment will let you advance 5 tiers from your position at the moment of buying.
Unfortunately this isn't the case at the end of the tier track. When you don't buy the pass when you have reached tier 42, you will still accumulate points but you no longer advance in tiers. Bying the premium-plus pass after reaching tier 42 will first advance you to tier 47. Then the extra points that you may have got after tier 42 will be taken into account and (if you have enough) will advance you further in the tiers.
Going from tier 42 to tier 47 will only save you 145k points. It is more profitable to buy the premium-plus pass when you have reached tier 37. That will bring you to tier 42, saving 194k points.
Taking the double points week into account in a six week season you need 136k weekly and 272k during the double points week to reach tier 52, when you buy the premium-plus pass at the start of the season. When you buy it immediately after having reached tier 37, you need 110k weekly and 221k during the double points week to finish tier 52.
When you are only interested in the new buildings (aiming at reaching tier 40), you could buy the premium-plus pass after having reached tier 35. Then it takes 50k weekly and 101k during the double points week to reach tier 40.
Additional info
- Pictures of the new buildings in this season (31) and of new buildings from (design) events and limited time offers during this season can be found in our subreddit for pictures of limited time buildings: https://www.reddit.com/SCBI_Buildings/
- The new season was discussed in this topic.
- A video of the new buildings in this season (31) and other upcoming buildings can be found here
- An updated chart of the War Vu - pass tier points can be found here. The Vu-pass tiers were changed during Mayor's Pass season 28.
- The most likely future planning for upcoming seasons, design events and war vu-pass periods till the end of 2023 can be found here

Tier	Tier points	Total points	Weekly av. (calculation includes double points week)	Free pass rewards	Premium and premium-plus pass rewards
1	2000	2000	<600	3000 simoleons	Oceanside Drive
2	3000	5000	715	Llamawood Urban Art	100 SimCash
3	3000	8000	1440		Deed: City Expansion
4	3000	11,000	1570	10 Temporary Storage Boost	5000 NeoSimoleons
5	3000	14,000	2000		20,000 Simoleons
6	3000	17,000	2430	3 different War Items	10 Temporary Storage Boost
7	4000	21,000	3000		20 Platinum Keys
8	4000	25,000	3570	20 SimCash	1000 Regional Simoleons
9	5000	30,000	4285		1500 War Simoleons
10	6000	36,000	5140		Sunscape Bridge
11	4000	40,000	5715	Lake (This was a new reward building uptil season 10)	4 Llama Speed-Up Tokens
12	4000	44,000	6285		10 Golden Tickets
13	5000	49,000	7000	Deed: Mountain Expansion	2 Lake
14	5000	54,000	7715		Deed: Beach Expansion
15	6000	60,000	8570	60% Sale on SimCash	5x3 Vu Items
16	6000	66,000	9430		20 Comic Hand War Cards
17	6000	72,000	10,285	Small Palm Tree Forest	20 Golden Keys
18	7000	79,000	11,285		3x3 City Storage Items
19	10,000	89,000	12,715		SimCar Racetrack
20	11,000	100,000	14,285	Cypress Swamp (this was a new reward building in the seasons 3 - 6 and has been since season 11)	10 Temporary Storage Boost
21	9,000	109,000	15,570		7 Cheetah Speed-Up Tokens
22	10,000	119,000	17,000	Silver War Chest	7000 NeoSimoleons
23	11,000	130,000	18,570		3x3 Mountain Items
24	12,000	142,000	20,285	Lake	1 of each War Item
25	13,000	155,000	22,145		20 Platinum Keys
26	14,000	169,000	24,145	3x3 Area Expansion Items	5x3 Area Expansion Items
27	15,000	184,000	26,285		60 Mellow Bellow War Cards
28	14,000	198,000	28,285	10 Golden Tickets	5x3 Beach Items
29	17,000	215,000	30,715		Fort Danielson
30	20,000	235,000	33,570	2 Small Palm Tree Forest (this was a new reward building uptil season 10)	3500 Regional Simoleons
31	18,000	253,000	36,145		2 Palm Tree Forest
32	20,000	273,000	39,000	10 Common War Cards	24,000 NeoSimoleons
33	23,000	296,000	42,285		15 Temporary Storage Boost
34	27,000	323,000	46,145	15 Golden Keys	80,000 Simoleons
35	30,000	353,000	50,430		5x3 City Storage Items
36	32,000	385,000	55,000		3x3 Area Expansion Items
37	32,000	417,000	59,570	50 Platinum Keys	15 Golden Tickets
38	33,000	450,000	64,285		50 Golden Keys
39	37,000	487,000	69,570		Adventure Kingdom
40	39,000	526,000	75,145	Sim West Quarter	50 Platinum Keys
41	37,000	563,000	80,430		13 Cheetah Speed-Up Tokens
42	48,000	611,000	87,285	1400 SimCash	10,000 War Simoleons
					Premium-plus pass extra rewards
43+	25,000	636,000			10 Golden Tickets
44+	25,000	661,000			10x3 Mountain Items
45+	30,000	691,000			10 Cheetah Speed-Up Tokens
46+	30,000	721,000			3500 Regional Simoleons
47+	35,000	756,000			10,000 NeoSimoleons
48+	35,000	791,000			5X3 Area Expansion Items
49+	40,000	831,000			30 Platinum Keys
50+	40,000	871,000			20 Hissy Fit War Cards
51+	45,000	916,000			30 Golden Keys
52+	50,000	966,000			10,000 War Simoleons

When it comes to creating a beautiful and functional space, the importance of professional interior design cannot be overstated. In Fort Myers, Florida, there are numerous talented interior designers who can help transform your home or office into a space that reflects your personal style and enhances your lifestyle. With their expertise and creativity, these designers can elevate your space to new heights. In this article, we will explore the benefits of working with interior designers in Fort Myers and how they can help you achieve your design goals.
Creating a Vision:
One of the key advantages of hiring an interior designer in Fort Myers is their ability to help you create a vision for your space. Whether you have a clear idea of what you want or need guidance in defining your style, these professionals can collaborate with you to develop a cohesive design plan. They will consider your preferences, lifestyle, and budget to craft a unique vision that reflects your personality and meets your functional needs.
Expertise and Creativity:
Interior designers in Fort Myers bring a wealth of expertise and creativity to every project they undertake. They stay updated with the latest design trends, materials, and techniques, ensuring that your space is both stylish and timeless. These professionals have an eye for detail and possess a deep understanding of color theory, furniture arrangement, lighting design, and other essential elements of interior design. By leveraging their expertise and creativity, they can transform your space into a visually stunning and functional environment.
Space Planning and Layout:
An important aspect of interior design is space planning and layout. Interior designers in Fort Myers are skilled at analyzing the layout of a room and optimizing its functionality. They consider factors such as traffic flow, furniture placement, and spatial proportions to create a harmonious and well-balanced space. Whether you have a small apartment or a spacious office, these designers can maximize the potential of your space and ensure that every square foot is utilized effectively.
Selection of Materials and Finishes:
Choosing the right materials and finishes is crucial in achieving the desired aesthetic and durability for your space. Interior designers in Fort Myers have extensive knowledge of various materials, including flooring, wall coverings, fabrics, and furniture. They will guide you through the selection process, taking into account your preferences, budget, and the specific requirements of each area in your space. By choosing the right materials and finishes, they can create a cohesive and visually pleasing environment that stands the test of time.
Project Management and Execution:
Working with an interior designer in Fort Myers means you don't have to worry about the logistics and coordination of your project. These professionals are skilled project managers who can oversee every aspect of the design process, from procurement to installation. They collaborate with contractors, suppliers, and other professionals to ensure that the project is executed smoothly and on schedule. With their attention to detail and organizational skills, they take the stress out of the design process, allowing you to enjoy the transformation of your space.
Conclusion:
If you're looking to elevate your space and create a beautiful and functional environment, hiring an interior designer in Fort Myers is a wise investment. Their expertise, creativity, and attention to detail will ensure that your space reflects your style and enhances your lifestyle. From creating a vision to executing the project, these professionals will guide you every step of the way. So, why settle for a mediocre space when you can have a stunning interior that truly inspires? Contact an interior designer in Fort Myers today and unlock the true potential of your space.

Company Name	Title	City
United States Secret Service	Criminal Investigator	Fort Myers
United States Secret Service	Criminal Investigator	Jacksonville
United States Secret Service	Criminal Investigator	Miami
Aveanna Healthcare	LPN Private Duty Nurse - Day & Night Shifts	Alachua
FRESENIUS	Facility Social Worker	Altamonte Springs
FRESENIUS	Manager Social Work Svcs	Altamonte Springs
L3Harris Technologies	Senior Associate, Electrical Engineering	Anna Maria
Mutual of Omaha	Sales Agent	Apollo Beach
Mutual of Omaha	Sales Representative	Apollo Beach
Aveanna Healthcare	Aveanna Healthcare Private Duty Nurse LPN	Boca Raton
Aveanna Healthcare	Private Duty Nurse	Boca Raton
Aveanna Healthcare	LPN Private Duty Nurse - Boca Raton Area	Boca Raton
Aveanna Healthcare	Private Duty Nurse LPN - Nights Only	Bonita Springs
Aveanna Healthcare	Aveanna Healthcare Private Duty Nurse RN	Bonita Springs
Aveanna Healthcare	Private Duty Nurse RN - Nights Only	Bonita Springs
HCA Florida Blake Hospital	Registered Nurse Med Surg	Bradenton
American Family Dental	Dental Hygienist	Bradenton
Smiles at Lakewood Ranch	Hygiene Assistant	Bradenton
HCA Florida Oak Hill Hospital	Registered Nurse (RN)	Brooksville
HCA Florida Oak Hill Hospital	RN	Brooksville
Aveanna Healthcare	Private Nurse	Cape Coral
Aveanna Healthcare	Aveanna Healthcare Private Duty Nurse RN	Cape Coral
Aveanna Healthcare	Private Duty Nurse	Cape Coral
Avis Budget Group	Customer Service Representative	Clearwater
L3Harris Technologies	Senior Associate, Electrical Engineering	Clearwater

Hey guys, here are some recent job openings in fl. Feel free to comment here or send me a private message if you have any questions, I'm at the community's disposal! If you encounter any problems with any of these job openings please let me know that I will modify the table accordingly. Thanks!

