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Oh dear, Sam Harris is talking again, and as usual, mansplaining to feminists about how we need to give up caring about the human rights of women in Christian-controlled nations because he believes that such care somehow deprives women in Muslim-controlled nations of their human rights. (Personally, I thought it wasn't feminists who were depriving women of human rights, but you know, the sexists that run countries like Saudi Arabia and Iran.) In the classic stance of the mansplainer, Harris lets it be known that having no fucking idea what he is talking about doesn't mean he can't be the self-appointed expert over people who actually know things like facts. Libby Anne zeroed in on one particular statement Harris made regarding abortion rights.
Liberals have really failed on the topic of theocracy. They'll criticize white theocracy, they'll criticize Christians. They'll still get agitated over the abortion clinic bombing that happened in 1984. But when you want to talk about the treatment of women and homosexuals and free thinkers and public intellectuals in the Muslim world, I would argue that liberals have failed us.
Libby Anne tackles the most obvious mansplaining fail:
Violence against abortion clinics and abortion providers dates back to at least the 1980s and continues in the present. Eight doctors or clinic providers have been murdered, the last one only five years ago. In fact, the clinic that was bombed in the 1984 incident Harris mentions was bombed again in 2012—and completely gutted as a result. I hear of arson and death threats, and it shakes me. I've served as an escort at my local Planned Parenthood clinic. It can be very scary—for all involved. Women often have their license plate numbers recorded by anti-abortion protesters calling them "murderers," and in some areas of the country doctors who perform abortions have to wear masks when entering clinics to protect their identities. Just recently a writer for the high-profile National Review called for hanging women who have had abortions.
Please read her whole post. But I want to talk about the implications he's working here, most of which are false. Libby Anne deals with one---his implication that caring about anti-choice violence somehow prevents us from doing something about what he considers the much worse problem of "Muslim" violence. (Harris is not particularly smart and thus struggles to understand that Muslims are a numerous and diverse population, and include the victims of theocratic violence as well as its perpetrators. But that's another whole package to unpack.) But I would like to deal with three more of his ridiculous assumptions.
1) By deciding to shift our priorities from protecting abortion rights at home to agitating against "Muslim" abuses of women, feminists can be more effective. I'm not sure how he thinks this works. If we shut down Planned Parenthood and NARAL and instead just wrote a lot about how we think laws requiring veiling are bad, the only real result would be that women would go without health care here at home while countries with Islamic fundamentalist governments would likely double down to show those nosy Western bitches what's up. Win, I guess? Only if you think women's health care is kind of icky and you're more interested in being bigoted than being effective.
2) That the abortion issue is a narrow concern about occasional Christian terrorist violence. Nope. Anti-clinic violence sucks, but the much bigger concern is theocratic stripping of abortion rights---as well as access to contraception and general access to health care. By dismissing the pro-choice movement as a bunch of harpies going on over an occasional bombing, Harris is trying to distract people from the fact that attacks on reproductive rights are, in fact, a very big deal. Millions upon millions of women are affected. If you oppose, as Harris does, something like female genital mutilation but you don't think it's such a big deal to force childbirth on the unwilling, it's excruciatingly clear that your concern is not protecting women---or even just women's genital area---from unwarranted incursions from theocratic misogynists. You just don't like Muslims and want everyone else to share your obsession.
3) That Muslim oppression of women's rights is objectively more damaging than the damage done because of forced child-bearing. Harris's argument rests on the assumption that there's an objective measure of harm and since, by his reckoning, Muslim oppression objectively hurts more than Christian oppression, then it should take up all the oxygen available. It's an offensive argument on its own, but it fails on its own terms. Unsafe abortion, nearly all of which is done illegally because of abortion bans, kills 47,000 women a year around the world. In comparison, Pakistan, which has the worst "honor killing" culture in the world, from what I understand, lost 1,000 women to it. I couldn't find the worldwide numbers, but odds are that unsafe abortion deaths outnumber honor killings many times over every year. And that's just a very narrow comparison of two ways theocratic oppression of women kills. Reduced access to contraception and abortion also contribute to high maternal mortality rates around the world, including in the U.S.
It's absolutely gross to reduce the issues to these numbers, of course. But that's my point. If you're going to start arguing over what is "objectively" a bigger problem, then you have to face down statistical realities like that. Or you could grow the fuck up and realize that it's rarely, if ever, as simple as counting dead bodies.
Of course, the fact that he openly misrepresented the extent of anti-choice violence shows that he wasn't ever really interested in actual statistical evidence to begin with.
But beyond just the gross accounting to try to create "objective" measures in the Oppression Olympics, if one is going to be concerned about the lost educational and employment opportunities that women must suffer because of restrictions they face in Iran or Saudi Arabia, it seems really weird to get all shruggy when faced with the fact that forced childbearing has a similar effect on women's education and employment opportunities in Christian nations. But of course, Harris doesn't actually care about that. Feigned concern over women is just a weapon he uses to push his untenable argument that there's something specific to Islam that makes it inherently worse than other religions, despite the fact that the likelier explanation for Islamic fundamentalism has more to do with geopolitics than the specific teachings of the Koran vs. the Bible.
People are drawn to what they advocate for due to many reasons: Personal experience, ability to make change, intellectual interest. Policing other people's priorities is a waste of time, especially considering that most people don't care about most of any of this. But okay, if Harris wants an explanation, I can give it for myself. I spend a lot more time writing about reproductive rights than the oppression of women under Islamic fundamentalism for a number of reasons:
1) I can be more effective. Iranian mullahs only care what I think to the extent to which they can do the opposite. In contrast, in the U.S., I can help move and inspire people and perhaps even make change for the better.
2) I have more interesting things to say. A lot of what drives Islamic fundamentalism is due to war and colonialism, which I'm just not an expert in. I *am* an expert in gender politics and how reproductive control affects them, so I'll stick to educating people instead of spouting off on what I know nothing about.
3) I don't have white savior complex. Just as I don't want a bunch of know-nothing busybodies like Sam Harris trying to tell me what my priorities should be, I assume feminists in Muslim countries don't want me or people like me doing that to them. I realize that empathizing with people that don't look exactly like you isn't Harris's strong suit, but I think that it's a smart move generally to make.


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The Metamorphosis
Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka is a German/Jewish dude. He wrote this story in 1912. A lot of his stories are about isolation and how man gets sad and alone. This is a really weird story about how some guy gets turned into a bug. There is a lot of symbolism (he gets turned into a bug as a punishment of sorts). This is NOT a straightforward story.
Gregor Samsa: He is the main dude of the story. He is the guy that
gets turned into a big ass bug.
Grete: She is Gregors sister.
This story is about a guy named Gregor who has a really crappy life. His family treats him like shit and he has a bad job. They live in a big lodge and own it. People come in and stay with them (like a bed and breakfast type hotel). One day he wakes up and he finds that he has turned into an insect. Then he worries because he will be late for work. His mom knocks on the door and tells him he is going to be late. Gregor tries to get out of bed, but cannot. Then one of Gregors bosses comes to his house to see whats wrong. Gregors dad and mom try to get him out of his room, but Gregor doesnt move. The boss tries to talk to him but Gregor tries to avoid the conversation (he doesnt want them to find out he has turned into a bug).
Then Gregor finally comes out of his room. Everyone (mom, dad, and boss) is shocked and disgusted. Gregor did not want his boss to leave disgusted, but he left anyway. Gregors dad gets mad that his boss left and takes a stick and hits Gregor to get him back in his room (Because Gregor is a freak).
Then Gregor sleeps for a while. His sister comes in and brings him food. Then the family locks Gregor in his room. He is completely shutout from the outside world. He overhears his family talking though. He finds out that his father is a rich dude (this sucks because Gregor has been slaving for years at his job to support the whole family). We learn that the family is lazy and just relied on Gregor to make money.
Gregors mom wants to see him. He doesnt want her to because hes a dirty freak. But she comes in anyway, and he hides under a sheet. Then the family takes all of the furniture out of Gregors room so he has more space to crawl around. They lock him in the room, but Gregor breaks out. Gregors father then comes home and is pissed that Gregor came out. So he starts throwing apples at Gregor. One apple sticks to his back. The mother is sad because he is hurt. Gregor goes back into his room and is injured. Now that Gregor is injured, the family stops taking care of him and they just kinda let him rot. Gregors sister even stops coming in his room (even though she was the nicest person to Gregor).
Then one night the sister plays violin. Gregor likes the music and listens. The people staying in the lodge notice Gregor and are kinda shocked. Gregor comes out of his room because he is so attracted by the beautiful violin music. Gregors father is embarrassed that the lodgers saw this disgusting bug. Gregors family decides they have to get rid of this disgusting bug. So they lock him in his room and starve him. Then Gregor dies. The family is kinda sad. They make all the lodgers leave. Then they spend some time with the dead Gregor, and mourn him a bit. They are all tired so the family goes out for a walk. In the end they move to another apartment.
- Many people say that Gregor actually symbolizes Kafka, and that this story is kinda autobiographical.
- No, Kafka did not turn into a bug, but he did feel isolated and had trouble with his family. He especially had trouble with hid dad, just like Gregor did in the story.
- The "Metamorphosis" can be seen as Gregor's change into a bug OR can be seen as the change the family goes through.
- When he turns into a bug, their life gets better. The father becomes more active (because they don't rely on Gregor to support them anymore.
- Nobody in the story really takes Gregor seriously, even though he has turned into a bug.
- Gregor is a big martyr. His life sucks, his family treats him like shit and he works like a dog to support people who hate him.
- There are 3 main parts to this story. The part where he deals with his shitty job, the part where he deals with his shitty family and the end, where he dies and finally is a free man. (When he dies he is free from all his problems: work, family, stress, etc)

subset: commoncrawl


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In recent years, nanotechnology is known as an emerging interdisciplinary field, involving biology, physics, medicine, chemistry and material science. The prefix nano is derived from Greek word nanos meaning "dwarf" that refers to things of one-billionth (10–9) in size. The primary concept of nanotechnology was presented by Richard Feynman in a lecture entitled "There's plenty of room at the bottom" at the American Institute of Technology in 1959. Unlike large materials, nanoparticles (NPs) have characteristic material (physical, chemical, magnetic, electronic, mechanical, thermal, optical) and biological properties (Schmid, 1992; Daniel, 2004). Decreasing the dimension of particles to the nanoscale regime resulted in pronounced effects on the physical properties that significantly differ from their bulk material and this is due to the large number of surface atoms, large surface energy, spatial confinement and reduced imperfections. NPs are usually 0.1 to 1000 nm in each spatial dimension and therefore NPs are considered as building blocks for the next generation of optoelectronics and electronics devices as well as various chemical and biochemical sensors (Wong and Schwaneberg, 2003; Ramanavicius, 2005). Monodispersed NPs with particular shapes have wide applications in the areas of optics, computation, medical diagnostics, cancer therapy, in- vitro assays, ex-vivo and in-vivo imaging and drug delivery. Therefore, interest on developing monodispersed NPs with different size and shape has been increased in the past decade.
There are different methods for the synthesis of metallic NPs. Physical approaches include evaporation-condensation and laser ablation. Various metal NPs such as silver (Ag), gold (Au), lead sulfide (PbS), cadmium sulfide (CdS), and fullerene (a type of carbon nanostructures) have previously been synthesized using the evaporation-condensation method. It was demonstrated that Ag-NPs could be synthesized via a small ceramic heater with a local heating source. The vapor can cool down at a suitable rapid rate which makes possible the formation of small NPs at relatively high yield (Jung, 2006). NPs could be synthesized by laser ablation method, where laser is used as the heating source. The ablation efficiency and the characteristics of produced NPs depend upon many factors such as the wavelength of the laser, the duration of the laser pulses, duration of the laser influence, the ablation time, the medium and the presence of surfactants etc. (Sylvestre, 2004; Kim, 2005). Other physical methods include spark discharge generation, which consists on vaporizing metals by charging electrodes made of the metal and vaporizing it in the presence of an inert atmosphere gas until the breakdown voltage is reached. The arc (spark) formed across the electrodes then vaporizes into metal, which produces very small amounts of NPs (Weber, 2001).


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Oil Pump Price Comparison Guide
The car oil pump is a pump which is fitted to the inside of the oil tank, and pushes the oil through the engine. An oil pump is ideally intended to deliver a continuous flow of the oil into the engine, however not all oil pump devices are the same, and the differences in cost between the varieties of oil pumps can sometimes be confusing to anyone who is not an automobile expert.
As well as price, there are a lot of differences in power, volume, and pressure which can also affect the total cost of an oil pump. Shopping around for the best price can be easier once you understand the different types of oil pump that currently exist. Comparison shopping for an new oil pump can be difficult if you are not sure of the advantages and disadvantages of different oil pumps, but follow this short guide to understand what you will be getting for your money.
Remanufactured Oil Pumps
Remanufactured oil pumps probably offer the best deal. Factories take old oil pumps, and essentially rebuild them to the manufacturers' original specifications. Remanufacturing is not just done by small home-town garages and car-parts makers. Big names such as John Deere produce low-cost oil pumps. These oil pumps also come with a one-year warranty if the John Deere dealer installs the rebuilt pump. Remanufactured oil pumps operate to the same standards as brand new oil pumps, but they can cost a great deal less.
The costs of a remanufactured oil pump is around half that of a standard oil pump: for example, a recent comparison suggested that a replacement oil pump for a Ford Navistar DT466E would cost $800 for a brand new version, and $408 for a remanufactured oil pump, so the difference there is plain.
Salvaged Oil Pumps
Garages and mechanics will often salvage car parts which are not damaged: an auto junkyard is a good place to look for a cheaper oil pump. While they are not fixed to the high standard of the remanufactured oil pump, a salvaged oil pump can often be fixed to failure (ie: mended back to the original point of damage). Mechanics will often sell a rebuilt oil pump to car owners, and may be willing to install it for a fee.
Salvaged oil pumps will not typically be as hard-wearing as a remanufactured oil pump, and they will also not be supplied with a manufacturers' warranty, making them less cost-effective in the long term, although they could be half the price of a remanufactured model.
Discount oil pumps
Discount oil pumps can be bought from garages and also from manufacturers and merchants. These will often be much cheaper than the new oil pump, and will also have the warranty and assurance of longevity that comes with the new car parts. Garages and manufacturers sometimes have offers in local papers, or hand out coupons: you can use these to purchase discounted goods such as a new oil pump. The discount will probably not be huge, certainly not as large as remanufactured or salvaged oil pumps, but you will be paying for a new oil pump.


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Featured News - Current News - Archived News - News Categories
When business teachers Cheryl Chamberlain asked her entrepreneur class what to do with the snack inventory at their high school store, Casey's Corner, students replied "donate it!"
With that in mind, Chamberlain, pictured, saw a need on social media with former Grand Island student and Navy sailor James Weatherston. He serves on the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt and recently has been in the news as the aircraft carrier has been affected by the coronavirus.
Weatherston and his shipmates are in need of books, toiletries and snacks. So, Chamberlain with the help of her husband, Greg, got together and on the phone.
"The donations just started coming," Chamberlain said. "All in all, Island Ship Center, Cappellino Cadillac, the Casey family and numerous others donated toward a nice-sized shipment for the crew. What started as a distance learning project turned into a grand idea. It is what 'VikingStrong' is all about."
Fahim Mojawalla of the Island Ship Center on Whitehaven Road.


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Joe Biden Tells Federations Will Say No to 'Bad Iran Deal'
With the Nov. 24 deadline for negotiations over Iran's nuclear program looming, Vice President Joe Biden vowed that the United States "will not sign a bad deal."
"Let me say to you clearly in Bidenesque way: We will not let Iran acquire a nuclear weapon – period," he said in an address Monday to the annual conference of the Jewish Federations of North America. "I would not put my 42-year reputation on the line were I not certain when I say we mean it."
The only sort of deal the United States would accept is one that puts "significant and verifiable constraints on Iran's nuclear program," Biden said at the General Assembly, which this year is being held near Washington.
The vice president also called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a "really great friend." Finding Israel's ambassador to the United States, Ron Dermer, in the audience of some 2,500 in the conference ballroom, Biden said, "Ron, you'd better damn well report to Bibi that we're still buddies. You got it, right?"
Biden's appearance at the G.A. comes two weeks after an anonymous Obama administration official was quoted by journalist Jeffrey Goldberg in the Atlantic magazine characterizing Netanyahu as "a chickenshit."
Biden said he and Netanyahu have been friends for more than 30 years.
"We really are good friends," he said. "I once signed a photo to Bibi: 'I don't agree with a damn thing you say, but I love you.' "
Like close friends, Biden said Israel and the United States sometimes disagree with each other.
"We love one another and we drive one another crazy – I'm serious. That's what friends do. We are straight with one another," he said.
Biden also used his G.A. speech to tout the Obama administration's record on aid to Israel, including $1 billion in funding for the Iron Dome anti-missile system and $17 billion in foreign military financing for Israeli security over the six years of Obama's presidency.
"There has never been a doubt in our minds of our obligation to match the steel spine of the Israeli people with an ironclad commitment of our administration to Israel's security," he said.
Biden expressed concern over the current outbreak of violence in and around Jerusalem, saying both Palestinians and Israelis need to try to calm the situation. "All sides need to avoid incitement and demonstrate restraint," Biden said. "There is a better path, and we're not going to stop working until both sides are able to find that path."


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Budget for your Bath Remodel
No two bathroom remodelling projects are the same. There are many different variables that will play into the total cost of your project. The existing conditions of the space or the final products you choose will have a major impact on the cost of the project. There are two ways in which to budget for a project.
The first is to design to a specific budget for the bathroom remodel. First you will determine what your total budget is going to be and then base your selections on that budget. This is a bit harder to do as color combinations may be limited but it is feasible.
The second way is to design the project and decide that "The cost is what it is". If this is the room you've always been dreaming about you may want to take this approach and put the best materials and designs to work! Either way is completely up to you. It's all a matter of what you're most comfortable with, works within your monetary constraints, and allows you to meet your final bathroom renovation goal.
The good news is with all of the options available at Horizons Unlimited, your bathroom remodel can be a reality no matter how simple or elaborate you choose to make it.
Call 1-800-673-3034 For a FREE, NO OBLIGATION Estimate!
Horizons Unlimited Home Improvements, Inc. LLC
7387 Washington Blvd Suite 104
Elkridge, MD 21075
Ph: 1-800-673-3034
Fax: (410) 796-1333
The services listed above and more in the following Maryland areas:
Anne Arundel County – Arden-on-the-Severn, MD / Arnold, MD / Brooklyn Park, MD / Cape Saint Claire, MD / Crofton, MD / Crownsville, MD / Deale, MD / Ferndale, MD / Fort Meade, MD / Glen Burnie, MD / Green Haven, MD / Hanover, MD / Herald Harbor, MD / Hillsmere Shores, MD / Jessup, MD / Lake Shore, MD / Linthicum, MD / Maryland City, MD / Mayo, MD / Odenton, MD / Parole, MD / Pasadena, MD / Riva, MD / Riviera Beach, MD / Selby-on-the-Bay, MD / Severn, MD / Severna Park, MD / Shady Side, MD / South Gate, MD
Howard County – Columbia, MD / Elkridge, MD / Ellicott City, MD / Jessup, MD / North Laurel, MD / Savage-Guilford, MD / Clarksville, MD / Cooksville, MD / Daniels, MD / Dayton, MD / Dorsey, MD / Fulton, MD / Glenelg, MD / Glenwood, MD / Granite, MD / Hanover, MD / Henryton, MD / Highland, MD / Ilchester, MD / Lisbon, MD / Marriottsville, MD / Scaggsville, MD / Simpsonville, MD / Sykesville, MD / West Friendship, MD / Woodbine, MD / Woodstock, MD
Baltimore County – Arbutus, MD / Bowleys Quarters, MD / Carney, MD / Catonsville, MD / Cockeysville, MD / Dundalk, MD / Edgemere, MD / Essex, MD / Garrison, MD / Hampton, MD / Kingsville, MD / Lansdowne-Baltimore, MD / Lochearn, MD / Lutherville-Timonium, MD / Mays Chapel, MD / Middle River, MD / Milford Mill, MD / Overlea, MD / Owings Mills, MD / Parkville, MD / Perry Hall, MD / Pikesville, MD / Randallstown, MD / Reisterstown, MD / Rosedale, MD / Rossville, MD / Towson, MD / White Marsh, MD / Woodlawn, MD
Prince Georges County – Bowie, MD / College Park, MD / District Heights, MD / Glenarden, MD / Greenbelt, MD / Hyattsville, MD / Laurel, MD / Mount Rainier, MD / New Carrollton, MD / Seat Pleasant, MD / Annapolis, MD / Silver Spring, MD