PART EIGHT HUNDRED AND FORTY-ONE
[Previous Chapter] [The Beginning] [Patreon+2]
Friday
It was the middle of a bright, sunny day, and Phillipa was jogging through Central Park, listening to whatever music her playlist threw at her. She was enjoying the rush of moving without puffing … without feeling lethargy at all. She paused and put her fingers on her throat like she’d seen all those fit people in the park do, but couldn’t find anything that even remotely felt like a pulse.
Well, in her mind, that had to mean she was so comfortable; her pulse wasn’t killing itself, which was awesome. Especially considering she’d been running …
She frowned and turned back the way she came. How many blocks had she run? And when did she actually start running? She wasn’t a runner, like at all, and she enjoyed chocolate and caffeine and worked too much.
Right on cue, an annoying water ripple which she used for her general ringtone (because it was quiet and wouldn’t disturb a meeting much if she were sitting in with Tucker) sounded, and she squeezed her right earpiece stem to accept the call.
Only it kept chiming in her ear.
Her frown deepened as she dug through her clothes, looking for her phone to connect the call manually, promising herself to replace the headset on her way to work. Except why wasn’t she at work now? It was daylight. Bright daylight. Why was she running during the day? Was it the weekend?
She found her phone in the front pocket of her business jacket, where it was always located during business hours, but when she lifted it to her face, the main screen wouldn’t wake up. It remained blank, no matter what she did to bring it online.
Plus, the music was still playing. The music should have cut out the second a call came through. She shook the phone and pressed the buttons along the side, hoping to reset it over and over again, harder with each pass, yet nothing worked.
What in the world…
Phillipa came awake with all the finesse of someone having a heart attack, her fingers biting into the hardened plastic edges of … her TV remote. The TV was still madly scrolling through whatever buttons Phillipa had been mashing in an effort to get it to work as a phone, but more importantly, her real phone was still dinging away on her bedside table.
“Phillipa Webber,” she said as soon as she connected the call, swinging her feet over the edge of the bed. It didn’t matter that she’d been sent home with the supposed promise/threat of a weekend off. Calls at five-thirty in the morning meant something was horribly wrong, and she used the adrenaline to clear away the cobwebs.
“Phillipa, it’s Michelle Winthrop. Tucker’s family is in trouble.”
It took Phillipa’s brain half a second to tie the woman’s name into one of the three senior partners of Pike and Hubble LLC, and from there, it was all systems go. “What do you need from me?”
Michelle outlined the security they wanted for both Tucker and the laptop he had in Pensacola. When Phillipa mentioned Helen, Michelle’s snort of disgust made her smile. “She’s commandeered Donald. That should be enough for her.”
Phillipa went into the living room/kitchen combo and slid into the bench chair that doubled as a workspace for her. She flipped open her personal computer and powered it up, going through layers upon layers of security protocols before accessing the business mainframe. With each one, she hoped and prayed Colton hadn’t followed through on his threat of having her clearances temporarily revoked.
Yesterday had been a wash as Martin’s driver dropped her outside her condo building and waited alongside the car while she walked to the main doors. It had annoyed her immensely when she turned to see why he was still standing there, filming her with his phone.
“Forgive me, Miss Webber,” he said, not lowering his hand in the least. “Mister Laurier has insisted on proof of you walking into your apartment building before I am permitted to leave.”
Phillipa had ground her teeth and eventually let out a long-suffering breath of annoyance, reminding herself she was too old to flip off Martin Laurier, as much as her sleep-deprived, caffeine-infused brain insisted on it being the greatest idea in the whole world.
She’d been polite to any neighbours she’d come across on her way to the apartment, but it wasn’t until she’d run herself a bath and sank beneath the warm bubbles with Samantha (her Burmese cat) perched by her head that she felt the first vestiges of anxiousness slip away. Samantha's meows had been so deep and so constant throughout the whole bath had been a non-stop tirade, no doubt a lecture for leaving her alone for a few days.
Not that she’d been completely left alone. Before she’d flown to Florida, Phillipa had arranged for an elderly neighbour who was the resident cat lady to pop in and feed Samantha and change her litter, but that wasn’t what her girl had a problem with. When Mrs Beaton came, she reeked of her own horde of cats, and Samantha hated all their smells in her space.
Thankfully, she wasn’t a boy cat and didn’t take to scent-marking her territory every time there was a threat, but for the next few days, Phillipa had known she’d need to air out the condo as much as possible.
Which was why she’d been dreaming about jogging when she’d never jogged a step in her life. For her, there were two speeds: a brisk walk or a flat-out run, with the latter only acceptable when someone or something murderous was chasing her. But with the bedroom window open and the smells of the city wafting through on the early morning breeze in waves, her dreams had interpreted that as movement.
A minute or so later, she was in.
Security teams were going to take time to assemble. Very few places would enable her to scramble a team with the necessary clearance levels, but putting one together from here and sending it down would take thousands of dollars and four hours of travel time.
She stroked her jaw, ending with a silent drum of her fingers against her cheek. “Boots on the ground … boots on the ground … someone with the right clearance…” Her brain was whirring as the options wound down on such short notice.
One was a super longshot, but given he had already passed the security checks and his history with the company was exemplary, Phillipa decided to risk it. She went into the HR listing of all staff members and clicked on the list of inactive personnel. Skimming down the list, she clicked on his name and quickly typed the personal number into her phone.
“C’mon …c’mon…”
* * *
Thomas was awake with his hand plunged under his pillow for the M3 trench knife kept there. It was a habit he picked up after his time in the sandbox, although back then, it had been a gun rather than a knife. (Nine years of rooming with Donald had him switching it out when he’d pointed the weapon at Donald before he was properly awake, and the other man had warned him that if he did that again, he’d be force-fed every bullet in the magazine.)
His phone sounded nearby, but the ringtone meant it wasn’t anyone he knew. If it’s a fuckin’ telemarketer, I’ll hunt them down and… he thought to himself, even as he crossed the room dressed in only his briefs and picked up the phone. It wasn’t like he had company. “Yeah?” The word was barely a question, more of a threat. It was intentional.
“Mister Cole?”
The voice sounded familiar, but he couldn’t place it. Walking over to the window, he pulled back the curtain to let in the early morning rays through the palm leaves of the trees that separated him from the beach. “I’m here.”
“Mister Cole, might I ask where you are at the moment?”
“Darlin’, until I know who you are, I’m not going to tell you anything except you’re messing with the wrong man.”
“It’s Phillipa Webber, Mister Cole. Tucker Portsmith’s EA.”
Thomas sucked in a sharp breath. He’d assumed walking away from the job and leaving the state soon after would be a big enough hint that there wasn’t enough money on the planet to have him going toe to toe with whatever it was protecting the Nascerdios family. Even now, his eyes dropped fearfully to the three-dimensional, circular brand on his chest of a snake that slithered around his flesh, hissing menacingly at him.
“Where are you, Mister Cole?”
“Nowhere near New York,” he answered evasively.
“Mister Cole, how close are you to Florida at this time?”
“I’m in the Bahamas. Why?” He had amassed a small fortune working around the clock for the Portsmiths with no vacation time for almost a decade, which was why he’d decided to grant himself an extravagant tropical holiday. Though every time he looked down in his swimmers and saw the living snake brand, he wondered if he shouldn’t have gone the other way and headed for the slopes.
“Mister Cole, would you be interested in temporarily coming back to work for us in Florida?”
Thomas couldn’t shake his head fast enough. “No.”
“Mister Cole, I wouldn’t be calling if it weren’t critical. You have the clearance to protect Portsmith Electronics’ interests, and if you’re in the Bahamas, you are our closest asset to our CEO.”
I’m not your asset anymore! “Where’s Donald?”
“He’ll be returning with Mrs Portsmith shortly. However, both the laptop and Mister Portsmith are in Florida, and the one bodyguard they took with them is spending more time with Mrs Portsmith than Mister Portsmith. I need a second set of eyes, and despite your sudden departure from the company, your loyalty to us prior to that was impeccable.”
“Where is Geraldine and … S-Sam?” God, he hated the slight tremor in his voice as he said that name, but damned if he could stop it. Going after Sam had put him into a torturous living nightmare that not even two tours in the sandbox had gone close to doing. At least once a night, he had woken up either trembling or screaming due to that inhuman voice and the way they’d imprinted the snake brand on his consciousness.
He knew it wasn’t really there because he’d asked several one-night stands what they saw on his chest, and they only described his regular tattoos and scars. He looked at his chest’s reflection in the door and shuddered when the snake turned to look at him in the reflection and opened its mouth wide to hiss at him.
“They’re in New York completing exams. Why?”
Thomas shuddered a second time if only to get it out of his system. “It doesn’t matter. I’m sorry, I don’t think I can help you…”
“Thomas, we’ll triple your hourly rate and cover the cost of rearranging your vacation once this is sorted. It should only be a day or two…”
Thomas reached over his head and hooked his fingers around the architrave of the sliding glass door, hanging his near-full weight off his fingertips to stretch out his arm and core.
“Thomas, please. You’re the only one with the clearance who can be on-site in a couple of hours. Even if I get things moving here, it’ll be at least five hours before I can have boots on the ground in Pensacola.”
Thomas released the door and dragged his fingers through his hair. He and Donald had already been paid triple the going rate for bodyguards, and to triple that again… “Miss Webber…”
“Thomas, name your price. At the moment, you have us over a barrel.”
“Full intel.”
“Excuse me?”
“That’s my price, ma’am. If you want me in on this, I need to know what you know about the people you’re going up against. No more going in blind.”
“Thomas, I’m not sure…”
“You asked for my price! That’s it! I’m not about to walk into a situation blind again if can help it.” On an exhale, he added, “Never again.”
“Alright. Alright … I’m not entirely sure what you’re talking about, Mister Cole, but if it’s in my power to give you everything you think you need to complete this task, I’ll see to it personally.” Her voice dropped away, but not before Thomas heard her mutter, “It’s not like I’m doing anything else this weekend.”
“I can walk out of my bungalow in three minutes or seven if you need me showered and shaved.”
“Take the seven minutes, Mister Cole.”
“Yes, ma’am. Where do you need me to be after that?”
“I’ll text you the details.” She paused for a moment, then added, “Consider this your first piece of personal information you wouldn’t normally know. Tucker Portsmith and I went to college together, and I consider him my best friend. It’s why I want you down there, looking out for him.”
With that, Phillipa hung up on him, but Thomas was already moving.
* * *
((All comments welcome. Good or bad, I'd love to hear your thoughts 🥰🤗))
I made a family tree/diagram of the Mystallian family that can be found here
For more of my work including WPs: Angel466 or an index of previous WPS here.
FULL INDEX OF BOB THE HOBO TO DATE CAN BE FOUND HERE!!

>>> Second part of the post
Avetrana is a small rural town – in beautiful Apulia, overlooking the gulf of Taranto – that comes alive especially during the summer season due to the influx of tourists looking for low-priced accommodation compared to the trendier resorts in the region. In the early 1980s, Avetrana was the site of demonstrations by the anti-nuclear movement in opposition to the desire of the national government to plant a nuclear power plant in the territory, though nowadays if you ask an Italian what is the first thing that comes to their mind when you say “Avetrana”, sadly they will almost certainly think of Sarah Scazzi.
Sarah’s case also arguably represents one of the latest examples of the “dark tourism” that has led hundreds of people to travel to the places where the most heinous crimes in recent Italian history – from the murder of Samuele Lorenzi to that of Meredith Kercher and Chiara Poggi – were committed. In the initial months following Sarah’s disappearance, the media has shone a spotlight on the small town from which Sarah disappeared and on its sometimes strange inhabitants. TV stations “dramatized” the whole affair and turned it almost into a soap opera for their loyal viewers. The lowest point in this story was finally reached when, on October 6, 2010, a reporter broke the news of Sarah’s body’s discovery to her mother on live television. This is how journalist Stefano Nazzi describes what happened in Avetrana in the days following Sarah’s disappearance:

From the end of August 2010 and for many months it became one of the most famous places in Italy. A place where an ugly crime had happened turned into a TV set where all rules were skipped, where reporters competed to grab exclusive interviews with those who perhaps had nothing to say.

It should be noted that – despite the fact that the criminal cases mentioned here have occupied the front pages of newspapers and news programs for a long time – it has become much more difficult in recent years for similar events to be treated so obsessively and morbidly by the mass media. Of course, TV programs that unabashedly eviscerate every aspect of a said murder still exist, but traditional news channels now seem to adhere to more careful guidelines on how to treat crime cases.

The disappearance

On the afternoon of August 26, 2010, at the Carabinieri Station Headquarters in Avetrana, 15-year-old Sarah Scazzi was reported missing, having left home – as her mother Concetta Serrano Spagnolo declared – in the early afternoon to go to the house of her cousin Sabrina Misseri, with whom she was supposed to take a trip to the beach. Sarah had on a pink T-shirt, pink shorts, and flip-flops, carried a black fabric backpack with writing on it, as well as the inseparable cell phone, recently received as a gift from her older brother and which she always held in her hand.
Who was the 15-year-old and what can be said more precisely about the hours surrounding her disappearance? Sarah reportedly had a strong character, was a bit lazy, liked Avril Lavigne and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She suffered from being away from her father and especially her brother, to whom she was very close (the two men were working in Milan at the time of the incident). She probably resented her mother’s strictness and saw her cousin Sabrina’s family as a safe haven, to the point of asking to be “adopted” by her aunt Cosima Serrano and her uncle Michele Misseri (at least this is what Cosima and Sabrina will say later).
Concerning what happened in the hours around Sarah’s disappearance, her mother Concetta reported that Sarah had left the house around 9 am; she had returned briefly during the course of the morning to get some money needed to buy some cream on behalf of her cousin Sabrina, and then she had gone home to go, almost immediately, in the company of her father to do the groceries around 12:30 pm; the two had returned home shortly before 1 pm. What happened next is a point of contention, but the most likely conclusion is that Sarah left her house to go to the Misseris between 1:55 pm and 2:00 pm – as indicated by Sarah’s housekeeper Maria Ecaterina Pantir – lying to her mother by saying that she had received Sabrina’s message telling her to go to her house.
Then, at 2:23 pm, Sabrina received a text message from her friend Mariangela Spagnoletti (“[give me] the time to put on the costume and I’m coming”) and immediately afterward notified her cousin (2:25:08 text message from Sabrina to Sarah “put on the costume fast and come”). Sarah, who had no cell phone credit, answered with a ring at 2:28:46 – this is her last alleged communication.
In an email sent to the editor of a local magazine in late August and made public in early September, psychic Rosemary Laboragine wrote:

I see a house but also a kind of garage. I don’t know, unfortunately I have a feeling of death. I feel her buried in the nearby countryside. I see wood and water.

The investigation

The search for Sarah begins a few days late by virtue of the fact that her disappearance was initially thought to be a voluntary departure. Sabrina suggests investigating Sarah’s father’s hometown and his unsavory acquaintances there. A man from Lecce who had sent a message to Sabrina pretending to be Sarah is heard by the Carabinieri. It also turns out that the 15-year-old had three Facebook profiles and had recently communicated with a married man, but this trail leads nowhere. On September 7, 2010, Carabinieri from the Taranto Investigative Unit handed prosecutors a report in which they requested (and obtained) an urgent wiretap of Claudio’s cell phone, since it was “suspicious that the young man did not feel the need to return to Apulia to inquire directly about his sister’s fate”.
An initial breakthrough in the investigation came with the discovery of the victim’s cell phone by Michele Misseri on September 29, 2010, the day after he was interrogated by the investigators in this case. Misseri recounted that he had gone, with the intent of retrieving a lost screwdriver, to a plot of land where, the previous day, he had done some cleanup work with a friend. There, in a burned pile of olive leaves, he had found the cell phone.
On October 4, 2010, at 4:20 pm, Michele Misseri was served an invitation to appear in the afternoon of October 6 at the Taranto Carabinieri Provincial Command. On the same evening, at 9:58 pm, a phone call between Sabrina Misseri and her ex-boyfriend Andrea Merico was intercepted, in which Sabrina was concerned about the fingerprints left by her father and herself on Sarah’s phone, admitting that she had touched the device on the very day of Sarah’s disappearance.
On October 5, a soliloquy of Michele Misseri in his car was recorded at 5:59 am. Misseri closed the door but did not start the engine and, after standing still and in silence for about a minute, spoke to himself, uttering the following words: “I feel sorry for my family... if they go... I will find them out [sic]”.
On October 6, Michele, his wife Cosima and their daughter Valentina went together to Taranto for their interrogations. At 7:59 am, a conversation was recorded in their car: Cosima advised her husband not to be specific about the times when, on the morning the cell phone was found, he had left home. At 15:46 am, Giuseppe Serrano, colleague and brother-in-law of Michele, tells the investigators that, on August 26, the latter arrived at work “way behind schedule”, 45 minutes later than when he was supposed to be there. Finally, in the evening, after 9 hours of interrogation,

As the search for the little girl continued unabated, Michele Antonio Misseri confessed to having killed his niece, strangling her, and to having suppressed her corpse; he, reserving the right to clarify at a later date the reasons and modalities of that insane act, led investigators to a well located in contrada Mosca in the countryside of Avetrana and allowed the discovery, following laborious digging operations that lasted all night, of Scazzi’s lifeless body and some of her personal belongings. Misseri’s confession was recorded in the presence of his defense counsel.

Misseri confessed that, the day Sarah disappeared, he was working in the garage to fix the tractor that wouldn’t start. At 2:25 pm, Sarah had suddenly arrived and, coming down to the garage, had told him “Uncle...” without adding anything else. The moment the little girl had then turned again to leave, Misseri had taken a piece of rope and twisted it around her neck twice, tightening about five to six minutes, even after Sarah had fallen to the ground. Misseri claimed that he had been seized by an “inexplicable rapture”, by a burst of nerves caused by the tractor not starting, but that it was not at all his intention to rape his niece, toward whom he had no sexual attraction.
The following day, during the hearing for the confirmation of the provisional arrest, Misseri changed drastically his account. To the judge’s and prosecutor’s questions about the possible sexual nature of the cause of his attack, he answered enigmatically: “It may be as well”. He confided that he had sexually assaulted Sarah on August 26, that she had reacted and he had had to kill her.
On October 15, 2010, Misseri was heard again and that consisted of a turning point in the case. In the morning interrogation, he confirmed the self-accusatory version already set forth in the two previous ones, but enriched it with details: he claimed that Sabrina had looked out onto the garage ramp immediately after her cousin’s killing, while Sarah’s body lay covered by a piece of cardboard; to the prosecutor’s objection that, in that case, Sabrina could not have failed to notice at the very least Sarah’s beach slippers, which had been left out of that hastily organized cover, Misseri further modified his account, asserting that Sabrina had arrived at the garage entrance to warn her father that she was going to the beach, and she had noticed Sarah’s body covered by the cardboard. Sabrina had exclaimed: “Daddy, what have you done?” and had burst into tears.
The “glaring inconsistencies” inherent in this version led prosecutors to suspend the interrogation at 11:35 am. Three hours later, at 2:26 pm, a new interrogation began:

Misseri claimed that Sabrina had forcibly dragged Sarah into the garage, where he was already standing, in order to verify, in a three-way confrontation, whether it was true that he had molested Sarah, as she had reported to her cousin. Upon Scazzi’s confirmation, Sabrina Misseri had pinned her down, encircling her around the waist with her arms and demanding that she tell the truth in front of her father; the latter, at that point, becoming impatient, had strangled his niece with a rope he was holding, twisting it around her neck, while his daughter held her cousin down.

Sabrina’s detention and Michele’s accusatory statements against her

On October 18, 2010, Sabrina Misseri was questioned by the preliminary hearing judge, denying any involvement in the killing of her cousin. Four days later, a conversation that took place in prison between Michele Misseri and his daughter Valentina was intercepted and filmed. After an initial moment of emotion upon seeing his daughter again, who immediately reminded him of Sabrina’s status, detained because of his accusatory statements (“Daddy, but look I love you anyway, you know? Sabrina loves you too, of course she can’t come now, she knows you’re here, right?”), Michele, shaking his hands, told her in dialect: “The fact... Which Sabrina is hiding… [I wish] she would talk about it”.
On November 3, criminologist Roberta Bruzzone was appointed as a consultant to Michele through his defense lawyer Daniele Galoppa. Two days later, in jail, Misseri had a conversation with Galoppa and Bruzzone; he began to cry and, quite unexpectedly – after he had until then described the incident by reverting to the initial exclusively self-accusatory version – declared that he was not the one who killed Sarah, but his daughter Sabrina. For that reason, with the consent of Misseri himself, a request was made by his defense attorney for investigators to come in for questioning.
At 3:32 pm, before prosecutors, Misseri articulated a version in which he declared himself to be completely uninvolved in the murderous action, which he attributed to Sabrina. Misseri declared that after he had finished eating, at about 1 pm, he had been called by his daughter who had told him, “Daddy, come to the garage ‘cause something happened”. He had then gone there and found Sarah on the floor, with her arms towards the door and with a rope (a meter long, not too tight and with many knots) twisted around her neck; Sabrina had said that her cousin had fallen while they were playing. “[Sabrina] says they were playing in the garage… she says she slipped and fell [...] however, in my opinion, to show that it was suicide she put the rope around her neck…”
Prosecutors deemed this story illogical because of the weapon used, the dynamics of the murder, and the justification given by Sabrina, so they stopped the questioning at 4:10 pm, at the request of the defense counsel, and resumed at 5:04 pm (after Misseri had conferred with attorney Galoppa and consultant Bruzzone). At this point,

Misseri mutated his account by reporting that the murder weapon was a “belt”, not a rope, and claimed that he had been awakened, while he was asleep in the deck chair, by his daughter Sabrina who, in a state of agitation, had said to him: “Dad, come here for a moment ‘cause something has happened”; following his daughter, he had run into the garage and had seen Sarah lying on the floor upright on the right side of the slide, with her head down facing the entrance; he had then exclaimed “But what is it that you have done?” and his daughter had told him “Yeah, anyway she was bothering me as well”. Misseri later specified that to the question “What happened?”, his daughter had said “I was playing with Sarah… she slipped, she fell”, and to his further question “And the belt around her neck, why does she have it?”, Sabrina had replied, “She was bothering me anyway”.

November 19, 2010 was the day of the special evidence pre-trial hearing (whose function is to “anticipate the acquisition and formation of evidence during the preliminary investigation”). These are the salient points:

• Michele essentially reaffirmed the heteroaccusatory version against Sabrina, but also reintroduced the theme of the “game” that allegedly led to Sarah's death;
• he admitted he had confessed the truth (i.e. Sabrina’s responsability in the murder) to a priest two days after he was arrested, and that happened significantly earlier than his first version mentioning Sabrina;
• he specified that he had never asked Sabrina why she had killed Sarah being able only to speculate that the reason was jealousy for Ivano, since he had heard from others that she liked him and, from Sabrina herself, after Sarah’s death, that the young girl had become “too attached” to Ivano;
• when asked why he had accrued the decision to accuse his daughter Sabrina, he replied, “Why did I have to do so many years if I did not do that thing?”;
• Michele added that while he was searching with his daughter for Sarah’s SIM card, Sabrina had only asked him if Sarah was in a safe place, and he had answered in the affirmative, that is, that the body was in a safe place, where only he could find it; his daughter had also asked him about Sarah’s cell phone, and he had told her he had destroyed it.

The relationship between Sarah and Sabrina

The Court that sentenced Sabrina started from a “fixed point” in its reconstruction of the events that led to Sarah’s death:

When Sabrina Misseri was heard by the Carabinieri of Avetrana [...] Sarah’s body had not been found and, therefore, it was still legitimate to hope for a voluntary departure that precisely a quarrel, a contrast, an argument with her cousin could have explained and justified. Yet Sabrina Misseri, while appearing active and proactive in the search for her missing cousin through both public initiatives and collaboration with the Carabinieri, thought it counterproductive to reveal an apparently insignificant detail – a girl-on-girl argument – which, however, could have uncovered a ‘Pandora’s box’, shedding light on what later turned out to be the motive for the murderous action.

It’s necessary to better introduce the individuals who are involved in this story. It’s not contested by the defense that in the summer of 2010 the two girls – since Sarah’s school was closed and she had a relationship of close kinship and living proximity with her cousin – attended each other assiduously; in particular, Sarah went almost daily at the cousin’s house. The two girls were also part of the same group of friends, Sabrina having introduced the young Sarah to the others in December 2009. The group included Ivano Russo, Alessio Pisello, Mariangela Spagnoletti and, in the summer period, Angela Cimino and Claudio Scazzi, as well as Giovanni Copertino and Antonio Forte. Together the aforementioned frequented the same clubs, exchanged messages and phone calls, went to the beach moving in the same cars. Sarah was only allowed to go out in the evenings with her older cousin on whom, therefore, she depended for all opportunities for recreation.
According to the Court, Sarah’s secret diary is really important to understand what happened because it testifies to the onset of a growing enthusiasm for a new friendship and the emergence of a feeling that troubles and confuses the teenager: that for Ivano, that boy so much older than she is and whom Sarah knows well how much her cousin Sabrina also likes. Some significant entries are the following:

• June 4, 2010 at 3:30 pm: “hi......in this time I am having so much fun you know Ivano is really nice I love him so much only he is 27 years old almost 30 whatever I kind of miss the shit I used to do in school with my friends you know....”
• June 9 at 11:07 am: “hi..........so yesterday I went to the beach with Sabrina and Ivano I had a great time only Sabrina then told me that next time she wants to be alone with Ivano and I have to stay home, it sucks when she does that it gets on my nerves. I can’t wait for my brother and my dad to arrive ah I forgot to tell you that Saturday and Sunday I have to go to the beach but not with Ivano....”
• July 28 at 6:30 pm: “...hello my name is Sarah, in this period I am very attached to I boy who is 27 years old, I am only 15 but he is very sweet with me and he always cuddles me, his name is Ivano, and my cousin Sabrina also likes him but I don’t understand if I like him or if I just love him as a friend...I AM CONFUSED” * July 30: “hi, yesterday Ivano cuddled me...I love him so much...but tonight I’m not gonna see him uff.…”

Although Sabrina refused to describe her relationship with Ivano in terms of a romantic one, saying she was only physically attracted to him, her friends contradicted her in their testimonies (Claudio Scazzi goes so far as to speak of a “fixation”). Moreover, one inescapable objective fact is the text messages with which Sabrina “bombarded” her friends to find out where Ivano was, whether he was at one club rather than another, whether he had gone out and who she took home first and who last, even going so far as to check on the boy through actual stakeouts and sending messages from unknown phones. It is unclear why Sabrina would want to “project” onto her friend Mariangela her obsession with Ivano (as she did in the November 20, 2012 hearing) when all testimony converged in another direction. According to the Court,

Sabrina was dominated by her anxiety to establish a stable and exclusive romantic and sexual relationship with Russo, rather than a relationship of mere friendship, so that her conduct became even more insistent where Ivano proved detached and annoyed by her intrusiveness.

Clearly tracing the development of the story between the two are the 4500 messages exchanged over the months by Sabrina and Ivano. For the Court, “[t]he incursion into the sexual sphere of the two isn’t dictated by morbid curiosity, nor is it intended to land on unacceptable moralistic evaluations of their behavior, but it serves to fully understand how the evolution of that relationship and the inevitable estrangement from the young man, due to the differing expectations of the two, generated in Sabrina a very strong sense of frustration”. This frustration was then exacerbated by the fact that although Sarah played (unintentionally) a role in the breakup between Sabrina and Ivano, she did not stop hanging out with him, and this must have been considered a real betrayal on Sabrina’s part. These are some significant messages sent by Sabrina testifying to her interest/obsession:

• May 2, 2010 at 6:02 pm: “You see I am mocking you, I see you as a big puppy:-)”
• May 2 at 6:08 pm: “Come on admit it, you like cuddling at the end who doesn't, then you are so deep…”
• May 2 at 11:40 pm: “Don’t joke, I mean it I envy you I wish I was as beautiful as you and a special and unique character like yours... to me you are like a god :)”
• May 4 at 3:20 pm: “you are a beautiful vision just as you are... understand God Ivano?”
• May 4 at 11:54 pm: “Sweet night, I hope you have recovered, the nice thing about you [is] that you make me feel useful for something...”
• June 6 at 11:17 am: “I’m right, Liala came today and told me Ivano [is] even more gorgeous with glasses but just so much and I answered ‘I know’ and I told them you could tell him”
• June 8 at 1:53 pm: “The client I said hello earlier sent me an SMS to say you are handsome if you don’t believe me I’ll show you the message I saved it:)”
• June 8 at 1:59 pm: “I don't want to hear you complain anymore so far I haven’t heard anyone say otherwise it has nothing to do with taste you can’t deny the evidence the one who has to complain is me and not you, even my brother-in-law says you’re handsome”

On the other hand, Ivano didn’t seem to reciprocate. He wrote, “Sabri I don’t want you to talk to me like that...the other day that thing shouldn’t have happened, I knew it would end like that.” And again, “But why did you fall in love with me? If you want sex that’s fine, but I don’t fall in love:)”. Hence the profound frustration of Sabrina who, after vainly trying to establish a “real” relationship, had to give up in the face of the indifference of the young man, who in a clear manner, finally told her that he did not conceive, between them, anything other than a loveless sex relationship.
Claudio testified that he tried to talk with Sabrina about her relationship with Ivano, asking her why she continued to hang out with him even if he wasn’t really that interested:

Sabrina made it clear to me that she would rather maybe even be teased, let’s say, even teased in a sense, by Ivano, than lose him altogether.

Concetta was also aware of the relationship between the two, having overheard a telephone conversation between Sarah and Sabrina in which the former said, “If I were in your place, I would kick him. Why do you stand behind him, why do you let him treat you this way?”

The August 25 argument at the “102” brewery

Sabrina was extremely upset and annoyed by the fact that, in her view, Sarah was diverting Ivano’s attention from her – this is a “fact peacefully acquired at the trial”, according to the Court, just as it’s established that this was the reason for the argument that took place on the evening of August 25, 2010. Here is what Stefania De Luca, an older friend of Sabrina’s, testifies:

I was sitting at a table near the front door of the club. After a while, I remember, Mariangela Spagnoletti, Sabrina Misseri and Sarah Scazzi came in. They entered the club, we greeted each other, and immediately Sabrina said, “This time it’s really over”, referring to the relationship she had with Ivano. In particular, already for some time Sabrina had told me several times about her interest in Ivano, her infatuation with him. She herself told me on several occasions that Ivano’s behaviors gave her hope. Evidently during the day of August 25 something had happened for which she had decided to sever this situation with Ivano. After this initial approach, Sabrina and Mariangela entered the bar to get a drink while Sarah stayed close to me. I then noticed that Sarah was very upset and her eyes were glazed over, so much so that I asked her what had happened. Sarah did not answer, shrugging her shoulders and bowing her head.

De Luca confirmed that Sabrina told her she had had a fight with Ivano, adding ironically that he was now only talking to Sarah. “That one sells herself, sells herself for two cuddles, even her mother says so”, Sabrina allegedly repeated twice, referring to Sarah. At that moment Sarah literally went pale and bowed her head almost crying.
Mariangela Spagnoletti – the girl with whom Sarah and Sabrina were supposed to go to the beach – essentially corroborated this version in court:

PROSECUTOR BUCCOLIERO – Here, but these words you said earlier, about Sarah’s and Ivano’s relationship, Sabrina also said them in the car while talking to you? SPAGNOLETTI – Yes. That he was cuddling Sara more than her. […] PROSECUTOR BUCCOLIERO – Listen, was Sabrina jealous of Sarah with regard to Ivano? SPAGNOLETTI – I don’t know if she was jealous, however, with some phrases she made it clear that she was.