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July 24, 2015
by SIRONA
VISION, the customer magazine from Sirona, the dental equipment manufacturer, won not one but two Silver awards at this year's FOX AWARDS. The innovative magazine won the SILVER FOX AWARD in the "Integrated Concept" category in external communications for the field of healthcare/medical technology, and the SILVER FOX VISUALS for its strong design concept.
The customer magazine VISION has been lauded as an effective solution in print and digital marketing communications. A high-ranking panel of well-known publicists, journalists and communications scientists presented Sirona's innovation magazine with a Silver FOX AWARD in the category "Healthcare, medical technology / integrated concept / external," bearing testimony to the magazine's outstanding effectiveness. VISION's exceptional design also pleased the panel, winning it the SILVER FOX VISUAL. The design was assessed on about 50 criteria in the fields of layout, use of typography and imagery.
Sirona, market and technology leader in the dental industry, sees the awards as confirmation of its customer communications concept: "We use VISION to inform our international customers about innovations and new products in the world of dentistry and beyond. We also share with them our visions for advances in dentistry," explains Dr. Jürgen Serafin, Vice President Corporate Marketing at Sirona.
The international customer magazine VISION comes out twice a year at 29 locations around the world in English and German, both as a print magazine and as an e-paper, and can be accessed from the App Store as an interactive tablet magazine. The magazine's four sections take an entertaining look at trends in the dental industry, report on the latest developments at Sirona, provide a variety of ideas and suggestions for everyday work in the practice, and offer background stories on well-known figures from the dental industry. This was well received by dentists and dental technicians: since the publication of the first few issues, there has been a rapid rise in the number of subscribers.
This year's competition was run for the fifth year in a row by the industry's service provider CP Wissen in cooperation with the University of Applied Sciences in Munich. The FOX AWARD panel pays particular attention to the effectiveness of the media submitted, lauding effective print and digital marketing communications solutions which have made recognizable advances in communications, marketing and sales over the previous months.
Sirona is the global market and technology leader in the dental industry and has been a worldwide partner for specialty traders, dental practices, clinics, and dental laboratories for more than 130 years. Sirona develops and produces the complete spectrum of dental equipment products, including CAD/CAM systems for computer-assisted ceramic restorations (CEREC), digital imaging systems for intraoral and panoramic x-rays, as well as volume tomography (3D), treatment centers, instruments and hygiene devices.
For more, please visit: www.sirona.com about Sirona and its products.


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Clare Ashton writes books that you love to read. They are complex, fun and capture your attention the whole way through. She builds characters and relationships with such skill you cannot help but be swept off your feet.
The Goodman family is messy and downright loveable. They are all charismatic individuals who love each other fiercely and also step into mess after mess. The majority of the times, we, the readers are seeing life from the perspective of Maggie, Jude, and Abby. These characters are quirky, infuriating, and irresistible. Maggie, Jude's mother made me want to scream one minute and hug her very next.
Abby and Jude are both doctors. They met as teenagers at university and became fast friends. When Abby was just nineteen and away at school her mother was struck by a drunk driver and killed. That tragedy solidified Abby and June's friendship. Jude and her family became touchstones for Abby and she has incorporated them into her life ever since that fateful day. Abby loves Jude, as a best friend sure, but so much more than that. Her feelings run so much deeper, and she knows nothing can come of it. Jude has always dated me and has never given her an inclination of being anything but straight. When Jude's boyfriend, suddenly proposes, the walls Abby has erected come tumbling down. No matter how hard she tries Abby cannot hide her heartbreak.
This story is about best friends seeing each other in a new light, Jude sees Abby in a way she has never looked before. She opens her mind to being with Abby in a new and suddenly very attractive way. What it also is confronting the past and being open to a new future. For a long part of the story, I kept wondering why we had Maggie's perspective. It all makes sense when an old friend comes into town.
This book is fun, dynamic and keeps you hooked. Clair Ashton does not disappoint. This book is one I cannot recommend enough.
A fabulous five-star book!
- Publisher: Breezy Tree Press
- Link: http://a.co/8mceNSE


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Men's Ministry
* Our brotherhood of men meet the first Sunday morning of the month at 8:00 a.m. for breakfast and discussion geared to edify the men of our church and empower them to lead at church as well as at home.
* The first Saturday of March we host a Wildlife Supper. We have been hosting this event for over 35 years. It is a time for men of all ages to come for a dinner featuring various types of wild game cooked many different ways. We also have a gospel centered message shared with the hopes of encouraging men to live submitted lives to the glory of God.


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Mubanga Kalimamukwento
Mubanga Kalimamukwento is an award-winning Zambian novelist and short-story writer living and studying in Minnesota. Her first novel, The Mourning Bird, won the Dinaane Debut Fiction Award. Her work has appeared in journals in France, Canada, Britain, Nigeria, Zambia, the UK and the USA and is forthcoming in the Red Rock Review. She's a former Hubert H Humphrey (Fulbright) Fellow (2018/2019) and Young African Leaders Initiative Fellow (2017).


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Senior Attorney
Robert Dart, Esq. is a senior attorney in Wilshire Law Firm's class action department and specializes in complex class action litigation. Committed to holding big businesses accountable when their employees or consumers are harmed, Robert's drive to succeed produces sophisticated legal solutions that deliver superior results to Wilshire Law Firm and its clients.
Spanning nearly 15 years, Robert's impressive legal background includes a judicial clerkship for The Honorable Aleta A. Trauger of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, as well as significant work experiences at Quinn, Emanuel, Urquhart & Sullivan LLP and Jenner & Block LLP. A highly-knowledgeable consumer advocate, Robert has experience researching and drafting motions, taking and defending depositions, preparing witnesses, compiling evidence, and drafting discovery.
Robert's genuine desire to transform the lives of his clients means that no case is left up to chance. He confidently prepares every case for trial, focusing on excellent presentation without compromise. The results? Nothing short of exceptional.
Practice Areas
Class Actions
Consumer Protection
Dangerous and Defective Products
Data Privacy
Workplace Discrimination
Disability Discrimination (Americans with Disabilities Act)
Wage & Hour Violations
Intellectual Property
State Bar of California
State Bar of Illinois
United States District Court for the Central District of California
United States District Court for the Northern District of California
Notable Accomplishments
As a litigation team member, Robert has helped settle several million-dollar consumer class action lawsuits since 2016
University of Chicago Law School Ann Watson Barber Outstanding Service Award Honoree
J.D., University of Chicago Law School


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Did Israel, under the shah, help start Iran's nuclear program?
A new documentary recalls the 'paradise in a bubble' of Israelis in Iran before 1979. It also suggests they played an initial role in setting Iran on the nuclear path
Sometime in the late 1970s, Yaakov Nimrodi, who served as military attaché in Israel's unofficial embassy in Iran, hosted a number of high-ranking army officers at his Tehran home. Trying to impress his esteemed guests, Nimrodi asked his son Ofer to show them his skills on the piano. At first the child hesitated, but his father insisted, so he played a little bit. The Iranian generals loved the performance, and applauded heartily. Then Iran's chief of staff, Gen. Fereydoun Djam, speaking in Persian, called little Ofer over to him.
"He took off his gold watch and gave it to me as a present," Ofer Nimrodi, now 56, remembered. "I'm an 8-year-old boy, I have no idea what's happening. But [Djam] said, 'You played really nicely, you deserve it.' I looked at my dad and he said, 'No, General Djam, this is inappropriate, please.' But the Iranian general insisted, and more than 30 years later Nimrodi, a prominent businessman and former publisher of the Maariv daily, still possesses the watch.
There are countless such anecdotes that illustrate the close ties between the State of Israel and the Iranian regime of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi before he was deposed in 1979 — a relationship utterly unthinkable in the current political climate.
Before the Islamic Revolution, thousands of Israelis, mostly diplomats and businessmen, sought and found their fortunes in Iran. A gripping documentary, by Dan Shadur and Barak Heyman, tells this "untold story of the Israeli paradise in Iran."
"Before the Revolution" reminds viewers that there used to be daily El Al flights connecting Tehran with Tel Aviv; that there was an Israeli school in the Iranian capital — one of only two outside Israel; and that some Israelis made so much money in Iran in a few years that upon their return they could afford to buy large houses in fancy Tel Aviv suburbs without mortgages. Over 8mm video footage from the 1970s, the 54-minute film quotes Israelis saying their years in Iran were "the happiest times in our lives." They recall Purim parties in Tehran that "felt like Tel Aviv." Former kibbutzniks talk of suddenly having maids to cook and clean for them.
"Before the Revolution" — which is now being screened at film festivals, was shown on Israel's YES satellite TV, and will hit international television screens later this year — does not ignore the more dubious aspects of Israel's close ties with the dictatorial regime. The film contains some chilling quotes of Israelis who say they were aware of the regime's human rights abuses (including torture of dissidents) but couldn't be bothered with that, as they were busy making money and partying in the shah's splendid palaces. It details the massive arms deals (Yaacov Nimrodi sold the Iranians advanced missile systems and 50,000 Uzi submachine guns). And it depicts a controversial framework of military and intelligence cooperation that likely included helping set up what became Tehran's rogue nuclear program.
In one of the film's many intriguing moments, Nachik Navot, who headed the Mossad's branch in Tehran from 1969 to 1972, explains that the shah started Iran's nuclear program as a means of deterrence against Iraq. Asked by filmmaker Shadur — an Israeli who grew up in Iran — who helped the Iranians develop their nuclear program, Navot quickly replies, "The heavens," and then awkwardly averts his look away from the camera, clearly uncomfortable with the question.
Asked by The Times of Israel this week to expand on that topic, and whether he could state which countries or individuals assisted Iran with what became the rogue nuclear program, believed by Israel and others to be aimed at attaining nuclear weapons, Navot replied warily that he could comment "only on issues I am familiar with or was involved in."
(Iran had formally launched a peaceful nuclear program in 1957, with the announcement of plans for cooperation with the US "in research in the peaceful uses of atomic energy." Iran opened a nuclear research center in Tehran a decade later, with a US-supplied research reactor. It signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1968 and ratified it in 1970. All formal US and European cooperation in this area ended with the 1979 Islamic Revolution. )
'Relations of love, without a marriage contract'
The Israeli-Iranian friendship was mutually beneficial. In Iran, a non-Arab country that in the 1970s underwent a tremendous economic boom, Israel had an important ally in a hostile region. Jerusalem imported Iranian oil. Tehran profited from Israel's know-how in agriculture, business and, especially, the military.
"The Arab countries continue to be concerned with the close relations prevailing between Iran and Israel. A special grievance was the reported export of oil from Iran to Israel," read a report in the 1961 issue of the Middle East Record, a journal published annually by Tel Aviv University. The Arab League's secretary-general at the time worried that "Zionist penetration and influence in Iran were increasing daily," the journal reported, adding that the group recommended that "all Arab nations break off diplomatic relations with Iran, whose activity defeated the aim of economic boycott of Israel."
The shah admired Israel mainly because of its military success. "The cooperation with Israel was tremendous. Every Iranian general visited Israel and we visited them," Gen. Yitzhak Segev, Israel's military attaché from 1977 to 1979, says in "Before the Revolution."
Since the Islamists came to power, of course, the Iranian regime has relentlessly denounced Israel and repeatedly expressed a yearning for, and a confidence in, the Jewish state's rapid disappearance. Israel, for its part, has been tirelessly calling on the international community to force the regime to abandon its rogue nuclear program, threatening a military strike if all else fails to prevent Iran from reaching nuclear weapons capacity. But Benjamin Netanyahu, who has made thwarting a nuclear Iran the defining mission of his prime ministerial life, also well remembers the two nations' past friendly relations.
"Today, our hope for the future is challenged by a nuclear-armed Iran that seeks our destruction. But I want you to know: that wasn't always the case," Netanyahu said during his October 1 address at the United Nations General Assembly. He went so far back as to mention that Persian King Cyrus ended the Babylonian exile of the Jewish people 2,500 years ago. "He issued a famous edict in which he proclaimed the right of the Jews to return to the Land of Israel and rebuild the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. That's a Persian decree, and thus began an historic friendship between the Jews and the Persians that lasted until modern times."
Back in 1942, before the State of Israel was founded, the Jewish Agency opened a "Palestine Office" in Tehran. In an ironic twist of history, that very same office, which served as Israel's diplomatic mission until 1979, was handed to Yasser Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organization that year, after the Israelis were chased out of the country by the Islamic Revolution.
(photo credit: screenshot from 'Before the Revolution,' courtesy Journeyman Pictures)
The Imperial State of Iran officially extended de facto recognition to Israel in March 1950, being the second Middle Eastern country to do so (after Turkey). Three months later, Iranian minister plenipotentiary Reza Safinia, who represented Tehran in Israel, hosted an official reception in Jerusalem, which marked "the first such function to be held by a foreign diplomat in Jerusalem since it was proclaimed Israel's capital," according to a JTA report at the time. The event was attended by prime minister David Ben-Gurion, several ministers and both chief rabbis.
"After the Suez campaign, from 1956 onward, we began working in Iran, attempting, eventually succeeding, to purchase oil, which was denied to us by the Arabs and the West," Aryeh Levin, the No. 2 official in Israel's diplomatic mission in Tehran from 1973 to 1977, told The Times of Israel.
Israel contributed greatly to Iran's agriculture, town planning, and other fields, he added. "Israelis were considered devoted, hard-working and supportive — especially, for instance, after the tragic 1962 earthquake in the Qazvin area, where we eventually planned and remade their agriculture, village construction and communal organization," noted Levin, whose official title was minister plenipotentiary. "In agriculture, we had a number of talented and experienced experts who helped and guided the Iranians, excellent agriculturists themselves, toward modern methods of production and husbandry."
Besides flourishing trade relations, the Israeli officialdom was also very close to the Iranian government and the shah himself.
In "Before the Revolution," Israeli businessman Yehuda Artziele reminisces about a lavish dinner he attended at the royal palace. As classical music played in the background, he recalls, the shah told him that, in the ballroom, the rules of Islam do not exist. "Drink as much as you want. Feel free, do whatever you wish," he was urged by the Iranian ruler. "I hadn't seen such wealth even in Europe, where people know how to be wealthy without showing off."
'It's better to have love relations without a contract, then having a contract that doesn't mean much'
Yet even then, Iran's relationship with Israel was not entirely uncomplicated. No flag fluttered outside the Israeli diplomatic mission in Tehran, which was never officially recognized as embassy.
David Menshari, who spent two years conducting a field study in Iran on the eve of the Islamic Revolution, once asked an Iranian Foreign Ministry official why Tehran could not formally recognize Israel, given that bilateral relations were so cordial. "He told me: 'This is like relations of love without a marriage contract.' He said it's better to have love relations without a contract, than having a contract that doesn't mean much."
Today a Tel Aviv University professor focusing on the history of modern Iran, Menashri said that even El Al's daily flights in and out of Tehran were not officially listed. Arab League Secretary-General Mahmoud Riad once arrived in Iran and was surprised to see an Israeli plane at the airport, according to Menashri. Riad asked the Iranian foreign minister how such a thing was possible. "The minister said: 'As far as I know there are no flights from Tel Aviv to Iran, but I will check with his majesty the shah.' Before he left Iran, Riad asked the foreign minister if he had checked. 'Yes, I checked, and we don't have El Al planes landing in Iran,' the foreign minister said. 'But I saw it with my own eyes,' Riad insisted. The foreign minister replied: 'Do you want me to believe your eyes or the word of the shah?'"
But who needs official recognition when life is good? In upscale northern Tehran, Israelis lived in a bubble of comfort and wealth that apparently prevented them from noticing both the misery all around them and, later on, the dangers of the looming Islamic Revolution — which was initially motivated less by religious zeal than social injustice.
"I didn't really understand that there was a terrible injustice, of so few rich and so many poor that were really suffering," admits Rebecca Meromi, a dance teacher who gushes in the film that their in-house maid washed their dirty laundry by hand. "We weren't aware of it," adds her husband Eylon Meromi, an architect, in the movie. "We thought we were helping them. We really thought to ourselves that we're helping the Persian people — building them apartments, strengthening their army and protecting their country. It was clear that there was a huge social gap, but that was out of our hands."
Nili Yanir says in the documentary: "We lived on a different planet, we really didn't know. We weren't really involved in their domestic policies. I also don't think that really interested us. We were young."
'Of course the Iranians suffered. But if you ask me if it bothered us, the answer is no'
Perhaps more problematic than merely living the high life while being oblivious to the local population's suffering, the Israelis in Iran also were fully aware of the repression by Savak, the autocratic regime's notorious secret police. Critics of the shah often mysteriously disappeared. There were no Xerox machines on university campuses because the Savak feared the dissemination of anti-regime propaganda. But the Mossad maintained excellent relations with the Savak, and everyone knew it. It was even rumored among Israelis that the Mossad helped set up the Savak, teaching it how to torture people, the film reports — an allegation other experts reject.
"Of course the Iranians suffered, I won't say they didn't. But if you ask me if it bothered us, if it was subject for day-to-day conversation, the answer is no," says Nathan Frenkiel, who directed a construction group in Tehran, in "Before the Revolution." "They didn't complain and we didn't intervene. We're not blind; we knew what kind of reality we were living in — but it's not our bloody business."
Menashri is forgiving: "As much as they [Israelis] benefited from Iran, Iran benefited from them coming to Iran. Iran needed expertise," he said. Israel was ready to extend even altruistic help, for instance when it sent aid to Iran after the devastating 1962 earthquake. "Iranians have the tendency to blame everything on the foreigners. But the Iranians invited them."
Meir Javedanfar, an Iranian-born Israeli Middle East analyst, says Israelis in Iran should not be accused of abetting the regime's brutal repression of dissent. The Savak did not need Israeli training to know how to beat people up, he said. "Probably they [the Mossad] helped the Savak in other areas," he said, "but it wasn't in torturing people."
All kinds of people live in undemocratic countries and don't intervene lest they be accused of interfering in the state's internal affairs, continued Javedanfar, who left Iran in 1987 and now teaches contemporary Iranian politics at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya. Either way, he argued, they wouldn't have been able to do much about the ordinary Iranian's plight. "The shah certainly wasn't going to take lessons from Israelis. [Then-US President Jimmy] Carter was having enough trouble convincing the shah to respect human rights. I don't think Israel would have had any chance whatsoever."
According to Levin, Israel's No. 2 at the embassy in Tehran, Israel's close ties to the Savak did contribute to the fact that many ordinary Iranians weren't too fond of Israelis. "Identifying Israel's activities with the Savak was not totally justified, however, since we did not help the intelligence agencies in tracking the opposition, but rather worked hand in hand with them on intelligence-related matters that dealt with the Arab world," he said.
'We didn't want to leave; we had a lot to lose'
"Before the Revolution" documents how oblivious many Israelis were to the beginning of the Islamic takeover in 1979. After the first anti-shah demonstrations turned violent, there were tanks in the streets and a nightly curfew was imposed. Yet most Israelis, while worried, stayed put, expecting the uprising would soon be crushed and life would continue as usual. As the protests grew more intense, some of the Israeli security staff started to think about evacuation, but the powers-that-be hesitated.
"We had an emergency plan which said that we would not leave too soon, because we had a lot to lose, strategically and economically, in Iran," recalls Eliezer "Geizi" Tzafrir, who headed the Mossad station in Tehran at the time, in the film. "If we left too soon and order was restored, we would never be able to get back to Tehran."
But as the weeks passed by and the revolt turned into a full-blown revolution, the Israelis finally realized it was time to send the embassy staff home. "I didn't leave thinking we'd never come back. I thought we were leaving for a little bit, until they get things into order, and that we'd return," a former employee remembers.
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned from exile to Iran on February 1, 1979; the Islamic Revolution was now in full swing and the remaining Israeli diplomats and security officials feared for their lives. They changed locations several times in order not to be detected by the Revolutionary Guards, who happened to be headquartered right next to the Israeli embassy.
"Outside, people were shooting like mad in every direction," recounts David Nachshol, a security guard at the embassy, in the film. "On the streets we saw a graffiti. It was written there: 'Don't hurt the Jews — but any Israeli you meet, kill him.'"
Nearly all Israelis left Iran before the Islamic Revolution was completed. The embassy and the El Al office were ransacked in mid-February, and soon after, on February 18, the last Israelis were smuggled out of the country with the help of the Americans.
Was Israel loathed even before the ayatollahs made it the Islamic Republic's state doctrine? Experts differ.
The "vast majority of Iranians, who are Shiite Muslims, while not actively involved in anti-Israel activity, certainly identified with the Arab-Palestinian-Muslim camp and were not friends of Israel," Ze'ev Maghen, a professor of Islamic history and expert on revolutionary Iran and Islamic fundamentalism, told The Times of Israel. Levin likewise said he had "always had the feeling that ordinary Iranians were not great Israel lovers."
Menashri, on the other hand, asserted that he never sensed hostility to Israelis. On the contrary, he added, "being an Israeli made you more secure in many ways" before 1979, partially because people knew that the shah was a good friend of Israel. "We traveled all over the country; I always identified myself as an Israeli, and there was never a case or an incident in which I felt danger or lack of security."
Iran's 100,000 or so Jews, however, plainly felt deep unease about Khomeini's rise, fearing a revolution taking religious colors was doomed to harm their community. Sixty thousand of them fled; today, there are only some 10,000-20,000 left, according to most estimates.
"For one thing, this was revolution against the shah and the Jews were considered to be friendly with the shah. So whoever is the friend of the shah is the enemy of the revolution," Menashri said. "This was also a revolution against gaps in society, between rich and poor, and Iranian Jews were on the wrong side again, they were on the wealthier side."
The young leaders of the community approached the supreme leader to explain to him that they were Jews but not Zionists. "Therefore the slogan, the official attitude, was: Jews are Iranian citizens and they are part of our movement; they are protected. Israelis and Zionists are totally bad," Menashri explained.
And so it has remained: Israelis and Zionists "totally bad." How different from those halycon days in the bubble under the shah.
I'm proud to cover Israeli arts and culture for The Times of Israel. My beat shows 'the other side' of life here, with inspiring artists of all stripes -- musicians, painters and writers, chefs and winemakers, filmmakers and screenwriters.
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For a unique opportunity to experience vibrant culture in an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the region of Swansea Bay is not to be missed. The 'Waterfall Country' of Mumbles offers some of the finest coastline on the Gower Peninsula.
Browse a range of high quality parks in Swansea, offering holiday homes, glamping, touring holidays, chalets, lodges and cottages.