Spagnoletti’s trustworthiness was questioned by Sabrina’s defense, which noted how the girl was attracted to Ivano and therefore would turn out to be emotionally involved in the affair; needless to say that De Luca’s testimony still stands and it’s difficult to understand why Spagnoletti would make such serious accusations… just because. The Court also noted that the reasoning of the defense doesn’t make much sense “in light of the little interest Sabrina had managed to arouse in [Ivano]” and since Spagnoletti mentioned the August 25 altercation only when the prosecutor talked about it.

Other episodes corroborating the motive: obsession & desire

Another significant episode that supports the idea of a catastrophic “rupture” between the girls is narrated by Angela Cimino, another friend of the group:

One evening in August, certainly after the 15th, we were in Torre Colimena with Sabrina, Ivano, Claudio and Sarah. With the same, aboard Ivano’s car we returned to Avetrana. I remember that Ivano left Sabrina at home first, only because it was on the way, and, while Ivano dropped Claudio and Sarah, the latter received a message from Sabrina. Sarah read it aloud, “Let me know who [Ivano] drop off home first.” None of those present commented on the message, and I made some reflections. The reading [of the message] took place just before Sarah and Claudio got out of the car as having arrived at their home, [so] Ivano and I, left alone in the car commented on what had happened. I told him that I felt it was time for him to clarify with Sabrina the nature of their relationship beyond a simple friendship. Ivano told me that he would talk to her.

The investigators therefore discovered that Sarah had been indirectly responsible for Ivano deciding to end his “friendship with benefits” with Sabrina, so to speak – but even if it were not for this fact, it would still have happened, as one can see considering the next episode corroborating the motive hypothesized by the Court.
Some days before August 4, 2010, one evening, Sabrina and Ivano drove away from Avetrana, secluded themselves and began to have sex; however, they didn’t complete the intercourse, because Ivano said he didn’t want to ruin the friendship. Sabrina later confided about what happened to Mariangela; Sarah was listening. Without much time passing, the entire group learned of the “failed intercourse” between Sabrina and Ivano. The former stopped going outside and seeing her friends for a while. On August 16, 2010, starting from midnight and going on for the whole day, the two also exchanged some glacial messages:

• August 16 at 0:49 am, Ivano: “I have told you a million times that you are a friend to me, but I prefer to keep my distance if only now I am sure that you don’t want just a friendship” […]
• Sabrina: “Listen dummy what I told you before friendship is fine, but hands off remember what you say to me, the universe does not revolve around you, that’s enough now, out of your mouth must not come my name anymore”
• Ivano: “Thank you for telling everyone about what happened”
• Ivano: “I am leaning towards a friendship but, if you have other ideas, then each on their own way”
• Sabrina: “Don’t worry anyway I’ve decided not to go out anymore, so you don’t say that I’m always looking for you, that I’m always texting you, which isn’t true because lately you were almost always initiating, if I have to pass as the one I’m not I stay at my house”
• Ivano: “Oh listen you're breaking my balls you're doing everything, and fuck off I didn’t tell you anything in fact you said I harass you”

On August 21 there was a face-to-face clarification, arranged by Ivano and not Sabrina, which – it is really hard to understand why, although the Court had its hypotheses – Sarah also attended. Ivano recalled in court:

I told Sabrina what Claudio had reported to me and, after telling her that I was very annoyed, I asked her if she had been the one to report the episode. Sabrina told me that it had not been her and was also annoyed. Confirming that she had not told anyone, she reported to me that Claudio had certainly tried to find out something without having any information, I took the opportunity to reiterate to her that I did not intend to establish a relationship that was anything other than friendship, and I took the opportunity to apologize to her if my behavior had engendered any expectations in her.

According to the Court that sentenced Sabrina, “after making inquiries in the circle of friends, Misseri could only trace the origin of the disclosure of the episode that will lead to the termination of relations with Ivano back to her cousin Sarah”.
Sabrina’s defense attempted to downplay the extent of such feelings by pointing out that the relationship between the two young women was the same: the two girls loved each other “like sisters” and were inseparable, none of those who hung out with them had ever perceived a feeling of jealousy on the part of Sabrina toward Sarah, and, therefore, there was no rivalry or jealousy between the two cousins, so much so that after their conversation with Ivano on August 21, the two girls had continued their evening together, going to the Spizzico club to play karaoke.
Contradicting these theories there is Liala Nigro’s testimony; she was a friend of Sabrina and she testified that, about mid-August, Sabrina arrived angrily at the pub accusing her of telling Ivano about the incident. Some days later, but certainly before August 21, Sabrina apologized to her, telling her that she had identified the person responsible in Claudio. This whole episode corroborates the idea that Sabrina was very angry at whoever had propagated the story of the failed intercourse. Also the fact that Sarah participated in the August 21 face-to-face confrontation can be seen as compatible with the theory that Sabrina had finally identified the “real culprit”, namely Sarah, and had wanted her to be present because she was as involved as the other two.
The relationship between Sabrina and Ivano had therefore broken down irremediably. The former wrote the latter a burst of angry messages:

• August 23, 2010 at 9:04 am: “Btw on Saturday [August 21] when you left I had to tell you that you are good at humiliating people in front of everyone, ‘psychopath, apathetic,’ I at least if I have something to say I say it to you and not in front of everyone like you did to Mariangela, saying heavy sentences in front of people you don’t know, make an examination of conscience. A 27-year-old does not behave like that, you are immature. From what you told me about a certain person you are the one who behaves like this and not me and not that you want to be good, I can accompany you and you keep saying heavy words, I in front of others never allowed myself..., you don’t appreciate things, you don’t know respect, because the night before you didn’t feel like talking, however humiliating in front of others yes, bravo, congratulations.”

The Court notes that it is therefore a fact that the relationship between the two cousins broke down after the August 21 confrontation. Testifying to this, again, there is Sarah going to San Pancrazio Salentino (a nearby town where another cousin of hers lived) from August 23 to 25: “Sarah, no longer having a chance to go out in Avetrana, her brother Claudio having departed, therefore took the first opportunity that came her way to get away from the village”. In these two days, Sarah contacted nevertheless many times Sabrina through calls or rings, but the latter never responded. In court she explained her actions saying that she was “displeased”, i.e. she was missing Sarah (it doesn’t make much sense really).

Sources

Italy high court upholds life sentences in Scazzi case
L’omicidio di Sarah Scazzi: quando il male è in famiglia
Mother told live on Italian TV of daughter's murder
The Murder of Sarah Scazzi Apple TV (UK))

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u/410bore: Thank you for your Thank you Postcard and kind words. It was my absolute pleasure to take time out of my day to send you birthday greetings and I'm happy to hear that that helped to make your birthday a fun day. 😊 (Rcvd April 2023)
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u/awachob: Thank you for this wonderful hand-made Thank you card. I appreciate your kind words. I'm happy to have been a part of helping to "put a smile on your face" as you continue to "rise like a phoenix." You are absolutely deserving of peace and greatness. Also, thank you for all the stickers. 😊 (Rcvd May 2023)
u/TigerLady13: (x2) - Thank you so much for these wonderful cards of Fort Huachuca and also Hap Hawkins Reservoir. You asked if I volunteer and the answer is yes. I need to make the time to get back into it. By the way, I love that you were able to get some really cheap airfare to your vacation destination. Yes, the beaches there and the weather in general are fantastic. I'd also like to go back to that vacation spot because it's been a number of years (1996) since I was last there. I enjoyed the time and would love to go back again. 😊(Rcvd May 2023)