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You are one of the lucky few to see a sign and realize it for what it is. Far too many people see signs in their daily lives and dismiss them as just as coincidence. The Divine and the angels want to give us guidance, but we are not always ready to listen to them. Often, this guidance is provided through signs like seeing the same number multiple times. If this has happened to you, then you may be seeing an angel number.
What Does Angel Number 44 Mean?
Positive blessings and abundance are available. The angels give angel number 44 as a sign that you should be guided by your own light to live a life of purpose. Let your fears and doubts disappear because your passion and creativity will bring you the insight that you need. Like everyone, you have a unique purpose in life, but you have to figure out what this is if you want to achieve it. The number 44 is a sign to listen up and pay attention to your own inner wisdom.
The number 44 is a sign that the angels are surrounding you with their presence. They have nothing but happiness and infinite love for you. Think of them as your cheering squad that is always there to support you in every instance. They are there to cheer you on when you successful as well as provide support when you stumble. You have been working diligently to reach your goal, and the angels recognize this fact. In recognition of your hard work, they are trying to help you with small opportunities and favors to help you along the way. When you see angel number 44, take a moment to show your gratitude to the angels.
Angel Number 44
Financial abundance is possible if you are willing to open your mind to it. Money and success will not just fall into your lap, but it will be easier for you to obtain them than it normally would be. Take new opportunities with confidence that more opportunities will then open up. Be positive and adopt the right frame of mind. Anything that is negative should be let go of because you have to have a positive mindset if you want to achieve your full potential.
While angel number 44 is a sign of abundance, it is also a sign that you have to let go of negative things in your life. Take a look at your friends, family and other people in your life. Who is a positive influence and who only brings negativity into your life? If someone is only negative, you should remove them from your life. This same rule applies to any other aspect of your life that is weak, negative or unhelpful.
The angels want you to detach yourself from any stressful situation. You need to embrace your own abilities and potential for greatness. At this time, you should focus your life on new things and maintain your focus. The angel number 44 shows that you should embrace the things that you have worked for and let go of energy that only fatigues you. Set your sights on the future and keep up the good work.
How to React to Angel Number 44
This is an important number with great power. When you see angel number 44, it shows that you can manifest positive things in your life and transform dreams into a reality. Your dreams are closer than you realized, so you have to go for them. If you need help, the angels are always there for you. The universe is working to help you along, so do not be afraid.
New beginnings, new relationships and blessings are opening up for you. If you have been putting in long hours of effort, this work will start to pay off. As for your romantic relationships, try to remove any negativity. The number 33 is a sign that dark energy should be dismissed because there is no reason to have negative energy in your relationships. Your current friendships will most likely improve, and you have opportunities to bring new friends into your life.
The number 44 is a sign of fresh starts, so don't dwell too much on your past mistakes. These mistakes are just learning experiences and are not things that you should dwell on too much. It is time to make your dreams a reality.


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"Don't cry because it's over,
be happy because it happened"
Dr. Seuss
Bob Burridge
"The associations were limited to tree-nut intake and were not significant for consumption of peanuts or peanut butter," said Fadelu. "The biologic mechanism is unknown but is likely related to the effect of nuts on insulin resistance."
*Temidayo Fadelu, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.
A young woman went to her mother and complained about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.
Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In the first pot she placed a potato, in the second she placed an egg, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil. She didn't say one word.
In twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished out the potato and placed it in a bowl. She pulled the egg out and placed it in a bowl. She ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked "Tell me what you see?" "A potato, an egg, and coffee," the daughter answered.
Her mother asked her to feel the potato. She did and noted that it was soft. Her mother said to break the egg. She did and peeled off the shell and observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, the mother asked her daughter to sip the coffee. She did and smiled as she tasted its rich aroma and flavor. The daughter asked "what does all this mean, Mom?"
Her mother explained that each object had faced the same adversity, boiling water. Each reacted differently. The potato went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. After being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile with a thin outer shell that protected its liquid interior. After sitting in boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were different, they changed the water. "Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a potato, an egg, or a coffee bean?"
When experiencing 'adversity':
I admit to "doing other substances" but was too afraid of LSD having seen people take "bad trips". But NOW I'm willing to give LSD a try, the Steve Chandler* way:
*Steve Chandler, author of – "Reinventing Yourself" and "Fearless."
― Omar Khayyám, The Ruba'iyat of Omar Khayyam
– Rachel Carson.
Photo by Betty Rawlings
Sophia Loren
Photo by Betty Rawlings