Unpacking the Light Police. Light Pollution News.
Show Link: https://lightpollutionnews.com/podcast/unpacking-the-light-police/
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Guests:
John Barentine of Dark Sky Consulting, LLC.
Kaitlyn Evans, Conservationist.
Show:
I was busted by the light police. They had a point, Dana Milbank of the Washington Post.
Dana Milbank purchased a home in, soon to be not, rural Virginia. At night he kept the formerly vacant property lit to the degree that spurned one commentator to call it “spaceship lighting.”
Milbank recaps being visited by the “light police,” a group of concerned citizens who help educate neighbors and instill a sense of pride in the brilliance of their starry night skies.
At first, he was taken aback, but later, not only did he appreciate their efforts, but he also converted his blinding always on, white light flood lights to warm 2700 Kelvin motion sensing lights.
Per Ruskin Hartley, executive director of the International Dark Sky Association, “for 4.5 billion years there was no artificial light at night. It’s really only in the last five human generations that we transformed that. It’s one of the most profound transformations of our environment.”
Many of you may recall an earlier story, way back in our Hormone of Darkness episode, showcasing concerns by local residents prior to a 760 house (now 761) plus town center development moving into the Culpepper County, VA area. Per the Rappahannock News, this development features “a resort style swimming pool, clubhouse, tot lot, and multiple sports fields and sports courts, all connected by a network of biking and walking trails.”
The forgotten medieval habit of ‘two sleeps’ by Zaria Gorvett of the BBC.
Gorvett opened my eyes to something I never knew about, the medieval custom of two sleeps. For those of you unaware, two sleeps are exactly what it sounds like.
Folks would partake in a communal nap, complete with rigid sleeping arrangement conventions, between 9 – 11pm, then awaken for a few hours to do everything from hang out to brew beer! In fact, the idea of multiple sleeps crossed cultures and was found in places as far from Europe as indigenous South America.
How can one’s circadian rhythm make sense of all of this?!
Well, for starters, until the invention of the alarm clock, which humorously was invented by a clocks salesman so he could wake up and sell more clocks, people had no firm way to wake up at a consistent time. The industrial revolution enforced a new circadian standard.
And there’s some science behind this! In the 1992 study, In Short Photoperiods, human sleep is biphasic, researcher Thomas Wehr found that after four weeks of 10 hour days, his subjects began to engage in this two sleep cycle, involving a one to three hour period for which they became awake and engaged in between.
Want to Learn About Light Pollution? There’s a mini-course for that!, Jennifer Sensiba of Clean Technica.
Quoting Sensiba, “As I got older, I traveled a lot more and saw the problem more for what it is. Not only did I see that in many places there is no refuge from it, but I also saw that it was slowly growing worse. Places that had been dark 30 years ago had more and more light creeping upon the horizon.”
If you’re interested in learning more, or more importantly, know someone who might benefit from learning more, Sensiba links up to an International Dark Sky Mini-Course on light pollution, call it Light Pollution 101!
There’s a Play Date at the National Museum of Natural History: Lights Out exhibit!
But unfortunately, by the time you listen to this, and hell, by the time we talk about this, it has passed.
Ann Arbor named best place for sunrises, sunsets in Michigan. Sarah Parlette for Click on Detroit.
Evidently gambling websites have decided to honor April’s International Dark Sky week in a strange new content marketing campaign, which was to rank the best places in each state to see sunrises and sunsets. My favorite one, “Ann Arbor named best place for sunrises, sunsets in Michigan,” comes from Click on Detroit, whereby a quote “study” examined Michigan’s most populated cities.”
According to Click on Detroit, “to celebrate International Astrology Day on Saturday, staff at Great Lake Stakes, a Michigan online gambling news site, looked at light pollution in the five most populated cities around the Mitten state to determine which offers the best views every morning and evening.”
Star bathing is the new outdoor travel trend we should all be trying for Summer 2023, according to Amy Beecham at Stylist.
Evidently, as an attempt to destress and promote mindfulness, romanticism about sleeping under the stars has birthed a 70% increase in searches for the term ‘star bathing’ on Hipcamp. And to be sure, “Hipcamp recommends checking a stargazing calendar which outlines major astrological events – like supermoons, pink moons, and star showers.”
“Industry Must Face an Inconvenient Truth — Most LED Lights at Night are Unhealthy”
Dr. Martin Moore-Ede, a circadian clock expert, recently published an article in LEDs Magazine chastising the lighting industry for not recognizing and reigning in the negative externalities of its products. Per the piece, such effects are, obesity, diabetes, depression, cancer, and more.
He cites three categories of industry responses, making the correlation that long term Denial or outright Ignorance of the Facts, may result in “asbestos-scale liabilities or draconian regulations.”
Per the piece, a recent survey by the Circadian Light Research Center of 2,697 peer reviewed scientific articles confirmed that human circadian clocks are highly sensitive to blue wavelengths, and that exposure to such wavelengths leads to major health disorders.
Moore-Ede calls for the industry to harvest the “commercial opportunity” to greatly limit future liability by creating and managing its own standards for circadian modulated lighting.
Unpacking the Wallpack, by Dan Weissman in LD+A Magazine.
Weissman, who recently purchased a telescope for his family in Cambridge, MA, discovered that the scope could only afford him views of some solar system objects and a few brightly burning stars.
The ire of Weissman’s pen takes the shape of a rectangular fixtures, be it box like or simply a panel these days, that typically hang off the side of an exterior wall or above an exterior door. “Devoid of aesthetic value” this light is often put up under the “pretense of security and safety” by “recommended practices and adopted municipal codes.”
Weissman recognizes labels that often accompany, what he calls, “Glare bombs,” including “contractor-select,” “energy efficient,” or “light pollution friendly.”
Further, per an earlier LD+A article, such lighting driven by its extreme contrasts is exceedingly common in minority communities where light is weaponized as a tool of power. It becomes a “device of alienation, creating a zone of control and separation.”
Weissman recognizes that the true reason such fixtures are selected often comes down to cost. He recognizes that it may take equally as much cost to persuade building and homeowners away from such lighting into the realm of more responsible, lower lumen, shielded lighting.
Weissman calls for producers of these glare bombs to be labeled as polluters, putting them in line with fossil fuel manufacturers and PFAS makers.
Songbirds, dusk and clear skies: Scientists explore migratory flights, by Erin Blakemore.
Bird migration season is ending here in the Mid-Atlantic. I was lucky enough to catch several Baltimore Orioles and Indigo Buntings last week. Researchers looked at 400 songbirds from 9 major species, “including the yellow-rump warbler, American redstart and Bicknell’s thrush.”
The question they hoped to answer was how are these birds so darn precise in identifying the best time to take off for their nightly migration? Scientists found that 90% of the migrating birds in the study took off within 69 minutes of dusk. A “much narrower takeoff window,” that even shocked the research team!
Per the study, taking off at night is all about maximum flight time. In addition to being able to precisely schedule their take offs, a feat that every airline I’ve flown with over the past few years has proven inept at, birds also are apparently good meteorologists! They often depart when the atmospheric pressure rises over a day’s span. Other factors also trigger migration, including sex, age, and celestial cues.
‘Lights Out’ initiative appears to be saving birds from crashing into Philly buildings by Sophia Schmidt.
Preliminary results indicate that bird death counts are down 70% at one Market Street tower, since it began its participation in Lights Out. As we spoke about on a previous show, birds utilize the stars to navigate, but city lights can disorient the birds. Combine the lights with reflective or transparent glass, and that spells fatal trouble for our migrating warblers!
Per Keith Russell, a program manager for urban conservation with Audubon Mid-Atlantic, “We’ve lost almost a third of our birds – and [collisions] contributing to that. If we’re going to want to preserve the bird populations here in North America, we have to look at these types of problems. And this is a preventable one.”
The Knoxville, TN Zoo is offering up what they call “Twilight Tours” per WVLT 8. Each event will feature a guide to showcase nocturnal critters.
I did something similar in Singapore years ago. The zoo had very dim lights in the exhibits – and they kept those lights dim as you walked so that you didn’t lose your night vision. It was a very different and, might I say, peaceful experience than the typically chaotic daytime zoo.
Flashlights posing major threat to nesting sea turtles. Fox35 Orlando
Apparently, a single flashlight can deter female sea turtles from coming onto a beach and nesting. Florida, as I did not know, is home to 90% of the sea turtle nests across the world, so losing sea turtles can affect the global ecosystem.
One visitor to Cocoa Beach stated, “Just leave them alone. Stand back and look. You don’t need a flashlight.”
Another, “It’s not super surprising because more buildings go up, more technology. As it increases, nature and stuff like that decreases,” said Zoe Jovaag, whose grandfather used to take her on walks to see sea turtles.
Capture the Dark 2023 officially is under way!
The International Dark Sky Association opens up its annual photo contest complete with prizes across eight categories and an additional People’s Choice category. Voting begins on July 3rd, entries must be received by June 30th.
City Tests Traffic Light That Only Turns Green for Drivers Who Obey the Speed Limit. Erin Marquis for Jalopnik.
And hey, you better not speed in Brossard, Quebec….otherwise you may be waiting around for a while. Brossard is testing out a new traffic light that will stay red until it senses oncoming traffic. However, it will only change to green if the car is going the speed limit. Per the Jalopnik article, “FRED [the French acronym for “educational traffic calming light] forces fast drivers to stop and gives them a chance to reconsider their life choices.” Such lights are already used in Europe, but this will be the first for the Great White North.
Why the Greatest Threat to Star-Gazing Isn’t Light Pollution, and this comes to us from Dorin Elin Urrutia at Inverse.
Elin Urrutia writes, in her compelling piece, that the greatest threat to star-gazing is actually the weather. Citing notable examples of the Mount Stromlo Observatory in Australia (which burnt down due to bushfires) and the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico (which sustained structural damage following the winds of Hurricane Maria).
While the threat of human-caused climate change has presented new challenges, Elin Urrutia references proactive burns that saved Los Angeles’ Mount Wilson Observatory from flames in 2020.
On a similar note, ABC News (the Australian Broadcasting Company, not to be confused with the American Broadcasting Company), brings us “A World Without Darkness Could Be a Reality within a Few Years.”
Per Carol Redford of Astrotourism Western Australia, “There are some people in the world now who don’t actually experience darkness anymore. They’re in a city like Beijing, Toyoko, or London. In all those big cities, it’s never dark, it’s always light. During the day of course with the sun, but then during the night with all of the artificial light. They’re not experiencing darkness, and definitely not seeing those beautiful stars…”
In the 66 years since the implementation of the UN Convention on the Peaceful Use of Outerspace, around 11,000 satellites orbit the Earth. But it’s about to get wayyy busier. Driven by innovations that have led to dramatic reductions in costs, over the next ten years, Per attorney Steven Freeland, it’s anticipated that somewhere between 100,000 to 500,000 objects will be sent up. Let me pause on that for a second.
On the travel front, we stay in the land down under, “Aussie region determined to keep its darkness is a stargazer’s dream” by Chantelle Francis of News.com.AU.
The town of Swam Reach, population 270, resides in a 3200sq km region of Southern Australia that received its International Dark Sky Reserve status over three years ago. On a scale of darkness between 0 – 22, the River Murray Dark Sky Reserve at Swam Reach, measures in at a whopping 21.9!
Tourism has become a growing business. The reserve hosts numerous telescope pads and offers tours of the night sky. There’s hope that an observatory and/or planetarium may also arrive in due course.
Best smart lights for outdoors in 2023, Brittney Vincent of CBS Essentials.
Oh there’s a lot not to love here, but it does fall in line with last month’s ‘Lumens are Coming’ article.
For those of you who feel the need to light your trees, because for some reason they need light at night I guess…I’ll try and pretend it’s not solely for ostentatious and narcissistic reasons. By the way, does anyone remember when those were negative characteristics?
The article features spotlights that can be programmed to over 16 MILLION colors including…lucky for us, ALL shades of white….which you can also do for a 500 lumen flood light set.
And hey, Ring now has solar path lighting. Don’t worry though, the fixtures themselves put out up to 80 lumens of sideways light.
You know, it’s astounding when you look at some of these pictures. The amount of redundant lighting. It honestly makes no sense to me. You have a porch light, which lights up the path. Path lighting, which lights up the path. And, in the one picture, god awful frontward facing flood lights, which also light up the path. How bright do you need these paths!? I digress. But the lumens are indeed coming.
LDS Church will get to light up its Heber Valley Temple after all, but the faith didn’t get everything it wanted, Blake Apgar of the Salt Lake Tribune.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints fought hard to rid itself of any nighttime lighting responsibility by pressuring Wasatch County, Utah officials to approve new lighting rules that would enable the church to light a proposed new temple the same way it does for every other temple.
The Church received permission to uplight the temple, enabling an exception to be made in Wasatch’s rather stringent nighttime lighting rulebook. However, the temple will be restricted by the level of lumens it can use, and it must have exterior lighting turned off an hour after sunset or an hour after normal business hours.
Smart Street Lights Market is Expected to Hit USD 14,751.1 million at a 23.4% CAGR by 2030, Market Research Future Press Release
The pandemic is officially over, smart street lighting is about to boom. Combine the rush to LED fixtures with the Internet of Things, and expect to see street lights moonlighting as traffic and parking monitors, air quality meters, and more. Not to mention, “it is anticipated that camera-connected smart street lighting will increase road safety by lowering the likelihood of accidents and criminality.”
Texas now has 7 dark sky communities for spectacular star gazing, Sana Ameer, MRT.
Let’s cheer on the city of Bee Cave, everyone! Bee Cave joins a growing list of dark sky places already in the Lone Star State, including 2 Dark Sky Sanctuaries, 5 Dark Sky Parks, and 1 Dark Sky Reserve. Nighttime is alive and well in some parts of Texas!
Our Afraid of the Dark article is a bit scary! Hilton Head’s dark roads and pedestrians are deadly combo. What the town is doing about it, Blake Douglas at The Island Packet.
Per the article, 9 pedestrian and cyclist fatalities occurred since 2018, with five occurring after dark. Prior to that period, there were 28 recorded deaths from 2000 – 2016, with 20 of them taking place after dark.
In 2018, an 11 year old resident was struck and killed while walking her dog across an intersection one night. Lighting advocates began taking shape in what otherwise is a very conservation focused island. Hilton Head, SC has a limited number of street lights, priding itself on “avoiding light pollution and blending nature with construction.”
Lighting advocates appear to be, at the very least, asking for flashing crosswalk lights on the island to indicate when an individual is crossing.
It should be noted that the article shows a chart of 9 after-dark-deaths since 2014, only two of them occurred at crosswalks. In fact, during the same time frame, 6 additional deaths occurred at crosswalks during the daytime.
As a whole, the National Safety Council reports that 74.5% of pedestrian deaths occurred at night, whereby 39.1% took place in lit areas and 35.38% took place in unlit areas.
Bryan Bloch, an auto safety expert, surmises that car companies bear some of the blame – producing cheap or ineffectual headlight fixtures, and drivers themselves, who don’t realize that they need to regularly clean their headlight lenses.
Despite opposition from residents, it appears that Hilton Head will be receiving lights at two new intersections and possibly more depending on engineering studies currently in progress.
Is lighting the key variable here? Is more light going to solve pedestrian deaths?
Our featured research article of the month comes to us from Animal Conservation, “Manipulating spectra of artificial light affects movement patterns of bats along ecological corridors.”
Bats are already known to have a wide range of responses to artificial light at night (also known as ALAN). Fast flying species tend to be more opportunistic in the presence of ALAN while slower ones tend to be more light averse. We know that “long wavelengths and reduced intensity” can minimize their environmental effects on bats. It’s not unheard of for bats to travel upwards of “tens of km per night.” Furthermore, bats are very dependent on the landscape and the structures within those landscapes.
Despite the nuances between species, the consensus is that ALAN, especially high intensity ALAN, negatively affects bats. This study attempted to answer what exactly bats do when they encounter ALAN – how do they react depending on different types of ALAN.
The study used three different light fixtures – one green, one red, and one white. The control was devoid of light fixtures. The researchers attempted to ascertain the behavior of bats as they encountered lights adjacent to woody areas. The researchers looked at three different bat groupings based on their foraging-echo location behavior, that being one of open field foraging, forest edge foraging, and narrow space – or more aptly forest foragers.
Researchers found that open and edge foraging bats increased their activity close to white and green lights, and to a lesser extent red lights. However, narrow space bats were more likely to veer away from all colors of lighting. Edge foragers were also less likely to cross a white light.
The positive effects of white and green light on open and edge foraging bats appear to be attributed to the accumulation of insects around light sources containing more blue light.
The nighttime sky over Oahu will be lit up with green lasers in the coming days. Here’s why. Hawaii News Now
Before we close up today, do you live in Hawaii? I know I wish I did!
If so, do you recall seeing green lasers streak across the night sky? Well, the Army Corps of Engineers was using lidar at night to complete a coastal mapping survey.
Why did they survey at night? Specifically, why did they do this between midnight to 5am? Simply b/c the airspace is so busy, that time was the only chance they had to complete the survey. The remaining survey was completed during daytime hours.

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Happy Monday everyone, welcome to another UPG of the Week. Meet the Omani Arabs in Oman!

Region: Oman

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Stratus Index Ranking (Urgency): 52
It has been noted to me by u/JCmathetes that I should explain this ranking. Low numbers are more urgent, both physically and spiritually together, while high numbers are less urgent. The scale is 1-177, with one number assigned to each country. So basically on a scale from Afghanistan (1) to Finland (177), how urgent are the peoples physical and spiritual needs.

The Stratus Index - Synthesizes reliable data from different sources to clearly display the world’s most urgent spiritual and physical needs.
The vast majority of missions resources go to people and places already Reached by the Gospel, while only 3% of missionaries and 1% of missions money are deployed among the Unreached. This is the Great Imbalance. As a result, there are more people without access to the Gospel today than a decade ago. Stratus seeks to equip the global church with fresh vision to accomplish the Great Commission by addressing some of the factors that perpetuate the Great Imbalance. We hope this tool allows the church to better understand what steps will be required to overcome the barriers that prevent needs from being met, spurring informed and collaborative missions strategy. Stratus Website

Climate: Summer temperatures in Muscat and northern Oman average 30 to 40 °C (86.0 to 104.0 °F). Annual rainfall in Muscat averages 100 mm (3.9 in), occurring mostly in January. In the south, the Dhofar Mountains area near Salalah has a tropical-like climate and receives seasonal rainfall from June to September as a result of monsoon winds from the Indian Ocean, leaving the summer air saturated with moisture and fog. Summer temperatures in Salalah range from 20 to 30 °C (68.0 to 86.0 °F)
The Dhofar mountains in the summer
Terrain: A gravel desert plain covers most of central Oman, with mountain ranges along the north (Al-Hajar) and southeast coast (Qara or Dhofar Mountains). The peninsula of Musandam (Musandem), strategically located on the Strait of Hormuz, is an exclave separated from the rest of Oman by the United Arab Emirates.[116] Coast of Sur Madha, another exclave, is an enclave within UAE territory located halfway between the Musandam Peninsula and the main body of Oman.
An Oasis in Oman
Wildlife of Oman: Oman has many animals for its relatively small land size. It is one of the last places in which the Arabian leopard survives is the Dhofar mountains in southern Oman. Other carnivores present include the striped hyena, the honey badger, the red fox, the caracal, the sand cat, Blanford's fox and Arabian wildcat. Some other mammals include the the Arabian oryx, the sand gazelle, the mountain gazelle, the Nubian ibex, the camel. Off Muscat there are other humpback whales, pygmy blue whales, Bryde's whales, sperm whales, false killer whales, Risso's dolphins, spinner dolphins, bottlenose dolphins, Indo-Pacific humpbacked dolphins, and the occasional killer whale. Most of the approximately one dozen or so snake species in the country are harmless, but the uncommon horned viper, carpet viper, puff adder and cobra are venomous. There are no monkeys (afaik) in Oman!
The Arabian Leopard
Environmental Issues: Both drought and limited rainfall contribute to shortages in the nation's water supply. The nation's soil has shown increased levels of salinity. Pollution of beaches and other coastal areas by oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman is also a persistent problem.
Languages: Arabic is the official language. There are dialects of Arabic spoken, all part of the Peninsular Arabic family: Dhofari Arabic (also known as Dhofari, Zofari) is spoken in Salalah and the surrounding coastal regions (the Dhofar Governorate). According to CIA (freakin lol), besides Arabic, English, Baluchi (Southern Baluchi), Urdu, Bengali (spoken by Indians and Bangladeshis), Hindi, Malayalam, Tulu and other Indian languages are the main languages spoken
Government Type: Unitary Islamic absolute monarchy