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By Zachary Pincus-Roth August 29
25 years later, people are still watching 'The Shawshank Redemption.' Here's why.
MANSFIELD, Ohio — In the lobby of the Renaissance Theatre, Justin Tedders lifts his T-shirt: A poster for "The Shawshank Redemption" is tattooed across his entire back. The movie's phrase "Brooks was here" is just above his right butt cheek.
The 34-year-old from Barbourville, Ky., a loader at a Walmart distribution center, beat out other Shankheads to be second in line at a 25th-anniversary screening here two weeks ago, part of a three-day celebration in and around the prison where the movie was filmed. His obsession with movies is a safe way of channeling an "addictive personality," he says, and any time he's in trouble, he returns to "Shawshank." "It's given me a purpose," he adds. "My back represents what it means to me. I can't really tell you what it means. I can show you what it means."
What does this movie mean? In its 25 years, as of next month, "Shawshank" has emerged as an unlikely entry in the contest for the most beloved movie of all time. It's not a family saga like "The Godfather," or a geopolitical romance like "Casablanca," or a technical masterpiece like "Citizen Kane" — just a box-office also-ran about two prison friends. It's too sappy, some might say. It's too neat. It's basically an all-male cast. It's not quite at those other movies' level, but it's not quite not at their level, as it's spent the last 11 years as the No. 1-rated movie on IMDb. It somehow found the right alchemy of hope and friendship and, of course, redemption — with an ending so cathartic that, yes, this story still requires a spoiler alert. And it's moved fans to make pilgrimages to this town in Ohio that once pretended to be a town in Maine.
At the Renaissance Theatre in Mansfield, Ohio, cast and crew gather for a panel before an Aug. 16 screening of "The Shawshank Redemption," part of a weekend of events celebrating the film's 25th anniversary. (Destination Mansfield)
When writer-director Frank Darabont read the original Stephen King novella, "it felt like a perfect metaphor for every hardship I ever endured," he recalls, standing outside the theater.
Rob Reiner's company Castle Rock offered Darabont about $4 million if he'd hand over his script adaptation and let Reiner direct it with Tom Cruise as the star — but he refused. He had made a TV movie and written scripts like "Nightmare on Elm Street 3," but "Shawshank" "was the one I didn't want to let get away," he says.
His script built the bit character Brooks into a symbol of how prisoners can become dependent on their walls. He mushed three wardens into one, to focus his villainy. And when an executive suggested a final reunion on the beach, he eventually agreed the audience had earned it.
Tim Robbins prepared to play Andy by spending a few hours in solitary confinement and staring at a tiger in a zoo. Morgan Freeman, while playing Red, says he pretty much just spoke the words on the page. "Be as true as you can to the lines," he notes. "No philosophizing."
Robbins and others felt it was the best script they'd ever read — "I mean, you know, not counting Shakespeare," he says — but the set didn't exactly conjure Stratford-upon-Avon. Some felt Darabont's inexperience showed and the number of takes got out of hand. In the beach scene, Freeman fought hard not to be playing the harmonica.
Director Frank Darabont: "Mostly every day on the set what I was thinking was, gee I hope I'm not screwing this up too badly." (Destination Mansfield)
"Shawshank's" theatrical demise is infamous, as it earned just $28 million domestically on a $25 million budget. It got seven Oscar nominations, losing to the likes of "Forrest Gump" and "Pulp Fiction," but it bested them to become the top-rented movie of 1995. Ted Turner started blasting it all over TNT and TBS, where it's aired more than 100 times, says Michael Quigley, the networks' executive vice president of content acquisitions and strategy, helping it become one of the few movies "made by cable."
"Shawshank" works particularly well on a small screen. It's a relationship study with few vistas or intricacies, and no human being who's seen it before can change the channel before the final payoff. Urban Dictionary even has a term for "the condition of having been sucked in by a highly watchable movie while channel surfing": Shawshanked.
The film has made a number of best-of-all-time lists: AFI's updated top 100 movies (No. 72), an Empire magazine poll (No. 4), the Writers Guild of America's greatest screenplays (No. 22). But "Shawshank" transcended mere eyeworm status when it hit No. 1 on IMDb in 1997. It fell to second place for much of the aughts (typically below "The Godfather"), before reclaiming the title in 2008, eventually racking up 2.1 million votes.
IMDb founder Col Needham says IMDb helped its popularity snowball because it "arrived at the perfect time when people were starting to discover great movies and shows to watch via these early online communities." And while Needham acknowledges that the site's raters tend to be male, among those who provide their gender, "Shawshank" gets a 9.2 from women and a 9.3 from men.
It's still hard to ignore that the only female speaking roles are a bank teller and a grocery customer, plus Andy's wife, if you count moaning as speaking. "Shawshank" is probably the rare film whose score on the Bechdel test, a measure of female representation, is a negative number. (The 2016 book "The Shawshank Experience: Tracking the History of the World's Favorite Movie" points out the many ways "Andy is a feminine representation cut loose and undermining an exclusively masculine domain.")
"I always think of this as a love story — two men who just totally bonded," says Freeman, right, with Robbins. (Sportsphoto/Alamy Stock Photo)
Desson Thomson, whose Washington Post review was one of the few lukewarm ones, says the movie fit the trope of African Americans "seen as always helpmates." Overall, the film "felt a little begged and borrowed, secondhand." He hasn't seen it since, but its iconic status has given him pause. "It made me think to myself: I just missed something."
Everyone has a theory behind its popularity. "I always think of this as a love story — two men who just totally bonded," Freeman says. "At the very end of the movie, when they hook up — it's complete."
"That friendship doesn't involve car chases or skirt chasing or typical buddy movie kind of things," Robbins says. "These different characters grow based on the relationship with each other. It's a rare thing — not a lot of movies like that."
There are other areas to pan for meaning. Andy is a messianic figure — in the rooftop scene, he's surrounded by 12 beer-drinking "disciples." But Andy doesn't use religion; he saves others through the prison library, and himself through a movie poster. He rebels by playing Mozart over the loudspeaker. On the podcast Unpooled, Amy Nicholson (an occasional Post contributor) points out that he fights off a rapist by smacking one with a film reel. "This is a movie about how art saves the soul," she says.
It's enough of a fairy tale to allow for various projections — like when sportswriter Bill Simmons used the film to explain the cursed Boston Red Sox.
"We're all stuck, in some measure — some by choices we make, some by life circumstance, some by tragedy," Robbins says. The film asks: "What does it actually mean to be free — and what is that life fully realized?"
The Ohio State Reformatory, where much of the film was shot. Now it's a tourist attraction, with tours, a Shawshank museum and a gift shop. (Zachary Pincus-Roth/The Washington Post)
Mansfield was once a town for Westinghouse and General Motors. Now it's a town for Shawshank.
Its Ohio State Reformatory opened in 1896 with the goal of rehabilitation, explains Thomas B. Clark Jr., the resident Shawshank specialist. "Embedded into the brick and mortar is hope," he says. But it became a maximum-security prison, closed in 1990 and was slated for destruction before the "Shawshank" shoot was its own redemption, turning it into a tourist attraction with more than 100,000 annual visitors.
It's now part of the "Shawshank Trail," which guides visitors to 14 other area filming locations, bringing in $16.9 million in revenue last year. Also in town is a candy shop, Squirrel's Den, which created chocolate dioramas of the movie's halfway house and beach scene. It displays photos of Barack Obama peering over them — the president told the clerk that the beach scene makes you want to cry. A local running store holds an annual Shawshank Hustle 7k that streams forth from the prison — if you beat the jogger dressed as the warden, you're entered to win a pair of shoes.
At the 25th-anniversary celebration, 15,000 fans attend panels, tours, a jazz-band party and a cast autograph session that spills past three hours. The prison debuts its Shawshank museum, which holds artifacts like the tin Red digs up under the oak tree. (You can buy a tiny version in a gift shop.) At one point, Darabont pulls out a prop rock hammer to donate and bestows it on the curator, who bursts into tears.
Freeman and Robbins can't make the celebration. But there's the convict who says "When do we eat?" There's Alfonso Freeman, Morgan's son, who played an extra and got to bond with his dad. There's the actress who plays Andy's wife and the actor who played her lover, for just a few seconds on screen, hanging out at a bar late into the night.
There's Brad Mavis signing copies of "Rita the Shawshank Dog," about an extra who adopted a stray he found on set. There's a table selling keychains and rock hammers carved from the movie's oak tree, which fell victim to wind and lightning.
Justin Tedders shows off his tattoo of the 10th-anniversary poster art by Drew Struzan. (Zachary Pincus-Roth/The Washington Post)
The Squirrel's Den candy shop in Mansfield displays dioramas of scenes from the movie. (Zachary Pincus-Roth/The Washington Post)
Everyone wants a bit of that Shawshank magic. Especially the fans.
Melinda Hammond, a 45-year-old mom from Simpsonville, S.C., wears a denim jacket smattered with "Shawshank" patches. She cross-stitched a replica of the sign over the warden's safe — "His judgement cometh and that right soon . . . " — and gifts it to the actor, Bob Gunton.
"I've had butterflies all weekend," says Jennifer Eglinton, a 51-year-old IT consultant who flew from Watford, England, after a fight with breast cancer convinced her to check the prison off her bucket list.
Darabont once heard from a fan who dropped out of college, ballooned to 350 pounds and considered suicide, but the movie made him turn his life around. Another who had ALS wrote a Newsweek essay about how his body was his Shawshank, and the movie motivated him to find ways to tunnel out. Nelson Mandela once told Robbins that the film's depiction of incarceration hit home — as did its message that hope can heal.
That's what Andy tries to convince Red of, that "hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies." "Shawshank" inspires faith in the survival of many good things: knowledge, art, justice. It wants us to believe that a best friend is forever. That walls cannot confine you and do not define you.
Saying "Shawshank" is my favorite movie once felt like revealing an offbeat secret — before it became our collective favorite, and it felt like a cliche. But the true Shankheads in Mansfield fully embrace their devotion to a thing that is great, and good.
Before the screening, as Darabont chats outside the theater, a bystander hawking a comedy show discovers the director's identity and says he heard that "Shawshank" was the best movie in history.
"Aww, that's sweet," Darabont responds. "I'm not sure I believe that. But I'll take the compliment."
"The Shawshank Redemption" returns to theaters Sept. 22-25.