People: The Omani Arabs of Oman

Omani Arab man
Population: 1,967,000
Estimated Foreign Workers Needed: 39+
Beliefs: The Omani Arabs of Oman are 0% Christian. That means out of their population of 1,967,000 there are little to no Christians at all.
Most Oman Arabs belong to the Ibadi sect of Islam, one of the religion's oldest and most traditional branches. Ibadi principles of puritanism and idealism have greatly influenced Arabs in surrounding countries.
The Great Sultan Qabus Mosque in Oman
History: During the 8th century BCE, it is believed that the Yaarub, the descendant of Qahtan, ruled the entire region of Yemen, including Oman. Wathil bin Himyar bin Abd-Shams (Saba) bin Yashjub (Yaman) bin Yarub bin Qahtan later ruled Oman. It is thus believed that the Yaarubah were the first settlers in Oman from Yemen.
Over centuries tribes from western Arabia settled, making a living by fishing, farming, herding or stock breeding. Arab migration to Oman started from northern-western and south-western Arabia and those who chose to settle had to compete with the indigenous population for the best arable land. When Arab tribes started to migrate to Oman, there were two groups. One group, a segment of the Azd tribe migrated from Yemen in A.D. 120/200 following the collapse of Marib Dam, while the other group migrated centuries before the birth of Islam from Nejd (what later is Saudi Arabia), named Nizari. Other historians believe that the Yaarubah from Qahtan which belong to an older branch, were the first settlers of Oman from Yemen, and then came the Azd.
The Azd settlers in Oman are descendants of Nasr bin Azd and were later known as "the Al-Azd of Oman". 70 years after the first Azd migration, another branch of Alazdi under Malik bin Fahm, the founder of Kingdom of Tanukhites on the west of Euphrates, is believed to have settled. According to Al-Kalbi, Malik bin Fahm was the first settler of Alazd. He is said to have first settled in Qalhat. By this account, Malik, with an armed force of more than 6000 men and horses, fought against the Marzban, who served a Persian king in the battle of Salut and eventually defeated the Persian forces. This account is semi-legendary and seems to condense centuries of migration and conflict into a story of two campaigns that exaggerate the success of the Arabs. The account may represent an amalgamation of traditions from not only the Arab tribes but also the region's original inhabitants.
In the 7th century CE, Omanis came in contact with and accepted Islam. The conversion of Omanis to Islam is ascribed to Amr ibn al-As, who was sent by the prophet Muhammad during the Expedition of Zaid ibn Haritha (Hisma). Amer was dispatched to meet with Jaifer and Abd, the sons of Julanda who ruled Oman. They appear to have readily embraced Islam.
Omani Azd used to travel to Basra for trade, which was a centre of Islam, during the Umayyad empire. Omani Azd were granted a section of Basra, where they could settle and attend to their needs. Some of the Omani Azd who settled in Basra became merchants and, under their leader Muhallab bin Abi Sufrah, started to expand their influence of power eastwards towards Khorasan. Ibadhi Islam originated in Basra through its founder, Abdullah ibn Ibadh, around the year 650 CE; the Omani Azd in Iraq would subsequently adopt this as their predominant faith. Later, Al-hajjaj, the governor of Iraq, came into conflict with the Ibadhis, which forced them back to Oman. Among those who returned was the scholar Jaber bin Zaid. His return (and the return of other scholars) enhanced the Ibadhi movement. Alhajjaj made an attempt to subjugate Oman, then ruled by Suleiman and Said (the sons of Abbad bin Julanda). Alhajjaj dispatched Mujjaah bin Shiwah, who was confronted by Said bin Abbad. This confrontation devastated Said's army, after which he and his forces retreated to the Jebel Akhdar (mountains). Mujjaah and his forces went after Said, successfully flushing them out from hiding in Wadi Mastall. Mujjaah later moved towards the coast, where he confronted Suleiman bin Abbad. The battle was won by Suleiman's forces. Alhajjaj sent another force (under Abdulrahman bin Suleiman); he eventually won the war, taking over the governance of Oman.
The first elective Imamate of Oman is believed to have been established after the fall of the Umayyad Dynasty in 750/755 AD, when Janaħ bin ʕibadah Alħinnawi was elected. Other scholars claim that Janaħ bin Ibadah served as a Wāli (governor) under the Umayyad dynasty (and later ratified the Imamate), and that Julanda bin Masud was the first elected Imam of Oman, in A.D. 751. The first Imamate reached its peak power in the 9th century A.D. The Imamate established a maritime empire whose fleet controlled the Gulf, during a time when trade with the Abbasid Dynasty, the Far East, and Africa flourished. The authority of the Imams started to decline due to power struggles, the interventions of Abbasid, and the rise of the Seljuk Empire.
During the 11th and 12th centuries, the Omani coast was in the sphere of influence of the Seljuk Empire. They were expelled in 1154, when the Nabhani dynasty came to power. The Nabhanis ruled as muluk, or kings, while the Imams were reduced to largely symbolic significance. The capital of the dynasty was Bahla. The Banu Nabhan controlled the trade in frankincense on the overland route via Sohar to the Yabrin oasis, and then north to Bahrain, Baghdad and Damascus. The mango-tree was introduced to Oman during the time of Nabhani dynasty, by ElFellah bin Muhsin. The Nabhani dynasty started to deteriorate in 1507 when Portuguese colonisers captured the coastal city of Muscat, and gradually extended their control along the coast up to Sohar in the north and down to Sur in the southeast. Other historians argue that the Nabhani dynasty ended earlier in A.D. 1435 when conflicts between the dynasty and Alhinawis arose, which led to the restoration of the elective Imamate.
In 1552 an Ottoman fleet captured the fort in Muscat, during their fight for control of the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean, and departed after destroying the surroundings of the fortress. Later in the 17th century, using its bases in Oman, Portugal engaged in the largest naval battle ever fought in the Persian Gulf. The Portuguese force fought against a combined armada of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and English East India Company support by the Safavid empire. The result of the battle was a draw and resulted in the loss of Portuguese influence in the Gulf. Cities were sketched in the 17th century and appear in the António Bocarro Book of fortress
The Ottoman Empire temporarily captured Muscat from the Portuguese again in 1581 and held it until 1588. During the 17th century, the Omanis were reunited by the Yaruba Imams. Nasir bin Murshid became the first Yaarubah Imam in 1624, when he was elected in Rustaq. Nasir's energy and perseverance is believed to have earned him the election. Imam Nasir and his successor succeeded in the 1650s in expelling the Portuguese from their coastal domains in Oman. The Omanis over time established a maritime empire that pursued the Portuguese and expelled them from all their possessions in East Africa, which were then incorporated into the Omani domains. To capture Zanzibar Saif bin Sultan, the Imam of Oman, pressed down the Swahili Coast. An obstacle to his progress was Fort Jesus, housing the garrison of a Portuguese settlement at Mombasa. After a two year siege, the fort fell to Imam Saif bin Sultan in 1698. Saif bin Sultan occupied Bahrain in 1700. The rivalry within the house of Yaruba over power after the death of Imam Sultan in 1718 weakened the dynasty. With the power of the Yaruba Dynasty dwindling, Imam Saif bin Sultan II eventually asked for help against his rivals from Nader Shah of Persia. A Persian force arrived in March 1737 to aid Saif. From their base at Julfar, the Persian forces eventually rebelled against the Yaruba in 1743. The Persian empire then tried to take possession of the coast of Oman until 1747.
After the Omanis expelled the Persians, Ahmed bin Sa'id Albusaidi in 1749 became the elected Imam of Oman, with Rustaq serving as the capital. Since the revival of the Imamate with the Yaruba dynasty, the Omanis continued with the elective system and, provided that the person is deemed qualified, gave preference to a member of the ruling family. Following Imam Ahmed's death in 1783, his son, Said bin Ahmed became the elected Imam. His son, Seyyid Hamed bin Said, overthrew the representative of his father the Imam in Muscat and obtained the possession of Muscat fortress. Hamed ruled as "Seyyid". Afterwards, Seyyid Sultan bin Ahmed, the uncle of Seyyid Hamed, took over power. Seyyid Said bin Sultan succeeded Sultan bin Ahmed. During the entire 19th century, in addition to Imam Said bin Ahmed who retained the title until he died in 1803, Azzan bin Qais was the only elected Imam of Oman. His rule started in 1868. The British refused to accept Imam Azzan as a ruler, as he was viewed as inimical to their interests. This view played an instrumental role in supporting the deposition of Imam Azzan in 1871 by his cousin, Sayyid Turki, a son of the late Sayyid Said bin Sultan, and brother of Sultan Barghash of Zanzibar, who Britain deemed to be more acceptable.
Oman's Imam Sultan, defeated ruler of Muscat, was granted sovereignty over Gwadar, an area of what later is Pakistan. Gwadar was a part of Oman from 1783 to 1958. This coastal city is located in the Makran region of what is later the far southwestern corner of Pakistan, near what is later the border of Iran, at the mouth of the Gulf of Oman.
The British empire was keen to dominate southeast Arabia to stifle the growing power of other European states and to curb the Omani maritime power that grew during the 17th century. The British empire over time, starting from the 18th century, began to establish a series of treaties with the sultans with the objective of advancing British political and economic interest in Muscat, while granting the sultans military protection. In 1798, the first treaty between the British East India Company and the Albusaidi dynasty was signed by Sayyid Sultan bin Ahmed. The treaty aimed to block commercial competition of the French and the Dutch as well as obtain a concession to build a British factory at Bandar Abbas. A second treaty was signed in 1800, which stipulated that a British representative shall reside at the port of Muscat and manage all external affairs with other states. As the Omani Empire weakened, the British influence over Muscat grew throughout the nineteenth century.
In 1854, a deed of cession of the Omani Kuria Muria islands to Britain was signed by the sultan of Muscat and the British government. The British government achieved predominating control over Muscat, which, for the most part, impeded competition from other nations. Between 1862 and 1892, the Political Residents, Lewis Pelly and Edward Ross, played an instrumental role in securing British supremacy over the Persian Gulf and Muscat by a system of indirect governance. By the end of the 19th century, and with the loss of its African dominions and its revenues, British influence increased to the point that the sultans became dependent on British loans and signed declarations to consult the British government on all important matters. The Sultanate thus came de facto under the British sphere.
Zanzibar was a property as the main slave market of the Swahili Coast as well as being a producer of cloves, and became an increasingly important part of the Omani empire, a fact reflected by the decision of the Sayyid Sa'id bin Sultan, to make it the capital of the empire in 1837. Sa'id built palaces and gardens in Zanzibar. Rivalry between his two sons was resolved, with the help of forceful British diplomacy, when one of them, Majid, succeeded to Zanzibar and to the Omani domains on the Swahili Coast. The other son, Thuwaini, inherited Oman and the Asian domains. Zanzibar's influences in the Comoros archipelago in the Indian Ocean indirectly introduced Omani customs to the Comorian culture. These influences include clothing traditions and wedding ceremonies. In 1856, under British arbitration, Zanzibar and Muscat became two sultanates.
The British imperial development over Muscat and Oman during the 19th century led to the renewed revival of the cause of the Imamate in the interior of Oman, which has appeared in cycles for more than 1,200 years. The British Political Agent, who resided in Muscat, owed the alienation of the interior of Oman to the influence of the British government over Muscat, which he described as being completely self-interested and without any regard to the social and political conditions of the locals. In 1913, Imam Salim Alkharusi instigated an anti-Muscat rebellion that lasted until 1920 when the Sultanate established peace with the Imamate by signing the Treaty of Seeb. The treaty was brokered by Britain, which had no economic interest in the interior of Oman during that point of time. The treaty granted autonomous rule to the Imamate in the interior of Oman and recognized the sovereignty of the coast of Oman, the Sultanate of Muscat. In 1920, Imam Salim Alkharusi died and Muhammad Alkhalili was elected.
On 10 January 1923, an agreement between the Sultanate and the British government was signed in which the Sultanate had to consult with the British political agent residing in Muscat and obtain the approval of the High Government of India to extract oil in the Sultanate. On 31 July 1928, the Red Line Agreement was signed between Anglo-Persian Company (later renamed British Petroleum), Royal Dutch/Shell, Compagnie Française des Pétroles (later renamed Total), Near East Development Corporation (later renamed ExxonMobil) and Calouste Gulbenkian (an Armenian businessman) to collectively produce oil in the post-Ottoman Empire region, which included the Arabian peninsula, with each of the 4 companies holding 23.75% of the shares while Calouste Gulbenkian held the remaining 5% shares. The agreement stipulated that none of the signatories was allowed to pursue the establishment of oil concessions within the agreed on area without including all other stakeholders. In 1929, the members of the agreement established Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC). On 13 November 1931, Sultan Taimur bin Faisal abdicated
Said bin Taimur became the sultan of Muscat officially on 10 February 1932. The rule of sultan Said bin Taimur was backed by the British government, and has been characterised as being feudal, reactionary and isolationist. The British government maintained administrative control over the Sultanate as the defence secretary and chief of intelligence, chief adviser to the sultan and all ministers except for one were British. In 1937, an agreement between the sultan and Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC), a consortium of oil companies that was 23.75% British owned, was signed to grant oil concessions to IPC. After failing to discover oil in the Sultanate, IPC was interested in some promising geological formations near Fahud, an area located within the Imamate. IPC offered financial support to the sultan to raise an armed force against any potential resistance by the Imamate.
In 1955, the exclave coastal Makran strip acceded to Pakistan and was made a district of its Balochistan province, while Gwadar remained in Oman. On 8 September 1958, Pakistan purchased the Gwadar enclave from Oman for US$3 million.
Sultan Said bin Taimur expressed his interest in occupying the Imamate after the death of Imam Alkhalili, thus taking advantage of any potential instability that might occur within the Imamate when elections were due, to the British government. The British political agent in Muscat believed that the only method of gaining access to the oil reserves in the interior was by assisting the sultan in taking over the Imamate. In 1946, the British government offered arms and ammunition, auxiliary supplies and officers to prepare the sultan to attack the interior of Oman. In May 1954, Imam Alkhalili died and Ghalib Alhinai was elected Imam.
In December 1955, Sultan Said bin Taimur sent troops of the Muscat and Oman Field Force to occupy the centres, including Nizwa, the capital of the Imamate of Oman, and Ibri. The Omanis in the interior led by Imam Ghalib Alhinai, Talib Alhinai, the brother of the Imam and the Wali (governor) of Rustaq, and Suleiman bin Hamyar, who was the Wali (governor) of Jebel Akhdar, defended the Imamate in the Jebel Akhdar War against British-backed attacks by the Sultanate. In July 1957, the Sultan's forces were withdrawing, and were repeatedly ambushed, sustaining casualties. Sultan Said, with the intervention of British infantry (two companies of the Cameronians), armoured car detachments from the British Army and RAF aircraft, was able to suppress the rebellion. The Imamate's forces retreated to the inaccessible Jebel Akhdar.
Colonel David Smiley, who had been seconded to organise the Sultan's Armed Forces, managed to isolate the mountain in autumn 1958 and found a route to the plateau from Wadi Bani Kharus. On 4 August 1957, the British Foreign Secretary gave the approval to carry out air strikes without prior warning to the locals residing in the interior of Oman. Between July and December 1958, the British RAF made 1,635 raids, dropping 1,094 tons and firing 900 rockets at the interior of Oman targeting insurgents, mountain top villages, water channels and crops. On 27 January 1959, the Sultanate's forces occupied the mountain in an operation. Imam Ghalib, his brother Talib and Sulaiman managed to escape to Saudi Arabia, where the Imamate's cause was promoted until the 1970s. The exiled partisans of the abolished Imamate of Oman presented the case of Oman to the Arab League and the United Nations. On 11 December 1963, the UN General Assembly decided to establish an Ad-Hoc Committee on Oman to study the 'Question of Oman' and report back to the General Assembly.The UN General Assembly adopted the 'Question of Oman' resolution in 1965, 1966 and again in 1967 that called upon the British government to cease all repressive action against the locals, end British control over Oman and reaffirmed the inalienable right of the Omani people to self-determination and independence.
After deposing his father in 1970, Sultan Qaboos opened up the country, embarked on economic reforms, and followed a policy of modernisation marked by increased spending on health, education and welfare. Slavery was outlawed in 1970.
In 2002, voting rights were extended to all citizens over the age of 21, and the first elections to the Consultative Assembly under the rules were held in 2003. In 2004, the Sultan appointed a female minister with portfolio, Sheikha Aisha bint Khalfan bin Jameel al-Sayabiyah. She was appointed to the post of National Authority for Industrial Craftsmanship, an office that attempts to preserve and promote Oman's traditional crafts and stimulate industry. The Sultan continued to rule by decree. Nearly 100 suspected Islamists were arrested in 2005 and 31 people were convicted of trying to overthrow the government. They were ultimately pardoned in June of the same year.
Inspired by the Arab Spring uprisings that were taking place throughout the region, protests occurred during months of 2011. While they did not call for the ousting of the regime, demonstrators demanded political reforms, improved living conditions and the creation of more jobs. They were dispersed by riot police in February 2011. Sultan Qaboos reacted by promising jobs and benefits. In October 2011, elections were held to the Consultative Assembly, to which Sultan Qaboos promised greater powers. The following year, the government began a crackdown on internet criticism. In September 2012, trials began of 'activists' accused of posting "abusive and provocative" criticism of the government online. 6 were given jail terms of 12–18 months and fines of around $2,500 each.
Qaboos, the Arab world's longest-serving ruler, died on 10 January 2020, and the government declared 40 days of national mourning. He was buried the next day. On 11 January 2020, Qaboos was succeeded by his first cousin Sultan Haitham bin Tariq.
Nakhal Fort, one of the best-preserved forts in Oman.
Culture: Typical qualification that all people groups can't be summed up in small paragraphs and this is an over generalization.
The Omani Arabs live in extended family units. Their society is patriarchal, or male-dominated. The men seldom abuse this authority because they believe that their families should obey them out of respect rather than fear. Also, there are clearly defined roles for both sexes. Even the children are given gender-specific duties. The men work outside in the fields while women work in the homes. Men and women often eat separately and never pray together. While men worship at mosques, women attend ceremonies conducted at home by female religious leaders. Marriages are generally pre-arranged by the parents. Children are a considered the family's greatest asset because they provide the parents with additional laborers and social security.
An Omani Souq
Cuisine: The cuisine of Oman uses spices and marinades to complete a dish, which usually consists of chicken, fish, and lamb. Unlike that of many other Asian nations, Omani cuisine is not spicy, and varies regionally. Everyday meals generally have components such as rice, a wide variety of soups, salad, curry, and fresh vegetables. For dessert, a known Omani sweet Omani halwa is usually served. This is usually served before the consumption of kahwa, a preparation of coffee with cardamom, which is very popular and remains a symbol of hospitality. Other popular beverages include tea, laban (a kind of salty buttermilk), yoghurt drinks, and soft drinks like mountain dew.
Omani Halwa
Prayer Request:

• Pray for a spiritual discernment and hunger that will allow Omani Arabs to seek and find Christ.
• Pray for Holy Spirit-directed believers to go to the Omani Arabs.
• Pray for a Disciple Making Movement to spread far and wide among Omani Arabs.
• Pray against Putin and his insane little war.
• Pray for our nation (the United States), that we Christians can learn to come alongside our hurting brothers and sisters and learn to carry one another's burdens in a more Christlike manner than we have done historically.
• Pray that in this time of chaos and panic that the needs of the unreached are not forgotten by the church. Pray that our hearts continue to ache to see the unreached hear the Good News.

Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. (Romans 10:1)
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Here are the previous weeks threads on the UPG of the Week for Reformed from 2023 (plus a few from 2022 so this one post isn't so lonely). To save some space on these, all UPG posts made 2019-now are here, I will try to keep this current.

People Group	Country	Continent	Date Posted	Beliefs
Omani Arabs	Oman	Asia	06/05/2023	Islam
Turks	Bulgaria	Europe	05/22/2023	Islam
Kinnara	Sri Lanka	Asia	05/15/2023	Buddhism***
Yonaguni	Japan	Asia	05/08/2023	Animism
Persian	Iran	Asia	04/10/2023	Islam
Ngazidja Comorian	Comoros	Africa	04/03/2023	Islam
Uyghur (2nd)	China	Asia	03/27/2023	Islam
Aimaq	Afghanistan	Asia	03/20/2023	Islam
Shughni	Tajikistan	Asia	03/13/2023	Islam
Punjabi	Canada	North America	03/06/2023	Sikhism
Kurds	Turkey	Asia**	02/13/2023	Islam***
Krymchak	Ukraine*	Europe**	02/06/2023	Judaism
Talysh	Azerbaijan	Asia**	01/30/2023	Islam
Shan	Myanmar	Asia	01/23/2023	Buddhism***
Shaikh - 2nd post	Bangladesh	Asia	01/09/2023	Islam
Hindi	United States	North America	12/19/2022	Hinduism
Somali	Finland	Europe	12/05/2022	Islam
Hemshin	Turkey	Asia**	11/28/2022	Islam
Waorani (Reached)	Ecuador	South America	11/21/2022	Christianity

* Tibet belongs to Tibet, not China.
** Russia/Turkey/etc is Europe but also Asia so...
*** this likely is not the true religion that they worship, but rather they have a mixture of what is listed with other local religions, or they have embraced a liberal drift and are leaving faith entirely but this is their historical faith.
As always, if you have experience in this country or with this people group, feel free to comment or let me know and I will happily edit it so that we can better pray for these peoples! I shouldn't have to include this, but please don't come here to argue with people or to promote universalism. I am a moderator so we will see this if you do.
Here is a list of definitions in case you wonder what exactly I mean by words like "Unreached".
Here is a list of missions organizations that reach out to the world to do missions for the Glory of God.

Instagram: @angiebellemare & @thedailygrindplanner
Angie Bellemare, just another basic AF Disney-obsessed white bitch who shills for Beachbody for a "living". No, she doesn't appear to have an actual personality and her everything about the first glance at her instagram feed screams "daddy issues" and "always picked last for kickball".
Snark on this caricature of an 11 year old girl who lives in the body of a seemingly 40-something year-old woman here ⬇️
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REMINDERS:
Please don’t post screenshots of comments.
DO NOT CONTACT ANYONE - CONTACTING ANYONE THAT IS TALKED ABOUT HERE IS HARASSMENT AND WILL RESULT IN AN IMMEDIATE BAN
Do not encourage anyone to contact anyone else and do not discuss or post any communication that you may have had with this individual. Keep it factual and as always, the HunSnark Rules apply.
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The Snark-CliffsNotes on Angie Bellemare, courtesy of u/Bubblegumejonz:
"Started beach body very early on. Upline is janelle summers. She got in early enough to create a large down line. She has a very active YouTube channel when she posts over the top decor hauls, early morning routines and overall bullshit with the subtle undertone of recruitment via her “fit gym”.
Lives in a giant, modern home. Visits a giant modern cottage and a giant modern house in Fort Lauderdale. Giant cottage and Florida home belong to her loaded in-laws, of the Farm Boy grocery store $60 million deal.
Recently built a house in Golden Oak on Disney property. House valued at around $3million.
Over the top lifestyle with endless hauls of crap goods. Says it’s all because of beach body, but really it’s family money.
She’s married to the petit Andre who does nothing but game all day and geek out of Disney. They don’t seem to have any friends or hobbies outside of being big Disney weirdos.
Edited to add: she was the 2021 top hun. In her daily planner she makes success club 300 her weekly or monthly goal. She recruits a lot of people through her for gym, which is really just her beach body group but she’s so shady that she rarely says beach body in her posts or videos. At first you get sucked in by her rich girl videos that seem kind of fun, but then when you peel a few layers back you realize she’s just a beach body hun."
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Yo glue. You don't use this place so you'll never hear this but I got to tell someone and I'm not going to send it to you and sound even crazier I don't want you thinking I'm some kind of psychopathic stalker and I want you to feel comfortable and respected with your boundaries. So let's get down to brass tacks.
Girl when I think about you and all this s*** that went on and I think about me. It reminds me of when in pulp fiction Bruce Willis is popping Marcellus Wallace (Ving rhames) in the face saying "you feel that?" That's your pride f****** with you or some s*** like that.
Man glue how the hell are my feelings going to be hurt and how can I be so selfish as to even think that I deserve to be respected or put any expectations on you I'm not going to go into huge detail. Reason being is because the rest of the world will hear it but you probably won't but at least out there in the void I'm going to make it to where the respect you deserve this voiced from me and that you're honored for the things that you've done selflessly. Being thet our sister birthday was yesterday and she's no longer with us I think she would smile from above knowing that I finally said something like this.
Hey let me say thank you for real. Thank you for shutting my ass down and thank you for this list I'm about to go through which I will go into detail at a later time.
I'm going to write a story about our lives. I'm telling you it's going to happen. I started three separate writings and I'm ready to scrap them all to tell our story. I'm going to focus on that in my writings anyways on to the summary of what glue means to me or what I acknowledge about glue.
What you were up against.
When we met. You a teenage girl. Abandoned by one parent in a very vile way. The other parent was raising you. We were running around, you got sick, and you were in the hospital for weeks with some very serious troubles. Towards the end of the hospital stay cuz I was in there with you the whole time. The other parent came said that they won't going to deal with you and for you to figure it out a young girl in the hospital. The crazy part is you had done nothing wrong. That was my first real dose of surrealism in people next to some childhood stuff from one of my mother's boyfriends. And shortly after you were told you didn't have a home to come back to as a teenage girl in the hospital the doctors came in and said you would never be able to get pregnant or bare children. You moved in with us me my mom and my sister. And after all that you have been through you would think that you'll be nervous or anxious or things will be awkward. No. You stepped into the home and you immediately brought light into it that it was missing. You immediately were a part of the family and you were a part that was missing the whole time that no one ever knew about. You became a daughter to my mother a sister to my sister and more important things than my words can express right now to me. You kept a strong mentality and glue you were always the caretaker. You dealt with me a young pig-headed man very much in love with you with the drug addiction you catered to me. But not like a slave you catered to my soul there is never someone that I can ever dream of to treat me the way you did. You were loyal man you were my everything. I was yours. None of this is going to be an order but I've traveled with you across the country. We moved to Louisiana. I got a job on the tugboats. You were in the middle of a new scary town. And here I was gone 30 days at a time. But you held on. That was a really stressful time when I look back and that was a time when even though it was an experience I regret that decision because being gone that long from you at that young seemed okay then but even though my buddy's family was around I should have been there. But we did it the best we could. Eventually that didn't work out I'll never forget two cats in a 1984 Ford escort and all our s*** driving all the way to the East Coast. That escort could do some runs now. Anyways we moved to the beach. Being close to home my drug addiction was still an active Factor at all times you held on every time you could. When we move to the beach we decided we were going to do other things we came back to the city. That's what my sister move to the beach with her friend and we were in the city and got to call she had been in a car wreck.
We fly down to the beach before that even cut my sister out of the car we made a 2-hour drive in about 45 minutes. They will my sister in you were right by her side by my side you were there fam you were going through it with me, with her, with the parents. The wheel her in she said she couldn't feel her legs. Boom paralyzed never going to walk again. Thank God she lived and thank God she has such an amazing sister beside her during it all.
After rehabilitation the situation that it happened put my mom into a absolute mental tailspin. So we stuck around as my mother could barely function to tend to my sister.. to your sister. So you a young young woman who had been s*** on by her family. Took over my mother's role and began caretaking for my sister, all the while taking care of my mom with her mental episodes and and down time, and taking care of a loving man with an addiction that had selfish tendencies and you filled the role of all three caretakers and still manage to love me and show me affection with a smile on your face. You took care of the whole house. You took care of the animals. I'm not talking about any of the good really that I did or anybody else did I just want you to be recognized here.
We decided to move to Florida after a long time of you taking care of my paralyzed sister and helping her acclimate until she started lighting it up. What she took off and became president the Honor society went back to school started doing fundraisers was in the Miss wheelchair state runnings eyeballing Ms wheelchair America..once she got in her groove... We went on to Florida.
In Florida you dealt with a man that had just found the purest cocaine he had done in a long time for dirt cheap prices. Through pretty much the whole stay we were there the years we were there. But I wasn't completely a lost cause so in Florida you became a business partner, an entrepreneur, an inventor, a teammate, a valuable asset, Chief cornerstone that all things business relied on between us and my buddy that we went into business with. Your pragmatic approach and abilities dominated with mine. The things I fell short in you could put into place... I don't want to say my inventiveness and idealism was the exact complimentary opposite to that where you lacked. But I'm going to be straight up with you you were just as inventive, sellable, full of ideas, practical enough to make it happen, and able to execute. So you were still at a young age early twenties the most amazing business partner I could ever ask for. Not to mention the fun in the sun the palm trees the tacky gold the new cars living on the beach man I was built for that s*** and I know you were. Eventually when the big collapse of the towers came, and us with our lack of savings which was a big part my fault. After September 11th the market just crashed and we didn't do business and s*** started going backwards and we sold our debt for what a couple thousand bucks? To watch my friend hold on to that business and buy us out of all that debt until it finally bankrupted was insane he really held on to that dream.
Anyways by the time we get back to our hometown not only is my sister been in a wheelchair now my sister develops a tumor on her pituitary gland Cushing's disease. My drug addiction is full force when we pull back into town. You jump right into action taking care of her everyone and by this time your family had got back in your life your parents. And you forgave them and let them in boy I'll never forget to work it took for you to get over that I remember the days that I sit with you and helped you work through that stuff. But you forgave you opened your heart and you opened your arms and embrace family. And you took care of everyone.
We get married. I get you pregnant the first child. I'm so far in addiction now that we're back home ground zero for those old habits. You're neglected, I'm high, selfish,I'm ashamed so basically I either don't come home because I've been up all night High s*** spending all of our money. And I mean all of it taking right out of my pregnant wife's and the baby's mouth to serve my f****** addiction. and you just held on. Remainder Rock still taking care of my sister. Still being there for my mom. And absolutely the polar opposite of what the doctor said when we first met about not being able to have kids. So after neglecting you constantly pawning off tons of responsibilities on you and spending every penny we had and expecting you to take care of the kids and never being home and being unavailable because I had a disgusting ratchet ass bottom of the barrel love affair that started with cocaine but once I tried to sling and learn how to cook cocaine became Crack to be exact. I traded you, businesses, vehicles, Mom Dad the kids, stability love, God, futures, anything everything I traded for that nasty b**** crack. Mind body Spirit trade it at all.
And what did you do you kept managing with what you we had you kept trying to hold it together and you held on for dear life.
Now you had already become a daughter to my mother and you were a sister to my sister so my part to play in that has nothing to do with y'all's relationship at this point. There's a very painful thing that I'm even scared to talk about maybe one day. Anyways finally you said you couldn't do it anymore I had driven us in the dirt I had literally turned us into basically homeless people with kids and I just could not stop when I would get to the bottom I'd bring a jackhammer and I'd find a new bottom. And you finally took your eyes off of me and you looked at what was the most important our child and you said it's time to separate you had to do it. Our separation you still tried to work with me as I got off the drug short-term and you came back and that's when I got you pregnant. That's what I want to talk to you about one day when we have time. But that has nothing to do with the honor you deserve because you are always were and not a doubt my mind always will be a loyal honorable commendable Royal woman a true virtuous woman.
Anyways when we started talking again during the separation I got you pregnant again. We got back together to try to make it work for both our kids now. But I wasn't going to give up crack for you all the families all the religion all the money and all the happiness in the world. I was that f****** stupid. God is good because I didn't 12 step my s*** out of there with that God come down and put a disgust and a chill in my bones about that s*** and made it disappear overnight. Maybe another time because it was way too late when it happened. Anyways I got you to raise two kids stole all of our money stole all of our food stole everything we didn't even have gas half the time. You hold on. You held one. I still have the claw marks in my soul from where you didn't want to let me go because you were that committed and that good of a woman. That in tune with family.
You went on to raise the kids by yourself you hooked up with another dude he got you pregnant then you dealt with him abusing you physically. Torturing that household. I know he's changed but I know some of this s*** that he did to my kids because I could see it in their eyes every time I would drop a fork. Thank God they healed from that. Whether they healed fully especially one of them I don't know. But then the question would have to be raised does the pain in the issues they go through revolve around him or revolve around the traumas from me. Cuz a dad supposed to be there. You basically dealt with him terrorizing y'all raising hell you've told me some of the things that he used to do to you I don't see how you can still talk to me like he needs you and you've got to be there for him but that's on you and I respect it but the way that you explain some of the things that he did to you to me it makes me sick to my stomach because I could just never see myself like harming you physically over and over and over again and doing things to you in other forms of physical abuse and getting pleasure or control out of it. But I can see taking you everything you ever owned and never given our kids a chance or anybody else and giving it all to crack can I so I don't know there. I just know it blows my mind. But I think it comes a lot from the fact I left us so bottom of the barrel out back from my addiction that as long as somebody was providing you felt some form of security over top of what I left you with which was complete insecurity. Maybe that's why you stuck around for the abuse and still justifiy it over top of the things I've done to this day.
You raised his kid, you raised my kids, you were the one true parent you were two dads you were one mom. You were a counselor, a provider a mediator a caretaker a teacher a protector a shelter a guide a mentor a motivator a problem solver you were a parent and you played the role of three parents. Plus you worked plus you were there for my family whenever they needed you. You were there for my sister all through her Cushing's disease. And there's so much more because you were building towards the future on your own establishing financial security vision for yourself holding the fort down getting damn near no financial help from me none 00.
I incurred 135,000 child support debt with you. How's that for deadbeat dead? See this isn't about the arrogant narcissistic guy you think I am this is about who you are. Let's just fast forward so we getting locked up for child support even though you had already told me you weren't working on getting all of that got rid of. And yes you may not believe this but my whole f****** inheritance is going to you not one red cent goes to me because you earned that. Yo you earned like 50,000 times that times a hundred times 50. All of the money in the world in my opinion is still not enough compensation if it was given all to you for the things you've done.
Now fast forward to my sister dying she's on her deathbed she's checking out. you stay and active part of her life and you check on her and you stay by her side and you are there with her as a friend you coming you become her caretaker in the end you help my mother you stand by my family side we see my sister into the Afterlife and we live the lives we live.
I come to the city out of the blue I'll come to find out there was a warrant out I get arrested. With some help from another family member if y'all bond me out with $13,000 cash. A week later I'm called by the courts they said we didn't have to show the decision could be made without us there and when we pop up they walk out and they say here here's your piece of paper sir. You owe $14.75. I'll look at the piece of paper it says Mr so and so your debt with child support enforcement has been cleared in full please pay us these $14 processing fees and your case is closed. You smiled me a smile at you.
And you said the most horrific thing I've ever heard in my life from someone. I'm being cynical here because it was really the most amazing thing but I hate the term because I'm a basket case. You looked at me and said be better do better.
Fast forward after that I started trying to get my s*** together started trying to help you with vehicles and stuff around the house and somehow... Some f****** way... I had the audacity to get offended by the way you were treating me. And I had a nervous breakdown. And I begin saying things to you the absolutely weren't true that I absolutely didn't mean and I f****** flaked.
You with no contact to protect yourself.
Look at what you have done how could I have done that?
Anyways I've seen my mom turn on you with her words. I've seen your parents turn on you, I've turned on you, seen your friends turn on you, I've seen a world I've seen your ex's turn on you, but you know what I've never seen you turn on the people that you give your ability and your honor to and your bonds to I've never seen you turn on them ever.
You didn't turn on me you were protecting yourself.
Glue you were the strongest f****** woman I've ever met and you are worthy of an award that his world renowned and recognized because there are so many things that I haven't said here.
You are The Rock, you are the glue, you are the ties that bind... You are the virtuous woman. Proverbs 31 versus 10 to 31 is the description of who You are. Even to the point of where our kids were raised by you to place the dwelling now that you're at. You have taken in so many other people's kids you're like a parent to everyone. You excel at every job that you do. Vital asset to every team that you join. Highly efficient highly intelligent. Insanely gorgeous. Smart funny. God your sense of humor is so f****** awesome.
I'll see things in pictures my brain sees things in pictures and I just see pictures of you sometimes where always if we were around somebody that was down you would do the goofiest s*** you had to do to get them to smile because that's what you do. Just like sis did and this is her birthday gift from me because she told me several times to think about how hard you have worked. And she begged me to draw that picture before she died I got it toward the day before she died it was so important to her that picture is me holding her hand and her grabbing a star and her feet rooted to the ground and the roots coming into my feet and it says my brother taught me to reach for the stars my sister taught me to remain grounded.
And it's weird because I look at that and I think about how much of a icon and how much of a aura and presence glue was see y'all were glue one and two. And I'll go get that picture that she had me draw and it brings these overwhelming senses of things because I miss her so much but it brings you into the picture too because you always kept me grounded and I could envision anything anything on vision and you could take it for what it was and you could be like okay it's not that practical but it can be done and you would make the systems that made it happen no matter what it was I could create anything with you. You are after all Earth. I'm air. Reach for the Stars grounded etc.
Do you have so many amazing qualities and you have done so many honorable things. And for my sister's birthday I honor you her sister because the things that she said really ring true now. If you never talk to me again I respect it, if you want us to try to have some kind of working amicable relation I respect it but I have to have communication, you are so much of everything good and honestly I still love you so much thatI fall apart in your presence. But forget me man for real f*** me. Glue I want you to be happy you deserve happiness and if I take away from that then I need to shut my f****** mouth and I need to take that s*** so I went down and I need to smile because I know that you're happier. I truly know what it's like to want something so bad because I have for years but I never got healthy I'm just now getting around to taking care of myself. But I have for years wanted you and when I couldn't have you that's when you became Bruce Willis and you was popping my ass in the face saying you feel that boy that's your pride f****** with you.
Will glue I'm swallowing my pride. I want you to be happy no matter what I want you to be honored. If you ever do decide you want me in your life in any form please give me the communication I need to approach it healthily if not I'll f*** it up. I'm not even going to ask you what you want I'm not going to bug you but if by some chance in hell you ever find this letter just know at any point anytime you can reach out to me and ask for anything. I have taken and taken and taken and you have given and given and given it's time for me to sit the f*** down shut the f****** and love you the way you're supposed to be loved. And that means unconditionally loving you for who you are not loving you for me loving you because I absolutely adore who You are and I want to see the best life you can have happen.
You probably can't see your value and priceless coming out of my mouth or anyone else still does not do it justice.
Going to write a story about us glue.
And I promise to never promise again and just show you by allowing you the power dynamic you deserve to make your own choices and get the happiest healthiest life you can without me interjecting you've done it well this far better than me. Have made myself look like a total helpless loser in this but we both know what I'm capable of and what I'm about. If you need a roll for me just communicate it. I'll give it my all even if giving it my all means standing outside the box looking in but never burdening you with the fact that I am anymore.
And I'm not going to bring it up. Man I hope one day you get all the things you deserve.
You're admired appreciated loved and honored. By many. You are the Chief cornerstone woman. You are woman all woman.
I love you always will. Have my power dynamics take what you need and should you ever need me to flex my power because we both know all you got to do is make the call and I'll flex on whatever the hell you need me to as hard as you need me to and I'll scoop my ass right on out the way if that's what you need after it's done
Thank you glue
Buy some odd chance should you ever want me to be the one to try to love you communicate with me and point me in the direction I'm so f***** up out here I need direction and I know that they could be poisonous to you so you being The logical thinker that you are take that for what you will.
I've never been able to fully give myself to anyone else because I truly feel that to this day I will take my love for you to the grave.
You're that special.
Should I ever get a chance to love you and stand by your side of your man again you're going to have to let me die and and come out of the death of at least once because I'll die of happiness and wake up I just I wouldn't know how to handle it.
To me it's like imagine somebody said hey here's this egg but it doesn't have a shell that's just made of the rubber stuff that holds the shell together and you've got to run this egg 3 MI of mountain terrain in 20 minutes or the whole world ends.
Well I would just take the f****** egg and throw it on the ground. That's how I've been treating things. That's what I'm relearning everything.
It could be a detriment to you you know the sign of this always protect yourself and do what's best for your happiness but if I could love you again and be your man the things I would do I can't tell you because that would be the same old same old and honestly I just don't know.
I just know I love you you've always been everything to me and there will never be anyone that compares and there never has been.
Thank you for who you are

Hello,
Me and my friend flew round trip from Forte Lauderdale to Key West earlier this year with Silver Airways. Coming back, Silver Airways delayed our flight hour after hour a few times. Then they finally cancelled it. They arranged a shuttle for us to FLL, and this caused us to miss our flight from Forte Lauderdale to Philadelphia (with a different airline).
We had to stay overnight in Florida and got on a flight in the morning.
I reached out to Silver Airways to complain and they took forever to respond. They gave us a partial refund, but this was almost a month later. In their contract of carriage it clearly states that refunds are given within 7-10 business days. This was not the case this time.
Am I entitled to any type of compensation? I’d like them to pay for my flight back home that we had to take in the morning, our food costs that night, our transportation to and from the airport and the hotel.