text:
Setting Our Butterflies Free
After almost three weeks of learning and observing, our caterpillars turned into butterflies. It was time to set them free on a beautiful day...bye bye butterflies!
Welcome to Noah's Ark Academy in Sugar Land!
Enrollment is still open for summer program and school year 2022-2023
Our Daycare/School is proud to offer:
50% off
the registration fee
Infant Care, Low Student/Teacher Ratio
Loving and Stuctured Environment
Top Rated Curriculum
Majority of the children that complete our Kindergarten Program
pass the admission test to go on the Gift and Talented Program
in the Public School System
We accept children 6 weeks-6 years old.
COVID19 Precautions are seriously taken
For tours and information please call (281)491-2490 after 9:30am
When it comes to your kids, nothing less than the highest standards will do. Noah's Ark Academy, conveniently located near you at 3527 Highway 6 suite 110 in Sugar Land, provides a safe environment for your child to explore his or her full potential.
Our Child Care Center is more than a daycare. At Noah's Ark Academy, we provide a structured, fun atmosphere that promotes Spiritual, Academic, Social, and Physical Development to prepare our children for the challenges that lie ahead in life.
Educational excellence, unwavering dedication and outstanding care are the values that Noah's Ark Academy stands for.
Demand for quality child care centers and preschools in our community of Sugar Land continue to grow day by day, but all too often, institutions are only able to focus on either allowing the child to enjoy their childhood and develop naturally or forcing the child to focus only on mental development in order to achieve high test scores later in life.
Noah's Ark Academy in Sugar Land is different. We value all areas of development: academic, physical, emotional and social development. In addition, we are a Christian School. We value spiritual development. All these elements create a well rounded individual who is ready to face whatever God has in store for him/her. Noah's Ark Academy promotes physical activities in large open areas and a wide variety of educational games. Our commitment to education begins in Early Preschool where we begin to use the ABEKA curriculum and continue through Preschool, Pre-Kindergarten, and Kindergarten. This curriculum has been proven to provide a strong academic foundation for years to come. Our Stanford Testing high test scores in Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten and the success of our children after they leave Noah's Ark Academy are a testimony that this curriculum provides your child a solid foundation which as a side effect gives your child a high self esteem.
At Noah's Ark Academy in Sugar Land, our goal is to promote every child's development individually using an appropriate mix of academic and recreational activities.
Infant Class


text: Cranberry, Orange & Cinnamon Goat Cheese Our classic, mild fresh goat cheese is hand rolled in cranberries, orange and cinnamon. Crumble it on salads, sprinkle on flatbreads, or spread on sandwiches Serve on a cheeseboard alongside other fresh and aged cheeses Spread it on crackers or rustic bread Available in: 4 oz. Where to Buy Go for the goat. Our award-winning fresh goat cheese is distinguished by its fresh milk taste, mild flavor and smooth texture. Pairs With Beer Sparkling Mead Crunchy Almond Thins Sweet Piloncillo Savory Pequillo Peppers Wild Card Potato Chips Wine Prosecco Recognition 2017 The Big E Bronze 2016 The Big E Bronze 2015 The Big E Bronze Ingredients: Goat Cheese [pasteurized cultured goats' milk (cultures contain milk), salt, enzymes], Dried Cranberries (cranberries, cane sugar, sunflower oil), Orange Peel, Cinnamon. CONTAINS: Milk Full Nutrition Facts + Serving size 1 oz. (28g) Amount per serving Calories 70 % Daily Value* Total Fat 4.5g 6% Saturated Fat 3g 15% Trans Fat 0g Cholesterol 15mg 5% Sodium 60mg 3% Total Carbohydrate 7g 3% Dietary Fiber 2g 7% Total Sugars 5g Includes 5g Added Sugars10% Protein 3g Vitamin D 0mcg0% Calcium 18mg 2% Iron 0mg0% Potassium 30mg 0% * The % Daily Values (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice. Vermont Creamery is updating the Nutrition Facts panels on its products to comply with new FDA regulations. During this transition, both old and new versions of the Nutrition Facts panel will be in the marketplace. Refer to the label on your product for the most accurate nutrition, ingredient and allergen information. More Flavors Classic Goat Cheese Herb Goat Cheese Wild Blueberry, Lemon & Thyme Goat Cheese Smoky Pepper Jelly Goat Cheese Clover Blossom Honey Goat Cheese Everything Goat Cheese Related Products Classic Goat Cheese Crumbles Everything Goat Cheese Wild Blueberry, Lemon & Thyme Goat Cheese


text:
The two acronyms are YNAB and MMM.
Thanks to these seven letters, I've grown our household wealth by thousands of CHF - this applies to USD and EUR too, don't worry!
We saved CHF 37'000 during 2014 only, to be precise.
All that thanks to seven letters that I wish I would have known years ago...
Assuming that you're a new reader, or that you came over this blog randomly, I will need to explain first the meaning of both acronyms.
"YNAB" stands for "You Need A Budget" and is a personal finance software to manage your budget.
"MMM" stands for "Mr. Money Mustache" and is a blog talking about frugal living while stashing cash. The term "Mustachianism" was invented there as far as I know.
These acronyms are preaching two methodologies that are very complementary.
When combined together, they are taking you, your budget and your wealth up to the next level.
If I compare our situation before using these secret recipe with what happened last year, the computing tells us that we saved six times more money than we were doing previously.
It does feel magic, but the best part is that you can also achieve it.
YNAB: my life companion
This all started because of a simple piece of software (including the blog you're reading)! Being from the IT world, I'm still amazed at how technology can bring positive things to our world!
YNAB (referral link) became such an essential and evident part of our household life that I had to think twice about why I like so much this application!!!
I know it is something I couldn't live without anymore but let's analyze why so much love!
I won't go through the 4 steps of their methodology because this YNAB introduction video explains it way better than I would.
Instead, I will focus on what this software and methodology brought as benefits to our household.
#1 - Don't let money be randomly spent
Before, we were the kind of people who live paycheck to paycheck. As Switzerland salaries allow for a lifestyle which is more than correct, we were simply spending (almost) all of the money that we were earning.
Want to go out for dinner? Let's go!
Want this new shiny Mac that just got released? Just get it man, my next (Swiss) salary will pay it in one shot!
Want to visit family abroad next week-end? Let's pack up, fill the greedy car tank with some fresh gas, and there we go!
This can sound like usual lifestyle to some, or completely surreal to others. At that point in time, it was our way to deal with our finances.
What changed with YNAB is that at the beginning of each month, every cent we make gets a specific task to do. Every. Cent.
That way, we plan how money gets out of our pocket, instead of letting it be randomly spent depending on the events, the weather, etc.
This first point alone helped us save tons of money as you don't see any remaining money that you could spend. Everything is used for something and it removes completely the temptation of using some left alone cash!
Once you experienced it, you just wonder why no one taught you that in school instead of some useless fancy math algorithm that you'll never use!
#2 - Know where you are and where you go financially speaking
The second fantastic thing is that you know exactly where you are regarding your money. You don't have to login to your e-banking to get your balance, then remove what you think you will spend this month for groceries, for your mother's birthday, for your bike repairs, etc, etc.
Because every cent has its own category, you can plan in advance your yearly expenses such as insurance bills, or also Christmas and birthdays.
Thanks to this expenses categorization, you gradually discover how much on average you spend on what.
That's when the magic happen: you can then look at your own future and make plans based on real data and facts, instead of just guessing.
When I say plan, I talk about big things/dreams that are now reachable as you just have the data to plan for them. Things like buying your first home, replacing some big stuff such as a car (by another more frugal but still a used one, right), and even the financial independence graal!!!
A whole new different world is now at your fingertips.
#3 - Forget about your e-banking and manage your money from one single central place
Until recently, I still had (too) many bank accounts as it might be the case for you too.
One thing that YNAB doesn't take enough pride in is how it hides any complex banking setup you can have. It may sound crazy to you but I'm going to my e-banking about twice a month nowadays. Before the YNAB era, it was more like twice a week or even more.
The tool makes it so simple: all your accounts centralized in one single place. You enter your incomes and expenses as soon as they happen, that's it!
It removes all the hassle of having multiple logins and browser tabs opened in the same time together with your calculator and homemade physical or digital spreadsheet! Even if old school methods are usually the best ones, trust me that it is not the case for personal finance management with YNAB!
The hidden benefit of not going often to your e-banking platform is that you don't see all the possible cash cushion you stashed. So you're not tempted to use it!
#4 - Have pleasure and be excited when paying your bills
OK, for this one, I don't ask you to take my word because you really need to experience it in order to trust me!
I already see you laughing out loud: "Yeah MP, you're so funny! Are you really serious that you are excited and take pleasure in paying your bills?!? Like seriously?".
Indeed this may seem weird to the first comer.
But you are just so happy when you see the balance of your budgeted yearly insurance/taxes/younameit hitting "0.00" perfectly! It's a mix of feelings between control and power on your own money.
And don't worry, these rejoicings aren't happening once or twice a year but more like several times a month when you see your budgeted amounts getting closer to the balance amounts.
Budgeting begins suddenly to be a game. And when you start to see it as a game, you want to win it. That's the start point of yourself becoming rich.
#5 - Overbudget? So be it! YNAB is flexible!!!
"Fair enough MP, your perfect match may work for you but what about us, humans with life full of unexpected events?!?".
Thanks mate, but unfortunately, I've got a life with its load of unplanned things that happen every month. It wouldn't be fun else actually.
Thankfully, YNAB was also built by humans and is completely flexible regarding this aspect.
You will manage it by taking the missing money of the overbudgeted category from another category. Two clicks, that's it!!!
#6 - Track your spendings easily from wherever around the world
Thanks to its laptop (Mac and PC), tablet and mobile apps (iOS, Android and Windows Phone), you can log your expenses wherever you are. Everything is synchronized and works like a charm.
The expenses logging part is I honestly think the most reluctant part of budgeting. Ideally, I would like my banks to push any expenses I make to my YNAB database.
But I prefer to see this drawback as a way to improve my ability to build habits. After few weeks of usage, it has become an automation. As soon as I get my credit card out of my wallet, I take my iPhone as well.
MMM, a blog for a new (wealthy) lifestyle
For the little story, I discovered MMM blog not long after I started to use YNAB (referral link).
I found it was such a great source of early retirement information that I took up the challenge to read every single article so to develop my frugal knowledge as fast as possible. This took me few months if I correctly remember, but I really recommend you to do the same as it will opens your eyes regarding various lifestyle aspects.
Combining these two acronyms was what really put my money on steroids!!!
#7 - Enjoy peace of mind in any situation, forever
This benefit is I think the favorite of my wife who tends to worry as soon as we get a money issue.
Good news: she didn't worry about cash since more than one year!!!
Thanks to MMM, we analyzed all what could go wrong financially speaking, mainly because of insurances lowered at the minimum. Then we wrote down this final amount of cash as a goal in YNAB, and we started to build our cash cushion.
Now that we are fully covered since months, it's so amazing how we don't care anymore about unexpected bills or events. Got the iron broken, unplanned week-end abroad, laptop broken.
No more worries. Always sleep well. We are ready to face those potential problems!!!
#8 - Optimize every line of your budget - or how we saved CHF 37'000 in one year!!!
From all MMM blogposts, I preferred the ones who talked about optimizing every damn lines of your expenses report.
Step after step, one YNAB line after the other, we downsized the following:
- Car tax yearly fees thanks to my wife's superpower
- Car insurance because no one wants to crash against a wall
- Our V6 car for an hybrid one
- Internet and TV subscription
- Strengthened our cooking habits
- Closed useless banks accounts and choose the best Mustachian credit card out there in Switzerland
Last 2014 was the first complete year I tracked all of our incomes, expenses and savings. It was also the first complete year where we enjoyed the total results of all our optimizations.
Computing the final number, I can happily tell you that our household put aside nothing less than CHF 37'000 in a single year!!!
And honestly, we don't feel restrained. Even though we still have plenty of decluttering to do, we enjoy less useless stuff and more valuable (often free) moments.
I truly think that every country of this world should provide personal finance mandatory courses so that children aren't depending on the randomness of (maybe) finding out someday that there is another way of living than consumerism, debt and paycheck to paycheck.
As Mark Cuban said: "While money can't buy happiness, it can sure make life a whole lot better."
So now, if you're interested by the idea of becoming rich and build wealth, here are your next steps:
- 1/ Go on YNAB website (referral link) to download their software
- 2/ Build your budget following their advices and courses
- 3/ Go on MMM blog and start reading two articles per day until you've read all of them
- 3 (bis), if by any chance you're from Switzerland, please read also all MP articles written so far to build wealth even faster!
- 4/ By then (in about one year), enjoy the huge amount of cash you'll have stashed in investment accounts!
Let me know in the comment section below what you managed to achieve! You can do it!!!
BONUS: Want to win a free YNAB license?
YNAB and its founder Jesse are such an amazing company that they accepted to give away one free YNAB license (worth 60$) to one of MP readers!!!
Two simple rules to participate in the game:
- 1/ You have to let a comment in the section below explaining what benefits you think YNAB would bring to your own budget and life
- 2/ You have to retweet this MP tweet
- 3/ (Optional) Last but not least, if you win and happen to follow MP on Twitter and like the MP Facebook page, you will get some of my favorite selection of Swiss chocolate as a bonus on top of your YNAB license!!!
The winner will be announced the 16th of March 2015 so stay tuned ;)
And the winner is...Aki!!!
Congratulations to you! For both the YNAB license and Swiss chocolate!
Please private message me your contact infos so I can organize the sending.


text:
by Stuart Dybek
The garments worn in flying dreams
were fashioned there—
overcoats that swooped like kites,
scarves streaming like vapor trails,
gowns ballooning into spinnakers.
In a city like that one might sail
through life lead by a runaway hat.
The young scattered in whatever directions
their wild hair pointed, and gusting
into one another, they fell in love.
At night, wind rippled the saxophones
suspended like windchimes
in pawnshop windows, hooting
so that the streets seemed haunted,
not by nighthawks, but by doves.
Pinwheels whirred from steeples
in place of crosses. At the pinnacles
of public buildings, snagged underclothes—
the only flag—flapped magestically.
And when it came time to disappear
one simply chose a thoroughfare
devoid of memories, raised a collar,
and turned one's back on the wind.
I remember closing my eyes as I stepped
into a swirl of scuttling leaves.


text:
The Bank of Old Monroe offers a variety of account options to customers. We understand your personal and business needs and are committed to helping you select an account that best suits your needs. Required documentation for opening an account includes:
- Drivers license or government issued photo id
- US citizens – Proof of social security number (ss card or recent tax document)
- Non-US citizen – Please contact us


text:
Embrace boredom. You are not responsible for all the fun.
Seriously, the coolest games, inventions, creations, home-wrecking destructo-weapons of doom -- they always come from boredom. So the next time the kid whines, "I'm bored," answer with "Great!" and then grab a cup of coffee. (See also: Don't negotiate with terrorists or open Pandora's box.)
Get outside. Even if you have to lock the door behind her.
Go to the library. Better yet, drop her off. (See also: Grab more coffee.)
Make something cool together. Let her wield the tools.
Invest in squirt guns, water balloons, and kiddie pools.
Don't take over chores. If the results are not to your liking, she needs to do more of them more often.
Ride bikes. Build jumps. Play until the streetlights come on.
Teach her kick the can, hide-and-seek, bloody murder, and then invite all her friends over and leave them alone.
Never pass up a kid's lemonade stand without buying. Never.
Make your own lemonade stand.
Buy cleaning supplies. Show her how to use them all.
Make your own ice cream. Eat the salt.
Let her run to the corner store for candy.
Don't freak out about camps. She'll be fine.
Go on picnics.
Read together. Read near each other, preferably with hot cocoa. (See also: coffee.)
Make a matching set of super hero capes. Do all the winning.
Cuddle on the couch with a good movie.
Watch as much How It's Made as she likes.
Have fun. And let her have fun without you.


text:
US hospital worker gets 39 years in hepatitis case
CONCORD, New Hampshire (AP) — A traveling medical technician who stole painkillers and infected dozens of patients in multiple states with hepatitis C through tainted syringes was sentenced Monday to 39 years in prison.
"I don't blame the families for hating me," David Kwiatkowski said after hearing about 20 statements from people he infected and their relatives. "I hate myself."
Kwiatkowski, 34, was a cardiac technologist in 18 hospitals in seven states before being hired at New Hampshire's Exeter Hospital in 2011. He had moved from job to job despite being fired at least four times over allegations of drug use and theft. Since his arrest last year, 46 people have been diagnosed with the same strain of hepatitis C he carries.
U.S. Attorney John Kacavas said the sentence "ensures that this serial infector no longer is in a position to do harm to innocent and vulnerable people."
Kwiatkowski admitted stealing painkillers and replacing them with saline-filled syringes tainted with his blood. He pleaded guilty in August to 16 federal drug charges.
Before he was sentenced, Kwiatkowski stood and faced his victims, saying he was very sorry and that his crimes were caused by an addiction to painkillers and alcohol. He told investigators he had been stealing drugs since at least 2003 and swapping syringes since at least 2008.
"There's no excuse for what I've done," he said. "I know the pain and suffering I have caused."
The victims spoke angrily and tearfully of the pain that Kwiatkowski had inflicted by giving them hepatitis C, a blood-borne virus that can cause liver disease and chronic health problems. Authorities say the disease played a role in one woman's death.
"You may only be facing drug charges, but make no mistake, you are a serial killer," said Kathleen Murray of Elmira, New York, whose mother was infected in Baltimore and was too ill to travel to New Hampshire for the sentencing.
Linda Ficken, 71, said she is haunted by the memory of Kwiatkowski standing at her hospital bedside in Kansas for more than an hour applying pressure to the catheter's entry site in her leg to control bleeding.
"On one hand, you were saving my life, and on the other hand, your acts are a death sentence for me," Ficken, of Andover, Kansas, told him. "Do I thank you for what you did to help me? Do I despise you for what your actions did and will continue to do for the rest of my life? Or do I simply just feel sorry for you being the pathetic individual you are?"
Prosecutors said Kwiatkowski deserved 40 years for creating a "national public health crisis," putting a significant number of people at risk and caused substantial physical and emotional harm to a large number of victims.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John Farley called Kwiatkowski's actions "exceedingly callous" and "unbelievably cruel" and noted that Kwiatkowski could've stolen painkillers without exposing his patients to hepatitis C.
Defense lawyers argued that a 30-year sentence would better balance the seriousness of the crimes against Kwiatkowski's mental and emotional problems and his addiction to drugs and alcohol, which they said clouded his judgment.
Two of the 16 charges stem from the case of Eleanor Murphy, a Kansas woman who has since died. Authorities say hepatitis C played a contributing role.
"You ultimately gave my mother a death sentence," Murphy's son, Ronnie, told Kwiatkowski.
Associated Press writer Rik Stevens contributed to this report.